Welcome to Gaia! ::

Scar woke to a bucket of cold seawater being splashed on her face. She sputtered and tried to sit up but noticed she wasn’t really lying down… well, sort of. She vaguely remembered being up on the rigging with the starlight over head. They had sailed through a bad storm and everyone had to work into the night. She must have passed out from exhaustion at some point. Now here she was, leg caught in the shroud and lying on it at a pretty extreme angle.

Out of reflex she reached out, grabbing the shirt of whoever was in front of her and drawing a dagger from her belt. She didn’t bring it to his throat, no, she pressed the sharp point against a part of his anatomy that was much farther south. “Oi there Scar. I was jess tryin to wake ya.” The pirate squeaked, throwing his hands up in surrender. The bucket he once held hit the deck and bounced away.

She let the man go and pushed him away from her, turning her attention to getting unstuck. She cut a small piece of line and her leg sprang free. As gravity took hold she grabbed the rigging with a practiced ease and flipped herself upright. Her boots made a satisfying thud as she landed on her feet. “Cap’n say all crew who worked through da storm get today off.”

Scar sheathed her dagger and nodded. “If anyone asks I’ll be a’ the pub. I’m tired of swill we got off tha’ freigh’er.” her voice seemed out of place. It was rougher than it should be, but by now, the crew was used to it. Unfortunately Scar only grew to hate it. She adjusted the bandana on her head, making sure it was level with her eyebrows. Off all the scars she had, that one over her eye made her the most self conscious.

Scar made her way off the boat, adjusting her clothes so she didn’t look like a complete fool. One fool decided to look at her chest as she adjusted her top and she nearly wedged a knife between his eyes for it.

Scar took her time in town. It had been a while since they had made port and she just wanted to walk on something that didn’t sway with every little breeze. It felt strange to her, being on land after growing so accustomed to the sea. She knew it wasn’t the life her father had hoped for her, but it was the legacy he left her.

She thought of him as she stared at an old ring some too bit back ally thief was trying to sell. The stone was a chunk of amber, polished smooth and sparkling. Usually amber was set with gold, but this one was set in silver. Her father had worn one like it. She remembered telling him once that the stone was the same color as his eyes. That had made her dad smile. “How much?” she asked.

The thief looked a little antsy, sizing her up as he looked around. Scar was about to say something when she was bumped hard from the side. She staggered, nearly losing the ring and her footing as she was pushed into the wall. The thief and whoever the hell ran into her took off in a rush. Scar still had the ring in her hand and it only took a moment for her to realize what had happened. She felt around, her coin purse was gone. Scar bristled, shoving the ring in her pocket and taking off after the thieves. There was no way they were going to out run her. She caught sight of them at the end of the alley but they went separate ways on the street. She picked the one she hadn’t gotten a good look at, figuring he had her money. The street was busy and it was slowing the thief down. Good thing for Scar had no idea who he as messing with. She effortlessly vaulted up onto a cart and ran across it, shortcutting through the crowd.

Scar took a chance, leaping off the cart and onto the thief. They both crumpled into the doorway of the bar, knocking into a table. The man tried to overpower her but she was smarter and used his weight against him. They rolled a couple of times before settling with Scar sitting on his chest, knife to his throat. She looked up, noticing all of the eyes on her. “What ya lookin at? He stole from me!” she snapped, her voice cracking a little and only serving to piss her off more. She looked bad down at the thief and narrowed her eyes. Some of the noises of the bar returned and Scar knew that most of the people had returned to whatever they were doing.

The thief wasn’t very old, maybe 18 or19. He still had a lot to learn. Scar felt him shift beneath her and heard the rattling of coin.

Without breaking eye contact she grabbed his wrist and slammed his hand down against the ground. The coin purse fell out of his grip. Without missing a bit she took the knife and buried it in the palm of his hand, pinning it to the wood floor. The thief cried out in pain and Scar scooped up the coin purse as she stood. She refastened it to her belt and then looked down at him with a tilt of her head. She almost felt bad for him as she watched him curl around his injured hand. Scar crouched down, sighing long and hard and looking him in the eye. Oh he was mad.“Nex time, don steal from someone you can’t ou’run.” She said and pulled her knife out of his hand.

The thief groaned, scampering to his feet and out the door with a trickle of blood in his wake. It served him right. Scar pulled an old stained handkerchief out of her pocket and used it to clean the blood off her knife as she sat at the bar. “Shot o’ rum. Make i’ a double.” She told the barkeep, sliding the knife back in its pace on her belt. Scar felt eyes on her and turned to the pirate next to her. He was looking at her with lusty eyes and licking his lips like she was something to be devoured. She just looked over at him, eyes cold and lifeless as she stared, unmoving. After a few moments the pirate’s expression changed. He turned away from her, looking uneasy as he picked up his drink and moved to the other end of the bar. Scar just smirked; picking up her shot of rum and downing it in one go. She motioned the barkeep for another, grinning as she waited for more rum.

Scar waited for the bartender to come back, fishing into her coins for payment. When the man tried to pour her another shot she plunked a few coins on the counter, plenty enough for the whole bottle. He gave her a stern look but Scar just held her hand out and raised an eyebrow. (Though it probably got lost under her bandana) He grudgingly handed her the bottle and scooped the coins off the counter before heading off to serve another patron.

Scar took a swig right out of the bottle and swiveled a little in her stool. She looked about, taking in the usual sights and sounds of a bar: a couple of men having an arm wrestling contest, what looked like a heated argument, and a game of cards that caught her attention. She noticed at the table, as odd as it might seem, another female pirate. They were a rare breed, most pirates thinking it bad luck to have a woman aboard.

Scar noticed the woman’s one eye flick her way so she pretended not to notice her. But notice she had. The woman had long beautiful auburn hair and the eye that wasn’t covered in a patch was a startling shade of green and held a familiar sparkle.

Scar shook her head. It had been so long since she had seen her friend, she wasn’t sure she even knew what Pelagia looked like… but from what she could remember… she had eyes and hair the same color. She sighed, taking another swig and knowing she was being ridiculous. She had long given up hope of finding her friend but somehow… this chick and her cocky attitude and loud mouth… She couldn’t help but keep an eye on her.

Scar had grown tired of watching the game from afar. She ended up taking her bottle of rum and kicking a rather thin pirate out of his barstool much closer to the table. She drank happily, watching the game with rapt attention. She paid especially close attention to the female pirate. She was pretty good. Her tell was subtle (but not unnoticeable), and she knew how and when to bet.

It was rather amusing to watch the men around her slowly losing their gold. In the case of the last man standing, he was also losing his temper. When he made his accusation, Scar narrowed her eyes. She knew that he was just blowing smoke. As a matter of fact, the man had been cheating earlier in the game.

The girl hadn’t cheated, Scar was pretty sure she would have seen it. She was good at noticing those things.... and even if she had seen her cheating, Scar would have kept her mouth shut.

Scar took another swig of her rum, setting the partially emptied bottle down on the counter. She moved slowly, trying not to draw attention as her hands slowly moved to the larger knives on her belt. If this turned into a fight, the whole bar would end up a part of it. She let her eyes scan her immediate surroundings, noting the three men closest to her. Odds were, they would all end up on the wrong side of her blade before this was done.

Scar watched tensely as things heated up between the female pirate and the blonde git. She was half tempted to get involved, to step in and help her out. Though honestly, the large part of her was pretty sure that she could handle herself.

Which was quickly confirmed as the woman dove over the table after the pirate. Scar kept a hand on her knives, watching closely as everyone seemed to back away from the fight. No one wanted to get involved, though she wasn’t sure if it was because they were afraid of who was fighting, or just too drunk to care anymore. Common sense told her it was the latter. Scar watched on just as the others did, but she had herself at the ready. If the blond tried to make a run for it, she would end this quick.

But fortunately, or unfortunately (depending on how you look at it) Scar didn’t get the chance. The fight was ended quickly and the new pirate to the brawl looked very pleased with his catch. The rest of the place seemed to relax immensely once they were on their way out. For just a moment Scar and the female pirate locked eyes and-

That signal. That was something the thieves had worked out back when she was a kid. It was a signal that the thieves used to recognize each other. Something only their little band knew. All of the dots in Scar’s head started to connect. There was no way, no chance that her fleeting thought could be reality, that this woman was actually Pela. Her eyes were a little manic as she picked up her bottle of rum and downed enough to make even her throat burn a little.

Finally she turned toward the door, taking her bottle with her and walking outside. Scar looked to the side of the building, to the alley that led to the back. She wasn’t sure if she should go back there or not. The two pirates were more than likely going to kill that man, which was fine by her. She had no business getting involved. But if that was indeed Pela then she couldn’t just walk away. She needed to find out for sure.

“Dammit.” She sighed, keeping one hand on a knife as she walked around to the back of the building. It wasn’t so much the female she was worried about. It was the big guy that had gone back there with her. The female had a lot of coin on her, and Scar wouldn’t have put it past him to try and take it from her.

{Scar's Post}
Scar had followed them back through the alley at a distance. She wanted to be able to back Peg up, but didn't necessarily want to give away that she was here. It was a good thing she had followed. Scar heard Peg cry out as she rounded the corner, looking over just in time to see them disappear into another alley "Dammit Peg." Scar cursed under her breath, taking off behind them.

Boot heels clicked against the cobblestones as she weaved through alleys. Sometimes she had to shove people out of the way, other times she was able to duck to the side or jump over a barrel or something of the like. Back in the day, her and peg had been the best runners of their little gang. The fastest, the slipperiest. Scar's time aboard the ship had only made her better. Her position having her climb rigging and ropes and scaling the masts. Swinging down to let the sails down in a hurry or clambering over a fallen support to untie the damn thing before the ship sunk.... They were all second nature to her, because free running was second nature.

Eventually the alley split and Scar took to the roof, catching sight of Peg as she disappeared between two buildings and inside another. She cut over to another roof, making it to the ground after and ending near the wharf herself. Gold eyes hastily scanned the crowd, trying and hoping to find a glimpse of her red hair anywhere... but no luck. She cursed under her breath, hoping that maybe if Peg got away from her, that she got away from the other pirates as well. Still, she pushed her way through the crowd for a few minutes, looking and scanning and hoping to find her friend. After a few minutes she gave up. Peg could have run off in any direction by now... she would have if she was smart.

But a cry of "Give it to me now!" caught her attention. She followed the sound toward the dock, eying the blond pirate a moment before he screamed and charged. She was still some ways down the dock, but it was hard to miss the way the man instantly fell back, hitting the ground with an audible thump. She just leaned against a crate, shaking her head as she watched Pela clean her dagger and start to relieve the pirate of his boots. Poor b*****d.

But a shadow caught her attention, the bigger pirate walking with slow sure steps as he drew his sword. Blood shot eyes were fixated on Pelagia and Scar reacted without a second thought. Feet moved quickly over the cobblestone, dagger in hand in one swift motion as she moved quietly towards the pirate. It didn't matter how big someone was. There were a few ways to kill a man that would guarantee his death if done properly. One of them, Scar had survived... and in some twisted way, it had become her favorite method of disposing off assholes in a very quiet way that still gave them plenty of time to have that 'Oh s**t, I'm dying.' moment.

It only took her a few moments to cross that distance, the pirate now right behind Peg and ready to strike. As soon she was close enough Scar reached up, grabbing a handful of greasy hair and yanking his head back. The dagger in her hand sliced through his throat like butter, the cut far too deep and complete for there to be any hope as he fell gurgling to the ground. The only downside: it was a bit messy.