[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/250324/b71cf5ab5cebec9b4e857200f7c42a8b.png[/img]

[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/250324/dc185f5e06aa08f3af9fbb79b4040da5.png[/img]

[color=EBA536][b]Location:[/b][/color] [color=E579FF]Top Deck[/color]
[color=E579FF][b]Race:[/b][/color] [color=EBA536]Dark Elf[/color] & [color=E579FF]Human[/color]
[color=E579FF][b]Class:[/b][/color] [color=EBA536]Artificer[/color] & [color=E579FF]Rogue[/color]
[color=EBA536][b]Interactions:[/b][/color] [@Princess] Callendra; [@PapaOso] Gears
[color=E579FF][b]Mentions:[/b][/color] 
[color=EBA536][b]Equipment:[/b][/color]
[hider]
[color=EBA536][b]Scratch[/b][/color]
Medical bag
Tinkerer's kit
Arcane spindlelock (shortened) musket
Spindlelock pistols x2
Hand axes x2
[color=E579FF][b]Val[/b][/color]
First-aid bag
Tinkerer's kit
Spindlelock pistols x2
Steel daggers x2[/hider][color=E579FF][b]Attire:[/b][/color]
[hider]
[color=EBA536][b]Scratch[/b][/color]
Dark brown, knee-length coat
Black waistbelt
Grey button-up shirt
Dark brown trousers
Heavy leather boots
[color=E579FF][b]Val[/b][/color]
Off-white shirt
Red ribbon tied around left arm
Brown hooded coat
Brown trousers
Leather boots
Goggles on her head[/hider][color=EBA536][b]Gold:[/b][/color] 70
[color=E579FF][b]Injuries:[/b][/color]
[hider]
[color=EBA536][b]Scratch[/b][/color]
NA
[color=E579FF][b]Val[/b][/color]
NA[/hider]
[/center]

[color=EBA536][b]Scaerthrynne[/b][/color] saw the Chief Deck Officer long before she greeted him. It was hard not to; nobody else but a senior officer would have buttons that polished, or an attire that sharp here at the bar. A large part of him had wished that she wouldn’t approach, but when she did, he found the irritation at being given even more work to do minor, and easy to shrug off. It probably helped that Callendra was one of the officers who were nicer to Val.

And it also helped that she always had that oddly charming smile on her face. It was reminiscent of Val’s, if he had to be honest, if that girl was maybe a decade or so older. 

[color=EBA536]“Evening, Venn,”[/color] he greeted with a nod. [color=EBA536]“How’re you going to interrupt our rest, today?”[/color]

It was said as a half-jest, of course. While it was true that every meeting Scaerthrynne had with Callendra almost always ended in Val and him being dispatched to perform some of the most mind-numbing, boring, and utterly uninteresting maintenance tasks, he also knew that it wasn’t the Chief Deck Officer’s fault. She really was just the unfortunate messenger of the Captain.

Vallena polished off her plate and spun around in her stool. [color=E579FF]“Hello, Venny!”[/color] She smiled, giving the officer a wave with one hand, and wiping her mouth with the back of the other. [color=E579FF]“Are you here to eat too?”[/color]

Scaerthrynne had his doubts, and with her next words, Callendra confirmed all of them. The urge to let out a resigned sigh was strong, when he heard that it was only a minor energy flux that had given the Captain cause to worry, and so he didn’t bother fighting it. Chances were, it was either a poorly-package, or simply badly-sealed magical artifact leaking arcane energy, or a stowaway who decided that it would be hilarious to play around with the runic arrays set into the cargo hold’s walls for climate control purposes. 

It was always possible for it to be something else, of course, but those scenarios were so uncommon, and so far and few in-between, that Scaerthrynne didn’t let them dwell for too long on his mind. He did hope for one of them to come true just this once, however. A rogue sorcerer, for example, would certainly be far, far more interesting than a broken runic array. It would also give the Chief Provost something to do.

[color=C84E74][i]"And yes. He knows. If you’re going, she’s going. And somehow the ship’s still flying, so I’m not about to argue."[/i][/color]

Vallena giggled at that. Then, she cheered. [color=E579FF]“Yay! I was worried, you know? That I’d be left here while you and Scratch got to have all the fun.”[/color] She clapped her hands on her thighs and looked at Callendra with an expectant expression about her. [color=E579FF]“Oh, oh! Venny! If, if I do a good job today, can you ask the Captain to let me back into the cargo hold on my own again? What happened last time was just an accident, I promise it probably won’t happen again! Promise!”[/color]

Scaerthrynne placed a hand on her shoulder. [color=EBA536]“Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, Val,”[/color] he said, casting a sidelong glance at the girl. He turned his attention back to Callendra. [color=EBA536]“Captain sent you because he knew I’d tell Reiss to piss off, didn’t he?”[/color] A wry smile tugged on his lips, and he chuckled dryly with a slow shake of his head. It was a jest, of course. He couldn’t disobey a direct order from the Captain, but he could have made it very, very difficult for Reiss to get things done.

[color=EBA536]“Tell the Captain to keep his ‘something fermented’,”[/color] the dark elf continued. [color=EBA536]“I’m four-fifty. Four-fifty-one in a few months or thereabouts. I’ve to start watching my drinking. And I don’t need an extra lunch break. I’m busy enough to not be able to use it, anyway.”[/color] He jerked a thumb in Vallena’s direction. [color=EBA536]“If he really wants to give me something, he can allow Val to wander the cargo hold again. She’s not so much of an idiot that she’ll make the same mistake twice, and do you have any idea how annoying it is when I need her to fetch something from down there, only to realise that I’ve to go with her?”[/color]

[color=E579FF]“Aw, thanks, Scratch!”[/color] Vallena chirped. Then, she tapped a finger against her lip. [color=E579FF]“I…Think?”[/color]

Another sidelong glance at her, this time accompanied by a grin. [color=EBA536]“You’re welcome, Val,”[/color] Scaerthrynne said and looked back at Callendra. [color=EBA536]“Oh, and Reiss can apologise to her for all the shi– I mean, nonsense he’s been saying about her. Don’t think for a second I don’t know about that.”[/color]

With his terms set, he pushed himself away from the counter. Vallena turned and gave Gears a big wave, and a few parting words, before hopping off her stool. [color=E579FF]“See you later, Miss Gears!”[/color] Her energetic voice cut through the ambient noise of the bar like a knife. [color=E579FF]“That was really yummy! Thanks again!”[/color]

Scaerthyrnne straightened his clothes before taking a step forward. [color=EBA536]“Well, lead the way,”[/color] he said. Then, he leaned in a little closer to Callendra, his eyes narrowed. [color=EBA536]“You’re looking a little red. I thought [i]I[/i] was the only one getting overworked on this ship. You’re not going to collapse along the way from fatigue, are you?”[/color]