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Post by bookity101 on Feb 11, 2011 23:34:48 GMT -5
Elle followed Caden up the ratlines, choosing to hoist herself up through the lubber’s hole. She may have gotten an amazing amount of upper body strength from all the lifting of cannon balls up and down, but she still didn’t want to chance losing her grip and falling down to the deck. She lay on the deck, catching her breath before trying to talk, as well as enjoying the view of the sky. By the time she was willing to get up from her prone position, the others had joined them. She flipped over onto her stomach, propping her chin on one paw as she listened to the boys’ conversations. And as she was more than willing to remain lazy and simply let them speak, as it was she allowed herself to drift away within her mind to remember Christmas...
Elle was simply walking around for once. Caden had gone to snag something, he hadn’t mentioned what, and said he would catch up by the end of the street. She smiled slightly and pulled her coat tighter, not really cold, but relishing the feel of this particular fabric. Surprisingly she had yet to find the swish that her skirt. If you had told her that she would miss the cumbersome fabric that now encased her a year ago, she would have laughed at you. Now she enjoyed the quiet swishing of the garment, in fact she found it sooth-
Elle froze in place feeling the icy snow begin to slide down the collar of her jacket. She whirled and took notice of Caden, standing some ten paces back, smirking and holding another snowball. As she gave chase, she made a mental revision to her thoughts about the skirt. Not good for running, but amazing for holding extra snow…
She shook herself out of her memories as both visitors began their moves to their various spots. She poked her nose down the lubber’s hole to watch Carrow descend, calling down when she saw him reach the deck;
“Hope you got a letter Mousey!” She flipped over to her back again, watching Selvis as he moved onto the next level of height afforded on the ship.
“Don’t fall Selly!!” She grinned, life was good. Caden knew her secret, and soon so would Carrow, just as soon as she thought him ready to find out, Selvis was around, Spender wasn’t causing a lot of trouble any more (She made a mental note to ask Ferry about him later though) and here she was, sitting well laying, beside Caden, watching the stars and at peace. She spoke softly as to not break the peacefulness of the night;
“Caden, this Christmas was… the best Christmas ever!”
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Post by Ladorak on Feb 11, 2011 23:41:15 GMT -5
Ladorak's face became taut and drew on far more serious lines as Willard showed him the address. "Willard... that's not a person." he said, bending a bit at the waist in order to get a better look at it through his spectacles.
The address confirmed it. Ladorak was familiar with the place... but only because he made it his business to know where everything was in Welkin's capital. Just as at his previous locales, he scoped out the land first, in case it was ever useful someday. An odd habit to some perhaps, but not to the ermine.
"Willard, St. Luke's is a mental hospital. Well... they call it a hospital, but it's an asylum. It's for patients who... lose their minds. Why would they be writing to you?" he asked, straightening himself back up and quirking a brow. "May I see the letter?" he asked, extending his paw. "I could perhaps take a look at this and tell you what it is. That is... if you want me to." He suggested, not of course forcing the issue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Caden gave a nod to his two companions. "Well that's good to know you're expecting something Carrow. Good luck tracking it down." he informed the mouse. He turned to the soon to be departing Selvis. "I'll see you a little later on. If you need something, just holler." the marten said, giving the weasel a playful look.
He was glad for the departure. It was a little crowded with four beasts on the fighting top. Now if it were the mainmast's fighting top, that might be a different story. But the foremast's fighting top was smaller, and had less room.
He waited for the departing weasel to begin his ascent. At least he could safely talk now that Carrow was out of earshot. He didn't need to worry about Selvis overhearing them, as Selvis knew the secret after all. "Now then... where were we?" he asked Elle, smiling shyly at her as he turned his attention back to her, then shifted it out to sea. He was supposed to be on lookout after all, so had to do that, though he kept her in the corner of one of his pink eyes.
Luckily, since the wind was behind them, their voices would be carried forward and out to sea, and not back the way Carrow was walking. "Just keep a watch for Carrow, but Selvis we don't don't have to worry about."
He listened to her exclaim how much she enjoyed Christmas. The best Christmas ever? Really? It had meant that much to her? Visions of him throwing snow down her back filled his mind. It wasn't just that though. She'd got him back good. Shoved snow right into his snout after he'd let her catch him... not expecting her to do something quite like that after all.
"So yeah... how did you enjoy being a jill for a day?" he continued.
It was a little longer yet, because they had been lashed by a storm right out of Livorno, and lost all of Agamemnon's sails. They had had to put into the island of Elba for repair, but fortunately none of the masts had come down, nor any of the yards. Back on station after a few days, they were shipshape once more.
"And hey!" he added, laughing a bit as he looked down at her. "Let's not get yelled at again by the Master's Mate. We're supposed to be on watch after all, and as much as I'd like to lay on my back too, we have to keep lookout. Ladorak is right below us, and he can see us from here." he reminded her. He did love her sense of leisure though. If only they weren't on watch right now... then he'd lay down next to her no problem.
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Post by Carrow on Feb 12, 2011 18:10:47 GMT -5
Selvis caught the look Caden gave him, and his eyes sparkled. "Holler, did you say? Well I don't know if you've noticed recently or anything but I have quite the pair of lungs and I can can put them to quite good use when I have a mind to," he responded, moving off again with a chuckle even as the memory of the withering riposte he had given to Spender's antics flashed through his mind. That whole incident had sparked off the darkest days he had experienced in quite some time. Since Christmas he hadn't fully been himself; that night things had overwhelmed him and he had almost suffered a breakdown even before Spender had ruined their snowfight. He'd needed to call upon all his resilience not to fall to pieces in the wake of his altercation with the ferret. Instead he'd been letting his emotions out in stages: a little crying every now and then, and some weeping too (though this was rarer still).
These rough moments had contrasted with the times when the longtail had felt as though he'd been soaring, he felt so happy to be alive. A great deal of his old spirit remained, but now he had come to understand that it was alright to feel downhearted every now and then, to not always put a brave face on things and show others how he really felt. The best thing for him was that he had three superb friends on whom he could lean for support and advice. The thing about the kind of sadness he'd been going through was that it was impossible for a creature to fathom unless they had been through it themselves. Elle had, though she was very good at not showing it; Caden had too, but he was pawdling things very well under the circumstances, still able to laugh and smile and joke and enjoy what he had left of his life. Then there was Carrow, who nowadays seemed to spend most of his days in a despondent state. It was something he was covering up quite well, but Selvis knew that he was hurting, that he had been for several years at this stage and that it showed no signs of going away.
He'd made a promise to himself when he'd realised, all that time ago, how much the mouse was carrying around. The rodent disliked a great many things about himself, and when the longtail had found that out he had sworn to always do his best to make the rodent feel better. He did that with everybeast (except for those who didn't deserve comfort and reassurance), but tried his hardest when he could see somebeast at their lowest. Carrow, in particular, had moods that came to him in short bursts and left just as quickly. He'd been sinking lower and lower despite everything, but to his credit he wasn't giving up. The mouse was unsure if he had a purpose in life, and the mustelid knew it, so he promised to help him all he could on his search for one.
Selvis could comfort himself with the fact that the four friends did everything they could for each other, and it was with a happy sigh that he pulled himself onto the platform and sat down. He regarded his two marten friends and the retreating figure of Carrow, and warmth spread through him, reaching even the most remote parts of his soul as he thought of how great a team they all made. Each had a part to play - even if certain mice had become convinced they didn't. He cocked an ear towards the conversation that was in the process of being struck up between Caden and Elle and listened in. He could only imagine how painful it was for Elle to have to be disguised all the time, how much of herself - both literally and figuratively - she had to keep hidden. He hoped the day she'd spent with Caden in Florence had been all she'd dreamed of... and it being part of 'the best Christmas ever', in her own words, certainly sounded promising.
--
Carrow's mind, for once, wasn't on anything in particular as he padded onward in quite a leisurely manner. He seemed a little on the carefree side - there was nothing troubling him. He was quite certain Selvis would snap out of the black mood that hadn't entirely disappeared from him yet, and Caden seemed rather content in Elliot's company, no doubt because the beech marten reminded him a lot of Elle. That all-too-brief reunion with her back in Naples the previous year was lodged firmly in his memory now, and he found that he had simply loved her company. She'd given him a reminder of what he had been missing, and while it hurt him terribly sometimes when he remembered she hadn't been allowed to come with them - and that it was his own slip-up that had revealed that most jills weren't allowed to serve in the Navy (to his great embarrassment) - he knew he'd always have the memories even if he never saw her again.
As he walked, his attention was caught by the remarkably chummy-looking pair of Tally and Reisender. Carrow hadn't seen all that much of the latter, and was admittedly a little wary of him as he approached the two. He was the offspring of that Keinruf creature, and that was enough on its own to put the rodent on his guard a tad. He knew also that Reisender might subscribe to the old way of thinking, like Spender did: that rodents were inferior creatures (even despite the time they'd spent in the Sick Berth a few months back, the ferret was set in his ways) and deserved to be treated badly. Then again, he was getting along rather nicely with Tally from what he could see. Was she the exception and not the rule? He fervently hoped not because he knew he couldn't stand up to that kind of abuse. He still felt terribly insecure about himself after all, so he didn't need others pointing out any extra flaws to add to the long list the mouse had compiled for himself.
In spite of this, he smiled at the pair when he reached them, crouching a little and clearing his throat to get their attention - though of course his largest smile was reserved for Tally. "Hello, you two!," he exclaimed cheerfully, offering Reisender his paw. "I don't think we've been formally introduced. You're... Reisender Wright... er, right?," he asked, smiling as he hoped his memory had served him right and he'd gotten the marten's name correct first time. Carrow knew he wasn't very good with names, after all. "I'm Cerinus Apodemus. Most creatures call me Carrow, though." He decided then that he could wait a few minutes before going down and checking the post. He wanted to suss this Reisender beast out first, or at least try to. Seeing Tally was also something of a day-brightener. Still with his eyes on the marten, he spoke to Tally. "How have you been settling in on the ship then, Tally?" He was intensely curious to know how the ex-slave was getting on.
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Post by spender on Feb 13, 2011 15:10:59 GMT -5
"May I see the letter? I could perhaps take a look at this and tell you what it is. That is... if you want me to."
Willard did not, in fact, want Ladorak to read the letter. He knew its contents immediately, and the idea of the Captain knowing what was going on back home frightened him. What if Ladorak sent him back to Muggidrear? He may as well! Willard wailed in his mind. I've failed anyways... The whole reason I took this job was to keep this from happening... I probably just made it worse by not being there...
It was the entire reason Willard had clung to the ship and his job so fiercely—his duty was the only thing keeping him from thinking about his family, how he might curse them with his absence. Leaving the ship and walking the streets of any of the towns they visited only further reminded him of it all. The only way to stay content was to stay ignorant and forgetful; he worked because he loved the Agamemnon, because he was going to best Castrigg Waters, not because his mother desperately needed his nine pounds a month...
But a Captain's "may" might as well have been a direct order to the little weasel, and he nodded.
"You can read it, Captain, sir." His voice was tiny, but no longer quavered. "But please don't read it aloud, sir. I will read it in my own time, later."
Reisender did not care for being bothered in the middle of his painting. It was a great painting, with orange stick-figures filling the canvas at every angle. Purple dots splashed their faces in no particular order—one of the characters seemed to have eight eyes and a mustache that would put an elderly Chinese red panda to shame.
The marten kit glanced up at Carrow for a second or two before looking down at the offered paw. Not sure what to make of it, he decided the mouse wanted his pads coloured (as Spender had so kindly done for himself and Tally earlier; it tickled gloriously!) and so stuck out his brush to dab purple on Carrow's paws.
"Hallo. I'm paintink," he said cheerfully. He pointed at the picture. "Dis von is me. Dis von is Veaselbait. Dis von is papa, dis von is mama, dis von is..." He rambled on, listing the various creatures he knew from his shortish life, and began to splash green around for no apparent reason.
"How have you been settling in on the ship then, Tally?"
"Mistress Molly is lettink me use fork," the mousemaid said, glowing with pride. She held up her pawpads. "Jal Spender giff me pink pads."
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Post by Carrow on Feb 13, 2011 17:24:00 GMT -5
Carrow would probably have flinched in different circumstances, but it was rather pleasant to see the marten in such cheerful form, so he went right along with it, allowing his paws to be painted purple and smiling at Reisender while the mustelid went about his work (and rather diligently at that, he noted). The mouse held up both paws and looked at them, chuckling a little. That sensation had been odd - he'd never had his face or any part of his body painted when he was younger, so it was another first for the rodent - but he found that he'd rather liked it.
The field mouse had a look at the painting Reisender showed him, and nodded appreciatively. He liked it and was about to say such when the marten went off on a ramble. He'd be out of it for a short while, he thought. Seems very much the chatty type. At least I can be sure he doesn't dislike me for who I am, like Spender did - does - oh, I don't know what he really thinks of me anymore, he thought sadly. I haven't seen him all that much since that night back in Florence... Carrow didn't know it yet but this was probably for the better. He wasn't yet aware that Spender was standing away from the trio.
He turned to face Tally. She sounded genuinely happy that she could use a fork now, and also that Spender had painted her paws too. He needed no reminding that even the smallest thing that happened to Tally and made her smile would sustain her for quite a while. He wished he could be like that. He'd been able to do it quite a lot when he was younger, when he'd felt able to think of anything cheerful, but this ability had diminished considerably over the previous few years. He certainly wasn't able to carry it off to the extent that his fellow rodent did. His smile widened and his eyes sparkled gently as he listened to her speak. She didn't say all that much but he found himself hanging on her every word.
"Well, that's good," he murmured once she had fallen silent. "I'm happy for you, and quite glad to see you've settled in. I'm also pleased to see you're getting along well with Reisender here. I'm sure he'll make a good friend for you, won't you, old chap?," he addressed the marten who seemed to have ceased speaking at this stage and was therefore able to listen to other creatures except himself. "You two seem to have a few things in common anyway. You both like painting, for a start. I was never much good at that, but then I didn't really mind. I never had any artistic talent..." Nor many other talents, he added mentally. I just existed back then... "I can see you're quite good at it, though," he said gently. "Well done. Keep up the good work!
"I have to go down to orlop deck now to see if I've gotten any post. I'll see the pair of you later - looking forward to it!" He looked at Tally again before he left, and his eyes seemed to say: I'm particularly looking forward to seeing you! He turned again and was about to resume his trip to the Ship's Store, when the presence of a certain creature caught his eye. Spender was standing a good distance away from them, and even from where Carrow was standing he could see that the ferret was looking particularly aloof about things. I wonder what's happened?, he thought. Despite all the things Spender had done to inadvertently try and ruin their fledgling friendship, the rodent couldn't help but feel a little concerned at the way he seemed to be just standing there... staring off into space with the kind of vacant, distant expression that troubled the mouse more than a little.
Sighing a little, he headed towards Spender, quite unsure whether his presence would actually be acknowledged in some way or Spender would just ignore him. If it was the latter he was prepared to turn and leave... and he held to this decision, even when he got closer and realised at Spender didn't really seem to be there at all. His eyes were blank and expressionless, and he was blissfully unaware that he was drooling onto the deck timbers. He seemed to be somewhere else entirely, and when Carrow managed to get a proper look into Spender's eyes, he paled visibly, drawing back a tad as what he saw - or rather, what he didn't see - frightened him. It didn't seem there was anybeast there... he was gone. "Spender?," he called softly, voice trembling a little. He'd never seen him like this, and it scared him.
Absolutely nothing about the ferret's response helped to put the mouse at ease, either. His eyes were clouded and gave the impression he was looking to either side of Carrow and not directly at him. Drool contined to drip onto the deck timbers as he stood there. Carrow noted that he seemed almost entranced, but of course had no idea that Spender had been on drugs quite regularly since his Christmas Eve had ended horribly, with a sound telling-off from Selvis and the feeling that he had finally been shunned by all those around him. He hadn't even thought of Elliot as he'd retreated to the safety of the palace. As far as he was concerned, they had all been against him that night. He had a habit to see things as either black or white, one way or the other, and what he'd seen that night had driven him to despair. Finally, he had succumbed to the drugs again.
It wasn't that the ferret wasn't aware of Carrow's presence - he was, just barely - it was that the stash had taken such a toll on him that he was only able to organise his thoughts for seconds at a time, holding them together for the briefest time before they fell apart again. It was a constant cycle. The drugs had dulled him, robbed him of almost all consciousness; in effect, he was little more than a walking deadbeast. That little spark of awareness did however compel him to respond to the rodent's greeting. His response was non-committal, monosyllabic and completely devoid of any emotion: "Huh?" Little did he know it, but the ferret had just visibly spooked his mouse shipmate. Carrow was rendered utterly speechless by the sight of his one-time enemy. He was terrified too. What had happened to him? He backed away, shuddering visibly before starting down to the weather deck stairs. What the hell was going on with that creature?
((Spender did of course give me permission to auto his character.))
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Post by bookity101 on Feb 13, 2011 20:59:44 GMT -5
Elle giggled slightly from her place on the floor. From this position she could see that Selvis was listening in on what they were talking about. No matter, he already knew everything. Besides that she was feeling a little euphoric at this moment as she went back over everything that had happened since Christmas. She frowned slightly as Caden reminded her that they were on watch after all.
“Awe, but the stars are so pretty…” As she spoke she rocked back onto her shoulders, using that momentum to come smoothly to her paws. She took a position just to the side of Caden, but looking the other way as she scanned the sea for ships, also keeping her companion in the corner of her eye.
“But, to answer your question Caden, I had a lot of fun… A lot, more fun than I thought I would actually.” Elle smiled softly, realizing that she couldn’t seem to keep one off her snout tonight. “I never would have thought I would actually miss wearing skirts… It was really nice. Just being me for the first time since…” She huffed out a small breath in realization “Before Naples, because I was hiding half of me there too. So it’s been… since we met at Whistleminister…”
Her voice had softened to a near whisper as she realized just how long it had been since she had really been herself, without worrying about making a mistake and revealing who she was. It was then it hit her. She hadn’t been herself, truly been herself, since her parents died. That was seven years of being… someone else. Her smile slipped away for moment, but she decided she wouldn’t dwell on that fact, not now at least. She leaned closer to Caden, her arm now touching his lightly, drawing from him some comfort that he at least wouldn’t disappear anytime soon, or so she hoped. Her voice stayed soft as she asked a question of her own;
“What did you think of Christmas?”
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Post by Ladorak on Feb 14, 2011 1:21:19 GMT -5
Ladorak took the letter out of Willard's paws, and slit the envelope open with his claw, exactly as he'd done to the thick one that was tucked away under his arm now. He unfolded the letter, and read down the lengthy piece of paper. Well what have we here? The ermine's eyes moved back and forth behind his spectacles, taking it all in.
"I see. Hmmmm." he didn't read it aloud, as per the weasel's instructions. It was strange, but it was almost as if Willard had known the contents therein before he had read it. It was a distinct possibility, the ermine had to admit.
Ah... so that's what this was about. Willard had no family to go back to it seemed. What a terrible thing... the ermine Captain felt his heart sinking into his stomach, and a sense of dread for this weasel wash over him. Why was fate always so unkind? The Navy would be the only thing he would have left... if he chose to stay.
He narrowed his eyes at the end of the letter, and folded it silently back up. "I'm sorry." was all he said for the moment, pawing it back to Willard. "If you need to talk to me about this... or anything that is on your mind, please do so. I shall be retiring for the night in about two hours, so please come see me before then if you need to... and I would encourage you to. It would be better to speak to somebody about this than hold it all inside." he regarded the small weasel with a firm yet compassionate look. A slight frown was on the side of his mouth, and his brows were knit together.
"I understand if you want to read this on your own. You are free to do so. And just know that I will be available until I turn in." The ermine began walking slowly past the weasel, heading forward toward the bow. He pulled his jacket up a little tighter around his frame. What a terrible thing to discover... a thousand miles from home. He would provide as much comfort as he could for the weasel, but only if Willard wanted it. Some beasts liked their solitude, but that too could be a detrimental thing, so Ladorak would keep his eyes peeled, and monitor Willard's condition.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Caden watched her get to her paws in a graceful manner. At least up here she didn't have to worry about prying eyes. Caden looked above him briefly at Selvis. The long tail was sitting on the boards... he was braver than Caden, the marten had to admit. With such a narrow platform up there, sitting was definitely a risk, plus as it was only a plank of wood, your legs and rump might come to hurt after awhile. But options were limited with such narrow space.
He looked back at the sea, sweeping his gaze from horizon to horizon, squinting to make sure he wasn't missing anything. Sometimes, on lonely nights, he'd imagine ships approaching, but they were simply figments of his imagination. The only time they had encountered enemy frigates had been in October, and he had been asleep then as he wasn't on the Middle Watch that particular night.
The albino suddenly felt Elle's paw on his arm, and he noted that they were in front of the foremast, obstructing this little show of affection from any beasts aft of them, and the fighting top covered the bow view as well, so unless they were standing right on the edge, there was no chance of them being seen.
He looked over at her now, his pink eyes slightly wide as he regarded her and contemplated her question. "I enjoyed it. Sometimes I get to thinking, that the longer we remain in the service of our country, the less chance we have of seeing another Christmas... though those kinds of thoughts are just silly. Chances of dying in the Navy are much less than in the Army, and we're lucky we're fighting Rosferia, as they don't target the hulls of ships very often in combat. That's two things working in our favor. And I should just stop thinking like that. Regardless though... I want to enjoy every Christmas we have, just in case. To answer your question..."
He trailed off a bit here, quickly doing another sweep of the horizon before he turned his attention back to her. "I loved it. I got to be with you again after so long... well not really, but be with the real you after so long. In a way, it might have been... no it was the best Christmas ever. I mean I had no Christmas worth remembering until Ladorak came and got me." he explained. Caden's voice was getting deeper as he moved towards his 14th Birthday. It would crack less now, though it would still crack every so often. There was no avoiding it with puberty. He definitely didn't sound like the young pine marten from a year ago however at Whistleminster, when he had been just a lad of 12.
"I'll remember this one forever. Getting to spend it with you... and then having hot cocoa after coming back in the evening... sharing presents and getting mine from Ladorak. Yeah... it was very good. I hope to have others like it. If not in Florence, then some other city that would be fun to explore." he grasped her paw in his, using the mast for cover.
"Thanks for agreeing to go out with me. It really meant a lot." he stated, smiling now as he shifted his pink gaze back out to sea, but kept her paw in his own for the moment, though if she wanted to be released at any time, he was ready to let go.
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Post by bookity101 on Feb 15, 2011 23:14:28 GMT -5
“I definitely am looking forward to next year’s Christmas time, wonder where we’ll be by then…” Elle listened to him talk for a little while, enjoying the feel of his paw in hers. She too took the time to scan the horizon, careful not to become distracted by the fact that she was talking to one of her best friends honestly for the first time in long time.
“It meant a lot to me that you asked me to go with you.” Elle quieted again as she watched the horizon, casting about for something to say or to ask. She didn’t have to ask about if he was scared, what he had said was enough to tell her that he was scared as she was. There wasn’t anything terribly new on the ship recently, even the stop they made to have the sails fixed wasn’t anything to talk about anymore… And Spender hadn’t done anything worth speaking about recently so…
“Caden, do you have a type of book you like to read. When you have any down time?”
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Post by spender on Feb 16, 2011 4:32:48 GMT -5
Willard nodded glumly as Ladorak gave him the letter back.
"Thank you, sir..."
So that was it, then. The letter was no great surprise, nor anything to be proud of—he decided against reading it aloud to the Agamemnon. She had no need of such news. It would only do her ill.
So, too, would it do him ill to put it off. He had been hoping to be ecstatic about the letter, that his emotions might give his duty more oomph and excitement—this was always one of the more boring watches, and the lack of proper work always put the diligent weasel off. But now the letter was just going to weigh on his mind and distract him, lest he get it out of the way now.
With that decided, Willard unfolded the paper and began to read.
Dear Jal Waters, it began, as these things do.
There was an introduction. It blurred past Willard. The writer was some sort of doctor or physician, perhaps a banker or lawyer. The credentials confused—they were not important anyway.
There was a paragraph regarding difficulty in communications. Willard, having changed his surname upon signing up with the navy, had needed to be tracked down somewhat. It was only when one of his paychecks had come through that they had clued in. There was information about his mother's records, marriage certificates and so forth, explaining the confusion and realization. There was a line about his father's family being unresponsive—here, a brief emotion flashed across Willard's face at the thought of those no-good, dirty, rotten Ferlusan scoundrels.
And then the letter got down to business.
There was no "we regret to inform you". There was no "we are sorry for your loss". There was nothing to pad it, except Ladorak's own apology. It went:
Your mother, Madeleine Rivera, died on the 15th of October. The coroner revealed the cause to be of syphilis. In the wake of her passing, the bank repossesed the house. Your mother left considerable debts unpaid, but the house's worth covers only half of them. The rest of the debts have been transferred to her next of kin. Ideally, this would be your sister, Frances. Due to circumstances, the debts can not be managed by Frances, and have been passed on to yourself.
Frances has been admitted to St. Luke's, the cause of which being she is feral. She is in good care, and will remain there so long as you can pay the 12/- per week fee. It is my understanding that this is not her first time in asylum, her original holdings being one of the private houses here in Muggidrear, and that a portion of your mother's debts are related to Frances' initial release fee (both from the house and her prison bail prior to being placed in said house). As I understand it, St. Luke's carries no such fee, but they may relent to releasing Frances into your custody unless one of their staff, or an outside physician, can confirm her mental health as fit.
Willard, I have done the calculations for you, and you may be pleased to know that your mother's debts will be cleared within three years, if you continue to send the same amount as you have been sending so far. This includes the 12/- per week. With your consent, I can manage the transactions for a small fee (also calculated) while you remain abroad on duty.
Unfortunately, depending on the circumstances of your return, it may be unwise for you to take Frances out of St. Luke's until you are able to support yourself and her. I trust by then you will be mature enough to manage your housing and work situation on your own, at which point I will concede all control of your finances back to you.
Hoping this finds you in good health, ~ L. Preston 3rd of December, 1793
Willard blinked. He dropped the letter to the deck. Not on purpose; it just slid from his paw as if it were water rolling off his pads.
His shakes were gone. His sweats had dried. His breathing, calmed. His heart beat a study murmur. A great clarity befell his mind.
It was as if a he were standing on a large, sloping hill, with long, stretching valleys around him, and in front, a large pile of stones. The feeling that came to pass was as if a soap bubble had slicked across the ground before him, enveloped the cairn, and lifted it into the air, giving him perfect view of his surroundings. The cairn was still there, floating above him, but it was no longer keeping him. He was now free to see the world, to move beyond the hill.
With sure steps, the weasel began his patrol route again. He clasped his paws behind his back, keeping his spine straight. After a round or two along the main deck, seeing that everything was in proper order, he headed to the gun deck below, as he liked to do, to confirm that nobeast was shirking duties who shouldn't be. He hadn't seen Ocean or Peskers, but then again, maybe he'd been distracted and they had nipped by him. It wasn't very like those two to skip watch (mostly because they knew Willard would give them an earful all during next meal.)
At the end of sweeping the upper gun deck, he stopped beside Tally and Reisender, and pointed at their paints, which had been kicked out from their nook between cannons and now lay where somebeast might step on them.
"It is too dark at this hour, and very near bedtime for both of you. Your arrangement here inhibits the functioning of the crew currently on watch. You have five minutes to clean your belongings off the deck and return to quarters. If, when I return, you have not vacated, I will inform the necessary authorities and you will be punished accordingly."
There was a pause as this sunk in. Willard moved on. Tally began packing the paints away, working so fast she almost knocked over the cup of swamp-water used to clean the brush between colours. Reisender, not finished with his picture, began to set up a chalkboard-keening wail.
Willard's paw twitched. Just a little.
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Post by Ladorak on Feb 16, 2011 12:25:19 GMT -5
Ocean wasn't in fact shirking his duties, as Willard might have suspected, but passing the time routinely patrolling the upper gun deck. The Corporals and Master at Arms would be doing this until midnight, when the Middle Watch started to take their place, but their job was supplemented by those on the First Watch.
He was aiming to become a Master after all, and that required putting in the time and work. Certainly more so than Spender was doing, that was for sure. He'd get yelled at as usual for shirking his duties, if he waited too long. Ocean of course wasn't aware of any of this, and he kept up his patrol duties for the time being.
He saw Willard tell the smaller Tally and Reisender to clean up their paints or he would report them. Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, he waited for the weasel to move off. "Don't mind that blowhard. He has no authority to tell you to do that." he explained in a soft voice as he knelt down to help them clean up. "The Corporal on the other paw does however, and if he comes by here, he'll probably get you to clean it up. Just don't worry about Willard though, he's obviously had someone shove a rifle up his rear tonight." the ermine rolled his eyes again as he assisted them in getting everything stowed away.
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Ladorak Fugate continued to walk the decks. Something inclined him to head towards the foremast, and the location of his ward. He wasn't sure. He doubted he would climb up there, but imagine that if he did. Fraternizing with Seajacks. It was quite unbecoming of a Captain. Probably best to just call them to him, and not worry about trying to go up there to them.
He was Badrang's descendant, dating back generations upon generations. The stoat warlord's blood ran in his veins...but he doubted the ruthlessness did. Best for everyone if it didn't. Still, he took some stock of pride in knowing this. Badrang's name was near legendary, and he doubted there was a beast alive who didn't know the name.
He paused by the main shrouds. He could see Spender sitting in the entry port, and Carrow talking to him. What was this? He figured Carrow was on his way somewhere, but Spender had no business just sitting around like that. "Seajacks Carrow and Spender!" he called in a loud voice to get their attention. "What is all this? You're on watch, this isn't leisure time. If you two have some place to be then hop to it, otherwise start walking the ship. Finish your business and get moving. If either myself or the Master's Mate comes around again and you two haven't cleared out of here, there's going to be trouble." He was stern, but mostly for Spender's sake. Here he softened however. "And I don't want that for either of you. So let's go. If you wish to talk to each other, why not patrol the ship together then?" he suggested, trying to help them out. Either way, they couldn't just stand/sit here.
"Oh and Carrow, don't forget I need to speak with you towards the end of your watch." the ermine Captain reminded the mouse, mostly for his benefit.
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Caden looked over at Elle, and considered her question. "Oh...well I'm mostly reading the books Ladorak got me about seajackship. I need to know commands to give, orders on how to set sails, brace the yards, weigh the anchor and that sort of thing. It's constant study, study, study. I'm trying to be a Lieutenant after all, but need to make Midshipjack before that. Lots of work still ahead of me. So unfortunately, I don't have much time for leisure reading. I have to know how to give orders and the correct terminology and everything." he said, scrunching his face up in a playful manner.
"I really did like Johnathan Swift's works, like Battle of the Books and Gulliver's Travels. I have to say he's probably one of my favorite authors. I like the satire he writes. I guess I was lucky I was taught to read at an early age. Spender still can't read, but then again so many our age can't, unless you come from middle to upper class. I hear the illiteracy rate in Delorn is terrible, as most of the country is peasantry...but oh, I'm getting off topic." he said, blushing through his white fur.
"Anyways yeah, I'm mostly studying for my Lieutenant's exam in oh...another six years or so." he said, chuckling a little as he realized he still had a long ways to go. He still had to learn every single rope or line on this ship and what it did. He had to know everything, the most intimate details about the operation of the ship, hence why he had six years to study it and get it all down. "I can imagine how nervous I'll be when I finally go before the Captain's Board for my exam. I mean, can you just imagine that? I have to stand before a panel of three Captains, and answer test questions from them one at a time, and get judged on whether or not I know enough to become a Lieutenant. How nerve wracking!" he exclaimed, scratching the back of his neck in an agitated fashion, but smiling at her all the same, his paw still in hers.
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