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Post by Carrow on Jun 17, 2010 7:21:12 GMT -5
Carrow smiled as he heard the Purser's voice. He had been wondering when that was going to show up. He turned, and was given his wages. He needed a few moments then. One to actually wrap his tail around the fact that he now had his own money, to save or spend how he would. Another to work out just how much it was he had been given. Not that he was lacking in the mental arithmetic department, but the mouse was unfamiliar with the sight of actual money. He'd never had much of his own, so was all the more pleased.
After a short while, a rather large smile evident on his features still. He nodded. One pound, thirteen shillings and ninepence. Rrrright. "Don't spend it all in once place!," he heard the ferret call to them. "I wouldn't know where to start," the wood mouse murmured, mostly to himself. Caden seemed equally as pleased. The rodent was absolutely chuffed with all this, but there was better to come.
He wasn't expecting such a show of generosity from his pine marten friend, certainly not! He was certainly grateful for that. Carrow could have sworn that more than a little of Ladorak's influence had rubbed off on the mustelid. He was now smiling from large ear to large ear. "Thanks for being so kind, Caden! I really appreciate it, matey. I'm not sure about me running low though, see. I don't know where to start, so I'll just see how things go. Y'know, as per usual."
With a swish of his tail, the long-tailed field mouse winked at his two companions. He was making absolutely no effort to hide his amazement at this turn of events, but he didn't mind at all. His OWN money! To a creature who had experienced more than his fair share of poverty, it was something almost unbelievable. Things were getting off to quite the start here in Ferlusan, that much was for certain.
He did indeed appreciate his pine marten friend's kindness. Now that he thought about it, the younster saw more than just a little of Ladorak in Caden now. That stoat! he thought. That wonderful stoat's affected us all, even if we haven't realised it yet. Buoyed by thoughts like this, he stepped out, heading into town with his two good friends. Spender would be hard-pressed to catch up with them now, he thought. He won't be in a hurry to do so anyway, that's for sure.
Soon they were well away from the docks, and Crittenden begun to reveal itself to the three adventurous creatures. Not for the first time since they had arrived here, Cerinus felt a jolt of sheer excitment streak up his spine, causing an involuntary shiver. He noticed that it was beginning to warm up now. This was of course a good thing, as Carrow longed to have his bones warmed by the sun once again. The mouse hadn't experienced much of good weather, but he knew that Ferlusan was well known for its more welcoming climate - not at all like Welkin, whose weather could be changeable, to say the least.
Caden's voice came to him again, and the mouse shrugged. "Well, I don't know really. I'm not sure what, er, interests I have...," he admitted, blushing. "You know I've lived a very isolated kind of lifestyle... sad as it sounds, I'm not really sure how to have a good time. ...So," he added quickly, wanting to steer away from this kind of talk more for his own good than for the benefit of his friends, "I'm pretty much up for anything. I will tell you, though: Whenever Archie took me out to things back home, they were always entertaining. Plays and magic shows mostly - things like stage hypnotism and all that, funnily enough. I liked them a lot, it would have been hard not to. I loved being in the audience and watching things like that unfold."
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Post by bookity101 on Jun 17, 2010 10:28:39 GMT -5
Elle smiled as she felt the money being placed in her paw. This was really cool! It was the first time she had money that was just hers, no one else’s. This wasn’t to go get something for her cousins, and she wasn’t just holding her aunt’s purse for her. Sure Uncle would sometimes give her an allowance, and she had saved most of it, but this was the most she had ever gotten at the same time.
She smiled and jumped back into the conversation;
“I think that anything you guys want to do is just fine… I’ll just need to find a post office before we have to head back to the ship.”
Looking around she saw Spender being hauled off by Peskers. Snickering to herself, she thought it fitting, one bully being out bullied… perfect.
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Post by Ladorak on Jun 17, 2010 22:26:23 GMT -5
"Sorry to disappoint, but I don't think they're as in to street performances in this climate. Too hot I'd wager, and most of their outdoor entertainment would be the bull fights over in the old amphitheater. Hot as all dickens though...that's for sure." the marten commented mostly to himself on that last part. It was as hot as any mid-summer day in Ferlusan.
Caden quickly saw that while there were actually some performers, they were mostly sitting in the shade and playing instruments. It was the same guitar players that had Saumarez bobbing to the beat back on the docks. It was a pretty catchy tune, and had Caden's tail swaying slightly as he passed them by. "There's a post office Elle." he pointed to an official stone looking building only a block away from them, on the waterfront.
He had called her Elle without thinking about it. It was a slip of the tongue, though they did call Elliot El sometimes as it was short for his name but in this case, it was because Caden had been thinking about Elle on those docks, and had thought he smelled her, and had made the simple slip.
But he didn't notice, and turned to face her. "Go ahead, we'll be right outside. Mail my letter too please. I can give you some pence later on after I break some of these pounds up." he grinned sheepishly, aware that he had no small coins with which to pay Elle for the mailing of his letter.
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Post by Carrow on Jun 18, 2010 8:01:27 GMT -5
Carrow had indeed been looking forward to a performance, but Caden's words were of course quite reasonable. "Yeah, I'm figuring that there won't be many around, now I think about it. This heat would discourage most creatures from doing anything all that strenuous out here. I'm going to keep my eyes peeled all the same." Ever the optimist, all of a sudden... quite ironic.
The mouse's sensitive ears also caught the tune being played, and he quite liked the sound of it. The pine marten's tail wasn't the only one swaying as the rodent strained his ears to hear more of the piece. He wasn't a musician by any stretch of the imagination, but he definitely appreciated talent when he heard some being displayed. The trio passed the players by, and Carrow couldn't help but give a cheerful wave. He liked those creatures, and was now actually planning to tip them on his way back.
He twitched his whiskers pleasurably. While it was indeed hot here, it was nothing intolerable, and the mouse was, well, warming to it. He glimpsed the post office, following his companion's outstretched claw. It looked rather impressive - in fact, most things here were managing to without little effort. Crittenden wasn't overly flashy, of course, but to a newcomer such as the Dibbun mouse, it was something else.
Hold on. Carrow had spotted that slip, too. Caden had referred to Elliot as 'Elle'. He couldn't help it, the rodent reasoned. He had of course wondered whether the female beech marteh had been present on the docks, and it seemed as though his thoughts found themselves unable to stray from her. The young wood mouse wasn't going to point out the slip, of course; evidently it had been made unconsciously, as once glance at his friend suggested he wasn't even aware of it.
The long-tailed field mouse would have been very pleased had he been aware of the presence of a certain weasel standing a short distance away from them. He was on the lookout for entertainers in particular, but would go along with anything that came his way. That was the spirit of the thing after all. There were no obligations here. Three young creatures found themselves able to explore, and they could go wherever they wished. Carrow loved this sort of freedom, precisely because it was unfamiliar to him.
--
Selvis Frenata found himself drawn to groups - stood to reason, really. The long-tailed weasel was very often on the lookout for creatures he could attempt to impress with his skills. He was exactly what Carrow was looking for. He didn't have too good a view of the group of companions just yet, but he had spotted the rodent. He seemed rather eager about something, and it was from this that the mustelid deduced that at least the mouse wasn't from these shores.
Ferlusan, and Crittenden in particular, had that sort of effect on visitors. Selvis knew this quite well. Travellers were, more often than not, left astounded by the place, and the weasel was proud of this. He loved Crittenden with all his heart - so why exactly was he planning to leave it? He knew this particular area better than most, and had watched from afar the sight of the HMS Agamemnon docking earlier that morning. So, he thought, it was finally here.
Yes. Selvis was planning to join up aboard the Welkin vessel. You would think that the weasel was making a mistake, right? Well, he was rather adamant. THIS was what he wanted - despite the fact that Ferlusan's navy was well-known as the greatest anywhere. He had his reasons - chief among these being that he wanted to explore, he wanted to see the world. He was even looking forward to the battles that would come their way. Oh, he knew full well that Welkin was at war. News travelled fast after all.
Now, how best to introduce himself? In his round-necked, loose-fitting white shirt (it had to be loose-fitting here of course, otherwise he would roast) and grey trousers, he was inconspicuous, and he also had very quiet paws. He was interested in these three, and he was also looking forward to making new friends too. He didn't want to give them the wrong impression by sneaking up on them, though. He'd just see how things went. Having made up his mind, the weasel set off, rubbing his paws, his blue eyes shining, his yellow-striped tail whipping about almost of its own accord.
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Post by bookity101 on Jun 18, 2010 22:12:24 GMT -5
El froze. Did he realize what he just called her? Well... him? Obviously not. "Uh yeah.. I'll be right back."
El hurried to the building Caden had pointed out. Sure enough it said Post Office in big bold letters on the sign. Ellie hurried into the building, then sat down. She wasn't actually going to mail the letters.... there was no need to. Sighing, she slumped against the wall. It was going to be a long day. And it didn't help that "Eliot" this made up brother of hers, was closer to Caden than Ellie was... She rubbed a paw over her face again.
This was becoming to complicated. It had started out as simply a way of getting out of an awful situation at home. And Ellie really loved her life at sea... it was the best thing that had ever happened to her. But she was still a she after all... and all of this hiding and sneaking around was wearing on her... maybe if she told one of the guy's? No that wouldn't work... ugh... This was so complected! She glanced at the line. The older guy who had entered before her was just leaving, so she headed back to the boys, with Caden's letter tucked in her pocket...
"Hey guy's!" El forced a happy grin. "You'll never believe this..." 'He' hid the letter 'sent' to him behind his back. "I told Ellie that this would be our first stop, and.." He pulled it out and waved it a little. "She sent me a letter!" Opening it just a little, she peeked in, then smirked, just ash she imagined any boy would do if he wanted to tease a friend. "It looks like she sent more than one this time."
El pawed the encouraging note she had written for Carrow out and pawed it to her mouse friend. It was a short one, that basically asked how the mouse was doing, if he was sleeping well, if Eliot and Caden were behaving themselves (Because you just can't trust most boy's to tell it as it is Cer,) And threatened to "reach through the pages and give him a solid cuff" if he allowed himself to stay in a blue funk for more than an hour at a time.
El looked back in the package. "And here's mine..." The letter she had wrote for "Eliot" was simple. Just include information about the cousins, pass on some new "horrible thing" that Aunty was making her learn, and some well meaning teasing of her uncle, and that was it.
A gleam appeared in her eye's as she kept her head down after saying that. After all, she really did want to see how the albino would react to a letter from her... and make him squirm just a little for a practical joke he had pulled on her....
"I think umm.." She frowned as she pulled out the thickest packet of papers with a loopy name drawn on the front. "Hey.. no fair Caden!" She looked at him. "She wrote more to you than she did to me!" Caden's letter almost exactly the same as the one to Eliot, except it held more detail..
"Caden, as I'm writing to you, I'm sitting by the sea, wondering where you are and what type of adventures you are having without me... Oh well, at least Eliot is there and can tell me all about them. I had a lot of fun when we met at the ball... much more fun than the time I set Aunty's dress on fire... you can ask Eliot about that... I miss you Caden, hurry and write back so I can learn more about your adventures at sea... and so I can imagine that I'm there with you too..."
"If you guy's want to read them now, its fine by me... oh, and you guys pick where we go.. I'll just tag along.. quiet as a church mouse.. you'll never now I'm there." This last bit was directed at Carrow along with a wink. That mouse was far to quiet and 'him' for the most part... it do him good to have to decided at what they were doing.
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Post by Carrow on Jun 19, 2010 8:01:26 GMT -5
Carrow immediately whirled around when Elliot told them he had received some post. Elle really wanted to know how they were getting on, it seemed. The mouse definitely had not been expecting to receive anything from the female beech marten, however, and his eyes brightened once again when his friend offered him the note. He scanned it, pocketing it with a small smile. "Oh, so she'd do that, would she?," he asked her 'brother', a trace of mock fear evident in his voice. "Well, Elle's coming in loud and clear here, I suppose I'd do well to take her advice, right?" He smiled at Elliot, giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "More than one, you say?" He nodded, smiling a little to himself.
Caden would be absolutely thrilled to receive news from Elle, of course. It was nice that she was making an effort to keep in touch. So now that was two letters the rodent was planning to write: one to Archie, and one to Elle (with Elliot acting as middlebeast for the safe postage of the latter). He was going to be quite a busy creature it seemed.
"You're going to just tag along?," he repeated, in response to the marten's comments. "Well, alright, I was kind of hoping for a democratic decision as to where we'd go, but if you'd rather leave it up to us, that's fine too. Quiet as a church mouse, you say?" The younster grinned at this turn of phrase. "Or a wood mouse for that matter," he added playfully, winking back at her. He knew that he was perceived as a Dibbun who said little but he didn't mind this in the slightest.
He turned to his other marten companion, giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder. He was all agog to hear of Caden's response to the letter. "So, how is she getting on, mate?," he asked in that softly-spoken voice of his, He'd get those letters written and sent off just as soon as he had time. They had the best part of the day ahead of them, and Carrow was hoping to make the absolute most of it.
--
Selvis had gotten a fix on the trio's location now. They were right outside the post office. Good, he thought, I don't want to startle them or anything, so it helps that they're out in the open. The weasel had good eyesight, and he could see that the group of companions consisted of one mouse (of some description. Despite his good vision, he'd need a closer look before he could make out exactly what breed the rodent was), and two martens. Mustelids, like himself.
Unlike Spender, the long-tailed weasel wasn't prejudiced at all. He afforded all creatures he met the same goodwill, and was only ever hostile towards them if he was given like treatment. He was quite curious about the three friends, and it also seemed to him as though he'd have no reason to be cautious when speaking to them - which was good, because being cautious around beasts his own age never suited this mustelid.
He continued threading his way through the throng of creatures making their way through the streets of Crittenden. He knew how to catch the attention of others, that was for sure. The weasel patted the trio of juggling balls in his trouser pocket. Juggling was a particular talent of his, and he knew from experience that passers-by loved to see such a difficult trick being performed well. He decided then that he would introduce himself through such a display. They would of course be interested in a street performer - they were much more common here than back home - and so their curiosity would be piqued, and thus would Selvis be able to make a connection. He smiled from ear to ear as he kept going, near enough to the post office now, but preferring to stay hidden. He wanted to make a flamboyant entrance after all.
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Post by Ladorak on Jun 19, 2010 23:39:17 GMT -5
Caden was a bit crestfallen at first to learn that there wasn't any letter for him...at least not at first. But then, much to his surprise, Elliot pulled out a thicker envelope than the rest. Surprise, surprise.
Grabbing it from the beech's paws, Caden hurriedly moved a bit into the street, wanting to read the letter somewhat in private. He nearly blundered into a frazzled looking weasel walking with a cane. "Sorry!" he exclaimed, but the weasel, Steep, seemed either not to notice or otherwise didn't care. Quickly opening the envelope, the marten albino went about reading its contents.
His heart started to soar, rising far above Crittenden and traveling back to the shores of Welkin as he pictured Elle sitting by the sea composing this letter to him. How long would he be gone for? How long until he could see her again? It was only now that he was really starting to miss her. Not so much home, as the ship was his home now, but mostly things like Elle.
It threatened to bring tears to his pink eyes, but the marten snapped them shut like venus fly traps and shook his head. No use getting teary eyed here in front of his friends. At least he had gotten a letter to her in the mail. One that could be sent soon. He only hoped he had written soon enough.
Shooting a look over at his mouse companion when he heard his voice and felt his paw on his shoulder, the albino hastily folded up the letter. "I'll go into it later. And besides, I'm sure she mentioned it in the letter to you eh? Maybe not quite as in depth." he said, realizing that might be the case. "But well...I guess I can honestly say that's the only thing I miss about not being in Welkin. Is Elle..." he stated softly, his voice quite low for the busy street, dropping to almost nothing on that last part.
"Anyway come on, let's go check out more of the town." His voice had cracked there a bit. Stupid puberty. Shaking his head again, the marten started moving forward down the street, following the curve of the seaside road.
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Post by Carrow on Jun 20, 2010 6:32:16 GMT -5
Selvis saw one of the martens (the taller one, he reasoned) resume making his way through the streets. He smiled when he saw the mouse hurry to catch up. Peeking from around a corner of the post office building, he darted across the street, the unexpected revelation of his presence still very much on track.
He patted his juggling balls again. Oh, how he was looking forward to putting on a little performance for those three. They were most definitely around his age as well - his sharp ears had ensured him being able to hear the taller marten's voice crack, signifying that he, at the very least, was thirteen years of age. This was all working out quite well thus far.
The weasel knew this particular part of Crittenden like the back of his paw, so he took a shortcut through some back-streets that took him out into the open - and now just ahead of his intended audience, as a quick glance around the corner confirmed. He had a much better view of them now, and he could see that the three friends were, respectively, a pine marten (and an albino one at that! Excellent!, he thought), a beech, and a... wood mouse, it seemed.
Smiling broadly, he stepped out and removed his juggling balls from his trouser pocket. He began a simple yet effective routine, throwing and catching them with the ease that denoted a creature who had been doing this sort of thing for a while. His blue eyes darted back and forth as he kept up his display. His striped tail swayed to and fro behind him, helping to steady him almost in the same way that a squirrel's would.
--
Carrow was trailing Caden, though not by much. He noticed that the pine marten was in very good form indeed, and didn't need to be a genius to work out why. Elle's mere words had such a powerful effect on him, he thought. It's clear that there's something between them that goes right beyond friendship. A pen-friend romance! Aw, how sweet, he thought, smiling to himself. Caden being in good form lifted the mouse's spirits as well.
A pine marten and a wood mouse, heheh, he thought: we're really quite a pair! It could definitely be said that the two companions played off each other brilliantly, and that was quite a boost for the rodent. True friendship, he thought, that small smile still on his features.
"So then, mate," he queried in that soft voice of his, "Elliot was saying that he'd rather leave the picking of locations for our little sightseeing tour up to the two of us - but to be honest, I don't really mind where we go. Have you got any place in particular in mind?," he asked, quite curious to know.
It was then that the rodent spotted the weasel performer. His eyes lit up again. "Look! Look!," he exclaimed, tugging the albino mustelid's paw, pointing with his own. "Haha, I told you there'd be other performers over here! I don't know about you two, but I think I'll go over to take a peek."
He grinned, swishing his tail as he jogged ahead of Caden, and began padding slowly over to the juggling weasel. One of Carrow's strengths was that he was able to take sheer joy from the simplest of things. Sometimes they were the best, he thought. He watched, spellbound, as the weasel continued in his routine.
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Post by Ladorak on Jun 20, 2010 23:09:25 GMT -5
Caden's mind was focused on exploring one thing and one thing only right now. "Drenedel." he said, staring straight ahead and looking for all the world as if he was being led on by a mission. A purpose now. Something had a hold on him...the prospects of exploring that four decker no doubt.
But then Caden's paw was yanked on by Carrow, and he turned to get a look at a rather chipper looking long tail putting on a bit of a show. A juggler? Here? That was unusual...but only because Caden wasn't used to seeing such things. It was something he never even considered trying, but he wandered over all the same, following Carrow's lead, his track temporarily broken.
Watching with pink eyes, the marten wondered what it was that delighted Carrow so much about the act of juggling, though he had to admit that this fellow did seem rather cheery about something. Just what was it? What made his day? The albino stood silently and watched the display, waiting for the weasel to finish up.
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Post by Carrow on Jun 21, 2010 2:21:36 GMT -5
Carrow watched the display with rapt attention. Selvis knew he had a captive audience, even though he hadn't managed to have a proper look at the mouse just yet. Soon, the weasel decided to finish his act with a flourish, catching the colourful juggling balls one after one in his right paw.
The young wood mouse applauded the show, smiling broadly at the the mustelid. "That's quite a talent you have there!," he piped up, moving from his statuesque position. The weasel's eyes, which had been angled upwards as he concentrated on his display, now came downwards to rest upon Carrow's. Selvis was almost a half-foot taller than the rodent - it was clear that when he'd hit puberty it had acted rather quickly upon him.
He flashed Cerinus a toothy grin, winking mischievously at him. "Simple combination of concentration and hand-eye co-ordination, mousey!," he responded. "Most anyone can do that provided they have those two things - although granted it takes a little more to be able to do it well. But then what would I know," he said modestly, swishing his tail, "I'm only what you would call decent I guess."
"Hah, I know ability when I see it," Carrow murmured in response. "You're far too modest for your own good!," he told the weasel, offering the bubbly mustelid his paw. "Here, may as well introduce myself since you've gone through the trouble of striking up a conversation! We don't get much, if any, of that back home. I'm Cerinus Apodemus, though you can call me Carrow. Most do in fact." Though I do have other nicknames, he thought.
The juggler quirked a brow at the Dibbun mouse. "Carrow, eh? Strange nickname, but I can certainly hear where you got it from. Mispronunciation of your first name, I assume?" Carrow was astounded at this. "Er, th-that's right... how'd you know that?" The weasel shook his paw heartily. "'s what I heard when you told me it, I suppose you could say. In my line of work, you pick this kind of thing up quick enough. I'm Selvis Frenata. Don't have a nickname myself." He chuckled, bright blue eyes meeting the mouse's again. "Pleased to meet you."
Carrow stared, transfixed, back into Selvis' sparkling eyes. They seemed to be quite inviting, and especially so for him; they reminded him of another very familiar pair of blue eyes, back home. He knew then that fortune had smiled down upon him at last. He certainly wouldn't mind being reminded of Archie every time he met this fellow's gaze, that was for sure. "You're welcome, Selvis," he said after averting his gaze slightly. "Your line of work, d'you say? So all this isn't just a pastime?"
Selvis released his hold on the long-tailed field mouse's paw, shaking his head. "I planned to make a career out of this someday, actually - but all that is gone by the wayside now, and with good reason. I'm somewhat of an entertainer - at least, that's what I like to think - but I have my mind set on other things. I'll explain later, alright?" He smiled at Carrow, liking the look of the mouse already. Then his eyes strayed to the two martens. "Say, what do we have here?," he commented, transferring his smile to the pair. "A pine marten if I'm not mistaken, as well as a beech." He offered Caden his paw, meeting his fellow mustelid's gaze as he thought it would be most polite to do so. "Pleased to make your acquaintance," he greeted him in a quavering voice. His voicebox didn't seem to know whether it was coming or going at this point, so he coughed, covering his mouth with a paw, and seemed much more sure of himself when he spoke again. "Sorry about that... from the looks of you, you're about my age, so you know how it is I assume. As said, I'm Selvis."
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