This is Not a Piano! [Very Open]

[thelieshaveit]

Characters: Machi Tobaye and anyone else who wants to hijack a small pianist's attention.
Content: Machi steps onto the Victoria II for the first time, is a little... um.
Setting: The Victoria II
Time: I don't know, at some point while it's docked.
Warnings: Bad English

Comments

[butterflychains]

One of the best things about being docked at port was that it meant less work for the crew, and Soubi was the type to greatly appreciate having less work. Working radio ops was nice, but could admittedly get dull. For a change of scenery, one must simply step off the ship and into a city full of wonderful sights and sounds. And good food, as well. The cooks here on the Victoria II were a hit and miss, to be honest.

Soubi was merely on his way out when something caught his eye. A young boy in sunglasses, wearing quite a...unique outfit appeared to be meandering about on the top deck. A passenger? If so, where was his caretaker? Or was this a new member of the crew?

"Hello," he greeted. "Are you lost?"

[thelieshaveit]

Machi heard the second speaker before he spoke and heard the first one even before that, but the unexpected address was somewhat paralysing and he froze, face inexpressive and flat under the sunglasses. His eyes flicked from one to the other as he stood where he was, his arms and body held somewhat stiffly as nervousness dictated his posture. Looking at them quickly through the tinted lenses gave him little to help. She was... about his height... a little taller, but he estimated her to be older than him, possibly more so or less so than he was willing to guess at. The man there was no question about

[butterflychains]

Hmm. It seemed as if this boy did not speak English very well. Perhaps he knew it as a second language, perhaps? But as both Ivona and Vohemar spoke the same language, finding someone who could speak another language was rare. And interesting. Soubi was already intrigued.

And who was that? One of the passengers, if Soubi remembered correctly. He had seen her a few times, but they were never properly introduced. They could speak a little more later.

"How can we of the Victoria II help you?" Soubi asked the boy.

[thelieshaveit]

Shit. The unconventional sentence structure threw him for a moment and he struggled to string the man's question into some sort of sensible order. 'We?' At least he'd not gotten himself off to the wrong start in one sense; knowing he'd gotten to the right place, though, even through the chaos of the docks, settled something in his mind, and Machi glanced from one to the other again, still stiff-postured. It seemed like the man was more likely to be the correct person, at least for his purposes. He turned his face away slightly.

"...I, uh," he did his best to enunciate clearly, the tension of the situation and a natural inclination to shy away from people making it more difficult. "I am... supposed to be here for... cabin boy. But I am... not know... ah," he didn't grimace--in fact, his face remained completely the same--but he was frustrated, knowing full well that he was probably making very little sense. He started over, taking a breath. "I am supposed to be here for cabin boy and am not know where for go." ... English. Ugh.

[butterflychains]

A cabin boy, hm? Well, if he wasn't a passenger, that was most likely the only other option available, unless the child was some kind of military genius. However, that didn't seem to be the case here. So, the old Admiral hired some fresh blood, or was this yet another assignment from the higher ups?

"Ah, I understand," Soubi nodded, speaking a bit slower this time around. "Then I'm Sub-Lieutenant Agatsuma Soubi. I work in Radio Ops."