Fucking hate today! (Kenway and Shiori)

Edward finished off his foe, Vane, by punching the man hard in the face, knocking the little bastard out cold. His fellow pirate captain had been marooned here with him but Vane had gone insane with the sun and had been pestering him, blaming him for all of his troubles.

In the end it had been almost a half a year since they had been marooned and there was still no sign of rescue.

But Vane had managed to get a musket to work and had proceeded to attack him. So Edward did the sensible thing, snuck up behind him and knocked the crazy fucker out cold. No need for him to have to suffer through the insanity of this guy after all.

But what Edward had noticed, from his perch at the top of one of the islands' ruined temples, was that a ship was getting closer to the shoreline. And it was a ship that was flying the type of colours he liked best!

The black flag.

Laughing happily, he dived from the ruin top into a pale of hay-like leaves. Racing through the jungle to the beach, he burst out onto the white sand with a happy laughing, firing the one remaining shot from the rifle in the air to get their attention before waving two giant green leaves,

"Come on you scurvy dogs!" He declared with a laugh, "You beautiful beautiful ship you! Haha!"

Shiori was sailing as she normally did and she hoped that she was going to pass relatively swiftly through these waters seeing as they were neutral. No ships trying to blow her out of the water today. It was rather strange she would find herself this far west of Japan however she was obviously here for a reason, and that reason was the rather lucrative trade of sugar. It seemed to be making pirates here a fair bit of coin and she wanted in.

Of course she was shipping her own wares over here at the same time, items from the exotic Orient, incense, tiger pelts, ivory creations and fine leaf tea.

Although her ship wasn't the biggest it served her well enough in terms of speed and the ammunition that it carried. There was a modest crew of 10 people which meant that it was easy to man and the people were cheaper to take care of (as was the ship) than a much larger one she had no need of. Besides, the Lotus had everything she needed including its own bathing pool.

Spotting the sound of the rifle, her eyes zoned in one someone who had obviously been marooned and her eyes narrowed. It was apparent he wanted rescuing. Yet he must have been marooned for a reason.

"Alright crew, stranger coming aboard, weapons on hand! Never can be to careful!" she ordered, her voice wasn't loud nor was it harsh but it didn't need to be, it was forceful and calm and her crew obeyed without question "Lower the ladder."

As the ladder was lowered and the ship drew near enough for the man to swim up and board it, Shiori took out her flintlocks and primed them, ready to fire should this man prove more hassle than he was worth.

Edward could see the crew of the ship were arming themselves.

Well that kind of sucked balls. Meant that while the ship belonged to pirates they were unlikely to be pirates of Nassau. That was alright, he supposed, so long as they were the kind of pirates who believed that living people fetched a better price than dead ones. Cus right now even being sold as a slave was more appealing than before stuck on this island forever.

Seeing that the rope ladder had been thrown down, Edward pushed himself into the water and used all of his remaining, meagre, strength to push himself through the water and onto the ladder. Groaning, he pulled himself up onto the deck, where he collapsed onto the floor. He was weak from having so little food and little water during the past few months but he was still able to grin weakly,

"Alright there mates?" he greeted them with a grin, "Much abliged for saving my hide! I didn't fancy my chances of making my own little raft or nothing."

He looked around at all the swords and guns and rested his back against the edge of the ship with a groan,

"I'm guessing I might be tossed back over any second? What do I need to do huh?" he glanced around and spotted a woman stood by the wheel, "How do I prove myself here Captain?"

Shiori watched from her place at the wheel as the man dragged himself aboard her ship. It would seem as if he had been on that island for a long time seeing the way that he was currently, he looked as if he needed to be put out of his misery if she was honest but with a good meal and a wash she was sure that he would become a valuable member of her crew. He looked like he could pull his weight better than most of the men on this vessel.

Waiting patiently as he spoke, Shiori realised why she never really went to do business with western countries. They were so lax in their manners and lacked complete tact and elegance when they did things. Perhaps though, that was just western pirates? For her sake, she hoped so.

Slowly, she descended the stairs at a measured pace, her eyed flicked and locked onto the man sitting there on her deck. The tight leather dress that was her captains uniform was hot in this weather but it was like a captain without a hat, it simply couldn't be left behind. Her twin swords were strapped to her hips as normal.

"What is your name?" she asked softly, in her calm tone "And why were you left upon that island? If you are to be a member of my crew, honesty is key. If you can be honest with me, I shall allow you to stay, feed you, water you and bathe you. You will become part of my crew. If you cannot tell me honestly your circumstance, you will be,"

The corners of her lips twitched upwards slightly and she gestured to the rest of her crew; "How did you put it? Tossed back over any second?"

So the hot little number in the leather was the captain huh?

Watching her walk he could see why she was kept around but he knew well enough that people didn't walk around with two swords because it looked cool. You went around with two swords because you knew how to use them and you were deadly with them both at the same time. So that spoke well of her prowess in combat it had to be said.

He coughed a little bit before grinning a little bit, the grin naturally weak from his lack of any really good food in the past six months,

"Name is Edward Kenway... Captain Edward Kenway actually." he told her with a nod before humming slightly, "I was brought here by another captain, along with my ship. We were discover a secret here together... but he betrayed me. Tricked my crew into sailing away, shot me and left me for dead on this damned island."

He shook his head a little bit,

"Be a member of your crew eh? I don't suppose you'd be up for telling me where you're sailing to?" He asked with a small smirk, "I know these waters fairly well after all, I can help around here."

Shiori listened to the tale.

It seemed as if this man had gone through a fair share of hardship, and it clearly showed on his face and in his movements. His eyes were not lying and that was a good thing for her, she did not like to end life needlessly and therefore, he would be spared because he had told her the truth. It seemed as if she was supposed to travel to Havana for more than just trade's sake.

Smiling slightly more she held a hand out to him, and helped him up.

"I sounds like a tall tale." she teased "But all the more terrible as I can see in your eyes its true. Welcome to the White Lotus, I am Shiori her captain and these are my crew members who I am sure you will get to know later."

Getting him to his feet, Shiori looked at the rest of the crew and her first mate took over the sailing, the rest getting back to their normal jobs continuing the ship's course to Havana. It was still a good few days off and they were in neutral water still, they would need her when they got closer to Havana however but she planned to simply change her flag. Her ship was unknown in these western waters.

"Come with me, I shall take you to my cabin where you will receive a meal, something to drink, and I will give you...a bath." she stated wrinkling her nose "You smell awful Kenway-kun."

As they entered the captains quarters, Shiori gestured to a large comfortable armchair where he might sit to rest himself. Gathering some of her ramen broth she made in her room, she portioned it up and handed it to Edward with a tankard of ale, after such a long time without proper food, the ramen would keep his stomach settled.

"We sail for the Port of Havana. We have goods to sell." she smiled gently "Eat, and rest. No burdens shall trouble you, for now of course."

Wandering to her desk, Shiori sat, and lit her three incense burners inhaling the sweet musky smell.

Edward chuckled a little bit.

Sounded like a tall tale huh? It got weirder when you realised the man who was to show him secrets, the man who betrayed him? Yeah he was a sage. A man who's coming was foretold by statues that were literally thousands of years old. Tall tale did not even begin to describe half of the shit about the Observatory,

"The tall tales that sound the worst are the ones that are most often true." he admitted before grinning a little bit as he got to his feet uncertainly, "Nice to meet you Shiori... and your ship is a pretty one. Small but fast."

Nodding to some of the crew, he hummed a little bit when she mentioned a meal, licked his dry lips when she mentioned a drink but when she mentioned a bath he raised an eyebrow in mild amusement,

"I guess I must have skipped over some baths on the island... not enough water for it." he told her before frowning, "Kun? What does that mean?"

Perching himself on the edge of the armchair's seat, Kenway didn't trust himself not to fall asleep if he leant back in the chair. He was weak and weary after all. When she returned with a strange soup-like dish and some ale he thanked her and began to attempt to eat the soup. It was a strange soup but he was managing it. He paused,

"Havana? What do you deal in Shiori? What kinds of things do you plunder?" He asked before grinning a little bit, "Or have I assumed to much?"

Shiori smiled softly, she was sure that before he was marooned this man was a handsome one that could have stolen any woman's heart. It would be nice to see him return to his former glory under her care, before she released him when his debt had been paid and he was free to captain his own ship once more. It might sting at first to be under someone elses' rule however, with his experience she was sure she would take his advice.

Should she need it of course!

The section of flooring underneath their feet was one of the thickest parts of the ship, it needed to be in order to support the pool that she had put into the captains quarters. Upon it white lotus' drifted peacefully, the water was filled with sweet smelling jasmine oils and she was tempted to dip into the warm waters now.

Such engineering was never seen before on a ship yet she had designed it!

"Why yes, I don't need a bigger ship than this one, it serves me well. Steers me out of danger and stings enough to cull any who catch up with me." she stated with a smirk "Maybe you can tell me more of your tale when you are recovered."

Laughing softly, Shiori gently placed her finger on Edward's nose, drawing closer to him so that her nose almost touched the side of his own;

"Why Captain have you never visited the islands of Japan?" she asked with a grin "Kun, is a statement of class, or respect. Kun, means boy underling. You may call me Shiori-san. San is a superior classman."

When he asked what she traded in she gently picked up a small heart shaped, white music box from her desk and put it on the table in front of Edward, so he could see the intricacy within it. Ivory was one of her favourite things to trade, as art or in bulk, not only that but she enjoyed dealing in incense. The pelts were neither here nor there for her.

"I sell ivory, as it comes, or moulded into fine works of art. I sell scents, exotic incense for the home or for womanly uses. I sell pelts from exotic creatures, tiger pelts, tiger bone for medicinal uses." she stated with a smile "Many things that the people of Havana will have never seen and want to possess for themselves."