Katibree awoke in the darkness from a decidedly……… 'Disconcerting' dream with a gasp as she was snapped back into reality. It hadn't been so much a visual dream as it had been an abstract one, and a strangely erotic one at that.
"W-what the hell..?" That was…odd…I was floating naked with all of this magical energy twisting around and through my body…The ex-assassin forced herself to recall as the memory of the dream began to fade fleetingly. She dropped her head back down onto the mattress abruptly with an annoyed groan due to an insistent ache in her nether regions before gradually becoming aware of the weight of a sleeping Lina's legs sprawled across her back.
I suppose that… kind of explains things…The half elf thought to herself with an irritated roll of her lavender colored eyes. Well shit, if I'm going to dream about getting it on…the least my mind could have done was give me a person to get it on with. Fucking magic. She griped to herself.
The ex-assassin looked over her shoulder at the sleeping redhead that was currently using her back as a leg rest. The sorceress hadn't even bothered to put her Talismans away that she'd been working on and they laid strewn across the bed and tangled in the covers haphazardly.
Too funny. The mostly platinum haired warrior thought to herself with a fond laugh. I really can't complain about being with Lina day in and day out honestly…I've never had so much fun in my life, but it would be nice to get a little 'me time' every once in a while. "….I haven't been laid in forever!" She blurted audibly into the mattress while pressing her face into it in frustration and blushing profusely after realizing that she'd just said that out loud. Oh well, Lina sleeps like the dead anyway, so it's not like she heard that…
Katibree faltered a moment as the implications of that last thought began to sink in. I could probably get away with doing it…She thought to herself sheepishly while stealing a wary glance back at the sleeping sorceress. But knowing my luck, she'd wake up right in the middle of it…If Lina has anything, it's both good and terrible timing… Gods I could see it now… "Kat…?" "What are you- - What are doing under the covers over there…?!?" The sheer scope of mortification would be limitless…The ex-assassin thought to herself with an embarrassed giggle. Well even if I had the balls to try that… the layout of the bed is totally screwed up right now. How the hell did she end up falling asleep that way anyway? She pondered to herself, while absently going over a linier plan in her head of how to get Lina vertical and on her own side of the bed with the least amount of chance of waking her
The half elf's planning process was rudely interrupted by a loud BOOM followed by the ship shaking violently. This was soon followed by random shouting and commotion just outside of the cabin.
Katibree listened to the commotion a few moments before flipping onto her back and shaking one of a still sleeping Lina's legs in an attempt to wake her. "We've got trouble, Red."
"ZzzzzzzZZzzZzzzzzzz…."
"Red?"
"Mmmmmm, justa few more hours….ZZZzzzz…."
"Lina." The mostly platinum haired warrior persisted one last time.
The redhead stretched her legs a bit in her sleep before beginning to snore quietly once more in response.
The ex-assassin laughed quietly at this before sliding out from underneath the sorceress' legs and beginning to put on the few pieces of gear she'd bothered to remove before falling asleep. Whatever she stayed up doing must have really wiped her out. She's a heavy sleeper, but she's not normally this heavy of a sleeper…
After grabbing her weapons from underneath the mattress the half elf gave the slumbering sorcery genius one last glance before striding to the door of the room purposefully. Looks like I get to have all the fun to myself this time. She thought to herself with a smirk while opening the door and stepping out of the room before re-locking it and closing it quietly behind her.
Outside of their quarters was a scene of relative chaos. Sailors were running back and forth on the deck of the ship, shouting and going about executing the various orders being bellowed to them by the Captain.
Just then, Katibree spotted the source of the ruckus, a huge black and yellow three headed serpent was currently being engaged at the front end of the vessel. The sailors shouted and jabbed at it with their spears in a futile attempt to ward the sea creature off.
"Oh, that's the one that everyone's been so scared of I take it." The ex-assassin mused to herself as she made her way to the front of the ship casually while going over the image of the wanted poster that she had seen in her mind. "It's even bigger than the bounty on it's head." She added to herself with a laugh.
Just then, the serpant roared loudly before making it's way to the side of the ship, rearing back with all three heads and ramming it with nearly enough force to capsize the ship.
Lina, who was still sound asleep until this time, was thrown from her bed from the violence of the impact, landing on the floor of the cabin in a tangled mess of blankets, limbs, and talismans.
"W-what the hell…?!" The redhead exclaimed, while standing and hurriedly detangling herself from the blankets. "Kat, are we under attack or something - -" "Where the hell is Kat?" Where the heck do you think? She asked herself mentally while struggling to put on her mercenary gear as quickly as possible. "Right in the middle of whatever trouble she can find." She muttered to herself audibly.
She could have at least woken me up before she left… She continued to gripe to herself while still struggling with the unfamiliar gear with a frustrated growl.
Outside Katibree contemplated her course of attack as she observed the serpent's attack patterns. I could probably lop off one of it's heads by throwing my blades at it… But we're out to sea and if one of them gets deflected or if I miscalculate the angle of their returning arch as the boat is moving… there's a very good chance that I'll never see them again. Trying to retrieve them from the bottom of the ocean really doesn't seem like very much fun…Oh well, in the words of the currently sleeping beauty… "I guess I'll just wing It". She thought to herself with a smile before sprinting to the side of the boat and vaulting herself off of the guardrail and directly at the sea creature. The serpent roared angrily as the ex-assassin dug into the neck of one of the flailing heads with both blades on impact, using them to dangle from the creature like a blue spider monkey.
Just then a very disheveled Lina Inverse came running up to the guardrail. "Hawh, that's HUGE!" "I still don't see Kat though… K-Kat??!" "What the hell do you think you're doing??" She shouted to the half elf through cupped hands after gawking at the spectacle a few moments with the other sailors crowed around the guardrail.
The mostly platinum haired warrior dislodged herself from her former clinging spider monkey position just in time to avoid a bite from one of the three serpent heads, bounding and jettisoning from one writhing and curling coil to another, slashing the creature here and there as she went.
"Winging it!" She finally shouted back to the redhead before narrowly avoiding another enraged bite from one of the serpent heads with a back-flip.
"What are ya trying to do, annoy it to death?" The sorceress in disguise shouted back. Oh, I get what she's doing…that thing's neck is too thick for her to cut through with one hack because the blades on her weapons are so short… and she doesn't want to risk throwing them out here on the open sea…So she's bouncing back and forth in a pattern and hacking the same spots over and over again to cut deeper into one of the necks every time she make a pass…
The sailors now joined by the Captain stood crowed around the guardrail murmuring in astonishment and occasionally cheering at the display of athleticisim. Lina merely rolled her ruby colored eyes and folded her arms. She's such a showoff… I could have already had this thing dead in no time flat if I could use my powers in front of these guys without compromising my disguise…She brooded to herself. But I do have to admit…the nickname she got from her Guild really is appropriate, she really does look like she's dancing when she fights - - "OH, looks like she hit a main artery!" The redhead blurted gleefully in spite of herself.
Katibree began running up a scaled neck when she suddenly slipped on the virtual river of blood pouring down it, before catching herself by digging in with a blade and slinging herself back to her feet and vaulting herself at the gushing wound. One more pass should do it…She thought to herself grimly as she closed in on the wound and charged her blades before crossing her arms and swinging with all of her might. The middle head was severed with a hiss as the charged blades meet serpent's blood and it toppled into the ocean with a splash large enough to force a wave of bloody water up almost as high as the deck of the ship.
The entire ship's crew cheered loudly at this, thrusting their fists into the air and brandishing their weapons.
(L) "Yeah, way to go Blade-dancer!" "Just four more heads to go - -" "F-four more heads??" "It's a HYDRA!!" Lina shouted through cupped hands while leaning over the guardrail precariously.
"And what was your first clue,Red??" The ex-assassin shouted back, her voice cracking to a slightly higher pitch as she ran and slid under the attack of one of the new heads and jumped up, leap froging over another head, stabbing at it's eyes and partially blinding it as she passed over it. "Maybe it growing two fucking heads in the place of the one that I just took forever to cut off??" She added in exasperation. Now what do I do…?
"Could be!" Lina called back cheerfully.
Goddamned creatures of legend! Well, if I can't kill it by cutting off it's heads…I have to go for something else. I seriously doubt it could regenerate an internal organ like the heart…It can't even regenerate it's eyes unless the entire head is removed it looks like… But all I can do is really guess where it might be… and that part of the serpent is underwater anyway. Katibree thought to herself as she slid down one neck and bounded to the next one, systematically targeting the eyes of the multiple heads as she dodged their attacks. And even if I could get to it's torso somehow, Gods know how many layers of muscle and bone I'd have to hack through to get to it…I suppose that only leaves me with one option…
The hoots and cheers of Lina and the rest of the ships crew fell into shocked silence as the half elf was snatched up and swallowed whole by a serpent head sporting one eye.
"H-Wha-ah!" "Katibree!" The sorceress shouted conflictedly. It-it fricking ate her! Now I can't even blast it because I'll get her too"DAMN it!" She exclaimed while rustling her crimson mane. I don't get it… she could have easily dodged that last attack- - S-she did it on purpose "…What the hell'd she go and do that for!?" The redhead exclaimed out loud while jumping up and down and gesturing on the deck angrily as the surrounding sailors stared at her in bemusement and confusion.
"Katibree, you IDIOT!!!" She shouted as the four headed sea serpent began roaring miserably and sinking beneath the blood painted surface of the ocean until it was completely out of view.
Lina leaned even further over the guardrail of the vessel gripping it with her hands while scanning the surface of the ocean franticly with her worried ruby colored eyes for a couple of minutes. Hooooowwwn… I have to do something, disguise be DAMNEDShe exclaimed to herself while jumping up on the guardrail as she began to chant a wind-barrier spell.
Just then a sailor shouted. "Look, over there!" "Something's resurfacing!" He cried.
At this the sorcery genius broke her concentration and ran along the guardrail in the direction that the man was pointing. Oh, please be Ok, please be Ok, please be OK…! She thought to herself desperately as she made it to the side that the sailor was and scanning the surface of the water.
Moments later a waterlogged Katibree crested the surface of the crimson waves with a gasp, flipping her gore covered, not so mostly platinum right now colored hair back and out of her face before swimming toward the hull of the ship with one arm and toting something fairly large behind her with her other hand.
(C) "Throw her a line!" The Skipper bellowed cheerfully. "Good work, gal!"
(L) "Well, aren't you quick to change your tune, you big jerk." Lina thought to herself with a icy glare at the Captain before turning her attention back to the half elf currently being hauled up the side of the ship, holding the line with one hand and holding the biggest heart that the sorceress had even seen in her life in the other. She stayed down there all that extra time just to cut that out. She deadpanned to herself in disbelief. S-she had me worried sick for…some…some stupidbragging rights?? She added to herself angrily.
The ex-assassin swung the heart up onto the deck with a grunt before rolling the rest of the way onto it herself as the sailors around her cheered and congratulated her.
(L) "Outta my way!" The redhead exclaimed while shoving deckhand after deckhand out of her way rudely. After making her way to the gore covered, water logged half elf, she merely stood there and glared angrily with her intense ruby colored eyes for a long moment.
"W-what…?" "What'd I do?" Katibree asked in genuine confusion while sitting and removing her boots, dumping the concoction of saltwater, blood, and serpent gore out of first one and then the other. Wow does she look pissed…
"Don't give me that!" "You went and got yourself eaten on purpose to try and kill that thing just now!" Lina virtually exploded.
"Well yes - -"
"That serpent could have had a breath-weapon or Gods know what else!" The seething redhead interrupted angrily. "And on top of that, you stayed inside of it after you'd killed it while it was sinking to the bottom of the Gods-know-how-deep ocean to cut out it's heart as a trophy!" She continued to rant.
"Y-yes well, there's a bounty for it, Red - -" The flustered ex-assassin stammered before being interrupted once more by the irate sorceress.
"That was the - -" Suddenly she spun around and glared at all of the crew members gawking in newly inspired fear at her. "This is an 'A' and 'B' conversation, so 'C' yourselves' out!" She exclaimed at them.
The sailors shrugged at one another, while shuffling back and forth nervously and muttering amongst themselves unsurely.
(L) "That means get LOST!!" The sorceress shouted at them.
As the deck cleared in a matter of seconds, Lina turned back around without missing a beat and continued chewing out Katibree. "That was the stupidest and most reckless thing that you have ever done, what was I supposed to do if you never came back up??" "How was I supposed to go down there and get you if you ran out of air or something, Katibree?"
"Look Red, it's not that big of a deal…" "You pull reckless stuff like that all of the time, so what's the differ- -?" The ex-assassin attempted to joke, failing miserably.
"The difference is, that I'm not a support character!" The sorceress interrupted once more.
The half elf balked at this and looked at the redhead, her luminous lavender colored eyes clouded in confusion. "A-ah a support… w-what…?" She stammered.
Lina lowered her head while sighing deeply and rustling her crimson mane in a more calm manner. "…Never mind…" "I'm going back to bed, Kat." She added before walking off without another word, leaving what was most possibly the most dumfounded half elf in the universe at that moment to her own thoughts.
What the fuck got into her?? Oh well… I'll try and talk to her about it later, but for now I need to get my gear treated before it gets ruined by this salt water.
She's definitely the mistress of guilt trips though, I'll give her that. I feel like shit and I'm not even sure why really. Katibree continued to brood to herself while making her way toward the ships laundry and bathing area. How the hell else was I supposed to kill the damned thing?? And if I didn't get some type of believable trophy from it, there'd be no way to collect the reward for slaying it…and as soon as Lina realized that, she would have bitched about that too! Damned if I do, damned if I don't… "Perrrrrrrrrfect." She sighed audibly.
The sailor on laundry watch looked up at the sound of the ex-assassin's voice. "Ol' gal givein' ya a hard time eh?" He asked in a sympathetic and knowing tone of voice.
"Excuse me?" The half elf asked while walking behind a curtain before removing her cloak.
"I was talkin' about the lil' lover's spat you two was havin' out on the deck just now." The laundry watch reiterated pleasantly.
Katibree blushed vividly at this statement. "Oh, it was nothing of the sort… we're just traveling companions is all." She managed embarrassedly before continuing to remove her gear, putting the pieces in the respective piles that they needed to be in.
"Right, my apologies." "It's just that after seein' you going up against that sea monster the way ya did, just figured you'd be the kinda woman that don't take shit from nobody less they was yer man or woman an ya really didn't have much o' a choice." He laughed while rubbing his neck in embarrassment. "No offence." The watch added nervously.
"None taken." The ex-assassin said distractedly while tossing her boots in the pile of things to be cleaned and re-cured. "She and I just have a… 'understanding' she added quietly while grabbing two oversized clean shirts, putting one on right then and ruining it instantly and carrying the clean one with her to the showers along with her weapons and a towel. "I'd like to have my things back as quickly as possible please." "And no funny business with my undergarments…" She added while giving the sailor a dangerous look.
"S-sure thing Miss." He stammered, laughing nervously afterwards.
With that, Katibree was off to the showering area.