(Part 1 is here)
Meeting Captain Basaran – Part 2
Dani Bracken had certainly picked the wrong house to burgle, and the wrong time, when the occupier of the house, Basaran, Captain of The Bloody Dawn arrived home and caught the little thief red handed…
…an interesting confrontation followed once they sized one another up.
Basaran grunted, a scoff and a tut soon followed the furrow of his brow across his face. "I'm sorry, I don't think you quite noticed the sheer lack of humour within myself at the moment. The only reason you're in such a better position 'an myself is because I gracefully left that sword of mine behind you"
Dani barely let him finish his words when she swung a deft punch at his face. Caught by surprise he lifted his arms a fraction too late in an attempt to deflect it but was unable to stop her knuckles connecting heavily with his jaw. She bolted past him as he took the same moment to at least sprawl out his left leg and stop her in her tracks with a trip, clutching his jaw he levelled out some choice profanities on her as he toppled down on top of her.
"G-gah! What is your deal?!"
Dani wriggled from under him and sat up looking rather undignified rubbing the side of her head. “My deal? I tried to rob ye an’ yer caught me…nuthin’ more to it”.
“Y-yeah but, and I take this from stories not experience, people who rob tend to be less..ghn…clumsy?”
“Who th’ heck you callin’ clumsy?” she scowls tipping her bag and spilling the contents all over his floor, an array of trinkets, ornaments and other booty scatter about the floor “dun’ know which o’ yours. I know ma' patch ‘n you dun’ come round here much, yet here yer are on this round”.
Basaran shook his head with a, somewhat nod, infused with it' He looked over her bag of goods, muttering. "I'll be the first to at least agree with you this time. I'm surprised you ha- wait." he blinked, glaring at her again. "This round?!" He growled, starting to at least try and pick himself up off the floor.
"Take the lot then Captain ‘Barge In an' ran’ or wha' ever yer called"
Basaran grumbled, giving her little attempt to scarper with a punch to her shoulder, looking over the now 'beautiful' mess in the spare room. "Cut the attitude. I should sling 'yer head for all it's worth.."
'Ouch! watch it, I'll ha' the Watch on ye...tha's assault tha' is' she complains rubbing at her shoulder indignantly.
"Oh, and I suppose you'll at least mention why and how you got into my house to be punched as it is?" he smirks a little to himself, quickly punishing himself for doing so and frowning.
'Ah'll tell em Cap'n Bastard o' the Bloody Dawn dragged me here an' attempted t' lay his hands on me' she responded smugly convinced she had the upper hand.
Basaran flattened his brow, leaning back onto his hands he raised a boot to the air, shoving at her with it, less vicious this time than the punch. "Shut it. I don't even know what I'm doing sitting 'ere with a thief like you, less alone to my own house."
Dani grins "tha's cos I'm growin' on ye" she chuckled.
The course of the day caught up with her, little food or drink, a long night, a bang to the head, she began to lose focus feeling light headed, her eyes rolled backwards, sightless, vacant.
Crouched now, pressing both his hands and feet down onto the floor in a peculiar manner, looking her over, he smirked for a moment… “I’m not that easily swayed. Though, if we are going to talk about swaying, you look’n like the tussle has caught you out…erm, Don’t go passing out on me now…” he muttered looking a little worried.
Dani struggled to remain coherent, her grey feral eyes moved in and out of focus “ye got aught to eat 'round here Captain?”
The young Captain rolled his eyes and shifted instantly up onto his feet, dusting himself down and wriggling his jaw, still a little numb from the impact. “The days where I feed a bloody thief…” he paused lifting his shoulders into a shrug “Suppose that comes with the Dawn!” he muttered “Get on the bed” he grumbled leaving the room.
Dani got up on all fours circling like a dog laying down to sleep, except she was trying to stand, still considering a bolt for the door, her strength and pulsing head told her otherwise, she clambered onto the bed lifting her hand to her brow.
He came back with a pathetic offering of barely edible food, setting it down beside her. “You thirsty?” he asks.
Dani looked up at him from his bed, stuffing the food into her mouth and talking in between mouthfulls “Jus’ so ye know..’case yer dun’ told me ter get on this bed…get tha’ out yer mind, t’aint no whore”
“It’s better than the bloody floor, watch the tongue” he warns, looking down at her supporting himself on the stead of the bed.
“Jus’ makin’ it clear…this all yer got?” she asks eyes dimming, half questioning, half pleading.
“Does it look like I come here much, with more than enough food? It’ll rot before I can do anything with it. I shouldn’t be feeding you as it is” he smirked, a little kindness to his voice, raising a finger “Thirsty, are you thirsty?” he asked again.
Dani nodded enthusiastically, the food sorely appreciated almost as much as the sight of the Captain. Looking at him properly for the first time, much to her annoyance she noticed small details such as his hair had a curious way of flopping over his face on the left hand side, covering a rather endearing and unusual upside down V shaped scar across his eye.
“Yer dun’ have much in the way o’ belongin’s” she observed rather rudely.
“Don’t have much need for them, just store a few un-wanted things and come here for a bit of privacy” he mused.
She found herself still staring “Target” she mutters to herself “naught but a target” the latter conversation taking place in her head.
"Well..love, if tha's all ye' acquired an' ye the Cap'n o' tha' lot, then stories a' heard cannot be true eh?"
“Oh please…this could be good! What ‘have’ y’eard of me?” he grunted repeating the eccentric eye roll again as he pressed his fingers to his eyelids.
"How old are ye?" she shot back deflecting a question straight back at him. Handy tactic when dealing with the Watch.
“I…erm…no more than thirty winters, probably less…why?” his head tilting to look at her somewhat incredulously as he stepped away from the bed stead.
“Little young t’ be a Captain aren’t ye? She taunts a look of mischief about her.
"Definitely. Too young for my own opinion. Is that all you've heard of me? That you don't know my age?" he smirked.
Dani crawled to the edge of the bed taking his place, resting one arm across the stead, the other supporting her chin, returning his smirk and keeping him waiting, deliberately not answering his question.
Basaran stared back at her, his eyes more open than before as he took in her features before him, his expression giving nothing away. He coughed, a little lightly, under his breath tugging on the cloth surrounding his neck. "A-anyways, it wouldn't be that surprising for you to know of us, or me, less alone." He added as an afterthought.
"Heard ye bit o' a loner an' yer pockets are deep, ye' look half asleep, bu' not a lass or lad on the alley's picked ye coin purse from ye...but a' haven't tried, an’ I could, make no mistake ‘bout it Captain Basawhatever"
Basaran sighed taking another few steps back, his arms crossing deftly over his chest. "Can assure you enough people could probably pick my coin from me. I don't try to take much with me at a time, mind. What's this?" he nodded, giving a squint in her direction. "I tussle you against my items, I feed you, and now you want to play questions with me?"
Dani dismissed his statement and poked one of her fingers leaning on the stead towards the pile of booty on the floor "Yer wanna buy any o' tha'?" She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth to suppress a smirk, a twinkle in her pale grey eyes as she played with the young Captain.
He shook his head remaining cool. "I'd rather just keep my own stuff and find the owners of this garbage than try and pocket anything with coin. Now then.." he muttered shutting his eyes for a moment as he returned to clutch the foot of the bed again leaning towards her. "Emily, was it? Let's ask you some questions now eh?"
She mirrored him leaning forward, plumping up her chest with a smirk, a good deal of cleavage on display…more tools of the trade “Wha’ would yer like to know Captain?” She slips the middle finger of the hand her chin rests upon into her mouth and sucked it slowly looking up at him with feigned innocence.
“How about a real name? I can’t expect you to just give that out on a first encounter” he responds his eyes locking hard on her eyes averting his gaze from anything else.
“Name’s Emily…call me Em ifn yer want Captain” she responds keeping up the pretence, her confidence dipping a little at his resistance, normally she’d have had him locked in an embrace by now, a knee slammed upwards between his legs and been out of there…why was she still sat there engaging with the enigmatic young Captain…man looked like he hadn’t lain his head on a pillow for months!
'You done wi' the question's Cap'n?'
"Hardly. I won’t accept that as a name, but for all purposes I won’t pursue an answer for that, yet. How old are you?" he asked breathing gently, himself leaning closer to her, his hands still clutching softly to the wood of the bed stead.
“Old enough” she fires back slipping her finger back into her mouth and looking at him pointedly.
"So why'd they make you Captain?" she asked staring into a yawn.
"Ifn ye' tired..I will get out yer way then Cap" she offers.
Basaran shrugged, finally leaning back from the bed and wandering around the room a little, still facing to her. "They picked me as captain 'as they trust me. Some more than others. I question why the founder even promoted me to Officer as it is." he muttered, giving her a quick, somewhat warm smile. "I'm always tired, lass."
Dani tilted her head at his last declaration "yer got troubles?" she asked simply
He smirked at her question "For being tired? No. I always have problems, from contracts, to members under my sigil, thieves like 'you'." he highlighted her with a point of his finger. "Why I would relieve any of those with you though, I don't know."
"Why not? yer sayin' I'm no' worthy o' yer conversation, besides…told yer, I’m growin’ on ye?"
Basaran sucked both lips into his mouth, finally giving her a slight shrug and popping his lips back out. "You stole from me, that's still the first concern in my head, girl."
"Name's Emily, not girl...an' by right's I didn't rob ye" she nodded towards the junk on the floor "booty's still there"
“This your bed?” She asks bouncing on it and changing the subject.
"It's 'a' bed. Not my own, though, bigger ones in t'other room. Doubt you can steal that though." he smirked.
“I can steal aught I put my mind to...now did yer say ye had thieves in yer company? thought you lo' were Soldiers of Fortune?”
"Better! Some thieves turn to warriors, sellswords. I don't dictate their past."
Dani brazenly lay back on the bed, the soft mattress bringing a smile to her lips “Wha about your past…startin’ wi’ tha’ scar on yer face?”
He chuckled. "Oh what, this?" he grinned, placing two fingers over his eye. "Little more than me falling down some ruins on my travels. My past is very bleak, though, there's little more to it than living a simple life til I could travel. Travel I did." He nodded.
"Ha...hardly a tale t' tell 'round the camp fire eh, Cap'n...ye need t' tell a better story than fallin' down some damn steps belongin' te some ruins... Sit ye backside down a' dun bite" she quips sitting up and patting the bed beside her.
And there the unlikely pair sat, the street rat and the Captain bantering back and forth, neither really fully trusting the other. He spoke of his travels, his company, what little of his past he remembered, she told him a little of her life in the alley in return.
It was daybreak when he seemed to pull himself up “I really don’t know why I haven’t kicked you out of here yet”
“Told yer…I’m growin’ on ye” she grinned
Then the conversation turned, and he questioned her further about her boss Hog, a vicious criminal who ruled a patch of the Alley, that began to make her nervous.
"Am I free t'go?"
Basaran nodded quickly, sitting up a little and raising a brow. "You're free to leave just, don't expect t'go thieving my stuff again." he muttered, scanning her now with a more concerned look. "You're free to go, aye. Best be leaving the stuff you found here, eh?"
“The coin...where's tha' coin?” “T’was a silver coin…where is it?” she asked desperately as she ransacked through the booty and throwing it back into her bag.
"My stuff... leave it here?" he questioned almost, before shaking his head and rummaging into a pouch by his left side. He took what little copper he had and tossed it into her loot. "Here.. Here."
"Damn it, he'll skin me alive". “Nay my silver coin” she urged, panic in her voice.
Basaran raised his brow, idly pointing his finger towards the chair, where it still sat, she pounced on it like a cat on a mouse scraping it up into her clenched fist.
"Try not to find your way back in here looking for loot, mm?" he shrugged, patting his chest and giving a sheepish smile.
Dani picked up her hood "dun worry Cap'n" she quipped making a clumsy attempt at a salute
Basaran rolled his eyes, giving a pound of a fist to his chest before pointing towards the door. "Out, 'Emily'." he smirked.
Dani ambled towards the door, bag on her back, naught left behind, turning the silver coin around and around in her hand on her way “Mug” she mouthed to herself “bloody handsome mug" she mouths silently, before turning back to glance at him.
"Goodbye Cap'n"
"Aye, goodbye thief." he smiles.
"Admit it Cap'n, I stole yer heart eh? “if yer don't I'll spread rumours about ye" she chuckled pocketing the coin and casing the main room now seeing it in daylight.
“Oh, aye, if’n you admit it yourself, sweetheart” he laughs, his eyes glinting a little as his fringe tumbling forward over his handsome features, a coy wink heading her way from beneath it.
She blew him a kiss before pulling on her hood and disappearing out of the door into the bright sun at dawn, taking his key with her…
…knowing damned well she’d be back! The game had just began…
((Oocly - Credits and my thanks go to Basaran also for his contribution to the writing as this was an actual RP'd scene))
