[center][h2]All The Crew Means “All” The Crew…[/h2][/center]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/Lro5PjV.jpg[/img]
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OOC:  Working in “Yuri Time.”

Hook’s drastically increased provisions list had pretty far exceeded what the captain said they could afford, but in the end, Yuri tapped his own account for the overage.  While it wasn’t a move he’d make on a regular basis, the newly minted first mate decided that a run of first class meals would pay real dividends in rewarding the crew for their tough stand last night.  [i]Especially Hook and Abby,[/i] he considered as a quick rev of the throttle sent the mule into China Doll’s cargo bay.   

He knew that the young deckhand would receive more than her share of goodwill and nurturing from Dr. Lysanger and Edina.   [i]But Hook,[/i] he reasoned as he called the cook to join the offload, [i]would be a tougher challenge.[/i]   Without going to detail, Cap’n had made it clear that Joe had demons to wrestle.  Yuri could see with his own  eyes the pain written on Hook’s face, compounded by a sense of shame that drove him to isolation.  He wasn’t a shrink, but the mechanic cum mate understood that it was the way of men such as Joe Hooker to salve their wounds through a self validating immersion in work.  

And Yuri had plenty of that to dole out.  

“Found everything,” he announced as Hook appeared in the cargo bay.

[b]“Thank ya, Mister Yoo Ree! Ah knows you kin’t carry the heavy stuff, but mebee some of the lahter items? We’ll git them up to the galley fo’ storage.”[/b]

“Shiny,” the mate responded.  The two men bundled their loads up the stairs, making several trips to empty the mule’s trailer.  As Hook remained to store all the perishables, Yuri made the last couple runs with dry goods. “This is it,” he said as a number of fruit powder mixes tumbled onto the counter.

[b]“Mister Black ne’er helped me carry foodstuff. Might kin’ of you, mister Yoo Ree.”[/b]

Yuri shrugged it off.  “Wait til my broken wing’s all mended,” he chuckled.  “Speaking of that,” he stopped, thoughts shifting gears to another pair of wings,  “I've got to run.  Let’s get together later this afternoon.  We’ll divvy up the duty roster while Abby’s cooling her jets.”  

As Hook busied himself in the galley, Yuri stepped into the forward corridor.  “First hatch portside,” he whispered as his bearings settled on the compartment directly opposite the captain’s.  With a slight grating noise, the ladder hatch swung down and open, releasing a cloud of noxious odors from the space within.  “Ugh,” he grunted while climbing down into the locker room stink.  This compartment, his future home,  would take hours to clean before the first mate could even think of moving in.  Not a task to which he was looking forward, but he wasn’t about to foist this off to one of the deckhands.

The parrot sat hunkered in his cage, a posture that even the uninitiated could read as being low in his spirits.  “Hey Lucky,” he greeted the bird.  “How’s your food and water holding up?”

Lucky shied to the back, clearly ill at ease with the stranger who now reached inside.  His beak came open, a warning to those unfamiliar hands to keep their distance.  Sure enough, his food bin held only the empty hulls of seeds.  The water trough was disgusting; what water remained was clouded with excrement which was now forming a grey crust around the edges.  “Oh, man,” Yuri frowned at the sorry state of affairs.  “Your cage needs a good cleaning, doesn’t it?”

The bird didn’t move, save for the mistrustful eye which followed Yuri’s every move.

“Tell you what,” the human interloper spoked as he eased the bottom tray free.  “I’ll have to come back after I find a liner, but for now, just the bare tray is better than this mess.”  After carefully dumping the foul paper into an overflowing trash bin, Yuri set to scrubbing and resupplying Lucky’s food and water bins.  The moment he withdrew his hands, the bird sidled along its’ perch to dip into a lengthy drink. 

Yuri watched as Lucky drank to satisfaction.  [i]Think I heard that parrots are highly social,[/i] he considered as the bid moved on to crunch his way into the fresh seed.  “This place doesn’t work for you,” he said out loud.  “I conjure you’re gonna be with us for awhile, until we see your dad again.”

The parrot watched him, his look seemingly reflective as he chewed on a seed.   “I’ve got a couple ideas,” Yuri said to his silent companion.  “Let’s see what we can do for you.  Back soon,” he offered the creature a simple goodbye as he took to the ladder.  The first mate had promised himself to go visit China Doll’s youngest deckhand. Armed with a fresh purpose, Yuri headed for the lower deck, and Abby’s quarters.