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BOAT FROM SARN - EARLY AFTERNOON
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Phoebe stands on the deck of the ship, leaning on the railing carefully while she smokes a pipe of tobacco. The shores of Sarn have just faded away, and the boat is surrounded by nothing but water now. She smirks a bit and chuckles to herself, blowing smoke out of her nose, "Heh... good riddance."
Piper grunts as a deckhand sidesteps her, the croc's eyes following him before she starts walking toward the stern, stopping a few feet short of the railing. She's careful to keep relatively centered on the deck, as instructed by the captain. She spots Phoebe, tilting her head slightly as she catches her words. "Mh. Yes. Too stuffy."
Phoebe turns at the voice, basically unable NOT to settle her vision on Piper's massive frame. "Eh? Yeah, got that right. Way too many fancy folks think they know what's best for everyone."
Piper looks over Phoebe at the horizon, nodding with a slowly growing grin as she looks back to Phoebe. "Would avoid it if I could. Only needed their information." She shrugs. "Least one good thing."
Phoebe glances back over her shoulder over the water, then shrugs, "They can keep it for all I care... but I guess if you can use 'em for what you need, do it." She glances back at Piper. "One good thing?"
Piper nods, stepping a little closer to stand next to Phoebe and look out toward the sea. "A lead." She looks back to the wolf again. "Phoebe, right? What did you need in Sarn?"
Phoebe nods back, "Phoebe, yeah. You're Piper." It's not a question, the answer is pretty obvious. "I didn't need anything in Sarn but a way out... so I guess I got that now."
Piper nods in confirmation before she chuckles three gutteral notes. "Oh. Well if in Sarn for nothing, leaving is best. Makes them suspicious. They always want something. Think you always want something."
Phoebe frowns, glaring at Piper as she instantly bristles defensively, "Eh? You don't know me!" She points a thumb against her breast, "If I want ANYTHING it's just for the ability to live my own damn life, alright?"
Piper tilts her head at the bristling wolf, grunting after a few moments of silence. "They think you always want something." She sets a hand on her hip, chuckling once, "I don't care who wants what if they aren't in my way."
Phoebe slowly relaxes as she picks up on the original meaning of Piper's statement. She snorts again, "Yeah, well... I certainly won't be getting in your way. Seems like it'd be bad for my health." She sighs, taking another drag of her pipe. "You said you found a lead, eh? You a bounty hunter too?"
Piper lets out a slow breath, glancing out at the water. "No. Brother was, but not me. Him being a 'was' is why I never would be. Too risky."
Phoebe intakes her breath sharply, looking somewhat shocked at the idea. She carefully reaches out a hand to press as close to Piper's shoulder as she can comfortably get. "I'm... sorry. I didn't know."
Piper looks back to Phoebe's face, her hand, then her face again. "You wouldn't. Don't worry. Runt's fault, probably." Her tail thumps the deck once as she thinks about it. "Just want to know who. Don't care why."
Phoebe lowers her hand and nods. "I hope you find out." She tightens her hand into a fist, then slowly relaxes it. "I'd want revenge... if folks think they can cheat you, they do. Gotta show them you're not to be messed with if you want to live."
Piper stares at Phoebe for a few seconds before letting out a startlingly light laugh. Well, light for her. She pats her hand against her hip, nodding as she calms down, though the laugh does tint her voice with a nicer note. "I like you. Good ideas. Good mindset. Revenge will come, yes. Eventually."
Phoebe smiles a bit nervously at first as she hears Piper laugh, but does start to laugh in response. "Um, thanks? I'd rather be on your goodside. And I won't shed a tear for whoever did it, once that eventually comes."
Piper nods, relaxing a bit more. "Don't worry for them. Their choice how things go. Maybe they choose right. Don't worry for you, either. Everyone starts on good side."
Phoebe chuckles, "Well, good. I'm looking to actually... start a life in... wherever we're going. Aephix? Where the hell even is that anyways? I've... never left Westport." She seems a bit nervous, or embarrassed by that fact.
Piper hums, shrugging slightly. "Somewhere South. Far as I know, a port and a frontier town. Bump on some new routes from Orela to Sarn. Last ship took North route, never saw the port."
Phoebe thinks for a moment, "We'll have to wait and see, then..." She sighs, mumbling, "Aelia will probably hate it..."
Piper tilts her head a bit. "Aelia? Ay, your passenger?"
Phoebe scrunches her nose a bit, but nods. "Y-yeah... my passenger. This move is as much for her sake as it is mine."
Piper hums, leaning against the ship's stern railing which creaks in objection, prompting Piper to stand straight again with a look of annoyed betrayal at the sea-weathered lumber. "Leaving something behind, then? Get it. Sometimes home is too much."
Phoebe nods, "Something like that, yeah..." She grows silent again, conflicted in how much to say. "Hmph. I guess I never thought of it as 'home'. But Aelia still does."
Piper nods slowly, turning back to Phoebe and relaxing as best she can without leaning on anything. "Oh? No need to talk about it. Sometimes it helps."
Phoebe douses her pipe, then folds her arms in thought. "Talking can be dangerous... even if it can help."
Piper flashes a toothy grin, nodding one firm nod. "Smart you are, ay. Confiding in strangers is no good. Course, trusting no one is also no good. But you trust the wolf in a pirate's coat. Enough to travel, anyway."
Phoebe hmphs. "I trust him as far as my coin will take me... And smart enough to keep the coin hidden until the job is done. I didn't have much choice. Spent some time at the dock looking for who to trust." She glances at Piper. "Watched the wolf and the mer-thing he travels with... they seem to at least give a crap about each other. So... best I could do with short notice."
Piper hums, a gutteral note in her throat underlining it as she leans back and tilts her head a bit. "Mh, good point. Smart as you look. I overheard he was headed for Aephix. All I needed. And wanted to stick the university a little." She chuckles. "Does seem like word is good, though. Maybe. We'll see."
Phoebe empties the contents of her pipe over the side of the boat, then stows it away. "We'll see." She takes a long look at Piper and sighs, "If Aelia does come out... be kind to her, alright? She's... skittish. Afraid. She might come out while I'm asleep... so just... try to keep an eye on her if she does. I'd appreciate it."
Piper tilts her head the other way, giving Phoebe a quick squint when she says "Oh?" before chuckling her three short notes. "Alright. If she doesn't run when she sees me. I'll be nice."
Phoebe nods. "I'll... leave her a note. Just in case." She smirks, flashing her own teeth. "Gotta trust someone, I suppose."
Piper nods, stepping up to the railing and setting her hands on it to continue staring out to sea, though keeping her weight off the wood this time. "Ay. See you around dinner."
Phoebe waves to Piper with a few fingers extended, turning to head back towards her room. "See you around, yeah."