Skyrun

Chapter 14; Flirtation, Sith-Dromas, and other annoyances.

The first thing Liam smelled when he go off the airship was spice.

Spice and perfume, sweat, meat, manure, herbs, wine, food-- it all clouded his senses along with the clashing of voices that shouted at each other in strange languages all throughout the airship docks.

There was a market place not far from them, packing with people of all shapes, sizes and colour bustling and jostling one another to get to the market stalls.

"Right then," Sinclair said, drawing up a hood over his silver hair, leaving the features of his face in shadow, "Stay close, keep your daggers closers. Ready, captain?"

Unlike Sinclair, however, Captain Valentine had not gone for a subtle look; gold hoops dangled from her ears, her shirt was unbuttoned nearly halfway down with yet another low-cut shirt beneath it. She wore a skirt of scarlet red that hung to her knees in the front and dragged along the ground in the back. And upon her freshly curled auburn hair sat a hat with a red plume in it, its scarlet hues matching the paint upon her lips.

Valentine winked when she saw Liam staring, and he felt his face grow hot.

Nodding, the captain split them up into groups; Raven was to take some men with her and find supplies, while Sinclair, Liam, Tophsy, Coin, and herself looked for more crewmembers.

Hearing this, Liam was excited to see the new sights around him along with Tophsy.... and less excited to do it with Coin. 

Nevertheless, he would still get to see a part of the world he had never seen before, Coin or no Coin. And while it had taken him getting kidnapped and taken aboard a ship against his will-- or as a a stowaway, as Sinclair said. As if it were Liam's fault.-- he was now, at least, living his dream.

Following the captain, Liam stayed close to Tophsy as they pushed their way through crowed streets, getting further and further away from the airship. Here, there was so mush to see, it almost hurt Liam's eyes; the building here were tower-like and built from white stone that shimmered in the sun. The people wore silk clothing of every colour imaginable, with heavy chains of gold, silver, and bronze around their necks. Many were bald-headed, others wore dark hoods like Sinclair, and a few of the women had their hair up in intricate knots.

'I could do one of those,' he thought, his eyes scanning a particular ladies' updo and trying to figure out how it had been achieved.

He had not had much time to practice doing hair on the ship-- mostly because he knew Coin would never let him live that down. That and he was not sure who to ask. Tophsy's hair was too short, Valentine's was untouchable unless he wanted to risk death by a thousand cuts, and Sinclair was much the same. Liam supposed Raven would let him, but she rather frightened him and would probably ask for some sort of payment in return for touching her hair.

He shuddered to think what that could be.

Looking away from the woman's hair, Liam focused on not losing sight of Sinclair or Valentine in the crowd-- it wasn't too hard, since Valentine had all the subtly of a... none subtle-thing. 

With a strange feeling in his gut, Liam noticed the men around them oggling his captain, turning their heads to gaze at her as she walked down the street.

He felt Tophsy nudge him.

"I'd like to be like that some day." she whispered, nodding her head at Valentine's stride, the way her hips swayed, the flirtatious manner in which she smiled at everyone.

"What? The captain of a ship?"

 "A captain, yes-- yet I'm merely talking about her confidence. She walks upon the streets as though she rules them... And perhaps in a way she does. There's a strength to her that the crew admires, and I'd like that same strength."

For a moment, Liam took in her words before remarking lightly, "I think you already have it, in a way. It might be a different sort of strength from Valentine's, yet its every bit as powerful. I think you'll make a jolly good captain."

She grinned at him, "You're a gem, you know that? Any girl would be lucky to have you for a friend like I do."

Liam smiled right back, feeling it melt slightly when he heard Coin snort behind them.

"Isn't that sweet?" the black-haired pirate sneered, "Are you going to keep singing each other your love songs until we reach the treasure? Maybe by then you'll have gotten married."

Tophsy rolled her eyes. "Ignore him."

"I'd rather hit him with my sword. Can I do that? Can I hit him with my sword?" Liam asked, glaring daggers at Coin and wishing a building would miraculously fall on him or something.

"You might want to ask the captain first."

Glancing out at the crowd, Liam saw that Sinclair and Valentine were gone and, after a moment, he spotted them talking to a group of rough looking men.

Well. Valentine was the one doing the talking. And when Liam and Tophsy came up to stand beside Sinclair, he noticed she was doing more than talking.

She was flirting.

The way she smiled at them, laughed at their jokes, revealed a shoulder there, and made pleasant conversation of things that were not truly necessary to the employment of more crew members ... it made Liam feel quite odd, his chest crackling with a sensation he could almost describe as jealousy.

He stepped forward, feeling a hand clamp down on his shoulder and looking into the harsh gaze of Sinclair.

"Don't even think of it." he said.

Liam wrestled out of his grasp, staying put all the same. "Why is she being so bloody friendly? It's not as if she needs to act this way."

"That's not your place to say."

Liam stared at the captain. He noted the way the sunlight hit her hair, making it look a fiery red, illuminating her head in a halo.

He could feel Sinclair's gaze on the back of his neck.

"Don't even think of it." the silver haired pirate said again.

"Think of what?" Liam muttered darkly, feeling as though his chest was aching. What was wrong with him?

"Valentine. Many a man has fallen for the likes of her--"

"Even you? I thought you couldn't love." 

Liam expected Sinclair to bash him in the side of the head for that one, but, to his surprise, he did not. Rather, he stayed silent until Valentine waltzed back over and ruffled Liam's hair.

"Well?" Tophsy asked eagerly, "Did we get a new cook?'

"Aye. And a few new crew members as well. They were quick to come aboard." Valentine replied, winking at Liam.

He felt his stomach jump at the sign of attention-- a matter that confused him further. Nevertheless, there was little time to ponder it as they continued to move through the streets, making their way past throes of people.

"Right then," the captain said, brushing past him and striding toward the marketplace, "I think we've deserved a bit of fun, don't you?"

Liam watched as, with an airy laugh, she sprinted into the crowd and Liam...

He followed.

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