"Off 'ya go" Raum's former lieutenant said as he hoisted him off the bridge of their airship.
"Wait guys what are you do-AAAAAAAAAAAAA" Raum yelled. The only thing he saw besides his former airship flying perfectly in place was the golden toilet he had raided for the previous day thrown along with him.
He looked at his surroundings. Air. Air. More air. And the singular cloud he'd already fallen through, obscuring the ship he had built.
"People are really going to find me dead in nothing but my underwear." Raum thought observing his current equipment list.
No cutlass, no hat, just a simple piece of cloth hiding his decency.
He closed his eyes, he didn't want to see when he would die.
But that never came. He felt like he could have hit the ground ten times over. Even a long skinny person like himself would likely have fallen to their death at this point. He should have. He had no explanation for why he hadn't. Come to think of it, he didn't feel the air torpedoing him to his eventual resting place anymore.
"Sand?!" Raum jolted upright. Only to smack face first into something warm, round, and very soft.
He finally opened his eyes to see what had prevented him from moving.
Crimson hair spilled across his vision like blood. Then came large violet eyes sharp with curiosity, as if he were the most fascinating thing she had ever seen.
It was a girl wearing a crimson scale mail corset, with violet and blue tattoos over her exposed chest.
"Oh-I'm sorry" Raum said slightly embarrassed.
"No don't be. I've been watching you for two hours. You looked interesting so I decided to watch you. I should be apologizing for not asking permission first." The girl said, brushing hair to one side of her ear and removing fine bits of sand that had settled.
She offered a hand and helped him to his feet with surprising strength.
"Wait. Did you say two hours?" He said in confusion.
"You were already here when I arrived." She pointed at the deep silhouette imprinted in the sand. "Were you sleeping?"
"No-I..." Raum stopped himself. Saying he was thrown off an airship and living to tell the tale would likely be problematic for him. Especially since he didn't know where he was. He could have hit a floating island for all he knew. "Where are we?" He said hastily.
"On the outskirts of Capimus" she said, repeatedly opening and closing her violet eyes.
It was like she was a machine waiting for input. Closing and opening her eyes waiting to accept whatever he asked.
"Capimus..." Raum rubbed his clean shaven chin. "That doesn't sound like a sky island I know." He admitted.
"Sky.. Island? There's people that live in the sky!" she said nearly knocking him back into his marked spot on the sand.
"Wait are we on land?" Raum asked. He hadn't felt solid mass since he was born. Even then the memory was so distant it felt like he always lived his life in the air.
She nodded her head a few times. "Did you... Fall from the sky?" she left her finger on her mouth for just a few seconds too long as if she needed to really think about what she was saying.
"Before I answer, do you have any negative relationship to the Space Pirates Crew?" Raum asked
"No! I swear!" She raised both hands, cheeks flushing. "If you're from the air, then you're the first one I've ever met. I always thought they were just myths in kids' books."
"Then yes. I was thrown off an airship, and now I'm here in front of you." Raum said, hiding that he was the captain of the ship and subject to mutiny. It felt lame to say, especially since he was still in his underwear.
But the girl in front of him looked like she was starstruck, seeing a living legend walk the same sandy shore as she does.
"Will you take me there? To the sky?" She asked pressing up against him again.
"I'm not stopping at just the sky." Raum separated himself giving him ample space to flash his signature pose. Left arm thrust high, index finger pointing straight above him. "I'm stealing the Moon"
There was no sound after that. Until a sound that sounded like a small laugh escaped the girls mouth. "In that?" She said, finally showing emotions besides being a robot.
"Will you just give me some clothes already" Raum barked back.
She didn't have much in the pack she carried, but she produced a pair of shorts that looked more like a skirt, but it was better than nothing.
"You never told me your name" Raum said finally slightly more modestly dressed.
"Vaelora. I'm a-" she tried to say.
Just then, a gang of nine people appeared from the thick densely packed wilderness surrounded the beach.
"Boys we finally found her" Their leader said with a grin. A gold tooth shone through his mouth. The gang raised their weapons in cheers, yelling "We're going to be rich" and "Life will be good now"
"Hey. Vaelora was it?" Raum said stone faced in front of the gang that had gathered
"What is it?" She said quietly, quickly hiding behind him.
"Did you want to explain all this or should I just go"
"I gave you something to wear. The least you could do is show some decency and save your rescuer"
"Right" Raum said letting each letter continue longer than it should have.
"Hey guys there's a big misunderstanding here" Raum said going forward to the gang. "Look whoever you think she is, she isn't." He raised his arms slightly up to show he meant peace, the universal sign even in the air.
"You think we making a mistake eh, you freak?" One of them said trying to sound intimidating
"She's practically a Queen here!" was heard by Raum through the chaos of the gang.
He exhaled, lowering his gaze to the people in front of him. He cracked his head lightly to one side, and stretched for the first time since he fell, letting each crack escape his bones.
"If you're not going to go away, then I guess that's that."