Evi fled through the Goldenwood, her bare feet calloused over, crushing small twigs and undergrowth as she flew between the tall oaks. Her hair was curdled into an angry dirty mess at the nape of her neck, held in place unrelentingly by a very stretched, very worn piece of twine. Her breaths were heavy and labored. She had been running from her captors for nearly an hour now, and fatigue was taking over the rush her adrenaline had given her earlier. Her red shirt was ripped and torn from her struggle to escape the man they called Dane, captain of the Bloody Maiden – a blood red pirate ship that sailed the east coast of the island of Edlan. It was not the first time she had been detained by Danes, nor was it the first time she had escaped. Evi sailed under Captain Blitz Von Krieg on the HMS Immortal. The ship was a large Galliot of sorts with a few modifications that either she or her father had imposed while he was still captain. The inner hull had been lined with a thin layer of steel, making the ship slower but a defensive stronghold on the open sea. It was only one of many surprises the Immortal offered. Blitz sailed her under the ultimate command of Danes, who allowed him to pirate under certain conditions. Generally these conditions consisted of handing over a certain percentage of the Immortal's plunder in exchange for being allowed exclusively to pirate the eastern side of the island.
Occasionally though, like the evening prior, he took things that didn't belong to him. He had been keeping his eye on Evi ever since he'd been aware that Blitz sailed with a woman aboard. Danes himself didn't like the idea. He was superstitious beyond what some people would refer to as natural, and he didn't like the idea of a woman in the crew, no matter how useful she was. Danes only found women good for one thing, and even then only once. His female guests rarely survived long enough for a second encounter with the scarred and pockmarked dog. Evi could have been beautiful if she bathed or dressed in any way decent, but she simply was exactly what everyone thought she was: a pirate. Danes however, seemed to think something of her and made suggestive comments to her about "joining his crew." He would smile a crooked smile, lips lined with dirty brown teeth and bloody gums. Evi was repulsed by him, but far from afraid. Her quick tongue had gotten her into more trouble than it had gotten her out of, and Danes was no exception. Unfortunately, her witty insults regarding his ability to pirate a ship and pirate a woman did not win favor, (however warranted) from the captain of the Bloody Maiden. Danes had Beanly - his ship Master – drag Evi on board his ship and lock her in his quarters. Beanly, Evi was sure, got the worse end of the deal, having suffered some key blows to the face and a kick to the knee she was sure would slow him down the next time it came to chasing her down. Evi couldn't help but notice that Danes had made sure that Blitz wasn't present when he hauled her out of Vera's Tavern, half drunk and shouting profanities and threats that would make even a modern-day sailor cover his ears. Danes was more intimidated by Blitz than he cared to let on, but having an intuition that most failed to acknowledge, Evi picked up on it, and wasn't shy to point it out to him just to see him burn in indignation.
She was only a few miles from the pirate city now. Crimson was a small, shifty town on the northern outskirts of the island of Edlan. Every one of the porting ships signed The Crimson Code of Conduct that essentially claimed the port to be a place of neutrality and business. Although, being the pirates that they were, there were always an unruly few members that insisted that a fistfight was the next best alternative to haggling someone down for a better price or barter. It got worse with the more alcohol they consumed, and if their captains didn't break it up soon enough, someone was likely to be shot. Evi was no stranger to drinking or trade, and did both very well, though many pirates resented her simply for being a woman. Blitz rarely sent her on trade errands anymore, though she was a smart haggler, because most simply refused to barter with her. Of course this only enraged her, and being unable to control her temper, she would start a fight that would generally end in Blitz yanking her back to the Immortal by her hair and leaving Binns, (the Immortal's Lieutenant) to take care of the business transactions.
A stray root caught her foot as she flew by, and sent her careening to the ground and into a nearby tree. Her shoulder popped loudly as she slammed to a painful halt. She groaned and gripped her arm but didn't cry out. She had been running for so long that she hadn't even bothered to look back to see if anyone was still following her, but she wouldn't put it past Beanly or one of his goonies to hunt her down. After all, if Beanly didn't return with her body in tow, Danes was likely to lash him forty times on his bare back and kill one of his crones. Not that Evi cared. She was fairly sure she had lost them though. Beanly was fast, but Evi was faster, and considering the blow she'd dealt to his knee a few hours prior, she was sure he wasn't going to be running after her today. But still, she wasn't going to be too careless. She sat very still and attempted to listen for voices or crunching leaves underfoot over her heavy breathing. Nothing. Not even the rustle of a badger or possum. It wasn't as if they wandered so close to the Crimson City, but it would have been a comfort and made the wood seem more alive and less like the place she was going to die. Of course, considering the way she looked at the moment – broken, bruised, and bloody – she wasn't sure she could blame them for making themselves scarce.
Evi took a few deep breaths to steady herself and stood up. The pain in her shoulder was hard to ignore but manageable. She would have to see Doyle, the Immortal's medic as soon as she could find her way back. She'd lost her bearing when she took the fall, and was kicking herself for being so clumsy. She looked every direction among the tall oaks for anything she might recognize, but all she could see was trunk after trunk of identical wooden stalks. The day had been fading gradually, but she just now noticed the dimming light around her. Losing a bit of hope, and unwilling to chance running in the wrong direction, she slumped back against the tree, sliding as far behind some sparse undergrowth as she could get. Unfortunately it only concealed about half of her, but it would have to do for the moment. She would have climbed a tree, but none of the limbs were low enough for her to reach and on top of that, she'd be hard pressed to pull herself up with one arm. Evi had always been nimble and agile when it came to climbing, and more likely than not, when the rigging was set and the hull chores were done, a crewman could look up and find her perched atop the fore topmast, watching the sea as it seemed to wave directly at her. It was the closest to flying she'd ever been, and the sound of everything but the wind in her ears was blocked away. Everything she was and everything she'd become didn't matter. It was just her and the wide-open blue. Whether it was from the thought of being so peaceful or simple exhaustion, Evi passed into slumber beneath the tall oak. The night was cold but bearable, and not even crickets could be heard chirping as she dreamt.