Carliah's displeasure with Natsumi's decision to sleep outside was quite obvious, even if she did not vocally express her misgivings. Being the outsider that she was, Natsumi had long preferred nature to human company, but, even so, she could understand where the corsair was coming from. Carliah existed in a world where women had to look out for each other, lest men take advantage of them. Her behavior on the ship – especially her purposeful eroticism – was evidence enough of that truth. She was good at what she did because of those experiences, even if they also made her a prisoner of her own machinations.
Yet Natsumi, no matter how accommodating she was trying to be in order to ensure a smooth operation, could never be like Carliah. The two women were from separate worlds altogether, bound up in their own realities. Where the corsair could easily use her curvaceous figure to seduce men into doing what she wanted, the druid could only raise a brow in muffled discontent. She watched the lewd scene in silence, waiting for it to be over and already mentally swearing that she would never lower herself to such a level just to ensure a smooth trip.
Thankfully, her disgust was soon to pass. The situation quieted substantially once a small portion of the crew started walking back down the gangplank. In tandem with their departure, Natsumi was able to drop her pensive expression, and to listen to her partner in crime once the focus of conversation was turned back.
"That nervous, huh," the druid asked once she heard Carliah's hushed – yet valid – complaints? She gave a grin in response, having already known the answer before it was given. "I suppose I could sleep in the same quarters if it will make you feel safer, at least for now."
Indeed, while Natsumi still wasn't fond of the idea of sleeping in the captain's cabin - or anywhere on the ship, for that matter - , she deemed Carliah's peace of mind to be worth more than a small piece of her pride. That said, there was still another option available to the pair, and one that Miss Yamauchi was quick to offer up.
"If you deem a method of intimidation to be an effective recourse at this point, however," she continued, "we could just skip the whole waiting to find out how trustworthy the crew is and, instead, scare them into submission. By saying that, I mean I could easily show them something that would get the point across: that the last thing they want to do is cross us. But… having a dragon show up on the outskirts of a city or demonstrating how I can punch a hole in their ship large enough to sink it would, admittedly, have unintended consequences."
Under normal circumstances, the end of Natsumi's proposition would have been followed by her silence as she waited for a response; but one of the departing sailors had decided to make the setting abnormal. He was the last one to gather up the nerve to leave, and passed by the young woman while reaching out his hand just as the fox girl was finishing her suggestion. He tried to cop a feel at that point, to grab Natsumi's buttocks for a taste of something he could never reasonably have.
Unfortunately for this lecherous soul with loose hands, however, Natsumi's tail was far quicker than his hand. She lashed out with lightning reflexes, grabbing the man by the leg with her tail, taking his balance, and then tossing him overboard into the waters below. The resultant splash in the harbor waters was audible enough to get the crew's attention, as was the man's coughing when he resurfaced from the brine.
"I suggest you think long and hard before trying that again," the woman said without even turning around to recognize the result of her reflexive action, "because, next time, I'm taking your arm instead of soaking your head."
Apparently, and for better or worse, intimidation was going to happen whether Carliah wanted it to or not.
