8A/N:Hello everyone! Welcome to My Reflection, it's my attempt at, well, I don't exactly know what it's my attempt at, but I'm trying! I do hope you like it, and I will try to update faster, it's not exactly my fault I can't update, my parents watch me like hawks, it's not even funny. Anyway, I hope you like it, I'm still trying to decide whether or not I should kill off the crew people...I guess I'll leave that up to you guys, because they don't show up much anyways... Enjoy!
"It's so beautiful father!" I exclaimed happily, dancing around on the deck, viewing the ocean city. My sun streaked hair waving in the wind, flying around my face.
He smiled gently, "You've said that about every city we've landed at so far Crystal." His eyes twinkled merrily.
"I know, but this one is different somehow. It's so, clean looking." I giggled, leaning on the railing.
"That's the city of Ashier for you. They are absolutely obsessed with cleanliness. It's a trading town, we can get supplies here. Go tell the Captain we're about three miles out. We don't want the oars to get damaged, do we?" My father pushed me towards his quarters, and then turned towards the other crewman.
I sighed, my father was the first mate, and was supposed to do it himself, but he made me do it so he could keep an eye on the others, not that they fought a lot. He had to make sure they didn't goof off. I walked to the Captain's room.
"Sir," I knocked gently, "We're three miles away from the city."
He swiftly opened the door, and what I saw made me giggle. He was still in his night clothes.
"And your father isn't telling me this because?" He asked irritably, glaring at my small form.
"He's a lazy bum." I replied, heading back toward my father. The Captain's glare never intimidated me; I was more likely to start laughing. After all, seeing the captain try to glare at someone in his
nighties is quite comical.
"All right, tell him to get the ship set and landed in the water and to make sure all the oars are set this time." He called after me.
"Aye Aye Sir!" I exclaimed giggling. I ran back to my father with the orders.
"I guess we'll have to do it properly this time around then eh?" My father laughed, carefully maneuvering to the engine controls.
"You're cleaning that up this time, not me. I'm tired of cleaning up after the crew's binge drinking." I rolled my eyes and sat on the guard rail, which my father hated.
"Johnathan, if all you're going to stand at the controls and laze about all day then go help Sophia in the kitchen, I want breakfast." The captain came out of his quarters in his usual clothing, which consisted of a white t-shirt and breeches.
"As you wish sir." My father fled from the upper deck.
I laughed, "Then who's going to pilot the ship sir?" My father was the only one who knew her well enough to fly her safely, and while I'd been learning, I didn't know enough to land her without breaking something.
He raised his eyebrows, "You are. You're the only one besides your father who can fly this bloody ship. It won't let anyone else touch her. I've not a clue why, but if anyone else tries, they get a nasty shock. Put her down in the ocean, we'll activate the propellers from there."
I nodded and jumped over the crap on the deck to the controls, "If you say so sir." Piloting the ship was easy, all you had to do was move a couple wheels and you were done, however doing it well was another thing.
I pulled the necklace my mother had given me out of my pocket, I always wore it when I flew the ship, and fastened it around my neck, "All right! Time to fly!" I exclaimed airily, flipping a few levers.
The captain turned green, "Crystal! Don't you dare!" He yelled, grabbing onto the railing.
I laughed, "All right everyone! Hold on tight! We're going to drop!"
I flipped the final switch, which would send us straight into the ocean.
"Crystal, when we land, I am going to maul you with an axe." The captain exclaimed irritably.
Suddenly, the ship started fall quickly towards the sea. I started to giggle with excitement; I never buckled my seatbelt because I didn't have to, the necklace kept me tethered to the ship. This allowed me to quite literally fly in the air while the ship fell. It was good for reconnaissance, but the captain absolutely hated the feeling of his stomach trying to come out of his mouth. I let go of the wheel.
"Whoo hoo!" The sensation of being lifted into the air was unique, I wasn't jumping out of the ship, and I was being lifted by the ship. I let the currents carry me far into the skies above.
Then it all stopped, I landed with a thump onto the deck, "Oof!" The ship had landed in the ocean with a splash, soaking everyone on the top deck, which was unfortunately, only the captain.
"Crystal, what have I said about doing that particular stunt?" He exclaimed angrily, squeezing the water out of his shirt.
He looked like a wet cat the way his hair stood on end, and then I remembered.
Everyone on Basque has an ability known as "Chi". (Cheesy, I know, but that's what they call it.) It differs from person to person, and can take any way, shape or form. Some people can turn into a specific animal, control an element, or use various other abilities that carry over into combat. It was first discovered a long time ago, when monks from Earth decided to pay a visit. Sometimes it takes ages for the ability to activate, but once it does, it never goes away. As you can probably guess, the captain's ability is to turn into a cat. I haven't a clue what mine is, but my dad can ask the wind for favors. Sophia can control fire, and the Weapon's Master, Jerik can manipulate metal.
Most people can barely control their ability though; it takes years of training to completely control them. If you don't master it, the Chi will burst out and use itself. It can be comical sometimes, if the ability is harmless, but if it's a dangerous ability, you better hope you have something to counter it.
"Crystal, stop tormenting Captain Cat, you know he hates the water." Sophia called from the galley, waving a spoon.
"Sorry sir, I forgot." I chuckled, biting my lip. I would hate to get scratched by his claws, it hurt.
He shook his head, "Don't worry about it, just please go grab me a towel."
I ran to the bathroom and grabbed the smallest towel I could find, the larger ones were for drying off the deck after moping.
He frowned, "You don't expect me to go into cat form do you?" He asked me irritably, reaching for it.
I shrugged, "No, but you're the one who said don't touch the larger towels."
He rolled his eyes and went into his rooms.
I headed back over to the controls, "Today is just about perfect. I wonder what we'll be able to get in town. Maybe I'll be allowed to buy a new bandanna, seeing as my last one was burnt." I twiddled the wheel idly, carefully directing it towards to the ocean dock.
"If you help me with the rest of the shopping. We're low on food again, and Sophia has a specific grocery list this time." My father tapped my shoulder, a signal for me to move aside.
"Okay! I'll go put on proper clothes then." I was still wearing my flannel pajamas from the previous night. I ran to my room, which was painted a deep purple, with contrasting browns.
I picked out a pair of shorts, and brown knee length boots from the closet, and a blue halter top from my drawer. I brushed my hair down from its tangled form so that it lay flat on my head. When I finished, I ran back out to the front.
"Crystal, I suggest you put your necklace back in your pocket, there are quite a few people in Ashier who would love to have that for themselves, and who would pay quite a high price to obtain it. And not the back pocket either." My father skillfully steered the ship into the harbor, not even rocking it. He glanced briefly at me before returning to the controls.
"Do you want me to go ahead of you Johnathan? I have some errands to take care of here; the king would absolutely love to know I'm around." The Captain pulled on his pack and stood at the doorway, waiting for a response.
"Go ahead; I'll catch up with you later. Sophia wants me to do her grocery shopping again. Is it all right if I take Crystal with me?" My father replied easily, tossing a bundle towards the Captain.
He nodded, "Go ahead, I don't see why she can't. The Elite Guard shouldn't be here for another month. Be careful though, if Ayame sees you, we'll have a lot of explaining to do." He grinned and jumped away from the ship and onto the waiting deck.
My father laughed and grabbed my hand, "Come on Crystal, the Captain ought to be a mile away by now, and we've got quite a few things to buy."
My brow furrowed as I processed their conversation, "Who's Ayame father? And why would you have some explaining to do if he sees you?"
I asked, allowing him to lead me away from the ship and into the town.
He sighed, "I'll tell you more about it later, it's very complicated. This is the short version: I shouldn't be alive." He smiled again and began walking through the streets, whistling a tune.
I took this as my chance to examine my current surroundings, carts filled with goods rolled by frequently. Many merchants advertised their goods, often arguing with each other about who offered the better deal. The arguments here seemed so petty compared to the arguments councils could get into, but how I knew that, I couldn't say.
"Johnathan!? What's a fellow like you doing in our district?" A rather feminine voice exclaimed. It came from a rather small woman running a corner market stocked with various fruits, vegetables, and meats.
My father laughed and walked over to her, dragging me along, "It's been awhile Marie. What happened to Jack?"
"He died from the recent plague. We're better off without him, that poor bastard. Always driving off customers that idiot. I assume the girl with you is your daughter?" She was a perceptive woman, I immediately liked her.
"You presume correctly. Would you mind telling us where we can get
these ingredients?" He handed he the list Sophia had drawn up.
She glanced at it for a moment, "You can get most of this stuff here, but for the herbs, you should go to my daughters flower shop down aways. She has everything but the mint. The mint is only sold by the palace I'm afraid, and Ayame keeps a strict eye on everything that goes on there. I can send Micheal to get it, but it'll take awhile I'm afraid. Quite a lot of people need mint to keep the plague away."
The kelshiræ plague hit everyone awhile back and caused a lot of deaths until someone randomly discovered that mint could cure the symptoms, and help recovery. It wasn't the plague itself that killed, it was the side effects. I don't know about you, but I'd think being in shock for five days straight would kill you. All the plague does it cause your nerve endings to go haywire, transmitting false signals of pain to the brain, and since it effects all of them, your body goes into shock. If you don't come out of it fast enough, it kills you.
"That'd be perfect, thank you Marie. I'll go get my groceries then. Thank you. Crystal, go see if you can find the flower shop she mentioned, it's called Kiths Flowers. Buy some rosemary, eucalyptus, lavender, and vanilla." My father handed me a small piece of paper with the plant names on them.
Marie looked directly at me, "Take Abbie with you, she knows the way." She motioned to a large yellow Labrador who slept peacefully on a mat. She snapped her fingers and the dog got up with a woof.
"Abbie, take her to Kiths okay? And make sure she comes right back." The dog padded out the shop; I followed easily, keeping an eye on her furry form.
I followed her a few blocks until she stopped at a large shop, overflowing with pots and plants. A girl out the counter looked frantic, like she was trying to explain something. I walked in to take a closer look.
It turned out to be communication error, her customer couldn't understand her, and she couldn't understand him. However, I could understand them both; courtesy of my Captain forcing me to learn five different languages so I couldn't use the excuse of not being able to understand him.
"You idiotic girl! How dare you!" He was yelling at the poor cashier.
"I can't understand you sir! I'm sorry!" She held up her hands in an attempt to calm him down, but it didn't seem to help the situation.
"Sir, she can't understand you. She doesn't speak your language." I said calmly, trying to help.
He glared at me, obviously enraged, "Stay out of this brat." He spat.
I raised my eyebrows, "How long has he been like this?" switching tactics, I asked the girl.
"About five minutes, I've tried telling him I can't understand him, but he doesn't speak anything I know." She replied, diving under the table.
I sighed, "That's because you said something in one of them that offended him. Most people who speak Kassia are from Kast and absolutely hate anyone who speaks Russian...I've no clue why, but they do. I'll try talking to him."
She looked relieved, "Thank you!"
I shrugged, "Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt your dealings with this person, but she can't understand you, and she had no way of knowing you would be insulted by anything she said. Please, just state your business and I'll translate for you."
"I want to speak to the person who would hire a woman to run things in his absence, no woman should run a store unsupervised, they are worthless scum who will do anything for money. I don't want to deal with you either." He glared at me in disgust, his features contorted with rage.
I tilted my head, "Um, excuse me? That's insulting sir, and uncalled for! She's done nothing to you, and if you cannot be civil, you'll have to leave. I doubt the person who hired her would take kindly to your words, seeing as she is the person you were yelling at earlier." My fury bubbled beneath the surface, but I wouldn't dare punch him. I'd most likely kill him if I were to do so; I tended to hit hard enough to crush halfway through a tree.
"Then I shall leave, I refuse to shop at a store run by fools." With that he left, slamming the door behind him.
"What'd you say?" The cashier asked curiously, standing at the till.
I rolled my eyes, "Obviously something he didn't like. He's a chauvinist; you wouldn't have wanted to deal with him anyway."
She gave a relieved sigh, "Thanks, my name is Kiths, nice to meetcha! What can I do for ya?" She became rather animated and welcoming.
I laughed, "I'm Crystal, and my dad sent me to get some herbs. He's currently at another shop buying other things. It's nice to meet you too."
"Well, I can see my mom didn't want you getting lost, if she sent Abbie with you, your father must be a good friend of hers." Kiths smiled and took the list of herbs from my hand.
"Apparently, they seemed to be enjoying themselves from the way they were carrying on." I examined a purple flower lying on the counter.
Kiths laughed, "Yeah, she does like to banter. All right, I'll just grab the herbs you need. One second." She retreated into another room.
While she headed into the back, someone else walked in wearing a military uniform, with a quite a few badges on it.
"I would like to see the owner of this shop please." He announced loudly, and in my opinion rudely.
Kiths peeked back from the room, "Oh hello. One minute, I'm with a customer."
He glared at her, "Now please." He snapped.
She almost dropped what she was holding, and after placing it carefully on the counter she addressed him directly, "Is there a problem sir?"
"Yes, I'm going to have to suspend your operating license. I've received quite a few complaints about your shop." He said snidely.
Kiths looked highly affronted, "On what grounds?! I've treated everyone fairly; I haven't been disrespectful to anyone. I've only had one customer complain about me, and that was because I was a woman. If your going to take it away based on a man's complaint, that completely undermines the system!"
"We've also received information about a rebel group, and according to our spies, they meet here." He continued on, as if she hadn't spoken at all.
Then he turned to me, "And you are?" He asked arrogantly.
"Hmm...Well, considering how rude you've been, I don't think I'll tell you. You see, I don't believe in giving snobby people my name, what point is there? You'll just forget it anyway." I replied dryly, an eyebrow raised.
"You don't seem to understand who I am at all. You will pay dearly for your rudeness, rebel. I am Colonel Higgins-" He didn't get past Higgins, I started to laugh hysterically.
"Higgins?!" I choked out, doubling over, "Ooooh! What a name! I'm surprised you got past Lieutenant with that name!" I giggled; I put an arm on the counter to support me.
"Bitch!" He yelled angrily.
"I suppose that makes you a whore then?" I asked, I was surprised by my audacity, normally I didn't go to far, but this was too much fun.
His face started to change colors, "Why you little brat!" He yelled.
I shrugged, "I sure am. I know I'm no rebel though; I've no aspirations to overthrow anyone, because I don't care. Are you done yet? I'm getting bored."
"Now now Chris, don't play with the poor man, you'll make him have an aneurysm." A taunting voice rang through the doorway.
My captain leaned casually against its frame, wearing a military uniform instead of the usual t-shirt and breeches. He had more badges then Mr. Snob did too.
I gave a deep mocking bow, "Yes sir, I'll lay off him. But he was asking for it." I grinned and straightened up.
He rolled his eyes, "Higgins, go back to the barracks, I'm sure you'll have a lot of explaining to do. The King is none too happy with your progress in finding the problem. You aren't supposed to go around calling everyone who disagrees with your methods a rebel."
Higgins paled, "Impossible! You shouldn't even be alive!"
He laughed, "But I am, and I'm better than ever Colonel. I suggest you leave now, I'll take care of things here." He patted Higgins on the back
and then turned to me.
"Did your dad send you to get some shopping done Chris?" He asked after Higgins had left the shop.
I nodded, "Yeah, he's just a few blocks down from here. He had to wait because he couldn't get mint I think."
"You know him Crystal?" Kiths asked, putting some plants in pots.
"Yup!" I giggled, "My dad knows him better than I do though." I shrugged and sat on top of the counter.
"Chris, why don't you go back to your dad? I'll bring the herbs back to the ship later." The Captain shot me a warning look, the one that said I should stop talking.
"All right, I'll tell him." I sighed dejectedly, then skipped out of the shop. Abbie leaped up in front of me and started to lead me back to the shop where my dad was waiting.
I walked hurriedly through the streets, my senses became alert and my intuition sparked, something really terrible was about to happen. I began to run, not caring about who got in my way. A number of curses were yelled after me, but I didn't care; if I didn't hurry, I wouldn't be able to stop it.
"Chris, you're back early. What happened?" My dad looked concerned as to my state.
"Cap'n showed up. He said he'd take care of the herbs, then he sent me back to you." I mumbled, sitting on a stool.
"Oh, that explains it. Why did you run though?" He asked patiently, meeting my gaze.
"We're in danger." I whispered before fainting. Now that I look back on it, it probably saved us both. It kept the passing brigade from recognizing either of us, which consisted of thirty-two people, the last
of which could have possibly jeopardized our situation. My father had to crouch to keep me from hitting the ground, thank god for those innocent conveniences.
"Crystal, wake up!" A voice exclaimed insistently, hands began to shake my body.
I pushed the hands away, not wanting to move just yet, "I'm sleepy," I said softly, trying to shut out the voices.
"Eh?! You've been asleep for three days and you're sleepy?! Get up Crystal!" The voice took shape, and became familiar, my father.
"Oto-san, shut up." I mumbled, rolling over.
I felt claws embed themselves in my face, "Oi, Aho-chan, wake up, or I'll scratch your face." The captain growled, he was in his cat form.
I opened my eyes, "All right, all right! I'm up!" I mumbled irritably, moving his paws off my face. I sat up and yawned, stretching all my muscles.
People sat all around me, frowns of concern, or smiles, on their faces. I drew myself up into a standing position, "Hey, I'm awake now, you can stop worrying." I laughed.
"I'm not worried about you, your little stunt saved my ass you brat. If you had been discovered here by the elite guard, we would be in quite a lot of trouble. Though I'm not sure why they were here. My sources said they shouldn't have been here until next month." He sat on the nearby bedpost and started to groom himself.
"Well I'm glad my fainting saved you Neko-chan." I teased.
He glared at me for a moment, then launched himself at me, I giggled for a few seconds, then dodged easily. He didn't shift often enough to utilize all of his abilities in cat form, but it still hurt when he did land a blow.