The white painted deck and the bulky ship came closer and closer, orbs of light dotting the map illuminating the sails emblazoned with a rearing Griffin that was the emblem of Patrol in plain sight. The deck of the Thief had become chaotic as everyone could see that emblem with the naked eye. Felicia was at the bridge, one hand holding the steering wheel while she screamed at the top of her lungs to the people scurrying about on the ship. "Full sails, now! Pick up your pace or they're going to be on us! Look sharp and move quick, everyone!"

A shout came from just below the bridge. "Anchors weighed!"

"Give Kormic a hand with the sails then!" Felicia craned her head up at the center mast, Kormic hopping from one line to the next as he unfastened them, then squinted her eyes at the Patrol ship. The Thief would probably take off just as Patrol came close enough to board, but that was far closer than she wanted. There were no lanterns on the Patrol ship, but even from here she could see shapes moving in the darkness, more than what the Thief had easily. "Brace yourself, we're turning ship!" She gripped the wheel with both hands, jerking with her entire body as she spun it.

"Ship-Harpoon!!"

Felicia jerked her head up at Kormic. "What?!"

"Ship-Harpoon!!" came the echoing cry and Felicia turned her eyes toward the Patrol ship just in time to see the flash of gunpowder smoke form and a sleek, thin object rocket through the air toward their ship.

A curse flew from Felicia's mouth. "Hit the deck! Hit the--"

The entire ship rocked as a whale-sized harpoon punched a hole in the left side of the deck, narrowly missing their sails in its flight. The thick rope attached to the end of the harpoon was slack across the deck but began to rise and become taunt. The entire ship let out a groan as it struggled against the force of the wind and force of the rope.

"All hands on deck, cut that rope!!" Felicia screamed. "Are the cannons ready yet, or not?!"

~~~~~

Dusk was running down the hall. The sound of pounding footsteps on the deck above filled the first mate with adrenaline as he tried not to think too much about what he was doing. He hated leaving the crew. Without him, they looked like a motley crew of scrawny sailors after all. But he had to keep faith in the captain. Most of Gerald's plans seemed to be sound at least.

He turned the corner of the hall, hopping down a short flight of stairs before coming to a stop at the girl's room at the end of the hall. Dusk barely even had his fingers wrapped around the handle before the door itself flew open. His eyes landed on a girl's face, surprise etched clearly on her features with a blue bandanna covering strands of dark hair and a dusty black coat covering the girl's body. He almost thought it to be Ava since the clothes came straight from the girl's chest filled with 'Pirate Clothes' if the coat wasn't too small for the girl's height. He could see the girl's wrists emerging clearly past the cuffs of the sleeves, one encased in a silver gauntlet.

The surprise quickly disappeared from the girl's brown eyes, her lips forming an "Oh..."

Dusk's green eyes darted back to the girl's face as his initial shock began to wear off. "Hey, you're--"

A metal covered fist interrupted Dusk, flying through the air straight for his chest. Dusk instinctively jerked to the side, bit a little too late. The attack connected with one of his shoulders with enough force to push him back a few steps. Dusk caught onto the wall before falling onto his rear, one hand rubbing his shoulder. He sprung to his feet, quickly blocking off the escape as one hand darted to the broadsword strapped on his side before freezing midway. No, he didn't want to kill the girl!

Before either of them could react, there was a deafening boom erupting what must've been right on top of them, the entire ship seeming to jerk a few good inches downward. Both Dusk and the girl were knocked over, Dusk into the wall and the girl forward. Dusk barely caught himself with both hands preoccupied, but the girl was quick on her feet. Despite the rocking of the ship, she half-ran, half-stumbled straight for the opening Dusk had left from the attack on the ship.

Dusk lurched forward in an attempt to stop her before realizing that was not something he should've done to a girl already halfway toward her determined destination. A heavy boot went straight into Dusk's face, turning everything into a blur of brown and pain. Dusk fell on the floor shortly after hearing the girl collide into the ground from the untimely trip.

A loud curse flew out of Dusk's lips as one hand covered his nose that had taken the full force and felt blood from his undoubtedly cut lip and nose. "M-My face!! Ugh..." He pushed himself up as fast as he could despite the ground churning underneath him and turned only to see that the girl was already up on her feet and running. "Freaking hell!"

Dusk broke into a run after her, stopping only once to catch his balance on the wall. The girl cleared the staircase in two jumps, stumbling at the upper landing before taking off down the hallway. "Stop!"

Dusk darted up the staircase, turning the corner to see the girl leaping over a fallen Rico, her boot pushing his face into the waxed floor before she made for the staircase toward the deck. Rico was struggling up on his feet before he saw Dusk running toward him. "Who the hell was that?!"

"Get up, Rico! That was the hostage!"

(OOC: A cookie if you can figure out what scene I modeled this off of. XD)