Even though I didn't feel like a celebration, the crews moral needed lifting and I had reluctantly agreed to organise a night to welcome out newest crewmembers onboard the Kingston, in a hope to get to know them all a little better.

I sent messages around to everyone to attend, Chef put on a great spread, we cracked open some of the finest bottles of wine we had onboard and Johnny Finklle provided the nights entertainment.

Eveyrone was gathered and the festivities began. I had to admit it was quite satisfying seeing everyone smiling once again as the new crewmembers interacted with the old.

It was nice to have a full ship once more.

Pete arrived, a little later then the others and sat down next to me. For a moment we looked at each other before I poured him a drink. We said nothnig to each other for there was nothnig to say.

I also noticed that Mister Johns had decided not to join us. Perhaps it was for the best. People feared him now.

"A toast to new beginnings and continuing our journey!" I said rasing my glass

I raised my glass for the toast and sipped the fine wine, I think I'm going to like it here.
A new beginning, a new start everything I had ever know had been wiped clean from my mind and I was ready for anything.

Well seeing as what happened in my small town, I was sure anything could happen.
I had never believed such things could come true, such terror...the squid people.
They were all still fresh in my mind, things I had never dreampt of happened.

But now was not the time for thinking of those things, we were meant to be celebrating a new beginning, a new start to life.
I glanced over at Pete and the Captain, surely they couldn't stay mad at eachother forever, I hoped that we would not be fighting along the way and we'd all stay friends.

"I thank you once again Adrian for this great oppotunity" I smiled and nodded to him.

(I keep calling him Adrian, is that ok? or should I call him Captain?)

I wasn't exactly a new crewmember on the 'Kingston', more like a temporary crewmember until we were able to meet up with the 'Old Sailor' so I could return to my own ship and crew.

Still, whilst I was here I would work hard in the engine room and learn from my mentor Pirate Peterson. I knew he was a great engineer, and I knew that he was a good man at heart... but the things he had done... I could not shake them from my mind.

I raised my glass and toasted to us all. I was a little wary of drinking alcohol as I had a low threshold. One glass was usually enough for me to make a total fool of myself. Yet I flet it rude not to drink so I sipped it slowly.

However the Dwarf, Togan, sitting opposite me, was knocking the drinks back with no trouble at all. He stared at me sippin gmy wine with my pinky finger raised and laughed to himself.

"Do you find something amusing Mr Dwarf sir?" I asked.

"This is all very exciting," I said to everyone around the tables. I was sitting next to two other new women onboard, the nurse Scarlet, and the navigator Jemima.
"I'm witch don't you know," I said with a smile, "not a witch in training anymore! I am now fully fledged! The captain invited me to come along as a mystic. Their old mystic, Luni Mwah, went missing you see. Thats one of the reasons I'm here. I'm looking for her. Oing to try and bring her back home!"

I took a swig of wine and ate some chicken. The chef onboard was good!

"What are you two here for?" I asked them...

I stood and raised my voice, "I would just like to say - Welcome onboard the Kingston! It is good to have new crew members aboard the ship, I hope we all make you feel at home. Now this is your own home too!" I sipped my drink as the others did,
"I know that this perhaps isn't the right time for this but - Back at the port town we went through a lot. We got away lucky, Korg is a very powerful 'man' as we all know. But know this, if we can all get through an apocalypse we can get through anything together!" I raised my glass.

"Heres to the Kingston and her journey into the Unknown!"

I tilted back my head and gulped down the contents of my glass. Others around the table joined me in the toast.

I felt better, I could feel my old confident self returning. Being back in unchartered waters made me feel at home.

"Journey to the Unknown, I'll drink to that!" I said, feeling slightly drunk and then looked back to Julian.

"Yeah I did find summat amusing, your blooming little finger sticks out when you hold your glass! Hold it like a man!" I bellowed and smashed my tankard of ale on the wooden table, frothy alcohol splashed up into the air and all over. Then I carried on as if nothing happened, "Gah! You do make me laugh, hahah! Whats that puffs drink your supping anyway? You want a proper mans drink you do,"

I leap from my seat and poured another tankard of ale and passed one over to him. Well I say pass, it was more of a heavy slam. The drink spat up into his face.

"Get sum of that down yer!" I joked, stroking my thick matted beard, "That'll put hairs on ye chest, hahar!" I coughed twice and slapped him hard on the back in encouragment.

I smiled at the Dwarf, I liked him he was a joker and every crew had to have a joker.

I raised from my seat and walked over to him, "A mans drink ah?" I said with a smile, "Lets see if a woman can handle it" I grabbed the ale and swigged it.

I cocked my head to one side and smiled, "Its nothing, a mans drink ah?" I shook my head in disopointment, "Its not all that, if ya ask me I think it tastes like cat piss, not that I know what cat piss tastes like but still."

I am sure I wasn't at all what the crew thought I would be, I didn't act at all like the way I looked.
Yeah I was neat, tidy, primmed and pruned but I could still have a little fun.
I was after all a very unusual woman.

Petes mood seemed to have changed, for the better. Perhaps things could go back to normal.

However my concerns were still there. I knew the man that Pete once was... it was the same man I saw at Port Town. Captain Korg had put the spell on him, but I knew of the spell he used... it could only work on those with a weak mind or a mind that wanted to be corrupted. This worried me.

Still I tried to put it out of my mind and ate some food, watching the drinking competition that seemed to have begun...

Togan the Dwarf had given me some strong ale to drink. I took it reluctantly for Iwas not much of a drinker. Still, I didn't want to appear weak infront of these new people!

So I swigged down the pint as quickly as I posibly could.

"Well... thats not too bad," I said, "in fact I quite liked it. And it doesn't sweem two... haaf eeeffecteed meee... in... ony weey..."

My eyes suddenly crossed and I fell backwards off my chair, crashing to the ground with a BUMP!

OH DEAR!
What had I let myself in for!?
Here I was, surrounded by strangers....challenging eachother to drinking compitions and women gullibly thinking they could beat these experienced drinkers!
I decided to sit out the compitition, I had been brought up with people like this, I knew exactly how these things turned out....casulties and sickness and sore heads in the morning!
And I was not prepared to forsake my dignity nor my oppurtunity to prove myself on this ship!
So instead I observed, trying to work out each of my crew members...this was going to be tricky!

As my eyes scanned the party they became fixed on Captain Warner, a strong man, this was clear to see straight away, but soft still, his eyes looked lovingly at the crew he had grown to know so well, I felt comforted by this.

I wanted so hard to fit in here, for the first time in a long time, to belong.

Carol Feld seemed nice, a little odd, but show me a mystic that isn't!
"I've been on ships my whole life." I told her " I was born with sea legs! I never felt at home on dry land, so..." then....
BUMP... Julian at my side collapsed into a pile on the floor...
OH DEAR! (Half of me was glad I had a distraction, I have a habit of being a little too honest and I was not prepared to tell all about myself just yet)
Just as I expected, half the crew were laughing their hearts out, the other half didn't seem to notice!
"Are you ok?" I asked, trying to hold back my giggles! I got off my chair and kneeled down to Julian
"Maybe I should get you some water?"
And off I went to the kitchen....hoping terribly I wasn't going to get lost!