Leroy recoils slightly. “None of your business, huh? Sounds just like you!” He said in a teasing way “Hey, we're both pirates! Not all other pirates are my concern. Countries can handle themselves. Besides, I've got my own concerns!”
Leroy rolled his eyes with a chuckle at his brother's retort. It was true, even to him. Not every pirate was his concern. It wasn't like he was out to stop other pirates. That is unless he needed to. “Got both of us there! But Like hell I'd stand by and let some country Suffer." He said with a severe tone shifting in his voice "You two done?" Jeanne said from the Cross nest, a tad impatiently. Leaning back over the edge of the Crows Nest to get her Captain's attention. "The River's finally getting closer!"
As she spoke, the rest of the Crew could see from the deck that a wide open channel was quickly coming into view over the horizon. The Opening of the Nile River that King Ramze had directed for the Crew to take passage through was wide, hundreds of meters across just from the mouth; it got larger and larger as the Horizons Palm approached.
Leroy stopped his conversation and ran up to the Bow and leaned over, a look of wonder in his eyes as the Enormous river came closer "Man! It's Huge!" The Rest of the Crew took quick action; Kirk at the whip staff, and Noir, Kale, and Dezzi released some of the sails to slow their approach and coordinate the Ship's way into the Nile.
Azar had walked up next to his brother and tapped him with his elbow. As he gestured, Leroy looked behind him with a smirk to see the Crew working together. He couldn't help but smile pridefully back at his brother. Moments later, the Caravel was in the Nile River, Sails at half-mast to give them some good speed and stay in control as they sailed diagonally through the River to get closer to the opposite bank and ride close to it.
The Journey through the River Nile felt uneventful. The Occasional giant crab and Giant Freshwater Crocodiles swam next to the Palm. "Those Crocodiles used to be seen as figures of good fortune and a bountiful season centuries ago. There was actually some validity to the Myths Because More Crocs were Born during Seasons with Higher Rainfall, Allowing for More of the Prey in the River to feed the Newborns!" She spoke enthusiastically
"This River is actually Fresh Water. At the mouth of the River, the Salt of the Ocean doesn't mix with the River's Freshwater. Meaning that Fish from the Ocean don't travel upstream! And the Crocs don't leave. Though they Do bask in the Sun at the coast, where they also lay their eggs."
Kiki seemed to be Incredibly Knowledgeable about her Home country. Something that a particular Crewmate swooned over. Dezzi, Jeanne, and Leroy couldn't get enough of hearing about the quirks of the Country. Eventually, the uneventful yet educational Journey ended as the Town of Arid came into view.
It looked distinct from Serket, with Many more Tall buildings lining the town, Made of the familiar sandstone and colorful accents of baked glazed clay. Notably, a large water wheel spun from the River's force, used for milling. Part of the River also diverts from the main body and flows through the town, where citizens would collect fresh water.
"Look at that!" Leroy chirped as the Ship pulled into the Small dock. The Captain didn't waste a moment, Because right as the Anchor Dropped, He hopped off the Ship and ran into town! Much to the Chagrin of his Brother "Leroy!"
Kále was working out as the ship pulled into the dock. Comically large weights were sat upon his shoulders as he squatted up and down. He didn't have much interest in hearing about Kiki's insight into the country, all he was interested in was maybe killing one of those big crocodiles so that the crew could eat it. They looked edible enough to him.
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Kále was listening in to Azar and Leroy's conversations, he enjoyed hearing the stories about Leroy when he was young. It was nice to hear about his Captain. He had wondered about what Leroy was like as a child, seeing as he was chaotic enough as a teenager.
Kale dropped his weights after the ship came to a halt, he walked over to the railing where Azar was standing. He pulled his Thobe back over himself, as he'd taken it off to work out. He stood next to him and watched as Leroy charged off into the town. "You grew up with him, right? Has he always been like that?" *Usually, Kále wouldn't ask about someone's past, but he was interested in Leroy's past more than he was in anyone else's.
Noir focused less on the brothers and the rest of the crewmates as he tended to Kiki, making sure she was living the absolute life of luxury while with them. He may or may not have been the one swooning, shocker, as she info dumped on the animals and country. Clasping his hands together, he excitedly came up beside her.
“Thats amazing, Kiki-chan!! You’re so smart and know so much about this place!! It’s truly amazing! Please tell me more! Maybe about the dishes of this country! Or some customs and cultures!! What kind of fish are in these waters, maybe!” He was fully head over heels for the pretty lady, especially since she was very smart!
“Hey, Princess?” Kirk said as he walked away from his station of the whipstaff. “Feel free to just hit him over the head whenever you’d like, alright? He’ll leave you alone for a while.” He came up to the edge of the ship, looking down as Leroy sped off, sighing with a shake of his head before hopping down after him.
"Okay!" Said Kiki gleefully as she smacked Noir over the head with her open palm. Causing the cook to reel on the floor comically. Now with Azar and Kále, His captain's brother looked surprised to hear one of his crew ask such a question. Especially the one that seemed to be the least interested in everything around them. "Curious about my Baby Brother huh?" He Said, giving a playful smile.
Azar's tone began to shift, morphing into a more nostalgic one. A tone of Remembrance for the past "Yeah, Leroy and I Grew up together, we were raised by Mamtha. Same with our Sister Sara."
"He was constantly full of energy, brimming with... Freedom." Azar honestly struggled to find the right words to describe his brother "Seemed so, Unchained by anything! This caused him to be quite a troublemaker. But then again we all were, Technically Criminals even back then."
"But Leroy, he was different. He always seemed to care about certain things. It was one of the reasons why he was so loud, just wanting what he felt was right. And yet deep down within him, for a while there." He thought Back to some of the earliest memories he had of Leroy. Putting his hands on his hips as he watched his brother run around the town.
There was this like- sadness... Who knows why. Maybe because..." He tried to search for an answer. And either found nothing or didn't speak about what he found before waving it off nonchalantly "Who knows. But there'd be these moments where he'd be Riddled with like- Anxiety. Yeah we were kids, and Leroy was definitely a Crybaby, but it was different."