Side Adventure Dab Paws, Daft Tasks

[Kaii Nashirou]

Still recovering, Kaii finally was allowed to get back to work by the demon in Pine Marten form. Aside from a brief talk with the Duke that came from his little... escapade, the marble fox was bound to the infirmary bed until recently. He was in no way enjoying it, lacking mental stimulation needed to not slump into depths of his memories. Now however his was a free todd again! As such he instantly got back to work at the engine room, manning it with extra diligence and care, simply because quite many crewbeasts have died and any paws remaining had extra duties.

By the end of his shift, all of the tasks he was given were done. Needing a bit of fresh air, Kaii left the abdomen of the ship and went on to the main deck, trying to enjoy the fresh, salty, morning air. Looking into the see for a while, he was rather fond of seeing the sun, skipping the waves and basking them in reddish glow. He was wearing his work clothes, marked with coal, oil and soot, just like his white fur. Still, he cared little for it, after spending so long in sterile(ish) environment of the ship's infirmary, a bit of dirt was welcome as if it helped him to celebrate his return to work. Yet of course, it wasn't appropriate to walk around as such for too long, and he didn't want to soil his bandages if possible.

He moved to the nearby barrel meant for gathering rainwater, taking just enough to wash himself near the bandages. Suddenly, a loud sound of ripped cloth filled the air. Kaii took a look around and quickly found the source. One of the crewbeast, a young looking Ermine, slid down the sail, tearing it with claws while trying to hold onto it to avoid falling into the sea. He recognised them, remembering as they were nominally part of galley crew. Knowing the losses that were taken on Urk, the fox couldn't be surprised they had to substitute a few roles around.

Kaii moved to help, but even before he got to do so, there were already a few of more experienced sailors that were helping the terrified youngling down. He just sighed, knowing that this will probably result in extreme punishment for an attempt to save one's own life. Not a great thing, but Kaii didn't know why was the Ermine even falling. Was it just a case of inexperience? Bad luck? In no way Kaii could know. After finishing to wash himself, he started moving to the ladder leading down into the ship.

He got to the engine room again, waiting for Swifttail to come so he can go to attempt sleep. Having a moment of respite, Kaii took out a long needle, meant for engraving, and fidgeted it between fingers of his paw. Unfortunately, a very sour looking officer, one very mad vixen, entered the room and locked her eyes on Kaii. He stood his place as she stormed over to him and pointed at the needle in his paw. "Aww, ya having a break lad?" She started softly, almost with a purr, before yelling out: "RIGHT NOW AS WE'RE LACKIN' PAWS ON DECK?! Get yer tail before I whoop it and getta work. Yer gunna use that needle to patch me up a sail sum idiot shredded." She didn't wait for an answer before pointing at the engine. "And if dat's what ye 'neers are doing here, WHICH IS BUMMIN' 'ROUND, tell yer friends to join ye. After all, ya fix what makes us go forward." Kaii only managed to open his muzzle before she dug her finger into his chest. "Fix. The. Dammned. SAIL. THAT IS AN ORDER!" She yelled before leaving very confused and calmly mad Kaii alone.
@SwifttailTheFox

 

[SwifttailTheFox]

Swifttail didn’t remember crawling out of the hammock. He just remembered standing beside it, half-dressed and aching. The pain in his paw had dulled from a jagged scream to a constant, sulking throb. Barrett said that was good. Healing meant pain, apparently.

He hadn’t spoken a word all morning. Not to the beast who passed him the sad excuse for breakfast, which wasn't more than a grey gruel with a single wilted green, and not to the quartermaster who nearly tripped over him on the narrow stair. The decks felt heavier than they had before Urk. Maybe it was the injured paws. Maybe it was grief. Maybe it was just he himself, and the weight of knowing that no beast was going to lighten the load these days. Not with so many less crew in a functional state, or now wandering the mysterious realm of the Dark Forest.

He descended the final ladder to the engine room, the familiar hiss and clank offering his tired mind no comfort. The heat hit him first. Then the stink of oil. Then...

“Ah!!!” he hissed through his teeth, narrowly avoiding collision with a beast in the dim lantern glow.

Kaii stood there, soot-smudged but upright, looking a fair bit better than he had when last Swifttail saw him in the infirmary, despite being just as exhausted as himself. Beside him, a vixen officer radiated fury like boiler steam.

Swifttail straightened as best he could. His ears perked, his shoulders tensed. He tried to put some steel in his tone, but it came out more like rust. "With respect, marm, I'm 'ere to relieve Mr. Nashirou at coalin' duty."

The vixen’s eyes narrowed.

"That ol' codger Rugg an’ ‘is pet Kip are finally breakin’ a sweat feedin’ this ship." Her voice had the crisp snap of a sail in high wind. "The order stands. Brush up on yer seamstressin’ an’ FIX. THE. SAIL."

She didn’t wait for a salute. She turned on a sharp bootheel and vanished up the ladder, no doubt on the hunt for her next unfortunate soul.

Swifttail blinked, then turned slowly to Kaii with a look of such pained disbelief it might’ve been comical, if either of them had energy to laugh.

"Aye aye," he said to the now-empty air, his tone utterly devoid of spirit.

He watched the vixen’s tail vanish from sight, then looked down at his own wrapped paw. The bindings were tight. Too tight. They needed to be. But Vulpuz it hurt.

"Mate..." he muttered, lifting his eyes to Kaii, "How kin' I mend a sail in this state, let alone climb the riggin'?"

 

[Kaii Nashirou]

Kaii too looked at the tail of leaving vixen. Not in a way a common sailor would watch tails though. His stare would, if possible, both flash freeze and emblaze this tail. Only after the officer had left, Kaii put his paw over the top of his muzzle, quelling his fury in an instant. His paw dropped as his ears turned forward to Swift. After hearing his words, he took a look at him, and Swift was looking miserable. Just like him really, for Kaii too was exhausted, dirty and held by tight bandaging over his entire chest, back and in few more places.

Were it not for his steel resolve, he probably wouldn't even try to get out of the bed in this state. Mostly as seen by the fact his teeth were slightly clenched as he spoke. "Good morning Swift, good to see you are in somewhat functional state... Sadly Ms. Minister of Niceties didn't seem willing to consider that." His voice was dry and sarcastic. But he didn't smile, instead he just sighed and streched his arms, straining his muscles against the dressings, but managing to ignore the pain.

"Our poor state aside, albeit, I really do not think either of us can do much precision work now," He spoke again, now much more stoically and matter-of-factly. "do you know even how to sew? I myself have only seen it being done."

Kaii looked down at the needle, now with tired gaze. There were at least a few beasts he knew that could do that. Darragh being one of them. But he wasn't sure if they were even awake, besides, current load of duties must've been even harsher for others due to their position. It wasn't right to ask for help when they needed it themselves.

"I've seen what tore the sail. Claws of Ermine, one from galley crew, who tried to avoid falling from the height. I think we should ask for the sail to be dropped so we can work on it. At least... that would be a start." The marble fox suggested as he regain composure and focus fully, ready to do what was expected of him no matter his state.

 

[SwifttailTheFox]

Swifttail’s ears gave a faint flick at the sound of Kaii’s voice. It wasn’t much, but in the silence that followed the vixen’s fury, even a kind word felt like a rope tossed to a drowning beast.

His tail gave a sluggish little wag. "G'day, mate."

Kaii’s question lingered for a beat. Swifttail shook his head with a heavy sigh.

"Can't say I do. Ol' Mother Frilly used t’ do most the sewin' back 'ome. Her an' mum were friends, so I watched a couple o’ times, but never tried it me’self."

The thought dredged up a dim memory. One of sunlight through a cracked window, a warm hearth, and yarn baskets spilling like colorful tidepools. He blinked it away. No time for that now.

He listened as Kaii spoke again, the fox’s own tone no brighter than the dimly lit hallway's shadows. Swifttail nodded grimly.

"Havin' beasts do tasks they ain't accustom to is a quick way to ruin yer’ day," he muttered, his voice hollow with shared experience.

He eyed the needle in Kaii's paw before he let out a quiet grunt of resolve. He turned and started back toward the ladder, his boots dragging just a bit on the worn wood planks that betrayed the true age of the aged ship in gilding.

"Well, we best find some thick string too," he added, still thinking aloud. "Sails are thick, right? I'm thinkin’ the string gotta be 'eavy like too."

He paused at the top of the ladder and waited. The climb would be slower for marble fox, and despite the stoic and tough outer shell, Swift could see the pain he was struggling to hide.

"Mate... you think there's enough paws available what can lower a sail fer us?" he asked softly. "There ain't even a beast able to fix the sail 'sides us..."

He knew the answer. Felt it deep as the ache in his paw. They’d be climbing, a nagging voice in the back of his head prodded. He’d climbed once before with only one paw, with a sleepy fox bard slung across his shoulder. He could do it was a wrapped paw, he willed himself to believe.

 

[Kaii Nashirou]

Kaii couldn't deny the obvious thing he didn't exactly account for while proposing to lower the sail. "You are right." He spoke with a tired sigh. "If they are getting us to do it, likely there is no one to help. Or at least no beast that would be any better than us." Putting his paw to scratch his chin, he took a moment to think it through.

One thing he wasn't too keen on was Swift climbing up. Not because he doubted his skills. More because he knew that with one paw, Swift would have to hold on to the rigging with his legs and tail. Not exactly the safest thing to do. He had many ideas, but he also had to consider his comrade in them. And if there was anything he had learnt from time spent with him, working and fixing the engine, it was that simple solutions were sometimes the best.

"Alright. As you've said, we need thick strings. Also, I only have engraving needles with me. I don't think they would suffice, but there must be some proper needles somewhere too... I would also like to get us a rope. Tying us together for the sake of safeguarding us from falling while climbing. With our conditions it is a necessary safety precaution."

Thus Kaii started moving, taking steps mechanically and politely gesturing for Swift to follow. "Come, let's get to it." He said, but Kaii's attention and thought process was focused on safety and finding the necessary equipment. Ropes had their special storages so it wouldn't be a problem. Needles for sails (if any) were possibly with the strings needed to patch them up. Going through each storage however would be tedious so Kaii opted to start with with the ropes.

After getting around the ship, helping the other fox as much as Kaii himself could, ending in one of the compartments close to the deck, one where just spare ropes were stored, Kaii looked around for rope that would for sure hold the weight of two foxes. "One thing secured... Do you have any idea where sewing supplies could be? I was thinking carpentry, along other repair kits and supplies. But I would rather not waste time now. And once we get those, We can try to climb and... improvise I suppose." Kaii wasn't as sure about it, and his voice relfected that. There were some ideas in his mind how to mend materials with thread. It was still all about the force distribution, nothing new to him. But practice and theory were two different things...

 

[SwifttailTheFox]

Swifttail followed close behind, his wrapped paw clutched to his chest as they wound their way across the ship. He appreciated the way Kaii thought. It was always measured, careful, never rushing when it mattered. The idea of tying themselves together hadn’t occurred to him.

He kept his eyes on the deck as they walked.

"Couldn’t hurt to lash us up," he muttered. "If I fall, better you get dragged down with me, eh?"

The joke fell flat. Even he didn’t smile.

The rope store was musty, and the coils inside were still damp from sea spray, but the line Kaii picked looked sturdy enough to tow a whale. Swifttail gave it a test tug with his good paw, then nodded.

"One thing secured, aye."

At Kaii’s question, he frowned in thought, then squinted up at the low beams like the answer might be nailed to the ceiling.

"Could try carpentry, yeah... or maybe the quartermaster’s hold. They keep extra uniforms an’ canvas patches down there, don’t they? Maybe somethin’ for sailcloth too."

His ears twitched. A memory surfaced. A snatch of a conversation. Ralynn complaining about how mending sail was a punishment duty once, worse than swabbing the decks.

"Wait. I think I remember Ralynn gripin’ about sail duty before. Said they kept the thread next to the pitch, for when they need to seal seams on the small sails. Might be worth lookin’ near the tar barrels."

He didn’t sound confident. But he sounded awake now and focused, even if still weary.

He knelt to pick up the rope, taking a coil and looping his injured paw through the center, holding it on his left shoulder

"Improvisin’s half this ship, seems like." His eyes flicked sideways to Kaii. "Anyways...where to next?"

 

[Kaii Nashirou]

Swift's joke was as dry as Kaii's humour tended to be. The main reason he didn't even smile was the fact he wasn't enjoying the mental image of potentially causing harm to Swift by his own incompetence or lack of skill. Taking a small note to also tie the rope to the mast or another solid element he chose the rope and tested it before passing it to Swift for his examination.

Kaii hummed with agreement to his friend's words. Perking up his ears and turning to them as soon as he said the word wait.

That was a reason why true cooperation always bore better results. One beast simply could not have all the knowledge, insights nor ideas in the world. Swift heard something and that was already a boon that could save them a lot of time.

"Why, to the tar barrels and then to quartermaster's. Better to have any, even vague idea than to search at random based on assumptions." He spoke as he already was leaving towards those new goals.

"And besides, if we are improvising, then there is no point in overthinking... something I may not be the best at. But I will try." Kaii gave Swift a small chuckle before entering the very dirty room where tar was stored. It was never a nice place to spend time in, but one that both foxes were familiar with due to their occupation.

Since he was already dirtied, Kaii decided, despite being a bit larger than Swifttail, to squeeze between the barrels. He huffed out with a small yelp as his wounded torso got squeezed, but he managed to get to the pitcher and pass it to Swift. There was a small issue though...

Tar was viscous. Very viscous. And the barrels were not exactly clean. Not even due to current beastpower issues. There was no point in wasting time to scrub them clean.

As such, Kaii, now stuck and unable to really move forward or backward, simply turned his head to Swift and with defeated look spoke much more flatly than usual. "Maybe... I actually should think at least a little before doing things."