Marooned

[Miri]

(Note:  This char is in no way connected to the other three.  Whilst Minerva, Varani and Celandra are all connected in some way, Inara is totally separate from them and knows nothing about them.)

Inara sat on the sandy beach grumbling quietly to herself about superstitious sailors.

She had been a ships cat all of her life, now she was not.  That was somewhat annoying.

She remembered being taken from the litter by a large pair of hands, a gruff voice asking what she considered to be rather pointless questions and then being taken from the warmth of the basket beside the fire out into the cold night.  She had still been young and, tucked away in the mans vest as she had been, she had fallen asleep despite the overpowering scents of sweat, fish and alcohol.
Later she had awoken on the swaying deck of a ship, the cold sea spray soaking her soft brown brown fur as big burly men rushed one way and another, securing this, tying that and generally making a ruckus.
For quite some time, they had ignored her.  Eventually, one came forward, scooping her up and taking her down to the hold where she had watched with some amusement as he had tried to show her how to catch rats.

She sniggered, remembering that first day with something between fondness and hilarity.
It had changed the course of her life, that was certain, but it was still a memory worth laughing at.

She could still see it clearly now...
The huge, muscular mountain of a man with his shaggy beard, unkempt hair and that ridiculous hat, down on all fours scrabbling about the wooden floors like some kind of demented monkey, his hands shooting out for any nearby rodents but always too slow, always missing the catch.
For a long while she had just sat there watching him.  Oh, she'd known what he was wanting, but it was just so funny watching him trying to do it himself!
His long fancy coat, deep red with embroidery on the lapels and across the shoulders, had been covered in dust by the time he had given up, marching away with a grumpy cry of 'Bah! Stupid cat!'  Little had he known that behind the tiny ball of fur, seated demurly with her tail wrapped about her paws and watching him with interest, was a sharp mind that understood every word he had said.
That night she had caught her first rat, beheaded the fuzzy squeaker and laid its body carefully beneath the sheets in the centre of his bed.

Ever since then, she had lived aboard that ship, chasing rats to earn her keep whilst they were at sea, which consisted of the best food the captain had to offer, or frequenting the taverns when they were at port.

Now, however, she was stranded on this misbegotten spit of land.  For the crime of being a woman as well as a cat.

How had they not known?  How had they never guessed?
Soaked in rum and not the fastest rodents in the rat race though they my have been, she would have thought they they might have noticed the same shapely female had been seen in the taverns at each port they went to.
Instead, it had taken a momentary lapse in judgement to give her away.
Well, she mused somewhat sourly, since the pirates had been raiding the merchant ships for their fine silks and silver instead of seeing about good food, the rats had become somewhat stringy and it was so very hard to pick the bits of fur out of her teeth with just her claws.  Cat legs do not bend the right way to make such a thing comfortable.
She had been discovered in the hold barely three days past, dragged out before the captain to a general outcry of 'Bad Luck', 'Bad Omen' and other nonsensical gibberish and had been told that she could no longer sail with them because of her gender.
Idiots!

What was she to do now? she wondered grumpily.
She knew no life beside that of the sea, knew no trade aside from rat-catching, lockpicking and hunting those shiny coins that the pirates had put such store in.
What now?  What now?

The light began to fade and the birds settled down to sleep.
Inara shifted uneasily on the sand.
She knew nothing about life on land, aside from the nights she had spent in the taverns.

Just then, she heard a faint strain of music from the east.  She turned her head to better hear and her sharp eyes picked out the pin pricks of yellow lantern light in the distance.
Grinning, Inara stood.

She brushed the sand from her short leather shirt, adjusted her bodice to better show her ample bossom, ran a hand through her hair until it felt smoother, silkier than before, then stode toward the distant town.

Towns meant taverns.  Taverns meant men.  Men meant a chase and Inara did so enjoy a good chase...

Besides, she thought as she walked on through the descending night, if she were lucky, she might find another captain, another crew and soon enough she could be back on the open seas.

[Eldarace]

He sat sitting in a shadowed booth, his features hidden away from prying eyes. Lucian saw a shapely female walk into the tavern a grin across her face. He noticed every man stop and stare at her even the drunken ones, even he did though not for the same reasons as they did.

Lucian had always been able to tell a Lycanthrope from normals, he was after all a Vampire, and he could change his form into that of a wolf when he needed to. He had known Werewolves in his long life, even had some in his service from time to time. yet this shapely lady was something new, he could tell by the way she captured the room and all it's occupants.

He smiled to himself as they all clammered about trying to ask her if she wished a drink, or trying to get the barkeeps attention, which was squarely focused on her. He sent a command to the barkeep to bring him another drink and a cup of milk,
'Please would you join me my dear lady' he asked

[Miri]

Inara's smile only grew more playful as the sailors in the tavern crowded around her.
She could smell the salt of the sea, the sweat of their bodies, even their attraction through the permeatting stench of alcohol.
It was moments like this that she loved, when all eyes were on her and the men were climbing over each other to do her bidding... it was so exhilirating!

Only one in the room had not moved towards her, though she could feel his eyes on her.
Now that, she mused, was interesting.  A challenge perhaps?
Oh, she adored being the centre of any male attention, but she also loved to chase, to rise to a challenge.  That was far more fun than simply winning a male over with a smile.

'Please would you join me my dear lady' the shadowy figure in the corner called out.

Ah, she thought, a refined gentleman.

She flashed a smile, nodded the once and then set about making her way through the crowding sailors, barely managing to keep her exposed flesh from their reaching hands as she swayed lightly in her walk.  The sailors roll she had adopted over the last few years was heightened into something much more alluring by her natural grace and the womanly sway of her hips.

Barely had she seated herself demurly at the table when the barkeep appeared at her side, a goblet of wine and a glass of milk upon a tray.  She pretended not to notice his roving eye as he placed them down.  She did, however, notice the pale palour of her hosts skin and the flash of his fangs as he smiled.

'Why thank you, sir Vampire,' she said, her voice a husky purr. 'And to what do I owe this kindness?'

[Eldarace]

'An act of kindness perhaps, or merely an excuse to share the company of the female persuasion, instead of the usual drunken sailors one must share in a tavern such as this.'  Lucian replied chuckling as he did. 'you are the only one to notice so far, good'

He sat there as she smiled taking a sip of her milk no doubt amused at the choice of drink, the other patrons in the tavern did not come near the booth, for reasons they were not quite sure of. He took the moment to look her up and down, taking in her beauty, he had not seen such for many moons, and days for that matter, she was slender, with a slight curve at her waist, which as she had moments ago just demonstrated, she could use to her advantage.

Lucian had a desire to know more of this woman who held another form, not for the carnal needs as others in the tavern did but simply because she had an allure that he had not known scince she turned him.

'So my dear, what brings you to this little patch of land filled with the down and outs of this world'

He listened as she told him the story of the Pirate ship she had sailed on all her life and their marooning her on this island, Lucian let out a laugh, the air around them chilled as he did, this one i could use he thought to himself.

'Stay a while as my guest, i have a sizeable room at an inn not far from here' he asked her 'I may have an offer for you, a new life, if that is you can do more than just catch mice'

[Miri]

Inara chuckled at his choice of words.

'Oh there is much I can do,' she replied with a teasing smile.  'But I never give away my secrets on the first date.'

In truth, she never gave away those secrets at all, but that was beside the point.
She knew now why this one had only looked at her and why she could smell no desire from him.  That fact did not faze her in the slightest.  He would be fun all the same.

'I may just take you up on your offer, sir,' she told him with a wink. 'But first we must agree on some ground rules.  Firstly, no biting the cat.  I have such a pretty neck. It does not need holes for adornment,' she emphasised that by brushing back her auburn hair to expose the soft white flesh of her slender neck.  'Secondly, although I may catch your mice for you, I will not eat them. I prefer finer foods and will expect to recieve such.  Any other terms may be discussed later.'

She flashed him a smile and sipped daintily at her drink.
This one was certainly good looking.
A pity he was undead.

[Eldarace]

Lucian laughed at her reply, the stories of Vampires we full of his kind feeding off any who caught their fancy, yet for himself he had only ever hunted the viler people of the world. Ever since he had been turned he had known of the need for secrecy, and that is why he chose to hunt murders, rapists, and the unfortunate homeless, these would never be missed. As for bitting the kitty, she would no doubt taste sweet, he mused, but it was not something he had considered, yet he knew other places he could drink from without scaring a neck.

'Dear lady i have not yet said as to wether we will come to an agreement, so please less haste, stay at my room, i have a meeting with an unfortunately dark skinned elf, Drow i believe they are known as. Once this meeting has happened we shall see what the future holds.'

They spoke more the rest of the night, she spoke of her short years on the pirate ship, and he of his more memorable times, she found the story of his comming into posession of a ship amusing, and yet saddend at the thought of a ship crewed by the undead. She visably brightend when he spoke of thralls he used to crew it, another reason he had come to port, he had need to replenish his crew.