Completed Dab Paws, Daft Tasks

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Kaii looked over at the bent needles, they were telling a story of misuse or at least a misfortune. Thinking for a moment, the marble fox realised however one thing; straight needle gave better linear force, one that would be good to pierce but risked more damage. Curved needle however, would be better at piercing though the thick material like a sail without ripping a hole in it, because of the different force distributions.

"Reasonable to give you the tools. Swift, while you wait for me, do you think you could use this," He pulled out a little ball-peen hammer, one made for precision work. "in order to straighten those needles while keeping them bent? I reckon that an arched needle might be better in piercing through the material. Although, with just one paw, maybe it is for the best to wait till we are down here with the sails."

Then Kaii put down his tool bag and got ready to climb. "Alright, it will take me a moment to get up high enough, and with that mist around you may struggle to see me above. I will yell after I drop the rope, Only once you are secured and ready, yell back. I will hold the position till then."

And just as he walked over to the rigging, he stopped for a second and turned to the platinum fox again, speaking more softly than at any point today. "Stay safe friend. Good luck and keep your cool. I don't want you to get any more hurt."

And then Kaii went up, his body letting him know that he still should be resting, but his willpower was enough to ignore it. Aside from the wish to fulfil the orders he was given, coming from mix of duty and spite against all odds, Kaii primarily just wanted to ensure that nothing went wrong.

That is why he was methodic, slow in his climb, avoiding straining his own wounded body as much as it was possible and making sure he was safe at any time. He did pass two other seabeasts that were busy redoing some rigging, though they didn't bother to question him, they for sure were a bit confused to see someone from engineering this high up.

And after a good while, Kaii reached the top yard and pulled the rope, throwing it around the mast. That was going to be their sole safeguarding but to Kaii it was at least something.

Thus, watching as the rope fell down he yelled. "ROPE IS READY!" Which was followed by a cough that dropped some bloodied spit onto the mast.
 
Swifttail paused mid-step, rubbing the back of his ears sheepishly.
"Mate, I must be tired. I was still thinkin’ we were gonna do all the work up there up until right now. Gates, havin’ the sail on deck to work is the proper way. Give me a forge and hammer any day."

Taking the small ball-peen hammer from Kaii, he retrieved one of the bent needles and studied it a moment.
"Aye, I s’pose I can do that."

He picked a rounded section of timber on the mast that was not covered in copper cladding and held the needle flat, tapping it firmly and evenly along its length until it took on a smooth arc. Then he carried it to the copper railing of the nearby stair, where, using only paw strength so as not to mar the copper's finish, he bent the curve in tighter.

Satisfied, he looked upward again. Kaii was climbing stiffly, his movements deliberate, his jaw set in that stubborn, stoic way that told Swift the other fox was in pain but unwilling to admit it. Poor tod needed a parade and a week’s worth of bed rest, not to be up there dancing with the gulls.

When the rope came snaking down, Swifttail caught it and tied it snugly around his waist.
"K… k’ay mate. ’Ere I come."

He started up, settling into a steady rhythm. Footpaw, footpaw, hook the left arm, reach with the good paw. Over and over.

Halfway up, a snicker drifted across the rigging. A dusty-brown vixen leaned on a rope nearby, smirking at the sight, while a beige ferret perched just above her.

"Oy, Klitch, lookit dese idjits! Can’t climb a riggin’ wit’out dere nappies!"

The ferret, Klitch, flashed a grin full of teeth as he locked eyes with Swifttail.
"Aye, Thura! That there’s the ones always hidin’ in the brig makin’ a smokin’ ruckus. Too afeared ta be up a little ol’ riggin’! Haww haww!"

Swifttail’s tail bristled, his ears pinning back. He glared at them, fire sparking in his chest.
"We jus’ went through ’ell! Ye be judgin’ injured beasts fer performin’ duties? Gates, ye fools are due fer lashings."
 
While Swifttail was going up, Kaii was coming down. He would speed up or slow down to ensure that the rope stayed somewhat tensed but not too much in order to not let them fall down and give freedom of movement they needed. It was a struggle still. After getting pressed between the barrels, the marble fox felt growing pain in his chest with each movement.

And hearing the two seabeasts, who were doing nothing of use but making fun of them, really didn't improve how Kaii had felt.

"Then maybe you two could make yourself useful instead of just sitting there?" He replied sternly, too busy to even spare them a look as he focused on where he was putting his paws. Sadly, Kaii one roused the two and their mockery.

Thura snorted, looking towards Kaii.
"We're busy ya know? Sumbeast's ta witness yer screwups an pass 'em to tha bosun."

Klitch in the meanwhile lifted his peg leg with a mocking smile. "Sorry mate. I s'pose am in-jew-reed t' get over there, yer closer 'nyway."

Kaii rolled his eyes, hard enough that he saw blackness for a moment, that resulted in his paw slipping slightly because he didn't look where he was putting it.

The ferret turned to the vixen, speaking loud enough so that the two climbing todds could hear. "Huh, seems dat me peg leg's bettah then 'eir paws. Maybe we shoulda get 'em decklubbers a pair? Fer sure it ain't gonna be worse than whatevah dey be doin'! Haww haww!"

Thura just fell into a long guttural laughter at the idea. Kaii was less then amused but the best he could do was to just ignore the two.

Finally after some time, both foxes, marble and platinum, were by the yard holding the ripped sail.

"Hello again Swift. Good to see nothing happened to you." Kaii spoke, already grabbing the ropes that tied the sail to the wood. "I think we should start from the opposite sides so that when the sail falls, it will drop onto the deck and not to the side, potentially into the water." He offered.

The two beasts at the peanut gallery were in the meanwhile almost rolling from their snickering.

The vixen didn't shy from another jibe at the two.
"Awww, look at 'em Klitch. Carin' like sum lovers for 'er tails. Dem Gee-nears must be goin' wild from all dat smoke an heat. Feheheheee..."

Klitch instead pulled out a hip flask and took a long swig. "Jus' look at 'em tho and tha time they be wastin' on talking, gettin 'emselfs rope fer hangin'. If da ship started takin' waduh, dey wouldn't shut 'er muzzles before being fully under. Khaw!"
 
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Swifttail’s ears pinned back as the jeers rose up after him. He kept his focus on Kaii until the marble fox was secure, then nodded shakily and muttered low enough for only him to hear, “Aye mate. I 'ope it cracks two 'eads on the way down, though.”

Shifting his stance on the yard, he crept toward the tie-offs, only to catch movement below. The fox and ferret were climbing after him, still grinning like they’d nothing better to do than make pests of themselves.

"Oi Klitch, I put me dagger on this one fallin' first. 'e's tremblin' more'n a leaf in a gale." the vixen crowed.

"Haww, haww! Yer on, mate! Dat one d'ere is spittin' up blood outta fright."

Swifttail gritted his teeth and hunched over the stubborn knot in front of him, determined to ignore them. But something wasn't right. It was tied completely incorrectly, twisted over itself in a way that made working it loose with one good paw a nightmare. His claws scraped against the wet rope, making little progress.

"Hell's teeth..." he hissed, then straightened to glare down at the peanut gallery. "Oi, shuddap an’ 'elp me!"

Thura’s grin only widened. "Aww, wot is et? Don' know yer ropes? Damn shame, Klitch. Looks loike 'e's daft too. Teeheehee!"

Swifttail’s tail lashed behind him, his voice sharp. "At least I'm tryin' 'ere! Better than deadweight. Now get up ‘ere ‘fore I drag ye by those sorry tails!"
 
Kaii was known to be rather a patient beast. He suffered taking such words before, many times in fact, and knew that best way to make them be gone was to ignore those. That way, the offenders would lose interest and go away.

But he really started wishing deep inside within that he could shoot some nails into the thick skulls of those two.

While Kaii had not much experience with ropes and knots, he did practice and learn whatever he could find before getting onto the ship. Thus, even he could say that the ones he was now dealing with were not done properly. Reasoning why this was the case wouldn't take him anywhere, hearing however that Swift had the same issues gave Kaii an idea.

"Swift! You know how we were only told to fix the sail?"

The question did prompt the two other vermin's response.

"Look at 'em lazy arses Klitch! Them boofheads' sooo pathetic they already finkin' how ta 'scape the task!" Thura yelled while sneakily tugging the sail to make it even harder for the two foxes to work the ropes.

The ferret guaffed loudly before adding his own two guilders. "Oy, ya two pale rugs! No cheatin' the job or we gunna tell t' bosun that yer needin' sum whips!"

But Kaii couldn't care for the two, already getting his claws out and ready while speaking to his platinum furred friend again.

"Let's cut the ropes. I am sure after we fix the sail, the more able sailors will put it to work."

That gave a stop to the mocking laughs.
 
Swifttail’s ears drooped as he glanced from the tangled knot to Kaii. He let out a long sigh, breath frosting in the damp air.

"Aye mate. There’s extra rope below, I s’pose."

He tugged his dagger free from his belt. The blade’s edge caught a glint of the pale sun before he set it to the taut rope. One steady pull, and the first tie frayed loose with a rough snap.

The jeers rose up immediately.

"Oi now dey’ve done it! Dey be cuttin’ de ship ta pieces!" Thura howled, her voice rasping with glee.

Klitch slapped his peg leg against the yard in rhythm, bellowing, "Ooh, ye’ve got a date wit’ de lash fer sure now! Hawww hawww!"

Swifttail flinched at the noise but pressed the knife against the next tie. His jaw clenched, fur bristling along his shoulders.

"Least we’re fixin’ the job, not sittin’ like gulls waitin’ fer scraps," he shot back, sawing through another rope with stubborn, jerky strokes.

The freed length of sail creaked and shifted under his footpaws, the whole yard groaning with its weight as though warning them of the risk.
 
Kaii didn’t have any blade on him, all the tools were left once he started climbing up. That is where having claws however was probably most useful, especially as he took care of them appropriate to his strata. He kept them clean, smooth and most importantly, sharpened. Of course cutting ropes with claws was tedious and slow task, and it wasn’t long before it was noticed by the two pests beneath them.

Look atta tall one Thura! All dis finkin’ an’ whatnot yet he forgot bringin’ a shank! At least his claws ain’t as dull as him! Haw! Haw!” Klitch started, playing with his own claws in the process.

To which the vixen responded while looking back at the Ferret with a dark gleam in her eye.
“Me finks we shudda come an find sum officer. No need ta give em a shot on causing more damage t’ fix.”

The two started slowly getting down, all while continuing their cackling. In the meanwhile, Kaii did notice that Swifttail was close to be finished with his side. Kaii was nowhere close due to having to use his claws. Knowing however how things were made, meant also he know how to break them. Kaii instead of cutting the ropes, moved and simply damaged them, hoping that the weight of the sail will do the rest. It was the best he could do in order to catch up. While he did and he met with Swifttail in the middle as intended. When Swifttail cut the final rope on his side, good amount of ropes on Kaii side were still seemingly intact.

But just as Kaii moved to finish the job properly, the sudden, loud crack filled the air as the ropes had snapped. Kaii only managed one single curse word, before the sail started falling, slightly to the side he was at.

And more importantly, towards the two distinguished members of haters club. One that Kaii on the spot, decided was not worth informing. They after all were trained sea beasts who knew the dangers of being within the area are where the sail was falling. And it’s not like they didn’t know that was about to happen. Instead he just focused to see if they won’t need medical help, it was fine to let them experience consequences of their actions, but Kaii was still sworn as a member of the crew, and he wouldn’t let those two suffer… not too much at least.
 
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Swifttail gasped as he was jolted, claws clutching at the rigging as the thundercrack of parting rope split the air. His paw slipped momentarily, heart hammering, but he dragged himself against the swaying lines, resteadying himself after a few tense moments. He watched with wide eyes as the sail lurched free. The heavy canvas tilted and went over, flattening the pair of jeering vermin below in a single, dreadful crash as they could only utter a shriek of terror.

The impact echoed back up to them, followed by an awful silence. Swifttail’s ears pinned flat.
"Oh Hell’s Teeth!" He cussed, looking back over at Kaii.

"Quick, mate," he stammered, already fumbling his dagger back to its sheath so he could climb. "We’ve got t’get down there fast. That might’ve killed ’em!"

He started his descent as fast as his injured paw would allow, rope biting at his waist harness with each lurching drop. All he could think of was the stillness below, and the sudden, sickening weight of whether their mockers were truly silenced forever.
 
While Swift was dashing down, by the laws of physics and the fact the rope between them was quite sturdy, Kaii couldn't help but go up. That however was slower process than just dropping oneself. As such, the marble fox many times felt as the rope pulled him up, forcing him to stop himself on the rigging instead of actually climbing it. Sooner than later, Kaii found himself close to the top, and putting extra effort to hold on was actually causing his exhausted and battered body to slowly give up against his will. "Swift, SLOW DOWN." Kaii exclaimed while before failing to grasp onto the rope and dropping down, pulling Swifttail upwards a good bit.

After a few coughs he did get a good grasp on the rigging, starring with cold flame down the mast.
"Haste will get us hurt too. Let us descend properly, or we both will fall and one of us from much higher distance at that." It wasn't even lack of Kaii's will to actually throw himself to help the two beasts that did something he despised, nor it was even care for his own life at this point. It was still that twisted promise he made, and his will to not bring any harm to his companion, to his friend.

After getting a moment to stop the black spots from appearing in front of his eyes, he started climbing again, stubbornly against any pain or wound he had. But also he was making sure to not rush it at all.

And in the meanwhile, under the fallen sail, from between the ripped seams, movements of furred bodies could be spotted as the two beasts that fell with it were now slowly coming to senses. With that, scowls of their pain had followed.
 
The rope wrenched tight, yanking Swifttail skyward with a violent jolt. The air rushed out of his chest in a strangled bark, and for a terrible heartbeat he dangled helplessly, paws scrabbling at nothing.

He coughed hard as his hindpaws finally hooked back into the ratlines, body trembling. His throat burned, breath ragged, ears slicked back in shame.

"S-sorry, mate..." he wheezed between coughs, eyes watering. "I’m so sorry."

Looking up at Kaii through the misted sting, his voice cracked with guilt. "Yer right… I just...forgot about the rope..."

Below, the sail shifted and a pained cry cut through the fog. Thura shoved her way out from under the heavy canvas, fur matted, staggering as she clutched her head.

"Yeee! Me tail’s gone flat! An’ me ’ead’s got a crack in it bad, Klitch!"

From under the billowed heap, Klitch writhed, kicking uselessly with his stump of a leg, peg now missing. His voice was high with broken groans, the words dissolving into nonsense through clenched teeth.

"Ghh-raah! Spine’s-me bloody-yehh-Gates, me back’s snapp’d-ahh!"

The sail sagged with each of his convulsions, muffling his pitiful cries.
 
Kaii soon got to the top, letting Swift to touch the deck and remove the rope from around his waist, with that, Swift could safeguard him while Kaii was now taking bigger jumps down the rigging. Finally reaching the deck, he fell onto it, exhausted and needing a moment to allow himself to feel the pain.

It wasn't much, Kaii knew they had still job ahead, but it was cathartic to let his body inform his stubborn mind how damaged it was. In a way, the marble fox gave himself enough of a incentive to continue in his current, detached state, more to be able to finish the task than anything else. So after gritting his teeth to numb the pain, Kaii pushed himself to stand up and calmly looked at Swift, very much neutral to the suffering of the two, despite moving to investigate if they are wounded.

"I am sorry Swifttail, I meant not to upset you. I know you care for all, more than I ever could for sure." There was a crack and a pause for a moment, as his very beastly part stopped him from uttering the next sentence. But unlike me you should not risk your life, especially over the ones that care not for you. Kaii finished in his head, before shaking it.

Instead he took uneasy steps to the sail on the deck, helping Swift to untangle the one of the two miscreants from the sail cloth. While working on it with stiff, unnatural movements, he kept his eyes on them, staring with his dead gaze into their eyes.


"S-s-stop starin' an' help me y-y-ya-a-a..." Klitch tried to speak as Kaii got him out, letting Swifttail work on Thura. Kaii examined him, and seeing nothing more than superficial wounds, he got his peg leg, attached it and helped him up. Klitch needed a moment but he stood on his own, still possibly intimidated by the marble fox who after this day looked much worse than he did after the fall.

"Go to the infirmary. And make sure you won't risk your health again just after we lost so much crew. Especially in such stupid way." Kaii warned flatly before turning to Swift in order to examine how is he doing. "Swift, do you need a paw? If not, I think it is high time we should focus on the sail."
 
Swifttail all but collapsed beside Kaii as the marble fox touched down, his own paws trembling from the ordeal. His chest hitched with a near-sob as he blurted, "Mate, I am so, so sorry. I just can't stand seein' any more death! But now I've gone and hurt you further!"

He scrubbed at his muzzle with his good paw, then steadied himself enough to stoop and haul Thura out from under the heavy canvas. The vixen staggered, still wide-eyed and dazed, but for once she held her tongue. Swifttail’s voice softened as he steadied her, looking toward Kaii. "Mate, let's jus' cut our losses an take the punishment. We just don't have it in us."

When he caught the lingering glare in Thura’s eyes, his ears pinned back, though he forced himself to meet it. "We're all crewmates, and we just survived Hell. Just give it a rest. Do as Kaii says and claim it was an accident. It'll spare us all the rod."

To his surprise, her sharp expression wavered. Thura’s shoulders sagged, and she muttered, "Yer roight... Oi Klitch! Shuddap an' come wit' me."

The ferret groaned from where Kaii had set him up, but between the two of them they managed to limp off toward the infirmary, leaving the foxes alone with the battered sail.

Swifttail just looked down at the crumpled sail and sighed.
 
After the two mischievous vermin hobbled out of their sight, Two forces battled inside Kaii's head.

The one in charge, his iron-will and rationality of his mind, if stained by his sense of honour, was in charge now to manage the pain and push the task to the end.

The one that was subdued, his more beastly self, wanted to comfort his friend. There was genuine care, going beyond the oath, that Kaii had for his platinum-furred companion.

Finally, after a while, they've settled. The marble fox moved and put his arm around Swifttail's shoulders. "I appreciate your worry for me, and find your worry for other beasts, even ones that erred you, commendable. Don't feel bad for it all. Nothing here was your fault, your speech solved the situation at paw... and mishaps happen. I may be strained, but I know you meant not to harm me, nor that you wished to forget about me."

After giving him a few pats on the shoulder, Kaii exhaled what he could without coughing some more blood. He wasn't great at this, but with his logical self in charge, he could only speak in facts, not much in opinions. "I cannot offer you comfort that Silvertongue would, but I want you to know that I am your friend, even when I am cold as copper or searing as foundry iron."

He looked at the other fox. His body was stiff yet trembling due to overexertion. His tail was dead, so was his expression, but he had soft eyes, slightly teary even. He couldn't show more, no matter how much he wanted to.

Them he slowly retreated his paw and moved to get the threads and the needles. After bringing them closer he stared at the sail.
"Now... What ideas do you have? I have an idea how to start, but we both had a moment of haste-brought misfortune today, let's take it slowly, shall we?"
 
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Swifttail tensed at first under Kaii’s arm, but then the strength went out of him and he slumped into the support. “It’s okay, mate. I understand. Thank you.” His voice cracked faintly, bone-weary as he was. No words could mend Kaii’s wounds, nor change his resolve to see the task finished, but the simple gesture meant more than he could say.

He knew well enough they had been anything but slow and methodical today, rushing where care was needed, and it had already bitten them twice over. Kaii’s question was a fair one, but sails and stitches were far from Swift’s toolbox. Still, this was their burden, and they had to carry it together.

“Well… first thing’s first. Let’s find the tear and get our tools in order.”

Padding around the collapsed canvas, he worked his way to one corner and dragged it free. His broken paw throbbed from the effort, but he managed, biting back a wince. Looking up, he flicked his ears toward Kaii. “Mate, grab the other side and let’s lay it out flat as we can.”
 
Kaii moved as Swifttail suggested. The two todds working together to spread the sail across the deck, even if both of them were hurt. After managing the first two corners and stretching the side they were on to the maximum, Kaii used his hind paw to pull a nearby cannonball onto the corner, pinning it down. "Put something heavy on the corner Swift, we don't want to deal with the wind taking the sail off." He noted, while himself being sure his friend had done it anyway. Thus the marble fox moved to do the same work with the the other corner on his side, cooperating with Swift again, finishing their first task at paws.

The sail had two parallel sections of four tear lines each. Those were not cut cleanly, instead seemingly shredded. Kaii sighted as he now saw how long they were, almost going from the top to the bottom of the sail.
"Ermine claws. I hope whoever gave them punishment wasn't too harsh, they were just trying to save their life in panic." Kaii mused, rermembering the incident he saw ealier in the day.

But with the sail spread and pinned, Kaii didn't want to wase much time, he moved on to where they've gathered needles and threads and took one of the curved ones.
"I did forgot to applaud your work because of this whole mess. Having just one paw operational and still being able to make such a smooth curve? You truly are a great artisan. And now it will help us a lot I think." After waiting for a moment so that the platinum fox could gather some equipment too, Kaii moved to where the tear started and sat next to it, heavily, due to exhaustion.

Then he took the thread and arranged it over a part of the thread into lattice pattern. "Do you think it would work? Such grids are great at managing stress... but it also would be a lot of work." He looked at his companion, awaiting their opinion. While his body was too tired and to subdued to show any emotions, his eyes were attentive. Kaii after all did enjoy solving problems, and doing it with a friend was doubly as good.
 
Swifttail had already dragged a spare coil of rope onto his corner to weigh it down, but he only dipped his head at Kaii’s reminder. Always better to check than to be checked by fate.

When the sail was stretched flat, his ears tilted back at the sight of the damage. The long, shredded tears gaped like old wounds, jagged and raw. He let out a low whistle.

“Aye. Poor beast. They might’ve not even survived the fall…”

He rubbed at the fur on the back of his neck with his good paw, distracted, and when Kaii praised his work with the needle, he offered only a shy shrug, still distracted by his tired observations of their work area.

“Oh… thank ye, mate. Tain’t nothin’, though.” His eyes didn’t leave the mess of torn sailcloth.

“Do ya think this is even salvageable?” he asked, tail flicking uneasily. “We might need a new yard, proper.”

He crouched beside Kaii, paw hovering over the lattice of thread the marble fox had laid out. They had plenty of that, at least...

“If anything, we need patch material to cover that over…”
 
Listening to Swifttail's suggestion, Kaii tilted his head in consideration. "We could cut out the damaged areas and put on big patches, but we would have to go and find some first. You are right however that it does seem like the only way to do a repair."

Wrinkling his nose, The fox grabbed and pulled together the sailcloth on both sides of the tear. He could pull them close enough to mend, but it was much more difficult with each following tear.

"It doesn't look elastic enough. If we were to use just the thread, I think we risk deforming the sail or at least leaving some gaps."

With a long exhale that could not be anything but a solemn sigh of annoyance from the ever-stoic fox, Kaii stood up slowly due to his pain. This new perspective made him realise that if they were to cut, the patches would be as long as the sail itself, not very good thing for structural integrity.

"I am stuck." Kaii admitted after a moment. "Each option sounds bad here. Maybe we could just make many small patches? don't bother with cutting out the tears?" He suggested, but his slightly out of tune voice was showing how uncertain he was, a rarity for him, but not something he was ashamed of showing. Mostly because his logical side knew that shame was better than poor performance.

"If it only wasn't for the fact sails have to be lightweight..." He sighed, seeing solutions that used nails or even rivets, when finally coming to some stub of an idea. He kneeled again with a groan and rearranged the thread he put over into a zigzag. "Those will be less-time consuming," He then extended his paw to Swift, hoping they would help each other up. "We just may need some cloth to patch it. May take some cutting but it will be much easier to simply fill the gaps I think."
 
Swifttail looked up sharply at Kaii’s words. The admission - I am stuck - carried more weight than the shredded canvas in front of them. The marble fox's keen mind rarely faltered, even when bloodied and bent. Seeing him strain now, searching for solutions and finding none that satisfied, pulled at Swift’s chest.

He took a slow breath, ears flicking as he eyed the tar-smeared ropes and the ragged slashes in the sail.

“Mate… ye risked yer life t’ get that pitch. We might s'well use it.”

He crouched down and pinched one of the torn edges between his claws, tugging at the stubborn cloth. “We can cut strips off spare canvas, smear the tar down as glue, then lay ’em over like patches. Then we stitch the edges in tight. Won’t be pretty, but the wind’ll pull against the tar 'n' cloth, not just our threads.”

His tail gave a small flick as he added, softer, “Better than stretchin’ yerself ragged tryin’ to hold all this together with nothin’ but twine.”

Swifttail straightened, nodding toward the companionway. “I saw some extra sailcloth back in that closet we near glued ourselves into. I’ll nip down quick an’ fetch it. I'll just try t’ stay out of the tar this time, eh?” A weary grin tugged at the edge of his muzzle, the first hint of humor since they’d set paws on the deck.

He reached for Kaii’s paw, steadying him up to his feet before he set off. “Hold on, mate. We’ll make this work.”
 
Kaii needed a moment to process things. That moment while Swift was gone to grab the sailcloth was perfect for that. It wasn't the fact even that Swifttail came up with solution he couldn't. Kaii considered him to be his equal and there was no shame in that. What was the problem was that... Kaii failed to consider the easy solution of using adhesives. Something that he had experience and knowledge alike with.

It took him a moment to just accept it. He was wounded, tired, working after already having done his whole shift, spent physically and socially... he just accepted that the circumstances weren't great and that he had to pay the price now.

That price being shattered confidence, at least for some time.

When Swifttail came back, Kaii was still standing like a statue in the exact same position he was left at. Upon hearing him, the marble fox took a deep breath in.

"You have a sound mind Swift. I am once more humbled by your thinking." He then turned to look at him, but there was no longer emotionless stoicism on Kaii's face. He sure still was stoic, but the corners of his muzzle were slightly up, his nose wrinkled, his eyes somewhat happy while holding tears from the pain.

Kaii was again himself, his fully rational and logical side lost the duel for now.


"Let's be done with it. I am just wishing for nothing more than getting some sleep in the pile soon." He smirked before taking a piece of the rope that snapped and fell with the sail, using the jagged end as a brush for tar application.
 
Swifttail came padding back across the deck, a bundle of spare sailcloth clutched under his arm. He slowed when he saw Kaii still standing exactly where he’d left him, stiff as a figure carved from stone. But when the marble fox turned and spoke, something in his tone, the faint curve of his muzzle, and the wrinkled nose pulled at Swift’s chest.

For once, Kaii wasn’t just the iron-willed mate who always had the answers. He was letting him see the cracks. And that alone set a spark alight in Swifttail.

"Mate," he said softly, setting the cloth down and straightening to meet Kaii’s gaze. "Don’t sell yerself short. Yer brilliant... always impressin’ me with how much ye know. I’d be lost ten times over without ye."

The corners of his own muzzle tugged upward as Kaii smirked about wanting sleep. Swifttail gave a quick chuckle, tail flicking.

"Well then, the quicker we lay these down, the faster ye can!"

He pulled one of the cloth sheets free and stretched it across the torn section, lining it up with a craftsman’s eye. With a practiced motion, he drew his dagger and began trimming it to size.

"Right, mate," he said, laying the patch flat and giving it a firm pat. "Grab the tar ’n’ bring it ’ere. We’ll coat this side, then each grab an end an’ flip it over."

Already, there was a steadiness in his movements that hadn’t been there earlier, bolstered by his friend’s trust and the simple satisfaction of having a plan they could actually see through.
 
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