Weapons and a Leaf

Chapter 2: The Change

By: Mali

Aura yawned sleepily and carefully climbed out of the top bunk, careful not to wake her bunk partner, Cathy, the cook. She jumped when she was a few feet from the bottom, landing animal-like, still trying to be careful. But the last thump seemed to do the trick for waking up Cathy.

"My dear, what are you doing at this dreadful hour?" Cathy asked groggily, sitting up straight.

"What did you just say?" Aura responded confused. Cathy never used proper English, got up early {for all she was the cook} and she never ever sat up straight.

"Wa?" Cathy said slumping.

"Nothing" Aura said quietly, immensely confused.

"K" Cathy said and promptly fell back asleep.

Aura shook her head, turned around and opened her bag getting out clean cloths. Too embarrassed to change in front of Cathy {even asleep} she quickly walked to the bathroom, changed and stumbled up the steps to go up deck, all while puzzling Cathy's weird moment. *That's weird* Aura turned her thoughts to the change of radar equipment. *What's wrong with it? It's not showing all of the things we need to see and it looks differently.* She shook her head again and walked up on deck. She dismissed the problems as she spotted Sean sipping his coffee staring at the rising sun. When he herd her approach the red head turned his face toward Aura, then quickly turned his attention back to the dimly burning sun.

"How did you sleep?" Aura asked shyly.

"Ghdklp" Sean mumbled.

"Barbie?" Aura replied with a smile using their special way of saying pardon.

"In reply Sean quickly glanced at her and said "Good" a little louder and clearer but not much.

"What's wrong with p-you?" Aura said part concerned part exasperated.

"Huh?" Sean said dumbly like the volume raise in Aura's voice snapped him out of a daze.

"Urm, just asking how you slept" Aura mumbled, shy again.

((((((((

Aura's morning was continued like that. People would act really weird and then after she asked them about it they would ask her why back to their normal {and slightly annoying} selves. But as the day continued it seemed to take them longer to snap back. Aura wasn't really disturbed by the strange actions of the crew and passengers {maybe it was just her} but she was sure the world around them was not the same place. Everyone including her were wearing longer shirts and tighter pants. Aura had not recollection of her cloths being this way. The radar instruments where getting steadily less effective and strange looking. The sailing-boat stayed very much the same [if u exclude the engine} but she found her old gameboy replaced by a book on toys, her flashlight by a candle. This was all very overwhelming. But was worst of all no-one noticed or said anything about the changes.

"Time to raise the sails, dear" Leilana said softly from right next to her, yanking her back to reality. That was the other thing, all of the females aboard started acting less out going, while the men started acting like they had control of the ship. Bossing all of the females around. In fact Cathy and the other female passengers had tried to convince her to go down below deck and help with cooking, which they them selves had restored to.

"Of course" Aura said rather quickly when she saw that Leilana was looking at her curiously.

After the sails were raised Aura noticed a final change. Nobody was acting normal and they would not snap out of it. Its like they all turned medieval on my. Men don't respect the women and all of the woman avoid the men and keep to womanly chores. Aura was so overwhelmed she just sorta stopped thinking. Just wandered around doing nothing. But something slapped her out of her daze and keep her out. Their 2 mast schooner was under- attack by a huge pirate fleet. And if the fleet had been phasers from star- trek they were set to kill.