Open Skies, Smoking Guns(Myself x F R O S T)

[AvalonsGuardian]

In a fractured land, where countries bare fangs and blades at one another with alarming frequency, the majority of settlements are scattered through the skies, floating islands held aloft by magic we have hardly begun to understand. In the throes of this magic, technology works overtime to compete, birthing beasts of wood and metal, held aloft by technology and magic, filled with cargo, lined with guns. Merchants use them to transport loot, ill gotten or otherwise, leaving them ripe to be redistributed by other interested parties. The skies are dangerous, filled with ships of uncertain loyalties. Pirates strike without hesitation, without mercy. Soldiers prowl for enemy scouts, or for the unguarded to prey upon when unsatisfied with their pay, or pirates to bring to the justice of a blade or bullet for reward and recognition.

An ambitious, up and coming Pirate Captain has engaged a merchant ship and her escort, disabling both in short order and setting about bringing the crew of the merchant vessel to capitulation. Surprised when soldiers burst from below deck, she sics her secret weapon on the ship, while turning her full attention to a small gunboat intent on crippling or destroying her vessel. As the engagement continues, time will tell its outcome

 

[F R O S T]

The said weapon - a Quicksilver Dragon by the name of Mercury had wasted no time diving off the ship into the clouds below, a flash of light as his silvery wings spread and he took flight was all that could be seen before the wily creature landed on the opposing deck, outflanking the defenders of the airship and blinding them with a spread of his reflective wings before attacking with talons and a razor sharp tail.

A couple volleys were aimed at the fast moving dragon, but none of them came even close to hitting him, only making him more agitated than he was before. Guns were one of the reasons for the downfall of Dragonkind after all why wouldn't this irritate him? When the mammals discovered the technology and took to the skies, the Dragons were swift to react whenever their long-guarded territories were invaded and as they often inhabited the ancient ruins that dotted the mountains and islands and swiftly became known as a menace to humans and the other species that took to the skies; the legends of the Great Dragons and the treasures they hoarded brought pirates and nations to the holds of dragonkind and both sides suffered. Mercury himself had lost his hoard and his home to a group of treasure hunters who decided to invade with guns and explosives - Still, despite the trouble his species had with humans and their guns, it was still not an easy shot to hit a dragon in full motion and in full motion this dragon certainly was!

The sounds of battle rung out through the clouds and masked the sounds of his talons clicking on the wood of the deck. Gunshots and swords clashing were noises he tuned out, keeping low and moving rapidly, almost dancing through enemy ranks, tail flicking out whenever he saw an opening and fresh blood spraying into the air soon after. As adrenaline flowed through him things seemed to slow even further, enhancing his reaction time and allowing him to identify the officer on deck. It wasn't a surprise that the Officer and his Guard had turned their attentions on him, the officer was clearly above the panic that a Dragon might inspire amongst the enlisted crew, and the way that he leveled a pistol at him told the creature that this man was far more confident than even the men who guarded him. Perhaps he realized that slaying a dragon would earn him fame and fortune like that dragonslayer?

The Dragon's golden eyes narrowed and he skid to a halt, falling low while the three pointed firearms at him, too many to dodge at this range. Luckily he was not alone, for soon covering fire from the side caught one of the guards unaware and his body piled into the officer, throwing his weapon to the side and effectively disarming him during this within-a-heartbeat conflict. The scowl adorning the handsome face of the reptillian creature became a fearsome snarl and his eyes met with his target. He still was after the officer; but this other man was an obstacle who had to removed. Everything after seemed to occur in slow motion. The Dragon started already in a low position, The Talons on his digitigrade feet dug deeply into the boards of the deck as powerful leg muscles tensed and then released. He pulled his wings in tightly to his body and kicked off, lunging forward right into the his opponent's guard and well past his reach, silvery claws flickering and slashing five gouges each across his armor and torso. Once past his guard the Dragon would fling his wings open, striking the man in the helmeted head with the armored edge of the limb and sending him sprawling and bleeding to the floor. Glancing down and left the officer was getting back up and he had only momentarily stunned the Guard. He decided to leave the man to the neko and her rifle and turned his Gaze towards the officer, grinning and lunging at him (and making sure to smack the fallen guards with his tail as he went.

This officer was the key to the battle, the moment he fell morale would plummet, or at least that was how it seemed human morale worked, they worked well together, but once a keystone was broken the rest would crumble. The officer had re-aimed his pistol and brought his sword up to guard with his other. Mercury moved lighting fast, but the human moved almost as quickly; a swift claw deflected the pistol at point blank range, discharging the first shot harmlessly into the floor and a sword swing almost caught the Dragon in the neck, but was stopped by that slender and dexterous tail, flung to the side to set the officer. Against a human opponent this would be a stalemate, but the Dragon was attacking in a frenzy, and the fight would end with the silvery Dragon grabbing the officer's shoulder and leaning into his reach, latching his mouth onto the man's throat and biting down hard.

The Dragon's sharp teeth would prove to be far more than a match for the officer's soft throat and in no time he spilled to the ground clutching at his throat with both hands, gurgling as his warm blood surged out of the wound. Mercury grinned and licked the fresh blood off his lips. Human blood tasted wonderful, made his predatory urges spike... luckily he was also controlled enough to not feast on a human mid battle and the officer was now out of the fight, too busy gurgling and clutching at his neck to be a threat. Several of the other men saw this and morale would soon plummet. The Dragon stood swiftly, remembering about the Guards behind him... He didn't wait to see how the Guards were doing, trusting that neko to have his back, instead looking out to see how the battle for the ship was faring.

 

[AvalonsGuardian]

As the Dragon bore down on his prey, the rest of the soldiers were beginning to recover from the blinding flash the dragon's wings had unleashed earlier, during his arrival to the battle, along with those pirates who had not been fortunate enough to cover their eyes in time. Those that had were busy shooting, slashing, and stabbing at any soldier within range, pressing the soldiers back towards the door from which they had emerged. The one drawback of their ambush was that they had all emerged from a single entrance, which was an easy bottleneck, whether they were entering or leaving. Many saw the plight of the Captain, but with pirates bearing down on them, none had the opportunity to really render any assistance. To his credit, the Captain fought to the end, but against a dragon, he didn't really stand a chance. Any curses or pleas for mercy died on his lips, or, perhaps more accurately, spilled onto the deck with his rapidly dwindling life force.

The Neko who was covering him, while used to her sidearms rather than the larger rifles used by the soldiers, was managing well, making sure that one of the Elite Guard, who was trying to take to his feet, stayed down. With the more powerful round, there was no need to attempt to find a chink in his armor, the shot merely drilling straight through. Her covering fire did not go unnoticed, however, as a soldier threw himself at her, attempting to wrestle the rifle from her grip. Purely based on strength, he had the advantage, but she wasn't afraid to fight dirty, delivering a low kick that gave her a moment's respite. That said, he was still a trained soldier, and the fight looked once more to be turning against her until another member of the boarding party put a handaxe into said soldier's back.

All across the deck, or at least in the area around the door belowdecks, in the rapidly shrinking section the Greenbacks maintained control of, the tide was turning against them. With the Captain dead, morale and order both fell apart. The more experienced of the soldiers were already falling back, offering fire as they went to dissuade pursuit. Whether they would use their entrenched position to negotiate a surrender or go down fighting was yet to be seen. For those left on deck that couldn't make it back, it was a matter of throwing down their weapons and surrendering. Several were cut down regardless, either before they could communicate their intentions or due to bloodlust on the pirates part, but some, including those smart enough to admit their surrender and see it accepted before throwing down their weapons, were rounded up and set under guard.

Soon, the deck was clear, at least, as much as it could be. The dead and dying, along with weapons dropped or discarded along the way cluttered it, with some moving among them to tend to who they could and put those they couldn't out of their misery. Weapons dropped from the soldiers, being of generally higher quality than what the boarding crew had on them, were gathered, a group of them training newly liberated rifles on the door in case the survivors were foolish enough to try to mount another assault. The battle certainly wasn't over, there was still the Merchant Captain of the ship itself and the surviving soldiers to deal with, along with the loot, all below deck. The Merchant would probably come quietly enough, but the soldiers were a wildcard.

Any thoughts or preparations were interrupted by a booming explosion in the distance, the sky lighting up and the ship swaying slightly from the shockwave. Most, if not all, turned to see the source of it, only to find the gunboat belonging to the Greenbacks drifting, billowing smoke and flames, torn apart by smaller explosions as it went. Whether by design or luck, it seemed the good Captain, or at least, one of her gunners, had put a round in the ammunition store, which meant that ship, and anybody on it, was done. With no water to catch them, jumping was as sure a death as staying aboard, though perhaps some lifeboats might escape the blast radius in time.

The dismay was evident on the prisoners faces, though at least some of them appeared thankful that they were there, rather than back on their ship, or what was left of it. Most would agree that the pirates were at least something they had a chance with, whereas fire and shrapnel would kill them without hesitation. The Neko was one of those who stared, though she shook her head and went back to the looting. She pitied the fallen, but their equipment might yet keep her from joining them. The rifles issued to the Greenbacks were too bulky for her, but perhaps a carbine, or a finer crafted pistol would suit her. A solid dagger wouldn't be unappreciated, either. The respite wouldn't be long, though, as one of the boarders, one who had been long with the crew and seen his share of combat, began to gather them for another push.

"Merc!" He called. "Take your Guardian angel..." He trailed off, pointing at the neko. "And a couple more and find another way down. If negotiations break down, we'll keep their attention." Pushing through right into the rifles of the soldiers would be suicide. If anyone could find another entrance, perhaps a hatch or something, it would be Mercury. Failing that, his claws could likely find a spot to tear through. The whole ship wasn't metal, after all, so finding a point not reinforced shouldn't be terribly difficult. Perhaps more difficult would be getting the others there, but there was enough rope and netting around to make a path with a bit of work. The Neko's nickname was probably a jab at both of them, either in good fun or less so, but she was a good enough shot to not be a liability if she was tagging along. The others would mostly be to keep them from being overwhelmed by sheer numbers, though he was at least well regarded enough to have his pick of the lot.

The Neko straightened up when she was mentioned, busy tucking the officer's pistol away as she did so. It was a nice pistol, after all, looking well forged, if a bit elaborate in decoration, and the ammunition he carried was likewise carefully made to be uniform, for better accuracy. The Greenbacks weren't the most technologically advanced of the nations out there, some of which had beautifully crafted weapons, or just advanced ones, but they at least kept their gear up to standard, unlike some of the less...organized armed forces. Of course, Mercury probably wouldn't appreciate even a fine firearm, given the relationship between guns and dragons, but the neko certainly could, enough to discard one of her weapons for the prize. Tragically, it would mean that her two pistols wouldn't match, but as long as she knew which to use for more accurate shots, it would be alright, until she could get something nicer. That would depend on their pay for this job. She could only hope whatever was in the hold was worth it.

 

[F R O S T]

Mercury's golden eyes watched the tide of the battle turned - so far things had been playing out admirably, replacements for dead crew were expensive and always needed to be put in their place lest they step on mercury's tail or something equally insulting and need to be replaced themselves. With the their leader lying on the deck with his lifeblood rapidly gushing from the torn vein caused by the dragon's savage bite morale was plummeting in the enemy, those who had seen the act had already taken several steps back with looks of horror on their faces. Mercury couched over his fallen foe, resisting the urge to feed on the warm body, but his curiosity overcame his bloodlust and his golden eyes moved to the neko who had assisted him then the rest of the crew as they pushed the defenders below decks. A fanged smile touched the dragon's handsome face, watching fear and awe ripple through the enemy crew; he never would get tired of seeing that reaction in humans or their kin.

The creature stood soon after, glancing left and right at the enemy soldiers. Those who had witnessed his deed stared in horror, others scrambled for the hatches. The dragon stretched languidly while watching the humans rush below deck, those smart enough to surrender being rounded up at the mercy of the boarding pirates. A glance at the neko who had assisted him informed the dragon that she had survived the battle, and he turned to offer her a slight nod of his head, blood still dripping from his chin, claws and tail spotting on the deck where they fell. Despite his fearsome stance the dragon did still flinch when the gunship belonging to the greenbacks exploded. The expression was actually almost cute, wings tensing and tail whipping the deck hard enough to split the timbers, a fanged grimace striking his face before while his vision snapped to the descending ship before he immediately glanced around and snarled at anyone who looked at him. Most of the crew knew better than to mock the dragon for this skittishness around explosives. He almost died in one one of those explosions after all when that bastard 'dragon hunter' took his treasured horde and left him for dead, broken and wounded in the rocks. If the captain he served had not found him he would have died there for sure. Luckily it seemed most of the others had also been staring into the explosion and missed his startled reaction. He did regain his composure quickly enough though there was a new pink tint to his pale cheeks when he checked on his companions on the boarding party. He did quickly dismantle the officer's hand and wiped his bloody claws on his uniform and claimed the sword as his prize before turning to a fellow boarder who had the audacity to give him an order, sneering at him.

"Watch your tone, mammal." He cast a sideways glance at the boarder in question, still slightly irritated from his own reaction to the gunship's explosion. He also made a point to only take orders from the captain (and even then she seemed to know how to get him to comply pretty easily), other crew members might be smart enough to offer suggestions, but he was already fairly irritable, though the boarder's suggestion made sense. He also cast a rather piercing stare at the neko when he noticed her pillaging the corpse of one of his kills, namely the officer who commanded the soldiers on deck. He let that one slide however, as she had assisted him in that fight and though he would prefer to add any possible treasures to his new horde it was unlikely that he would ever use such a treasure with his talons and the anthropocentric design of firearms. He did still huff at her and gestured to her and several other of the crew to follow him, turning and flicking his tail towards the boarder who offended him, aiming to splatter him with some of the blood from his tail as he passed by, part playful and part spiteful. (Dragons tended to be a little like cats that way)

With the deck cleared of soldiers, it was easy to explore the merchant ship without any hindrances. Mercury could have taken to the clouds in order to find a weakness down below but that meant that he would have to face anyone inside alone, which he was not thrilled to do... This of course meant that the dragon folded his wings on his back and took his time gazing around the deck of the ship to find one of the weaker spots in the floor. Some ships had metal plating and prying the plates off would be difficult, however near the bow of the ship was a crew hatch that lead below decks, meant for engineer access and locked and secure with only a couple bolts and a padlock. Mercury stooped and examined the hatch for a couple moments, glancing at the neko who had assisted him earlier. "Thank you by the way, for the covering fire" He said, softly, pulling gently at the padlock and attempting to get his talons under the edge of the hatch, tail occasionally whipping behind him as he grew frustrated, eventually he gave up and stood, the look on his face communicating that he was about to do something drastic - a look that signaled the party with him to take cover.

Mercury was young for a dragon, a whelp compared to some of the older and more legendary dragons that the sheer name of made soldiers leap from their ships. Ta'lan, whos molten breath had turned hundreds of warships into molten slag and Tessia, who enjoyed convincing ship captains to fly straight into her deadly storms, the siren as they called her. Elder Quicksilver Dragons were even rumored to be able to cut ships in half with their own breath weapons. Mercury however was quite young, and though formidable had a lot of room to grow. He took a step back and arched his back, opening his mouth wide and inhaling deeply, the only warning the crew would get before he spread his wings and roared. What came out of the dragon's mouth was not fire though, but a stream of scalding white light. The stream burned and scorched the planks and wood, melting metal and charring wood until the stream burnt through the decks below. In the short and sweet time it took the hatch was reduced to cinders and broken blanks and Mercury's legs tensed, leaping up into the air and crashing through the hatch into the decks below, extending his wings to catch the light from above and illuminate the deck below. It seemed to be some sort of galley, but was full of crates. Mercury sniffed the area, not smelling any human sweat or other odor. "Its clear" He shouted up to those above, silently moving behind one of the crates, anticipating the crew to send at least someone to investigate, claws out in case he had to pounce someone.

 

[AvalonsGuardian]

The neko, with her newly looted prize, didn't seem particularly inclined to shoot any of the fleeing soldiers. She could have, of course. Terrified soldiers were generally easy to hit, as fear tended to wash away the training and instinct driven evasion that left soldiers tough to shoot. There wasn't much sport in putting a bullet in the back of a fleeing target, though, and with there being a very good chance that at least some of the survivors would surrender later, it would have been a waste of a bullet. Not all of them would go quietly, though, she had to assume, which was why she carried both of her guns loaded. If she was going to be going below-decks with Merc, she had to be ready to do some fighting, after all.

For now, though, if only for a moment, they had a breather, and she met the dragon's gaze, offering a nod of her own. Admittedly, the sight of the dragon with blood on his chin was a bit unsettling, but looking past that bit of ferocity, he looked pretty good in the heat of battle. Not that she would ever entertain more than bored fantasies about the Captain's pet dragon, certainly not willing to risk pissing off said captain for a roll in the hay, non matter how handsome Merc was. That was ignoring the fact that he would probably turn her down, even if she did offer. Thoughts to be saved for later, though, she had to remind herself, rather effectively shocked from her thoughts at the explosion, her keen hearing picking it up plenty well enough.

Her reaction was more pragmatic than fearful, ducking low to brace herself on the deck. She could tell, just by sound, that the explosion wasn't close by, but if big enough, it didn't have to be close to throw frightfully large splinters around, or to break something important on the ship they were boarding, or worse, their own. She straightened when no harm presented itself, though, brushing herself off and politely averting her gaze. Having been facing the dragon, she had caught his reaction, and while not aware of his reasons for disliking explosions, she knew better than to do anything other than pretend she had seen nothing. Right, well, that was bad news for the enemy, but things were going to continue as planned. She arched her back in a quick stretch, giving Merc a brief view of her chest straining against her shirt before she settled in.

Said member of the boarding crew, either through wisdom or spite, said nothing further to the dragon, his point made. Tragically, while the fact that this one was foolish enough to bark orders at the dragon, him being bold enough to do so marked him as one of the more veteran crew members, which made him less expendable than some of the newer blood. The Neko followed along, lightly letting her fingers dance along her new weapon. The dragon hadn't liked her looting it, but she could make good use of it, and he couldn't. She figured, watching his back as she had, she had earned an officer's sidearm. Maybe a...no, damn it, she had to focus. Too much time without a man tended to leave her mind to...wander, at least when not occupied with battle.

Indeed, any fallen that were still intact enough to offer a threat were being quickly dealt with by the crew, and, as to be expected, all of their trinkets and valuables were being dealt with as well, rings pilfered and throats cut all around, save the ones who could be saved without much trouble, who were lent to those guarding the other prisoners to be converted, randsomed, or executed as their individual state's determined. "It's what I do." The neko nodded, looking proud to have received thanks from the crew's chief weapon. Obviously he was more than that, but he was, without a doubt, their best weapon. She opened her mouth to offer to take care of the lock for him, having...experience dealing with locks as simple as that one, but seeing the look on his face, she wisely took a few steps back instead.

Despite his young age, Merc was plenty capable, both on the battlefield and off of it. Of course, even his Captain would probably blush to think of what bedding a legendary dragon would be like, having experienced her dragon in action, but most would likely react with a more sensible fear. After all, word traveled, and, true or not, tales were heard, marveled at, and repeated. At any rate, it was fortune that this was a merchant vessel rather than a military one, as it meant there was no worrying about a powder charge to hit. Well, unless the merchant had been carrying powder, but that would have been a bad idea on a ship planning an ambush. The neko would have a few things to say about the technique, if asked, but the results were quite effective, and she hastened to follow him down, landing with hardly a sound and hiding behind a crate of her own, having gestured for the others to wait. Better if they could deal with any who investigated silently, to keep some element of surprise.

"...Yeah, well why don't-ah hell!" A door at the end of the cargo hold swung open with a creak, allowing light from the hallway beyond to pour in, though the hole in the ceiling was doing a wonderful job of providing illumination already. "Go on, whelp!" That came slightly louder, being shouted in their direction, while the next comment seemed to be aimed down the hallway. "I'm not paid well enough for this!" Unmistakably a female, though as the figures came into sight, too fixated on the hole in the ceiling to notice the dragon and the neko, a second figure, this one male, slipped into view as well. He was a soldier, a young looking one at that, likely not too long out of training. The female, on the other hand, wore mixed metal and cloth, armor on important places and simple clothes elsewhere. One of the mercenaries from the disabled ship, surely. Beyond, voices could faintly be made out that sounded like the surviving soldiers, but they were far enough away to not yet pose a threat, or overhear any quiet attacks in the cargo hold

"Well where do you expect to go? They have the deck! They're going to just blow ths floating scrap heap apart." The young man was almost impossible to make out, quiet as he talked, but the mercenary, with blond pigtails under a brown cloth cap, spoke quite loudly enough to be heard. Fortunately the crew above decks had the sense to stay out of sight, or were more than likely preoccupied with looting. "Yes, shoot anyone that pokes their head in. Maybe they all blew themselves up." While she hadn't gotten the memo, with her comrades surrendered, it was likely that the mercenary wouldn't stay commited to the fight, though if Merc wasn't feeling charitable, it would be just as easy to swiftly end her. The neko seemed ready to rush the soldier, who was closer to her, waiting for Merc to make a move so that they could jump the two at the same time. With the Mercenary's hatchet sheathed and the soldier's rifle trained on the hole, they likely wouldn't be able to react until too late.

 

[F R O S T]

Despite mercury's irritation above decks, he did have a keen sense of awareness and very good eyes, noticing the looting above decks and of course also noticing the neko's stretch, which did keep his eye for a split second before he had moved on to the hatch. The dragon seemed to be at least slightly aware of the desires of some of the crew members, being a perceptive creature, and especially the captain, who did not bother hiding her looks towards him, but he also made it clear he quite liked those glances. He also knew the captain was one of the jealous sorts, but loved the attention and very much enjoyed teasing the other members of the crew anyway, always making sure to stretch when in full view and pretty much never wore much in the way of modest clothing.

Mercury silently grinned to himself after landing, quite satisfied with his work at cutting through a plate metal and reinforced wood deck and feeling rather proud of his performance in this raid in general. He didn't however let this distract him, but did let it put a dent in his previously irate mood - a lucky thing for the two investigators that would soon enter the hold. From his spot he watched the neko land belowdecks as well in a frankly catlike fashion before darting behind her own crate, his attention shifting along with those glowing eyes to the source of a new noise entering the hold. Two intruders, one female from the smell, and one male, both of them were relatively young for humans... easy prey.

Mercury didn't bother glancing out to see who was there, instead relying on other senses to locate the two of them. His reflective scales tended to make him somewhat bad at hiding even in the dark anyway, but he did have a trick up his sleeve to make him at least somewhat less noticeable. He perked hearing the voices and crouched lower pulling his wide wings over his shoulders much like a human would wear a cloak to both minimize his silhouette and provide himself with better camouflage. The backs of his wings were darker in color than the highly reflective fronts for aerial camouflage, though doing this didn't cover his silver hair or silvery horns. Fortunately both of their species also had excellent vision in the dark as well, the humans however were still adjusting to the darkness.

He waited for a stern moment, feeling those predatory urges rising again before slowly and easily pulling himself up onto one of the larger crates in the hold and letting his fangs gleam in the darkness. There was plenty of room to pounce and the female hadn't noticed him at all. The Dragon silently waited there, figuring it was best for the neko to make her move first, but as soon as he noted movement from her direction he moved to pounce. Those strong muscles tensed and kicked against the crate, propelling his body towards the female, who turned in the direction of the scraping sound just in time to see the creature leaping at her. Mercury hit the female hard enough to knock the wind out of her and stifling what would have been a cry of suprise, moving fast enough that she did not even manage to release a startled gasp before being pounced upon by the fearsome creature. Mercury hit her with four limbs, locking his talons on her weapon upper arm and around her mouth and pinning her to the ground with his knees. They both hit the ground with a quiet thud on the ground, Mercury's body pressed firmly into hers, chest pressed up against her chest almost as if he were embracing her and wings folded to either side. For a Dragon he was actually fairly light, even lighter than a human male of his size, but the talons he sported made resisting a frankly terrible decision. From here killing her would be as simple as twitching a muscle, yet he still left his tail free in case his 'guardian angel' ended up needing help with her adversary, he was easily in range to impale the man through the torso or slice off a limb with the long, dexterous appendage.

"Move, scream, and I will rip your throat out" He hissed to the mercenary, oddly feeling generous with her, making his point by dragging his talons along her arm, easily tearing through clothing and cutting into skin to demonstrate how easily he could simply murder her. Luckily for this woman however the quicksilver dragon was in a better mood than before, so he felt he would spare her if he could. Were he one of the dreaded chromatic dragons like a red or yellow he would probably have a mouthful of her flesh and be watching her bleeding out, or drawing it out himself. Metallic dragons at least had a sense of decency and killed when it was necessary more than when it was entertaining. The mercenary complied with the dragon's threat, lying as still as possible and with fear clearly in her eyes and seeping from her skin, allowing him to glance to the Neko to ensure everything was alright on her end. If they were they could signal more crew members to tie up their new hostages or dispose of the bodies before moving on to deal with the rest of the soldiers.

 

[AvalonsGuardian]

Fortunately, the gaping hole that Merc had torn in the ship left enough light pouring in, together with the well lit hallway that the two investigators had come from, meant that it would easily take them a few moments to adjust to the darkness, and they would need to first turn from the light, which, given their fixation on the damage, was unlikely. That being said, it was probably for the best that the dragon crouched low and used his wings as a cloak, of sorts, as it kept any reflection from being picked up by the mercenary or the soldier, who seemed about prepared to pull back and make their report, at least up until they were interrupted by the neko and the dragon making their move.

To the credit of the two, they reacted very quickly as soon as they saw movement. It was possible that the two, or at least the mercenary, who seemed the elder, and more experienced of the pair, had anticipated an ambush and had prepared for such, or perhaps it was pure instinctual reaction to the scraping noise. The girl didn't get far before the dragon collided into her, knocking her easily off of her feet. She was stout, but he had momentum on his side, so even as she got her weapon into hand, she found herself on her back, the hand holding the hatchet pinned to the ground and a hand over her mouth. It was almost cute, seeing the woman with wide eyes, shocked by how quickly he had moved. The situation was a bit too serious to enjoy that, but given the rather playful nature of both of the pirates there, that might not necessarily stop them.

He was light enough that, in normal circumstances, she might have considered attempting to buck him, but while it was possible that she might be able to get her weapon loose and strike a blow, even assuming that his scales didn't manage to glance the blow if it came in at a bad angle, it was also likely that the dragon's fangs, which almost seemed to gling in the light, would tear her throat out before she managed that much, and as his claw sliced easily through the unarmormored cloth sleeve of her top, she had to take into account the danger from those as well. All in all, she had not gotten this far by being brave over smart, and so she relaxed, as much as one could underneath the dragon, and slowly, deliberately, she released her hold on her weapon, letting it slip from her grasp.

With the indication of her surrender completed, she took a slow breath through her nose, trying to calm her pounding heart. Bright blue eyes disappeared as she closed them, before opening them to watch and see what Merc would do. If she was going to be killed, she at least wanted to see it coming. Better to die a warrior than a coward. That being said, part of her couldn't help but notice that the dragon was attractive and not...entirely modestly dressed. Perhaps another time, she might appreciate being pounced and pinned by a handsome dragon like this, but there was far too much looming death grinning down at her for any such thoughts to survive beyond the deepest reaches of her mind. She was more muscular than either the neko or his captain, clearly a warrior, but she maintained a slender enough form, her muscles all lean and athletic, the cloth of her outfit hinting at the curves beneath, but the metal plates keeping him from gauging them, whether he would have intended to or not.

While he was doing this, the soldier was in the process of being subdued as well, but like the mercenary, he put up a fight before going down. Either intuition or luck made him check his own side before looking to assist his compatriot, wary of further ambushers and caring more to see that he survived over a mercenary the merchant hired to keep his skin safe. Again, he was lucky enough to catch the neko with the blade of his bayonet, but not so lucky as to cause damage. No, he merely sliced at her shirt, blade not inches from drawing blood, but quickly the bladed weapon became a disadvantage as the black haired catgirl slipped within its reach, hitting him shoulder first and knocking them both onto the floor of the hold. Putting a gun to his head would have communicated her point well, but she didn't want any gunshots to go off, and so she quickly shoved the rifle away and pressed her blade into the soldier's throat, close enough to create a thin, pink line across the unguarded skin of the young man, rather effectively making her point as she clamped a hand over his mouth, much the same as merc had done.

Whatever his feelings towards the pirates, or towards his fellow soldiers, he would do no one any good dead, most of all himself, and so he merely fell still, more to keep from cutting himself on the blade than to cooperate with his captor. Seeing that merc had his own target under control, she flashed him a pleased grin, positively predatorial in nature, looking like she had just caught a mouse, to use a potentially offensive simile. He might notice her tail flicking behind her, betraying her pleasure at the catch, and of course the damage to her shirt wasn't bad either, a good look for her. Tragically her modesty was maintained, but her midriff was bared, and it probably wouldn't take much to split the rest of the blue fabric entirely. His claw would certainly do it, looking at the top of the blond mercenary. Of course, now they had to take care of the two without causing more noise. The mercenary might cooperate, but the neko had to keep the soldier pinned and subdued.

 

[F R O S T]

The dragon grinned at his subdued prey, her reaction to his sudden attack amused him, humans were almost cute when surprised or scared, lightening that mood even further and making his tail twitch with a predatory pleasure. She complied readily enough to his threat, which he appreciated. Mercenaries tended to not be as loyal and often displayed a sense of self-preservation, not having silly concepts like duty and caring more about their next paycheck than some notion that they needed to die for something. She had enough sense to understand the very real threat that this male posed despite the almost suggestive manner that he was pinning her to the ground.

She seemed to be quite a bit of a robust female, a little stronger looking than the neko or the captain, and though he appreciated such a physique he kept that to himself, trying to remain serious even though the tip of his tail twitched like a playful cat. She could certainly have fought back, maybe try to bite his hand or shove him off, but he was much faster than her, and that bite might well end up on one of the talons or scales, which were certainly harder than her blunt little teeth and were also quite capable of removing her face from the rest of her skull. That would be a hideous waste though, so Mercury continued to press his threat, those claws pricking at sensitive skin and teeth gleaming dangerously in the darkness. Those claws also teases the metal guarding some of her curves, scraping gently along them, head tilting curiously before eyes returned to hers.

The human female did quickly relent though, which made mercury smile and expose those long, glinting fangs to her, watching her hand release that hatchet before that tail of his swiftly and dexterously wrapped around the hilt of the weapon and tossed it across the hold of the ship, well out of reach of the female. The dragon's handsome face leaned in close, close enough that she would be able to smell the mint he enjoyed chewing to keep his breath fresh, a smile touching the lips on his handsome face. "Good girl" The dragon purred, the sound and vibration moving straight into her chest from his. His grip relaxed ever so slightly, if only to show the female that her compliance was doing work to save her life. His eyes returned to her, noticing her calming herself, which he respected, nothing more irritating than a victim... she also steeled herself just in case he decided to kill her anyway, which pleased him... courage was a good thing to see, especially in the face of death and in one that most would expect to drop her flags and run at the first sign of danger. With the female dealt with Mercury turned his vision to his companion, noting that the neko had also taken down her foe with no injury at all (minus some damage to her clothing). She was quite skilled, and that he appreciated, and her own target was down and muffled.

Mercury glanced over to her noticing the pleasure of her having captured her own prey, an enormously pleased look appearing on his handsome face, The dragon offered her a playful smile, those golden eyes glancing at the skin revealed and that flicking tail of hers. Seemed they had quite a bit in common, and he quite liked the look of her toned midriff. He glanced back at his own tail, grasping the rifle from the nearby the soldier and also removing that potential threat from him and tearing it from his hands if needed, placing it down a little more carefully before signalling the other boarders to enter. With both threats neutralized he rapped his tail two times on one of the crates, signalling to the boarders to enter.

It didn't take much time for the rest of the party to drop down the hatch, ready to subdue the captives. Two men and a woman dropping down after them, both heavily armed and ready for the capture. One of the males moved to assist the neko with her prize, the other two moved to secure the mercenary. Mercury's hand moved to her throat while the man who came to assist him bound her wrists and then those talons moved away altogether, gently slipping up her neck and chin scratching only enough to raise the skin on her teasingly before she was pulled away. Likewise the neko's prey was tied up and dealt with. From there the mercenary's life was in the hands of the boarding party, perhaps she would turn and join them... the soldier however was a wildcard, greenbacks tended to be loyal and and it might be best to throw him overboard or slit his throat for a quick death. Once his prey had been dealt with quietly and calmly Mercury sent her a wink, letting the boarders place her and her soldier pal somewhere safe to be hauled onboard their own ship for questioning later. For now however his attention shifted to the neko and he offered her a talon to grab ahold of so they could move on to the next couple chambers, gesturing to the other boarders to follow them as he moved silently across the floor to the door that the soldier and the mercenary had entered from.

Unfortunatly things wouldn't go as smoothly as they would have initially thought. Merc perked and growled when his ears picked up the sound of footsteps, it was before even he could react much less anyone else could before another figure stepped through the door, holding a pistol... another greenback cadet who's eyes went wide and he opened his mouth to shout, seeing the tied up captives and the pirates onboard. He actually did manage a cry of surprise before Mercury silenced him, driving the blade of his tail up into the young man's jaw and away, golden eyes now widening as he gestured to the boarders. " Tell the boys upstairs to throw a smoke grenade" the boarder signaled to a man above and Mercury darted into the hallway, moving over the body of the young man he had just killed, talons bared and ready. He didn't know if anybody had heard the shout, but he wasn't taking chances.

 

[AvalonsGuardian]

Serious as the mood was, the mercenary couldn't help but notice the almost playful way that Mercury, and his neko companion, who she saw had subdued her companion just as effecitvely, and silently. She had to give the two some respect, in that they had both pounced their prey quickly and efficiently, and with how similarly their tails batted about, they both seemed quite pleased with themselves. Part of her was glad that it had gone so smoothly. If she was going to be killed on the field of battle, she wanted to go down fighting, but if her fate was not to die this day, then she would happily go on to her next paycheck. She could only hope that the other mecenaries she was with had been as sensible, and that the other, inside, would be spared as she had.

In keeping with his playful attitude, he seemed to be examining his catch, claw tapping along the metal that hid away her physqiue from his prying eyes, as if trying to determine just what he had, and what should be done with it. His breath smelled sweet, and fresh, nothing like the...well, meat and blood that she had anticipated, which certainly helped to put her at ease, and given that he had stripped her of her weapon(and grabbed the soldier's rifle while he was at it), he hopefully wasn't going to kill either of them. She didn't know or care much for the brat pinned opposite her, but it was good that he hadn't done something stupid. He had a lot of life to live if he didn't do something to ruin it or throw it away.

Gods damn the handsome dragon that was practically straddling her. Her life was on the line here, he could tear out her throat at any moment! So why did a shiver run through her when he called her a good girl. No matter how precarious things were, it was almost...seductive in tone. Out of place as the thoughts might have been, she would, being honest with herself, admit that she wouldn't have much objection if he took her as his spoils right there on the battlefield. Bah, fucking dragons and their good looks.

The Neko winked at him when he smiled at her, and the soldier below would feel her purring slightly, even as the blonde mercenary felt a bit of rumbling from the dragon's chest when he spoke. Tragically, it seemed she was bound to be passed over to the boarding party along with her companion, to be secured above decks until the rest of the crew could be brought to heel. At least the Merchant would probably surrender. He had money to buy his way out, and no inclination to die, no doubt. She couldn't help but feel disappointed to know that she was going to be stuck with the soldier rather than allowed some private time with the dragon. Some consolation came when she found what was to be done with her, but for the neko and the dragon, finding that out would come later.

Little surprise that someone else had come to investigate. Between the weapons being tossed about, and the lack of a report from the mercenary and the greenback, it had only been a matter of time, and fortunate for the boarding party that it hadn't been sooner, when a clear shot might have been possible at either Merc or the neko. As it stood, with him dispatched, though not without noise, the crew above saw their chance, and the din of battle was soon ringing through the ship, the hisss~ of the smoke grenade soon drowned out by the clashing of metal and gunshots.

The soldiers were on the backfoot, no doubt, scattered and demoralized. Those unfortunate enough to lack pistols or carbines were at a further disadvantage, unable to effectively bring their weapons to bear in the close quarters. The long hallway provided one of few opportunities, and a trio of soldiers made to fire down it when they recognized the threat moving rapidly towards them, but between the dragon's speed and the empty rooms and alcoves along the way, it probably wouldn't be that difficult for the dragon to avoid them. It didn't hurt that the neko was hot on his tail, finding it hard to get a clean shot past him, but managing to snap off two nonetheless. One skipped off of the wall, but the other found its mark, not killing, but at least distracting one of the soldiers. That meant only two shots to avoid, as he could probably close the distance before the third recovered.

Pistols empty, the neko could only wait for the dragon to make a movement, hoping that it would tip her off quickly enough to allow her to take cover from the rifles directed at them. She was quick, fortunately, and not an easy target to hit, though she admittedly did have to worry about the state of her top, as all of the running and the gunfire was not doing much to benefit the chances of her shirt staying intact enough to keep her chest wrapped up. At least most of the defending force was probably occupied with the attack from above. If they could punch through the guards down there, they could likely sweep up right behind the soldiers and find the merchant captain. That would be the last objective dealt with, and even if that didn't coax the soldiers to surrender, the pincer attack would be more than they could take, in their disorganized state. Then it would be a matter of figuring out what to do with them, if all went smoothly.

 

[F R O S T]

Mercury couldn't help but grin when he noticed the attraction in the woman's eyes; it spurred him on and oh he would have loved to tease her more, but for now fun times were over. The Dragon did give her one last parting gift though to assist her consideration, slowly running his tongue over his lips to clean up the blood, grinning and looking back at the hallway while that tail of his wove through the air, still coated in the life force of the poor soldier who had come to investigate, the dark red blood clashing with the metallic silver of his tailblade before he flicked the blood at one of the boarders with a teasing smile before springing to action himself, focusing all of his attention on the battle ahead.

Though moving ahead of her he moved with startling speed and no hesitation at all. He was an almost silver blur when springing into action. This was not his ideal battleground, but the Captain had spent many months teaching him how to move in the close confines of a ship, where the minimal reach of his talons and claws were more of a benefit than a detriment. The Dragon tucked his wings into his body tightly, protecting vitals with hard scales along the edges of his wings and launched himself forward, first clinging to the opposing wall of the hallway with talons and claws, flattening his body to allow the Neko to take her shots by him and reduce the risk of collateral damage. Ahead the three gunmen fired their shots and behind him the Neko also fired hers. The noise was nearly deafening, and the drake had to fight the panic the sound of gunfire this close inspired, turning it into seething rage as he had been instructed by their beautiful captain. The Neko's two shots dis enough to make the soldiers on the other end distracted enough to miss him as they lined up shots with the rifles - though not by much. Mercury actually felt the air being disturbed by the hot lead that smashed into the walls behind him, one also nearly missing his neko backup and one freeing a couple locks of his long silver hair from his head, missing him by inches.

Fortunately, the greenbacks did not use advanced guns, those rifles only had one shot per reload. Mercury had heard stories of countries further to the south that had strange clockwork weapons that fired many shots before having to reload, or the Arkadians of the north who utilized old magics to make their weapons even more fearsome... but, both of those places were so far away and few pirates were foolish enough to attack ships bearing their red-and-black and silver-and-blue banners. Those strong leg muscles tensed once more and he snarled viciously, leaping from the wall to the floor to dodge another misaimed shot and then straight into the three men at the end of the hall. The soldier who had been hit by the neko's shot was still reeling, but the eldest soldier managed to brace himself and the younger soldier in front of him swung his bayonet towards the leaping Dragon. Mercury felt one of those blades skip along the scales of his right arm but the burning pain that lanced into his left informed him that the elder soldier's bayonet had pierced the softer scales just below his shoulders. Though his scales took the brunt of the thrust, the searing pain that lanced through his arm indicated that the blade of that bayonet had found the flesh underneath.

The silver-haired dragon hissed with pain and almost screamed with fury; now that he was inside the reach of those bayonets and the soldiers had no time to reach for backup weapons, the one on the ground watching in horror as the Dragon straightened and slammed his tail into the chest of the soldier who had dared swing at him hard enough to shatter bone sending him into the floor with a crunch before he drove both of his hands into the older male who had actually injured him, talons locking around his neck and pinning him into the wall. Pain and fury both flowed through the young dragon, watching carefully the terror in the older soldier's eyes glancing down at the other two, one writing in agony and the other watching him through wide eyes. The Dragon did not relent though, releasing one of his talons from the neck of the bearded human and seizing the rifle out of the hands of the cowering one. He didn't much care if the other soldiers or even his neko companion saw him by this point, consumed by bloodlust. Merc grinned to himself, ignoring the pain from the cut in his upper arm before his talons tightened around the wooden barrel of the rifle and with all his strength drove it through the torso of the man who had harmed him and the wall behind him, likely terrifying anyone on the other side when the bayonet was driven through the wall by the dragon's impressive strength. The neko herself might see her companion injured, his own red blood spilled freely from the cut, running down his arm and staining his shirt while he went about the messy business of impaling the human that dared injure him.

With the three soldiers down the hall otherwise distracted, it was now safe for the Neko to move, or so at least it appeared. Since she was waiting for him to move and clear the hallway, which he did. Unfortunately for her there was one more threat lurking in the hallways that Mercury had missed in his charge towards the three humans.

He had his back pressed up against one of the walls of the passageways leading out of the hallway, trying to still his breath as to avoid being detected by the silvery blur and readying his weapons for the next intruder to run down the hall after him, only a nervous swallow to give himself away, listening for the sound of footsteps before he stepped out and made his own attack, hoping to catch the pirate off guard. The young-looking fighter who stepped out to attack was male, about the neko's height and possessing shoulder length black hair that was tied in a messy ponytail and bound with a green bandanna wrapped around his head. This individual was also a mercenary, wearing a tight shirt that covered his slender torso and armor that covered his vitals, mostly leather over his shoulders and chest, all dyed a dark green, certainly a far cry from the professional look of the greenback soldiers, especially counting the necklace of teeth and doodads he wore around his form, also bearing nearly tribal looking tatoos across his right eye. The most startling thing about this mercenary is that unlike the other members of the party, who were all human, this one was far too slender, his face was angular and rather beautiful, and his willy features were complete with two three inch long knife-shaped ears that popped out from under the green and white bandana he wore.

The elven mercenary, though supervised with his adversary was quick to attack, swiping with the daggers he held in each hand with a sharp cry from his ambush spot. His attack was hurried and short range, one blade only managing to skirt close and was easily blocked. The other swipe, upwards and diagnal however might catch her already torn, poor shirt, making the already straining garment even less capable of its job.

 

[AvalonsGuardian]

If the mercenary blonde who was being lead away had to summarize what she knew of Merc so far, she would have to go with terrifying sexy. Sharp fingers and talons, which he made plenty sure she knew about, were complimented with a tail that was just as capable, clearly, of flicking around in pleasure as it was dispatching foes and handling weapons, even if it was only to toss them around. As a warrior, she wasn't sure whether she should be scared or aroused, and that very uncertainty only served to kindle the fire building in her core. She spent most...well, at least a fair amount of her time on the battlefield, adrenaline pumping and blood flowing readily through her veins. It wasn't too far a cry from the intensity of combat to the passion of sex and she had, on occasion, mixed the two, though letting the latter compromise her performance in the former was strictly unacceptable.

The Neko rolled low to avoid the gunfire, which had all been loosed at chest height to catch the charging dragon, which meant that she easily slipped beneath them with, again, catlike grace. The Greenbacks, while clearly not all veterans, were sensible enough not to try to reload. In close quarters, even if Merc hadn't been clearly able to close the rest of the distance before they could manage, the walls on either side, and their fellow soldiers, mean they would be elbowing each other trying to load subsequent rounds, to say nothing of needing to bring their weapons back to bear and fire again. No, they were now nothing more than glorified spears, which, while certainly nothing on the technology that some other Empires used, were still effective, in a primitive sense. Even the magic weapons, which were far more likely not to need to be brought into melee combat, were unlikely to be much more once close combat was joined, all of their magic serving them poorly in melee, with only so much room, so to speak, in a weapon for enchanting. Swords, daggers, maces, could be made fearsome melee weapons, but it was said that it had been deemed more important to make the bullet fly true, rather than the blade. As far as the clockwork weapons, those were a jealously guarded secret, with few making their way through the borders, fewer still finding their way into the hands of other Empires, and none useful enough to recreate the mechanism. Some claimed that they were designed to break down if not cared for specially, others said that working them was merely too difficult for untrained gunsmiths. Whatever the cause, the result was the same, but these rifles were neither magic nor advanced, merely rugged and effective.

Less effective, however, when one found themselves faced with a dragon. That being said, one of them managed to score a blow, if not a terribly effective one, though that could be credited to luck, more than skill. In those quarters, a swing didn't have nearly the room to work as a thrust, but with an angry dragon bearing down, the soldier could be forgiven for that oversight, though said forgiveness would not earn him his life. Two out of three soldiers already seemed down for the count, one to a tail whip, and the other to a pin, while the third seemed to have already given up on the fight. One might suspect that this was not the cream of the crop, to be left behind to guard the back, where an attack was unlikely, but they were still threats to be neutralized, and that was one of the many things Mercury was very good at. Indeed, one of their rifles was used to impale one of said threats, pinning him, if only briefly, to the wall. As impressive as the strike had been, the wood wasn't thick enough to properly support the bayonet under the soldier's weight and he would, slowly, sink to the ground, eyes widened in surprise, mouth twisted in anger or fear, looking as if he wanted to cry out, but finding no voice with which to do it. His cowering companion looked ready to turn and run, unless Mercury stopped him, either fatally or otherwise. Suffice it to say, with his morale shattered, Merc would very quickly have another dead soldier, a fleeing one, or one pleading on his knees for life, depending on how he handled things, though with his bloodlust in full swing, the first was the likeliest outcome.

Admittedly, the narrow hallway meant that the neko couldn't see much of the battle, beyond the unmistakable crimson red of blood and the fact that Merc was, as always, moving in a vicious blur. She couldn't tell if the blood on his arm was his, but it seemed to be, though if it was, it clearly wasn't a blow that was going to put him down, and he seemed just as capable of dishing out damage. It was hard to tell if their ends were swift or not, but she felt little pity for them. The sensible ones would surrender or hide, such as the blonde in the cargo hold, who, while some would label her a coward, the neko preferred to label her as...pragmatic. Smart. Likewise, the elf that stepped out to attack her was smart, and, in another situation, after her own heart. Short blades for close quarters, waiting in ambush for the stronger foe to pass by, striking swiftly. He didn't look bad, either, fierce in an almost tribal sort of way. The necklace, the tattoos, it was all a very charming look.

Unfortunately, far less charming was the blade moving to kill her, she had to assume. An outcome she wasn't keen on, and so her own dagger, plain, but plenty sufficient, came up to turn away his first blade. His second strike she had less of an answer for, batting at his arm to help turn the blade, and shifting the weight of her body to move out of the way. That wasn't enough to entirely dodge the blow, but once again, through dexterity and luck, she kept it from drawing blood, hooking in her shirt and, demonstrating its sharpness, slicing clean through it, now serving more a vest or open jacket than a shirt, only a small, tight garment that did its best to contain her chest, but without the money for a proper bra, it didn't look like it would take much to give way, particularly with no shirt to assist its effort.

That being said, as enticing as the view of her shirt splitting open, and how wonderfully inviting the catgirl's ample chest was, there was still the matter of life and death to decide. She didn't want to kill this mercenary, unaware that they had lost, and presumably willing to bow to practicality the way his partner had, but she wasn't going to take a knife to spare him, either. While she wasn't as strong as him, in all likelihood, and she had no armor to speak of, she was quick, and she used that to her advantage, doing three things all at once. First, she smashed her head against his, headbutting the elf, grateful that he was around her height. It wasn't hard enough to break his nose, but it would hurt, and hopefully stun him. As she did so, she hooked a foot around his and then smashed into him with her shoulder, using what was left of her forward momentum and aiming to knock him over, or, if she didn't have the strength to manage that, to stagger him. The fact that he had a nice eyeful of half-dressed neko probably didn't hurt, either. Why not use that distraction?

With both of them holding knives, and in close quarters, the fight could very quickly turn into something that neither of them won, and she was reasonably certain that he would turn to caution, once his ambush failed, lest they just end up stabbing each other and bleeding out on the floor. Maybe she could reason with him, if nothing else, but she couldn't talk and fight at the same time, so she needed to create an opening first, or subdue him through proper combat. Whatever worked.

 

[F R O S T]

Mercury still had plenty of adrenaline flowing through him to keep him from feeling the full sting of his injury, however the injury was still clearly driving him into a bit of a frenzy. He had enough self-control still to stop with his foes dead, the soldier he had pinned to the wall was certainly dead, body rent by the bayonet of his own rifle and further having the barrel of the rifle jammed through the wound by the angry dragon and his superior strength, the foe on the ground also sported a gash that trailed from his right arm to his left, and was bleeding all over the floor from that rather extreme injury, in shock and dying. With those two foes dealt with there was just one more soldier who had dropped his rifle and was currently turning to run.

Having witnessed a dragon easily and rapidly murder a senior soldier and his friend was easily enough to break the will of the soldier whom had taken a glancing blow from the neko's Gun, he actually had turned fully away from the Dragon and was in the process of crawling away on all fours. The only thoughts in his head at the moment were of alerting the rest of the crew to the breaching pirates, maybe somehow they could stop that dragon and put an end to his rampage. These thoughts and his forward motion were both stopped however when something thick and cold struck his neck, wrapping around his throat hard enough to cut off his supply of oxygen. The young man gagged and glanced back, realizing with horror that the Dragon that had so easily killed his comrades had wrapped his tail around his throat.

The human gagged and pulled against his aggressor, but that only angered him, and the a swear was the last thing to pass through his lips before that tail violently pulled backwards. The action snapped the human's neck like a stalk of celery, and the blade on the end of the tail sprayed the walls with his blood, that tail wrenching free suddenly and violently and taking the path of least resistance. His body dropped to the ground like a ragdoll and Mercury corrected his stance, first turning to examine the injury that the greenbacks had delivered, which hurt. It was just a flesh wound, something that would simply take a week or two to heal, but the blade had caught a scale and deflected away to avoid causing further injury. Any further and it might have damaged his wing, which would have taken much longer to heal. After tending to his own wound, gently cleaning the blood from his arm with his tongue he turned those golden eyes to the Neko to check on her. However it seemed she had engaged her own foe.

The elf smirked when he thought that his blades had found purchase in the flesh of the female pirate attacking him, but that smirk quickly became a blank stare when instead of causing a gervious injury, his successful blade simply caused a wardrobe malfunction. His brown eyes went wide and a splash of pink touched his face at the sight in the split second before she retaliated. She was also quick to reply with a headbutt and a tripping maneuver, which both caught the elf off guard. He was an archer over a fighter, and his close combat skills were rather poor, one of the reasons he had been stowed away down here rather than up top in the massacre once the pirates boarded. Pain filled his expression, and the take down found purchase, sending both of his daggers flying across the hall and the slim figure of the elf hurdling to the wooden floor. Unfortunately, while he fell he also reached out to grab the catgirl, trying to take her down to the floor with him one of his hands found her upper right arm, the other unfortunately found the strip of cloth that was holding her shirt together. He didn't way much, but the sound of ripping fabric and the tumble to the ground indicated that his attempt was successful, a sharp pain spreading through him as he hit his head on the deck, both hands reaching out to stop the catgirl from falling on top of him.

For a moment he lie there dazed, but quickly came to his senses, feeling soft skin and more importantly something quite supple and squishy against the palms of his hands before realizing that in his attempt to stop her from landing on him he had planted both of his hands firmly against her ample and now bare bust. It took him a moment to realize he was doing this, fingers gently squeezing to determine exactly where they were before he realized and put on likely one of the most adorable reactions the catgirl might see for a while. That pale face simply lit up and the elf actually helped, quickly pulling his hands back and using his legs try to pull himself out from under her, planting his hands to the walls on other side while a blush burned across his face actually extending to the tips of his ears. "Imsosorry" He quickly blurted the words, his voice was actually pleasing to the ear too, lyrical. The elf reached for his weapons, but not finding them and still partially pinned by the catgirl he relented, muscles relaxing and a look of defeat crossing his face, before widening in horror as Mercury stepped over to investigate. "I give up!, This isn't worth what they were paying me!"

Mercury had stepped over, wondering if his catgirl needed assistance, but what he saw made his frown and wince turn into a rather perverted leering grin, tail twitching approvingly as he resisted a snicker. "Everything alright"?" His voice came from behind her, almost teasing in tone.

 

[AvalonsGuardian]

To call it a fight would have been a little generous to the remaining soldier, who seemed more concerned with fleeing than putting up any kind of a fight. He had his hopes that the dragon might be distracted with those actually still fighting, or perhaps that he would show mercy on the cowering soldier, but that proved to be in vain. If anything, it was at least a swift end, relatively. He still had to deal with the terror that sent a chill through his entire body as he felt his supply of oxygen cut short, struggling in vain to slip free, as if he might outrun the dragon if only he could get free of the iron grip of the tail.

After that, however, his struggles were quickly ceased by a tug of Mercury's tail, plenty enough force behind it to swiftly, if not cleanly, snap the Greenback's neck, the blade on the tip of his tail slicing open the throat and splattering the wall with a thin line of blood as gravity took a moment to kick in, the soldier's eyes wide and his face contorted in anger before he collapsed, leaving Mercury to survey the battlefield and confirm that all threats had been effectively neutralized. They had done their damndest to deal with a dragon in close quarters, but having missed with their gunfire, and foolish enough in their terror to slash instead of stabbing, they had never really stood a chance.

Meanwhile, the neko could only grin as she saw the undeserved smirk that graced the face of the elf opposite her, as he clearly was under the impression that his second strike, which surely she couldn't block, would draw blood. She didn't seem immediately aware of the fact that her shirt had been sliced open, but she was in the heat of battle, and a bit of breeze didn't punch through the adrenaline that she felt as she parried the blows and struck a counterblow of her own. Well, several, to be precise, though only one of those was really a strike, that being, of course, the headbutt.

She grinned in the same way she had upon pouncing the Greenback in the cargo hold when she noticed that both of his weapons had flown away, which left her with a significant advantage, given that she still had her single dagger close at hand. Perhaps she would take his as trophies, if they were well made. That was getting a little ahead of herself, though. As much as she had just taken the upper hand, there was no sense getting cocky about things. She still had to seal her victory, but it was all but assured, with her blade still close at hand, and the elf disarmed. That was not to say that he was harmless, however, and she had to keep that in mind as he fell down, reaching out to grab her and pull her down with him. Well, that was fine by her, she could do just fine on top. See how thrilled he was with a knife to his throat.

Of course, things were never that easy, as she found out mere seconds later, as while the elf's grasping hand did manage to accomplish its objective, and more on top of that. The flimsy fabric that was serving as a bra for the neko was torn away easily, barely rated to stand up to the rigor of her ample chest, and therefore certainly not capable of resisting being torn away. As such, it was easily, and painlessly removed, and the elf, as he fell back, pulling the elf down atop him, would have a good view of her chest slipping free, giving a nice, ample bounce. They were pretty captivating, full and heavy, but still pert, tipped with a pink nub each that hardened slightly in the cool air that they were exposed to.

Not that either of them would have much time to appreciate their situation, given that they were both bound for the floor, with the catgirl landing atop of the elf with a cute 'oof~'. The elf clearly wasn't done, though, reaching out to try to forestall the catgirl landing on tp of him, hands finding the most obvious target in front of him, each hand finding one of her breasts and giving them a firm squeeze, fingers working in numb surprise to try to figure out just what he was dealing with. Regardless of motivation, the neko could only feel the result, soft lips parting in a sound that was half-gasp, half-moan, as while her mind found the situation ridiculous, her body knew only that someone was giving much desired attention to her chest.

The Elf wasn't the only one to look embarrassed, a pink tint settling over the neko's ears, too shocked to think about putting her knife to the elf's throat, though he didn't seem to need that to coax him to surrender, as he pulled his hands back and immediately apologized. Well, that was something, but that didn't help as she lifted her head and noticing Mercury standing down the hallway, watching her with a grin on his face. Oh that smug bastard! It wasn't her fault! "This isn't what it looked like!" She insisted, glaring at him, crossing her arms over her chest, which served to cover them...somewhat. It still was a very provocative position, though, as she adjusted her shirt back over her breasts, as best she could, though the thin fabric didn't do much. Not a bad view for Merc, though, virtually topless neko straddling a blushing elf.

"No sudden movements." She warned the elf, pointing one of her daggers at him, and then looking back to Merc. "Party's still going on upstairs. We should get going." She noted, standing up and looking around for rope, finding a convenient length of it in one of the rooms nearby. She slid off of the elf and retrieved the rope, returning to bind the mercenary and send him to join the boarding crew, and, as she mentioned to him, his blonde friend, who had, at least survived, he would probably be happy to know. She wasn't going to hand him over herself, as they would have too much time to stare at her state of attire. No, her and Merc were going for the Merchant. Not to mention that, given how much of a handful the elf mercenary had gotten before he had surrender, there was no teasing send-off like Merc had offered the blonde. "Eyes up here." She teased the dragon after directing the elf down the hallway to surrender to the others. "Let's get going." She huffed indignantly, willing to let him lead the way. Soldiers gone, mercenaries captured. Shouldn't be much more between them and the Merchant captain. Then she looked him over again, smirking. "Actually, want to lose the shirt?" Probably she wanted to wear it more than she was flirting, but given that it was tight on him, and she had a...fuller, to say the least. Had to be better than nothing, though, if she could squeeze into it. It would certainly be a good look from where Merc was standing, but then he'd have to go shirtless. Time to see how chivalrous he was feeling.

 

[F R O S T]

Though he was bound to be captured, at least the elf got a lovely handful of the catgirl's ample breasts, he wasn't wearing gloves either. However, he was still blushing fiercely when Mercury had rounded the corner, looking something like an animal about to be run over by a tank. Her reaction to the accidental grope also caused his own body to react, but thank the ancestors he was wearing baggy pants. The catgirl had also blushed, of course, he didn't blame her but that dragon who rounded the corner very quickly reinforced his urge to surrender, his claws and tail were all dripping with blood, he looked like he could tear a small platoon apart! It was actually the first time that the wild elf had ever seen a Dragon, they had been talked about by his tribe, faster than arrows and far more deadly... His eyes moved back to the nearly topless neko, who was pointing a dagger at him and then demanding he not move - he did not move a muscle, and tried his best to not stare blankly at the catgirl's barely covered breasts, only occasionally stealing glances and remembering full well what that felt like.

Mercury could however not contain his amusement into walking into the rather provocative scene. "Damn girl, you work fast" He looked up and down the elf's shocked and blushing face, knowing full well that some sort of mishap had happened, it was not going to stop the playful dragon from running with it. He ignored her rebuttal, smiling as she grabbed her rope and tied up the very compliant and still blushing young elf, placing one of his knuckles to his chin and offering her a contemplating and rather sardonic look. "What, you sure you don't want to finish? Your boyfriend there doesn't look like he would mind" He joked, watching the elf slink off into the hold to be captured by the rest of the crew. Mercury however wasn't nearly done with the catgirl, her situation greatly lightened his chaotic mood, enough to distract him from the injury on his arm.

"Eyes up here" Mercury hadn't been staring at her chest, however her telling him that made him defiantly bring his golden eyes to level with her chest and nod his head approvingly. "Neh" The dragon made a dismissive sound before chuckling to himself and bringing his eyes up to hers, his own pointed ears picking up her words as he continued, listening cautiously down the corridor that the young elf that had been guarding before turning around to give a suspicious glance to the nearly topless neko, who had requested his shirt. The dragon turned to wipe the blood off his talons on the wall next to the door before glancing at the neko and grinning, seeming to mull it over before sighing, getting an idea. "Only if I can have yours" He said with a grin, stepping back into the hallway so he could spread out those wings and undo the bottons on the side straps pulling the shirt off for her... slowly... The shirt might fit the neko, it would be an incredibly tight fit and leave much of her back exposed of course, but more importantly while the dragon was removing the shirt he peeled it off nice and slowly to tease her. He had seen her looking at him before and was a natural tease, so when he exposing that slender, muscular torso for her to fully enjoy he made a show about it, but was subtle enough at least to look like he was just having difficulty getting it around his wings. " Six limbs makes it a little harder" He said, handsome face grinning as he handed her the garnment, folding his wings again and turning to press his ear to the door.

The she shirt he gave her certainly would be a tight fit, tailored for mercury's muscular and quite slender torso, his shoulders were broader than hers, but he certainly did not have the chest. The straps would provide some adjustment and release. The shirt also quite notably smelled like mercury, a hint of his sweet sweat and bitter mint. The Dragon did his best to not obviously look at her when he was changing, but would quickly wrap her tattered garment around his wounded arm to staunch the already slowing flow of blood and give her an approving glance before tilting his head towards the door. "Hes inside, I hear panting, smell fear" The Dragon wrapped his talons around the handle to the door - the door was wood but held in place by a metal dead bolt and a bar on the other side. An expensive security measure, and from Mercury's senses, the merchant captain hadn't trusted his mercs or soldiers enough to keep one in the room. The lock on the door was also expensive, one of the fancy combination locks common to southern ships, and again like every other lock it had a critical weakness.

It wasn't dragon-proof. Mercury took a couple steps back and tensed his legs, muscles tensing and legs bending enough to make the kama part slightly and give a glance at the metallic scales before the dragon stepped forward and delivered a powerful kick right into the handle. The entire door shook and cracked, wood cracking and the telltale sound of glass breaking on the other side of the door as bolts flew from the housings of the blockbar into furnature. Another kick sent the door flying open and the Dragon stepped inside. The merchant's quarters were incredibly well furnished, a large T Shaped room with a large desk covered in paperwork in the center and expensive glass bottles, one of which had been struck by shrapnel and shattered, posters and paintings lined the walls and a single expensive bed lie in the far corner to the left of the desk and an even larger cabinet stood to the right. The decorations were easily pretty valuable in this room and mercury couldn't help but smirk as his talons scraped against the finer wood of the floor.

"Dibs" He said with s chuckle before crossing the room with heavy strides, making for the only possible hiding spot in the room and without hesitation ripping one of the doors open and reaching inside to grab the merchant captain around the neck. The captain was inside, a plump man and well dressed, clearly not a mercenary or shiphand... he smelled like fear and now urine (the reason Mercury hadn't been kind to the door, whatever was inside was ruined) The man released a bit of a girlish shriek when the door to his hiding place was ripped open by a dragon, pulling a pistol and aiming it at the dragon, firing both shots from the derringer pistol while Mercury reached in to grab him. The presence of the pistol was something the Dragon failed to expect, and unfortunately for the captain, he reacted faster than the captain could pull the trigger. Both shots hit the wall near the door as his arm was grabbed and bent at the elbow ninty degrees away from the dragon, snapping his arm at the joint.

"Got the captain!" Merc shouted, ignoring the even girlier screams and sobbing of the man who was now curled up in a ball nursing his destroyed arm. More boarders would arrive soon to grab him and take him above deck, it seemed the pirates had won.

 

[AvalonsGuardian]

It was hard to find much to appreciate of the situation, in the neko's eyes, but they had subdued and captured the last of the resistance, supposedly, between themselves and the merchant, which had to be worth something. The price was that she had been felt up rather extensively by the elf, if only for a brief period of time, but...well, perhaps she had enjoyed it. She was rather proud of her chest, and they were, not overly sensitive, but definitely sensitive to pleasure. She hardly had time to dwell on that, and she could only do her best to ignore the small ember it had kindled in her core. She absolutely did not have time to be aroused right now, and Merc's insufferable teasing wasn't going to help matters.

"Oh I'm sure he wouldn't. Nor would you, perv." She rolled her eyes, shaking her head and sparing the elf another glance. "But we don't really have time for me to ride him right now." That would be a mental image for the elf, given that he had already gotten a bared neko perched atop him. It wouldn't be that much of a stretch for there to be just a little less in the way of clothing between the two of them, those wonderful breasts bouncing up and down in time with the neko. She didn't have time to dwell on that, though, much as the elf would be given time to simmer on the nice mental image. Fortunately, the elf slipped away before he could be subjected to more of the banter between Merc and the neko, as amusing as it surely was. She also didn't miss the fact that while Merc's gaze might not have been directed there, but he certainly made a point of staring at her chest as soon as he was told not to. Pff, dragons. While she crossed her arms under her chest in a pout, she only served to accidentally push up her breasts and make them more prominent for his viewing pleasure, thinly covered as they were.

She couldn't believe that he was making a show out of considering her offer, as if accepting wasn't the most obvious answer. Not that she was willing to admit it, but she enjoyed that he didn't just jump right into offering her a solution. He was far more interesting than if he had been more chivalrous, if a bit frustrating at times. All part of the fun, she supposed. Give her hers in return? Of course he was going to want her to take it off before he gave his up too, she was willing to bet. She returned the favor of making a show of thinking it over before sighing. "Fiine~" She waited and watched him remove his first, though, admittedly unable to resist the eye candy as he began to slowly remove it, as if he was having trouble getting it around her wings. She wasn't going to complain, even if he was only doing it to tease her. Damn it, she did not need to get so worked up right now, just because some handsome dragon was slowly peeling off a nice, tight shir-ah, gods damn it.

Since he was going to so boldly stare at her chest, she returned the favor, drinking in the view and then glancing about furtively to make sure there was no one else in the hallway. After verifying that, she shrugged out of what was left of her top, baring her breasts entirely to him, and giving him a moment to drink in the view, before grabbing his top and turning to work on squeezing into it. He would be allowed to see plenty of her back as she changed, taking in a deep breath and shivering a little. It smelled just like him, and that provided a warmth and appeal to the garment that she wouldn't have expected it to. It took her a short amount of time to figure out the straps and everything, but she was nimble, and a quick learner. She adjusted the shirt as best she could to make it fit comfortably and then turned to regard him.

Well, she didn't have any hope of reclaiming the shirt she had given him, seeing as it was now wrapped around his wound. Not that it had stood much chance anyway, given how thoroughly it had been sliced up, but ah well. Thief she was, she could swipe a shirt or two from someone else on the ship. For now, though, she was making do with what she had available, which was Mercury's top. She turned to face him, giving him a chance to look her over. While not uncomfortably tight, the lack of a bra beneath, and the tight, relatively thin fabric, meant that her breasts were left very emphasized by the shirt, if not straining against it, then not far off, nipples stiff from exposure to cool air and Merc's teasing, and visibly so. All in all, it was a step up from her sliced open top, but it was still plenty revealing enough.

It was no surprise that the Merchant had a panic room, of sorts, something well secured that would take even a determined boarding party with axes some time to smash through, but it wasn't as if help was coming for him. Even if it was, well, few doors could stand up to a dragon, the neko would wager, and this certainly wasn't one of them. She could pick locks, but breaking things down was an area where her expertise didn't apply. As such, she was plenty content to stand back and reload both of her pistols as he tensed to break through, enjoying how his kama parted slightly to show scales beneath before he launched himself forward, at the door. She couldn't help but wince at how powerful the impact sounded, shaking her head. Poor captain didn't stand a chance. She kept her guns at the ready, but loosely, not going to need them until he broke through, which looked like it would take one more good kick.

She stepped through right behind him, letting out a whistle as she quickly appraised the room. She was, as a thief, used to sizing rooms up for valuables and security measures, and she did that here, finding it not lacking the former, but perhaps in the latter. Hard to build security enough to stop Merc, after all. Ooh, that was good wood Mercury was scraping up. Ah well, chances were, unless the merchant could buy his freedom, this ship would be torched when it had been plundered anyway. Oh man, that would be a nice bed to sleep in. Or two tumble in, but certainly not with the merchant who was cowering in the corner. Not a particularly dignified reaction, but had an angry dragon ripped open her hiding spot, she couldn't say she would have done much better.

She had her weapon at the ready, at least for a moment, but when Mercury made it clear that the captain was all his, she shrugged and stowed her weapons, crossing her arms and watching to see how things would go. Thank the gods that he was too busy to leer at the tight shirt that she was wearing. She had nearly drawn and fired when she saw the weapon being drawn on the dragon, but he seemed to have it under control, deflecting the shots, which fortunately didn't come near her either, and allowing her to relax. That was that. Any soldiers that hadn't been killed in the push atop had surrendered by then, and it was just a matter of wrapping things up.

"Damn. I didn't have time to loot." She pouted when she realized she had been busy the whole time, shaking her head. "Let's go, I guess. I need to relax after all that." She decided with a slow sigh. That had been an intense boarding action, and she wasn't likely to find any good loot while the crew was tearing the ship up. "We should check up on the mercenaries we captured." She suggested. "They were probably held for us. Well, more for you." He would get some special privelage when it came to taking prisoners, though the Captain might just end up taking special interest in the elf, time would tell. "Or do you have any better suggestions?" Perhaps they should report in. Her to the leader of the boarding party, him to the Captain. She wasn't quite sure. If they were quick they might be able to pocket something from the Merchant, and judging by how the neko was looking around, there was a very good chance she was considering that, but the Dragon, as the Captain's pet, was technically her superior, so if he had a suggestion, she would be inclined to defer to him. He had given her his shirt, after all, though not so easily. As she waited, she paced the room, looking for a likely hiding spot for gold. Hmm~

 

[F R O S T]

Mercury's shirt was certainty a good look for the neko, and was going to raise all sorts of amusing questions once they had to deal with other crew. That fun of course was for later. The Dragon still couldn't help but appreciate the tightness of that shirt on her body, especially with her more than ample bust straining against it and nipples straining against fabric MEANT to leave little to the imagination. It worked well on her despite being designed for him, and who knows, with the way she looked he was just that much more tempted to not reclaim it... Plus, he could almost sense the excitement from her, which he ignored for now. The Dragon just loved to tease. He was also pleased with his performance with the door. Now, it would be worth noting that another dragon would have likely sent the entire door sailing into the room off the hinges with a strike like he delivered, but two kicks to a pretty sturdy door was enough to satisfy the drake for now.

Once the captain had been dealt with Mercury turned to his partner, raising a thin silver brow when she spoke, bemoaning her lack of a chance to loot and noting that it may be best to report to the leaders of the boarding party. The Dragon's response was a shrug, pulling the least expensive looking sheet from the bed and using it to actually hogtie and gag the merchant captain to ensure that their looting and his presentation would go uninterrupted. The Merchant captain, still blubbering over the rather nasty break in his arm received an admonishment from the dragon, who teasingly crouched next to him and scolded him for pointing a gun at a dragon before finally standing up and addressing the Neko. "Yeah, I guess you have a point, best get up to the top and check on them before the crew executes either of them or the Captain drags your little elf off for interrogation" His eyes wandered over the room and a feisty smile struck his face. "Buut... the night is still young." With the captain hogtied Merc stepped out and reached out his hand, running one of his talons over the desk's fine wood, admiring how it resisted even the pointed tip of his claw. Even if they missed out on most of the looting, the loot wouldn't be shared on an every man for himself basis, the captain would distribute the majority of it. Mercury however had a personal interest in some of the items inside this chamber.

"Well, we -are- in the merchant captain's quarters, I don't see any harm in doing just a bit of looting on our way out..." Mercury said nonchalantly, it was unlikely he stored his entire wealth in this room, but smaller items that couldn't be trusted to the crew to secure could easily have been stowed in a chest or safe inside this very room unless he was a sort to keep a treasury onboard the ship, and that would be guarded by a door even Merc couldn't break down. There shouldn't be any harm in taking a whack at it either, especially if there was gold or jewels to add to his collection. The Dragon began to investigate the desk, pulling out drawers and checking with sharp talons inside for any false panels or special spots "There is going to be a safe somewhere, and I am sure a man like this would keep... at... least... Kangraah" The last word was in draconic, and exclamation of pleasure, roughly the equivalent of "Bingo" There were actually quite a few somewhat valuable items in the drawers, gilded letter openers, writing equipment, but when Mercury't talons touched cloth he quickly grabbed it and pulled a fist-sized bag from underneath. A swift squeeze gave the telltale clink of coins and something else, which the Dragon examined with uprising dexterity, opening and examining the silvered coins inside with a grin. The Neko had likely known mercury long enough to know that the Dragon appreciated shiny things, the shinier the better from valueless glass baubles to priceless mithril coins (which he adored, Mithril shone much like his own scales). He also extracted a large, dark ruby from the bag about the size of a human's eye across, which he tossed to her. He also extracted a large silvery coin from the bag; his own prize and tucked it away into his Kama. He would search through the bag at his own pleasure later, but most of it would likely be added to his horde under his room or added to the overall loot from the raid. "There is bound to be more, a safe or chest... But we can find them later"

The Dragon walked over to the human and picked him up, throwing him over his shoulder and carrying him out, gesturing to the neko and also picking up the gun that the man had dropped to give to her, using his dexterous tail to do so. It was an over-under design, not as fancy as the officer's pistol but a good holdout weapon capable of firing two small rounds, perfect for self defense. The trip to the upper decks would be easy with the soldiers dead or captured, their weapons added to the pirate ship's own armory and their goods being loaded to be sorted out soon. Likely one of the boarders had already signaled for the ship to approach so the spoils and captives could be loaded on board. When he did finally emerge from below decks he smiled, relishing being outside yet again and having the sun warm his silvery scales. He would stretch and smile, walking over to where the captives had been rounded up before unceremoniously dumping the body of the merchant captain into the middle of them, looking for the blonde and the elf, smiling when he did see them, sitting by eachother and cooperating, looking even less frazzled than the greencoats they had captured. The elven mercenary of course avoided eye contact and blushed slightly upon seeing the neko when she emerged behind Mercury but otherwise said nothing.

"Got the Captain, and the Officer... Call the good captain!" Merc shouted, not really caring if she had already been contacted, more declaring that it was HIM that won the game and the challenge set forth before glancing at the blonde. The neko had mentioned that he might have some special say with the captives... well, if they were willing to join them and didn't smell like they would try anything stupid the captain might let them join up... they both had been captured without much in the way of injury after all, and the Captain herself might be interested to see that they had such an exotic specimen of an elf with them.

 

[AvalonsGuardian]

The Neko was certainly not looking forward to the inevitable questions that would be raised when she was seen to be wearing Mercury's shirt, given that it was quite clearly not meant to fit her, and she quite clearly didn't have a bra on underneath. She was hoping that most of the crew would be distracted between the prisoners, the loot, and the battle, but she cut quite a fine figure in that shirt, particularly since it had already been intended to not be entirely modest, so any of the crew who were interested would no doubt be casting long looks her way. That being said, she wasn't entirely sure she was in a rush to change out of it, though. The freshness of Merc's scent mixed delightfully with the more musky sweat from his exertions. Almost a certain thrill to wearing something to...well, provocative, to be honest with herself, that was his and smelled so much like him. Every girl wanted to feel sexy, and that helped.

Fortunately for Mercury, few, if any, among the crew had any experience with other dragons beyond tall tales and myths, so the fact that two swift kicks had battered down the reinforced portal was plenty enough, at least for the neko. Even the strongest among the crew likely would not have been able to breach the room without an axe and some time to work at it, after all. Most importantly, none save for the neko and the captain had seen the feat performed. The Merchant was like to exaggerate it out of fear, to make himself seem comparatively less cowardly and also due to the distortions that terror inflicts upon the mind. As for the neko, well, if Mercury was so inclined, she could likely be convinced to retell the tale as one swift kick, rather than two. She would probably see, or could be brought to see, the value of Merc upholding his reputation. However, even if the truth did prevail, it is unlikely any would think any less of the dragon.

Normally, perhaps she might have let the situation go without commentary, as he bound and gagged the merchant, but that was before Mercury had seen fit to smirk and joke about the compromising position she had been caught in with the Elven mercenary. "Ooh, kinky~" She grinned. "Should I leave you two alone, go get my boyfriend?" She would admit that it was cute how he scolded the merchant, but he had a good point. Admittedly, if one was going to die either way, perhaps defiance was the more honorable way to go, but if cornered by a dragon, she would find herself inclined to stroke its ego, or whatever else it desired stroked, if it would keep her alive. She was rather attached to her life, and tragically was bereft of eight replacements. Probably. She hadn't tasted that, admittedly.

"I hold some hope that the mercenaries are spared. Their comrades surrendered, after all, and they don't hold any particular grudge against us." That wasn't to say that they wouldn't be executed, either to make a point against their resistance, or from an overzealous crew member, but, while she didn't know them, they seemed interesting enough types to keep around. Would make good pirates, if they didn't tentatively stay on the right side of the law, as they did. He would hear a scoff that could only have come from the neko, even as his eyes wandered away from her. "Interrogation, right." She muttered, tone making it clear that she questioned the motives of the Captain's involvement with the pretty elf. No question of the redhead's tastes being exotic, after all, and her lust wasn't much hidden, either. The catgirl did have the decency to cough and look apologetic, though. She didn't know Merc that well, and if he was close to the Captain, she didn't want to be putting herself on either of their bad sides.

Indeed, generally speaking, the loot was pooled and then distributed by position, with bonuses given for exemplary performance or, admittedly, favoritism. Between his skills and his position, that meant few would question Merc taking what he wanted, within reason, unless the Captain wanted it for herself. The Neko, on the other hand, was merely another hand among the crew. Only the bold, the skilled, or the foolish tried to snatch things for themselves amongst the common crew. She was, fortunately, skilled, but she also was careful, and didn't take often, unless she thought she could get away with it. "That's nice wood." She couldn't help but admire when he dragged his claw across the desk. The floor, too. She knew good woodworking mostly through her firearms, and most of those she handled were average to poor quality, but she could spot the good stuff.

She looked around while he looked through the desk, though when relatively valuable items began to appear, she found her gaze once more drawn to the desk, a sparkle in her eyes as she all but licked her lips in anticipation. It was possible they were disappointed, but looking at the poor, plump bastard on the ground, he was well enough off for himself to have something nice tucked away close at hand. "Let me know if you need a luck....quietly opened." He was plenty capable of smashing through locks, as he had made plenty clear, but that was noisier, left the object clearly damaged, and could potentially damage contents. Normally not a problem, but with draconic strength, soft metals such as gold might give way and deform. Unfamiliar with draconic, his exclamation drew only an inquisitive tilt of the head from her, but there was no misunderstanding the pouch he presented, nor the light in the thief's eyes.

She happily snatched the ruby out of the air when it was thrown to her, twirling it on one finger to allow herself to examine it fully before tucking it away. Blue was more her color, but when it came to gems, or gold, or silver, she was nowhere near picky. Yes, there was part of her that wanted the entire bag, but Merc had readily earned it, and she was just happy to be given anything from the proceeds. As for the rest, there would undoubtedly be a lockbox tucked away somewhere where the merchants liquid proceeds were stored, but that would have to wait. Assuming the crew, or the Captain, didn't find it first, which seemed unlikely. She happily accepted the weapon, careful with it even though she was sure it was unloaded, twirling it around a finger and nodding her approval. It was surprisingly simple, considering the wealth of the man who possessed it, but it would be a good holdout weapon, limited in range by its size, but plenty capable of doing some damage up close, especially if paired with the element of surprise.

Once back on deck, they would find that indeed, rather than the boarding action of earlier, the ships were all but docked with one another, with the merchant ship pacified. Mercury and the neko both drew some attention, chiefly due to the fact that he was topless and she was wearing his top, which was pleasingly ill-fitting, but the bloodied arm that the dragon possessed was also taken into consideration, and the prize slung over his shoulder, though that was soon unceremoniously dumped with the mercenaries and soldiers. There was plenty of activity, largely the dead being gathered and the wounded being tended to, with the surviving soldiers being marched out onto deck to join the other captives. With all command structure gone, the last bastion of resistance, which had impressively inflicted some casualties on the assaulting pirates, had crumbled.

The leader of the boarding party, the one who had sent the dragon and the catgirl below-decks to make an assault from behind, approached, nodding respectfully to the dragon. "You did well. Both of you. I assume" He looked to Mercury to see if he had any objections to the neko's performance being assumed positive. No report was asked for, as that would be given to the Captain, but there was the matter of the prisoners. "The Captain has claimed the elf for herself, at least while negotiations with the Mercenaries go on, but the blonde is yours, Merc." He gestured to the fierce warrior, who had set herself apart from the soldiers, with the elf. "She is to be kept intact, though. As much as possible." It was unlikely that Merc would do any real damage, but the boarding sergeant clearly didn't know him that well. "After you're done, report to the captain. She'll be done with negotiations by then. And you can join the others in sweeping the ship. You've a nose for loot." With their join operation done, it was time for the neko to return to her duties as a crew member, it seemed.

While Mercury would likely be displeased at the delay in his meeting with the Captain, it made sense that he see the blonde first. Knowing if she was going to join, or be released, would partially dictate the redhead's course of action in dealing with the Mercenaries, and sending the sellswords on their way would allow attention to be turned to more pressing matters. Likewise, he wouldn't be deprived of public announcement of his victory, as the crew would be gathered once all affairs, and it was a sure bet that the victor of the contest would be one of the declarations made. As for the neko, well, she hadn't expected the privacy and special consideration to last, so she wasn't too crestfallen, as fun as running with Merc had been. Little attention was paid to their state of dress, either, by the sergeant. He presumably had to deal with all of the annoying aspects of keeping things running, and was in no mood to make such observations.

At any rate, Mercury would notice the blonde being escorted over to the pirate's ship, to be secured somewhere quiet where the dragon could talk with her, or whatever he intended to do with his prize. The elf was left with the others for now, as the Captain would likely come claim him in person after the mercenaries were dealt with. Valuable a member as the elf likely was, given that they had technically been defeated, the loss of one or two of their number was hardly a steep price to pay. The soldiers would likely be executed, but if any among them had the desire to join, or a rich family, they would be kept around, if only temporarily. They could be sold to slavery, but as a rule, the captain stayed away from that. It was generally more trouble than it was worth.

 

[F R O S T]

Luckily for the elf, Mercury wasn't really the jealous sort. As far as he was concerned he and the captain had an open relationship regardless of what she might think (he was pretty sure she thought he was her pet dragon or something). As such, he wasn't opposed or bothered about her liaisons with other crew members partially because Dragons were not known for monogamy in the first place and mostly because he knew full well that nothing could compare to bedding a Dragon, and that satisfaction made it tolerable for her to have interests in others, If another dragon came along however there might be problems if only because of Merc's ego. Admittedly the elf wasn't really that bad looking either, though if it had to be a humanoid he preferred females and it was unlikely he would actually catch his interest.

The dragon turned his silver-haired head to the boarding sergeant when he heard his voice and huffed triumphantly at the tone the man, glaring for a moment though he realized shortly after that he wasn't the one under scrutiny here but the neko who stood behind him. His expression lightened when he did and he gave the man an approving nod, she had certainly covered his back and amused him at the same time, plus knew how to watch her tone unlike some nameless mammals on board the ship. He would tell this to the captain later, maybe tell her how she had protected her prized drake from a couple gunshot wounds to spice things up and maybe get the catgirl a bonus. He WOULD also have to reclaim his shirt at some point too, those were expensive. He did roll his eyes and speak though upon the admission that the captain had claimed the elf. outright as spoils? Poor thing. "Of course she did" His tone was positively *dripping* with sarcasm at this point before arching a silvered brow and then knodding. "Very well" Mercury wasn't sure if he was considered the ship's first mate or not, he wasn't a fantastic leader or even an good vanguard, but liked to think himself as outside the rank structure anyway, answering only to those who held his respect. Specifically the captain and only the captain. Still the human mercenary had interested him, with the sneaky attack below decks he didn't get to see her fight and the way she was dressed and muscled and it would be a waste just to have to kill her or throw her off the ship and see how many times he could beat her to the ground. (always a fun game).

The silver-haired dragon also scoffed at the mention of keeping the prisoner intact. "No promises" He muttered, tail flicking to voice his light irritation; Dragons had almost as many feline traits as they did reptillian, the way they moved, the way they stalked, their body language. It wasn't a surprise why he seemed to get along fairly well with the Neko, aside from the generous swells of her chest that he still had a mental image of. Most of the crew wasn't terribly sure what mercury was capable of or what he might do. He was actually unlikely to claim the female as his spoils - she was interesting, but Dragons were fickle about females and chromatic dragons also weren't terrible prone on initiating sexual contact with humans without their consent in general. Mercury in perticular preferred to have females come to him, he admired assertiveness and persistance and loved being chased as much as he enjoyed chasing - one of the reasons the captain successfully bedded him the first time was because she knew the right places to grab and did not relent. It was risky because if she had irritated him he was quite capable of butchering her, but that happened to be a massive turnon for the young drake.

The dragon gave a nod and a satisfied look to the boarding sergeant before turning to the Neko and offering her a grin. "Ill be back for that in a little bit" He said, pointing a talon at his shirt, when he did not say, however he was content to leave it with her for a while. It smelled like him, a crisp scent like spring morning mixed with the bitter smell of mint, with only a tinge of masculine musk (to a sensitive nose). Oh he so enjoyed teasing the female members of the crew. The Dragon folded his wings over his shoulders and flicked his tail, making his way to the edge of the ship and spreading those wings. With a little hop and one great flap he easily propelled himself into the air and quickly crossed the distance between the two ships, flaring out his wings for an easy landing on deck. His meeting with the captain and admission of his victory could wait, for now he had to figure out what to do with the blonde...

He waited till she was brought somewhere quiet before following the men who escorted her into the room. This time she had been brought into what served as the Brig, secure and quiet with a sturdy door and quaint supplies. He made her wait for a couple moments before walking in and opening the door. There was a fluidity to the way Mercury moved, his talons found purchase in the deck easily and each stride was confident and quick. His body seemed to be built for flying and sprinting rather than walking, so he moved very quickly. When he walked into the room with her he did fold his wings on his back so he could get through the door and light the wall behind him a bit. She had only seen him up close so far so now was likely the first time she had actually seen him, and what a sight he was. He smirked inwardly, seeing the reaction of the woman sitting on the floor and approached, remembering that he was not wearing a shirt and his naked abdomen was revealed to her, muscles and all... in fact, he was only wearing the heavy belted Kama, though that covered everything from his hips to his ankles from all sides while he was not in motion. The Mercenary would get a good look at the Drake before he approached her, naked from the hips up (occasionally it rode a little low for a tantalizing glance at the beginnings of the V leading between the legs) save for silvery scales that detailed his abdomen and covered his shoulders and arms. The Dragon smirked as he approached her, smirking knowingly and kneeling in front of her. With one swift motion his tail lashed out and the gag that had been tied around her mouth was severed, allowing her to speak, though he spoke up first.

"Your crew is defeated, the Greenbacks are dead or dying, and your employer screamed like a little girl when I snapped his arm at the elbow... Not a good day... but, It can get better, or at least be salvaged" The dragon began, flicking his tail behind him and gently scraping the wood of the brig with his claws before lifting his arm and presenting her three fingers. "We aren't without mercy however, so I will give you three options for yourself and your crew. Each member may choose, but your choice will affect the outcome of their fates." He smiled reassuringly, flexing his Talons to emphasize his point. "First, I extend an offer for you to join us. Some of your number fought well, and you yourself look like like a warrior, why were you stooping to guarding such a coward when you could be fighting free and making so much more." He grinned again, offering her that teasing look before curling one of his talons back into his fist to show that that option had been covered. "Your second option if that we simply set you free, we bear no grudge against your crew and expect that you do not bear one against us... this is business and we would be more than happy to drop you off at the next port or on the nearest available rock" He rolled his eyes slightly at this one before retracting his talon, leaving only one of those dangerously sharp talons, which he brought to her neck so she could feel the sharpness of the bladelike apendage. "Your last option, should you bear a grudge and want revenge is that we simply cut you into ribbons and toss your bodies overboard, this is business, but we will not tolerate heroes. This time his voice dropped to a low rumble and the threat was made clear by the dragon's posture and position of his talons before he used one to bring her gaze to his, (or run across her skin should she be meeting his gaze already) "Ill even give you an opportunity to die like a warrior, its how I prefer to do things" With that he retracted his arm and returned to standing, the tantalizing view of that leg gone to make it clear hopefully add a bit to her incentive to join rather than resist. "So what is it, Freedom, Safety, or Death?"

 

[AvalonsGuardian]

Certainly it was hard for any of the others that the Captain bedded to compare to Mercury, in any number of ways, but that didn't seem to stop her. Perhaps the variety appealed to her, even if the others were a little pale by comparison. Or maybe he was just too much for her to handle all of the time. That was the explanation that would best stroke his ego, but it was hard to say for sure, without asking the fiery redhead, and who knew whether she'd be willing to divulge such information. While she tended to err on the side of being direct, particularly compared to the subtle neko, for instance, that didn't mean that she handed out all of her secrets. If anyone would be capable of coaxing it from her, though, it was her dragon.

When it came to the elf, or, rather elves in general, one of the benefits of their looks was that they tended to be a bit androgynous. That, among other things, contributed to how widespread their appeal was. Most everyone could find an elf they found attractive, regardless of sexual orientation of personal preference. That wasn't always the case, as some favored in their partners less the slender look, though elves could be capable of quite the curves, at least in some cases. Doubtless there were all sorts of perverted tales out there regarding dragons and elves, to boot, but just how much a basis they had was hard to say. They had to have started somewhere, though.

Fortunately for Mercury, most of those on board the ship knew better than to antagonize him, barring those cases where alcohol caused them to take leave of their senses. Fortunately, in such cases, he had both the ability and the permission to throw them around, as long as nothing important was broken. Most of the time, though, they either deferred respectfully or avoided him altogether, which, while good for avoiding offense or unwanted conversation, could make things a little dull around the ship. Fortunately for the dragon, his natural charm and good looks, not to mention the abundance of exotic, beautiful creatures on the ship, made sure that boredom was never really an issue.

Mercury's position on the ship was rather vague, despite the respect he commanded, but it was often enough to know that if he was making a stand on a point, it was in your best interest to go along with it. The Boarding sergeant was one of the exceptions, either foolish or brave(or both) enough to stand firm against the dragon, though obviously if the point was pushed, there was little doubt with who would come out on top. He was mostly to keep the other crew members in line, a job he did well, if gruffly and with little humor. He could give direction to Merc, but not really orders. He did give an amusing shrug when Merc made a point of not promising to keep the prisoner intact, however, as if to say that he had done all he could do. Dragons did as they pleased, after all. Even when knew where to grab them, as the Captain did. Said redhead found that a good place to start was below the belt.

For what it was worth, while the dragon would only be able to guess at it, the neko had greatly enjoyed her time with Merc as well. Even beyond the fact that he was drop-dead sexy, and now shirtless, he was swift, fierce, competent. He had slipped her some loot, and despite his power and status among the crew, she hadn't really had to tiptoe around with him. A welcome change from being just another lowly recruit among the crew. It wouldn't be easy to go back to that, but she knew that the independence couldn't last. Maybe once she proved her worth a bit, she'd be granted more freedom. Freedom from her clothes, if nothing else, if her luck held as it had been going. With Merc intending to reclaim his wonderful smelling shirt, she made a point to find a replacement. Maybe the merchant would have something clean she could fit into. She would get a chance to find out, at any rate. As Merc made to depart, she turned to resume her duties. As far as those went, looking for loot wasn't a bad one. She certainly did have a certain...thief sense to it all, and could put that to good use for the crew while Merc was off seducing his prisoner. Admittedly, she wasn't sure just what he had in mind with her, and she was well aware it could be violence instead of sex, or business, but she wanted to think that the prisoner wouldn't be harmed. Just a sellsword doing their job, after all.

The blonde warrior lifted her head to regard him as he entered, looking at worst a bit uncomfortable, but there was no real fear in her eyes, even with a dragon bearing down on her. She figured...hoped that with her bound and wrapped, he would feel little need to resort to violence. If he did, well, there wasn't really much she would be able to do about it anyway. She did take in the details, though, a habit which had done her worlds of good in her profession. How easily he found purchase, yet without really damaging the deck. His swift movement, how he had to fold his wings, the confidence in his stride. Of course, the big thing, impossible to miss, was that he was shirtless. Oh what a view it was, and she wasn't afraid to let her gaze linger, drinking in his slender, muscled form, and how his kama rode almost teasingly low at times, teasing her with the promise of a better view. Gods be damned, for all she knew she was about to die. Yet here she was, heat blooming in her core, tied up in front of an exceedingly handsome, half naked dragon. The fates were truly cruel.

She was grateful when the gag was removed, though she did jump a little when his tail lashed out to do the deed, out of surprise if nothing else. She intended to speak, but he preempted her, launching into an explanation of what her choices were, counting them off with those wickedly sharp talons of his. She settled in, smarter than to try to interrupt him at any point in his explanation, looking thoughtful, but not displeased at how things were turning out. She allowed her gaze to be guided up to his at the end, when she was offered a warrior's death, not afraid to meet his gaze, but finding that his torso and waist offered a far more enticing view. So, three options, then. Freedom, a place among the crew, or death. His talon was sharp, but no worse than a knife, and she had experienced a knife to the throat before, so she remained remarkably steady, though acutely aware of the danger. No sudden movements, to be sure.

"I will die fighting, at some point." She hastily added, not wanting him to mistake it as her decision. "And I can hope for little better an opponent than a dragon. But not today." Hopefully, at least. "I suspect my crew, and commander, will be on their way, but you might gain a few recruits." In all likelihood, the elf and the Blonde might be the only ones saved, if the redheaded captain found no others appealing enough. There was no room for grudges as a mercenary. It was about the money, and it wasn't like she had any real attachment to the job, or their client. As for the Greenbacks, well, a lot of mercenaries were ex-soldiers, so there was some connection there, but many soldiers didn't view sellswords too highly. At least the more idealistic ones. Accusations of immorality, cowardice, greed, lack of loyalty, etc. Suffice it to say that they were happy that most of them were intact. Her crew didn't shy from doing their job, but they wouldn't have turned the tide, not in this battle, with a dragon about. No sense adding to the body count for no good reason. They'd take what they could salvage and get out. The question still was, though, whether she should go with them. "I know little of your crew, beyond the appeal of the dragon among it." No flattery for safety sake, this, merely speaking the truth of the attractive being before her. "What could I expect?" She didn't plan to agree without more information, when the alternative was the safe, secure life she had already. "Position? Responsibilities? Rewards, risks?" She squirmed a little, now that his talon was no longer at her throat, looking him up and down. Focus, job, not shirtless dragon. She wasn't going to take the situation too seriously, though. "Do I get to see you walk around shirtless all the time?"

She certainly wasn't clothed particularly provocatively, though Merc had already demonstrated that even the metal that she wore over her chest and in other places that required more substantial protection would prove little in the way of a barrier if Merc was determined to get through it. Still, that didn't stop her from making quite the appealing sight. There was a certain spark in her eyes that had lit at the prospect of a warrior's death against him, and while she didn't intend to take him up on that, it had stirred a certain fire in her. Or perhaps that was just arousal at her current situation, her body betraying how exciting the situation was. Fortunately, she wasn't particularly uncomfortable, arms bound together above her head, legs sprawled out in front of her. Merc would probably delight in the attention she was paying him, and the wonderful opportunity to tease her that it provided. She certainly looked like she would consider both stabbing him and kissing him if untied.

Speaking of, she hadn't yet been searched for weapons, and that, if only for precaution, might be something sensible to do. Perhaps difficult for Merc with his talons, but something perhaps best kept in mind. She seemed the type to keep a blade or two hidden away on her person, after all. Depending on how the dragon felt, it would be a nice opportunity to toy with the Blonde further, even.

 

[F R O S T]

Mercury carefully gauged the female's reactions to his presence, noting how she looked at him as he strode up to her and resisting the urge to grin at her when he noted the look in her eyes when they fell to his slender torso and hips. Truly he adored the attention, feeling the hungry eyes on his body and the teasing scent and taste of arousal he caused. He knew she was afraid, at least a little, but she faced it magnificently, did not show any of it in her eyes or skin... he respected that. His golden eyes continued to watch her features, noting how she stayed firm byt respectfully and smartly kept herself from interrupting him while he spoke. In time he finished and let his words sink in, watching her reaction and her eyes wandering down to his slender waist and the dangerously low-riding kama he wore. The Dragon listened to the female speak as intently as she had listened to him, his heat tilting slightly to the side to loose some of those silver strands fall. She wanted to die fighting, not a bad ideal for a human, too many were cowards and fools, and it was somewhat refreshing to see one with guts.

"Dying in combat is every warrior's dream is it not? And humans always seem to be telling tales of besting Dragons on the field of combat. So far few have impressed me" The Dragon noted, pulling his hands away from her and folding his arms over his naked torso, talons clicking together while she spoke. He straightened his back and let his wings extend slightly, watching her eyes oh so closely and narrowing his own slightly when she asked him for more information before shrugging gracefully and sighing, deciding to answer her questions quickly, and maybe take the time to mess with her more. He mulled over her questions for a moment, drawing away from her and clicking a couple of his talons on the ground in thought before glancing back at her and grinning devilishly, showing gleaming white fangs behind his lips.

"It isn't unfair that you would want to know what lies ahead, and would be of me to deny you that knowledge" He began, straightening his form slightly and tilting his head slightly, giving her a wonderful view of his neck and chin. "We are pirates, pure and simple, but our captain seeks out the most talented of individuals to recruit for our crew... As for position and duties, this depends on your skill" He smiled knowingly at her. "You are a warrior, you live for combat and will fit right in with our boarders, your position and duties will be based on your merits, you won't quite have to start at the bottom at least with my recommendation, so no swabbing decks unless you fuck up, which I doubt will happen. " The dragon chuckled; a pleasant sound and a low rumble accompanied by gleaming fangs. "Risks, death of course, human laws treats piracy harshly unless it benefits them and you cannot simply fly out of range like I can if we are caught... of course this just means plenty of opportunities to die in combat against skilled opponents... who knows, some day we might run afoul of Arcadian Sky Knights, that would be terrible" He feigned a shivver of fear, having a cavalier attitude about it before kneeling - slowly - to approach her. His kama parted gently as he kneeled to expose a single long leg encased in silvery armor and sadly stopping the part at his lower thigh. Talons extended, gently running over her form while he spoke, running over the curves of her form brazenly but intent, searching for hidden weapons. He did find one, soon and with a knowing grin extracted the dagger before gently sitting it down by her side and continuing, those sharp claws finally reaching the bindings and with a single swift motion severed her bindings, satisfied with finding at least one weapon on her he continued.

Finally the topic she was waiting for. "As for rewards..." He laughed again and stood up, facing her and standing just close enough to her so she would have the perfect view, running his talons over his shoulders and almost sensually running them over the naked skin and muscle of his torso, tracing those talons down his sides, then to his hips before letting them rest on the belt of his Kama with a sultry look on his handsome face. Without another word those talons dipped into the belt of the kama, gently grasping at something before pulling out and extracting the rather beautifully minted coin he had stolen from the merchant's bag. "This... is a mithril coin, worth more than your entire commission most likely, and during our raid on your ship I stole this, just took it from that weakling... he had this and yet I am sure he still offered you some paltry sum because of the stigma against your kind, join us and you will earn far more than you could as a mercenary, be free from seedy and condescending merchants and let your skill talk amongst my own crew" He smiled and gently moved the coin in between his talons with suprising dexterity before slipping it back into the band of his kama before tilting his head and standing fully, grinning and bringing a Talon to his lips as if in thought. "Hmm, to sweeten the deal, you would get the opportunity to spar with me when we have free time. I have always had an open invitation to spar among crew members." He offered her a tempting look, standing fully and offering her a full look of his slender form, then he got an idea.

The Dragon's face lit up with a positively evil grin for a split second before he feigned a yawn. "Have you ever seen a Dragon this close before? Most humans count themselves fortunate to see one of my kind this close and live to see the tale" He grinned teasingly and lifted his arms gently over his head, lacing his talons together and gently arching his back, stretching for her. His slender form arched languidly, head tilting back and wings slowly extending to stretch along with his arms and backs, spreading to reveal the reflective membrane underneath. The Dragon moaned to himself softly, enjoying the sensation of his muscles stretching and of course the temptation he was providing to the now free female who had to deal with the masculine form bare before her, muscles shifting gently in full view and talons raking against the floor. Unfortunately the languid stretch ended as soon as it began and he resumed his normal pose, chuckling. "And yes, I dislike wearing human clothing... perhaps I can even tell you about my favorite times to Sun... Unless you aren't interested... What do you say?"

 

[AvalonsGuardian]

As much as the view was wonderful, she was still a little uneasy, admittedly. While the blonde didn't feel much in the way of fear, she was, at least for the moment, still bound and at the dragon's mercy, and she didn't want to anger him, lest his wrath spill her undoing. Still, she couldn't help but notice that, far from angry or on edge, he seemed almost....playful. It didn't make her feel much less like prey, but now at least she figured she would be the kind that was toyed with, rather than the prey that was chewed up and spit out. Whether that was better or not was hard to say, but, well, she had read quite a few tales of dragons, and they painted them in....a playful light, to be sure, but, at least with Quicksilver dragons, like Mercury, less likely to draw blood or injure her, more likely to....she didn't want to dwell on the thought, but with a shirtless dragon in front of her, and a damn pretty one at that, it was hard not to let her thoughts go there. Damn her habit of reading dirty legends and myths. She was going to be her own undoing!

"Well...." She began, perhaps with some slight amount of hesitation, wanting to make sure he didn't have more to say about warriors and their dreams before she continued. When it seemed safe to proceed, she picked back up. "I imagine that if you can't die in battle, it speaks well of your prowess." After all, if none could strike you down, that left you the greatest warrior. Albeit, there were plenty of problems with that, and it was unlikely to happen, since it didn't take much more than someone with a gun to put down a warrior, no matter how skilled. Plenty of other ways one could go out, too, that didn't involve the glorious melee of combat, but dwelling on those didn't tend to do anyone much good. Better to think yourself likely to go out fighting. "Not quite as climactic, though." She pointed out. Both getting gunned down or passing away quietly in your sleep were far less flashy, less honorable, less desirable methods of going out. There were worse ways, but those didn't rate up there with the ideal of glorious combat. "It would be quite the story to best a dragon. Even if I were to die doing so." She agreed, though she did feel compelled to add on. "But dying to one less so." Plenty of people were killed by dragons. Unless she did something special in the process, that would hardly rate her a mention on the side in tales and legends.

Her gaze lowered, lingering only briefly at his waist before she tore it down to his legs, watching his talons tap thoughtfully against the ground, making an interesting clicking noise as they did so. She had noticed as much when he had first approached, too. The noise almost seemed to lend an air of gravity to his actions, the slow approach, the thoughtful tapping. All very dramatic, and probably not even intentional. Just went to prove why dragons were so revered. Mere moments later she got a good look at his fangs, too, gleaming white and every bit as deadly as the rest of him, but as with his demeanor in general, there was a predatory, delighted look in his smile. Assuming human expressions translated over, he was no doubt enjoying himself.

Her eyes flicked ever so slightly downwards when he tilted his head, taking in, briefly, his chin and neck, but she was doing an admirable job, for the most part, of holding his gaze as she spoke. Piracy was a given, but it was good to have it spelled out again, clearly, for her. She wanted to make sure she knew what she was getting into when, and more importantly, if, she agreed to sign on with the crew. Fighting was definitely in her blood, and while she could probably manage well enough with a cannon, or a rifle, she would doubtless be most at home on the deck, with steel in hand. She could only hope that if she ended up there, she didn't have to cross blades with any of her old comrades. She would hesitate, she suspected, and that might be enough to get her killed. She didn't intend to let her mind linger on that thought, though. It was unlikely and unpleasant, and there was a lot of other information she had to process. Chief among that information was the fact that she wouldn't be stuck doing grunt work, which was a relief. Much as it would build muscle and character, there were far more pleasant ways of managing that, which Merc would cover shortly after by mention of sparring. Another look at those fangs as he chuckled, which was more pleasant than foreboding, and she could almost swear that she felt his laugh as much as she saw it.

"I don't intend to hang for piracy." She assured her, a statement of fact as much as a promise. Whatever form getting out of that took: wiles, dying fighting, or cutting her way to freedom, she would not be on her knees when she died, unless it was with a sword driven through her. Besides, with how rife corruption was, there was surely someone that could be swayed to aid her, if she, by some miracle of whatever gods her opponents swore by she was captured. Arcadian Sky Knights? Truly it would be a strange day to find herself pitted against them. They would have to vex someone important, or consistently thwart regular authorities for that to happen, but she would concede it wasn't entirely out of the question. She wasn't fooled by his feigned shiver, but that wasn't to say that the slight vibration along his body wasn't appealing. The view didn't get any worse as he knelt before her, her gaze following him down, and continuing past his eyes to drag slowly along his leg, cursing the cloth that hid away his thigh and the rest of what she was interested in seeing. So caught up in her thoughts was she that it took her a long moment before she understood that purpose behind him feeling along her curves, finally getting a hint for what lay beneath her outfit.

She didn't have a chest to compete with the neko, but she wasn't without curves, either, as he would find out, likely cutting quite a striking form beneath the brown and steel colors she wore. Her muscles weren't overt enough to conceal her shape, only leave it firmer, and if he was bold enough to let his grasp stray near her rear, he would find it deliciously firm and curvaceous. It took until he had withdrawn the plain, but deadly looking knife, which he would need to reach into her outfit to retrieve, for her to regain her composure, at least enough to play coy. "No idea how that got there." Not that it would fool him, though he might be too distracted by her only slightly successful attempts to beat back the scarlet creeping onto her cheeks as he searched her to care about the flimsy excuse.

Was she almost a little disappointed at not being tied up by the big bad dragon anymore? Perhaps. She did, however, rub her wrists to get the circulation going, the binds not uncomfortably tight, but the position not particularly desirable, either. One hand came to rest near, but not on, the blade left at her side. She was still a warrior, after all, and old habits died hard. She couldn't tell if he was introducing her to the crew or lap dancing for her at this point, reality blurring the lines with the perverted little fantasies up in her head as he ran his talons along his upper body, her eyes eagerly following the hypnotic motion down to his belt, not missing the sultry look he shot her, but finding the rest of the view too enticing to linger long on it. That was a valuable coin, make no mistake about that. In another situation, the mention of how he had taken it from the merchant might cause her to murmur an embittered comment about how they might have been paid well. The money went to her commander first, after all, and then trickled down through the ranks. There would be no missing the discontent there. As it stood, though, she found her throat dry, and she didn't want to risk shattering the perfect picture in front of her by speaking unnecessarily.

"No, but I've...heard....many...tales." The blonde began, though the comment didn't last long on her tongue before tapering off, once more rendered speechless as he let out a slow, languid stretch, watching his wings expand to fill the space of the room that they were in, unsure of where to look and, as a result, greedily drinking in as much as she could, eyes drifting all across his exposed, and frustratingly covered, form. Damn, where had the time gone? Before she knew it, the stretch was over, and he was merely standing before her, no longer arching his back and presenting that delicious form, slender but far from soft, to her. The talk of him disliking clothing, not to mention remembering the subject of the tales that she had so casually brought up, causing the scarlet color to resurface on her fair cheeks, nodding slowly. "N-no, I would like that very much. Sparring too" She was ready to be on her feet, though, and so she slowly grabbed the knife, leaving her hand in plain sight so he didn't think her hostile, and reaching out for some purchase to pull herself up. For better or worse, the closest thing was directly in front of him, the dragon's belt. Whether it was intentional or happenstance, the blonde was left either way using it to pull herself to her feet. Risk of disclothing Merc aside, it would be ever so interesting to know what tales she had heard about his kind. Most telling, though, was the unmistakable scent of arousal, if only budding, that Merc would find impossible to miss so close at hand. He certainly was having an effect on the warrior, and he would probably delight in that.

 

[F R O S T]

The male watched her curiously as she rubbed her wrists, again analyzing her reactions to decide the best ways to tease her. She seemed to be fairly visual, almost drooling over his slender shape and especially losing her senses to admire his body as he stretched. Quicksilver Dragons were rare; but had been observed enough to note traits that they seemed to share, especially that they were highly energetic and quite unpredictable (and also highly active sexually). Mercury at least seemed to be intent on teasing her, but she could not guess what he might do next, he could kiss her, or impale her with his tail, or simply walk out of the room. They DID tend to avoid killing unless necessary and especially did not seem to like killing vulnerable target, but Mercury had already proven himself just a smidge more bloodthirsty than some of his brothers. Mercury was however instead much more proud of being able to light that ember of arousal in a female with a sultry glance or a couple of words, coupled with a well-timed stretch or display of physical prowess and agility (or flexibility) and at least for now seemed to be in the mood to toy with his prey.

He also listened carefully to her words, the flimsy excuse about the knife going unnoticed and the hint of scarlet payed mote attention to before she gave her final answer and statement, his golden eyes glancing down to the side as she reached for her knife and tail flicking playfully behind him with that bladed end reflecting occasionally like the metal of a polished knife. She reacted wonderfully to both of his little shows and Mercury couldn't help but become a little giddy with how well this game was going for him... He wasn't fully intent to seducing this female right away, as returning to the captain smelling more of sex than blood might anger her, but wouldn't be opposed if his teasing forced a reaction he might quite like. Dragons liked assertive females, it was a trait almost universal to the species, how much of course depending on species - Dragon females themselves tended to take charge during encounters with rare males and the instinctive reaction is to appreciate brazen reactions from humanoids too. Mercury himself enjoyed teasing potential mates into acting this way unless they already did, like the captain, who found the drake quite liked her brazen approaches and was more than happy to have her mount him.

Her penultimate admission did cause the Dragon's eyes to light up as well, a smirk touching his lips and a chuckle finding its way to him. Tales huh? Oh this was amusing! He tilted his head to the side, paying his full attention to her, and waited to speak as she shifted to begin to sit up, making her final admission and bringing the sight of scarlet cheeks that sent a rush of pleasure through him. Mercury wins this round! She wasn't done though as when she was focused on getting up she reached out for the nearest avaliable object to pull herself to her feet, and her hand wrapped itself around the belt of the Dragon's kama. Mercury's eyes widened slightly in response to the action, and one foot slid back, talons digging slightly into the floor to keep the female from pulling him off his feet (The Dragon did not weigh much, much less than a human of his size). Sadly, the belt did not give as she used it to try to regain her footing and completely unclothe the dragon, however it DID pull down, almost enough to expose him and to give her just a glance at the Dragonhood hidden underneath before Mercury himself moved to keep her from completely disrobing him despite the steamy consequences that might have had. He wasn't done playing yet.

The Dragon widened his stance a little to keep his Kama from simply slipping off his hips, showing off a tantalizing amount of his middrif, hips, and pulling almost to the base of his shaft. One thing she would swiftly discover is that he had no hair down there, only a dusting of silver scales that gave a slight sheen to the front of his hips, and much larger armored scales to the side that the Kama had previously been resting on. With a swift motion His shoulders rolled and his hand moved, talons parting and then wrapping around the wrist that grabbed his belt. Surprisingly there was no pain, no blood as those hard and nearly metallic feeling claws closed around her wrist, claws that cut through reinforced fabric like it was nothing.

She had not really felt his talons before, but it might come to be a surprise that the creature was actually quite gentle with them. It seemed he had about as much practice not injuring humans as he did tearing them apart. His talons gently closed around the hand that held his belt, sharp digits wrapping around her forearm and gently but insistently helping pull her to her feet, and the other wrapped around her waist after the first gently pulled up when she was close enough. The Dragon couldn't help but grin at her fully as he pulled her up to his body, pressing her fully and gently for just a second or two up against his muscular frame, long enough for her to smell that crisp scent of his and of course keep her grasping hand close to the parts of his anatomy hidden under his kama and easily within reach should she decide to be bold. His arm pulled her insistently close, pressing her metal chestguard (which he was sure by this point she was cursing by now) right up against his chiseled physique, pulling her into an embrace close enough that she could feel the vibrations from his sultry purr in his chest. His voice was now *right* in her ear. "mmhmm, color me interested, what kind of tales have you heard about my kind? Do tell!" The motion also pulled her hips into his, not quite enough for her to feel his hidden manhood, but enough to hopefully make that aroused smell so much stronger. He wasn't concerned about the knife by this point, if she was crazy enough to try to stab him now he might not even be fast enough to stop her at this distance, but he was also close enough to easily rip her throat out with his very very sharp teeth. He would survive a stab wound, she would not survive having her throat torn out by an angry dragon. Before she could really react he pressed himself against her and grinned. He was taller than her, but that wasn't saying much for a dragon and he wasn't MUCH taller than the female. (he was actually fairly short for a Dragon), and let go as suddenly as he had grabbed her, making sure she had found her feet before innocently smiling at her and taking a step away with that long tail swishing behind him, his grin not toothy this time but oh so coy.

"Please, give me a taste?" He repeated, intentionally throwing in some innuendo this time with a cute tilt of his head before those his hands rose and he gently ran his talons through his silver hair, pulling it back over his shoulders and wings before lowering them again to adjust his Kama, pulling it back up to rest comfortably on his hips. He truly did dislike clothing, especially pants, ad his armored scales disagreed with pants and his legs and talons made footwear impossible. He waited for her answer while adjusting his looks and Kama, finally raising his eyes to meet hers and smiling. "I will of course tell the captain of your decision as soon as you deign to make it... she has taken quite an interest in your Wild Elf comrade, so it is unlikely she will be available for a little bit. If you were to tell me of a couple of these tales I might be even able to convince her to share a bit of the plunder with you as a new crewmate... the rest of your friends are going home empty handed, but it isn't too late to earn your commission" This time the grin was simply evil, followed by a lighthearted chuckle complimented by a low swish of that slender tail.

 

[AvalonsGuardian]

Had it been mentioned to her that she was practically drooling over the half-clothed dragon in front of her, her pride would demand that she refute any such claim. She was not drooling over him, though he was...rather attractive, and very close at hand. Not to mention his lack of a shirt, but still, no drooling! Well, maybe a little, but it wouldn't be proper for her, as a warrior, to be seen so entranced by the view. She had a reputation to uphold, after all, even if it had been tarnished a bit by her recent defeat. Considering she had been put up against a dragon, though, she was counting her blessings that she was still breathing, and entirely intact. That made up almost entirely for her having been subdued so easily. She was no dragon expert, which left her a little uncertain, but considering some of the tales that she had heard, assuming any of them were true, blood wasn't the only lust that dragons dealt in. The neko might have been able to attest to how fierce he could be in the throes of combat, but she had been stuck belowdeck, guarding the pompous merchant. Not exactly the most glorious use for her talents.

Indeed, for much the same reason, she wasn't yet entirely determined to ravish the dragon, if he would even allow such a thing. While he might be interested, though for all she knew, he just wanted to tease her and then slip away, but considering her somewhat....fragile position, she didn't want to damn herself by doing anything foolish. Not that Merc was making it easy, with how much temptation he was providing, but some of her strength manifested in willpower. At least for the moment. Fortunately, he didn't feel particularly threatened by the knife, which was good, for she had no intention of putting it to use, though she had to admit that Kama made an inviting target. How would the crew react, she wondered, to the dragon sauntering out onto the deck naked? Though, it was also entirely possible that the dragon would just take her pants in return. He could fit into them readily enough, she suspected, given his slender form.

She slowed her ascent when he showed signs of being off-balance, having no intention of pulling him down on top of her, though she had to admit that, as far as possible outcomes to the situation went, there were far worse ones than a half naked dragon falling on top of her, a situation that would have been very reminiscent of the elf's encounter with the Neko, though she hadn't been on hand to experience that. She wasn't sure whether she should be disappointed or happy that the belt hadn't given way, though the blonde absolutely took in the view that it provided, the teasing glimpse of his dragonhood. Mm, he had such wonderful hips, though it was admittedly not his hips that had drawn her attention, her work almost exposing the base of his shaft, but not quite doing enough, thanks to that damned belt. The lack of hair wasn't all that surprising, given that Dragons were more scales than hair, and he seemed to be almost universally smooth.

There was no hiding the surprise she felt when his talons wrapped around the wrist that had grabbed his belt, instinctual panic settling in and almost driving her to lash out with her blade in hand. Fortunately, she was more sensible than that, even if she did brace herself for pain, wondering if she had perhaps gone too far in tugging at the dragon's belt. They could be quick to anger, after all, and she didn't want to earn herself a place among the crew, only to have it, and her life, so quickly ripped away from her mere moments after. Yet there was no pain, nothing digging into her flesh, hardly any discomfort at all! Sure, he looked slight enough, though no less impressive for it, but he was still a dragon, and a fierce one at that. Who would have thought one capable, or inclined, to be gentle? She found only assistance in gaining her feet, though, thanks dying on her lips as she found his other hand moving to her waist, wrapping firmly around it. Her outfit was softer there, and so he would get a good chance to feel her curves, not entirely soft(she was a warrior) but definitely not entirely hard, either.

Mere seconds later she found herself pressed up against him, pulled close at hand after finding her feet, well balanced enough not to lose her footing, but allowing herself to press up against him, though tragically the armor she wore kept her from fully appreciating the feel of his muscles. She definitely could smell him, though, now that she was so close, a pleasant smell. None of the fire, brimstone, or blood that one expected from a dragon, from all of the legends told about them. Not to mention, and she suspected(though she couldn't prove it), her hand was left temptingly close to his kama, easily within reach of him, and pressed chest to chest with Merc. While she might not have been able to feel his manhood, her eyes flicked downwards, taking advantage of their proximity to look almost straight down his kama before finding his gaze once more. The only reason she still held the knife was that she did not want to carelessly discard it, but she was in no position to really tuck it away. Not that it was even near the forefront of her mind. That was occupied entirely by the dragon, and the lust that he was inspiring in her. She didn't intend to let him go without taking advantage of how close they were, though, unoccupied hand brushing slowly across his manhood, through his kama, too slowly and deliberately to be an accident, though one could write it off as such, if they wanted to.

Ah, damn him, just as soon as it started, she found him standing a step or two away, too far away for her to return the favor of teasing him. He knew what he was doing, that much was for sure, but she had at least gotten a good feel for him before he had slipped away, and she had a chance to tuck away the knife she carried, back where he had found it. If he was inclined to remove it again, he would have to once more pat her down, though it was unlikely either of them would particularly mind, at this point. He knew where it was, and could, if he was so inclined, merely snatch it, but there would be no fun in that. "Of course, master dragon." She nodded her head politely, licking her lips ever so slightly when he instructed her to earn her commission. "I could never refuse you~" She brought up a finger to tap her chin thoughtfully. Where to begin, where to begin? She decided to start with the less....appealing ones, and work her way towards the ones dealing with dragons and...intimacy.

"Dragons are supposed to be unrivaled in battle." She explained, something the crew of the ship was well familiar with by now, no doubt. "They are alleged to be able to slice heavy armor like butter, to roast entire armies at once from the skies, opening wounds with careless swishes of their tails, and tearing throats like tender meat." None of that was particularly surprising. If one was unfortunate enough to meet a dragon on the battlefield, things tended to work out poorly. "Arrows bounce from their scales like raindrops, blades bend and shatter against their armor." Exaggerated, obviously, as piercing weapons could be somewhat effective against dragons, but amusing nonetheless. "Bullets may pierce their scales, but they breathe in the fire and smoke and return it a hundred-fold, submerging entire battlefields in a thick haze that blinds and chokes." It didn't do much to distinguish the types of dragons, but tales like these didn't do much for the details.

"The saving grace is that they live largely in seclusion. Caves and mountains, atop piles of treasure and trophies taken from those they have defeated. They nest upon it, any light brought into the lair reflecting from scale and gold alike in a blinding luminescence." She was quite a good teller of tales, voice becoming grand and louder, to properly convey the scale of all that she was speaking about. "They emerge when disturbed or when they desire something, laying waste to any foolish enough to cross their path, but are largely dormant creatures, content if naught threatens their rule or their claimed territory."

She had paced slightly during the tales, and now brought her gaze back to meet his in a sultry smirk, now ready to talk about the fun part of the legends about dragons. "And of course, as voracious as their lust for blood, and gold is, it cannot compare with their lust for sex." She stated it as a fact, and, if she wasn't making all of this up, which she likely wasn't, then it was a fact for most people. She was merely conveying it for his sake. "There are the obvious facts about them, first. How well endowed, very well endowed they are, with heavy orbs that are allegedly impossible to drain." Little wonder what she referred to there, her eyes flicking downwards slightly to his Kama as she mentioned it, taking a step closer. "Hand in hand with that, they have massive amounts of stamina. Round after round, partner after partner, impossible to entirely sate." She shivered slightly, stopping just before Merc and reaching out, boldly dragging a hand slowly across his chest. "They are said to be fond in particular of royalty, princesses with more looks than sense, who are silently, in the dead of night, swept away from the tower of the castle. The dragon that takes her emerges from his cave the next morning bathed in afterglow, with lipstick marks trailing down his chest and along his....well.." She trailed off, imagining that he could imagine what she meant. To emphasize the fact, she trailed her hand down to his waist as she spoke, before pulling it back.

"They also like luring in thieves who attempt to steal from their treasure hoard, and then take their pleasure from the poor rogues, who are happy to please the dragon in exchange for being allowed to slip away unharmed. Not to mention how creatively they are said to use their wings and tail" In sharp contrast to the loud tones from earlier, these perverted tales she spoke quietly, sultrily. "If you lack wealth, and do not desire blood to be spilled, the best way to appeal to a dragon...." She leaned in close, both hands moving to rest idly at his waist, waiting to see if he would push her back, or otherwise swat away her hands. "Is through their lust~" Gods how she wanted this sexy, slender dragon, but she wasn't sure that she was even allowed. Though to be honest, she wasn't sure either how much she cared anymore. "So how about earning that commission?" She inquired, pressing herself against him once more, desiring little more than to push him back against the wall and kiss him everywhere, but not wanting to push her luck in driving him back.

 

[F R O S T]

It was certainly a good thing that she did not manage to pull the drake atop of her - he certainly did not weigh much, with a rather lightweight body for a Dragon. Unlike the elf or the neko though there were many more sharp bits on him and if he were to instinctively grasp something to try to halt his fall, or worse, use the claws on his wings... there was a good chance that things for whomever was underneath him would get... messy. He was also glad that she had the willpower to avoid her own instinctive response to his grip, and that slender tail tensed in that moment of anticipation. Luckily she didn't lash out and he did not have to do so in return. and instead reacted quite favorably to his little displays. This of course spurred him on even more. It was a vicious cycle that many female crew members were already plenty aware of, much like giving a dog a treat. The Dragon had few boundaries and encouraging him only spurred him on.

After that initial little scare, Mercury was oh so pleased with her responses; almost perfect, and the dragon's body language was utterly unashamedly displaying this pleasure. His stance was more easily readable by the human, relaxed and of course with a satisfied expression on his face, those golden eyes watching her reactions to his teachings and little wardrobe malfunctions beautifully showing almost unashamed on her face. The talons on his feet gently scrapped against the wood of the floor, one of the sharp appendages tapping to display the Quicksilver's intense concentration. More importantly that long, slender tail moved behind him, swaying slowly through the air behind him and occasionally nicking one of the walls or the floor. The silvery scales on the long, dexterous appendage were tougher and larger close to the base, but became more smooth and slender closer to the tip, with the scales becoming more slender and narrow before becoming a scythelike blade running along the underside of the last foot or so of the dexterous tail. The twitches only intensified when she began to recount some of the legends that she had accumulated about dragons, chin tilting temptingly and leaning in just a little closer to listen. He remained utterly pleased with her story through till the end, and his reactions reflected this, golden eyes focused on hers, only leaving to dart to the side in thought.

Oh, this was almost too good! Mercury remained silent through all her stories, though he certainly found them harder and harder not to speak about. Instead he allowed his body language to display his pleasure, that long tail was in constant motion behind him and those heavy wings flexed impatiently while his grin grew and grew, eventually looking unsettling providing glances to his very sharp white teeth. He adored hearing human stories of his kind, stroking his draconic ego and bringing him no end of pleasure. Amusingly, most of them weren't far off for an older dragon, though hilariously exaggerated in the way only humans seemed to manage for younger creatures. Mercury himself had personally seen an elder dragon fight before, a male who had at one point literally taken the young, orphaned drake under his wing.

It was an inspiring sight, seeing him spread those nearly feathery wings and take to the sky, moreso the way he seemed to dive clean through the decks of ships to light the stores of ammunition within with sparks shed from his wings., breathing torrents of fire with such precision he could target engines without damaging the rest of the ships or incinerate captains. Gold Dragons were referred to as the Kings of Dragons, majestic beyond words and methodical fighters... Mercury couldn't help but admire them. They were also the primary reason for that princess myth, preferring to look for human mates among the higher classes, wheres Reds preferred the taste of their flesh. Mercury had even fulfilled some of those myths earlier that day with his tail and with his talons and thinking about this made the slender dragon actually purr, golden eyes half-lidded while she brazenly touched him, flashing his fangs and pressing himself closer.

And then she got to the better parts of the legends she had heard, actually making him chuckle. Oh, now those stories he liked! He didn't dare correct her, presenting her with a satisfied grin and gently pressing towards her whenever her hands touched him, showing absolutely no interest in backing away or cutting off his teasing. In fact, he was pretty committed to his seduction to see it through. What had initially been a playful tease now had the dragon legitimately aroused, and though his Kama was pretty good at hiding this arousal, his body language screamed his interest and his kama was beginning to fail in it's duty. The thoughts of leaving this female hot and wanting did flicker through the Dragon's mind, On one hand the redhead might be mad if he came to her smelling of sex... but on the other hand he was *very* interested in this female and her behavior was interesting him to say the very least, allowing her hands to touch him and not bothering to shy away, instead meeting the bold warrior by allowing his muscles to shift under her grasp and when she finally pressed herself up against him moving his hands and talons to her waist. In her response to her final question he laughed, a deep chuckle she could feel even through her armor. The muscles in his shoulders rolled and he leaned forward into her body, moving his talons from her waist slowly and steadily. "Absolutely" He purred in response to her final question, using those talons to grip her sides and pull her gently into him, waist to waist and close enough for her that she could smell the mint of his breath again.

The Kama was not doing a fantastically good hiding him from touch at this point, and that certainly wasn't a shortwsord in his pocket. Another chuckle came from the Dragon and he leaned in, inhaling her own scent deeply. "All these stories are lovely... and not far from the truth at all... but... do they tell you how exactly to appeal to the lust of a dragon?" The tone of his voice took a much more sensual lilt for these words, hands moving as he spoke to gently drag those talons up her breastplate, before allowing them to come to a rest on her shoulders. She was wearing a fairly simple bit of armor, and it was likely with the commission she was about to earn she would be able to buy better armor anyway so he felt little guilt about what he was about to do. Talons moved quickly, a gentle but insistent tug sliced clean through leather straps and soon the metal garment fell to the floor and was swatted away by this tail, revealing whatever she wore underneath and more importantly let her press her chest fully to his and enjoy the feel of the slender muscles in his torso and him of course feel her breasts against part of his body that was not coated in scales.

"The trick" He purred gently, pulling his talons along her shoulders and down the sleeves of her shirt, finally coming to rest on her hands and allowing the tips of his sharp claws to guide then further up and back, to the sensitive sides of his hips. He would not resist at all if she moved closer or allowed her body to touch that stiffening dragonhood. "-Is to treat approaching a dragon like you would fight one, this seems to be where most humans make mistakes..." He grinned and leaned in, allowing his tongue to leave his lips and gently drag along her neck, both taking in her taste and letting her realize that he had a *much* longer tongue than most humans, bringing a streak of heat over an exposed portion of her neck and leaving hot saliva to tingle along her skin.

"The trick is to not back down... Take the offensive... Some dragons are aroused by timid humans, but others prefer more... capable conquests" It really depended on the dragon, but that would even amuse a chromatic dragon, if not turn them on and give a human a fighting chance at surviving after several rounds of very rough sex. He took a couple steps back, hands still at her hips to guide her back to press his own back against that wall, allowing several feet of his tail to coil around one of her legs and unfurling his wings to gently wrap around the two of them, preventing any escape (For himself too). "mhmm, perhaps while we fight alongside eachother you can test as many of those legends as you please" He pulled away for just a second, looking into her eyes once more and presenting her a toothy grin. "You may certainly earn that commission, but do you have what it takes to take on a Dragon?" To make this point his tail tightened around her leg, those curved scales actually feeling quite good and his wings flexed around her.

 

[AvalonsGuardian]

The blonde was plenty adept at dealing with pointy bits, given that she was a warrior and all, but on the other hand, he was a dragon, and that meant that her armor probably wouldn't help that much against all of his pointy bits. She wasn't wearing full plate, so even against a conventional blade, it wouldn't be that out of the realm of possibility for a point to slip through, or past her armor, so Mercury would have been more than capable of putting her down, if he was so inclined. Fortunately, he wasn't, and he hadn't ended up tumbling on top of her. She would have had the sense not to flail around, and knowing that he was a little light meant that she wouldn't have been crushed, but she hadn't been worried that much. He was a dragon, after all, and sheerly by virtue of that, she had imagined he would be able to keep his feet. Then again, she did have some amount of strength in her arm, being a warrior and all, so perhaps it wasn't all that surprising that she had thrown him off balance, particularly since he hadn't been expecting her to haul herself up by his belt, though it had, in the end worked out.

She wasn't the best at reading social cues, but that didn't mean she was blissfully ignorant to body language, by far. Draconic body language didn't translate directly over, but to be a decent warrior, you had to know how to read the language of your enemies' movements. When they were feinting, when and where a strike would come, so forth, so on. When to block, when to dodge, where to meet their blade to parry it. In a way, reading Mercury's body language now wasn't that far off from it, though obviously the purpose was different. Though, she supposed it was still a matter of conquest, just sexual in nature rather than violent. He seemed entirely at ease, which was reliving, as while it was possible that he merely was confident that he could easily dispatch her, she hoped that it more indicated that there was no emnity between them. She was almost on board with signing up as a pirate, and she was willing to gracefully admit her defeat. Plus, the way things were going now, rather than ending up a dragon's spoils, she was going to get to claim him. Not what she expected, but she wasn't going to complain. Every aspect that made the dragon so intimidating was downright sexy when you weren't under direct threat. That smug grin he wore left her heart all a-flutter, and she could practically lose herself in those golden eyes. She wasn't an overly romantic woman, but she knew what she liked, and his swaying tail and glistening scales were it.

It was also good to see that she had his undivided attention when she began telling her tales, the dragon tilting his head and leaning ever so slightly in to better hear her, though she was convinced that he had hearing far beyond a normal human anyway. He could go airborne, so it stood to reason that his ears(and eyes and nose for that matter) would have to be sharp enough to be used from high above. Not that she was complaining, seeing him lean in was delicious, but she didn't let it distract her from her tales, which required enough concentration to recount them considering the rather....risque nature of the last of them. While Mercury didn't speak during them, which was appreciated, though she certainly wouldn't have been in any position to complain if he had interrupted. Dragons tended to have the right of way when it came to conversation and, well, everything else too. The comparison to felines was undeniable with how his tail swished back and forth behind him, and oh how his grin grew wide, almost unsettling if she wasn't lost enough in lust to look past the intimidating nature of his fangs. If he wasn't so at ease, then she might have been threatened, but there was no hostility in his stance.

Certainly some of the legends had to have some kernel of truth to them, and so some humans had to have witnessed an Elder Dragon, or the like and lived to tell the tale. Whether they had talked about any of it, though, or if any of what they said was accurate, well, that was all a lot less likely. Even if it started at a relatively reasonable, truthful statement, it was only a matter of time before they were twisted in taverns, told over frothy mugs of ale, and then again in seedier taverns over watered down mugs of ale. Anyone who had witnessed them had probably done so from a safe distance, though. It was easy enough to get the terrifying majesty of an Elder dragon ripping through an entire armada from the safety of shore, through a looking glass. Far more likely to live to tell about it that way, too. As far as the gold dragons sweeping away princesses, well, there was empirical evidence of that happening, though the outcome was different. Sometimes they settled in to rule, sometimes they just kept the princesses around, and sometimes they allowed the royals to return to their castle when they had been good and satisfied. Oh, was he purring? Now that was something that was nice to feel, though it didn't diminish the feline thing. It only drove her onwards, as he didn't seem to have any intention of having her slow down or stop.

Gods, he was making this difficult. As frustrating as it would have been, it would have at least been easy if she had merely been told no, but the way things were going, this was going to lead her down a dark, very tempting path, and she was delighted to follow it. It had definitely gone beyond playful teasing, the two of them both far too worked up to back off now. As much as his kama could help conceal his arousal(a useful trait no doubt with how many attractive females he ran into around the ship), she wasn't helping it stay in place, between her having tugged it down and the light brush across the front of it. The Captain might be irritated, but in his defense, he had been given the blonde to do with as he pleased, and directed to handle that first, so she could only be so irritated with him following orders. Ooh, now that was a nice feeling, how his chuckle practically rumbled through her, her armor, such as it was, not doing much to muffle it. Just feeling his talons at her waist was delighting enough, but then she suddenly found herself being pulled against him, waists touching and able to smell his breath. Her own breath was pleasant, but not quite fresh smelling. Indeed, there was the faint smell of some sort of sweet liqour, not something that had likely been sipped for courage before the battle, or some other reason. It was pleasant, at any rate, not strong enough to be overwhelming, and smelling...fruity, perhaps?

Well, if they hadn't been too far committed before, they most definitely were now, and she had to suppress a shudder as she felt his stirring arousal through his kama. Now that was impressive, far from a shortsword, to be sure, and she looked forward to seeing it bared in all of its glory. For all of the talk and claws and breath, the natural weapon Mercury possessed that she was most interested in was currently straining against his kama, and she didn't intend to make it struggle for long, if she had any say in the matter. If she had a response to his question, she was kept from answering as his hands moved to her shoulders, clearly slicing through the straps that held her armor on. Honestly, even if it was a nicer piece of armor, she wasn't sure that she would have been able to complain at being stripped down by a handsome dragon like him. There was cloth beneath the armor, but it wasn't quite as substantial with the metal that went overtop falling away and clattering along the ground as he swatted it away. It would be easy enough to repair, if she wanted to, but she was more likely to land something more substantial anyway. The cloth was thin, and showed her curves better with the armor gone, though it wasn't quite as form fitting, or protective, as leather would have been. That being said, it certainly allowed him to feel the swell of her breasts as her chest pressed against his, nice and soft, not quite as ample as the other girls', but she was certainly not flat, and he would feel that quite well.

Even now, she wasn't given much of a chance to either protest or voice her thoughts, though she wasn't quite entirely silent, particularly when his long, flexible tongue dragged at her neck, a soft gasp coming at the unexpected warmth. That was not what she had expected, but damned if it wasn't getting her all hot and flustered. Though perhaps she had already been both of those things, if she was being honest with herself. She did move closer, not content in letting her hands rest idly by while he explored her body, and so her hands would move up his back, intent on lightly touching at his wings, though they spent plenty of time roaming his back and rubbing his hips, seeming to want to touch every bit of him, and unsure where to start. His chest was otherwise occupied, though, with her breasts pressing against it through her top, so she was forced to content herself with the rest of him. She was listening to his advice as he gave it, deciding that she was quite capable of taking down a dragon, if that was the case. Sexually, if not physically. She was a warrior, and she could most certainly do aggressive. That wasn't to say she would object if she was ravished while tied up, or made to service him, but she could definitely do offense as well.

Then she suddenly found them both up against a wall, though his back was to it, so he had trapped himself more than he had trapped her. His wings quickly cut off any thoughts of escape, as if she had any, leaving them both trapped. That being said, though, she was going to take advantage of him being pinned between her and a wall, and his wings just made sure that she had no other options to waste time thinking about. "Only one way to find out~" She announced when he asked if she had with it takes. Maybe she didn't, but she was willing to take the risk of finding out. As far as her first move, well, seeing as how he had been so eager to strip her of her armor, she was going to return the favor. Both of her hands found their way down to his waist, resting at his hips for a long moment and pressing her hips against his, allowing her to feel that nice dragonhood beneath his kama. Pulling back enough to give herself room, she pressed her breasts against his chest and let her hands move around to his front, getting a nice, long feel for his nice, long weapon, and then deftly working at his kama, intending on undoing it and letting it fall away. She was a little startled by the feeling of his tail tightening around her leg, but it was actually rather pleasant, and only served to encourage her. Hopefully it didn't put up too much of a fight, though, else she might end up slipping down with it, ending up eye to eye with a certain dragon's spear.