[Hours of walking and the stress of hunting for a student had taken their toll. Even more so considering that the search had come up with nothing
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[Clopin sees Helga outside, opens on of the ground floor windows and slides his way out] And how did the search party go? You didn't get lost, so you exceeded my expectation.
Everybody did their best, s'all we can ask for. Lotta mysterious stuff is goin' on right now... We'll just have to hope that it all works works out in the end. [Tiana doesn't really sound like she believes this.. but she doesn't want to sound completely negative...]
[ Oh don't mind him. He's just scouting the grounds, doing some searching of his own. Even though he has no idea who he's looking for. Okay, so pointless patrolling is pointless, but you know Rourke. Being familiar with people was a good thing to have under your belt. Then again. Running into the Lieutenant wasn't on his itinerary today. ]
[She noticed him and stood where she was, silent. The last thing she needed right now was to call attention to herself. Not from him.
But... at the same time... he had joined the search party, even though he'd been under no obligation to do so.
One thing Helga made sure to do, though, was straighten up. She wasn't going to let him know that she was in any sort of pain. As far as he would ever know, any damage from the fall was long since completely healed.]
[ He approached her airily. If there was a first step to healing a relationship, Rourke was absolutely sure Helga wouldn't be the first to take it. ]
Doing alright there, Professor?
[ He wasn't about to test the title of Lieutenant, and if she wanted to move on, he left the invitation open. She didn't have to address him by anything, he would be the gentleman in the situation. ]
Lieutenant. [It came out almost automatically. She'd lost crew, reputation... all of that at Atlantis, but she had her rank.
But she had to be civil. Not only because maintaining a level of professionalism would help her case with Whitmore about getting out of this school after a year but also because... he had helped when he hadn't had to.]
Thank you for your assistance yesterday, Captain.
[A practiced formality. "Commander" came more easily, but he wasn't her commander anymore. Still, a military man was due his rank, especially since she so valued hers.]
[Buddy systems were hard when you liked to wander to gather your thoughts. For one thing, having someone with you made the thought-gathering slightly more public than intended. For another, it's hard to find someone to go with you if your answer to "Where are we going?" is "Out".
So sneaking out it was going to be. She was reasonably certain that she'd manage to stay out of trouble - a vision would probably give her more than fair warning if anything was going to snaffle her.
...Ok, 'fair' might be an exaggeration. 'Enough time to scarper' might be more accurate.
Except for the small fact that as she opened the door leading out of Joe West, she heard a sigh and caught sight of Helga leaning against the wall.]
Helga! [So much for sneaking. As a matter of fact, that probably wasn't the best way to address one of her teachers...]
[She glanced over at the girl, arching an eyebrow at hearing her name. But she corrected herself. No need to scold her.
Helga nodded politely and looked back out to the grounds.]
As much as I can. Keeping watch is an old habit.
[True. But not entirely. After all, a student didn't need to hear about her worries, and she'd been too vocal about lapses in security already. Disagree as she might with how things here were run, she knew she shouldn't appear at odds with her superiors, such as the headmaster.
But, being the type to like to be alone with her thoughts to sort through everything, she couldn't help but suspect the girl was similar.]
I know what it means... to lose a crew member. Even if it wasn't your fault.
If there's any chance I can help in your search, please allow me to assist you in your efforts. I have contacts in every pocket of ocean, and they can search the shorelines. The Brethren Court can assist us if we should need it.
But I'm not going to knock on another door to deliver a death notice without being able to give the family a coffin to bury or a body to cremate.
...The search parties will continue. Hopefully, whatever's become of her, she's still on the island. [Because unless she took transport down... there's no hope of finding her alive otherwise. But they'd know if she'd taken anything off the island.]
[Talk of death reminds her of when she had killed Jack for the sake of survival. It still bothered her. The idea of a girl out there... alone... bothered her. Worried her.]
For the next search, I would like to join. I have lanterns, if that would aid you.
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And how did the search party go? You didn't get lost, so you exceeded my expectation.
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We found nothing.
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Not as much as I wanted to before I had to turn back.
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I heard about the search party... [she pauses trying to think about her words, but can only manage] I'm sorry...
I know it ain't much but...
[she pushes forward the pastries...]
Hard work deserves good food.
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[She doesn't yet really notice the pastries. She's a bit lost in her thoughts.]
I don't understand how this happened.
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Everybody did their best, s'all we can ask for. Lotta mysterious stuff is goin' on right now... We'll just have to hope that it all works works out in the end. [Tiana doesn't really sound like she believes this.. but she doesn't want to sound completely negative...]
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We need to know what went wrong. How the hell we lost a student. That way, we can at least not do it again.
[And her face says what she thinks about "hoping it all works out."]
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But... at the same time... he had joined the search party, even though he'd been under no obligation to do so.
One thing Helga made sure to do, though, was straighten up. She wasn't going to let him know that she was in any sort of pain. As far as he would ever know, any damage from the fall was long since completely healed.]
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Doing alright there, Professor?
[ He wasn't about to test the title of Lieutenant, and if she wanted to move on, he left the invitation open. She didn't have to address him by anything, he would be the gentleman in the situation. ]
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But she had to be civil. Not only because maintaining a level of professionalism would help her case with Whitmore about getting out of this school after a year but also because... he had helped when he hadn't had to.]
Thank you for your assistance yesterday, Captain.
[A practiced formality. "Commander" came more easily, but he wasn't her commander anymore. Still, a military man was due his rank, especially since she so valued hers.]
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So sneaking out it was going to be. She was reasonably certain that she'd manage to stay out of trouble - a vision would probably give her more than fair warning if anything was going to snaffle her.
...Ok, 'fair' might be an exaggeration. 'Enough time to scarper' might be more accurate.
Except for the small fact that as she opened the door leading out of Joe West, she heard a sigh and caught sight of Helga leaning against the wall.]
Helga! [So much for sneaking. As a matter of fact, that probably wasn't the best way to address one of her teachers...]
Lieutenant! Er...enjoying the night?
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Helga nodded politely and looked back out to the grounds.]
As much as I can. Keeping watch is an old habit.
[True. But not entirely. After all, a student didn't need to hear about her worries, and she'd been too vocal about lapses in security already. Disagree as she might with how things here were run, she knew she shouldn't appear at odds with her superiors, such as the headmaster.
But, being the type to like to be alone with her thoughts to sort through everything, she couldn't help but suspect the girl was similar.]
Where are you going?
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I know, I know, before you say it, we're not supposed to. But I have something of an early warning system, so I figured it would be alright...
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I know what it means... to lose a crew member. Even if it wasn't your fault.
If there's any chance I can help in your search, please allow me to assist you in your efforts. I have contacts in every pocket of ocean, and they can search the shorelines. The Brethren Court can assist us if we should need it.
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[Said, though, as if Helga fears the worst.]
But I'm not going to knock on another door to deliver a death notice without being able to give the family a coffin to bury or a body to cremate.
...The search parties will continue. Hopefully, whatever's become of her, she's still on the island. [Because unless she took transport down... there's no hope of finding her alive otherwise. But they'd know if she'd taken anything off the island.]
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For the next search, I would like to join. I have lanterns, if that would aid you.
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