applepirate | 01. Shipwreck [Action]

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01. Shipwreck [Action]

[Little did Captain Barbossa know that day at Tortuga that he won't exactly wake up in the same place he had fallen asleep in - that is, the captain's cabin on the Queen Anne's Revenge. So when his eyes snapped open, it wasn't the hull of the ship they were looking at, but instead it was several tall trees they saw looming over him, along with the overcast sky.

The pirate captain proceeded to stand up from the ground, immediately feeling a new sensation in his back - that of a... pair of wings?]

Shiver me timbers... What is this wretched place?

[Fittingly enough, it was then when a chill ran up his spine and caused his body to quiver, making him notice that he was also shirtless - save for the white cotton pants on his legs.

Wait... did that mean...

Yes, turning his head around, Barbossa also saw no sign of his hat anywhere in the forest he was now in. The hat he had only just regained possession of.]

Arrr! Where be me hat? I swear, if somebody took me hat...

[Speaking of, what had happened to his ship that he had just acquired? Did his crew commandeer it somehow and left him here to perish while he was asleep? Just what in the world had happened in Tortuga? And what was up with this drastic season change? And that journal lying on the ground, which he knelt down to pick up - it wasn't a treasure he remembered uncovering. He was too confused and angry right now to make any sense of it.

Was this all that scalawag Jack Sparrow's doing again? If it was, he should better pray that Barbossa doesn't get his hands on him. Just marooning him on that bloody island wouldn't do this time... No, his fellow pirate would remember him as the scourge of the seven seas...

The (former) captain was already walking through the forest, trying to find anything - a path, a tavern, a port. It's there where somebody could find him and possibly help him understand what's going on.]

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[Belle is walking around the outskirts of town, taking the long way home to give her extra time to read the book she has open in her hands. A rustling of the grass and the faint sound of someones voice makes her freeze and turn towards the forest.]

...Hello? Is someone there?

[As he explored the forest in hopes to find any sign of his whereabouts, Captain Barbossa turned around himself immediately to the sound of Belle's voice, initially wary. He stood his ground but then he began walking towards where it had come from, concluding that it wasn't quite the voice of somebody who meant him harm.

Soon, he saw the woman he had just heard, relieved at the sight. He eased up when he did, but there was still a hint of irritation in his tone caused by him not understanding what was going on and how he ended up here.]

Aye. Hello, miss.

[He tilted his head a little while he folded his arms. He saw the book she held in her hands, and assumed that it was a journal like his own that he had just woken up next to.]

I be Captain Barbossa of the Queen Anne's Revenge. Who might ye be?

[Belle takes in the sight of the man who appears and visibly relaxes. She can tell almost instantly that he's a New Feather from his attire. Finally closing her book, she smiles at him.]

Hello, Captain. My name is Belle.

Are you in need of any help? [After all, she doesn't know whether he's spoken to anyone across the journal yet or not.]

[Barbossa narrowed his eyes a bit, briefly analyzing the woman. She didn't have the look of a frequent of Tortuga's inns, that was for sure, and she was clearly no pirate... That gave him a hard time placing her, for if she was part of the Navy, she wouldn't be nearly as friendly to him.]

...Perhaps ye could tell me where exactly we are, miss Belle.

[He ran a hand through his beard while he kept his gaze on her, and then glanced at his obnoxious New Feather attire.]

And why I woke up with naught but this... pair of inadequate pants.

[And that answers the question of how much he knows. Luckily she's had to explain the situation to a new of New Feathers in the past so it may seem well rehearsed by now.]

We're in the village of Luceti. And this may seem quite strange to hear, but this is a different world from the one you left. Everyone here, actually, has been brought here from a different world. We know that it was the work of the Malnosso who brought us here as they are the ones who run this place. But we don't know their reasons for it.

[She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a journal identical to the one Barbossa woke up next to.] You found a journal like this when you woke up did you not? There's a guide inside of it that tells you all you need to know about this place. I can show it to you.

[She follows his gaze to his pants.] Everyone who arrives wakes up in similar attire. If you would like to change I can take you to the shop to find something more adequate for you to wear.

[There have been other strange things Barbossa had been exposed to before, so hearing about him supposedly being transported to a whole different world didn't take him aback as much as it could've otherwise - though it didn't ease his irritation.

Well, that may have answered another one of his earlier questions - Belle could as well have come from another world herself.]

A village, ye say? Are we close to it?

[As for the Malnosso... even if he were to ask, this woman already said that nobody knew their reasons for taking people. So she was as clueless as to why he was taken from his ship and crew as he was. He proceeded to nod in response to her bringing up the journal.]

Aye, this was lyin' next to me when I woke up in this damned forest. I was not exactly in the mood for readin' this much material at the time, ye see.

[Though it sounded like he would have to to understand what was going on better.]

What would be preferable, miss Belle, is if I find me old clothes and hat. [And ship.] Did those... Malnosso ye speak of take them as well?

[He already spoke the name of their captors with a certain distaste, and if he learned that they had stolen his favorite attire from him, he would like them even less - and it would show.]

Oh yes, the village is only a short distance down this path. [She points to the path stretching out behind her.]

Well, you certainly don't need to read all of it. Only the guide that's at the back. [She flips to the back of her own journal and holds it out to him. The guide is displayed neatly down the page.]

It will tell you all you need to know. However if you're not in the mood to read it and have questions, I can do my best to answer them myself.

We need to go to the shop. Most of the time people's missing clothes and items show up there.

[There were a lot of things to be pissed about, but at least being near that village was good news. The pirate captain wouldn't mind finding and putting something on - preferably his old clothes - and warming himself up. Or visiting the local bar. He sure hoped there was one.

After seeing that guide on Belle's journal, Barbossa opened up his to look for his own guide there. He found it, but even that was a bit lengthy, the pirate sighing a bit upon seeing how much of it there was. At least he'd be particularly well-informed.

He would read it soon, but there were some high-priority questions he wanted to ask first.]

I don't suppose that this village has a port, hm? Some kind of an outlet to the seas?

[Folk there probably wouldn't be trapped if there was, he assumed.]

Then off to the shops we go, miss Belle. I hope, for their sake, that they won't ask me to pay them gold for things that are me own to begin with.

A port? No, I can't say that there is. We're surrounded by forest and mountains here. And I have not been out of the village since I arrived so I cannot say what else is out there.

[She turns and begins leading them back down the path she came from.]

Oh no. There is no need for money here.

[No port... surrounded by forest and mountains.

The words echoed in his mind a few times as he remained silent while they walked. Wherever this place was, there was apparently nothing resembling the world he came from. It was all land.

Needless to say, the sailor was disheartened.]

So it's not an island we're all stuck in. Just bloody land.

[A part of him had still hoped it was an island, so the statement was etched with his disappointment at the revelation.]

No need for gold... ye say? [He blinked at that, as well.] Everythin' be free for the takin' here? Well, isn't that interesting.

[It really was. Even if it was an island, Barbossa would still have had a hard time forming a willing crew with this in mind.]

Well, everything in the shops can be taken, yes. But people tend to only take what they need at a time because we're only supplied so much at a time.

[Looking ahead, the trees begin to thin out until they finally reveal shapes of buildings in the distance.]

Me things better be there when we get to the shops, then, and I better not discover that some fellow has decided to take them for his own use.

[It was no doubt that there were a lot of pirates who envied him for his hat, and he wouldn't be surprised if some folk from the Royal Navy did, too. Whatever the fashion was in Luceti, that would still probably hold true here.

His eyes widened a bit at seeing the first signs of the village they were both already nearing. His mind had yet to process that this was what would become his new home for now, and it was not easy to accept.]

I reckon that since one could get whatever they desired from the shops, then I shall also be able to find me a place to stay? [And he had just gotten used to the captain's cabin in his ship again...]

I don't believe you will have to worry about that. I have yet to hear of anyone appearing and not finding their items waiting for them. People are very careful about that I think. Particularly when the New Feathers begin trickling in.

[As they draw closer the buildings will come into better focus and they may begin to see people walking in and out of shops and through the streets, each one with their own vibrant pair of wings.]

Oh yes. There are a number of Community Buildings for you to choose a room in.

[Well, that was reassuring, at least. Barbossa judged that he probably wasn't the only one to have arrived in Luceti with something that was of a particular value to them.

The news about the Community Buildings sure beat being homeless, though it was certainly a step down from having his own ship to sleep in - quite modest and simple for a pirate captain.

And then he looked at the folk going about the streets as they approached, and he recalled something that Belle had said earlier.]

I take it New Feather refers to the sudden growth of wings on me back, miss Belle? Why do folk even have them here, I wonder?

[She glances towards him, expression thoughtful.]

I have never asked, but I suppose that would be a good explanation behind it. As for why we have them, I'm not sure anyone knows. It's the doing of the Malnosso and their intentions are mostly unclear to us.

It is very strange that they have given us wings, yet made us unable to fly, I think.

[Not even using the wings to fly made them all the more pointless - maybe they were nothing more but the mark of a prisoner to the Malnosso. Barbossa shook his head at Belle's words, looking at her directly with a foreboding expression.]

Everythin' about this is rather odd, I would say, and this is the most peculiar... cage I've ever been put in. And what of all these abundant conveniences that we're given, I wonder?

[If he had to guess, then it was merely a method to keep most folk quiet and at least somewhat satisfied, quelling thoughts of any potential uprising against them.]

[Everything Barbossa is mentioning is nothing that Belle hasn't either thought of herself or been told by others. It's true that they are trapped there. And it's also true that the conveniences they receive are an oddity if they are truly only meant to be prisoners.]

A prison with conveniences is still better than one without. Although I believe they might also be a reward of sorts to repay us for the...other things we have to endure. [Like drafts and shifts.]

Or they may be a reason to keep us from rebellin' against the bloody folk.

[Barbossa scoffed as he said it, his head shaking for a brief moment before he eventually gave an actual nod, sighing a bit. This woman had a point about something, after all...]

...Agreed. I can see how we can use all of this that we are given to our advantage against them, aye... Anythin' else - we can exploit to let our minds forget about our... predicament for a change, perhaps...

[It wasn't exactly like him to say something like that, but seeing as everyone else hadn't had much luck with the Malnosso, it may become a thing he had to accept. It sure beat being tied in rope and being forced to sever his other leg to escape, even if Luceti was still very much a prison.]

I do not believe it is as bad as you may think.

[She speaks as someone who has never been sent on a mission or draft. She knows about the strange happenings in the village but next to nothing about the things happening outside of it.]

It is also unlikely that they would provide us with anything that we could turn against them.

[It may not have been, but then again, Barbossa just showed up and he wasn't particularly happy about being robbed of his belongings.]

I believe I will be the judge of that after I see how exactly it's like in this... place.

[He said so with a shake of his head and sighed, relaxing a bit. As much as he could with the damn cold still making him shiver from time to time because of his lack of appropriate attire.]

Of course they won't think we can organize a mutiny, oh nay... But they may be underestimatin' the amount freedom they give us, is what I think. What I hope.

[The captain was using the word 'freedom' loosely, only meaning the actual supplies and basic life necessities that everyone was given. Weapons, as well, but not true freedom...]

[While Barbossa is speaking they finally leave the outskirts of the village and arrive at the Plaza. Belle quickly leads them down the street towards the items shop.]

Do you think people have not tried going against them? There are people here, or so I've heard, that have been living here for years. All attempts to escape have failed.

[So pessimistic. After all, Barbossa's been through hell and back, quite literally too, one could say. There was not much that could demotivate him.]

For as long as I can remember, there have always been plenty of soppy folks who have attempted to defeat Blackbeard, the most fearsome pirate in the seas back home, ye see. Many have told tales that it was impossible, ludicrous; but he was eventually brought down, was he not?

[A grin appeared on the pirate's face, caused by the recollection of Blackbeard's defeat that he had been a witness to and had certainly contributed.]

Because these Malnosso have not been granted the gruesome fate they deserve for so long doesn't mean it won't be happenin' sooner or later, miss Belle. Especially with new folk continuously comin' in.

[She looks absolutely fascinated with his talk of Blackbeard. But of course she doesn't know who he is.]

Maybe so, but this Blackbeard was just a man, was he not? The Malnosso is much bigger, and they control everything that happens here. Including who comes and who goes.

[Barbossa had to nod in agreement at Belle's words; even if the man was a legend among his kind, he still didn't quite possess the powers that these Malnosso seemed to be capable of. However...]

Aye, it would seem like they are the equivalent of gods in Luceti with unimaginable powers, wouldn't it? And from what I understand, the world itself is responsible for bringin' us here, not the Malnosso folk themselves.

[The captain nodded at the journal that he held in his hands, which was opened at the first page of the guide clarifying that.]

Even gods can bleed though if mortals are persistent and stubborn, miss Belle, I assure ye. I can attest to that from what I've seen back in me own waters where I was naught but a pirate captain.

[Uh. Using past tense already, his mind accepting the dire situation he was put in already. A little frown showed up on his features after he said it.]

[This she seems to find amusing in a very sad and and hopeless way.]

I do not mean to discourage you monsieur Barbossa, but there are actual gods here, trapped among us. My very good friend Saori is herself a goddess. If even one of her kind can not find a way to escape...what luck do we have?