Ace rolls her eyes. She walks towards the nearest trap door and heads down the stairs. If she was gonna have to be at sea for some undetermined amount of time, the least she could get out of it is having the first pick at sleeping quarters. Circe had gone back to sleeping in her knapsack, so she really was alone while the others explored the ship. She was nearing the aft when she came across the first bout of sleeping areas and deciding that this would have to do, she chooses the largest of the four, the last one off the starboard side and closed the door.
Ophira hadn't received an answer from the crew member, just a grunt and a vague nod in a random direction. She assumed this meant she'd have to take matters into her own hands, which she was fine with.
Upon further exploration of the ship, she discovered she would often have to duck so as to avoid hitting her head on any lanterns, low-hanging objects and doorways. This ship was clearly not made for someone her height, which she understood, having seen several members of the crew by the time she found what looked like a sleeping area. She went into the first room and practically threw her luggage against the wall, which landed with a large thud.
Tiergan walked aboard calmly and went down various corridors before choosing a room that had a window, not too far from the bed, but in a place where it would be difficult to shoot through the window into the bed. Outside there was a nearby stairwell and also a metal tube with a handle and lever clamped on the wall by a strange contraption. He examined the tag, explaining that in the case of a fire, you just had to unclamp the tube from the wall and press the lever, and pre-captured raincloud spirits would come forth, smothering the fire and also releasing rain to put it out. He could think of a few other uses for it and resolved to ask if he could borrow one or two.
He unpacked his bag and headed downstairs.
Ryin bounded through the corridors on the boat on all-fours, holding his hat in his curled tail as he leapt down the stairs. Where he was relative to the rest of the crew, he didn’t know. All he knew was that this cabin had a hammock, and he was taking it happily.
He didn’t have much luggage— just a heavy traveler’s pack mounted on his back. He took it off, hanging it on the side peg of the desk in the room, then kicked off his boots and swung into the hanging hammock. He rested his hat over his eyes with his tail, letting out a sigh and propping his hands behind his head.
The rocking waves lulled him into a light sleep, not even waiting for further instruction. He’d figure it out later.
The night went quickly, but Mae didn't sleep. Morning came, and she went searching for breakfast. She found herself the only person in the dining room, overcome by the smells of eggs and biscuits and meat. Mae selected an assortment of sausages and muffins and sat at a rounded table. The food was delicious, even for basic meats. But she put too much salt on it so that it tasted like home. Wow, home. It hadn't even been two days and she was already homesick. She felt terrible for leaving Iar with her parents. They would take out their anger on him. If Mae wasn't back soon, who knows what could happen to him. So she sat straight and ate her food properly, just like her mother taught her to. She felt that if maybe her mother was watching her, behaving properly would keep her anger at bay. Iar could be safe. But, she knew that there was nothing she could do about it, so she kept eating, making sure to chew with her mouth closed.
Ophira hadn't slept a wink. Her night had been spent lurking outside of her room and wandering down hallways-anything to distract her from the waves rocking the boat, which would occasionally cause her to lose balance and stumble.
The scent of food around dawn was enough to bring Ophira out of her tired state, and she moved quickly to the dining room. Upon entering, she noticed Mae sitting at a round table and tossed a quick wave before grabbing a plate. Ophira piled her plate with some of everything, even going so far as to use salt, butter, and jam on whatever she felt like. By the time Ophira sat two seats away from Mae, her plate was a colorful mess, utensils lazily stuck into a muffin.
"Ah," Ophira said, a sudden look of bashfulness crossing her face as she remembered Mae's presence, "Grabbing all that food probably looked mighty rude of me. Back at home, I've 3 siblings, so it's usually a bit of a competition to get a full breakfast. Bad habit, sorry."
Ryin yawned, stretching out his arms as he made his way into the mess, across from the gallery. Though, both of the rooms smelled like breakfast, but Ryin knew his way around a ship.
He had lost his overcoat- hung it on the side of his desk. It just left him now with his slacks and stained cream button-up, loosely tucked into his belt. His fur was askew, his large ears twitching as his tail swayed.
“G’mornin’ idlers,” he greeted, giving a slight bow to the women before heading to the counters to serve himself. “How are you two?”
"Tired and quite possibly ready to die," Ophira deadpanned.
Just before Ryin had entered, she'd discovered that eating while tired was quite a difficult task. Ophira kept eating, though, because she needed any sort of energy she could get. The only reason she'd ever sleep on this ship was if she passed out from exhaustion.
"Anyone got an idea on how much longer we'll be on this ship?" she asked, twirling her fork in the air.
Ace walks into the small galley. Her feet trace a path that she's walked many times before. Almost on auto-pilot, she finds the plates and glasses. Filling her plate, she grabs a small bowl of fruit for Circe.
"I talked to the crew, they said that we need to travel for another 2,000 nautical miles, something about fuel and restocking the supplies on the ship. Then they gave me an estimate of about 5 days till we reach wherever it is that we're going." She answers.
Mae chewed on a small piece of sausage. "What are we going to do here for five days?" She wondered out loud. Quickly, she covered her mouth, aware that it was full. "Sorry…" she mumbled. Five days? Mae seriously had underestimated the length of the trip. She thought she'd go insane…
Mae went to refill her plate; the buffet of food never seemed to have a dent in it. Well, she thought. A whole crew for five or something people; better make the best of it.
"Has anyone found a storage room, or maybe a medical ward where I can find supplies?" She asked.
Tiergan walks down the stairs quickly, head buzzing. He had grabbed a few canisters at night and had let the rain pour out into his own bottle, and then had started testing the limits of the canisters. He took a right turn into the galley and quickly filled his plate with food. He made a cup of coffee and then headed straight back out the door. After a moment, he decided that the experiments would go better if he had someone to help, so he poked his head around. "Anyone want to help me with an experiment I have in mind?"
"Why not?" Ophira responded, pushing herself out of her chair, "No promises I'll be of any use, though."
She moved sluggishly, boots scuffing the wooden floor as she moved towards the door. It really wasn't like she had anything better to do on the ship, spare for the coming meals.
"So uh, what exactly will I be helping with?" she asked, leaning against the door where Tiergan stood.
"You need to help me try to destroy some metal tubes." Tiergan started to walk back to his room, where there were three empty canisters and some equipment he had managed to secure and rig for the experiment. "I'm trying to see if we can bottle up the fire to create a flamethrower. To do that, we need to test if the canisters can withstand the heat and pressure."
"Ah," Ophira replied, pretending she thought of this as totally normal, "Are we going to be using anything to beat up said tubes or are we just gonna use our fists?"
She took a second to look at the canisters, then something clicked about what Tiergan just said.
"Ehm. Flamethrower? Like, something that emits flames? You do realize this boat has a ton of wood on it, yea?"
"It'll be fine." Tiergan walked up the stairs. "We'll do it in a controlled environment. And if it does work, then we can bottle up dragonfire and release it without expending too much energy. It'll give us a big advantage."
Ace follows behind the others. She knows a thing or two about metal, so maybe she can help. Besides, it's clear to her that some of these folks haven't spent much longer than a day on a ship before, and she'd rather keep an eye on the newbies, lest anything happens. As they pass her room she gives a little whistle for Circe. Circe comes flying out of the room and lands on her shoulder. As they walk Ace feeds her the berries from the bowl she brought with her.
Mae liked the idea of experimenting, but she didn't quite trust her fellow voyagers. She kept her distance, but followed them, checking each unlocked door for a room of medical supplies. If somebody gets injured, she thought. Somebody will have to heal them, and there seem to be no other healers on this ship… Mae sighed. She knew she could, but she never liked doing work alone. Her own hands were enough to heal minor wounds, but she'd need something to aide her with the larger injuries. You all better be careful, she silently warned.
Tiergan walked into the room, flinging the door open. There were two canisters sitting nearby the bed. In the center of the room, the rug had been cleared out of the way. Four long metal poles stood straight up, with a rope connecting them and forming a square if seen from above. A rope was fastened around the top and bottom of each pole, each one tied onto the canister, which was perpendicular to the ground. The floor was covered in a rough-looking fabric and four metal canisters were rigged up on the ceiling, set to blow straight down onto the entire setup. Smaller ropes from three of them joined into the fourth, larger rope, which lay on a nearby chair along with a stopwatch.
"If the dragonfire gets on the carpet, pull that rope," he gestured to the chair, "and then try to minimize the damage. Do not get close. After it's full, I'll give you a thumbs-up, and you should start the watch. If it lasts for more than a minute, we should be good."
"Why don I jus have Circe 'ere breath on them? She might be small, but trust me you do not wanna get on 'er bad side. Plus, I think I recognize this type of metal, but…" Ace trails off not sure how welcome her ideas might be. It seemed to her that Tiergan was pretty smart, and she didn't want it to seem like she she thought she was smarter or something.
Tiergan blinked like he was seeing Circe for the first time. He squinted at the small dragon. "What species is she? How old?"
"Oh, uh well, based on my research, she 'pears to be an Antipodean Opaleye, mixed with a Peruvian Vipertooth. An well when I found 'er she seemed to be 'bout six weeks, so she's about a year now. " Ace replies surprised to not have been dismissed.
"Hmm." Tiergan headed to his pack, where he grabbed a book and started flipping rapidly through it. He slowed down and then looked up. "Opaleyes have low control until about a year and a half, but Vipertooths are renowned for their control. Looks like the max average temperature for them at one year is about 900 degrees Celsius. We have no way of knowing if it would burn through the metal, and don't know whether the fire could be venomous. I think it'd be safer if I do it. There's too much risk with a dragonet on a ship in the middle of the sea. Feel free to blast on land." Tiergan glanced back at Ace. "What were you going to say about the metal?"
Mae observed the experiment from the corner. She intended to keep back, but she couldn't help her curiosity. "Blunderbuss," she muttered. "It would've been awesome to see a dragon do that." Mae didn't quite understand what was happening, but she did understand dragons. She hadn't seen many, but her father had a friend who knew everything about creatures like dragons. Mae would often read his books when there was nothing else to do. She was disappointed she wouldn't see the dragon in action.
Ace takes a moment to study the metal again. "Well I travel a lot, an this metal reminds me of the ore located in the Galaga ruins, powerful stuff that is, used to hold sprites and enslaved dragons," Ace shudders at the thought of dragons being enslaved. "I've seen some swords made with it, and it takes a lot of heat to melt it down. It is usually laced with some magic as well." She nods towards the metal, "See 'ow it gleams in the low light? I'd reckon its got something charmed on it."
Ophira suddenly felt very lost. She didn't understand much beside her instincts and what was expected of a woman of her own household.
"So uh, are we going to do this?" She asked, trying not to think too much about what she had just head regarding the small dragon which belonged to Ace.
If reptiles hadn't already disturbed her, that information made her distrust of Circe worse.
.jpg)
