Open Madness Or Brilliance

[Corda LaConte / Cordan LeConte]

Cordan's ears flattened slightly at the less-than-prestigious rank, but he at least didn't argue against it or voice his displeasure. He sheathed his blade and stood to sign his name in flowery cursive, the signature overlapping some of the above text. At the question he raised his chin and stated, "I shall swear any oath to empress and country that is asked of me, though my first oath of loyalty shall always be to you and this vessel, sir!" His tone remained strident, eager to prove himself.

 

[LightSeeker]

Friedrich let go of the ferret. Noting that they will get some extra examination when the time comes. And it will be as physical as it gets, just to see them squirm was worth the effort. Gribblo honestly should be thankful for already securing himself the position of Friedrich’s control beast. One that will be kept in best shape for the sake of research.

The other beasts reacted as Friedrich wanted. Good, he wouldn’t want to actually have to already paint the deck red before he was employed to do so. He still kept his warhammer at ready but he was no longer glaring over the others. Instead he focused on what his big ears had gathered. Specifically the fact that the nearby hedgehog was mentioning their medical skills. Competition wasn’t something Friedrich was to accept but if they were his subordinates? He had to also make rapport with them.

So he butted in bluntly. “Friedrich. Var surgeon. You are of medical profession? Vat is your expertise? If we are going to vork together, I would like knoving your skills.”

Elara turned her attention to the hare as he spoke. When he introduced himself as Friedrich, a Var surgeon, she acknowledged his title without any visible reaction. "Var" was a recognized military designation, typically associated with border regiments or foreign auxiliaries. His accent, demeanor, and weapon confirmed this to her. She didn’t question it—she simply filed the information away.

“Apprentice nurse,” she replied, her voice calm and steady. “I trained at the University of Length Hospital. My skills include field stabilization, trauma response, wound care, and infection prevention. I can handle moderate injuries under pressure and support surgical recovery when needed.”

She paused for a moment before adding, “If we’re on the same ship, I’ll work wherever I'm needed. I don’t compete; I assist.” She didn’t smile or soften her tone, but maintained her gaze on him, measuring and assessing without being swayed by his size.

Curiosity flickered in her eyes as she finally asked, “Military?” This was the first hint of emotion she had shown him beyond her calm demeanor.

 

[Jeshal the Ironclaw]

"Glad ter hear it!"

Jeshal slid the roster back to himself to eye the curiously Alkamarianish name. Not that it bothered him. Whatever quarrel he had with Alkamarians or potential ones were any who meant him and his crew harm. He had been out of the Imperium so long that his personal enemies were few or dead.

"Welcome aboard, Mr LeConte. Either meself or Cap'n Keltoi will have your sister sign when she be available. For the medical positions there be a few further questions. If your sister's here now, we'll get that sorted. Elseways, Frogear will point you out a hammock and bedroll and get ye situated."

@Corda & Cordan LeConte ​

 

[Corda LaConte / Cordan LeConte]

Cordan bowed to his new captain, sweeping his hat off his head in a grand gesture of gracious acknowledgement. "I can go retrieve her posthaste," he promised. "Begging your leave, captain!"

The fox hurried out the door, hesitating at the sight of so many gathered about. He hesitated, looking around, before picking up a pack he'd stowed by the door and hastening for the space just under the stairs up to the poop deck, where a few crates had been tucked away. Climbing into the space, Cordan pulled the hat off his head, clutching it to his chest; then, breathing deeply, he closed his eyes.

Corda woke up. She frowned to find herself in such a tight space; Cordan must have been desperate for anything getting toward semi-privacy. It was a challenge to shrug off his fine coat and swap it with the skirts stored in their shared bag, and only slightly easier to pull on the skirts, having to shift them a few times to find the tail slit and then button the fabric strap above her tail to help hold the skirt in place. She didn't bother with doing her own makeup; she didn't want to keep anyone waiting, and, as long as she unmussed her fur from where Cordan had ruffled it to give some extra masculinity, she wouldn't look out of place.

The vixen slipped free of the cubby, leaving their bag there for the moment, then hurriedly walked to the cabin. She caught a bit of conversation indicating that there were a few other medically-inclined beasts, something that filled her with both anticipation and dread. She was hardly an expert in the field; her learning had all been due to necessity. Still, she gook a deep breath and walked into the cabin, giving a curtsy to the captain.

"Captain Ironclaw," she spoke, her voice quiet and demure, a practice her father had (sometimes literally) beat into her. She kept her gaze on the desk before him, not making eye contact. "Thank you for granting my brother a place aboard your vessel. I am certain that he will serve you with everything in his being. For my part," she continued, risking a brief glance up at him, "I would be honored to serve as well. I am hardly a trained surgeon, but I can help tend to wounds in emergencies, and will gladly learn from the more experienced beasts around me."

 

[Jeshal the Ironclaw]

The fact that the rabbit hadn't taken the opportunity to stroll straight in was another hint that his suspicions about this fox were correct. Jeshal wasn't fully certain just yet about what he'd seen in the darkness of the docks. Had he never known Armina, he would have been almost fully in the belief that Corda was a twin. One with her own body anyway. He would confirm it all sooner or later.

Something of the predator in him felt a thrill at her softness. Something of the father in him had to resist offering reassurance. "A ship this size be in need of beasts willing to learn the vital arts o' keeping its crew alive. Should ye have any papers of reference as to your work, I'll be having them if ye please. Otherwise, sign y'self beneath your sibling, and ye'll report ter Doctor Kiptooth."

@Corda LaConte / Cordan LeConte​

 

[Corda LaConte / Cordan LeConte]

Corda hesitated, wishing she could supply a degree, or references, or something to show for her work besides the continued functioning of the body she shared with an overly-daring and accident-prone todd. Her other two primary patients were deceased, after all. Quietly she signed her name, then meekly curtsied to the captain again and murmured her thanks before backing out of the room, ears burning in embarrassment.

Outside she took a moment to breathe and compose herself before catching a snippet of accented conversation between a hare and a hedgehog. Well, it seemed that there were plenty of medical beasts for her to learn from here. She hoped that Cordan would similarly find duelist colleagues among the crew. Clasping her paws meekly in front of her, she approached the gaggle, her eyes falling submissively. "Pardon me," she softly dared to intrude into the conversation, "but are either of you a Doctor Kiptooth? I'm supposed to report to them, I think."

 

[Friedrich Nähenerv]

The nurse. Friedrich had no need for those in past years. Certainly those were a rarity on the battlefields he saw. A nurse was any beast who he deemed needed at the time and they had to follow his exact words. But the times were changing, the country was no longer at a disastrous civil war, Friedrich would be able to establish precedence, but not to control them... not without sufficient effort at least.

At this time the doors have opened and a fox left them, Friedrich only decided to finish his sentence before coming in.

"Ja. Started under ze Lord-Protector. Mostly fought und served in revolutions." He smiled deviously at the memory of all that he did during those. "Ninety-seven percent survival rate for my troop gave me a rank of ze kaptain. Then I run ze clinik for veterans."

And as he was about to now enter the place, a vixen slipped in. Friedrich did a good mental note for the future to never give that one a painless surgery, but at least he did manage to not examine her skull on the spot via his warhammer.

He then turned to the hedgehog again. "If ve vill serve in infarmary, I vill respect your kraft. You sound reasonable. Zat is gut." His words were not just attempt at not to suspicious interactions. The stern and rather lacking in emotion voice of the hedgehog suggested to him that they at worst will be just rule-bent. Which he could manage by showing how those rules do not help in medicine.

The vixen that slipped in now exited and asked a question that made Friedrich have even more of a snarl than he put on as she emerged. Doctor? If there was one Surgeon already, Friedrich was ready to git them with their own tools. He would not settle for a subpar position.

"No. Look for zem in Infirmary." The rabbit practically growled before reaching to Griblo and pulling them with him through the open doors into the Captain's room.

He did manage his fury enough to not make scene now. With a proper salute he spoke grimly. "Kaptain Ironklaw. Army Kaptain Friedrich Nähenerv. Veteran und battle surgeon. Answering your call for ze able beast." And he reached for badge, Order of Bravery, medical licence and resume while letting Griblo do his introductions.

 

[Griblo Jankweed]

Griblo squawked as the hulking rabbit shoved him forward, paws flailing.

“Oi! Oi! I said ta’ keep yer paws off! Hells’ teeth, I didn’t know rabbits ’ad claws!”

His eyes darted desperately toward the hedgehog as he was hauled along.

“I’m sorry, ’aight? ’Elp me! Gates, take ’er instead!”

Dragged through the doorway, he nearly tripped over his own boots before catching sight of the captain at his desk. At once, Griblo went stiff, spine snapping straight. The instant Friedrich’s grip loosened, he tugged at his vest, brushed the dust off his sleeves, and cleared his throat like nothing had happened.

While the rabbit introduced himself, Griblo waited, tugging one last time at his grimy collar.

When his turn came, he bowed his head and spoke crisply, with only the faintest wobble in his voice:

“O… oh! Good mornin’, sir. M’name is Griblo Jankweed. I am ’ere on the recommendation of me business partner, Ruffano Quickwhistle. I serve as ’is personal accountant an’ treasurer. I am pursuin’ the position of Purser on this grand vessel.”

 

[Jeshal the Ironclaw]

For Jeshal’s part, he wasn’t overly concerned with the vixen’s experience. He would leave the particulars to Kiptooth in judging the merit of new medical assistants, at least in the first instance.

His next applicants were curious beasts indeed. The imposing rabbit dragged in a scruffy-looking ferret who seemed none too happy about it. Another surgeon, though one who for now put forward for able beast. Kip might make some use of him.

The captain kept a small, unreadable smile while they made their introductions, equal parts friendly and unnerving. When Griblo namedropped Ruffano, the smile looked more amused.

“Ah, Mr Quickwhistle, patron o’ the arts at heart. Well, Jankweed, Purser be a great responsibility, so it be. A thing to aspire to, says I. Needs two paws on the deck ter begin with. Sign y’self up as a swabbie and we’ll start ye off on the ladder. As for you, Mr Nähenerv, Able it'll be. If ye've designs ter be amid the surgeons, ye can report to Dr Kiptooth along with Miss LaConte once ye be done signing."

He indicated the roster but left things open for further discussion. Unlike many naval officers, Jeshal held little care for awards and titles. His ship was a fresh start, judgements reserved for signing onwards. Mostly. He was only vulpine after all.

@Friedrich Nähenerv @Griblo Jankweed​

 

[Griblo Jankweed]

Griblo’s ears shot up, his jaw dropping.

“Swabbie!? Ruffano said it was a guaranteed gig! Blast that fox-faced cheat…”

He cut himself off with a sharp cough, straightening his vest and forcing his grin back into place. He turned back to Jeshal, words tumbling out quick but with a sudden edge of earnestness.

“Sir. At least permit me a trial. Y’see, I know I ain’t de most honest beast in dis town. But one thing’s fer certain...I know me prey, an’ I protect me booty. If’n I was in charge of yer bounty, it ain’t goin’ anywheres but where me captain sez it goes.”

He rubbed at his whiskers, tail curling tight, then forced himself to stand a little straighter, tone softening.

“But I’ll earn me keep regardless, though swabbie’s a bit ’arsh. Oi spent time onna merchant ship, an’ I know me ropes.”

His grin faltered, steel-blue eyes lifting to the captain with a flicker of something rare for the ferret...humble, almost pleading.

 

[Friedrich Nähenerv]

Friedrich felt humiliated. He couldn't even be bothered by the ferret throwing a tantrum by his side. His sight got red as he envisioned performing most vile experiments of said Doctor. Not one beast would stop between him and his goals.

In his bag, his paw wandered over the set of scalpels, tempting him to show his skill right now, in front of the captain with the patient zero next to him.

But his military training kicked in. Patience was needed. He had skills, he had motivation. He had it all. It was a matter of time and his efforts.

With subsiding rage, he caught Griblo now being more meek. He decided to state the facts instead.

"If you vant me to prove myself. I vill do so to best of my abilities. But I vill not be able to zave lives as vell without free paws."

With that, Friedrich twisted his wrist. Sickening crunch of bones, one that was heard even on the main deck followed.

 

[Corda LaConte / Cordan LeConte]

Corda wilted under the hare's contemptuous glare. She'd seen that hateful look for the past two decades of her life, in her father's eyes. The thought of working with a beast who would treat her with that same callousness was almost enough to make her turn around and run back into the cabin, to beg the captain for a reprieve from her oath. Perhaps she could get his agreement to let Cordan serve in her place, and she would simply... Hide? Sleep? Fade away? She didn't know what the solution was.

Her eyes brimming with tears that she struggled to hide, she turned away, doing her best to keep any actual sobs from heaving her chest and shoulders. The decision of what to do next was made for her when the hare and his companion went into the captain's cabin, leaving Corda to slink off to the stairs heading belowdecks. She wandered for a bit, trying the bow section, then the stern, until she found a door with the word "Infirmaree" painted on a small sign in faded letters. She knocked, then opened the door, poking her head in. "Excuse me," she called softly. "Is there a Doctor Kiptooth present?"

 

[Jeshal the Ironclaw]

Oh. He had forgotten how much he had enjoyed rankling others. For so long Jeshal had contented himself with mild, playful emotional torture of his family (see: dad jokes) and the occasional flicker of his old self upon threats, but nothing compared to the intracacies of forced relationships formed aboard ship and factions. Though he looked back fondly on shipmates of old, prior to his first captaincy he had been generally disliked by the crew. Frustratingly for everyone, when he had finally proven himself to be the bad seed they assumed, he had only ended up being promoted and then bafflingly married to the very beast he had sought to harm. After that, he wondered what the old Hide crew had thought of him, for he had settled and grown loyal to them before his departure from Bully. Well, as loyal as Jeshal could be. What would this crew come to think of him in time?

Though his smile faded as he watched Griblo's outburst, displeasure did not replace it. Jeshal simply listened. He noted the tension in the rabbit, the movement of his paw hidden in his bag, and was reminded of what he himself concealed. He remained still. Perhaps Nähenerv was going to produce more paperwork.

A slow blink accompanied the crunch of the lagomorph's paw. A younger Jeshal might have flinched.

Intimidating. Useful.

Becoming more animated in his posture, gaze soft once again, Jeshal looked to Griblo first.

"Since ye do yourself the courtesy of explaining your skills, by all means sign your name or an 'X' and I'll mark ye down as an Able. In addition, ye'll be appointed Assistant Purser beside meself. Prove to me beyond word o' mouth, and mayhaps your aspirations will bear fruit.

"Nähenerv, whether ye sign as assistant surgeon or plain Able, makes no odds to me. The bosun will be informed of your flexibilities and ye'll be where your paws be most needed. If doctor be your focus, Kiptooth's word outranks all but mine and Captain Keltoi's as to what ye should be doing."

Jeshal's smile returned. He gestured toward the ink and paper in a manner of 'take it or leave it'.

"Satisfy yourselves, gen'lebeasts. Ye can always take your tails ashore to the ministries to plead a case o' bein' too 'arsh."

Pride was a disease best noticed early.

@Griblo Jankweed @Friedrich Nähenerv​

 

[Griblo Jankweed]

Griblo’s whole face lit up, ears perked and grin wide enough to show the gap where his fang had once been.

“Ah see! Now tha’s more like it! I knew ye’ a wise beast when I firs’ sees ye!” he crowed, puffing his chest.

With sudden bravado, he thumped a paw against Friedrich’s side. “See mate, ye jus’ gotta...” He froze as the rabbit’s massive frame loomed over him, ears twitching nervously before he slunk away, muttering, “...stan’ yer groun’ an’ be assertive...”

Sidling up to the captain’s desk, he seized the quill and scrawled his name across the roster in a wild, looping hand. He shoved the quill back down with a little bounce on his paws, then snapped to attention.

The ferret’s paw rose in a rusty but practiced naval salute. “Ye won’t regret this, sir. We ain’t missplacin’ a single gilder or gold ring on me’ watch!”

 

[Friedrich Nähenerv]

Friedrich did stare at the captain for a moment. His gaze wasn't one of anger but one of contemplation. There was a line of understanding he had now spotted in Jeshal's smile. Sadism. Where Friedrich enjoyed bringing the physical pain, Jeshal apparently was fond of belittling others. That Friedrich could understand and as such, he smiled too. To dismay of most, his frontal teeth were filed to be sharp as daggers.

It was Griblo little thump against his side that broke his smile and made him look down. Noting that Griblo in fact had no problem with touching others. Good.

But the he moved himself to sigh the paper for Surgeon's assistant with his full name. Precisely putting each letter with surgical precision. "Danke Kaptain. I zink I understand now. You vill soon learn of my capabilities." Friedrich added as he dotted the letter a of his surname, then retreating back and giving the full salute himself.

Waiing for the dismiss, Friedrich already contemplated all ways he will have to persuade the current doctor to give him the position. He rose to the rank of Military captain through grit and merit, both in killing and saving. Here, he would do the exact same. There are no rules in a war after all.

 

[Kiptooth Rowanheart]

Many a season had passed beneath the keel since Kiptooth had last set up aboard a ship proper. The Hide had been his home for long enough that the space was all but customised to his needs back then, everything in its place and within easy reach of his paws; the BlackShip, being a much larger affair with a crew to match, had maximised its space and would take some getting used to. There were more cupboards and shelves than even his own extensive collections could ever hope to fill, plenty of space in private quarters for his books, and the pervading scent of verbena which had been introduced that morning (Kiptooth knowing full well that once they were underway this place would never smell pleasant again). He’d have to get a carpenter down here eventually to move some shelves lower to match his restricted reach, but aside from that this was as perfect a workplace as one could hope to have at sea.

Stacking another row of bottles neatly inside one of the medicine lockers, enjoying the pleasant clink of glass in doing so, he had fallen into a meditative rhythm with unpacking - so much so, in fact, that he almost startled at the rap of paw on wood. It took a moment to bring the stranger into focus as he strode closer, noting them to be a young vixen to whom he extended a silvery paw and smile.

“That would be me, miss,” the old marten replied, “Kiptooth, at your service. How may I be of assistance? There’s not much of interest down here for a newcomer – that is, unless you’re here for a medical post?”

 

[Jeshal the Ironclaw]

Jeshal practically beamed at Griblo's new enthusiasm, disingenuous as much as going along for the ride. His good humour remained in this unflinching dance of eye contact with Friedrich, fascinated by the show of sharp teeth. In other circumstances, and he could think of a few, he would feel unnerved, a chill even, but in his cabin he was at ease. Once again he reiterated to himself how threatening this creature would be to their enemies. He might make a badger think twice.

"I look forward ter working with ye both. Send the next one in on your way out, if ye'd be so kind? Nurse Mosswhisker!?"

The captain scribbled in the new designations for his latest recruits while he waited.

@LightSeeker​

 

[LightSeeker]

The nurse. Friedrich had no need for those in past years. Certainly those were a rarity on the battlefields he saw. A nurse was any beast who he deemed needed at the time and they had to follow his exact words. But the times were changing, the country was no longer at a disastrous civil war, Friedrich would be able to establish precedence, but not to control them... not without sufficient effort at least.

At this time the doors have opened and a fox left them, Friedrich only decided to finish his sentence before coming in.

"Ja. Started under ze Lord-Protector. Mostly fought und served in revolutions." He smiled deviously at the memory of all that he did during those. "Ninety-seven percent survival rate for my troop gave me a rank of ze kaptain. Then I run ze clinik for veterans."

And as he was about to now enter the place, a vixen slipped in. Friedrich did a good mental note for the future to never give that one a painless surgery, but at least he did manage to not examine her skull on the spot via his warhammer.

He then turned to the hedgehog again. "If ve vill serve in infarmary, I vill respect your kraft. You sound reasonable. Zat is gut." His words were not just attempt at not to suspicious interactions. The stern and rather lacking in emotion voice of the hedgehog suggested to him that they at worst will be just rule-bent. Which he could manage by showing how those rules do not help in medicine.

The vixen that slipped in now exited and asked a question that made Friedrich have even more of a snarl than he put on as she emerged. Doctor? If there was one Surgeon already, Friedrich was ready to git them with their own tools. He would not settle for a subpar position.

"No. Look for zem in Infirmary." The rabbit practically growled before reaching to Griblo and pulling them with him through the open doors into the Captain's room.

He did manage his fury enough to not make scene now. With a proper salute he spoke grimly. "Kaptain Ironklaw. Army Kaptain Friedrich Nähenerv. Veteran und battle surgeon. Answering your call for ze able beast." And he reached for badge, Order of Bravery, medical licence and resume while letting Griblo do his introductions.

She did not move toward the door or interrupt the exchange unfolding before her. As Friedrich left with Griblo in tow, she observed without comment. When he spoke of his service under the Lord-Protector, in revolutions, with a ninety-seven percent survival rate, she filed the details clinically. High survival suggested competence, though such figures could be shaped by context: triage decisions, definitions of “survival,” and access to supplies. His time running a veterans’ clinic added weight to his claim, but it was his tone that gave her pause—devoid of empathy, steeped in control.

 

[LightSeeker]

Jeshal practically beamed at Griblo's new enthusiasm, disingenuous as much as going along for the ride. His good humour remained in this unflinching dance of eye contact with Friedrich, fascinated by the show of sharp teeth. In other circumstances, and he could think of a few, he would feel unnerved, a chill even, but in his cabin he was at ease. Once again he reiterated to himself how threatening this creature would be to their enemies. He might make a badger think twice.

"I look forward ter working with ye both. Send the next one in on your way out, if ye'd be so kind? Nurse Mosswhisker!?"

The captain scribbled in the new designations for his latest recruits while he waited.

@LightSeeker​

Only then did Elara approach the desk once both the hare and the weasel had left. She stopped at the edge of the desk, just within arm’s reach, her satchel now held in one paw. She didn’t sit unless invited. Didn’t place her belongings down again without permission. “Captain,” she said, voice calm, level. “Apprentice Nurse Elara Mosswhisker. My priority is preventive care, early intervention, and maintaining operational readiness through health maintenance.”

 

[Friedrich Nähenerv]

Friedrich out himself at ease and, since Griblo assured him that he had no problem with being touched, he firmly grasped him and dragged out of the room, passing the hedgehog he spoke with earlier, Mosswhisker. Friedrich remembered his time at 21st battalion when his unit was given subpar nurses and surgeons. As long as they were doing as he ordered, he didn't have a problem. Some objected at his methods but soon the soldiers themselves fixed that belief. Friedrich was brutal surgeon, but an efficient one. That could not be taken from him.

Soon, passing by the other beasts waiting in line, he spoke to Griblo. "Come. I have to meet doktor Kiptooth and you can prepare for examination." There was dark promise in his voice. Oh he would not make this ferret suffer yet, first he had to know exactly what they were made of. Friedrich could name every single sinew in every species he ever fought against. He also knew how much force they could sustain. Making sure this Ferret was within the "norm" was for sure his first project...