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After a few weeks on the ship, Aislin and Okushiyovi were completely accustomed to the feel of the much larger vessel, and the latter had turned his favorite hobby of climbing and leaping from the mast into a fine art. As he grew and couldn't really lounge across Aise's shoulders any more because of the weight, he was dubbed the 'official' watch. His eyes were keen and he was unafraid of heights, which couldn't always be said of their crew, who shuddered at the thought of climbing up to the crows nest. Plus, Oku quite enjoyed the air up there. It was much taller than their old skiff, so he could see even farther off, and the leaping part of his play had turned into a strategy of fishing, where he would fling himself from the mast and dive into the water, making nearly no splash at all, and come up mere moments later with at least one large fish speared and wriggling on one of his sharp spines.
Oku was becoming quite the swimmer now, as he grew larger and his muscles grew stronger. He loved the sea, as much even as his bond did. Neither had ever seen it, but both felt as though they had been meant to be right here for their whole lives.
One late morning, as they sailed through a tricky pass, Oku leading the way at the prow of the ship so that they wouldn't hit any of the sharp rocks and coral outcroppings, he spotted another vessel on the horizon. Once they were through, he climbed aboard (the ship had been fitted with a sort of ladder that he could weave his way up from the water) and slithered to his bond, standing by the captain. They, too, had noticed the other ship, and the captain looked happy.
*What's going on?* Oku asked as he took up a position on the railing near Aise.
His bond smiled and stroked his still wet head, making his eyes half-close in pleasure. "It's the ship we've been waiting for," she said. Oku loved when she had the siran accent; it made her young voice sound exotic and more adult for some reason.
He glanced at the captain, who nodded and took up the explanation. "Seems as tho' you an' the two're gonna have yer first taste o' th' business we run 'ere." He said, then grinned broadly. "Ready t' earn yer keep, dragon?"
Oku turned his gaze to the horizon, where the ship they were headed for grew ever nearer. He nodded, then grinned somewhat crazily, hungry for action after so long a time at sea with nothing to do but chores and playing and fishing.
Aislin laughed loudly, and Oku thought he heard something of the same sentiment in her voice.
It really wasn't all that much like those stories he loved. There was no daring swordfight, or cannonfire, though they did ready their guns in case the other ship put up a fight. Really, Aise and Oku were charged with handling the ship more than boarding their target, the captain handing over the helm and joining his men as they settled the disputes that arose on the other vessel.
At first, Oku resented being left behind, until two things happened in quick succession. The first being that his bond reminded him that for the captain to leave the helm to someone, especially when he'd be offship, he had to trust them very much, so it was a great honor. The second happened only seconds after that, when the captain returned to the helm and told them to hurry and cross to the other ship if they wanted a piece of the action.
Oku was the first to cross, using a plank as a slide. Aise wasn't far behind, and the enthusiasm in her bond made her grin; not something those who knew her would especially like to see, since she had also inherited and shifted into the long canines from her siran side of the family.
Girl and dragon, though they were both much smaller than the full grown men of their crew, cut a striking, and frightening image for the sailors on the boarded ship. They had heard the stories of the half-siran girl and her dragon, and the sight of her on their own deck was almost enough in itself to guarantee cooperation. Oku was very amused, grinning himself and showing his own sharp teeth.
Most of the rest of the crew was below, gathering what they thought would fetch a price in bulk, or looked remotely valuable as a singular item. Oku notices that, while they carried off quite a lot of crates, they didn't touch the other ship's food or water supply. He thought that was nice of them. When his bond called him below, he eyed the captive crew once more before letting his other crewmates handle them.
*What is it?* he asked, his eyes adjusting to the darkness within the hold.
Aislin held up her hand, and he stared. There was a small, gold figurine sitting in the palm of her hand. It's intricate workmanship held his attention, though it was the sheen of the thing that had caught it in the first place.
*Pretty,* he said, entranced. His bond giggled, breaking his reverie, and he smiled sheepishly. *Can I have it?*
Aise shook her head, speaking to his mind so that the others wouldn't hear. You'll have to ask the captain. I'm not sure how his system works, whether everyone shares, or you take what you can get, every man for himself. But keep an eye out, just in case. she winked and grinned, placing the figurine carefully in her bag.
There were several things in this place he wouldn't mind collecting, and he sent a mental image of himself atop a hoard of trinkets to Aise, who covered her mouth and coughed to hide the sudden giggles.
It was a quick raid, and fairly easy on the first-timers (which happened to be most of the crew), though they didn't really get anything of much value, aside from the figurine that Aise had found. Oku shone with pride when the captain praised her discerning eye.
As it turned out, the little wyrm got to keep many of his trinkets, except for the figurine. He even got a sea chest that was hefted off the ship. It wasn't terribly well made, but it had held some good stuff, so after it was emptied, the captain gave it to Aise and Oku as a sort of 'welcome aboard' present, insisting that everyone needed a good sea chest.
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