[center][h3]Accidents Happen (As do Friendships)[/h3][/center] [hr] [center]Vas & Beren Collab[/center] [hr] [i]17th Suns Dawn, Aboard the Kismet, Daggerfall[/i] [hr] The Imperial had been left alone for around ten minutes then, her two suitcases were sat beside her as she stood - hand on hip eyeing up each hammock. There were also a number of more solid beds too, but - seeing as she was on a ship, she wanted the full experience of being on a ship. “Ms. Vasellius” eventually settled on a hammock by a porthole, and she stepped over towards it - placing a hand either side so she could peer out. It was all just sea and nothing but… Nothing but freedom. Vas grinned, and a soft chuckle spilled from her full lips, dimples appearing in each cheek to accompany her bright smile. “This will do,” she sighed, stepping back to tackle the hammock. It was a little higher than she expected, she couldn’t just [i]fall[]/i] into it… But she was a bold and adventurous girl, and so she gripped at the rope with both hands to pull herself up. Success! She’d brought her torso into the netting, and it was actually more comfortable than she was expecting - so comfortable in fact that she rested too much of her weight upon it and the hammock wobbled, threatening to toss her out. Vas lifted her leg, pressing the tip of her boot into a hole in the netting and pushed forwards. It was unfortunate timing, the ship rolled on a bigger wave than had been expected and Vas slipped, her foot was ensnared in the rope and she lurched forwards. The young woman squealed, but managed to stop herself by placing her hands out - but now she was in the embarrassing predicament of being caught in the hammock by her foot. Sure, she could pass it off as a handstand to any passers by to alleviate any humiliation - but she was still stuck. “For the love of-” she groaned, twisting her foot this way and that to try and free it. Meanwhile, Beren stepped onboard the Kismet, closing his eyes and breathing in the ocean air. He’d always enjoyed coastlines. It reminded him of home. The loud footsteps of his boots on the thin floorboards was also cathartic. He suspected he would enjoy the journey. A chance to finally relax and just let the ship sail him to his home province. First thing’s first, he needed to put his stuff up below decks. Passing by a few Argonians he saw speaking to a man who he suspected was the Captain, he set off downstairs. Many ships followed a uniform layout, and this one wasn’t much different from the rest. He found the passenger quarters without much difficulty. Though he did find a woman stuck in one of the hammocks, struggling. He dropped the bag dangling off his broad shoulder immediately. “Oh, hey,” he said, announcing his presence as he approached her. “Let me help you, one second.” Vas would make out a tanned skinned, muscled man a few years her junior crouch beside her. Strong, dextrous hands held her leg aloft while he untwisted the spun knot she’s managed to get snagged in. “This won’t happen often in the trip, will it?” he asked with a grin, eyes bright as he undid the coil and set her free. He placed a hand on her shoulder and collarbone to make sure she didn’t fall flat on her face. “You ok?” “Oh, I shall be…” Vas groaned, letting her legs come down safely, until she found herself sitting on the floor. It was nice to be the right way around again, and as the blood returned to the rest of her body she felt a sense of relief. “Thank you,” she said, with a bashful smile. “Just in the knick of time, that,” she added, laughing softly and rubbing the back of her neck. She was only slightly embarrassed. More so by the fact that her rescuer was a man -- well built, but with kind eyes, and a gentle hand. “Thank you,” she said again, blowing a section of hair out of her face. Smiling, he suddenly felt a bit embarrassed himself. “Oh, of course,” he replied, not knowing what else to say. Offering her his hand, he helped her up almost too easily. She would feel like she was lighter than a feather for a moment. Setting her up on her feet, he noted she was quite pretty, with spirited eyed. “I, uh…” he looked around the room. It had been so easy coming in to help her and now he felt like he was the bashful one. Changing the subject, he looked from her to the hammock. “How’d you get stuck?” “I got… excited to be here. I think,” she said quietly, sucking air through her teeth as she gave an awkward smile. “Never slept in a hammock, never even been in one… Obviously,” her voice quietened, and she placed her hands behind her back. His embarrassment only seemed to transfer to her. If she hadn't been caught up there, he could have been getting on quite easily with his own settling in. “Sooooooooooo,” Vas said, a small laugh punctuated it for good measure. “I suppose you’ll be picking your own hammock now… Be careful! They bite!” she said, with another laugh, immediately regretting the words. “I mean I’m sure you can manage a hammock, you look really strong--” as if to demonstrate, she reached forwards and pinched at his upper arm, unaware that it wasn’t really [i]socially acceptable[/i] to just touch someone like that. “You’ll definitely be fine,” she giggled again, only this time she inhaled a little too much through her nose and snorted. Her eyes immediately fell on a sleeping passenger to the side. She hoped he wouldn’t wake up. Beren grabbed his things, placing a finger to his lips as he noticed the sleeping man when she did. He was surprised the passenger hadn’t already woken up. He slept even more heavily than Beren, and that was something to boast about. Looking to his left, he dropped his things in the hammock and made sure the sack was tied tightly. “Yeah, I think I’ll be ok,” he said quietly. Easing back, he idly stretched his left arm and turned again to face her. “Weee probably should talk somewhere else.” he whispered to her, giving a subtle wink. “Messhall? I haven’t eaten today.” Vas smiled back, bringing a hand to her own mouth to stifle a giggle - the sudden realisation that she’d probably almost woken the poor man up tickled her. She nodded quickly at Beren - she had also not eaten anything yet, and the mention of food was enough to make her feel the hunger that had so far been quiet. No words needed to be said, and she made her way to the door and out of the shared quarters. “Do you think the food is nice here Mr?” she asked in a whisper as he followed along beside her. He led the way, hands in his pockets as he kept close by enough to face her when he spoke to her. He nearly said ‘it doesn’t matter to me,’ but that probably sounded a bit too dismissive. It honestly didn’t matter too much to him. He had a fast metabolism. It came with the physique. He needed to eat a lot to keep his energy up. He put on a moment of pure swagger and snapped his fingers, pointing at her. “I’m mister right,” he said, with such an exaggerated look of bravado it was too obvious he was joking. He tried to hold in the laughter of how stupid he felt for making a joke so suddenly, but he let the chuckle subside naturally. “I’m Beren.” he said, drawing in a breath as he shrugged. “I [i]hope[/i] the food is good. As long as it’s edible to people I think I’ll be fine.” Suddenly, his stomach erupted into a growl and he gazed up at the ceiling as if to see if Akatosh was testing him. “Yeah, that outta tell you all you need to know about me…” "It's nice to meet you Beren, I'm…" she paused, taking a look from left to right. "My name is… Ca-" she stopped abruptly and coughed, a little too dramatically, "Saffine, Saffine! My name is Saffine." Her eyes widened and she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, before reaching out to grab Beren's arm. "Come on," then she was hurrying down the hallway, "you're hungry - we should get you something soon…" He blinked, looking at her incredulously when she seemed to be struggling with her own name, before he was whisked away toward the messhall, wide-eyed. “Well when you’re right, you’re right.” he said, trying to keep up. He knew he could but he didn’t feel comfortable running full tilt inside of a transport ship. They made it into the messhall, picking two seats next to one another and getting what food was available. Beren grabbed a pitcher of water, two potatoes, and apple, and some ham. It’s safe to say that while he wasn’t rude or messy doing it, he inhaled the food within minutes, pausing every bit to speak to her. “You know this isn’t half bad,” he said, commenting on the food. Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he cleared his throat. He turned to Saffine, leg crossed onto his knee. “What brings you on the ship, Saffine?” “Just… taking a trip to the Imperial City, you know,” Vas commented, as nonchalantly as she could manage - taking a large bite of bread to prevent herself from saying anything else. It had been embarrassing enough already. She’d also already slipped up more than once, and that sat heavy on her. Travelling in a ‘covert’ way could hardly be covert if you kept messing up your name and getting stuck in hammocks. She swallowed the bread down. “Where are you headed Beren?” she asked quietly, taking a drink of water and wiping her lips with the back of her hand, her eyes aglow with curiosity. Beren couldn’t guess she was deceiving him. He wasn’t gullible, but someone so endearing and clumsily sweet was the last person he would expect to lie to him. He ate a loaf of a roll as well, patting his broad chest with his fist to help it go down. “Oh, I’m just wanting to go back to my home province. I’ve spent enough time in the west, I think.” he told her, turning to her, his dark eyes threatening to swallow her up. “Y’know, I think I’d feel better dungeon diving in Cyrodiil, maybe visit my family after a few months.” He smiled and shrugged. “I guess we have similar reasons. If you’re in the Imperial city, you can come and visit me. I’ll be close by. Probably on one of the port cities outside of it. The city can be expensive to stay in.” Vas blinked up at his eyes, her own green eyes were round and big, made only bigger and more doe-like by her long lashes. “You’re from there!” she said, taking another drink of the water - and a bite from the bread again. “I would like that -- to visit you I mean!” Vas said enthusiastically, before taking a glance to the side and shrinking back down. That wasn’t going to be possible. The woman raised a finger up behind her ear and scratched, giving a nervous chuckle again. “I mean, that’s very forward of me to say that. I- You’re nice and all, but I don’t really know you yet and you don’t really know me either, you could be anyone. Maybe you’re not really as nice as you seem now, you hear all these stories and horrible things…” she rattled on, unaware of how awkward it might be making Beren feel, until - “oh but I’m not saying you are! Oh shucks!” Her eyes fell down again and she shoved the bread back in, her cheeks turning red as the apple he’d picked up. Beren laughed at that, clearly amused. Not in a haughty way, but he appreciated people’s differences and she had a quality he found fun. “Hey, it’s no pressure. We did just meet and you’re right to be wary.” he told her, and before he could speak again, he hiccupped. He felt more in his throat. “Oh great.” he whispered, and downed some more water, quelling that bit of throaty rebellion before it gained a foothold. “Sorry, I eat too fast sometimes.” he said. Regaining his composure, he smoothed his mane of hair. “Did you grow up in Highrock?” “I did,” she replied, after emptying her full cheeks. “Wayrest actually, and then um, Daggerfall.” She immediately chided herself for saying it, and it showed on her face in a scrunching of her eyes. “I’ve also moved around a lot to other places not just those. Are you from High Rock too?” she asked, forgetting that they’d already discussed his origins not even moments ago. He didn’t know how to respond to that. “Uhm,” he said, hesitating. “Uuuuh no, I live in Cyrodiil, on the southern coast. Near Leywiin.” He decided to move along so she nor he got too caught up in the who said what. “It’s beautiful down there. Lot of good fishing and beautiful scenery, and the people are nice.” He thought back to his home. Maybe he would return after a few months of spending time in central Cyrodiil. He didn’t know. He had plenty of coastlines and ocean now that he was on the Kismet. Maybe his need for tropical climate would be sated before they reached their destination. “I’ve only been to Cyrodiil, Hammerfell, and Highrock. And Blackmarsh for a bit, but not far. I was young and I wanted to say I stepped foot in there.” “I’ve never been to Cyrodiil, well — not since I was a girl. Silly really, for an Imperial to not really have been there…” Vas commented, scratching her head a little, she wanted to move the conversation along, she didn’t really want to keep talking about herself. “You said that you want to go dungeon diving…” amazingly, something that she could remember and recall. “Is that what you do all the time then? Is it… is it exciting?” She asked, suddenly her elbows were on the table and she was leaning towards him with a smile again. “Do you ever find [i]things[/i]?” He leaned back a bit, not overtly but just enough to where their faces were not inches from each other. “That’s why I do it,” he admitted, meaning the excitement. That and, it often did do good for many people who didn’t want to risk such dangers. “I find lots of things down there...monsters, beasts, gold sometimes. Magic items too, but I try not to touch those.” Beren admitted. “Magic items have a tendency of exploding around me.” "Exploding?!" Vas asked, her eyes suddenly wide. "Monsters? What kind of monsters?" She asked quickly as her foot tapped under the table with excitement. "I've never even seen a monster… just people," the woman added with a sigh of disappointment. Despite himself, Beren felt delighted to tell her about some beasts he had faced. He had always felt like it would be arrogant to give tales of himself, but if she asked he would happily oblige. “He also wanted to give her something to be excited about, hearing the sigh in her voice. “I’ve faced a few monsters, mostly skeletons and ghouls. A few beasts too, but I tend to run away when that happens. I hate the idea of harming animals, especially if I am the one stumbling on their home. I fought a necromancer as well. He nearly killed me, but I finished him before he could take me out.” Beren spoke matter-of-fact, as if he was recounting simply for an honest record rather than boasting. Vas simply sat and listened intently, nodding occasionally. She felt so… [i]inexperienced[/i] in a strange way. It’s not that she would have wanted to be cornered by the monsters that had haunted Beren’s adventures, more that she wished she could take a glimpse at life from his eyes. Maybe he’d like to do the same to her. “That all sounds so, frightening actually,” she said eventually with a creased brow. “It’s hard to imagine how one becomes part of that life... “ She eyed him nervously, before cracking a smile. “I suppose I should feel safe with you on board then. Not a lot could stop you!” She thought of her bodyguard too, between the two of them - and some of the other stranger characters on the ship, she was expecting an interesting journey indeed. The young man smiled at that. It was reactions like that, that made everything worth while. “Say Beren,” she began, clearing her throat. Apparently eating that much bread dried it out something fierce. “Maybe if we get time, in the spirit of getting to know each other and all, maybe you could help me learn how to do… stuff that you do. Fighting beasts and the like…” She would ask Dro’Sintaba, but he seemed less interested in teaching, and more interested in her gold for the bare minimum. Was it a mistake bringing him along? Could she have done it alone, perhaps? “If you’d like to, that is…” Beren perked up at that. “Yeah, definitely,” he said, answering before he had any time to think on it. He wanted to help people and this was the best way to do it, probably. He also loved the idea of teaching someone how to do what he did. She likely had some things to teach him as well. “I’m no master like the one who taught me, but I can give you some lessons and show you some moves. They’ll be useful if you ever find yourself without your sword, especially. But they’ll be effective in most situations. We can start tomorrow after the ship’s sailed, if you want.” He had an eager, open way about himself when discussing the possibilities of taking on a pupil. That made the woman smile from ear to ear -so much so that the dimples were even more prominent. “I have a sword. I’ve trained but only ever in a classroom. Um, never [i]used[/i] it.” Vas said, before glancing around the mess hall. “I’d really like to learn from you! In fact, oh- She said, fumbling into her pocket for a few seconds before pulling out a small handful of septims. “How.. how much do you charge for it?” She held them out to him in her hand. They were new and shiny, and she smiled again. Beren laughed shyly, holding his hands up. “Whoa whoa, I’m not opening up a school.” he told her, gently placing his hand over hers and closing it around the septims, letting her keep them. “I’m helping out a new friend. Maybe if I get experience teaching other people, I’ll start charging if it becomes a thing. But it’s on the house.” He squeezed her hands a bit in his own. “I want to help out.” Before he let go of her. Surprised, she kept her hand closed and brought the coins back to her pocket. Vas’s cheeks turned slightly red. “On the house,” she repeated with a smile, tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear. She found herself wondering how a lesson with Beren would differ to lessons she’d already had, and found that her anticipation was a happy feeling. “Anyway… I should…. I should get back to the quarters,” she said, quite abruptly. Having realised they’d been away for quite a bit of time. Vas had enjoyed Beren’s company - and she made that clear by beaming down at him when she stood up. “Thanks again for untangling me,” she laughed. “I’ll see you around Beren!” With that said, she had scampered off. He waved goodbye to her as she zipped away, and then he took a deep breath, talking to himself. “She’s a nice girl,” he breathed, and stood up to get a second helping of food to hit the spot before he went on deck. “Let’s see who else is on this ship.”