[h3][b]James E. Carter & Itzi Ku[/b][/h3]
[hr]

Carter stood near the helm beside Itzi, arms loosely crossed as Arkadios’s spoke to the room. He’d stayed quiet through most of the announcement, listening on and weighing the news intentively. There had been no incidents within the crew thus far and he hoped to keep it that way but his lingering suspicions kept at him.

Itzi, by contrast, was all spark again. Eyes bright and chin tilted toward the horizon. She murmured something about the dinner, how “it might be nice to see what nobles eat when they’re not feeding soldiers scraps.” 

She then pondered with a grin that she might even drag Nuwa along, just to see him try and juggle in front of royalty.

Meanwhile Carter gave a small huff of amusement at the interaction between Zoe and the officer. His mind kept at the the mention of military commander and the war still raging somewhere beyond the clouds, then on the gold below deck that could decide the fate of everyone aboard.

Once Zoe gave a shrug Carter straightened slightly. “I’ll attend the morning meeting,” he said simply, “Reckon I’d like to know how things stand with Inbur and make sure our agreement still stands, while I’m at it.” 

He cast a brief look toward Arkadios, “No offense meant, Captain. Just figure it’s best to be in the room when decisions start being made.”

He left it at that.