Ruby sat down on the small plank within the mainmast crows nest, rubbing her left knee.  The pirate woman had a rough start to the morning, and this was just the beginning.    The older woman reached within her black boot, pulling out another of her hallmark blood red bandanas, and tied it tightly to her knee, in the attempt to keep whatever swelling might occur until she could find a good bottle of rum, and a place to sack out to sleep whatever this day was, away.    The bandana in place, she stood up and hopped on it a few times, testing her strength.<span style="color: darkred"> "Ruby-One Leg...Pretty funny one Tasz" </span>Ruby thought to herself while looking down to the crew.<br/><br/>It was the look of her almost partner that caught Ruby unaware.  -Contempt?-  Ruby frowned a bit, so what if she flirted and occasionally took her liberty with her gypsy buddy, its not like they were in love, it was playful teasing that if the blue eyed princess would take advantage of, perhaps Ruby's advances wouldn't be met so easily.  Still flexing her leg and working out the partial cramp from hanging upside down, Ruby recalled the night before they had docked.<br/><br/>Ruby always wary of the tattooed beauty, lest she loose the upper hand at the wrong time, the challenge for a easy game of dice was suggested.  -Easy game-  No game of chance with Taszu was ever easy.  Ruby learned fast, two important things.  First, cheating was expected.  Second, if she was ever going to break even, Taszu would need to be intoxicated.  The real challenge at that point wasn't so much the game, but how fast Ruby could make Taszu stumble and make the cheating profitable for herself.   The game was easy, high roll wins.  The older woman had insisted on this method for quite sometime, as trying to understand the olive pirate proved to be as challenging as the game itself.  Simple rolls, and simple rules.<br/><br/><span style="color: darkred">"Aye, Ya chocolate haired, devil.  The high roll wins it, the low roll drinks it and nothing more be said."</span>Famous last words.<br/><br/>It took the better part of three weeks of loosing nightly to Tazsu before Ruby was sober enough to realize that there were three dice at least.  The two in the cup and the one palmed by the trickster.  Ruby never played this game with anything she wasn't willing to part with anyway, so it essentially lightened her load when they arrived at the docks.   The night before they landed, Ruby finally took Tasz to task.  Hours the two played, and while Tasz was certainly faster at getting that loaded die, Ruby was faster at accidently letting her cleavage press, or the top of her breast fall free of her top.  Ruby had managed to secure some funds for drinking, and a healthy amount of her preferred gem, her namesake.  The final bet wasn't a typical wager either, it was for something down right personal.  Ruby, already feeling the call of land, was in her element.  Standing up, she pulled the buttons free of her tight leggings, exposing nothing but flesh underneath.  The piercing was in the perfect place, standard small silver hoop and a small glistening ruby.  The sultry woman plinked it free of her half exposed nether and rebuttoned her pants.<br/><br/><span style="color: darkred">"There ya go, Taszu and I verily believe that this certainly be personal enough for, ye?"</span>The firey pirate almost sang then smiled, plopping the trinket into her rum flavored mouth for a second then, affixing it to her pinky.<br/><br/>Ruby just watched her fellow pirate, and was generally impressed that there was no outward sign of concern.  The only thing that deviated from the norm, was that she couldn't tell if the loaded die had been removed or not.  Eye to eye, they looked as the bones rolled.<span style="color: darkred"> "Eleven to nine, Ruby looses."  </span>Someone behind them said.   Sliding the trinket from her finger, Ruby grinned.<span style="color: darkred"> "Did I now, darlin?  I wouldn't be so sure."  </span>With a flash, One-Eye attached the trinket to one of the various other adorning pieces jewelry that Taszu wore.<span style="color: darkred"> "We shall see, indeed..darlin."  </span>Ruby softly spoke with an almost angelic voice and swallowed the rest of her bottle of rum, before heading to the upper deck to get some air.<br/><br/>That was the past, the future was now.  The whole event still made her smile..no down right grin actually.  Ruby lost the game, but won the challenge.<br/><br/>Ruby moved her cutlass from her hip, and affixed it to her back.<span style="color: darkred"> "No one be callin me One-Leg."</span>Her hazel eye peered across the mainmast to the mizzenmast and with very little effort, she again launched herself from the main to the mizzen, and landed perfectly on the yard arm about a foot from Weasel, who was still working.  The pirate looked at the boy,<span style="color: darkred">"Yer doin al'righ, ye just need to be faster.  Pick up the pace, boy." </span>Her voice high and solid.  Ruby breezed past the younger rigger, and didn't look back.  Adjusting her bandana, and pulling her sword back against her thigh, the swashbuckler made her way down and ended up face to face with Blue.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>