Expedition Private Post Urk: Deeper Wounds

[Arthur Barrett]

For some time, the surgeon was living on edge. He was already hard to find on a good day, and after his encounter in the ship's hold, he was almost a ghost. Of course, he could explain away his strange behaviors as trouble sleeping -- but he hadn't admitted to anyone why he was so unsettled.

The fairer weather helped lift his spirits -- really, it helped the entire crew. It was a reminder that they were one day closer to Bully. When the sun was out, seabeasts would lay out on the deck, soaking up the warmth in the hopes their bones would forget the cold of Urk. Meanwhile, the infirmary grew emptier by the day as the wounded regained their strength.

Finn still had a patch of fur missing on his arm -- but otherwise worked hardest of all, making Barrett's rounds for him when the pine marten wasn't feeling well enough. For now though, Arthur had sent him to sleep, and setup a hammock for the young todd in the corner of the infirmary. There he slept peacefully, one foot hanging over the edge.

Meanwhile, Arthur lay in a hammock next to Finn. A small and ancient book rested in his paws, and a pair of rarely seen glasses on the bridge of his nose. He'd cracked one of the windows to let fresh air in the infirmary, and rocked gently as he read.

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

Suddenly, there was a timid knock on the door. “Doctor Barrett, sir… it’s Silvertongue.” The aid said in a soft, unsure tone. “May I come in, please?”

His wrist was well enough healed by now… maybe he just needed a little checkup.

 

[Arthur Barrett]

Arthur flinched twice -- once at the knock, and again at the voice. Silvertongue. The marten looked helplessly to Finnian in his hammock, but it was too late. The kit was taking well earned rest, and he couldn't reasonably hide from the Aide de Camp this time around. He sat up and gestured at the hammock next to him, and held a paw to his lips.

He'd kept a close eye on the bard's injured wrist as it healed. Wouldn't do much if the poor todd couldn't play again, now could it? By some small miracle, everything was still in tact. Keeping it clean would help see to that. Evasively, his looked away as he patted one of the infirmary tables, offering a place to sit. Without a word, he put on his glasses, and fetched a fresh roll of bandages.

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

Silvertongue shook his head. "The bandages won't be necessary." He walked over to the infirmary table, but he didn't bother to sit down. "Doctor Barrett... when we were on Urk, I..." Silvertongue swallowed, already his voice seemed hoarse. "I said something. A mean, nasty, terrible and thoughtless thing. I should have never said it."

Tears flowed freely down Silvertongue's face. He made no effort to hide them or wipe them away. "Part of me wants to say... 'That isn't who I am'. But... it is. At least, it's a version of me I wished didn't exist... but it does."

He faltered for a bit. "Doc, I'm sorry." Silvertongue's voice cracked. And 'Doc'? He was always so formal. This must have been serious. "I don't know what else to say but sorry. Sorry a thousand times over. Even if you'll never forgive me, I just needed to say it."

 

[Arthur Barrett]

Arthur's gaze looked everywhere but the bard's face. Gazing at his boots, staring out the window, double checking his medical supplies. Seeminly, the very last thing he wanted to do was address Silv face to face. He unrolled his bandages on a clean spot, and waited quietly for the fox to sit... ...but Silv never did.

Instead, he started to weep. The pine marten looked immensely uncomfortable, and glanced anxiously about the infirmary as if an assistant would materialize to comfort the fox. But Arthur was alone. "Mr. Songfox..." he started, trying to interrupt the emotional speech -- but Silvie had words he had to get out. "Mr. Songfox! I..." he tried again, a little more assertively this time.

"MR. SONGFOX!" he said quite sternly, right at the end of the todd's apology. Kind as the words were, it was almost as if Arthur hadn't listened to them at all. He leered at the fox with a stern expression on his face. "This behavior is unbecomming of an officer. Captain Stowett has appointed you his first mate, and me the bosun, and we will not sit here weeping like hormonal vixens! We will discuss matters in a matter befitting for officers of the Golden Hide!" he growled, quietly enough to not wake Finny, but sternly enough that he hoped to shock the bard out of his misery.

"Gates, man..." he growled, before briskly standing to his feet. Irritated, he crossed over to his locked chest, and retrieved a bottle of brandy. Returning to the table, he firmly thunked down a tumbler, and poured a finger for the bard, and a finger for himself. He picked up his glass, and scowled over the rim of it. "Drink. It will settle your nerves." Oh gates... he worried, or it might unravel them completely.

Crossing the room, Arthur drew up to the window, and watched the evening colors. A red sky, at the least. Fairer weather. "I have little concern for your personal remarks to me..." he lied. "You're free to think of me as you wish. For what it's worth, you may as well have me pegged, Mr. Songfox."

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

"I don't drink." Silvertongue said firmly. "And right now, I'm not talking to you as some damned officer. I'm talking to you as a real living beast with actual feelings!" He snapped.

He wiped his eyes. "And forgive me for saying this, but I'm sorry if you think you're nothing more than a-" Silvertongue stopped himself. "Well, you know what I said. But I don't think it's true. I don't want to think it's true. I mean, you became a doctor! That's a very difficult profession. Surely you had some passion to help other beasts at some point in your life, right? Don't tell me you're only doing it for wealth, or prestige!"

 

[Arthur Barrett]

Arthur lingered at the porthole, and felt a pang of guilt for forcing the brandy on the bard. Though he couldn't fathom why sailors wouldn't drink, he knew better than to not pressure them into such things. Tipping his tumbler back, he took a sip, and watched the world go by. Meanwhile, Finn stirred in his hammock, and let out a soft rumble as he wearily pulled the blankets up over his head. The marten took note, and willed himself to tone things down.

With a hesitant breath, he turned from the window, and folded his arms across his chest. "Did you seek to become an officer?" he asked pointedly, arms folding across his chest. "Are you in it for wealth, or prestige? Or were you merely a beast who could read and write, and happened to be in the wrong place at the right time?" Arthur's gaze challenged the fox -- and yet, not unkindly.

The marten looked down into the amber liquid in his glass, and swirled it lightly. "I didn't seek to become a doctor, Mr. Songfox. Like yourself, I merely answered the call when it came. And this profession you've stumbled into... you've found it... entertaining? Joyous? Would you be happy to lead another voyage like this?"

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

Silvertongue stared Barrett down. “You’re right, Doctor. Truth be told, I have this position entirely by coincidence. I only meant to do some light work, just enough to make enough ‘money’ to survive.”

Silvertongue said that word so oddly. Well, he had lived most his life without knowing the concept of having to pay for things. Such was life on a pirate ship.

“There were good times, and bad, on this trip, I won’t lie. But I would do it again.”

Silvertongue stepped forward. “The right beast in the wrong place… can make all the difference in the world, Doctor Barrett.”

 

[Arthur Barrett]

Arthur wasn't known to be a gentle beast -- at least rhetorically. He'd been laying a trap for the bard with his question, and had expected Silv to blindly walk into it.

Instead, the bard answered quite bravely. Humbly, even. Arthur kept forgetting that the young fox had been thrust into a position he wasn't made to handle, and had answered the call to the best of his ability.

Barrett studied the bard closely for a moment -- but the contempt had faded from his eyes. In it's place was a quiet respect. "Like young Mr. Brightfur, you take a beating and come back for a second helping... I admire that in a beast, Mr. Songfox."

Such a remark was a rarity from the marten. Arthur was a vocal critic, ten times more likely to find fault than to give encouragement -- much less praise. But the young todd before him bore tender promise.

"You led well on Urk for someone thrust into such a demanding position," he said, after a substantial pause. "Permit me to examine your paw?" he asked, taking a seat. The marten waited for Silv to roll his sleeve up, and gently took hold of the fox's wrist. Carefully, he manipulated the todd's fingers to assess the recovery.

"Do you intend to continue as Captain Stowett's first mate?" he asked gently.

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

Silvertongue held his arm out without protest. Though he did wince a bit. Seemed there was still a bit of pain there.

"I'm... not certain, sir... I- I really don't know what's going to happen, with the pirates still after me. Talinn said that I would be safe in the Imperium, but I don't want any more beasts hurt on my accord."

Silvertongue mentioned the pirates so casually, he had failed to consider that maybe not all of the crew were as informed as Talinn and Gyles were.

 

[Arthur Barrett]

Arthur gently brushed the todd's fur aside to see how the wound was healing. In stark contrast to his rough demeanor, he held Silv's wrist as gently as a newborn dibbun. Even as he twisted and rolled it over, he carefully supported the limb at the elbow. It would feel almost completely weightless. "You're healing remarkably well, Mr. Songfox. And you've got control over your digits? You can move them alright?"

The marten listened intently to the fox's thoughts. What with the way he'd treated Silv, he'd be totally justified in turning him away. But there he was, baring his soul. His eyes flicked up at the mention of pirates -- and with how casually he mentioned it, Arthur suspected he was late to the story. As such, he resolved to return to the topic later.

"...A large portion will depend on Captain Stowett... but as I said on Urk, the Minister saw promise in you, and you didn't let him down." Arthur stood, and took the glass of brandy he'd poured for Silvie. "...may I offer you some... ...unsolicited advice, Mr. Songfox?" he asked, and waited for consent. At the fox's nod, he paused to think carefully about his wording.

"I... ...must preface my advice. I'm a difficult man -- you have me marked. Part of my 'bitterness' comes from watching the same mistakes get repeated again and again, by beasts who have yet to be burned." He paused to take a sip from his glass. The marten's words were nearly academic in tone -- there was no judgement, malice, or spite. Cautiously, he continued. "Should we stop in bad weather to engage in parle with a foreign vessel, I suspect you'd have some sharp words for Mr. Brightfur should he hop up on the railing."

Looking carefully at Silvie, he came to his first question. "And should Mr. Brightfur disregard your warnings, how then would you respond?"

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

Silvertongue idly wiggled his fingers about in response to the first question, then paused, his mind racing. "Well... I'd probably march over there and yank him down from the railing. I hope that I wouldn't have to do such a thing. He's a smart young todd. I'm sure he'd know better."

He shook his head. "I don't want to become... jaded... as I get older. Bitter, or miserable... it would be a terrible thing, in my opinion."

 

[Arthur Barrett]

Arthur smiled gently, and cast a glance over at Finn's hammock. The doctor's tense mood seemed to have dissolved at the mention of Finnian -- even he could see the scene playing out in his mind. But his eyebrows pinched together. "Ah... folly is bound up in his young heart, Mr. Songfox. He's a brave kit, but don't put foolishness past him."

With a few more squeezes and gentle prods, the marten seemed satisfied, and returned the fox's forearm. "And you'd be right to yank him down. I'm sure the memories of going under the keel will be fresh in your mind for some time yet..." he said knowingly, his eyes searching the todd's.

"But suppose, after you yank him off the railing, tears well up in his eyes -- and you can feel the crew scowling at you. Even Captain Stowett comes over, and rebukes you in front of the entire crew for being so harsh to young Finnian."

A pained expression washed over Arthur's face. The marten stood, and gathered the spare tumbler. "...and you try to explain, but they just... don't get it." He returned to the porthole to gaze wistfully out at the horizon. The sun had set now, and the horizon was a pale white. Upwards, the cold sky faded into a dark blue -- except where the first stars pricked their holes through the canvas.

"Just suppose there's some things you don't get 'till you've been under the keel."

Lifting the tumbler, Arthur finished the spirits in one swig.

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

Silvertongue sat in somber silence. Arthur's words weighed heavy on his soul. "I'm sorry, Mr. Barrett. About everything I said. About whatever happened in your past that's troubling you so. I wish I could have been there, to help you."

He stood up, rubbing his wrist. "I hope things get better." He said simply, before starting to make his way to the door.