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Post by Australia on Apr 17, 2011 18:20:03 GMT -8
After being stuck onboard the Grim for over a moth at sea, James would have been happy to dock anywhere. The fact that they had docked in Australia of all places though; well James had barely been able to contain his excitement. And then when the Captain announced they would be there for at least a week because he had something to attend too (not that he told them what, the Captain was being all hush hush about it). Well, when James had heard that news he hadn’t been able to contain his exictment. He began cheering and jumping up and down until one of his fellow crewmates decided to shut him up by pushing him over board and into the ocean.
The first day had been spent helping others pick up supplies and restock the ship. He was antsy the entire time though. He just wanted to do something else, in his country, his home. It was obvious then that on the second day they were docked, James had vanished with a note saying he’d be back.
Looking back, that probably wasn’t a good idea. Arthur probably flipped out, ever since Lily vanished he seemed to worry when someone went missing for more than a day. But James couldn’t help it. If he stayed on the Grim, he’d only continue doing work on the ship, and that was the last thing he wanted. Therefore, sneaking off was the obvious solution in his mind. Or at least that’s what he assured himself as he jumped off the back of the truck that had offered to give him a lift. ”Thanks mate!” He shouted waving good bye before turning on his heels and looking at the entrance of the zoo that he decided was the first stop he needed to take.
A grin stretched across his face as he just stood there for a minute. He knew the zoo very well. Before he had decided to take to the seas for an adventure, he’d sneak into the zoo and spend countless hours outside the exhibits (and once or twice sneaking into them). In fact, he was pretty sure he’d spent one or two nights hidden away in the kangaroo enclosure curled up with the joeys sleeping.
The joeys were probably grown up now that he thought about it. It had been a while since he’d been in the zoo. He wondered if his favorite crocodile was still around, and if so how large the guy had gotten. James had spend hours sitting outside his enclosure back then, chatting away to the reptile.
Practically bouncing with excitement he paid for admissions, despite knowing every way to sneak in. Almost immediately he made a beeline for the crocodile enclosure, leaning over the guard reel to peer down at the large croc that was peering out of the water. His grin stretched even further. ”Hey there Agro! Been a long while!”
The large crocodile lifted his head in acknowledgement, but other than that hardly done anything. James hardly minded, continuing on as if he understood what Agro had said.
In all honesty, the Australian kind of did understand. ”C’mon, don’t be mad… I’ll tell you about everything I’ve seen! Man it’s been forever, you wouldn’t believe what I’ve seen!”
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Post by Andorra on Apr 17, 2011 18:41:32 GMT -8
It had been a very long time since Anaïs felt like a small child. But when she stepped through the gates of that zoo, a childish, delighted smile grew across her face. She had never been to a zoo before and it looked absolutely delightful. Lot's of families and children roamed around the place, peering at the animals in wonder. Ahh, it was refreshing to see this, an entire world of happy families not having a care or worry. She wished that she could have brought her siblings with her, but that was impossible. She would have to enjoy this time to herself alone.
Indeed, the Madre Maria had landed in Australia for a well-deserved break. For the most part anyway. Most of the crew had already gone off to have some fun, but the captain, Afonso and Henry were off doing some sort of pirating work. She suspected they may have found a treasure rumor and were investigating the source. It really was too bad, she would've liked to have Henry along with her break. But he was the best at finding treasure so they needed him. And they insisted that she take this opportunity to have fun. So she was determined to do just that.
She had taken her Spanish Timple along with her, because she found no higher joy than her favorite instrument provided. She giggled. Maybe the animals would dance along~~?
She skipped along through the zoo, and settled near the large cage that had a family of squirrel monkeys. Taking her tiny guitar out, she began to play a high energy song, drawing the attention of not only the monkeys, but the people passing by as well. The monkeys ran around the cage excitedly, bouncing off each other as they jumped around. Anaïs smiled.
This certainly was a rambunctious crowd~!
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Post by Australia on Apr 26, 2011 11:27:22 GMT -8
James sat outside the crocodile enclosure for over an hour, recounting his adventures to his quiet and grumpy reptilian companion. Eventually though, he pushed himself up with a roll of his eyes realizing that Agro was just irritated. With a small wave he opted to wander around. He wished he had snuck Bruce in with him, he was sure the koala would’ve loved it. But his companion had climbed off earlier that day, scaling up a tree and refusing to get down. James figured they’d meet up again before reboarding the Grim. It wouldn’t be the first time his koala companion had ditched him. Slipping his hands into his pockets James began whistling, walking down the pathways glancing at other exhibits and noting the animals that had been around when he had been small, and which ones were new.
His initial plan had been to head to the kangaroo enclosure. He really wanted to see how much the joeys had grown in his absence, and if they recognized him; on his way though something else caught his attention. A small commotion was occurring outside the squirrel monkey. James stopped mid-step, his whistling ceasing as he watched curiously. A girl was playing a guitair (skillfully too) and the monkeys seemed to be liking it; as did the children who had stopped to dance in front of her while their parents looked on in amusement.
Standing off to the side James watched, tapping his foot, unable to help himself. It was a catchy tune, and had he had been with someone he probably would’ve dragged them into dance with him. <i>Kiwi would be al for it</i> a quiet voice whispered in the back of his mind. The Australian hardly paid attention to it though, and when the girl continued he probable was the loudest to applaud.
Grinning he hopped up to sit on the guard rail just outside the exhibit besides the girl, ignoring her startled look. ”You’re real good at playin’ that! Seriously ace! He spoke up, reaching his hand out so one of the monkeys reaching through the bars could hold onto his finger. It made James’s smile widen. "These guys really liked it!”
Ace – Very good!
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Post by Andorra on Apr 28, 2011 12:25:06 GMT -8
Anaïs was instantly flattered by the sudden attention from not only the monkey's, but the crowd of dancing children. With that, she played her very best song and sang along with it too. Honestly, this situation was made for dreams, and she was living one. How lucky, how fantastic! The monkeys continued to bounce around their cage, even little squeaks escaped from their tiny mouths, as if they were singing along too. Artista had once told her that the animal she was like the most were Squirrel monkeys, and now that she had finally met a few, she couldn't help but agree. At the time she thought Artista was making fun of her, but now, she had nothing but respect for the rambunctious little guys. She finished her song on a particularly loud squeak from one of them.
She had been having too much fun to really notice the Australian man until he jumped onto the railing, big grin on his face, and addressed her in one of the most cheerful voices she had ever heard. Her face brightened instantly, knowing right away she could trust this man. What exactly lead her to know this she wasn't sure, but she had no doubt in her mind that he was trustworthy.
She wondered briefly what 'ace' meant, before she smiled and said "Thank you very much sir!" She giggled and looked into the cage. "I sure hope they did~" She turned to a woman who had decided to give her money for the music. Anaïs shook her head at her and told her she did it for free. She waved at the woman as she walked away, and turned back to the stranger. "My name is Anaïs! May I ask for your name?" She tilted her head slightly "And what does 'ace' mean?"
She had a feeling it was something good.
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Post by Australia on Jun 5, 2011 16:53:20 GMT -8
A small snort escaped James as he swung his legs back and forth. ”Christ, don’t call me ‘sir’! ‘m not that old!” And looking at her bright face, he wouldn’t be surprised if they were around the same age. He grinned regardless though, watching as she turned away money. Anaïs, he couldn’t help but feel he knew the name. That would make no sense though, so he brushed the thought aside. Carefully moving so that he was standing on the railing, walking along it with his arms outstretched like a tight rope walker in the circus. Of course he didn’t have nearly as much grace and after only a step or two he went toppling forward, landing with a ‘thud’ on the ground.
The Australian laughed regardless, waving away her concerned as he bounced to his feet, brushing himself off and surveying any damage. Just a scraped hand, alright nothing too bad! Turning to face her again he offered his non-injured hand, after brushing the dirt off it onto his shorts. ”Names James! ‘s nice to meet you Ace!”
He wasn’t sure why, but it seemed like a very good nickname for her. It was only belatedly that he realized he hadn’t actually answered her question. ”Oh! Uh, it’s slang. Means your real good at something.” Or something like that. He shrugged, continuing to smile though he couldn’t help but tilt his head slightly much in the manner she had. ”You come to zoo’s to play often?”
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Post by Andorra on Jun 5, 2011 18:40:08 GMT -8
Anaïs smiled at him, her head bobbed in an apologetic bow. Truth be told, he didn't look much older than her at all, but she called every stranger by an honorific regardless of age. Except for children of course.
...speaking of children, the boy was sporting very childish behavior; walking across that pole with his arms spread out. Her eyes widened in concern, but she couldn't help but recall one of her own brothers, Avlar. He was a rambunctious boy, like most of them were. He had once done the exact same thing he was doing, being reckless with his arms spread apart. She had warned her little brother how dangerous it was, stressed an "Ah, be careful!" [just like how she did with this stranger] and of course he-
CRASH. The stranger fell forward, scraping one of his hands. She rushed forward, her sisterly instincts kicking in. She had to hold back every desire to throw her arms around him and comfort him, which she had done with her brother before. She couldn't have guessed how such an action could devastate a boy, and she remembered her brother protesting and flailing from her protective hug. Avlar didn't speak to her for an entire day after that.
She decided that the stranger would also not appreciate her comfort hug.
"A-are you alright??" Well. She still had the right to be concerned. She blinked when he waved a dismissive hand at her, maybe it was just boyish pride at work again? But honestly, his injury didn't seem that severe... She gave him a somewhat worried smile. "It's very nice to meet you, James!" Her head tilted slightly when he called her ace...was it a nickname perhaps? She beamed at that.
He face grew into an educated smile when he explained what 'ace' meant. She looked down bashfully, considering he called her music ace."Thank you~," she said again.
She shook her head at his next question. "Actually, this is my first time at a zoo! This whole experience is new to me~" And it was already shaping up to new levels of fun.
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Post by Australia on Jun 28, 2011 11:22:54 GMT -8
Again he waved off her concern, continuing to laugh even though he had a feeling Anaïs didn’t appreciate it. Looking at her, and catching the worried smile, he grinned again holding up his hand. The scrap wasn’t that bad. ”No worries Ace, I’ve had way worse than a tiny scratch.” Hopefully that would be enough to banish any worrying thoughts.
It seemed to work too, considering she was beaming again and he grinned stating a simple ”Welcome.” before he was caught off guard by what she had just said.
James stared at her in utter bewilderment repeating the words she had said over and over again in his mind. She had never been to the zoo before. She had never. How in the world was that even possible!? He’d never met anyone who’d never been to the zoo before. Well, then again he didn’t actually ask many people. But still!
Well. If she had never been to the zoo… He would have to make sure that she had a wonderful first time in one! Shaking off his bewildered expression he slipped his hand in his pockets, nodding his head towards where the rest of the exhibits were. ”Well then! If you’ve never been to a zoo before allow me to show you ‘round Ace! I use to hang out here all the time as a kid!” [/color]
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Post by Andorra on Jul 1, 2011 14:03:43 GMT -8
Anaïs blinked at James' bewilderment; was it really so strange that she had never been to a zoo before? She smiled politely however, growing excited at his offer.
"Yes, I'd love that very much!" She skipped to his side, beaming even more brightly before. This was very lucky, finding an obviously capable tour guide.
She followed James happily, giggling still at his reaction. "If you want to know, I've never been to a zoo before because my home doesn't have one." She smiled. "I'm Andorra." She blinked, frowning. That wasn't what she meant to say..."Er, I mean, I'm from Andorra."
She ignored the increasing pace of her heart, her mind not yet letting go of what she said. I'm Andorra. For some reason that sentence felt correct, even though she knew that was impossible. She shook her head, then smiled again. Let's concentrate on having fun, shall we?
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Post by Australia on Jul 11, 2011 22:13:42 GMT -8
"Andorra huh?" Only briefly did he notice her odd slip up, but he didn't say much. Maybe it was just some weird quirk. After all he'd definitely heard one or two crew members start out saying their names were the countries they were from. James had probably done it on occasion. It just seemed like some weird national pride, quirk... Thing.
Thinking about it too long also made James's head hurt, so he opted to just go with it. "I... Don't think I know where that is actually." He blinked scratching his head. "Nope... Don't have a clue where that is. What's it like?"
Slipping his hands into his pockets he continued walking forward grinning all the while. Now where should they go first? He could introduce her to some of the crocodiles, or show her the birds. Did the zoo still house kangaroos? Or that giant tortoise? Ah! This was going to be an adventure! "Any particular animal you wanna see first Ace?" [/color]
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Post by Andorra on Jul 27, 2011 16:08:07 GMT -8
If it was possible to see an aura, the moment James asked what Andorra was like, Anaïs' aura doubled in size and began to glow. Her face absolutely shone, and it radiated not only strength, but a remarkable pride.
"Andorra is..." she said, a smile growing across her cheeks, "...Andorra is a very small nation. But where she lacks in size she makes up in heart." She wasn't sure why she used a pronoun to describe her home, but for whatever reason she had a feeling it was right. "I have no doubt in my mind that everyone who lives there are happy."
She skipped happily beside him. "Hmmm~ I'm not sure! I love lot's of animals! Whichever ones you want to see first~" She looked back at the squirrel monkeys. "I got to see the animal I'm apparently like, so I don't have a preference!"
[WAGH SORRY THIS IS SO LATE DX and so short OTL]
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Post by Australia on Aug 11, 2011 16:40:48 GMT -8
He listened to her speak about Andorra, grinning all the while. While he couldn’t read aura’s, he could see the pride that she held for her homeland, and the way she lit up while talking about it. Humming to himself he jumped onto one of the benches that sat in a line and, after taking a brief moment to balance, began walking along them. ”Sounds like a beautiful place. I’ll have to try convincing the captain to take us there one of these days!” As a normal visit opposed to a pirate visit that is.
Laughing at her comment about the spider monkeys he nodded, hopping off the bench he was on and standing at one of the directory signs. For a moment or so he stood, hands in his pockets, gazing at the sign as if it was the most important decision ever. He could show her the marsupial house, or maybe the arachnids? Ah… But something told him Ace wouldn’t be fond of spiders…
Marsupials it was then! ”C’mon Ace! This way!”[/color]
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Post by Andorra on Aug 30, 2011 15:11:09 GMT -8
She blinked. "Your captain?" Was James possibly a pirate like herself? Well, normally she'd believe that he wasn't the type, but she has learned better since then. The pirating world was certainly broader than she once thought.
She smiled. "I'm sure my fellow country men would love the visit! You would have to dock in Spain though, Andorra doesn't have a port."
She blinked at that, her mind telling her she just made a pun. A pun of what, exactly? She shrugged it off.
Also, it wasn't like Andorra didn't want a port [haha]! She just wasn't anywhere near open water, so it isn't her fault!
Again, Anaïs shrugged off these thoughts. They made no sense to her.
She followed James to the sign. There were many directions they could go, and many decisions of what animal to see first. She stared at the arachnid option, and shivered. She was terribly afraid of spiders. She was much more of a four legged lover, like sheep! She loved sheep! But spiders...they were just terrifying, and they did it so naturally. Their long creepy legs and numerous eyes...nothing should have that many eyes. She almost beamed when he went the other direction. Thank god.
She skipped after him. "Alright! Show the way~"
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Post by Australia on Sept 4, 2011 15:16:42 GMT -8
"Mmhmm, 'm apart of the Grim." There was no hesitation in his voice as he announced the fact that he was apart of a pirate ship. After all, why should he hide it? There was no law enforcement people around. Or anyone that could possibly hear him and start something... Though, belatedly he realized announcing that after stating he wanted to visit her homeland with his pirate crew might send mixed messages. Oh well if she got concerned he could clarify.
"No port huh? So it's like... Inland?" He looked at her curiously, not being able to help himself with his question. He really wanted to hear more about Andorra. Tilting his head to one side he frowned in a thoughtful manner. "Aaaah, I'm really gonna have to twist the captains arm if he hears he's gonna have to dock in Spain..."
Not that James ever understood the Brit's annoyance towards the country. He would always mutter darkly if they had to make port there, even if it was brief. Oh well, in all honesty the Australian never really tried to understand his oddball of a captain.
Grinning outside the marsupial enclosure he glanced at her, hands behind his head. "Kinda wish I brought Bruce with me. He'd be right at home here!"
Oh well, it was the koala's loss for choosing to ditch him. Stepping into the house James could barely contain his excitement really, scanning the different animals around. Everything practically seemed forgotten to him as he made a beeline for the kangaroos. It took everything in his power not to just jump into the enclosure. "Crikey they all got big!" [/color]
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Post by Andorra on Sept 10, 2011 19:38:41 GMT -8
Her eyebrows raised in surprise when he told her he was from the Grim. "The Grim? Really?" She had heard about the Grim; as any Sky pirate would know about the Sea pirates. But the problem was...Sky pirates and Sea pirates were supposedly enemies. Or, they were expected to be. She was pretty sure her captain conformed to these expectations, so she was in the company of who is supposed to be her enemy.
She stared at his big grinning face.
How on earth is that supposed to be my enemy?
"Uhm," she said quietly. "I'm a pirate too. Of The Madre Maria." She waited for his response. If he didn't want anything to do with a Sky pirate, then it was up to him. She would be sad to lose the chance of being a friend of his, but she couldn't control how he felt.
Thankfully, James wasn't the type to hold true to what was expected of him.
Immediately relieved that he didn't mind who she was, she grinned at him warmly. "Yes, it is inland. She lies right in between France and Spain. We are a mountainous people." She giggled at what he said next. "Your captain doesn't like Spain? I can't imagine why! Spain is a wonderful place!"
Oh, if only she knew exactly who his captain was.
She followed him happily to the marsupials. She blinked. "Bruce?" She followed him further inside, her eyes growing wide in excitement at all the animals. "Wahhh! So many cute animals!" Surprised that he suddenly ran off, she walked briskly to where he went. "You know the animals here?"
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Post by Australia on Sept 11, 2011 17:13:23 GMT -8
He nodded when she repeated the name of his ship. There were two ways this could go really, she could freak out about him being a pirate and look for the closet law enforcement. Or she could be completely fine with it, at least relatively.
The last thing he anticipated though was her to state that she was a pirate. James blinked, staring at her for a long moment. ”You’re pullin’ my leg, arent’cha?” There was no way such a sweet faced girl could be a pirate. No way! Though, then again he remembered Lily – another sweet faced girl who’d gone missing because of his stupid idea to follow the Captain. The memory made him cringe inwardly. Yeah that hadn’t been one of his shining moments…
When it was clear that she was not pulling his leg, James stared again, this time registering the name of her ship. That was a sky ship wasn’t it? He’d definitely heard of it before… Oh right! That was the ship that had caught the Captain a long time ago, back when he was still a new member of the crew. There was something else though. Scratching his cheek he tried to remember, before snapping his fingers. ”Right! That bloke that hangs around the Grim’s from the Madre Maria!” Given the startled look he received (either from his sudden shout or the idea that one of her crew mate hung around the Grim) he had a feeling that he probably shouldn’t have said that. ”Uh I mean… Ye-Yeah! The captain doesn’t like Spain all that much. Could never figure out why.”
A nervous laugh escaped him and he quickly tried to change the subject and was forever grateful that she had questioned both who Bruce was and his apparent knowledge of the animals. Leaning against the railings he nodded in response to her question, reaching his hand into the habitat to pet one of the kangaroos. ”Bruce is my best mate. But he just wanted to sit in a tree today not that I blame him. A ships no place for a koala.” Laughing he scratched the top of one of the kangaroos heads. ”And I know a buncha them. Use to sleep in the exhibits when I was younger… Though don’t let anyone know that. Probably wasn’t s’pose too.” [/color]
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