| Logs |
2000-02-06
| Starfall |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
 |
Off we go, into the wild blue yonder...!
As weapons practice draws to an end for the day, Carroll makes his way down to the field to intercept his darker brother. The tension between them needs to be resolved before they put to sea again.
Carroll stands off to one side, letting Dimitri finish with all of his charges, smiling pleasantly at them as they disperse. Dimitri leans upon his scabbarded sword as he watches the pirate marines fall out. His attention is still upon the field, save for a single glance cast Carroll's way. Carroll waits for his brother's attention, not wanting to interrupt.
The last swordsfurr finally gone, Dimitri lifts his greatsword, resting it across his shoulders and then looping his long arms over blade and hilt. With a precise military turn upon one heel, he starts down the dockside path, heading to the pier and the Mare..
Carroll calls after him, "Dimitri," and moves to follow. Catching up, he asks, "Have you got a few minutes?"
Dimitri stops. He turns around. "Aye."
Carroll nods, stopping a little farther away from his brother than he might ordinarily, "I'd like to understand what I've done to upset you, Dimitri. I don't want you to be unhappy with me. Can we talk about that, please?"
"What's there to talk about, Carroll?" The dark fox shrugged, looking back at his elder brother. "Alex took care of it. It's fine now."
Carroll hmms. He murrs, "I'm glad that this particular issue is resolved." After a hesitant pause he asks, "But what was it? You were angry, and I have no idea why. I don't want you angry with me, especially if I have no idea why. It's one thing if I deserve it, I suppose, but... you have to tell me what you think I'm doing wrong, Dimitri."
"Head of the Household." Dimitri's words are even and clipped. "The folks we deal with are furrs, Carroll. We take them in, we are personally responsible for them. They are not to be shuffled out to some other family... like a crate of cargo passed from one warehouse to another."
Carroll hmms, and he murrs, "Miriam, correct? What would you have liked to see?" He speaks quietly, calmly, the easy drape of his tail and relaxed cant of his ears confirming that he isn't covering anger.
Dimitri shrugs again. "Alex did the right thing."
Carroll nods. He murrs, "That's very good, and I'm glad. It doesn't, however, answer the question of what would have made you happier to have seen me do the first time. I still don't understand."
"We took her in. Alex and I. Alex treated her like one of us, asked her what she wanted, and gave her the opportunity she needed." The black fox's gaze doesn't flinch. "You should have treated her like that. Instead, you wished her away like a lost piece of luggage. Just. Like. Father."
Carroll frowns a bit and murrs, "If I did that, Dimitri, it certainly wasn't my intent. I thought I had told her she was welcome to stay and make a place for herself if she liked, and left it to Alex to help her iron out the details." He pauses, and smiles, adding, "You say Alex did the right thing, and I'm glad to hear it. I trusted she would. I think Alex will make a good Captain someday."
Dimitri nods. "Alex would make a good anything someday."
Carroll nods and murrs, "True." He licks his lips and asks, "So if Alex did the right thing, and I left it to Alex to help her sort out where she wanted to be and what she wanted to do, what could I have done differently, Dimitri?"
Slowly turning, Dimitri takes a step towards dockside. "You shouldn't have needed reminding, Carroll."
Carroll murrs, "I'm still learning, Dimitri. If no one tells me things now, I'll think I'm doing well, and stay this way forever." He then cocks his head and asks, curious, "So by offering Miriam what help we could and letting Alex work out the details, what did I need to be reminded of?"
Dimitri shakes his head, his campaign rings jingling. "Alex settled it right, Carroll. After the fact. Her doing, not yours. Father always used to take credit for something that one of his staff did, because he was the head of household. It wasn't seemly for him either, Carroll. You wanted her shipped to some other family. You shouldn't have needed reminding she was a furrson too." He then continues down the trail.
Carroll follows his brother down the trail, murring, "Dimitri, wait please. I don't see it. I didn't do anything but let Alex do things. I depended on her, and she did right. I didn't want to send Miriam off... why do you say that? What have I done to make you feel that way?" He finally stops, letting his brother keep walking, and after a moment calling to him, "I'm not just like Father, Dimitri. I want to know what you're thinking. I didn't just assign her a job, and tell her to do it, or she could ship out. Did I come across that way?"
Dimitri turns, suddenly spinning about on his heel, abruptly muzzle to muzzle. "That's exactly how you were, Carroll. You said she'd be fine in some family and you didn't have the time to talk about it. Furrs are furrs, Brother. That's more important than decorum or etiquette or some fancy schmancy perception of what's proper or not."
Carroll blinks and backs up a step or two, rather stunned at his brother's intensity. He takes a deep breath or two, and murrs, "I... oh." He finally murrs, "I see why you feel that way now. I'm sorry you understood it to mean that. I will try to be clearer." His words are quiet and rather slow. "What I didn't have time to talk about was not Miriam, though. I didn't have time to understand what I'd done to upset you. I didn't follow up in the details of where Miriam was going, it's true, but I didn't think I needed to... she was in good hands. If my attention was needed, Alex would have demanded some of it..." He trails off, quietly.
Dimitri ducks his muzzle once, a sure, sharp, and harsh motion. "Aye. And it's settled, Carroll. It's been taken care of. Now. You have a ship to captain. I have some sailors to train. And every day that goes by without a Pravinchandra ship going to the bottom... is another day he's still in control. We both have work to do, aye?"
Carroll nods quietly, but then murrs, "Dimitri, I... what could I have done differently?"
Dimitri turns again, and strides back down the trail. "I told you, Carroll. You should have been listening." He doesn't turn back. "I have work to do."
Carroll murrs, "I'm sorry, Dimitri. I still don't understand how I could have handled it better. I don't understand what I did to first upset you." As his brother continues to walk away he calls, "I'm sorry I've failed to understand you, Dimitri. I'll keep trying." He then turns and walks away, quiet and somewhat beaten, ears and tail drooping, eyes on the ground.
Ettore Village
The village common glows in the early
morning sunlight. The new recruits for the crew of the Saucy Mare are
standing at attention, their new weapons and armor just barely broken
in by a week's worth of practice. Other villagers stand around, waiting
to see them off.
Alex glances at Carroll, just finished with his welcoming speech to the new recruits, and at his nod she turns and says, "Mister Dimitri, please have the new recruits board."
Dimitri stands at the gunwales, nodding once. "Mister Mackenzie, pipe them on board!"
The new recruits proudly march down the trail to the waiting sloop and board to the sound of the bosun's pipes. They look proud and nervous as their families and neighbors cheer them on -- all except Cleo, who looks a little grimmer than the others. She'd been up late with her mentor, reviewing all the supplies they'd arranged for -- and what they might be needed for.
Alex trots briskly up onto the quarterdeck once she's aboard, then stands there at parade rest where she can be seen. She's got her hands clasped behind her back and her ears tilted alertly, watching the new folks board and the experienced crew scrambling efficiently about under the bosun's commands, getting the Mare ready to set sail.
Garry falls into the rhythm of setting the sails easily, having stowed his gear in only a few minutes. The others are set to dragging ropes around on the deck, clumsy with the ship's motion and under nearly constant direction by other sailors. Still, they seem to be cheerful enough about the new adventure that's befallen them.
Carroll lingers behind, pausing to make sure the Grunwalds know what an excellent job they've been doing, and quietly reassuring himself that they're more than capable of taking care of things. Finishing, he walks slowly to the ship, boarding it last, looking around at the organized chaos, and seeing Alex in control. He smiles and joins her on the quarterdeck. Dimitri waits until the last have boarded, and then he slowly walks aft, to take up his place, at the edge of the quarterdeck. Alex nods politely, "Captain. We should be ready to set sail soon."
Carroll murrs, "Good. Take us out when we're ready," to her and leaves her to it, moving to watch the new rhythms of the ship.
Alex nods again, "Yessir." She steps to the railing, looking around carefully to make sure everyone's aboard. Once she spots Dimitri on board, she looks for the bosun... "Bosun, take us out, please!"
Jared salutes and gives the order. The evening land breeze fills the sails and the ship slowly moves away from the dock and toward the entrance to the cove. Dimitri shake out his ruff, letting his fur catch the cool sea air. Alex turns and paces quietly to the railing along the very back of the ship. She watches the crowd there, looking for someone in particular. If she sees Nanny she'll smile a little wistfully and wave to her... then she'll turn and go back to her usual spot, looking forward out over 'her' lovely little ship, out to sea... and to an exciting new stage in her life.
Horatio discusses the course with Jared, and the bosun brings the little ship toward the north when it is clear of the island. "I assume we're going to try to sneak out through the East Passage again?"
Alex nods, "That's probably best, Horatio, since we have some experience with it now. Check with the captain, but unless he says no, go ahead and set course that way."
Dimitri frowns, resting his paws upon the rail. "We are going to need new colors."
Carroll watches the new sailors and Alex. He tries not to worry too much about the future, but tension and concern show on his face, in the way he constantly flicks his whiskers, and that his fur keeps trying to ruffle itself, making him stand and smooth it occasionally. Alex nods again, glancing at Carroll... then she looks again, noticing his obvious worry.
Jared turns to Dimitri. "New colors?"
Carroll looks up and smiles, "Hello, Horatio," when his brother comes up to him with the question about navigation. He nods, concurring with his sister, "Yes, the east channel again. No need to make people wonder why we're here."
Dimitri softly growls, "I don't think it would be right to sail into a fight bearing a Pravinchandra flag."
Alex paces quietly to stand next to Carroll and murmurs just to him, under the cover of Jared's talking with Dimitri, "Carroll... you okay? You look like you're about to jump out of your fur... do you want to go below for a bit and rest, or what?"
Carroll looks at his sister and shakes his head quietly. He murrs, "I'm just nervous about what's coming. It's not something I ever hoped I'd be doing."
Alex nods, still looking calm and as if they're having a casual chat, and softly murmurs, "Might want to try to control your whiskers then, cap'n... or um... back up a bit, so you're not so visible to the crew? Don't want them worried too, after all, yes?"
Carroll nods, and closes his eyes, trying to relax. He murrs, "We're doing the right thing, aren't we?"
Alex smiles up at her older brother, her ears tilting out slightly in amusement, "Yes, silly, of course. We wouldn't be here if we didn't believe this was the right thing."
Carroll murrs, "I know it. I just don't feel it yet." He shakes, once, from head to foot, settling his clothing and fur, and flicks his whiskers forward, ears up. He looks out over the ship and murrs, "Right. Confidence. I'm supposed to look like I know what I'm doing."
Alex grins encouragingly, "There you go! So... Mitya has a good point. What colors should we be flying, d'you think?"
Carroll hmms. He murrs, "That's a good question. Fly the family colors, for our fortune? Fly Pravinchandra's colors? None at all? New ones?"
Dimitri darkly chuckles, "Skull and crossbones is kind of traditional..."
Alex frowns thoughtfully, "Skull and crossbones would be traditional, it's true... but even though we don't want to advertise our family name as common pirates, don't we want to somehow indicate, if we can, our allegiance and our mission?"
Carroll looks to his brother, and murrs, "We aren't pirates, Dimitri." He grins, "Pravinchandra's colors, inverted?"
Dimitri looks to Alex, "We could spook Pravinchandra. Fly Father's personal colors."
Alex frowns again, "Under the family col- oh! That's a good one, Mitya -- Father's personal colors, over the mongoose's flag inverted!" She grins, "Very dramatic! Whatcha think, guys?"
Carroll chuckles and murrs, "What do you think, Dimitri?"
Dimitri smiles, "I can just see the mongoose's face. What do you mean, he's back."
Alex giggles delightedly! "Then let's do it! Hmm... I wonder if we've any of the old flags left below..."
Carroll nods, "That's the goal, anyway, isn't it? Do that."
A search of the flag locker reveals absolutely no sign of any St. Genevieve banners. They were apparently thrown away by House Pravinchandra when they acquired the ship. Alex nods determinedly, "We'll have one made... let me think a bit..." She leaves Carroll in control on deck, goes down to talk to Sandy the sail-maker for a bit... the two of them go into the command crew cabin, and check out a few of Alex's dresses... "Can you do it, Sandy?"
Carroll watches Alex head off, determinedly, and murrs, "Next time we go in to port is soon enough, isn't it?"
The porcupine, a little flustered, responds "O' course I can, milady. No need to mess up your pretty dresses, we've got plenty of cloth here. Jus' sketch out what it should look like for me?"
Alex grins, "Okay, if you've enough cloth, that's fine. Let's see... let me get Horatio to sketch it, okay? He's better at that than me." She'll get a quick sketch from Horatio, and make sure Sandy gets it soonest.
Alex will patter back up to the quarterdeck a short while later with a smugly pleased looking tilt to her whiskers... she grins at Carroll, "We'll have one soon, captain!"
Carroll smiles, and murrs, "Good work, Alex."
Alex beams! then grins at Dimitri, "When it's done, Mitya, will you put 'em up with all the proper ceremony?"
Dimitri looks back, nodding. "Actually, we should fly the Pravinchandra flag until we are just about to close with our first... target."
Carroll murrs, agreeing, "Yes. For only until we find a Pravin ship are we anything else."
Alex grins mischievously, "We'll keep the mongoose's flag handy, yep!"
The day-long journey passes without incident until near the end. The lookout sights a military scout bird behind the Mare at just about the moment the first landmark of the Eastern Pass is sighted ahead. Carroll doesn't pace. It's a conscious choice, though.
Jared calls up to the lookout, "Steady on, lass. Let us know if he gets any closer, we're naught but a harmless trader as far as he knows."
The bird doesn't come very close, and is heading away when the sun sets. Alex takes a long, slow breath... then straightens determinedly and turns her gaze back towards the fore, towards the Eastern Pass -- their next trial.
Alex glances frequently at the decks, watching the new recruits, seeing how they're handling themselves. Carroll finds his sister, and asks her, "Will you be all right on this watch? I should try and go sleep."
Alex nods to Carroll, "Of course, captain. Go rest. You've been up all day."
Carroll nods, and murrs, "All right, Alex. I'll relieve you in the morning." He goes in to his cabin.