What follows is Murky Waters arc, which veers slightly into fanon, as it was written before we had whole Tyria laid out. Not much, but the pirate city characters are off to visit does not exist in Tyria as it is. For the duration of the story, it's right there. A homage, one might say.

Murky waters I

Why did I accept this job again? Craywin wondered as he bounded up the ramp of the galleon whose name was engraved in golden letters on the upper left side of the bow. Despite snickering a bit at the name, he really hoped that the 'Virgin's grace' will not get into too much trouble.

Reaching the deck, he stopped for a moment to look around and get his bearings. It has been a while since he was on a ship, but he still remembered where everything was, which meant he wouldn't get lost and accidentally fall over again. He had no wish to repeat that experience. Surveying the deck and the sailors running back and forth, finishing all the preparations for setting sail, he first heard and then spotted a familiar face.

Cray sighed, seeing the redhead elementalist arguing with the captain over the state of her quarters up on the stern, where the tiller is. Sometimes he wondered why'd he save her from that fire all those months ago. Not like he had too and she did try to kill him. I guess I'm just too good for my own good.

Shaking his head slightly at the absurdity of the thought, he walked up to her just as the captain relented and promised her better quarters before retreating to a safe distance away from her ire. Which meant Cray was the one that she will chew out next, if she's in the mood for it.

She turned to look at him, her hands crossed across her considerable bust, giving him an annoyed look. Seeing as she looked like she would give him a piece of her mind, he opted to look her over in order to die as a happy man, if it came to that.

She wore a one piece dress that reached her knees and had slits on the sides, as always, though this time it was of navy blue color, with a deep v cut. It also showed off quite a bit of her back and her slim legs. Lastly she wore some sort of sandals that were bound high on her shin.

It took him only a few seconds to take in the sight, but he could still feel her gaze boring into him. To further amuse himself, he imagined the comical tick appearing on her forehead, like in those funny novels Vajnolf used to read.

"'How long are you going to stare, looking like ruffian?"' she asked, scowling slightly at him. It was supposed to be intimidating, but it only made her look cute. It nearly made him smile. Still, he took on a well learnt poker face, feigning ignorance.

"'I have no idea what you're talking about Elaine."' Craywin said, setting down the duffel bag he carried over his left shoulder, his bow and quiver attached to it, keeping the sheathed sword he carried in his right hand. He had no answer to the 'ruffian' part, as it was true. Scruffy beard covered his upper lip and chin, extending down the line of the jaw. The fresh scar he earned from Li went from his left eye, over the cheek to the jaw and he wore only a light, unbuttoned white vest, along with comfortable pants and boots. He really did look like a ruffian.

"'Well, whatever..."' she muttered, relaxing slightly, putting her hands down. She still looked irked at him. He didn't blame her, they did try to kill each other once. That tends to put a damper on any relationship. "'Not like you get to see something this fine often."'

Ouch! Straight to my ego, eh? He shrugged, walking past her and leaning on the railing. He decided to make a jab of his own. "'I guess so, the girls in downtown are a level of their own after all."'

There were a few long moments of silence, while she just stared at him in shock, her cheeks flaming red as her hair.

"'Y-you..."' she muttered, fingers twitching. Then she grabbed his bag and hurled it at his face, which caught him off guard. It hit him straight on, nearly throwing him off the railing. While he was flailing around, caching the bag before it feel overboard, he heard her angry voice and the sound of her steps moving away. "'You bastard!"'

Huh... that went well... He sat by the railing. Cray held his nose, ignoring the looks and little grins sailors gave him. What did catch his attention was the sound of heavy feet walking up the stairs. He opened his eyes, letting go of his nose and looked to the newcomer.

"'I don't understand you humans."' Ashen muttered, looking down on him with her one good eye. He found that unnerving.

"'What?"' he snapped at her, still irked by the fact that she followed along on this job as well. Raima insisted she went along and seeing how he had no reason to refuse, he said okay. The message Crank sent him said it could be a troublesome job, so he figured it'd best be good to have strong allies.

"'It was your fault."' she chided him, leaning on the railing beside him. "'You put her on a level below whores, after all. Yet you act like it is okay."'

"'She started it first, calling me a ruffian."' he replied, although he felt like he lost the argument to begin with. He had to admit, his comment really was uncalled for.

"'Are you a child, arguing your point with me?"' Ashen shook her head slightly, walking away.

Craywin sighed, looking up as he lit a cigarette.

The ship was still docked, but the white clouds high up on the clear sky caught his fancy. He wondered briefly what it would be like, to soar across the blue sky without a care in the world. Surely it would be... beautiful.

But as fast as it came, the thought was gone. That was not him, after all.

I guess I'll go and apologize.