|
|
Post by Carrow on May 19, 2010 3:56:27 GMT -5
Cerinus Apodemus shuffled tiredly along, still supported by his pine marten companion, Caden Fugate. The mouse's emotional breakdown just a short while beforepaw had taken it out of him, so even though the wood mouse had slept soundly for an hour and a half before a rude awakening from Spender Cielcosk had triggered all these events, he was still quite tired. He knew there was more work to be done (though of what kind he couldn't say), but to say that the rodent was merely looking forward to his rest once the night rolled around would have been to use massive understatement.
Due to his mental exhaustion, the youngster was still drained, but he knew it would take a while for the various effects of his earlier troubles to wear off. He smiled at his mustelid companions, the other being Elliot McNamee, a sprightly beech marten. Just like Carrow, he was quite sensitive to the feelings of other beasts - and the mouse of course admired this. It was quite a good skill to have.
"There... that's it," Caden murmured in his friend's ear, "you'll be feeling more chipper soon, Carrow, especially after you get a bit more grub inside you." The albino patted Carrow's shoulder gently in a reassuring gesture. Then the pine marten noticed that a certain tall stoat was heading towards them. As he'd said earlier, Captain Ladorak Fugate was indeed off duty, and it seemed that the friendly creature was doing a quick sweep of the ship before supper.
Ladorak was indeed doing rounds, as it were, but the stoat's leisurely stride seemed purposeful. His green eyes shone when he spotted Caden. That had been a lot easier than expected. I can't say I knew where exactly he was after all. He continued on his way towards the three kits, a warm smile on his face. He had a soft spot for younger creatures, and while he could indeed be firm at times, it was only when he needed to be. The stoat was a compassionate beast, and this is why he took on a concerned demeanour when he noticed Carrow's condition.
"Ah, Seajacks Caden, Carrow and Elliot. How are you all doing?," he asked kindly. Caden and his rodent friend came to attention, raising their heads to meet the Captain's gaze. The albino, who had just recently expressed a great desire of his to that same stoat, was the first to speak. "I'm doing quite well, sir," he responded in a respectful tone of voice. "I'm just going off to supper now - and giving Carrow a little assistance on his way too."
"I see," Ladorak replied, crouching and meeting the wood mouse's red-rimmed eyes. "Everything alright?," he queried, his brow knitting as he was a litle worried about the young creature. "Well... it is now sir, to an extent," Carrow responded honestly. "I had a bit of an incident earlier... if you know what I mean. It's a long story, sir. You know I've been trying not to let these things happen, but it's really hard at times..." The mouse sounded more quiet even than usual.
"Yes, I understand. Well, you told me that you would try your best with these... incidents, as you call them, and I can tell that you're a mouse of your word - not to mention I can tell you like being on board, and wouldn't forfeit that for anything. It's alright." Must have been something pretty bad, he thought, the poor kit looks rather frazzled still. "Did you get some rest?" "Yes, sir... though it's not really done me any good now. Oh well. I'll be fine soon, I hope." "Glad to hear it," Ladorak replied, patting the long-tailed field mouse's other shoulder.
"This brings me to what I'd actually been looking to tell Caden. I was wondering where he was, you see. I have a proposal to make to him." He smiled at his charge, and Caden felt his heart rate quicken ever so slightly. "I would ask that you join me in my quarters for supper. I have a couple of things I would like to discuss with you as well, but they can wait for the moment. Don't worry," he assured the pine marten when he spotted the fleeting look of fear on his features. "You haven't done anything wrong - in fact, you've been doing rather a good job, all things considered. Just a few things I'd like to talk to you about, alright? What do you think?"
The albino pine marten grinned, pink eyes brightening to pinpoints of light. "Sure, I'd love to, sir! Thanks for the offer!" He turned to Carrow and Elliot. At this rate it seemed he would be busy the rest of the day. "Sorry, mates; know we were planning to have supper together down below, but, well, you know how it is. Can't really pass this up, can I?" Carrow nodded understandingly, knowing full well that he would be jumping for joy were he in his friend's position. He was immensely fond of the charismatic mustelid after all. "It's fine," the rodent replied, smiling at his friend. "I can see you're quite happy at the prospect. Take care then, matey, and we'll see you around. I'm sure that we'll have quite a bit to discuss next time I see you!" That particular prospect cheered the wood mouse up quite a bit.
Caden removed his paw from the rodent's shoulder. "Looking forward to it," he responded. "You gonna need any more help getting about? You still look rather pale, you know. Well, if you do, I'm sure Elliot can lend you a paw. Bye for now, you two!" He turned and departed with the stoat he longed to call his father, his chest swelling proudly as he walked. Soon, the pair had gone, and Carrow and Elliot were left alone.
"I suppose we had better get going again. Don't want to be picked up as late for supper, do we?," Carrow asked the beech marten cheerfully, already feeling better. He was still rather unsteady on his paws, though; it was plain to see that the young creature was still not yet quite himself, despite everything.
|
|
|
|
Post by bookity101 on May 20, 2010 22:35:15 GMT -5
Elle was still waking up from the nap she had just been taking. So basically she was following along with whatever was said, saluting where needed, nodding along when prompted. Only fully waking up in time to wave bye to Caden, then smile widely at Caden.. "We most certainly won't be that, Lets go!" El snagged the arm of the still slightly depressed mouse and charged off towards the gundeck, hopefully leaving the gloomy part of him to be blown away in the wind... ((short,short,short,short,short... but its there, and feel free to auto El to the table and whatever  just avoid any alcohol this time around... she's not ready for that )) |
|
|
|
Post by Carrow on May 21, 2010 5:35:11 GMT -5
((Sure, that's fine  ) Cerinus chuckled softly as the enthusiastic beech marten took a gentle but firm hold of his arm and began rushing him along to supper. He smiled at the mustelid as he was jostled along, too. There was a sense that things were getting back to normal for him, but it could definitely be noticed he was still in a sort of daze. The mouse wasn't all that sure he'd be taking supper right away when they got t the mess. He knew he needed to sit down a while... collect his thoughts a bit before doing anything else. There was also the idea of trying to strike up a steadier friendship with Elliot. He'd been relatively quiet that day, but now that the rodent and mustelid could look forward to a little time together, he was hoping he could capitalise on the opportunity. He wouldn't have passed up an opportunity such as this one for the world. First, though, they'd need to take their places. He felt strange within himself. He acknowledged that he'd need to eat at some point during the next hour, but his appetite was coming and going every now and then. He defintely still felt out of sorts; it was clear to see that, no matter how much he was trying to cover it up, he'd been shaken by recent events. It wasn't just going to disappear, and he knew that those kinds of thoughts would always be there too. Pushing this away and repressing it didn't seem like the right thing to do, so it seemed that the Dibbun would need to come to terms with it sooner or later. But then that was where the various sources of help came in, he thought. All this was troubling the wood mouse a little, but nonetheless he tried to shake it off, striking up conversation with this potential new friend of his as they ran - grateful indeed for that support offered by Elliot's paw. "So - how are you enjoying... life on the open seas?," he asked haltingly, not all that used to the awkward sensation of movement that he was experiencing at that moment. "Things have been, well... eventful for me over the last couple of hours, ironically enough. I was supposed to just be waking up now in fact. How have you been doing?" The pair took the stairs to the lower gundeck, Elliot in the lead. The marten had no intention of relaxing the pace he'd set, it seemed. Soon, they were on their way to the mess hall. Carrow knew he had to make a decision as regarded what he'd be doing once they arrived there. Finally, he decided to speak out. There was a confused look evident in his eyes - the tired creature's peepers now had those bags beneath them once again, though the mouse was really in two minds about sleeping on their next leisure time. I'll see how things go I guess, he thought. "Er, Elliot...," he murmured as they stood at the entrance to the mess hall. "You go on ahead and get something to eat. I'm... not really hungry right now, strangely enough. My appetite's acting up. I'm just going to sit down for the moment." This shouldn't be happening, he thought as he broke the marten's grip. "You'll know where to find me," he said gently, smiling weakly at him before padding off over to the table and wearily taking a seat. I just need to get my things together... then I should be fine, he thought, simply sitting there in a kind of half-awake state. |
|
|
|
Post by bookity101 on May 23, 2010 15:37:17 GMT -5
El glanced over 'his' shoulder at the mouse. "How do I like living on the high sea?" El glanced at him. She knew he was having a tough time of it. The whole thing with Spender sure hadn't helped the mouse at all. But she couldn't lie to him either... "So far I'm loving it Carrow." El stopped in the door way so she could spread her paws wide. "I love the freedom this allows." El felt a mischievous grin grow on her face. "No more silly cousins doing the oddest stuff, no more demanding school." El's smile hitched a little. 'No more being me...' Then she she grinned again saying. "And no more crazy aunt and uncle!" El stopped smileing as she listened to Carrow explain he was going to wait. "oh... OK Carrow..." El walked over to the line. Not really thinking about what she was getting till she glanced down at her plate. Peas... great, she hates peas, always had... not that she'd had them in several years. At least the generous meat portion made up for the peas. Taking the water portion for the night. She headed back to the table. El sat the plate in-between the two of them. "Here, we'll share, and when we're done, you go up and get your plate." Elle tore of a small part of the meat portion and popped it in her mouth. Holding out a piece to him she said; "Come on Car, it's really good." (Add whatever else you want to to the plate. I knew they'd have a meat, and I assumed they had leftover peas, so thats why they have peas...  ) |
|
|
|
Post by Carrow on May 24, 2010 2:09:55 GMT -5
Elliot really did seem to be enjoying himself out here, the mouse thought. Living on board a ship did allow a certain amount of freedom; in that much, at least, Cerinus agreed with the beech marten. Of course there were tasks to be performed - there always was, and there always would be, he supposed - but otherwise there was quite a lot of ship to explore.
The rodent's thoughts returned to this notion as he sat, statuesque, at the table. Another flaw he'd always possessed was that when things went badly for him, he ruminated on them for far too long. Here, however, he was trying to steer his mind away from such torture, and as difficult as it was for him in his state, he made an effort. Exploration of the ship - of course! That was one thing he could discuss with Elliot when the mustelid returned.
As noisy as things were in the mess hall, they weren't exactly at fever pitch like they had been when they'd sat down for lunch. Must be quite a few other creatures still to arrive. I bet I could think of such a one... a certain ferret, most likely. Where'd he gotten to, he wondered? He'd probably be hauled up by his tail any minute now. By the amount of activity here at the moment, I would guess it's past five... yep, it's almost ten past now.
(He had of course taken a glance at his trusty pocket watch, flipping open its cover and looking at the display within.) Great seasons, he'd want to get here soon. Wouldn't want to be him if he got found out, he thought ruefully - little guessing that the bully had been in trouble only about an hour previously!
The remnants of the cheese-oatmeal mess had been dried to a light crust on certain parts of the mouse's fur. He trailed a paw across a patch, miling when he realised how flaky it was, crumbling at his light touch and floating to the floor. He probably wouldn't need to inconvenience himself by washing too soon; after all, time wasn't his friend right now. It was barely noticeable, but of course the mouse wasn't one to neglect such duties like maintaining cleanliness, so he decided to take care of that as soon as possible.
He glanced up at Elliot and his plate as the creak of wood announced the marten's return. He looked at the food she'd chosen. Meat, peas and (to his delight) cheese. He wouldn't ask for any, though... at least not yet. Maybe his appetite would return soon? Either they were running low on food for today, or he was a fussy eater. Carrow smiled: probably the latter. Most creatures tended to be, to varying degrees. He smiled slightly, red-rimmed brown eyes meeting hers. "Thanks... I'll see if I can manage it." He took the piece from her, tearing a strip off for himself and taking a bite. There was cutlery on each side of him, but he didn't know how clean or otherwise the tables were, and didn't want to risk contaminating Elliot's food, so he used his paws.
His smile grew; she was right, it was actually rather nice! Holding the strip in his left paw, he spoke, his voice still sounding a little weak. "How have you been finding the ship itself, Elliot?," he queried now. "I mean, have you been doing any exploring or anything of that sort?" The Dibbun had of course gone exploring with Caden, hours ago. Hours ago?, Carrow thought. Was that all it had been? So much had happened since then... He hoped his pine marten friend was enjoying himself in Captain Fugate's company. How could he not be? The stoat was a creature he looked up to immensely, after all - and it was no secret that the mouse did too.
|
|
|
|
Post by bookity101 on May 27, 2010 22:07:01 GMT -5
"I like living on the ship." El snagged a couple more bites of food, leaving most of the cheese, preferring the meat and forcing some of the peas, opting to use her paws as well.
"Of course I haven't met the beast I'm apprenticed to yet." She scrunched her nose up comically at her mouse companion. "He might be a real pain, but I think being with friends will make up for." El grinned at the mouse.
"What do you think Carrow,?
((ughy... curse this shortness!!!))
|
|
|
|
Post by Carrow on May 28, 2010 2:37:37 GMT -5
"Ah, so you *do* like it here!," Carrow exclaimed, smiling. "I was wondering. Not that I reckoned you didn't, of course, I was just hoping you didn't feel like you were already in over your head... like certain other creatures...," the mouse murmured, coughing nervously and taking another bite of his meat.
"There's a lot to do here, I'll say that much," the rodent commented with a gentle chuckle. His eyes even went as far as to sparkle a bit. Once again, 'Elliot''s presence was helping to coax the youngster out of his despondency. She reminded him of Archie in a way: she just seemed to have that compassionate look about her.
"I like being kept busy, though. Makes for a nice change to how I used to live, actually. Anyways... oh yes, we have to meet our masters at some point today, that's right!," the youngester exclaimed again, twitching slightly. The beech marten could see how excited he was at that particular prospect.
"I could have done so earlier on, I have to admit, but, heheh" - here, Carrow blushed a little, whipping his tail in a slightly embrassed fashion - "my paws then decided to force me into doing a statue impression. I only got so far and then just stopped. Couldn't take a single step further... confound those nerves of mine...," he said sadly, whiskers drooping again. Why couldn't he have followed through with it? Oh well, no point thinking about that now; wha's done is done.
"I don't know what kind of creature he is, at any rate. He could be gentle and welcoming, or harsh and distant; I don't know or mind either way, because I know that if he's the latter, I at least have a few creatures on board that *are* gentle and welcoming." Here he finally raised his head and met Elliot's eyes, smiling at her. "We'll soon find out anyway. Oh, and I think my appetite's on its way back too!"
|
|
|
|
Post by bookity101 on May 31, 2010 18:01:57 GMT -5
El nodded sympathetically along with Carrow.
"I hate when I freeze up, it's so annoying." El scrunched her nose up as she remembered the last time she had frozen. It had not turned out pretty... Elle couldn't help but smile warmly in return to Carrow's.
"Well why don't you run through the line real quick Car." El's smile grew sheepish.
"Its not that I mind sharing but..." El looked at her almost empty plate, then back at the mouse. "There really isn't a lot of food for two beast on one plate..."
|
|
|
|
Post by Carrow on Jun 1, 2010 3:40:24 GMT -5
Cerinus could be rather fleet of paw when he needed to, but even with that in mind, time was not the mouse's friend at that point. Granted, he didn't need to eat that much, and the line had thinned out considerably in those ten minutes that had elapsed since the rodent and mustelid had entered the mess, but he knew he needed to get a move on all the same.
"Oh, I was planning to eat alright, just wasn't sure when that would be. I'll go do that right away then. See you in a bit, alright?" The wood mouse smiled at his beech marten companion as he stood up and padded over to the end of the line. Taking a tray in his paws, he went through the servers one by one. He wasn't sure how much he could stomach, even at this stage, but he knew that he'd be able to manage something.
As it was, the Dibbun went and chose a thick slice of meat, a couple pawfuls' worth of peas, and a relatively generously-proportioned slice of cheese. Finally, the rodent chose water again. He was steering clear of the alcohol for now. Regardless of this he wouldn't have had been able to keep it down.
Satisfied, Carrow returned to his table. He noticed that Spender was still absent from the mess. Where in the name of my whiskers could he have gotten to, he pondered. Probably still hiding out, terrified that Caden will find him, or something. He'll come through here soon, whether by his own volition, or being hauled to table by one of the higher-ups. Knowing him it'll probably be the latter.
The mouse took his seat again, whiskers twitching a little as he locked eyes with Elliot again. "Now that's what I call speedy service!," he commented, smiling. "Thoroughly decent little spread I've got here. You know, if you're still feeling a tad peckish, I could share some with you if you want. It really wouldn't be any trouble, Elliot." One of the golden rules of making friendships, he thought: in most cases, generosity gets you places.
The long-tailed field mouse started making inroads on his peas, consuming them with great relish. There was no longer any trace of the remains of Spender's mess on him. Indeed, to look at him now, you'd think that he'd just been rudely awoken through another means, for although the younsgter still seemed more than a little down, he was trying his best not to show it, and merely seemed quite tired - the word 'merely' being used in relative terms of course.
|
|
|
|
Post by spender on Jun 6, 2010 10:59:05 GMT -5
He might've napped. It was hard to tell, down in this deck. Spender thought it was really stupid of them not to have windows down here—I mean, there's windows everywhere else on the ship! And barely any lamps... who built this bucket? I could make a better ship with my blocks...
Only he had a feeling he should not play with his blocks down here. Things smelled musty, and everybeast walking past was in a busy mood, and he'd only just found a spot to curl his footpaws and tail out of the way without being trod on. He was given more than a few glares (although just as many gave a greeting of some sort.) He was too paralyzed with fear of reprisal that he'd lost all motivation to explore further.
And then it had grown quiet...
His whiskers drooped, his nose pressing harder against his bulky bag of blocks...
He dooked awake with a start. Something poked his arm again. Following the paw up its arm, he stared into the face of a weasel.
"Oi," the weasel said. "What're you doing down here, troublemaker? It's suppertime! Get your tail up there and eat!"
"'m not hungry," Spender whinged.
"Not hungry sir," the weasel warned. He glanced over his shoulder and licked his lips. "I'm a corporal, see, and you're just a seajack. Master at Arms already told you once, so don't forget it again. He might be a big softy, but I... oho, I like to see some proper order and respect among the crew, understand? I won't think twice about swattin' ye, ferret. Now you get your hide up to supper with a 'sir' on your tongue and a bushy tail on your bottom, or it won't just be your own throw-up you'll be cleanin' this week."
"But I'm not hungry... sir," Spender said.
"I didn't ask," the weasel hissed, grabbing Spender's arm. Hauling the ferret up, he led him to the stairway. "Now git."
Lip trembling, Spender staggered along. He clutched his bag tight to his chest, eyes darting all around. He hadn't gotten in trouble yet, but maybe they just hadn't found him, and the weasel corporal wasn't aware he was a wanted stripling...
There was his table. There was Carrow—the mouse seemed to have gotten over the prank—and Elliot. But no Caden. Strange.
Spender found a tray and approached the food with caution. He hadn't been lying—his stomach was still in an uproar, and food was the last thing on his mind. But once he got close enough to smell it, his instincts kicked in; he had not managed to digest any of his previous meal, after all.
"Hey," one of the stewards, a young mink, said, "what are you doing? Two from your table've already collected!"
"Huh?"
"Those two—they got food already, they were s'posed to get enough for your whole table."
"I wasn't here..." Spender lowered his tray sadly. "An' besides," he added, "That's Caden's job an' he's not here either."
"Argh, fine!" Giving a lopsided grin, the mink began to spoon food. "Mind you, I'm only doing this just the once, 'cos you're s'posed to be working with us..."
"Huh? I am?"
The mink frowned a moment. Geez, he's a bit thick... He shrugged. "Yeah. Lesse..."
"Pint of water," another steward supplied. "Had a pint of beer earlier. Cielciosk, right?"
"Yeah, but I didn't have no—"
"Don't try it," the mink shook his head. "It's all noted down. You've had your pint, now just take the water and move along, lad. See you later!"
Grumbling, Spender took his tray and stopped, staring at the table. Where was Caden?
Maybe he could slip into someone else's table...
Spender began to head over to an empty spot, only to see the Master at Arms coming down the aisle towards him. He turned and bolted, slamming himself down beside Elliot. He hunched his shoulders and lowered his head, not meeting the gaze of his messmates, and began to snort his food as quietly and quickly as possible. The less time he had to sit in front of Carrow, the better.
|
|
just avoid any alcohol this time around... she's not ready for that 
)
)