The Priest and the Sea Dog.

The white haired priest had been down below in the galley of the Prussian ship annoying the cook. The good and bad thing about being a priest traveling on a ship is that unless it was time for prayers there was no work even for him to do, in his boredom had gone to see if he could get a snack.

As he lent against the galley wall eating his day old bread he heard an uproar on deck. “What in hell?” He frowned and looked upwards. At first he thought maybe some of the sailors had gotten drunk and started a brawl, that was until he heard the panic yelling. Someone called down into the galley. “Pirates! We are under attack by Pirates!”

Gilbert almost choked on his food and he spluttered slightly. After he caught his breath he growled and hitched up his black and white robes and stomped up the stairs with an annoyed look on his face. How dare pirates invade a Prussian ship! He had no weapons on him but he did not think that through. He remembered this as he reached the top of the stairs and stepped onto the deck. “Shit..”

He frowned and hissed lightly that the ship was just not equipped with enough security to stave off a pirate assault.. He spotted a man with a largely plumed hat and fancy over coat and guessed that must be the Captain. He pushed past a few struggling people and maneuvered around the chaos to approach the smug looking man.

He stomped up to the man. “This ship is property of the Duchy of Prussia! Attacking this ship is attacking Prussia and the Church!” Gilbert said firmly, he had been fighting in the name of god and country his whole life and he wasn’t about to stop now.

He growled and snapped in German. "Leave this ship!" The other did no seem to understand so he continued in English “In the name of god I command you leave this ship at once you plundering sea heathens!" He frowned and stared the man down firmly, no fear in his eyes.




(First reply belongs to Arthur, other characters may join if appropriate~ )

There were few things that surprised Captain Kirkland about raids. Typically they went smoothly, given that he was who he was, and the captured ship handed over their valuables after a fairly easy fight. What surprised him this time was that a silver-haired clergyman came stomping up from the galley (as Arthur assumed by the presence of hardtack in the man's hand) and started screeching at him in some tongue he didn't understand. Wholly unimpressed, both by the ruckus caused by this holy man and by the fact that he was obviously stupid enough to come yelling at a pirate captain unarmed, the Captain slowly raised an eyebrow as he looked down at the man.

"...Excuse me...?" His voice, though quiet, boomed with authority and condescension as he stared down his nose at the odd little man. He blinked as the priest spoke in English, a slow smile curling his lips up. Plundering sea-heathens? That was a new one.

"Pardon me, Father, but I do not believe you're fully aware of who the bloody hell I am," he said, quiet menace dripping from his tongue. God would not protect anyone aboard a ship, particularly one being captured by the Black Rose.

Spoiler:

Gilbert straightened himself up and looked at the other as he matched the stern expression, he had heard of piracy on the seas but that was just a fancy word for stealing, and stealing was a sin. These men lead by this absurdly extravagant leech were nothing but sinners and they would be judged by the lord accordingly for their sins when they came before him on judgement day.

The priests English was good but his accent was a little thick. The booming authority of the others voice set him on the defense instead of having the desired intimidating effect. "I am afraid that no, your fame does not proceed you." His eyes flicked up and down the other. "I can see from your overly showy outfit that your the Captain of these condemned souls and if you don't wish to bury yourself deeper in the pits of hell I suggest you get back on your ship, take the gold I don't really care, and leave this ship be!"

The look on Gilberts face wavered slightly as the man just stared at him with malice. "Hmph... Well go on then, you are obviously dying to have your name known. But I will not give you the satisfaction of your name being known first. I am Gilbert Beilschmidt, Son of the Lutheran Church. My presence is for those who wish to be saved in the eyes of god and Jesus Christ. And since you obviously are not ready to be saved, I am now not asking you politely, I am demanding you leave." Gilbert was not a complete idiot, he knew this was dangerous but he did not want the other to know that.

Captain Kirkland watched the other man after he finished speaking for signs of either insanity or mirth, and finding none, burst into laughter himself. "Take the gold? You are full of surprises, Father. Demanding things of one such as myself is a rather risky move on your part, wouldn't you agree? But I'll let it slide, I suppose, because you amuse me and because apparently all that time cooped up in the catacombs has disallowed you to become acquainted with my name." He sneered, bending slightly to be on level with the clergyman's ruby eyes (a rather unfortunate colour, he thought, for a holy man). "My name is Captain Arthur Kirkland. And this ship is now mine. Therefore, I will do whatever I please with it regardless of anyone's 'demands'. Is that perfectly clear, Father Beilschmidt?"



((THIS WAS LONG OVERDUE AND RIDICULOUSLY SHORT I'M SO SORRY ;A;))

"I can see why staying in the confines of the church was actually encouraged considering there are fools like yourself in the world who believe they have the right for the people to know their names." He kept his eyes locked onto the others green eyes which he thought suited him perfectly, the exact colour eyes a sea serpent would have. "Believe me, there are plenty of saints and great men that are worth me knowing their name, but a sea-serpent like yourself is not worth my time recording you in my ledgers." He had been taught all his life who was worthy to respect and who was not and he had no patience for creatures such as this.

"The only thing that is clear is that Jesus Christ will judge you and judge you poorly when you finally meet your end." Gilbert said in convicted tone. The clergyman had always been taught not to fear other mortals even if the spiritual world did scare him at times, he was very superstitious after all.

Gilbert was not impressed that the other had decided that this ship now belonged to him. "You British men have no sense of decency!" He growled slightly and continued to watch the Captain with those angry red eyes of his. "So what has this pseudo god decided he will do with me then?"


((IT'S OK I PROMISE. <3 ))

The Captain raised an eyebrow, a smile playing at his lips and growing with each word the clergyman spoke. "Is that so? Perhaps your ledgers need an update. Every good story needs a villain, yes? And if I am a, as you say, sea serpent..." he chuckled at this, "...then would I not serve your story well as its villain~?" Unceremoniously he brought his hand up to the back of the Father's neck, pushing slightly on pressure points that would either make him weak or hurt, he didn't particularly care which.

"Truth be told, I haven't decided what I'll do with you yet... So I think I'll just keep you in your very own plush room in the hold till I think on it, how does that sound?" He couldn't care less what the other actually had to say on the matter, because he was the bloody captain and he was going to make sure that the name Arthur Kirkland was one that Father Beilschmidt remembered for a very long time.

Gilberts eyebrow twitched at the comments and the superior look on the others face. "The serpent has been used to represent many evils throughout history.... there you go thinking you are something original and special." Indeed the Serpent was form to represent the first villain and Arthur fitted in quite well to snake pit.

His eyes sharpened into a glare as the Snake Captain told him of his plan to throw him in the hold until he decided what to do with him. He glanced around and knew that there was no way to resist or stop this, anyone who was resisting was just having to deal with swords and pistols of the wild demonic crew as they started to already pillage the vessel for all that was worthy aboard it. His hand moved to the cross around his neck out of instinct as he started to actually feel threatened. "Whatever you choose to do with me will be a mere paper cut compared to what is in store for you in the after life anyway." And with that Gilbert started to walk past Arthur and towards the others ship.

Gilbert was not the type to dragged around and he liked his decisions to seem under his control, even if he was mumbling in German and frowned as he did so. He knew it was best to vacate this ship anyway, he knew that the pirates would most likely burn this floating coffin down to the waterline and he did not fancy meeting god right now by passing through one of the many sharks that would follow in the wake on these big ships, after all, he was a man that still had a lot to do with his himself on this Earth. "Just drop me off at the nearest port." He shrugged with a frown. He supposed that it was going to be a long time now before he got to the New world.

Captain Kirkland barked a laugh as he tugged on the hair at the back of the clergyman's head to make him stop storming off. If he was going to walk, he'd do it at Arthur's pace, not his own. "Cheeky, aren't we? I'll not be dropping you at any port, Father Beilschmidt. Doubtless you can handle a few papercuts until such time as I see fit to do with you as I please? Come along, then~" He moved his hand to grasp firmly at the back of the man's neck, using his hold to push him towards the Black Rose.

Gilbert was not use to being manhandled so he let out a noise similar to a wild cat being scruffed. As he was shoved forward he felt the instinctive reaction to get away, driving his elbow back against the others stomach hard, squirming to get the uncomfortable pressure away from his neck.

"Get your hands off me before you get your heathen filth on me." He growled at the other, crimson eyes shooting him a look of both disgust and anger at being treated in such a fashion. He was going to go quietly but he was going to be difficult just to prove his stubborn point. His free hand gripped at the rosary that hung around his neck. "Now look what you have made me do... Jesus forgive me for rough conduct but when you act like a rabid dog you best understand that the awesome me will be treating you like one!"

Arthur grunted as a rather pointy elbow collided with his stomach, growling and gripping the arm with a strong hand, holding it still. "I'll thank you to treat your captor with some modicum of respect, Father, else I'll have to deliver necessary consequence," he snarled quietly directly into the man's ear, bringing his other hand up loosely around the man's throat. "I care not for your insolent hatred of me, but I expect that flame of yours to be quelled lest I feel need to snuff it out completely." He was being kind by simply throwing him in the brig, rather than doing the several other things he could have (and had done in the past). He needed to tread lightly with this one, though.... While he was a disagreeable and hotheaded little shit, this Father Beilschmidt was still a holy man, and Arthur would rather stay out of the eyes of the heavens, just in case.

He chuckled before letting the man's neck go, but kept his hold on that arm, using it to push him toward the door that led below deck.

There was no mercy for the other occupants of the Prussian ship but by the sounds of the pirates words it seemed that Gilbert had managed to find some. Perhaps even the sea serpent was superstitious and it was seemingly saving the priests life. Gilbert did not like the idea of submitting to the others instructions but he also did not want to be thrown overboard after meeting a sword. He still could not help scowl as the other held on to him, looking stubbornly into the captains eyes.

He growled slightly as the other shoved him but he had been let go of so he calmed himself as best that he could. "Hmph... perhaps god may forgive some of your sins if you let me off at the next stop." He said without actually fully believing it. "You could hope at least." He tried to not look too ruffled but his nose wrinkled slightly as he was led to the depths of the ship. The Brig on any ship was never a pleasant place and was a nest for the ships rats and grime and he knew that the pirate was planning on leaving him in the pits of this ships own sort of hell. "This place is not a place that I belong... tch... the unholy aura of this place is almost visible." He continued to quietly complain about his situation without directly being confrontational with the pirate.

The captain could almost have laughed at the priest's insolent air, as though his fine vessel was not fit for one of his quality. "My apologies that I didn't pick the right colour tapestry for your tastes, Father," he sneered as he pushed the other to walk down the narrow steps. In one corner of the brig, held out of the way, was an iron-barred cage originally meant for keeping livestock... But in this case, it was equally handy in keeping prisoners and stowaways. No matter what their chosen profession on land, the sight of the cage struck fear into the hearts of its captives. Perhaps, somewhere, they thought they might die there. In the case of many, that had been true. But perhaps, Arthur thought, if Father Beilschmidt behaved himself and didn't cause too much of a ruckus (doubtful, given how he'd already acted) he might be shown kindness. However...

"If it helps you sleep at night, you may think that all you want, Father," he chuckled, "But we'll not reach land for many a fortnight.... Do you think you'll last that long? Perhaps you'll meet our Creator sooner than you'd expected. And when you do... Give Him my regards."

With a low chuckle Arthur pushed the other into the cage, slamming and locking the door before the priest had even hit the back wall.