Darklett Odyssey - When Even Your Savior Can't Give You Good News

Somehow, some way, Darklett Fletchpaw has survived another one. After having been flung out to sea and drifted away with the currents, he managed to /not/ drown, and actually find a bit of driftwood that, with some effort, he could half-climb on and float. He's exhausted... He swam all night and it's morning now, and unfortunately on a moonless night like the last one he couldn't quite tell which way was right. So, on a hunch, he took the wrong way, and he's lost at sea.

Unfortunately water is water and unless one can see the shoreline then there is really no way of quite identifying where a beast is going. Luckily Darklett has survived to get far enough out where ships are available, which could at least be some kind of savior. One is skimming out of the mist and darkness now, moving at a bit of an angle to Darklett's position like a stealthy predator in the night. Sirius isn't on the deck of his ship either until a call rings through the dim lighting. "There's something off the port side!" It's one of the look outs and soon the Captain ends up hurrying into view and pressing against the railing, peering off into the ocean with a squint. Nocturnal vision assists in this and he doesn't have to give any commands due to the fact that they are skimming in closer to the drifting object. Huh.

Well, there's always the sun, but Darklett didn't have the presence of mind to wait until the sun came up to start swimming. Of course maybe he'd have drowned by then. Of course maybe he has drowned and just washed up on this chunk of nailed-together boards. There are a lot of maybes here. He kind of drifts along with the waves and current, motionless for the most part.

The tom pushes up away from the railing more as he lifts his brows curiously. It is still misty due to the early morning and the water around the ship, but it is noted that it is not nighttime at all - as was stated in Darklett's pose to begin with. Sirius has definitely spotted the floating driftwood and the water-logged hare without much difficulty. "Ah. Well it's a bunny. Gone for a swim." He glances around at the crew that seems more curious about this now. A snort is offered. "Well. Let's fish him out then." He goes to move away from the railing. Whether or not Darklett is actually still alive seems of no concern to the sailor.

Darklett is unmoving... Apparently even the proximity to the ship and the talking on it isn't enough to rouse him from his slumber. Even in his sleep, though, he seems to cling to the shattered boards, perhaps from a derelict boat, like his life depended on them.

"Is 't dead?" someone asks, and Dante, the First Mate of the vessel, gives the speaker a look. "Who gives a damn, ey? Don't you all go crowdin' the rail, daft things. Rope!" A glance at Sirius. "I got this," he tells his commander, and in short order there's rope and he's climbing over the side, grasping some rigging, then dropping further with a short jump into the water. The rope is looped at the end, grasped by several sailors on the deck, and he swims toward Darklett. It's not very far. The hare is tugged off his driftwood and the rope is looped around him, under one arm, while Dante treads water and keeps Darklett's head above water. When it's secured he gives a shout for them to pull.

Darklett is surely awake after getting grabbed by the fox, and he nearly panics. Except he realizes instantly that this fox is actually saving his life. In which case he lets that happen. The fox doesn't necessarily /look/ like a cruel pirate, anyway, so he lets it go. He's groggy and sore and wouldn't have been able to put up much of a fight, as his uniform shirt as well as his belt containing his weapons were cast aside to help keep him afloat.

The feline Captain casually glances to his First Mate before nodding a little bit in a vague manner as if giving his permission to something that is already expected from one of the crew members. The rope was there ready and so the pirates just need to keep a hold of it so as not to lose the vulpine that goes in after the hare. It seems like Darklett isn't dead after all and the dark feline smiles somewhat. Ah, well that's better than dragging a carcass onto his deck. "Alright. Pull, then!" The sailors begin to dig their heels in and haul on the rope to drag the two out of the water.

"Heh," is Dante's only response to the hare's momentary thrashing. He keeps one arm wrapped around Darklett's middle and the other hand on the rope, until the pulling gets them to the side of the ship. He plants his feet on the side of it to help with hoisting the two of them on board, letting go when he can reach the railing, and shoving Darklett kind of roughly to get him over that barrier and onto the deck. The fox follows and shakes himself.

Darklett goes tumbling over the side of the railing onto the deck, thudding onto it with a grunt. He cringes -- it kind of hurt his back when he landed on the water at high speed, and being thrown to the hard wooden surface didn't help -- and rolls onto his side, then slowly onto his stomach, getting on paws and knees, then just knees, eyes scanning over the crew of the ship warily.

Sirius would have helped to haul Darklett more gently over the railing but... nah. The hare is allowed to be tossed onto the deck where he hits kind of hard and the feline hardly flinched at the sound this causes, thick-furred tail curling up in a slinky motion. They rescued the buck from the water, but they don't have to be gentle with him. ".. Good morning, bucko. Nice day for a swim?"

Dante shakes himself out, auburn fur getting spiked out in places. He stands back, leaving Darklett for the captain to deal with, and makes a gesture for the others to keep back - many of the sailors eager to see what was hauled aboard. The tod strips off his sodden shirt and wrings it out, leaning into the railing. "He's a bit of a prize, ey? Usually we don't drag 'um in alive."

Darklett makes his way to a standing position, slowly. He's not sure how to take this-- he can't tell what the intentions of the sailors are, but he's got a bad feeling, seeing as they're all vermin. "Thank you for... Rescuing me." He's alert as possible right now, turning around to face all off the sailors. "...How far offshore are we from Mossflower?"

"You're welcome." Sirius seems courteous enough, while leaning his hand into the railing and looking casually across to the fox. Nothing is stated but his gaze seems to hold something silent, before it wipes and he glances back to Darklett. Hm. "Mossflower?" His attention swivels around to the rear of the ship and both triangular ears perk rigidly from his ruffled hair. ".. well a fair bit I'd say." This answer seems almost purposefully vague, then he shrugs. "But we're not headed back for Mossflower."

Dante shakes himself again, then shakes out his shirt. It's damp instead of sopping, and he pulls it back on over his head - then takes a step toward Darklett, eyes a little narrowed in a curious manner. "Mossflower. Hah. That's a long way off, buck, how'd you end up out here then?"

"...Last I remember I was flying through the air. Osprey picked me up and... Threw me." Darklett shakes his head, trying to gather his thoughts. "Can't you take me back within swimming distance? There's a port at Halyard Village that you can use..." The buck looks between the Captain and apparent First Mate. "Are we /that/ far out?"

Both of the tom's brows lift thoughtfully as he brushes his thumb close to the corner of his lips, as if just taking in the hare in a pensive manner. He says nothing, grey eyes just locked onto Darklett like he might as well be gazing into him. Finally he gives another glance to Dante and then goes to move away from the officer. "Throw our guest overboard to swim it or bring him down below." This is the last thing he states to his First Mate for the moment.

"Don't have a preference?" Dante asks his boss, glancing at Sirius's face. He's never easy to read. His eyes then skim over to Darklett and he leans away from the railing, going to make a grab for the hare's arm. "You're a bit of a shorty, aren't you then? C'mon, fishbait." He pushes Darklett in front of him toward the entrance to the interior of the ship.

He still hasn't given up his name, or who he is. Darklett allows himself to be pushed towards the interior, looking behind him at the fox. "Thank you," he sounds grateful enough for not being overboard right now. "...So from where do you hail?"

They are going below deck and seemingly following the feline at the same time, who keeps his tail curled just above the floor and says nothing to either of the two while they travel. Every now and then he pauses to speak to a crewman in casual tones before continuing on. They are moving to a secluded room towards the aft of the ship.

"Me? Shores in the north," Dante responds. His grip on Darklett's arm is firm but not aggressive, other hand at his back, keeping him moving forward until they reach their destination and enter behind Sirius. The fox closes the door and lets the hare go, leaning into the shut door afterward. He rubs one hand into his hair, getting it spiked up from the moisture. "Same question. Mossflower? Whereabouts, then. .. and I'll be havin' your name, please and thanks."

"All around Mossflower, mostly on the coast. The name's Darklett." The hare silently congratulates himself on ditching the uniform tunic that would give him away. He steps in behind the cat and in front of the fox. He's keeping his cool so far, his eyes scanning his surroundings as he walks into the ship's interior.

For now the feline Captain allows the canine to do the talking, going over to his desk to settle there - as it seems as if they have moved to something of an office space. This is where Sirius sits, watching the fox casually, then waiting for an answer from the buck. His ruthlessness has yet to be tested, but for now the tom seems to be level-headed enough - at least the officer is not being gutted or decapitated or anything like that. When Darklett gives his name, the oriental clears his throat. "Well, Darklett, I hate to inform you that.. we're on a bit of a schedule. So we won't be taking you back to Mossflower." He states this plainly enough. "But we are headed to an island port where you will, perhaps, find a ship to take you home. Since we happen to have already hauled you out of the sea."

Dante's ears cock forward, brows up, watching Sirius. He is not the most predictable guy ever. The fox just nods once, though, and adds onto this, "And, 'course you'll be expected to earn your keep while you're with us." This is accompanied by a bit of a toothy smile.

"...Thank you," Darklett sounds pleasantly surprised. "I greatly appreciate it." Apparently these folks aren't so bad after all. He turns to Dante when he speaks, giving a shallow nod of his head. "Where I come from we don't believe in handouts. I'll do anything you need me to do."

A nod is offered from Sirius. "Good." He seems somewhat tired as he brushes his hands off on his pants, leaning back in his chair further while taking a deep breath. "If you pull your weight around the ship, I'm sure you'll survive the crew." That's less than inspiring perhaps, but the Captain doesn't seem exactly bothered. Then again it might be a promise that he'll keep him protected as long as he earns it.

Dante nods again to the Captain's decision. "I'll show him 'round then, aye?" he aims at the cat, attention more there than on Darklett for a moment, before he cuts his gaze at the hare. "You look pretty strong, buck. Don't figure you can climb well though, heh."

"Never climbed much, but I don't think it'd hurt to give it a try." Darklett turns to Dante... He's still kind of dripping wet, which makes it very hard for him to look serious. But he is. "How far out are we from the port?"

The tom rolls his shoulders as if to pop his upper back slightly and smirks somewhat. "It's nearly four days to the port, given nothing happens of any importance between here and there." There is a bit of a glint in the Captain's eyes as he says this. "We should reach the island in the evening."

"Long time for a first-time sailor," Dante points out in a gruff tone, smirking as well. "Anyway. He's Sirius, but you call him Captain. I'm Dante, First Mate. Just don't mouth off or pick fights, and you'll do well 'nough until we can ditch you on land."

"Got it." Darklett looks a little oddly at the captain at that look he gets, but marks it up to unfamiliarity with the cat. "Wouldn't be very good of me to pick fights considering you're doing me a favor," he comments. "What's the purpose of this ship, anyway?"

"We've got cargo aboard." Sirius says with a completely straight face. "It's got a destination of its own." Ah ha.. Well, take it or leave it.

"Ey, you never know 'bout some guys. Fighting's just in 'um." Dante shrugs, and nods in Sirius's direction. "What he said. How 'bout we leave the Captain to it, ey? I'll show you the what's-what and all."

Darklett nods. "Yeah. Thanks again, Captain." He's rather subdued, given his normal personality, not that they'd know that. He follows Dante out.

The Captain nods, lacing his fingers together to settle over top of his stomach while watching the hare and his second in command. "You're welcome.." Sirius states, allowing them to leave for their tour of sorts. His tail is flicking lazily at the end where it hangs off the side of his seat.

Dante tugs the door open and heads outside, with a glance back over his shoulder to make sure the hare is following.

Darklett is following, of course. "I'm not normally this quiet, but... You don't know my luck. I figured getting pulled on board a ship I'd be manacled and thrown into the galleys by now." He chuckles, trying to at least stay positive! Stay positive, Dark!

"Figure it'd be better than drowning though, right?" Dante quips, sounding kind of amused as he heads back toward the steps leading to the deck. He gestures off to one side where a combination of hammocks and tiny bunks makes up an area for sleeping. "You'll be finding a spot in there when you've got the chance to sleep."

Darklett grins, noncommittally. "Oh, I don't know. I'm sure there're some sailors out there who make hares like me wish they'd drowned instead of been captured." He glances into the room, kind of counting his blessings as he goes along.

"Well we're not all that bad.. by comparison." Oh, so amused, is the fox. His tail flicks back and forth as he ascends the narrow stairway back to the deck. "Careful of those steps, they're steep. Slippery. You're about to have the worst blisters of your life, mate - nothing like wet rope to mess your hands up."