"Oui, I can get you passage to Protego." Captain Featherbeard, finished speaking and turned to stare at the bewildered party. "Und you will be taking my finest ship captain with you on zis journey." Each of them was a little wary and taken aback because as it turned out, Captain Featherbeard was a large owlbear with a lovely feathered hat. The captain gestured behind him to the docks, and a familiar face grinned out at the party from aboard a large ship. Anilith silently thanked all the gods she could think of and sauntered up the dock onto the ship.
"My my, if it isn't the lovely party I met on the road a few days back, glad to see you've made it to the coast." Galahand smirked, offering his hand to help Anilith on board. She did not need his help, the passage onto the ship was perfectly safe but she would be damned if she wasn't going to take his hand anyway.
"Well, once we were offered the chance to voyage with the greatest ship captain around, we simply could not let that offer pass us by!" Anilith teased back, taking in the view of the ship while reluctantly letting go of Galahand.
"Well, I am glad to be part of your new adventure, we're going up to the Protegan coast aren't we? It's quite a long voyage." Galahand smiled politely as the rest of Anilith's party started to come up the dock and onto the ship.
"Hey Galahand, good to see ya again." Aereth proclaimed, giving Galahand an unintentionally-too-hard slap on the back. As the air whooshed out of him he let out an amused chuckle.
"And it is good to see you too, my friend." Galahand stretched his back a little as Aereth took in the sights on board.
"Sorry about that, I keep forgettin' I have steel plates on my hands." Aereth laughed, brandishing her gauntlets. "Glad you're a good sport 'bout it."
"Oh I've had much worse, trust me." Galahand reached over and put his hand on Anilith's shoulder, "Come everyone! Let me show you around my ship! Lani, Shin, get us pushed off! We're setting sail!" Galahand called out, and two ship mates immediately began to pull up the boarding dock and the anchor. Anilith sidled over as close as she could to Galahand, cooly noting how his hand did not lose contact, and instead slid down to her waist as they walked about the ship. Aereth snickered, watching Anilith's tail swing back and forth happily. The ship was beautiful and well-maintained. Not a spot on the decks, the wood was well-polished and dark, and the sails were full and looked brand new. Crew mates milled about, chatting and laughing with one another, and loading barrels of supplies onto the ship, while pulling crates of fish and other goods down onto the docks. In the galley, the mess hall looked almost like a warm, comfortable tavern with plenty of seating and plenty of barrels of mead. All along the way Anilith and Aereth asked question after question, and the group chatted along pleasantly. Upon returning to the main deck, Galhand gave a cry of greeting and waved someone over to them.
"Ah! Leska! So good to see you!" He clasped this figure in a brief hug, the two grinning at each other. "Everyone, everyone! This is my first mate! Most reliable sailor around and a fantastic drinking partner!" He gestured to Leska, who was smiling widely. She was a very large, half-orc woman with short black hair. She looked immensely strong and capable, which caused Aereth to immediately perk up and begin asking her questions about the ship. Anilith caught Aereth's eye as Aereth gave her a wink, gesturing with her head toward toward Galahand.
"Well Leska, you see I was always curious about how ship work goes, mind showin' me the ropes?" Aereth asked, pulling Leska away. "Zenkai, go make yourself useful somewhere!" She called back, and Zenkai rolled his eyes and slunk off to another corner of the ship.
"Looks like it's just you and I now." Anilith purred, turning to Galahand and silently thanking the gods this time for her friend's insight.
"Indeed it is, and here we are having just started our fabulous voyage. I hope you won't get too terribly sick of me." He teased, and she laughed.
"I can already tell that's going to be very difficult." She replied. "I'd love to see you in action, mind if I follow you around a bit?"
"Stick as close to me as you want." He said, with a smoldering look. Now, Anilith knew she was a good flirt, but this was going amazingly well. The signs of a great fling were written all over their encounters, and she was pretty much positive he wanted her just as badly. Pleased, she reasoned that all she had to do was continue to play her cards right and this girl might just get lucky. They continued to mill about the ship, checking on crew members, ensuring everyone was doing their job and that the voyage was continuing to run smoothly. Looking up, they saw the ship navigator at the wheel, and Galahand bounded over, gesturing for Anilith to follow. "How's the chart looking?" Galahand asked.
"Ah it seems we'll have a fairly straightforward journey there, I've already given you the coordinates in your quarter." The navigator replied, as Galahand clapped him on the shoulder.
"Good work man, I'll take the time to review those shortly." He turned to Anilith, "So… want to check out the captain's quarters?"
"Oh absolutely." Anilith swore she had never replied so fast in her life. She composed herself and continued, "I mean, we do need those charts, they seem important."
"Very." Galahand chuckled, grabbing her by the hand and leading her down the stairs and onto the main deck. The captain's quarters were in the traditional area at the back of the ship. He opened the door, which was very nicely and ornately carved with a small circular window at the top, and gestured for her to enter.
"After you." He gave her a broad smile and she curtsied in reply.
"Oh thank you, good sir." She giggled and walked in. The quarters were smaller than she expected, but very well decorated. There were maps and charts on most of the walls, and a few stray articles of clothing here and there. A desk was pushed up against the far wall with papers, quills, ink and scrolls piled on the right side. The single bed in the room was directly opposite the desk, and looked very plush. There was a pile of pillows at the headboard, and a quilted blanket covering the surprisingly well-made bed. Galahand quickly ran about picking up the stray clothes off the floor and bed.
"Ah, many apologies for the state of my quarters, we just got back from another long voyage." He scrambled to shove everything into a wardrobe that was tucked into the back corner of the room. Anilith giggled at his antics, finding him more and more endearing the more time she spent around him. "All right, that should do, now let me go see to those charts." He sighed, turning to the desk.
"You really don't have to worry much, I've been living on the road for weeks now so your room is like a luxury suite to me." Anilith strode over to Galahand's desk to stand beside him. "Looks like you're a very capable captain." She said, looking up into his eyes. He held her gaze for a long moment, green eyes staring into black before responding, sounding somewhat hoarse.
"Ah, yes, that is," he cleared his throat and returned his gaze to the desk, "it does take a lot of work to run a ship. Lots of, uh, managing crew and such." Anilith let out a tiny sigh, kicking herself for not just grabbing his face and bringing it to her lips. She resolved to kick up her flirt game a notch, and watched as he took a seat at his desk.
"So, captain, can you teach me about these charts?" She leaned over his shoulder, making sure to press her body into his while bringing her face close, minding her horns, so their cheeks were nearly touching. She could smell a mix of sea water, sun, soap, and a natural musk she couldn't quite put her finger on. It was a surprisingly pleasant smell, and she found herself comforted by being so close to him. She heard his breath catch slightly at the contact, before he cleared his throat again.
"Well, it can take years of study, but I'm sure I can catch you up." He pulled back slightly to look at her again, their faces mere inches apart. This time, Anilith did not hesitate, and closed the gap between them. The first kiss was soft, slightly surprised, and sweeter than Anilith anticipated. The second, however, was intense and passionate, as Galahand kissed back deeply, tangling his hands into her long, blue hair. Anilith was falling into his lap without even thinking, kissing him back hungrily and allowing her hands to roam across his body, popping a few buttons of his shirt open so she could run her hands over his skin. His hands began to move across her body in response, one down to her thigh, and the other to the back of her head, pressing her into him as the kisses grew more and more intense. Anilith's hand trailed down his subtly muscled chest and over his pants to feel a growing hardness between his legs. He made a deep noise in his chest and shifted her to be more comfortable on his lap, where he had free access to her entire body. His hand started shifting higher up her thigh, and just as he began to dip under her dress, there was a loud pounding at the door. Both of them startled and stared at each other for a second before rapidly putting themselves back together, as Galahand called,
"Who is it?" stumbling over to the door, buttoning his shirt with one hand while smoothing his hair with the other. He glanced over to be sure Anilith was decent before opening the door to see a crewmate standing on the other side.
"'Ello captain, cook just wanted me to inform you that the mess hall's ready for dinner. Seeing as we 'ave guests, he thought you might want to make an evening of it and all."
"Ah yes, time has really gotten away from me hasn't it." Galahand sighed. "Yes, I'll be down shortly to join the crew and our guests, thank you." He finished, and the crew member nodded and walked off as Galahand shut the door. He now turned to Anilith with a wry smile. "Well then, it seems we've been summoned."
"And just when things were getting good." She teased. He walked over to her and placed his hands on her arms, rubbing them as he spoke.
"Tell you what, we'll go downstairs and whet our appetite so that we have more stamina to whet our… other appetite later tonight." He said with a wink. Anilith laughed.
"I suppose I can agree to those terms… As long as you promise that extra stamina will be put to good use." She teased, much less disappointed by the interruption now that she had the promise of an entire evening with Galahand.
"Oh, trust me, I would never disappoint a lady," Galahand returned, then gave her another kiss on the lips. "That was just a preview." He said with a wry grin. Anilith hummed and grinned in response. The two stood close for another moment before pulling away and properly getting themselves straightened out before exiting the chambers.