The two captains stood there neither one moving an inch. Alexandria’s questions were still hanging in the air almost visible if you looked hard enough. Tyra was watching closely from the crow’s nest. She knew right away who Alexandria was talking to. However, she wasn’t about to give away her position to alert her captain. Something had to be done or there would be more blood on the deck.

A hearty laugh escaped the red eye’s captain’s lips. “You have fire, I give you that. That weapon was created on this ship by me. It was stolen a few months back by unknown parties. I have all ships fired upon to see what they do. If you had fired back well, I wouldn’t be short a crew member.” She paused looking back at V who had the bodyguard's spine in her mouth. “If you must know, my name is Fina captain of the Red Eye pirates.” She took a bow still keeping her hand firmly in her trench coat pocket.

Taking in a deep breath Alexandria attempted to calm herself. She could feel the overwhelming urge to rip Fina apart. Parts of her body started to twitch, hinting that her subconscious was trying to shift on its own. Having shifted so many times under duress it might be turning into a regular thing. Alexandria bit her lower lip causing a little blood to trickle down her chin. Wiping her face finally looking at Fina. “My crew and I are fairly new to being pirates together. We don’t have a name yet. We do however have cargo to trade. So, if your done fucking around can we get to business?”

Alexandria didn’t want to mix words anymore. They had wasted enough time. Now they needed to get down to business. She wasn’t interested in anything but the trade aside from the cane she held in her hand. That conversation could be saved for after business was concluded. Her body had finally calmed down. Something like that had happened in the past after shifting into so many different animals. She couldn’t remember exactly what stopped it, but the answers would be in her journal. That would be something she would go to after everything was settled here.

Chuckling a bit from Alexandria’s comments Fina finally pulled her hand from the trench coat. After adjusting it a bit the handle of a pistol was clearly visible. “Well, you have made that perfectly clear more than once. I would be more than happy to trade if your cargo is needed.” Peering up to the crow’s nest tipping her head towards Tyra before turning back to Alexandria. “Get your other crew members gathered and we can discuss trading on deck. After that you can leave the way, you came.”

It was better for the moment then killing everyone. Although aside from her guard the captain was the only other person on board. “Who the hell fired on us? I don’t see any cannons on the deck and your guard is the only other person I have seen.” Alexandria was curious about that fact. She was sure Tyra was going to be listening in on the answer to that question as well. Waving her hand motioning for both Lyric and Tyra to join her on the enemy ship.

Tyra came down the mast with her old rifle on her back. She wasn’t about to bring the new one onto an enemy ship regardless of the people on board. At least there wasn’t a large crowd to trigger all her senses. Lyric decided to come up from below deck to keep her ability a secret for now. The only one left was Eve, but she was out of sight for the moment. Hopefully that wouldn’t be a problem unless she killed someone down below.

Fina led them to a large table that had fruit, bread, jugs, and various meats. Alexandria spotted pears on the table moving quickly to grab one. Fina sat down at the table extending her arms out. “Take a seat and enjoy the food if you wish. What do you have to trade?” Lyric and Tyra sat down not touching anything keeping their guards up. Taking a smell of the pear Alexandria shrugged, rubbed it on her blouse and took a bite. There was nothing better to her than the taste of a pear.

She took a seat at the other end of the table nodding her head to Fina. “We have food, water, and other supplies. I am mostly looking for information, possible crew members, and maybe some rare items.” Seeing the spread that was laid out it wasn’t clear if they needed anything she had to offer. If it did come to a fight at least Eve was still in the shadows. That girl could blend in anywhere which made her perfect for moments like this. Taking another bite from the pear, not taking her eyes off Fina.

Looking at both Tyra and Lyric just sitting there Fina sighed. “If I was going to kill you, poison would be the last choice. Wasting food in that manner is disgusting.” She motioned for them to enjoy the food. Turning her attention back to Alexandria. “As you can see, we enjoy good food and drink. I will take a look at what you have. I am more interested in the other supplies you mentioned.” Grabbing a jug from the table Fina took a long drink straight from it. Tyra and Lyric relaxed only a bit, still refusing to eat for the moment.

“I am sure there is something we have that will interest you. We can bring up what we set aside for you to look at. While that is going on, what can you tell me about the scythe cane?” Alexandria placed it on the table motioning for Lyric to go get the cargo. Lyric left the table going to get the cargo.

Nodding her head in agreement looking at the cane from across the table. She made that piece a while back only because it was something no one had ever seen before. Seeing it in the hands of someone who had a vulture for a pet blew her mind. “That piece was made one night after seeing a vulture flying around the island. It is a very rare bird out here. I never thought it would end up in your hands.”

There was no reason to tell her where it came from. She didn’t want to cause problems for Sydney. “It was a gift for assisting a settlement a ways back. The place was burned to the ground afterwards. I wonder if that vulture was V that would make the story even better.” Things were going a lot smoother than Alexandria had been told. For now, at least things were calm. Lyric started placing the cargo on the deck close to the table.

Fina got up to inspect the cargo seeing if there was anything she would be interested in. Everything looked fresh and in good order. The containers didn’t have any markings on them to determine where they came from. “Well, you do have a good haul. I think we can do a little business, but I don’t want everything. Do you think that will be a problem?” Fina continued to look through the cargo as Lyric set it down.

Letting out an exasperated sigh Alexandria walked over to join her. She had carefully set everything aside for each stop, so it was a bit of a problem. A fight had been avoided for now unless Eve did something stupid. If they were able to get some good information, it should be fine. “If you could take at least half that would be awesome. What information and/or crewmembers could you help me with?” There was no way any crew members were going to be gained here.

There was silence for a moment. Alexandria may have been overstepping her bounds a bit. Things could escalate at any time so there was no reason to help them along with questions and suggestions. Lyric finished bringing the rest of the cargo onto the deck moving to stand next to Alexandria. Fina inspected the rest of the cargo considering Alexandria’s offer. There was still the option of killing everyone and taking the ships.

Letting out a soft chuckle Fina pulled out her pistol pointing it at Alexandria. “You posed a question earlier. I am the one that fired on you. Manipulation is a handy ability wouldn’t you agree?” The muzzle of the pistol opened showing a vast darkness. A cannon ball could easily fit inside. Her finger clicked the hammer back taking aim. Waves butted against the ships rocking them a bit more than usual. A few ships surrounded them cannons pointed inward.

Each of the ships around them had the same flag. A grey background with a black structure in the center. The ships were from one of the nearby walled cities. Alexandria let out an exasperated sigh. “Every time I try and do something there is always interruptions. Play time is over Tyra get in the crow's nest and take your pick.” Tyra nodded leaving the ship to take her position. Turning back to Fina wrinkling her nose. “So, are you going to kill us or are we going to deal with these assholes first?”

Looking around for a moment shaking her head. “We have no choice at the moment. I hope Tyra is a good shot.” Fina spun around aiming her weapon at the nearest ship. The muzzle opened her finger squeezing the trigger. A cannonball exploded out of the pistol boring into the nearest sailor spewing blood, guts, and bones everywhere. It crashed into the ship’s cabin fire erupting around the ship as it started to sink.

Tyra made it to the crow’s nest trading her older rifle for the newer one. Resting the weapon on the lip of the nest scanning the area. They were completely surround even with the now damaged ship Fina had just created. Shooting their way out of this was going to take some time. Having to protect their other two ships was going to be a problem as well. Adjusting the sights on the scope to her preferences peering down the scope. Each ship had three cannons on deck with almost a dozen sailors.

Bring the pistol to her breathing in the stream of smoke. It was an interesting sight to say the least. Lyric drew her cutlass taking a fighting stance protecting Alexandria’s right side. Fina was standing on the left pulling a metal ball from her jacket pocket. Focusing on the ball for a moment it expanded into a cannonball. Loading it into her pistol and locking it back into place a devious smile crossing her face.

“Did you really need to do all that just to prove a point or are you just that crazy?” Alexandria was enjoying the carnage but didn’t want to be on the receiving end of Fina’s pistol. Looking around at each ship trying to decide where to focus her attention. Another shift would be nice but there were no animals in sight. The sailors moved onto the ship surprisingly only wielding bladed weapons.

Taking a single shot at the middle ship blowing the closest sailors head into pieces. The gore rained on the other sailors causing them to pause for a moment. Twitching a bit before falling off the side of the ship into the water. “Keep advancing if you want to be blown to pieces.” Expelling the empty round loading another into the chamber searching for her next victim.

Water splashed up from the body. The drops spread across the deck acting as a warning sound to the remaining sailors. Chains clanked against the deck of the center ship. Tyra focused her attention on the covered area. There were four sailors there holding chains stepping slowly backwards. She turned her head listening to the opening trying to hear anything. All that was coming out was heavy breathing.

A whistle blew causing Tyra to wince in discomfort. Keeping a firm grip on her rifle she peered down the scope. A huge white paw emerged as a polar bear came into view. Roaring into the air spewing spit and leftover food all over the sailors. She had not seen one of those in hundreds of years. Chuckling to herself wondering what Alexandria was going to do now that an animal was introduced into the fight. Taking aim at the nearest sailor she took another shot. Her head was blown clean into the air. The shot hitting the neck and the body dropping to the floor along with the chair. Pulling back on the chain the polar bear started to pull on the others attempting to break free.

Alexandria watched the animal closely admiring how strong it was and relieved that it wasn’t another small animal. Something inside her was screaming. ‘This would be your last shift!’