Richard
It had been far too long since Hallie breathed in the sea breeze. Not that she needed to breathe, but the briny smell of the ocean was such a comfort, she made an exception. Business and companionship had kept her on land for a while, so at the first whiff of a good prospect off the coast of Yronis, she couldn't resist getting back on a boat. 

Speaking of things the vampire couldn't resist, she immediately roped her new best friend into doing this robbery too. Crime was always more fun shared, especially with someone just as cruel and beautiful as she was herself. It would be *Perfect*. The news Hallie had caught wind of was that the Yronians had finally recovered an ancient and valued sword from demons on an island between the Empire and whatever barbarian nation might lay beyond. This sword has something to do with their history, and it bites her to tears so the pirate has gotten distracted by a pretty lass next to her. But when she tuned back in, they spoke of its priceless value and special attribute of acting of its own accord with whistled commands. Such an item would either fetch a high price, perhaps at ransom if nothing else, or be an invaluable asset; she was determined to find out which one.
** **

With a bit of her charm and allowing a young sailor from Yronis to paw at her before she snapped his neck, Hallie managed to figure out the ship's route as it carried the sword back. And from her years spent in taverns and on ships, she knew enough about their legends, superstitions, *Fears*, to create an excellent diversion to snatch the fabled sword. With her already pallid complexion, all it took was washing her hair in black ink, some kohl smudged around her eyes, and stealing a set of women's Yronian robes to complete the ghostly look she was going for. She felt a bit naked without both her hat and coat, but the cold metal of her pistols pressing against her skin under the robes was enough comfort. 

Piercing blue eyes, made more so by the dramatic makeup, slid over to her fair friend next to her in the skiff they had stolen. The vampire's eyes were wild with excitement, a look Aspeth had probably become accustomed to over the last month or so since they reconnected. Her fellow pirate had reignited what spark of life remained in her to a roaring blaze, and Hallie found she had to touch her, *Taste her*, at every available opportunity. Being so well fed kept her rather sharp, strong, and in a good mood. She spoke with eyes that sparkled with mayhem, **"Stick to the plan, let me enter first, and enhance my show with your illusion magics however you'd like as you sneak on board."** She'd never admit it, but Hallie still wasn't entirely sure how Aspeth's illusions worked; no matter, the point was to scare these men shitless, slaughter them, and take the sword. *That* She knew with certainty Aspeth could do. Hallie would pose as a vengeful spirit, take their attention, and hopefully be believable enough to disarm them for a good few moments.
** **

The vampire's icy blues slid down to Aspeth's neck briefly before she bit her lower lip, taking a deep breath, then turning her gaze to the ship they slowly floated towards. Luck was on their side this night, a layer of fog laying over the water and concealing their approach. The current pushed them steadily to their destination, so they needed only steer quietly. Hallie dodged the thoughts that had been trying, and failing, to plague her for a bit now. How familiar, how nice it felt, to be doing wicked deeds with someone she quite cared for; hopefully it'd end better this time. With one more mental shove to that line of thinking, she shot her partner in crime a confident smirk and a wink as they got close to their target. Her vampirism allowed her to jump to the ship's hull gracefully and near silently, clinging to it like a spider as she crawled up the side. She couldn't wait to prey on these men's deepest fears.
Leona
If there was one thing that Aspeth would admit that she loved above all things, it was the feeling of the breeze whipping through her hair, and keeping her bangs out of her eyes. Oh, it simply felt *Perfect* As she stood. Years of time upon the sea allowed her to perfectly balance even against the waves.

Aspeth had originally played hard to get with this little robbery that seemed to be planned, of course she had actually been interested the mere *Second* She heard what they were stealing. A supposed demon's blade from some forgotten island. If they were lucky, it might even be a bit cursed. Aspeth could feel the excitement bubbling within her chest, the possiblity of striking such a blow to a country, without even needing an army? It was almost too good to be true. But, she wouldn't let the excitement take her over just yet, that could come with the celebrations afterwards. As she was already certain that they were going to take the sword practically without issue. Now, she had no clue if it would be better to sell such an item or use it. She did have quite the vendetta against few individuals, and such a sword would probably be invaluable in the future against such bastards. Perhaps even strike against the Gods themselves.

As she heard the voice, she turned towards her comrade with a grin plastered upon her face. She couldn't forget about the woman who had brought such an opportunity to her. Especially with just how many times she had felt those teeth draw close to her throat. Though, it wasn't an unwelcome feeling, even if it did leave her a bit woozy at times. **"Oh, you know it, darling. But I just must say, you do look good in black."** With her little tease done, and as they drew close to their destined target, she felt her grin widen as she made her own way up the boat. She already had a perfect plan of how her illusions would make such a disguise perfect.

As she was slowly clambering up the side of the boat, a long exhale escaped her as smoke flew out of her lungs. Like a snake, it slithered up the side of the boat and began to spread upon the deck. Any rats hidden between the barrels and crates would slowly choke to death as a fine layer of black fog appeared upon the main deck. With Hallie's disguise, it'd likely make it seems as though she was floating. The next addition to her little enhancement, as she found herself on the edge, was to place her hand upon the deck itself as water flowed from her hand. Make the deck slippery and difficult to see on, and plenty of obstacles will knock over the bastards that try to stop them. Aspeth wasn't usually one to stay out of sight, but when she had something like this to do? Oh, she could not *Stop* Herself from simply doing her best.

Slowly, she clambered onto the boat, she covered herself with the smoke, letting it flow around her body like a liquid. Any poor soul that was standing upon the deck would likely be hearing some strange whispers coming from the smoke, as if the souls of the damned were begging to be released, and if one looked closely, it almost seemed as if there were the vague silhouettes of hands reaching towards the sailors' legs. Luckily, due to Aspeth's skill in such magic, Hallie was completely unaffected by the smoke. Truly, Aspeth was the grandest when it came to needing to perfect the actions of a disguise. Aspeth already had a small blade in her hand, and she was ready to spill blood.
Richard
With a slight turn ever upward of the corners of her mouth, Hallie met the tease with full confidence, **"Oh, I know it, love; I look good in** Everything**, but thank you, all the same."** Their shared madness was enough to make her positively giddy... Yet it would always come with that undercurrent of melancholy. She was vaguely aware she could only keep shoving that down for so long, even coldhearted as she was, she wasn't *Entirely* Heartless. But while it worked, she'd keep shoving it down for another day. Vampires, like any other creature, enjoyed companionship. And while her feelings might be more fleeting at times, much harder to win at others, they were no less real. She was simply governed by the more instinctual ones like lust and hunger, having to work a little harder to focus on the others. 

Only one sorry sap of a sailor managed to see Hallie's pallid hand stretch up over the side, claws stretched wide then scraping the wood, before Aspeth's mist began to cover her. He blinked aggressively, trying to convince himself that it was just his imagination, his sleepy weariness of ending up with the nightwatch, and lamented how much worse the fog seemed to be getting. But it only took a few moments for him to notice the whispers coming from the fog, and had it always been so *Black*? His brows furrowed as he stood from the barrel he had been sitting on, only then noticing the splash of water on the deck. Before his mind could fully register all these oddities, the vampire came, seemingly, floating out of the mist, sharp blue eyes boring into him and black hair nearly floating in the wind. Knowing precisely the buttons to push, she began to wail in a terrible, earsplitting shriek, **"You** Left **Me!! How** Dare **You! I'll make you and everyone you know** ***Suffer!"*** He managed to scream in Alonian, *Onryo!! All hands–* Before Hallie slashed at his throat, blood spraying all over her to complete her ghastly look.
** **

As more men poured out onto the deck, she cackled maniacally before continuing her banshee screeching, **"You thought you could get away with it! But now I'm here to collect what I am owed!"** Men were just all too easy to manipulate. Her cries from before were loud enough that even those below deck would've heard rather clearly. Undoubtedly, all these men had, one way or another, left a woman behind, and for many it was likely they had wronged said woman in some way. This trick was an incredibly easy one to employ, but especially with the Yronian legends of vengeful female ghosts and how they believed such ghosts would only be appeased by either offerings or sacrifice. She'd heard of some onryo even getting shrines and constant prayers to keep their assaults at bay; maybe she should keep this act up and see what got offered at *Her* Shrine. There was a certain respect afforded these menacing ghosts, and she saw it in the eyes of some of these men as they debated whether they should fight her, bow to her, or simply jump overboard.
** **

Choking and gasps soon began to fill the air, and Hallie wasted no further time jumping into the fray to slash and bite her way through the men that chose to fight. She heard a few splashes of probable deserters but there were still plenty of sailors left willing to fight; after all, the pride of their nation was on the line, and while she gave them a difficult choice to make, enough still chose to uphold the honor of Yronis at all costs. She managed to fell a few in a rain of blood before they got a better beat on her position as they stumbled along the slippery deck; another reason she was grateful to her vampiric power for gluing her to the deck. With a bit of surprise, she felt a sharp pain in her ribs and whirled to face the sailor and his bloody sword. Snarling and baring her fangs, she realized he had a friend right behind her. As both men made to strike simultaneously, the one behind was taken out by a crate sliding, unsecured, across the deck. 
** **
In a fit of blind, bloodlust-driven rage, the vampire lunged at the man before her, ripping his sword out of his hand by the blade, leaving her hand covered in bloody cuts. She tossed the sword to the side as she sat atop him, perhaps something some men dreamed about, in a different way, before she tore into him with wild abandon. She bit at his throat, ripping tendons away with her teeth, claws leaving striped rips down his face before she began stabbing and tearing at his chest. He was thoroughly dead before she finally got enough awareness back to abandon the bloody heap of gore and run at the next target.