Open Side Adventure If You Teach a Kit a Trick

"Oh, right. Of course you're not a 'magician'. What a silly thing for me to say." Silvertongue stepped back, laughing a bit awkwardly. "I don't know what came over me, really."

Silvertongue looked around, his face flush with embarrassment. Internally, he was berating himself for acting like such a fool. "You know, uh, I think I should probably head out. It's getting late." Silvertongue grabbed his lute from the table. "I just remembered, I have to finish writing up some reports for the Captain." He stopped to look around for his hat, wanting nothing more than to escape this situation.
 
Kaii was keeping calm despite the worsening situation. Deep inside there was a very deep and burning feeling that he messed up big time. Social skills were never his forte but he usually managed with his wit and sharp humour. Not today it seems.

Looking over the frightened Finn, confused Swifttail and the few members of the crew that were too just as shocked, he felt as if he broke some sacred taboo, maybe playing with water on a ship wasn't a good idea?

He dismissed this line of thought, the joy of the majority of the crewbeasts were a clear indication he didn't do anything offensive. The only solution that came to his mind got to him from what Silvertongue mentioned about spirituality.

Kaii wasn't religious exactly, He had much more important things on his mind than divine matters, but he knew that some folks are very superstitious because of it. That made him think that he may have just offended their religious feelings in some way. That needed smoothing out, he didn't want to be at odds with any other seabeast.

Extending his paw to gently grasp Silvertongue's shoulder he politely asked with a tinge of apology in his voice. His tail completely still and ears laid down close to his skull. "Sorry for offending you. Please, stay and let me make up for it."

He thus turned to Finn and Swift, taking a deep breath before continuing his apology. He knew there was an audience but he also knew it was more important to make sure he isn't seen as crude. "And you too please, join me so I can apologize to you as well."

He pointed at the near table that was empty, hoping that his fellow beasts won't retreat from his invitation.
 
Swifttail’s paws slowly lowered from where he'd lifted them, still half-expecting that water to splash straight into his fur. His muzzle remained parted slightly, eyes wide with wonder.

"You bent the water... without even touching it," he said, breathless. "That was real. That had to be real."

He turned to Kaii, not a trace of mockery or disbelief on his face. Only awe.

"If that was a trick, it's the best I've ever seen!"

Then, catching sight of Silvertongue nearby, still looking shaken, he gently nudged Finn with a quiet smile.

"Come on, King Pirate," he said softly. "Let’s check on Silvertongue."

And with that, he started toward the bard, still holding on to the magic of the moment.

@Kaii Nashirou
@Silvertongue Songfox
@FinnianBrightfur
 
Finn felt the awkward silence of the crew fall like a heavy blanket. The tension was palpable, and a pang of regret washed over him. Maybe he shouldn't have reacted so strongly. Though he didn't understand all the words that Kaii had said, he got the impression that the trick wasn't actually dark magic.

In any case, Silvie's sudden shift from the fearless performer made him feel awful. Though he'd initially disregarded the Aide-de-Camp, the older fox had been nothing but kind to him -- and Finn's eyebrows pinched together in concern. As Finn trotted off towards the nearby table, the crew broke off into an old shanty.

"Come all you bold young thoughtless todds,
A warning take by me!
And never leave your happy homes
To sail the raging sea!"
 
Silvertongue looked back at the group, his ears flat against his head. Reluctantly, he sat down at the table Kai pointed to.

“Sorry, I’ve just made a mess of things. I didn’t mean to get upset. I was just hoping you were a magician. Even if other beasts think it’s nonsense… I think it’s real.” He said, his face flush with embarrassment. “Which is a bit ridiculous, considering my age.”

He turned toward Kaii. “You said that you have a spiritual connection to your family. That you’re the last of your name. You and I are alike in that manner. When…” Silvertongue hesitated for a bit. “When my father died, I became the last of the Songfoxes- save for my mother, Saints bless her soul.”

He put his lute on the table. “This lute… it’s more than just an instrument. It’s been in my family for generations. My father gave it to me, and his father gave it to him, on and on throughout the years. It has the name of every Songfox who has carried it carved into it. More than that, it carries their souls, too. When I play my lute, I am not just making music. I’m honoring my father, and my ancestors. And in turn they keep me safe from danger. That’s magic, to me.”
 
Kaii sat at the table with the others, satisfied that the situations at hand got pacified. As the other crewbeasts started their shanty, he perked his ears and tilted them at Silvertongue and the others to hear them well. He listened intently and well, hearing of yet another todd at this ship with a broken past and high expectations. He felt compassion towards them that borne need for their companionship.

"I see... You and I are therefore not so different. My family was patronizing sciences and art for ages, even if we were but a small fish in the pond. Now I am the last of them, carrying a blade of my father and flute of my sister as well as watch of my mother. All tangible reminders of my duty to not let them be lost among many other souls." Kaii spoke with quite rare for him moment of vulnerability. One visible thanks to a single tear wetting his fur.

"As for magic... I cannot help you. My magic tricks are just what they are, tricks." Kaii took a dignified sip from his cut as his expression became more reminiscent of his usual self, a small smile adorning his stoic composure. His tail raised finally and moved around slowly as he tried to lift up the mood.

Looking at Finnian and Swifttail he once more took out the glass pane and put it on the table, spilling a small amount of his drink upon it. "There is nothing to this glass that would make it special, nor I cannot bend the liquids at will. When I was a kit, before the revolution, I saw however at a meeting of local gentlebeasts society what I've showed you." He once more got a small woolen handkerchief and polished the glass with it. "It bears a name 'electicity' and it is a very same thing that makes us often prickle someone who touches our fur after a lot of scraping. You can put it on glass and then..." He smiles as he finishes to rub the glass and spills some more of his drink onto it, the glass seemingly repeling it onto the table. "then it does this. I wish I knew more about why is that... but it is a nice trick for parties usually." He chuckled and looked at the others again to gauge their reactions.

"It isn't as good though once you know how it works. You have something better maybe?" He asked with a wide smile. "I need to keep my repertuare fresh should I ever decide to find myself a better half." He laughed.
 
Swifttail sat quietly through the stories, his eyes flicking between Silvertongue and Kaii as each shared something raw and real. When Silvertongue laid his paw on the lute, Swift's gaze lingered. Not just because of the craftsmanship, but because of the weight it carried.

He leaned forward slightly, voice low and reverent.

"That’s more than an instrument," he murmured. "It’s a vessel. A piece of every paw that’s held it. No wonder it sings like it does."

He smiled gently, warmth in his expression, then turned as Kaii began his demonstration once again.

When the water arced away from the glass, Swifttail blinked, still just as wide-eyed as before. His ears perked, and his voice came soft and awed.

"You’re tellin’ me," he said slowly, "that you can catch the same spirit that dances in the sky lights... and trap it in a bit o’ glass with nothin’ but a cloth? That ain’t a trick. That’s a miracle."

He gave a small, breathless laugh and shook his head, like the marvel of it still hadn’t quite settled.

"Back home, we’d watch the lights twist through the sky like ribbon. Folk said it was spirits dancin’. Blessings if you were lucky. We never thought the magic came so low..." He looked at the pane of glass again, almost wary to touch it. "But here you are, catchin’ it with your paws like it’s nothin’."

After a moment of quiet, he glanced to Kaii with a smirk and nudged his shoulder lightly.

"If you’re tryin’ to impress a sweetheart with that, I hope they’re ready to be whisked clean off their paws."

He chuckled, tail swaying contentedly behind him, the weight of earlier tension now replaced with something softer. Something like kinship.

@Kaii Nashirou
@Silvertongue Songfox
@FinnianBrightfur
 
Finn was happy to sit down with the trio of foxes. Silvie had given him the warmest welcome that evening, and he felt much less out of place aboard the Hide. Finn had always found foxes to have an affection that crossed over familial ties, and in some small way found himself starting to look at his crewmates as family.

The foxkit stood up on his knees, and leaned over on the table to get a closer look at the lute -- though he only had a vague idea of what they meant by spiritual matters. He'd his own questions about what happened to the departed, but seemed to be content listening to the others.

Tugging his shirt up a little, he fetched the small knife from his waist, and put it on the table next to Silvie's lute, adding to the collection of items on the table. "My dad left this'n to me..." he said, offering it up to the others for inspection. He considered the knife carefully, his brow furrowed. Perhaps it offered some protection to him, at least in a practical sense. The others had spoken of carrying their family with them in the items... but. When he died, would he live on in ...some material thing? Finn hoped to the seasons it wouldn't be something silly like a bucket.

Finn looked over to Swift, who seemed to be missing something from the table. "What about you? Do you have something from home?" he asked, tail swishing behind him.
 
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Swifttail glanced at the growing collection of cherished items on the table, then at Finn’s little knife, and smiled gently. But when the kit turned to him with that question, his ears dipped slightly.

"No... I don’t have anything like that," he said, eyes lowering just a bit. "Nothing I could carry, anyway."

He paused, then looked back up, voice soft but firm.

"But I bring Iskatyut with me in my paws. In how I work. In the stories I tell. It's in me, not on me."

He gave a small, sheepish grin, one paw rubbing the back of his neck.

"Kinda wish I had something to put on the table, though."
 
"You don't need to put something on the table." Silvertongue shook his head. "You carry your family in your heart. That takes more strength than what most beasts have, Swifttail." Silvertongue took Swifttails' paw in his own.

"We four beasts, we share more in common than I could have ever possibly known. We have each lost others that are close to us. Near and dear to our hearts, what is that if not strength and perseverance."

Silvertongue looked at Swifttail. A kind, hardworking beast who carries the weight of his whole family on his shoulders. Kaii, a genius whose ideas could very well change the future. Finnian, a bright young beast whose future could be brighter if everyone worked and put some effort into making it so.

"We are kin now, the four of us." Silvertongue said softly. "I am more than happy to call each and every one of you a part of my family."
 
Kaii nodded along Silvertongue's words. "Those items are important indeed but it is our connection to them that we value. Silvertongue is right Swift, you have no need to put anything because you've already laid your heart at the table with us."

Kaii wagged happily, it was a long time since he sat with those he could call comrades. What made it even better was that all other todds were the closest to him among the other crewbeasts. Their shared past connected them on a level that didn't need much time to catch onto.

Letting a single tear flow freely, Kaii smiled at the others and finally gave them a hug.

"I wouldn't say it any better." He then leaned back and raised his cup "I raise my cup to you gentlebeasts, may us never falter and let our past help us build into the future. Especially with one another to help us through." He took a long sip to celebrate the connection he had felt with the others.

Yet the seriousness of the moment was fading to him, mostly because of the atmosphere of joy and shanties around him (and maybe some alcohol finally reaching his brain. He slowly let his body relax and he looked onto the other foxes. "I wish I could invite you to my mansion back at Bully harbour for a party after this expedition... but I don't think it is presentable enough." He chuckled softly.
 
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Swifttail blinked, stunned into silence for a breath as Silvertongue took his paw. His grip closed gently in return, claws soft against the bard’s fur.

"Kin..." he repeated, almost to himself. His ears folded back slightly. Not out of shame now, but out of something more like tender, overwhelming gratitude.

"I didn’t think I’d find anything like this. Not out here. Not this far from home."

He watched Kaii raise his cup, then did the same, his own held just a little higher than usual, as if it meant more now.

"To the family we find on the waves," he said quietly. "May the sea carry us, but never take what we’ve built."

Their cups clinked softly, the moment settling like a shared heartbeat...And then Kaii’s offhand comment hit. Swifttail’s ears perked straight up, eyes wide.

"You have a mansion!?"
 
Though Finn might not have understood all the words everyone said, he understood the sentiment clear as day. It seemed providential how many kindred spirits he'd run into aboard the Hide in such short time -- and that they'd pull the flea ridden runt of the crew in without hesitation?

Finn's heart broke for Swift as he came up empty to the table. It seemed like the fewer things you had, the more precious they were to you. Finn only had his knife, and knew how devastated he'd feel if he lost it... Swift though... Finn would have to find him something to keep.

In the presence of the trio of foxes, Finn felt braver than he was. With Silv, he'd built up the courage to sing and dance around on stage. Swift had a gentle strength forged through adversity -- if he could overcome worse, Finn felt as if he could too. And Kaii was... Kaii. What Finn lacked in stature, Kaii lacked in social graces. But that didn't keep him from excelling, or from making friends. So maybe Finn wouldn't let insecurities about his youth hold him back.

Finn swallowed. It was a special moment. Among this lot, he felt understood without saying a word. Quietly, Finn resolved to himself that he'd work as hard as he could on the Hide.

Oh oh, a toast! Finn looked around for his mug of grog, and raised it to clash with the others, before downing his drink in one draft.

Finn stared into his empty mug. That tasted weird. And now he felt fuzzy and happy :3
 
Silvertongue was not too fond of the drink and stared in shock as Finnian downed his mug in a single gulp. Not wanting to ruin the moment, however, he also took a mug and raised it to the other, before taking a deep drink. The flavor was akin to hor rocks being poured down his throat. He sputtered and coughed, the fur on his tail poofing out as if he had just experienced an electrical shock.

"A mansion-!" Silvertongue exclaimed, hoping none of them noticed the queasy look on his face. "I don't mean to be rude, but I've always wondered what a beast is supposed to do with a house that big."
 
"I do! My family occupied it since forever. It isn't usable though since It had an unfortunate issue of getting burned down and left to rot during the revolution." Kaii smirked and gestured around as he spoke of his kithood home.

"And well, one beast does not." He turned to Silvertongue, spotting his much displeasured expression from drinking but not commenting on it. "But there were apparently times where dozens of those bearing my family name lived there together. For such, I understand why one would need a mansion. I myself have no need for it, but I want to rebuild the halls my ancestors walked through."

Kaii put down the cup and pulled out his family ledger from his bag. Gently going through the pages that were yellowed from age. Speaking again as he looked for something with furrowed brows.

"Does any of you have anyplace to go back to?" He asked with curiosity.
 
Swifttail raised his cup with the others and took a hearty swig.

He immediately regretted it.

His muzzle scrunched up, and he coughed once, ears flattening as the burn settled in his throat like a wildfire.

"Euuuugh! Spirits alive! Why do we drink this stuff!? It's 'orrible!"

He set the cup down like it had personally offended him, giving Silvertongue a sympathetic glance. "You’re not alone, mate."

Then his eyes flicked to Finn, and for a moment he just stared. The kit looked dazed, blissful, and completely unbothered by the drink’s brutality.

"Gates," he thought, "who gave the kit a cup of grogg?"

Kaii’s question tugged his attention back to the table, and Swift paused. He glanced down at his empty cup for a moment before answering.

"My village’s gone," he said simply. "Burned to the ground the day I was taken. I doubt I could even find the coastline anymore."

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug, not bitter, just honest.

"Been stayin’ in the slums when I could. Though lately I found a cheap little inn."

His gaze moved slowly around the circle of foxes, voice softening.

"But the Hide’s felt more like home than anything has in a long time."

@FinnianBrightfur
@Silvertongue Songfox
@Kaii Nashirou
 
Finn hadn't really had the time to think where he was going after the expedition. Something that was months away felt like an eternity to him. But then again, the last thirty seconds felt like an eternity to him. But then again he couldn't feel his face. But then again he didn't really care.

Wait, what were they talking about again?

The fox kit swayed happily on the bench, and frowned with effort as he concentrated on his thinking. "But then again... Wait. Wait. Building a manshun? Whass wrong with a manshun Silvie? I bet when we come back wiffall the treashur we could build you a manshun!"

The kit teetered for a second, and grinned dumbly at Swifttail. "Haha, the slumsh'ren't bad iffn! ...iffn you know where to go!"
 
Swifttail blinked at the kit’s nonsense, ears twitching as Finn swayed on the bench like a windsock.

“Oh he’s drunk, alright.”

He leaned in, giving Finn a look somewhere between impressed and concerned.

“Back home, we’d just stuff a beast full of bread and fat when they overdid it. Soaked it all up before it hit the brain proper.”

He glanced toward the galley. “Bet we’ve got a heel or two and some lard floatin’ round.”

A shrug.

“Not elegant, but it works.”
 
Kaii simply smirked and leaned onto the table, looking at the others and the kit. Slightly buzzed with a horrid drink but still thinking straight he shook his head gently.

"We can do that, but I kind of feel it may just make him vomit considering the ship movements and all..." He pointed at poor Finn with his thumb.

"Or we could just let him process it. It is some strong stuff but He drank just a cup of it... I hope. He should be fine rather sooner than later."

Kaii took a look at Finn again, evaluating his condition. While indeed he was visibly tipsy, he spoke and behaved coherently enough to not seem as drunk as Kaii remembered some beasts.

"I guess we could also make him regurgitate whatever is still in his stomach. That would ensure he won't stay tipsy for too long." He said yet he wasn't that concerned with Finn's fate. Not because he didn't care for the kit, he knew alcohol was bad, but in this case, he saw it as a natural result of the meeting.
 
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