First Mate

Wandering the port town of Salem, Emmiline Vance and her macaw Scurvy were keeping a sharp eye on the milling crowds for a likely new member of her crew. Her attention had been caught by a young man with a half tattooed upper arm. She asked Scurvy to track him secretly for the rest of the day while she continued to look for supplies. The macaw promptly flew from her shoulder and into the crowd after the boy.

As Emmi continued on her way, her mind wandered to a recent tragedy in her life where she had lost all of her crew to the sea and to the Navy. She held in her heart a loathing for the men who had taken all she cared and lived for. She was anxious to once again have a crew she could call her own. For now, though, it was just her and her macaw, Scurvy...

Surrounded by at least a dozen crates filled with bags of flour, rice and other groceries that needed to be sorted and stacked, Erasmus Greene felt like a caged animal. He paced back and forth in the storeroom at the back of his father's grocery store, dreaming of adventure on the high seas. He knew it would never happen to him of course; the little knowledge he did have of pirates came entirely from the captains of the ships that delivered the goods for his father's store. He was certain that if he ever told someone he actually wanted to be a pirate, he would be disowned and accused of witchcraft. So, for now, he settled for dreaming.

Breaking him from his reverie, Eras' oldest brother, Calum, poked his head in the storeroom door. "Hey, little brother," he said in a voice that was much deeper than Eras' cracking prepubescent-sounding squeak of a voice. "New shipment of coffee beans just came in and pa wants ya t' go get it." Calum shoved a few coins into Eras' hand before disappearing just as quickly as he had appeared. Eras grinned and ran out the door after him. He loved going outside! The air always smelled like seawater outside of his father's shop and Eras felt just that much closer to living on the vast blue ocean whenever he smelled it. He slammed the door to the shop open, scaring his older sister who was stacking a few lighter items. She shot a glare in Eras' direction, which he returned with a brief apologetic shrug before bounding out the door.

He took a deep breath of fresh air in, his entire body moving with the effort. After looking around for a moment at the townspeople and merchants bustling about, Eras began to walk towards the docks. It had been weeks since he had gone outside for more than a couple of minutes, so he soaked in every moment of it. He shoved his hands into his pockets, jingling the coins within. He hoped there would be some change left over that he could spend on licorice root to suck on; it was his favorite.

Eras pulled a small, copper coin out and examined it. It didn't look particularly noteworthy, but the sun glinted off of it in a distracting way that Eras liked. He was sure there was some way he could pull a prank on someone with this thing. At that moment, a blur that appeared to mostly be bright red swooped down and snatched the coin from Eras' hand. He followed the blur with his eyes as it flew to a nearby rooftop and perched. He came to the conclusion that it was a bird, though he had no idea what kind. The birds around salem were, for the most part, dull browns and blacks and sometimes white in the cases of seagulls and things. This had to be a witch's bird! A witch had just stolen his father's money!

"H-hey! Get back here you!" he shouted, running towards the bird and waving his arms wildly. All the people on the street turned to stare at him, but that small coin was much more important to Eras than what these people thought of him. He shouted again and the bird flew off, startled. He ran after it for a few blocks, still waving his arms, shouting and earning the glares of every person he passed. He saw the bird swoop downwards as though it was about to land and Eras was sure he'd catch the damn thing when suddenly he ran full-force into another person who seemed to be about an inch shorter than him. He fell to the ground and looked up at the person he had just ran into, mortified. It was a woman. "Ah damn, I'm sorry. I wasn't lookin where I was goin an'... are you all right, lady?" he pushed himself up from the ground, staggered backwards a few steps and held a hand out for the stranger to shake. "The name's Erasmus Greene, but you can call me Eras."

Emmi surveyed the scrawny boy in front of her and smiled as smiled as Scurvy perched on her shoulder, dropping a copper coin into her hand. Turning it around in her scarred fingers as she watched the boy's reaction, she smiled at him and said, "What I am called hardly matters now, does it, boy? I think all you really care about is the coin that my friend here stole from you." She reached up and stroked Scurvy's soft belly feathers. "From the look of you, you don't have much pocket money," she continued, digging around in her belt purse and pulling out a silver coin. She flipped it around in her finger agilely, smiling somewhat cruelly. "If it is my name you want, however, I would be more then happy to enlighten you. I am Emmiline Vance, Captain of the ship The Plunderer's Lust. This here is Scurvy," she went on as she petted her macaw's head with a gentle forefinger.

Flipping the copper coin back at the boy, she included the silver coin as well. She turned to go as he caught, Scurvy riding on her shoulder, preening his feathers...

It was almost impossible for Eras to not be intrigued by the woman standing there in front of him. She was lanky, but there was a sort of agile strength about her that was clear from just the way she carried herself. And the way she dressed was so eccentric compared to most of the women Eras knew. In any other situation, he would be offended by Emmi's assumption that he was poor but, for one, it was true and, for another, she followed the insult by stating that she was the captain of a ship. A captain with a parrot. An eccentrically dressing woman captain. She couldn't possibly be the captain of a navy ship or a delivery ship, so that just about settled it.

Erasmus had just met a pirate.

By the time he had processed all of this and caught the coins the pirate tossed at him as though he was some sort of bum, Emmi had already begun to walk away. Eras had to make her stop; what were the chances of him meeting another pirate in this town? If he caught up with her, he could try and convince her to let him join her crew! He could swab the decks and work his way up the ladder until he was first mate! Or at least working the sails. Or not! He didn't really care as long as he was on the sea. He'd dreamed of it all his life; he wanted nothing more.

"Hey wait! Captain Vance was it?" maybe he was just calling her Captain to flatter her, but Eras had heard pirates were partial to flattery and if she was going to be his captain, he might as well get used to it. Eras stepped forward, hoping she would notice him standing behind her... he figured it wasn't a good idea to tap a pirate on the shoulder, especially if there was a parrot occupying said shoulder. "Hey, uh... thanks fer the silver piece... ya really didn't haveta do that," he said loudly enough that she would be able to hear him over the noise of the town.

Emmi stopped and smiled to herself before turning back to face the boy. "I didn't, surely, but I did and I'm not about to take it back. And you were correct in the assumption of the captain. Emmiline Vance, captain of the pirate ship The Plunderer's Lust, at your service," she made him a bow, taking the hat she rarely wore off with a flourish.

Eras rolled the coins around in his palm for a moment before finally shoving them in his pocket along with the other coins intended to be used to buy coffee beans for his father. He lifted his gaze to meet Emmi's eyes, raising one eyebrow slightly. "A pirate ship, eh? Hey listen, I know I may just look like a kid but, I'm a real hard worker and I been workin in my pa's store liftin things and such, an, well, I've heard a lot about pirates..." Eras stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath. He was rambling. It was hard for him to not ramble at times, being the daydreamer that he was. "I wanna be a pirate," he said all in one breath. He averted his eyes to look at the parrot perched on Emmi's shoulder. "D'ya need any crew members or anythin?" he asked, seemingly addressing the question to the parrot.

It was a bold question, he was sure. From what Eras had heard about pirates, they were big on loyalty. He and Emmi were practically strangers, who was he to be asking to join her crew? But still, it was worth a shot.

Emmi smiled and said to the boy in front of her, "You are in luck, my lad. Not only did I come on land for supplies but I do indeed find myself in need of a crew, seeing as how all of my crew has been lost." her expression clouded in anger at the rememberance of what she had lost, "But what about your family? I know the people hereabouts don't particularly approve of pirates, and me no less a captain. What will your parents think when you disappear and don't come back from your errand that you were obviously so bound on before Scurvy here stole your coin?" she continued. "Away with you, and ask your dear mother and father what they think. You may find me at my ship, or, if you would like, I can send Scurvy with you and he can fetch me if you are in need of assisstance of being rid of your folks?"

Eras looked the woman up and down. He had never heard of a pirate who was concerned about families. In fact, from what Eras had heard, most pirates killed families. He heard that pirates raped and killed mothers as their husbands and children watched. And he had never heard of a pirate who asked permission before. Either Captain Vance was different, or she was a liar. But she had the look of a pirate. She looked tough and she had the parrot and she claimed to have a ship, but Eras wasn't so sure. He gave her one last sidelong glance before speaking.

"Take me to see yer ship first. I have to go ta the docks anyways... pick up coffee beans fer my pa, ya know," he scratched the back of his head. "If ya really have a ship, that is." Eras winked at the pirate, and walked past her in the direction of the docks, hoping-- no, praying-- that she really was a pirate and he really did have a shot at sailing on the high seas.

Emmi saw the look of doubt in the boy's hopeful eyes. With a flick of her wrist, Emmi sent her whip around the boy's waist. Giving a sharp tug, she caused him to topple over onto the ground. Standing over him in hat she hoped was a menacing way, she said, "Now see here my lad. There is to be only one Captain in this arrangement and that has to be me. I am indeed a ship's Captain. I will never lie to you, unless the situation demands otherwise, that is." With another flick of her wrist, the whip set the scrawny boy on his feet.

Emmi began to twist her way through the crowded streets, knowing the boy was on her heels.

Standing up and brushing the dirt off of himself, Eras began to run after the pirate. He slowed his pace as he caught up to her and noticed a stinging pain in his shoulder. He looked over and saw a tear in his shirt which revealed his half-finished tattoo and a lightly bleeding scrape just above it. It stung slightly, but nothing to whine about.

"So. Where're exactly we goin cap'n?" he asked, speaking in his most patronizing voice. No matter how intimidating this woman was, he wasn't going to believe a word she said until he saw this alleged ship. "And how, precisely, am I gonna know this ship is your ship? Describe 'er ta me!"

((sorry this took me so long! I've been busy. D:))

Emmi looked behind her in time to see the boy glance at his shoulder at a seemingly half finished tattoo. Oh dear she thought to herself That won't do at all. I'll have to have him fix that or I'll sit him down and fix it myself. "Well let's see..." Emmi began "The Plunderer's Lust is said to be the fastest ship on the high seas. Her man sails make it nearly impossible for the wind to not catch and send her on her way. Her main deck is made of the finest polished oak as are her two quarter decks. She bears her colors proudly, as any ship and captain team should," as Emmi went on to desribe the rest of her beloved ship her voice took on a seemingly dreamy state. "My favorite time to be aboard is at night when I light the lanterns. It gives it a sort of ghostly feel and it helps to set the mood when I sing..." Emmi fell silent when she saw in her mind's eye her beautiful ship at night when its lanterns were lit.

They continued down to the docks in relative silence until Emmi said to Eras, "So I noticed you have the beginnings of a tattoo there on your arm. What happened to the rest of it? A half done tattoo won't be tolerated on my ship. You'll have to finish it or have someone finish it for you."