Mordecai stepped in and stood to the side so the Captain could pass between them. He took a quick look around the room, examining all the knick knacks the Captain kept and looking for a potential weapon.

   The captain closed the door, locked it, and slipped the key into a pocket inside his jacket. He moved around the Lewins to a small desk in the corner, opposite a cot that folded down from the wall. In the other corner there was a bookcase with books strapped in so they wouldn't fall. Everthing was either nailed down or lashed to something. Captain Knight sat down, took a moment to organize himself, and steepled his fingers. Leaning his elbows on the desk, he studied them over his fingers with green eyes. They weren't dark green, or light green, just green. But they weren't quite all the way green, the two saw now that they were closer. They seemed to have golden highlights around the middle. The affect was almost hypnotizing. Then he blinked and sat back, breaking the spell.
   "Now then," he said, a hand raising to his bandana, adjusting it even though it didn't seem to need adjusting. "Let's get to the point. I know you don't have any real money. You probably stole what you have, if you have any. Why else would the Patrol be chasing you?" He smiled at them, but before they could say anything, he continued. "I suppose you should be thanking me. I saved your miserable lives, after all."

   Jane glares at the Captain for a moment, before directing her gaze to the ground, "Just get to the point." she ways quietly. She closes her eyes for a moment, the ships movement making her dizzy. She takes in a deep shaky breath, and looks back up, a shade paler.

Mordecai stood firmly with his feet planted on the floor, steadying himself against the sways of the ship. He remembered that he had been on one of these before, a long time ago. He glanced at Jane, then looked back at the Captain, not sure what to do.

   The captain leaned back in his creaky chair, clasping his hands behind his head as he smiled. He was ominously silent for a few moments, and seemed to be thinking, his eyes langorously swinging from one to the other. He didn't feel like asking what their names were. He would find out eventually. Finally, one hand came down, pointing at Mordecai. "You," he said, his voice as stabbing as his finger, "Will be our new cabin boy, assigned mostly to Wesley, the bos'n. You," he said, pointing at Jane, "Will be our cook's assistant. His name is Brax. Go find him. You, go find Wesley. Welcome to the Cloudcutter." he said jovially, rising to his feet and striding to the door. He opened it quickly and motioned them out.

   Jane dropped her hands to her sides in astonishment, "What...?" she shook her head, and didn't wait for an answer. She huffed and strode past the Captain with her chin up, refusing to really show how much this news disturbed her. She was a great cook, but...Brax? She looked over her shoulder at her brother once she was through the door, and gave him a look that begged him to just do as he was told.

Mordecai closed his eyes and sighed with resignation after receiving the look he got from his sister. He looked back up at the Captain with eyes narrowed. "Fine, where can I find this... Bos'n, Wesley?"

   The captain looked down at Mordecai with an incredulous expression. "How should I know? I told you to go find him. Go." Again, he gestured through the door, looking impatient.

Mordecai turned and stepped out the door, closing it behind him. He walked out onto the deck and took it all in, the sails in the wind, the sky all around them, it made him rather uneasy. Then he noticed Jane standing next to him. "Lets find whoever is responsible for us and get this over with." He started for the door leading to the lower decks. "a Bos'n." He said incredulously.

   Jane followed her brother, and then moved on to where she believed the kitchen would be. The smell of cooking food drifted to her, and she quietly peered around the corner to take a look at the kitchen. She hoped to get a look at this Brax, before he noticed her.
   The movment of the ship still made her sick, and she was nervous. Not only because of her new job, but because she hadn't seen any other women on board. Men, besides her brother and father, made her nervous. She never knew what kind of person they really were, or what they wanted to do, and you could never be sure in a world like this. Especially in a few dark undertowns.

  On her way, several of the men in the crew stopped their work to stare at her. Many looked younger than her, and none were older than at least forty. They all looked strong, and a few were moderatly handsome, same as a few were no pleasure to look at. Once she descended the steps into the galley/crew's quarters, they resumed work, giving each other pointed looks. What was the Captain thinking? Letting a woman on board. It was the most hair-brained thing he had done yet, in their opinions, which was truely saying something.
   In the small, square kitchen, there was an older looking man standing over a small iron stove. He had long, black hair that was pulled back, and white wings at his temples. The wrinkles on his tanned face told of an even amount of worry, anger, and laughter. His blue eyes had a cold glint in them, as if he was deciding how best to kill you even as he gave you the time of day. Fragrant steam rose all around him, and the hissing of the food made such noise that Jane thought she was safe from detection. But she only watched him for a few moments before he said, "Are you going to come out and greet me, or are you going to goggle me all day?" He stabbed at something in a fry pan with his spatula, making it hiss and jump in the bubbling liquid it was being cooked in.

   As for Mordecai, he couldn't tell which crew member was a bos'n and which was not. He would have to ask someone. There were several men sitting against the railing of the ship near him, rolling up long ropes with grappeling hooks on the ends. One was blonde and merry eyed, and looked not a day over fifteen. His cheeks still had the plump roundess of youth. He looked up at Mordecai and smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. The other two looked older, about twenty or so, although their appearences differed greatly. One was tall, with long, thin legs and dark skin. He worked quickly and with efficency, and his black eyes had a quiet intesity as he gazed down at the ropes which commanded his complete attention. The other had light brown hair and blue eyes, and didn't seem as intent on his work as his friend. Freckles sprinkled across his nose, as well as a bout of acne. But he had that look in his eyes, the michevious sparkle, that made others single him out as a trouble-maker. And they were right. He kept kicking the grappling hook that was attatched to the younger boys rope, jerking some of the rope out of his hands and setting him back a few loops. The boy would always kick back, but mostly he missed.

Mordecai approached the group hesitantly, He thought he should ask the dark man, being most intent on his work might mean he was far more experienced and had spent more time on this ship. But Mordecai decided he had better not distract him lest he attract the wrong attention. "You there boy," Mordecai said with sternness to hide his anxiety, trying to get the young one's attention. He looked fairly honest. "Where can I find the Boatswain?"

   Jane stepped forward and crossed her arms, "I was told to come and find you, Brax. The Captain said that I am going to be your...assistant." she paused, then added, "My names Jane." she swallowed, and waited for his cold eyes to stab her through. She wanted her brother, but she couldn't show weekness now. Not after the looks she had gotten from the men on board.
   She buried her overwhelming lonelyness, and put on a mask of determination.

   Brax wiped his hands off on an already filthy rag, pulled whatever was cooking off the stove, and turned to face Jane, putting his hands on his hips. He scrutinized her for several minutes, then sighed. "So the crazy rumors were true. The Captain took on a girl. Insane," he muttered, turning to a cupboard kept closed by a piece of twine. Unwinding the twine, he reached inside, took out a bottle and shook some of the flaky contents into the still sizzling pan. Replacing the bottle and twine, he said, "So I suppose you and your friend are the reason we took off so suddenly this morning, before we even had the chance to completely re-stock?"

   The blonde boy looked up at Mordecai, still smiling. "Who're you?" he asked bluntly. The freckled one looked up, sheilding his eyes against the morning sun with his hand. The dark one continued on with his work, apparently oblivious to what was going on around him.

Mordecai sighed and closed his eyes. He looked back at the young man with as neutral an expression as he could muster. "Mordecai, what's your name?"

   Jane glared at Brax for a moment, before she turned away and nodded, sighing as she spoke, "Yes, it's my fault." she hugged herself.

   Brax laughed. "Our Captain. Honestly, risking the Patrol for two land-lubber brats. You two better work hard," he said, turning to her with a suddenly serious expression, "To pay off the Captain what you owe him." The aged cook suddenly stuck his hand out toward her. "If the Captain says you're with us, you're with us. Female or no. Welcome to the Cloudcutter, Jane."

   The blonde boy looked at him for a moment, set down his neatly coiled ropes, brushed his hands off on his pants, and stuck one out for a handshake. "I'm Gunny. I'm seventeen. Really! This is Carson," he said, nodding to the freckled one who waved once, "And Beau. Beau. Hey, Beau!" The darkskinned boy looked up, looking breifly annoyed before focusing on Gunny and the new kid he was shaking hands with. Carson stifled a laugh.
   "Oh," Beau said. "Hi. Who're you?"
   "This is, uh, Mordecai, right?" said Gunny, smiling at him again. "We three are the gunner's assistants. We work for Alex. The, uh, gunner."

   Jane smiled a little, and took his hand, "Thanks, Brax. What do you need me to do....?" she glanced around the kitchen, her eyes falling on the piles of dirty dishes, the dirty tables, and the dirty floor. She looked back to Brax and her smile became a little worried.

Mordecai briefly shook Gunny's hand as he was introduced to the gang, he looked them all in the eyes and tried to be friendly. "Thank you Gunny, where can I find the Boatswain?"

   Brax grunted, and turned away from her. "Don't think I'll go easy on you just 'cause your a girl," he said over his shoulder. Turning back to face her, he shoved a grungy apron into her hands, and tossed a sponge on top of it. Instructing her on where to get water and soap, he sent her to the galley to scrub tables. Then, he said, when she was done with that, report back to him and clean the dishes and the counters and pretty much the whole kitchen, which, luckily, was pretty small.

   Gunny gave him a blank look. "The... what?" Carson also looked confused. Beau gazed at Mordecai for a moment before sighing and turning back to his rope.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:53, Sat 21 Aug 2010.

   Jane put the apron on, and scrubbed the tables until they shined, and cleaned the seats for good measure. Her hands turned pink because of the hot water she was using, and her fingers became wrinkled. The dishes seemed to be piled to the sky, and more filthy than Jane would have imagined.
   She stared at them for a moment in dispair. Then she rolled up her sleeves, and tackled the job with determination. She had to replace her water seven times, because it was becoming muggy and it wasn't cleaning the dishes anymore. In the confined space, she was able to stack dishes in the many cupboards and clear counter space.

Mordecai closed his eyes for a moment before looking back at Gunny. "The Bos'n?"

   Brax worked her until dinner time. (Now please wait until Mordecai catches up to you)

   Gunny's and Carson's look of confusion cleared. "Oh," Carson said. "Why din'cha say so? He's below decks in the cargo hold. Taking inventory. We'll probably have to stop and resupply at one of the undertowns before we pass the Twilight Woods," he said matter-of-factly, "On account of how we set sail without fully restocking. You'll find him down there," he said, pointing at the same stairs Jane had used. After passing the kitchen, Mordecai would find a ladder leading down to the cargo hold.

"Thanks, I'll be on my way then." Mordecai turned and strode to the stairs quickly, stifling his heavy sigh until he was out of earshot. He walked down the halls until he found a large double door hatch, large enough to carry crates through. He opened them and went down into the hold. Once there, he looked around the crates until he found a man with a clipboard watching him with more than a hint of displeasure.

  The man was small, shorter than him, with a thin face. His medium-length dirty blonde hair hung around his face lankly, and his thin mouth twisted as he jabbed his pencil in Mordecai's direction. "Who're you?" he snarled. "One of the brats the Cap'm picked up last night?"