Read Hunger of the Magi :: New life.

Chapter 2: The Raid.

The wind blew softly through Rose’s beautiful strawberry hair, barely brushing along the pale skin of her shoulders. The gazer’s piercing eyes looked out over the illuminated noon clouds, the smile on her face ever present and never fading. She dangled her feet over the side of the sky ship, clouds rushing below, the glowing sapphire sky overhead, her faded tank-top sweater and cargo shorts lightly flowing with the rushing wind.

The girl’s chest rose, taking in a deep breath of fresh and free air, her present smile growing wider as Rose remembered her childhood self, almost laughing in the process. Turning her body in the delightfully sweet wind, she surveyed the deck of the ship, from her upper prow perch. All the crew members relaxing or doing minor jobs, smiling as the ship lazily sailed through the clouds. Rose smiled in turn, surprised that they put up with her, while also deeply grateful.

Rose remembered the shenanigans she pulled for years as a child, after they had ripped her from hell, when they had invaded and liberated the weak as sky pirates so rightfully do. She smiled sadly remembering how truly corrupt her young mind was, just a tool or a toy for horrid slavers. Shivering she touched the swirling markings that spread across her collarbone and peeked out from her upper covering. Rose had fought them for years, trying to escape at every stop, trying to harm other crew members believing they were the villains in her tragic story.

Chores were worse, and she resisted every attempt to cloth, bathe, feed, and communicate for so long. But the girl’s heart was eternally grateful, grateful that they put up with her, grateful that Deadeye took her in as one of his own, and that Angie felt like what she imagined a mother to feel like. That the whole crew were the closest thing to family that she had ever had.

Rose stopped her tears, smiling more as she wiped her face with the top of her forearm, the teen jumped up stretching close to the edge, feeling the heat of the golden sun on her skin. Hopping down, bare feet on the warm wood of the deck, she spied the tall strong form of captain Deadeye, the captain with rich dark skin, white hair, full kept beard, and an unneeded eyepatch over his left eye to keep that pirate style all tied together. Skin hitting the planks, she ran across the deck jumping and wrapping her arms around the captain as a grunt of surprise escaped his lips.

“Now is someone trying to butter me up today, is that you little Rosa?” Deadeye turned with a wide shining smile, as Rose returned to her feet, grinning as the captain ruffled her hair.

“How would you know, I only mentioned it a few times this month Cap” giggling the lithe girl perched herself atop a nearby barrel, staring at the captain intently.

“I know I can help, really, I promise, I swear… I have been practicing my fli-gun aim, and my swordsmanship has gotten… kinda better” making a gun with her fingers, Rose flailed her arms around in a brutish display of power and accuracy.

Deadeye’s chest swelled letting out a deep rolling laugh “you really want to accompany us old people on a raid that much, I swear it was just the other day you wouldn’t leave your room because the engine rumbles were too scary” his laughter stopped as he adopted a slightly more serious tone which met Rose’s blushed and puffed cheeked gaze.

“I know we’ve been talking about this Flor, but you know firsthand how dangerous they can be, everyone on this crew does, and Rose… you're still just a child” gesturing he paused at that word, trying to be as gentle as he could. Rose’s fingers absent mindedly traced along the scars that riddled her arms and the rest of her body, brow furling slightly.

“I know, but that is why I have to join you all, to risk my life as well, to save others who are marked like all of us, I have to help people like us… people like me” her voice grew louder on the edge of cracking as she displayed her emotions for all to hear.

The surrounding crew members continued their busy work, all admiring her convictions, but still not daring to go against the captain. Crossing his arms, Deadeye let his head loll to the side as a massive sigh escaped his lips.

“Fine, fine, you know what, fine Rosa, but you get to stay in the back with Nan and you must listen to everything we say” he massaged his furrowed temples with the points of his thumbs as the sigh continued “I’ll have to get you a fli-gun, but only if you promise to stay out of harm's way”.

Shifting on her feet, Rose slowly nodded as she tried to hide the hint of a glittering smile, from the captain’s gaze.

“And what is going on here!” raised a voice from the helms side of the ship. A voice followed by the sound of heeled boots on rough planked stairs, the first mate Angie raised her shout above the crew. The woman stood tall, just shy of Deadeye himself, her saber and fli-rifle, neatly strapped to leather slacks, right under her tucked flowing blouse. A large black coat stood tight on her shoulders, contrasting dusky skin, and silvery shoulder length hair. The woman’s yellow eyes shone out with kindness and amusement. Cat walking up to Deadeye, firstmate Angie was greeted with a wholehearted hug herself by the now extra content Rose.

“I’m trying to convince him to let me join you guys on the next raid” Rose blurted out. Angie shooting a look at Deadeye, before turning back to Rose, “alright, well judging by the half-hidden smirk on your little face” Rose’s hands shot up to her eyes as Angie continued “it seems you've gotten through to him, but promise me you'll go see Slade for and evaluation, and Tala for equipment, alright, pretty please?”

Angie spoke massaging her own temple, while fingering the hilt of her saber “and you’re taking Nan…” Rose let out a groan “... with you” continued Angie rolling her eyes “I already laid that rule out flat” Deadeye started but quickly died off as Angie came back in with venom “you two are gonna watch each other's backs alright, plus he’s a little older than you so he's got wisdom or whatever the kids say, honestly I know nothing about teenagers” Angie finished almost laughing to herself.

Rose nodded sullenly, standing tall, the girl skipped with a stone face across the planked deck past ropes, barrels and canvas bags, as she made it to the large square hole leading below deck. Circled by a dark maw of stairwell, incredibly dim even though the below decks were well lit by blast windows that lined the lower reaches of the gallion’s hull. She stepped quickly into the cold air, bare feet on the cool metallic wood of the double staircase, taking the left side as they split. Making her way down the chilly hallways, lit by electric crystal lights inset into metal frames, she made her way past door after door. Hundreds of them, along with various crew members in different states of work or play.

Rounding a corner Rose nearly battered the form of a small girl with her own red-haired body. Coming to a screeching halt Rose quickly recognized the shape of Samantha the sickly, an older but smaller child-like girl with long nearly floor length blonde hair, pale skin, and two gray eyes, although regardless of their appearance she could still see out of them quite well. Her eyes met Rose’s with a friendly kindness and a wide faced smile, which Rose returned, for everyone on the crew were good friends, but Samantha was one of Rose’s best acquaintances. Rose often felt bad for Samantha, the crew had always told her that Sammy had a rather severe and mysterious illness, which is why she had to spend most of her time below deck, sometimes the blonde girl would not appear for days, and the girl’s room was metallic and dark or so Rose heard. But the long-haired blonde smiled like a shining ray which Rose thoroughly enjoyed. The two often spent most of their time together on deck lounging or doing chores, talking about their past lives before they were liberated, their scars and how they came to be, and other various things.

“Oh, I'm sorry Sam, I guess I should slow down, huh” Rose’s words were met with a slight giggle “I guess this means they decided to let you go on a raid? After how many weeks of begging? Well don’t let me stand in your way, I got stuff to do anyways, and I don’t wanna obstruct a girl on a mission” Samantha said with a slight wink, as she pushed a book under her arm and rounded the far corner.

“Thanks Sam, I’ll see you later” Rose called out as she continued headfast, descending more floors, making her way down to the lower engineering deck passing one of her stops, dreading the interaction with Slade that had to take place in the infirmary, eventually.

She stepped down from the last cold plank, as the lower hull of the ship opened up to a massive hanger filled with various different kinds of sky-skiff, ship, haulers, etc. All drastically unique types of vehicles and machines, being thoroughly used to keep the ship running smoothly. At the center a hunched over form toiled through a large complex workbench, covered in half-finished projects and hundreds of interesting looking tools. The ship's engineer Tala, a tall dark-skinned figure, with beautifully deep curly hair and an even prettier eye. Her muscles rippled through her over shirt as she worked, splayed from her mechanics jumpsuit wrapped tightly around her sculpted waist, the woman’s face and ear piercings clinked slightly in the relative silence of the hanger. As she heard Rose approach, Tala stood tall spinning to meet the girl, her left eye, a mechanical blue orb that shone in weird hypnotic patterns. She touched it slightly with her red marked right hand, as she adjusted the focus.

“Ah Rose, what are you doing down here, shouldn’t you be out running in the sun? '' Tala chuckled as she cleaned the grease off her, with an even greasier rag.

The tall woman placed her hands firmly on her hips "finally sweet talked the old man now, didn’t you” laughing again Tala turned towards the table once more, Rose making herself comfortable on a stack of aluminum chests in the meantime.

“I suppose you’ll be wanting a gun and something to wear now won’t you” boomed Tala into the bench, Rose caught herself frivolously nodding before she piped up with a hidden blush “yes ma'am if you wouldn’t mind” holding up her hand Tala cut her off “I got something prepared for you hunny, just cut out the ma’am part, I don’t wanna start feeling my age just yet”.

Tala spun, cradling a greasy sack, a small object within. Eyeing her softly, the younger girl was met with a nod, as Rose cautiously shuffled up to the mechanic, wrapping her hands around the rag, the two figures uncovering a short nosed, semi auto fli-gun. The gun was not perfect, being cobbled together with pieces of different guns and items that had most likely been laying around, however Tala had customized it to some extent.

The barrel and handle were engraved with a flowering rose pattern, making the scuffed antique look of the gun even prettier. “I fitted it so you can use different ammunition like solid slugs, or regular sky rounds'' the engineer said as she smiled at her work, looking up just in time to see the tears streaking down the freckled cheeks of Rose's brimming face.

With shaking hands and a shaking body, the girl tried to wipe the tears from her straying face, quaking uncontrollably as she swayed slightly. Without saying a word Tala placed the gift on the table and embraced the young girl in a large firm hug, patting the teen’s head as she made soft little noises.

After some time had elapsed, and the younger girl seemed to calm down, Tala stood back holding Rose’s shoulders as she met the redhead's puffy face with a big smile, “sorry nobody really knows when your birthday is, but I thought this might make a nice gift, I hope you like it… Oh! And hey” she let go and ran around the bench with a surprising swiftness, making her way back as she began producing a medium sized satchel, from which the woman withdrew a light leather jacket, and a pair baggy work pants, both appearing to be internally leather plated.

The jacket was embroidered and covered in patches, on the back the crew's symbol, the horse with the red eye, and the word Rose patched and sewn above it. The younger girl burst into another crying fit as Tala presented the items, the older woman neatly packing them up before she went back to holding Rose in her strong arms.

“Didn’t want you getting hurt on your first raid, I won't be there this time, so promise me you’ll stay safe?” Rose met Tala’s gaze and words with a curt nod followed by a slight smile as she gave their hug a little squeeze, “thank you” she muttered muffled into the bosom of the taller woman’s shirt.

“Alright” Tala disentangled gingerly and stood straight once again “you better go see Slade in the infirmary so he can give you your check up and clear you for duty… plus its mandatory” Rose’s face dropped as her shoulders slumped and a low groan crawled its way from her depths.

Tala gave her a rather snarky and disapproving look “he’s a nice man, just living with unfortunate… problems” “I know” cut in Rose “but he… and more so that damn infirmary, they’re all so… creepy, I mean why does he have to act so mysterious and scary all the time” sighing Tala presented her hand, toying with unseen things in the air “ever since the incident, he hasn't been entirely the same, he’s dealing with it in his own way and doesn’t like people seeing him in his current state… cut him some slack, will you hun, please?” Rose sighed as she gathered up her gifts “I will Tal, and thank you so much, I promise I'll be safe. '' She ran back, arms overloaded, giving the taller woman one last strong hug before she turned, and continued making her way back towards the staircase.

All while Tala shook her head smiling, going back to her meticulous busy work. Marching her way to the upper floors Rose had passed earlier, she rounded a corner onto the dreaded level.