[RP log] Lucas & Apple: Meeting
Finished ten days later. 8D See if I care that I'm leaving it here on the date it got started. ♥
Apple left the castle, and made her way towards the ships currently docked on the lake. While she had been aboard Colton's ship, she did not know much about the other ships in the lake, and it was her intention to correct this. Her hair was tied away from her face to keep it from distracting her, and her mouth was set in a determined line.
Although it was still morning, the pier where the Dauntless stood by was already bursting with activity by seamen going through their daily routine. It was still early in the year, but some were busy giving orders to others hoisted along the hull, cleaning, repairing and fortifying it in anticipation of the next winter. They remembered what happened last year and no one on the ship desired to go through it again.
Her head held up, Apple deftly manoeuvered between the activity on the pier, looking at each of the ships, wondering who was captain of each. She had met Troy and knew he had a ship, and Hervey had shown Lady Kika's ship to her. The ship she stood before now, however, she knew nothing about.
Up on the ship, a young lady reassured her companion that she would be fine shopping on her own. The groceries required wouldn't weight so much that she wouldn't be able to lift them. With a cheerful smile and another whispered reassurance, she made her way down the railing and toward the castle in search of fresh ingredients for today's lunch. Bringing a hand to rub the side of his neck, the bearded man sighed helplessly, knowing his daughter would be more than capable for her task, but still worrying for her. At a call from the crew above, he turned his gaze away from the pier, about to go back to his job when he spotted the lone sight of an unknown lady. The captain hadn't told them anyone would visit today.
She tilted her head, and stood off to the side of the pier, out of the way, and watched as the young lady who had been speaking with the bearded man walked off towards the castle. She was unsure of the custom for visiting ships, and decided to quietly watch the activity until somebody spoke to her.
Calling right back to the sailors who first asked for his attention and telling them to wait, the man walked down to the pier and toward the missy who stood out like a sore thumb amongst the busy crew. "Hello miss, can I help you?"
"Are you the captain of this ship?" Apple shielded her eyes from the morning sun with her hand and sized the man up. While he did have an air of authority about him, she did not want to assume he was the captain of this ship.
Carefully sizing the miss up, the man came to the decision that she wasn't going to pose any threat to the ship's captain and shook his head. "No, but I can take you to him, Miss...?"
"Apple." She extended a hand towards the man, with the intention of shaking his hand. "I assist in the infirmary of Budehuc Castle."
A nurse? Why would a nurse come here? Though he thought that, the second-in-command took the lady's hand and shook it firmly. "A pleasure to meet you, though I have no intentions on sending my men there." He let go and gestured for her to start toward the ship deck, keeping a pleasant expression on while pondering her presence here. "The captain hasn't taken ill, has he?"
Apple shook her head and followed the man to the ship's deck. "No, not at all. I am acquainting myself with the castle and the people who live and work around it. Old habits .... I was trained as a strategist." She paused for a moment and looked at the man. "Forgive me, but I did not catch your name."
At least with the man guiding Apple through the ship, the few bolder members of the crew stayed out of the way instead of attempting to pick her up. She was a pretty missy and there were still a few onboard who had no wives yet.
"Lazlo," the man answered simply, going toward the door to the saloon. "So you're merely visiting, Miss Apple?"
Walking through the ship, Apple was all eyes and ears. She noticed some members of the crew beginning to approach her, but they would abruptly change directions when they saw she was being escorted by Lazlo. She was glad for the man's company. "Yes. I wished to introduce myself to the captains of the ships that dock here."
"Mm. A worthy endeavour." Still the man hoped this wouldn't end in the whole ship being enrolled in some war. There were children onboard after all. Regardless, he opened the door of the ship for her and guided her down to the bar where ship plans were spread on the counter and discussed by the carpenter and the captain.
The woodwork in the saloon awoke memories of the woodwork in Shu's Radat Manor. This confused Apple, as the saloon with its balcony and railings looked nothing at all like the manor. Perhaps it is just the finish on the wood, she thought.
Unaware of the woman's thoughts, Lazlo called for his captain's attention away from his discussion with the mason. "Captain, this is Miss Apple," he indicated with a hand gesture. "She would like to speak to you."
Already having seen them arrive, Lucas nodded and quickly instructed the chief carpenter to continue with the additions previously discussed before approaching the pair. "Thank you, Lazlo. You can go back to the deck," he dismissed the older-looking man in a soft and firm tone. Then turning to the castle nurse, he tilted his head in askance. He recognized her faintly, having seen her around the castle, but no more. "May I help you, Miss Apple?"
After nodding her thanks to Lazlo, Apple turned to face the Captain. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain ...." she trailed off, unsure of how she should refer to the man standing in front of her.
Though high-ranked he was, Lucas immediately shook his head to the appellation. "Just Lucas will do."
"Lucas," Apple smiled, "I came to introduce myself to you. I assist Mathiu Silverberg in the castle infirmary, and I have recently accepted a position in the infirmary on Colton's ship."
Come to think of it, he did hear about that before. Resisting a frown, the youth nodded his understanding. "I see. It's a pleasure to meet you then, Miss Apple."
Used to watching people's reactions, Apple caught the slight beginnings of a frown on Lucas' face. Lucas obviously had his own opinions of the man and her acceptance of the position. Rather than ask questions and raise suspicions, Apple did not press the matter. "I know that you will have an infirmary on board, but if you or your crew should ever need assistance from the Castle infirmary, Mathiu and I are more than willing."
It wasn't so much of an opinion as growing suspicion of Colton's motives. He had plenty of respect for the man as he knew in the past, but too many people in Budehuc were speaking of the Kooluk commander's supposedly vile actions. Instead of continuing down that line of thought, he turned to the subject at hand, smiling faintly. "I know. I've had to stay there for a week last year."
Apple nodded and smiled, relaxing ever so slightly. "You have a beautiful ship," she said genuinely. She saw no need to curry favour with the young captain, which was plain in her tone.
Having observed enough people both during his years of servitude with the Vingerhut and through his century of travels, he was pleased to take note of her genuine tone. "Thank you for the compliment. I'm sure she appreciates it too."
Apple appraised what she could see of the ship's interior, and ran a hand against the smooth wooden panelling. "How long have you been with her for?"
The captain watched her thoughtfully, his voice matching that mood. "Ever since Island Liberation war broke out back home. There were always brief respites while I lived on land, but we've otherwise stayed together."
"She is in impeccable shape for one so old," Apple remarked. "I should let you get back to your work. If there is anything you need from me, please do not hesitate to ask."
"I'll be sure to remember that," he smiled again at the lady strategist. "Shall I accompany you to the deck, Miss Apple?" Sure, he had a few more repairs to discuss, but it wouldn't hurt to take a few minutes to accompany someone off the ship.
"If it is not an inconvenience, I would appreciate that." Apple straightened her skirts and adjusted her glasses as she waited for Lucas' reply.
"No inconvenience at all." After all, were she a fighter, he wouldn't have proposed to walk her back to the docks in the first place. His crew was far from the type to scare or hurt ladies, but precautions were a good thing, all in all.
Apple left the castle, and made her way towards the ships currently docked on the lake. While she had been aboard Colton's ship, she did not know much about the other ships in the lake, and it was her intention to correct this. Her hair was tied away from her face to keep it from distracting her, and her mouth was set in a determined line.
Although it was still morning, the pier where the Dauntless stood by was already bursting with activity by seamen going through their daily routine. It was still early in the year, but some were busy giving orders to others hoisted along the hull, cleaning, repairing and fortifying it in anticipation of the next winter. They remembered what happened last year and no one on the ship desired to go through it again.
Her head held up, Apple deftly manoeuvered between the activity on the pier, looking at each of the ships, wondering who was captain of each. She had met Troy and knew he had a ship, and Hervey had shown Lady Kika's ship to her. The ship she stood before now, however, she knew nothing about.
Up on the ship, a young lady reassured her companion that she would be fine shopping on her own. The groceries required wouldn't weight so much that she wouldn't be able to lift them. With a cheerful smile and another whispered reassurance, she made her way down the railing and toward the castle in search of fresh ingredients for today's lunch. Bringing a hand to rub the side of his neck, the bearded man sighed helplessly, knowing his daughter would be more than capable for her task, but still worrying for her. At a call from the crew above, he turned his gaze away from the pier, about to go back to his job when he spotted the lone sight of an unknown lady. The captain hadn't told them anyone would visit today.
She tilted her head, and stood off to the side of the pier, out of the way, and watched as the young lady who had been speaking with the bearded man walked off towards the castle. She was unsure of the custom for visiting ships, and decided to quietly watch the activity until somebody spoke to her.
Calling right back to the sailors who first asked for his attention and telling them to wait, the man walked down to the pier and toward the missy who stood out like a sore thumb amongst the busy crew. "Hello miss, can I help you?"
"Are you the captain of this ship?" Apple shielded her eyes from the morning sun with her hand and sized the man up. While he did have an air of authority about him, she did not want to assume he was the captain of this ship.
Carefully sizing the miss up, the man came to the decision that she wasn't going to pose any threat to the ship's captain and shook his head. "No, but I can take you to him, Miss...?"
"Apple." She extended a hand towards the man, with the intention of shaking his hand. "I assist in the infirmary of Budehuc Castle."
A nurse? Why would a nurse come here? Though he thought that, the second-in-command took the lady's hand and shook it firmly. "A pleasure to meet you, though I have no intentions on sending my men there." He let go and gestured for her to start toward the ship deck, keeping a pleasant expression on while pondering her presence here. "The captain hasn't taken ill, has he?"
Apple shook her head and followed the man to the ship's deck. "No, not at all. I am acquainting myself with the castle and the people who live and work around it. Old habits .... I was trained as a strategist." She paused for a moment and looked at the man. "Forgive me, but I did not catch your name."
At least with the man guiding Apple through the ship, the few bolder members of the crew stayed out of the way instead of attempting to pick her up. She was a pretty missy and there were still a few onboard who had no wives yet.
"Lazlo," the man answered simply, going toward the door to the saloon. "So you're merely visiting, Miss Apple?"
Walking through the ship, Apple was all eyes and ears. She noticed some members of the crew beginning to approach her, but they would abruptly change directions when they saw she was being escorted by Lazlo. She was glad for the man's company. "Yes. I wished to introduce myself to the captains of the ships that dock here."
"Mm. A worthy endeavour." Still the man hoped this wouldn't end in the whole ship being enrolled in some war. There were children onboard after all. Regardless, he opened the door of the ship for her and guided her down to the bar where ship plans were spread on the counter and discussed by the carpenter and the captain.
The woodwork in the saloon awoke memories of the woodwork in Shu's Radat Manor. This confused Apple, as the saloon with its balcony and railings looked nothing at all like the manor. Perhaps it is just the finish on the wood, she thought.
Unaware of the woman's thoughts, Lazlo called for his captain's attention away from his discussion with the mason. "Captain, this is Miss Apple," he indicated with a hand gesture. "She would like to speak to you."
Already having seen them arrive, Lucas nodded and quickly instructed the chief carpenter to continue with the additions previously discussed before approaching the pair. "Thank you, Lazlo. You can go back to the deck," he dismissed the older-looking man in a soft and firm tone. Then turning to the castle nurse, he tilted his head in askance. He recognized her faintly, having seen her around the castle, but no more. "May I help you, Miss Apple?"
After nodding her thanks to Lazlo, Apple turned to face the Captain. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain ...." she trailed off, unsure of how she should refer to the man standing in front of her.
Though high-ranked he was, Lucas immediately shook his head to the appellation. "Just Lucas will do."
"Lucas," Apple smiled, "I came to introduce myself to you. I assist Mathiu Silverberg in the castle infirmary, and I have recently accepted a position in the infirmary on Colton's ship."
Come to think of it, he did hear about that before. Resisting a frown, the youth nodded his understanding. "I see. It's a pleasure to meet you then, Miss Apple."
Used to watching people's reactions, Apple caught the slight beginnings of a frown on Lucas' face. Lucas obviously had his own opinions of the man and her acceptance of the position. Rather than ask questions and raise suspicions, Apple did not press the matter. "I know that you will have an infirmary on board, but if you or your crew should ever need assistance from the Castle infirmary, Mathiu and I are more than willing."
It wasn't so much of an opinion as growing suspicion of Colton's motives. He had plenty of respect for the man as he knew in the past, but too many people in Budehuc were speaking of the Kooluk commander's supposedly vile actions. Instead of continuing down that line of thought, he turned to the subject at hand, smiling faintly. "I know. I've had to stay there for a week last year."
Apple nodded and smiled, relaxing ever so slightly. "You have a beautiful ship," she said genuinely. She saw no need to curry favour with the young captain, which was plain in her tone.
Having observed enough people both during his years of servitude with the Vingerhut and through his century of travels, he was pleased to take note of her genuine tone. "Thank you for the compliment. I'm sure she appreciates it too."
Apple appraised what she could see of the ship's interior, and ran a hand against the smooth wooden panelling. "How long have you been with her for?"
The captain watched her thoughtfully, his voice matching that mood. "Ever since Island Liberation war broke out back home. There were always brief respites while I lived on land, but we've otherwise stayed together."
"She is in impeccable shape for one so old," Apple remarked. "I should let you get back to your work. If there is anything you need from me, please do not hesitate to ask."
"I'll be sure to remember that," he smiled again at the lady strategist. "Shall I accompany you to the deck, Miss Apple?" Sure, he had a few more repairs to discuss, but it wouldn't hurt to take a few minutes to accompany someone off the ship.
"If it is not an inconvenience, I would appreciate that." Apple straightened her skirts and adjusted her glasses as she waited for Lucas' reply.
"No inconvenience at all." After all, were she a fighter, he wouldn't have proposed to walk her back to the docks in the first place. His crew was far from the type to scare or hurt ladies, but precautions were a good thing, all in all.