Franz turned at the sound of Angie's voice, and saw her rowing towards him. He began to swim towards the boat as well, so she wouldn't have to row as far, and as he approached the boat, suddenly a man sprang up from beneath the boat and grabbed onto the ledge of the boat.

Franz began frantically swimming towards the boat then, in an effort to protect Angie. He could see the man had no shirt on, and the man seemed to be making no attempt to climb into the boat. Diving beneath the water, intending to take the man by surprise, as he got closer, he realized the man was quite nude, and this puzzled him. He had been intending to drag the man down beneath the water, but seeing no weapons either, he changed his mind and came up beside the boat.

He climbed aboard as if it were nothing, then told the man, "Ablegen...Take off your belt and lay it in the boat, then I'll pull you up."

"Angie, das kann...you may want to turn your head, he's got nothing on. Do we have a blanket or something he can cover himself with?"

He gave Angie his evil eye, version 1. He was much too tired to use his lungs, which were already being exerted by trying to force in as much oxygen as allowed. A dive that deep down without air had almost made him lose his head, and now his needy cells craved energy or would die due to lack of air. The fleeing man swam towards him. He could feel no color rising to his cheeks, and he was not embarassed by his form revealed in all of it's naked glory.

The one hand that had floated lfielessly alongside his body grasped at the closing of his belt, years of use guiding his fingers as he swiftly took off his material bag and slung it into the boat, his tired arm flinging water droplets with him into the boat. before turning the palm slowly upwards, waiting for the helping hand he had been promised. His eyes, which had dully looking at everything and nothing, taking it all on but without any focus, turned away from his hand slightly. That hand had done more than he had ever wanted to do with it.

Angie nodded at Franz and put down her oar. She slowly turned her back towards the man in the water and began rummaging through the bag she had just rescued from the island, "I think there's a small something or other in this bag if I remember proper from last time I was in it. Guess there's somethin fragile wrapped in clothe, it may work to cover naked guy here."

Angie pulled a wad of cloth from the sack and began slowly unwrapping it, revealing a small piece of stone wrapped in raggedy pants.

Angie's face contorted with confusion at the smooth fairly ordinary looking stone that had been wrapped so carefully in the bag. Shrugging her shoulders Angie put the stone in her side pouch, figuring maybe Pearl would know something about it, and then handed the pants to Franz, "They're kinda beat up but I guess its better en nuttin."

Once the man had slung his belt into the boat, Franz reached out and grasped his upturned palm, heaving the man into the boat with them. Taking the pant's Angie offered, he thanked her for them, then tossed them into the man's lap. He then took up the oars and began to row them back to the ship.

He would wait until they were on board, then Pearl could decide if she wanted this man on board her ship or not. Franz didn't care one way or the other, as long as the man made no attempts to harm any of the women on board, or to cross any of them.

The glimpse he'd gotten of the man's eyes before he'd turned his head away indicated to Franz that the man had been through a lot, perhaps at the hands of the very pirates he'd just escaped from. It seemed to Franz all the man wanted was to get away from the island. Not one to pry into other people's business, he didn't ask the man any questions.

He rowed them back to the ship as quickly as possible, knowing the pirates might have a ship nearby, and would probably come after them if they did. Once they got back to the ship, Franz assisted first Angie, then the man as they climbed aboard, then, securing the life boat, he climbed aboard himself and hoisted up the life boat. "Pearl?", Franz called out, loudly. "Wir brauche...We need to go! We may be getting company otherwise."

Pearl wheeled the ship expertly up against the life boat and Maddie guided the sail rigging to slow them a bit so that they could board and then let it go so the sail could once again fill with air and they could be off.

She fought the urge to go running to Franz and grabbing him and holding him close. There was work to be done and for the first time in a very long time she felt alive. She knew that she was going to pay for all of this activity and would be sore if she stopped moving. She then noticed another male boarding the ship...holding nothing but a pair pf pants. The sails were open and Pearl was already steering the ship away from the island so curiosity got the better of Maddie. She walked over to Franz and gently squeezed his arm. "Hello handsome. Welcome back Angie! Who's yer friend?"

Once the lifeboat was secured, Franz turned towards the man they had picked up, the man's belt and bag in his hand.

He looked at Maddie in surprise as she walked over to him, but he was just happy to see her, up and about as well.

When she hugged his arm, he wrapped it around her, and bent to give her a kiss before turning towards the man again. "Wir sind weiß...We don't know who he is, he showed up at the life boat. It seems he was trying to escape the island as well."

He turned back to Maddie, smiling but with a look of concern in his eyes, and asked softly, "How are you feeling, meine Liebling? It's good to see you up and about again."

He directed the stranger towards the wheel of the ship, where Pearl was guiding them out and away from the island. "Du wirst...You will need to speak with Pearl there, she's the captain of this ship."

He kept his arm around Maddie while escorting the man over to Pearl, only then dropping the mans belt and bag on the deck of the ship.

Angie let Franz help her on board the ship, making sure her belt was secure and the bag of goodies was with her.

The new man followed and then Franz came up and secured the life boat.

Maddie came over to them and Angie did a double take at her being up and about, "Not sure who he is, good to see you up and about." Angie glanced back towards the island, hoping to not see a chasing ship.

She decided to join everyone with Pearl, but before heading over Angie pulled the small stone from her pouch again to look at it - it was smooth on one side and it looked like there was some kind of etching on the other side - she wasn't sure if it was a map or runes or what, maybe Pearl would know.

Pearl steadied the ship as the passengers boarded and noticed an extra person being brought aboard. "Who tha hell ye be bringin on me ship?!" Pearl yelled from the wheel. "And why the hell is he naked?! What the bloody hell happened? I was bout ready to go lookin fer ya. Seems ya might have got yeselves in a spot o trouble." She looked at the stranger with suspicion but wore a grin on her face. "And ye thar.. who might ye be? Ye cain't be goin round naked on me ship.. I might get all worked up or something." Pearl laughed at herself but could see the man had been through rough times, something similar to what Maddie had gone through and decided not to give him a hard time. "Maddie, ye take this man down and find him some quarters. Franz, ye take the wheel. Angie Ray...come with me."

Franz nodded and took the wheel as instructed. He didn't know where they were headed so he just kept the ship on course in the direction Pearl had aimed it. He figured there was no rush anyways, as they hadn't really made any plans yet. They could turn the ship wherever they were headed when they made their decision as to where they were going.

For now, they would just sail. Franz turned his head into the breeze and took in a deep breath. It had been a long time since he'd sailed, and it felt good to be back on a ship again.

He realized then...with the woman he loved. She loved the sea as much as he did, he mused. How different she was from his deceased wife.

He realized then that he hadn't thought much about her in the past few weeks, and a pang of guilt shot through him. After some pondering, he realized that didn't matter. He had loved her, but she was gone now. She would have wanted him to be happy.

He still had his memories of her and the kids, those would remain with him forever. Smiling, he murmured, "Ruheplatz in frieden, meine lieblings" (Rest in peace, my loves)

Maddie cocked her eyebrow and stared at the man, a sudden feeling of disgust washing over her as she tried not to look at his nakedness. It wasn't disgust with him so much as it was the memory of what happened the last time a naked man was near her. She ran her hands through her hair and sighed heavily. It was then that she realized that it wasn't really a man at all.. just a boy, a rather young boy of maybe 17 or 18 years old and then looked at him again and realized that he had gone through some pretty harsh things himself. Maddie ran down the stairs to her quarters and then back up with a blanket and wrapped it around the boy. "Come on lad," she said softly, wrapping her arm around his shoulders and guiding him. "If I stop moving for too long I won't be able to move at all so it's best we get you downstairs so you can rest a bit. I'm sure everyone has questions for you but they'll have to wait."

Angie nodded at Pearl and tried not to gulp, her words were very ominous.

Maddie had wrapped the stranger in a blanket and was taking him below, Pearl was headed for the captain's quarters and Angie quietly followed her, still carrying the sack of goodies she had rescued and the small stone clutched in her other hand.

'Mijn hart, mijn hart,'

From the moment the oar had settled into the water and carried them to the larger ship, and his outstretched hand had been accepted and helped, he became lost in a semi-conscious state of mind. He was safe, he was safe, he was safe, ... It kept rerunning in his mind, as if the last thing he had thought had been stuck on rewind. The words filled his head, made it impossible to think.

He saw what was happening, but there was an undescriptive fog was between him and the world. He didn't have the will to react to the words thrown at him. His eyes were clouded and not seeing.

How did he get up the boat? How did he go across the dock? How did he descend the stairs? When he looked back later, he would not be able to remember. His pale lips were about to open. He was going to come out of his shell! He wanted to answer, to communicate! But then that hand. It clasped on his shoulder, it gave him a cold lead feeling inside.

'Waarom droeg je het, waarom houdde je het vast?'

Shut down, shut down, screamed his innards, and his eyes gained a shuttered look once more. Forced habit, reminded by the hand, made its way into his mind. he must not react, he must obey, he must he must he must. He felt pressure on his shoulders. Should he sit? Or was it to bow down? A bed. The cloud lifted to show the image of a small bed. Was he to lie in it? He did, his eyes still open, staring in the nothingness.

'Als je het toch ging laten vallen?'

Maddie guided the young man down the steps and in to one of the empty rooms below. He seemed stunned and although in his eyes she could see that he understood what was being said to him, he did not seem to be able to verbally reply. She helped him to lie down and gently covered him with the blanket. She turned to look at him lying there with his eyes open, almost catatonic. She wanted to speak to him but instead shook her head and quietly exited the room and headed back up to the top deck to stand near Franz.

He was loving being on the ocean again and in command of the ship. She could see in him a little boy fascinated with everything around him. He seemed lost in thought as she approached. "What are you thinking about?" she asked, smiling up at him. "I'm so glad to be out of bed. It was killing me. Anything need to be done up here? If I stop I'm afraid I won't start again."

Franz was feeling quite exuberant when Maddie approached. He turned at the sound of her voice, as she stepped up next to him. Smiling down at her, he wrapped his free arm around her and leaned down to kiss her.

He then leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "Ich wurde...I was thinking about you, my love, and how we will sail the world together."

Franz stood up then, his eyes gleaming with joy. "Abenteuer...Adventure, excitement, seeing the world...isn't it just grand!", he exclaimed. It was the happiest he'd been since the death of his wife and children, and he didn't think he could ever feel happier than he did right at that moment.

When she mentioned she was glad to be out of bed and asked if there was anything to be done, he looked at her with concern in his eyes. "Nur keine...Just don't overdo it, meine liebling."

He thought for a moment about what she could do that he didn't feel would put too much of a strain on her, but could think of nothing she could do on deck. He didn't want to put her off, however, as he felt she really wanted to do this.

Franz was feeling hungry as he hadn't had a decent meal in a while, and neither had Pearl or Angie, for that matter, he thought to himself.

"Was hältst...How do you feel about cooking up something? Only if you think you're ready for it, of course. None of us has had a decent meal in days, and I don't know about you, but I'm famished.", he said, smiling down at Maddie as he spoke.

Cooking shouldn't be too much trouble, he didn't think. It would still keep her busy, but shouldn't be a strain on her, physically, as long as she didn't have to climb on anything or stretch up to reach for anything, which he didn't think she would have to do either as the galley of a ship was generally not that tall.

Menewsha Name: loveblebear
Character Name: Nikki Van maddsion
Age:18
Species elf:
Weapons & Skills:no weapons, skills is magic.
Personality:wild, goofy, you never know what she will do
Appearance: (well not rite now sorry, still working on the outfit) but the image in my mind XD is kinda of a sweet Lolita look but with a common look.
History:
she has been a only child, no parents, lives where she can. she find out how to use her powers when she was 6 , when she was get in bully'ed by near by students. everyone knew her as the lonely kid. ever one hated her. but yet she grew up so pretty but yet still hated. she is older now and can take care of her self. she left to a new area to make pease. but this girl is a very unlucky girl.

((perhaps you might want to read the rules :? ))

well i did i must've missed something.

Pearl wondered how a lolita elf would fit on her ship as she and Angie Ray walked down the steps and in to her quarters. She shook her head and couldn't imagine an elf on board. She wasn't one for hocus pocus and only knew of possibly one or two people that possessed such skill, and she hadn't seen them in years...not since the plant incident anyway. She waited as Angie Ray entered the room and then shut the door behind her. "Now," she said with a huff and sat down on the bed, "tell me what happened on that there island and what did ye find?"

She rubbed her temples as another thought occurred to her. "You said we gots water down here somewhere. I need ye ta find it and bring it up. We're gonna have to port soon. I'm thinkin somewhere in Dominus, maybe Ciudad de Sangre, but we have ta be careful. Lots of brigands and ruffians there."

Angie quietly followed Pearl and leaned against the wall when Pearl plopped onto the bed.

"Well, there was a group of pirates on the island when we got there and they had made camp right where I had hidden the treasures. Franz and me were sneakin 'round the outside o'the camp when this one was takin a leak and seen us. Franz tried to clock him in the head, but the guy screamed so more pirates came out."

Angie stopped and took a breath and looked around for a chair, spotting one she pulled it over and sat before continuing, "We tried to hide but they spotted me, I tried to fight 'em but there was too many. Franz had gone and disappeared on me, so the boys took me and tied me up for their captain. Captain decided I should be some entertainment afore they killed me. I managed to get away from the first guy and Franz showed up again to help, good thing he did cuz I was gonna kill him for abandonin me like that. We snuck back to the treasure and grabbed it, then they found the dead guy who was supposed to have me first sos we ran."

Angie shook her head at the insanity of what was supposed to be a simple trip to an empty island, "I dunno where the naked kid came from, I'm guessin the pirates had him as well and he ran when we disrupted their camp. I wanted to show you somthing we found in my bag," Angie reached into her side pouch and dumped the small strange stone out into her palm for Pearl to see.

"This here was wrapped in cloth and stuff, figured since it was wrapped all careful like it must be important."

Pearl listened to Angie Ray recount what happened on the island. She pursed her lips and her brow furrowed when she mentioned that Franz had gone missing and left her alone. She was sure he was trying to do something, maybe sneak up on them to rescue Angie Ray, but Pearl would get to the bottom of that later. For now she was more interested in what they had found on the trip. "Well, I'm glad ye made it back safely, both of ye."

She took the stone from Angie and then removed the one she had in her pocket and slid them together, the pieces making a clicking noise when joined. Pearl felt as though she were going to burst with excitement and started grinning ear to ear. "Angie Ray this is the second piece! Was there anything else with it; a map, a picture, a scribble, anything?!"

When Pearl took a matching stone from her pocket and Angie's stone click into it she was stunned, it took her a few seconds to realize Pearl was talking to her, "Oh. . . um, I really don't know. It was wrapped in the pants that I gave to the guy we found and in this sack," Angie suddenly remembered that she was still in possession of the sack of goodies she had rescued from the island.

Standing up, Angie dumped the contents of the sack onto Pearl's bed so they could look through it, since Pearl seemed to have an idea of what she was looking for, "Here ya go Pearl, have at it and see if there's anythin of use. I figger the gold here can buy us supplies and stuff, if we don't get burgled before then.

Maddie wasn't sure what she was feeling right at that moment. The boat rose and sank with each swell of the water it crossed and the day was very quiet, save for a few cries of birds that flew with the sails and the splash of ocean hitting the boat. She felt peace as she stood there with Franz's arm around her and the sun shining on her face. She was glad that Franz shared her exhuberence for the sea and loved the romanticized idea of sailing the world with him but her face turned to a scowl as he once again looked down at her as a fragile doll that was on the verge of breaking.

"I'll be alright I think," she finally spoke, looking up at Franz. "I've already ran up and down the stairs and wrangled with the rigging to get the boat moving so we could pick you up in a hurry." She pulled away slightly, not really angry with him, but wanting to make sure he understood that they weren't on a love cruise out to see the world. "You know I love you. I would die for you right this very minute if it came to it, but I hope you know that I'm a capable woman, sailor, and pirate. I'll do what needs to be done regardless of the condition I'm in." She was slightly hurt that he didn't see her as an equal and that things seemed to fall back on the fact that she was a woman and that women needed looking after.

She didn't feel like fighting with him. She knew he was concerned because of everything that had happened and she wasn't totally healed and that she would pay for all the extra work she forced herself to do and she would pay in pain. She wrapped both arms around his waist and squeezed him tightly. "I'll see if there is something in the galley worth eating. Once Pearl comes back up you may need to go and fetch some supplies. In our haste to get going we haven't brought anything up and we need to find some water or this is going to be a very short trip."

Maddie nuzzled in close one last time before pulling away and heading for the stairs leading up to the galley. "Maybe once all is settled you and I can some time alone to talk about your adventure on the island. I was getting worried about you. And also maybe...time for something else..." She winked and hopped up the steps and in to the galley, shutting the door behind her and leaning on it, arms crossed. She sighed heavily and began to rub her arms as a sudden chill washed over her. Being alone with him might mean something else to him and she wasn't ready for that. She hoped he understood. She would try of course because she loved him but hoped he wouldn't feel scorned if she couldn't go through with it. Pushing that thought out of her mind for the moment she surveyed the room to see if there was something in there to eat.

When Maddie pulled away and began speaking, Franz looked down into her face and he could both see it in her eyes and hear the tone of hurt in her voice.

She was chastising him, albeit gently, and he knew it, but he bit back the bit of annoyance he felt and instead nodded, and said, "Sie recht...You're right, Maddie. I'm sorry."

He had only been concerned about her because of all that she had been through, and Franz really didn't want to see her suffer a relapse. It was only then he realized she might be pushing herself so hard because she didn't want to lay still with her thoughts and memories of what the monster had done to her.

He did not want to fight with her any more than she wanted to fight with him. Maddie leaned back in and squeezed him around the waist then, and offered to go find something to eat, then mentioned the lack of supplies on the ship. Franz smiled down at her, then nodded in understanding about the need for supplies, and water.

When Maddie nuzzled against him, Franz held her close, his warm breath brushing across the top of her head, causing her hair to tickle his face. He placed his hands on her face gently and tilted her head back so he could kiss her tenderly.

After their kiss, Maddie pulled away, and as she headed towards the galley, she mentioned them having some alone time, and possibly something more.

He grinned at her as an ache formed in his loins, but Franz knew she might not be ready. He would not push her. He had been about to reply, but she hopped up the steps and into the galley so quickly, he didn't have a chance to do so.

He kept his eyes on the galley door for a full minute after she closed it, reminiscing about their one traipse into Pearl's shed. He hoped that it could be like that again, someday, though he knew that there was the possibility it would never be that way again.

This reminded him hotly of the monster who had hurt Maddie, and he shook his head vehemently, turning back towards the wheel of the ship. Although he was glad the guy was dead, he almost wished he weren't so he could torment the beast.

Franz wasn't a vindictive man, but the pirate had hurt Maddie so badly, Franz didn't feel any justice in the quick death the guy had been dealt.

Pearl picked through the random assortment of odds and ends that Angie Ray had dumped on the bed. She separated the gold from the main pile in to a pile of it's own and shoved in in front of Angie Ray. "Angie Ray, count this for me," she said as she picked out lint balls and flicked them away and started picking up pieces of paper and examining them.

She squinted and held out a scrap of paper in front of her. The writing was very small but she was sure this was what she was looking for. "Angie Ray, once you are done, head back up deck and tell everyone I'll be up shortly. I have to go and check on that young man first ta make sure he's alright.

Knowing they needed supplies, but unsure where Pearl wanted to go for them, Franz did not want to keep the ship heading out in the direction they were headed, as they were headed away from civilization.

He turned the ship in the direction of Ciudad de Sangre, as it seemed to make the most sense to head there from their current location. If Pearl wanted to go elsewhere, they would just have to change directions again.

Franz thought about Maddie and how she seemed to be handling everything she had gone through, and he wondered if she was in denial, or if she really were handling things so well. He could not imagine anyone going through what she had, and not suffering repercussions as a result, but then, Maddie wasn't your run of the mill typical woman either.

She was a pirate, and pirates were generally a tougher lot than most, considering what they went through in their day to day lives. He was reminded then of a conversation Maddie had had once with Angie, and it disgusted him to think that any woman would have to resort to such vile behavior in order to buy passage on a ship.

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind of those thoughts, as he hated to think that Maddie had ever done such a thing, though he knew she had. Perhaps, however, having to go through such behavior had prepared her somewhat, to deal with what she had recently gone through with that monster, and maybe that's why she was able to take it so well.

Such thoughts were making Franz gloomy, so he decided to push the thoughts out of his head and clear his mind, to simply enjoy the salty sea air in his face. He and Maddie had both been exuberant only a short time ago, and he didn't want to dampen her spirits by being in a gloomy mood when she re-emerged from the galley.