darkSpyro

Angora headed to the cabin, having so many things to ponder about. When she reached the place, the door almost didn't open. It was as if it was stuck. When she managed to finally get it open, it was a complete mess.
"Maverick!? What's all this?" she said, recognizing many of the stuff from the hyperspace bag.
"Oh, Angorita! Don't mind me. I'm just... doing an inventory of the merchandize. It's been a while since I've done that." Maverick explained, but Angora knew him enough to know when he was lying, not to mention he was a very bad liar to start with. When she confronted him about the matter, Maverick explained to her about his little poison conversation with the captain, and Angora immediately knew what it was all about. It was bad enough for him to think she would poison him, but thinking that Maverick could be an accomplice? That Sere was too crazy if he thought someone like Maverick could even think of something like that. However, Angora didn't want Maverick to know about her own little conversation with Sere, so she decided to keep it from him for now.
"Precaution I guess?" she stated, wanting to give Maverick some peace of mind. He was still worried, but better now.
"I guess. Oh by the way Angorita, look what I found." Maverick commented, handing her the strange device. Angora almost forgotten about it.
"Ah yes. The poke... something. Star gave it to me. I kinda miss that crazy fox." Angora said, knowing he made a mistake, but hoped that he found redemption and happiness somewhere out there. Maverick also missed him, but he knew that if the fox was anything like Angora, he was fine.

Mischief relaxed a little. Her name wasn't an issue. Good. "Well... I'm after two things. I want to know what I am and where I'm from... And I want to learn new magick." She adjusted her hat and looked into the gemstone on her staff. "This gem's the only clue to my origin. Aside from Choco. Since Choco can't talk and probably knows even less than I do... Anyway. I also want to find the Ardent Guardians. Aside from the magick they wield, they might be able to help me."

"The Ardent Guardians? You're looking at their leader," Sere answered. "We are currently on a journey to find some missing individuals - though it would seem that our goals have begun to broaden as we find out more about the phenomena here. Magic, we can teach you. Your origin... that is something I am not so sure on, though our researchers can certainly put in a good effort. Let me ask you something. Do you happen to know and individual named Star?" Sere awaited Mischief's answer - and her reaction - to the question, to see if it betrayed anything about her intentions.

Mischief got excited and nodded cheerfully at being taught magic. Then she looked confused when Sere brought up Star. "You're the second person to mention that name. Why exactly was this Star guy so significant? Some dragon named Shade mentioned him too. Apparently I look the way he used to? Why'd he change how he looked? Did he change his fashion sense or something?" Having no clue what Pokemon were, she naturally was unfamiliar with Evolution. And she had no clue who Star was or why everyone brought him up.
Meanwhile, the Pokedex made a familiar whirr, and the screen flickered on as a digitized but happy voice called "ANGORAAAAA! It has been a while! Where have you been?" Digi V2.0 had detected his master and was beyobd elated to see her again.

Angora was already emotionally delicate that she nearly dropped the Pokedex when it suddenly started talking. It has been inactive for so long Angora had believed it was damaged for good.
"You!? You still work?" she asked, never having expected this contraption to be still functional. What's more, it seemed happy to see her. She would've thought it would've been mad to have been stored away for so long. Maverick had been surprised as well, but more of delight than shock.
"Oh wow Angorita. I can't believe that thing still works. Imagine that." Maverick commented, now against selling it. The thing could be useful. He couldn't wait to show it to Ilasi. He didn't remember if she had seen it, but it clearly was something impressive.

The Pokedex screen showed a nodding Porygon. "Of course! I am built to recycle energy with 90% efficiency, with the remainder generated from whatever source is handy. I'm also programmed to shut off all unnecessary functions if left on standby for at least an hour. In such a state, my battery life is, for practical purposes, nearly infinite. And the materials I'm formed from are highly resistant to any form of corrosion, making me durable as well!" It shows a smiley face. "Angora, how may I serve you?"

"Star was a traveler we accepted. As it turns out, he was completely incapable of following orders, and got good men killed as a result," Sere answered. "But, considering you don't know him, that seems irrelevant. Now, the only way I will accept you on board is if you owe allegiance to me, and we will do that by way of a contract. Are you ready to sign one?"

Leoquin wasn't sure what would come of this, but it was as good a hope as any. "The merman's name is Audax. He looks a bit like me. He's my brother."
"Audax..." Ray mumbled, as he tried to recall something. "Well, I don't know about anyone named Audax in particular. I do know of a merman who washed up on shore one day, brought by a current... he was here for a time, but eventually left for the Ishulgites."
Leoquin wasn't quite sure what to make of all he had heard. Nothing that confirmed anything; only potential leads.
"Thank you," Leoquin answered Ray. "We were out one day, and... I guess we got a little carried away. He always was a rather brave one. I... I goaded him into riding a current, and he did it without hesitating... and we hadn't seen him since. Even a merman will get lost in the sea if they're washed far away by a current without anything to tell them where they are. I guess... hey, mind if I have a seat? This'll be a bit of a story."
Ray obliged, allowing Leoquin to enter, after which they both took a seat. "So," Leoquin continued, "I never really could explain to my parents what had happened. As far as they were concerned, Audax was simply overconfident. They think he's as good as dead; but I want to hope not. So I eventually took up cartography, for two reasons; one, it allowed me to map out the many currents to get a good idea of where Audax may have ended up. And my best guess is, that if he landed somewhere, it's in this general area; actually, a bit further out, but he certainly wouldn't stay out that far with the storm. The second was that it gave me a very important skill, which would allow me to get on a crew more easily; of course, finding a ship that was willing to make the trip wasn't easy at all." Leoquin looked to the side in shame, still not being able to reconcile what had happened.

Quote: darknessdawn

The Pokedex screen showed a nodding Porygon. "Of course! I am built to recycle energy with 90% efficiency, with the remainder generated from whatever source is handy. I'm also programmed to shut off all unnecessary functions if left on standby for at least an hour. In such a state, my battery life is, for practical purposes, nearly infinite. And the materials I'm formed from are highly resistant to any form of corrosion, making me durable as well!" It shows a smiley face. "Angora, how may I serve you?"

But Angora was confused. She didn't expected this turn of events with how things were going.
"Serve?" she repeated, not used to giving a servant. With the little things she needed help a machine couldn't possibly do it.
"Eh, I'm not sure." she then said, not used to such treatment. Maverick had other ideas.
"Oh, what can you do... um... señor?" Maverick said, more interested in the services than Angora.

Mischief nodded willingly. "I'm ready."
The Pokedex showed another smiley face. "For starters, my most basic function is to instantly identify any creature's species by matching the genetic code against a database. I'll spare the details, but rest assured if I've seen it I can identify it! I already have every species of Pokemon and a few non Pokemon already programmed in, courtesy of Star! I can give you details on any species I know, and I have a dictionary programmed in to assist in defining words for your sake, just in case. I also can provide entertainment through music, though the selection isn't anything special so far. I can also OCCASIONALLY provide some of my energy for your sake, for example I can help heal certain conditions or revitalize tired folks. And of course I can give advice. Likely without being asked. Oh, and I can act as a companion of sorts." He sure could TALK.

Maverick listened with interest, but Angora didn't like how talkative the device was.
"So many useful features! What do you think Angorita? Want to listen to some music? Or maybe some information about someone? Maybe Veris? Or Oscurito..." Maverick suggested, already wanting to see the device in action. He was even thinking of asking about fauns, and if pure ones still existed. Perhaps later. He already had the creature tome Sere gifted him after the battle with Darkmatter, but maybe this cute little machine could expand what the tome already knew. And of course his other species, but this thing belonged to Angora, so she should have her turn first. The little troll wasn't very interested in using the Dex, but Maverick's suggestion piqued her curiosity.
"Ok then. We put it to the test with Veris first." she said, already seeing Dex in action once before, but it's been so long that she had almost completely forgotten how it works.

While Maverick continued with his inventory, Angora headed to Veris' enclosure quietly in case he was sleeping. He was on his back, so she didn't know if he was awake.
"Ok then. Do this very quietly, alright? If he's asleep, I don't want to wake him." Angora whispered, now not so certain if this was a good idea...

Digi carefully modulated his volume to a whisper. "Wyvern. A relative to dragons, although the dragons would rather not admit such. Wyverns are prone to developing, uh, VERY healthy egos, despite most other species agreeing that dragons are an improvement in nearly every aspect. Wyverns also are often gluttonous. Some varieties have a venomous stinger. While proud, they're usually more cooperative than dragons, mostly because they're easier to please. Many collect hoards of shiny baubles." He pauses before admitting "Keep in mind I'm not saying this in any particular order."

Despite the chatter, Veris continued to sleep, the noise not particularly bothering him any more than the usual happenings on deck. He opened his mouth widely before shutting it, but that was as far as his movement went.

Sere immediately grabbed some paper and began writing a contract. As he wrote, he continued speaking. "Do you have any particular seamanship skills?" he asked. "There will be training involved if not."

Angora already knew everything Digi explained... well except for the bauble part. Was that the reason Veris seemed fascinated by her magical orb shield? She backed away when she saw Veris yawned, but then relieved that he was indeed asleep, and that their presence didn't affected him.
"Huh, nice. Didn't know about the bauble part." she whispered, complimenting the knowledge.
"Let's get out of here before he starts dreaming about food." Angora said rather jokingly as she grabbed Digi and left, knowing Veris could easily gobbled them up if he wanted to. But she already slept in his enclosure with him once and was unharmed, though she wondered if it had been just luck or if the wyvern did indeed had more control than she gave it credit for.

As Maverick already knew, the only thing that could be considered venomous among his possessions were vitamin pills a witch doctor gave to him a couple of years ago. The label was untouched and all sixty pills were accounted for. The pills were safe if used as instructed. More than five a day could seriously damage the liver, and seven could be deadly. He would show it to the captain later if he was indeed curious about his profession and merchandise.

Mischief tapped her little paws together. "Uh, no, none so far. But I'm good at learning!" She didn't realize it, but her quick learning was partly due to using Copycat. Mimicking the motion allowed her to repeat it and adjust it to her own form. She peered up at what Sere was writing. The Black Mages who raised her told her to carefully read any contract she signed. They told her to be especially careful when dealing with any contract a Devil gave you, and showed her the consequences of not doing so. As such, she'd developed a habit of consistently reading every contract closely no matter who it was, especially with anyone with even the slightest grasp of magic.

Quote: Spyroconvexity

“How is your wing? Did Ilasi fix it for you?” Shade said with a smile. “It should heal up nicely she’s a great healer.” He then layed down next to Tyraika.

Tyraika glanced at her injured wing. She slowly outstretched it, careful not to irritate the wounds too much. She grunted, as her wing was still sore. Tyraika could tell that some work had been done, as it wasn't as painful as before, and was most likely still sore due to treatment and the fact that it wasn't fully healed yet. She carefully folded her wing back up. Tyraika wasn't sure how long it would take to fully heal, but she figured it would take some time.

She sighed and looked back at Shade. "Still sore, but better, I guess. I never actually saw the mermaid, but I guess she did something to it. I don't actually understand how healing works, but I guess she did her job well." Her uncertainty was rather apparent in her tone. Tyraika couldn't tell how effective the healing was yet, as it was still too soon to fly. She would have to wait to see the results.

Sere spent a few minutes writing and deliberating; eventually, the contract was complete, and he presented it to Mischief.
"Here it is," he said. "You might want to read over the fine details, but here is the gist of it; you will work for me, at a starting position. As you gain more skills, your position and pay will likewise increase. You are to follow my orders, or the orders of those designated as your superiors. Failure to do this will result in punishment. Disobedience or any other willful act which results in loss of life, damage to critical property, mission failure, or the like, or which has the potential to result in those things, will be punished with imprisonment, or, in extreme cases, be punished with death. In the event of your death by any cause, or disability to the point where you can no longer perform the tasks of the mission, you may designate one or more people to receive any pay you have earned and have not spent." Sere waited patiently for Mischief to do all the reading she needed to do, and would sign once she did.

Mischief carefully read through the contract in its entirety and carefully signed it before handing it back and nervously awaiting orders.

Sere took the contract before filing it away, before sitting back down. "Well, with that done, your first orders are to report to either of Latnok or Risar," Sere commanded. "Latnok is a human with a similar armor and appearance to me - though his armor is green - and Risar is a minotaur, the one minotaur we have. Either of them will be hard to miss."

Meanwhile, Angora was examining Digi, though it felt weird since, while he was a machine, he had a voice like any other living being. As she pondered bout what to do next, she wondered something else about the trinket.
"Ok, so I get about playing music and scanning things and such... but... what about advice?" Angora asked, although she wondered if it was such a good idea asking for advice to an object that wasn't even officially alive, nor did it had any real experience with life as far as she could tell.

Unaware that the captain was so busy, Maverick headed to his office with the bottle of vitamin pills in his hand, but when he saw the door shut tight, he suspected that he either was with someone. The voices he heard suggested it was the latter.

Mischief nodded and stepped outside, walking right into Maverick. She began apologizing profusely. After she finished apologizing, she decided she could use help finding one of the two leaders. Preferably Latnok. Humans weren't as scary as minotaurs "I hate to ask, but since you're here, could you help me find a Latnok-" She stopped midsentence. Her attention was drawn to a positively MASSIVE source of Mana. I sense a gigantic amount of Mana nearby... All very concentrated, like nothing I've EVER seen before!
Digi seemed uncertain how to answer the question. "Well, I'm programmed to analyze strengths, weaknesses, and personality traits. I can advise you on everything from combat to cooking. And more, obviously. I don't know EVERYTHING, of course, but I'm always analyzing to learn more."

As Mischief's senses picked up on the collar and it's massive amount of stored energy-- an long silent entity quickly became alerted. "Our new visitor detects me-- or at least the collar itself.," Damon alerted both Latnok and Raclaw via the fur dragon's own telepathy.

Maverick wasn't startled by the creature... until taking a closer look.
"You... oh. No te preocupes. It happens." he assured, this creature extremely familiar. He then answered her next question.
"Latnok? Yeah. I can take you to him. He's very busy lately, so I'm not sure if he'll be able to talk to you. You can always talk to his friend Raclaw though. He closely resembles a griffin." Maverick explained, knowing that a fur dragon wasn't something many people heard about, so a description was better. Raclaw was better to talk to, so Maverick hoped he could be the first one to listen. The faun man had his own business with the captain, but it could wait. For now, he wanted to help.

Mischief's uneasiness didn't escape him, but he decided not to ask, assuming the feeling was due to Sere's presence earlier. The old captain did have the tendency to make others uneasy with his harsh attitude, so it's no wonder why this lad was so nervous.

Quote: darknessdawn

Digi seemed uncertain how to answer the question. "Well, I'm programmed to analyze strengths, weaknesses, and personality traits. I can advise you on everything from combat to cooking. And more, obviously. I don't know EVERYTHING, of course, but I'm always analyzing to learn more."

With such an answer, Angora knew Digi couldn't help her with her current predicament. She didn't have any immediate use for Digi... when she got an idea. There was someone she really needed to know about.
"What about trolls? What about me? Why am I so small? Why did I had to have this condition?" she asked, having searched for that answer for such a long time. She has learned to accept and take advantage of her size, but from time to time, she hated the way so many people found her insignificant, not only for her species, but also for her size.

Tyraika saw the scar that Shade showed her. "I see... Well, at least she had an actual reason to help you. I mean, you got hurt protecting her, so it's only fair that she return the favor somehow. I still don't know why she helped me." Tyraika was quiet for a moment, while she stared out at the ocean. She looked back at Shade and nodded. "Well, of course. My wing is still sore. It's not like I'd go foolishly jumping off a cliff or anything to test it out. I just don't know how long it'll take to heal," she sighed. She couldn't wait to go flying again.

Mischief tore her attention away from the tantalizing Mana source and nodded. "Y-yeah, I could use a guide." She would follow him to Latnok's cabin.
Digi took a moment to scan Angora. "It appears that it's simply an Anomaly in your genetic code, likely Dwarfism. Not to be confused with the species. Of course, it could be malnourishment. But without a baseline code to compare it to, I can't say one way or another. In other words, to be sure I'd need to see a typical troll. You're the first one I've ever seen. So if you didn't get enough to eat as a child, that would contribute. But if you were always smaller than the others, it's likely a case of Dwarfism or similar." He became alerted to Mischief. "By the way, is there a newcomer to this ship? I detect a Zorua's presence."

Tyraika was quiet for a moment. "That may be so, but she still has no reason to care about me, not after... What happened..." she muttered. She still didn't think that the mermaid would want anything to do with her. Tyraika figured that the only reason they were helping her was because of the deal that was made. She was just surprised they were so adamant about sticking to it. She glanced at her wing briefly. "A few weeks, huh?" She wasn't sure how accurate that was, but at least it gave her an idea. It sounded like too long to be stuck here, but Tyraika figured it could be worse. "I hope you're right. I'd prefer to fly sooner rather than later."

Once Maverick arrived, he knocked on the door. In other time he would've avoided such an action to prevent startling the wild dragon, but he has spotted her with Shade. Which reminded him he still had to try to get along with the creature some other time. Perhaps with a new meal. He saw Tyraika, but not Latnok, so he assumed he was in his cabin at the moment.
"Señor Latnok? There's someone here that wants to talk to you." Maverick called, hoping it was Raclaw the one to answer if he was there. He didn't like talking to Latnok so much, even though he treated him far better than he did Angora.

Quote: darknessdawn

Digi took a moment to scan Angora. "It appears that it's simply an Anomaly in your genetic code, likely Dwarfism. Not to be confused with the species. Of course, it could be malnourishment. But without a baseline code to compare it to, I can't say one way or another. In other words, to be sure I'd need to see a typical troll. You're the first one I've ever seen. So if you didn't get enough to eat as a child, that would contribute. But if you were always smaller than the others, it's likely a case of Dwarfism or similar." He became alerted to Mischief. "By the way, is there a newcomer to this ship? I detect a Zorua's presence."

Angora dismissed the malnourishment theory, since her parents overfed her in hopes that she could finally grow up, but it never happened. It had to be genetic. Sometimes she wondered if she had some dwarf heritage. That she was a hybrid, just like Maverick. However, some trolls took pride in their ancestry, and as far as her family tree was concerned, none had been born with her condition. Bad luck she guessed.
"Another troll is out of the question. They're not very... nice." Angora stated, aware that sometimes she referred to trolls as if they were a species apart of her. But unlike her, most trolls were bloodthirsty beasts that could barely talk and believed brute strength was everything, but since that became out of her reach, Angora chose to educate herself to the human ways a best as she could, improving her speech and taking advantage of her unique appearance and size to confuse those who saw her.

But after pondering a little about her life, it was them that she paid attention to the other thing Digi said.
"Newcomer? Not that I know of." she commented, not having been on the main deck lately, though it wouldn't surprise her. Many islands here were so secluded from the rest of the outside world that a ship was bound to be impressive. Or maybe someone interested in being a crewmember? Kasidra has been another islander tired of the routinely, trapped life, so Angora understood why the number of sailors could grow if the Enduring Legacy kept docking on these hard to reach islands.

Mischief felt that whatever Mana source had caught her attention had only gotten closer. She shook herself, forcing herself to concentrate.
Digi pointed out "This newcomer is a Zorua. According to my data, Zorua aren't even native to this planet, much less area. Oh, yes! Data! Zorua! A Dark type Tricky Fox Pokemon. Zorua protect themselves by disguising as other creatures with illusions. If cornered, they confuse their adversary by changing to look like them and then fleeing. Because of a nigh cowardly disposition, when not around trusted friends, they nearly always stay transformed as something else. It's said that Zorua often take the form of a silent child, and that if a normally talkative child suddenly becomes quiet it was replaced by Zorua." He pauses. "I'll take this opportunity to point out that Zorua and their Evolved form, Zoroark, are extremely shy but should you gain their trust they'll be loyal to you. Loyalty is the one thing every Zorua and Zoroark puts ahead of their own safety. Oh, by the way, most Zorua like to pull pranks, though they're usually harmless unless the Zorua is really angry at the target."

Quote:

Once Maverick arrived, he knocked on the door. In other time he would've avoided such an action to prevent startling the wild dragon, but he has spotted her with Shade. Which reminded him he still had to try to get along with the creature some other time. Perhaps with a new meal. He saw Tyraika, but not Latnok, so he assumed he was in his cabin at the moment.
"Señor Latnok? There's someone here that wants to talk to you." Maverick called, hoping it was Raclaw the one to answer if he was there. He didn't like talking to Latnok so much, even though he treated him far better than he did Angora.

Quote:

Mischief felt that whatever Mana source had caught her attention had only gotten closer. She shook herself, forcing herself to concentrate.

As Maverick led newcomer Mischief away from the deck and into the lower corridors-- the source of the mana would only get fainter as if they were heading away from whatever unknown source attracted the Zorua's attention so much. And in fact, Latnok's knocking would produce no response at all rather it be from the 'crueler' Latnok or the gentle-but-Latnok-associated Raclaw. After some time of seemingly endless waiting and just before the two would give up, a voice would call out as one of the crew ran towards the pair. "HEYYY!!!," the crew member called. "If you looking for Raclaw or Latnok, they went out some time ago. Try the far end of the upper deck-- they tend to relax there when not busy elsewhere. That Fur Dragon and our First-in-Command sure do make a pair.," he then explained having seen them there often during his various duties.

Raclaw and Chester continued to relax on deck alongside Latnok-- Raclaw's tension eased for the time being as the Guardian stroked his fur.
Elsewhere, Risar managed and kept an eye on the crew at large. The large Minotaur also made sure never to lose of sight of ether Tyraika or Shade.

Mischief was moving in a slight daze. She wanted that Mana so badly... She shook herself and tried to focus. Latnok was in fact on the deck? She nodded and turned around. If Latnok was on the deck she'd probably passed him while distracted. She told Maverick "If he's on the deck I can probably find him. Assuming I don't get distracted..." She started moving.
Finally she came to the deck and spotted Latnok... It took no time at all to realize the source of her constant distraction was literally next to him. No wonder she was having trouble. She approached him, but found herself staring at Raclaw's collar, which held enough Mana to fuel her magicks for ages. Prying her attention away, she turned to Latnok. "Latnok? That's you, right? Human in green armor? The captain... Asked me to... Report immediately........." She trailed off, eyes directed at Raclaw's collar. The fur dragon himself wasn't even registering so far, only the mountain of magical energy. Her eyes seemed to change color, if only for a moment.

Latnok stood up, and eyed Mischief for a brief moment before looking directly at her. "Yes, this is Latnok you are speaking to. You will look at me when we're speaking," he demanded. The creature seemed to have a fascination with Raclaw - though Latnok figured it was just Raclaw's unusual nature. More importantly, she bore a striking resemblance to Star.
"What's your name?" he asked. "And do you know anything about someone called Star?"

"Oh, gracias señor." Maverick said to the sailor, leading Mischief to the upper deck as instructed.
"No te procupes. I'll make sure you don't get distracted." he responded to the fox, leading her away. She seemed distracted, but not by the ship itself. Claustrophobic? But the feeling remained even after they were on deck.

After finding Latnok, Maverick bowed in goodbye to him, leaving him alone with the new recruit to find Sere. He still had the pills with him, and was determined to show them to the captain.
"Capitán? Señor? I have something to show you. It'll be quick." Maverick said after a gentle knock at the door, wondering how the little fox was doing at the very moment...

Quote: darknessdawn

Digi pointed out "This newcomer is a Zorua. According to my data, Zorua aren't even native to this planet, much less area. Oh, yes! Data! Zorua! A Dark type Tricky Fox Pokemon. Zorua protect themselves by disguising as other creatures with illusions. If cornered, they confuse their adversary by changing to look like them and then fleeing. Because of a nigh cowardly disposition, when not around trusted friends, they nearly always stay transformed as something else. It's said that Zorua often take the form of a silent child, and that if a normally talkative child suddenly becomes quiet it was replaced by Zorua." He pauses. "I'll take this opportunity to point out that Zorua and their Evolved form, Zoroark, are extremely shy but should you gain their trust they'll be loyal to you. Loyalty is the one thing every Zorua and Zoroark puts ahead of their own safety. Oh, by the way, most Zorua like to pull pranks, though they're usually harmless unless the Zorua is really angry at the target."

Now Angora one she had heard the name before.
"It's just like Star! Mischief is a smaller version. But wait, one thing is growing, but another thing is... this! How do they change appearance so much?" Angora asked, being noticeable differences between Zorua and Zoroark. Unless they do some sort of metamorphosis like some insects? They did it often, but mammals didn't change they appearance so much, did they?

Mischief looks back up at Latnok, struggling to pay attention past the nearly blinding levels of Mana in Raclaw's collar. "My... My name is Mischief. And people keep asking me about this Star guy. Apparently he got people hurt by being disobedient? I've never heard his name until I boarded... This ship..." She glances back up at Raclaw's collar. She nervously glanced at the gemstone on her staff, and the gem gleams with Mana. She shook herself and focused on Latnok's eyes.
Digi realized Angora didn't know how Pokemon Evolution worked. "Ah, of course you're unfamiliar with Pokemon Evolution. When a Pokemon Evolves, they become more powerful and usually change appearance, sometimes to an extreme extent. The process is often difficult to make out due to the bright glow emitting from the Pokemon. It's usually fairly simple to trigger, once the Pokemon reaches a specific level of experience. However, some examples are strikingly convoluted. Some only Evolve during daylight hours or at night, and others require a bond of friendship. Still others require a very specific type of electrical stimulation - which I can provide, and a few need to know a specific battle skill or Move. Plenty only Evolve after being exposed to mysterious radiation from rare stones. Many actually take a combination of these traits, but for example Zorua Evolves based on experience. Meanwhile, Riolu Evolves during daytime after developing a strong bond of friendship." The whole time he's showing an animation to help illustrate what he's saying. "There's more to it than that, but I think the best way to understand Pokemon Evolution is to witness it. Unfortunately we don't have any Pokemon at hand that are ready to Evolve."

Angora had been interested by the subject, but quickly got bored when he started on the details like time of the day and such.
"Alright. Alright. You didn't have to give such a full speech." she said, not standing too much talking, although she believed it was because she had spend too much time with the silent Veris.

With nothing else to do, Angora headed to the cabin once more to take a small rest. She had been thinking of spending time with Sand Dune, Random and Opium if Maverick planned to spend time with his girlfriend, but for now, all she wanted was to doze off. It had been a long day. Not only was Sere released. He had a completely different attitude towards her. She knew she should be glad by the break, but she was instead worried and nervous. If she started to open up to him, wouldn't it be the same as with Latnok? She had thought she could open up to him once, but his obsession with respect and discipline made him the same or worse than before. What if history repeated itself with Sere? She truly wanted to believe the old Guardian would finally be more gentle to her now, but after what happened with his protégée, she was just too afraid to take this chance.

Latnok gave Mischief a scrutinous look. She was different... but there was no accounting for what happened to Star, except for knowing that he was banished out into a deadly storm.
"...you've heard right," Latnok said. "Now, what's your skillset here? Can you fight at all? Do you have seamanship skills?" His doubts about this creature remained; he would keep a close eye on her. Men wouldn't die on his watch again for foolishness like Star's - he would make sure of it.

Digi hastily apologized. He hadn't meant to bore her.
Mischief gestured to her robes. "I can fight, though my specialty is in offensive magick. I do learn quickly, though. I just need someone to show me and afterwards I can do the same task... Though my abilities in anything are rather limited by being little and not having much Mana..." She decided to query about the gigantic mountain of Mana mere feet away. She points to Raclaw, or more accurately, his collar, with her staff. "Speaking of which... There's a veritable ocean of Mana right there. It's what's been distracting me... I don't have much of my own, so I'm often forced to draw from the environment. With that much, I could fuel even my best spells for years." She hoped the explanation was sufficient.

"Mana?" The term was familiar to Latnok, though he referred to it as something else. "Many humans you meet will refer to that as 'magical energy', relative to the more physical forms of energy. You see, we humans aren't naturally magical creatures; however, through studying it, we now have it down to a science. With dedication, we can learn how to harness this power; it will often fit into formulas in much the same way that thermal energy or kinetic energy will. If you do the same thing under the same conditions, the same result will occur; through that, those who have the time to study magic can overcome our mundane nature and cast spells. Of course, given the nature of many societies, that sort of education tends to fall with nobles, clerics, or hermits... not exactly a common breed.
"That said, many humans initially cast their first spells by drawing from a pool of magical energy, or 'mana' as you would call it. This can come in many forms, like an imbued spellbook, or a wand or staff. The more skilled mages can pull the trace amounts from the environment itself to do things, though it is of course easier with a focusing tool. Then you have the most experienced mages, or creatures like me, who can produce their own magical energy and use that.
"My point here is that if you're fascinated with my friend's... item as a source of power for yourself, don't be. It's not happening. There are ways to draw magical energy more effectively, and you should work on that instead, even if it takes a decade or two. What is Raclaw's is Raclaw's, and is not something you're going to be playing with."
With his lecture done, Latnok took a breath before continuing on with his next point. "Well, besides that... let's see some of the magic at your disposal. Try not to blow anything up."

Sere came over and opened the door, giving a sigh of annoyance. He was very tired, and had much documentation to catch up on, but would answer. Everyone always saw him as enjoying complete control and just giving the word to have things done; no one would ever appreciate the effort it took to keep all the documentation in order. Unlike some pirate vessel, there would be order on the ship; and such order involved keeping track of a wide array of things, from pay to scheduling, from incidents to crew notes.
Not that it was anything he would want anyone to have to appreciate; when something as mundane as that concerned his crew, it would be because things were going egregiously wrong. There was no one who could read and write on the ship that he trusted enough to do things fairly and correctly; though Latnok could read and write, he had no formal training in the level of clerical work required.
Sere slowly opened the door, seeing Maverick. "Greetings, Maverick. What do you need of me?" he asked politely. In his distraction, he had completely forgotten about his earlier request.

Mischief blinked and FINALLY noticed the fur dragon's presence. Ugh, I didn't even see him until just now. I'm glad nobody noticed that. Mischief decided to start her display with a pretty basic, and classic, spell. Producing fire. Focusing her attention on her staff's gemstone, she focused and produced a small flame in one paw. After snuffing it out, she created electricity crackling between her paw and the magical gem. She proceeded to fire it into the ocean, too vast to really be affected by such a small zap. Finally she produced an icicle over the gem, turning her staff into a spear before melting it with fire. She elected to stop there, as her Mana was running low and she didn't want to tap into the stores within her gem. She took a moment to recover before admitting "I could do more, but that on its own burned my personal Mana pool and I'd rather not tap the reserves in my gem or take from the environment for a demonstration." She tapped her paws together, hoping she'd done well.

Angora closed her eyes, and after a while, she spoke to Digi again.
"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't be angry at you for being informative. I'm just so... irritable lately." she said, feeling silly for apologizing to a machine. But Digi was her only companion at the moment, and she did enjoy talking to him, as long as he wasn't so extremely talkative. She had a lot on her head and she wanted some moments of peace.

Quote: A Guy

Sere came over and opened the door, giving a sigh of annoyance. He was very tired, and had much documentation to catch up on, but would answer. Everyone always saw him as enjoying complete control and just giving the word to have things done; no one would ever appreciate the effort it took to keep all the documentation in order. Unlike some pirate vessel, there would be order on the ship; and such order involved keeping track of a wide array of things, from pay to scheduling, from incidents to crew notes.
Not that it was anything he would want anyone to have to appreciate; when something as mundane as that concerned his crew, it would be because things were going egregiously wrong. There was no one who could read and write on the ship that he trusted enough to do things fairly and correctly; though Latnok could read and write, he had no formal training in the level of clerical work required.
Sere slowly opened the door, seeing Maverick. "Greetings, Maverick. What do you need of me?" he asked politely. In his distraction, he had completely forgotten about his earlier request.

"Hola capitán. My apologies for disturbing you." he said after noticing how tired Sere was.
"This is the bottle of vitamin pills I was talking about. Besides the weapons, this is the only dangerous thing I have. As you can see, it has never been opened. You're welcomed to investigate my bag if you're still not certain. I know you are concerned about the safety of the crew, but I promise I'm very careful with the stuff I keep." Maverick assured, wanting Sere to see with his own eyes that he was telling the truth. He knew Sere hadn't made a big deal about his word and that he dismissed him quickly, yet Maverick still wanted him to see for himself. He knew he shouldn't be bothered about the matter, but he was. It made him feel offended that Sere would think he would keep actual poisons, or worse, that he would sell them.

Sere only gave the bottle a token glance, not being too concerned with the subject anymore. "Thank you," he said, unenthused. "Return to whatever task you were doing before, unless you have anything else that you feel warrants my attention."

Latnok looked on as Mischief cast her spells. "Versatile, yet limited," he noted. "You will need to improve how much renewable magical energy you can draw. The environment has enough for any seasoned mage, yet may be exhausting for you to try to tap into."
Latnok was considering teaching her more - but he was now hesitant. Everyone he had tried to do any sort of involved training with either had no interest, or apparently didn't keep their interest for long. Angora. Ilasi. Kasidra.
"...go find the small troll named Angora," Latnok ordered. "Tell her I told her to teach you stuff about magic."

Maverick didn't know whether Sere's concern earlier was a bluff or if he was simply too tired to care about the subject anymore.
"No capitán. That's... that is all. I will leave now. Won't disturb you anymore." Maverick said, leaving immediately. The subject still bothered him, but if Sere still wanted to know, he would let him make the first step next time. As he left, he wondered if he should go to Ilasi, but thinking that she was too busy, he was going to search for Angora to see if they could do something together. He missed talking with Shade so much, and wondered why Sere hasn't given him permission at last to talk to him. It wasn't the same without their original trio. If it was part of his training, it didn't make sense to him. But at least Shade had Tyraika, so that was some company he could keep while he and Angora were allowed to interact with him again.

OOC: Edited to correct boneheaded error.
Digi immediately perked up at the apology.
Mischief nodded and started exploring the ship a little. She needed to clear her head, and she had to learn the layout. She also had to find this Angora, and after looking around to no avail she asked a nearby sailor.

"That reminds me...," Raclaw said briefly placing a paw on his collar as the curious-but-hopefully-not-power-hungry Mischief wondered off. "We-- we should practice that fireball spell more some time. The idea of increasing my potential via your magic and combination tactics intrigues me and makes me wonder else is possible. The sight, the fire ball-- we work well together and even more so when we are truly in sync.," he then said looking into Latnok's eyes. "Agreed-- that was awesome!," Chester barked prompting a smile from the befriended Fur Dragon.

Quote: darknessdawn

Mischief nodded and started exploring the ship a little. She needed to clear her head, and she had to learn the layout. She also had to find this Angora, and after looking around to no avail she asked a nearby sailor.

The sailor lead Mischief to the cabin, knowing where it was like most of them because it was the same cabin as Maverick's. Nobody ever really looked for Angora, yet Maverick was visited sometimes when they were in the mood for his cooking.
"Hey troll. Someone here wants to see you." the sailor called with a knock on the door. He wasn't particularly rude, but he sounded rather harsh, as if he just wanted to get out of that step.
"You wait here. She's there." the sailor said, after hearing her groan behind the door. He had much work to do, so the sailor left Mischief in front of the door to wait for Angora.

The little troll opened it, rubbing her eyes. She was about to catch a pleasant sleep when she was interrupted. She wanted some peace and quiet so badly, but it seemed like today wasn't going to be that day. Still holding on to Digi, she opened the door.
"Yes? What is it!? Oh..." she said, looking at someone that was almost her same size. She did a small and brief hand gesture in greeting, not in the mood for anything else.

Tyraika smiled, glad to have Shade's company. While she was trapped here on the ship, unable to fly, it was nice to have at least one good thing about this awful situation. Tyraika was sure that things would be a lot worse, if she didn't have a friend to be there for her.

Although, the pleasant moment didn't seem to last, as something else had caught Shade's attention. Tyraika picked up on his apparent concern and followed his gaze to Raclaw, and something that had previously been speaking with Latnok. She wasn't entirely sure of what that creature had been, some sort of fox with robes? It was so strange. It looked like an animal, but it was wearing clothes, and carrying a staff. Tyraika had never seen anything like it before. Was Shade worried about it? It didn't look particularly threatening, but looks could be deceiving.

"Familiar?" Tyraika asked. "So have you seen it before? It looked sort of like a fox, but not at the same time. It's so strange."

Mischief got flustered and mimicked the motion. "Uh, you're Angora? Latnok wanted me to talk to you... Learn some magick from you-"
Digi piped up. "Ah, the newcomer!" Mischief jumped what seemed like ten feet straight up in the air with a yip of shock. Digi continued, unfazed, as Mischief sniffed at him (and Angora) from all fours. "I see she has a rather unique, if unnecessary, outfit."
Mischief finally managed to speak again. "What in the world is THAT? How is it talking?! I don't sense any magick in it whatsoever!!!"
Digi finally fumbled some words. "Ah, of... Of course she has no idea what I am. Few Pokemon are tech-savvy."
Mischief immediately latched onto the hint Digi gave. "What's a Pokemon?! Where are they from?!"
Digi realized what was going on. "Oh, Deerling." A picture of one appears. "This will take explaining from someone else, I've yet to have to explain to a Zorua what Pokemon are."
Mischief finally just sits back and looks up at Angora, hopelessly confused.

Angora backed away with the sniff, startled by the fact that someone that could talk, had clothes and could stand on two legs would resort to such animalistic behavior. She would've explained about Digi... if it wasn't for the first words she said.
"Never mind him. What was it that you said? About Latnok?" she asked, believing her ears were betraying her. This fox did NOT say the word 'training' did she?