"Be careful pulling it in!"

A loud creak was heard as the ship bumped the sides of the docks as it was pulled in to dock there for the day, and the captain, Grimm Huntsback, glared at the girl maneuvering it. "Taylor! I said be careful!" He snapped.

"Well, excuse me! These docking ports are hard as hell to see. I didn't realize we were too low." She rolled her eyes.

Grimm took his hat off, flopping it over in his hands. "Just pull us up a little bit." He sighed.

"Aye aye," Taylor sighed. It took a bit, but eventually the ship was in the right position. The Montronagan Spaceport was busy as usual, and from where they were, Grimm and his crew could tell that the marketplace nearby was bustling as well.

As the ladder was tossed down, men at the docks, held it tight and secured it. "I'm going to need one or two of you to stay back to watch over the ship and make sure no one hijacks it," Grimm said. "Any volunteers?"

"I got it," Dagan called from the upper level of the ship near where Taylor was.

Grimm nodded at him in thanks before turning toward where the ladder was and looking down. He swallowed, wondering like he did every time they docked why he was the captain of an /air/ ship. He hated heights. But he was used to climbing down the ladder by now, so he forced himself to do it. "Rin, will you, uh... hold the ladder from the top while I get down so in case it snaps you can hold it up?" He asked quietly as the woman sauntered up.

"Again? You know, you really don't have to worry, these ropes are perfectly safe. The docks, however..." Rin smiled and leaned against the railing, watching Grimm. Since it was her job to make sure the esstenial functions of the ship were all working properly, as well as the equipment itself, any fault or misshap could be placed on her. She was, however, confident that their equipment was some of the best and it was highly unlikely. "Alright, I got you, go on." She shooed him to the edge, grabbing a hold of the rope and waiting from him to make his way down onto the docks below.

Grimm shot her a look, hands shaky as he willed himself down the ladder. Once he was on the dock, he let out a relieved breath. "Okay, I'm okay." He assured himself quietly before rolling his eyes at himself. Once everyone else was down, Grimm flipped his hat back onto his head and yanked the collar of his long coat forward so it wasn't falling off of him. "You all can go do whatever you'd like, just as long as you're back here by sunset. We'll be spending the night here before leaving tomorrow evening." He told everyone. Taylor was the first to run off, grabbing Coby's arm and dragging him with her through the crowd. Grimm turned to Rin again. "You going off on your own? Or are you planning on staying with your captain?" He teased, beginning to saunter down the dock.

"Hmm," Rin placed her hands on her hips, pertending to think for a moment. "You know, I think I'll stick with you for a while. Who knows what kind of trouble we can stir up together." She piped up, jerking her head toward the bustling town before them. The markets here were said to be wide and sprawling, full to the brim with peddlers from all over coming to advertise their products.

Grimm snorted, shoving her with his shoulder a little. "Let's try to stay /out/ of it for once. I don't want people chasing us back to the ship and making us leave." He sighed forelornly. "We'll go somewhere else to do that at some point. Maybe after we leave here-" he paused, raising an eyebrow as he noticed a bit ways off a rather... attractive man talking to a shop owner. That wasn't the only thing, though, it was the fact that while this man was speaking to the owner, another man with blue-ish hair was sneaking up behind the shop and snatching things up into a bag at his side. Grimm's eyes scanned up the one doing the distracting, lingering on his incredibly curved hips for a moment before making it up the rest of his body. He couldn't see his face from where they were standing, but he liked what he saw. He especially liked how he was using his looks as a distraction. Grimm cracked a smirk at the sight, almost crashing into another person as he watched.

The thing about the Montranogan Spacesport is that it isn't quite the rich, wealthy market everyone thought it to be. For every well dressed merchant waving over passersby was a begger or thief lurking in the dark alleys waiting for an opertunity. Kynareth didn't like to think of himself as such, but hey, everyone had to make a living somehow. And if the opportunities were there, why should he waste them? One such opportunity stood out to him and his companion, Teal, as they observed a flustered looking shop owner advertising his store. With a nod of agreement, the two moved in; Kyn working to get the man's attention and Teal pretending to browse nonchalantly. "My, you have such a wide variety here." He smiled and leaned casually against one of the counters. His bright green eyes occasionally flicked toward his partner to make sure he was doing what he had to as inconspicuously as possible. The brunette made sure to flutter his eyelashes, purse his lips and drape his loose white shirt to frame his body and flatter it. Anything to keep the owner's eyes on him.

Teal had managed to get a few decent looking things before someone alerted the shopowner to what was going on. In moments the blue-haired male had slung the bag over his shoulder and vanishing down the nearest alley. Kyn took off after him, blowing the owner a kiss before disappearing as well, soon finding the sounds of angry yelling and footsteps to disperse entirely.

The scene played out in front of Grimm and Rin, Grimm watching from underneath his hat and still grinning with amusement. "They're good," he murmured. They could be a good addition to the crew, he thought. It'd be nice to have people around who know how to do that kind of stuff with ease. And considering the brunette seemed to be so good at putting his good looks to use, Grimm figured he'd have a lot of fun watching that. Grimm himself was okay at doing that kind of stuff, but only if he wasn't in his usual attire of his loose white shirt, long black coat, boots, baggy striped pants and his captain's hat. If he was dressed as he normally was, people would know who he was (he has quite a reputation) and they would never fall for any of his tricks. "Did you see that?" He asked Rin.

The woman nodded in agreement, watching as the two ran off with a few pursers after them, though it was obvious that they knew well enough what they were doing to not get caught. "A little sloppy, but you can tell they've been doing this for years. Why?" Rin gave Grimm a look of suspicion.

Grimm pursed his lips, shaking his head and shoving his hands into the pockets of his coat. "No reason. It was just impressive." He lied. He'd have to talk it over with the rest of the crew before bringing it up. /Especially/ before going out to get them and invite them to live with them. "Let's gather up some supplies. We need more rope. The rope we have is starting to wear down." He lifted his hands to tie his hair back in a loose ponytail.

After the day was over, Grimm and Rin made their way back to the ship only to find the others already making their way up the ladder. "Alastar, put the damn rat down." Grimm sighed in frustration.

"But- It's so cute! And maybe we can give it to Artym so he can make some weird stew out of it." Alastar grinned.

"If you think it's cute then why do you want to- Never mind. Give it to Artym, that's fine." Grimm shook his head and gripped the ladder, holding his breath as he climbed up it. Once everyone was on deck, Grimm brought up the aspect of bringing two new members into the crew. No one seemed to object the idea other than James wondering if they could be trusted. Grimm admitted that he wasn't sure yet, but he'd find out tomorrow.

After keeping what they could use and pawning off what they couldn't, Kyn and Teal bought food enough for a night and returned to the boarded off building they called home. It wasn't very glamourous, but it was better than what most people could do. Instantly they were greeted by a chorus of feline meowing of the usual crowd that gathered during dinner time. Kyn smiled brightly and sat down to let the small animals crowd around him as he shared his portion of the meat they managed to get.

Once the food was finished and everything put away, Teal went to bed immediately while Kyn stayed up a little longer, admiring the jewelry set Teal had managed to swipe. It was a little dark and rough cut, but overall very interesting pieces of a necklace and ring. He had promised the other man that, if need be, they would sell it but it was nice to have something as a luxury.

The next day the two hit the markets again, though not in the same area and with the honest intents just to browse. While Kyn was admiring a beautifully sewed brightly coloured shirt and talking animatedly with the seamstress, Teal came up to him nudging him and pointing someone out in the crowd. With a reluctant sigh, Kyn slipped away from the stand and put on a flirty face, sauntering up to their target. Though he had to admit he wasn't really looking to do this today, he found himself deeply compelled by the man in front of him- a little older maybe, wearing well fitting clothing with a definitely unique appearence. "You," he smiled easily, "have the most lovely eyes I have ever had the pleasure of seeing."

The next day, Grimm informed everyone of the fact that he was planning on finding these two men before sunset. As he headed out, Rin stayed a ways behind him while everyone else went their own separate ways again. Grimm had his bag slung over his shoulders, carrying various items that they'd purchased and money he needed to buy new things still. He scanned the crowds as he walked in hopes of seeing the men again, and to his delight, they came right to him.

"Well," Grimm smiled at the compliment, removing his hat and holding it against his chest as he nodded before putting it back on. "I could say the same for you." He batted his eyelashes in return. "And a beautiful body as well." He winked. He refrained from letting his eyes flicker downward to his bag where he knew the blue-haired man would be reaching. "Who do I have the pleasure of meeting today?"

"Ah, the same to you as well." Kyn chuckled a little, smoothing out his shirt a little more. Usually when they were out or when Kyn was 'working', he made sure to wear something nice and clean to appear more presentable and appealing. For some reason being in the presence of this man made him feel a bit more self conscious "My name is Kynareth, I am very pleased to meet your aquiantance." He offered a slight bow, pulling down his wide-collared shirt a little more to show off his slender shoulders. "What may I call you, hm?"

Grimm swallowed as the man, Kynareth, let his shirt slip down a bit to reveal his shoulders. Normally that wouldn't phase him at all, but the body of this particular man was ever so slightly more inticing to him than any other man's body. "Captain Grimm Huntsback," he came back to reality with a smug grin. "Or for now, simply 'Grimm' will do." He flicked his tongue out over his lips to wet them before smacking his hand back and swatting the blue-haired man on the nose. His expression changed from amused to that of slight frustration. "You may be charming, but I'm not really in the mood for being robbed at the moment. Rin!" He could hear the blue-haired male scrambling to his feet, but before he could get anywhere, Rin was on him and had his arms behind his back. Grimm reached out and took hold of Kynareth's arm, yanking him back and doing the same to him as Rin was to his companion. Mouth right next to his ear from behind, Grimm offered another knowing grin and chuckled. "You're good at what you do. I admire that. Which is why I have a proposal for you."

As soon as Teal made a startled noise that signified he had been caught, the flirtatious expression on Kyn's face dropped to alarm. Instantly he was backing up and preparing his escape, trying to figure out how he could get the two of them out of there with the most ease. His hand was being jerked back, however, and he saw the other man, Grimm, with a firm hold on it. The next moment he was pressed against the man's body, feeling a slight spike of fear as he wasn't sure if Grimm was going to bring a knife to his throat or not. When that wasn't what happened at all, and instead he was presented with a proposal, he had to blink in shock a few times for a moment before coming up with a response.

"Are you always this rough?" He grinned slyly, turning his head slightly to catch Grimm's eye. "Hm. What kind of proposal?" The question came out as a suggestive purr and he squirmed slightly to try and make Grimm ease up on his grip a little.

"I don't normally make these kinds of proposals to people anymore, so no, I'm not usually this rough," Grimm breathed. "I like the way you do things. I would be able to do exactly what you do if it weren't for my reputation, so I would like to ask that you join my crew on the Black Demon." He loosened his hold on Kyn slightly. "You could be of great use to us. And you would have others to provide for you as well."

"You want his little friend here to come, too, right?" Rin jabbed her chin at Teal's face.

"Of course. They're a team, aren't they?" Grimm smirked.

"I would not leave him." Kyn quipped sternly while Teal gave Rin a dirty look. He didn't too much appreciate the situation they were forced into, but as long as the two weren't dealing out punishment or anything, he could listen to what the had to say. Kyn, on the other hand, didn't look too sure. "A ship?" He inquired, looking up with almost a look of eagerness. The expression quickly changed to indesicion as he thought about it a little. "What if I refuse?" He ventured cautiously, watching Grimm's expression closely.

Grimm sighed, biting down on his bottom lip for a moment. "If you refuse, well..." he suddenly gave a sly smile, a hand slipping down to brush over Kyn's crotch. "I'm sure I could convince you." He whispered, tongue darting out again over his own lips to wet them once more. He was only bluffing, really. He wouldn't do something like that. This guy seemed nice enough, and so did his friend, and he had to admit he was more than a little attracted to his appearance, but that was all. He simply needed him as part of his crew.

Kyn sucked in a little breath at the motion, letting it out slowly as a grin briefly crossed his face. "Okay." He said, without really realizing it. After a moment he blinked and shook his head a few times. "Wait, wait wait. My cats." He blurted out. From over where Rin was standing, he heard Teal sighing to himself. "They're strays, Kyn. They'll live." The brunette began to protest, especially about a certain one called 'Junnesejer'. The two bickered for a moment before Kyn turned back to Grimm. "If I go, may I bring my cat? Just one." He shot Teal a brief look.

Grimm thought it over for a moment, looking back at Rin. She shrugged, indicating it didn't matter to her. "...Fine," Grimm nodded. "But be sure to keep it away from the cook. He tends to think that any small animal is game for food." He rolled his eyes. "But hey, at least you're joining. That's great." He purred, winking again. He let go of the man. "Go get your cat. We'll be waiting near the docks. It's almost sunset and we're leaving tonight."

Kyn agreed, though with a slightly mortified look at the mention of the cook. Soon the two were slinking off back to their 'house', gathering their meager belongings and returning to the dock with them. Kyn had a fluffy tabby curled on his shoulders looking around contentedly. Though it was a bit of a fight to pull the brunette away from his felines, he seemed more calmed to have the tabby with him, nudging the side of his head when he started to get anxious.

The Black Demon was everything the name implied, and the two were a bit awestruck to look at it. "We're going to be part of a pirate crew." Teal said aloud, almost in disbelief. Kyn just nodded, shifting his weight on his feet. It felt odd to be leaving Montonagon, he met Teal here when they were just kids and had been here ever since. "But just imagine what it will be like to see all different worlds. It will be... an adventure." He quirked a smile, looking around for Grimm or Rin.

Grimm was actually sort of suprised that he'd managed to convince them to join them, but he quickly shook it off as he saw the two men heading up the boardwalk to the ship. "Hey!" Rin grinned. "They didn't run off on us. That's something to be said for trust." She pointed out.

Grimm nodded, scanning them over and chuckling slightly at the sight of the cat on Kynareth's shoulders. "Good. The rest of the crew should be back soo-"

"Captain! Look what I got!" Grimm leaned to the side to see around Kyn and Teal as he heard Taylor's excited voice, watching as she ran up to them with a sheathed sword at her side.

"How the hell did you pay for that?" Grimm raised an eyebrow.

"I, uh... didn't," Taylor admitted. She looked to the side, noticing Kyn and Teal. "Are these the new guys? Sweet."

"Yeah. Oh, also, speaking of which," Grimm looked to Kyn again. "When I said you could just call me Grimm? I lied. You're to refer to me as 'Captain' at all times." He watched out of the corner of his eye as the rest of his crew showed up and began climbing up the ladder.

Kyn watched Taylor for a moment with a look of amusement, then turned back to Grimm as he was addressed. The brunette pursed his lips a little at the comment, while Teal gave a hum of confirmation beside him. He could tell the other man wasn't much paying attention to what anyone was saying, too focused on the ship to care. Kyn just sighed, shrugging. "Raunverulega? Alright, whatever you say, /Captain/. Lead on." He made a gesture to the ladder.

Grimm rolled his eyes at the way he said 'Captain,' turning to the ladder and pressing his lips together before he forced himself to cling onto it. He didn't want the new guys thinking he was a coward. Once he made it up to the top, Grimm watched as Rin came up next and then the other two. "Oi! Captain!" Grimm looked up to see Dagan trying to pry the sword out of Taylor's hands. "Would you tell her to put the damn sword down? She doesn't know how to use it!"

"If you keep trying to pull it from her like that, one or both of you are going to end up with a limb missing," Grimm laughed. "Taylor, just get to the helm. Dagan, go and start up the ship's engines. We're leaving."

"Aye aye," they both gave affirmative nods before Taylor let her sword clink to the ground and ran up to take control of the helm. Dagan raced off to go below deck to where the controls were.

"Where are we off to this time?" Rin asked, leaning against the side of the ship.

"Not sure yet," Grimm shrugged. "We'll just travel for a while and see where we end up for now." Turning to Kyn and Teal again, he pursed his lips. "Sleeping quarters are below deck on the front half of the ship- Don't go down where Dagan just went. That's the control room. While you're on board, I want you," he pointed at Teal, then gestured to Coby, "helping Coby whenever you see him cleaning. And you..." he looked at Kyn again, "I'm not certain. I'll find different things for you to do, I guess."

Teal agreed to take their things below deck while Kyn hung out above with Grimm, looking around and watching everyone work. "I have many uses, Captain. Just say the word." He grinned widely at the man, smoothing out his shirt and reaching down to pull off his shoes. It was never a good idea to wander the streets without them and Kyn loathed that entirely. And so, shoes in hand, he wandered over to the ledge and stared at the port beneath them with a mixed expression on his face.

"So, Captain, now that you have us here, I am confused on what you intend to do with us. Why recruit a couple of street rats to work on your crew? Need something stolen or broken into? Or perhaps you would just like to observe, hm?" Back against the railing, he stared over at Grimm with a casual look of inquiry.

Grimm huffed at the suggestion, watching as he walked to the side of the ship. It was beginning to lift now, and Taylor was turning the helm so as to head off in the opposite direction. At Kyn's question, he shook his head with a small laugh. "Well, seeing how you two worked yesterday interested me. You both seemed to work so well together and I thought that you could be of use to us. We don't have much money at the moment, so we've had to resort to even more stealing and thieving than usual. You two are good at that, obviously." He explained.

"Excuse me, Captain, I apologize for interrupting, but I am curious- Where are you from?" James appeared, cocking his head curiously at Kyn.

Kyn looked a little taken aback the question, leaning a little more heavily against the wooden rail with a thoughtful look. "Tamriel, have you heard of it?" His smile turned bitter at the mention, tapping his shoes against his armrest. "It is a dead planet now, since the seige from Palaven. I heard it is still uninhabitable from all the damage. My parents and I were lucky enough to leave before the war got too bad, but..." He bit his lip, shaking his head. "Well, I can tell you later if you are interested. I, uh, think Teal needs me." He pointed toward the entrance to the sleeping quarters and scurried off to disappear down the stairs.

That night was spent simply lounging around. Coby spent some time cleaning the deck and talking to Teal about how he and Kyn spent their time back at Montranogan, and Grimm took over steering for a bit from Taylor to give her a break. When it came time to sleep, everyone retired to their sleeping quarters. Thankfully the ship was in a part of space that was completely safe. Grimm didn't sleep for a long portion of the night, mostly going over maps and trying to figure out where it was next he wanted to go. Still having no idea, he went to sleep late in the morning and woke up not long after to Rin rushing down into his quarters. "Grimm, we've got a prob-" she yelped as the ship was suddenly rocked, throwing Grimm off of the bed and onto the ground. He jumped up, grabbing his sword and gun before telling Rin to continue with what she was saying. "We're right in the crossfire of two battling ships and Taylor's having some trouble steering us out."

"Is the concealer on?" Grimm asked, cocking his gun.

"Shit, yeah it is, that could be a problem," Rin nodded, rushing upstairs. "Dagan!" She called down into the hallway of the door that was next to the one leading to Grimm's quarters. "Turn the damn concealer off! The other ships can't see us!" A frustrated yell was heard from the control room, but Dagan managed to hit the switch that turned the ship invisible just as the two battling ships were beginning to close in on each other.

"Can you tell who was being attacked and who was the attacker?" Grimm asked, throwing on his hat and watching as one of the ships, upon seeing the Black Demon, immediately turned to leave.

"I'm guessing that was the attacker," Alastar crossed his arms over his chest.

"Should we go and check out the other ship?" Taylor asked, biting one of her nails. "I mean, maybe they're hurt... We could help."

Grimm seemed to think over it for a moment. "It's really not any of our business, but if you really want to, we can."

Kyn spent most of his time that day getting to know the people who worked around the ship and trying to remember names. After a while when he and Teal retired to the sleeping quarters, he took one look at the hammocks, shook his head, and promptly made up his own space on the floor. After all, it wasn't much different than where they used to live, maybe a little more clean. And less chance of being mugged in the middle of the night. After being so used to solid ground, there was no way he could fall asleep in something that swayed all through the night, he explained to Teal when the man looked at him questioningly.

Hense why when he did wake up to the whole ship shuddering, there was quite a bit of a struggle to fight down the initial panic. He followed Teal up above deck, hastily tossing on some loose shirt over the baggy worn pants he had fallen asleep in and sought out the captain. Turns out, he didn't really have to, as it was pretty obvious what was going on just by looking over the edge. While Teal was grumbling something about their first day waking up to a ship battle, the brunette was more intent on listening to Taylor and Grimm talking about what to do in the aftermath.

"You are pirates, are you not? Should you not be jumping on the opportunity to pillage from the unfortunate or something?" He cocked his head and glanced over to the damaged ship. It was tempting to ask if he could follow them onto the other ship, but if there were still others alive, they could easily mistake the crew of the Black Demon for the one that attacked them and try and fight back. Kyn didn't think he could handle a sword to save his life, as he never had the need to use one.

"We're pirates, yes," Taylor answered, "but we're not always that... rude, I guess. Sometimes if we really need to we'll do something like that but we usually try not to hurt anyone if we don't have to. Right now we don't need to pillage them." She shrugged. "I just wanna help them. Their ship took a serious beating."

"Taylor, Rin and I are going to head over. The rest of you stay here." Grimm ordered. Taylor steered the ship closer to the other one, and as soon as they were close enough, Grimm set over the plank so it connected the two ships. Once they were all on, they all held up their hands in order to show that they meant no harm.

"Is everyone alright?" Taylor asked, arms still raised. There were only a few people on deck that they could see, and they all seemed to be pretty banged up. When no one answered her, they all put their arms down and Grimm began scoping out the ship, asking the injured if they were in need of anything. Taylor and Rin did the same.

"Captain!" Rin called suddenly, waving him over to the upper level of the ship.

"What is- Oh," he stopped, looking at the man in front of Rin. His leg was bent at an odd angle and he had a nasty cut on his head, and blood was soaking through his shirt. He held an object in his hand, a small sphere. He was still breathing- only barely, though. He looked at Grimm, his shaking hand reaching out with the sphere in it. "H- Hide it," he rasped. Grimm furrowed his brow, taking the small orb into his own hands and opening his mouth to say something. Before he could, however, the man was falling limp and his eyes were staring into the sky. Grimm and Rin stood wordlessly, Grimm shoving the orb into his pocket. He gathered Taylor up, headed back onto their own ship, pulled the plank back, and pulled out.

While Teal wandered off to find someone who might know more about the situation than he did, Kyn scrambled up onto the bulwark and sat down, waiting. From here he could see onto the deck of the other ship a little better to see if he could spot any movement. There was none, so he felt a little better watching the three of them board and eventually disperse to investigate. When they returned, shouting orders to move out, Kyn jumped down from his post and trotted up to Grimm with a curious look.

"Find anything interesting? Was there anyone left?" They had come back rather quickly, which they wouldn't have if they were trying to help someone who had been injured. Besides, they might've brought them onto the ship to bring them somewhere else, so that pretty much answered his question. Still, none of them appeared to have left with anything, so nothing must have been worth taking.

Grimm shook his head, running a hand through his still-messy hair. "The captain was still alive, but... he was severely injured and died before we could do anything." Rin noticed the hard look that flashed across his face. Not a second later, however, he was stretching and sighing. "Oh, well, there wouldn't have been much we could have done anyway. We didn't find anything, though. And some of the crew was still alive, but they seemed to be in a sort of daze. A little bruised up but I think they were okay." He explained. "Taylor, get us out of here. I don't want that other ship coming back. I'm not awake enough to be fighting right now." He yawned, leaning against the railing of the stairs that led up to the helm.

"Oh." Was all Kyn could say before he backed off. Teal brushed passed him, saying something about going back to bed if he didn't need to be up just yet. Kyn turned his goal to seeking out Alastar instead of following the blue-haired man, intending to ask whether or not Artym would come after him with a knife if he snatched something from the kitchen. It was odd to have food readily available, and it would take a bit getting used too, but it was definitely a welcome change.

A couple of days later, Grimm was turning the orb over in his hand in his quarters, still trying to figure out how the hell it operated and why it seemed so important to the captain of that ship. Who was he hiding it from? Those other pirates that attacked them? That seemed likely, but why did it need to be hid? Grimm sighed, shoving it back in his pocket and looking at the map in front of him. Montressor wasn't very far away and he and Taylor had been meaning to visit it for some time, what with it being their home planet and such. Maybe they'd go there tomorrow.

Teal was off doing Teal things a lot more often now, ie helping clean the ship with Coby, so Kyn didn't much of a chance to talk to him anymore. He still didn't have a job assigned to him, despite his nudges Grimm's way saying something about being 'crew relief' and getting shut down. Repeatedly. So he took to climbing the lookout post, sitting on the bulwark with his legs dangling off the side of the ship, and his personal favourite of seeing how far out he could climb on the bow before Grimm came running to yell at him. He didn't understand what had the man so freaked out about heights- if he was, why captain an air ship? Still, he usually managed to drag Kyn off of whatever he had climbed onto insisting he was going to fall and die.

Today he really had nothing to do, and watching everyone else work was starting to get a little boring. Nothing exciting had really happened since they came across that other ship. It finally occurred to him, however, that now he had the means to visit other planets and ships, and thus bounded up to the Captain's Cabin and began knocking insistently.

Grimm hadn't meant to doze off on the map at all. But when the knocks at the door woke him up, he wondered why it was easier for him to fall asleep when it was inconvenient rather than at night when he was actually /supposed/ to be sleeping. Shaking his head, he trudged to the door and opened it, surprised to find Kyn there. "Yes?" He raised an eyebrow. "Something you need?"

"We have a ship." Kyn blurted out, as if just realizing it. "And I have not traveled in a long, long time. I have been stuck in Montanagon for years so... I have a friend out there. On the planet Illium, have you heard of it?" He brushed passed Grimm and starting pacing around the cabin excitedly. "I do not know where it is, or how far away, but it would mean a lot to me if we could go see him. Only for a little while." He ended up standing in front of Grimm, staring up at him as if asking for permission.

/He's like a damn puppy,/ Grimm furrowed his brow. He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Sorry, we don't have time to do that. It's too far away. It'd take us forever to stock up on fuel and supplies and if we make constant pitstops along the way it'll take even longer." He shrugged, turning to the map again and rolling it up. "Now if you wouldn't mind, please get out of my part of the ship?"

Kyn gave an indignant huff but didn't leave. "Come on, please, Captain?" He followed the man over to the desk, leaning against it and watching him rolling up the maps. "I have not seen him since I was a child. Please? Do not make me start begging." He walked around to the other side of the desk next to Grimm, crossing his arms and pouting.

"We're not going," Grimm refused. "Like I said, it's too far. Too much time will be wasted. Maybe at some point in the future when we have faster means of transportation, but for now, no. Beg all you want, we're not going." He gave a frustrated sigh. "I told you to leave. Captain's orders."

In a last ditch attempt to get Grimm to agree, Kyn moved in closer to the point where he was practically pinning the man to the desk with his body. "Captaiiin." He whined, nearly pressing his face into Grimm's, hands lightly settling on said man's hips. "Let me convince you, then." He grinned, tracing a finger down the inside of Grimm's thigh and brushing between his legs lightly.

Grimm's breath caught in his throat as he was pressed against his desk, hands at his sides and resting on the table. "I- Excuse me?" He furrowed his brow again, glaring at the man. "I understand that you're a- aha... Stop that," he pressed his lips together, leaning back. "I'm not so easily persuaded."

Kyn only smiled again, tilting his head. "Are you not?" As he spoke, he groped at Grimm's crotch with more pressure, practically grinding against him now. "What will I have to do for you, then?" He batted his eyelashes a little, continuing to fondle the growing bulge in Grimm's pants.

Another puff of air left Grimm's lips, breathing picking up. "I told you to stop," he said in a rather unconvincing tone of voice. He mentally kicked himself when he allowed his hips to gyrate up against Kyn's hand, a low groan forcing its way from his throat. "Don't- don't keep doing this, Kynareth," he ground his teeth together.

"Will you punish me for insubordination, Captain?" Kyn asked with a wink, squeezing a little as Grimm began to shift against him. "Not enjoying yourself, perhaps? I promise I am much better. Will you allow me to show you?" His fingertips dragged upward to linger on Grimm's belt, creeping in only slightly.

Grimm bit his lip, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. "How much better could you /be?/" He inhaled, hating himself for allowing this to happen but he just couldn't find it within himself to push the other man away. God, it felt too good and he hadn't even actually touched him yet. Then again, he hadn't been handled by another person like this since Daniel.

With a victorious little chuckle, Kyn slipped his hand down the front of Grimm's pants and kneaded at his groin a little more, watching the man squirm. Once he was confident he wouldn't be pushed away, he gradually slid down to his knees, dragging his other hand lightly across Grimm's hip as his did. With a few short tugs, he had pulled the line of his pants down a little so he could ghost his lips over where his hand was currently occupied.

Grimm lifted a shaky hand to his mouth, biting down on the skin to keep himself from making any noise. As soon as Kyn's lips hovered over his cock, however, he had to put his hand back down on the table to steady himself. "Y- You fucking asshole," he breathed, shuddering lightly. "Just do it already!"

"Demanding." Kyn clicked his tongue and chuckled, but continued to jerk the material down more to expose his length completely. With an appreciative hum, he ran his thumb over the tip of Grimm's cock before leaning in and dragging his tongue across the underside of it. He did quick little teases and darting his tongue out every few moments, but mostly working with his hands, not quite finished teasing the man just yet.

Grimm tipped his head back as Kyn's tongue flicked out, teeth biting his own lip again and eyes closing. "Holy Hell," he panted, looking down again. "Would you stop it with the teasing and just suck?" He practically begged, voice rough. His hips bucked again slightly.

Kyn hummed in thought for a moment, eyes flicking up to meet Grimm's. "I suppose if you take me to Illium, I can." He grinned, continuing to tease lazily with his tongue. Briefly engulfed the head of the man's cock and sucked for a moment before returning to his previous actions.

"Shit-" the man gasped, his teeth digging into his bottom lip harshly. "You- Okay, okay, fine, I'll take you! Now /do it/." He growled, reaching down to tangle his fingers in Kyn's hair. He couldn't fucking believe he'd just given into that, but it just felt so /good/ to be touched like this again.

With a triumphant smile, Kyn obeyed and took him completely, deciding to drop the teasing all together. He kept his hands on Grimm's thighs, bobbing his head a few stops before stopping to lazily drag his tongue down the underside of his cock before continuing. He made sure to give a few low hums just to drive Grimm crazy, fingertips running slowly across the skin of his hip.

Grimm sifted his fingers through Kyn's hair, his face flushed and eyes half-lidded. "Oh, god," he moaned, looking down to see Kyn's lips wrapped around his cock and his head bobbing. His hold on Kyn's hair tightened a bit, slamming his teeth down on his tongue to keep from letting out any obscene noises other than what he'd already made. All that teasing had already brought him close to the edge.

"My, Captain, enjoying yourself?" Kyn glacned up at the man as he pulled off for a moment, smiling slyly. To be honest, he hadn't expected Grimm to go along with it at all, and most likely would get booted out for his efforts. He was glad to accomidate to the man's needs, however, even if it was only really to get him to agree to something. With a soft chuckle, he returned to what he was doing before Grimm got snappy again, giving a groan of appreciation at the fingers threaded in his hair.

Grimm couldn't even bring himself to answer, as the second he opened his mouth he found himself letting out a silent call of pleasure, hips jerking into Kyn's mouth and his head falling back again. He leaned back on the desk to steady himself, lips parted and his breath coming out in pants.

"Is that a yes?" Kyn quipped with a laugh, switching between teasing and sucking for a few moments each. Grimm seemed barely coherant enough to protest, so he knew the man was close, and probably shouldn't delay much longer unless he wanted to get an earful about it later. Grinning wickedly, he took Grimm in completely again with a small groan. He hadn't expected the man to be so generously endowed, and it was quite the pleasent surprise, and though he'd love to try and coax the man into bed, it probably wouldn't happen. He probably had limits about how 'involved' he could get with his crew.

Not long after Kyn took him in like that again, Grimm practically saw stars as he came into Kyn's mouth. He gave a loud groan, sputtering out a few curses and running his hands through Kyn's hair softly. When he was spent, he put his weight on the desk again as his knees shook. "Yes," he breathed.

With a quick swipe of his tongue over his lips, Kyn pulled off of him and stood up, readjusting his shirt. "Then I am glad." He smiled in response. "It is a shame that you have your duties to take care of, but should you ever have need of me again, I shall be close by." He set his hand on Grimm's knee for a moment, pursing his lips before he shook his head. "I should go then, should I not?" He cracked a smile and let his hand drop, turning to leave.

Grimm nodded, reaching down to adjust his pants again. He was quiet for a moment before speaking, "This... doesn't leave my quarters. Make sure no one finds out." He mumbles, turning away from him and sitting down at his desk in order to pretend he wasn't phased. He was obviously still flushed and he had enjoyed it, but he knew this would make him feel guilty later. "We'll go to Illium tomorrow morning. Get some sleep."

Kyn paused for a moment, hand on the doorknob. "Sure, Captain." He nodded, pushing the door open and exiting to walk swiftly across the deck and down to the sleeping quarters. When they arrived at Illium the next day, Kyn was practically tugging along those who had decided to come with him down the market streets to a quieter section of town, taking only a moment to appreciate solid ground before busily scanning signs for a logo he recognized. The large, three story inn he ended up stopping at looked much more homey than flashy like most others seen around. Eagerly he bounded in to look around, then ended up walking right up to the front desk and exchanging a few words with the lady leaning causally against it. While she walked off, Kyn figeted uncharacteristically for a few moments, pinching at the material of his shirt. He actually looked decent instead of dressing in something form fitting or suggestively loose with no black choker in sight, like he was actually trying to look presentable.

A few moments later the woman returned, and behind her was a very tall, very muscular man with richly dark skin and long, thick black hair pulled into a braid. As he walked into sight, Kyn gave a sheepish wave, and a few moments later was being picked up in a tight hug, his smaller frame practically engulfed by the other man's large arms. When he greeted the brunette, his booming voice practically filled the entire room without him even being too loud. When his light green eyes caught Grimm's (Kyn had practically forced the man to come with him), he gave a wide smile and released Kyn from his bear hug. "You brought friends?" He prompted, "Nice to meet you, then, my name is Bruniik." He greeted and held out a hand.

Grimm stared at the man as he lifted Kyn up, his own eyes widening in surprise at how... large he was. When the man - Bruniik - held out a hand for him to shake, he let his own bony hand be engulfed in it and shook. "Captain Grimm Huntsback," he said in response. "Nice to meet you, too."

"God, what the hell, you're so /tall!/" Taylor gaped. She was fully aware that she was generally considered short, and so being in front of this man was rather... imasculating. "Um, sorry, that was rude- I'm Taylor." She adjusted her pants so they weren't falling down as much as they were.

"Rin. And I appreciate the tallness. It's nice not to be the tallest one in the room for once." She grinned, vigorously reaching for Bruniik's hand and shaking it firmly. "How do you and Kyn know each other?"

Bruniik grinned widely at their reaction, letting out a loud laugh and shaking his head. "Yeah, I'm used to hearing that. Believe it or not, it does have quite a few adventages." He turned to Grimm with a look of intrigue. "Captain, huh? What ship?"

He shook each of their hands firmly, reaching Rin's last. He hummed a bit at her question, thinking. "I've been good friends with the Fanacaseculs for years. I had a nice place right near there's and we'd have dinner every evening together. Truth be told, I used to babysit this one and his lil sis." One large hand reached up ro ruffle Kyn's hair. "How are they doing, by the way?" Kyn flashed a weak smile, shrugging. "You know. Okay." He tried with a flippant hand gesture.

"The Black Demon," Grimm answered with a proud smile. He listened to his explanation of how he knew Kyn, his proud smile melting into a warm one. It brought back his own memories of living with his parents and his brother until his father left, his mother was killed, and his brother killed himself. That was the entire reason he'd become a pirate - to start a new life. But as he saw the weak expression on Kyn's face, he felt his own smile fall at the implications of what that expression must mean. "Sounds like you guys were close," Grimm said. "You should thank the guy. He was incredibly persistant on getting me to take him here to see you." He chuckled.

"The Black Demon?" Bruniik echoed, eyebrows going up. "The pirate crew? Hm... I've heard about you, then. To be honest, you're not what I expected. I guess I'm kind of grateful for that. I'd hate to have feathers here running around with the wrong people." Kyn sputtered indignantly at that, whining and tugging on one of the man's muscular arms.

"Persistant, were you?" Bruniik turned his amused look to the flushing brunette. "Aww, did you miss me?"

"No, not at all!" Kyn shot back, crossing his arms with a frown, but ended up getting lifted up effortlessly by the much taller man. "You did! Admit it." The two bickered good naturedly with Bruniik holding a squirming Kyn in the air until he admitted that he actually did miss the older man. "There we go, that wasn't so hard?" He said as he set Kyn down, only getting a grumble and half concealed smile in return. "Well, now that you guys are here, what about me treating you to lunch?"

"I'm... not what you expected? What do you mean by that?" Grimm raised an eyebrow. He didn't get an answer, however, and only resorted to watching Bruniik bicker with Kyn. It was amusing and in a strange way nice to see.

"You'd do that?" Taylor grinned as Bruniik offered to get them lunch. "That'd be great! I'm so freakin' /tired/ of dead-animal-stew."

"Artym makes other things," Rin pointed out.

"Yeah, but he goes through these phases where when he finds out that he's particularly good at making something, he'll make that and /only/ that for a long time." Taylor sighed.

"Being the only one not a fan of meat or... anything with dead animals in it, I can attest that his cooking may have some issues." Kyn piped up with a vaugely sickend look. Bruniik just shook his head. "Well luckily for you I'm the best cook in all of Illium with a whole kitchen's worth of food at my disposal. Just tell me what you want, and I'm sure I can fix something for you. Fresh meat garunteed- not dead animals." He winked lightheartedly at Taylor.

"I'll make sure Artym offers more... vegatarian choices," Grimm assured him. He was grateful to Bruniik for giving them food- incredibly good food, Grimm admitted. They spent the day there, Grimm knowing that the others on the ship were probably wandering around and they knew to be back by nightfall. When the day was over, Grimm thanked Bruniik for the food and said it was nice to meet him. "We'll be sure to come back and visit again soon. I know this one will want to again. And I enjoyed my time here, so I wouldn't mind coming back." He grinned.

Kyn looked like he wanted to say something about staying a little later, but ended up nodding along with Grimm and leaving the inn with him and the two girls. Later, when they were back on the ship, he murmured another thank you to Grimm before slipping off below deck to sleep with his cat curled up by his side.

In the morning, after Grimm had actually managed to get a full-night's sleep, he rolled out of bed and tied his hair back again before shoving on his boots and his hat, storlling out of his quarters with a smirk and down into the bunkers where Kyn and the others were. "Rise and shine!" He called, watching as Taylor fell out of her hammock in a daze. "We're heading off to Montressor. It's almost a week's journey from here, so we're starting as early as we can." Looking at Kyn's hammock, he grinned. "And you... I haven't put you to work yet hardly. I've got some jobs for you."

When Kyn woke up to Grimm's voice, he blinked and furrowed his brow for a moment. "What time even is it?" He kicked his thin blanket off and sat up, stretching. It took a moment for him to realize what Grimm had said before he smiled, trying to look suggestive even when he just woke up so it looked more sleepy than anything. "Some jobs? What kind?" He briefly fumbled around for some clothes.

Grimm didn't even register that he was trying to be suggestive, he just waited for him to put some clothes on before holding up some rope and a tool that looked something like a spatula. "Oh, just stuff around the ship. You've got some good arm muscles on you- back muscles, too. You're gonna /love/ this." He grinned wider.

"Go easy on him, Captain," Rin mumbled, rolling over in her hammock.

"Get your ass outta bed," Grimm snorted. "Dagan, go start up the ship's engines." He motioned for Kyn to follow him. "You can grab something from the kitchen to eat before you start." He said, climbing the stairs.

"Wait, what is that?" Kyn grumbled as he followed Grimm back up onto the deck, staring at what the man was holding. "You mean, you are making me do actual work?" He whined, crossing his arms. "I thought I was just here to look pretty."

"Oh, no, you're here for that as well. But as long as you're staying on my ship, you will be doing work. Even if it means that I have to teach you how to do it." He shrugged. "And as for your first job, I'll be teaching you how to tie lifelines." He waved the rope around. "You'll be sitting for a while. Any place in particular you want to be?" He gestured to the ship in general.

"What if I sit right there?" Kyn pointed to the ships bulwark with a raised eyebrow. It was well known how often Grimm had to keep him from leaning too far out on the edge or sitting in places where it was easy to fall to one's death ungaurded. As much as he did enjoy seeing Grimm scramble to pull him back half the time, it was actually a lovely spot to be. Especially for the view.

Grimm looked over where he pointed, biting his lip. "I... Yeah, that's fine, just don't fall off." He muttered. He'd sit on the floor if he had to. No way was he sitting on the railing. Following the other man over there, he leaned against the railing for the moment. He tossed one of the ropes he held to Kyn before tugging on his own. "We never really know what could happen up here, so the lifelines are kind of an essential part of standard protocol. Black holes have a tendency to show up sometimes and meteor showers, too. So the knots on these things need to be tighter than a Glampyian asshole. Got it?" He made sure Kyn understood before he would show him how to do it. "I'm going to be trusting you to make sure everyone's lifelines are secure in the case that something like that does happen where we really need them."

Kyn's eyebrows went up in amusement at the comment but he nodded along anyway in understanding. "So when one of these things do show up.. you only rely on ropes to anchor yourself to the ship? That seems pretty dangerous." He tried hefting the rope up to carry it better.

"Well, the ropes themselves are made out of a special material that won't snap under certain weight. I think it's up to 800 pounds? So if you have one of these tied around your waist and you're thrown from the ship, it'll catch you. Might hurt your back and neck, but it'll save your life most likely. /But/- if they're cut, well, you're dead. They can't be snapped, but they can be cut." Grimm explained. "I had a couple more members of my crew a few years back. A girl named Annie and... a guy named Daniel. We encountered a black hole. Thankfully we were far enough away so as to not get sucked in, but the solar waves it was sending out kept blasting the ship and Annie lost her footing while trying to fix one of the sails. The lifeline saved her, but before she could pull herself back up, Daniel cut her rope. She drifted out and got sucked into the black hole." He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't want anything like that ever happening again, so I'm trying to find another material that can't be cut either. Haven't found any yet."

Kyn listened intently to his story, nodding along and flashing a sympathetic smile. He still couldn't quite trust his safety to a rope just yet, though he did hope he never had to in the future. A black hole wasn't something he was very keen on witnessing anytime soon, even at a distance. A meteor shower might be an interesting sight, though. Away from the ship. "If you don't mind my asking, what became of Daniel?" He asked, brow furrowed. A mutinous crew member would surely be put to death, he figured, though couldn't be too sure.

Grimm sighed, "Daniel suffered a similar fate. The gravity hold was turned off on the ship while I was trying to, um... capture him, I guess, and he accidentally let go and drifted off into space." Grimm made a waving motion with his hand. "I didn't mean for it to happen. I was going to return him to his home planet to be locked up. I couldn't bring myself to kill him." He scowled, silently wondering why he had made the foolish decision to let him live, although he'd died anyway. "Oh, well, it's in the past. Shouldn't we be focusing on teaching you how to tie these damn things so something like that /doesn't/ happen again?" He chuckled.

"Very well," Kyn agreed with a sweeping gesture, "continue. Show me what to do and where to tie it. And preferably the show me how /to/ tie it... There have not been many instances where knot tieing has had much to do with life in death, from my experience."

Grimm nodded, performing the act with his rope slowly and leading Kyn through the process. "You're lucky you have someone to teach you this, I had to teach myself. No- That part goes under, not over." Grimm corrected. "It needs to be noose-like so it can attach to the hooks over there." He pointed to where the base of the bird's nest was.

Kyn corrected his knot, tightening it up and holding it out for Grimm to inspect once more. It was pretty hard to tie, considering the fact that the rope was so thick, but at least he felt a little better about using it as a lifeline. "So," He glanced over at the other man while practicing some more, "what is it you like to do when you are not busy captaining?"

"What?" Grimm raised an eyebrow at the question, wondering why the man was curious about his personal life. "I... Not much, I guess. I usually try to catch up on the sleep I never get or I read... sometimes I'll put my solar surfer to use when we're docked somewhere. I have a solar craft as well, but I don't normally use that one because it's for space-travel only and by now you should know how I am with heights." He chuckled.

"Wait," Kyn jerked up, staring at Grimm intently. "You have a solar surfer? I have always wanted to use one! Can we go on it? Please?" He shifted up to the man's side hand on his arm with an excited expression. It was hard to come by one where he used to live, though occasionally some could be found for sale in the markets. Since it would be really hard to steal, he had hoped to earn up enough for one. Though that never happened, he would be content enough just to borrow one.

Grimm froze, setting his jaw and looking at Kyn. "There is no way in hell we're going on that. And I think you mean the craft. That one is more boat-like. But yeah, no, I'm not going on that thing and you're not leaving with something that belongs to me." He shook his head. "Sorry."

The brunette gave a sigh and crossed his arms. This man never let him do /anything/. "Alright, that is easily remedied, then. Come with me. It can hold two people, yes? And you can show me how to use it and know I will not steal it from you or anything. Okay?" Kyn prompted, eyebrow raised slightly.

"I told you, I'm not going on it," Grimm repeated. "I've never had to use it and I'm not about to start." He leaned back, running a hand through his hair. He was silent for a few moments, chewing on his bottom lip before sighing loudly. "But... I don't know, I mean, if you really want to. I know I never let you really do anything around here. But I'm going with you even if I /really/ don't want to."

"I do." Kyn frowned slightly but went back to untying and retying the rope in his hands. "But it is your flying vessel thing, so you decide. Mull it over a little." He shrugged, tossing said rope down and flexing his fingers a few times. "Okay, now what?"

"No, it's fine, we can go. I need to try to get over this stupid fear anyway." Grimm shrugged. He flashed a quick grin, assuring the man that it was fine. "Now? Well, you seem to have the knot tieing down, so... For right now, you can go see Artym and tell him what you want when it comes time for dinner and if you want to, you can help him. I'll find something else for you to do in a little while."

Kyn nodded in agreement, smiling a bit in satisfaction while brushing off his shirt. "Very well, though I do not think he likes me. I do not think he likes anyone, really." He made a face before stretching and turning toward where the kitchens were. "But you better go with me sometime, then!" He called back to the man, grinning as he did.

"He likes Alastar," Grimm pointed out. "He doesn't wanna admit it but he does. And I know, I know, I'll see about going tomorrow, okay? We'll still be traveling, obviously, so it gives us some free time." He tipped his hat at Kyn, laughing slightly.

"Sure thing, Captain." Kyn winked as he pushed into the door of the kitchen, disappearing inside. Artym was, of course, irritable as always and seemed to be out to freak him out by chopping off rat heads right in front of him, but he at least thanked him for the help. The next day, Kyn wore a pair of reddish brown leather breeches and a tight green shirt, making sure nothing was loose for the ride (if Grimm still agreed on going, and if not, he could still show off a little). "Caaaaptaiiiin." He cooed and knocked on Grimm's door a few times. "Are you ready? Are we going?"

Grimm yanked on his boots, tucking his shirt in and jumping a little when he heard the knocks on his door and Kyn's voice. "Give me a second, I'm coming," he said, finishing tieing up his hair. He wouldn't wear his hat- that would just fly off. Once he was ready, he joined Kyn outside. He wrinkled his nose, "We all need to stop somewhere to get cleaned up at some point. This place wreaks of body odor." He shook his head. "Come on, let's get this over with." He swallowed, trying to calm his beating heart as he led Kyn down to the control room, then entering another door into a room where a small boat was being held above what looked to be a closed opening. "You know how to control these?"

"Nope!" Kyn chirped cheerily, gazing over at where the boat was. "But that is what you are here for, right?" He grinned teasingly and looked the vessel over, nodding. "So, first step?" He cocked his head and turned toward Grimm.

Grimm swiped a hand down his face in frustration, smacking his lips together and climbing into the craft. He explained how to operate the thrusters, the engine, how to steer it, and how to break and slow down easily. It was a quite a bit different from operating a surfer. "On a surfer, you have to use your foot to shift gears and such." He said as a sidenote. "But that's basically all there is to it. Think you can handle it?"

Kyn nodded intently, following along with Grimm's instructions as best he could. When he felt he knew it pretty well, he patted the helm and looked over at Grimm eagerly. "Now that I know what to do, how is it that we get it out of here exactly?"

Grimm hopped off the craft for a moment, heading over to a podium of switches and pulling one. The doors underneath the boat opened, and when he pulled another switch, the boat lowered. Before it could go down too far, Grimm jumped back onto it. "Okay, when the boat drops, you have to start the engines immediately and shoot off that way." He pointed.

"Alright." Kyn nodded, albeit nervously. He really didn't want his first time piloting to end with them crashing/dying/ or being in a dangerous enough situation that would upset Grimm and make him hate heights even more. He decided not to press the man's goodwill any further by teasing him about it and just did what he told him to, firing up the engines as soon as the ship dropped and going in the direction Grimm had pointed.

It took every ounce of Grimm's strength not to shriek as the boat dropped, his hands gripping whatever he could find. Kyn being next to him, one of his hands frantically grasped the material of Kyn's pants by his knee. As the ship moved forward, however, he loosened up a bit, squeezing his eyes shut because he knew that if he opened them now he'd just look down the side and see nothing but the vast emptiness of space beneath them.

"Feeling handsy, Captain?" Kyn laughed, looking around them. This wasn't so bad. At least they weren't plummeting to their deaths or anything. And hey, he wasn't complaining about Grimm's close proximity either, so that was a plus.

Grimm made a strangled noise in his throat, finding that he couldn't bring himself to actually form words. At the same time that he was scared for his life, he was also rather impressed- by both Kyn's driving and by how nice it was to do this. He recognized what they were approaching as he saw it in the distance; shooting comets from the asteroid belt of Nivek. They looked as if they were leaving behind a trail of purple fire, but really, it was completely harmless and was more like a liquid. Grimm allowed himself to remove one hand from Kyn and pointed toward them.

"Ah" Kyn followed where Grimm was pointing with his eyes, awed. "I have never seen such a thing before." He paused, thoughtful. "Say, Captain, how close do you think we can get before we are in some kind of danger?" He grinned, leaning against the helm and watching.

"We-" Grimm swallowed, trying to force his voice back up, "-should be able to fly right into the path of the flare it's leaving behind. The comets aren't dangerous- at least not these ones. Their fire isn't harmful." He explained. "We would be able to fly right up to it and touch the comet if we wanted. Go ahead."

Kyn gave an excited squeal, firing up the engines and pointing them toward the glowing trail. "Is there any way to... collect the trail?" Several times he had seen merchants selling comet dust luminescent slivers of fallen stars from exotic ends of the galaxy. A lot of it was pricey as all hell, so it discouraged him to try and steal anything.

"I've done it once before," Grimm nodded. "I sold it not long after when we needed the money. There might be something in here..." Grimm leaned down, opening up a section of the floor and digging around in it. "Aha!" He grinned, sitting upright again and holding a what looked to be a simple jar with a switch on the side. "The trail can be contained in here- but only if you flip this switch. The substance isn't meant to be contained in anything so it would easily burst out if we tried to collect it in a normal container, but this allows the jar to sort of... increase in strength, I guess?"

Kyn nodded along, getting them close. "I have never known how it was done, I just heard that it was quite dangerous to do. I had always wanted something like this for myself, but obviously that was not going to happen. They fetch for quite a bit of gold, especially if they are from certain parts of the galaxy." He made a humming noise, smiling a little. "Once I even saw someone selling pieces of the fabled moon of Falion." He whistled glancing over at Grimm. "Do you think you can do it? Collect this stuff?" With a curious gesture at the comets, his eyes flicked to the jar.

"I can try," Grimm nodded with a shrug. "If it bursts, though, it's gonna hurt 'cause it'll slap onto us real hard. It shouldn't kill us, though." He said a bit uncertainly. "Won't know until we try!" He was beginning to be more comfortable with this, especially since Kyn was incredibly good at maneuvering this thing.

Kyn flashed an uncertain smile. "What is life without a little adventure or two?" He turned back to the helm, tapping the wood a few times. Though he did like to witness these events, experiencing them was totally different. Teal was the adrenaline junkie out of the two, but if this was their new life, then he would just have to deal with it, wouldn't he? "Just tell me what you need me to do."

Grimm pointed again, "Just head straight into the trail and follow the comet." He instructed. "If I'm remembering correctly, these are the comets that actually leave a slightly cold trail behind instead of a hot one." He furrowed his brow, trying to recall the last time he did something like this. His father had taken him on one when he was little and not afraid of heights and they'd come across comets, but it was so long ago that he couldn't be sure.

Kyn followed Grimm's instructions with ease, pulling right behind one of the comets so the trail brushed along the side of the small craft. He glanced over the edge to the blaze of purple, apprehensive of it not totally burning the both of them up.

Grimm chuckled, leaning over to push the handle a bit more to the left so they could ease their way into the trail. "See?" Grimm said, squinting a bit. "It's kind of a cold mist." He held his hands out in front of him before picking up the jar. "If this explodes on us I'm sorry." He said quickly, opening the jar and holding it above his head. He watched it fill up with the liquid, and when it was full, he pulled it back down, snapping the lid shut and flipping the switch on the side. He could feel the glass expand just barely right before he flipped the switch, but it didn't explode, so that was an accomplishment. "/Fuck/ yes, it worked!" He beamed.

"Ah, that is good!" Kyn smiled, relieved he wasn't going to be plucking glass shards out of his arm later. "Then, I suppose we shall depart back to the ship before we lose track of it completely, yes?" He shivered slightly at the surprisingly cold trail blowing passed them and pulled up a little, rubbing at the gooseflesh on his arms.

"Yeah," Grimm confirmed, turning over the jar in his hands absently. "We should do that." He looked over at Kyn with a grin still plastered to his face. "Thanks for making me come out on this thing. I haven't done this since I was a kid." He chuckled.

"Always ready to please, Captain." Kyn smiled back, batting his eyes only slightly. He steered them back to the ship and docked as well as he could manage as Grimm instructed him. Once back on the main ship, he went to lean casually against the mast."What now? Or is that enough excitement for today?"

"I think we can stop for today considering I won't be able to walk correctly for a while," Grimm said, wobbling as he climbed out of the craft. "I'll keep this somewhere safe so it doesn't shatter." He gestured to the jar. He wondered if he and Kyn could do things like that more often, but the thought sounded stupid almost immediately. He and Kyn weren't friends. Kyn was still simply a part of his crew and that was it.

"Aye aye, Captain." Kyn gave him a salute and wandered below deck to the kitchens to make some warm tea after just driving through the cold comet trail. Thankfully, Grimm seemed to let him off for the rest of that day, so the only other real issue he faced was a small argument with Artym about why Kyn refused any type of meat (rodent or otherwise) in his food; ending with the blonde being pulled away by Alastar and ushered off somewhere else while Kyn snagged an apple and slunk off to the sleeping quarters. If that hot-tempered cook threw meat in his food, he'd just give it to his cat or Teal, whomever.

He ended up in his pile of blankets tossed haphazzardly on the floor, playing with Junnesejer until he fell asleep, only to be woken up early once more by Grimm's voice calling him above deck.

"Coby's got the day off," Grimm said as he watched Kyn groggily climb up the stairs from below deck. "So guess who gets to clean today? You guessed it- you!" He grinned, pointing at the man. "So meet your new best friends for the day; Mr. Mop, Mrs. Bucket, and their son, Rag!" He tossed them at him, hands on his hips.

Kyn stood there blinking for a moment, half tempted to let the varies objects crash where Grimm tossed them without making an effort but he caught them anyway with as much of a glare as he could muster directed at the man. "This is for trying to have a little fun yesterday, is it not?" He sigh, gesturing half heartedly. "Alright, fine, where?"

Grimm pointed over to the end of the ship. "Work your way from there and get as much done as you can," he ordered. "And no, it's really not for that- I told you I was going to be putting you to work, didn't I? So that's what I'm doing. You're a part of this crew, so you're going to help out."

Kyn mumbled a bit more about not doing yet what he was brought on the ship to do and set about gathering various cleaning materials to start scrubbing the deck. The metal bucket clanked noisily as he set it down, kneeling to dip the rag into the warm water and get to the actual scrubbing. "Usually when someone has me on my knees, it is for a completely different reason." He sighed loudly, glancing across the ship deck before getting back to work.

Grimm heard the comment as he was turning around, glancing backwards. He considered continuing back to his quarters so he could attempt to figure out the map once more, but he instead opted to turn around and eye Kyn steadily. "You seem to be perfectly content with what you did for a living," he said. "Sleeping with people and flirting, that is. Didn't it ever bother you?" He walked over, sitting against the side of the ship.

Kyn looked up for a moment before chuckling and dipping the rag back into the water. "I learned a long time ago to stop letting it bother me. I simply did what I had to do to get by, not only for myself but for Teal as well. We were barely 13 when we ran away from the orphanage we were stuck in. Two years later, I was spending most of my time around the brothels and such to see what I could do. So no," his eyes flicked up to Grimm's briefly before letting them drop, "it does not."

"Since you were fifteen," Grimm scratched his chin, letting out a long breath. "That's a long time to be doing things like that. It doesn't surprise me that you'd be used to it. Did Teal ever do anything like that? Or was he always the one who, y'know, took stuff while you did the distracting?"

"Oh no, I never let him do anything like that." Kyn waved his free hand. "He mostly just stole little trinkets and such from time to time. Sometimes we would make these little bracelets of hollowed seeds and little glass beads and sell them. It was... fun." He titled his head thoughtfully. "But we had our fair share of struggles. I suppose everyone does."

Grimm thought back on his own struggles for half a second, chewing on the inside of his cheek. "Well, at least you made it this far," he said absently. "I'll leave you to this." He waved a dismissive hand, forcing himself to leave Kyn's sight. Whatever /thing/ it was that made him enjoy being around Kyn, he didn't like it.

Kyn sighed and shrugged, returning to scrubbing. "Whatever you say, Captain." After a while of futile rag-scrubbing, he decided to finish up with the mop and call it a day, returning to his quarters tired and more than a little sore (Maker, he couldn't even feel most of his fingers by this point). Shortly after retiring, he found himself waking up more than once in the night, often just tucking the fluffy tabby closer to his chest or to adjust a stray blanket (he had to talk to Grimm sometime about why it was always kind of chilly below deck) but several times he unintentionally found himself reflecting back to their earlier conversation. It was almost funny how he could write a damn biography on his life if Grimm wanted to know, but the man was still tight lipped about anything on himself. Kyn sighed reluctantly- loose lips and all that. Knowing him it was probably not anymore cheery than his own family history. Oh well, it wasn't really his place to ask. He fell asleep shortly thereafter, deciding not to pursue this train of thought any longer than necessary.

Grimm dwelled on it all night as well, tossing and turning and wondering why he was so set on knowing more about Kyn. It was driving him insane and he was /really/ starting to regret bringing him into the crew. He knew by this point that, yes, he was at least sexually attracted toward the man (with a body and mouth like that, who wouldn't be?), but other than that, he simply wanted to know what it was about that glint in his eyes that made him so interesting.

The next day, although he was exhausted, he managed to get up and get above deck. Taylor was already up, steering the ship in its general direction. "I'd go easy on Kyn today," she warned. "He hardly slept last night. Don't overwork him, give him something easy to do. Save the barnacle scraping for tomorrow or something." Grimm blinked, wondering why on earth Kyn hadn't slept well last night. Oh, well, everyone had trouble sleeping every once in a while.

"I am awake." Kyn announced as he pushed opened the door from the sleeping quarters and tottered precariously toward the nearest railing. "And ready to do whatever, just as soon as I regain feeling in my fingers that is not pain." He tried curling his hand into a fist and winced, before giving up and rubbing at his eyes to try and wake up a little more.

Grimm sighed, shaking his head. "It's fine, you don't have to do anything today other than... I'm not sure, really. There's not much to do and I know your hands hurt." He shrugged. "I'm too tired anyway to think or something for you to do or to teach you how to do anything. Maybe you can just wash dishes after dinner tonight." He suggested. "Go do whatever you want for now."

Kyn's eyebrow arched in curiousity for a moment, head cocked slightly. "Whatever I want?" He pursed his lips, thinking, then offered a wide, suggestive grin. Sliding up to Grimm's side, he gave a feined nonchalant shrug. "Well, if you want, I could still do something for you. Hands not necessarily required." He prompted.

Grimm gave a slightly frustrated sigh again, running a hand through his hair. "No," he said simply. /Please don't start with that again/, he pleaded in his mind. He wouldn't be able to take that right now. Turning away from Kyn, he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Wh- Aw, come on." Kyn whined, crossing his arms. It wasn't like he was asking for a lifelong commitment, just something quick and fun. Grimm probably wasn't the 'settle down' type anyway. With a small 'Hrm." noise, he walked up behind the man and slid his arms around Grimm's slender waist, holding him still for a moment. "You sure?" He tried again, not-so-subtley slipping his hand down to brush against his crotch.

Grimm's neck, face, ears- everything, heated up the instant Kyn's arms slid around his waist and he found that he wanted nothing more than to turn around and accept the offer, but he couldn't. He couldn't allow himself to do that. "Damn you," he tore himself from Kyn's grip, dashing without looking back into his quarters and slamming the door shut behind him, leaning against it and immediately loosening his pants. He mentally cursed himself repeatedly before allowing himself to wrap his hand around his cock, stroking it quickly. A small breath of Kyn's name escaped his lips, images of the man pinning him to the door and pressing his perfectly gorgeous hips against his own thin ones and grinding them together, his lips dragging across his neck and collarbone, ghosting over his own lips and his tongue flicking out against them. He imagined it was Kyn's hand on his cock rather than his own, perhaps Kyn sinking to the ground like he had the first time in order to wrap his lips around it, bobbing his head and humming as he dragged his fingers across his hips and lower stomach. It made him speed his movements, slipping his thumb across the tip. He had to lift a hand to his mouth and bite the skin of it in order to stop the moan of Kyn's name he wanted to let out. Picturing Kyn like that was enough to send him over the edge with a jerk of his hips, whispering his name over and over before sinking to the floor and catching his breath. He wanted to throw himself overboard, honestly. Letting Kyn have that kind of an affect on him was... dangerous.

"Wh-" Kyn watched, baffled, as Grimm tore from his grip and practically smashed the door open to his quarters before slamming it shut with equal force. He waited a few moments, wondering what on earth just happened before putting his hands on his hips and pouting. Well that was a bit of an overreaction. Still, if Grimm was going to be absent for a while, he might as well try and get some more sleep before the man changed his mind and set him on some menial task again.

After sitting in self-hatred for a while, Grimm pushed himself to his feet, adjusting his pants and taking another few moments to take a couple deep breaths. Once he was more composed, he headed back up to deck and didn't see Kyn anywhere, asking Taylor where he went. She informed him that he went to go back to sleep and he nodded, thankful that he would be out of his hair for a while.

Kyn emerged from the sleeping quarters once more not an hour later, rather frustrated that this new schedule no longer allowed him to sleep undisturbed as long as he was used to, and now he couldn't seem to fall asleep afterword. Ah well, at least Taylor allowed him to try and sleep a little more (bless her). As soon as he caught sight of Grimm, however, he had half a mind to flee back below deck, sure the man would harp to him about sleeping when he should be working. When he didn't, which Kyn was fairly surprised about, he decided to make some small talk just to see if he could try and get into the man's good graces a little.

"So, Captain," he mused, walking casually up next to said man, "how is today treating you?" He asked a little meekly. "Anything I can do?"

Grimm cast him a sideways glance, smiling weakly. "It's fine. And as of right now, there's still really nothing for you to do. I'm saving the barnacle scraping for tomorrow. That'll make your arms sore."

With that, Kyn resisted throwing up his arms in exasperation. "I am getting the feeling that you really do not like me, do you, Captain?" It wasn't even the labor, it was the bolting in the other direction when he even tried making an advance. He had to find his pleasures somewhere, and since Grimm didn't seem too keen on being near him, maybe someone else would. Abruptly he turned and walked away, scouring the deck before his eyes landed on Dagan. He hadn't talked to the man much, but he seemed well enough. Nodding to himself, he marched up to the man and tapped on his arm to get his attention.

Grimm blinked, eyes widening a fraction as the words left Kyn's mouth. He wasn't sure why exactly that accusation left a sick feeling in his stomach. Of course he didn't /not/ like Kyn, but it wasn't as if he /liked/ him. He tried his best to shake the feeling, turning to go and talk to Taylor.

"Hm?" Dagan turned around when he felt a tap on his arm, brow raised. "Need something?" He didn't know why Kynareth would want to talk to him since he mostly kept to himself, sometimes sparing side-glances toward Teal every now and then.

"I would ask a... favor of you, if you will?" Kyn tapped his hip in though, pursing his lips. "Ever since joining, I have found myself lacking certain... pleasures. And though it may be a upfront of my to ask but would you mind terribly if I invited you down to the sleeping quarters? Privately?" His eyebrow rose a little, hips cocked invitingly.

Dagan froze, furrowing his brow at the request. "I..." he trailed off, trying to gather his thoughts as he wondered why Kyn would be asking him something like that. "Um, sorry, but- I kinda have a thing for your friend." He mumbled quickly, sliding a hand through his hair and shrugging. "You'll have to ask someone else."

"Ah- you do? Teal?" Kyn made a curious noise, then one of delight. "I would never have guessed! Have you talked to him? Have you told him?" Now he was pawing at Dagan's arm, eager to hear what he had to say. To be honest, he wasn't really sure who Teal was attracted to as he had never seen the other man with anyone before. Still, he hoped he could get this to work out. They would be adorable together, he thought enthusiastically.

"I've- No, I haven't really talked to him much?" Dagan tilted his head. "He just... I don't know, he's cute. And he seems nice. But I wouldn't know what to say to him." He admitted, scratching the back of his neck. Of course, he'd thought about going up to him and attempting to strike up a conversation with him, but every time he thought about it too much, he'd realize that he had no idea what to say.

"That is not a problem," Kyn declared haughtily, "I shall speak with him." Thus, he dashed off, quest for a bed-mate momentarily forgotten. It wasn't so hard to find the man in question, as he had taken to spending his day off helping Artym in the kitchens to clean up and organize a little more. When he finally managed to get Teal alone and explain the ordeal to him, the blush rising on his cheeks and the tentative but hopeful "Really?" was enough to assure Kyn that he could definitely get things to work between them. With a quick word of encouragement, he sent Teal above deck to talk to Dagan, rather pleased with himself for discovering this.

Dagan was sure that he was going to throw up as Kyn raced off. He was going to talk to Teal? About what? Was he going to straight up tell him that Dagan liked him? Dagan may have been easy-going, but that didn't mean he didn't get embarrassed or nervous about things. So he stayed by the railing off the ship, slightly out of sight and leaning over it in case he did actually end up throwing up. Throwing up into space... he wondered for half a second what would happen if he did that.

It would be an understatement to say Teal was doubtful about this. Kyn could very well be pulling his leg on this, but he seemed excited. So, reluctantly, he trudged above deck and glanced around, looking for any sign of Dagan nearby. For a moment, he didn't see anyone, until the man's red-steaked hair caught his eye. "Ah, Dagan?" He trotted up to the man, curious as to why he was leaning over the railing with such a distressed look on his face. "Is something the matter?"

Dagan jumped, smiling slightly at the fact that Teal was actually talking to him. So Kyn had spoken to him. He'd have to remember to kick him for that later. "No, nothing's the matter," he shook his head. "Kyn just- He's funny." He sighed. "I didn't expect him to be so enthusiastic." He straightened up, adjusting the belt around his waist so his pants weren't falling down as much.

Teal laughed, shaking his head as well before giving a helpless shrug. "It's part of his personality, I'm used to it now. To be honest, I thought he was just playing some sort of joke on me." He rolled his eyes, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. "I wouldn't be surprised but- it isn't a prank, is it?" There it was again, the slight cord of hopefulness in his tone. He was sure Kyn had just found out somewhere, somehow about his inclination towards Dagan and wanted to poke fun at him, but now he wasn't too sure.

"No!" Dagan assured him. "It's not a prank. No joke here, I promise. I, uh... We haven't really talked before? But, I mean... You seem nice and you're remarkably attractive-" He paused, almost slapping himself for being so blunt. Every other time he'd talked to a person for the first time he'd been completely chill, but of course, Teal had to be different.

"Oh, do go on about my many charms." Teal waved his hand flippantly, grinning. "Though I'll have you know you're quite handsome yourself. If not a little uncharacteristically nervous?" He mused, leaning against the bulwark. "But I'm flattered, truly. And interested in perhaps... taking a meal together? Provided Artym is serving something that isn't boiled rodent again." He made a distasteful look.

"I know, I'm not usually like this, trust me," Dagan sighed. "But I think I'd really like that, and I'm glad you asked because I don't know if I could have gathered my senses enough to do it." He chuckled nervously. "And as for Artym's cooking- I'll have Alastar talk to him about that. He listens to him." He made a knowing expression, shaking his head.

Teal rose an eyebrow, tapping his fingers on the rail. "I'm sensing history between them. Am I right?" It was a little peculiar the only person Artym wasn't sour towards was Alastar. And of course, he was elated Dagan actually agreed, but there was still a question to whether or not they would work. "Well, as for a meal, we're heading to Montressor soon, I think. Why don't we try somewhere there? Bound to be something good there." He offered.

"Yeah, there's something there that no one knows about," Dagan confirmed. "We've asked both of them how they became such good friends but neither of them will tell us." He shrugged. "Oh, well, it really isn't our business. And eating at Montressor? Y'know, I've been there once, and I actually did get to eat at this little inn called the Benbow. They had surprisingly good food." He recalled the little disruption that had occurred when the inn owner's son had been brought in by two police officers and the scene it had caused. "If it's still there I might wanna visit again."

Teal pondered the mysterious connection between his fellow shipmates for a few moments, more than a little curious. He came back to reality at the proposal, however, and pretended to consider it. "I suppose that sounds alright, if you say it's good." He winked teasingly. "Well alright, glad that's sorted out." He stayed a little longer above deck talking with Dagan before retiring to the sleeping quarters for the night.

The rest of the week passed by surprisingly slow, especially for Dagan who was beyond excited to be taking Teal out. He just hoped he didn't make a fool of himself.

Once they had docked in Montressor, however, Grimm shoved the sphere in his pocket, hoping to possibly get some answers about it at a nearby library or something. The planet was /huge/, so it was likely they would have to take off and fly to the other side of the planet to find more information. Not that Grimm minded.

No, what he minded was the fact that Kyn was driving him absolutely batshit insane. He would often find himself simply staring at the man in his free time, even when they got off of the docked ship did he realize he was watching him from behind. He hadn't meant to take in every little detail about the man, but unfortunately, it happened. Heart palpitations came next, more uncontrollable blushing, stuttering, and for gods' sake, /butterflies/. This was getting out of hand and he had to do something about it, no matter the measures. But perhaps not right now, as he was determined to figure out what the hell this sphere did that was so important that a captain died trying to protect it.

He informed the rest of his crew that he was going to head to a library to do some research, and that they all could do whatever they liked and they knew the rules. He hurried off once he knew it was safe, locating a small library closer to the edge of the city near the water.

He didn't even know where to start looking, he realized. Suddenly overwhelmed with stress, he reached into his pocket and took out the sphere, turning it over in his hands and trying to think of where to look first.

From the moment the man walked in the cozy little library, Dante's interest had been peaked. It would be a small understatement to say not many people visited this one anymore. He simply watched at first as the man wondered around, looking confused and frankly a little dirstraught, before deciding to help him out a little. "Looking for something in particular? The titles in the first two sections are a little out of order, so it might be difficult to locate what you need." It was then he took noticed of the odd sphere the aqua haired man was holding, and made a small "Ah." sound. Immediately he tried to identify it, swearing he had seen something like that before, but didn't interrupt what the man was saying.

"I'm just looking for something that might be able to tell me what the hell this thing is," Grimm explained, gesturing to the ball. "But considering I, as I just said, have no idea what it is, I wouldn't even know where to start looking. Maybe I should have thought about that a bit more before coming in here." He scratched the back of his neck, sighing with frustration. "You wouldn't happen to have any idea about it, would you? Anything at all?"

"If I'm not mistaken," Dante began, thinking, "it's a map." He sighed, attempting to recall the name with a vauge wave of his hand. "Not a normal map, of course, but something far greater. Tell me, have you heard of the legend of Treasure Planet?" If this man truely didn't know what he held in his hands, it would do neither of them any good to believe blindly that the map was, in fact, real, and this planet existed somewhere just waiting to be discovered. There was definitely more to it than that. Every legend had a story, plausible or not, and those stories often held an eerily similar theme: those who pursue the treasure is never seen or heard from again.

Grimm blinked upon hearing that it was a map, raising an eyebrow in question. "Treasure... Planet?" He repeated the words quietly, thinking back. It sounded familiar, somehow... "Oh!" He said with surprise. "Yeah, I have heard of it. My parents used to tell me stories about it all the time when I was a kid." He nodded. "Are you saying this is connected to that? They're just stories."

"All stories have elements of truth to them." Dante explained. He briefly considered telling the man all about the historical significance of the story of Treasure Planet, but decided against it, remembering a tome that could explain it much better than he could. "If you're truly interested in it, I suggest visiting Fellmoore Library in the Free Marches. There's an old book there titled The Asteria by Taron Dreth. It can provide more insight than I can, though there is a pitifully small amount to know." He stopped and paused, looking concerned. "I know it's not my place to tell you what to do with this map, but just know that many lives have been lost because of it."

Grimm thought it over some, licking his lips and staring down at the map. "I don't have much of a choice. Anything is better than nothing. And people have died because of it?" He suddenly smirked. "Bah, I got nothing to worry about there. I've gotten into every life-or-death scenario you could imagine and I've never been killed. I'm all good." He grinned. "Thanks for your help, though. I'll be sure to check that out." He tipped his hat to the man, turning to leave. He knew where that library was. The other side of the damn planet, is where it was. They really would have to fly over there, which could take a couple hours.

Once Grimm was back at the ship, he waited for everyone to return, doing a headcount. "Alright, we gotta head to the other side of Montressor. Urgent situation came up for me." He glanced at Kyn, remembering what he had to do.

The concerned look on Dante's face didn't go away at the statement, only increased. "I certainly hope not." He murmured as he watched the man leave the small library before shaking his head and turning his attention back to the books.

Kyn smoothed down the almost silken material of the shirt he had bought at the marketplace as Grimm called them back to the ship. It was odd buying something other than food or necessities and since he still had some money saved from before, why not afford a little luxury? It was barely buttoned at all, showing a nice view of lithe muscles beneath the shirt, maybe only partially for showing off to Grimm. "What kind of urgent situation?" He rose his eyebrow as he approached, lips pursed in question.

"Nothing that I-" Grimm turned to look at Kyn, faltering as he noticed the new shirt and just how... revealing it was. "Nothing that I need to tell anyone. It doesn't concern any of you. Just some research." He waved a dismissive hand, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth before turning away from Kyn. "Everybody on board, we're leaving right now." He climbed back up, making sure not to look down. Now to think of a way to get Kyn off this damn ship.

Kyn seemed a little reluctant to leave solid ground as it had been the first time in 2 weeks, but he eventually complied and climbed up the side of the ship to hang out somewhere for the next couple of hours. When Grimm was off doing whatever, he could go out once more until he finished, so at least there was that.

Grimm sat in his quarters for a good half an hour or so, trying to think up ways to get rid of Kyn. The fact that it pained him to think about getting rid of him only made him realize he needed him gone even more.

His eyes drifted across the room, and eventually, they landed on a small sack of gold he had sitting on the dresser in the back. A slow smile spread across his face as an idea came to mind.

Another half hour later, Grimm gathered his entire crew on deck, face set in a stern and angry expression. "It's come to my attention that /one/ of you has stolen from me!" He accused, looking each of them in the eye. They all wore equally confused expressions (aside from Artym, who just looked more annoyed than anything). "And I intend to find out who it is."

"What the hell do you think we stole from you?" Rin asked angrily, brow furrowed.

"A sack of gold that I've been saving for a while. It's my emergency sack." Grimm explained.

"Well, pat us the hell down! I'm sure you'll see none of us would fuckin' steal from you, you moron," Rin snapped. Grimm blinked, shrugging and setting to work on that. He patted each of them down just for effect, and once that was done, he stood back. "Alright. Then I need all of you to take off your shoes."

Each one of them took off their shoes, aside from Kyn. Grimm approached him, leaning forward with narrowed eyes. "Where do you keep your shoes, hm?"

Kyn blinked in confusion at first, not really sure where the question was going. "In the sleeping quarters by my bed. I never wear them unless we dock. City streets are filthy. The ship's deck, not so much." He tapped his hip, one eyebrow perched in prompt. "Why?" Of course he figure the man to zero in on both him and Teal, being the newest, most untrustworthy and considering their background, so he wasn't surprised at the questions directed toward him. He'd figure out soon enough neither of them took it (well, at least he didn't).

Grimm pulled back, sauntering down below deck and grabbing Kyn's shoes, feeling a bit sick to his stomach. He came back up with the same accusatory expression on his face, raising an eyebrow as he stood in front of Kyn again. He didn't say anything as he tipped both shoes over, watching as the sack of gold fell from one of them. "You?" He feigned shock. "After I took you and your friend in? I can't believe this!" He dropped the shoes, snatching up the sack and tossing it to the side for the moment. "You've got to go."

"What?" Kyn sputtered, equally shocked and angry. "I did no such thing! I have been by the lookout the entire time since coming back, and before that, in the city just like everyone else." He stared incredulously at the shoes for a moment, shaking his head. "And even if I did steal it and hide it in my shoes, why would I tell you where they are?" He placed his hands on his hips.

"Hey, I've done it before! Stolen something, been interrogated, and forgotten where it was that I'd hidden whatever it was that I'd stolen. It happens." Grimm shrugged helplessly. "Sorry, Kyn, but I hope you can swim! Cause the plank's comin' out just for you."

"Grimm," Taylor suddenly hissed, standing next to him. "What the hell do you think you're doing? He couldn't have stolen that bag!"

"Fuck off," Grimm muttered. "He stole it. I found it in his damn shoe so he stole it." He watched as Alastar reluctantly lay the plank out at the side of the ship. They were close enough to the water so that the impact wouldn't kill Kyn when he hit it.

"I cannot!" Kyn squeaked in protest and gesturing toward the side of the ship. He couldn't believe Grimm was even accusing him of something so ridiculous. He didn't know the man harboured such a grudge against him. Oh, well, swimming couldn't be /that/ hard, right? Just move your arms a little or something. Even if they were over some large body of water. 'Just try not to think about that' he urged himself as he glanced at the plank. If Grimm was so eager to condemn him, fine, he could go back to the street life just fine. Once he got back, of course.

"Oh, well, that's a shame," Grimm shook off the feeling of dread and guilt. He had to make it look like he didn't care. He /couldn't/ care. Caring too much meant getting too attached and that was never good. With a sigh, he unsheathed his sword, pointing it at Kyn. "Go on, then. I'm not going to bother tying you up if you can't swim." He advanced on him, attempting to usher him toward the plank.

Kyn huffed, attempted to appear nonchalant with a tightly lipped "Fine." and marched right across the deck onto the plank. He had considered refusing to budge but getting someone to forcably throw him off the ship seemed like too much effort. So, ignoring whatever Teal was yelling at him, he got right to the end of the board, sucked in a breath and allowed himself to drop with tightly closed eyes. The shock of the cold water hit him like a bullet and it took a moment or two to force himself not to take that initial inhale of water.

Grimm watched him fall off with a clenched jaw, lowering his sword.

"Grimm, you fucking /idiot/! How could you do that?" Rin smacked the side of his head with more force than he'd been expecting. "The hell is your problem? So he stole something from you. Let it the fuck go!"

"It was a lot of gold, okay?" Grimm snapped back. "And if he stole from me, I can't trust him!" He turned away, gnawing on his lip. How long had it been? Almost a minute. How long would it take for Kyn to drown? Grimm ran a hand through his hair, pulling off his hat and setting it down.

Fucking hell.

"God damn you," he muttered.

"What?" Rin glared at him.

"God /damn/ you! All of you!" He yelled, shucking off his coat and boots, everything aside from his pants and shirt before sprinting to the edge of the ship. "Bring the ship down close to the water!" He ordered to Taylor before diving off the edge.

When the water hit him, he forced himself not to inhale right away, first coming up and looking every which way for Kyn.

Kyn had finally managed to flail himself to the surface only for a moment later a loud splash sounded right near him. He yelped, blindly lashing out and whacking Grimm's arm which only made him freak out more as he couldn't exactly see what it was he was hitting what with the water in his eyes. With as much force as he could muster, he shoved himself away from it, convinced it was some giant angry fish thing trying to eat him (who knows, he's heard stories about these things) and simultaniously struggling to keep himself above the surface and not doing too well a job of it.

When Grimm located him, he was greeted to a whack in the face by Kyn's arm, and as he tried to get a hold of him, the man went under, suddenly unable to keep himself afloat any longer. But Grimm managed to reach down, grabbing a hold of him and yelling at him to calm the fuck down and that everything was going to be okay. The ship lowered to the water and the ladder was let down. The whole way Grimm struggled to swim there, and he just kept muttering "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," over and over again. Finally, he grasped a rung, pulling himself up a little. "Kyn, you're conscious, right?" He grunted.

Once Kyn had distinguished that what was in the water with him was not a sea monster of any sort, but Grimm, his defensive flails became more like half hearted attacks. The man had a firm grip on his waist, tugging him toward the ladder and forcing him to stay above the surface. Despite his better judgement and current feeling, he gave up and clung to the ship's captain, shaking like a cat that just had a bath forced upon it. He barely heard what Grimm was murmuring from the water sloshing around them, and what he could make out he wasn't sure what to think about it. What he did hear was Grimm's question and he barely felt the need to dignify him with a response. Instead he only wheezed slightly, fingers balled in the material of the man's shirt as he grasped the rung of the ladder.

Grimm nodded, happy that he was at least still alive. He pulled himself up with one hand as best as he could do, finding it rather difficult to do so but managing it anyhow. When he got to the top, Rin was waiting there to pull them in, sending them both toppling to the ground. Grimm immediately rolled over and was on his knees pushing the hair out of Kyn's face with a more than concerned expression. "I- I'm sorry, it wasn't you who did it- Taylor tried to tell me that she had been playing a prank on everyone but I didn't listen and- Fuck, shit, I'm a piece of garbage." He smacked his forehead multiple times with the heel of his hand.

Kyn took a deep breath, almost swatting Grimm's hand away but deciding against it. He listened to the explanation and gradually pushed himself to sit up, coughing a little at the burn of saltwater in his throat. "It is... fine." He said, though his tone suggested otherwise. At least Grimm looked genuinely concerned, that melted his ill feelings a little. "I just want to dry off somewhere." He shook his head, peeling the waterlogged shirt off his skin with a grimace.

"I'm trash, don't look at me," Grimm shook his head, giving an exaggerated sigh. "Just- I'm sorry, I was an idiot, I /am/ an idiot. I won't be letting you jump off the ship anymore, I promise." He nodded, jaw set. God, what was he doing? He sounded moronic and he felt moronic and everything about what he was experiencing mentally at the moment was just /stupid/.

"Yeah, yer a fuckin' idiot," Grimm looked up to see Alastar glaring at him. He didn't expect to hear his accent show through, so obviously the man was pissed at him.

"No need to tell me twice," Grimm stood up, shaking his head. "Just- Leave it alone for now. He's fine. Everyone is fine."

Kyn managed a cough and a light smile, shaking his head. "You are not, it was just a misunderstanding. It is fine, okay?" He nodded in agreement, standing as well and wringing out the water from his shirt. An annoyed huff came from Artym behind Alastar, followed by "Yes, he's not dead and we can all laugh it off later. I have better things to do." and stalking off below deck. Teal still seemed miffed, following Kyn to their quarters and murmuring something to him. After changing, the brunette appeared above deck alone, dry clothes wrapped tightly around his person and cat following at his heels, though it usually stayed in the sleeping quarters.

Grimm watched everyone walk away, and he couldn't help but feel like he'd somehow disappointed everyone. What the hell kind of a captain was he? He was one that thought /one/ man was going to fuck up his concentration. Pathetic.

With a sigh, he decided he'd just focus on getting to the library the white-haired man had told him about. They arrived there in the late afternoon, and he set to work, leaving wordlessly with the map in his pocket. The library was indeed huge, and it took quite some time to find the material he needed, but he was able to do so even without assistance from employees.

By the end of the day, Grimm's mind was swimming with new knowledge, his eyes burning. The way that its operation was described in the book made absolutely no sense to him, and he wondered if perhaps someone else on the ship could understand it, so making sure no one was looking, he tucked the book under his coat and shoved his hands in his pockets. Aside from the operation, he did learn what would happen when it was opened. Thousands of different portals would be available, and the center one would lead to Treasure Planet.

He made it back to the ship just before dark, climbing up and stalking down to his quarters after telling Taylor in a monotone voice to pull out once she was sure everyone was on the ship.

Unnototiced by the ship's crew, as soon as it pulled out of dock, another ship followed silently behind it. It was lower to the water than the Black Demon, and unable to be spotted unless one was underneath the ship. It waited until it was beginning to get well into the night when almost everyone would be in their respective sleeping quarters. They began to sore silently above the ship from behind, the dark ebony finish of the wood making it nearly impossible to spot in the dark with the untrained eye. It was then they had chosen to strike.

Little chrome spheres dropped from the ship like snow, resounding with a crack against the wood upon landing. They broke open, releasing a fog like mist onto the deck, seeping below the crack and underneath doors. The assualt was followed shortly after by ladders being flung off the side of the mysterious ship, hitting the deck of the Black Demon. The people who made their way down had some sort of protection secured around their face, protecting them from the fumes. There was a bit of trouble from below, in the kitchens. One of the crew had apparently yet to succomb to the sleep-causing concoction and injured at least 3 of the attackers before being taken down. A few of the crew were selected at random; a young woman and two young men, then taken back to the ship which departed into the night not long after.

Grimm woke up on the floor of his quarters, his head hurting and limbs sore. Why the hell was he on the floor? Furrowing his brow, he sat up, pushing his hair out of his face and almost falling back down when Alastar burst into the room without knocking. "Captain," he said, voice filled with worry, "they're- they're gone, Artym's leg is bent all weird and they're all gone and-" Grimm lost track of what he was saying as he began speaking his native language.

"Hey, hey, hold on, calm down- Alastar! Calm down!" He snapped, hands out in front of him. "Now, tell me what the fuck happened. Calmly."

Alastar managed to get a hold of himself quickly, explaining to Grimm that Kyn, Rin, and Coby were all missing and Artym's leg was broken. Grimm paled noticeably, his hands shaking. "Sleep gas," he whispered. "They have the god damn audacity to come onto /my/ ship and kidnap /my/ crew?" He scowled, marching past Alastar and up onto deck, the boy following soon after.

"Dagan!" He called. The man stumbled up onto deck as well, scrubbing at his face with his hands. "You're medically trained, go look at Artym's leg and do what you can with it. Taylor, I know you're probably really disoriented right now, but..." he looked around, trying to figure out how the hell they would find the ship in question. "Shit, hold on." He followed Dagan to Artym, kneeling down beside the man as Dagan examined his leg. "Listen, you're in pain and I'm sorry, but I need you to tell me everything you know about the people who attacked you."

Artym hissed as Dagan tried touching his leg, but looked up when Grimm had asked him about the attackers. "Those лохи who broke my fucking leg? I don't know, they wore dark leathers and some kind of face mask so I couldn't tell what they were, проклятие cowards." He spat, recoiling when Dagan further prodded at the injury. "But they had some kind of symbol on their shoulders, probably their flag. A... sparrow or something with a skull for a head, clutching a dagger in it's claws. Xромой." he growled indignantly. Suddenly he looked up, catching Grimm's eye. "You're going after them, aren't you? I'm coming with you, and because one of those трусливые суки broke my leg, I'll break every bone in their fucking bodies. Or better yet, I'll just tear their limbs off and throw the remains into the nearest black hole and watch as they are crushed into nothingness."

"You're not going anywhere," Alastar said sternly, setting a hand on his shoulder. "You just said that your leg is broken. How the hell are you going to do anything with a broken leg? Let the captain handle it. Alright?" He had faith that Grimm would take down the people who'd attacked them and broken his friend's leg.

"Listen to Alastar," Grimm said absently, racking his brains for information. The description of the flag sounded familiar... "I know who they are. I've encountered them before. That might actually be why they attacked us. They know it's me. Captain Xiao and his band of monkeys." He rolled his eyes, shaking his head angrily.

Artym bared his lip slightly, looking like he wanted to argue more but he caught the look on Alastar's face and calmed down slightly. "Fine. But I want one of their heads brought back so I can throw it into a black hole, or perhaps the nearest sun. I don't care whose." he drew up his good leg and rested his head on his, eyes closing and taking quick breaths whenever Dagan touched somewhere near the injury. The name Xaio seemed somewhat familiar, and he vaugely remembered something about the guy having a thing for fire. "Don't get yourself killed." He absently waved off Grimm without opening his eyes.

"Trust me, I don't plan on it," Grimm replied, thankful that Alastar could so easily talk sense into Artym. "I'll be back."

After explaining the situation to Taylor and forcing her to stay behind, he worked up the courage to take the solar craft by himself to the planet Yalgrit. He told Taylor to wait with the ship here, and not to move unless Grimm was gone for more than a day. When he took off, it was with a white face and a sick stomach. They wouldn't have killed them, would they? Xiao and his bandits weren't /that/ bad. But what other reason would they have for kidnapping them? Just to spite Grimm?

Yalgrit wasn't a planned stop but they were hurting for some supplies so it seemed like the easiest place to resupply. It was a quick trip and soon they were departing again, setting out for the area where the predominant amount of the rumors about Treasure Planet were centered. It would seem as if the kidnapping of the crew of the Black Demon was a bust, all three of them insisting they had no idea about the map. Most of the crew had decided that they were useless and should just be disposed of so they could go after the map itself. But Captain Xaio seemed pretty determined to prove that they were lying, that one of them had to know what was going on. Ulyrn leaned against the mast and sighed heavily, cursing his captain's stubborness. Departing from Yalgrit's main port was taking an awful long time, and it seemed as if someone hadn't fired up the engines just yet. Useless, all of them.

A noise caught his attention, sounding like an engine but much too quiet to be their own. He squinted, catching sight of a small craft not too far away. He frowned suspsiciously, waving over one of the other crew members. "The fuck is that?" He pointed at the incoming craft, trying to make out who was on it. "If I'm not mistaken," his companion blinked, looking alarmed, "That's the captain of the Black Demon."

Grimm could see figures moving about on the ship's deck, and he forced down his light-headedness from flying in order to put on a determined expression. Whatever they'd done to his friends, he'd get them for.

Once he'd pulled up, he simply stood in his craft, not moving from it but glaring up at the people on deck. "Xiao," he called, not bothering to put the 'Captain' in front of his name, "I'm going to give you thirty seconds to bring the members of my crew that you kidnapped over here to me before I come up there and kick your motherfucking /ass/." He snarled menacingly, already having been angry before but seeing this man's face again just sent him over the edge.

At the increased murmuring of his crew did Xiao exit his cabin, striding out onto the deck of his ship and meeting the gaze of Grimm. He simply smirked at the demands, waving them off with a flick of his wrist. "What if they're already dead? They simply had no information to tell me, so I killed them. What then?" He grinned at the furious look on the other captain's face, folding a hand behind his back in preparation to build up a firebolt just in case.

"I know you, Xiao," Grimm smiled a bit maliciously. "You want information from them about something. I know you well enough to know that you'd keep them alive for quite some time even if they told you they had no information, only because you wouldn't believe them. I don't wanna play games, so just hand them over and no one gets hurt." He didn't exactly know if he could really take on his entire crew by himself, but if he got Rin free, at least, she could help him.

"You're right, Grimm, you're more observant than I remember." Xiao mirrored his smile, cocking his head slightly. "But information extracting is a delicate process, you know, and I knew it was only a matter of time before you caught up to us." A lie, he had already expected to be long gone by now but they needed supplies and it couldn't be helped. "So we had to skip some of the nicer methods. You understand. I could tell you everything I did in great detail, if you care to hear. Not just me, you know, I have an entire crew that could use some... entertainment. It was win-win." He laughed then, igniting a small concealed spark in his hand, getting ready. He knew what it would take to goad Grimm into a fight, and this time, he wasn't losing.

A vein in Grimm's temple twitched as his eyes widened and body tensed at Xiao's words, snarling again. He stepped forward, setting a foot on the railing of the other's ship. His hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword, drawing it and having it at the ready. "What the hell did you do to them?" He said darkly, glaring daggers at Xiao. "Where are they? Tell me!"

The man's eyebrow went up before he sniggered again. "If you care so much, why waste your time asking stupid questions? You know very well there's no fun in just handing them over. Perhaps you are less observant than I thought." He mused, shrugging. "Or are you just not looking for a fight because you're completely outnumbered and have no hope of winning anyway?"

"Shut up," Grimm snapped. As he did so, he stepped forward and brought his blade down in hopes of at least injuring Xiao. He must have been off, though, because it only grazed the fabric covering his shoulder. "I'll fight and I'll win." He said, that vein in his temple pulsing with anger. He reminded himself that he had other weapons to fight with other than his sword, weapons that were much more effective.

Xiao's cackle as he whipped out his fire startled the other crew members into action. Most went for their weapons and tried to join in, some backed off to watch, not wanting to get involved. They were useless, Xiao internally lamented. Oh well, if his fire accidentally hit one of them it wouldn't matter either way. His fire moves were showy at first, striking nothing in particular but his own ship. After a few moments he drew his dagger to block some of Grimm's strikes. Fire tendrils swirled around the blade and lapped at the metal, heating it to where it began to charr wood when struck. He managed to knick the man once or twice, but neither of them got in any particularly painful moves.

"So this map," Xiao crowed as their metal clashed, "is the real thing, then? That's what I heard. From your crew, of course. So eager to talk once we really started interrogating them." He was spouting out whatever lie came to mind now, intent on egging Grimm on. This fight wouldn't be any fun unless the man was actually trying. "They could've spilled all sorts of secrets about you, you know. Your crew. Your ship. You could be throwing your life away for a bunch of traitors."

"They're not like that," Grimm protested, panting but trying to keep it under control. "They don't know anything about what you're looking for so you can leave them the fuck out of it." He lunged forward with his sword once again as Xiao's eyes flickered away from him, managing to land a good-sized gash on his shoulder. As others tried to attack, he warded them off as well by turning and parrying his blade. "What makes you think you have so much power over me?" Grimm hissed as he pressed his blade up against Xiao's dagger. "I left you. I don't know why you still think you can put ideas in my head." He pushed away, swiping some stray hair out of his eyes. His head hurt and at this point, he knew he would have to use his alternative weapons.

"Because there's some feeling somewhere inside of you that thinks that what I'm saying could be right." Xiao taunted, staggered only slightly by the wound on his shoulder. "Let's think about that, shall we? I recognize the girl, Rin her name is. And the blondie. C-something. But the brunette is new, isn't he? How do you know he didn't rat you out?" He lunged foreword as he spoke, managing a neat slice across Grimm's abdomen; shallow but the flesh still burnt at the contact. "He was pretty scared, you know, he couldn't have been with you for long. Didn't seem like the Black Demon type." He smirked slightly. "A whore if I ever seen one. Maybe a thief. I couldn't really tell. Nor care."

Grimm's anger burned even higher now, and he quickly sheathed his sword and glanced down at his wound, which was stinging, but not too much. "That's none of your damned business, Xiao." He said evenly, raising his left arm. It hardly took any concentration to turn it into its machine gun form, aimed directly at Xiao. "I made the mistake of letting you go alive last time. I won't make that again." Instead of shooting right at the man's head or heart, he fired shots into his leg, hoping to make him suffer. At the thought of that, he felt a twinge of excitement.

"Well, no." Xiao agree. "It's not. But I am curious as to what you're using him for. Bait? Worker? Pet whore?" He chuckled to himself, twirling the dagger in his hand even as Grimm pointed his gun arm at him. He opened his mouth, going to go further with this but ended up cut off as he was suddenly kneeling, clutching his quickly bleeding leg. "You aim to drag my death out? Oh, Grimm, you haven't changed a bit." He looked up at the man almost fondly before flicking his wrist and calling flames around the wood floor at Grimm's feet, forcing him to move. Easily he could set the captain aflame, most likely at his own peril, but he too had a fondness for making it last. Besides, this might possibly be the last time they meet. He couldn't end it so soon. Instead, he curled a small column of fire around Grimm's own leg, burning away at the material to flick across the skin. Of course, he couldn't let Grimm kill him so quickly either, so where ever the man stood, the ground would quickly be set on fire, which would follow his steps so he wouldn't be able to stand still and get a clear shot. Sure, he might end up burning the entire ship down eventually, but he'd take everyone with him in the end. His own crew had backed off by now, looking more to flee than interfere. Cowards. He'd set their feet on fire just for spite.

Grimm held back a scream as he felt fire crawl up his legs. For the first few moments, he did indeed try to dodge it and keep a clear aim on Xiao. Eventually, however, he found that those efforts were futile and forced himself to stand there and allow the flames to burn the material off his legs and lick at his skin painfully. With a clenched jaw, he took aim and fire a couple bullets into each of Xiao's arms, then his shoulders. He grinned almost evilly this time, a loud yell of pain making its way from his throat even as he smiled. Although it did indeed frighten him that he was enjoying this so much, he couldn't help it. "God, I never thought I'd find myself actually wishing I could tear someone limb from limb again!" He laughed, voice rough and deep. "I had a lot of fun those years of pillaging and murdering with you, Xiao, but it's time for one last kill." He aimed the gun at Xiao's chest.

"Oh, Grimm." Xiao sighed like he was scolding a naive child. "I think we both know that's not true. I'm not the first person to spark your anger, nor your first victim, and I can assure you I won't be the last. In fact," he leaned in slightly, lowering his voice, "who knows who you'll snap on next. A patron at the bar, a market vendor, one of your own crew?" His grin widened despite the blood dripping out of the corner of his mouth. "Perhaps your pet whore? I bet he didn't know the kind of monster you can be when he joined, did he? What do you think he'll do when he finds out, hm? Run away? Betray you? Attack you? You'll kill him too without even hesitating, won't you? You'll always be a murderer, Grimm, no matter what you tell yourself. You're just like me." He laughed then, a hoarse, pained sound but hysteric in tone.

At first, Grimm's smile didn't stray from his face. The wild look in his eyes didn't go anywhere. His arm was completely steady, and the flames at his legs were beginning to dissipate, leaving him with badly burned skin that would most likely scar.

But as Xiao kept talking, the manic grin on the aqua-haired man's face slowly disappeared, his brow furrowing ever so slightly at Xiao's words. The look in his eyes left as well, changing from wild and psychotic to something similar to pain. At that moment, he looked about as empty as he suddenly felt, the mere thought of bringing this kind of torture on Kyn making his arm tremble and all emotion drain from his face aside from hollow pain.

Without flinching, Grimm pulled the trigger, firing multiple bullets into Xiao's chest. Blood splattered, and Grimm still didn't make any move to show that he was disgusted or bother by it. When he was sure that Xiao was dead, he lifted his eyes to his crew with that same hollow expression on his face. "I'll be taking what's mine, now." He said in a level voice. "Where are they?" He nodded as a crew member lifted a shaky hand to point at a door near the head of the ship. As he walked over, he allowed his arm to change back to normal, and he ignored the burning pain of his legs with every step he took. Upon opening the door, he wasn't surprised to see Kyn, Coby, and Rin all bound and gagged, Kyn sitting closest to the door. He carefully untied them, freeing them of their confines. Rin was the first one to do anything, leaping forward and throwing her arms around Grimm's neck before standing back. "Took you long enough, jackass." She sassed. It immediately hit her that now probably wasn't the best time to tease him, considering the expression on his face and how he just... wasn't responding to her.

"Let's get you out of here," he said, gesturing toward the door and leading them out.

Kyn all but jumped when the door banged open, not for sure knowing the outcome of the fight and unsure of Grimm's chances. When it was indeed the aqua haired man kneeling beside them and cutting them free he felt almost dizzy with relief. He'd semi-heard the two captains speaking on the deck, listened to their tones mostly, and it wasn't warm between them at all. Naturally, he was curious, and had an interest in persuing that curiousity. Usually. For right now, he was just shaken and so ready to leave and be back where he could consider himself safe. And right now, that wasn't the Black Demon. He followed them out nontheless, onto the small craft he and Grimm had taken not too long back to collect the comet trail back to said ship. Would Teal even follow him if he left? He did have that thing with Dagan, and probably felt right at home with everything now. But, for Kyn... between nearly drowning and being kidnapped and Grimm pulling a 180 on him, he could barely even consider staying anymore. He could wait until they next docked and sneak off when no one was paying attention. Who knows how long that would take, though, and what would happened before then. They had just stopped at Montressor. And Montressor wasn't that far away, much closer than anything else. He had to just tell Grimm he was done, simple as that.

The ride there was quiet and tense, Grimm's eyes never straying from their path. He couldn't stop thinking about how guilty he felt now for feeling like he was absolutely elated with pleasure at the thought of killing Xiao. He was in pain, both physically and emotionally, and it took all of his willpower not to scream. So he kept his face neutral, blinking slowly and keeping his lips shut tightly.

Once they were on the ship, he pulled Rin into a hug and slid a hand through her hair briefly before telling her in a strained voice that he was glad she was okay. She pulled back, a concerned look on her own face before she playfully punched Grimm's shoulder. "Hey, I could have handled 'em if you'd let me go. But thanks for saving us anyway." She smiled, heading up to see Taylor, where she was greeted with the girl tackling her to the ground.

Coby had calmed down enough to thank Grimm as well, saying he owed him his life to which Grimm denied that. When they were gone, Grimm made sure no one was looking and turned, snatching Kyn's wrist and pulling him down into his quarters, quickly shutting the door behind him and leaning on it with his hand, his head hung low. Before he knew it, tears were falling from his eyes and his shoulders were shaking, his legs still burning and threatening to give out from underneath him. "I'm sorry," he choked out quietly, his fist clenching against the door. He didn't look at Kyn yet as he apologized, apologizing for both the kidnapping and almost making him drown beforehand. "Kyn, I'm so fucking sorry."

Despite the surprise from being suddenly jerked into the captain's quarters, his voice was surprisingly quiet, lacking the authorative tone he was trying to achieve. "Do not be." He pursed his lips, brow furrowed and shoulders hunched. "I... I was not made for this kind of life, I do not think. The fighting and kidnapping and treachery- who knows what else. It is not for me. I cannot do this, I am sorry." He took a deep breath, staring down at Grimm's legs. "After you have healed, I would request that you bring me back. I do not care what planet or city, just not here. I can make a living on my own, regardless to whether or not Teal follows." He stood there a moment, wondering whether or not Grimm would actually agree. By sending him back to the streets, he would be happier and in less danger, surely he could agree to that?

Grimm put a hand to his mouth, biting down on the skin of his palm harshly when Kyn requested to leave. He squeezed his eyes shut. "Kynareth," he said, voice shaky, "I know you were scared, and I know you're probably still scared of things that could happen in the future, and I get that you're probably pissed beyond belief at me." He turned, lowering his hand and looking straight at Kyn with a tear-streaked face that was becoming more tear-streaked by the second. "But would it do anything to change your mind if I admitted that I want you here?" It pained him to say that. He was still trying to figure out why on earth he wanted Kyn around. "Because I do. I was scared that Rin and Coby were going to be killed, Kyn. I thought Xiao was going to take them away from me- And I was fucking terrified of losing you, too. I don't understand why, but I was." He shook his head, hating himself now more than ever for crying in front of Kyn and admitting to him that he wanted him around.

Kyn wanted nothing more than to end this by shaking his head and saying no, it didn't matter, but it did and it gave him pause. Now he was being around him willingly, /now/ he was saying he wanted Kyn here. Again with the mood flipping that had him reeling, unsure of what to think about this man anymore. "You do not need me." He persisted weakly. "I have not done anything since arriving except get caught in things I never wanted to be a part of. Teal will stay, I am sure, and he is the one with the skills you sought in the first place." He paused, frowning, refusing to look up at the expression Grimm was making. "And perhaps once I leave, your ill-tempered cook will not be so ill-tempered." His pitiful attempt at a joke fell flat and he clenched his hand into a fist a few times, half wishing Grimm would agree to drop him off, half wishing he had never brought it up.

Grimm was sure that he'd blacked out for a moment, because he didn't remember stepping forward, and he didn't remember wrapping his arms around Kyn's neck, and he didn't remember pressing his forehead to his shoulder. But there he was, doing exactly that. "Shut up," he said. "I need you here, that's the thing. You're my friend, now, Kyn. You're part of this crew whether you like it or not. But... if you really want to leave, I'll do it. I'll drop you off the next time we dock." His voice was still shaky and he was having a hard time controlling his tears, breath hitching every few intakes of air.

Kyn gave a start at their sudden contact, hands freezing halfway to automatically settle on Grimm's waist. Still he tried to get out the words 'Thank you, I would like that.' but found himself unable to. "Th-" his throat suddenly felt tight and his voice hitched unexpectedly, but he took a deep breath and continued anyway. "... That will not be necessary." He blinked, wanting to kick himself but ultimately feeling relieved that he ended up not going through with it. "Forget I said anything." He shook his head a few times, allowing his hands to rest on the man's waist afterall, head leaning against Grimm's wearily.

Grimm's eyes widened, his hold on Kyn tightening once he said he would stay. "Thank you," he said quiety, finally able to stop the flow of tears. He wanted to stay like that, honestly. It calmed him down more than anything now, and he took a moment to close his eyes and take a few deep breaths before pulling away. He swiped at his face, drying it and then looking down at his legs. "I should probably, uh... change. You can- You can go up on deck if you want. Sorry for... for that. All of it." He made his way to his dresser, yanking open the top drawer and pulling out a pair of loose, striped pants.

Kyn released him as well, watching him turn to walk over to his dresser, nodding along to what he was saying. "Make sure someone looks at those burns, then. They probably hurt a lot now, but they will hurt a lot worse if they get infected." He suggested, turning to the door. "And it is fine. I just... need to lie down for a while." He shook his head, pushing the door open and walking out onto the deck, closing it behind him.

Grimm nodded, watching him go before slipping on some new pants. Before nightfall he would have to make a stop somewhere in order to have someone look at his burns. He did just that, and was told to clean them off despite the pain and was then given a small bottle that held liquid that would heal them from the inside.

Back on the ship, Grimm slipped up to stand by Taylor for a while as she directed the ship out and back into space. "Are you going to let the ship idle and go to bed? Or are you gonna keep driving for a while?"

"Eh, I'll keep driving," she shrugged. "I'm not very tired anyway."

"The circles under your eyes say otherwise."

"You're one to talk."

Grimm blinked, smiling. "Point taken. But do whatever you want, I guess. Just try and get some sleep."

"Well, you too, captain Idiot," she winked at him, playfully flicking his hat before letting him go down to his quarters where he removed his shirt, kicked off his boots, flung his hat on the table and let his hair down to fall over his shoulders.

When Kyn finally emerged from below deck it was dark, the only person still awake and active being Taylor. Quietly, he slid the door shut as he left the crew sleeping quarters and scurried across the deck to the door across. Taylor didn't seem to take any notice to him as he trotted past, bare feet barely making a noise against the wood, and whether or not she actually knew he was there, he was grareful for it. He came to a stop at the door to the captain's cabtain, hand poised to knock. Would he already be asleep? Would he care at all? Kyn furrowed his brow slightly and wrapped softly on the door, holding his breath a moment before pushing the door open anyway. There was a light on, so he must be awake. Reading, maybe.

The brunette quickly slipped in and as gently as possible shut the door behind him, turning to look right at the man he was looking for. "I could not sleep." He said, in a way of explanation. "I feel... very uneasy tonight. Even with Teal there. I was wondering if, perhaps, I could sleep with you tonight." He blinked, then quickly rose his hands in protest. "Not in any sexual way like you might be thinking, just..." He let his hands drop to worry the seam of his shirt. "I would feel safer staying with you tonight. Just for tonight." He assured, smiling faintly in a hopefully disarming way. He felt like a small child again, creeping into his parents room at night because something simple like the trees outside or the shadows in the hall were frightening him. Kai was never any help in those situations, she'd just roll over and ignore him.

Grimm almost jumped as he heard someone knocking at his door, turning to see Kyn letting himself in. Even before he spoke, Grimm could tell something was bothering him. The fact that he was standing here shirtless with his pants practically hanging half off of his ass because they were so loose in front of him didn't even phase him anymore as he listened to him talk. When he was done, Grimm took a deep breath. "I... Yeah. That's fine. That might make me feel a little better too, actually." He admitted. "As long as you don't mind sharing a bed with me, that is." He chuckled, stretching his arms above his head and then sitting on his bed. He scooted up against the wall, lying down and pulling the covers up to his waist.

Kyn smiled gratefully for a moment, taking a few steps toward the bed before stopping. An expression of cautious intrigue crossed his face as he glanced at Grimm once more. "I have been under the impression that I make you uncomfortable." He spoke slowly, scuffing his heel against the wood of the floor. "I have no qualms with simply occupying a space on the floor, if you prefer me to do so."

"Pop a squat," Grimm shook his head, gesturing to the space next to him. "I know, I know, I've been acting like a douchebag to you. You did make me uncomfortable. But I'm kind of over that. But Kyn, you can't just give me a blowjob I didn't ask for and then expect me to /not/ be at least a little bit uncomfortable around you." He pointed out. "But that's in the past, so get under the damn blankets before I change my mind." He smiled a little, blinking tiredly.

Kyn frowned slightly but did as the man told him, shuffling into the bed next to him and sliding under the blankets. "Considering your actions when we met, you will have to forgive my misinformed advances. But I have learned my lesson and you shall not need to worry about it again." He shrugged and curled on his side to get comfortable. He decided not to add that Grimm looked like he needed one anyway, being so tense all of the time. He simply sighed quietly to himself and waited for the man to extinguish the light.

"Okay, so once again my point is taken," Grimm swiped a hand down his face in frustration. "I really am at fault here. Damn you." He scowled at first, but that scowl melted into another small smile, and Grimm licked his fingers before reaching up to put out the flame, leaving them in a darkness that was only penetrated by the light of the moon shining through the window across the room. After a moment of silence, Grimm closed his eyes and reached across, setting a hand on Kyn's chest. "Thanks for staying. I'd never admit it to anyone else but it means a lot. And I promise I won't be trying to drown you again any time soon." He chuckled weakly.

Kyn looked slightly taken aback by the willing physical contact by the other man, hesitating a moment before placing his own hand on top of Grimm's. "That would be welcome." He said with a chuckle under his breath. "But that does not mean I do not stand by what I said before." He stared out of one of the windows that leaked silvery light into the room, counting each of of the stars he could see before turning back to look at Grimm. "I still do not feel quite right here, nor particularly useful. I am just... willing to try again. To wait and see if that ever changes." He closed his eyes briefly to imagine they were on land once more, that the ground didn't creak when he walked and that he could look outside and see trees instead of empty air or the light of distant stars all of the time. Thinking of that made him feel a twinge of homesickness, something he hadn't really got since fleeing the orphanage with Teal all those years ago. He shifted uncomforatbly and opened his eyes again, gripping Grimm's hand for just a moment.

Grimm watched the emotions flicker across Kyn's face, and he himself felt a little sick to his stomach knowing that Kyn was upset and still thinking about leaving. "I'll tell you what," he said quietly, not being able to resist scooting a bit closer. "After our next stop, which is just going to be to get food and supplies for Artym, we'll go wherever you want as our next two destinations. And we'll stay at wherever you choose to go for however long you'd like. Does that sound good?" He looked up at him with sleepy eyes.

"You do not have to do that for me." Kyn murmured, using his free hand to rub at his eyes for a moment. "You said yourself not too long ago, too much expense." He stopped and grinned teasingly at the other man. "But since you have, I shall think of something. If we are not too busy with that... map business?" He only got the gist of the line of questioning when on Xiao's ship. Something about a map, a planet and some lost treasure.

"I'll figure that stuff out along the way," Grimm said. "Don't worry about it. As long as where you want to go isn't in another universe entirely, I think we can make it work." He laced his fingers through Kyn's, trying to increase the warm feeling in his chest that he got from being like this with Kyn. "We should go to sleep, though. That is what you came down here to do."

"It is." Kyn agreed, letting his eyes close once more as he yawned and buried his face more into the pillow. He swore his face heated up a little when he did so, inhaling sharply at the pleasent scent of the man that clung lightly to the fabric. He became so painfully aware of their proximity at that moment, but he had promised he wouldn't do anything anymore. It was only after they had said their goodnights, released each other's hands and he was sure the other was asleep before he scooted a bit closer to sling his arm across Grimm's slender waist as well as resting his forehead lightly on his shoulder. Sure he couldn't flirt or do anything sexual, but the man could hardly fault him for a little 'unconscious' cuddling, right? Satisfied, he was able to let his eyes droop shut and quickly slip into sleep.

Grimm woke up to find his legs tangled with Kyn's, his arm around the man's shoulders and a hand tangled in his hair. It wasn't how he'd fallen asleep, he knew that much. "Damn it," he breathed, trying to push down the warmth that still lingered from last night. He slowly inhaled, breathing in Kyn's scent while he could. After a moment or two of that, he realized he wanted to get out of this before Kyn woke up. Carefully he disentangled his legs and arms, scooting away and then climbing out of the bed. He adjusted the blankets on Kyn's body before tieing his hair up and grabbing his sword. He left his shirt off, heading up on deck where Taylor was still at the wheel, bloodshot eyes and all.

"Hey!" Grimm called. "Dude, get down and get some sleep. That's an order."

Taylor jumped, obviously startled by his voice. She didn't say anything, only nodded and left her post before disappearing below deck. He hoped she wouldn't question the fact that Kyn wasn't down there.

As soon as she was gone, Grimm disregarded anyone else's presence, and procceeded to make his way down to a post at the side of the ship. He pulled out his sword, immediately bringing it to slam into the side of the post, then ripped it out and repeated the action. He kept asking himself what the hell he was doing, why he was allowing himself to do things like what he'd done with Kyn last night. He was only digging himself deeper into a hole he didn't want to be in.

Kyn was jarred into a half awake state by Grimm's departure, only grumbling quietly in protest to have his heat source taken away and curling up on himself to make up for it. He let the man futz around with the blankets without opening his eyes, nearly drifting back to sleep again as he didn't hear Grimm dressing and leaving the room. Shortly after a small expanse of quiet came a dull and repeated thunking noise, followed by a faint splinter of wood. He managed to push himself up at that, pushing the blankets off and stumbling to the door as he didn't have any clothes in here he could change into.

What he saw was Grimm attacking a post with his sword with such brutality as if the post had done something to personally offend him. He watched a moment or so longer, wincing only a few times when chunks of wood were cleaved or splintered off. He caught sight of Rin, then, briskly trotting over to her side to talk. "What did that poor post do to him, hm?"

Rin had been watching with a furrowed brow, attempting to figure out what the hell Grimm's problem was. "I dunno, man," she shrugged, shaking her head. "I haven't seen him like this since he first got together with Daniel. Then again, he'd told me the day before that happened how pissed he was about liking him, so I don't really understand what his problem is now." She threw her hands up. "Whatever. As long as he's taking it out on the post and not one of us, I'm good." She turned away.

Kyn blinked and continued to watch for a little while longer, thinking about what Rin had just said. Grimm and Daniel... were a couple once? That explained why the man reacted like he did when Kyn first brought it up, but there was something else he was missing about this. If Grimm was doing this again, that must mean there was someone else, right? And... well as far as he knew, it couldn't be either of the girls. Artym and Alastar, no matter what they said, seemed pretty exclusive, obviously Dagan had Teal now so... but it couldn't be anyone else. At first he thought that maybe what Rin had said had nothing to do with how Grimm was acting, he could just still be mad about yesterday. But if it was the reason... it couldn't be Kyn he liked. No way, the captain made that clear. But he could just be saying that, and after how he had reacted to Kyn's wanting to leave last night...

He inhaled sharply, turning away from Grimm's butchering of the post and fleeing into the crew sleeping quarters to hide below deck.

After Grimm had spent a couple hours of taking every bit of his pent up anger out on the post (he felt a little guilty for marking up a piece of his ship so badly like that), he decided to fiddle with the sphere in his pocket once more. He sat down, turning it over in his hands. It was a map, that much he knew. But all of the books he'd read on it had been incredibly vague on what exactly it was a map /to/. None of the buttons or indendations did anything when he pressed them, so he could only assume that he would have to activate them in a certain order, which he didn't have the slightest idea how to do.

Kyn left the safety of the crew deck not long after the loud thunk of a blade striking wood and the occasional curse had finally stopped. Catiously yet confused, he slid the door open slightly to stare at the man sitting down with a puzzled on his face, hunched over something in his hands. At least he hadn't completely destroyed the post, it was still in one... general piece, not counting the many splintered shards sliced off. Satisfied that Grimm was no longer armed and angry, Kyn shouldered the door open completely and walked out on deck to take a seat right next to the befuddled captain, staring over his shoulder as to what he was holding. "Need some water after that? I imagine you are quite tired fr- what is that?" He chirped, intrigued now at the odd sphere. "Can I see it?"

Grimm looked up to see Kyn making his way toward him, and for once, he didn't feel anything other than content to see him. Perhaps letting all that anger and frustration out really did something for him. He didn't feel like he really hated himself for liking (or maybe even loving, now that he thought about it) Kyn anymore, and he found that he was completely in control of his emotions now.

At Kyn's request, he sighed and shrugged, handing it over. "It's some sort of map. But I don't know what the hell it's a map to, and I can't figure out how to open it. So I don't know what you're planning on doing with it, but whatever."

Kyn made a little "Hmm..." noise, spun it around it his hand, tapped a few sides, and squinted at it to try and see if there was anything written on it before shrugging. "It does not look like a map to me." He mused, spinning it around in his hands. When he stopped, he tapped at the little circles expiramentally, spinning the top and the bottom a few times just to see what it would do. To his surprise, it gave an odd click and emitted a bright green-ish light from inside. Baffled, he stared at it a moment before handing it back to Grimm, grinning. "There we go."

Grimm blinked, lips parting in shock. "What did you- Seriously? I've been screwing with it for days and couldn't get it to open, then you come along and get it to do something in less than five minutes." He shook his head in awe, taking back the sphere. "What does it-" he tapped it, and as soon as he did that, a bright, glowing grid spread out over the ship, making the other crew members give gasps and noises of surprise.

"Heeey, it's Montressor!" Taylor called from the wheel. Grimm looked at where she was pointing, and sure enough, he was looking right at what looked to be a digital form of Montressor. "Sweet! What is this?"

"A, uh... a map. And a weird one at that." He murmured, standing and looking around. He lifted his hand, finger pointing at one specific planet. "There's the Nebula of-" as soon as he touched it, the map began moving, surging through miles and miles of space. Coby looked like he was going to pass out from excitement. When the map slowed down and came to a stop, Grimm felt his jaw drop. Every other planet visible in the map disappeared, leaving only one. "Treasure planet," he said. "It's a map to Treasure fucking Planet. My parents used to tell me about this place all the time!"

"Treasure Planet?" Coby furrowed his brow, walking over. "Isn't that... Isn't that Captain Flint's trove?"

"The one and the only," Grimm beamed. "Kyn, remind me to thank you somehow for figuring this out later."

"I am sure I can figure something out." Kyn batted his eyelashes at the man and smiled, feeling actually quite accomplished. The 'map', so to say, was truly a marvel to see, even if he didn't much understand it. Then again, he didn't really know what this Treasure Planet was either, per say, but it did sound promising. "What is so special about this place? If it is as the name implies, would people not have taken everything by now?" He furrowed his brow at the planet shaped light marker.

"It's Captain Flint's trove," Grimm repeated. "He went around pillaging and attacking other ships and stealing their gold and treasures, and he stored all of it on Treasure Planet. But they're technically just stories, so no one's every thought that it could be real, therefore no one's ever been to Treasure Planet. I knew it was real, I knew it!" He practically pinched himself just to make sure it wasn't a dream.

Kynareth allowed himself to stare at that planet, examining it a littler closer before shifting his gaze back to Grimm. "You are not about to suggest we traverse off to this mysterious planet all care-free and try and find it, are you?" Just when he thought the death defiance and adventure would at least be on low for a little while. "Because just hearing about this is giving me an ominous feeling. It would be cursed or something. Or guarded by giant, ugly, deadly creatures. Or something. Do you not think there is a reason it has not been found?" He pointed out, looking concerned.

"It hasn't been found just because it's only a legend," Grimm said. "If we go, we can find the treasure and we can take some and we can give some to your friend Bruniik, and keep a little bit and- Kyn, I highly doubt it's guarded by that kind of stuff. It would have been made clear in the stories." He pointed out. "We gotta go."

Persistantly, the brunette's unconvinced look hadn't left. "One does not simply leave a treasure horde unguarded. It would be foolish." He said stubbornly. However, a nice sum of gold to fall back on and something to finally give back to his old caretaker would be nice, and perhaps it is what they needed. It wasn't as if they were flying through life on gilded wings presently. Finally he sighed and shook his head. "Fine," he said as if he actually had any say on what they were doing, "but we have to be cautious. There is bound to be something there, and it is most likely not friendly."

"I promise we'll be careful, don't worry," Grimm humored him. He /would/ be cautious, he wasn't looking for a death sentence after all. "Anyone else object?" He asked. Coby seemed a little apprehensive, but his excitement over something like the map actually being a thing overcame the apprehensiveness. Everyone else shook their heads. "Great! Then we're headed to Treasure Planet." He sauntered up to Taylor, setting the map near her where it minimized to a small map of their course.

"Dude, that is so cool," Taylor marveled at the site.

Grimm smiled, turning back to the rest of the crew. "We'll have to make some pit stops along the way, obviously. It's a far distance. Kyn, since you really have nothing else to do around here, I'm going to need your help doing the things Coby isn't... built for."

"Hey!"

"What exactly am I built for?" Kyn pursed his lips and placed his hands on his hips, cocking them slightly. He didn't think he was particularly strong, though he was perhaps moreso than that Coby fellow. He shrugged anyway and watched them talk, wondering if they'd hit anyplace interesting along the way. If he was going to wander into a potentially dangerous situation, he would have to look into something that covered a little better and was a little thicker. "It might do well to teach me how to defend myself then." Kyn pointed out. He was hopeless with a weapon because thankfully, he never had to use one. Being in with the popular brothel was something of protection.

"I just need your help scraping those stupid space mollusks off the side of the ship," Grimm waved a dismissive hand. "And as for defending yourself? I'll teach you how to use a sword in the next few days. Knives, too. Maybe a gun. I'm not sure about that one yet." He shrugged. Kyn definitely wasn't the type to use any sort of weapon, but Grimm felt like a sword or knife would suit him better than a gun.

Kyn made a face and crossed his arms instead. "Very well." He murmured, leaving them to talk amongst themselves. This was what pirates were supposed to do anyway, wasn't it? Go after treasure and such? Kyn wasn't a pirate, or at least it was hard to think of himself as such. Sure gold and other shiny things were nice but was it really worth potentially dying over? He was used to getting by on only a little so having more than that was just odd. Still, he'd help them and do as Grimm asked of him. It was never too late for a change of lifestyle.

After a while of talking over plans as to where they were going to stop along the way, Grimm found that he was growing bored and didn't have any idea as to what he could do to entertain himself. He'd spent the entire day planning everything out and fantasizing about what he could do with all that gold, and now it was getting close to nightfall again. He tapped his fingers impatiently against the floorboards from where he sat on deck, wracking his brain for something to do.

When Kyn showed up on deck, speaking to Teal and wandering around, Grimm tipped his head to keep watching him wherever he walked. Again he realized that he wasn't angry at himself for doing something like that anymore. That was progress, right? Maybe if his dick didn't jump in his damn pants every time he glanced at the man's hips as he walked he'd be completely okay with this.

He spent a few moments of staring at Kyn before noticing the fact that his face was heating up just the slightest bit, and his pants were also becoming tighter much to his dismay. He debated going into his quarters for this, but he decided that since Kyn was always so willing, he could take advantage of that. It couldn't hurt, right?

"Kyn," he called, standing up. He was thankful for the loose pants so that his erection wasn't visible. "I gotta talk to you about somethin'. Come on." He gestured for him to follow, heading down into his quarters.

Kyn leaned casually against the mast, arms folded over his mostly exposed chest. The large off-white shirt that draped precariously across his shoulders was something he had for a while and brought with him onto the ship. It was just a night shirt now, really, buttoned only twice toward the bottom, coupled with plain knee-length shorts. He tilted his head toward Grimm's voice as he was called with a curious expression. Teal wandered off as Kyn walked toward the captain, following him into the cabin. "Sure thing, Captain. What did I do now?" He quirked his brow and placed a hand on his hip, watching Grimm's movements.

As soon as Kyn shut the door behind him, Grimm paused a moment before spinning around and striding over to Kyn in two swift steps, pinning him against the wall, face inches from his. "Tell me," he said in a coarse voice, "you're still willing to do what you're good at, yes? Because /I'd/ be willing to take you up on your offer from before. Right now." He weaved a hand into Kyn's hair, head tilted and a small smirk on his face.

It very, very briefly crossed Kyn's mind to turn the man down simply out of spite to be the one dotting for a change, but between their current position, the undoubted attractiveness of his captain, and the fact that he hadn't had any decent action for weeks now banished that thought instantly. He took a deep breath, finding himself staring into Grimm's purple irises and nodding. "Just say the word, Captain. Whatever you want." He slid a hand onto the man's waist to pull him a little closer, grinding against his groin. An eyebrow went up right after as a smile crossed his lips. "Ah, I see. Frustrated, are we?"

"Only a little," he breathed. He tried to ignore how Kyn calling him 'Captain' in this current situation only made his heart stutter. With a final thought directed toward how Kyn would look flushed underneath him, he crushed his lips to the other man's in a desperate attempt to relieve some of this frustration. And oh, kissing him was everything he'd thought it would be and more. His hand left Kyn's hair to travel down his exposed chest, landing at the waistline of his pants and tugging it down slightly.

"A little?" Kyn chuckled, wiggling his hips to grind further against Grimm's. "That is not what it feels like to me." At Grimm's lips crushed against his own, he gave a pleased little noise in his throat and dragged his own hands up the man's body to rest on his shoulders. They parted only briefly for Kyn to give Grimm a look. "Skipping the foreplay, hm?" He purred, allowing the man to slip his pants completely off so he could kick them across the floor. "Alright."

Grimm's came down next, and he was thankful that the small table next to the door was the one that contained the lube or he would have felt rather awkward having to walk all the way across the room.

"Oh, be quiet," he muttered, swiping his tongue across Kyn's lower lip and nipping at it. Before Kyn could object, he was reaching down and lifting the man's legs around his waist, pressing him against the wall so as to keep him up. He briefly wondered if he would regret doing this when it was over with, but there was only one way to find out, so he might as well.

"I am afraid that is quite difficult for me." Kyn smirked, shoulders shrugging in a noncommital manner. As if to prove it, when Grimm lifted him up and pressed him against the wall he gave a small yelp in surprise. "Very direct, I see." He grinned once more, arms going around Grimm's shoulders and ducking his head to drag his lips up the mans neck. "How long has it even been for you? You are very tense." He mused, teeth nipping lightly at the crook of Grimm's neck.

"Long enough," Grimm said, face flushing even more, if that were possible. It had been a few years for him by now, so really he was more than eager to do this. A hand clumsily reached for the drawer next to them, opening it and snatching up the bottle in it. He slicked up a hand, reaching down to stroke the other man's cock while he caught his breath for a moment.

'Poor thing', Kyn thought with a shake of his head. "Well then, what are you waiting for?" He prompt with a sly grin, legs wrapped securely around Grimm's slender waist. 'And more importantly, what took you so long?' he thought but didn't voice, figuring the man had his own reasons. Maybe it was because of that Daniel guy. Either way, so he was just glad Grimm was finally agreeing, after how much time he spent pining after the guy. The sensation of the man's hand on his cock made him give a low keen, lips ghosting over the underside of his jaw.

No response was given from the other man other than his hand slicking up his own length. He angled his hips forward and up, wondering for half a second if he should actually prepare Kyn for it before remembering that he'd probably done something like this many times before. He pushed in, still going slowly just to give Kyn time to adjust even thought it was killing him to do so. His breathing picked up, coming out in short puffs.

Kyn exhaled slowly, forehead falling onto Grimm's shoulder as his legs tightend around the man's waist. Sure it had been a while, but it shouldn't take too long to get used to it again. Though he didn't voice it, he was immensely grateful for Grimm's gentleness- a kindness many of his clients didn't bother with. He just smiled, lifting his head once more. "You know I said you may do as you like?"

"I'm doing as I like," he huffed. "And what I want to do is make sure I'm not hurting you." He moved his hips forward the rest of the ways anyhow, a low noise of pleasure sneaking its way out of his throat. Kyn didn't seem to be in any sort of pain... so why not? As soon as he was in all the way, he pulled back and began thrusting forward, all the while dragging a finger along the curves of Kyn's hips and the skin of his stomach.

"As you will, then." Kyn paused for the briefest of moments to lift a hand to brush his fingers through Grimm's hair. A moan tore from his throat as the man suddenly snapped his hips upward, pace increasing. He tried not to pull at his hair too much, some people just didn't like that, but with what he was doing and the fact that it was so silky made that hard. Kyn already had a mild fascination of it purely because of the unusual colour, now this was making it worse. He twined his fingers through locks of it as gently as he could manage, continuing to nip at Grimm's neck with curled toes from the effort of trying not to make too much noise.

Grimm chided himself for suddenly thinking that, because of this, he might possibly end up falling even harder for the man. Although Kyn's face was buried in his neck, just the fact that his body was pressed against his and the noises he was making were because of Grimm was enough to make his throat swell with emotion. He bit down on the side of Kyn's neck lightly, pressing him harder against the wall and making his movements a bit rougher. A hand moved to pump the man's cock, thumb sliding over the tip repeatedly.

Kyn tensed at first, grip from the arm that was slung around Grimm's shoulder tightening as he tried and failed to bite back the breathy yelp caused by the sudden roughness. He leaned back then, pushing away to bump the back of his head against the wall and reluctantly slipping his hand from Grimm's hand to slide down his chest and brush his nipples. It was taking a lot of control not to be as vocal as he wanted to be, but he didn't want half the crew kicking down the door to see what all the noise was about, so he tried restraining himself. Tried, being the key word.

Grimm seemed to lose control of his actions, because the next thing he knew, he was pounding into Kyn at an angle he hoped would work for the other man, and he was placing his lips right next to his ear. "Go on, let the whole damn ship know what's going on." He encouraged, Kyn's heavy breathing and moans in his own ear driving him crazy.

Kyn shook his head quickly, trying to get his heaving chest under enough control to speak. "If I do that," he tilted his head slightly away, shivering at how close and husky Grimm's voice was, "I shall hardly be your dirty little secret anymore, shall I?" Despite that, it was getting quite difficult and he was getting to the point of digging neat little crescents into the man's shoulders with his nails.

Grimm dragged his tongue down Kyn's neck, pressing open mouthed kisses at the base of it. "I don't think you were ever a secret to begin with," he breathed. It was true, though. He was certain that the other members of the crew had more than an idea of what was going on with them. So he really had nothing to lose here as he continued thrusting into Kyn, urging him toward his climax.

Kyn tried to laugh but it ended up coming out as a sort of trembling wail as Grimm hit something that sent fire through his gut. It almost startled him- he was so used to whomever he was with not caring if he was satisfied or not, it was odd to remember that this was something for the both of them. Perhaps rightfully so. Grimm would probably turn around and change his mind after all this. He probably still supposed Kyn thought of him as a potential 'friend with benefits'. But he had talked to the guy, and made an attempt or two to get to know him. Even asked to sleep next to him! That was the best he could do at this flirting business. It was easy to forget most people weren't as shallow as the sleazes that hung around the brothel whom were easily swayed by looks.

Head tilted back, Kyn howled as Grimm continued hitting that one spot, legs shaking as they squeezed around his waist. His nails dug into Grimm's back, hitting his climax hard enough to leave him dazed afterward and loosening the death-grip he had on the man.

A smile graced the captain's face as he hit something that made Kyn wail like that. He made sure to keep hitting that spot, moans and curses and breathless whispers of Kyn's name spilled from his own throat, and as soon as Kyn came, he followed with clenched teeth and trembling legs. He didn't last much longer standing up, and soon they were collapsed on the floor.

Kyn shifted stiffly as he brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "So," he glanced at Grimm with a place, placing his hands on the man's shoulders, "is this just a one time thing or are you about to confess your undying love to me?" He giggled like he was trying to make a joke though there was a slight hopefulness there. If Grimm was going to step foreword about his feelings now, that would be a relief (how did one go about bringing up feelings anyway?).

Grimm did his best to suppress a blush, gritting his teeth. "Sorry," he said, "I don't do love. At least not anymore. That was a one time thing, but you shouldn't have a problem with that, right?" He hadn't meant for it to come out as an insult, but as soon as he said it, he realize it probably sounded a little rude. "But thanks. I'm not lying when I say that I needed that."

Kyn shrugged it off and offered a slightly strained smile as he stood to disentangle himself from the other man. "Of course not." In a few quick moves he re-clothed himself and tried to appear a bit more presentable. "I shall be on my way then. You must be busy with this treasure business anyway." A playful smirk crossed his lips. "If you ever desire my presence again, you know where to find me." He gave a mock salute as he strode to the door and slipped out back onto the deck. A frown tugged at his features as he stood there a moment, shaking his head. Of course he had been reading everything wrong. It was stupid to get his hopes up like that. With a sigh, he crossed the deck and sought refuge in the crew quarters for a while.

Grimm, although he was a little less stressed, he still felt like shit for lying to Kyn like that. But it wasn't like Kyn was interested in anything more than sex, right? That's what he did.

Although he was tired, Grimm forced himself to redress, tying his hair back again and patting himself do

wn. He headed upward on deck and stared at the pole he'd been swinging his sword at in a fit of rage earlier, cursing himself for doing that much damange to something that was part of his own ship.

Refusing to make encounters between himself and Grimm awkward, Kyn reemerged from the quarters, scanned the deck and spotted the Captain but he butchard pole. Grinning, he slipped up to the man's side and nodded over at the angry marks in the wood. "At least it is just a pole, right?" He shrugged, pursing his lips with thought with something to make the situation a little more lighthearted. Finally he perked up and turned toward Grimm with a teasing look on his face. "Say, Captain, what is the difference between ten cocks and a joke?" He prompted, one hand casually resting on his hip.

Grimm raised an eyebrow, surprised at the question. Was Kyn asking him to answer a /joke/? He wasn't aware that the man could make jokes like that. "I... I'm not sure? What's the different between ten cocks and a joke, hm?" He asked, a smile tugging at his lips. He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't interested in hearing the punch line.

Kyn chuckled, grateful he didn't get the odd look he expected. With a quirked brow, he leaned in a little before saying "I cannot take a joke." and backing off again, still grinning.

Grimm heard Taylor crack up before he did, and when he finally started laughing, he could swear he could feel Rin's knowing gaze on his back. "O- Okay," he said in between laughs, "that was pretty good. I'll give you props for that." He beamed, grinning as well. "D'you just come up with that? Clever."

Kyn merely laughed and shook his head. "It was something I heard while working at the brothel on Montronagon. Sort of like an inside joke amongst the workers. Did you not have anything like that growing up?" He cocked his head, intrigued.

"What, inside jokes?" Grimm repeated. A thoughtful expression crossed his face, lips pursed. "Yeah, I had a lot of those with my brother. A couple with my parents, but... other than that, nothing else." he shrugged.

Kyn hummed and nodded. "Tell me about them, then. Not the jokes, your family. Colour me curious." He blinked. "Unless it makes you uncomfortable to speak of them. In which case, forget I said anything." He had to admit, he was curious as to why the man was a captain of a pirate ship anyway. He seemed rather young for such a position.

Grimm considered walking away while he had the chance, but at the last moment, he decided otherwise. "It's fine," he said. "I don't know, there's not much to tell, actually. My mom was the nicest woman you'd ever meet, and my dad was a good guy. Captain Xavier of the Black Demon. When he disappeared, my mom inherited position of captain. My older brother would be next in line. Then me. My mom was a great captain, just as great as my dad. We had a different crew, then. I can barely remember names or faces, though. I was never really close to anyone other than my actual family on this ship." He leaned back, crossing his arms in front of him. "My mom died when some bandits attacked the ship. I was fighting alongside her, and I let my guard down for a /second/, and in the next second she was gone. I think I blacked out after that, but when I woke up, all the bandits were running for their lives with wounds and shit. So with my mom and dad gone, Calik - my brother - became captain. He wasn't the best, but he wasn't the worst, either. He was okay. I guess we kind of co-captained the ship together. I was fourteen at the time and he was seventeen, and a year or two later, he passed as well. So I was left to become captain, and I hired a new crew, started over, and I've been captain since." He paused, giving a short laugh. "Okay, maybe there was a lot to tell. Sorry."

Kyn quickly shook his head, listening intently. "No, it is actually very fascinating! I did not know Pirating was a family thing. It sounds exciting." He grinned, then quickly amended, "I mean I am sorry to hear about your family, and it must have been a difficult life, but to be able to travel anywhere- it sounds wonderful." Adventuring had always intrigued him; getting to see new places all of the time, exploring far off worlds- it was only when you added danger to the mix that made that sort of life incompatible for him. He couldn't fight worth a damn and never wanted to. The phrase 'life threatening situation' didn't exactly have him jumping for joy. The thrill was nice, sure, but not the casualties. "This is the second time I have been on a ship in my life. The first was more of a transportation craft, though. I never got to see much. There was a lot of people, though." He mused thoughtfully, walking foreword a few steps to sit on the railing, back to the open space.

"I love traveling," Grimm said. "There are a lot of people who travel on ships or boats on their own without family, friends, or a crew, and when I think about that... it kind of makes me feel sick to my stomach. Not because they do it, but I just don't like thinking about /myself/ being in that position. It sounds kind of pathetic, but I'm slightly terrified of being alone." He spoke with a light tone, not entirely knowing how to talk about this seriously. That's what he always did- joked about something serious to cover up the fact that he was trying to convey something. This time, though, he had decided to be flat out blunt about it, but found that he still couldn't help but say it in a joking tone.

Kyn offered a light smile, nodding in understanding. "I do not quite fancy being alone, myself. Teal was the only companion I had most days, aside from the other whores, of course. But I had never truly befriended them." He waved a hand, appearing flippant. "Though I suppose there is a certain calmness to solitude, it is still not preferred. But enough of that, yes? My curiosity is mostly sated, I thank you. Perhaps there is something you wish to know?"

"Mostly?" Grimm smiled a little, turning to face Kyn completely. He looked at him, keeping a calm expression on his face even though he was thinking specifically about how nice Kyn looked with the light of the stars and the torches lit around them. "As for what I'd like to know... I'm not sure. What about your family? I mean, before you started your occupation, that is." He waved a hand dismissively.

"Let us see," Kyn murmured thoughtfully, leaning back. "When I was young, I lived in an estate, of sorts, with my parents and sister. And Bruniik, of course, though he was more of sitter. When the war started I must have been.. perhaps 9? And we left for Montanagon to escape the following disaster. But we were not used to the busy life of such a city, we were quite isolated. My parents were mugged and left for dead in an alley not a few months later. Kai and I were shipped off to the nearest orphanage." He shoved his hand in his pocket to prevent worrying the hem of his sleeves like he usually did. "Kai was a few years younger than I and did not really understand what was going on. I thought it best that she be adopted soon so that she might forget about what happened to her true parents and have a chance to live happily, without guilt. So she was, and quite quickly too- she was young, pretty, well behaved; potential parents loved her. As you can see, I did not go with her. They did not want a son. But that is when I met Teal, at the same orphanage. He came from a not so happy background, as many children there did, and hated it there. The owner was not the nicest woman either, gods only know why she ran an orphanage of all things. So we decided not to put up with the chores and the stale food and the beatings anymore and left. We found some shelled out basement in an old house and holed up there. She never came looking and we were free. But of course, with no money and no one to look after us, it was difficult. That is when we got into thievery and, a few years later, prostitution. We simply did what we must, I think the end result was alright." He shrugged, smiling lightly once more. "So there you are. Was that exciting enough for you, or shall I retell it with a bit more finesse, hm?"

"Yeah, you could do with a little more 'oomph,'" Grimm nodded. With a smile, he laughed. "Kidding. But that... sounds awful. The first part, that is. Well, I mean, the second part too, if you were to tell me that you've always hated being a prostitute. But I don't know. So I can't say." He shrugged. "But your sister is still out there, then? Hm." He silently wished he had that knowledge of his own brother, to know that he was still out there. But since /that/ was quite impossible, he settled for hoping that his father was still alive.

"It was, but it was years ago and I am quite content to move on from it. There is nothing to gain from dwelling on such things, yes?" Kyn said wistfully before standing upright. "But yes, there is a chance she is still out there, and with any luck, she is happy." He grinned. "But I think I have talked myself out enough for tonight, yes? It is getting late, and we must be heading to bed soon, separate as they may be." He paused, a thoughtful look coming across his features. "It is odd not giving myself willfully to those who would have me, but to be a pirate instead, I wonder how different a life it is? I suppose it does not warrant the possibility of family life, does it? Ah well, I must not be missing much. Ignore my ramblings." He stepped up to Grimm's side, arms folded behind his back with a prompting expression. "May I offer a friendly kiss goodnight? It is quite traditional, you know." He offered, green eyes gleaming.

Grimm fought back the urge to ask if Kyn wouldn't mind staying another night with him. They were both okay, Grimm had just fucked the shit out of him, they'd be fine. At Kyn's request, he bit the inside of his lip, knowing that he should probably say no, but not having the willpower to do so. "If you want to," he said, lips twitched upward in a slightly amused smile.

"Very well," Kyn smiled back in reply. True to his word, he gave a simple chaste kiss on the cheek, though he did tilt his head slightly so that the corner of his mouth brushed Grimm's. "As you will, then. Goodnight, Captain. And do be kind enough to leave the barnacle scraping off for a day or two, my hips are starting to ache." He pouted in a teasing manner before giving the man a sly grin and strutting off to the crew sleeping quarters.

"We'll see," Grimm said absently, watching the man walk away before turning and violently scrubbing his hands over his face, specifically his cheek and mouth.

"Oooh, you got it bad," Taylor said from her spot behind the wheel. Grimm shot her a glare, only succeeding in making her laugh. "Just sayin'! I just learned more about you from listening to you talk to him than I have in the past three years working for you. I know you don't open up easily. You didn't even tell all that to Daniel as far as I know. There's something different about Kyn that you really like. And trust, for that matter."

"Shut up," Grimm mumbled, leaning against the side of the ship. He kept the pissed-off demeanor on his face for a few more moments before finally giving in and breaking out in a stupid-grin, sliding down the side to sit with his knees to his chest. "I hate him for it. I hate him so /fucking/ much for it I can't begin to explain it." He said, still smiling.

Kyn had paused at the wooden door to the crew quarters just long enough to hear Taylor speak up. Though some of what they said, he couldn't make out, he did hear quite a bit. That was enough to make an odd, fluttery sensation appear in his belly and a smile come to his face. So he was getting through to the stubborn captain after all? Perhaps there was still hope to this yet. Still grinning softly, he entered the room and made for his makeshift bedroll on the ground.

"What's that look?" He heard Teal's voice from behind him, tinged with suspicion. Kyn glanced lazily back at him. "Things are going well with you and Dagan, yes?" He asked, smirking at the crimson that suddenly coloured the man's cheeks as he nodded. "It is like that, then. Only not quite. It is difficult. Go to sleep, will you?" He waved Teal off as Junnesejer crawled into his lap to sleep.

In the morning, Grimm woke to Taylor knocking on his door. Well, knocking was an understatement. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought she was trying to smash in his door with her fist. "CAPTAIN!" She shouted, sounding annoyed. "Would you /wake/ your ass up? Artym's out of some supplies with names I can't pronounce. We need to stop and resupply. Is that okay?"

Grimm blinked groggily, making some sort of groaning noise as an answer before shoving his face back in his pillow. "Thanks!" Taylor said through the door. He heard her footsteps recede. He stretched his limbs out, which only made him want to stay in bed more. But he forced himself to sit up, then stand, then get dressed. Walking out and up on deck, he was instantly greeted with Rin's roaring laughter.

"Something funny?" He asked.

Rin approached him, licking her fingers before patting his hair down. "Don't want your boyfriend seeing you like that, hm?"

Grimm swatted her hands away in disgust. "Okay, /Mom/. And he's not my boyfriend. Have you been talking to Taylor?"

"I'm always talking to Taylor." Rin said with a wink.

"Alright, well, tell her I said to dock at the nearest spaceport with a moderately functioning society. We're in unknown territory right now, so I don't know any of the planets or their respective spaceports."

"Aye aye."

"My my, Captain," Kyn called as he trotted up with a grin, "a rather sight for sore eyes this morning, I see." He looked over the man's partially smoothed bedhead and precariously thrown on clothes with a bemused look. Even with Grimm's currently haggard appearance, he still managed a charming look; where was the fairness in that? "So we are docking, then? Where so?" He strode a few steps away to lean on the railing, looking around as if a space port would just materialize in front of them. "I hope this one has more interesting markets, I have been meaning to look for something for my cat." He mused to himself quietly, turning back to Grimm. "So how did you sleep last night, hm?"

Grimm took a moment, trying to remember what it was he was forgetting. "I, uh... slept fine, I think?" he said distractedly. Then the light went on in his head. "My hat. Damn it." He thunked the heel of his palm against his head, rolling his eyes at himself. "Yeah, I slept fine. A little better than I normally do, which is probably why I feel so disoriented, now that I think about it."

"Man, I thought I had a messed up sleeping schedule," Taylor said from her post at the wheel.

Kyn chuckled lightly and unthinkingly reached up to finish smoothing down Grimm's hair. "I suppose that is good then? Though I could not say the same for the disorientation. Then again, it is your fault I must wake so early now, but I suppose I shall get used to it." He sighed, tapping against his thigh in unrest. "When will we be docking then, do you know?"

"Just a few minutes, there's a spaceport up ahead with a 'moderately functioning society' as our captain put it," Taylor pointed up ahead. Sure enough, there was a spaceport not far off, resting on what seemed to be a flat extension of some sort of oval-shaped planet. Grimm had never seen one like that before. He wondered what kinds of odd creatures resided on it. As he looked at it, his hand came up to unconsciously slide through his hair, wondering why Kyn seemed so comfortable with him after all the confusion he'd probably put him through.

Once they'd pulled into the spaceport, Grimm didn't even have to tell everyone that they needed to be back by sunset. Coby went off with Taylor and Rin, Teal with Dagan, Alastar with Artym to help him get food supplies, and Grimm decided walking with Kyn wouldn't be too stressful. "You said you needed to get things for your cat?" he let out a puff of air once he was on solid ground after climbing down the rope ladder.

"A collar would be nice, for one." Kyn remarked as he landed beside the other man. "Perhaps a separate bed for her to sleep in? I do not fancy waking up late at night to find various limbs dead and myself unable to move because she is laying on me. Nor having fur all over my clothes. And we can always look for neat little trinkets, yes? I have a weakness for them." He sighed wistfully and strolled off in the direction he believed the bazaar to be. "Anything in particular you need?"

"Nope," Grimm shrugged. "I kind of want to stop somewhere for a shower. I don't doubt the others are doing that too. Maybe there's an inn somewhere around here." He hummed under his breath as they walked. "Sorry about Artym, by the way. I'd let your cat roam the ship but I'm genuinely worried she'll stray into Artym's territory and the guy'll use her for soup or something."

"He is not terribly fond of small animals is he?" Kyn mused with a sort of grimace. "But a shower sounds lovely. Springs even more- I do not suppose there is one of those around here, is there? Then again, I do not think we could afford such a luxury. Ah well, it is nice to think about." He observed the semi-crowded merchant stalls coming into view, making a small 'huh' in intrigue at the different races he had never seen before.

"I definitely don't have the money for a spring," Grimm said. He scanned the crowd, taking in the races just as Kyn was. There was a man who looked seemingly normal, but when he walked by, Grimm was a little startled to see two eyes peering out from underneath the stringy hair on the back of his head. He shook his head. "Can't expect anyone to be normal these days, can you?"

"Define normal." Kyn chuckled back, slipping between what looked like two earthen golems. He darted between stalls, admiring the wares but managing to find what he came for, among other intriguing little things. "I once slept with a vakaelrian- have you ever seen one?" he grinned, "Fantastic. In fact I might have to keep a lookout for another- hm." The pleased look on his face suddenly dropped as he scrunched his nose. Whiskey, or some alien equivalent, drifted up from a group of rabble rousing men leering at anyone who passed by them. "Drunkards, and so early in the day?" he frowned, shifting the weight of the small pack around his waist.

"Guess so," Grimm snorted. He watched as one of the men - this one seemed like the leader of the group - approached a small shop. Grimm narrowed his eyes, checking out what the shop was selling. Medical drugs. /Only/ medical drugs. Huh. Apparently it was legal to sell them like that here.

"You-" the leader slurred, leaning over the counter toward the owner of the shop. "You're the guy who owes us. You're the guy who dropped all those bottles and made us fall on our asses." He pointed at some bottles in the back of the structure. "We should get drugs for /free/ as an apology... or somethin'."

"Oh dear," Kyn sighed and stepped back, gently tugging Grimm along with him, "Perhaps we should go." He watched as the yelling of the drunkard increased in volume, along with the shopkeeper, until the brute ended up slugging his captive right in the jaw. It seemed to be the cue for the others to jump in, smashing whatever they could get their hands on. Kyn was pulling insistently on Grimm's arm now, trying to steer them away from the fight. Suddenly the sound of crashing stopped and the leader was stumbling back nursing the side of his face. His assailant dove foreword, striking him in the gut and making him double over, retching blood. The other gang members were facing similar fates, seeming to be led by the first attacker- a slender man with odd silvery hair. It took a very short amount of time but eventually the drunkards were either knocked out on the ground or stumbling away to nurse their wounds. Silver-hair was speaking to the shopkeeper now, quiet enough that Kyn couldn't hear. "Huh," the brunette let go of Grimm's arm to observe the aftermath. "I guess not, then."

Grimm pursed his lips as he watched, setting a hand on his hip. He waited in the aftermath and when everything seemed relatively calm, he cocked a smile. "C'mon," he said, pulling Kyn along with him over to the silver haired man. "I think we could put these guys to use." He didn't stop to think that Kyn might be uncomfortable with this. He was too focused on the idea that he could add to the number of his crewmates. "Hey!" he called as he approached, raising a hand to get their attention. "Can I have a moment with you... gentlemen?"

The 'gentlemen' part caught the leader's attention as he looked up from his low conversation with the store owner. His eyes raked over the man who called for his attention and flicked over to Kyn briefly. "Why of course I have a moment to speak with you and your lovely companion. What is it?" He placed his hands on his hips, cocking them slightly in prompt and Kyn was suddenly taken aback by how closely he resembled Grimm. The two could be brothers.

"I know when there's an opportunity sitting right in front of me," Grimm leaned back, feeling his eye twitch slightly at the comment the man made toward Kyn, "and you, my friend, are a /huge/ opportunity. Any chance you have anything against being part of a pirate crew?" Grimm had never been anything but blunt with hiring people as part of his crew. Forceful and blunt. That's how it always happened.

"Pirate crew?" The man looked a bit taken aback. "Would this be a permanent hiring or you just need some extra muscle for an expedition?" He grinned, gaze sliding back toward the brunette. "I see you keep good company, if it's interesting enough I might be tempted."

Grimm shifted a bit so as to hopefully block the man's view of Kyn. "Permanent. At least, I would hope so." Grimm wasn't sure how much he meant that statement. "Captain Grimm Huntsback. Emphasis on the 'Captain'." He held out his hand for the man to shake. "And you and your buddies are?"

"Call me Cedric, Captain." The man grinned and shook with hand with a firm grip. "As for them," he turned toward the fomented group and pointed each of them out, "that there is Tolfdir, Janessa, Darrien, Sven and Karliah." He looked back at Grimm, brow quirked at how the man had positioned himself but said nothing. "So a permanent thing, hm? Well I have been craving a bit of adventure lately... I suppose I will join you, Captain. From now until you decide you no longer have use of us, we are yours to command." He, along with his group gave a slight respective bow.

Grimm was honestly a little surprised at how easily he'd agreed to it. "I... Alright, then. That was easy." Grimm stood back, smirking a bit before looking at Kyn. "Certainly easier than when I recruited you and Teal." For the moment, he decided he liked these seemed nice enough, other than the fact that Cedric seemed to be taking too much interest in Kyn.

"What can I say," Cedric smiled, "my group goes where I go, and I go where the excitement is. Clearly traversing the galaxy with you and your companions is more interesting than settling some drunken brawls, you'll agree." He chuckled. Kyn glanced toward Grimm with a look of indignation. "I had my cats; you were asking me to leave my furry family." He wiped a fake tear from his eye. "I do miss them. Not the cold, damp basement though." He shook his head and sighed. Cedric stared at them- well, at Kyn- with interest for a few moments before clearing his throat. "So, just tell us where you're docked and we'll meet you there with the rest of our things."

Grimm pointed out where they were docked, telling them they'd be waiting there for them. He steered Kyn away. "Well, he seemed interested in you, that's for sure." He said with a hint of irritation. "Other than that, though, they seemed nice enough. Useful, too, in case that wasn't clear."

"Mm, I noticed. That is what I am here for, remember?" Kyn smiled over at Grimm in a teasing manner. The slight change in the man's tone made him arch a brow in question but decided to keep quiet. He wondered if that was going to be an issue at all; perhaps the captain would issue a look but don't touch rule? The thought made him chuckle to himself, hands going into his pockets as he walked. "So, showers then? Lead on, Captain."

Once both of them were clean and dry, they hurried back over to the ship. Grimm was worried they'd been gone too long and Cedric and his friends had beaten them there, but no sooner than he and Kyn were approaching the Demon did they hear Cedric give a shout to indicate that he was right there behind them. "Right on time," Grimm said. "We'll have to set up a few more hammocks in the sleeping quarters before nightfall, I guess. You're helping me." He told Kyn.

"Very well." Kyn sighed in response and clamoured up the ladder to get onto the ship. He wondered if they would have any problems with his cat and pursed his lips at the thought. That would just be too bad then, Junnesejer wasn't going anywhere. After setting up said hammocks, he retreated to his corner with his cat the put her new collar on, clipping on a little ship charm onto it with a grin. Now he just had to hope she'd sleep on the bed as opposed to his body.

On the ship, Grimm turned to face Cedric and his group. "The rules are very basic. No mutiny, no brawling, no stealing from anyone else on the ship, and you do as you're asked when you're asked to do it." He paused, setting his jaw before taking another step toward Cedric specifically. "And one rule that applies only to you; please refrain from touching my friend. You can look, but you can't touch. Got it?"

The silver-haired man stared back at him quizzically but answered nonetheless. "Sure thing, Captain." He smirked, hands falling to rest on his hips. "Whatever you say." He dismissed it pretty quickly as he turned from Grimm to get his and his group's stuff settled in. It was pretty obvious even to him that this 'rule' was made out of jealousy, perhaps. As he entered the sleeping quarters, Kyn stood up from where he was coaxing his tabby into her new bed and made to leave the room. "I would steer clear of the cook, if I were you." He called back, brows furrowed as Cedric shot him a confused look. "He does not much like rodents and small animals. Or people, for that matter. I thought I would warn you in case Grimm did not say anything." He shrugged and left.

Not a few minutes after speaking with Grimm did Cedric appear back on deck as well, approaching the aqua-haired man to inform him that they were settled. It then occured to Kyn that he still hadn't really introduced himself yet, merely warned him of Artym's moods. With a smile, he extended his hand toward Cedric and said "My apologies for not doing this earlier, my name is Kynareth Fanacasecul. It is good to meet you." Cedric briefly looked like he was going to shake his hand but simply shot Grimm a look as he said "Sorry, sweet thing, I'm afraid I can't do that. Captain's orders." with a small grin.

Grimm was hardly paying attention during the exchange. But as soon as he heard Cedric's last two words, he panicked and his jaw clenched, looking between their hands and Kyn's expression. "Wh- I didn't say anything like that!" He said quickly, reaching out to take Cedric's hand and place it in Kyn's for them to shake. "Fucking hell, all it is is shaking hands."

Kyn's look of confusion remained even as Cedric chuckled and shook his hand. "Of course, then the pleasure is mine, Kynareth." He released Kyn's hand after a moment before striding off to talk with one of his group members. Kyn shot Grimm a look that read "what was that all about?" before shrugging and shaking his head. "There was something I wanted to ask you before, when we were speaking of our families and such, but it slipped my mind at the time. Why is this ship called the Black Demon? To... intimidate?" The brunette inquired with a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Actually, yeah," Grimm said with a grin. "When my dad named it, he was in the middle of this ongoing feud with this other crew I can't remember the name of. My dad knew the captain of it had a crippling fear of demons and anything related to them, so he figured, 'why not?' and named his ship the Black Demon on the offchance that it might intimidate the captain at least a little bit and put him on edge. I don't know if it did, but that's the story."

"Huh." Kyn mumured with an amused tone. "I would imagine it would work well enough. Now all you need is a demon carved into your figurehead, hm? Though I do not know what one looks like. A shame." He sighed.

"I don't know, I mean, if you were to name a ship after something to do with heights I don't really think I would be intimidated by it. 'Cause it's a ship, y'know? Nothing to be scared of." Grimm shrugged. He let his weight fall back on the wall near the door to his quarters. "As long as we're asking about stuff we're curious about, I was wondering; why do you seem to like being around me so much? I feel like I don't give off very friendly vibes, so I'm just a /little/ confused here."

The question made Kyn blink and give a quiet laugh while he was mentally starting to panic a little. "Hmm, how should I explain it? I fancy things that are beautiful and strong. I fancy things that are dangerous and exciting." He allowed himself to give the man a sly smile. "Would you be offended if I said I fancied you?"

Grimm stared at the man, willing the slight blush he felt coming on to disappear. "Offended? But of course not." He teased, knowing that Kyn was simply joking. "That's a perfectly good reason for wanting to be around me. I really am beautiful and strong, aren't I?" He flipped his hair in an exaggerated manner.

Kyn laughed then, a mixture of relief tinged with slight disappointment. "The strongest and the most beautiful." He agreed, lips pursed. "You are practically a public menace. Alas, I promised I would help Artym today seeing as he is hobbling around the kitchen with that leg of his and is too stubborn to ask for help. We shall speak again later, Captain." With a slight wave, he turned toward the kitchens and walked away.

Before Kyn could get too far, Grimm found himself speaking against his own free will. "Hey, Kyn?" He said, completely aware of the slightly uneasy look on his face. "You can call me Grimm, if you want. I think I'd actually prefer it if you did." He bit his lip, looking through his bangs at Kyn.

The brunette paused for a moment, glancing back to look at Grimm with a mildly surprised expression. "Of course, Grimm." He quickly turned away once more and scurried off to the kitchen with heat blaring on his cheeks. That look was not fair whatsoever, especially not with his hair and those /eyes/- Artym's sharp bark of an annoyed greeting jerked him from his thoughts and he shook his head, starting on the man's chores for him.

Some sense of relief washed over Grimm after that. He felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he was glad about that. But as another day passed, Grimm wasn't surprised to find that he was, once again, stressing over things he knew he shouldn't worry about. "How are we gonna even get all that gold?" Rin asked him below deck with Kyn and Coby present as well. "I mean, are we going to /try/ to get all the gold? Or are we just going to take as much as our hands can carry? How much do you think your friend would even need?" She laughed, elbowing Kyn.

"You can never be too generous." Kyn chuckled back, hands going in his pockets. "He said he wanted to expand- update the furnishings and beds and facilities. More and better food supplies would be nice too. After what he put up with when I was a child, I think he deserves it." He smiled and shook his head.

From outside the door, Cedric stopped and leaned in after looking around to make sure no one else was on deck. The word 'gold' caught his interest rather quickly, so he made sure to stay low and silent as he listened to them converse.

"Anyway," Kyn spoke up again, "it would have to depend on where this treasure is. If it is underground it might be an issue to haul it all the way back up. But if is just on the ground somewhere, it shoulder not be too difficult to place it in crates and such to bring up with the rope." He suggested, shrugging.

"I wish the map would tell us where the treasure actually /is/," Coby said.

"Same," Rin added.

"Well, it doesn't," Grimm said with frustration, "so I guess we'll just have to figure that out on our own. If it's a difficult process, so be it. I'm willing to lug gold as far as it takes to get it on the damn ship."

"But if it is called Treasure Planet, then is the whole planet laden with treasure?" Kyn wondered aloud, brow creasing. "I think... I think we may have some difficulties if that is the case. You could always get a bigger ship?" He suggested jokingly, leaning foreword toward the others.

"The whole planet isn't covered in treasure, no," Coby shook his head.

Grimm nodded. "Captain Flint had a trove - which is literally called Flint's Trove - where he kept all the treasure. No one knows where it is on the planet, but it definitely isn't the /entire/ planet. Don't worry about that."

"So we could potentially be scouring an entire planet... for a trove?" Kyn blinked, a distressed look on his face. "Gods above, that could take- well, years! Hundreds of years! Even with a small army of people searching." He folded his arms over his chest, lips tugged into a frown. "I still do not think this is the best idea when we have no idea what to expect."

"Well, we're hoping that maybe once the map is on the planet, it'll send out some sort of signal or clue to help us find where the trove is," Coby said. "If nothing happens..."

"We might as well just book it." Rin finished.

"Yeah, we'll just do our best." Grimm confirmed.

"I suppose that is acceptable." Kyn agreed, dropping his arms to yawn. "Is that it? Because I would very much like to sleep soon, stratigizing aside. How long will it be until we reach this planet, do you think? I hope it will not take too long."

"Just a couple days," Grimm replied. "Get some sleep. See you guys tomorrow. And Coby, will you go pry Taylor away from the helm? Force her to sleep. She needs it. I'll drive for a while and then we'll just idle for a bit." He knew he wasn't going to be able to fall asleep anyway, so why not? Coby nodded, jumping up and dashing out on deck in front of Grimm, passing a very suspicious looking Cedric on the way. He cast him a weary glance, eyes narrowed. Coby had sensed something off about him the second he saw him. But for now he decided to ignore it, going to drag Taylor off to the bunkers.

As soon as conversation in the room ended, Cedric snapped to attention and feigned cleaning up some small strewn debris on the deck, giving Coby a mock salute as he walked out. Kyn followed the blonde not long after, rubbing his eyes and calling a quiet greeting toward the other man before trudging off to the crew quarters. Cedric waited only a little longer before following, a dozen plans already running through his mind. He knew of the legend of Treasure Planet, any self respecting adventurer did, but if these guys actually had a map of some sort and the means to find it, then this was far more interesting and profitable than he originally thought. For now, he'd sleep with the others, but his crew needed to know and new plans made. If this all played out right, he and his group woud walk away with all the treasure they could ever want and the entirety of the Black Demon's crew would be cold and rotting on that forsaken planet with none the wiser.

The next day, with everyone up and taking care of their respective duties, an odd sensation swept over the ship- literally. It made the ship lurch upward, and Coby was the first one to rush to the side, looking over. "SPACE KRAKEN!" He shouted with excitement. "C- Come look! Holy /shit/, it's right underneath us!" He bounced on his toes. Grimm approached, peering over the edge.

"Damn," he said. "I'm really hoping it doesn't suddenly decide to eat us."

"It'll only do that if we make it angry. And if we make it angry, we can throw Cedric to it as an offering." Coby said.

Grimm blinked. "You're more twisted than I thought. But y'know, even if I was the one to recrute Cedric, I have to admit I like the way you think."

"I try."

"SPACE KRAKEN!" Kyn crowed not two seconds later, dashing from the kitchens and leaving Artym to curse loudly behind him as he scrambled up onto the bulwark. He barely listened to the other two talk as he watched the huge creature drift lazily underneath them. Finally he looked up at Grimm and Coby, a dead serious expression on his face. "Would it notice if I jumped onto it's back? I want to try."

"Oooh, no," Grimm shook his head. "You're not doing /anything/ like that." He put his hands on Kyn's shoulders and pushed him away from the railing a bit. "Space Kraken bad." Was Kyn serious about wanting to ride that thing? Maybe the guy had a death wish. Then again, Kyn definitely wasn't the type to look for trouble, especially trouble in Space Kraken amounts. So this was a surprise.

"But it is a Space Kraken! I have never seen one, I thought they did not exist! Are there even more out there?" Kyn clenched his hands excitedly, brow furrowing. "I wonder what it feels like." After all, they would probably never see one again, so of course he wanted to do it. Maybe flinging himself off the ship just to touch the strange beast wasn't the best idea, but it was so /interesting/.

"I'm sure there are more out there. It probably had creepy little babies at some point." Grimm made a face. "I know you wanna go out on it, but I mean... we don't even have a saddle?" He tried, furrowing his brow and shaking his head. "Never mind. It's just too dangerous."

Kyn sighed, a slightly disappointed look crossing his face. "Very well, it would be an interesting experience indeed." An odd look crossed his face at the mention of potential space kraken children, and he chuckled at the thought. "I suppose." he shrugged.

It was a couple days later that Coby was doing his routine supply check, humming under his breath as he approached the food cellar of the ship. This had always been his least favorite job. It just took so long to count everything in the room. But before he could even open the door to it, he froze. His brow furrowed in confusion. Were those voices? Why would anyone be in the food cellar as if it were a casual place to loiter? Even so, Coby pressed his ear to the wood of the door and listened.

As soon as Cedric made sure they weren't being watched, he and crew slipped into the food cellar for a little 'meeting'. It seemed like the ideal place to discuss his plans; no one really came down here except for the cook with anger issues. "Tolfdir, watch the door just in case." Cedric jerked his head toward the way they came in while the others settled down on barrels and crates.

"Please tell me you're done with this 'treasure-hunting mercenary' thing. I'm starting to get sick of this ship." Janessa grumbled from her place on the floor, brushing fiery red hair from her stern face.

"Not quite. I think I've found our pay-off point, however." Cedric replied with a grin, beckoning the others closer. "I overheard the Captain talking to some of his people. They're going after Treasure Planet, it seems. And they've got a map. All we need to do is subdue the crew and it's captain, take the map, find this treasure and we," he leaned back, arms crossed as a triumphant smile crossed his face, "we will be set for life." Karliah and Sven exchanged looks while Darrien spoke up.

"But it'll be just the six of us against the whole lot of them. And we have no idea what they're capable of."

"That is why we catch them unaware, like when they're sleeping. Take out the guards and the watchmen first, then the captain, then the rest of the crew." The silverhaired man was met by nods of agreement. "Now, we need to figure out when would be the best time. Not too soon to give us time to prepare, but maybe-"

"'Ey!" Came the startled yell of Tolfdir, pointing toward the door. "I heard something!" He pulled the thing open with a creak, watching as Coby stumbled in front of him. "Rat." He swore, making a grab for the blonde and the others were startled into action.

"Damnation, looks like we do this now." Cedric hissed, reaching for his gun.

Coby's eyes widened against the door, silently thinking that he knew all along something was off about Cedric. He was about to turn and go warn the Captain, but never got the chance. One of Cedric's goons opened the door, leaving Coby to fall forward and fall on his face. The next thing he knew, he was being yanked up and Cedric was pulling his gun out, and Coby was yelling out a warning to the whole ship, hoping that someone would hear him and do something to save themselves or stop the silver haired man and his friends.

Taylor was the first one to take notice, whirling around from her position at the helm. She glared at where the sound of Coby's yell came from. "Dagan!" She snapped, running down into the control room. "Turn autopilot on. Something's wrong." She didn't have time to explain, racing back up onto deck. Rin already seemed to notice that something was wrong. She pounded on Grimm's door, and within moments the Captain was up on deck, sword in hand and gun at his side.

"Fucking hell," he said under his breath. "I should have expected this. I can't just go around and recruit people without background checks."

"It's a little too late to think about that now!" Rin pulled her own gun out. "They've got Coby. And they want the map. That's what I'm getting from all this."

"Like hell they're getting the map." Grimm said. He shouted each of his crew members' names, telling them to get to the solar craft if they were able to. "And Cedric?" He watched the silver haired man and his goons exit the food cellar. "I'd appreciate it if you'd give up now and just jump off my ship."

"Your ship?" Cedric sneered, examining his gun with disinterest. "Not any longer. I think I'll be taking it off your hands, actually, no need to thank me." He pointed it at the Captain, waiting. "I suggest you go. Now." His look turned thoughtful. "Unless you want me to shoot you here, of course. In which case, I will happily oblige."

Kyn appeared behind Grimm as he watched the two men talk. "Coby, Alastar, Artym and Teal are not here, Grimm. Cedric's people must have them cornered somewhere." He was knawing worriedly on his lower lip as he looked around for any signs of the missing crew members. If they tried to rescue them, where ever they were, they might all be shot. But leaving them didn't sit well with him either.

"Get to the craft," Grimm said quietly without looking away from Cedric. He didn't blink, didn't move, didn't do anything for a moment. He could shoot him right now and endager the lives of the ones who weren't being held hostage, knowing that if he shot Cedric, his friends would avenge him and kill Grimm's crew. He hated that the only way out of this was the cowardly way- to run. He never liked running away from things. "You do anything to the ones you have held hostage and I'll make sure you die with a bullet in your head." He hissed, backing up slowly, but keeping his gun aimed at Cedric. He looked around to make sure the others had followed his orders. Forgetting to make sure he had the map in his pocket, Grimm sprinted to the solar craft. "Alright, everyone buckle up!" He yelled, jumping into the craft. "They won't want us to get away. They may act like they're letting us go, but as soon as we open this thing, Cedric's gonna come running in here firing like a madman. He'll probably spare Kyn, though. I have a feeling he knows he's the only one who can operate the map. And he'll shoot me to /get/ that map." Again, he didn't stop to think that he might have left the map somewhere on the ship as he started the craft, pulling the lever to open the doors underneath it. "/Please/ make sure he doesn't shoot any of you."

Cedric watched as the remainder of the crew fled to the solar craft, rather surprised at how easily they managed it. But, of course, there was always a chance they had memorized the map or something, and would come back-

Cedric narrowed his eyes then, suddenly struck by how he had forgotten to get it's location beforehand. "The map." He hissed to his crew as they aimed at the departing craft. "Take them down, I don't care how. We're getting that map." At that, the group open fired, hoping to hit something (or someone) vital in order to take it down.

"Shit!" Grimm said, a bullet bouncing off one of the metal beams above them. "Get /down/!" He ordered what was left of his crew. The bullets were hitting too close and too fast. And just when he thought the craft would lower itself on time, Taylor was doubling over and grasping her leg, looking like she was trying not to scream. The craft dropped then, and Grimm hurriedly steered it out of there, his hands shaking and head pounding.

"Crap, crap, crap, /fuck/," Taylor whimpered, pulling her hand away from her leg to reveal the blood-soaked wound. "Well, I don't think he even /meant/ to hit /me/, so that's a little embarrassing." She managed a small laugh. For a bullet wound, there wasn't a ridiculous amount of blood. She looked rather pale, but that was only because she was in shock and in pain. She wouldn't die of blood loss, that much was evident.

"Fucking pieces of shit," Grimm snarled. "At least you're okay. Are you guys hurt at all?" He asked Kyn, Rin, and Dagan.

"Fine." Kyn poked his head up from where he had ducked and was now currently holding on while the ship plummeted. He took the chance to scrabble across the ship to get to Taylor's side, helping her to stem the flow of blood with a strip of cloth he tore from his shirt. It wouldn't count for much if they were all going to crash and die anyway, but he did anyway, tying it off with a small pin he had in his hair. He looked to Grimm, brow furrowed in concern. Were they just going to hurtle through space until they hit something or the gravity field went out?

Grimm did his best to keep a steady hold on the handle of the craft, steering for the closest planet they could find.

"Captain," Dagan spoke. He pointed ahead of them. "Look."

Grimm craned his neck to see ahead of the craft. Not too far away was what they'd been looking for for the past week; Treasure Planet.

"Oh, thank god," he breathed. His relief was short lived, however, for at that moment, the craft's engine stuttered violently. Cedric or one of his goons must have shot something vital, Grimm realized. "Come on, just make it to the planet..."

Once they were within the atmosphere of the planet, the craft seemed to lose all hope of functioning properly. It plummetted, and Grimm yelled out a "Brace yourselves!" right before it came into contact with the ground. It was harsh, and it sent the craft tumbling over dirt and plantlife. It came to a stop when it hit a large rock, sending them all tumbling out of it.

Kyn tried to shield Taylor from the worst of it, in an attempt not to mess up her leg any further, but from such a rough landing it probably didn't do much. He ended up a few feet away from her, on his back and rubbing his sore midsection with a wince. At least they weren't dead. Well, he wasn't. Kyn sat up and looked around, trying to spot the others in the wreckage.

"Ooh, that hurt," Rin groaned from her spot on the ground. "Tai, you alright?"

"I'm good," Taylor said, pushing herself up with a wince. "Questioning whether or not to amputate my own leg, but good."

"Let's not amputate anything until we're sure it needs to be done," Grimm said. He sat up, shaking the dust out of his hair. "Nobody broke anything? No life-threatening injuries?" He asked.

Kyn made a noise and poked at his ribs, but shook his head. "I think I am fine. Where are we, exactly?" At first, he thought they were surrounded by large trees, but when he looked closer, they looked more like mushrooms than anything. Despite how fascinating it looked, this place seemed uncharted, and if there was a port or town or anything on this planet, it was probably miles from here. Unless they tracked this Treasure Planet into some uncharted, back sprial, corner of the universe. Then it was pretty much hopeless, and he had no doubt Cedric and his men would follow just to make sure they had all perished in the crash.

"This /is/ Treasure Planet." Dagan said. No one said anything in response, but Dagan put his face in his hands. After a moment, he took a shaky breath. "I can't believe we had to leave the others behind. I swear, if they hurt /any/ of them-"

"I know," Grimm interrupted. "We'll take care of them, Dagan. We'll figure something out." Dagan looked unconvinced for the most part, but he let it go.

"I hope you're right," he said with a frown.

Grimm wanted to say something to make him feel better, but he knew he was no good at things like that. With a huff, he bent down to pick up his gun. "Alright, Taylor, why don't you go ahead and let me give you a piggy back ride-"

"Shh!" Rin suddenly hissed, motioning for everyone to get down. She hid behind the rock their craft hit and the others did the same, Grimm helping Taylor over to it. They watched The Black Demon pass by overhead. "They're probably going to come looking for us. Perfect." Rin rolled her eyes.

"What should we do, then? Staying here seems like a bad idea." Kyn pointed out. The crash site would be the first place they looked, but they were in unfamiliar territory surrounded by foliage so dense you couldn't walk more than a few feet without tripping. Splitting off into the wilds seemed like the best move for hiding, but then they'd be separated, and all of them going together seemed likely to get them spotted.

"We need to find some sort of place to hide and camp for the night," Grimm said. He looked at the lot of them, inhaling then exhaling slowly. "I'll go and find some place. You guys all stay here, stay out of sight and don't get caught. Alright?" He raised an eyebrow as if daring them to argue with him.

Kyn frowned at the thought of the man going off on his own, but begrudgingly agreed. He'd stay and try and find something better to help Taylor with aside from scrap cloth. "Be careful." He said to Grimm before thinking for a moment. "And do not get lost. Okay?" His brow was furrowed with concern as he scooted a little closer.

Grimm was quiet, looking at Kyn and pursing his lips. After a moment, he nodded. "No problem. I'll come right back here, don't worry." He ruffled Kyn's hair, then turned to the others. "Dagan, Rin, keep them safe, okay?"

"Aye aye," they answered simultaneously. With that, Grimm set out to find somewhere to stay for the night.

It proved difficult, to say the least. He had to defend himself on more than one occassion from flesh-eating plants and some seriously deformed animals. When he did find somewhere to hide, though, he quickly made his way back to where the others were waiting just before nightfall.

He carried Taylor on his back, leading them to the large, hollow structure that seemed to grow straight from the earth. "Oh, yes, because that's completely conspicuous!" Taylor muttered.

"Shut up. It's better than nothing." Grimm replied.

After a while spent salvaging what they could from the wrecked ship, Kyn perked up when Grimm returned with news of a safe(er) place. He helped the others pack up and depart, making their way through the gloomy thicket. "How interesting." He murmured, running his hand over the earthen structure. It was eye-catching, but far less so than their previous position. Quickly, they were ushered inside to make camp, already squinting in the mid-dark.

Back toward the wreckage, the Black Demon landed quietly near the ruin. The area was soon scouted out by Cedric and his goons, all looking for any signs of life.

"Looks bad," Karliah called out, squatting by some rubble, "but I don't see any bodies. Must've cleared out by now."

"Then comb the area, I want them and that map found." Cedric raked a hand through his silvery hair in annoyance. He wasn't letting them live after this, they've caused far too much annoyance for that. As soon as they had a sure sight on the treasure, the entire crew of the Demon would be executed or left to rot on this planet.

After getting situated and as comfortable as they could get, Grimm remembered that they were actually /on/ Treasure Planet. "Oh, hey..." he reached into his pocket, expecting to find the map. When his fingers touched nothing, he checked the other pocket with a furrowed brow. Once again, nothing.

The map was /gone?/

"/Shit!/" He shouted, making the others jump. "Guys, the map is gone."

"Excuse me?" Rin's eyes widened.

"The fucking map is gone!" His eyes darted around, trying to think of where it could have gone. "I must have dropped it on the goddamn ship!"

"You are not suggesting we go back and try and find it, are you?" Kyn spoke up, hands on his hips. "Either they are long gone or somewhere else on this planet trying to find us. Is it really worth chancing?" He had never been too on board with this whole treasure hunt to begin with, and now it just seemed wiser to rescue their other crew members and focusing on leaving, treasure be damned.

"I saw my ship when I was looking for a hiding place," Grimm pinched the bridge of his nose. "I know where they're situated. They're looking for us right now. But I doubt they'll wander an unfamiliar planet in the middle of the night. Kyn, they don't fucking deserve that treasure. So I'm going back to the ship, getting the map, and figuring out a way to get the rest of the crew back. I'll go later tonight when they're all sleeping. I'll be fine."

"If this is so important to you," Kyn made a vauge hand gesture, "fine. Just.. please do not get caught, or do something stupid." His lips were tugged into a frown, but he left it at that. Until then, he helped prepare their little cove to make it comfortable enough to sleep it with small lights stuck in little nooks, enough for them to see. He took up sitting with his back against the wall and forehead pressed to his knees, wishing he had had enough time to grab his cat before they fled. He could at least hope she was hiding somewhere or was kept with the others.

"Stupid? Me? You must be thinking of someone else." Grimm shrugged, smiling. "I'll be fine. I'm not going till later." While Kyn walked around making the place more cozy, Grimm made sure that Taylor's leg was okay. She aggressively insisted that she was okay, and Grimm didn't doubt it. Rin was the one mothering her.

After a while, Grimm noticed Kyn sitting against the far wall. He figured he had another half hour or so until it was safe to leave, so it couldn't hurt to join him.

"Hey," he said, sitting next to him, "sorry about all of this. I know that doesn't really cut it, but... I just can't let someone like Cedric get that treasure. It's not even about /me/ getting it for myself anymore. It's just about making sure /he/ doesn't get it at this point."

Kyn picked his head up at Grimm's voice, taking to resting his chin on his hand. At the explanation he sighed, shaking his head. "Would it not be wise to let Cedric and his crew find the treasure, and if there are any traps or guardians to be found, it will be them that have to deal with it? I do not know how we could get anything from it, but if we are lucky, it will kill them. Just marching into the trove... it is too risky. Map or no."

"Kyn," Grimm said, "we'll be /fine/. I promise. If something does go wrong, I'll get you all out of there. Right away. I promise. I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He kept his eyes on Kyn, chewing on the inside of his lip. "And if you want, after this is all done... You can leave. I give you full permission to do whatever you like once we have the ship back. If you want me to drop you off somewhere and never come back, I'll... I'll do it." His voice wavered just slightly.

Kyn's frown deepend. "If I wanted to leave, I would have said so. Though our situation is not the best, and may potentially become worst, I am staying. Despite the common place endangerment." His lips quirked upward a little, expression lightening a fraction. Grimm, afterall, didn't need to know that if he truly wanted to leave, he would be gone without a word the next time they docked. It would be better that way anyway, without Grimm there to make him second guess himself. "I just want this all to work out for the better so we can relax a bit."

Grimm's shoulders relaxed a bit. "Okay," he nodded. "Okay. Alright. If you say so." He leaned back, closing his eyes and bumping his head against the wall. "I was so scared Taylor had been shot somewhere that would have killed her. And I was scared that someone else had been shot, too. Remind me to never recruit anyone ever again, okay?"

"Oh, I do not know about that. I mean, you did pretty good with me, right?" Kyn snickered, arms falling into his lap. "You never know, you might end up recruiting someone you really like, hm? Someone who'll eventually break through that enigmatic shell of yours." He lightly jabbed at Grimm's arm, feet scuffing against the floor as he shifted. "And all the better too, you have spent far too much time being so... secluded." His eyes fell to the torn matieral of his shirt as he picked absently with that. Maybe when that happened he would go. No use hanging around one-sided attatchments.

Grimm pressed his lips together, taking a deep breath and staring ahead of himself. "Y'know, I've known Rin since I was, oh... fourteen?" He crossed his legs. "I know a lot about her. I know her whole life story, basically. I know what happened to her parents, I was there when her sister died, I was the one she screamed at when her first and last relationship ended. And Kyn? You know more about /me/ than she does." He quirked a tiny smile. "I've always hated talking about myself. Especially in a serious manner. I hate telling people about my past and why I am the way I am. But I'm better at it with you. Still not completely comfortable with it, but I'm getting there. I think." His eyes fell to his hands in his lap.

Kyn said nothing for a moment, continuing to tug at the fraying ends of the cloth as he pondered that. "I am grateful for that. But... perhaps someday, you may meet someone whom you feel even more comfortable with." He eventually got out as he stood, brushing himself off. "But come, you still have yet to prepare for what this mission of yours." He gestured toward their meager supplies with a shrug.

He would never admit it, but that statement made something inside of him /hurt/. He thought for a moment, 'Well, obviously Kyn doesn't /want/ to be the one I'm comfortable with.' Of course not. He needed to stop hoping for that.

"Yeah. Okay." He stood up as well, refusing to meet the other man's eyes.

His sword and his gun ended up really being all that he needed to take. He told them all to stay safe, and without another word, vanished into the night.

Cedric and his crew seemed to be asleep around a fire they'd made not too far from their hiding place. The Black Demon was hovering over them, attached to the planet with a rope so it would not float away. Getting up there was easy. Even finding the map was easy. A small chuckle escaped his throat as he thought about the fact that Cedric hadn't even known they didn't have the map.

His mind worked to make sense of how long he'd been gone. Almost an hour? Something like that. It was still dark out.

"Damn," Grimm laughed, climbing back up into their little hiding place. "Guys, that was a lot easier than I thought it would be- Shit." He stopped dead in his tracks, coming face to face with Cedric.

"Ah, Grimm, great that you could finally join us." Cedric smiled easily where he stood, gun loaded, in front of the incapacitated crew. "Trying to get your ship back? Your crew? That's too bad." In a swift motion, he had the barrel of the gun pressed to Grimm's temple, his other hand extended expectantly. "The map." He barked, eyes narrowing. "Hand it over easily, and I'll kill you first. Then your crew. Refuse, and they all die slowly while you watch. Understand?"

Grimm's breath caught in his throat at the mention of his friends being killed. But how could he win with this? He gives him the map, they die. He doesn't give him the map, they die. How could he-

"Hey, wait a second!" Taylor spoke up, causing the blood to drain from Grimm's face. "You don't even know how to work the map! What are you planning on doing with something you can't operate, huh?" At first, Grimm practically wanted to pummel her for saying something like that. But after she said it, he realized she was buying them time. A /lot/ of time. It may end with Cedric getting the treasure, but at least they might not die.

Cedric sniffed, turning to glance at Taylor for a moment. "What do you mean, can't operate a map? It's a fucking map. Lines on a piece of paper. I think I can handle that." He snapped, pressing the gun further against Grimm's head. Just what kind of act were they trying here?

Grimm almost laughed at that. "Oh, you're in for a surprise, then." He reached into his pocket, pulling out the map that he'd just retrieved. He held the sphere up to Cedric's face. "Here's your piece of paper with lines, dumbass. Have fun trying to figure it out."

Cedric snatched the sphere from Grimm's hand, turning it every which way to see any indication that this was, indeed, a map. With a sneer, he turned back to Taylor. "This is your map?" He paused, thoughtfully turning it in his hand again. "I see..." Abruptly, he backed up slightly, an impatient look crossing his face. "One of you knows how to read it. Either you speak up now, or I start shooting. Starting with you, sweetheart." He jerked his head toward Taylor.

"Hey now, what if I want to be the first one to be killed by the pretty silver-haired man?" Rin made kissy noises, and Grimm shot her a look that somehow managed to make her be quiet. The man glared at Cedric, eyes flickering over to Kyn. Cedric wouldn't kill Kyn if he was the only one who knew how to read it, Grimm knew that much.

"Go ahead," Grimm said to no one in particular, it seemed. He hoped Kyn would get the message and speak up, though.

"Very well." Cedric shrugged and spun to point the gun at Taylor, just as Kyn spoke up. "Whoa, whoa wait. I know it. I can take you to it, I promise. Leave them alone." He stared up at the silver-haired man pleadingly.

"You?" Came the incredulous response as the gun was soon trained on him. Cedric smirked then, walking toward him. "Good, I'm glad. It would've been such a shame to kill you. Get up." Kyn did as he bade, grimacing as Cedric grabbed his arm to steer him toward the exit.

"Why don't you come with, Grimm? So I can keep an eye on you myself." Cedric looked toward the crew he had brought with him. Sven was gaurding the ones back at the ship, and there were only 3 of the Black Demon crewmates here. "Karliah, watch them. The rest of you, come with me. We're getting our treasure." As he turned to lead everyone out, he jabbed the barrel of the gun against Kyn's neck. "If I find out you're lying, I'll make you wish I just shot you." He hissed in the brunette's ear, shoving him foreword. One of the goons, Tolfdir, pressed anouther gun to Grimm's temple as he was urged foreword with the others.

Grimm felt a sigh of relief leave his throat when Kyn spoke up. But the way Cedric was handling Kyn made him want to snap both of his arms off and feed them to the space kraken. "Just give him the damn map and let him prove it to you." He growled, following them out. "Besides, you need to know where you're going anyway. Might as well do it now."

As soon as they were out of the hollow, Cedric unbound Kyn's hands and tossed the metal sphere at him. "Alright, let's see this map, then." He waved his hand expectantly.

Kyn stared at it for a moment, trying to remember the combination before typing into the sphere. Only to have nothing happen. Frowning, he tried again. Still nothing.

"What the- move. Give me that." Cedric snatched it out of his grip with a snarl, tapping the sides angrily. "Should of known you were lying, damn whore, stupid thing probably isn't even the map-" just as he spoke, the sphere made a clicking noise right before a burst of light shot from the device, into the underbrush. The silver haired man blinked for a moment, baffled.

"I guess... we follow it?" Janessa offered, stepping foreword. Cedric nodded and started off in that direction, dragging Kyn with him and gesturing for the others to follow. The light trail led the out of the forest and up a hill, to a point where the very ground felt it was pulsating. Suddenly, the light stopped, and Cedric turned to Grimm. "Now what?"

"I- I don't know, to be honest," Grimm furrowed his brow, looking at Kyn for some sort of answer. He seemed just as confused. "If the map lead us here, maybe the treasure is... underground? I don't know." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "But the light just seemed to stop mid-air, so that doesn't make any sense." He looked around for answers - anything that would help them not get killed. "Mind if I take a look around? Just on the cliff. I won't go anywhere."

Cedric stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Go with him." He barked at Tolfdir, before turning his attention back to the sphere. It didn't seem to do anything else, despite his tapping at the slight indentations a few times. Was it broken? Or maybe it was just... somewhere in the area? It didn't make any sense. He continued to jab uselessly at the thing while Grimm and Tolfdir wandered around.

He wasn't entirely sure what he was looking for, but Grimm had a feeling he'd know it when he saw it. "Just promise not to shoot me, okay, sweetheart?" He batted his eyelashes at Tolfdir.

He started at the base of the cliff, working his way up as he examined the ground. All he ever saw was grass and dirt. When he got to the top, he sighed in resignation. "Alright, well, looks like it was in vain," he admitted. "There's nothing..." his eyes strayed ahead of them, right at the very top of the cliff. How had he missed that? "Wait a second." He knelt down, brushing away moss and grass and dirt as needed. What he discovered was a spherical indentation in the earth. Just the right size for the map! He didn't even waste time telling Cedric to get his ass over there. Instead, he stood up, darted over to Cedric, snatched the map and ran back to the indentation, shoving the map in it. Immediately it began glowing again, beams of light portruding from it and creating another 3-dimensional sphere above it. At the very tip of the cliff, one more beam of light raced forward and then shot upward, spreading apart to form some sort of triangular doorway. Grimm was suddenly reminded of things he'd read when doing research. Doors, opening and closing...

"Okay, that's cool," he smiled, poking his finger at an icon in the green sphere. The doors changed, opening to what looked like some sort of dusty wasteland. "It's a portal."

"A portal to where, exactly?" Kyn asked as he and Cedric approached the glowing doorway. He watched Grimm flick through different areas, each showing someplace different; either in the same place or scattered across the galaxy. Cedric ignored his curiousity and walked up to Grimm. "This will lead us to the treasure, won't it? Now all that's left is figuring out how to get it to take us there." With a squint, he tried what the other man was doing, watching the scene change once more.

Grimm gave Cedric a disapproving look, clearly not liking the fact that he was poking it just as he was. He shook it off, though, and looked around the map. "I see Montressor... So all you have to do is- Open the right door." He narrowed his eyes, reaching in to touch the icon at the center of the sphere. Just as he guessed, the portal opened to reveal miles and miles of gold, moving and turning. Strange metal canon-like objects hung from above, shooting fire into holes in the gold.

"Fantastic." Cedric breathed, motioning the others over. "No use standing around admiring, eh? Let's take what's rightfully ours." He took one hesitant step into the portal, paused, the walked through fully. Instantly a grin crossed his face as he took a few more steps into the off cave-like room. This was far more than he had anticipated, and all the better. While his other crew mates rushed foreward, their prisoners forgotten, he tried to get a perspective as to just how far back the trove stretched. After a moment, he decided it didn't matter and joined the others in stuffing his pockets.

Grimm, for a moment, didn't advance, staying outside the portal with Kyn, looking at it in awe. "Well," he shrugged. "Guess I can't do anything to stop them from getting the treasure anymore. I know when I'm outmatched. But hey, at least we can get some. First place we go to when this is over- Bruniik's!" He grinned, then gestured to the portal. "Shall we?"

Meanwhile, Rin, Taylor, and Dagan all sat in their original hiding place, hands tied behind their backs and placed against one another.

"God, this sucks," Rin muttered.

"You're tellin' me," Dagan said. "I hope they didn't hurt Teal- And the others, too." He quickly added. His eyes darted to the one who'd stayed behind to watch them. She didn't seem to currently be paying any attention to them.

"Pfft, yeah, okay," Taylor rolled her eyes. "You're just worried about your new boyfriend. Can't hide it from me. Same way Grimm can't hide the fact that he's got a thing for Kyn."

"Wait, what?" Dagan sounded genuinely surprised. "He does?"

"Oh my god," Rin said. "/Men./ They're so dense sometimes."

"Seriously." Taylor agreed.

Silence passed over them.

"I feel so pathetic," Rin said after a while. "I could have fucking helped. But nooo, I let myself get held down. I'm such a tonto." She put her face in her hands, shaking her head.

Wait a second.

"...With /weirdly/ skinny wrists." She whispered, looking down at her hands. After making sure they weren't being watched, she grabbed her gun from her holster, ignoring the looks Taylor and Dagan were giving her before putting her hands behind her back again. "Oi!" She snapped at the woman who was supposed to be watching them. "I wonder why Cedric left you behind to watch us, huh? I bet he didn't want you getting any of the treasure. He probably doesn't think you're worthy. Or maybe he just thinks you're too stupid to be able to handle anything other than looking after us."

Karliah was startled from her absent thoughts as a comment was directed to her from one of her captives. Her lip curled slightly and pointed her weapon at the one that spoke. "Shut your face, or I'll put an extra hole in it." She then scoffed at the mention of Cedric. "Please, he wouldn't dare. We've been partners for years, he'd be a fool to try and backstab me now."

"Okay, sure," Rin nodded with a shrug. "But I mean, come on. You've been partners for years? Cool. But he doesn't exactly strike me as the nice and caring and trusting type. Let alone the trust/worthy/ type. The kind of person he /does/ strike me as is the kind who would leave you in the dust to get to what he wants, y'know?" She shook her head. "But that's okay. I mean, after all, you /do/ seem a little bit moronic. And your nose is kinda big, too."

"You are trying my patience, girl." Karliah spat out the last word. "And I assure you, I don't have much to speak of." She took a threatening step toward Rin, finger on the trigger. If she had to shoot one of these pests to make them all shut up, so be it. Cedric wouldn't mind. "It appears to me that you're backtalking the one with a gun. And you have the gall to call /me/ moronic?"

"I'm just sayin'!" Rin raised her eyebrows. "I'm an honest person, okay? And I totally understand that you're probably about to kill me, especially if I say that your eyebrows are /way/ unsymmetrical." She fought back a smile. "Also, about your gun- It's kinda shitty. Not the best kind." She suddenly sprung up from her spot on the floor, reaching foward and twisting Karliah around and pressing her gun against the side of her head. "Maybe you'd like mine? That is, if I don't put the bullets from it into your head first." She reached her foot over to hook it under the rope Dagan had hanging from his side. "But I'm nice enough to /not/ kill you. That is, as long as you cooperate."

It was obvious that in her current position, she was powerless to fight back against the surprise takeover. And now she was expected to, what? Beg for her life? Betray Cedric? She grinned almost ferally. "Go to hell, tramp. Your friends are already dead, most likely. Even if I wanted to help you, I don't know anymore about this than you do, maybe less." She made a 'tch' noise, squirming slightly in Rin's grip.

"Well, hey, if it counts for anything, your nose ain't big, and your eyebrows are awesome," she said honestly, carefully undoing the rope while still managing to keep a hold on the woman. Once she had it around her wrists and feet, she sat her down against the wall. "And you're only a moron because you stick with Cedric." She stood back, heading over to Taylor and Dagan. It took a moment, but she got the ropes off of them. "We gotta get to the ship and find out where the hell they went." They nodded, and together, they all three ran for the exit of the hiding place. At the edge, however, Rin faltered. While Taylor and Dagan didn't notice her hesitation and kept on running, Rin muttered a "Hijo de puta," under her breath before turning around and undoing the ropes on Karliah's feet and yanking her up. "I'm not leaving you here to die." She said, grasping her arm and dragging her outside with her and up onto the ship.

"W-wait, what?" Karliah blinked as she was suddenly hauled to her feet and being led toward the exit. She had already told them she didn't know anything, why were they sparing her? It was an almost overwhelming relief to know she wasn't going to be left to the creatures of the forest or slow starvation, or something equally as unpleasant. With only slight hesitation, she ended up leading them to where the Black Demon was 'docked', catching sight of Sven as they approached. When he raised his gun to her 'captives', she called him off. He looked confused, but did as she asked.

"Cedric betrayed us." She blurted out quickly as they boarded. "He's going to kill Darrien and Tolfdir to take the treasure for himself, then leave with the ship after killing the both of us." It almost felt... good to say that. She never liked Cedric much, to be honest. He had his moments of cruelty, no doubt. The only reason she, or any of them really, were still here is because they had proved their usefulness. Though she wasn't sure if he was actually planning to betray them or not, the bastard had what was coming to him for his greed. If it had been his plan all along, she wouldn't have been surprised. And Sven was the most reasonable of them all. If there was anyone that wanted to get away from that snake Cedric, it was him. It didn't take long to convince him to unlock the room where the rest of the crew was being kept, but she figured this was the least she could do for her life.

Rin shot her a surprised look as she lied about Cedric betraying them. Well, it wasn't exactly a lie, but they also didn't know if it was the truth, either. A grin spread across her face toward Karliah. After they got the others untied (Dagan was more than relieved to have Teal back, as was Taylor with Coby), Dagan rushed down to the control room, starting up the ship.

Back in the portal, Grimm allowed a small, giddy laugh to break from his throat. "Oh, god, all those stories were real!" He shouted. "I knew it! If I could just rub it in Calik's face-" He laughed again, although this one held a sad undertone. "He'd be so /pissed/." Kneeling down and running his fingers through the gold and precious stones, he felt some piece of information nagging at the edge of his memory. It was important, he knew that much, but for now he brushed it aside.

Kyn kept close to Grimm, gathering up a few trinkets that he could sell for quite a bit of coin to give to Bruniik, but some for himself as well. "I think he would be proud that you managed to find this place." He stated, slipping on a gold and emerald encrusted circlet with a grin and a flourish. He wondered that if since Cedric and his goons weren't paying attention to them, they could knock them out, dump them somewhere, get the ship, load it up and go. There was plenty blunt objects here for that, he mused while hauling up a rather lavish sceptre. Just then, something caught his eye. Was that.. a ship? Well, it didn't look much like a ship anymore, the wood looked brittle and rotted and the metal strips were covered with rust, but that's definitely what it was. What was something like that doing here? He tugged on Grimm's sleeve, dropping the sceptre and pointing toward it. "What do you think that was for?"

Grimm had been so wrapped up in his fantasies about what it would be like if his family were here that he hadn't noticed what Kyn was pointing at. As soon as he brought it to Grimm's attention, however, the aqua-haired man's jaw dropped. "Holy /fuck/," he said. "You're kidding me. That can't be what I think it is." He stumbled over the gold to get to it, his hands brushing over the wood of the ship. They gripped the ladder, and he ascended it quickly. "Oh, god." He paled upon seeing the lifeless, fleshless form of Captain Nathaniel Flint. "This /was/ his ship."

"Flint?" Kyn scrambled up behind him, giving a low keen to the rotted body. "Did you not say his body had never been found?" His brow furrowed. "So he entombed himself with his ship and his treasure... where is his crew?" Other than the propped up captain, the ship seemed empty, but Kyn didn't chance exploring too far because of what he had already seen.

"I think... I think he wanted to be alone. He was a selfish bastard, Flint. He wanted to die alone with his treasure. So he kicked his crew off or something like that." Grimm guessed. He looked away from the body to lean down and pick up some stray jewels, stuffing them in his pockets. "I would think he'd be paranoid to the point of expecting someone to find him someday, though. So why doesn't he..." he trailed off when a low rumbling echoed throughout the space, the gold on the ship trembling. "No. No, no, no." His eyes widened and he felt the blood drain from his face. "God, how could I have been so /stupid?/" He grabbed Kyn's wrist, pulling him to the edge of the ship. "This place is rigged. We must have set off a boobytrap when we entered it-" A loud BOOM! cut him off, followed by a scream of terror. Something was happening to Cedric and his group.

Kyn allowed himself to be tugged over, watching with wide eyes as the whole place seemed like it started to split apart. Great crevices opened in the floor, causing treasure to spill from it's stacked position into the opening. One of the fools Cedric brought attempted to snatch what they could of the diminishing treasure, only to tumble down along with it. While Cedric was still trying to figure out what was going on, Kyn pointed to the still open portal across the room with a hopeful look. "We can probably still make it, right?" All they had to do was avoid the cracks. Not too hard, right?

"Hell yeah, we can make it," Grimm said with a nod. "Just stay close to me." He jumped over the edge of the ship, landing on his feet at the base. He waited for Kyn to join him before running once more. He tried not to let how scared he was show on his face, but he was sure Kyn could probably tell. He was scared for both of them- mostly for Kyn. They jumped over crack after forming crack, each leap making Grimm's heart catch in his throat at the idea of falling from such a great height into what seemed like lava.

Kyn tried to follow the man in front of his as best he could, wincing as another scream sounded out from the demise of another of Cedric's crew. Cedric himself was nowhere to be seen- perhaps he had fallen already, or made it out through the portal. The earth groaned and shifted once more, sending Kyn stumbling as the ground beneath his feet suddenly gave away and he found himself careening into open air. By some force of luck he managed to catch himself on the adjacent ledge, bare feet scrambling for a foot hold and nails digging into the rock for purchase. The first thing that struck him was how /hot/ it suddenly was, and a quick glance down told him why. Was that magma? He shook his head, hissing as gravel cut into his fingers when he moved. It seemed Flint had designed a trap afterall, and a damn good one.

As soon as Kyn was torn from his side, Grimm felt his body jerk into action, sprinting after him in an attempt to catch him before he could fall. Oh, god, he was headed right for that cliff. He was going to fall-

But he didn't. At least, not into the magma. Grimm's heart dropped into his stomach as he noticed that Kyn had managed to launch himself from the edge of the cliff at the last minute, slamming against the side of the wall on the other side of the gorge. He was hanging there- but just barely. "I know it probably seems like common sense right now, but please, for the sake of everything, do not fucking let go of that wall!" Grimm yelled as he made his way down to the edge of the cliff across from Kyn. There's no way I can do this, he thought as he looked down over the edge and into the sight of the magma. He froze, paralyzed by his /stupid/ fear of heights. How could he save Kyn if he couldn't fucking /move?/

"Oh, trust me, I am not going anywhere." Kyn called back, sucking in a breath as he momentarily lost leverage with his foot and slid a little. "Except, maybe down." The width of the gap was just too wide for him to reach out for, but he could probably get to if he let go and jumped, using the wall as a platform. The riskyness of that, however, made the likelyhood of survival very small. He was half tempted to tell Grimm just to leave. The place was crumbling fast, and it wouldn't be long before he joined Cedric's men. "You should go, get back to the ship before this whole place collapses." He gasped out, cursing as his ledge crumbled a little more.

"No," Grimm said in a strangled voice. "I can't leave you here." He shook himself out of his stupor enough to inch forward some more, crouching down and reaching forward as far as he could without feeling like he might black out. Sweat beaded on his forehead and shoulders, the stress of this situation and the heat of the magma getting to him. "Come on, reach!" He yelled to Kyn. If he lost his hold on that, he'd either go plummetting down, or he'd catch himself on another jutting piece a bit farther down. Grimm didn't know if he would be able to save him at all then.

Kyn stealed himself for a moment before taking a breath and leaning back to reach his arm out. It seemed for a moment as their fingertips grazed that Grimm might be able to reach him afterall. Not a beat later he was pulling back with a yelp as the stone beneath his hand broke and he nearly lost his grip completely. There was a small hold he managed to catch on the way down, but he was definitely out of Grimm's reach now. "There is no point to this." Kyn called up, hugging the wall against as he tried to control the sudden spike of his heart. He pressed his forehead against the outcropping of stone and peaked down at sluggish current of lava. Oh, well, burning to death in melted rock wasn't exactly how he thought he'd go out, but it should be over pretty quickly at least.

A thousand curses flitted through Grimm's head, vomit working its way up his throat. Kyn was even farther down now. How could he ever get him then? "Kyn, I- I'll catch you. Just..." he moved forward some more, hating himself every second of the way because he was still being selfish and being afraid of heights when Kyn's /life/ was on the line. "Reach one more time." He pleaded.

Kyn almost chuckled from the futility of Grimm's request. Didn't the man see that if he didn't go now, he'd be stuck here as well? "Grimm-" He started to argue, but stopped. It was either going to be a hit or a miss, right? And though the latter far outweighed the former, there wasn't anything to be lost anyway. With only a moment's hesitation, he turned and reached out again just as the ledge he had dug his fingers in cracked and gave away.

A cry of fear tore its way from Grimm's throat. He didn't stop to think, or wonder what might happen if he does what he needs to do. All he knew was that he /had/ to save Kyn.

And that's just what he did. He launched himself forward without a second thought, wrapping his hand around Kyn's arm in a death grip as he all but hung off the edge of the cliff in order to do so. Immediately, he swung Kyn up onto the ledge and then pulled himself up, breathing hard and shaking violently. "I told you," he gasped out, sitting up, "I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

Right as Kyn felt his hold on the rock disappear and himself start to fall, it suddenly stopped when he was being hauled up onto the flat surface of the ground. He coughed and winced as he flexed his bloody fingers a little before looking over at Grimm in shock. "I... thank you." The large cavern shuddered again and Kyn scrambled to stand, pulling Grimm up with him. "This place will not stand much longer, let us go." He said urgently.

Grimm nodded, wiping at his forehead. Without another word, he and Kyn pulled themselves together and booked it for the exit. They stumbled through just as another huge crack in the earth appeared behind them. Once they were through, Grimm gave a shout of joy upon seeing his ship sitting there waiting for them. Cedric flashed through his mind briefly and he figured he must have perished in there with the treasure. Good riddance, he thought.

"Holy fucking hell," Grimm breathed, climbing up onto the ship after Kyn, "I have never been happier to see you guys."

"Yeah, man, we-" Taylor was beaming, about to say more when Grimm whipped out his gun and pointed it at someone.

"What the hell are they doing here?" He asked in a raised voice as Dagan raised the ship. He moved his gun back and forth between the two former members of Cedric's group.

"Relax!" Rin held up her hands. "They're with us now. No need to worry, amigo."

"Actually, yeah, we have plenty of need to worry!" Taylor shouted, her voice cracking. The ship was speeding up, flying upward as fast as it could go. But the earth was still cracking beneath them, and flares of magma and fire were shooting up out of the gorges. "I don't think we're going to clear the planet's explosion in time, Captain!"

"Why is the planet itself blowing up, too?" Grimm muttered, brow furrowed in confusion. He thought back to his research, scrounging his memory for anything useful. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "'The center of the mechanism.' That's where that portal led to. All that treasure is /in/ the center of this planet! It's going to blow up with us still on it like Taylor said. Fuck." He couldn't keep a level head with all this going on.

Kyn dangled himself over the edge of the ship, watching the ground beneath him as if it were about to explode that very moment. He turned back to the others, brow furrowed and lips parted in thought. "Perhaps... the portal? If we can change it's location to somewhere else, then the ship can pass through before the planet explodes, right?" Otherwise, they wouldn't get far enough away from the planet to escape the blast or the debris.

"No, no, that would- Kyn, you're a fucking /genius/!" Grimm beamed, laughing. He put his hands on Kyn's shoulders. "You could do it. As much as it makes me want to throw up thinking about you doing something like this, I know you could. Coby, get working on a makeshift solar surfer-"

"I'm on it!"

"And Kyn, I'm gonna need you to ride as fast as you fucking can to that portal and change it while we fly the ship right behind you." Grimm stared at Kyn hard in the eyes. "Please."

"Wait, me?" Kyn blinked, looking up at Grimm with a bewildered expression. He had only used one once, and though it was pretty easy to handle, he didn't have the pressure of the whole ship relying on him. "Uh, sure. I can try." He nodded, turning to watch where Coby had disappeared to.

Within moments, Coby was jogging up with a crappy-looking solar surfer. "It may not look like much, but it's safe," he promised.

"You can't be serious!" Taylor said. "You're going to make me fly the ship /toward/ the thing that's blowing up?"

"Yes," Grimm said. "Now come on." He set the surfer on the railing of the ship, holding it steady for Kyn to climb onto. Once he was up, Grimm found himself gripping his hand. "Hurry, okay?"

Kyn took a deep breath and nodded, letting go of Grimm's hand so he could tip the craft and start the engine. Within moments, he was plummeting down and pulling up, heading for where the glow of the portal was in the distance. It didn't take long for him to pull in front of the ship, clenching his fists as the thing creaked precariously. This wasn't exactly his definition of safe, but as long as he could get to the portal, it would be fine. When he got there, it took a flick of his hand to restore it to the view of the planets from before. Which was Montressor again? The ship was only a breath away, though, so he hit the first planet he saw and watched as the portal fizzled and changed just as the Demon blew through. Not wasting time, he kicked the craft into motion and followed. The planet behind cracked and flared with flame and the portal crumbled and vanished just as the roar of the planet splitting apart could be heard. Kyn braked, turning to see only bits of rubble and debris flying from the once-present portal. He sighed, relaxing and shaking his head. How on earth did Flint devise a trap that blew up the entire planet? Without thinking too much into it, he started up the solar craft once more to catch up with the Demon before they all thought he died or something.

/I swear to whatever exists, if he dies, I'll kill him./

The whole time Kyn was flying ahead of them, Grimm was convinced his heart was actually going to beat out of his chest. Coby didn't seem to be doing too well, either. None of them did, really. At one point, Grimm had found himself being held up by Alastar, not realizing that he'd blacked out for a second. He quickly righted himself, watching with wide eyes and held breath as Kyn changed the portal. He didn't let go until the ship was through and they had cleared the explosion - just barely - and even then he couldn't relax. He couldn't see Kyn. Where the hell had he gone? Oh, god, no. He couldn't be dead. That wasn't allowed.

"KYN!" Taylor shrieked with happiness, causing Grimm to whirl around. He let out a breathless laugh at the sight of Kynareth landing on the deck of the ship. "You big fucking amazing ball of awesome, you saved us!" Taylor continued, bounding down to tackle him, Rin doing the same. Grimm just stood there, still finding it hard to move.

Kyn have a surprised "Umf!" noise when he was suddenly brought into a crushing hug by not only Taylor but Rin as well. He chuckled lightly and Taylor's comment, trying to squirm out of their grasp before his lungs collapsed from the pressure. Once they let go, he looked over towards Grimm, eyebrow raised. "What, I do not get a thank you from the Captain?" He prompt, arms slightly out.

Taylor and Rin laughed, letting him go. Rin gave his hair a ruffle before they returned to their stations after noticing Grimm. The captain stood there, staring at Kyn. Once Kyn spread his arms open a bit, Grimm's lips stretched into a smile, his throat closing up and eyes brimming with tears. He took long strides toward the other man, immediately reaching out and crushing him to his own body. He didn't care if he was making it harder for him to breathe than Taylor and Rin had for him. All that mattered was that he was here and he was alive and he was in Grimm's arms.

"I'd tell you to stop scaring me so much," he said, voice quiet and cracking, "but it was my fault to begin with." He clenched his jaw, shoulders shaking as relieved and silent sobs wracked his frame.

Kyn gasped, getting the wind knocked out of him again. "Well, yes," he smiled as he returned the gesture, arms wrapping around the man's boney frame, "but I did not die, so everything is alright. Uh, it is fine, really." He panicked, noticing the way Grimm's body shook in the tight embrace. He ran his lesser injured hand up the man's back in a hopefully comforting way. "At least now we can put this whole Treasure Planet legend to rest now, yes? And pursue less dangerous goals."

Grimm cursed himself for breaking down like he was, but he didn't think he'd ever been so scared in his life. He forced his body to stop trembling. "You're not going to leave?" He loosened his grip, not realizing that his hands had been bunched in the back of Kyn's shirt. "I would think after that... you'd want to get away from me. From this." He stood back, pushing a hand through his hair. His eyes flickered from the floor to Kyn's face, face set in a hard expression.

With pursed lips, Kyn shook his head. "Why would I want to go back to sleeping with sleezes for money and living in shelled out old basements in some dank undercity? You think I might leave because I could get hurt or my lifeis in danger? It already was before; people get killed on the streets all time, no matter where you are. No, I like it here. I like exploring the galaxy and actually having a hot meal everyday and working with the crew and I... I like you." He finished lamely, arms flopping to his sides with a shrug, gaze falling onto his feet.

Grimm's eyes widened the slightest bit at his last words. "Oh," was all he said. After that word left his mouth, he took Kyn's hand, tugging him down into his quarters. He shut the door behind them. "I'm glad about that." He continued. "I don't want you to leave. Ha! God, I hate you." He gave a pained laugh, throwing up his arms in frustration. "You- You were just a goddamned whore I wanted for stealing shit. That's it. What gives you the right to make me /feel/ like /this?/ I was done with feeling. I was done with getting close to people. Especially since it meant I was only going to lose them eventually. I was done with opening up to people." He pointed a finger at the man. "But /you/ had to fucking rip me apart and dump your... your /everything/- into me and all that I am." He furrowed his brow, tears prickeling at the corners of his eyes again. "I should hate you for that."

Kyn stared at him blankly through his outburst, brow creasing in confusion only slightly once they were in the Captain's quarters. What Grimm said caused a shock, maybe a little hurt, but left him feeling all the more confused as to what the man actually felt for him. He thought of apologizing, maybe, but that didn't seem.. appropriate. Instead he kept silent until Grimm finished, rubbing at his arm self consciously for a moment. "You should hate me... but?" He prompted a little weakly.

The captain only glared at Kyn for a few seconds. Then, without warning and his brow still furrowed, he stepped forward and placed a hand on the side of Kyn's face, bringing him forward. His touch was surprisingly gentle considering how frustrated he seemed. The way he kissed Kyn then surprised him even more; soft, eyes closed, lips parted against the other's, but somehow he was sure that it had every bit of emotion Grimm held toward Kyn in it. "You're in my veins, you fuck," he said roughly against his lips. "I can't hate you."

Kyn was left blinking and dazed after the kiss, shocked not only by Grimm's action but the emotion behind it too. His breath hitched, eyes widening ever so slightly. After a moment of opening his mouth as if to speak but saying nothing, he just smiled and leaned in again to meet their lips once more. His hands found themselves resting on the man's shoulders, using that to bring their bodies closer. "What can I say?" he chuckled lightly as they parted. "I am just irresistible. In fact I should have warned you when we met that this would happen eventually." He teased, grinning.

Grimm was beyond relieved that Kyn returned the kiss. "Yeah," he rolled his eyes, smiling, "right. Because I'm going to believe that you're really that clever and elaborate." He smirked. "Looks like you get Captain's perks, then. Which includes sleeping down here instead of on the floor in the bunkers. And if you want, you can keep your cat in here." He was sure the other crew members wouldn't mind.

Kyn pouted at that, lips pursed. "I take that as an insult go my abilities." he shook his head, mock disapproving. At the mention of perks, though, Kyn look up. "I get to share your bed? With you? Ooh, double benefit." He smiled widely, arms now casually looped around Grimm's shoulders. "I have to warn, I am a cuddler." He prompted the other man to protest.

"Well, it may be hard to believe, but I am too," Grimm hooked his own arms around Kyn's waist, fingers brushing against the small of it. "Especially now that all that shit has happened. I'm starting to think I should listen to you more often about dangerous things." His hands still shook a bit; probably as an aftereffect of everything that had happened.

Kyn laughed a bit. "Oh? Am I getting promoted into the position of talk-Grimm-out-of-dangerous-things? Because that would be interesting. But hey, at least this was not entirely a bust." He slipped his hand into his pocket, pulling out a handful of shining things. "I bet some of these could fetch a good price, hm?"

Grimm almost smacked himself. How could he have forgotten? He reached a hand into his own pocket, pulling out a handful of gems that had managed not to fall out. "I completely forgot about that. And after all that trouble we went through to get it..." he let out an exasperated sigh. "I'll go up and tell Taylor to head for Bruniik's place later. We can surprise him."

Kyn beamed at the news, nodding along with him and taking a step back. "You should keep something for yourself, though. I think you have earned it, Captain. Even as a little keepsake." He winked, twirling a necklace chain around on his finger. They hadn't gotten much, but it would still bring in a healthy sum.

"I only need enough to get some more supplies," he paused, thinking for a moment. "And maybe some more wood for the post I massacred." He winced, referring to the wooden post he'd swung his sword at so violently not too long ago. "I shouldn't need so much to get that stuff, though." He sat down on the edge of his bed, not having realized just how fatigued he was. "Holy shit, we're gonna need to dock some place. If I'm this tired, Taylor's gotta be tired too and there's no way I'm letting her drive like that."