this was originally written so i could get a better "feel" for Siana. Its really nothing more then a background piece for Siana. The girl was small for her age. For all of her 7 years she stood barely over 3 feet tall, but her hot temper was directly inherited from her mother. It amazed her father how she could have melded so much of his cold calculations and the blazing white temper of her mother. The two of them often clashed on many days although not as dramatically as today's. He wondered at his folly of releaving his first mate of this duty to teach his delightful hellion. Today Siana was refusing to dress for swimming as her father requested. Celas knew eventually that one day he would quit sailing the ship and give her the vessel, but that day was many many years in the future. Today was the day he wanted one of his men to show her what kinds of things could rot the wood of the ship and how to scrap the various crustations off the hull without damaging the wood. He thought briefly of abandoning her at a temple of Kala and then immediately shook his head clear of the thought. "Siana, I'm not telling you a second time. Either you get below deck and change out of those clothes or I'll toss you over the railing!" Celas quietly growled at the child. He knew the ship's crew was watching the spat between the two of them, still working abet at a very slow pace. Siana held her ground and glared at him. "You always say that father. But you won't, you spent too much on this shirt alone to have it soak in the ocean." she sassed back at him. Celas closed his eyes, trying to find the inner peace that kept him from being rash with her. The gods only knew how much he spent on her "party outfits" alone just to enjoy her delighted smiles and giggles. The shirt in question cost him nearly as much as a case of his favorite wine. "I'm not going swimming today. I'm not! I want to look at the horizon with the scurry glass!" Siana loudly pouted. Celas growled, his own temper flaring and his patience worn thin. His first mate started walking towards the child and Siana spun on him with her hot temper. "Don't you dare touch me or I'll scream so loud I'll hurt your ears!" she haughtily told him, knowing he meant to pick her up and toss her into the brig for a couple hours as punishment for disagreeing with the captain. She had learned within weeks of being left on the ship that her high pitched screams made all the men grate their teeth and often just the threat of it would make most of them give in to whatever she wanted. Celas' control broke as he picked his child up and ran for the side of the ship. His daughter screamed as she had threatened at being picked up and thrown over his shoulder, but suddenly quieted at the weightless feeling as he jumped and cleared the railing. Everyone had seen it before on happier days, Celas picking her up and jumping over the side. Hot summer days often saw such fun being had. But today when Celas came up to the surface, Siana wasn't with him. As he spun in the water, a nagging panic started eating at his mind. He looked up and saw his first mate and several others looking over. "We don't see her Cap'n!" was shouted down. Seconds ticked by and still nothing. Celas half climbed up the rope ladder and scanned the water below as others ran to the other side of the vessel to see if she had swum under the vessel. Dark fear at having lost this lone child of his seeped into his bones like ice. He got to the top of the ladder and as he climbed over he could see the worry in his crew's faces. They had every right to be concerned, the little girl often acted as a buffer between them and the often foul spirited captain. Many of the crew could remember the times before her sudden arrival and would readily agree that she had single-handedly tamed their sometimes sadistic captain. Money was the only reason any of them stayed in the beginning. Seconds ticked by as Celas scurried over the railing and back onto the deck. He stood looking at his first mate and right hand man in uncharacteristic bewilderment. Suddenly a sharp pain hit his shin and for a brief moment he wondered if he had managed to break a bone in the jump when a small fist made contact with his groan. As he crashed to the deck from the fierce pain that bloomed from the impact he could see the silver-white eyes of his furious but dripping wet daughter. "You will never ruin my pretty clothes again or I'll find a way to turn you in a mouse I can stomp on!" the temperamental little girl growled at the keeled over body of her father. For all his anger at her, he could barely hold back a smile. Somehow she had teleported from the water into his cabin as the trail of wet footprints told. She had just proven she was as much a mage as her father was.
