Kiana looks around, and then at Mr. Plugg. "No killing other crew. Scrounge our equipment. Those be the rules per Mr. Plugg."
Kiana eyes the 'Recruiters', staring each in the eye for a few seconds, and picks the one that looks the most nervous to meet her gaze.
As she walks past the one she thinks is the most nervous when she looks at him, she sucker punch flurry's the SOB.
"I guess I'll start scrounging my equipment from you, since you're the lousy scag what stole my old equipment." She tells the man.
Malyoxa's ribs hurt, but, worse, she exposed a fundamental weakness to these pirates. For all her dark allure, she wasn't strong enough. She would have to rethink her approaches. The strix pretty much shattered whatever minor kinship they could share, she was loud and abrasive. Yet, such a person wasn't without their uses. These fools' attention would be fixed to the winged wonder for the most part. She smiled internally through the pain.
So Plugg was lying, big surprise. She would have to find her effects at some point, but not until something changed in her favor. Then she saw the strix pick a fight. Yes, she was useful. The drow approached one of the pirates.
"Give me a dagger or I'll rip your throat out," she growled, full of malice and rage.
Satisfied, Malyoxa heads below and finds a dark corner of the ship to claim. She slides the dagger into her waistband and returns to learn the "art" of swabbing.
Sure, these guys were creepers. Sure, the chances of death were high. Sure, it was tough work, but Yuki can't help but smile throughout the first day as she's finally back working as a pirate. Besides, she had died once before so it held no special dread for her any longer. In some respects, being alive could be a lot worse.
During Magpie's keelhauling, she looks a little uncomfortable. Clearly, despite her claims of experience, she hasn't witnessed such cruel and unusual punishment very often.
When it was finished, she looks at the other crew members, trying to gauge which ones also felt uncomfortable, and which ones seemed to have enjoyed it.
Malyoxa watched the keelhauling with disinterest. Making spectacles of death were something the drow were used to doing, something that had no appeal to her. A quick death had far more merit than this show, for a multitude of reasons. Mr. Plugg was no better than the drow she swore to kill. One day, he would meet his end, Calistria willing, by her hand.
Kiana leans in to the one she'd pummeled. "You will find my equipment, and return it. Or I will make it my mission on this boat to make your life hell." She whispers to him, her voice cold.
Stepping back, she nods at Plugg. "You said scrounge, you didn't say how."
---------------------------
Kiana shows no emotion as the man is kealhauled. To her, it's a waste of time. The man should just be killed and tossed over board, or abandoned on an uninhabited island as punishment. Making it some sort of spectacle is distasteful. Then again, another human dead is always a good thing.
Malyoxa takes note of the woman repulsed by the execution. Another ally or, at the very least, another set of ears would be helpful. The drow takes to her duties and keeps an eye out for an opportunity to talk to her.
Tirmariah smiles at the strix's and the drow's creative scrounging. This should be interesting.
Tiah watches the keelhauling stoicly. The fool... no need to enjoy such gruesome business. She notes with some interest that one of the spectators seems repulsed by the display. I wonder who that is.
Yuki also makes plans to speak to the woman who seemed be uncomfortable with the display when she gets a chance.
Once the keelhauling is over, the young woman looks around for a friendlyish looking male to ask questions of.
Malyoxa proves her ineptitude at such a menial task.
Although tired from a long day of scrubbing, at least Yuki does a passable job.
Worn out from the day's work, Malyoxa slinks off to her dark corner and goes to sleep. Perhaps tomorrow would be better, perhaps not. It really didn't matter because she would survive either way. It was lonely in the dark, but hadn't she always felt that way?
Despite feeling worn down by a hard day of work, Yuki decides to start stacking the deck in her favor by getting to know the other pirates. She starts with Rosie Cusswell since Sandara wasn't around and the other newbies were playing cards and/or scowling.
"Do you mind if I have a seat?" She asks politely as she finds an open spot to rest near Rosie, "Wow, this ship is run a little weird, huh? What do you think of it? I wish I knew who to talk to get my stuff back. They have a compass of mine that has a lot of personal value! My name is Yuki by the way. I think that sensible people should stick together, right?"
Kiana takes wing and stretches her muscles, swooping around the ship and going up and up in a spiral that brings her screaming down toward the ship, landing lightly on the crow's nest. She sits on the edge, balancing easily, and looks at whoever is there. "Looks like we're going to be on watch, so I figured I'd stop in and introduce myself. I'm Kiana. Don't cross me, and we won't have any issues. Not sure what I'm supposed to do other than caw like a crow if there's something amiss. Someone's got my pack and gear. Need my bow to shoot things. Unless someone wants me to throw pegs at enemies."
"I am a Stryx, Human. I have given you my name, what do you wish me to call you?" She asks, rather primly. "But yes, I have done such duties in the past. Being able to fire on high gives one an advantage, I can outrange any normal archer."
Kiana softens just a bit as she realizes that the pirate is just a youngster. Even human youngsters shouldn't be abused. "I have no doubt you are quite nimble and climb the ropes well. I am not so nimble and do not climb ropes, they can be problematic." She flexes her wings to make a point of how they'd tangle easily. "But I did not ask what others call you, I asked what you wished to be called. If you wish to be called Ratline, I will call you Ratline. If you have a true name you wish to be called, I will call you that."
Kiana nods. "Ral it is, then. What weapons do you know how to use? How good is your eyesight?" She asks. "I can use my fists or talons or elbows, or knees or whatever. However, I prefer a bow. My eyesight is pretty good at a distance, sometimes I miss things up close though."
Kiana shakes her head. "Here, grip it like this..." She pulls a belaying pin from the mast, and shows him the proper grip. "If you hold it like that, when you shove it in someone's guts, it'll work the first time. But then you'll get blood on your hand and the handle, and the next stab your hand will slip and you'll slice your fingers open. You can't fight with sliced open fingers."
"Wha-da?" Yuki mutters, having nearly fallen asleep on deck after her short, yet informative conversation with Rosie. She blinks a few times, then attempts to stand.
Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap. Maybe I really am a curse to any ship I sail on!
Kiana pats Ral's arm as a way of thanks as she regains her balance. She begins to scan the seas. "That was not something good, I am sure. How does that moron Plugg expect me to take out things attacking the ship without my bow. Or my other equipment." She growls in irritation.
Malyoxa is reasonably irritated at the sudden jolt. "Doesn't this captain know how to pilot a ship..."
She collects herself and the dagger she extorted from the crewmember and heads back on deck.
"What was that!?" Tiah asks, rushing to the deck to investigate.
Malyoxa returns to her dark corner. Seeing it occupied, she did what she had to do.
"Move or I slit your throat," she growls.
Kiana retrieves one of the nets used for hammocks for the crew, taking one that's hanging up if she has to (if she has to take one, she'll ask around to get one of the recruiter's hammocks). Then she'll fly up and string it up between either the Fore-mast and Main-Mast, or the Main-Mast and Mizzin-Mast, whichever has the most open space. Once tied up, she'll tell the boy... "Wasn't given a watch yet, I'll assume I have the early watch. Wake me when you go off watch, Ral. A tug on the rope will do it." Then she curls up in her hammock and goes to sleep, rocked to sleep by the swaying of the ship to and fro.
Despite being worried that her presence was eventually going to sink the ship, Yuki is still dead tired and asks her hopefully new pal Rosie for help finding a bunk, asking to share hers for the night if necessary.
"Thanks Rosie! I really owe you one!" Yuki manages to get out before falling fast asleep.
Malyoxa shrugs and walks away. That would be a mercy.
This wasn't the first uncomfortable place she found herself, she doubted it would be the last. So, she reclined against a wall and let her head sink down.
"Hey, gals, would you mind if I took one of the heavy maces? I'm feeling a bit undefended, you know?" Yuki asks the others.
To aid in the clean up, the oracle casts Create Water, Mending, Guidance, and Mage Hand as necessary.
Malyoxa nods at Yuki, somewhat grateful for having someone to talk to. "By all means."
She slips on a facemask and uses Prestidigitation liberally.
Kiana rolls up her sleeves and pants legs. She ties a cloth around her face, and gets to work. "I've done worse than this. Try burying 200 rotten corpses by yourself. When you're 11 years old. All it takes is work." She comments dryly. She just picks up the nastiest of things by hand and piles the bigger stuff in one spot, while cleaning as needed. "Take the mace, I don't use melee weapons. Or armor for that matter."
"What about the other stuff?" Yuki inquires, looking through the inventory of found objects, "I bet we could buy or trade for a lot of the stuff they took from almost that handaxe alone! At least I could, I tend to travel light. Because I'm broke."
"Our belongings are on this ship, I believe," Malyoxa says. "If we have to barter for them, then so be it."
She waves her hand, rubbing out a stubborn stain. "Poverty isn't always a bad thing, Yuki, was it? A little hardship allows you to appreciate your windfalls."
Tirmariah grabs a facemask and the broom and gets to work.
"Yeah, take it. I prefer a cutlass or something light and pointy."
She listens Kiana's anecdote with a hint of sadness, but says nothing.
Kiana shrugs. "If we can barter our stuff back, that will keep me from having to gut some people. I'm ok with that for now." She picks up what looks like a half-rotted rat and tosses it into a sack. "Well, now we know why Scourge was in a bad mood, he found out his sister was rotting down here in the muck."