Dawn tilted her head, absinthe-wide eyes following Verita as she moved toward her, and smiled gently at the soft kiss on her cheek. The brunette’s strange words didn’t seem to bother her at all. If she didn’t understand, she voiced no question, not even raising an eyebrow. Her grey eyes only watched Verita silently as the girl raised her finger and - with some trouble - touched Dawn’s forehead. The roaring of thunder and splintering of wood filled her ears and her vision went white.<br/><br/><i>Power.</i>It surged into her with primal force, foreign but familiar, making her cry out as it claimed her, filled her. A blissful chill tore down her spine, goosebumps blossoming in its wake. It was<i>like</i>her magic, but it wasn’t hers. It was strange and wonderful and it felt so…<i>good</i>. But it was… so<i>much</i>.<i>Need to… control it.</i><br/><br/>She reached for the spark of her own power, kept safe from the powerful current of magic around it. And slowly, she brought them together. She drew in a sudden breath, and the ripple of magic around her stilled.<i>Mine.</i><br/><br/>Dawn opened her eyes. She wasn’t sure when she’d hit the ground, but she hadn’t felt it at all. She was lucky her robes hadn’t torn any more. In an instant, she was on her feet, brushing herself off. The pendant around her neck glowed hot. That was right. She had power again. No more running from demons, or shadows, or pirates, or anything else. She danced across the room, laughing to herself. She was free once again.<br/><br/>“How they scurry about, those sea-rats,” she said, smiling at down Verita. She waved her hand, and the broken bottle in Verita’s hand pieced itself back together - no less empty, though. “I’ll dance with them then, shall I?” She knelt down, cupping the girl’s cheek in her hand. “I guess we’ll have to finish our conversation some other time. So stay safe until then, okay?”<br/><br/>She got back to her feet and blew Verita a kiss before skipping out the door. The darkness of the hold didn’t seem so threatening anymore. She wondered briefly if the pirates had any treasure on their ship. What would she even do with treasure? Throw it at the Kaizer? She shrugged; maybe he liked jewels.<br/><br/>As she walked up to the deck, she began to sing softly to herself. Her quiet voice carried unnaturally through the suddenly-cold air.<br/><br/><i>What shall we do with the drunken sailors,<br/>
What shall we do with the drunken sailors,<br/>
What shall we do with the drunken sailors,<br/>
Early in the morning<br/>
<br/>
Feed ‘em to the ashen elf for dinner,<br/>
Feed ‘em to the ashen elf for dinner,<br/>
Feed ‘em to the ashen elf for dinner,<br/>
Early in the morning<br/>
<br/>
Hoo-ray and dawn rises,<br/>
Hoo-ray and dawn rises,<br/>
Hoo-ray and dawn rises<br/>
Early in the morning…</i><br/><br/>She didn’t stop until she reached the edge of the deck. Grey eyes glanced over the pirate crew, and she sighed. She wasn’t worried about any of<i>them</i>. She hopped gracefully onto the pirate ship’s deck, dark hair drifting in the sea breeze. “Hello,” she said flatly. “If you’d like to hand over your loot and then walk the plank, that would save a lot of time.” She tilted her head, raising an eyebrow at the captain. “I’m Dawn, by the way. You should probably tell your crew that touching Ashy like that isn’t very safe.”<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>