Sunflower

"I don't know about you, but I would have been a goner if Laramis hadn't done what they did. They seem to believe in this plan of yours Captain; the least I can do for Laramis is to help see it through. I might be a poor substitute, but I'm willing if you'll have me."

Captain Wealian observes Sunflower for a bit. Truth is, none of them have the time to argue about this. The downing of Laramis has dealt a harsh blow to his plans, Red has made very clear that Red wouldn't tolerate Red (the First)'s direct help on this (anyways First seems to be better suited on the support team), and he knows better than to count on Tanier to show back up. The other crew are unreliable, if they even show up to help. Sunflower at least is here and able to fight. The Captain stiffly nods at him, then waves First away to collect any crew that he can. If any reliable fighters want to join, send them to the front, otherwise set up the supply run. He instructs Red to bring Sunflower up to speed on the more intricate plans. He'll need to make adjustments to accommodate the change in team, but hopefully their plan isn't doomed from the start.

---

The Captain curses as he loses his balance and falls off the roof of the cabin. He had been distracting the Storm from the supply crew, but it seems the Storm himself was distracting the Captain from a new pile of debris at the edge of the flooring. He hastens his escape from the trash heap as the Storm passes over him. Wealian is sure that the Storm is smirking as he lunges toward him, but the Captain is already curling up under his wing to brace for a blow. A rush of wind, an impact, the grunt of pain and surprise are all expected. What ISN'T expected is that none of that comes from the Captain. Once he realizes that he hadn't been hit, Wealian unfurls to see what happened. The Storm had been knocked off course and been slammed into the wall of the cabin. Before him, with her back to him, Tanier stands at the ready. Clearly his helper, she keeps a steady eye on the Storm as she waits for the Captain to get his bearings. Not one to let an opportunity to go wasted, he quickly frees himself and stands at her side. By then, RedII and Sunflower has jumped down to join them.

Red hisses to Tanier, "What are you doing here?? Shouldn't you be off being useless elsewhere?"

Tanier doesn't look at Red, but the curl of a snarl on her lips speaks for itself, "I'm here to fight the Storm, the same as you."

"Ha! And who's to say you won't stab us in the back when it's convenient? You've made your hatred quite clear."

"The Storm is a bigger danger than any of you can ever be. Remain useful in fighting him, and you have nothing to fear from me."

Red bristles at the arrogance and almost launches at Tanier, but Captain Wealian nearly roars at Red. "Enough! We will accept your help, Tanier. You've proven yourself adaptable, so I expect you to keep up. But I suggest you mind your tone. You might be one of the best in terms of fighting power, but you are quite bereft in allies. Don't make things worse for yourself."

"…. Understood." With no more words, Tanier positions herself next to Sunflower. The fae, having kept his mouth shut during the confrontation, only gives her a glance. Honestly, having another good fighter to stand beside is a comfort to him, though Sunflower would like less potential in-fighting. He convinces himself that, despite Red's accusations, Tanier wouldn't show up just to betray them now… Hopefully.

---

The Captain would curse, if the act of breathing wasn't so dangerous at the current moment. He seemed to have gotten his wish to make the Storm take him seriously, but that came with the cost of a far more difficult fight. One that Wealian privately fears is beyond him. Despite the Captain's larger size and bigger bulk, the Storm effortlessly has him dangling in the air, wrapping his coils around him. The Storm is trying to squeeze the life out of him, but his ever-morphing body makes it difficult to have a consistent force. Instead, the Storm has made the air toxic, filling the area with contagions that the Captain doesn't not want to know how they would effect him. The Grail will heal him of even sickness overnight, but Wealian fears that the shear power and amount of Plague magic filling the air would kill him before the night is out.

"CAPTAIN!" Wealian doesn't have time to think as he's drenched in a flood of water. Now he has a new reason of have difficulty breathing as the flood doesn't let up. Something small rockets on the back of his head and latches on, the force of which makes his cough and gasp. The small claws flinch, but doesn't let go as Sunflower holds the veil of water around himself (and consequently around the Captain). There's an ebb and flow to the Water magic now, Sunflower making exaggerated breaths to match, and Captain Wealian realizes that Sunflower is timing the ebb to his breaths, trying to give the Captain time to breathe himself. Now that the Captain is getting the picture, Sunflower ramps up his magic, each time the water flowing becoming larger and spilling all around them. As the Storm starts to snarl and struggle, Wealian finally opens his eyes. Perched on top of his head, the Captain can't see Sunflower, but he as a front row seat to witness what's going on with the Storm. The mass of water is not only flowing over the Storm, it's flowing INTO him. The constant breaking and reforming of his body makes it easy to 'evade' attacks, but now is causing problems as the body reforms with the water still inside him. The situation can't be pleasant, evidenced by the Storm hissing and flinching. The Storm focuses onto Sunflower and braces, clearly aiming for a strike. Wealian starts to struggle himself, flexing all of his limbs to scratch and hit at the Storm to keep his focus onto him. Finally deciding things are more trouble than it's worth, the Storm lets the Captain go and rockets up into the air.

The two land with a heavy thump, Sunflower sliding off Captain Wealian's head at the last moment to prevent being squished. Red and Tainer rush to their side, but as Tanier checks the two over, Red keeps an eye on the retreating Storm. Body protesting, Wealian forces himself up to look as well. It might be a flight of fancy, but it looks like the Storm's movements are more erratic than normal. As if he's still twisting around to throw off the excess water. Mind rushing to make plans, Wealain glances down at his rescuer. Sunflower is down for the count, barely conscience. It appears that just as he used his Water magic to counteract the Storm's Wind, the Storm used excess Plague to attack the weakened Water. Nodding stiffly, Wealian carefully scoops up Sunflower and moves. He tells Red to send for medical supplies for diseases and barks at Tanier to follow him. He will not let Sunflower die tonight!