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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[ No path, no tavern, no port, just trees, trees, trees, and a dragon breaking his fast on a scrawny winter deer-- wait. That can't be right, right? Only it is. Sitting in a forest clearing between him and the inevitable village in Barbossa's path is, in fact, an actual dragon. He's not particularly worried about anyone stumbling upon him there, either, since no one in Luceti has yet to be a threat to him. ]

[He knew he had said to himself that finding anything in these woods would be better than wandering around aimlessly, Barbossa's eyes still widened upon seeing an actual dragon in the forest.

O-okay, he hadn't exactly included the possibility of encountering a dragon in his calculations. Naturally, he suspected that it's hostile and that he'll be engulfed in flames if he was seen.]

Blimey...

[He had finally regained his life recently and reclaimed his title as pirate captain - he was not going to die again so soon. Pretty sure it would be permanent this time, too - he didn't have anything to fight a bloody dragon with right now anyway. He'd need all the cannons of his ship to make a victory a remote possibility.

So, the smart thing would be to try to avoid being seen, which was what Barbossa was planning on doing by taking a few steps back and perhaps searching for an alternate route... but was it too late?]

[ No one ever includes dragons in those. Truly the leading cause to adventurer and hero death. And unfortunately, his age aside, Draco's hearing is still sharper than the average human's. The muttered word and the crunch of snow underfoot pulls his attention away from the deer. He's hoping another animal might be about to stumble foolishly into reach, but... no. They've learned to avoid the smell of dragon by now.

More likely a villager. It's hardly the first time one's wandered across him while he's been down from the mountains. That in mind, he tries to sound casual and friendly when he speaks!

As... casual and friendly as several tons of scales, claws, and teeth can be. Well. Okay, that takes some getting used to, but he's got a charming accent at least? ]

Hello? I can hear you out there, you know. No use in sneaking about.

[Wait, what!

Draco's charming accent does not make up for the surprise and terror in Barbossa's eyes upon seeing the dragon open his mouth, but instead of breathing fire, it was astonishing when he actually spoke.

Blimey. He had been sailing for so much time and had seen so many things in his life, but a dragon hadn't been among them until today. A talking one, at that. Even his pet monkey Jack wouldn't utter a word back in the day, regrettably so.]

A... talkin' dragon, are ye?

[Barbossa took a step forward, though he kept being on his guard. The fact that he wasn't in flames yet was still a good sign, though.]

I must say, I haven't had the pleasure of... making acquaintance with one of yer kind before.

[ Draco eyes the pirate as he walks out into view. White pants and that's all, is it? So it is that time after all. He arches his scaly brows at that question, though. One he's heard so many times. ]

A talking dragon? Is that what I am? Why, I hadn't noticed at all. [ A potentially rude talking dragon, apparently. ] And of that I am not surprised. Many places do not seem to have my kind, but no matter. It would seem that you're newly arrived. Is that right?

[A rude talking dragon sure beat a hostile one that would set one's ship ablaze with just a single breath. That didn't mean Barbossa was fond of Draco just yet, though he still smirked in his direction,, easing up a bit.]

Ye'll have to forgive me ignorance, but I've only heard tales of dragons before, and none involved... exchangin' words with one, exactly.

[Then nobody had met somebody the likes of Draco before, seemingly... Neither in fiction nor in reality. Unless, of course, they were immediately rid of their existence afterwards. Dead men tell no tales, after all. Which meant that he was still very much in danger.]

If by 'new' ye mean wakin' up in this blasted forest with nothin' but these pants on and all of me clothes gone, then aye. I be new.

A story I've been told many times before since becoming trapped in this land myself.

[ Dragons only in fairy tales or long gone. He's used to hearing about that by now. ]

But yes, that is what I mean by 'new'. You won't be the only one. There should be many others scattered around in the exact same way as you are, I'm afraid, but you can at least take some comfort in knowing you're far from alone.

[A story that Draco would most continue to hear upon subsequent introductions such as this one, to be sure. Naturally, the thought made the adventurous old pirate curious.]

So I take it ye hail from a land of talkin' dragons? The biggest beast I know of is the mighty Kraken, ye see, and even that is not exactly inclined for an amicable conversation such as the one we're havin' now.

[And he certainly wouldn't fair as well in such a land. If there be hostile dragons, and he assumed they would be - especially if he were to retain his role as a pirate there - then a ship in open waters wouldn't stand a chance. Even a creature like the Kraken, which was formidable by itself, was at least something a shop's cannons could shoot at.]

And what is this peculiar place that we've all been taken to, if ye can explain further?

[The dragon was right, though. Wherever he was now, it beat being marooned on a faraway island all by himself and left to slowly die.]

Only once upon a time. [ But not anymore. Draco tilts his head to one side at the word 'kraken'. ] A sea monster? Hmm, yes, I expect those aren't so prone to idle chatter.

[ Not something he's ever seen himself, of course, but he wasn't inclined to disagree if squids could talk or not. ]

This place? [ He lifts a great big clawed hand, for closer to a hand than any beast's claw it is, and gestures to the forest around them. ] This place is Luceti. Lots of trees, mountains, lakes, and a village of people stuck here just like yourself. Whatever world you are thinking you are still on, you are not. This is a different one, one that steals people from where they belong, but it is the Malnosso who puts them in places like this.

[ He pauses and swings his head down closer to eye the pirate. ]

You don't happen to have a little book with you? One you just found nearby when you woke up?

[Barbossa followed the dragon's gaze - or rather, where his claw was pointing towards - and processed what he was telling him, easing into the fact that he was actually speaking with a particularly large and scaly creature.]

So this be a land with mountains and lakes, but with no seas and oceans? [Hmph. To add insult to injury, the place he was taken to didn't even have a large enough body of water for him to really sail in.] Is this, perhaps, another curse that the heathen gods have placed upon me when they decided to bring me here?

[It sure seemed to be this way; for one reason or another, he had been among those people who were supposedly taken here as well, probably destined to go that village and settle in himself.]

Ye're talkin' about this, perhaps? [Barbossa then pointed to the book that he was holding in his hand, revealing more of the cover to the dragon.] I did, aye, but I was not really up for readin' at the time, ye see. I was too busy figurin' out where me ship had gone to and why I was without any decent attire.

[He had just lost the Queen Anne's Revenge and everything else he had, after all (just after claiming them too); and he certainly hadn't been calm enough to go through this.]

Oh? No. There are seas and oceans. You can get to the one on the other side of the mountains. Only I do not often see people interested in the trip there, not since last summer.

[ Hence why he had not bothered to add that, but if the man wanted to know about oceans, well, there was part of one they could access. ]

And no, I very much doubt it's a curse. [ Curses were at least breakable. This place, not so much. When Barbossa points out the book, Draco moves, leaning his head down closer for a look at it. ] Ah, yes, that one. Apparently there is a 'guide' to this place in it, though I have not read it myself. You may find it more thorough than what I can tell you.

Havin' a nearby a sea or ocean would mean that there is some way to freedom from this place, I'd say. Let me guess, one can't quite sail to the other side? Perhaps they would find themselves back here, back to where they hailed from, hmm?

[Otherwise one would think that there would be more people interested in heading to the other side of the mountains. Providing escape or not, it was something Barbossa definitely wanted to check out; and most importantly, to see whether his ship was there.

The pirate captain checked out the guide that the dragon mentioned while still keeping a wary eye out for any suspicious and drastic movements on the creature's part.]

This 'guide' is extensive, aye... but it seems like we've got naught but time to read it in here, hmm? [He looked up to the dragon, one of his brows lifting while he still held onto the book.]

I shall spare some of mine to go through it later, - [His voice trailed off when he realized he couldn't quite use 'matey', 'lad', 'scalawag' or anything of the sort for this particular specimen, making him wonder as to how the creature was actually called.] ...Do ye happen to have a name, by the way, dragon?

No. You would be more likely to crash against the barrier and drown.

[ When Barbossa turned his attentions to the journal and its guide, Draco turned his back to his meal. There isn't much left to the deer, but he'll look it over and pick at it until he's sure that's really true.

He leaves off of it again when the pirate speaks up once more. ]

It was a bit long-winded, in my opinion. [ As for names... hmm. ] I happen to have several of them, but in this place I go only by Draco. And yourself?

Now, isn't that a lovely consequence! The seemingly endless and vast seas be nothin' but an illusion of freedom, a tease of what we could have that we regrettably don't in this land. [So even worse than what he initially thought. No wonder folk were not really interested in building ships and sailing off, for it was a completely pointless exercise. Not that he wouldn't mind actually having at least something closer to home; to be an actual still, most of all.]

Draco, ye say? [A light scoff escaped his lips before he said anything else.] Quite unimaginative for one of yer kind, I'd say.

As for myself, I be Captain Barbossa of the Queen Anne's Revenge.

If you think not being able to sail off is so bad, try not being able to fly away.

[ He's run into the barrier. It's not fun. He doesn't crash into bits of wood on impact, though, so there's certainly that. As for his name, well, Draco can't help but agree with a slight laugh. ]

I was not the one who gave it to myself, but one of your kind. My real name is not something you would be able to pronounce. [ And then he inclines his head in a small nod. ] Well met, then, Captain Barbossa. As well as meeting in a place like this can be...

[Well, that was an option Barbossa hadn't considered before, though one could surely forgive him - he didn't make a habit of speaking with talking dragons back home.]

I guess ye have a point there. It must be quite frustratin' - I take it ye have given it a shot, hmm?

[The dragon received a little grin in response as the captain imagined the concept of Draco crashing against a sort-of magical barrier, the likes of which his mind could visualize, not having been witness to such an peculiar occurrence before.]

[As for the dragon's name being unable to be pronounced by him...] Ye sure about that? Now ye got me curious, dragon. [An unspoken request to at least try and tell him more as Barbossa crossed his arms in expectation with his brows lifted.]

Aye. I'm gettin' the feelin' that the circumstances of our untimely meeting could certainly be better.

Several. [ Sometimes he's frustrated enough to try, try again, too, but that isn't a fact anyone needs to know of. ] Claws and fire do nothing against it.

[ Then he smirks. Another wishing to try his real name, is it? ]

Very sure, but if you wish to try, I'll certainly give you a chance. My true name happens to be [ Something very complicated involving rather inhuman dragon sounds (not written here, as the writers never bothered to actually reveal it; writers, honestly!) ].

Then one such as meself couldn't possibly hope for a ship to pierce through it now, could they? [So that would force him into trying out other methods instead, but a direct assault against that barrier seemed more and more like a pointless idea. Whatever the way out of this cage was, it was something else.]

[Okay, he couldn't possibly repeat all that, whatever it was. It sounded more like noise than anything else.] ...Fascinatin', but aye, I concede - ye are correct. I think I'll stick with 'dragon'. ["Draco" as a name was ludicrous; that wasn't even an attempt of a translation of his actual name. Folk could just as well have gone all the way and dubbed him "Dragon".]

Is that in the language of yer kind?

[OOC: That is worse than Lucas not giving away Yoda's species' name for some reason!]

[ For someone who is, essentially, a giant lizard, he certainly can be expressive. The look he's giving Barbossa now is easily summed up as 'guuuuurl, please'. Basically, that sort of look where he's not sure if the pirate is serious or not. ]

Oh really? Then I suppose I can go about calling you 'man' instead?

[ This is a conversation he's had before. Or close. He's sure of it. ]

I suppose it could be called that, but if you mean to ask for a direct translation, there is none.

[ OOC: I know someone who plays Yoda around DWRP somewhere and they dance around that question aaaaall the time. ]

[Barbossa gave out another amused cackle at the dragon's words, and finally went to take a few steps closer towards him. Draco certainly had a bit of a character (it could be said that it was what Barbossa liked about him), but at least he didn't look like he was planning on engulfing the pirate in flames. In fact, now that the captain spoke a bit with him, he didn't look half as intimidating as he had before.]

Point taken! Tell ye what - when, or if, I make me acquaintance with another one of yer kind 'ere so as to differentiate between ye in some way, then I shall call you by the oh-so-very unique name of Draco that ye've been given, hm? [Unless this place be packed with dragons, which would certainly leave Barbossa surprised.]

Then, that bein' merely a means of some communication is more correct of an analogy, perhaps? Still doesn't seem like it's the same as birds chirpin' or bloody crows croakin'.

[OOC: Oh gosh, that would be hilarious to see! :D I wonder if they've come up with an IC reason for Yoda to be all "No, oh no, you are not going to learn the name for whatever purpose!" or if he's like "I don't know myself".]

If that is your plan, I imagine I must resign myself to being 'dragon' forever...

[ There were several others around, of course, but none like himself. Small dragons, the sort incapable of speech, more animal than Draco was. Not that it made him think any less of them, but it still remained that he was terribly unique here. ]

And yes. It is a language in its own right, for a lack of anything else to call it.

[ Certainly more complex than chirps or howls. They had words, plenty of them, and a clear ability to learn more than one language, though whether everyone thought Luceti was simply translating for him or not, well, he'd never know. It really didn't matter what they thought. ]

[Barbossa had to shake his head for a bit to that, however, the amused smile he had on his face momentarily dropping.]

Who knows? Perhaps more of yer kind will flock in 'ere as well in time, though I doubt ye'd want that considering what this place is. [Not sure whether that would be want others would even want either, but at the very least, even if a little rude, the dragon seemed just as much of a victim to this like he was.]

[He hummed affirmatively at Draco's words about the language of his kind as the pirate captain proceeded to lean back on one of the trees with his arms folding.]

Ye mentioned a village before... [Both of his brows lifted then, his eyes widening a little.] How far is it from 'ere? Ye may be comfortable like this, but I would rather not walk around this place without me shirt any longer. It's too cold for the climate I hail from.

[ More of his kind... Right. Draco keeps a straight face at hearing that, at least. ]

I can assure you, I do not think that will be happening.

[ Certainly not his kind exactly. It might be that this world could pull his soul to here just after death, but he doubted it had the power to pull the very stars from the heavens, where his kin and kind did reside forevermore.

Poetic as that may sound, he isn't interested in sharing it. ]

You are about two and half miles off from it. [ He turns his head, pointing it in the direction Barbossa will want to go. ] Once you hit the river going that way, simply follow it. It will take you right into the village.

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01. Shipwreck [Action]

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