onward and upward

[caspianthetenth]

It had been a little more than a month since the events of Halloween, and while Caspian was not entirely up to what he felt was his usual self, he could not sit still for much longer. His recovery was much slower than he would have liked, and it made him restless. The news of the Lannister boy did not help matters, nor did the coming of the snow

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[loaded_wolf]

It was hard to miss the ship suddenly tied to the dock. Mainly because it hadn't been there, ever, to Angua's recollection, and also because it was very purple. Unable to resist a little exploration, Angua walked along the dock and paused when she noticed a person aboard.

"Is this yours?" she called up, shielding her eyes from the sun with one mittened hand.

[caspianthetenth]

Caspian turned, the voice surprising him out of his daydreaming, and looked down at the lady on the dock. "Yes, I suppose she is," said Caspian, "though I've no idea how she came to be here."

[loaded_wolf]

"Across the water, it seems," Angua replied, smiling a little.

[caspianthetenth]

Caspian laughed at that, good-humoured and amused. "It would seem so, my lady," he replied, "but I fear the waters from which she comes are not the ones that touch the shores of this island. It seems to be a trick of the island that items from one's past appear here when one least expects it - and this, it seems, is to be mine. Her name is the Dawn Treader," he explained, "and she is a ship I had not thought to see ever again."

[nevergrowsup]

When Peter had caught sight of the sail, he had come running. On the way, he pulled his sword out so he would be able to face the pirate scum trying to invade the island. Nevermind that few self-respecting pirates would go about in a boat with a large puprle sail, Peter was desperate for some properly vicious sailors.

When he got down there, he held his sword out and caled in a lout voice to the man at the rail. "Alright, pirate scum! You've met your match! Step onto land, and I'll massacre the lot of you."

[caspianthetenth]

Caspian could not help but smile a little at that, though he did his best not to laugh at the boy. It was difficult, though, with such seriousness on such a young face. "I'm no pirate," he called down over the rail, and held up his hands in mock-surrender.

[nevergrowsup]

His eyes narrowed dangerously, and Peter took a few steps closer to the boat. The man didn't look too dangerous with his hands up like that, but there was no use letting your guard up.

The question, of course, was whether or not a pirate would admit to being a pirate when asked.

"Prove it."

[caspianthetenth]

Caspian did laugh then, just a chuckle. "And how is a man supposed to prove he is not a pirate?" he replied, leaning on the rail. "I am not, whether or not I am able to prove it, but I will tell you that a great many years ago, hundreds of years, in fact, my ancestors were pirates." He would never forget Aslan telling him of it. He ran his hand along the railing, patting the gleaming wood and added, "Does this look like a pirate ship to you?"

[neptune_sleuth]

The cold air made Veronica's throat feel sharp and rough, but she trudged along in the snow behind Taser all the same. After a while, the snow lost its novelty, but for now she was enjoying it, and she wasn't about to let some white stuff that fell out of the sky get in the way of her schedule.

There was a boat she had never seen before, one that looked like it had been fitted out for a Mardi Gras parade. As Taser surged forward, trotting onto the deck, Veronica slipped her hands into her pockets and followed. Nothing like a dog for an excuse to snoop.

[caspianthetenth]

"Miss Veronica!" called Caspian, looking over the rail and seeing her and the dog on the dock below. "Please, come up! You really must see this. I can't believe it myself."

[neptune_sleuth]

Veronica bit her lip, surprised and grinning, letting Taser run ahead of her. "This is yours?" she asked. Her eyes widened slightly then as she realized she was boarding the Dawn Treader. She may have seen herself as - almost prided herself on being - jaded, cynical, but there wasn't enough cynicism in her to dampen the wonder she felt at walking onto the mythic ship that had been part of her childhood. "This is so cool."

[caspianthetenth]

"Yes, this is my ship," said Caspian proudly. "I can't believe she is here - her name is the Dawn Treader," he added, running a hand along the deck railing. "I had her built some years ago, but I never thought she would appear here, of all places. And just as I remembered her, too." He was reminded of how Sansa had unexpectedly found the amethyst hairnet, lodged in a tree, and realised this was much the same; an item from one's home, arriving when one least expected it. Another of the island's tricks, he knew, but this was one he couldn't be sorry for.

[guardiaknight]

It was not hard to notice such a ship in the water, especially when it had not been there previously. It's appearance was enough that he headed over to take a look, and found, surprisingly, someone on it.

"Greetings," he called out, though was, as always, keenly aware of where his hand was and how fast he could grab his sword if needed. The man did not look like a threat, but one could never be too careful.

[caspianthetenth]

"Greetings," said Caspian in return, turning to look down at the man on the dock, and after a moment he recognized him as the knight who had won the melee in the tourney in the past summer. "Sir Glenn, yes? I believe you had a good showing in the Summerfell tourney, if I remember a-right, though I do not think we had the chance to meet."

[guardiaknight]

"Indeed," he said, and then, upon pausing, he realized he did indeed recognize the man - it had been a while. He relaxed his stance a bit. "And ye were one of the archers, aye? I do hope, once this strange snow leaves, that we may again have such a tourney."

[caspianthetenth]

"And runner-up in the joust," said Caspian, who had been quite pleased with his performance in the lists, even as out of practice as he was (there wasn't much chance to practice jousting here). "I would compete again, were there to be another tourney. There is little here that is the same as at home, but at least that is somewhat familiar." He grinned, unable to hide how pleased he was that his beloved ship had appeared. "That, and my ship."

[youngestqueen]

Lucy had been walking down to the dock as well, to visit with Caspian as she tended to do. The purple sail was unmistakable, her bag falling to the ground as she ran towards the ship, calling out Caspian and Reepicheep's names.

[caspianthetenth]

"Lucy!" Caspian called out, glad to see her, for he knew she was one person on the island that would be as excited about this as he was. "Come and see - it really is the Dawn Treader!" He held out a hand to help her on board.

[youngestqueen]

Oh, she was excited, truly so, taking his hand and scrabbling up to land lightly on the deck. Yet it took her just a moment to see something was not quite right. "Caspian, it's so quiet... Where is everyone?"

[caspianthetenth]

"There's no one here but us," said Caspian, as he helped her on deck. "I'd thought, when I saw her, that the crew might have come with her... but it's only the ship." His disappointment was plain in his voice, for as excited as he was about the ship's appearance, what had really made her special had been her crew, especially Drinian, Rhince, Rynelf, and Reepicheep.