Reginald Keystone
Location: The Ferry (Elite Deck, Outside of Quarters)
Skills: Perception
The puzzling bit of mystery concerning the Corporal and the Starlet gave Reginald some pause. It was not a social pairing he might have foreseen, be it temporary, momentary, or otherwise. He wondered if there was something amiss with the rest of the group, and this was merely a splinter of the whole that got caught unawares in one another's company as they plotted... But that was getting silly. Not the part about something befalling his Fellowship, as it seemed they could not go a hour without some tragedy or drama being inflicted upon them by forces equally mundane or supernatural. No, if the pair of them were aware of something negative happening to the rest of the group, there might have been other signs. If nothing else, that Reddish fellow would have made it a point to speak out, rather than salute and keep to his walk. Or Josephine might have looked distressed. Something. The sight he was made privy to must have evolved out of common and deliberate courses of action followed by mutual decision to do whatever it was they were up to.
But just leave it to the Corporal to insinuate himself into a social situation. The man seemed to have a talent for it, hence his presence aboard the boat. Or on his personal staff at all, now that he gave it some thought. The Lord Major shook his head. This was not an important thing to toss about his brain at this late hour. Be the man a source of constant incredulity and motivator for one to purchase earplugs, he had been nothing but loyal and efficient for the term of his service so far. Those two were younger people (younger than himself, for certain), and the generation gap was significant enough to cause a level of misunderstanding, especially as it came to socialization among peers.
Reginald gave a light chuckle, musing over the fact that he was indeed an old man. This may very well be his last adventure, and he was wasting part of it just standing there, outside of his room, giving unnecessary wonder at something that was clearly none of his business. The Starlet owed him no allegiance nor explanation, and the Corporal was told directly that he was
Off Duty for the remainder of the boat ride, unless circumstances dictated otherwise. So that was just that. The Lord Major had his own recreation to which he wished to attend, and that was also that.
When this eventual internal monologue of crisscrossed thoughts finally reached their conclusion, Reginald realized that he was seemingly in a daze, oblivious to the world outside of his own head, conscious only of the fact that he was on a boat. Yeah, maybe it would be a better idea to follow the music playing and hope that there were drinks being served nearby.
That idea almost resulted in a spontaneous
"Tally Ho!", but propriety got the better of it. Perhaps next time.
Haring Reddish
Location: The Ferry (Elite Deck)
Skills: Perception, Athletics
A polite and cheery smile formed on Reddish's face when Josephine agreed to be photographed with him. It might have gone fully into a childlike grin at that point, were he not to have glanced away for a second and recollected himself. Of course, anyone who knew the man might point to the general futility of containing the man's enthusiasm for very long.
"Why thank you, Miss Clarke, ever so much for allowing yourself the potential hit to your reputation, if you'll allow my saying so, ma'am - to be photographed with someone as below your station as Yours and Truly." The smirk on his face indicated a marginal degree of self-depreciating sarcasm in his statement, but he was really just pleased with Josephine's response.
He was curious about one point she made, expressed by selecting the key phrase in her sentence and turning it into a question,
"Vantage point?" arching an eyebrow thoughtfully. Perhaps the conversation would have continued in a calm and fluid manner after this, wherein Reddish received clarification of the point and they could make plans from there, but he was almost caught off guard by the sudden forward pitch of his companion.
Almost.
Josephine's fall wrenched her arm from his nearly altogether, but the Corporal had the wherewithal to maintain some contact. As gravity sought to claim her for itself, Reddish speedily placed a foot forward and bent at the knees slightly, forcing himself to wait the fraction of a second necessary to close his fingers loosely around her wrist, arresting Josephine's fall without inflicting injury. He deftly slid his hand around hers and moved to support her at the waist, swinging the young lady into an extremely passable ballroom dancer's dip. A strange look of adventurous accomplishment settled upon him, and he used the occasion to bring Josephine back to a standing position and give her a twirl, just before settling into a respectable Waltz.
The music from elsewhere on the deck seemed to come together in Reddish's movements as he led Josephine to steps of -
one two three,
two two three;
one two three,
two two three - in an ever reaching, expanding revolution of steps and pauses. It was an International Waltz, or something very much like it. Astounded by his own actions, The Corporal whispered into Josephine's ear as they held one another and moved in tandem,
"Please forgive my liberties, Miss Clarke; the moment took me. I had absolutely no idea I could even waltz in the first, ma'am." He shook his head to emphasize his point, but it didn't do a thing to throw him off of his steps.
When the music came to conclusion, Reddish smiled mischievously and gave Josephine a deep, one-handed dip. The moonlight served to silhouette the pair with dim but steady illumination while Reddish held his companion about the waist, barely allowing her hair to brush the deck below their feet. With a nod, he confessed,
"I'm just as surprised as you are, I think." and smiled with warmth and vigor.
It was then that Reddish noted the presence of someone else nearby. Still in "dip position", he craned his neck to the side. As it turned out, they had completed their dance directly across from the photographer that he had noted before. A nervous laugh later and the Corporal raised Josephine to her feet, his arm still loosely about her for support. He then raised a finger into the air, noting,
"I'm so amazingly sorry, Miss Clarke. I interrupted you earlier. You were saying something about a Vantage Point, yes?" 
