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Post by Carrow on Jun 27, 2010 10:52:44 GMT -5
"Great SEASONS!," Carrow exclaimed, though still trying to keep his voice low. "Well, my eyes must really have been playing tricks on me, there." He chuckled nervously. "I suppose it's the lack of sleep I've ben having - it's only just kicked in around now I suppose. Oh, well, that really does change things. It'd be a really nice thing to have though, all the same. I know I certainly would pay for it if I were in your position. It seems worth it nonetheless."
The mouse had had rather a good look at the model for the short time he'd viewed it. His eyes and been particularly drawn to the colour. Wait a second, he'd thought. That looks familiar somehow... and then recognition dawned on him. He knew that it matched the colour of Captain Fugate's fur. Now, how's that for an interesting coincidence?
Selvis flashed the pine marten a brief smile when he was informed that Caden had made up his mind. He nudged Carrow. "Really does seem taken with that ship," he murmured. "Oh, you should have seen him this morning. Couldn't take his eyes off the real thing when he saw it. He's not going to regret buying that model, that's for sure," the rodent responded with a cheerful flick of his tail.
The business between the pine marten and civet was concluded rather swiftly, Carrow's eyebrows rose when he heard the stoat Captain's name being mentioned. Ah, so it was a present? Wow, the mustelid had been really generous there. Just like Ladorak would have been in his position, no doubt. He saw more of the stoat's character in his companion every day, and it made him smile when he thought of how the Captain had affected every creature on board the Agamemnon. He was that kind of creature.
"We can't believe you just did that either!," he replied when Caden turned back to them. "Fair enough if you wanted to get him just any present, but well, I'm stunned! That's real generosity, matey, and hopefully he'll appreciate that. I can imagine him being rather surprised, but in a good way. Nice work - somehow I knew you would end up buying that wonderful model at some point today, Drenedel's had a hold on you ever since you saw it this morning." He smiled, patting his friend's paw.
Selvis' eyes sparkled when Caden addressed him. He smiled a little, though seemed to be a little nervous about something. Was now the best time to tell them of his intentions? He wasn't sure how exactly he should go about it, and even thinking about revealing his ambitions made the mustelid tense up. What if he were to... no. Not right now. Even though he was the kind of person who just went with anything that was thrown at him, he was rather uncertain about opening up. They would probably think it strange, having a Ferlusanian pass over his own navy to pitch in with them. They'd find out in due course, though; now just wasn't the right time. Truth be told, even he found it a tad strange, even now, but it was what he wanted.
"I should say I do!," he replied eagerly. "I've always been drawn to the idea of a life at sea, and of course we pride ourselves on our Navy here. I don't think there's one creature my age that I know who hasn't thought about enlisting at some point in the last year. I've been giving it a lot of thought myself, but I haven't really come to a decision yet. It most definitely appeals to me, but I'm not a hundred per cent on the idea yet..."
The longtail trailed off with a nervous cough, his smile vanishing. Of course, he HAD made a decision, he just didn't want the others to know of it just yet. He put the thought of following through with his most unusual ambition out of his head once again, shuffling his footpaws in an awkward manner, trying to think of ways he could change the subject. Then an idea hit him, and he smiled again. "I've always wondered though, what exactly is life like out on the open sea? I've heard stories about it, but never anything first-paw, and I'm more than a little curious, I must admit. What do you think of it all, Caden?"
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Post by bookity101 on Jun 28, 2010 15:32:04 GMT -5
Ellie smiled as she saw Caden pay for the Drenedel for Ladorak. The older males’ traits were definitely rubbing off on her friend. And it was a very good thing in her mind. Still smiling, she wandered to the section of the store that specialized in smaller items. Wandering, she found a section of small tags with imprints of different ships outlines, wandering about she found the smaller ships. Picking up a couple of the frigates she began to read the names. One was called Lightning, another one read Freemont-Fugate the next was- wait. El picked up the small ship he had just placed down. Reading it again, she was amazed. It really did say Freemont-Fugate. Looking around she found one of the workers in the store;
"Hey, what type of ship is this one?" The squirrel glanced at her in surprise. He apparently hadn't been expecting her to speak in Ferlusan. She quirked an eyebrow at the squirrel. "The ship type is?" The squirrel shook her head. "It's a sloop, one of the fastest of its time." El cocked her head to one side.
"Of its time?" The squirrel nodded.
"Yes, she went down in the storm of the coast of Ferlusa about four or five years ago now." Elle nodded her thanks, then made her way back over to the stand. These tags were just about the same size as the tags on Caden's neckband... She looked over her shoulder at Caden... Good he was still busy at at the counter. Ellie undid her own leather band, the one she wore around her wrist. On the inside of the band was the tag Caden had given her before he left. Holding the new tag up to the old one she found that it was almost the exact same size, and would fit into to the slot with some working. Looking up again she found the same squirrel she had talked to earlier.
“How much for two of these?” “That’ll be 11 pence total lad.” El took a shilling from ‘his’ pocket and pawed it over to the worker. As he walked back to his companions, he studied the two tags. The simple metal gleamed slightly in the light coming from the windows, and she quickly hid them in he paws when the light glinted into Carrow and Caden’s eyes as she came up to them. El stood there listening to Selvis and Carrow talk for a moment, but soon headed back to the counter.
“Hey, do you have a small sack I can put these in?” The squirrel shook her head at the young martin, but not in a negative response. She just was getting a kick out of the fact that this little lad was using female pronouns when referring to himself.
“Yes we do.” She held out a paw and to El and then deftly wrapped the tags tightly in a sack. With a small smile, she pawed the bag back. “A gift for a friend?” El nodded ‘his’ head in agreement. “Yeah, my friend’s birthday was last month… and we were at sea and I…” The female behind the counter smiled, he had used the female pronoun again. “…didn’t know it was his birthday.” The lads face lit up “And these tags have his last names on them.” She smiled at the happy beech martin, then decided to help him out with his language skills.
“Your Ferlusan is quite good…” El smiled. ‘Yes! Those lessens in languages were actually worth it!’ “… But you might want to check your pronouns. You keep referring to yourself with female nouns.” El blanched. She had been taught both ones… but she wasn’t used to using the male ones in reference to herself. Blushing she stammered a thank you to the giggling store clerk, then headed back towards the group. Selvis had just begun to address Caden, so she took a place between Carrow and Caden, not wanting to interrupt anything; she hung back a little bit from the others, waiting for them to be done.
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Post by Ladorak on Jun 28, 2010 22:34:23 GMT -5
Caden thought for a moment, glad that Elliot seemed to be animated again. He was off doing his own shopping it seemed, but Caden motioned for them to begin heading outside. "C'mon...let's head out into the day. We don't wanna be inside all the time after all. I'll tell you down by the water." The marten exited the shop, and began wandering over to the sea wall, placing his paws down firmly on the stones and gazing out at the harbor, squinting in the bright light.
"It's like nothing you'll ever experience anywhere else...I can say that. It's a floating city...a ship of the line that is. Everybeast has a job and a place. It makes the ship run smoothly that way. Sometimes you have to get up without much sleep, but every other day you get eight hours' worth. Up at dawn, and if you're on the starboard watch you have to scrub the decks down with holystones...big rocks the size of Bibles...it's why they call them holystones. Or larboard watch you get to sleep in. Either way, hammocks up, and begin your routine."
He scanned the harbor, eyes roving from ship to ship to ship. "It can get a bit repetitive, and we haven't actually seen combat yet. I hear that's what really breaks it up. But still...I'm getting used to it and I do like the routine. Working my way through my duties and learning the ropes. We haven't had gunnery practice yet, but will be getting that come next month, when we head into the Cobalt. I'll enjoy this time on land before we have to ship out again...and then back to the routine."
His voice had some longing in it, as he knew he couldn't stay away from his job or the sea for too long. "Did you manage to pick up anything Elliot? I saw you holding something earlier...at least I think I did." He turned to the beech marten now, leaning his back against the wall and focusing more on his companions.
"And Selvis, hoped that answered your question."
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Post by Carrow on Jun 29, 2010 1:42:13 GMT -5
Carrow thought he may as well as well add in his tuppence-worth. He smiled at the weasel, picking up on one of the things his pine marten companion mentioned, in particular. He knew they had done relatively little training, but he didn't mind mind that at all: time was on their side right now, so he wasn't particularly worried. He could now feel the wind on his whiskers again, and it was a rather pleasant sensation; it made him smile - as did his friend\s words. When the albino had finished, he jumped in.
"Heh, yes indeed, it's some life, out there on the open sea," he piped up. "There's a lot to do with task and routine, on board a ship, but the time that we get to ourselves definitely makes up for it. We've been kept busy, at the very least. The schedule for a normal day doesn't leave all that much time for training, but that doesn't bother me. I know we'll start tackling that properly when the time comes. I'm looking forward to it - I've heard tell we're actually doing combat training relatively soon...," he informed the long-tailed mustelid, voice dropping to the level of an awed whisper.
"It's certainly unique, like Caden said. Sure, a creature can often go without that much sleep, but I don't mind it all that much - I'm used to not sleeping, see...," he murmured, trailing off, and shuffling his paws awkwardly. Selvis looked like a sharp-eyed weasel, and had probably noticed the rodent's fatigued state by now. The wood mouse had of course left himself open for an enquiry by the longtail into his sleeping difficulties, and while he was fine with this, he knew he'd simply have to allude to the reasons behind his troubles, and nothing more, as he couldn't bring himself to go into detail with them. Not here... not when everything was going so well.
Selvis had indeed picked up on the youngster's tired condition. It wasn't really something he could relate to, for the weasel was something of a heavy sleeper most of the time. It helped him, though: he had the look of a creature who was seldom off-form - at least in a physical sense. He heard Caden speak again, and smiled. "Between the two of you, that was a better answer than even I could have hoped for!," he responded. "It sounds absolutely wonderful out there. Did I hear you say earlier that your ship's called the Agamemnon? That's a nice name. I haven't been all that near the docks so as to see it, but maybe I can head back with you to have a look later on." And try enlisting while I'm at it, he thought, completing that particular sentence in his head.
Ooh, maybe I can get a look at some of the other ships stationed here, he thought, this idea sounding like great fun altogether. It was the Agamemnon that he ruminated over the most, however. It really did seem like a special place to be - the ship itself seemed rather appealing, but something told him that it had more to do with the creatures living on board than anything else.
"But yes... Elliot. I was afraid you'd disappeared," the mustelid murmured, smiling at the beech marten now as his curiosity got the better of him. "Did you find anything? You were gone for a while, so there's a good chance there was something that took your fancy. Was there?," Selvis queried. He'd seemed fine off on his own, though the marten suddenly seemed much more animated. Probably been lifted out of that pensive mood he was in earlier on. Good - although granted, he does still seem a tad shy. Oh well, maybe we can work on that a little. His tail swayed gently as they continued on their way, almost as though it were actually being blown about by the wind.
Carrow was quite pleased to hear of Selvis' excitement at the thought of seeing their ship. Oh, he knew that he'd probably seen much bigger and nicer ships than that, but the mouse was of the opinion that there really was nothing else like the Eggs and Bacon, for reasons he was still having trouble pinning down. He just couldn't explain it.
As he joined his pine marten companion in leaning against the seawall , his thoughts once again turned to Spender. You really notice when he isn't around; just what was he getting up to? He was keeping himself busy anyway - somehow. Must really be something rather fascinating to keep him occupied all this time; the mustelid doesn't seem to have all that much of an attention span. Selvis hasn't met him yet - and he's obviously not a rodent, so there's nothing for that bully to immediately disapprove of, he thought bitterly. Ah, to blazes with him anyway - he's just prejudiced.
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Post by Ladorak on Jun 30, 2010 9:31:44 GMT -5
Caden found it a tad strange that Carrow was saying things that he himself had just said to Selvis. Yeah...I already mentioned about the training mate... he didn't say out loud, keeping it to himself. Maybe the mouse just hadn't been paying close attention, or felt the need to repeat the marten's words, but whatever it was, Caden saw it was a slip that was atypical of Carrow. He was normally very attentive to detail. Oh well...he was talking about his own experiences now, which was better at least.
As it was, the mouse had made another slip too. The Starboard watch had plenty of time for training. Three and a half hours in fact, from 8:30 to noon. However, Ladorak had simply not implemented it as much, as it was Captain's decision. So in that regard, Caden could forgive Carrow for this slip because chances were he simply didn't know. They had done some small arms training, fighting with swords and pistols and learning how to fire muskets, though Caden was barely able to hold a gun that large.
He knew that Ladorak would start the gunnery training the minute they left Crittenden however. Every mammal on board (and reptiles if there were any) would be required to run through the routine on their Starboard watch. Caden was looking forward to it...he wanted to learn the ropes, and learn how to fire a gun and what his place was. After all...he was part of a large team, and once he made Midshipjack he wouldn't be helping to fire the gun anymore, he would be instead helping to direct the actual fire in combat...so he would need to get this stuff down ahead of time.
A sudden thought occurred to him though as Carrow and Selvis got done speaking. "Oh hey Selvis! What are the bull fights like here? I heard they're...well gory. I mean mustelids killing bulls? That's...something I'd like to see." half in jest and disbelief. He simply couldn't fully fathom a mustelid fighting a bull. He realized then that he'd sort of interrupted Elliot and Selvis, and with a blush he clammed up, giving Elliot an embarrassed smile.
"Sorry...I guess we got a regular round of talks going here. I guess we can just trade off back and forth." he said, still giving Elliot an embarrassed look. Sorry for interrupting his pink eyes said.
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Post by bookity101 on Jul 1, 2010 14:53:44 GMT -5
El followed the group down to the docks, listening to the others descriptions of life at sea. Thinking that they had covered it pretty well, she kept her silence on the subject. She was about to answer Selvis’ question when Caden spoke up. Nodding slightly in acknowledgment of his unspoken apology, she turned to Selvis;
“Yes I found something that I wanted to send to my sister.” ‘He’ looked up, considering what to do with the tags.
“Actually I have something for you Caden, here.” Reaching into the bag she withdrew one of the tags. “I thought you’d like this, and they didn’t have one of the ship you bought a model of so this it is.”
Ellie bit her lip as she pawed the picture of the sloop over to him. “It’ll even fit on your necklace there I do believe my friend.” She smiled, still a little worried that he wouldn’t want or appreciate it. “Happy belated Birthday, from me and Ellie.” ‘He’ smiled a little wider, shifting from one paw to another. Then ‘he’ looked back at Selvis.
“And no, I did not disappear… I was just quiet for awhile.” She rolled her eyes in good humor at him. Glancing over at Caden again, she decided to voice his question again.
“Are their any bull fights around here?” Ellie then bit her lip. She had just realized that she had slipped into Ferlusan when addressing Selvis… hopefully she had used the proper pronoun….
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Post by Ladorak on Jul 1, 2010 20:31:10 GMT -5
Caden was surprised to find that Elliot was actually reaching inside his bag to bring out a present for of all beasts himself! He took it in his claws, and studied it, turning it over in his paws and glancing at the picture. It looked like a frigate...except it didn't have many cannon so that made it a...sloop?
But then he felt his heart stop. Whoa! The name of the ship...was that really the Freemont-Fugate? His brows lifted at this incredulously, as if seeing wasn't necessarily believing. But there it was. She looked to be in rising seas, beating towards a distant shore. At least it looked like she was beating, judging by the direction of the waves. Who knows...maybe she was just close hauled.
Either way, the name was the most shocking part to the stripling. "How on Earth..." he muttered, knitting his brows together and still trying to make sense of it. That was his mother's name...his real last name...coupled with Ladorak's last name. And it was a Ferlusanian vessel of all things. He was fairly certain that neither his mother's family...actually technically his father's family (his mother's family were the Skens), or Ladorak's family were famous over here, yet that here was the name of the ship.
And yes, it could go about his neck band...but he would have to attend to that later, as he lacked a mirror and his snout blocked his gaze from seeing the area he needed to attach it to.
Giving Elliot a serious look of gratitude, the marten almost looked pained as he mouthed the words "thank you" to the beech. He didn't say them out loud because he didn't seek to interrupt Selvis, who was probably going to be telling them about the bull fights here presently.
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Post by Carrow on Jul 2, 2010 8:00:40 GMT -5
Selvis smiled at the beech marten. "Oh, well it's good to have you back then, in that case. I thought you were just generally shy I guess. Good to see that's not the case." He chuckled, wondering how best to respond to his question.
"I'm glad you asked me that, Elliot. Are there any bullfights around here? I should say there are. Let me just think a moment; how far are we away from the arena... hmm, around fifteen minutes walk from here if my memory serves. That is of course if you want to go and see one.
"I'm assuming you do, judging by the enthusiasm I can detect in your voice. I didn't know you spoke Ferlusanian; into languages too, are you?," the long-tailed weasel queried, his eyes sparkling. "You sounded a little unsure of yourself there, but there were very few grammatical mistakes. I suppose improvement will come as your confidence builds."
Then, he gave her a look that said: don't worry about it, no major slip-ups, really. He wanted to reassure her she was doing a good job, but of course didn't know about her other fears. Selvis was a sharp creature, and no doubt he would have picked up on it if his fellow mustelid *had* used an incorrect pronoun or two. As it was, though, she was in the clear.
"But yes, as I was saying, we're not too far from the arena. To foreign creatures like yourself, the spectacle of bullfighting must seem almost too good to be true, I'm sure. It's one of the most popular forms of entertainment here in Ferlusan, and nowhere more so than in Crittenden. The fights are very frequent, but I'd be lying if I told you they were for the particularly faint of heart."
Carrow coughed nervously, knowing that even though he'd made improvements in that field over the last while, he still very much fit the bill for that sort of creature. He smiled, quelling any doubts and displaying that he was up for attending regardless. "Well, I'd love to be in the audience for one, I can tell you that for certain. It's mainly mustelids that take on the bulls, right?"
"Exactly," Selvis responded, glancing at the two martens before shifting his gaze to the wood mouse. "Mainly because they would of course be much more suited to the job than, say, a rodent. You would never see a mouse involved in one of these things, Carrow. Perhaps a squirrel every now and then, as they're known to be rather fleet of paw, but even then that kind of thing is rare. Nine times out of ten it will be a mustelid.
Which makes me wonder," he continued, returning his attention to Caden and Elliot, "would either of you ever be up for doing such a thing? Oh, don't worry, it's not like I'm going to be volunteering you pair for it or anything!," he exclaimed, winking at them. "Could you ever see yourselves in there, though? Martens are much less common in this sport than say, otters, weasels or stoats. How about it?"
Something caught his attention then, and he looked back at Carrow, meeting his gaze. Those were some serious bags beneath his eyes, he thought. He'd caught the rodent's numerous slips earlier - and it was now little wonder he hadn't seemed to be all there. he saw the long-tailed field mouse yawn a little, immediately putting a paw to his mouth. "S-sorry...," he murmured, "this does catch up with a creature after a while..."
Selvis frowned in a slightly concerned manner, patting the Dibbun's shoulder comfortingly. "You haven't been sleeping well, have you?" The mouse shook his head. He wasn't dead tired, as Caden had seen him before, but he was still struggling to shake off his drowsiness. "Ah, well, you'll be alright soon, I'm sure," came the weasel's encouraging response. If only he knew...
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Post by Ladorak on Jul 3, 2010 10:06:39 GMT -5
Caden shook his head. "I don't think I could, no. That sounds far too dangerous. I mean the bulls could trample or gore you so I mean...it takes a mustelid braver than I to enter that arena." he said, giving off a nervous laugh now.
"And actually." He stated, chiming in with an afterthought. "We don't need to go today because we'd have to pay to get in. Our Ferlusanian hosts are nice enough to offer us free admission on our last day here. We'll be seeing fights in a few days, mark me on that." the albino said cheerily.
He looked over at Carrow now, concern washing over his face. "Oh...Carrow are you sure you're alright? You look a little out of it. Do you need to go back to the ship to rest? I mean we could always drop you off if you need to unfurl your hammock and sleep. It's not THAT far back to the ship. And if not, you sure you'll be OK for the rest of the day?"
He was concerned for his friend of course, and didn't want him doing anything that would unduly stress him out. Wasn't exactly good for his health after all, and the marten had the mouse's best interests at heart.
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Post by Carrow on Jul 3, 2010 12:16:17 GMT -5
Carrow nodded in response to the albino pine marten's query, smiling a little at the mustelid's clearly evident concern. "I'm going to be fine, mate... well, hopefully," he murmured. "Like I said, it's kind of caught up with me now, but it'll probably soon pass. I'm not about to fall asleep on my paws, Caden. Not like last time, hehe," the wood mouse chuckled, his smile widening.
"Remember that? Couldn't even think straight if I recall correctly!," he exclaimed. The rodent had hit a bit of a slump then, on all accounts, but he wasn't about to pass out. While he'd seemed a tad insteady on his paws just then, he straightened up, stretching slightly, looking around at his three companions. "No need to be overly concerned... it'll lift soon."
Selvis was a little worried at this stage. The Dibbun was speaking about this in a rather nonchalant manner, almost as if... as if this kind of thing was a regular occurrence. Oh dear, that is not good, the weasel thought. Nevertheless, his concerned expression faded when he heard the mouse address them. "Well, if you say so," he replied noncommitally, glancing at Caden over the diminutive creature's head.
He returned to an earlier point Caden had addressed. "Heh, you and me both, matey. While it would be an exciting thing to do, of course, the prospect of almost certain death *kind of* cancels it out. Not to put too fine a point on it or anything, though," he responded good-naturedly, his blue eyes twinkling with mischief.
"We'll be much better off watching from a distance, as it were. Hold on a moment, though. You said you're getting FREE admission on your last day here? What kind of strings did you have to pull to get that sort of thing fixed?" The longtail grinned, patting the marten's shoulder now. "Joking, of course! I've noticed that foreigners are always mentioning the reputation we Ferlusanians have for showing hospitality. It was quite kind of them to offer such a thing to you. I take it you're going?," he queried rhetorically.
"By the way, where's your ship docked? I must admit that I would rather like to go and take a look; even studying it from afar would suit me. I'm rather curious about the Agamemnon now, I must say. You lot are making it sound like a fine vessel, and no mistake!" He swished his tail cheerfully, something of a habit that indicated the high good humour that Selvis was in.
A fine vessel that I'd absolutely love to serve on, he had to stop himself from adding. Not just yet, he thought. He had to open up to them about his ambitions at some stage of course. There was absolutely no point in not trying to follow through with his intentions, but he wasn't sure he could keep things under wraps for too much longer. A pensive expression formed on his features.
Carrow stepped back a bit, angling his brown-eyed gaze up at his new friend. He seemed to be deep in thought about something, that much was for sure. "Penny for them?," he piped up, unable to hide his curiosity. Just what was on the creature's mind? Carrow knew that expression quite well; he was prone to dritfting into himself from time to time of course.
"Er..." The weasel was snapped out of his daydream by the long-tailed field mouse's voice. "Oh... sorry about that. Just thinking about things. Nothing too major, just wondering about that ship... in general, I mean. I get the feeling that being told about living on board a vessel such as that doesn't even begin to compare with actually being there..."
He sighed softly, trailing off. Well, at least now he'd signalled his interest Agamemnon itself. Good, that was the way to go, his mind reassured him. No point stunning them with it right away, after all. He knew it was a crazy notion that he had continuously entertained... but he liked to think of this particular idea as one that had a reasonable chance of success...
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