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Corilian
While the great metal cargo bay door lowered on the Helium filled
airship called the Mary-Ellen Windchester, two members of the crew; a female sentry
named Blaze and her partner a deck hand trained in close range hand to hand
combat named Seth looked out onto the small floating continent of Corilian. In
the growing gap of the opening cargo bay door they looked out onto the Corilian
Skydocks and the little town of Nain surrounding it. This island was barren of
trees or tall structures; the highest points on the island were the masts of
the ships docked around them.
Seth listened to the far off shouts of their Captain above
deck as he skillfully maneuvered the ship into its’ space in the harbour. He
inhaled the air happily as he looked out to Nain. Growing up in the Standing
Land city of Isherra surrounded by too many people and buildings Seth was much
more at home in the small community of their ship, however he still found
himself longing for life on land. Nain offered the balance he was looking for.
“If you weren’t on the Windchester, you would settle here.
Wouldn’t you?”
Seth turned to the woman on his right who had remained
silent watching the pier grown closer until now. By human standards Seth is
considered an attractive man; he’s tall with brown hair that falls into his
eyes when he hasn’t combed it to the side. He has round blue eyes, and a strong,
slim build ideal for a quick hand to hand fighter with the mind of a scholar.
Because he is usually considered attractive, and has a slim build Seth is often
underestimated, unlike his partner Blayze; it is hard to underestimate her. Slim, fit, recklessly impulsive and intense in
every sense. Blayze is first to a fight and goes by the idea that you should
act first and ask questions later. She stands a few inches taller than Seth,
with dark curly hair, narrow green eyes, a body full of curves that draw the
eyes of strangers and intense pale features from the elven half of her
bloodline.
She didn’t look at Seth when she spoke but looked beyond the
Skyport to the village as well.
“Without hesitating.” He sighed. “Wouldn’t you?”
She shook her head, loosening a few curls from behind her
slightly pointed ears. “Life on land isn’t nearly exciting enough for me.” With
her face framed by dark curls Blayze smiled sweetly at Seth, but her eyes held
a hint of apology.
The slow cargo bay door was nearly finished opening, but the
ship hadn’t completed docking yet. They could still see a 4 meter gap between
the hanger door and the end of the dock. Sensing a change in the cargo hold
Seth looked to Blayze and saw her bending at the knees as another smile spread
across her face. Her narrow green eyes shined intensely as she looked out at
the expanse of sky between the ship and the dock.
“Don’t even think about it.” Seth cautioned, but Blayze had
already lunged forward and was racing across the lowering hangar door as he
finished his sentence. Too late, he
thought to himself watching as she propelled herself from the ship into the air
and safely into the middle of the wooden dock.
When she landed Blayze stood gracefully, turned and smiled
back at Seth. He stood still, arms crossed over his chest watching her from the
shadows of the ship. When she landed Seth relaxed and yelled for her, “We’re
supposed to help unload the cargo!”
Blayze waived her hand in a noncommittal fashion, “You and
the old man can handle it without me!” She called back. “I’m going to help
tether the ship.”
Seth shook his head jokingly as Blayze jumped away as if she
had been startled and ran out of sight calling to the men and woman on deck for
an anchoring line.
“Did she mean me?” A harsh voice asked from behind Seth
surprising the younger man slightly. He jumped too and immediately understood
why Blayze had disappeared so quickly. Izek, the ship’s Quarter Master and
wizard had a personal distaste for Blayze and had appeared in time to hear her
call him “old”. In the past her offhand references to his advanced age had
prompted him to threaten her with eternal life as a swine. She enjoyed teasing
him, but she knew as the man in charge of discipline on board the Windchester
that he had the ability to make her life miserable at the snap of a finger, and
she believed he would do it.
Seth smiled innocently at Izek, “Of course not.” But he knew
the wizard wasn’t convinced, his hulking figure stood taller in response to her
comment. He was a tall, strong man with shortly cropped black hair, a pale skin
and light blue eyes; paired with his magic abilities and title, Izek was a very
intimidating man. It was odd to Seth that Izek was so bothered by being called
old when everything about him; his black hair, 6’-4” stature, broad shoulders
and lean physique emanated “intimidating youth”.
Rolling his shoulders back Izek climbed the ladder to the
deck of the ship, leaving Seth alone in the cargo hold once more. He watched
the wizard’s retreat thinking that it was his own fault Blayze called him old. During
their first term aboard the Mary-Ellen Windchester Blayze had curiously
confronted the superior officer with the question of his age. Foolishly he had
admitted that it had been so long that he had stopped keeping track.
Unfortunately for the wizard Blayze had found that
information incredibly exciting and had run around the lower floors of the ship
calling Izek a senile old man- a comment that had resulted with her having a prehensile
tail for a day; another short lived mistake by the wizard in an attempt to punish
his tormentor.
Above deck the ship’s bell rang twice signalling to the crew
that the ship was safely docked in the harbour. Seth secured the gangway onto
the pier and started hauling cargo off the ship crate by crate. He wasn’t the
fastest crew member to unload the ship, but the Windchester had a limited crew
and most crew members did multiple jobs and so most of the crew were currently busy
on deck.
On his third trip off the ship Seth deposited a crate on a
merchant cart waiting patiently nearby
and took a moment to look around for Blayze. He found her standing tall,
balancing one legged on a fence post at the end of the pier. The wind curled
around the end of the island and whipped her curly hair around her head.
“Are you crazy?” He called to her.
She shook her head and replied without opening her eyes. “Not
today.”
“Get down and do your job.” Seth turned on the dock back to
the ship as Izek crossed the gangway behind a load of fruit he was levitating
before him. Izek stayed on the dock to talk to the man receiving the shipment
as they waited for the Captain to arrive and deliver the papers to the
merchants.
Seth ignored the men talking business and ran back to start
unloading some of the lumber when Blayze ran past. Ignoring the gangway she
leapt from the dock, into the ship’s cargo hold. She landed gracefully just
like she had earlier and spun on her heels to show Seth another bright smile.
“Blayze!” Seth scolded. She hadn’t touched him as she ran
passed, but he felt like he could lose his footing at any moment. She tossed
her head back and laughed at his terrified expression.
“I’ll never get tired of that look.” She teased, looking at
the remaining lumber, fruit, saplings and trunks that had to be unloaded. Izek
and Seth hadn’t unloaded as much as she had expected without her.
On deck the Navigator, a fragile looking old man with a
thunderstorm for hair named Dax peered over the railing and yelled down to Seth
and Blayze. “Make sure my boxes make it to shore safely won’t you?”
Although she couldn’t see him from inside the ship Blayze
looked back at the cargo and recognized the trunks as Dax’s personal belongings.
Being mindful of the fragile luggage she picked up the nearest box. It was
heavy, and she heard glass jars rattle around as she tried to lift it. If she
had to she could lift it, but if whatever was inside was as delicate as she
thought, it would be safer if Seth helped her carry it or if Izek levitated it
off the ship. She picked up the smaller of the two boxes and carefully carried
it to shore. She dropped it a little harder than she had meant to and heard the
same rattling noise of glass hitting glass and wondered what Dax might have
hidden in these trunks.
“Seth, I’m going to need help with the other trunk. Feels
like he’s dealing in rocks again!” Seth nodded and walked the gangway into the
ship.
Knowing that Blayze would ignore the easier and safer route on board Seth
kept his back to her, attempting not to encourage her careless behaviour. His
back was turned as if he was ignoring her, but his ears listened to her every
movement. He heard the soft leather soles of her boots scrape against the wood
of the dock as she took her running start. He heard her small intake of breath
as she jumped from the dock followed by silence as she soared through the air
and then heard the thump as her feet landed on the wooden floor of the ship.
But instead of her usual soft and tidy landing, he heard a squeak and
scrambling footsteps follow the initial thump.
He spun quickly to see Blayze struggling to keep her
footing. She was balanced precariously on the edge of the ship in danger of
falling backward into the nothingness of the sky. Seth threw a hand out to her
and pulled her away from the edge of the ship. His legs, arms and hands shook
fiercely as he looked at her. He held on to her arm to steady himself a little,
but more to confirm that she was actually safe and standing in front of him. He
looked up at her and noticed with a knot in his stomach that she was smiling,
He did not return her smile. He was looking at her very seriously. His glare
was so intense that she was almost taken aback and would have lost her footing
again in Seth hadn’t still been holding on to her.
“Seth? Are you alright?”
“Seth? Are you alright?”
“Are you crazy?” He yelled. He focused on her eyes and she
stared back defiantly.
“No, I’m not. What’s wrong with you?” Blayze tried to pull
her arm free of Seth’s grasp but he was
holding on too tightly. His grip was
strong, but it wasn’t hurting her.
“You almost died!” His grip held fast.
“Yeah, I noticed. But I didn’t.”
“How are you so calm? If I hadn’t caught you and pulled you
into the ship you would have fallen overboard and been lost forever! This isn’t
like a ship over water Blayze. When you fall overboard here we can’t save you!”
“But you caught me and I’m fine.” She replied. This was not
the answer Seth was looking for. Her calm remarks in response to nearly falling
to her death were causing Seth to get increasingly agitated.
“Seth you caught
me. What’s the problem?”
“You could have died!”
“So?”
Seth let go of Blayze’s arm in his surprise. “You really don’t
see a problem here? You can be so frustrating!” He started pacing the width of
the cargo hold, running his hands nervously through his messy brown hair. “I
hate watching you run around like your life doesn’t mean anything to you.”
“That’s ridiculous.” She put a hand on her hip. “I care for
my life.” Her eyes were soft and sincere but Seth wasn’t looking at her. Her
attitude was frustrating him. On the dock Izek had turned to watch the
altercation. He seemed slightly amused by it, as if he were watching children
fight over a game board instead of two adult fighting about reckless behaviour.
“You don’t act like it.! You do these things, tempting fate
with no care whether you live or die.” Seth’s face was red with anger.
“And?”
Seth stopped his pacing to stare at Blayze. Watching her
vacant expression he realized she hadn’t understood anything he had said to
her. He snarled and marched off the ship leaving Blayze alone in the shadows of
the cargo hold thoroughly confused.
[To be continued.]
Did anything stand out to you positively or negatively?
-Brando
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