i suppose i should've known a bombyx mori origin story was going to destroy me, but i still wasn't ready for how much it would

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“And you’re messing it up!” (Part 3)

Current Time: July 6, any time between 12 midnight and 2 in the morning

The firing continued, the ship rocking as one struck the hull. The captain growled lowly and barked out orders as she started towards her weapons cache. “Load the cannons, lower the anchor! Be prepared for anything!” Out of inexperience with actual ship battles, she was unaware that maybe dropping the anchor wasn’t the best option. The brunette swings open the cache and retrieved her bow and quiver full of arrows, along with her whip. Serisa and Twilight keep close, nearly circling her protectively as she readied herself. “I was just doing a small, little job! And you’re messing it up!” As the melee fighters of her crew set to loading the cannons that were strapped down on deck, she and the casters headed to the edge of the starboard side, where the pirate ship attacking her has stopped. It must have anchored when it reached her ship. Fire after fire struck her ship, damaging the hull even more.

Fireballs and ice lances of her magically-inclined crew fly across the gap to the attacking ship, coupled with her arrows. Cannon balls strike, blasting holes into each ship. Vari’s own supply was running thin; she never expected to find herself in a battle. Maybe this is the karma her father always warned her about.

“We’re out of ammo!” An Orcish voice reaches the captain’s ears as arrow after arrow is nocked and let loose. “Shit...” She fires off her arrows until the quiver is emptied then she turns back to her crew. “Grappling hooks! Board their ship!” While her numbers didn’t have much experience in the way of fighting at sea, she did make sure they would know how to board if she needed them too. “Ranged, stay here!” She calls out as she watches the other members aim and fire the hooks, then taking the ropes to swing over. Vari herself took hold of a rope from her main sail to use that, while leaving the bow behind. The whip is drawn from her side and unraveled. They were outnumbered but despite being unprepared, they were doing well. The casters continued wounding, making the blade wielders cut down the pirates more quickly. Vari teamed up well with them, as well. The whip techniques help keep the attackers still or pull them into a sword. Even Serisa and Twilight, with help from some crew, were tossed over onto the ship, tackling and biting into the attackers’ bodies.

When the numbers of their enemies dwindled more, Vari noticed the captain up by the helm of his ship, blade drawn but gun firing from his hand. He was in the battle but not as much as she. “Coward...” A cursory glance is given to her crew, eyes widening as one is kicked overboard by an attacking pirate. She growls and she’ll have to mourn later. As the ship is lit orange briefly as that particular pirate is burned, Vari makes her way to the helm of the ship. Their captain drops the gun and readies his blade. Vari assumes a stance, gripping her whip and watching his every move. He moves, she moves. As the pirate captain swings his blade, she dodges just in time, wrist flicking to send her whip out lashing. Cloth is torn and just a small cut made in his abdomen as he jumps back. Another swing, too quick for Vari to not get struck this time. The blade cuts into her arm, blood trickling down and staining the wood. Their battle continues on while more and more of the pirates on deck were defeated. Each captain gains new wounds in the next few moments but in the end, Vari winds up with the upper hand. With a well-timed flick of her wrist, the whip strikes the pirate’s blade-wielding hand, effectively causing him to drop the weapon. Vari moves quickly, bringing the whip back around to strike again, aiming to wrap it tight around his neck. She steps forward, spinning the pirate into the whip more, tightening it to cut off air supply. As soon as he goes limp, the woman tosses him overboard. The fight on deck doesn’t last much longer now, the wolf and fox biting into a few more to keep them still while crew members stab and slash. All until the remaining six pirates noticed the captain was gone. “Stop!” Vari calls out as she sees five of them drop their weapons. That sixth? He wasn’t having any of this. Before he could be stopped, he jumped overboard with one final word. “I’d rather be shark bait than surrender to a woman!” The winning captain shrugs her shoulders as she hops down to deck, eyeing the five surrenderers over as they all start pleading to join her crew. She turns her attention to a male Orc. “Take them back over... Lock them up for now. The rest of you..!” She looks back to the other members of her crew as the Orc follows her orders, taking a couple planks first to connect their ships. “Take everything. It’s ours now.” She could feel the ship slowly sinking. “And hurry! We haven’t got much time!” She wasn’t about to leave the task to them alone, helping take any chest or box over to her own ship. Gold, gems, and jewelry all worth more than she would have received upon finishing the job.

Once on board, she turns to her pyromancer with a smirk. “Burn it up.” To which the caster grins in return, a ball of flame forming in the palm of her hand. “Happily, captain.” Vari nods and steps back to give her room, watching as the fire grows in size before being thrusted towards the other ship, catching the wood aflame. “Get this rig turned around! We’re going home. Unless any of you have problems with keeping the gold we took?” Silence. “No? Good. Get us back home.” She stays on deck until she sees her orders are being followed. With a nod, she looks to each of her beasts, glad to see they were unharmed. “If you need anything, I’ll be in my quarters!” With that, she hurriedly makes her way into her room, fox and wolf in tow. The door is closed and locked, a rare thing for the captain to do. She sits on her bed and stares down at her hands, brow furrowing as all she sees is blurry, shaking hands. She allows herself to fall backward, laying there as she attempts to calm down, tears forming and streaming down her cheeks.