InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Welcome to my filthy mind."

tarnished_aegis (tarnished_aegis) wrote in kings_ransom,
@ 2008-03-24 17:34:00

Who: OTA
Where: Keahou Bay
When: O Dark Thirty (aka, early!)

Kesh couldn't sleep, not that it was any thing new. He didn't sleep all that much in general, usually just when he was having to heal up or really trying to conserve energy between fixes. Nervousness about tomorrow and the promise of a heavy charge kept his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling tonight though. He shook his head and plopped from his tiny bunk. Laying here staring at the ceiling was as productive as it was entertaining. Certainly he could do better... especially in Hawaii there was plenty to do at any hour.

So he donned a pair of shorts and open button up shirt and headed from the crew quarters to the deck. He looked about the barren and quiet deck. No-one immediately visible, but there were always look outs somewhere. Tigger was probably lurking about somewhere in the masts and who knows what other night-dwellers were about. No matter, nothing underhanded or sneaky going on with Kesh... just out looking for some entertainment. Hell, if was seen leaving whomever could tag along were they willing to keep up. His steps were quiet, but not so deliberately he just didn't want to wake those that weren't already up. Let those that need it get their rest, tomorrow was important.

Kesh's shield glowed softly as he headed off the plank and down the shore. Having a built in flashlight was a nice thing when the clouds came overhead and blotted out the moon. Soon enough Kesh found himself at an inlet with cliff walls towering overhead. A grinned crossed his face as he looked up the formation then back to the water. Yup, that would do. Without pause he started scaling the bluffs for some cliff diving action. Sure, could have taken the well worn easy path. But that rather defeated the purpose of getting out of the ship didn't it?

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bengal
2008-03-25 11:04 pm UTC (link)

High atop the tallest mast, Drake peered down as the softly glowing Kesh walked out onto the deck, ‘Ahhhh, What do we have here? Bubble Boy looks restless. Serena must have gotten his knickers all in a knot…poor bloke’. He climbed down a bit and watched as Arlen strolled across the deck, ‘Leaving the ship at this hour, are ye?’. Drake dropped from his position on the mast to a lower mast to the ornamental steering wheel to the deck, noiselessly. Pasing at the top of the gangplank, he watched Kesh as he headed off at the bottom, ‘Don’t know where yer going, lad, but I’m going too!’, Drake fairly chuckled, thinking he was catching the young man up to something off color.

Farther and farther they walked, Kesh being an easy one to follow, his force field a beacon in the dark of the night.

Finally, it seemed as if they had arrived at some kind of destination when the crazy lad started scaling the cliffs. “What the bloody Hell is that horny firefly up to?”, Drake swore under his breath, thinking for a moment that Kesh had lost his mind and was going to try to end it all over some problem with Serena…then it hit him…cliff-diving!

“HEY!”, he growled, rushing forward and diving up and onto the cliff wall, catching on with his claws and scaling like a large cat, “You ‘ad to sneak off like a bloody wanker cause you were afraid of a little competition, you canned ham?!”, he teased. Catching up with Kesh, he smiled and offered, “A few good dives and then maybe a few drinks?", he climbed ahead and hung upside down, grinning at his companion, "...and then a few more drinks! Be more fun than a barrel of monkeys...", he winked, "...with the exception of one particular monkey!". Laughing, he tapped Kesh on the head, sending out burst of light around his finger, and swung back around to continue his ascent of the cliff.

Even more agile than the cat he was named after, Drake reached the top of the cliff in no time flat. He whistled eerily for awhile and then chuckled to himself. The next thing Kesh heard was Drake calling down, "Ohhhhh, Keeeeeeeeeeeshie....I've 'ad so many beers tonight! I 'ope you don't mind if I take a little leak...drain the main vein, as it were. Watch yer head now", he teased!

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Introduction - Part One

lana_bombshell
2008-03-26 08:36 am UTC (link)

Lana Tiki ran her fingers through the cool sand, feeling the warmth absorbed from the sun the deeper her hand sank. Every now and again small popping noises occurred, muffled by her palm. Singling out the kinetic energies in a single grain of sand was an interesting challenge, but she met it. As they exploded at her touch the Hawaiian found herself wondering if this was what popcorn felt like as the kernel burst its guts into the open. A couple grains of sand exploding were harmless. An amused thought flitted through the femme’s mind as she wondered if causing a larger patch of sand could be any more dangerous. Some day she would test it, but not now.

Now was the time to enjoy the cool January evening. Lana knew she would be better off in doors. After all, dark clouds blotted out the stars and the moon, foretelling chilly rain throughout the island. Each night she had to go out, though. The storm clouds and chilly air, especially during such an early hour, meant she could go almost wherever she pleased so long as there were no windows facing her way because people would desert their hangouts, leaving them free for the twenty-six-year-old to roam. Her dark eyes scanned the area, knowing she was cast in shadow herself, rendering her nearly invisible. Dark colouring and even darker clothing on a darkened night meant she had a better chance of viewing others before they caught sight of her.

A small pile of rocks of varying shapes and sizes sat near her and her trusty slingshot rested in her lap. Lana had gathered the rocks, remaining mindful about what the hand-held weapon could hold and shoot easily. Moving to her knees, she lifted a rock the size of a tea light and fitted it to the band stretching between the arms of the y-shaped weapon. Keeping her aim steady and her almond shaped eyes on the goal the woman drew back on the strap until it had acquired the desired amount of tenseness, while holding the rock in place with two fingers. Those two digits sought out and found the kinetic energies within the stone and quickly charged them just before releasing the band and its projectile. Instead of simply hitting the cliff wall Lana aimed for, and maybe chipping a bit, it exploded on impact just as the mutant had intended.

This was a nightly routine for the woman, practicing with exploding projectiles or even sitting time bombs. If she didn’t use her curséd gift each night it began to plague her, overcoming her so she could scarcely control it. For no reason at all her temperament would suddenly change to high highs of anger, sadness, excitement, or other intense emotions and she could accidentally charge an object without intending to. Using it nightly in a controlled manner kept her mood stable and her ability to keep her power in check strong.

Lana had just begun to set up another, larger projectile when she thought she heard something. Shrinking back into the shadows she moved quickly and silently toward the noise. It could have been some animal who had loosed some rock from the cliff, but she doubted it. Most creatures large enough and ungraceful enough to dislodge a stone in a cliff were tucked safely away for when the clouds would expel their heavy burdens of water over the earth. The Hawaiian native nearly poked her head out of the shadows when she heard a voice shout “Hey”.

Humans all right. What the hell were they doing out at such an hour in this weather? Tourists more than likely. January wasn’t the ideal month for tourism, but a few still came. They never seemed to have the intelligence to know when they should stay in doors. At least she had a good excuse. She was keeping herself calm and sane while preventing accidents in the home and workplaces. What could these two- yes she realised there were two now- possibly be doing? Cliff diving?

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Introduction - Part Two

lana_bombshell
2008-03-26 08:38 am UTC (link)

Once she thought about it, cliff diving seemed like a logical answer for tourists. It amused her that they hadn’t even checked the depth of the water first. Figures for a visitor… She thought as she poked her head around a rock and looked up. The amusement died as she did so. Was that man… glowing, even dimly? The other man scaled the wall so fast it was unbelievable. What was going on? Shaking her head, Lana tried to clear out any fogginess from sleep deprivation, but it didn’t change what she saw.

Mutants… In all of her life she had never met another one and now there were two right in front… well… above her. Some part of her longed to catch their attention, but another part warned her she might not want unwarranted attentions. Even from mutants. Not all of their kind might be so friendly. Lana was glad for her reservations as the one who had already reached the top began to boast of relieving himself over their heads.

Slinking back, away from the two, she scurried over to her little pile of rocks and picked up to small pebble sized stones. Perhaps if she could shoot the cruder of the two men she could save the climber from a disgusting fate. Being in the shadows helped. They may never know where or who a small interruption might come from. Lana was quick on her feet, fit as she was, and she could probably disappear before the men ever knew the difference.

Taking aim at the silhouette atop the cliff, the woman charged the pebble and let it fly and rushed out of her spot to another one before she heard the tiny explosive pop as it collided with something. Whether it had reached high enough to hit the man she aimed at she didn’t know, but it had to have hit something. If it hit a human it would only sting, but no major damage would occur.

Her form shook lightly with silent laughter as she realised how childish her action had been. Oh well. The temptations had been great and at least she hadn’t made threats of urinating on another person. Hearing the rock burst gave her leave to drift away, hopefully unseen.

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tarnished_aegis
2008-03-28 01:14 am UTC (link)

Kesh just laughed when Drake finally caught up and started shouting. "Scared? HA! Figured let sleeping babies lie, the rest can come out and play. Dives and drinks? Sounds like a good night to me, just don't make my carry your ass back to the ship! Kesh just shook his head and mumbled as the feral showed off scrambling up the wall so fast. "Monkies? No idea what you're talking about. None what so ever... besides, a gentleman doesn't do something or rather then something else right?" He snarled up at the man-cat as he threatened with a golden shower. "I swear Tigger! You drip on me, I'll kink so bad nothing will come out it again!"

"What the hell?" Something had exploded just off to the side of where he still hung to the cliff face. He looked to Drake then tried to trace back where the projectile would have come from. "There!" He pointed down to where he saw a stir, a person, a person launching exploding somethings at them. Not the welcome ceremony he was accustomed to in Hawaii. He gripped all fours back to the rock face and looked up to the feral a couple feet up on the top of the ledge. "Lets see who the hell is trying to say 'ello! Last one down...." He jumped back from the wall, rotating into a slow flip towards the water below.

His rotation was perfect, landing perfectly vertical to the water. He sunk deep, but still plenty of depth below; wasn't his first time to jump here. Fast powerful kicks brought Kesh to the surface and to the shore. Water shed from his shield like a freshly waxed car as he looked about climbing from the pool. "Alright, show yourself?" He concentrated, his shield starting to glow a bit more brightly again, ever so slightly illuminating nearby area.

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bengal
2008-03-28 04:37 pm UTC (link)

Drake grinned a feral grin as Kesh traded barbs with him. He liked the lad…he was a rough little bastard and didn’t take shyte off of anybody. Gotta respect that. “Did I say golden shower, mate?”, he taunted, “I say…I think ‘Tigger’ ‘as to take a dump! Jus’ let me back me arse up to this cliff ‘ere”.

Suddenly, out of the night sky, an exploding rock tore a strip of flesh from Drake’s bare shoulder.

“Bloody Fucking Hell!”, the feral swore as his canines and claws were already beginning to elongate. First he looked down at Kesh…then he followed the glowing mutant’s line of site to where the antagonist hid. No longer Drake, Bengal crouched on the cliff top and sniffed at the wind; he smelled the female, sensed her motions…then he looked. There she was, amongst the rocks below…a pretty little thing…he smiled. The small wound had healed already when he saw Kesh dive from his position on the cliff. “Great dive, bubble boy”, he remarked to himself, impressed with the young mutant’s skill.

Taking a few steps back, the feral mutant took a running start and bounded from the cliff, far out into the air he went doing reverse three and a half somersaults, tuck and then a perfectly straight entrance into the water. Shooting back out of the water, he swam up next to Kesh, and spoke low, “She’s just behind those rocks, Glow worm, and she’s a mutie. I can smell it from here. A pretty hot little number too…or…are you still allowed to look”, he grinned mischievously, “I don’t wanna get you into any trouble now, mate”.

Keeping his eye’s on the young woman, Drake waded ashore, not wanting to be pelted with anymore exploding rocks. “Greetings and salutations, Miss Hawaii! That’s some power you have there”, he rubbed his shoulder, “…and quite some aim!”. He looked her up and down…she was certainly a very beautiful young woman, but the feral could also sense in her a strong spirit that would brook none of his nonsense. “We’re mutants also”, he offered, “my name’s Drake”, he extended a hand that had moments ago retracted it’s claws.

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lana_bombshell
2008-03-28 07:50 pm UTC (link)

Lana’s hope to remain unseen was quickly diminished as she heard the definite cry of someone spotting her. Like a rabbit who knows it has been spotted, the femme froze until she heard the first splash of a body landing in the water. The only movement were her eyes as they swiveled around in search of ammunition. Her little pile of potential projectiles was too far away for her to run to retrieve now, especially if she hoped to remain somewhat covered in shadow. After all, she’d welcomed them with an exploding pebble. That normally wouldn’t gain the favour of anyone.

Realising how stupid she had been fear began to rise within her and the mutant wished she hadn’t done it at all. What if these guys were dangerous? Just like any normal human acceptance can’t be accepted simply on the basis of a common difference. Also, she’d never actually used her power against anyone. Lana had only ever hurt herself by using it, but that had been glass not stone. What if she miscalculated the effects and, if she’d hit the guy, actually hurt him? Then they were sure to be hostile in justified defense. At twenty-six years old the woman should damn well know better. Maybe she could blame the hour and lack of a decent sleep for relieving her of her common sense? Or perhaps her earlier desire to make herself known had taken over and she had hoped to be caught after all…

Lana searched desperately for some ammunition, just in case. Considering where she was it wasn’t too difficult. They knew in general where she was so she didn’t have to worry about noise in case she needed to dislodge a piece from the rocks. In fact, she decided she would rather do that then go with the nearly microscopic sized pieces around the ground. Larger pieces could do more damage. So, running her fingers over the face of the rocks behind her she felt for looser pieces before digging her fingers in and pulling them out. Her dark eyes noticed the steadily brightening glow and pushed herself closer to the wall to avoid it.

Alright, show yourself?

Lana found it interesting that he’d said it more as a request than a demand, though. Was it a ploy to calm her so she would simply surrender to them so they could do as they wished? Screw that. She stuffed one rock in the pocket of her shorts and tore out another. Two guys, two rocks. Clutching her slingshot she was ready to load it up and fire if they tried anything.

As the other man joined the glowing one her muscles tensed even more. As he spoke she knew she’d hit him when he rubbed his shoulder. A sense of satisfaction took her, but at the same time that knowledge only increased her anger with herself. Watching carefully for any signs of expected hostility she found it strange that they seemed less angry than she imagined. Perhaps it was more curiosity she saw in them? Admittedly, she was curious as well. Though, she wouldn’t trust them so far as to let her guard down enough to drop her weapons and shake the hand he extended to her. At least not yet.

She did decide to take a chance, though. Taking two steps away from the shadows and into the illumination from the first mutant she had seen. With a nod her lips parted to speak. “I’m Lana.” She offered, not attempted to hide the rock or the slingshot in her hands. She wouldn’t shoot them again unless it were in self defense. Despite her fears and her tenseness she cracked a smile, revealing a row of pearly whites. “Sorry about the rock. I was saving Glow Boy here from an unpleasant shower.” Though she appeared a bit more confident, standing taller, even cracking jokes, the ready way she held her weapons betrayed the bundle of nerves she felt within herself.

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tarnished_aegis
2008-04-01 01:25 am UTC (link)

Kesh's stern resolve was broken by Drake's joking about being allowed to As they stood there, about to confront some attacker, Drake was busting Kesh's balls about talking with Serena.look. He just looked at the feral with a slight confusion and couldn't help but crack up laughing. "Oh... ya, blind am I. You'd make a decent seeing-eye-dog I imagine though" Kesh smirked at the feral.

Still, laughing or not. Kesh didn't offer trust and welcome immediately, especially to one who attacked him. He was about to speak and... then Drake stepped forward about to lay into her, nope... there went Drake with compliments and, yes, yes Drake was hitting on the young woman. Kesh sighed and shook his head and stepped forward to Drake's side. Close enough to see the girl without extra light, his shield dimmed to a barely discernible glimmer.

The woman stepped forward to address them and Kesh quickly looked her over. Ok, the horn dog was right, she was knock out. Still not enough to lower his suspicions and wall though. Especially while she held rock and sling shot in her hands. Though he doubted she would be able to draw before either himself or drake were on her, she might be a fast legged freak as well as being able to make things pop. As she make her crack about saving him from Drake's relieving himself... he just shook his head and chuckled. "Name's Kesh actually... nice to meet you Lana. So you often sit at the base of cliffs at God forbidden hours, shooting exploding rocks random people? Or is it more just am occasional thing?" He jested with a grin.

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bengal
2008-04-01 06:19 pm UTC (link)

Drake took back his rejected hand and ran it through his water-logged hair, “So, Little Red Riding Hood doesn’t want to shake hands with The Big Bad Wolf, eh?”, he chuckled, “Fair enough, but there’s no need to go waving that slingshot around. Neither one of us will do you harm”. Drake sensed fear, distrust…but, there was no weakness here. This young woman was no mouse to be cornered and preyed upon. Good, he thought, I’ll be blunt with her.. Walking a bit apart from Kesh so the young woman’s attention would be divided, the feral spoke plainly, “We were out minding our own business, Lana, and you attacked us. Still, we mean you no harm. You stand there with weapons ready to attack us, so I must tell you plainly that you would be a fool to do so. Kesh here is surrounded by a force field that nothing can penetrate and me…well, I’m about as strong as 40 blokes, heal instantly and with my speed and reflexes could probably snap your neck before you got off a round at this distance”, he cracked his knuckles, “…not that I’m planning any such thing, mind you”.

Walking over to Kesh, he nudged the younger man with his elbow and teased, “Say something cute and boyish. That’s your role here…I’m the manly one…you’re the boyish one. It’s sort of like ‘good cop/bad cop’, mate”. He looked up at Lana and smiled, “He says he likes you!”. Jumping back from his companion before he got belted, Drake strolled over towards Lana while mussing his hair in a way to facilitate drying it. “Keshie and I were going to do a bit of cliff diving and then go out for some drinks. Maybe we could start the drinking earlier and treat this lovely young lady. Would you like to accompany us, Lana? Something tells me that you haven’t met many muties…”, he leaned forward and whispered loudly with his hand to his mouth, “…and we come from a big ol shipload of ‘em!”.

Walking back to Kesh, he slipped his arm around his buddy’s shoulder and asked, “Whaddaya say, mate? Take the dolly bird for some drinks and then show off our loverly flying ship?”, he winked at the still wary Lana, “You really must come along Miss Hawaii. We can spin you some fascinating tales and heart pounding adventures! Plus, if you’re good and don’t shoot us with anymore pop-rocks, I’ll tell you all about Keshie here! How he sleeps in a closet and his girlfriend’s a monkey!”, Drake’s grin was so wide, his canines looked frightful. The feral mutant was actually enjoying himself…this was a game to him…seeing if maybe they could recruit a new mutant for the King’s Ransom crew. Wouldn’t Nate shit in his knickers if Drake brought one in, eh? What was even more fun was trading barbs with Kesh. Wasn’t many he could do that with…Nate, Doc…the others either got pissed off or hurt…bloody hell!

“So, lady and gent, what’s it to be, eh?”

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lana_bombshell
2008-04-01 10:29 pm UTC (link)

Lana’s dark eyes took in everything she could about the two men as they stood there. Whatever surrounded the man who called himself Kesh seemed to have dimmed down, but she knew it was still there. She wondered perhaps what else he could do aside from lighting dark areas.

Her lips parted to speak some clever retort to his question when Drake began to speak instead, killing her words before she’d even inhaled breath enough for them. The mutant femme definitely felt like an idiot for having attacked them. Some part of her knew there wasn’t any danger to be had between the two men, they knew each other after all. Knowing oneself so well had a tendency to get annoying and this was no exception; she wanted to be noticed. She had recognized them as mutants, the first mutants she’d ever knowingly encountered, and she wanted to meet them. Her actions had been nothing short of childish, bordering on dangerous, but she couldn’t exactly turn back the clock and undo it all. Done is done and she sure had their attention now.

Drake’s explanation of the two men’s abilities didn’t set her at ease in the least, though. Strangely enough knowing someone can kill you before you can even blink didn’t have a calming effect. However, some old proverb or saying of sorts popped into her head conveniently: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Who had said that originally? Regardless, it always seemed the better idea to have the ones who can inflict the most damage on her side rather than against her.

As her brain sifted through everything the “manly” mutant decided to tell her mind seemed to be on overdrive. So many questions rattled through her head that most of them only formed as half thoughts, flitting away before she could ever grasp them. One stood out clearly, though, unimportant as it may seem: How had she never encountered a single mutant in her life, only to meet two in one night who might even introduce her to an entire shipload of them? This was too good an opportunity to pass up.

“All right.” Lana spoke after a moment of hesitation. She even stuffed the handle of her slingshot between her belt and shorts at her hip, tossing the rock away from her. If things proved safe enough she would get rid of the one in her pocket before they left the beach. And at least if they were going to kill her they’d have no reason to do it so quickly she’d hardly have time to think, let alone react if she didn’t have any seemingly ready weapons in her hands.

If all else failed she could just charge something one of them wore and scurry away before the inevitable explosion. Even if Drake healed immediately she’d at least have gotten that much damage, and surely something must be able to penetrate that… force field… was it? of Kesh’s. “But, considering my most unbecoming greeting of you boys I feel I really should make it my treat to you. A better way to welcome you both. After all, I am representing these little islands being the native that I am. I would prefer to give a better impression. Second impressions are usually more accurate anyway, don’t you think?” Lana’s grin was no match for Drake’s nearly rabid looking one, but hers was warmer surely.

Because she didn’t often entertain guests, especially not mutants, she had a decent amount of cash tucked away for a night of fun if she so chose to spend it that way. Besides, the thought of actually meeting others like her, like them, really had her pent up with excitement. Or was that simply the fact she hadn’t really played with her power enough for the night, dispelling a lot of energy she felt necessary for safety‘s sake? It shouldn’t be too dangerous if she ignored it until later. She could always pick a few things up and dump them into trash bins along the way if the need arose. “So what do you two say?” Lana’s tone had a teasing note. “Think you can handle a woman buying you two a couple of drinks?”

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tarnished_aegis
2008-04-08 02:10 am UTC (link)

Kesh snarled, partially mocking and partially in irritation to the 'cute and manly' roles assigned. Had he fangs they would have showed. It was tempting to tackle the man and have it out, mostly for fun. But, discretion and valor and such. Plus no reason to scare off the young woman the feral had just started drooling over, that's no way for wingman to act. And Bengal was so into his routine. The man really was impressive to watch do his thing... going from not-so-veiled threats, to hitting on the woman. And he did it so smoothly and appealingly, it really was impressive.

He nodded in agreement with the dog. "I've yet to see the Capt'n meet a mutant he didn't want aboard. And I've got to admit, you should try it out just for the novelty of it at least. If it's not your thing, you at least get a free ride to our next port right? That is of course, assuming your can tolerate being stuck on a boat with our drooling man-dog pet here." He patted Bengal on the head and ruffled his hair. "But yes, do come out with us for the night, we're probably the two most unruly of the crew. So if we don't scare you off... you should feel right at home on the boat."

"What, turn down having a beautiful young woman buy us drinks? I think Tigger here would mangle me till I saw reason." He grinned back to the woman. His concern had been completely diffused by Drake's antics and the woman's turn of heart and warm invitation. Ya, she had stumbled across the two most simple and straight forward of the crew. And they were both suckers for a pretty face.

He turned and looked to Drake, the comment finally sinking in. "Closet... so you knew about that too? Hell... you're probably the bloody comedian that arranged it all aren't you!"

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