Misadventures - Part Two

Sandro was the first to come to, wavering a bit with a pounding headache. The last thing he remembered was Daemara’s stupid smirk, the sparkles swirling around them like a tornado and then they were forced to the ground. He looked around, trying to find Kasatka. They’d both been dragged down by the sparks, and if it had affected him even in his ghostly form, had that force hurt the shapeshifter? A horrible headache made his head swim.
After a while, he managed to just turn his head in search of Kasatka. But when he looked, he saw that she had gone. Wondering if maybe his vision was just taking a while to clear up, he didn’t think much of it when he noticed his muscles aching. A second later, though, he stilled. He didn’t have muscles, nor a body, to feel pain. He went to touch his face and saw that what should’ve been his own hands were not his own, too dark-skinned and feminine, and very real. Sitting up in a rush, his head swam like it was filled with syrup has he looked over his body. Except, it wasn’t his body. This form was solid and female, somehow unfamiliar and distinctly familiar at the same time.
Sandro saw another form laying a bit to his side, a ghostly form just barely visible. He would’ve recognized the figure no matter how incorporeal it was. A few feet away, he saw…himself? The figure that looked like him sat up, shaking their head almost like a dog. Then the ghostly figure turned its gaze on him and their eyes widened.
The figure that studied him so closely, though, was Kasatka, staring at him unabashedly. Just as Sandro didn’t realize that the figure that sat before him was Kasatka, she didn’t realize that it was Sandro before her – Sandro, sitting in her own body.
Reaching up, Kas tried to touch her face and, though her hands made contact with the skin of her cheeks, it felt off, unnatural. Her gaze drifted down and she found the body that felt like hers wasn’t. The clothing looked like what Sandro wore… Looking back up at the figure that looked like her, things seemed to click. Almost at the same time, both pirates realized what had happened.
Sandro – in Kasatka’s body – sat still as a stone, terrified, not knowing how to grasp the feeling of being alive. Breathing… It had been so long since he’d truly breathed in the scents of a city. Slowly, he tried to stand, getting first to his hands and knees, and slowly pushing up. Tottering slightly, it didn’t take too long to get used to the feeling of moving around – as if he’d never truly forgotten.
“What did she-?” Kasatka began, then immediately stopped when the voice that came from her throat wasn’t her own. Of course it wasn’t, though. She was in Sandro’s… Well, not his body. “Oh gods…” Was she dead, then? She felt nothing, absolutely nothing – she didn’t breathe, feel cold, or even feel the wind against her skin. There was only sound, the sound of Sandro’s ragged, irregular breathing, like he kept forgetting to inhale.
As Sandro tried to figure out the best rhythm in which to breathe, he suddenly wondered if Kasatka’s body could die if he didn’t breathe… Forcing himself to calm down, he sat down cross-legged and forced himself to just breathe.
“We should get back. Nadheera could help.” Kasatka suggested, startling Sandro at the sound of his own voice.
“Nadheera?” Sandro wondered aloud before remembering the other scientist. “That sounds good.”
As Sandro had, Kasatka found it difficult to stand at first. Rather than physically getting to her feet, her form seemed to simply float up and she straightened, as if she was standing when she was really just floating a bit above the ground. It was such an odd sensation, having no weight to her body at all.
There was a loud crash somewhere nearby and the sound made both pirates jump. Sandro, though, seemed to snap in on himself, changing to the shape of a small dog. Surprised, the former-ghost let out a yip of surprise, tripping over his paws.
Looking to Sandro, Kas knelt down. “You can try to change back. Imagine changing into the form you want and it will happen. It will hurt, though.” She explained.
Sandro paused, considering. It was quite an odd thing, he thought, but it was similar to acting in a play, right? He focused on changing from the shape of a little dog to Kasatka’s human shape. The pain came quickly, pain that he hadn’t truly expected, and he tried to ignore it. Suddenly, his body seemed to relax and he realized he was human again. He fell against the ground again, relieved and exhausted. “Thanks… For the help…” He muttered.
“Try to stay like that. It’s the same pain with every change.” Kas warned, her serious expression looking out of place on Sandro’s face. “When you can walk, we should get back.” With that, she floated slightly away. She understood what he was going through, though she didn’t voice it. She’d been in the exact same position, and was in a very similar one at the moment. She was unsure how to move in Sandro’s ghostly form, realizing she couldn’t help but breathe even though she didn’t need to. She wasn’t even sure how to refer to herself – was she still herself, her consciousness locked inside Sandro’s not-body?
“In just – a second.” He huffed tiredly. He struggled to his feet, thinking that he had to look pitiful, like a toddler just learning to walk. He grimaced and cursed until he finally stood and figured out his balance. Stepping beside her at last, he motioned forward. “You go ahead, I’ll follow.” He suggested.
With a nod, they started back toward the docks. It took a while before they found the main street again but, when they did, it didn’t take long to finally make it back. The sun had set while they had been out and the streets had grown fairly empty since sundown, making the trip back much faster. Still, they passed a few people that looked at them curiously, the flickering ghost and stumbling woman. The trip back was harder for Sandro, who had forgotten that walking could be very tiring – constantly having to maintain your balance and the strain of heading uphill… It was a nightmare!
Maggie was one of the few on deck, laughing with Angel. When she saw Sandro and Kas approaching, her expression changed and she stepped up to the railing. Clearly, she knew something wasn’t quite right with them. “Is everything alright?”
Kasatka looked to Sandro, wondering if he, too, considered not alerting their predicament to their captain. Finally, though, she looked back to Maggie. “We found trouble.” She said, in Sandro’s voice. The two pirates made their way onto the deck of the ship. Trying to navigate the gangplank wasn’t easy for the former-ghost, having to lean forward without tipping over.
“What sort of trouble?” Maggie’s eyebrow arched, unsure of the change in her two crewmembers.
“S-Someone… Attacked us….” Sandro hurried to explain, wiping away a drop of sweat. How did people do this every day?
“It was Daemara, the woman that attacked me in Urdun.” Kas explained, coming to a stop near their captain.
“So you-” Maggie said, pointing at the ghost. “-are Kasatka?” When she earned a nod, she looked to Sandro in Kasatka’s body. “And you’re Sandro?”
Sandro nodded, reaching for the railing desperately when the ship bumped into the edge of the dock, jostling the whole of the Trickster’s Pride.
Maggie laughed, looking between the two. “Perhaps you should see Nadie.”
“Do you know where she is?” Kasatka asked.
“Try her room.” Maggie suggested. “If she’s not there, I’ve no idea.”
Agreeing, Kasatka and Sandro made their way into the depths of the ship, trying to stay clear of the other crew members to avoid re-answering all the same questions. If Maggie knew something was different so quickly, surely everybody else would know immediately as well.
By some stroke of luck, they found Nadheera in her little office, pouring over some strange, smoking concoction. Seeing the two appear in the doorway, she turned and grinned widely. “Well hello.” She said excitedly. “What can I do for you?”
Sandro shivered when he saw Nadheera but tried to maintain some kind of cool expression, rubbing a hand at the back of his head. “Well…” He began, really unsure of how to explain the very awkward situation they’d found themselves in. “Basically, someone…swapped our minds.”
Nadheera’s eyebrows quirked up almost excitedly. She stood and moved closer to them, inviting them inside and circling around them, almost like a predator investigating its prey. “Yes, I can see that. It’s actually quite easy to tell. You two hold yourselves so differently.” She remarked. “How does it feel to have a physical body again, Sandro?”
Sandro frowned. He didn’t like the feeling of being some object of study. “What kind of question is that, how does it feel?” He began, unsure of how to even answer. “I… I can’t describe it. It’s like… I had forgotten how to do all these things for so long and now I’ve suddenly got to do it all again.”
“Fascinating.” Nadheera’s tone was hungry and it unsettled Kasatka, made even worse when she pinned the girl in her gaze. “What is it like for you?”
Kasatka made a face, one that certainly was unusual on Sandro’s face – pensive and serious, but annoyed. Even Sandro felt as if he was looking at a completely different person, rather than his own face. “We can discuss it later. Can you help us?”
“I have some ideas.” Nadheera replied, returning to her chair.
“How much time do you think you’ll need, doctor…?” Sandro asked with a sight.
“Just call me Nadie.” The strange woman laughed. It was an odd noise, only a bit unsettling. “How long, though? I have no idea. Perhaps a day or two. Maybe more, maybe less.”
“Suggestions?” Kas asked tiredly.
The same wicked, amused smile crossed her face. “Sandro, try not to let Kasatka’s body die. I’m sure we don’t need another ghost aboard quite yet.” Nadie seemed to find her joke hilarious and cackled rather manically.