"Hey, Arxi, wake the hell up, eh?"

He squinted his eyes against the bright light, confused, aching, and tired. What was he doing here? Why was the room swaying? What was that awful taste in his mouth? And who's legs were those wrapped around his-

"Arxi...if you don't wake up I'll bite you..."

Purple eyes. Who had purple eyes? They certainly were a lovely pair of...eyes; he gulped and tried to keep his own eyes from straying towards other lovely pairs, with a minimal amount of success. The owner of the eyes smiled.

"There we are. It's already midmorning; if you don't get out of bed and boss the crew around, they'll start to think you don't love them. Come on, Arxi. Time to get up."

He blinked; they were on a ship. That would explain the rocking, and probably had somethign to do with that awful taste, but it didn't explain who this woman was.

"Uh...this probably sounds a little strange," he began; his voice sounded odd to his ears. Hoarse, as though he'd been breathing smoke. "But who's Arxi? And who are you?"

The beautiful purple eyes woman stared at him blankly for a moment. Then, moving almost too quickly for him to follow, she snatched up a lamp from off the floor and hit him neatly over the back of the head. He felt a momentary dull pain, then cool blackness enveloped him in a shower of stars, and he knew no more.