[IC] Skyworld (Sanquin / EasilyAmused)

[sanquin]

Jacob chuckled softly as Rei stormed out of the room. She was definitely fun to tease as while her talk was big, the embarrassment was still clear to see. Though he did make a mental note to not go overboard. He still wanted to get paid, and if this job turned out all right he didn't want to have a potential future employer be pissed off at him. "Peanut, come. We're heading out." He called. His little friend chirped and ran towards him, climbing on his shoulders with what appeared like a happy smile on it's face.

After a large cup of coffee and breakfast the two headed to the markets. They mostly consisted of scum trying to scam you out of your money. Be it by selling forgeries or asking way too much for their wares. But there were fairly legit merchants among them as well. Two of which Jacob was friendly with. Mostly because he was a regular customer. So while Rei was shopping for what she needed, Jacob visited his regular shops to get what he needed as well. Part of which was of course food for the trip.

Finally they headed to the docks. And he grinned at her question. He wondered what her reaction would be. His ship was quite old and rusty. But apart from a few 'hickups' every now and then it had stood the test of time. After all, it had only crashed once in the past 7 years. It was also just about the largest ship a one person crew could still handle. As it was technically meant for a crew of 2 or 3. "The one over there to your right. Not the newest ship, but a lot more reliable than the newer models." He spoke, starting to walk towards it to lead the way.

After boarding, Jacob opened the door that headed below deck for Rei. The inside actually looked a bit better than the outside. The main area had a couch, table, a stair that headed further down to the cargo hold and engine room, and a fairly modern looking radio. The kitchen was visible through a door frame on the right. The door itself was missing. Another door further along the wall on the right had a small hallway with two bedrooms on either side of it behind it. On the left, past the living area, there was a large area with glass walls and a mostly glass roof which had a table, a pinball machine, a chair with next to it a cabinet with some books and papers in it, some basic fitness equipment, and a few lockers. "Welcome to my humble residence." He started. "The door in the back there leads to the bedrooms. I have the one on the left, so you can use the one on the right." The left one had a small window, and he liked looking out over the sky before going to sleep. It was also a bit bigger and had a two person bed since it used to belong to his parents. So he had always used that one. "Kitchen slash dining room to your immediate right as you can see. There's also a deck up top you can access if you go up the stairs and through the captain's cabin." With that short explanation Jacob headed into the kitchen and up the stairs. He needed to start preparing to set sail, which required getting the engines started and getting the all-clear from the docks through the radio in the captain's cabin.

[EasilyAmused]

‘Over there to your right’ was the scariest phrase Rei had ever heard. The old disheveled looking ship made her whole body give one big shake. For those looking upon her it could be mistake for a form of excitement, but it was actually a shake of worry. “Oh boy…” She said doing her best to sound enthused as she followed him towards the mess that would his proud ship. Oh boy oh boy…

Despite the outward appearance, the inside was a lot better then she expected, Okay maybe you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. A phrase used by her parents during their time training her the tools of her trade. People who look like they don’t have much actually do and those who do have a lot normally don’t show it. So maybe this was actually a decent and working ship… though that in itself would be a surprise considering the outside looked as though it shouldn’t even lift off the ground.

Following his gestures she glanced around quickly learning the layout of the ship as he provided her with instructions. The interior of the room they ended up in was nice, even nicer is that there were no windows showing the outside world. Good, as long as there wasn’t any windows she would be… okay. Right? This thing can’t be that rocky or give off the impression it’s going plummet towards the ground and crash on impact right? RIGHT?!

“Alright, thanks.” Was her response as he left to take over his duties to prepare for leave while she hurried down to the room to figure out her arrangements. Inside she found an unexpected layout that provided almost… comfort to the person who he was traveling with. “Huh… well, that’s… that’s… unexpected.” She voice muttered to herself as she stepped inside and shut the door behind her. After doing a quick and probably not as detailed check as she should have, she took some time to hide her personal belongings and then left, bringing the bags of food she had purchased.

Walking back out she count hear the engine starting to rumbling under her feet. So they were bound to take off soon and the feeling made her stomach hurt. Ugh flying! It was the worst and her entire self-seemed to cringe at the thought. Talking through the actions, she hurried to the kitchen with her bags. [i]Plant your feet, keep yourself steady and if you start to feel dizzy sit down somewhere. Most importantly, don’t forget to breathe; a simple reminder she often forgot when she was in a panic.

Putting the things she bought in the respective places around the kitchen before hurrying into the main living around. The rumbling scared her; not in a sense of fear but more along the lines of a feeling of dread, what if something happened, what if something went wrong and how could she survive if things started falling apart!

Taking a seat on the couch she took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “I’ll be okay, I’ll be okay… I’ll be okay…”

[sanquin]

Jacob first got into contact with the control tower of the docks. His engines required some time to start up, and at the very least it would take 5 minutes before they gave the all clear to take off. "Control tower this is the Rusty Shadow at dock 7a, requesting permission for take-off." He spoke, walking to a large panel full of levers and buttons and knobs as he did. He pulled several knobs out a few centimeters, causing a few dull clangs to come from the bottom of the ship. Those were some valves opening which would let steam pass through to power the propellers of the ship. "Roger that Rusty Shadow, stand by for further instructions." He heard from the radio as he worked on the rest of the console. He pulled several levers one at a time, which caused a lighting mechanism to light the fire around the sy crystal. This in turn made the ship's pipes creak a little because of the heat. Then after waiting a minute or two he slowly started to adjust a dial next to the levers, listening closely for what sound his ship made as he did. This one was for adjusting the fire's intensity. Once he was satisfied he finally nodded to his little friend. "Your turn Peanut." He spoke, at which the little creature squeaked, jumped on the desk next to the console, and jumped on one of the buttons. Jacob could see the ship's two propellers start to turn slowly, so he quickly moved to a large lever next to the steering wheel. He slowly adjusted it until the propellers were turning at a good idling speed.

After waiting for another half a minute or so the same operator as before spoke over the radio again. "Rusty Shadow, you're clear for take-off in one minute. Be ready by then." "Roger." Jacob replied. He wondered if Rei was done settling in yet, so he called downstairs. "Hey Rei, you done yet? You should come up here, it's always a great sight to see islands from a small distance!" All the floating islands had always looked best to him when they were a decent distance away. They'd look peaceful, sometimes even tranquil. Contrary to what you'd usually find on them, like this city filled with thugs, outlaws, and plenty of other shady types. Not to mention the steam and smoke rising up from buildings everywhere.

As the man walked back to the steering wheel he reached into some drawers in the desk to his right and took out some dog treats for his pet, before putting them on the ground. "Here you go Peanut. No hiccups with the start up so another job well done~" He spoke with a slight chuckle.

Once the minute was up, and Jacob saw two dock workers untie the ropes that held his ship in place, he pulled the lever all the way back. The propellers roared to life with powerful streams of steam coming out of the exhausts, and slowly but surely the ship started moving backwards. Luckily this ship had a reverse at all, otherwise he would have had to pay extra to have his ship towed out of the docks, and he really didn't have the money to spare most of the time.

[EasilyAmused]

“Don’t panic don’t panic don’t panic don’t panic!” Rei repeated to herself over and over again as she gripped the couch, “He’s a pilot, he flies all the time, this is normal for him. He knows what he’s doing, he should be able to make sure we’re safe… ish in the air!” Oh convincing herself that everything was going to be alright and that she wasn’t going to die a horrible death when they were in the air was much harder than she always thought. Why can’t we go back to travel on the ground instead of in the air. Thank god she was in an area with no windows!

When they were finally in the air, Rei let out a long sigh and fell back against the couch as her body practically turned into Jell-O. Take offs were the worst thing about flying. Landing means she would be on stable ground which she was all for landing! After taking a couple deep breathes, she rose from her seat and ventured into the kitchen. Tying her hair back, she picked up some of her shopping materials and began to cook seeing as she was hungry and it would take about an hour to complete.

An unexpected voice began to ring through the common area as Rei naturally began to sing. Her voice was beautiful, as if bells were ringing and the children would gather to listen to. Her voice held melody and tone that seemed to contrast her way of speaking and there was no doubt that a skill she had was singing.

“Oh, father time
That meter maid who lends one lively winking eye
We dance a borrowed jig while hiding from the fine
Oh, what I wouldn't spend to lend you mine

Nobody knows where they are going
Oh, how we try to wrap our minds
Over the edge of all our knowings
Be it a bang of the divine
Tip of my iceberg, blues are showing
I've never been on for goodbyes
So, till I meet you there, I'm singing
A traveling song to ease the ride and so you know

Everywhere I roam
I'll see you on the road

Oh, I take it in vain
All the plans and moves that we made
Half a heart is aching to grow
Soulmates aren't just lovers, you know
I know, I know your eyes are the rain
Just a soul that's changing its shape
I'll be laughing all of the way
Thinking 'bout the days

Oh, nobody knows where they are going
Oh, how we try to wrap our minds
Over the edge of all our knowings
Be it a bang of the divine
Tip of my iceberg, blues are showing
I've never been on for goodbyes
So, till I meet you there, I'm singing
A traveling song to ease the ride and so you know

Everywhere I roam
I'll see you on the road

So, farewell to my friend
He who taught me to love like a beast
And to feast like the queen that he fed turtle soup
Little boy from Paris to the states, check the facts
That was Magical Max
He was black sheep and mischief and love for his craft
And he told me that I was Apollo 13 on that very last day
He said shoot for your dreams, little girl
To the stars, well, I'm taking you with me now
This one is ours
And I know what you'd say, you'd say, on with the show
So on we go.”

After chopping up some chicken, she tossed it into a pan along with freshly cut garlic and some sauce she purchased as the pan began to simmer.

[sanquin]

Soon the airship was out in the open. Some white clouds could be seen here and there a hundred or so meters below, but overall it looked like the weather would be peaceful for the time being. Which meant Jacob could just lock the rudder and let the winds carry them for the time being. So he did just that and was about to turn around when he heard a voice start to sing. He thought on whether to interrupt Rei or not, and after a few moments decided against it. Listening to her was rather pleasant after all. So instead the man opened a door to the deck and stepped just outside the door. Behind the ship he could slowly see the island they had set sail from grow smaller, which put a smile on his lips.

When the song ended Jacob turned around again and headed back inside. This time he did descend the stairs, to be greeted by a cooking woman in his kitchen. And by the looks of it, a decently skilled one at that. Or at least a better cook than he was. He usually settled for fried eggs, or a simple stew, and rarely pancakes. The last one being the only thing he was very good at making. "Lunch already? Well fine by me as long as I can have some as well." He winked at Rei and stepped down the last few steps. "Anyway, I'm gonna need a map or some coordinates, as right now I'm still flying blind. So come up to the bridge once you're done, 'kay?" With that he turned to head back up again. He quite enjoyed the view when flying, and it looked like Rei would still be busy with her meal for another half hour or so.

[EasilyAmused]

As her song ended, the blue haired girl let out a little sigh. The memory of her parents always coming back when she sang that song but it never lasted long as the happiness seemed to drain from her as she sang. Too bad it was the only song she knew by heart.

Sighing once more she stirred the things in the pan before her gaze turned to the captain with a small look of surprise on her face. She didn’t expect him to be there but it disappeared quickly. That’s right, she wasn’t alone. His statement, almost requesting that he could have some too was met with an eye roll and a small laugh. However when he said he wanted her to come up to the bridge she stopped what she was doing and made a small dash to him.

Grabbing him by his wrist she stopped him from leaving, “Wait, I’ll just tell you where we’re going down here.” Yeah because that’s totally valid, “That way the food won’t burn.” Sure that’s a better save. Her blue eyes began to twinkle with mischievous delight as she let go of his wrist and stood upright placing her hands on her hips. “We’re going to Brookshire’s Hollow.”

Brookshire’s Hollow one of the high end society locations within the world and it was no secret that even the outer town was a ritzy and upright but the inner workings were even worse. However, something about the excitement in Rei’s voice said one thing; she had a plan.

[sanquin]

Jacob was surprised at Rei's rather desperate looking dash towards him, followed by her grabbing his arm. She wanted to tell him in the kitchen, which was...an odd place to say the least. Clearly something was up. Her excuse of the food not burning didn't hold much ground. Food didn't burn that fast, and he needed the information up in the bridge no matter where she told him. But the man decided to leave the matter for another time. Clearly she didn't want to talk about it, or she wouldn't have come up with such an excuse.

"Bookshire's hollow huh...I've heard about it. Never been there though. So I'll at the very least I'll need some coordinates to follow." If Jacob had been somewhere a few times before it wasn't hard to find it again even without coordinates. But this location was unknown to him. "Not sure what you want to do there, but somehow I doubt the locals will like you for it." He grinned widely, getting a bit more comfortable by sitting on the stairs while leaning his elbows on his knees. "Not that I mind...in fact, I'd quite like sticking it to stuck-up rich people like that. You sound like you have a plan, so let's here it. Because I want in." Since this job involved upsetting some rich folks, there was no way he would just stay by his ship while she got to have all the fun.

Peanut decided to join in as well. The fox came down the stairs until he was standing just above Jacob's head, hanging his head to one side and chirping softly as if to ask what was going on. "No Peanut, you'll have to stay at the ship." The man spoke as if he could understand the little creature. He petted his friend gently on his head while continuing. "Stuff like this is too dangerous for someone as small as you."

[EasilyAmused]

When he said he wanted the coordinates she nodded and reached into her pocket pulling out a slip of paper. “Here you are.” She said as she handed him the paper. However his comment about wanting to know what eh plan was because he wanted in made her roll her eyes rather dramatically. “Fly in, park, wait, fly out. Simple.” She said with a shrug to her small shoulders as he took a seat and the fox came down the stairs.

A genuine smiled across her face seeing the little creature. Her attention pulled from her job as she watched him tilt his head to one side, she mimicked its head tilt as a mirrored image as she gave it a grin. She had always had a weakness for animals. They were adorable, cuddly, innocent, loyal and talented; things that a lot of people genuinely lacked in this day and age. A few questions ran through her mind before she found herself more compelled to ask.

“How old is he? How did you meet Peanut?” As the fox chirped the young girl mimicked the sound almost perfectly on her first try. He seemed like a gentle creature but she wasn’t going to go out of her way to offer it her hand. Peanut was Jacob’s partner not hers; it would be rude to approach the animal without the okay of the owner. For now, Rei seemed to mimic the fox’s movements with a smile.

[sanquin]

Jacob frowned a little bit. It was obvious she didn't want him to tag along. Which was a shame. He liked pulling one over on rich people, and just docking and waiting sounded boring. But he had learned from past missions that it was best to not be too pushy with employers, or they might think he was suspicious or something. "Fine fine, just dock and wait for you..." He spoke plainly, shrugging a little as he did.

Jacob watched the little interaction between Peanut and Rei with slight amusement. The little Fennec Fox always did well with the ladies. It wasn't that useful to get them between the sheets, but at least they were more likely to be friendly with him after meeting his pet. "No idea how old he is. I bought him about a year back, from some shady animal smuggler type. Some story about the noble having changed their mind about buying him. No idea where he's from really." The man turned around and rushed up the stairs as he gave a quick "gimme a sec~" And a few moments later he came back down, walking over to Rei and holding out his hand towards here. "Here, take this and hold your hand flat on the ground." What he gave her was a bacon flavoured dog treat. It had taken Jacob a month or so but he had finally managed to teach Peanut a trick to let him know who he could trust.

Once Rei had done as he had asked the Fox didn't move at first. He just looked at the treat for a moment before looking intently towards Jacob. After a short pause the man simple spoke "3...2...1...go~", and immediately Peanut came running to eat the treat out of Rei's hand. Without this little act Peanut wouldn't accept treats from strangers. After all, there were plenty of people who would want to do harm.

[EasilyAmused]

Rei’s face dropped into a frown at the thought of the little thing being ditched by someone that was supposed to love it. “Well it must be destiny that he ended up on with you.” She said with a nod and a smile towards the creature, finding that she was almost ignoring Jacob. Not so much out of spite but more because the fox was adorable. Could you honestly blame her?

Her gaze followed him as he rushed off before turning back to the fox. However he was not gone very long before returned and offered her something in his hand. Reaching out, she gently took her the treat from his hand and listened to his instructions with a nod before squatting down and laying her palm flat on the ground. The countdown didn’t break her gaze from the little fox who sat patiently waiting. Her eyebrow cocked upward as the numbers when down… that was until the word ‘go’ was said and the fox took off towards her hand. The small cold wet nose brushed against her hand as it nibbled on the treat from her palm. A small giggle left her as the thing happily ate the treat.

“That’s a good trick.” She said as she stood up when the treat had disappeared from her hand. Brushing her hands against her pants she cross her arms under her chest.

Taking in a deep breathe she began, “Lord Bartos lives on the island. His house is more or less a fortress and can be hard to get into but I’ve been timing the guard changes for a while. With a long story short, Lord Bartos has an item my client wants and they’re paying a lot of money for me to get it back for them. And anything else can be sold on the market for a pretty penny because he’s got some good shit. But my main job is to make sure I can get the item back for my client.” Her gaze moved up to him, looking for a response. Seeing as he showed a bit of faith to allow her to interact with his pet, she might as well give him some information too. Besides, he knew something illegal was happening anyway so it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise.

[sanquin]

Jacob frowned a little. He had heard of Bartos a few times before, so he remembered it vaguely. "Bartos huh...I seem to remember being told he's not exactly kind to people that try to scam or steal from him..." He sighed, shaking his head. "Well whatever. It's not like this is the most dangerous job I've done so far. I will warn you about one thing though. If you're captured and I can't see a decent way to rescue you I'll probably leave you behind. I'm all for trying to keep a client safe, but not if it's almost certain I'll get captured or worse in the process." Sure, the man could keep his mouth shut or lie about his intentions. But he preferred his clients knowing exactly what they were getting into.

"On that note, I'm gonna grab something in case things do go wrong and you can't stick to your plan. If I have to pick you up somewhere else for instance." Once again the man headed upstairs, and some rummaging through drawers could be heard along with some muttering along the lines of "where did I put those things again?" In the mean time Peanut came up to Rei and started sniffing at her feet. Since Jacob had indicated that she could be trusted he was now a bit curious about this new person on board. A bit later he came back down, now holding two walkie-talkies. "Here, you take one with you. they have a range of a kilometre on their own, and a kilometre and a half when I'm on my ship. Since I have a better receiver here. I've set them both to frequency 460.6." The device was a bit bulky. Around 20cm in length, 7 in width and 5 in depth. But they had to be to provide decent range, and they could be a life safer at times.

[EasilyAmused]

A small giggle left her when he said he’d leave her if he couldn’t find a decent way to get her out. “The fact that you’d even attempt to get me out is more than anyone else I had ever attempted to work with. Let’s just hope you don’t end up having to make that trip.” Her head rose and fell in a nod before she watched him take off upstairs. Huh… weird.

Her attention moved to her feet as Peanut came up and began to sniff her. A gentle smile moved across her face. Her parents and, incidentally, her were always on the run and never was able to keep a pet. So the little fox was very interesting to her and she found herself almost enthralled by it as it sniffed her boots and seemed to make little squeaking noises. The gentle smile soon spread across her lips showing her straight white teeth as she listened closely to his little noises, it was adorable.

The footsteps caused her head to jerk up as Jacob returned down the steps to the dining/sitting area and he handed her a very bulky walkie-talkie, her hand dipped slightly at the surprise of the weight of the thin but hey it was better than nothing. “Maybe you do have some good ideas every now and then.” She said jokingly as she clipped the walkie-talkie onto her belt and went back into the kitchen during off the oven and began plating up the food, two regular plates and a much smaller plate in case they could give some to Peanut.

Taking out forks she walked back into the area and set down the plates. “Can Peanut have some?” She asked as she held up the smaller plate.

[sanquin]

"Hey, I come from a family of explorers and adventurers. Plus I've been doing this stuff myself as well for about ten years. Of course I would have a good idea every now and then." Jacob replied in a mock-offended tone. He had been going with his parents right from his 18th birthday. And it only took two more years before he also started going off on his own. If anything, he could be called pretty experienced by now. Another few years, and he could probably even be called an expert.

The man thought for a moment as Rei offered Peanut some food as well. Prepared food meant for humans generally wasn't too good for animals. Or so he'd read at least. Though then again Fennec Foxes were opportunistic eaters and omnivores. So a little bit wouldn't hurt. "Sure, but just a little bit. He has his own food as well, and I wouldn't want him to get sick or fat." With a nod he headed for the cooling box in the kitchen. Luxury ships could afford actual refrigerators going to just above freezing temperature. He had to make do with a box that had an air supply from outside, which was around 10 degrees celcius. (about 50 F) At least it was about 8 degrees cooler than the rest of the interior. He took one of two small 5 litre barrels from it, and grabbed two cups from the cupboard. "Got some ale to go with the meal if you want some too." He spoke as he sat down and put everything on the table. Jacob was quite fond of his ale and beer. Though while flying he made sure to stop whenever he got tipsy. Couldn't have a drunk pilot after all.

"What exactly did you make by the way? I think I saw chicken in there?" Jacob wasn't picky about his food, but he still had some interest in it since he had to prepare it himself most of the time.