07-23-2017, 12:20 AM
The ship before them was a work of art. Larger than any whale and built with about as much infrastructure in mind, the vessel's magnificent steel framing gleamed in the sun, all seventy meters of the polished ribs put on stark display. Thousands of iron rivets and thick welded sheets of metal held the behemoth together, the two passenger decks and the bowels of the ship layered one on top of the other like a tiered wedding cake. Funnels sat on the top like the thick, round trunks of trees, dense clouds of gray smoke phoomph-ing out at odd intervals. The three masts between the bow and stern had flags streaming from them, but their vibrant blue-and-green patterning held almost no meaning for Jade.
A crowd of people milled about by the walkway leading up to the ship’s berth, a sharp-dressed man waiting to accept the tickets of boarding passengers. He wore a glossy black-billed cap and a white neckerchief tucked beneath the collar of his navy blue uniform, brass buttons glinting like a bunch of golden coins down his front. His teeth were a bleached white when he smiled at Jade’s approach, accepting her boarding ticket with a nod and a curt, “Welcome aboard Le Dauphin, miss.”
If it was even possible, the ship was even more exceedingly impressive up close, the chemical smell of fresh paint and shaved pine wafting along the airy promenade deck that curved along its sides. From the bridge at the fore of the ship down to the main deck they had just stumbled onto, precisely amidships, dozens of glass window panes glinted in the sunlight, much larger than the round portholes Jade had expected. Several of the private verandas attached to the ship’s staterooms were already occupied by traveling aristocrats, quiet voices and laughter filtering over the hum of activity from the harbor below.
Squaring her shoulders and placing her hands on her hips, Jade turned to look back toward the isle of Costa del Sol, peering down at the waters sloshing up against the boat’s sides in the hopes of seeing a few fish slipping under the boat. To be honest, the idea of being on a ship such as this was a little daunting to her. Unlike sailing across the stars to new universes and to escape certain destruction at the hands of a time-traveling demon, she didn’t have complete control over the direction this voyage might take.
It was scary. Jade didn’t want to place her life in someone else’s hands like that, but it seemed she didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. Although she did not know for certain that this ship could deliver her to Rapture, she figured that simply making her way out to sea was a good enough place to start. Coordinates could wait for later.
A cool breeze stirred up from the east tousled her hair and skirts; she could hear Rebecca already skipping off down the deck, laughter tinkling like a bell as she called out for Becquerel to follow. Jade bit her lip, chewing contemplatively. They really should just go inside and relax for a while after being in the sun all day, what with heatstroke being a thing and all—
Oh, who was she kidding? They hadn’t brought any luggage aboard, so there wasn’t much sense in going to check on their cabin just yet! If worse came to worst, she could just find something to drink in one of the ship’s many refreshment centers, just like the travel agent lady at that kiosk in the market had told them; this boat sure had a lot of neat stuff on it! It should have been easy to toss aside her cares when things were already so thoroughly taken care of!
Whirling around to chase after the runaway Little Sister, Jade let out a small “oof!” when she crashed straight into a parasol-toting, veiled woman, nearly bowling the lady right over the railing and down the side of the ship. Whoops! Her hands flew out to steady the woman by her arm, a few embarrassed apologies already fluttering in the air between them. “Sorry, sorry! I really should’ve looked to see where I was going, huh? And now your pretty dress is all rumpled, gosh. That’s just not good at all! I am sooo sorry!”
Instead of answering, the woman’s covered head tilted to the side, almost questioning. The veil was white and made of a feathery, gossamer material, perfectly made to conceal every bit of the wearer’s features, but try as she might, Jade just couldn’t see through it. The thing was impenetrable!
Still very flustered by their initial collision and perturbed by the woman’s lack of response, Jade continued to babble on. “Uhm, are you okay? I didn’t hurt you by accident or anything, right? Sometimes I’m not very careful about my strength and I— whoa.”
The woman’s head twisted 'round at an almost complete 270 degrees, revealing a hooked beak and two dark, unblinking eyes. She had a pale face, the area of her brow dipping inward so that it formed almost into a heart shape, with fine, dewdrop-shaped speckles of silver scattered across the soft brown feathers of her cheeks, crown and neck. It was fairly obvious that she was not a merrymaker wearing a mask.
Jade’s lips parted in an ‘o’ of surprise. So the veil hadn’t been a veil at all, but the back of her head!
“Cool,” Jade breathed. The owlish woman’s head tilted.
“Who?” she asked, beak parting so the word could escape. Her voice was eerie and soft, exactly as one might imagine an owl’s lonely coo might sound while tromping through a forest on a foggy, cold autumn night. The parasol twirled a bit over her head, tiny trickles of sunlight filtering through the pretty lace and over her feathers. She was almost as beautiful as a painting!
The dog-eared girl blinked, brow furrowing in confusion. Who, indeed? Was the nice lady asking for her name? Deciding to go with the flow, Jade stuck out her hand all in a rush and grinned a wide, buck-toothed grin. “Hi, my name’s Jade Harley. It’s very... nice to meet you!”
There was a worrying moment where Jade thought maybe the lady wouldn’t return the gesture (maybe handshaking just wasn’t a thing owl people did?), but her worries were put aside as a hand gently clasped her own. Light grey talons jutted out from the woman’s fingers, encircling the Witch of Space’s wrist in a delicate hold.
After one quick shake, Jade extracted her hand (being especially careful to mind the talons) and smiled. “You wouldn’t happen to have a name, too, now would you?” she joked, mouth again splitting into a friendly grin.
Large black eyes stared back at her, watchfully and seemingly penetrating into the girl’s very soul. Jade’s smiled wavered, one corner of her mouth inching downward. “Um…?”
“Doggy Lady! Jaaaaade!” The pattering of feet over the planks and Rebecca’s shouting drew Jade’s attention away from her conversation partner. She was almost thankful for the diversion from those blank, void-colored eyes. It was even worse than staring into the pitch blackness of space, really!
Turning to see Rebecca’s panting, slightly-winded face and Bec trailing not too far behind, Jade’s brows drew together in concern, immediately sensing the worst. Steeling herself, Jade chose her next words veeeery carefully. “What is it, ‘Becca? What’s wrong?”
A crowd of people milled about by the walkway leading up to the ship’s berth, a sharp-dressed man waiting to accept the tickets of boarding passengers. He wore a glossy black-billed cap and a white neckerchief tucked beneath the collar of his navy blue uniform, brass buttons glinting like a bunch of golden coins down his front. His teeth were a bleached white when he smiled at Jade’s approach, accepting her boarding ticket with a nod and a curt, “Welcome aboard Le Dauphin, miss.”
If it was even possible, the ship was even more exceedingly impressive up close, the chemical smell of fresh paint and shaved pine wafting along the airy promenade deck that curved along its sides. From the bridge at the fore of the ship down to the main deck they had just stumbled onto, precisely amidships, dozens of glass window panes glinted in the sunlight, much larger than the round portholes Jade had expected. Several of the private verandas attached to the ship’s staterooms were already occupied by traveling aristocrats, quiet voices and laughter filtering over the hum of activity from the harbor below.
Squaring her shoulders and placing her hands on her hips, Jade turned to look back toward the isle of Costa del Sol, peering down at the waters sloshing up against the boat’s sides in the hopes of seeing a few fish slipping under the boat. To be honest, the idea of being on a ship such as this was a little daunting to her. Unlike sailing across the stars to new universes and to escape certain destruction at the hands of a time-traveling demon, she didn’t have complete control over the direction this voyage might take.
It was scary. Jade didn’t want to place her life in someone else’s hands like that, but it seemed she didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. Although she did not know for certain that this ship could deliver her to Rapture, she figured that simply making her way out to sea was a good enough place to start. Coordinates could wait for later.
A cool breeze stirred up from the east tousled her hair and skirts; she could hear Rebecca already skipping off down the deck, laughter tinkling like a bell as she called out for Becquerel to follow. Jade bit her lip, chewing contemplatively. They really should just go inside and relax for a while after being in the sun all day, what with heatstroke being a thing and all—
Oh, who was she kidding? They hadn’t brought any luggage aboard, so there wasn’t much sense in going to check on their cabin just yet! If worse came to worst, she could just find something to drink in one of the ship’s many refreshment centers, just like the travel agent lady at that kiosk in the market had told them; this boat sure had a lot of neat stuff on it! It should have been easy to toss aside her cares when things were already so thoroughly taken care of!
Whirling around to chase after the runaway Little Sister, Jade let out a small “oof!” when she crashed straight into a parasol-toting, veiled woman, nearly bowling the lady right over the railing and down the side of the ship. Whoops! Her hands flew out to steady the woman by her arm, a few embarrassed apologies already fluttering in the air between them. “Sorry, sorry! I really should’ve looked to see where I was going, huh? And now your pretty dress is all rumpled, gosh. That’s just not good at all! I am sooo sorry!”
Instead of answering, the woman’s covered head tilted to the side, almost questioning. The veil was white and made of a feathery, gossamer material, perfectly made to conceal every bit of the wearer’s features, but try as she might, Jade just couldn’t see through it. The thing was impenetrable!
Still very flustered by their initial collision and perturbed by the woman’s lack of response, Jade continued to babble on. “Uhm, are you okay? I didn’t hurt you by accident or anything, right? Sometimes I’m not very careful about my strength and I— whoa.”
The woman’s head twisted 'round at an almost complete 270 degrees, revealing a hooked beak and two dark, unblinking eyes. She had a pale face, the area of her brow dipping inward so that it formed almost into a heart shape, with fine, dewdrop-shaped speckles of silver scattered across the soft brown feathers of her cheeks, crown and neck. It was fairly obvious that she was not a merrymaker wearing a mask.
Jade’s lips parted in an ‘o’ of surprise. So the veil hadn’t been a veil at all, but the back of her head!
“Cool,” Jade breathed. The owlish woman’s head tilted.
“Who?” she asked, beak parting so the word could escape. Her voice was eerie and soft, exactly as one might imagine an owl’s lonely coo might sound while tromping through a forest on a foggy, cold autumn night. The parasol twirled a bit over her head, tiny trickles of sunlight filtering through the pretty lace and over her feathers. She was almost as beautiful as a painting!
The dog-eared girl blinked, brow furrowing in confusion. Who, indeed? Was the nice lady asking for her name? Deciding to go with the flow, Jade stuck out her hand all in a rush and grinned a wide, buck-toothed grin. “Hi, my name’s Jade Harley. It’s very... nice to meet you!”
There was a worrying moment where Jade thought maybe the lady wouldn’t return the gesture (maybe handshaking just wasn’t a thing owl people did?), but her worries were put aside as a hand gently clasped her own. Light grey talons jutted out from the woman’s fingers, encircling the Witch of Space’s wrist in a delicate hold.
After one quick shake, Jade extracted her hand (being especially careful to mind the talons) and smiled. “You wouldn’t happen to have a name, too, now would you?” she joked, mouth again splitting into a friendly grin.
Large black eyes stared back at her, watchfully and seemingly penetrating into the girl’s very soul. Jade’s smiled wavered, one corner of her mouth inching downward. “Um…?”
“Doggy Lady! Jaaaaade!” The pattering of feet over the planks and Rebecca’s shouting drew Jade’s attention away from her conversation partner. She was almost thankful for the diversion from those blank, void-colored eyes. It was even worse than staring into the pitch blackness of space, really!
Turning to see Rebecca’s panting, slightly-winded face and Bec trailing not too far behind, Jade’s brows drew together in concern, immediately sensing the worst. Steeling herself, Jade chose her next words veeeery carefully. “What is it, ‘Becca? What’s wrong?”
New to the Omniverse? Don't be afraid to PM me for assistance!
Gamzee Makara Wrote:S’aight. After all, dogs have a tendency to motherfuckin’ bite.