The Emerald Skies

[Marissa]

For a city that lived on the ebb and flow of many time periods, there were relatively few places for airships to dock in Rhy'Din. One such dock contained the majestic sight of a beautifully masted, wooden-walled frigate that would not have looked out of place on the sea, floating gently fifty feet above the ground thanks to the soft hum of a magi-tech engine deep within her hull. The Emerald Skies was a beautiful ship, certainly, but she was also a ship with secrets, and this evening, some of her secrets were about to be shared.

Hand in hand with Marissa, Emrys made his way up the mooring tower to the edge of the gangplank, waiting to catch the eye of the deck officer before raising his hand.

"News from the howl," he called across the eight foot span between tower and ship, and a moment later, the wary-looking half-orc woman nodded, gesturing for them to come aboard. Emrys looked down at Marissa, squeezing her hand. He did not like heights at the best of times, and walking across a narrow plank fifty feet in the air was not fun. "Let's go, shall we?"

Marissa hadn't even blinked an eye at the prospect of walking the plank fifty feet above ground level. She was too much in awe of the beauty of majesty of the ship to even notice, and even if she had, heights were thankfully not one of her phobias.

"She's beautiful," she said quietly, clearly in awe, as she waited for Emrys to lead the way on board.

"She'd be prettier on the ground," her mate muttered, steeling himself for a moment before striding out across the gangplank as quickly as possible. The relief that rolled off him as his boots hit the deck was palpable.

"Captain's in his ready room," the half-orc woman said, her accent rich with exotic-sounding consonants. "Kamara is already here."

Emrys nodded. "Thanks, Oreia. This is Marissa, my mate."

Oreia nodded to Marissa pleasantly. "Pleasure to meet you, Marissa-mate."

Marissa had to bite back a chuckle at her mate's response. She was tempted to remind him the ship wouldn't be much good on the ground, but decided to hold her tongue, at least for now.

"Likewise, Oreia," she replied with a nod of her head to the half-orc. To her credit, she didn't bat an eye there either. She was a Rhy'Din native, after all."Who's Kamara?" she whispered sidelong to her mate.

"Technically, she's the sort of head of the crew on this ship," he explained, leading her across the deck toward the aft and the hatch that lead down to the gun deck where the captain's quarters were situated. "But in this case, she's Dax's eyes and ears. She's been snooping for us."

"The first mate?" she guessed, though if that were the case, he would have said as much, wouldn't he? Logically, airships required ranking among crew members, just as any other ship, nautical and otherwise.

"No, Oreia's the first mate," Emrys told her. "I suppose Kamara's probably more like the bo'sun? It's weird - the bulk of the crew is her pack, but they're not shifters. They're beast-folk."

He nodded along the gun deck as they reached the next level, to where a few of the said crew were sitting together, playing cards. Each one of them was bipedal, but each displayed some lupine feature, be it in the joints of their legs, the tufted ears on their heads, the slight pointed muzzle on their faces. Beast-folk were surprisingly rare, even on Rhy'Din. It wasn't a surprise to find that this group had banded together.

As a Rhy'Din native, Marissa had certainly heard of beast-folk, but until now, she had not really run into many of them. "I see," she murmured as she took in the scene. It wasn't awkward at all to be the only feline amidst a gang of wolves.

Emrys squeezed her hand gently. "The healer on board is a tabaxi," he told her, sensing her mild unease. "Greylano. And Dax is human. I'm pretty sure he's human."

Once again, she had heard of such races, but had never met one before. "A cat?" she asked, arching both brows, doing her best to keep her voice low. The relief that went through her was palpable. Maybe she wasn't the only feline on board, after all.

"Yes." He smiled at her, hoping to reassure his mate a little. He hadn't even considered that the Wolf Pack, as the crew referred to themselves, might make her uncomfortable, something he was already determined to apologise for profusely when they were once again in private. "This way, kitten."

With a gentle tug, he drew her to the door nearest the bottom of the steps down into this deck, raising his hand to knock. Barely a moment after the rap sounded, a warm male voice responded from within.

"Come!"

It wasn't so much that the wolves made her uncomfortable as that she worried what they might think of a tiger in their midst, but if any of them suspected, none of them had reacted to her presence one way or the other. "You are going to tell me later how you came to know these people," she warned her mate quietly. There was a story there somewhere and one she had not heard yet.

His smile became a bit of a pained grimace. "If Dax doesn't get there first," he warned, pushing open the door.

The room beyond was almost a war room, dominated by a wide table on which were set various maps and navigation tools, surrounded by heavy chairs. Photographs and sketches of faces and places littered the table as well. Two figures were stood over the table, apparently studying those papers - one, a feminine lupine form, surprisingly graceful despite her obviously bestial characteristics, yellow eyes sharp and intelligent, tail swishing behind her; the other, a very tall, broad-shouldered human man, a little younger than Emrys, blonde-haired, blue-eyed. Perhaps it was a surprise that he was not dressed like a pirate, but like a cowboy; button down shirt, jeans, boots, sleeves rolled up to his elbows as he leaned on the table.

He looked up as the door opened, and his frown morphed into a broad grin. "Look what the cat dragged in."

Emrys growled under his breath, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

[Marissa]

"Literally," Marissa murmured to herself, a slight smirk on her face at her mate's response. There was definitely a story there somewhere. "You must be Dax," she said, daring to introduce herself before Emrys had the pleasure "And Kamara," she added, dragging her gaze to the female.

"Kamara, yes," the beastfolk woman answered. There was a rasping quality to her voice, a semi-permanent growl that nevertheless was warm in greeting. She extended a furred hand toward Marissa, making sure the other woman saw her claws retract. "Pleasure's mine."

Dax, on the other hand, was bounding around the table to wrap Emrys up in a hug and lift the other man off his feet, ignoring any and all protests. "Talos, you're crap at staying in touch, dog boy!"

Emrys glared at him, though there was little heat in the expression. "Wolf, thank you."

Marissa didn't hesitate to take the female's hand, furred or not. She had a feeling it was important to make a good impression on both of them, if not for her siblings' sakes than for that of her mate. She chuckled at the way Dax was greeting him.

"He's been busy," she said, offering Emrys a way out. She was going to have to scold Emrys later for not telling her that his friend was such a looker, and yet, as pleasant as he was to look at, she was perfectly content with her wolf.

"I did hear something about him getting sprogged up," the cheerful Dax said, finally putting Emrys down to turn to Marissa. He smiled, offering her his hand in greeting. "You must be Marissa. Gorgeous and feisty, why'd you settle for him?" His eyes danced laughingly as he bent over to kiss her hand, grunting as Emrys punched his shoulder.

"Enough with the flirting, Daxion."

Marissa couldn't help but grin, both at the teasing and the flirting. "Probably because I hadn't met you first," she flirted back. "And I was the one who was sprogged up," she added playfully. "Though he did have a little something to do with it." Another time, she might have found him charming, tempting even, but her heart belonged entirely to her Emrys.

"Shame, you should've made him do the heavy lifting," Dax told her. "He's got the legs for it." He glanced at the unimpressed look on Emrys face, snorting with laughter. "All right, all right, I'll behave myself. Welcome to the Emerald Skies, Marissa. I'm Dax; you've met Kamara."

She might have pointed out that her mate didn't have the physical equipment for that, but let it pass, as it seemed they'd moved on. She slid her arm through her mate's, as if to soothe him with that gentle claiming. "I've never been on board an airship before. You're going to have to show us around."

Emrys' raised hackles did seem to go down with Marissa's calming touch, though he was still a little tense.

Dax chuckled, gesturing for them to come to the table as he made his way back over there himself. "Well, if this goes where I think it will, you'll be our guests for a little bit, I'm thinking."

Marissa could almost sense his tension, and reached over to rub his arm soothingly. "Guests?" she echoed, brows arching upwards. "I thought we were just meeting today." She tried not to panic at the thought of not seeing her children for a few days, though she realized he probably meant sometime in the near future.

"Not kidnapping you," Dax assured her, raising one hand peaceably. "Just figured you'd be wanting to come on a little hunting expo with us." He met Emrys' eyes for a moment, and something in his gaze made the Alpha wolf perk up.

"You've found them?"

Dax frowned. "Kamara found her," he corrected. "But there's others with her." He picked up a handful of the sketches and photographs, offering them toward the couple. "Recognise anyone?"

Marissa relaxed as Dax assured her, and yet, if they had found the blood hunters and more importantly, her siblings, then time was of the essence. She reached for the photos and sketches, quickly shuffling through them in search of familiar faces. Would she be able to recognize her siblings when she'd never met them before?

"There," she said, after a moment, her frown deepening, as she pointed out a pair of ragged-looking wolves. But why were there only two of them?

Emrys bent over his mate's shoulder, looking at the pictures as she flipped through them. He knew they were looking for three, but ... Well, the blood hunters weren't known for being gentle with their captives. "They're in wolf form," he said, more for Dax and Kamara's benefit than Marissa's. "You're going to need us to get all of them out in one piece. Where's Cam?"

Dax's expression turned grave as he picked up another picture. This one was a photograph, showing a grainy image of a young woman being dragged through a stone hall by a rope about her wrists, a collar of some kind snapped about her neck.

Kamara couldn't help growling as she added, "They're bleeding her for her magic."

Emrys hadn't told Marissa everything, but he'd told her enough that she could piece the puzzle pieces together. "Cam is your sister?" she asked, her attention on Dax.

"Camilla, yeah," Dax nodded. His hand seemed to automatically gesture toward another picture, this one framed on the desk by the bulkhead. It showed a younger version of himself and a younger version of the girl in the picture Emrys held, pulling faces at the camera under a sunny sky. "My little sister. Born sorcerer."

Marissa glanced from the photo in Emrys' hands to the one on the captain's desk. She was younger in that photo, yes, but obviously recognizable. As for her siblings, she wasn't sure why they were still in wolf form or why there were only two of them, but there was only one way to find out. "So, what's the plan?" she asked, coming straight to the point.

"Kamara?" Dax nodded to his bo'sun, who straightened her shoulders, shifting the various papers to show off a couple of sketched maps.

"Mountain hideout," she said, each word a barely restrained bark from a lupine mouth. "Forty-two hunters. Three captives. Three mages. Four entrances." As she spoke, explaining the lay out of the blood hunters' lair, she used the map to illustrate.

[Marissa]

"We'll have to fly in if we're going to get there in any decent length of time," Dax added. "I won't risk attacking from the air, though - no idea what they'll do to the kids."

Marissa nodded. That much seemed reasonable. Going by air would save a lot of time, even if they were in their bestial forms. "Okay, when?" she asked. The sooner the better as far as she was concerned.

"How soon can you and yours be ready to go?" Dax turned it around on her. "We can be kitted up and provisioned in a few hours, but you have babies and such."

Marissa chewed at the corner of her mouth, before glancing to Emrys. "A few hours, I guess?" she said, more question than answer. She wasn't sure if the rest of the pack would be going along or not, but she supposed that was up to Dax. "What about the others?"

"We'll need them," Emrys said softly. "Dante, at the very least, will want to be there. I'll put out the call, we can meet in our cabin." He looked back at Dax. "Dawn good for you?"

The captain nodded seriously. "Works for me," he agreed. "You need me there with your ... pack?"

"Not Mira," Marissa said. She knew Dante and Skylar would want to be there, but she didn't want the teenage version of herself anywhere near the blood hunters.

"Her choice, kitten," Emrys countered gently. "But we can encourage her not to be there." He glanced at Dax. "Thanks, but I don't think we need you there when we put this to our pack. Got a cabin big enough for six or seven to den in?"

Dax raised a brow. "We can make room."

Marissa frowned at her mate's reply, obviously in disagreement. If they left it up to Mira, she would undoubtedly want to go along ... or would she? "Someone has to stay behind with the children," she reminded him, though that was likely to be Kit and Delilah.

"Neville may decide to stay as well," Emrys said in a thoughtful tone. "He's never been as comfortable with the inherent violence as the rest of us, and no one would want him to change, even for this."

"Sometimes violence is necessary," Marissa remarked, her expression somber. He had seen her commit such violence at least once already to save both their lives; sometimes there was no choice.

"I know," he agreed. "But they can make their own decisions. I won't force any of our family to join this fight." He looked over at Dax. "We'll probably be back in the early hours."

The human captain nodded. "We'll be up and about," he assured them, "Prepping takes a while, and we've been waiting for the all clear."

"Do we know what we're up against?" Marissa queried. "I mean as far as weapons are concerned ... or is it just magic?" She had some options of her own where weapons and magic were concerned, but she wasn't too sure what they were up against.

Kamara lifted her muzzle toward Marissa, nodding in approval. "Crossbows, swords, some flintlock firearms," she said in her sharp manner. "Three mages. Don't know what they can do, but it won't be good."

"So, low tech," she mused aloud, though it hardly mattered. A crossbow bolt could do as much damage as a blaster pistol in the right hands.

"Cap'n says no to blasting from above," Kamara began, but Dax interrupted her before she could continue.

"And I'm going to keep saying it," he said firmly. "That's my sister in there. I'm not risking her getting crushed under stone just because it might be a little bit safer for us to shoot from above."

"No, I agree. Our first priority is the safety of their captives," Marissa agreed, looking thoughtful, as though she was considering something.

"It'll take about twenty hours to get there," Dax told them. "There'll be time for planning. Go get your pack - we'll be gone at dawn."

Marissa blinked out of her thoughts and nodded. "Thank you for this, Captain," she told him, referring to him by his title, rather than his name as a way of showing respect.

"We'll end these people," Dax promised her with a nod. "They're not going to be in business two days from now."

Emrys nodded with him, gently squeezing Marissa's hand. "Let's go, kitten," he said softly. "I'll put the call out on the way - we shouldn't have to wait long for them to gather at the cabin."

Marissa nodded again, this time to Emrys, her thoughts her own for now. She trusted his judgment, as well as his friend's, but she couldn't help worrying.

"Thank you both," she said, with another nod, this time to Kamara. It didn't bother her in the least that the woman was essentially a bi-pedal wolf. She had seen far stranger things in her lifetime, given the fact her husband was Lycan.

Kamara nodded gravely back to her, returning to studying the maps and sketches on the desk as Dax waved them off. Emrys gave Marissa a gentle tug out through the door and up the steep steps to the top deck. "When they're focused, they don't waste time."

"Yes, well, it is his sister," she reasoned quietly as he led her away. She drew a deep breath of fresh air. While Emrys didn't like heights, she had never been too fond of enclosed spaces - they reminded her too much of a cage.

Emrys' expression was dark as he nodded. "We'll get them all out," he vowed quietly as they crossed the deck. "All of them."

She stopped for a moment, forcing him to turn and face her. "But where is Darius?" she asked. "It doesn't make any sense."

He turned back to her, pinning her with his serious gaze. "Don't assume the worst," he told his mate firmly. "Anything could have happened. He could be held somewhere else; he could be free and waiting for his chance to attack."

[Marissa]

Or he could be dead, but if he was dead, wouldn't one of them feel it? She frowned, nodding again. "I should have gone to them long ago. Maybe I could have done something to prevent this."

"Marissa." He lifted his hands to her shoulders, squaring her posture toward his. "The past is done. You have said yourself, going back too many times changes too much of what is. Regret is a part of living, but you are not responsible for what has happened. You are not responsible for anything that happened without your knowledge."

"No, I suppose not," she said, though she was still frowning. Who was responsible? The tribe? Her birth parents? The blood hunters? Playing with Time was not a game, but that was not what she proposing. That would be almost too easy, and there would be repercussions. There was a lot they still needed to discuss and plan, but it was going to have to wait until they got home and talked to the pack. "Maybe it's better this way. At least, they have a chance at rescue." That was one way of thinking of it anyway.

"Come on, kitten. Let's get everyone in place and some decisions made. We can plan once we're back on board." With another nod to Oreia, who was still surveying the top deck from the helm, Emrys took a deep breath and all but sprinted across the gangplank to the mooring tower.

Marissa didn't waste time in following him, reluctant to let go of his hand, even for a little while. If it wasn't for him, she wasn't sure what she'd have done. Possibly get herself killed trying to save her family.

They were going to save their family, that much was certain. And it looked as though Marissa might learn a little bit more about her mate's unspoken past in the process. Maybe there was a silver lining to every cloud, after all.