The Beginning (SHADE)

[delsha]

The Pirate Market was bustling, as usual.

Gash Noah made his way down the streets and avenues somewhat awestruck by all the things that were being peddled and sold at the stands of the marketplace. He stopped by one large stage to find exotic and powerful looking animals on sale. One of them, a giant white tiger, was quietly sleeping through all the noise and commotion of the town.

"Hm... bet that tiger is so focused that he can predict what I'm about to do." he said to himself. He thought about fainting a punch in it's direction, but he noticed that the cage looked old and rusty and might not hold the tiger if it got... angry.

He decided it was best to keep look around the island.

The whole reason he had come out all this way was so that he could find a crew and a ship. The passenger ship that he had been riding on to Zarzara Island was attacked by pirates. The group of rouges where surprisingly jovial and didn't kill anyone, they just took all the belongings and even gave him a ride to his current location after hearing how he wanted to be a pirate.

Gash shook his head from thoughts of the past. He had a job to do. He had to find at least one crew mate and a ship of some sort. He figured that he would probably have to steal a ship but that really didn't bother him. He was about to head off for a tavern when some guy ran into him. It took Gash a few moments to realize that the guy had stolen his wallet.

"Damnit." he said to himself as he ran off in the same direction as the guy. Eventually he was close enough that he could see the guy shoving through the crowds and decided to show off a bit. he used his speed technique "Suzume" so get close to the guy before kicking him in the head from behind so hard that he went flying into an ajacent tavern.

Gash walked though the hole that he made and picked up his wallet from the unconcious guy, not to mention the wallets of other less fortunate pirates. He looked up, to see everyone in the bar looking at him, a few with their hands on their weapons.

Gash looked down at the money he had just "liberated" form the pickpocket before shouting "BAR KEEP, A ROUND FOR EVERYONE IN THE HOUSE! MY TREAT!"

There was an awkward silence before a cheer rang out through the tavern. He walked over to the bar and slammed the money onto the cheap wood in front of the bartender.

"Here you go. Oh and water for me." he said as he took a seat in one of the stools. He figured he could look for crew members after a quick drink.

[SHADE SMASH]

(Im just getting used to her so most of this may sound like crap. When Im more used to her personality there wont be so much blah and more of her will show in the writing!)

Astelle gingerly walked down the street with a quaint smile on her face as she constantly patted the messenger bag at her side that writhed and squirmed like a living being! If anyone knew no better, one might think it was the bag itself that moved so animatedly! But alas, it was but a cat that proved its existence from the belly of the accessory by sticking out its adorable head and two front paws, seeming to settle its head onto the furry appendages as it glanced around clearly annoyed by the constant attention it received from it's master.

Astelle took no notice of her friends discomfort, she simply carried on her merry way with a few suspicious glances at the people around her as they stared at the restless bag by her side. It was always like this it seemed. Her going through another town on yet another island to escape those who wanted nothing more than what she had. It was frustrating to say the least, and at times drove her to madness at how easily they seemed to find her despite how imcompetent their minds usually work, but this place felt rather diferent. It felt oddly like a new beginning but she didn't know why.

Suddenly, something white caught her eye in this mass emporium of random crap. She went over to it and crouched down beside it, having her messenger bag drop to the floor uncerimoniously with its already angered tenant.

"You know what." She whispered which caused the tiger to open a vengeful eye at the girl. "I think we should get you out!" She continued on with a smile on her face. The tiger seemed curious but the sharpness of the gaze never left. Almost on cue, the cat that had just occupied the bag emerged, shaking its white and gray fluffy fur as it looked boredly between Astelle and the tiger. "Im sure you know what to do!" She said, patting the cat on the head as she whispered, more like muttered incoherently under her breath. "Shin Shin no Dobutsu Chikara" Before patting the cage bar.

Suddenly, the cats eyes seemed to take on this new found life as they spotted the bar! If anyone who owned a cat saw this, they would say it was the same look their own cat gave the sofa before it teared it to shreds with its claws! Almost on crew, the cat began to use the cage as a nail sharpner, and lucky it that it decided to do it on the bar least out of view from either the shop owner or the road leaving it to scratch at the medal in peace. Little by little the bar seemed to wither into a tiny stick as shavings made a pile on the floor.

It finally stopped when the bar seemed nothing more than a toothpick and although it was still there, the tiger had obviously gained new found hope at the chance of escape. The cats nails glinted sharply in the daylight before he escaped from the Shop before he was noticed in the least to Astelle who was standing not five feet away as blood gradually made its way to her upper lip from her nose. She wiped it away on the back of her hand a bit groggily and tired as the cat climbed up and jumped back into the satchel from whence it came.

"Whew Im tired, I need some energy." She announced whoozily, but somehow a ditzy smile still plastered itself to her face. "Wanna try and see what we can get in that bar o'er there???" She asked her bag almost drunkenly before walking over to the tavern, somehow walking in a line straight enough to get any eyes on her. Suddenly, a cheer could be heard which freaked her out, making her jump and eyes shift frantically around her as if she was a trapped mouse. But, with great effort, did she realize the noise was trained on someone inside the bar rather than her.

After a moment of convincing herself that this was indeed the only place to eat for a block around, she entered and sat on the bar. "HEY! Excuse me!" She cried out to the bartender but the cheers seemed to only continue droning out her voice as they tender was concerned with producing all those promised drinks at once. With a sigh, she patiently waited beside another kid that looked her age.

[delsha]

The other patrons of the bar seemed to enjoy the fact that they got a few free drinks. Well they weren't really free, he was paying for them. Though the loss in coin was worth it if it kept the dangerous looking pirates in the bar from attacking him.

The barkeep gave him his water and Gash drank it... slowly. Things seemed to be going well for him. He wasn't dead yet so that was a plus. He looked around to make sure that no one was eyeing him or coming towards him. He didn't see anyone so he returned to his water only to be startled half to death by a mousy looking girl who had somehow gotten next to him without being noticed. He was so startled that he nearly fell over backwards.

Gash quickly regained his composure and went back to his water, before giving the girl a nod. He went back to his water again. Once more he looked back over at the girl, this time he spoke to her. "You,,, you uh startled me there.... a few minutes ago.... I'm Gash." he said putting his hand out in a gesture of friendship that was meant to make things less awkward. "Nice to meet you."

(OOC: Oi sorry it's so short, guess I'm low on muse at the moment.)

[SHADE SMASH]

(That's fine!)

Astelle watched as the person beside her gained a drink but when she tried to get the bar tenders attention, he simply looked away to gather more drinks for the patrons! She felt angry by the man's limited attentions! Sure he had a full house and all but wasn't she to be included on this flurry of drinks! She wanted nothing more than to do something to him but heaven knows that her cat wouldn't be interested on filleting him unless she was in danger and she herself had no idea how to use a weapon! So she was forced to wait for him to come back for another patient seeming hour.

Lucky her that it wasn't going to seem so long as the man beside her suddenly toppled in his chair giving her quite a startle. Her mind raced wondering if he recognized her or something along those lines but all he seemed to voice was that her sudden presence startled him... She subconsciously smiled at the fellow, thinking that if anyone gave that much of a start over a girls sudden appearance, they can't be so bad!

Although slightly hesitant to shake the other man's hand, she justified this moment as a short lived friendship with an actual person! So she took it and shake as she introduced herself. "I'm Astelle! OH!!! And this is my cat Tommigarritastallone!" She announced as she reached into her bag and brought out a lazing cat that seemed like he was just woken up from his cat nap.

She leaned the cat towards the man only to have the cat slash at him with sheathed claws with a small hiss. "He likes you!" She said sounding astonished by his quick like of another even though the cat himself looked severely pissed at STILL being out. She soon put him back in her bag so he could get on with his nap and only then did the bar tender finally come over, slamming a drink in front of her and moving on to someone else on the other side of the bar. She glared at the man and made a move towards the brown liquid, unsure of what to make of it.

[delsha]

The girl seemed to calmly acknowledge his nod, but when he put his had out to greet her, that previous calmness seemed to only be a thin vail. It wasn't that she was an extremely fast talker, but it was how loud she was and the enthusiasm that she put into her words that surprised him.... again. Once again he almost fell out of his seat but caught himself on the bar counter.

After he pulled himself up.. again, he was greeted by Tommigarritastallone, Astelle's cat; which promptly scratched him in the face. "He likes you!!" Astelle shouted... again. This also caught him off guard, causing him to, for a third time, fall out of his seat. This time he didn't catch himself seeing as he was just scratched in the face by a cat. He landed on the floor of the bar. No one else really seemed to notice.

For a third time Gash pulled himself back up into his seat. He looked at Astelle. "Ya know you seem to have a way of startling me." He said to her. There was a large thumping noise, the thump itself was large enough for it to shake the remaining water in Gash's glass. It felt as though the bar shook slightly. Though because of all the reveling that was happening in the bar no one really seemed to notice.

Astelle seemed to be drinking beer. "So how'd you end up on here in the Pirate Market?"

[SHADE SMASH]

As Gash went on with his constant heart attacks and falling motions, Astelle was doing something productive. Discovering what the hell was in this glass she was just given!!! It looked like rusty water, it smells a bit sour, it felt warm, it sounded....like liquid sounds lik-I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE!! Most importantly, it taste like shit! After examining it for a long while she took a gulp of the infuriating substance and although her testimony stands true, she seemed oddly addicted to the stuff!

She even heard something but so immersed was she in the drink, that she didn't care much for it. It started to feel as if she was using her powers, her head got whoozy and she became unable to tell the difference between left and right. Only when Gash decided to speak up again did she finally have She finally had a focus point. Somewhere she could look at as she struggled to look fine and unaffected by the substance. She was even having trouble just keeping herself straight on the stool!!!

The question seemed to be, why was she here in the pirate's market... Pirates'? Market? Something seemed terribly wrong with that string of words but her mind, which was drowning in drunkenness, was not able to conceive why... She thought a bit more but there was almost a mental block in her mind and after awhile she gave up entirely on the subject and decided to change the spotlight.

"Y-you know? It's n-not po-polite to ask someone else without telling yours f-first!" She replied, doing her best to avoid slurring her words which only helped her accomplish stuttering, taking another drag of the strange liquid.

[delsha]

Gash didn't figure that Astelle would so expertly utilize the turnaround. "Crap" he thought to himself. "Uh... I guess I wanted to be a pirate and stuff. Do piratey things, freedom and what not." He sipped his water. Then asked for another one. He drank that water very quickly. He felt as though there was just this awkward feeling in the air, and it wasn't just the fact that her cat had scratched half his face off or that he had kicked a dude through the door (and it honestly surprised Gash that the owner wasn't pissed in the slightest bit.)

After an awkward silence he decided to just get it over with.

He got up, grabbed Astelles hands and held them close. He looked her dead in the eye and asked in as serious a voice as he could muster. "Astelle whateveryourlastnameis, will you join my pirate crew?" he said. "You seem interesting and don't appear to be the type of person who will slit my throat during the night. So what do you say?" He said as though his whole sense of self depended on her answer.

(OOC: For some reason I forgot about this, sorry about that... and the length.)