Watching Lyric gut and butcher that fish was a sight to behold. It reminded her of the two blood baths she had been in. The most recent one was the worst of the two although being so small and causing all the damage during her escape was pretty badass. Their vulture had come down from the crows nest tilting its head to the side watching the carnage as well. This time when Alexandria looked at it she felt an annoying connection to the bird. Walking over to Lyric she picked up the bones that had already been separated from the body walking back over to the vulture. Its talons danced on the railing of the ship bobbing its head up and down. Alexandria let out a playful sigh covering her mouth with her free hand hoping Lyric had not heard that.

"Awwwww are you bonding with the vulture now? That is adorable." Lyric teased continuing to butcher the fish, setting fillets aside to be properly packed, seasoned, and stored.

Alexandria wasn't amused by the comment. She tossed the bones to the vulture who devoured them like it was starving. Bone dust went flying around them. There wasn't a lot of it since the fish wasn't that big. Looking up at her the vulture had bone dust on its beak which almost made her smile until it shrieked in her face. Throwing her hands up in the air she stomped away back to the other side of the ship.

"No one is bonding with anything. Shouldn't you be focused on what you're doing and not worrying about me." Placing her hands on the side of the ship peering out at the island which was getting slowly closer into view. Wings flapped around her, a few feathers dancing their way to the ground. She was so focused on the feathers she didn't notice the vulture perched right next to her. Blowing a piece of hair out of her face she slid down a bit this time her attention going back to the water.

The calm that she believed would help was somewhere underneath. The fish that Lyric had caught wasn't really what she was looking for especially since they would be eating it later. The thing she craved now was more control and to leave more of her trauma behind in the past where it belonged. Losing herself in thought something nudged her arm. She was about to tell Lyric to get the hell away from her but she turned to see the vulture staring at her. The head was cocked to the side and some of its feathers were fluffed up around it splashing red and white into her vision. This was the first time she stopped just to look at the creature.

When it wasn't shrieking at her it was a gorgeous bird. However it was still highly annoying almost as much as Lyric.

The water rippled, grabbing her attention away from the vulture. There were all sorts of creatures under the water. The creatures she could see were all types of colors, shapes, and lengths. There had to be one underneath the surface that could give her the small bit of calm she needed from time to time. Of course it also had to be useful for exploration and if needed killing an enemy or two.

A smile crept on her face as the vulture took off flying back to the crows nest settling in to rest. "It is a gorgeous sight isn't it?"

Alexandria almost jumped out of her skin from Lyric's voice piercing her inner thoughts. She leaned against the side of the boat putting a finger on the surface of the water tracing the ripples as the boat glided over them. This was the most calm she had felt in a while. Of course at her core it was a bit boring. She needed some more excitement soon.

"Yeah if I knew how to swim I would jump right in and join them. Of course I want to also explore that island, maybe even do some fighting. I am not sure if it is the facility researchers talking or the animals I have shifted into in the past." Dipping her hand into the water and splashing it up into the air. The droplets flew through the air like little worlds of their own ready to explore.

"Well from the way we are moving I believe we should arrive at the island tomorrow. It is also getting a bit late. Soon we won't have the sun up at a good height. If you want we can go in the water when we get to the island if it is shallow enough." Lyric had already packed up the fish and put the remaining bones on the side of the table.

Going into the water would be awesome. She wanted to get up close and personal with some of the creatures in order to find something to shift in. If she didn't find something soon there could be another incident. That isn't something she wanted to happen so soon after she started her journey. Of course she had a feeling that when the creature came before her eyes she would know instantly. Pulling herself back up into the boat she sat in the chair she used to watch Lyric fish.

There was a moment of silence from both of the ladies. The waves and the faint wind echoed between them as the sun made its descent into the horizon. Each time Alexandria had spoken about the facility or her power Lyric would always end her response with something fun. She looked over at her realizing they really did need to know a bit more about each other. If they were going to fight, explore, and sail together they needed to trust each other. All she really knew about her was that fishing, giggling, and being loud were her strong points.

Lyric spun her chair around leaning forward on the back of the chair rocking it back and forth.

At the moment there was no better time since everything was the calmest it had been since she escaped. Taking in a deep breath Alexandria was about to speak.

"So you keep bringing up your shifting abilities. What else do you like to do besides eating fruit, exploring, and ripping people to sherds?"

Lyric had such an off the wall way of talking about really sensitive and intense subjects. It was starting to grow on her since she could already tell her skill with a blade was top class. Which will come in handy since right now she has no skill with a sword.

"Well first of all that is all I have known my entire life. Second why the fuck would you talk about ripping people to sherds so casually as if it was an everyday thing?"

Lyric giggled continuing to rock in the chair. It was tapping in step with the waves knocking against the ship. "I have been out here for a while. The things I have seen from other people pale in comparison to what you have done."

She wrinkled her nose at Lyric's comment. What the hell was going on that was worse than someone shifting into a vulture and basically eating their bones? It would seem Lyric had more stories to tell. There was however a lot of time to be able to hear those stories.

"One of these days you have to tell me these stories. I would prefer my stuff to be the things that come to the forefront of your mind. Since I am the captain now."

Lyric nodded, giving Alexandria a firm salute followed by a cheerful giggle. "That is right, captain. Soon you will have to start giving the orders. That is of course once you have your sea legs as the old saying goes."

Hearing someone call her captain was a sensation she hoped never dulled. Shifting was the only thing that could compare to that feeling. Flying and being carried by the wind was the only thing that might trump this feeling. Lyric snapped her fingers this time to bring her back to reality.

"You seem to space out a lot, did you know that?" Lyric had stopped rocking her chair and the sky turned beautiful shades of purple, red, and pink. Dancing across the sky like the water droplets Alexandria flung into the air before.

"Well that is how I process things. At least I am not skipping around with a goofy grin on my face like a damn fool. I say that with the utmost respect because of your fighting ability." Lyric gave Alexandria a sour looking face.

The sound of wings flapping again disrupted their conversation as the vulture landed on back of Alexandria's chair. Lyric's hand clamped over her mouth in an attempt to stop the laughter from escaping. Cracking her neck to each side she turned to Lyric. "Can you hand me the rest of the bones on the table?"

Lyric was floored by Alexandria's reaction. It would seem she was actually going to give the vulture some food without getting annoyed about it. Of course cracking her neck must have been her way of letting out the aggression she could have directed at the vulture.

She passed the remaining bones to her. Alexandria placed them on her palm as the vulture shrieked at her then buried its beak devouring the bones just like it did before. However this time it didn't fly away. After finishing the snack the bird started to clean its feathers with its beak extending one of its wings. The colors spread out like a fan in front of them. There were reds, whites, and blacks. Which still was an amazing thing to see from a creature that preferred bones over any other food.

"Well I guess you can't send it away now. That vulture is now officially a part of the crew. Are you going to name it?" Lyric started to rock in her chair again which signaled an end to the quiet. Of course if she tapped in step with the waves against the ship it was bearable.

Alexandria thought for a moment about naming the vulture. Of course Lyric was correct.

The vulture was not part of the crew. She wasn't sure about a name just yet. They needed to spend more time together before the right name presented itself.

"I think I will wait on a name. You are right though the vulture is another crew member. Even though it annoys the shit out of me at times." The vulture turned to her shrieking in her ear. She wrinkled her nose, opening and closing her fists, resisting the urge to punch the bird off the boat.

Lyric burst into laughter falling off her chair and onto the ground. She didn't move for a second moving different parts of her body to make sure nothing was broken. Alexandria covered her mouth but was unable to stop the flow of laughter that escaped.

"Well it would seem you do know how to laugh like a person. I am so glad my potential pain and injury is something that makes you happy." She got up fixing her chair, putting it back the same way, starting to rock back and forth again.

"If you didn't sit like that maybe just maybe you wouldn't fall on your ass or burst open your face. Of course I can laugh. I just chose my moments. That moment was just too good to pass up."

Both of the woman stared at each other for a moment before laughter filled the deck of the ship. The vulture was surprisingly still with all the noise going on. It had settled in on the back of the chair resting only slightly on Alexandria's shoulder.

Stars filled the sky above them as Lyric stood up walking to the mast. She pulled out two rocks opening a lantern. Striking the rocks together sparks flew and a small flame burst to life inside. The entire deck came to life once again. The shadows of the woman and the vulture dancing against the ship.

"I would say it is time to rest a bit. There is no bed but one of us needs to stay awake to make sure we don't pass the island in the night." Lyric said, returning to her chair placing the rocks in a small bucket hanging from the mast.

"How about we both stay up? There is no way I can sleep now, especially since I have a vulture taking over a part of my shoulder now." Alexandria asked, adjusting a bit so that the talons didn't dig into her skin.

Lyric nodded as they went back to talking. Soon they would be at their first island. Now that they knew more about each other maybe they could finally call themselves a crew.