Fantasy Flight of the Phoenix Main

[AncientBird]

Juniper frowned once more at Lan who still kept denying her idea about the sandwich. Seriously, has him always been this much of a kill-joy? Thought the girl as she looked at the little owl man. "Well, excuse me from trying to lift everyone spirit with some good meal after all we... Wait a sec-" Jun stopped in her track. "Peppy???" Juniper tilted her head at Lan then continued. "...Nevermind, that actually sounds adorable and I kinda like it... What I was about to say is that can't we just have something nice after all these ruckus we have been through today? Beside, there hasn't been any sight for the port to officially confirm to allow ships to take off. We are gonna have all the time to-"

Before Juniper could even finished her sentence, the roaring noise of the ship's engine echoed through the room. The dormant ship had unexpectedly sprung to life and it erased Juniper's smile from her face. If the engine roared, then it could only mean one thing...

"Well, it seems we don't have that time anymore... Fiiiine, I am gonna go find Mr. Grey and asked him where his kept the rations..." Said Juniper, sounding quite disappointed.

Then in a second she smiled again, this time at the swift phoenix boy, whose name is Peter. "Well thank you... Peter, right? I am gonna go find him now... Control room... Shouldn't be hard to find... Oh! And your hand, hope it get well soon!" Said Juniper as she quickly left the room like wind blowing through tree.

Juniper began her search for the control room. Her journey around the ship had led her into various rooms, each of them were no different from the other rooms she had been in before, with only one description, 'abandoned hell holes decorated with dust and mold, that also cultivate unholy amount of spiders'... Juniper winced at the sight of what she just witnessed... She certainly is gonna have a hard time trying to sleep the first night here if nothing is gonna be done about the living condition here...

Eventually, she arrived at a small room on the top of the ship, quite the opposite location of what Peter suggested earlier, but if Mr. Grey wasn't in there, then he wasn't on the ship...

Looking through the window, Juniper could see the dragonfly man doing his work in side through the yellowish window. Happy that her search had finally come to the end, she knocked on the door. "Hey, Mr. Grey! It's me again! Can I come in for a bit?" Said Juniper and then she opened the door and went in, didn't really wait for the phoenix's reply.

Inside the supposed control room... Juniper looked at all the wires and ropes that seemed to muddle up the entire place, making it just as messy as the other rooms on the ship. However, it did kind of remind the girl of the boiler room in her inn. "Whoa... Is this the room where you control the ship?" Asked Juniper as she scanned the room.

Featuring: Tapfic BittyBobcat

 

[spiralingheretic]

Aw man, well there goes her plans for food that wasn’t a century old, thought Harlow. Actually, theoretically, the food on the ship could be that old, since like, don’t phoenixes not die? Wasn’t that their thing? How old was that guy Grey anyway? She bet he was freaking ancient, It would explain the eyebags, anyway. It occurred to Harlow only for a moment that she herself could technically live for a very very long time, but before she could consider the implications of that, she shoved the thought back into the dark corners of her mind from whence it came.

“Alright, then. Guess I’m gonna have to scout out the ship for food instead,” she said, glaring at Lan, as if this was entirely his fault. “Guy’s got to have something. Hopefully something that won’t make us sick.” She grimaced at the bloodstains on the wall. “Though I’m not gonna hold my breath.” Maybe she’d raid his liquor cabinet instead.

Surprisingly the galley was, if not well stocked, then adequately stocked. Rather than eat in the mess hall, Harlow made off with a stale biscuit and a hunk of cheese (she’d smelled it and it seemed alright), to the deck of the ship. Once she was above deck she let herself take a deep breath of fresh air and look back at the city. It always felt so right, leaving a place. It was always a relief.

Harlow turned her gaze away from behind them and instead looked upwards, examining the sails. Quick as a flash she scurried up the ratlines and footropes. She recalled how the pirates would always send her aloft to do the most dangerous jobs, repairing and retying and standing lookout in the dead of night. Very few people had wings small and agile enough to fly up, and Harlow certainly did not. Though she supposed the risk in falling was not as great now that she was a phoenix.

Upon reaching a lookout platform wide enough for it, she sat and began to nibble on her food. The biscuit was unbearably salty, but it wasn’t terrible paired with the (dubious) cheese. The wind against her face was familiar in the rare, good way. On the move again. Finally.

 

[Tapfic]

"Got a bit burnt up in the fire and stuff, is all."

Poor kid had been dealing with these burns this entire time- damn. Sure he was certain some of the others were burnt too; but adults getting burnt didn't piss him off nearly as much, and the other kid seemed to be fire resistant.

Speaking of burns.

Ah, yeah. The fire. The fire that started this whole fucking mess. The fire that was evidently set by that ass wipe of a duke looking to snatch up some phoenixes. The duke that was Blondie's ex-dad.

Lan's gaze darted between Emaliah as she helped Dr.Kadoshi tend to Peter's burns, and the burns themselves. The concern tugging at the corners of his lips and furrowing his brow only growing deeper as he wondered if it would be better to tell her; or leave it.

He crossed his arms and tapped his foot against stained wood.

On one hand she should know, right? She had a right to. Lan would want to know if his parent was a massive piece of garbage and got arrested for it after all- but on the other hand, she seemed to be in a lighter mood now that she was distracted by helping the Kid with his burns, breaking in like " hey, so- you know how your dad is a piece of shit? Well actually he's a MEGA piece of shit " defiantly seemed like a dick move on Lan's part.

" It's derogatory, not adorable," he muttered distantly in response to Juniper's tangent without really refocusing on the topic.
His train of thought was only derailed as the ship lurched. The foot Lan had been tapping slipped out from under him momentarily. He was forced to uncross his arms and flap his still aching wings a couple times to avoid falling over until he steadied his feet again. One of the very few benefactors of having small wings; the ability to unfold them indoors.

Unfortunately however; he had forgotten the feathers were still covered in a thin layer of soot. Soot that now decorated his clothes and settled on the floor near him.

" God damnit," he swore. Well. At least the room was already needing to be cleaned, and his clothes weren't exactly spickn' span after running into burning buildings and playing in soot for the first half of the day.

" Fuck waiting for the go ahead I guess," in actuality , it probably wasn't too necessary for them to wait in the first place; considering they had already presented their docking papers. But Lan liked to complain.

Juniper left before Lan could tell her to ask Gray what the big idea was with taking off already, but again- it didn't matter much. Lan just liked to complain.

With Harlow deciding to seek out the galley herself, Lan was left with the doctor, the kids, and blondie. He didn't really like that. His heart didn't like it either, judging by the slight uptick in beat.
Maybe it was the smell of disinfectant, or the fact he was reaching the point of exhaustion where his brain suddenly told him that everything that could go wrong but -no. That was stupid. Dr.Kadoshi wasn't up to shit, nor would he be up to shit in the foreseeable future. Lan was just paranoid. Half of his brain told him to make up an excuse to leave, and another half told him he absolutely could not leave the others in the danger room. Though the greatest threat present was probably a raspatory infection from all the dust in the air. He needed to find out were Gray keeps his cleaning shit as soon as possible

Mostly he needed to think about something else.

" ...Butterscotch?" Lan reached into his pocket, and took out some candy wrapped in foil, offering them to the four newly acquired shipmates that had stayed behind; without offering an explanation as to why. He still looked mildly pissed. This was normal person behavior.

 

[BittyBobcat]

Whatever Runt and the other two had done, the guards had certainly seemed to like it. In no time, two flags had run up the dock's flag pole—a triangle hanging above three black lines—denoting the The Damsel's landing spot and accepting his request for exit. The question of why they were allowing him an apparently early dismissal tugged nervously at the back of his mind for a moment, but the promise of a quick and safe escape outweighed the off chance that it was a mistake (besides, what would they do about it if it was? Chase him? After being the ones to give him the all-clear?).

He grabbed the nearest lever and cranked it up a few notches without even glancing toward it (he knew the feel of the grip without needing to see it, anyway). This would be step four of liftoff, but Gray usually stopped counting at this point and simply allowed himself to fall into the dance of buttons and dials that he'd grown used to over the years (of course, he still shot a quick glimpse through the windows every few seconds—any aviator with half a brain knew to keep an eye on their surroundings, no matter how unchanging they might seem).

A relieved sigh wormed its way out of his mouth as the dock slowly began to grow smaller behind him; He couldn't quite relax—not yet, at least—but he could afford to let the tenseness of his shoulders droop the tiniest bit.

"Hey, Mr. Grey! It's me again! Can I come in for a bit?"

Well, he could've if not for a member of his temporary 'crew' suddenly bursting into the control room.

"Yeah, sure. Barge right in," He grumbled under his breath. His wings flicked—giving a short, low buzz as they folded back into place behind his back. "What's the point of asking permission if not to assume you have it anyway?" Absently, he reached out yanked open one of the drawers sitting just below the control panel. It took a few tugs (he made a mental note to oil it later), but—once it popped open with a creak of protest—it revealed a scattered stack of papers.

"Whoa... Is this the room where you control the ship?"

"Yeah," Gray answered curtly, not looking up from the drawer as he shuffled through it's contents and finally withdrew one of many yellowed maps. He clipped it to a wire that ran along the length of the window, leaving an easy reference as he began to adjust the ship's flight angle.

 

[ScatheAriiasqDrayceon]

Jet ruffled his feathers and let them smooth again, mildly pleased with Peter's answer.

Then the ship jerked.

Usually, it would be small enough that everyone was fine, but the thing about being tall was that Jet had a lot of weight balanced on a single line. With some kind of startled squawk, Jet's wings opened (notably not so much as getting near hitting anyone), the feathers brushing across the top of the hallway. They even reached the corner, where the outermost flight-feathers bent down.

They practically filled the entire upper part of the hallway.

Ariiasq hummed a small laugh into his ear. Yeah, that was a little much. He could usually balance fine on his own, but, admittedly, his first instinct was to take flight.

Those paying attention might notice a faint pink blush gracing Jet's cheeks as his ears flicked back and he folded his wings.

As Harlow turned, he made a Face. "I like to believe that he takes better care of himself than he appears to... but please be careful." With that, he turned to the owl. "If the soot's drying, you could probably preen most of it out, by now... it'll leave some smears, but those can be washed off."

He didn't seem to mind the soot from Ariiasq, but then again, it didn't actually look like there was any soot on his suit.

Speaking of whom, Arii lifted their head, squinting. "Ah. We're moving. Guess our food source is going to be dead birds from here on out. I don't trust anything on this ship."

 

[AncientBird]

Juniper fully stepped inside the room. She did hear the phoenix complaint about her intrusion in his grumbling noise. The girl scratched her head, embarrassed and feeling guilty.

"Ah... Sorry about that, I was just excited. It's hard to pull my own brake sometimes." Said the girl as she looked around the room one more time. She was about to ask Mr. Gray about the food, but then she reminded herself of her own mission... Perhaps this would be a good time to bring it up before she caught up in any shenanigan again.

"Mr. Gray, about earlier, I want to ask you... Do you know anything about what happened to phoenixes that are captured?" Asked Juniper, her voice sounded much more serious and genuine. "It's.... It's my brother. He was taken from us many nights before. I want to know if there is any hope I could find him and bring him home." Said the girl, finally getting to pour her question out of her chest.

Featuring: BittyBobcat

 

[BittyBobcat]

Peter snorted. "Good luck with that," He said to Harlow, crossing his arms (and happily taking note that his arms didn't sting with pain this time). Another insult to Gray's pantry was just on the tip of his tongue when Lan took a foil-wrapped something out of his pocket.

"...Butterscotch?"

His wings spread inch or so before Peter gave them an absentminded few flicks and tucked them behind his back again. "Butterscotch?" He echoed Lan, perking up at the word. Distantly, the name rang a bell, but only so far as reminding him of festivals and sweet smells. It was a candy, he knew that much. The taste, though? A complete mystery... One that Peter would certainly be happy to solve. "Yeah, sure. I'll take one."

~~~

Frustrating as her intrusion was, Gray's expression softened a fraction at Juniper's question. For the first time since takeoff, he lifted his hands away from the controls.

He took a silent moment to consider his phrasing as a quiet sigh wormed its way out of his mouth. "Your brother was taken to a phoenix farm," Gray began, reluctance hanging on his every word. "Or, he's getting taken to one right now. It depends on when he got caught." His foot tapped against the floor as he reached for another lever on the control panel, pulled it, and continued with his answer. "But, as for which farm he ended up at... There's no way of telling. Most farms keep their locations open to business partners only."

His eyes wandered back up to the map, squinting over another thoughtful pause. "I do know where one farm is, though. I can't promise that your brother is in it, but we should be passing close enough on our way to the Gathering that it will be in wing-flight distance. After that, you'd be on your own," He mused, almost hesitantly, before hastily adding, "Don't get your hopes up, though. I've heard of phoenixes escaping the farms, but there's a reason it's not a common tale. Even if he's there, and if you can get him out, the hunters won't let him go easily just because they caught him once." His frown deepened. "He'll be running for the rest of his life."

 

[Tapfic]

"Ah. We're moving. Guess our food source is going to be dead birds from here on out. I don't trust anything on this ship."
Lan's nose wrinkled at the comment, but he didn't say anything. Yet.
The issue of Lan's very particular diet might need to be brought up eventually though. Not like- by him to other people, of course. More like he acknowledged it would become an issue eventually, but it wasn't one right now so how about he just forget about it? Yeah. That sounded like a plan.

" Here; " Lan handed Peter the candy, and set a few on the cleanest shelf he could find within arm's reach. Just in case anyone wanted one that had trouble asking, as some children did ( he'd come back to clean any that were left in a few hours, of course).

Hands free once again, he was able to start fiddling with his wings; absently wiping soot out of his feathers. The muscles were still tense from overwork- they'd defiantly be sore tomorrow.
His hands were unsteady as he worked, shaking ever so slightly as he moved. The drying soot did, in fact, wipe away rather easily though; allowing the soft glow emanating from each feather to break through. Oh yeah. Magic. Glow-y light shit. Could he turn that off? It seemed like it would be annoying in the near future.
" I need to, " sleep, his body told him.
" figure out where Mr.Fuck you keeps his cleaning shit." he said instead.
He did his best to ignore the alcohol-scented anxiety that told him everything was about to go wrong as he made his way out of the room ( he did not glare at Dr.Kadoshi as he left. He was just looking in a normally friendly manner that happened to look like a glare )

---

Featuring; Juniper AncientBird

Lan did eventually find a broom, a painfully neglected broom in a closet full of fucking spiders that he may or may not have initially caused him to let out the smallest most dignified scream ( it wasn't even a scream really. More like a high pitched gasp. Of course ). Lan spent about ten minuets carefully moving the little bugs out of the way, to avoid any undesired squishing. He'd have to remember to collect all the bugs on this ship to take outside once they landed, but for now the eight legged monsters could continue chilling in the broom closet. Lan would just have to wait to clean all the dust out of it later. He could do that. They would have to land soon anyways. No big deal. He could wait.

Even in his exhaustion, Lan was adept in his art of destruction ( of dirt ). Aided by his trusted flower scented soaps (mild ones, just incase anyone had an allergy ), the poor underused cleaning supplies from the spider closet, and his trusty feather duster- he started first on the meeting room that they had left not long before.

---

Featuring; Peter BittyBobcat

Inevitably, Lan had passed out on the floor. It was comforting to know that the floor of the ship felt about the same to sleep on as his own at home. At least that was the same. Wood being hard and predominantly cool was something he could count on in just about any place.

Just as inevitably, he was met with the reality that had been predicted not long ago; the reality that his wings were fucking sore.

He winced as he sat himself up, rubbing at the red spot on his face that he had slept on.

What time was it? How long was his nap? He squinted, but it was difficult to tell from inside the ship; considering there was no sun inside. That might have seemed obvious to most people, but in Lan's defense; he had just woken up.

With a sluggish blink and a drawn out yawn Lan stood up and wandered to the deck, taking out and re-tying the ponytail that had become messy overnight. He would probably start cleaning again in a bit now that he was well rested enough to tackle the medical room; but for now he just wanted to check what part of the day it was. He also... really wanted to take a bath. So that was a thought.

 

[AncientBird]

Hearing the word from Mr. Gray, Jun stood in silence for a while, trying to process of what she would have to deal with. It was painful to know that her brother had been taken... To a farm! it almost sounded as if these people do not see phoenix as people at all, just some kind of livestock. Mr. Gray didn't tell her about what fate would be waiting for Merlin in the farm, but it was definitely not good. She was too afraid to ask further.

"But, as for which farm he ended up at... There's no way of telling. Most farms keep their locations open to business partners only." Said Mr. Gray. He paused for a bit and continued on. "I do know where one farm is, though. I can't promise that your brother is in it, but we should be passing close enough on our way to the Gathering that it will be in wing-flight distance. After that, you'd be on your own,"

Juniper looked up at the phoenix. "You would do that for me?... Thank you so much, Mr. Gray! I will start looking from there and I promise I will try not to drag you into a mess again. Just drop me far enough from the farm. I am a very good flyer, you see!" Said Juniper as she flapped her wings to prove her point, just to have a sharp pain ran through the wound on her wing, the one she totally forgot about. "Ouch!!!... Oh well, when my wing is healed of course." Said the girl sheepishly.

Juniper was about to have some hope in finding Merlin, until Mr. Gray spoke up again. "Don't get your hopes up, though. I've heard of phoenixes escaping the farms, but there's a reason it's not a common tale. Even if he's there, and if you can get him out, the hunters won't let him go easily just because they caught him once." His frown deepened. "He'll be running for the rest of his life."

Juniper stood in silence, her eyes widened from the phoenix's word... But then determination showed up on her face. "Then I will protect him... I will even run and fly with him. As long as I live, I will not let him be taken away by those horrible people again!" Said the bee-eater girl, her fist clenched. Juniper then took a deep breath and made a soft smile. "Thank you for this information, Mr. Gray. I will help around as much as I can until we part way... Anddd I will start with, cleansing every single spots in this ship!" Uttered the girl as she ran back outside, totally forgot about asking where the food is kept...

Featuring: BittyBobcat
-----------

Juniper ran back to where came from, near the meeting room where she thought she saw a broom closet earlier. Opening the closet, she was greeted with a nest full of spider. "Ahhh! Spiders!" Jun screeched. The frightened spiders began to pour at her and she began to brush and fling them everywhere. "Yuck! This closet must be purged!" Juniper said and grabbed a feather duster hanging nearby, preparing to brush and roll up all the web and spider like cotton candy.

Featuring: Tapfic

 

[BittyBobcat]

Featuring: Lan Tapfic

Peter woke up early.

He didn't know exactly when the habit started (a hazy few memories of his mother yelling at him for waking her up before the sun was even fully in the sky came to mind), but he had been stretching his wings at the first hint of day for as long as he could remember. So when he uncurled from the nest of blankets and feathers on a top bunk marking his new sleeping spot, he wasn't surprised to find that the morning had barely even begun and most of his newfound friends (if he could call them that) were still fast asleep.

That was fine, he could occupy himself.

His first few waking hours were spent exploring every inch of the ship, including the engine room (he earned himself a new burn within minutes of entering it; luckily it didn't hurt too much), the sails (which—as little firsthand experience Peter had with airships—were rigged in the strangest way he had ever laid eyes on), and the captain's quarters (where he silently swiped a fresh sheet of paper and a pen which he probably could've asked for, but he much preferred the thrill of the heist—however small-scale it was). Then, still clutching his stolen treasure, he took a lazy flight alongside the ship.

Another long-standing habit of Peter's was thinking while flying. Of course he thought at other times—it would be hard not to—but a bit of wind under his feathers always seemed to make planning (however little of it he did) flow easier. And a plan was exactly what he needed this morning.

He didn't need to tell them anything. All he needed was someone to write a letter, and if he asked anyone then they would probably assume he couldn't hold a pen because his hands were burnt to a crisp (Peter wasn't letting himself worry about sending letters after they had healed yet). That was the assumption he wanted them to make. It was clean, simple, and—most importantly—it didn't lead people to suspect that he couldn't read.

He didn't know why it mattered. Plenty of people couldn't read. It was a skill that not everyone needed to have (right?). Skies, it even benefited him. Privacy guarantee. That was one of his biggest selling points as a non-certified messenger. And yet here he was. Surrounded by nobles, and doctors, and whatever-the-fuck else, and maybe—just maybe—he didn't want to get looked at like he was some misguided toddler that couldn't figure out how to flap his wings if someone grabbed them and did it for him.

But that was all beside the point. He needed someone to write a letter for him, that was it. And just as the thought crossed his mind, a short figure coming onto the deck caught his eye.

Lan. Lan would work.

He banked to the side, coming into a landing almost right next to Lan with a heavy thump and only a few stumbling steps forward (Peter never could seem to land as gracefully as everyone else). "Hey!" He shoved his pen and now wrinkled paper toward him, apparently not noticing that he was standing an inch too close for regular personal space standards. "Can you help me write a letter?"

---

Featuring: Jet ScatheAriiasqDrayceon

Gray should've been sleeping. In fact, he'd much rather he was. Being asleep would mean he wouldn't care about the slow, pounding pain that was steadily working its way through his head like a nail trying to drive into his skull. Or the stinging dryness of his eyes every time he forced them open after their lids, for a single second, had drifted off into rest. Or the fact that—though he seemed to be making fine progress down the hall of The Damsel—every step was inviting another chance to fall into the ship's dizzying side to side sway (which felt far stronger than Gray knew it should've been).

But he could manage it for now. It was only a concussion, after all; it wasn't as if he was spending the night as a corpse (or worse). Besides, even with a less-than-perfect bill of health, he still needed to adjust their course. Which meant he had to get above deck.

His wings spread subconsciously. Not very far—only enough to brush the wall beside the hand he already had running across it to steady himself—but it made him feel the slightest bit more stable nonetheless... until a stronger wave of vertigo hit, at least.

He shouldn't stop. Gray knew he shouldn't stop—he didn't have time to. There was only a few hours until sunrise and he needed to get above-deck while the stars were still visible so he could determine their coordinates.

Gray's feet, however, didn't know this. Nor did they care. They tripped over one another and sent him stumbling into the empty doorway leading to the stairs—halting only when Gray braced himself against the frame with one hand and held on like it was a mast in a hurricane. He stood there for a moment. Motionless and leaning an inch too far forward to be comfortable while blinking rapidly, trying to clear the spinning sensation in his head.

Maybe a moment's rest wasn't such a bad idea.

He straightened and propped himself awkwardly against the doorframe with his forearm. His free hand rubbed at his eyes—feebly attempting to wipe the exhaustion away—on its own accord.

A few seconds. That's all he needed. Just a few seconds for the vertigo to fade (and... inevitably come back again, hopefully when he was sitting down).

 

[Tapfic]

Featuring: Juniper AncientBird

Lan dropped his broom at the sound of Juniper's screech, nearly loosing his footing as he turned on his heel and threw open the door to the hallway.

What was it? Bandits? Hunters? Bandit hunters? Wait. Bandit hunters are just the royal guard. Wait, the royal guard would be bad too, shit shit shit.

The boy made it about half a step out of the doorway before being faced with his answer.

"Ahhh! Spiders!"

Spiders? Seriously? The fucking spiders? Lan ignored the fact that the bugs had given him a very similar reaction less than an hour ago in order to fix Peppy with a judgmental stare.

"Yuck! This closet must be purged!" Jun grabbed a neglected feather duster and held it like a weapon. Lan just about looked at it like it was a weapon too.

" What the fuck do you think you're doing? " Lan snapped, interrupting the imminent purge and marching over with all the intimidation of a kindergarten teacher who's feathers had been thoroughly ruffled. He attempted to grab the duster out of her hand before it could do any more damage to the spider city.

" You can't just fucking- sweep them up like some half burnt biscuit you dropped on the floor. How would you like it if some giant motherfucker with an unearned sense of superiority came into your house and just fucking smushed you and all thirty seven of your family members? I'll tell you the answer! You wouldn't fuckin like it! At all! " Lan shut the closet door as he spoke.

" If you wanna get rid of the god damned fuckin spiders just wait till we land and I'll put them in a cup and take them outside like a civilized giant with an unearned sense of superiority, got it? "
---

Featuring: Peter BittyBobcat

It took Lan until now to remember that they all needed to get tooth brushes still. He wouldn't have given the kids that candy if he had recalled the detrimental lack of dental hygiene tools earlier. Now the damage was done; now it was entirely Lan's fault if someone ended up with a tooth ache. Fuck.

His half hearted- half awake musings were interrupted by the thud of something landing next to him.

" Holyfuckindicks- " the exclamation ( that sounded more like an exhalation, said with more breath than voice ) came by instinct, faster than Lan could turn his head.

" Hey!"

Oh. Ok, it was evidently not something that landed next to him, thankfully. It was just Peter. He recognized the voice before he turned to see the messy black hair and freckles.

"Can you help me write a letter?"

The kid shoved a pen and paper towards Lan, who stepped back on instinct. That- was not a question he had expected to be asked this morning honestly, it took him a moment to answer.

" Don't- " Lan squinted down at the paper clutched in Peter's hand ( the hand that looked like it had tried to pet a dragon, the success of the endeavor? Debatable ) and sighed.

" Yeah, I'll help," the answer was simple because it was obvious. Of course he would help, what kind of asshole would refuse to help an injured kid write a letter? Probably duke dickhead, his inner voice supplied. Lan was going to hold onto his hatred for that entire sack as long as he lived. Given the whole phoenix situation- that would probably be a long time.

With a careful hand, Lan took the offered implements.

" But don't do-" he gestured to Peter's landing area with his free hand " that fuckery first thing in the ass crack of morning-"

Actually, seeing the the sky; it was probably closer to mid-morning than anything. Shit, he slept in; now his whole schedule was thrown right out the window and- hey. Wait. Lan didn't have that many chores as of yet, there wasn't any reason for him to wake up early.

...Huh.

" or ever," he added after a moments thought. His tone wasn't particularly humorous, though it notably didn't have any sort of weight to it.

" Anyway; what's it you need to write? " Lan sat himself cross-legged on the deck, placing the paper on the ground so Peter could sit across from him and read along; before patting his jacket pocket in search of the glasses he had forgotten to bring.
...Oh. Well. Fuck.
But ok. It looked like this was just going to take slightly loner than it needed to.

 

[AncientBird]

Just before Juniper could unleash a catastrophe upon the spider town, a hand quickly snatched feather duster from her hand. It was Lan, the so-always angry little owl who intercepted the girl. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" He screeched angrily.

"You can't just fucking- sweep them up like some half burnt biscuit you dropped on the floor. How would you like it if some giant motherfucker with an unearned sense of superiority came into your house and just fucking smushed you and all thirty seven of your family members? I'll tell you the answer! You wouldn't fuckin like it! At all!" Continued the little owl phoenix as he closed to closet to protect the spiders from Juniper.

The girl was still shocked and processing of what just happened. Her hands still froze mid air, holding the no longer existed feather duster. "But... But... They are everywhere!!!" Juniper spoke up, still in her panic mode.

"If you wanna get rid of the god damned fuckin spiders just wait till we land and I'll put them in a cup and take them outside like a civilized giant with an unearned sense of superiority, got it?" Lan continued with the scolding. Juniper blinked, beginning to catch her breath and leaned herself on a nearby wall. "How... How could he live like this? That closet is a literal lung hazard in a package!"

The girl then turned to her grumpy, diminutive companion. "How am I gonna get stuff inside to clean the ship then? They will rush out at me whenever I open the closet!" Juniper asked the little man, her body was slightly shaken from the shock.

Featuring: Tapfic

 

[ScatheAriiasqDrayceon]

BittyBobcat ; Gray​

Jet liked walking at night. To him, it was a soothing activity; away from the harshness of the light, the noise of people, and the responsibilities of always being on the clock. Just time to let himself breathe and think. It was nice to actively try not to think about his responsibilitie—

Jet's light-sensitive eyes picked out a figure leaning against a doorframe, translucent wings lowered to their sides yet still brushing each wall.

The tern's ears flattened backward, and his wings drooped. The world must surely be joking. Surely, right? Well, apparently not, as Jet recognized the markings on the figure's wings, and immediately knew it could have only been Gray. After all, how many phoenix dragonflies with concussions were there on this ship?

But, outside of Jet's mournful farewell to his quiet night, he still had a job to do. He heaved a silent sigh, quiet footsteps carrying him within the generally-accepted speaking distance. Then, with no undertone of discontent, doctor mode in full swing, Jet cleared his throat. "I don't believe you're supposed to be out of bed, Mr... Graymin, was it?" He tilted his head down just a bit in a show of respect. "That concussion won't heal if you're up and about like this."

The well-worn speech had fallen from his lips without his conscious decision, his years of dealing with stubborn people cementing into his brain.

His tone was dry and unamused, not condescending, but certainly not pleased, by any means. Maybe a little annoyed.

Just a little bit.

 

[BittyBobcat]

Featuring: Lan ( Tapfic )

"Don't do... what fuckery?" Peter asked, tucking his wings in as he sat down beside Lan without so much as glancing at the paper on the ground in front of them. His hands reached absentmindedly downward for him to prop himself up against them before he pulled them back and sat up with a small wince. "Uh- address it to Buzz, first. Buzz Astalles, Guard House in the Kingdom of Amethyst, fifth tier."

He paused. For all his planning (which... admittedly wasn't very detailed), Peter hadn't quite decided what to say in the letter yet. "And say that it's from Pip. They'll know what it means." His feathers ruffled slightly—he wasn't completely happy with the thought of Lan, or anyone on the ship, knowing his nickname (well, that nickname specifically), but outright saying who he was probably wasn't the best idea if any hunters happened to hear that a weird kid that was hiding his wings sent this letter. And then take it. Which Peter had no doubt they could if they wanted to—messengers were rarely well protected.

"And tell them I'm okay. I got into some trouble and have to leave for a bit, but I found some people to travel with and I'm okay. And I- uh, I finally got to ride an airship like I always wanted. Got to see the engine room, too—lotta really hot pipes, can't say I recommend hanging out in one. But it was cool. Y'now, figuratively... obviously." Peter's foot tapped against the deck of the ship. "Tell Mona I'm safe and I'll be... I'll be back soon. And if Mom asks, tell her I'm not in jail this time. And I put some money with this for her, make sure she gets it. And also tell her I didn't steal it, 'cause I didn't and I pinky-swear I'm not lying—I know that doesn't mean jack shit to her, but you know, Buzz. I promise I'm telling the truth."

He fixed the passing clouds with a long stare, looking for anything else he'd forgotten to mention, and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "And that's it, I think. Uh- write 'thanks', I guess. Thanks, from Pip."

~~~

Featuring: Jet ( ScatheAriiasqDrayceon )

Gray could be far worse off than he was now. He wasn't dead, he wasn't actively dying, and he was certainly capable enough to walk up some stairs and do the same skies-damned thing he'd been doing nearly every night he'd ever sailed.

Those were the thoughts running through his head, anyway, as the dizziness waned enough for him to (slowly) stand up straight again—still keeping a careful hand on the doorway, just in case—and look toward the top of the stairs, trying to convince himself that if he fell down them it couldn't be that bad, right? And that was only if. Chances were he wouldn—

"I don't believe you're supposed to be out of bed, Mr... Graymin, was it?"

His wings snapped shut. In an instant, they shuffled themselves down and under his overcoat, leaving behind only a dim orange glow shining through its wing-slits. He took a flinching step backward as he (rather clumsily) whipped around to face the speaker.

"That concussion won't heal if you're up and about like this."

Gray was... well he couldn't quite say beginning to because that ship had long since sailed, but he did regret offering his new passengers the free ride. Particularly the doctor.

"I- well, technically yes, but just- just Gray. Alright?" The blurted statement came out far shakier than Gray thought it had any right to. "And I don't need to heal, I'm fine," He grumbled with barely a second of pause, not quite believing it to be a lie. Phoenixes could afford to have a different threshold for 'fine', after all... or he could, at the very least. "Even if I wasn't, then I'm sure going too far off course and fucking starving to death before reaching land would leave both of us worse off than we started." His wings flicked back out from beneath the cover of his jacket, forcing a yellow-orange shadow over the room and faintly lighting Jet enough for Gray to make out the edges of his frankly too-tall silhouette. "One of us more so than the other, I might add."

He turned to head up the stairs while his short window of vertigo-less time remained, not bothering to look behind to check if Jet was following. "So, if you don't mind," His voice was loaded with enough sarcasm that he might as well have said 'or if you do', "I'm going to go correct our course."

 

[Tapfic]

Featuring: Juniper ( AncientBird )

"How... How could he live like this? That closet is a literal lung hazard in a package!"

Well, It wasn't like it could kill the guy, Lan remarked to himself. Calmer now that the spiders were not in danger.

"How am I gonna get stuff inside to clean the ship then? They will rush out at me whenever I open the closet!"

" You ever hear the phrase " they're more scared of you than you are of them?"" Lan opened the closet door once more as he spoke, and brushed some webs off of a broom lying forgotten in the back. A spider crawled across his hand and Lan bit back what would have been an embarrassing yelp.

When the eight legged monster crawled off of his hand once again, Lan pulled the broom out of the closet and offered it to Jun.

" Th-there, no big deal, " he said, visibly shaken.
" If you're trying to clean , why don't ya start on that end; I already got the- " he pointed to the room he came from, but his hand was shaking ever so slightly.
" Whatever that room is called. "

-------
Featuring: Peter ( BittyBobcat )

"And that's it, I think. Uh- write 'thanks', I guess. Thanks, from Pip."

Lan had listened silently, with as little judgmentally as he could muster, because kids needed positive experiences asking adults for shit. Or else their brains would get fucked up, as far as Lan knew about it.

Now, to write this thing without being able to...see it.

At first he tried writing each word, picking up the paper, and holding it as far away from himself as he could; but that didn't work as Lan's arms were too short.

" Hm, " the hum sounded closer to a groan than anything else.

" Maybe-" He tried writing the second word very large- but it became apparent that if he kept on like that the message wouldn't fit.

" Okay Kid," he finally gave up finishing it on his own, " I get that your hands are fucked, but I'm gonna need you to proof read this bitch while I write 'cuz I can't see shit,"
Lan managed to write two whole sentences with only muscle memory , and what he could see of the blurry paper.

" How's it?" he turned the paper so it could face Peter.

 

[AncientBird]

The little owl phoenix dismissed Juniper's concern about the spiders and demonstrated how to get a broom without creating chaos in spider town. "Th-there, no big deal," Said Lan as he handed over the broom to Juniper. "Oh well, thanks..." Said the girl as she took the tool from the phoenix. Even though Lan was acting cool and wise about the closest and the spider horde, Juniper could see glimpse of discomfort in him. She could swear that she saw the phoenix shivering at some point.

"If you're trying to clean , why don't ya start on that end; I already got the-" Lan pointed to the room he came from. "Whatever that room is called." Said the phoenix. "Ah, I see..." Answered Juniper looking at the direction. "Anyway, have you been cleaning stuff before I came?" Asked Juniper as she looked toward the meeting room where Lan came out of. She could smell the sweet scent of soap and glimpse of cleanliness coming out of that room. "Mmmm, sweet... I'm surprised there is cleaning soap supplied in this ship." Added Juniper as she commented about the scent.

Featuring: Tapfic

 

[BittyBobcat]

Featuring: Lan ( Tapfic )

"Um..." Peter had not planned for this situation. Though, he rarely planned for any situation, but he definitely hadn't planned for this one. His feathers puffed slightly, forcing him to give his wings a small shake so they'd lay (somewhat) correctly.

"Right, proofreading. I can do that." In fact he, obviously, could not. Peter was hardly the first to guess what any piece of writing should look like—if anything, he would (and probably should) be the last—but it did look quite a bit messier than any of the smooth curves and straight lines he'd seen of other letters. Of course, it wasn't as if he could point to anything specific. Better to keep his mouth shut.

"Yup. Looks fine," Came his unbothered chirp after glancing over the paper for about half a second. He gave a thumbs-up, too. For good measure.

 

[Tapfic]

Featuring: juniper ( AncientBird )

"Anyway, have you been cleaning stuff before I came?"
Lan's face went slack. An expression that seemed to hold even more disappointment within it's features than the " annoyed school teacher ", which was saying something. Maybe not much ,but it said something.

" No. When I pointed to the room and said "I got that one" I meant I claimed it as my fucking territory," he muttered the comment, not so much under his breath. Speaking, but not really speaking to Jun.

"Mmmm, sweet... I'm surprised there is cleaning soap supplied in this ship."
Well, Lan would have been too, considering its state.

" There wasn't- unless you count the expired detergent sitting at the back of the closet," He gestured to the closet with one hand. In it's darkest depths a dried up bottle of detergent sat collecting the corpses of any spider foolish enough to fall in. Certainly not useable. It would be discarded upon landing.

" If you need soap, I got some in my bag in the- the...map room?" It was certainly a room with a map in it. Still wasn't sure what to call it.

" From my house. Don't touch any of the other shit in there th-" he paused, looked Peppy up and down, and corrected himself.
" Actually, just don't touch it. If you need something, I'll get it. "

----

Featuring: Peter ( BittyBobcat )

"Yup. Looks fine,"

Yeah, that was convincing. Lan would have been convinced if he had sustained a recent and serious head injury. Maybe.

" Kid," Lan spoke slowly. His mouth opened again, and then shut. And then opened again.
How should he say this without making the kid think Lan thought less of him in any capacity?

" Just 'cuz I can't see shit doesn't mean I can't see bullshit,"
Nope. Nope. That was not it. Lan should have thought a little longer on that.
The instant smack of regret for his wording was a great source of energy though, really helped wake him up with a swift guilt-kick in the nuts.

"...Ok. Be honest, are you fucking with me or can you not read? "