Avice put a hand on her head. "Christ Almighty. Can't they just learn to get along?" She laughed a bit. She was going to have a talk with Mr. Elliot later.
"I have to be honest with you, I'd say that 90% of my interactions involve them in one way or another," Jack replied, rubbing his temple at the thought of it. (Let me know if you want to time skip! I need to go to bed pretty soon. Our partner thing can time skip while the others' don't and it can all line up at dinner. Also @Starlight Speedster, you still a part of this?)
(Yeah, it's 12:18 here and I have to get up in a couple hours. Whoops.) -TIME SKIP- (for Avice and Jack) As the sun began to lazily descend from the sky, Jack became increasingly busy. There were many questions about the new partnership, and he often was stopped in the middle of a conversation to listen to a complaint or to resolve a quick conflict. Despite this, Avice and Jack managed to get their jobs done, and at about 5:30 in the evening, they were able to stop and take a breath. Unfortunately, their quick break didn't last long, and Jack was called to Natalia's office for a consultation. "I'll be right back, okay? I'm sure she just wants to ask me about the crew's opinion of the partnering, or something." The main deck was busy, with many pairs walking, laughing, or bickering. There was no chance of an attack happening here.
(It's the same time for me. I'm gonna sleep now, but I'm excited to get online tomorrow. Have a goodnight!) Avice nodded, but once he left she immediately searched for Mr. Elliot. Her glaring eyes scanned the scene for the old man.
(You too! Sleep well!) He wasn't hard to find. He sat in the corner, inspecting the stacks of crates that his partner had organized. His companion, a tall, pale boy with a very long neck, waited nervously off to the side, anxiously twisting his hand as he waited for the results of his handiwork. "It's not as sloppy as it was your first time around," he said to the boy, staring at him with dark, weathered eyes. "It certainly isn't as good as it should be though. You could do better, boy. You could do much better."
Avice marched over to him, eyes burning with ferocity. She ignored his companion, only facing him. "Listen up, old man, feelings are for chumps! You probably don't even know you're talking about!"
The man turned to her, and grinned a toothless smile. "Why are you protesting so much, little lady? It's just a rumor, isn't it?"
Her anger seemed to only amuse him more. "I'm not one for gossip, ma'am. That's just the word on the street." He shrugged, dusting his hand off on his pants. "All I'm saying, is you seem to be pretty fond of our first mate."
Avice realized she probably looked like a complete fool, and decided to take a breathe and compose herself. She forced a smile and said in a polite voice, "Yes, I suppose it could seem that way, but I'm fairly certain those rumors are incorrect. Now, if you ever so kindly excuse me, I've best be on my way." She turned sharply, and quickly walked back to her original spot.
Cobiah brought two plates of food back to Jade. One for himself and one for her. He sat down next to her, and began eating. "You're pretty tough. I'm not sure I'd be walking the next day if I was stabbed, you know." Cobiah said, matter of factly.
Jared took note of the sailor he was paired up with. Ellia Mercury. The name was familiar but not the face to whom it belonged to. He took a glance around the deck of the ship to see if any of the many faces on the ship jogged his memory. "This could get interesting..." He said to himself. "I hope this Ellia is easy to befriend than any of the other sailors..."
"Fairly certain," Mr. Elliott muttered as she walked away. "Wouldn't you be certain of your own feelings?" He chuckled slightly as she walked away. *** Jade laughed a little, but it sounded hollow. She took a small bite of her food, resting her head on her hand. "Well, to be fair, I'm not really 'walking'. It's more of a strange hobble with the assistance of a cane. But thank you." She shrugged slightly, and then winced, opening her mouth in slight pain, apparently having forgotten the wound in her back. "Christ. That really sucks." She sighed heavily, looking up at the ceiling. When she looked at Cobiah again, her expression was replaced with a wry smile. "Anyway, enough about me and the giant hole in my back. Tell me about yourself." *** Ellia read the name that she was paired with, and considered it for a moment. Jared Rayne. "That's the cook, I think," she thought, and she turned and searched for him in the crowd. She spotted him, and walked over. "Jared?" she asked tentatively.
For a moment equivocated on her opinion to keep walking after she heard his comment, but she maintained her composure and kept walking.
"Well..." Cobiah said, between bites of his breakfast. "You know the Seatone corporation? I'm the heir. Rather, I WAS the heir. Had a falling out with my father, and now I'm here."
Jared turned his head to look at the girl. "You must be Ellia Mercury? It appears we've been paired together until Jade's attacker has been discovered and brought to justice." He took a deep breath and sighed. "Let's get this over with."
Jack returned quickly, but Avice knew him well enough to notice that he seemed a great deal more tired. "Sorry about that," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "She wanted to talk about the quest a little bit." *** Jade stared at him, a look with a mixture of awe and amusement. "You must have really pissed him off, huh?" *** Ellia noticed his tone, but instead of being deflated, she laughed. "Don't get too excited now. It's only temporary."
Avice cocked her head and gave a thoughtful smile. "It's alright," Avice continued, "You seem like you need to relax a bit, though."
"Yeah. Fortunately, I still have all the perks of being the heir. He thinks I'm on a cargo freighter right now, so I'm still technically with the company." He continued. "It's not that bad. I can pull a few strings in almost every port, and as long as I'm careful, no one knows I'm with the pirate crowd."
