Chapter Text
Afro Puffs may be a generous description. Afro puffs generally have more shape and look better. If you ask Astra, "Poorly spun cotton candy" might be the better name for the style that she has been rocking the past few days in Chasm Harbor. It's been enough of a chore to keep their hair from getting matted, let alone taking any time to style it at all. It had gotten to be long enough that one puff could probably be done, but she had gotten used to needing two to contain all of her hair. Plus, the puffs sat behind her horns nicely. Her horns shielded the untrained eye from how much of a mess her hair was. A symbiotic relationship.
A fast hairstyle for someone who wants to do things and get out quickly. In Astras mind, their hair has to be out of the way or it will fall into a potion they're making and then need to be cut but they don't want to spend time styling their hair because that is time that could be spent gathering data about their elixirs. And besides, there is only so good your hair can look if there is no one around to help you part the back of your head. Better to just throw it into Puffs. Dry brush and puffs. It's worked so far, why stop now?
"Besides, it's not like I'm going anywhere fancy. And my clothes are a mess anyway, it's not my biggest concern" Astra looks in the small mirror in her room at the Inn. She's right. Her clothes are singed from spilled fire potions and stained from experiments gone wrong. She has no plans for months besides being in bars and getting people to test her elixirs to see if she can make sense of their randomness. She can sell cheaper healing potions to those that need them, and use that money to pay others to take potions that may be healing... theoretically. Just for a while. Just until she's been gone long enough to have the journey she has ventured on to be called an adventure. Surely that will be before the year and a half mark that she told everyone back home. She's holding out hpe that it is. She misses home. She needs to write to her sister. She keeps saying that she will, but can't force herself to pick up the pen anymore than she can force herself to put her hair in longer-lasting braids
The elixir for the day is ready.They check that they don't look too out of sorts before leaving. A quick glint of white light on the ceiling and a clever thought. They'll try a new tavern tonight. They've been going to the other one too long and had heard of one somewhere else in town. Maybe there's someone new there who will test their elixirs. With a new plan they leave their room at the inn. The streets are quiet at this hour, outside of the occasional person making a fool of themselves. Astra is sure that the salty air from the sea nearby does not make their hair easier to style. Maybe the unruly nature of the puffs is easily explained away by that. The salty air that gives some waves gives them trouble. Yeah. That makes sense.
Astra is grateful for the change in scenery, even if the scenery is not one that she would Ever seek out normally. The tavern here is louder than the other one. People making bets in one corner and shrouded deals in another. Astra does not stand out in looks, at least no one lets on that she does.
First things first Astra plans You've been in this situation before. There's always someone who needs healing. You can heal. Not well, but you can. Find the person who needs healing. That person knows other people who need healing. That person is usually at the bar, thinking alcohol will heal them
A half-elven woman sits at the bar, ordering mead that she must think will help. She looks like she's seen a fight, but is drinking alone right now. A perfect chance to talk. No deals will be interrupted and talking to one person is less of a performance than talking to a group. And Astra has more in common with women. And women admit that they need healing more readily than men. Usually. Sometimes. Okay not really but this half elven woman just so happens to also be quite dashing in Astras opinion, and Astra has made a habit of talking to people that they find dashing. Astra ensures that they enter this person's field of vision before saying anything (Proven to be the best way to approach people in a loud, seedy bar if you do not want to be punched. Tested by the scientific method)
A small wave to get the woman to look at her "Hey there. Looks like you got into quite the tussle" Did you start it? How's the other guy lookin'?
"Ah. Yeah. I guess it does" As if she didn't notice
Well. She didn't tell me to leave. Guess I'll push my luck "If you're interested. I might have something that can help. I'm an alchemist and I have these elixirs that sometimes heal, but never hurt. It's never a bad effect, it's just sometimes. Um. Not, uh, healing. I'd figure out myself what it is but I wouldn't know if it's healing or not"
Astra winces. They've given this pitch plenty of times. To plenty of people. Something about giving it to this person though. Made Astra forget every previous attempt to get someone to drink a mystery liquid from a mystery Tiefling and give the pitch that was used exactly once before. It was only used once because it was clumsy, and got answered with Astra being punched in the gut with something along the lines of "now you can know if it's healing or not". They were starting to regret ever coming to this tavern when the Madwoman in front of them took the elixir and drank it with no further convincing. Eyes wide and hand still grasping a vial that is no longer there Astra watches some of the fresh purple across this woman's pale skin fade to a slightly more healed hue of yellow, a bright red cut become slightly duller
"I'm not sure that it did anything" She gives an answer that Astra didn't ask for
"Oh. That's alright. I'll be sure to make note of that" Astra is still recovering from the interaction as she decides to take a seat at the bar to record the effect in their journal "I'm Astra. By the way, I have more certain healing potions if you ever need them. I should be in Chasm Harbor for a few more days. Just in case you get into any more fights. Or know anyone who gets into fights. I'm not the best healer, but I'm less picky about healing than some clerics"
"Oh. You're a healer. Actually?"
"Yeah. Gotta do something to make money, and people don't like to pay to drink mystery elixirs"
"Are you out looking for people to heal in random taverns?"
Astra shrugs "Helped you, didn't it?" She closed her journal, finished writing the results of the latest elixir
The woman next to her held up her hands in surrender "Got me. I was asking because I was actually thinking that we could use a healer"
"We?" Astra had been a part of a Party before. It's nice to have friends, or at least people to watch your back. For her last birthday she was lucky enough to still be surrounded by people who cared enough to throw her a party at the tavern they were at. But they all went their separate ways about a month and a half ago "are you a part of a party that left you alone in a tavern?"
"Oh no" The woman seems to have forgotten that she had not yet introduced herself, something that she plans on fixing. With a slight tilt of her hat she says "Captain Ryanthra, pleasure to meet you"
"That's a pretty name" Where had Astra heard it before? The name sent a shiver of fear up her spine, but she couldn't figure out why. After all, Ryanthra had been kind, if somewhat strange on account of drinking a mystery elixir "So Captain Ryanthra. You left your crew to be alone in a tavern."
She laughs. It's a beautiful laugh "Yeah I guess I did. But I met a healer for it so, I say it was the right call"
"Right. Well" Astras cheeks flushed and their eyes darted back to their now closed journal "Not the best healer. And um. Well. It's also a bit rushed to be taking someone new onto a ship? You should at least give your crew a warning first" Every word only serves to make Astras cheeks hotter "How about we meet back here tomorrow? Ask each other some questions? Make sure I'd do well on your ship?"
She seemed so unbothered. Pulling up her feet to rest on the lower ledge of the bar "Yeah. Same time?"
"Yeah" Astra squeaked before standing, eyes quickly moving to the floor. A glint of silver came off of Ryanthras leg, and Astra was always too curious for her own good. Looking up for a moment she saw that Ryanthras leg was a prosthetic. It looked incredible, complex and armored and certainly seemed to serve her well. But it was the key to Astra remembering where she had heard the name before. Quickly meeting Ryanthras eyes Astra gave a small smile "See you tomorrow"
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Ryanthra the severed . That's what most people call her. Astra never cared for many details on why, other than assuming that she's called that because of her leg. They had never really interacted with pirates before, but heard stories from their mother and father. About how they do nothing but take from good ships and hurt people. How they need to stop pirates from taking over the seas. Most relevant now: how there are beast ships that are captained by a few of the worst pirates, one being the barbed Kraken, captained by Ryanthra the severed. Ryanthra the half elf with piercings and dark hair and a mythril prosthetic for a left leg. Ryanthra who killed the entirety of her last crew. Most people say that it was because of an attempted mutiny, some say it's because she was evil. All of it is only somewhat relevant because Astra meets with her in a few hours.
Thoughts are going around her head a million miles a minute as she wets her hair. Surely that can't be the same person. She was so kind yesterday. Evil people aren't kind to strangers. Evil people don't drink random elixirs. Evil people don't need healers on their ships. Right?
A wide tooth comb is best for wet hair. Their mother taught them that. They dig the comb out of the bottom of their bag. Section and start from the ends of the hair. Evil people who hate their crews don't need healers. And isn't there something about being pretty inside and out? Is that backed in anything? Would Ryanthra hurt me in public if I say something to offend her?
Starting at the ends only helps so much when the hair is tangled. The comb snags often as Astra forgets the care that they need to take to make the process as painless as possible No. There is no way that I avoided offending her last night. I was too clumsy. And she didn't hurt me then. Hell, she offered me a spot on her crew
The comb gets stuck more than once in the combing process. Tangles caught over the teeth and thick strands being carelessly ripped apart. What sort of questions should I ask her? What do I want to know before I do this? I can't ask if she's evil, because she's not. Maybe why? Is that too vague?
Eventually brushing is done. Astras face is framed by hair that has been temporarily released from the puffs they lived in for months. It's getting longer. A good while past their shoulders now. It might not even hold a puff shape once it's tied up again now that it's brushed. Coils and ripples and waves now more visible than ever in the sea of bubblegum pink that is usually hidden behind horns. Tired eyes scanning the picture in the mirror as if you can see hair dry. It's just been so long since it's been down in the mirror. But there is oh so little time in a day. Astra has a list of questions to write down while their hair dries. No potion making while it's down. A short list is made on a scrap piece of paper. Her hair dries and is tied up once again. Curly buns behind horns once again as Astra leaves to meet up Ryanthra