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Post by spender on Mar 26, 2010 6:21:48 GMT -5
Spender hauled himself through the lubber's hole. As soon as he'd seen Caden scale the top, the ferret had slowed his ascent; no sense endangering himself if he'd already lost the race.
On the plus side, going slower meant he wasn't out of breath when he got to the fighting top. Spender smirked at the other three, Cerinus especially (because he knew Cerinus would be the least likely to fight back at a smirk.)
"Nothin' to it," he drawled. "Don't see wot th'fuss is about. Nothin' more than climbing a slide twenny times in a row. An'd I c'n keep that up for hours."*
Spender's eyes fell to his wrist, which was starting to grow purple under the fur. The more and more he moved it, the more and more it hurt. He wrapped it up in the hem of his tunic and flumped down on the edge of the fighting top, his legs and tail kicking over into empty air.
He would have liked to have shoved Caden or Cerinus off, but of course everyone below was watching them like falcons...
* ((I cannot find when the playground slide was invented... but I'm sure otters were sliding down riverbanks for centuries before humans figured it out. XD))
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Post by Carrow on Mar 26, 2010 8:42:29 GMT -5
Cerinus had by now pushed himself back up into a sitting position. Elle and Spender had made it up too, he noted with a smile. He was beginning to see this ferret in a new light. He was feisty as the day was long, and he was comparable to a terrier in spirit. He'd had even less of an idea what he was getting into than the young wood mouse did, but still he'd come here and done it anyway. Cerinus liked that.
"Nice to see you're confident," he responded, doing quite an unexpected thing and actually smiling back at the ferret. "It wasn't as easy as all that, though, but, well, good job."
He was able to speak again, his breath having returned. It could be clearly seen that the Dibbun had been working on his fitness. Sure, he'd looked as bad as the rest of them when he'd flopped down on all fours just a few minutes ago, but he was fine now. The rodent was clearly intent on being in this for the long haul.
The mouse smiled at Caden, too. "That's something out of the way, matey! I can say for sure that with everything else going on around me, I won't want to be risking life and limb every single time I'd try to get up to the fighting top - so I reckon it'll be up and out through the lubber's hole for me from here on out. I'm saying that now, though. As things progress, who knows how I'll feel?"
He was proud of himself for this, and it showed, as his whiskery features were wreathed in smiles. Great seasons, he thought, this is all rather rewarding. You see, Carrow, that's what you get for putting in the effort. He was out to impress nobody except himself now, knowing Ladorak had become their superior more than anything else. All the same, the rodent knew that the mustelid could never be completely aloof. It wasn't in his nature in the slightest, and, well, if he could pull off things that he hadn't expected of him, he hoped to receive at least some recognition.
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Post by Ladorak on Mar 26, 2010 11:39:49 GMT -5
"Yeah, cept you went through the lubber's hole." Caden said, pushing himself up onto his rear legs and rolling his pink eyes. He couldn't specifically see Spender's wrist, but if he could see that it was turning the color of a ripe plum then he might have given Spender an even worse time about it.
"Alright kits! Back down! Front and center! It's time for your assignments!" Ladorak shouted, and Spender took a deep breath, and began to make his way down, sliding through the lubber's hole and this time finding the going far much easier. Caden noted too that the areas where his claws met his fingertips were tender, and would probably bleed if he had to do this all day.
Reaching the ground without too much trouble, he trotted over to Ladorak and stood stoutly at attention. He gave the molting stoat a game smile, to which Ladorak barely acknowledged with the barest hint of a smile of his own. "OK kits.....I've come to my decision. Out of the four of you....I have determined....that one is suited for working the tops. That one.....is....." He looked back and forth from each of them, his golden spectacles catching the sun every so often. "Carrow. Congratulations seajack Apodemus. I will be putting you on the mizzentop, which is the mast furthest aft, on the quarterdeck. You'll be working the topsail, so you'll be about halfway up the mast. That means...." he gave the mouse a firm stare. "That you'll have two climbs to make. So double what you just did. Also you won't be on a top but rather some crosstrees, which are essentially singular planks of wood to stand on....so I suggest you get yourself used to climbing young lad....as you'll be doing a lot of it whilst at sea."
The stoat gave Cerinus a small, wanting to reassure him that this would work out for him in the end. "Ah yes....it appears I've misspoken as well. Larboard watch are the ones not getting much sleep their first night....Starboard is. So just reverse what I told you earlier." Caden closed his eyes, thinking about that. OK then....he and Elliot would just have to get plenty of sleep the night beforepaw.
"Right...now let's go over your assignments and then break you down even further by confirming whether you wished to be apprenticed to a Petty Officer or not, in hopes of rising to said rank over time. I do encourage such ambition from all of you...but if not that's completely fine as well. The ship will always need crew of all descriptions. So! Caden....I'm assigning you to the forecastle." Caden's eyes widened a bit. Hey! Wasn't that place reserved for the most experienced seajacks? "I'm making this decision because you're an officer candidate....I know of the path you've chosen, and you're aiming to be a Midshipjack someday, with the goal of taking the Lieutenant's examination." Caden stood up just a bit taller and nodded.
"Aye sir...that I am."
"That's a long path....with many years ahead of you yet before you can even take the exam. Therefore I'm placing you on the forecastle, where you'll learn the ways of sailing under the Boatswain and his mates. You'll be working under one of the Master's mates as well, so therefore you'll be commissioned as a Volunteer Class I." Yes! he thought happily. He wouldn't be making any more money than the others his age, but he would be berthing in the gunroom instead of the gundeck, so had a bit more privacy than everyone else. And if he remembered correctly....another privilege he had was the ability to go onto the quarterdeck on his leisure time, which meant being close to Ladorak.....and that he could definitely live with.
"OK...." Ladorak pawed each of them a sheaf of paper that listed jobs that Petty Officers managed, so they could take their pick from any one of those if they so chose. "Cerinus. You made it up second. I've already assigned you to the mizzentop. You'll be working from the quarterdeck in that case...which you normally need permission to do. So....take a look at that list Jal Apodemus, and tell me if there's any sort of profession you would like to specialize in in addition to your duties in the mizzentop."
If Carrow read the list, he would see quite the arrangement laid out before him that he could choose to study under.
Quartermasters (steer the ship) Boatswain's mates (responsible for discipline and in charge of sailing) Yeomen of the Sheets (responsible for the sail locker) Coxswain (in charge of the ship's small boats as well as the Captain's bodyguard) Quarter Gunner (in charge of 3 cannon, as well as directs fire in combat) Captain of the Forecastle (leads the crew of the forecastle) Captain of the Afterguard (leads the crew of the afterguard) Captain of the Foretop (leads the crew of the foretop) Captain of the Maintop (leads the crew of the maintop) Captain of the Waist (leads the crew in the waist) Gun Captain (in charge of a cannon) Clerk (Assists the Captain with his ledgers and forms) Carpenter's Mate (works under the Carpenter repairing shot holes and keeping the hull in good condition) Gunner's Mate (works under the Gunner and is responsible for training the crew on the guns and for directing the flow of powder in battle) Yeomen of the Powder Room (look after the fore and after powder magazines) Armorer's Mate (works under the Armorer and fixes all metal parts on the ship) Ship's Corporal (works under the Master at Arms and enforces regulations as well as breaks up fights) Caulker's Mate (makes sure the ship is watertight at all times. Works under the Caulker) Trumpeter (makes the signals for various orders on the ship) Sailmaker's Mate (works under the Sailmaker to mend sails) Carpenter's Crew (part of the Carpenter's workforce) Steward (works under the Purser and assists him with his logs as well as cleans cabins and helps prepare food)
"Or if you wish" Ladorak concluded. "You could attempt to become a Lieutenant...that that takes years of work and studying and you will not be able to take the exam until you're at least 20 years of age." he explained, looking down at the mouse now to see if he wanted to shoot for Petty rank or if he was fine simply working the mizzentop.
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Post by Carrow on Mar 26, 2010 12:30:26 GMT -5
Cerinus smiled again as he heard Ladorak's voice. Right, well, that was one thing out of the way, and now they would finally be finding out their positions. He was quite looking forward to this, the mouse had to admit, in a rather strange turn of events, he wasn't in the slightest bit nervous.
Seeing Spender take the lead through the lubber's hole, the mouse followed suit. He too found the going easier on the way down than he had when going up. He joined his pine marten companion, standing alongside him, gazing straight ahead as he listened to Ladorak speak.
When he was chosen as the creature who would be working the tops, the mouse smiled. Well, he certainly hadn't been expecting that! He met the molting stoat Post Captain's green eyes for the briefest of moments, taking comfort in the reassuring smile Ladorak gave him, as always, then returned his gaze to the scene before him.
Ladorak addressed him personally once again after he had finished assigning Caden to his post. Working from the quarterdeck, eh?, he thought. From what I can recall, that's close to Jal Fugate. Heh, suits me down to the ground. Hello, what's this?
The mustelid was handing each of them a list now, with potential apprenticeships listed on it. He scanned the list for a moment. Boatswain's mate? Ship's Corporal? No, not for me, he thought with a smile, well able to admit his weaknesses after all. A mouse trying to keep order, especially a creature like me? Hmm, I can see one major flaw in that plan...
Trumpeter? Oooh, now there's something. I could certainly try my paw at that. Hold on a moment.... The wood mouse directed his brown-eyed gaze back up towards the top of the list. Hmm. It seems I missed that on my first read through.
"I'll take what I can get, sir. I, er, don't really see myself as Lieutenant material, in all honesty. In that case, I'd like to try becoming a quartermaster," he responded politely, eyes twinkling.
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Post by Ladorak on Mar 26, 2010 13:39:47 GMT -5
"Very well. A Quartermaster is a very important post as you must be following your Captain's orders and commands at all time. You must familiarize yourself with the commands I give out in terms of steering the vessel and accept the responsibility that the ship is literally in your paws when you're on duty. If I am not present then you follow the orders of the Lieutenant on watch. I will assign you as understudy of the Quartermaster and his mates in this case, and should you prove up to the task and after sufficient time has passed you may very well find your paws on the giant wheel of the ship in a few years." Ladorak said, taking his charcoal stick and marking the position for Cerinus down.
"When you're not in the mizzentop and are on duty I expect you on the quarterdeck and learning from the Quartermaster Jal Apodemus. Quartermasters earn around 23,000 pounds a year, more than enough for someone like you to live on....but you must prove your merit first before I assign this post to you. For now your starting salary as a seajack is going to be about 7,000 pounds a year, plus whatever prize money we accumulate. That should still be more than adequate to support a mouse as young as you are. Same for you Caden. Although you are an Officer candidate you earn 7,000 a year as well. Though you do have the privilege of the gunroom to sleep in as opposed to the gundeck, and you have rights to visit the quarterdeck without permission." The albino nodded at this, pursing his lips and waiting patiently.
"OK, you two are dismissed." Caden gave a salute (as best he could manage) and moved off with Carrow. "So wow...you're gonna try to steer that big thing? You really got guts mate." Caden told him with a grin. "You'd get to work with Ladorak pretty closely too if you make it, so I bet that's a plus eh?" he said, punching him lightly on the shoulder.
Ladorak moved on to Elliot. "Alright....Elliot McNamee, I am naming you a waister. You'll be working the waist of the ship, and be responsible for hauling on the lines and braces of the foremast whenever we tack or wear in order to turn the yards and bring us onto a starboard or larboard tack. In addition to that, is there anything on that list that interests you and you would like to apprentice for such as Caden and Cerinus are doing?"
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Post by Carrow on Mar 26, 2010 16:33:36 GMT -5
Cerinus nodded briefly at intervals as he listened to Ladorak giving him details on the post. 23,000 pounds a year, if he managed to secure the position of Quartermaster? That was quite frankly staggering to a creature like him. The mouse had never necessarily been poor, but he hadn't been the most well off of beasts either, though Archie had done her best to support them both. He knew she'd be alright; she was planning to start a new job as a hypnotist once he shipped out. Carrow of course heartily endorsed such a career choice. After all, the jill weasel was rather good at what she did.
At the moment, Cerinus was unsure if he could deal with such responsibility. After all, the Post Captain had indeed said that he would quite literally be in control of the ship when he was on duty.
Then, he thought of something, and smiled. He could take comfort in the fact that, while few creatures on board knew it, the young wood mouse was at his best when he made an effort to carry out orders to the letter. He was very good at taking things in, and what's more, he was fully aware of it and intended to put this useful trait to the best use possible. He was rather grateful for the words that had been inmparted to him by the molting mustelid. With every hour that passes, I become more knowledgeable in the ways of a seafaring creature, he thought with a smile.
The youngster gave his best salute, before turning on his heel to find his albino pine marten friend at his side. He responded to Caden's question with a soft chuckle. "Guts? I never knew I had them," he replied honestly. It seemed that the former lost and frightened little mousey was beginning to toughen up. "It's quite literally going to be a pawful, steering the ship, but as always, I'll do my best. The climbing I'm going to have to do to get up to work the mizzentop doesn't bother me in the slightest. I'll be doing a few practice ascents whenever I can. Really want to get in the best of shape for this, of course. Mentally and emotionally, I'm now the best I've felt in absolute years, so now all that's left as far 's that's concerned is for me to work on my physical strength.
"Oh, and of course, the fact that I may one day get to work alongside Jal Fugate makes this all worthwile!" The mouse swished his tail, eyes sparkling at the thought. "As for you, my mustelid matey, well, how's about it? You're shooting for Lieutenant? I'm only just now beginning to realise how much effort that's going to take. Ambitious much?" Another chuckle from the Dibbun, followed by him patting Caden's shoulder in a reassuring manner. "You seem like the type that would want to put everything they have into such a thing as that, though, so there's a start. Wish you the best of luck."
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Post by Ladorak on Mar 27, 2010 23:59:51 GMT -5
Ladorak could see that Elliot needed some time to decide, so he looked Spender over. "Right....Spender you'll be serving in the afterguard, and be responsible for hauling on the lines and braces of the mainmast. Like Caden and Cerinus before you you may also choose from that list or try for an Officer's post years in the future. When we're not tacking or wearing you'll be studying under one of the Petty Officers if you so choose."
Ladorak never suspected that Spender might be illiterate. He only assumed Seige knew how to read, and thus had taught Spender growing up. After all.....Seige was a Captain's husband wasn't he? And a Lieutenant to boot. Of course Ladorak had forgotten that the Imperium's Navy was...different. They didn't require the ability to read as essential for making Lieutenant....which would be considered a joke anywhere else. But such were the differences between Welkin and the Imperium.....
Caden was nodding, off behind the two who were still before Ladorak. "Yeah, well I want to impress Ladorak, and I know he'd want to see me as a Post Captain someday. So I'm going to go for it. I've got years ahead of me to prepare, so I figure if I start now I should be in good standing by the time I turn 20. I need to ask though."
The marten paused here for a slight grin. "What drew you to Quartermaster? That's one job where you're in control of a pretty big thing. Just appealing to you or what?" the albino queried, curious as to Carrow's intentions.
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Post by spender on Mar 28, 2010 0:34:25 GMT -5
Spender stared, nodding blankly, as Ladorak spoke. Most of the words went right over the stripling's head: afterguard, responsible, braces, mainmast, Officer's post, tacking, wearing, studying...
He stared at the list in his right paw, suddenly realising he was being asked to pick something from it. But what? How could he choose when he didn't know what was being chosen? It was like when his father came back from town, had a quiet talk with his mother in the kitchen and then came up to Spender's room with his paws behind his back and said "pick one", and no matter what side Spender picked, it was always an empty paw with a spanking in mind. (His sisters, of course, got sweetmeats and dolls and fancy things. He never realised that the various snacks that showed up on his bedside table in the morning were the presents he was meant to get before his father learned of his misdeeds...)
Panicking, the ferret turned the list over and pointed at random (though carefully; bending his claws away to provide a single pointer caused him to hiss under his breath) to some words in the middle: Clerk (Assists the Captain with his ledgers and forms)
"This'n?" he said. His tail puffed up a little behind him, and he turned the list back to himself. "No, no... This'n."
It was the last one on the list. That felt better. His luck always lie in picking the last, or being picked last.
He held it up to Ladorak, his claw pointing very purposefully at: Steward (works under the Purser and assists him with his logs)
Whatever it was, Spender hoped he'd get some breakfast soon. Maybe it was a list of what they were going to eat? He hoped it was boiled eggs and flapjacks. He hoped it didn't mean he would be the one who got to eat last!
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Post by Carrow on Mar 28, 2010 7:58:12 GMT -5
"Well yes, if there's one thing you have a lot of, in aiming for a Lieutenant position, it's time," Cerinus said in response to his pine marten companion's comment. "Seven years. Wow, that's an eternity out here. Just think if I'd gone for that. It would been... you know, nearly eight years in my case, hehe," he said, chuckling to himself now. His age was a well-kept secret here; there wouldn't have been of a lot of difference between a twelve-year-old Carrow and a thirteen-year-old one. Well, except maybe for height, but of course, being a naturally diminutive creature, that didn't matter much either.
The mouse stood still for a moment, returning Caden's quick grin with a smile of his own. He flexed his paws, tail swaying gently behind him. "You want to impress Ladorak then, I see. That's a good thing to want to do, obviously. Me, though, I'm not really trying to impress anybeast except myself. I'm surprised I even made it out here in all honesty, and my choice of Quartermaster... well, I'd thought it through of course, as much as I could have under the circumstances, and if there's anything to my decision, it's the fact that it did indeed appeal to me. But there are other reasons too."
The youngster turned around to face his friend. "I'm in a real adventurous mood as of late. I suppose it's a knock-on effect of, well, my achievements up above, small as they undoubtedly seem. I'm continuing to take things further than I ever thought I'd be able to, and I suppose I felt as though shooting for such a post was something ambitious. I can see quite clearly now that it is. You wouldn't know it to look at me, matey, but I quite like a challenge; and there's also that I'm trying for quite the important position."
The rodent smiled again. With all this to concentrate on now, he was rapidly forgetting his troubles. Of course, he knew he could never really escape them, and that small, niggling doubts, worries and fears would come back to him on some nights while he was out at sea, but the wood mouse had long ago accepted this. He just had to suppress such things. He was trying for a fresh start on board the ship, after all.
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Post by Ladorak on Mar 28, 2010 11:47:36 GMT -5
"Steward?" Ladorak asked, a bit surprised by this. It almost seemed as if Spender had wanted Clerk at first, but ultimately the mustela furo settled on Steward. "That's quite a lot of responsibility...but ambitious as well. I'm not going to go into any length about your responsibilities and duties, but let's just say they include being responsible for all stores on board the ship, making sure all tallies are accurate and that crew aren't taking more than is allotted to them, running the ship's shop with the Purser and selling things to the crew, assisting the Cook at mealtimes, and cleaning the the Officers' cabins."
He paused now, wondering if Spender was able to process all of that. He thought he heard something distinct too....was that the ferret's stomach rumbling? Ah yes....breakfast....or dinner in this case as it was close to noon now by the stoat's reckoning. He should get them down to the lodge for some dinner.
"Hungry are ya? Well alright. I'll finish up and get you on your way. Stewards make around 18,000 a year, if you do manage to secure that post. There are some bonuses in store for those working with the Purser however. You'll also make an 8th of the value of the stores on board the ship. When we first depart that's around an extra 10,000 for you, and whatever else we bring aboard during the course of the voyage you'll make an 8th on. Secondly, for every 83,000 bucks made on sales in the ship's store, you make 4,000 extra in commission. And I think that's about it in its most basic form. I leave the rest up to you to learn. There are a total of five Stewards on board, so you'll be apprenticed to one of them. Right..."
He pointed now to a wooden lodge down by the water. "Go tell Carrow and Caden that you and Carrow are going to be on the same watch as Caden and Elliot now, the Larboard watch. I want you four together for this. Also let them know that dinner is being served down in that wooden hut, and that everybeast can go eat now. Thanks Spender." He gave the lad a smile and looked over at Luxe.
"Jal Calone....make sure the young ones get down there safely alright?" he asked, as he didn't want any deserters and doubted Spender would be up to the task of pawdling everybeast. The ferret just didn't strike him as someone overly....motivated. Glancing down at Elle, the Captain tapped his starter on his backside, similar to how he'd done when he was watching the four of them ascend the ropes. "Well Jal McNamee...have you settled on a post you would like to try for?"
Caden was only giving Carrow a smile as he described his aspirations. "Yeah...compared to you I probably have about four to five times the amount of studying to do, as I have to watch the Boatswain, the Master, the Lieutenants and the Midshipjacks. Ugh....quite a lot to pawdle that's for sure. At least you really only have to study under the Quartermasters and the Captain. I'm sure a lot is still in store for you though the longer you go. Steering a big ship has got to have its advantages. Ye know how to play any games like chess or cards? I'm thinking of bringing my own chess set. Ladorak's been teaching me and though I'm not great at it yet, I'm getting better as the day's go on. Haven't beaten the old stoat, but I hope to in the years to come." the albino said with a grin.
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