Sitting alone in her cabin, Carley scribbled away on various paperwork strewn about her makeshift work desk. It was always paperwork she managed to get behind on when it came to duties on the Luinista. Certainly, she could get Crao to help out with it again, as she had done the last time she fell behind, but it wasn't a burden she wanted to keep placing on his shoulders. It was her responsibility, so she would get it done.

Even if that meant skipping lunch while the rest of the crew went out to eat together.

With a sigh Carley continued to toil away over the paperwork, signing where needed and correcting math and numbers elsewhere. There was lists of numbers and goods to be transported and they were all starting to blur together. Quantities and prices and costs. This was the most miserable part of her job, without a doubt.

Carley leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. A moment's rest is all she planned to take but that moment was soon interrupted by the sounds of footsteps breaching the threshold of her cabin. One eye opened as she turned her head lazily to regard her trespasser. "Nn? Bothe, ya really gotta learn-" Her words cut off at the sight of her uninvited guest. It wasn't Bothe, nor anyone she actually knew.

He was tall with broad, proud shoulders that contrasted with his thin build. His manner of dress was casual and somewhat understated, but still spoke of business. Dark eyes matched his dark hair, which silvered around the temples. Facial hair was kept well groomed, as was the rest of him. Pleasant smile seemed locked in place as he regarded the small elf. "Miss Qui'Ama, I presume?"

Her nose wrinkled at the formality. "Carley." Bright blues narrowed as she offered the curt correction. "Yer not s'posed to be down here..." The corners of her lips tugged down somewhat as the man stepped inside her cabin rather brazenly.

"Of course, Carley." He bowed his head politely, though that fact might have been lost on the fact he was rather impolitely invading space he ought not invade. "I've heard much of you and your exploits in the shipping business. You're making quite the name for yourself and the Luinista."

"Thanks?" Truth be told Carley wasn't only a little confused, but a bit unsettled as well. "If yer lookin' for someone to ship your junk we can talk about it on deck if it's so urgent ya gotta come seek me out." She pointed upwards and began to stand, though paused and dropped back into her seat when the man held his hand out to her in a 'stop' motion.

"No, it's nothing like that." He paused. "Well I do come in the name of business, but my own, rather than yours." Smiling widely, he gestured to himself. "I suppose I should have introduced myself by now - I'm Jakob Dophore. Mostly simply address me as 'Dophore', however."

Dophore? That was one thing that made sense to Carley at least. It was a name that most who worked at and around the Aerodrome knew, herself included. "You the owner of The Dophore then, I take it?" The airship was a beast, more suited to being a war machine than a cargo transporter - at least in Carley's eyes.

"That I am." Dophore nodded. "I own it, the airships at the end of the aerodrome, and Dophore Shipping." He was the man who held the monopoly on airship shipping, essentially. An important type who Carley didn't understand why he was there in her cabin, still.

"Yeah, I've heard of all that. Yer competition." She grinned somewhat cheekily for a moment. "THE competition. The hell ya want with me?"

"I'm glad you understand that much at least." Idly, his gaze roamed Carley's cabin, taking it all in. It wasn't until she snorted in annoyance that he spoke again. "It has come to my attention recently that you've been stealing a bit of business from me, Carley."

With a roll of her eyes, Carley turned her chair to face Dophore. "Seriously? Yer here to bitch at me about how you lost some customers or whatever? Look, part of business entails bein' able to hold on to your customers by making offers to them that they can't refuse. Offers that are better than what your competition is willing to give. You should know that, yeah?" She smirked. Smug. "S'not my fault you can't handle yer business."

"Mm." Dophore's response came quietly. Noncommittal. "There is more to business than that." His smile was pleasant enough, but the look in his eyes as he looked Carley over was decidedly cold. It was enough to make her shift uncomfortably. "I've heard of your practices. Sneaking in and tempting people away with favorable offers and a cute smile. Not just with my people, but those who have worked with others around here." He took a step closer to the seated elf, hovering over her. "Now, I'm not one to care about the affairs of others, but when they start to affect me in an unfavorable way? I am afraid I'm forced to care. Had it only been one or two times, I could have assumed there was no harm meant. But Carley? You're making it a habit with people whose business I don't care to lose."

Carley found it rather hard to be sympathetic to Dophore's 'plight'. She sat up somewhat straighter, feeling uneasy about him being so near and those of her crew being so... far. "Yeah? Well earn that business back! I ain't handin' it back over. I've had plenty come cryin' to me already. So if you think it's gonna work..."

"No, no. I'm not here to 'cry about it.'" Dophore chuckled. "I am simply here to make sure it doesn't happen again. After all..." He leaned in, hands resting on the handles of Carley's chair. No escape for the little elf - it hadn't gone unnoticed by her. "...I would rather not see anything unfortunate befall you."

Finding herself rather tense, Carley's eyes widened as she stared at Dophore. "Yer threatenin' me...?" It was spoken more in disbelief than anything.

"I make no threats, Carley. Only promises." He gripped the handles of her chair, making no effort to back away just yet. "There is more to business than a little girl like you might know. It's more than flashing a cute smile and batting your eyelashes. It's not a game..." His words came calm, slow. "People might get hurt. Your crew, for instance. It would be a shame if your cargo workers found themselves crippled and unable to work anymore. If your pilot found himself blinded... if your cook found himself without a family... if your engineer found himself without his fingers..." Dophore spoke bluntly, now. Carley wanted to strike him with everything in her, but something held her back. Something she didn't often feel. Fear. There was something not quite right about this man. "And it would be much harder for you to conduct your business-" He reached up, brushing cold, cold fingers across the little elf's cheek. "-without that cute face of yours, wouldn't it Carley?"

"The hell's goin' on here?"

The sound of another voice, a very familiar gruff voice, reminded Carley to breath again. Dophore stood in a fluid movement to regard the one who stood in the doorway now. The little elf shifted her gaze slightly, her brows lifting at the sight of Nort. He looked none too pleased, judging by the snarl on his face that further exposed his tusks.

"N,nothin'." Carley spoke up and stood, shifting in a way that put some space between her and Dophore. "He was just leavin'." Her gaze cut to Dophore, suddenly. "Right?"

"Indeed I was." Dophore smiled to Carley. "Remember what I said, and do have a pleasant day, Carley." He tipped his head in a bow to the little elf before turning to leave, not bothering to regard the half-orc again as he stepped past him.

Nort's lone eye followed Dophore until he was out of sight. Thumbing over his shoulder, he stepped in Carley's cabin. "What was that about?" He still seemed none too happy. While he hadn't caught wind of the conversation, he had seen how the man hovered so near the little elf. The way he touched her. It was threatening.

Carley shook her head. "Nothin', like I said..." It wasn't something she wanted to involve anyone else in. There wasn't a need to anyways, if she complied... Surely it would mean a loss of quite a bit of profit, but that didn't seem terribly important to her. Catching sight of rare concern on Nort's face, she averted her gaze. "I'm serious, don't worry about it. And don't ya dare mention it to anyone else. Especially Cy. Please?"

Her words only disgruntled Nort further. It had to have been something for her to want to keep it from Cy. He grunted, though whether it was in the affirmative or negative... "Came to get ya. Orson says to quit workin' and come eat." Curt words.

"'k." Carley spoke quietly, then took a breath. "I'll meet ya on deck in a minute then?" With another grunt, Nort turned to depart from her cabin. When he was out of sight, she sank back down into her chair.

This was a fine mess.

The hour was late. Ridiculously late. Really the little elf should have already been in bed. But Carley was in the kitchen, dressed in her pajamas, washing dishes. It was menial busy work that gave her time to think over things. The things John had told her. It had felt good to tell someone about her troubles with Dophore, but now she realized there was no getting around telling Cy and the rest of the crew. The crew would be easy. Cy? Not so much. Her last dish washed, she dried at her hands with a rag, bright blues faraway as they seemingly watched nothing.

Cy had tried to sleep. A fit of insomnia kept the tall elf from sleeping for long. It had been a hour, maybe two, at most. When he realized Carley wasn't in bed, he wandered out of his room. He glanced at the bathroom when he passed it. The door was wide open so he continued on. When he arrived in the living room, there was also no Carley. Cy ran his right hand through his disheveled hair. He didn't think she would have gone anywhere. Finally, he went into the kitchen and spotted the little elf. "Hey."

Barely registering Cy's voice, she turned to face him. "Hey." With a faint smile, she set the rag aside on the counter. "Couldn't sleep?" Asked the one in the kitchen washing dishes.

Cy shook his head. One eye shut momentarily. Awaking prematurely meant his eyes stung a bit. The expression didn't last. "Guess you couldn't either, yeah?"

Carley shook her head. "No. I couldn't." She furrowed her brows a little, rather than divulge more information. Was now really a good time to tell him? Would there even be a good time? Stalling likely wasn't helping a thing...

"You okay?" He had to ask. He wasn't sure exactly what time it was, but given when he had gone to lie down, Cy knew it had to be really late. His dark brown eyes gave the little elf a once over. Other times it may have been for less than chaste reasons, but this particular time was out of concern.

"We need to talk." It was blurted out. The four words no one usually liked to hear. She gestured vaguely as she stepped past Cy and out of the kitchen, towards the living room. There, she took a seat on the couch.

Cy was no exception. Those were words he really didn't like to hear. A hint of a frown touched Cy's lips. He turned around after Carley had passed and followed. He sat down on the couch near the little elf and shifted so he could face her. "Okay. About what?"

Carley fidgeted somewhat before turning to face Cy. Hands in her lap, they toyed with the hem of her shirt. "You've heard of Dophore Shippin', right?" Bright blues lifted in an effort to meet Cy's gaze.

"Yeah." Really it was hard not to hear about the company even though Cy wasn't really well versed in the business side of transporting goods. "Take most of the jobs in the aerodrome right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, somethin' like that. They got the monopoly on the business there." She paused and took a breath. "You remember the other day when you and the rest of the guys went to eat lunch and I stayed behind to catch up on paperwork?"

Cy was watching the little elf closely. His posture was mostly relaxed. Her pause made his eyebrows lift slightly, but he nodded. He had to wonder if what she was about to say had something to do with what Nort had told him. He'd been meaning to ask her about that.

Carley forced her hands to stop fidgeting as she regarded the tall elf. "CyCy..." She trailed off into a sigh. "You have to promise me somethin'. And you have to mean it. When I tell you this, ya can't go after anyone, fist first. And I'm serious. This isn't like when ya told me you wouldn't hit Glenn, then you went and hit Glenn." She rolled her eyes then shook her head. "You have to mean this promise, and ya have to know if you break it, you'll be destroying every bit of faith and trust I got in you."

Carley had never said anything like that to him before. His brow furrowed and he frowned. Her words were not a good sign at all. He was quiet for a long moment. Cy wondered if it was something so bad if he was capable of keeping a promise like that. "You mean that?" His dark eyes sought out her bright blues when he asked the question.

She nodded. She had meant it. This wasn't something where he ought to be charging in alone, expecting a fist to solve the problem.

Cy glanced away from Carley after the nod. "Don't really want to make a promise that I don't know if I can keep or not, Carley. 'Specially after you said something like that."

Carley frowned. "All I'm askin' for is for you to exercise a little self control! This isn't somethin' that just affects me and you..." She turned away from Cy. "I need to be able to tell you things without worryin' about yer reaction, CyCy..."

His eyes focused on the floor for a moment. Cy was considering everything Carley said. This couldn't be a run of the mill problem. Not if it didn't involve just the two of them. He frowned to himself. She did have a point. "Amin vesta, Carley."

Her eyes slid back to Cy, almost reluctantly. "Diola lle." Quietly. She seemed to calm down a little. Could she really take his word for it though? She didn't really have a choice. And if she couldn't trust Cy, of all people, who the hell could she trust? Carley reached to take one of Cy's hands.

Cy didn't go to bed with Carley that night. Worries kept him awake. He stared at nothing in particular as he sat on the couch in the apartment he was sharing with the little elf. His mind could think of nothing besides possible consequences to the situation. He felt a little better than Carley had promised not to go anywhere alone, but he had a bad feeling. A really bad feeling, one deep in the pit of his stomach. Nothing good was going to come immediately. Cy was often afraid, but he did a good job of not letting others see it. However at that moment it was written all over his face. He was worried about Carley most of all, but he didn't want to see any of the others hurt either. They were like a family. An odd, sometimes chaotic family, but one nonetheless. He hated feeling cornered and that was exactly how he felt.

He hadn't planned to sleep at all, but when he adjusted to lie down on the couch it simply became a matter of time. Despite all of the thoughts, his body wanted to rest. Thoughts of this Dophore, Carley, and all the others slowly slipped away as did Cy's consciousness. He breathed quietly in his sleep.

Suddenly, Cy found himself standing on the deck of the Luinista. His visual memory of places, people, and objects was very vivid and the scene before him was no exception. He saw no one on the deck. He wondered where they all had gone. Cy walked to the helm and glanced inside. There was no Orson nor Carley. A hand lifted and he scratched his head. Orson should have been in there at least. The Luinista was flying high in sky afterall. Cy was abruptly aware of the cold air, something he hadn't noticed before. A shiver ran through his body.

He explored other areas of the airship. The kitchen, the engine room, the cabins, none of them had anyone in them. "The hell's going on?" Cy spoke to himself when he arrived back on the deck. It was then that a faceless figure, clad in black, appeared before him. Cy flinched. Where had this person come from? The laugh that echoed from the figure sounded masculine. The wind blew through the man's hair. Strangely, Cy couldn't place the color as any he'd seen before. He stared at the man. Somehow, he knew this was Dophore. "Bastard." Cy spoke. It was barely more than a whisper.

Cy had promised Carley. He found himself wanting to break that promise with Dophore standing before him. The air around Cy suddenly felt even colder than before. He felt goosebumps tingling all over his body. The man held out a gloved hand toward Cy, palm upward. When Cy looked at Dophore's palm he could see something. It was small. He stepped closer.

"I have them all. They are mine. There is nothing you can do." Dophore spoke to Cy. The tall elf could make out a wicked smile upon Dophore's face, but other details remained obscured. In his palm, he held miniaturized versions of those Cy knew aboard the Luinista. They were all there. Carley, Orson, Crao, Grayson, Bothe, Nort... all in some sort of silent agony. He could see them screaming, but he could hear no voices.

"Let them go." Cy spoke in a low, dangerous tone to Dophore whose smile grew wider. He simply stood there and watched the elf. "I said let them go!" Cy's left hand cocked back. His hand shot out just as hard as he could manage. The blow connected solidly with Dophore's blurred face, but he didn't even move. Not even a flinch. The smile remained on his face.

"No." Dophore said the word simply. Cy suddenly went into the air a few feet. With a gesture downward from Dophore, the elf slammed into the deck of the airship. The pain felt real. Cy gasped for air. It had knocked the wind right out of him. Soon, he was in the air again. He couldn't move. He could hardly breathe. "Come." His body floated along as Dophore walked. They went to the helm. When Dophore opened the door, Cy could see something. No, it was someone. Orson. The gnome's goggles were cracked, and he was slumped against the wall behind the controls of the Luinista. Red decorated the wall. Blood. It was obvious Orson was dead. "Asshole!" Cy shouted at Dophore. He struggled to break free of his invisible bonds.

They journeyed around the airship. Cy saw similar scenes in every room Dophore took him to. Crao motionless on the floor of the kitchen. Bothe crushed beneath a large box in the cargo hold. Nort in an unceremonious heap near the Luinista's engine. Grayson, eyes wide open and slumped against the door of one of the Towers. Cy wasn't sure how he could see through it.

"It's far too late, you see. I control it all, the fates of everyone aboard this vessel." They returned to the deck. Rain began to fall. It wasn't normal rain, but in fact freezing rain. It pelted Cy's face as he floated behind Dophore. Cy was colder than ever before. His clothes began to get wet. The chill sank deep into his bones.

A figure appeared on the deck, small in stature. He could make out one feature in particular, the person's blond hair. When their head lifted, Cy recognized Carley. She was held by the arms by two large men. He couldn't see their faces, much like he couldn't see Dophore's. She was bruised, beaten, and bloody. "Even hers. There is nothing anyone can do. Especially you."

Cy struggled as hard as he could, but nothing freed him to move. Carley's bright blue eyes locked on Cy as one of the large men drew a gun from a holster at his hip. He could see Carley's fear when she looked away and saw the weapon. She called to Cy. "CyCy!! Help me, please!" The last word was spoken in desperation. The man pointed the gun at Carley as Dophore laughed. Cy was helpless. He could do nothing but watch as a finger touched the trigger.

Cy shot up off of the couch and screamed the little elf's name. "Carley!" Tears had formed in his dark brown eyes, but they hadn't fallen. He realized where he was. In the apartment. He was covered in sweat. It had been a nightmare. One Cy wouldn't soon forget.