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Deimos stayed a bit behind after everyone had left. It was his own ship. HIS ship.. He ran his hands across the wood again, his whole body shuddering with glee.

He looked up at it again and lit his index finger, the flame flickering dully on it. He lifted it up to the wood, tracing dark scorch marks into it. He smirked once he was done and put out his flame, walking away from the ship with the words 'Black Dawn' burned into it's hull.

The moment they arrived back home, Sabriel had wanted to go outside. Chin had no idea why, but she had obliged him, to keep up the good mood the baby was in after finding his lion. She'd showed him to most of the panther-free outdoors, and was heading for the lake, curious herself to see what it was like. She hadn't really seen it before.

As they approached it, Chin kept looking at a dark shape on the water, not sure whether it was a trick of the eyes or not. It looked a little bit like a ship...but wasn't the lake frozen?

Sabriel had left his jar back home in favor of the lion plushie. He wasn't interested in mysterious ships - he was on the lookout for panthers on the prowl. The grounds could hide hundreds of them.

What the...Chin couldn't believe it. The lake had to be frozen - or else it felt much colder out than it really was. And it wasn't even breezy out! She picked up the pace, now able to read the words Black Dawn dark against the hull. It was a far stretch, but the only person she knew that would have a ship was Deimos. That'd be weird, though.

There was someone at the wheel. It wasn't a freaky ghost ship after all. She waved and called, "Hey!" not entirely sure they would see.

Sabriel clung tighter to her shirt, put off-balance by the wave. Hearing a soft 'whoosh' from the sails billowing, he perked his ears. He craned his neck up until he could see the ship, and was puzzled even more at the sight. What was that?

"Hi De-" Her voice broke off. He'd jumped! But he fell in more of a glide than a fall, a drifting slow drop to the shore. Chin had to steady herself; she smiled weakly at Deimos when he landed. "Where'd you learn how to do that?" She noticed the glare but didn't comment, her worries confirmed - the two really did hate each other.

Oh. It was HIM again. Sabriel, returning the glare, was both annoyed and glad to see Deimos - he could finally prove he was so much cooler. He held up the lion, swishing his tails. "Cat." he said proudly.

"Neat. Scary, but neat."

Sabriel was irritated at Deimos' attitude towards his lion, but the threat...he wouldn't! Clinging protectively to the stuffed animal, he growled at the boy, just daring him to try it.

"Sabriel..." Chin warned him. It wasn't her right to stop Deimos, but she could keep the other one in line. Sabriel growled even louder.

"Oh, sure, that's fine. Lead on!" She smiled. "Is the lake still frozen, by the way?" The ship moving was still a puzzle to her. Chin was glad someone had some self-control - Sabriel's claws were still pricking her back, clenched in response to his feelings.

He gave Deimos another glare, annoyed that he'd actually accepted to be part of his dumb crew. Then Deimos showed his true colors. Stupid jerk. Stupid Zir.

Chin stepped back to avoid the gangplank, careful not to slip on the icy grass. She tested it with a foot, secured Sabriel on her shoulders (however she'd love to see him fall in, he'd learn something from being such a pain) and followed it up to the Black Dawn.

"Wow." she said appreciatively, stepping onto the deck. Well, you couldn't deny he was a captain now...though she wondered where the ship came from, it felt she'd asked enough already. There were lots and lots of questions in line.

Sabriel looked properly contemptuous of the ship. He really was amazed, though. And jealous. But he'd never, ever let Deimos know that. Frowning, he hugged the lion closer.

"Very beautiful." Chin could only agree, seeing how proud he was of the Black Dawn. "Are you going to invite anyone to watch her first...um, her maiden voyage?" That'd be neat, especially in the spring...but it was so far away.

Glancing up at Sabriel, who was sulking, she hesitated a moment before nodding. "That's all right - you two go ahead. Don't let him get into too much trouble." she added. She could be making a terrible mistake, here, but the last time hadn't gone too bad, if that was anything to go by.

Besides, they were just going to go at each other's throats someday later. Might as well.

What he wanted didn't seem to make any difference, as he was plunked down on the deck all the same. After giving Chinchillie an annoyed look, Sabriel crossed his arms and glared stubbornly at Deimos, refusing to budge from the spot.