A motley crew if ever I saw one

Life was funny.

Darcy had decided it was time to track her good-for-nothing father and had went to the coast to secure herself a small rig. She found an ad for a guy trying to turn over a fishing boat he had scored in a poker game for some quick cash, and she went to meet the guy only to find that it was her very best friend in the whole wide world selling the ship. She had, of course, publicly tackled and beat the living daylights out of him, behaving the way puppies might if one had stolen the other's biscuit. But now that the story had been told (he had come into town to sell for her father and had decided to find her and meet up with him later) Darcy couldn't be anything but thrilled. Her best friend was here, and he was agreeing to use the boat to sail out and find her father.

The last Bryce had heard, her father was heading to America. So they traveled to Southhampton with the boat and docked her.

"I don't understand why we need to have a crew," Bruce complained as she walked up, her arms free of the flyers she had stapled everywhere.

"Because, when we show up with a boat and a crew, I can look right at my dear old da and tell him to screw off, that's why," Darcy insisted, her Scottish accent carrying the phrases in such a way that Bryce could not help but roll his eyes and grin. She smiled at him and jumped aboard, looking about for their crew.

Every year on the day of Asher's disappearance, Adrienne's parents would spend the day wishing they could bring him back. Poor Wyatt, the boy had just had a birthday and now he had to go back to being depressed. It was entirely unfair. Adrienne had escaped the house and spent the day with Kaiden, instead.

This year, however, was the ninth year Asher was gone. Her mum had given up on Asher ever coming back, it seemed, for things didn't get better. Once again feeling the need to get out of the house, Adrienne decided that she needed a bit of a vacation away from her house.

Her feet had taken her to the docks, partly because she adored the water, but equally because she loved boats and found them oddly fascinating. Glancing across the piers she saw a sign about someone looking for a crew. Not even taking a minute to think about it, she apparated home, picked up clothes and the like, said goodbye, and reappeared on the wooden boards of the pier in question, scaring a younger boy half to death.

Daemon wasn't sure what he was doing at the docks. Something about the idea of traveling pleased him. He was looking out over the water when the crack of apparation made him jump and spin around.

"What are you doing?" He asked, taken aback.

"Sorry," She apologized, blushing faintly. "I'm.. well, I'm going to try and join a crew to boat to New York." She could hardly believe it herself.

Daemon stared at her in surprise as she pointed out the paper listing the information in question. His summer had been excessively boring, and it wasn't as though his parents would care if he went along.

"That sounds brilliant." He admitted after a moment of her watching him.

"You're coming, too?" Adrienne asked, surprised but rather excited to the point where she didn't really care that she didn't know him. She was old enough to handle herself, as well as practiced in magic enough that she figured she could be alright.

"I.. yeah, I will." Dex nodded. "I'll be back."

Adrienne watched him leave, before walking up the pier in question to find this Darcy person.

Mr and Mrs Oakes had both managed to secure a stall on a muggle Market in Southampton for the weekend. Despite Mrs Oakes being a witch her ability was somewhat limited to selling fresh vegetables in Diagon Alley whilst Mr Oakes, a muggle, sold them in a market. 

The whole family had been excited at the opportunity to sell their vegetables in the 'Greatest Market Of The Country' that was held each place by the harbour. Not only did they get to do what they love: sell vegetables, it was a fun day. There were lots of children for Mavis and her sisters to play with, many boats to explore and there was the category of largest vegetables. Mrs Oakes had not managed to learn the engorgement charm so had relied on the dragon dung fertiliser to enhance her cucumber's size. 

It was day two of 'the Greatest Market of the country' Weekend and Mavis felt liked going for a wander. She'd helped on the stall yesterday. Today she was exploring and hoping to make new friends.

After two hours of walking around the harbour, strolling up and down wooden boarding she came across a ship that she felt drawn to. Something about the ship was calling her inwards. Maybe it was the witch in her - the little witch that was in her. After all she was almost a squib.

Not asking to come aboard or looking around to see if she could find the owner Mavis simply walked across the bridge that connected the ship to the land. 

The air was cooler here, the sound of seagulls cawing was still present but it seemed to Mavis that she'd entered a whole new world - after all the Gryffindor had never been on a boat before, apart from a rubber dingy that she'd used in a pool on holiday once, which had ended in a disastrous sinking catastrophe. 

There was a door to her right that led to below deck. Her curiosity was soon getting the better of her and Mavis had absolutely no clue what the inside of a ship was like and was too naive to think she wouldn't get lost - as she almost always did. 

Turning the handle Mavis descended into the bowels of the ships. 

(OOC: Can nobody notice Mavis is on the boat until it's set sail? )

Daemon had collected his things and returned by the time Adrienne made it to the end of the dock. Calling out to the girl in question, Daemon caught up to her. "Is this the right pier?"

"Would I really be wandering down it were it not?" Addie replied sarcastically. While she usually would mean for her sarcasm to be noticed, this time it was more of a joke.

Shrugging, Daemon extended a hand in her direction. "I'm Daemon. Most people call me Dex, though."

"Adrienne." She replied, taking his hand. Shifting her bag onto the other shoulder, she added, "Let's go find Darcy."

They made their way to the end of the pier, looking around. A ship was docked on one side, so Adrienne made her way to the edge of the wooden boards to see if anyone was around. "Hello?"

"We uh," Daemon added, "We saw your sign!"

((Sounds fun, RJ!))

"You're asking for trouble," Bryce warned as he continued to coil their extra fishing net. Darcy was bent over the side of the boat, putting the finishing touches on her little addition to the boat's frame. She had a paintbrush tipped in red paint and was carefully writing the words 'H.M.S. Eat My Shorts' as a special little treat for her father. She was not in the mood to hear a lecture from Bryce and had decided if he was going to continue on, then she would push him into the harbor. She had done it before, and she was definitely not afraid of doing it once again.

Bryce was the one to encounter the new recruits and he made a face of mild distaste as they greeted him with such enthusiasm. Bryce, having been so independent his entire life, was never very fond of other people. Beyond other sailors, Bryce preferred solitude to company. So he flicked his eyes skyward and said, "Darcy! People!" With a forced smile that looked more like a scowl, he turned around and retreated into the cabin.

Darcy straightened up and whirled around. "Alright, then! Saw my sign, did you? Come on aboard, we'll figure this whole thing out!"

Daemon let Addie lead the way onto the ship, boarding behind her. "Yeah," He replied over Adrienne's shoulder, "I could use some time away."

"I've always wanted to travel." Adrienne added, glancing between the girl - Darcy, apparently - and the guy who hadn't seemed to pleased to see them. Watching him go, she wondered if perhaps this was even the right ship. But Darcy had mentioned the sign, so it sounded right.

"What would you have us do?" Dex asked brightly. He was really getting to go off and do something on his own. Without his parents saying what was and wasn't correct. It was a fantastic feeling.