Welcome to Gaia! ::

*Opening the galley bulkhead hatch, Kurisutofa ducked through and came up on the other side and locked the door. Not many crew used this passage, so it was always better to keep it closed so as not to let the door bang to and fro.

Total darkness. Soon he would come to the after gallery cabin door.*

*Stumbling over a pile of recently peeled potatoes, Jack wanders through the darkened hall, and down to his personal quarters. Pulling an unlit lantern from the wall, he struck his flint and tender and lit the candle.

As the wax dripped down the crown of the lantern, the hallway came into view, and at the end was a slit of light. Slightly squinting at the appearance of the sun from the stern windows, his vision returned to him just in time to stop himself from running head on into Miss Kale & Miss Mi... Miss Melaria.

Coming to a halt, he looked at the two and saw the tears in Melaria's eyes. His own eyes danced from Kale to Melaria: he stood up straight and took on a tall, looming presence, his arms folded behind him. His face turning stern, he addressed them.*

"What seems to be the trouble here, Miss Melaria?"

*Shifting his glance*

"Miss Kale, what is the meaning of this? Why is it that I'm not suprised when I leave the deck for a moment, to find the both of you, particularly you Miss Kale: (due to your recent history and relapse in the habits of theft), huttled against the door to my private living quarters? Pray tell me your reason for being here of all places. Being Anti-Social, are we, or might you be here for your belongings? I've just remebered that you'd left them in my cabin."

*Looking at the both of them, he lead the two inside his cabin so as to get out of the humid oak hallway. Closing the door behind the both of them, he kicked aside the mess that remained about the floor. Walking to where Miss Jaden Kale had left her seabag, he fastened the clasp and handed it to her with a smile.*

"There you are my dear. Now run along and go stow your belongings under your bunk before someone else snatches up your dunnage.

Oh, and if anyone is in need of my presence, Miss Kale.. please inform them that I am indisposed at the moment and shall be ondeck as soon as I find the moment. Miss Melaria and myself have alot of catching up to do."

*Trying not to blush, he hoped that he didn't make it look ridiculously scandalous. It had been along time since the Captain had mingled with shorefolk, and it had been even longer since the last he'd fallen into the clutches of a woman's love.

Gesturing her to have a seat, he pushed some rolled up charts from a chair and onto the floor and took a chari up for himself.*

"So, your looking for something else to wear, aye? What might you have in mind?
A Tarpaulin' Hat? Long-tail Blue's? Weather Gear?"

"Oh, here and there really... Brazil, Sou'American Coastline & throughout the Carribean mostly. Rounding up Spanish & American Merchant Prize while we beat up the Southern Coastline of Florida. Made a pretty profit of a couple of french silk traders we took off of the Georgian Coast and sold the lot of it to a man in Dublin by the name of Canning. From what I hear, he's quite the man about town now... what size do you wear? Oh, nevermind..."

*Chuckling to himself, he dug through the slop-chest.*

"As for adventures and the like, we've had our share. Almost lost our sticks in a severe white squall off of the Tropic of Capricorn at 34'S-22'W. A right odd storm it was too. Demonic Voices from the depths, Kubain overboard and drowned in water the colour of Hellfire & Brimstone... lightening like you've never seen. 500 foot seas - Oh, here you are my dear, a pair of Arabian Truece... best damned deckwear this side of Gibraltor - Anyhow, we made our way out of that mess. The ship had to be taken into the nearest port for repairs & recruiting. We lost over 58 souls on that voyage... dreadful bloody business."

*Stopping the conversation, so as not to upset her delicate balance...*

"But that is a tale for another day. For now, I shall tell you the tale of when I saw Miss Melaria stark naked in my cabin because she had not yet been offered a proper dressing place... shant my bunk be appropriate?"

*Smirking, he handed her a light-maroon Indian cotton lace-up necked shirt and a pair of black buckled shoes.*

"Come now, into the bunk you go. I promise I shant peak, unless you want me too, but even that would bring your virtue into play..."

(Toulon is in Southern France.)

"Aye, let me see, the Original Crew...

Nameless has gone the way of the Doo-Doo, while Mr. John was promoted to 1st Officer, but soon fell victim to the drink, was labelled an alcoholic and was stripped of his title and duties. He was only recently put ashore in Portugal.

Mr. Ilor is, of course, still aboard, as is our Master Gunnery Officer, Miss Ares. If you remember, she was signed aboard in Port Royal as Kope's Gunner's Mate. She's since taken to the technic and has proven herself ten times the worth of my last Gun Captain... but that aside, I'm glad that she's stayed.

Miss SparrowDepp recently jumped ship and decided to go about the world, trying to find her place in it. Fair Winds & Flowing Sea's I say..."

*Stopping, he looked at her*

"So, how about you? What brought you to this place my dearest Midnight? At the dinner table, you put the tale aside, but now that we're alone, I'd like to know... what happend?"

"Three years of nothingness... How terribley lonely & lost you must have been, my dear. With only the Brown Eye'd Man, this Jon you speak of, to care for you and reteach you everything. Hmmm..."

*Looking out the stern windows, he pulled a white silk handkercheif with flowery vines embroidered on it out of his inside breast pocket and stretched himself so as to hand the cloth to the watery eyed woman.*

"Well, my lost lamb... I leave it to you if you'd like to continue being addressed by this pet name... 'Mel' or Melaria, as you would call it. Personally, I find it rather degrating. Being named after the disease that ripped the memories from the very confines of your mind...

If you would be pleased, I shall call you by the name that your parents gave you at birth. I find it suites you so much more than the dreadful false colours your flying."

*Taking a seat on the padded window bench next to her*

"I have a question for you and I want you to take in every consideration: Now with your husband having passed on, and your life spent milling about the gardens day in and day out, you ahve been presented with an opportunity. Your ship has literally come in...

I suppose what I'm trying to say is this - Would you come back to the 'Lady'? Would you put aside all the dash and manaquaery for a life at sea again? I know it would be hard to readjust, but I know it's your element. I've seen you weather some of the world's hardest waters...

In short, will you stow away your seachest and reclaim your bunk here in the after cabin? Mr. Ilor doesn't seem to sleep, so he doesn't use his assigned bunk. Therefore it's vacant for your usage...

Please, come back to me... My Sweet Midnight Oasis."

'Well... actually...'

*Standing from his spot on the window bench, Kurisutofa slowly paced to the other side of the room, and took a ring of keys from his pocket. Taking a pair of glasses from his vest pocket, he held the keys close and squinted at them through the frosted bi-focals. His eyes gleamed and brightened when he found what he was looking for.

Singling out the large, black, dragonfly shaped key, he brushed aside a long drap to reveal a door. Whiping away the cobb-webbs, he blew on the keyhole. Dust settled at his feet as he looked back at the wide-eyed girl with a smile. To an observant eye, it was apparent that the keyhole was not a normal lock & key system, but that of another nature. The Key had no teeth, but a circular end with an octagon hole. When compared to the door, the lock mechanism was equipped with a keyhole that was naught but a circular hole with an iron octagon shaped peg...

Inserting the Dragonfly Key into the Keyhole, he sang a short tune to himself:*



*Stopping his song, he looked over to Midnight with wide eyes.*

'Either forget what I say or swear to never tell a soul.'



'Ok, so we then take what we need..'



'Around we go... Count Eleven.'

*Slowly turning the key's wings to the left, Kurisutofa spun the lock carefully. Within the door, the sound of a gentle ticking could be heard. A steady, strong tempo. It grew louder, and then an ignition sound. A tightening steel band, and suddenly... chimes. Eleven to be precise.
It was clockwork..

One last deep ringing bell, and the door slowly opened.*

"Over the years, I've begun a kind of scrapbook of the ship's company.
Not only pictures and short logs of happenings about the ship, but articles of their own personal belongings. For example:

- Miss LoveBunny's Paper Kite
- Kope's Victory Cigars
- Kubain's Warrant Officer's Uniform (un-opened)
- Nyssa Andu's Childhood Friend, 'Mr. Bear'...'

*At this, his eyes brimmed with tears as his large, rough hands caressed the soft old lost companion from his grand-daughter's youth. Shaking the thoughts from his head, he smiled and set the toy away. Digging deeper..*

'- (Now-Governor) 'Zammap' Gunn's Midshipman's Handbook
- The 'Nameless One's True Signature... (Joshua May)
- Arianna Le Fay's Silver Thigh-Dagger
- Mr. John's Talking Katana..'

*Tightening his grip about the blade, the sword cried and shrieked under his clenched palm. Uttering a secret threat to 'Bob', silence insued and the Captain continued.*

'- Miss Sparrow's Spyglass
- Whirlgirl's Journals & Ink Pen
- Catryne's Cooking Utensils
... and least, but certainly not the last...
- Miss Midnight Oasis's Seachest & Personal Belongings..."

*Trying to pry the large chest out from inside the small walk-in closet, he pushed open the door and went to haul the trunk out onto the cabin floor.
One would not be able to ignore the mass amount of newspaper clippings, charactures, letters, tid bits & collectables that were pinned to the door in an overly large collage dedicated to his Crew... his Family.

There, located in the dead center of the door, was a fair-sized map of the Mostly the Eastern World: East Coast of the America's, Greenland, Scandinavia, Russia, Netherlands, British & Irish Isles, France, Spain, The Mediterranean, Africa & a small clipping of India.

The map wide over was spotted by coloured pins. Everyone telling of a crewman that had once served aboard the 'Lady Washington', and there below it was his most cherished clippings... his 'Lost Boy', Midnight.*

'It feels good to have you home...
Now, let's give this a good home, shall we?'

*Chuckling, he folded the paperwork and placed ut into his inner vest pocket. Shutting the door and locking it with a single, simple twist of the key, the door's mechanism spun into place. A loud 'clack' was heard and all was done and the large canvas curtain swung back into position.
Standing next to her, he gazed at her: his face beaming.*

'Right then, with taht out of the way, why don't we rejoin our fellows ondeck, shant we? You get dressed and I'll meet you on the main hatch.'

*His smile stretching for miles, from one ear to the other, he turned and left the room with a jolly stroll and a quick creak of the cabin door. As soon as he head left, he returned for a moment; the door opening and his upper-self slipping into sight. Reaching over to a cabinet, he grabbed a folder full of papers and sheepishly grinned.*

'Forgot the sheet music....'

*Withdrawing himself from the door, the clasp shut and quick footsteps could be heard scurrying to the Mainhatch fore near the Galley.*