He walked over to the table, and spoke to them, gesturing to their various injuries. He stood quietly while they explained the situation, using lots of hand gestures. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it, and then turned and walked back to the table where Avice sat. "Oh my God." * * * The ship was lit by lanterns that stood on various surfaces, and they cast strange shadows that danced along the wooden floors. As Jared walked, he would notice that the early evening light struggled to illuminate the nooks and crevices of the ship. It would be very easy to hide up here. Suddenly, although he couldn't quite see, he came across a person standing right in front of him.
"Mr. Rayne?" Natalia's voice came from the darkness. She stepped into the light, her expression a mixture of suspicion and confusion. "What are you doing out here?" * * * "Chocolate, Avice. They had a square of chocolate that they bought in Urela together, and one of them ate the last bit."
"Are... Are you being serious? You can't be serious. That's completely and utterly ridiculous." Avice shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Jared looked at Natalia with slight relief. "Captain! It's you. While everyone was in the mess hall, I heard creaking and decided to investigate." He explained, putting his knife away.
He sat down, and folded his hands on the table. "Completely and utterly," he agreed. He was quiet, but after a moment, he chuckled. "Is the chocolate in Urela really that good?" * * * She cocked her head, still a little suspicious, but her curiosity took over. "Creaking?" she asked. "Everyone should be in the dining hall, right? I only just came out of my quarters."
"But there was... right above the kitchen..." He said, starting to doubt himself. "I'm sure of it... but maybe it was just my imagination playing tricks on me..."
Avice nodded. "Oh yeah. I tried it after I snagged some when we were last at Urela. That chocolate is good stuff. I actually have some saved, if you want to try it sometime."
She was quiet for a moment, considering. "You might very well have heard something," she said. "I consider you to be in a secure state of mind, and we do have an attacker running around." She paused and regarded him. Something changed in her face, and she shifted slightly, facing him from the side instead of directly on. "Where is your partner, Mr. Rayne? It's.. Miss Mercury, right?" * * * "The way you talk about it sounds like a drug," he said, laughing. "I'm actually not much of a chocolate person."
"Y-yeah. Ellia. She's down in the mess hall. I was just making tonight's supper when I heard the creak. I'll get back to it." He said, positioning to leave.
"It may as well be better than drugs." She laughed, jokingly. "But you should try it, still. Life's short, may as well try things."
Her brows were furrowed, and she nodded. "Yeah, I think you should go. Be careful on your way back, okay?" * * * "Alright," he said. "You've convinced me. Although, if it's that dark stuff then I might have to dissolve our friendship."
"Right... captain." He said, distastefully, walking back down the stairs to the kitchen. He sighed and continued cooking supper. The distraction on deck and the conversation with the captain had delayed supper for around 10 minutes. He put maximum effort into making the food.
Jared began putting the finishing touched on the watery, vegetable soup that was for supper. He took the pot the soup was in and took it into the mess hall. He put it down with a clunk, the ladle clinking against the metal sides of the pot.
Natalia returned to her room. The day's research had resulted in a messy room and scattered pages. She sighed, and began organizing the various papers, dividing them by crew member and then by suspicion. She straightened the papers, and glanced over them. She put her hands on her hips and, stared out the window, losing her thoughts as her gaze swept over the dark sea. Finally, she turned on her heel and headed to the mess hall. * * * "Well, I would be too," he replied. "I'd have lost my best friend, AND I would have the bitter dark chocolate on my tongue for the rest of my life."
Jared took a quick breather. The pot was heavier than it looked. He tapped the side of the pot with the ladle. "Supper's here! Come get it!" He called to the room.
People stood and started coming over to him, their faces expectant. "This looks really good, Jared. Thank you." Ellia said as she picked up her bowl.
"Are you sure?" He said. "It's just the same as yesterday... and the day before... but I'll take the complement." He filled Ellia's bowl with soup.
