Adventure! Part One [Castle, Elrick]

[Castle]

Castle scowled when the girl called Emi a bitch, but the conversation moved right along. That was probably for the best. He wasn't one to hit girls, but the way things had been going lately...

He raised an eyebrow when the guy started talking like he knew them. However, around the same time Emi did, Castle finally recognized the face. It was scarred now, but he definitely remembered. This was the guy that Lillian was hanging out with before. The annoying guy.

And for some reason, Emi wanted to take him with them. Castle shot a skeptical glance at her, but then he shrugged and decided to play it cool.

"Whatever. It's... Eric, right?" he guessed, addressing the guy now. "Doesn't matter to me if you come or not. Then again, we don't even know what's on the map or where it's supposed to lead. How about opening it up, Emi?"

Maybe it would be a trail through some terrible place, or some boring one, and the guy wouldn't want to come with them anyway.

[Lagunamov]

At least the drink was good.

"Close," he answered, giving some death glares out of the corner of his eye to the girl that had thrown out that insult just then. "It's Elrick. And, honestly, I wasn't even remotely interested at first, but right now, I'll take you up in any offer," Elrick told the pair, annoyed by his companions and not hiding the fact that he was trying to ditch them. He turned around to them, addressing the girl that had remained silent throughout the entire exchange, ignoring the other one. "I had a wonderful time, but your potty mouth of a friend turned me off entirely."

She didn't bat an eye at this, almost as if she had been expecting this reaction ever since her friend opened her mouth. The other one, on the other had, had to be dragged away by her friend while she covered her mouth. "Mental note: never pick up dumb ones ever again."

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Treasure maps are for babies.
--

Emi nodded and opened the map. After staring at it for a minute, she sighed and wilted. "I don't know how to read this thing. Says something about 'Agrabah'...[/color]"

She looked up from the map and glanced at Castle, and then to Elrick. Then, she offered the map to either one of them. "What do you guys make of it? I don't see how this is worth much of anything unless... unless it's like a treasure map or something.[/color]"

She laughed a little because that was pretty much the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard, but then she stopped laughing and raised and eyebrow. "Actually, that's not a bad idea,[/color]" she said, impressed with herself. "What do you guys think?[/color]"

[Castle]

Castle took the map and glanced over it.

"Well, judging from the giant X right here at the end of the dotted line, I'd say it's probably a treasure map, yeah," he said, setting the map on the table and pointing at the X.

The illustrated landmarks on the paper looked like stuff from a desert. Castle had never been to a desert, obviously, but he had some books about them back home. Come to think of it, the word "Agrabah" might have been mentioned in one of them. Or all of them. He hadn't read those books in a while.

Meanwhile, the guy who initiated the contest snuck over to the table, picked up his cat, smiled at everyone, and then backed away to put it back in the cage. The surly feline clawed and bit at his arms the whole way there.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Bonk.
--

Emi's face burned and she snatched the map away, holding it against her chest. Then, she rolled it into a tube and hit Castle on the top of the head with it. Of course it was a treasure map. Of course. She knew that. "Anything else to say, you little smartass?[/color]" she growled, reopening the map and looking at it. He was right. How had she not seen it before?

[Lagunamov]

Oh goody, sand again...

Elrick sighed almost immediately as soon as the name Agrabah was mentioned. He hadn't been there in ages, but making a return wasn't something he had in mind any time close. The heat from the sun, couple with the sand made it unbearable for him. True, most of that was because of how much metal he carried around, being the only person in the universe that bothered to wear any semblance of armor, apparently.

"I've been to Agrabah, it is not pleasant," he commented, looking at the map. It certainly looked like some sort of treasure map, and while he hated sand and heat, a treasure hunt could possibly keep him occupied for a while. Besides, if wherever it was required lots of climbing and hanging from ledges, he was probably the most suited out of the three to deal with that.

"Place is a dump, there's sand everywhere, and it's hot like hell during the day," he started talking, scratching his right cheek, particularly around the scar. It kept getting itchy. "If that's a treasure map, I wouldn't be surprised if it lead to some ruins beneath the sands outside of the city walls or something. Sandstorms must reshape the layout of the land frequently."

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Girl, you are going to die.
--

"The way you're talking makes it sound like a desert,[/color]" Emi said, with another little nervous laugh. She glanced down at the map. "But a desert means no water. I'm in. This is just the vacation we needed, I think, Castle. A little innocent adventure, promises of gold. Yeah, definitely up for this. A little sand and heat won't hurt.[/color]"

She was getting excited, and willing to wave away a little discomfort for the gold and adventure and distraction.

[Castle]

Getting hit with the map just made him snicker. It was worth it.

Elrick didn't have a very high opinion of Agrabah, but Emi still wanted to go. She mentioned their "vacation." Maybe she was right. This wasn't anything too serious, nothing with any real stakes. If they didn't like it, they could just give up and leave. Castle had his arms crossed while he considered.

"So you're saying that the landmarks on this map might not even be there anymore?" he said to Elrick, in reference to the shifting sands. Then, he smirked. "Well, that'll just make things more interesting, won't it? I say we should give it a shot. I'm in the mood for a good challenge," he finished, looking at Emi.

[Lagunamov]

Oh, yay, obstacles.

"'A little sand and heat won't hurt' my ass..." Elrick thought to himself, trying to figure how the hell that even made any sense. Well, it made sense. For someone who had never been to that burning hellhole of a world. If he hadn't been so damned bored lately, he would have turned around on his heels and left by now. But, alas, his curiosity over the matter proved more powerful than his actual common sense, making him an almost assured participant into what would probably be a hellish experience. "Times like this, I wonder if I'm a masochist."

Taking a look at the map again, he tried to figure if any of the land marks Castle mentioned seemed familiar, but not being that knowledgeable of Agrabah didn't help. "Well, I would hope at least one or two are within the town itself, even if the map leads far away from it. If not, I'd say we are already screwed," he scratched the back of his head, trying not to picture the nightmare it'd be to find any semblance of a land mark out in the desert, away from civilization.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Arrrgh.
--

"It's worth a shot either way. It's not like we have anything to lose,[/color]" Emi said, putting her hands on her hips. "Now, the only thing to figure out is when we are leaving and how we are getting there. I have a gummi ship but I'm not sure if all of us will fit...[/color]"

There was always a Corridor but she had decided days ago to stop using those. She sighed heavily. "Or maybe we could. Castle, we could just stow you under a seat or something. You know. Because you're so short and everything.[/color]" She smirked, almost apologetically.

[Castle]

Castle grinned sardonically at her.

"Smart, Ems. Real smart," he said.

He considered making a remark about treasure maps, but decided against it. Instead, he returned his attention to Elrick.

"So, you're in? Can't say I'd blame you if you aren't, what with all that horrible... sand, and all," he shrugged.

[Lagunamov]

Have I warned you that I'll be shirtless next time you see me? No? Tough luck. Or, lucky, depending on your preferences.

Elrick couldn't help but snicker at the mention of folding Castle and storing him under a seat or something. At least that's what he was picturing in his head. "Oh, I'm in," he answered. The only reason he agreed was because... fuck it, he was bored. He was willing to go back to that hellhole of a world to do something that didn't involve flying at random and hoping for something to happen.

"Don't worry, I have my own ship. You can remain above seat level," he joked. "I'll just drop by the carrier and let Lillian and Raen know I'll be away for a bit. I'll meet you guys over at Agrabah, alright?" he started walking away, giving them a small wave of his hand as he left. "Oh, and my ship's radio frequency is O-9573, if you need to get in touch!" he yelled at them before finally leaving their sights.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Yay adventure.
--

Not wanting to waste any time, Emi turned to Castle and yelled "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go get ready to go! We should probably tell your mom where we are going.[/color]"

She looked over her shoulder and started heading back towards the old house, map in hand. She was going to need a different outfit. A leather jacket and jeans just wouldn't do in the desert.

For the first time in a long time, she was actually looking forward to something.

[Castle]

Castle followed Emi back toward the house, feeling glad that Elrick had his own transportation. Not that there was any way he would've been stored under a seat, but it was still good to know that an almost total stranger wouldn't be stuck with them in a tight space. Well, almost total male stranger.

He had to smile at how enthusiastic Emi was. Maybe there was a chance for things to be somewhat normal and happy after all. He would just have to make sure that he didn't screw it up.