[Aysu.]

@"Addereon"

Brown paws padded softly along the warm, early-morning sand. The beach looked nearly pink with the colors of the sunrise, the sun warming his pelt and making his journey all the more pleasant. It was a good morning--clear sky, gentle seas, a warm breeze blowing through. All the makings of a productive day. Today he'd decided to go out and get himself a rank--he'd talked it over with some of the longer-standing pack members, and they'd told him that if he was good at crafting, then he should seek out one of the crafters to apprentice. It wasn't the only rank he planned to have, but it was a good source of income from what he'd been told, and it was something to do with his free time.

Aysu had been recommended to him. She was a friendly girl, they said, and she didn't have an artisan yet.

Adder didn't need her to be friendly--he needed her to be good at her job. His eyes slid over to the Captain's ship as he strode past it--him on dry land and it stuck on the sandbar out to sea. It was truly a magnificent sight, especially in the early light of dawn. Devil's Doom, they called it. What he wouldn't give to see what treasures and finery lurked inside.

It wasn't long before he came upon a bungalow he assumed belonged to Aysu--he hadn't seen any others on the beach, anyway. Besides--this one was decorated. Lived in. A proof of Aysu's talents. Adder was impressed, to say the least. This hadn't been a bad decision after all.

"Aysu?" He called, voice unusually gentle. It was early morning; he didn't want to risk irking her and ruining his chances. The ball was in her court; she could turn him down just for being a lion, if she wanted. "My name's Addereon, and I'm sorry to disturb you so early. I'd like to be your artisan, if you'll have me." He pulled the satchel he'd brought with him off--something he had borrowed, though fully intended to give back--and flipped it open to reveal it's contents; a few well-worked rabbit pelts and some various, pretty seashells he'd found on the beach outside his den. I skinned the rabbits myself, and the shells are for you too, if you have use for them." He cringed a little; this was not going how he'd expected.

Then again, Addereon never had been a lion who was good at asking for help.

Aysu had a hard time sleeping some nights, her dreams riddled with nightmares. At first, it was various terrible things happening to her family, but now it was the absence of them. Sometimes they were fleeting figures with no faces and she could see less and less of them every time the bad dreams occurred. In her waking life, as she aged, she forgot them more and more. Their names she memorized, knowing the memory of their names couldn't fade as their faces were. But there were times she wondered if she passed her father if she would even know him anymore. The scrap of black fabric he had given her the day he handed her over to the pirates had long lost his scent. Now as she lay, tired but unable to sleep, she stared at the fabric laying on the tattered grass mat where she made her bed.

Outside the sun was rising, casting it's pink and golden glow into her little home and she couldn't help but grin a little. She had lost her family, and that broke her sometimes.... but she had gained something else. A new, different kind of family. She closed her eyes a little, focusing on nothing in particular. The ocean breeze drifted through the trinkets she had hanging around, eliciting a soft, lovely noise and in some cases, reflecting colored light onto the dark walls inside the hut.

A new sound brought her back to the waking world. Her name. Being called by an unfamiliar voice.

"Aysu?"

The purple girl rolled up onto her belly and yawned. At least whomever it was didn't feel the need to barge on in, cannons blazing first thing in the morning. She rose with a stretched and considered slipping the black fabric over her head, for little other reason than to hide her secret tattoo and the little blue beaded string tied around her right ear. But she let it pass. There was no need for covering these things; she and Cookie were the only ones who knew their meaning. Besides, this individual had come to her early, they would have to deal with her bedhead.

"Yes, yes, I'm here." She replied. Half distracted by her swaying trinkets Aysu took a step outside and nearly bumped into the chest of the lion. Her whole body went rigid as she stared at his chest, letting her bi colored eyes drift up slowly to finally rest on his face. Holy. Shit. She's heard of big cats before, seen some from afar, but never this close. Quickly she took a step back, giving him some space.

"My name's Addereon, and I'm sorry to disturb you so early. I'd like to be your artisan, if you'll have me. I skinned the rabbits myself, and the shells are for you too, if you have use for them."

Aysu side eyed the lion, sizing him up a bit, then she took a look at what he had to offer. The rabbit skins were nice, smooth and clean. Not as pliable as she preferred hers to be, but certainly a good start. It wouldn't take much for him to make the pelts a little softer. As for the shells, she found herself grinning widely at those. Moving to the beach had given her more shells than she knew what to do with and yet she still hoarded them. The purple lady simply couldn't get enough.

Bi colored eyes inspected every shell before she gave an approving nod to Addereon. "Very well then. I see you're off to a good start here. Thank you for these. The Captain will be pleased." She said, moving them inside her hut and returning the bag to him. Her eyes drifted off for a moment toward the massive ship where the Captain stayed, then back to the lion. "I'd like to learn a bit more about you. Let's gather some supplies and you can tell me a little about yourself."

Aysu slipped back into the hut, returning a moment later with a small satchel around her neck, along with her head scarf, and glistening obsidian dagger. Slowly she would walk toward the ocean. The sands near the water always held some interesting items for crafting. There they would begin.

"Yes, yes, I'm here."

Oh, she was much cuter than he had imagined. That was something he would have to address later though, after she had agreed to help him, if she did. He didn't want to scare her off; he was aware that he was often a bit too much for most others. His size and his abrasive personality generally made others avoid him. Not that he minded; he preferred to live a mostly solitary life, save for when he was needed for their Captain. He didn't say anything as she nearly bumped into him, lips twisting just a bit in amusement at the action as she took her step back.

He didn't hold his breath as she examined his gifts--but it was a near thing. "Very well then. I see you're off to a good start here. Thank you for these. The Captain will be pleased." He nodded, happy to hear it though he tried to keep the emotions from his face. He was excited to finally be considered useful, excited at the prospect of actually having a rank title other than sailor. For so long he felt restless; maybe now he could get some peace.

"I'd like to learn a bit more about you. Let's gather some supplies and you can tell me a little about yourself."

"Of course," He nodded, slipping the borrowed bag over his head once more so it rested against his chest. He waited as she went back into her hut to clothe herself, looking at her dagger with eyes sparkling with interest. "What is that?" He asked, not unkindly, gesturing to the dagger. He'd never seen weapons before; where he came from they didn't need them. "And what would you like to know about me?" Addereon asked as the gently waves rolled over their feet, his claws coming out to dig into the sand, enjoying the feel of it.

There truthfully wasn't all that much to tell; he didn't have an incredibly eventful past, and he hadn't done much since then besides coming to Tortuga. He'd answer her questions truthfully, though; he didn't have many secrets, either.

[Aysu.]

Aysu led the way at first, then dropped back to walk along with the lion, her bi colored eyes swapping between the soft sand at her paws and the golden male beside her. Individuals were like walking pieces of art when it came down to it. This Addereon was no different. The golds of his pelt had a unique appearance against the blues of the sea. Aysu tilted her head a bit, wondering if those colors could be replicated in a crafting piece. She was sure it would sell. 

His voice threw her off, pulling her mind back to present reality, to address the obsidian dagger around her neck. The crafter glanced down at the smooth black surface and smiled in remembrance of how she got it.
"Of course,What is that? And what would you like to know about me?"

"This is an obsidian dagger. It was given to me by the Captain before Raikov. Her name was Brielle. She was beautiful, charming, and went out of her way to make me feel welcome here in Tortuga. I know it's tehcnically a weapon, but it's perfect for carving details in crafting." Aysu hummed a little to herself as she thought if questions to ask him. A pale blue stone caught her eye in the meantime and she stopped to pick it up, using her paw to bat it out of the sand before wiping it clean. "Where did you come from, might be a good starting point. What made you want to try to be a Crafter?"

Aysu held the stone up and closed one eye, smiling that the stone matched the color of the sea foam that lapped at the shore only feet from their paws. Perfect. She tucked it away in her little pouch and continued to walk, listening carefully to what the lion would tell her.

[Addereon]

speech ♚ thoughts ♚ profile

"This is an obsidian dagger. It was given to me by the Captain before Raikov. Her name was Brielle. She was beautiful, charming, and went out of her way to make me feel welcome here in Tortuga. I know it's tehcnically a weapon, but it's perfect for carving details in crafting."

A dagger. The object was foreign to Adder; while he could skin a pelt and tan the hide, he hadn't learned anything of weapons in his time as a traveler or part of his father's pride. Knives and spears were foreign to him, the same as the sea had been so long ago. He nodded to her, noting it as a useful tool, and wondering if there was somewhere he could get one for himself. He had several skulls that would look nice with little patterns etched into them.... "What happened to her? Brielle?" This was the first he'd heard of her, too. Raikov and Eremiel he was familiar with, Raikov's infamous parents, even, but never the charismatic girl that Aysu spoke of.

"Where did you come from, might be a good starting point. What made you want to try to be a Crafter?"

Mm. So they were starting with Adder's least favorite topic; his past.

Bite the bullet.

"A pride beyond what your people call the Wall of Teeth," It was an apt name. "My sire was king there." Because he'd never been a father, had he? "We had a disagreement, and he exiled me. So I traveled the mountains and came here. He shrugged, a what-can-you-do sort of lackadaisical think, belying the fact that the entire situation filled him with a rage that waned but never quite went away.

"As for crafting," He began, swiftly changing the subject, "I just really need something to do, and I already know a little bit about it."

Crafting would have to do, for now.

What good was a warrior with no war, anyhow?

[Aysu.]

"What happened to her? Brielle?"

"Brielle?" Aysu said, as if the name was calling up some distant ghost. She walked along, staring at the sand. She had hardly thought of Brielle in a long time. "I don't know. She was crafter once, then the old Captain Rita appointed her Captain. She and Raikov ended up working together and then.... then she wasn't Captain any more. I guess I should know more about it than I do..." It was hard to admit. She hadn't asked any questions about Brielle since she'd given her rank to Raikov. Instead, the purple girl had swapped her loyalties to Raikov, knowing the delicate situation she was in being close to the royal family.

"A pride beyond what your people call the Wall of Teeth, my sire was king there. We had a disagreement, and he exiled me. So I traveled the mountains and came here.As for crafting,I just really need something to do, and I already know a little bit about it."

Aysu didn't miss his quick change of subject, her bi colored eyes shifting up to scan his face... but she found little there. "I don't much like talking about my family either." She admitted, though it was for a different reason. Their stories were far different, but she could still understand not wanting to discuss it. "Have you thought about taking up a secondary rank as well?" She pried a little more into something less personal. "I'm a Navigator, though I don't have the passion for it that I have for crafting..."She shrugged and an urge caught her to talk about something she had never showed anyone before. "Can you keep a secret?" 

[Addereon]

speech ♚ thoughts

"I don't know. She was crafter once, then the old Captain Rita appointed her Captain. She and Raikov ended up working together and then.... then she wasn't Captain any more. I guess I should know more about it than I do..."

Adder was curious about what had happened, but he didn't press the issue. Aysu didn't seem like she wanted to talk about it, or even like she even really knew much more, and he was no stranger to having things you'd rather forget. Still, when he thought about his past, there wasn't much he would change. He loved his mother, and he'd never fit in with his father, regardless of the man's favorable actions towards Orion. Adder was never destined to be the favorite. After all, only one child of the entire litter had even looked like the man who sired them. Adder had wondered for a brief part of his childhood where he got his golden pelt from. It had to be someone on his mother's side; supposedly, his father's family had been grey-hued for generations.

"I don't much like talking about my family either."

Blue eyes focused in on Aysu again, then turned resolutely to the horizon, past where the Captain's magnificent ship made land. "Tortuga is my family, now." He said by way of answer.

This had always been his destiny, but it had also been his choice.

"Have you thought about taking up a secondary rank as well? I'm a Navigator, though I don't have the passion for it that I have for crafting..."

He nodded. "Yes. I don't think I will ever be able to be a crafter alone." There was simply too much fire inside him, too much anger craving for an outlet. "I think a lot of the others still see me as an outsider right now. I have to prove that I'm trustworthy. That I can be useful." Inside he was still just a silly little boy, desperately craving approval and being denied it at every turn. Some things grew with you.

"Can you keep a secret?"  

He looked at her, perplexed by the turn the conversation had taken. "Of course." He answered despite his confusion, wondering exactly where she was going with this. He had no secrets to share in return.

At least, not yet.

[Aysu.]

"Tortuga is my family, now."

Aysu nodded slowly in understanding as she scooped up a small spiral shell and popped it into her bag. Not many knew of her origins and for a long time she focused herself around finding the family she had lost. All of that is gone now. Of course there was always going to be a part of herself that would long for them, but overall, Tortuga was her home now.

"I understand. I was found in the neutrals by a girl named Teagin. She brought me back from her Voyage and later Raikov bought me at auction. Tortuga is my home now... I miss my family sometimes..." When I can remember them, she thought with a heavy heart. It was difficult admitting to herself that sometimes their faces eluded her. "The pirates are an interesting sort of family..."

"Yes. I don't think I will ever be able to be a crafter alone. I think a lot of the others still see me as an outsider right now. I have to prove that I'm trustworthy. That I can be useful."

"Hmm... Yeah I understand that as well. I became a Navigator because I wanted to have a chance to see the world and find my family. It's not so much a goal now though." Aysu shrugged. Anymore, her reasons had changed. If she was able to go out and see the world, she had much more information to bring back to Raikov. As much as she loved teh Captain as her second father, there was a lot of internal pressure to succeed in his eyes. She understood the delicacy of her position and didn't want to give him any reasons to incur his wrath, even by accident.

"Of course." [/size]

Aysu grinned a little as she stopped and moved the headscarf away from her right ear to reveal a small bird tattoo silhouette and the thing she really wanted to show him. Around her ear was a worn old strip of thin, jagged leather with a few blue beads attached. "This was my very first crafting piece. It was made of scraps of things the other Crafters had laying around that they didn't intend to use. It doesn't look like much, but this piece was inspired by Raikov. The chose the blue beads specifically for that. It's small, but it reminds me of where my family is. Where my loyalties lie." Aysu watched the lion's face for a hint of expression. Perhaps someday she would make something for herself to reflect the way this massive creature looked against the backdrop of the sea...