The plank creaked below her feet, hair whipping up behind her as the airship flew through the skies. She wriggled her wrists uselessly, the rope that bound them tied too well for just a slight movement to loosen. After a moment, Xiulan actually bothered to even look at the loons before her, brandishing scimitars, swords, and pitchforks and laughing at her.
"Laugh it up all you want," she said, cool as ice. "But it doesn't change the fact that your brand new captain is worth less than dirt. You really went through all the effort for him? Really?"
"Of course they would, my one eyed, oh-so-daring ex-captain!" Xiulan scoffed as a man dressed in a purple pirate outfit with gold trim walked out, playing around with his pencil-thin moustache. "Honestly, I'm surprised they kept oh-so-quiet about being bossed around by a demon! And just because you're some decendant to some archer known only on some backwater island? Pah! How pathetic!"
" 'Ooooh, how patheeetic!' " the demon shot back, rolling her one good eye. "Look who's talking! You're so lily-livered, you didn't even mutiny with a grand battle: you just drugged me and had your goons tie me up so you can make me walk the plank. What, you couldn't have been smart and tossed me off to splatter me off the Manchurian Steppe? Or are your arms about as fragile as a graham cracker?"
Veins pulsed against the man's temple as he scowled at her. "I very well could have, but then I wouldn't have a chance to brag about it! I was looking forward to your fear and tears-"
"Boooo hooo, I'm a pooor woman standing over a plank! Whatever shall I dooooo?!" Xiulan spat at his feet before she looked him dead in the eyes. "Now are you going to push me off or not?"
Another vein pulsed, the men around him backing away as one other goon, the one holding a pitchfork to try to tease her off the plank looking over at him with confusion. The regal pirate grit and ground his teeth, hand trembling in anger. "You- You aren't even ACTING scared! This is the part where I gloat over your demise as you bow to me and cry, 'Oh, Lord Valor, please! I beg your forgiveness for treating you so unkindly! Oh, please, oh pleaaase don't push me off, I'll do anything!' You're going off script! You're ruining [i]my[/i] moment, you, you-" Xiulan took a step back towards the edge of the plank, Valor grinding his teeth hard enough to possibly grind them into dust. "You HAG! Just INDULGE me for two seconds, and THEN I'll-"
"No thanks. Bye!"
She relished in the shocked looks as she jumped off, especially that on Valor's face. Like hell she'd sit around and let him jerk himself off to his cheapo accomplishment. That now was the least of her problems as she fell towards earth, down from the clouds up high. It was a roulette whether she'd splat on ground or in water, and a roulette she wasn't going to risk her life for. A spell came to mind, but her hands were still tied behind her back, reaching out for a pouch but unable to get to it.
Acting quickly, Xiulan detached her head from her body, keeping up with herself in freefall as she used her teeth to open up the pouch and pluck out a feather. She shoved it into her hand before shouting an incantation out loud, runes forming around her. The ground was fast approaching, greenery spanning as far as she could see, one that would be marred if she broke herself upon it.
She came only a few feet away from splattering until her drifted and fell more like a feather than a brick, gently falling onto the ground. One problem down, at least. Next, her head floated off to find some sharp rock to bring over and slice through the bindings, her body standing up and stretching their arms and wiggling their fingers, flinching at the rope marks that marred her fair skin.
"Ouch, that smarts," Xiulan grunted, her body grabbing her head and spinning it around her neck until it clicked in place. With her immediate issues dealt with, now she could take a good look at her surroundings, scanning the area with her one good eye. Greenery as far as her eye could see, vines splayed out and growing everywhere and anywhere, a great wide river farther beyond with the shadow of a city across its bank. How far? She couldn't tell, she just simply knew a skip and a hop wasn't going to get her there quite as fast as she'd like.
What to do? All she had was her pouch of material components and a bit of magic to use. No sword, no armor, no rations... Valor might have liked to brag, but at least he had the sense to take away her essentials. Grumping to herself, Xiulan sat cross legged on the ground, drumming her fingers on her cheek as her palm held up her chin.
"No idea where I am, no idea where they're going... Looks like I'm in a proper pinch." A dramatic sigh escaped her lips as she contented herself to lie down instead of just sitting. "Shouldn't have drank that ale when it smelled off. Now I just went ahead and lost my livlihood and my pride and joy to a chit-chatter coward. Bleh.
I'll skin him alive later. And only if I can pull myself out of this pain in the rear!" Invigorated, she sat and then sprang up to her feet, pointing towards the city beyond the river. "First things first, gotta hit up the town and get my life together! I should probably get some ratty tatty clothes and cry for money, drum up some pity so I can get at least afford a sword and do some merc work! Wonder if they got any ships I could mingle around, start savin' up for a proper airship again!"
Her heart sank as she remembered just how much airships cost. "Ooooor maybe I'm gonna need to stop thinkin like Grand Sky Pirate and think like I'm a plain 'ol girl again. Can't get all self-fulfilled if I don't got shelter, food, and water 'n all that."
With that said, Xiulan Hua Ngo took the first few steps towards a new place, unaware of the potential mishaps she would find in New Agama.
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