The Stumble Inn

When the ship had docked and Elena had set her crew to repairing and cleaning up, she retrieved her weapons from her cabin and prepared to explore, when she heard a voice calling to the ship. Very quietly, she made sure her men stayed put, then scurried up the rigging to see who was there.

She had never seen a stranger-looking man in her life. But she knew that he could see her from where she was.

"...A pirate? Alright, I suppose that works." He waved up at her. "Hello! I am Space Hero Hal Buckley! Welcome to Wayside! From what I've been told, it's unlikely you'll ever leave!"

Kasei-La blinked, and stared at Hal. "...Really? You think it's a pirate, Hal? No, she can't be. Main problem is... She's not hideous. For one, she would be COATED in scars from schrapnel, bug bites, sun burns, and the occasional bout of leprosy. Next, she has a belt, meaning she hasn't eaten it yet. Next, she's a SHE. I can TELL." Her antenna bobbed up and down in frustration.

Space Hero? What the Hell is that? And what kind of name is Hal Buckley?" Elena's eyes turned toward the little...girl? not too far from the man that called himself Hal Buckley. Her blue eyes rolled at what she said about how she couldn't possibly be a pirate, and immediately came down from the rigging and went onto the dock, glaring at the girl. "Who says that all pirates are like that? And why can't I be a pirate, just because I'm a woman?"

Mel sighed, morosely. She could hear fighting. Oh dear. . . why was there always fighting? She fidgeted with a pen. Maybe she should go stop it.

"Okay, the main age of pirates was the late 1700s hundreds and not much further. At that time on Earth, humanity in general saw women as chattel to be used and then to die in childbirth. There WERE two female pirate captains that were documented, but one ended up eating her husband and the other died in a gang-rape. Both had to disguise themselves because proper English society and all their territories thought that having a woman on board would lead to them being eaten by someting terrible, or their God sinking them. As for your appearance? It's just impossible. You would HAVE to suffer these things while at sea, as being inside the galleon at all times would be useless to the captain and possibly deadly. So yes, ALL pirates have to be like that. HAH. I beat you with LOGIC."

Hal sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, she's always like this."

Elena growled, her right hand gripping the whip dangling from her belt. "I'd watch my tongue, if I were you."

His parental instincs kicking in, Hal growled and pointed at his gun. "Spaceman has firestick. Firestick will reduce pirate-woman to ash if she touches Kasei-La. Just clearing that up. Now, both of you, come inside." He grabbed Kasei-La by the arm, and glared at Elena. "I'll get you set up with Mel. Your crew, too. They steal anything, and I'll make sure they turn to ash SLOWLY."

Elena snarled at Hal. "My crew doesn't steal unless told to. And I'll bring them in once they've finished repairs." She followed him into the inn.

Mel gave the two a weak smile. "Welcome to the Stumble Inn? Please don't fight. I hate fighting."

"Oh, don't worry, we aren't fighting, especially since a SINGLE BLAST could level Ms. Pirate's ship here. Yes, pirates, you heard me right." He sighed, and glared at Kasei-La "YOU EVER pull a stunt like that, and you're going over my knee, little girl."

Kasei-La just whimpered, and Zippy covered his eyes.

(I find it funny how that punishment would be mild sounding to Elena, and severe to Mel.)

Mel wrings her hands, looking back and forth at the two. "Well. . . we've had stranger than pirates. Yourself, for one. . . H-hi there, Lady Pirate. Would you like to check in?"

Kasei-La managed to wriggle away from Hal, and went to Mel's side, sighing and trying to wrap her sari tighter around herself. She just made a face at the pirate, not wanting to get Hal angry enough to actually punish her.

Hal sighed and went back to the bar, casting a warning glance to Kasei-La "Do NOT start any fights." He stood behind the bar, and got out the rum. He had a feeling that the pirates would probably either try to steal it, or at least get drunk off of what little alchohol there was to have. He wanted to be sure he could prevent the first, and damage control the second.

Elena nodded at Mel. "Thank you. I'll be needing a room, and I'll see if my crew would like rooms as well." (I'm thinking of just having the crew stay on the ship...i do NOT feel like dealing with them.) Her gaze followed Hal as he went to the bar. She could use a drink right now.

Mel gives her a relieved smile, as the tension seemed to have left the room. "Alright. Take any room you want. All but one is open right now. Well, and my personal room. . . but that's upstairs anyway."

Hal looked back at the pirate, and shrugged as he polished a glass. "If you want a drink, just ask." He sighed, still angry at Kasei-La for endangering herself and angry at the pirate for threatening her. Still, it was nothing intense, and the tension in his back seemed to fade as he polished the glass more and more, waiting for the order.

Kasei-La looked up at the pirate, then at Mel, whispering. "Do you think we should do something about all the weapons in this place? It can't exactly be much good for business if we have enough firepower to blast this place to heck in here..."

Elena heard Kaesi's comment, but brushed it off; she wasn't about to part with her weapons in this unfamiliar place. She went over to the bar and sat down. "I'd like some rum, if you don't mind..." She reached into her money bag and pulled out a few gold coins, setting them down on the bar.

Hal nodded, and slowly poured the rum into a glass, before sliding it to her with a look of indifference on his face. "Alright, there. Now I have to talk to Kasei-La." He slid the coins behind the bar, and put the bottle of rum out of reach, then walked out from the bar and went over to Kasei-La, pulling her into a corner. "Um... Kasei-La... I need to talk to you about something. This is usually a talk between mothers and daughters, but... Um... You've been very moody lately, and..."

Kasei-La's eyes went wide. "Oh, gosh. You're not going to try the talk, are you?"

Hal shrugged. "It's just that I'm worried, since you're becoming a young woman an--"

"Oh, lord, NO. I am not talking about this with you. This is not bio--"

"Kasei-La... It's just when a young woman reaches your a--"

"ARGH. No! That's not how it works for us! We don't do that!" Kasei-La tried to pull away.

"What do you mean?" Hal blinked, confused.

"One: This is a very icky conversation and it should end now, and two: YOU WILL KNOW when it happens." Kasei-La tried to pull away again. "Meeeeelll, help meee! Hal's trying to give the talk and he doesn't have any idea what he's dooooing! Get me out of here before he says something stupid!"

Mel chuckled and shook her head. "Well, Hal, I'm pretty sure she knows."

Kasei-La finally managed to pull away from Hal, and dashed behind the desk again. "Hal, you're a great guy, but I do not ever, ever, ever, want to have that conversation with you." She sighed, and put her own laser pistol on the desk. "Well, lead by example, so here is my own gun... Which I never got to use anyway, so it's not very hard to part with it... Now I'm going to go take my three hours' sleep now, before Hal tries to talk about the birds and bees next." She grinned, and hurried to their room.

Hal look confused for a few moments, and then looked at Mel as if she understood better and could give him an answer as to what just happened.

Mel shrugged and went to take the gun, putting it in a small box underneath the reception desk. "Girls will be girls."

Hal nodded, and sighed. "I suppose so." He put out his old cigarette, which was now just a stub, and lit up his third for the night. "I'll take care of the pirate." He walked back into the bar, standing behind it. "So, what's your name, then?"

Elena set her half-empty glass of rum down and looked up at Hal. "It's Captain Blackraven," she said in a less-than-friendly tone. It took her a long time to trust anyone, especially men, and she wasn't about to tell this guy her first name. She picked up the glass and took another swig of her rum.

"Why is it pirates always give themselves the title "captain", anyway? I know the whole thing started from Privateers raiding enemy nation ships, but by all logic a normal pirate commander should not be called captain unless they've deserted the military aft... Damn, Kasei-La is rubbing off on me. Sorry." He chuckled, and topped off her drink. "So, you look pretty young to be a captain... How'd you achieve the rank, then?"

Elena smirked as she sipped her rum. "I have connections." She stopped for a moment as she thought about Kiya, but she shook her head and set her glass down. "What does it matter to you, anyway?"

"Just wondering, because I've dealt with space pirates before. Hell, I've seen a privateer in action... Thing about privateers in my time is that they are allowed to do anything they want to them, as long as what they've taken is returned and the pirate ends up dead in some way or another. The privateer can dole out any punishment he sees fit, even torture." Hal shrugged. "So it usually takes a really brave person to stand up and be a captain in my time, especially since they usually get the worst, longest punishments."