”Found a space to tinker after all, Éliane?”The voice came from behind the reddish-haired woman, the light that she was using to work by momentarily blocked as her much-taller countryman came and looked over her at the weapon she was busy with. Her gunblade and rifle sat nearby, as meticulously clean as could be expected from any of the personal guard of Skael’s overseer; the cannon she had claimed from Mizutani Tane’s mansion, meanwhile, lay just before her in a state of...
...Disassembly was the best he could describe it as. Truthfully, the mechanisms of such things weren’t Esben’s strong suit. Even though his buckler was of his own design, it was comparatively quite a bit simpler. If he had to guess, she was busy working with some portion of the firing mechanism, though that was where his working knowledge of such a firearm came to its end.
No, she set that aside almost instantly. Just a momentary curiosity, or part of the continued breakdown? This was why he didn't mess with such things.
He held a canteen of water out to her, fully aware that the cool sea breeze could only do so much to alleviate the sun beating down on them—them especially, who were used to a colder and more consistently overcast climate.
”You’ve had something other than coffee today, ja?”The pink-haired Skaelan was engrossed in modifying part of the mount of the gun, with most of it laid to the side. She had made an effort of looking all over the ship for a place to work, but the spaces available were either too cramped, dark, hot, or filled with distasteful pirates. Outdoors was just as bad, with the opportunity for parts to roll off the deck if she wasn’t careful, but there at least was a breeze.
Looking up at the sound of Esben’s now familiar voice, she shrugged and accepted the offered canteen.
“In this climate, doing otherwise would be foolish, even for me,” Éliane admitted.
“Come to admire my new toy?””Would you be unhappy if I said no?” The unsurprising answer was plainly evident in the question he shot back.
”A bit curious just what you intend to do with it, but I don't think I can appreciate it quite the way you can.” Given that she'd accepted the water without any argument, he stepped off to the side, sitting down and settling in against the railing at the edge of the deck.
The ship rocked once, heaving itself over a fairly heavy swell; Esben stopped one piece of the weapon from rolling away with his foot, before it could slip between the deck boards and lead to an annoying search. Some seabird—judging by the sounds it was making,
sorely affronted by the sudden jostling—took off from overhead, squawking irritably as it flew. He assumed as much, at least; usually they were quieter if they weren't bothered about
something.”Not willing to share the armourer's bench? I imagine it would be a bit more...”He looked over the bent-over form of Éliane, where she hunched and scrabbled over the deck as she worked on the firearm before her.
”...Comfortable, at least.”Éliane shrugged at that, but appreciated his move to rescue one of her parts from moving too far away from her. An old, barbarian ship like this was a terrible place to work on a gun, but it wasn’t like there was much else to do.
“Thanks. No, but I’ll need to do some work on a part or two. Those thugs weren’t maintaining this gun very well. No appreciation or knowledge of what they were using… though that works in favor of Valheim.”How better to control a local criminal element than to supply them with weapons they couldn’t maintain? It was good that they busted part of it, at least.
She took a drink of the canteen before offering it back to Esben.
“Have you finished cataloguing the rest of our spoils?””Eh? Other than what specifically applied to me, I didn’t pay too much mind to the rest of it. I think the others went through it all and decided what to do with it before we left for this boat.” Pilfered treasures and what to do with them was about as far out of his usual area as dealing with the rotary cannon; he’d gotten what he needed in the papers that Mizutani had left around her desk.
So long as the team didn’t run out of money or resources—exceedingly unlikely, given the details of the reward from Leonhart that they were not entitled to claim—he couldn’t really bring himself to care what happened with what they’d taken from the mansion. Nor was he entirely wanting to have every conversation focus just on their current mission, so it wasn’t a topic he intended to remain on for long.
”You know your family’s recipes, Éliane?”She tilted her head.
“Why wouldn’t I?”Esben tilted his head the opposite direction, giving a flat stare back.
”You know that’s not an implication here.”The change in topic came easy enough to her, although Esben’s reply did not. She stared back.
“I’m not sure what implication you’re implying from my question.””That I’m asking as though I worry you might not.”Éliane set the part she was working on down as she fixed Esben with a stare of her own.
After a few beats, she finally spoke again.
“Were you looking for a particular recipe?””...”It was unclear if he was just continuing to stare silently for another few seconds out of sheer incredulousness, or if there was something else going on behind his blue eyes. After another moment, however, he looked away, glancing back out at the ocean.
”When we’re someplace with a proper oven, if I can find what you need, could you make me their arlettes?”She didn’t answer immediately, rather taking the moment to pick up the metal part again and resume inspecting it.
“Yes, I’ve seen the galley here. It is about what I expected from pirates.” Éliane looked at the piece again, this time with a glass, frowning as she did so. That piece might need some work; she set it aside.
“Looking for a taste of home already? I can do that, it would be nice to bake again.”A pause.
“Esben. Does cinnamon and the right flour even exist outside of Skael?””Cinnamon is an import. And flour is flour, isn’t it, so long as it’s the right grain?”There was an abnormal, somewhat worrisome note of despair somewhere in his voice, though his face remained as impassive as ever.
”And...somewhat. Solitude was never home for me, although I liked the bakery far more than any of the rest of the city.”He paused again.
”Especially compared to the room I was renting while I studied. It got rather draughty in the last year I was there, after somebody put her foot through the roof.”“Right. We’ll have to see what grains are available in the markets at our destination,” she replied, raising the slightest hint of an eyebrow at the tone her fellow Skaelan had taken with that response. Her lips curved upwards.
“I suppose I should be flattered on behalf of my family.”It was now Éliane’s turn for another pause as she gave his last statement some consideration. She looked almost thoughtful.
“But that’s rather unfortunate. Whatever lady that was should be more careful.””Somehow, I don’t think that careful really enters her mind all that often.”“Hmm.”
Xaltwind
High Moon
mickilennial
Estylwen
Sky Blue
Izurich
Irradiant
DecentlyOkay
Lexisheeps
