Λbsence

For a ship that moved in such an obscene manner, it was surprisingly easy to maneuver. The steering controls were incredibly well-designed, which was the main factor as to why he hadn't just blown the thing into the side of the cave. The shakiness of the ship was showing that Jamal was far from being a 'natural', but still... he was pretty sure he could eventually learn the ins and outs of this thing.

At first, Jamal gave a quiet nod as Poemi called him a natural, looking like he was about to say something. However, whatever he was about to say completely changed as he heard Poemi say something about dogs yet again.
"Wh-- no! A balloon-dog celebration never makes fucking sense; wanna frickin' cut it out already?" Jamal growled, emitting a quiet 'fucking hell' under his breath afterwards. Even if she was undoubtedly hotshit to be qualified enough to be Vargo's apprentice, she definitely had a weird thing with being cruel to animals.

"First, away. From here. Wherever MAGNA isn't. S'all I know for sure. A proper plan can come later, but fuck knows if I'm good at that stuff," Jamal responded bluntly as the girl asked him where he was planning on steering the thing, though a look of mild confusion seemed to be returned to the shipwright's apprentice, "besides, was thinkin' you'd be the one deciding. You got t'most rights to this ship than all of us, right? Didn't Vargo ever want you to do anything specific with this ship if somethin' like this ever happened?"

Hearing the various voices outside, though Jamal could hear cheers of celebration, he wasn't exactly sure if all the commotion had finally ended, yet. Waiting a good while until he was sure he could leave the ship's controls unattended - and at a high speed - he ensured there were no obstacles ahead for a while before he quickly peeked out to the main deck to see what the situation was, informing Poemi of his brief departure beforehand.

Thankfully, the situation looked good. Only one of the people in the group weren't here anymore, but Jamal hadn't even been sure if she was really a friend or foe. Everyone was mostly unharmed; dirtied by Vivahoja's streams of oil at the most. Fuck, that was going to take ages to clean up, wasn't it?

Even if there seemed to be no immeadiate enemies on the ship, however, there were still quite a few people Jamal wasn't sure about at all. Even the few he trusted the most on this ship weren't fully out of Jamal's 'suspicious' zone, either. He needed to know more about the ragtag group that'd overrun the Vanilla Cloud, and - frankly - if they were all going to cruise on this thing together, everyone did.

"Hey. He-- ...gh. HEY! EVERYONE!" Jamal called out, his voice bellowing with a surprising presence from such a young and short man, "quit fucking around a sec. We're done here, right? No MAGNA left at all? None hiding in barrels? Yeah...? Alright'en."

"So, it's real fuckin' peachy that we're all on this ship and we've mugged off MAGNA like a storm. Real peachy indeed," Jamal announced, leaning back on one of the grand poles of the Vanilla Cloud. Beads of sweat trailing down the side of his head, Jamal flicked them off with the back of his hand.

"But... how can you expect me - hell, any of us - to just trust everyone on this ship, and accept we're just gonna be on this wack-ass thing for... well, who knows how long? I sure as hell know I can't be the only one wondering that question," Jamal spoke, before standing up again, "I don't even know what some of'ya are actually called."

"So how about we start to break the ice. Names would help. And so would some sort of... rough explanation as to why you're here. I'll start by saying I'm Jamal. Pretty sure most of you saw my poster, so yeah. No need to call me 'Guy' anymore, Peri," Jamal said, shooting a look to the blue-haired boy with a newfound

"I'm here, because... well. Not many other options. Been on the run for a while. Poor as shit. Yadda yadda, put a 'sob-story' here," he grumbled, looking uncomfortable as he hastily pushed aside the topic, "...well? Next?"

Perhaps it was the soothing scent of sea air or maybe it was the gentle movement of the waves but his heart was no longer a rapidly beating mess. They had temporarily defeated those who might do them harm and now had the freedom to go anywhere they pleased. Periwinkle stood closer to the back of the ship and stared out into the open sea. This sense of freedom he felt was new to him. True, he had spent several days away from home already but somehow it was different now. He lowered his royal blue eyes in pensive thought as the sea breeze stirred his officers jacket and blue scarf. Was it the Vanilla Cloud that made him feel differently or was it this mismatched group of strangers that he found himself on an adventure with? He honestly couldn't say. However, he noticed that he was grinning to himself when he took note of his surroundings and those who currently occupied this breathtaking example of exemplary workmanship.

Before he became too run away with his thoughts, he heard Guy call out to them. It seemed like he wanted to make some type of announcement. Walking the length of the ship, he met up with the others and took note of each individual who was there. They all looked so different, they even sounded different. Would they be able to cooperate with each other well enough to operate a ship of such renown? From listening to Guy, it sounded like he wanted them to properly introduce themselves, which Periwinkle thought was a good idea, considering they were all practically strangers. Although Guy didn't give much information on himself, he had already done so earlier by flashing his wanted poster. He even went so far as to call Peri out specifically and told him he could use his real name. Peri had seen the name on the wanted poster from earlier, when they first met Vargo but he still wasn't sure if he should call Jamal by his real name…it seemed like Jamal had a change of heart and Peri nodded in his direction with assurance.

After Jamal made his announcement, Viva chimed in as well. Jamal seemed to be there because he wanted a better quality of life than what he had while Viva on the other hand, had some grandiose idea of becoming more infamous than the Rotten 6. He couldn't claim to know everything about her but he did know that it would be an exercise in futility, to try to talk her out of it. Other than Viva casually asking about Jamal's Wolf of Jaruud Moniker, the others had remained quiet. In an effort to keep things moving along and not leave his comrades out on a limb, Periwinkle spoke up. With perfect posture, the blue haired youth cleared his throat and introduced himself in a strong proper accent. "My name is Periwinkle Munsell, from the island of Avinos and I…" His enunciation and diction had always been so formal, yet now he fumbled to find the right words. He looked at the others briefly before letting his gaze rest on Jamal and Viva, the two he had spent the most significant amount of time with.

"Well…the truth is, the Munsells have closely allied themselves with MAGNA for several generations. I on the other hand, have decided to turn my back on that tradition." Where he had once sounded so confident, his voice suddenly became less than what it was and he lowered his eyes briefly as if in mourning. He talked a big game but he really was still a kid, just shy of 18. His father's approval still affected him. Clenching his fists tightly he continued, his royal blue eyes making contact with no one. "I am now considered a disgrace by my father and to my family name…………….I will never be allowed to return home." Finally, he was able to recover some of that resolve in his voice and raised his head to meet the eyes of those around him. "I am here because…I would like the opportunity to start a new life for myself, a life of my own choosing. I may even end up number one on the Rotten 6 list." He said in jest, purposely avoiding Viva's eyes, it was his attempt at trying to attach some lightheartedness to his tense confession.

At least the poor brat seemed alright. Besides the fact that Kallain apparently crushed his nose. "Um, that's not broken is it?" he started inquiring, guiltily and a bit cautiously, but the lad was quick to direct his attention to a bag he had lost at some point. Oh dear. Kallain almost started blurting out apologies once again as he as well took an instinctive look around the deck for the missing belongings. However, he snapped his already opened mouth shut once he realized something else. How about his own bag? Bags? His messenger bag still loyally clung to him, its contents still securely within this time. But when was the last time he even had his duffel bag?

On the beach. When MAGNA first started pestering them. He dropped the bag. And didn't pick it up. He probably couldn't have anyway, it must've been quite lost among all those explosions and commotion.

As he realized that terrible loss, Kallain visibly sagged where he sat on the deck in utter horror. All his poor spare clothes, abandoned! Not to mention the ones he was wearing weren't in the best of shape anymore due to the little unexpected adventure. He was suddenly hyper-aware of the fact that he had been tumbling around on the beach, gotten few tears due to the MAGNA pests managing to nick him a couple of times, and had the blue-haired lass smear some kind of oil on him. And he couldn't just change to a fresh clean outfit after a nice relaxing bath because now he had no spares. He had never felt more filthy in his entire life!

Which of course was over-dramatization and objectively, it wasn't that bad. But according to Kallain, he might as well be sitting there in a 50-year-old potato sack that he'd been wearing daily all those 50 years without ever bathing even once.

Shifting to sit cross-legged, Kallain placed his elbows on his knees and dropped his face into his palms in utter defeat, muttering to himself mournfully as he did so: "And I just bought such a nice jacket too..." Worst day ever.

At first, Kallain was thankful for the distraction that Jamal's little call to attention brought along. However, as people started answering, he got more reasons to regret everything he's ever done. The man remained sitting where he was beside his shield as he merely lifted his head from his hands and strained his ears to catch what was spoken further away on the deck. He wasn't too concerned or surprised by Jamal's wanted status or Peri's family, the dreads-lad already revealed that bit on the beach and he'd heard enough during blue kid's scuffle with the weirdo. But what was concerning was Viva and the kid announcing their aspiration to end up as the top of the Rotten 6.

Kallain hoped they weren't being serious, that it was merely a joke he wasn't in on.

Because he'd rather not be on the same ship with people who apparently wanted to become the worst criminals to sail the seas. They hadn't seemed like the type of people to plan on pillaging and terrorizing and whatever else terrible one can think of. And to be fair, they still didn't seem like bloodthirsty murderers to Kallain. But why else would anyone want to become the very worst of the rotten? He didn't know if he should feel very uneasy about the ease with which these people seemed to talk of these plans.

Poor Kallain was confused, he did not compute.

"This is insane," he commented to himself matter-of-factly as he stared at the lot he found himself sharing a ship with.

A quick scan of the ship didn't help Kaito to relocate his bag and the man beside him wasn't of much assistance either. A glance his way confirmed that Mr. Shield was far too busy spacing out, a look of horror carved on his face. Oh well, Kaito will just have to find his missing belongings on his own. He ripped a small piece of cloth from his pants – they were done for anyway – stuffed it up his nose to keep the casualties of the flow at a minimum and set off for a small search around the ship. If things worked the way he thought they did, then the quarterdeck will be the best place to start.

The guy with the dreads was howling something about introductions again, but Kaito didn't give him more than an ear as he marched past him to get to higher ground. From there he took a moment to look over the main deck again, just in case he somehow managed to miss his precious grey baggy the first time, but besides a few eye twitches he had no luck. He was going to continue on his way to the very end of the ship when the conversation turned for something a lot more interesting. The incredibly cheery woman was spewing some ridiculous stuff, pretty much declaring she was taking ownership of Vargo's vessel in addition to her outrageous goal, and he found it quite amusing. However, his lazy grin dropped when the kiddo decided to entrust them with some personal secrets.

"How about we drop him overboard? See how fast he can swim..." Kaito tossed offhandedly, leaning with an elbow on a nearby railing, face in hand. He doubted the boy could put a good show though, MAGNA were ugly swimmers. Although keeping him would be even more of an eye sore, nothing about travelling with a MAGNA traitor excited him and if his assumptions were correct, MAGNA wasn't about to let some child stab them in the back and walk around freely to soil their name. Probably not to the point where they would send fleets after him, that would be even more embarrassing, but it would surely attract unneeded trouble...

Even so, the dreads guy and the lanky woman seemed so awfully fond of him, Kaito doubted he could reason with them. Actually, he might be the one sent for a dive just for that silly remark; these people really couldn't take a joke. Sure, it wouldn't be the end of the world if they chose to kick him out of this randomly patched together crew since there was another ship that was waiting for the thief. The only problem was that he already stuck his head way too far and Basar was probably crawling with MANGA ready to behead every single one of them... Heck, with the way Vargo's fight had been going those last few seconds, he might already be dead too.

Not that this or any other part of this mess was any of Kaito's business. And currently everyone was poking at each other's personal matters, answering pretty honestly for some reason. Having that alongside the unfairly placed bad reputation on him, didn't leave Kaito in a very nice place so he responded to the short guys call all the same, "Oh and I'm Jack. Ended up here, well, for shits and giggles, really," which was the truth, but even he could admit it didn't sound all that well.

We'll do balloon-cats next time around, I guess.

What a novel concept it was that Jamal had presented; for her to make the decisions. It was true enough that she had always, even as Vargo's apprentice, maintained a sense of agency, but she was self-aware enough to know that her particular approach to life was less… decision and more instinct. Others who sailed the seas measured out their paths in excruciating details, with scope and caliper, but Poemi preferred to simply steer.

In the current tide and moment, Poemi opted to steer herself outwards, following Jamal. If it had been his intent for her to watch over the controls in his absence, he'd be sorely disappointed.

But then again, could she be blamed? It was time for show-and-tell! Backstories, vaguely-spoken or wrought with oversharing, aplenty! She wouldn't miss it for the world. The Dreaded was apparently out here by necessity - which made the 'Wolf of Jaruud' moniker somewhat more impressive. Two of their number apparently wanted to be on the great ol' shit-list, which was an admirable endeavor. One of them… didn't say much at all - and the other was... Jack.

Exciting!

"Poemi Ferendica. I'm here - here as in everywhere I may go - to have a good time." She stared around, her gaze attentively inattentive, scanning without purpose. "As the one among us with the largest claim to this vessel, I have two proclamations, by the by:

One) I am not cleaning up all this mess.

Two) Yeah, Dreads, tell us all about the nickname.

And Three) Outside of points one and two, I don't actually want to be in-charge; so figure that out amongst yourselves, please."

Ahem, yes, two proclamations.

Having heard of Viva's plans to be on the Rotten 6 list before, Jamal wasn't all that surprised when she announced it, and wasn't too concerned, either. They were already in some pretty deep shit, so if that's what she wanted her dreams to be, then it was fine as long as she didn't get innocents involved. Which - from what he'd seen so far from her - she probably wouldn't. Jamal mostly ignored her question, hoping she'd think he hadn't heard and never care enough to ask again.

Listening to what Peri gave of his story, Jamal wasn't exactly thrilled to hear that someone associated with MAGNA was on the ship, but at the very least, the kid had seen enough sense to turn his back on them, and he respected Peri's honesty. Hearing a suggestion to throw Peri overboard above and behind him, Jamal just gave a simple sigh.
"A'ight, you can be the one to try that then. The kid knows Suntsumei, so I reckon ya' scrawny ass would get beat." To be honest though, that so-called 'Jack' guy managed to whoop some serious ass as well, so he wasn't sure if what he said was true. Jamal had only said that in hopes of pissing the guy off in return. Other than that, if the guy really only was in it for 'shits and giggles', he was probably pretty harmless.

That poor old-looking guy didn't really seem in the mood for a bit of chat right now, which was fair enough. Jamal wasn't even sure why the man had ended up here. Had it been an accident? He didn't exactly look like an adventuring type, or one who'd usually break the law, but that was just his opinion. Hearing Poemi's words, Jamal was kinda surprised to hear she wouldn't be the one in charge, and didn't really mind she'd left the wheel. The thing seemed to steer itself fine for now. Hearing Poemi's request to know more about the nickname as well as Viva, though, Jamal couldn't really pretend to not hear twice.

Gritting his teeth, Jamal rubbed the bridge of nose slightly, before deciding on answering with a disgruntled shrug.
"A'ight, a'ight, fine. You wanna know so fucking bad about my shitty nickname?" though he seemed less than pleased about it, he seemed to respect Poemi's property enough to at least tell them about that. "If y'think I'm gonna reveal I'm some huge pirate boss, you're dead wrong. I ain't done shit. Used to work for a... tradin' company... an' one day, one of the ships I was on got caught with three cards n' a whole bunch of other bad shit."

A vein appeared on Jamal's forehead as he explained rapidly, angrily shaking his head as he continued on, the thick dreadlocks behind him shaking like volatile snakes. "MAGNA being MAGNA, they thought I was the mastermind behind a whole buncha' illegal exportations. They shot at my ship; I panicked, bloodied a card, an'..."

"...It's just fuckin' bull. That's all you need to know, so you guys do you, I'll do me, yadda fuckin' yadda. Oh, an' before we actually start giving a shit about that stuff, I'm not commanding this shitshow either. Was just askin' to see who responded and how. As it is, I'll give this crew bout' a fortnight."

Waving his hand dismissively, the burly young man seemed to be done talking for now, and began to search around for some cleaning equipment. Though there were still a lot of unknowns around the group, the young man didn't really have the social skills or patience to bother trying to weed those things out of people. All he cared about now was finding a mop and a bucket; the crude smell of oil was starting to give him a serious headache.

Confessing everything to those around him, filled him with a slight anxiety but also a great relief. He was unsure of how the others would react to the fact that he was formerly linked with MAGNA but somehow it felt like now he had less of a burden to bear. The shield user mumbled something to himself that Periwinkle wasn't able to understand but the troubled look on his face spoke louder than his words. The man with the piercings now known as Jack, also spoke up, expressing his displeasure with the situation more clearly, even to the point of suggesting they toss him overboard. Periwinkle's first inclination was to rebuke the man's threat. Shooting an annoyed blue stare in the uncouth man's direction. His blue brows furrowed to a point but after thinking about it, he realized it was possible that the others felt the same way. Immediately, the crease between his brows relaxed and he exhaled deeply, deciding to let things play out before reacting.

Poemi was the next one to introduce herself. She didn't reveal much about herself either other than her name and her intentions. Periwinkle almost wanted to smile at how simplistic her reasons for going on this journey was. She certainly was odd, sort of like Viva in a way. The two of them had a devil-may-care attitude that Periwinkle envied. Being the stuffy person that he was however, he had to bite his lip to refrain from pointing out that her two proclamations were actually three. Instead of concentrating on the number of proclamations, he decided to focus on what those proclamations actually were. Of particular interest, was the request to know more about Jamal's moniker. Jamal reminded him of a clam, tight lipped and closed off to the world but with a little prying you could get him to open up to see what's inside.

It was an unfortunate tale that Jamal had shared with them and although Periwinkle had nothing to do with the attack, the fact that he had at one point been linked with MAGNA, still left him with feelings of guilt. Deciding to address the concerns from earlier, Periwinkle used the moment of pause to speak up again. This time he spoke more confidently, his blue gaze shifting from one person to the next. "I realize that my past may make some of you uneasy but there is no need to result to brutality. If it is your desire that I leave this ship, I will do so as soon as we make port. However, I would like to point out that had I any intentions of betraying you, I could have done so at any time during our fight with MAGNA." Placing a hand to his chest he nodded to the group. "I ask only for the opportunity to prove myself. That being said, if I am allowed to stay, I would not wish to take charge of this ship but I am more than happy to assist with the cleaning efforts."

For a while, Kallain just sat there on the deck, watching the rest of the mismatch group chat away. Still, the tone of the conversation, what was being said, and the general manner the people held themselves didn't exactly indicate a threat to be worried about. However, even so, the proclamations of the aspiration to become the first of the Rotten 6 sat uncomfortably in the pit of Kallain's belly and wouldn't leave him alone. He needed to get a clearer picture what exactly was going on in the ship and inside the heads of the people he shared it with.

So, to start off, Kallain quietly picked himself up from the deck, strapping his shield back onto his back, and started making his way closer to the others. "Excuse me, if I may interrupt your plans for a moment," the man started a bit warily as he came to stand close-by to the rest of the lot, his shoulders slightly hunched as if he was unconsciously trying to appear less imposing. "Whoever you decide to put in charge, can I ask you to drop me off at the next port?" he inquired with a slightly forced hint of a smile, directing his attention to Viva as she was the one to mention finding an island to stop at just now.

"I may not be the most law abiding citizen, to be completely honest, and even though I may not know what exactly you're all aiming for and how, I'd rather not get involved in-" His fake smile dropped then as he instinctively took a little look around, a bit of a frown worming its way onto his face as he brought one hand up to scratch the back of his neck while he searched for words. He seemed to find them after a second or two and he returned his gaze on Viva after stopping to glance at Periwinkle for a bit, "in whatever perhaps-not-so-reputable business you might have in mind in order to climb to the Rotten 6."

Shifting on his feet, Kallain realized he might be coming off a bit condescending. Who knows, perhaps they'd take offence to him implying crime is not good enough for him. So he hastily continued without giving them time to reply, "I do not mean to sound rude and I do thank you for, uh, not leaving me behind on the shore even though you don't know me." He offered them another smile then, this one a bit less forced and more apologetic mixed in with worry. "I'm not quite certain yet how high this climb on my list of 'poorly thought out decision that cost me greatly later', but if I can still opt out of your... rotten plans, it might be best for me to take it." Perhaps MAGNA wouldn't be able to dig out who he is based on just that encounter alone and it wasn't too late to go back to being an occasionally pesky treasure hunter, or a trespasser and a thief as some might call it. Or so he hoped, which might be another mistake. MAGNA was quite the resourceful organization after all and he highly doubted they'd just let anyone involved in that day's little scene go on with their lives as if nothing happened.

With a bit of a thoughtful frown, he took quick stock of the mess around them and the ship, prattling on as he did so, shifting more like talking to himself, "This isn't exactly... ideal. I never planned to get so involved, Dee and I merely ran into each other and we decided, perhaps foolishly, to go lay our eyes upon Vargo's work if we could." The unfortunate and unknown fate of his accidental 'partner in crime' entering his mind again, Kallain's frown deepened as he turned around a bit, crossing his arms, and cast his eyes back towards the direction of the mess they were escaping, even if he couldn't see it anymore. Doing so, his voice lowered to merely a murmur under his breath as he then definitely just talked to himself, "I hope she'll be alright."

Admittedly, everyone reacted much better than he had planned, so maybe it wasn't all that bad of a crew. Kaito's eyes fell back to the blue haired kid, apparently he had Suntsumei on his side, but would that make him the winner if they had a fight? Not really, no. Sure, the thug didn't get a chance to properly observe him fending off the MAGNA, though the little snippets he did see failed to evoke any feelings of fear. His style was too formal and high class, he probably wouldn't fare well faced with a few dirty tricks. That, and his clothing could be easily used against him. Either way, Kaito couldn't do much more than speculate; he surely didn't have enough energy to try something and have it backfire.

His eyes flickered to the other woman onboard, the bonkers shipwright's apprentice. Her introduction was short, kind of like his was, and included her refusal to take ownership of the ship, which surprised him a little at first, but then again, perhaps responsibility wasn't her thing. So who was going to take it? He surely wouldn't, hell, the only reason he even was on this ship was purely due to a coincidence and the fact there was no other escape route. Not that he was complaining – it was a pleasure to sail on such a lavish ship! Though the constant mistreatment from their merry crew was somewhat getting on his nerves. Both times he looked over the deck his eye twitched at the mess and he was trying really hard not to tell these guys off, but his patience wasn't anywhere near vast enough. Sadly, before he could open his mouth, someone else already took the chance.

Kaito listened to the dreads guy's– what was his name again? Geez he had a turnip for a head, didn't he? –story, slowly picking at the cloth in his nose, surely the bleeding had stopped by now. While the man was explaining away, he managed to free his airway, luckily there wasn't any sort of damage he picked up on and he could breathe just fine. Once the story was done, he bent over the railing to better address the man beneath him, "And what does that exactly have to do with the nickname?" after a small pause he decided to also throw in a question that had bothered him since the bounty poster had been revealed, "Oh, and what sort of price are you caring on your head? Not to be rude or anything, just wanna know with what infamy we are dealing here."

The thug kept somewhat loose tabs on the conversation going between the two blue haired fellows they had on the ship – only the bold proclamation on wanting to keep the vessel really caught his eye, or rather his ear. "Do you even know how to look after a ship?" he blurted out without much thought. He doubted the answer would be 'yes' since she was the culprit behind most of the chaos on Vanilla Cloud, but at the same time, if the answer was 'no' then how did she hope to continue sailing with it?
And then the last member of the party finally decided to speak up. The tall man had some valid concerns... for a goody two-shoes. Though, he also had quite the sprinkle of badass on him, so he was an a-okay in Kaito's books. Besides, he was rather sure most of them were going to jump ship as soon as they reach the nearest (and probably safest) shore. So all in all, it was all good, save for the fact he forgot he was looking for his bag, goddamn it!

It was a relief to hear that Viva didn't share the same sentiments as Jack. Even though Peri didn't know Viva and Jamal for very long, they still spent some time getting to know one another and fighting side by side. Deep down, he didn't think that either of them would be so quick to judge him without giving him the chance to prove himself. On the other hand, Poemi, Kallain and Jack didn't know him at all. It was reasonable to think that they wouldn't want him traveling with them but it was only Jack who had mentioned anything of the sort. Taking everything into account, Periwinkle decided it was nothing more than a crass remark on Jack's behalf. It didn't seem like the pierced man felt very strongly about his past ties to MAGNA. It was more likely he was just trying to get under his skin.

Peri appreciated the fact that Viva used his comment about the Rotten 6 in an attempt to lighten the heavy atmosphere weighing down on them. Something that could be called a smile, if it weren't so insignificant, crept onto the blue haired young man's face. He nodded in acknowledgement when she pointed out that his family's actions had no bearing on his own and that currently they were all fleeing from MAGNA together. After voicing her opinion on what to do with the ship, Periwinkle chimed in as well, speaking in his usual proper accent. "I agree with Viva." He continued. "Vargo himself said this ship was our reward. We would be doing him a disservice to sell or abandon it. I've never heard of a ship without a captain before but there are many things I have never witnessed until today…perhaps it will work."

When Kallain addressed the group and glanced at him and Viva specifically, Periwinkle could tell that something was wrong. The imposingly large man expressed his disapproval at their attempt at notoriety, causing Periwinkle to blink with wide royal blue eyes, momentarily confused. There was clearly some misunderstanding and it might have even been amusing had Kallian not expressed his concern for the young female he was traveling with. Peri had to remember that for the most part, they were unaware of each other's character. Unlike the others, he was fortunate enough to have spent time with Viva and Jamal and he could honestly say that they were far from bloodthirsty criminals.

Retaining his perfect posture, he turned to look at Kallain with the same restrained smile. "I apologize for any confusion, however I assure you that I have no interest in making it onto the Rotten Six list. And as for Viva, Well…I invite you to spend one hour with her. I gather you might feel differently about the type of Rotten Six member she would make after that." Periwinkle understood her to be a carefree and whimsical young woman. Even if she did somehow manage to make it onto the Rotten Six list, it wouldn't be for any heinous crime. "About your companion…" He began, as a more serious tone washed over him. "I cannot say exactly what happened to her but last I saw her, she appeared to be unharmed and Vargo was nearby. I'd like to believe that he managed to get them both to safety."

The shield bearer wasn't the only one with doubts, even the man with the piercings had some questions, which he directed to Jamal and Viva. Peri didn't think Jack would get much out of Jamal, considering how tight lipped he was about his past but incase anything did slip out, Periwinkle was all ears.

If Poemi was at all uncomfortable with the stories of tragedy and frayed familial relations, she made no indication of it; indeed, she took to the stories with a strange sort of fascination, like a child staring through the glass of the aquarium. Somehow, what she took away from these various angsty or solemn tellings was a joy, as if everything had gone just dandy.

"You know… I was in a Thieves Guild once, dread-wolfy, and I knew this big, tough burglary-expert who went on a rampage specifically to earn himself a cool nickname. Only, while he was kicking ass, he accidentally threw some poor MAGNA troop through a daycare window, and got nicknamed Joe-Joe the 'Daycare Crasher' for the rest of his life...

… he drank himself to death like a month later, so count yourself lucky! Getting such a good nickname like that without even meaning to." She turned her attentions toward the Munsell now, keen to deliver her own brand of wholesome wisdom, "And you; you're pretty. I think our need for male eye-candy outweighs MAGNA suspicions. You've got my vote."

On the other hand, Kaito and Kallain apparently had no use for wisdom - why, the things they were saying were so very horrifically practical and logical. Poemi Ferendica, of all people, could barely withstand such terrifying reason. And so, for the moment, she opted to defer, wondering if perhaps Viva and Kallain would indeed have that hour-long alone-time session.

Finally, they had reached port, much to Periwinkle's relief. They weren't exactly an experienced crew, so Peri had his doubts that they would hit land within a reasonable period of time. It came as a welcomed surprise that he was wrong. Heading for the railing, Periwinkle saw Viva hop down from the ship and onto the sand below. Standing there for a moment, he took a look at their new surroundings. The weather was sunny and warm and somehow the sound of seagulls and the chiming from the bell tower in the distance relaxed him. It seemed like a friendly enough place, with plenty of shops where they could purchase supplies. He wondered how much traffic the small port was accustomed to after noticing the people's reaction to their presence or perhaps it was the fact that they had arrived on such an impressive looking vessel that invited the small commotion.

Instead of taking the same route Viva did, Periwinkle opted to disembark the old fashioned way, walking off the ship casually and meeting up with Viva and whomever else decided to join them. Almost instantly, he noticed the smiling faces of the children nearby, combined with the mild curiosity of their guardians. The reaction from the townsfolk was somewhat endearing and further put the blue haired young man at ease. Eventually, Viva whispered a question asking if anyone knew where they were. Looking around with curious royal blue eyes, Periwinkle tried to locate some sort of clue that would perhaps reveal their location, but came up with nothing. Keeping his voice hushed as well, he responded openly to her and anyone else in their group interested in listening.

"I have no idea where we are but perhaps we can obtain more information in town."

Poemi descended alongside Viva, and found a certain joy in the sensation of the sands creeping in between her toes. It was pleasant enough, and for a time she was content in being absorbed by it. Before too long, however, she could almost begin to feel each individual grain upon the pores of her skin, like ants nibbling incessantly upon her. It was overbearing in a sense, and it was accompanied by another strange, foreign thought.

She preferred the feel of the Vanilla Cloud's deck. It was a strange attachment, for she - despite her work - she had more or less always considered the vessel to be the sole property of the old man. She was just… an assistant of sorts, her contributions simple accoutrements and vain little extras. But with the old man gone…

"Why you askin' us," Poemi responded flatly, engaging in weaponized social ineptitude, "There's all those people right there…"

She glanced somewhat quizzically at the tittering girls seated upon the eatery.

"I think they're laughing at us. We should ask them for information, and then humiliate them for their insolence."