"Excellent news," Lotus murmured. "We'd like to come with you."

Aster playfully thwacked Lotus in the arm. "Speak up! Hey, are you-" Lotus hadn't given him a name. Aster shook his head to clear it. "We'd like to work on the ship with you. I'm Aster. This is Lotus. I've never been on an airship before."

That was just like Aster, getting so friendly right away. Lotus liked that about him. It made it easier to talk to people. He noticed, though, that Aster kept his hands tucked into his pockets.

Lotus turned to the owner. "Sorry to leave you so soon. But we need a more steady job, and it's good not to be apart so often."

Damn, he shouldn't have said it like that. Lotus hoped that no one could tell he was blushing. 

Aster grinned. "It's nice to meet you. We've been looking for steady work for a long time. We can do almost anything. Lifting, cleaning cooking- he can cook. I can't. But I'm a quick learner. And you'll be happy you took us on."

Lotus shuffled in place, looking over to get a good look at Tal. He looked honest enough. 

"We brought all our stuff, so we're ready to go."

"Aster."

"What?"

"We still have to check out of the hotel."

Aster opened his mouth, hesitated, and closed it. "Then you'd better get going," he whispered loudly, nudging Lotus.

Lotus rolled his eyes. "We don't even know if they're taking us on yet."

"Ah- true. So, what do you think? Do you like what you see?"