Ghede was still grinning as the woman drifted nearer, her gaze on his cigarette. What did he have to lose? If she wanted to kill him, or cuff him, it would be done - seeing her in person only made the family stories all the more real. One wasn't supposed to meet their heroes, lest they be worse than imagined, but legends? They only became more, if she was any indication at least. Ghede offered it, open palm extended in her direction, but his focus was suddenly, abruptly, elsewhere. His eyes had a dreamy quality to them now, as if he were listening to something in his head or far away, and he let out a soft "hmm" of consideration.

Nettie burst from the brush seconds later; her hair, normally pulled back into a soft puff at the nape of her neck, had come partially free and stood at odd angles around her soft face. Her eyes were wide with terror, red-rimmed and weepy, and the hem of her dress was torn where she'd barrelled through the forest without thought. Nettie was nothing if not meticulous in her appearance, every hair in place and her outfit spotless, but it wasn't her dishevelment that had Ghede's heartbeat kicking up: it was the unmistakable stench of fire clinging to her.

"You're supposed to be home," he told his sister calmly. Nettie had hardly noticed the other woman, rushing past her to cling to Ghede. Wet warmth spilled down his front, making his nostrils flare. Blood? Cigarette forgotten (he hadn't noticed if Croe had accepted it or not), he grasped her by the shoulders and pulled her back from him. "Have you been injur-"

"Drakon... daddy..." Nettie blurted out between desperate gasps. "Burning!"

Ghede flicked a brow, but inside he was swearing. Partially because the woman now knew where they were from, and his name, and partially because of what that meant. Fire on a pirate ship, on any ship, was deadly, but the Drakon was uniquely suited to this sort of problem; Dracerdis always "recruited" mages for his roster, especially those with water magics, for just such a circumstance. If the fire wasn't instantly suppressed, then...

"Slow down," Ghede said, a touch more sharply than his previous slow and steady tone. His shuttered gaze shifted to Croe, but before he could say or do anything Nettie screamed and grabbed for her shoulder. Ghede steadied her as the flare of pain not her own began to fade.

"Ana, she's... they're... Ghede, it's burning. Our home is burning!"

Ghede gave her shoulder a firm but gentle shake. Nettie fell silent for a moment, devolving into weak hiccups. When she finally spoke again her words were clearer but no less confusing.

"B-bounty hunter, came to the ship, d-demi hunter."

Ghede frowned at her, a subtle drooping at the corner of his lips. They weren't demigods, at least not that he knew. According to their father, their mother was a mad lion woman, and that sounded like none of the gods Ghede was familiar with from his father's stories.

"S-she said, we share the blood, of the son of T-Tsi," Nettie was swaying concerningly on her feet now.

"Not possible," Ghede scoffed.

Nettie didn't seem to hear him, "She said, we have to bring him to her, or they'll... and then... daddy..." Nettie pressed a hand to her mouth as if she might be sick. Ghede knew all too well what she wasn't saying. Dracerdis was a pirate, and plenty a man or woman had been "persuaded" into service on his ship, but he didn't harm children and he didn't take kindly to threats. Fear shivered down his spine, his face looking vaguely concerned.

Nettie fainted; Ghede caught her and lowered her to the ground. He looked up at Croe again now, unsure what to do. There was an unknown enemy out there, burning his home to the ground, but there was also the threat here, and now his sister lay out cold at his feet.

The choice was made for him sooner than he'd have liked. A strange creature barrelled into the clearing, a mask-wearing woman atop it. The creature scented the air and bayed.

"Tsk, another demi relative and not a demigod in sight. How's a woman to make her money?" the woman scoffed through her mask. Dark magic gathered at her hands, and she laughed cruelly. "Ah well, now that we've got your scent I'm sure it's only a matter of time until we find the ones you're hiding. I'll just take care of you now, unless you'd care to tell me?"

Ghede licked his lips. Under normal circumstances, on his own, he'd have been in serious trouble. Of course, his fate - and his unconscious sister's - would depend heavily on if the woman before him bothered to take an interest in what was happening.

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