[i]“Sir, I say,”[/i]

If Nëis thought that he wouldn’t be bothered on the deck, he was entirely wrong. He didn’t bother to stand up straight, just moved his gaze from the water to the man standing near him. If the captain simply looked like a noble, dressed as he was, this man breathed nobility. He seemed, and was, severely out of place. He had a pretty face, and a ridiculous--if highborn--outfit, but neither of those things tended to last very long on the open sea. He fought the urge to look away, but listened to what he had to say with pointed disinterest.

[i]“Will this ship be departing shortly?”[/i]

For a moment, Nëis considered just not answering. That smile at the end rubbed him the wrong way, and he barely avoided sneering. It wasn’t the need to be helpful that got him to answer after a long, pregnant silence, it was just the need to get the man to [i]walk away[/i] and stop expecting an answer.

“Within fifteen minutes,” he said. Without thinking better of it, he continued. “You should have spoken to the captain. You would have passed him, to get up here.”