piratejournal | three ❀ voice

[A woman's voice greets the listener, her somewhat strict tone tinged with wistfulness.]

I tell myself that I have campaigned longer than this. Still, sometimes I cannot help but speculate... will we number our time here in years only? What consequences will our aging in this realm have upon our return to our homes? What does it mean for our aspirations? At which point do we commit to our present over our past?

[She sighs. When she speaks next, all wistful traces have vanished.]

It's pointless to wonder, when it serves no practical purpose.

[Why did she bring it up then? Homesickness, perhaps. Conversation.]

The extent of variety between each island is incredible, really. This island has to be one of the most peculiar ones I've visited -- even more so than sentient moths running a grand library. Concepts like up and down are a matter of personal perspective, and one person's floor is another's wall. Building planning and regulations are genuinely fascinating for it. Sparring has never been more exciting or testing either, with every plane a viable part of the arena. Freedom of movement takes on a whole new meaning.

Please, indulge my curiosity: which is the strangest island that you have been to?

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[With what he's seen and heard of, nothing ought to surprise him anymore. That doesn't stop every potentially thoughtful thing he might have had to say getting put on the sidelines the second Xun Yu mentions the moths. Because what

the hell.]

This is not stranger than--sentient moths.

...I suppose that as far as residents go...

[She partially concedes.]

But the island itself was unremarkable, and the library was not a source of knowledge for them, but a source of food.

[The latter she says with all the disappointment of a book lover.]

It's a pity that you won't meet them for yourself. After the Captain stole from the library they became hostile in their thousands. Some were the size of us.

A pity? I've no desire to be swarmed by insects.

[If he wants to go to the library, he'll find one with less wings and scales and fluttering.

And book eating.

He pauses.]

What did he steal that was so important?

[A trace of laughter graces her tone.]

Books. That is all.

Did kleptomania get the better of him? Would it not have been easier to check the books out?

[Unless moths consider the word "library" itself to be synonymous with "food storage unit" and that isn't a concept they're familiar with.]

Edited 2014-07-03 19:09 (UTC)

Impulse control isn't his strong point.

[She says diplomatically, though it's a clear yes to both anyway.]

That was during my first month aboard the Katabami, before I really knew the Captain. At the time it came as a surprise -- one moment I was researching and the next I was under attack by the suddenly hostile moths. I know better now. He is predictible in acting upon instinct over assessment.

[Somehow she has grown fond of him, despite it all.]

You know this and it fails to deter you from sailing on the Katabami.

[He doesn't quite get it, if only because Xun Yu strikes him as an especially levelheaded person compared to both their captain and the sort of crew he tends to attract, if the rowdy lot of pirates he encountered back in their home world were any indication.

...Not that Mitsunari has any right to look down on anyone for things like acting first and thinking later.]

[She can't blame him for that reaction -- the Katabami is composed of the kind of people she normally wouldn't associate with. For all that she is willing to be aboard, Xun Yu is honest enough with herself to admit that she doesn't particularly fit in on a personal level.]

When I arrived in this realm the Navy were waiting for my wave of newcomers. Before we even knew what was going on we were surrounded at gunpoint. Existing crews allied and attacked the Navy in order to rescue us, and the Captain numbered amongst them. That was how I joined the crew -- by way of convenience and urgency.

My former naval experience was limited to two battles on the Chang Jiang, a river of my homeland. But even with my inexperience I soon recognised the Captain's skill behind his bluster. He was as good as any man of Wu. Who better to crew with than a seasoned pirate, under our circumstances? My own talents compensated for his weaknesses, he did not waste my skills when I proposed usage of my time, and he treated me kindly. With a shard to the ship's name too, it seems silly to even consider leaving.

[That is all she needs to explain why she is here. Yet the silence that follows is a pregnant one -- reflective as her mood is, perhaps part of her hopes that he might understand what she confesses.]

...The Captain is nothing like His Majesty, either, which I count as a blessing. I could not stand to crew for a poor imitation. Every man on this ocean is inferior in comparison.

...Enduring the misfortune of seeing Ieyasu each and every day aboard the ship was a constant, frustrating reminder to me not only of his crimes, but of his arrogant belief that he could ever be an acceptable substitute for Lord Hideyoshi. Never in a thousand lifetimes would that be so.

[He's not trying to make the conversation about himself so much as he's very awkwardly trying to convey that he does, in fact, understand.]

Let me tell ya, nothin' is weirder than Candy Island.

As to the rest, dunno and don't really care. Not when we gotta survive.

...The edible one?

[She's seen plenty of talk about it in the journals, though it's obvious by her tone that the Katabami has never been there.]

There's a reason that anyone with sense joins a crew captained by an experienced pirate, under our circumstances. Do your crew know what they have?

[There's a hint of skepticism in her tone -- Cynthia's public usage of 'Kitty' certainly had her raising her eyebrows.]

That's the one. The crew really wanted to go badly, so I said it was okay. Place is bizarre. It really is made of sweets.

[he'd rather talk about the other subject anyway]

Hey, I wasn't the first captain of this crew, yanno. The kids asked me to lead because of my experience. The only thing that matters among our group is that we work toward gettin' everybody home - and protect each other while we're at it. If they got other reasons, I don't know 'em.

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