Just My Luck

[Deleted]

Location: Alfya, Drunken Carpenter

((May 1, 1622. 6:30 PM. Anyone welcome.))

It was one of those rare nights off that only happened once in a while. A lone Clockwork with large, sharp, bronze ears was leaning on the bar, his bronze wings wrapping around himself somewhat.

Pleading brownish eyes stared up toward the keeper at the Drunken Carpenter, and then around to other patrons. Man, that pirate he'd been hearing about had escaped his grasp once more.

He gave an overly dramatic exasperated sigh and glanced up toward the barkeep, croaking. "...Premium oil, please." He then muttered. "I'm gonna need it."

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Cynix wasn't the only one that was in the bar, either. Reuben was in the bar himself, in a bit of an upset mood. After meeting that kid a few months ago in Truesdale, he'd found himself wondering about Caden, how he would have turned out. And then his parents! He hadn't contacted them since running off. Were they worried sick about him?

So he'd come back home to Seria, in hopes of searching for his family. But there were strangers living in his house. Strangers. Where were his parents, where was Caden? Even Uncle Isaac's house had strangers in it. He glanced up at the bartender.

"...Something really strong, please." He glanced over at the Clockwork not too far from him as the barkeep handed out the drinks to the two of them."You too, huh?"

((OOC: Assuming he's old enough to drink. >_o))

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He'd been wallowing in his self pity over that personal defeat for a while. The pirate got away. He'd failed what would have been what he thought a decisive victory against airship pirates. His wings creaked somewhat when he unfurled them slowly to reveal himself once he'd gotten his premium oil.

"Terribly so." Cynix sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment, snapping his eyes closed tightly. "But I don't think I'll burden a nice young man with my troubles." He then lifted his head with a faint smile. "It's just a minor setback in my campaign after all. I'll get those pirates yet. They can't scourge the skies forever."

He then spread out his wings slightly to stretch, taking a sip of his oil. "That'll shake the rust off my gears! I might need a straw so I can use it to grease my wings while I'm at it."

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"Pirates, huh?"

Oh boy, Reuben was not a fan of pirates. He couldn't count the number of times he had had pirates attack his small little airship, assuming that it would be an "easy win". Too bad that he and his Clockwork crew were fast on their feet and difficult to outsmart when it came to pirates. Even if some of the rich called him a bit of a pirate for occasionally swindling rich people of money and handing it out to poorer people.

"Sounds to me that you need someone to tell your troubles to, which helps a lot no matter what." Reuben shrugged. He did tend to be more sympathetic to Clockworks than other humans, and Cynix really sounded like he needed to get it off of his chest.

"Though I'm sure you will," Reuben grinned a bit, taking a sip of his drink. "It'll make it easier for the rest of us to stay in the skies without worrying about pirates."

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"Yep. Pirates." Cynix sighed.

He couldn't help but remember this most recent defeat. It wasn't so much pirates getting any ships in his airship fleet. That hadn't happened. It was just plain the fact that the pirates in question had managed to get away despite the best efforts of the Horned Owl and the fleet behind it.

"Not much to say." Here, he pulled down his hat to shade his eyes. "Even one of the greatest fleets in the military were completely outclassed by a pirate with a faster airship."

Cynix took another sip of the oil, then dipped some onto his fingers. Next, he gently greased his wings. "I can only hope that the Horned Owl and her fleet will catch them all."

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"Tell me about it. I got robbed by one last month," Reuben grumbled. But other than that, he really didn't want to remember his encounter with Andromeda. That was just... bad.

The young teenager shuddered a bit, and took a sip of his wonderful alcoholic drink. That was the stuff! He set his mug down, glancing over at Cynix as the other shaded his eyes with his hat. Yeah, the world would be a lot better without pirates.

"Long-ranged weaponry can slow even the fastest ships down, if you manage to get them. Then you can use the speed to catch up."

Which was true; how else would have Andy caught his ship? The young man sighed, idly listening. Huh, the Horned Owl. He's heard of that one... a good military ship. And one that he had kept in mind while designing the Time Skimmer.

"Want more oil? It'll be on me."

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"Why...that's absolutely horrid! Do you recall the details of the ship?" The clockwork suddenly gave a stern face. He would definitely help if he could get some details.

He took a few sips of his oil, draining the glass. Yep, that'd keep his cogs going without gnashing too much. He rather liked that feeling. That well-oiled feeling. Now if only his crews could be as well-oiled as he was right now.

"I'm going to have to install it on more ships in the Horned Owl's fleet." Cynix frowned. Sadly, the Horned Owl was the only one that really had the weaponry necessary.

When offered oil, he perked up slightly. "Sure. Don't even have to be the premium grade."

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Well, this was another unusual patron in the bar today. Ryan never set foot in this place. He very rarely drank. Like, ever.

But he was just having one of those days. Much like the other two patrons, though his misfortune stemmed from writer's block.

For three. days.

Dear lord, it was murder on his mind. Ryan couldn't remember the last time he'd been blocked so hard. He did remember drinking a bit, but everything after that was just a blur.

He plopped down on a seat near Cynix and Reuben. "... Well, judging from the peppy mood radiating from this area, I guess you two aren't in the best of moods, either." He looked between the two, totally making awkward conversation with total strangers. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"... We should make jackets." Not entirely sure what to order, he just ordered something that sounded like a light drink. Unbeknownst to them, Ryan is is a total lightweight when it comes to alcohol.

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Reuben frowned as Cynix got worked up over it. Welp, it wasn't as if Cynix could do much, Andromeda had a freakishly high bounty. Plus, could he really subject the other to indirect patricide? He didn't know.

"It's called 'The Star Crasher'. I don't think I need to tell you whose ship that is."

Cynix should know. At least Reuben seemed to have gotten out in one piece. Relatively.

"That might help... I need to look into installing some more weapons myself."

He smiled as Cynix perked up at the thought of more oil, and called to the bartender for a refill on both him, and some more oil for Cynix. It wasn't the most expensive stuff, but it wasn't the cheap stuff either. He glanced up as someone else walked in and sat down near them, talking about how they didn't seem to be in the best of moods either.

"Nope. So what's ailing you?" He said, watching as Ryan ordered something strong. Wow.

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Rusty eyes pinned slightly. "...The 'Star Crasher'...? Even the fleet with the 'Horned Owl' is ill-prepared to engage that ship, from the rumors I've heard. It sure blows the 'Rose Raider' out of the sky, even though that ship is ruddy fast."

Could it be? Another ship of legends existed? He hadn't heard about it for ages, and it had come back again! Well, he'd be the clockwork son of a clockwork horse's clockwork behind. "I think it bad I kind of hope the Rose Raider one day blows the Star Crasher to bits...and vice versa. It'd be a fitting end for the lack of honor among pirates. Then I could get back to more important matters. Like equipping these ships for defense of Seria and Truesdale. And getting back home to little Pico. She must be missing me by now, poor little thing." Not that he'd say Pico was a swallow.

He smiled gratefully at the refill. Ah yes, premium-grade oil, though not the best, was enough for a guy like him. It beat Military-grade oil in any case. He glanced to the man who had slipped in and ordered an incredibly strong drink. "I've seen better, but then again, I've seen wars. So, how's life, civilian?"

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Ryan noted the conversation these two were having. Something about pirates and airships. He didn't pay much mind to it. He had his own problems.

"... Okay, get this. I just started on a new script, right? It's about this young Clockwork child living in the slums. And this is like, a real good one, or as far as it was going." He took a sip of his drink after grabbing it straight out of the barkeep's hand.

Hm. Tastes a little bitter.

"So I sat down again today. I'm almost getting to a big climax. And I had this all planned. Never start a story without knowing where you're going with it." He smirked and calmly set his drink on the counter, then slapped a palm to his forehead, gripping his hair and leaning back on the barstool.

"Nothin'. Absolutely nothin'. I hit a block. A freaking brick wall."

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Reuben nodded a bit grimly, pushing out of his mind the fact that he had learned he was a bastard child of the leader. It wasn't sitting well with him quite at the moment. "Yep, that's the one. Normally I outrun pirate ships, but against that one, I didn't stand much of a chance."

He couldn't help but laugh a bit as Cynix said that he hoped that eventually the two pirate ships blew each other out of the sky, as awkward and horrifying as it felt to think of Nerys' death. Reuben still cared a great deal about her. "Well, one can dream, can't they? If only there were no pirates in this world... it would make everyone's lives a lot more simple and less complicated." He smiled a bit, though he didn't know who Pico actually was. "Haven't seen her in awhile, huh?"

A new script? Hm, playwright or scriptwriter. Interesting. Either way, Ryan seemed to be having woes of his own, to the point where he had ordered the extremely strong drink. "Sounds like an interesting plot," he commented of the story, and then shut up and let Ryan continue.

"You've done all the usual tricks to get inspiration already?" Hm.

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Cynix lifted his brows lightly. Outran but this one was too fast? Well, he'd really have his work cut out for him then, wouldn't he? "That's a damn shame, innit? I sure hope you didn't get harmed...and that your ship is in working order."

Of course, Cynix just hoped the ships would be blown out of the sky. He said nothing about killing the pirates. It would just be hilariously and deliciously ironic to him if pirates had ended each others' piracy for even a while. Then life could get back on like normal. "It sure would." Cynix gave a faint sigh. "Nope, sure haven't seen darling little Pico in a while."

He listened quietly to the script idea. It sounded like it had its own charm, to be honest. If he knew a little bit more about it, he'd be able to suggest even better ideas, but going what this man had already spoke up on, he leaned in and offered his own advice.

"Haven't had someone read over that script to see what they think and what they think?" He would follow this with a sip of oil. "That's what I do when I'm uninspired about tactics."

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_{(( Short post, this muse is rather picky lately. ))}

Well, Ryan had definitely tried everything he could. "Yeah, I did ask some of my neighbors to read it over, but most of 'em either slammed the door in my face or invited me in for some sugar cookies. I ate the cookies. They were delicious. But they did. not. help." He took another drink. Despite it's bitter taste, it gave him a bit of a buzz. Odd; maybe it was just his extended sobriety that made it stronger for him. He didn't give it much thought.

"So, yeah. When the usual don't work, I come here. Which surprisingly doesn't happen that often." He stared at his cup. The hell was in this thing...?

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Reuben nodded as Cynix asked him whether he hadn't gotten harmed and that his ship was working just fine. Yeah, he was okay physically, that was for sure, but he wasn't so sure about mentally. Still, there was no point in telling this man, who was obviously with the military, that he was Andy's son.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking. And so is my ship. A little shaken, but fine." It would be pretty hilarious if the Star Crasher and the Rose Raider managed to blow each other up, but at the same time, he didn't want to lose Nerys. She'd fallen in with Andy... somehow. Still, Reuben smiled at the mention of Pico. Was it a love interest, a pet, a child that he happened to be fond of? He didn't know, but it was rather sweet.

"Hm." Reuben tapped his chin as Ryan mentioned that he'd had people read it over or ate cookies. So that hadn't worked, apparently. There was something else that he could try, but whether he wanted to was a different story.

"Another thing you could try is to just put it down for a day or two, stop thinking about it during that period, and just take a breather. Maybe it can help you get some inspiration from your surroundings." Reuben took another sip of his drink.