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Alphonse Moreau Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 5:35 pm
In most cases, getting two ships in one week on the island was unheard of. Moreau hadn't expected the new boat to arrive this quickly, but he had gotten a telegram earlier in the day announcing the arrival. He had made sure to hire an efficient crew this time, but this was unprecedented.
This ship is smaller than the last, built for light transport and light cargo. She's a small schooner with limited passenger space, and the cargo bay has a few medium-sized cages holding some of the smaller animals for experiments as well as several crates of rabbits and cats. For those on board, the trip was quicker than expected, although still filled with the usual tediousness of ship travel.
Before too long, the island comes into view on the horizon, getting bigger as the ship draws nearer. A lone man stands at the edge of the dock, waving.
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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:06 pm
Pindari was not a man to be a burden, even when that was his only job. It was a little unfortunate for the crew of the small schooner, his large stature had been a hinderance working with the smaller equipment. And though he had been more of an obstacle than a help, no one had gathered up the courage to stop him. He was not a passenger. He never had been, and as long as he could walk on his own, he never would be.
But as the island came into view, he was dumbstruck by the beauty of it. The trees alone amazed him, even more so than the water rushing the beach. As they neared the dock and the man came into view, he let go of the rope he had been holding, going to the bow to get a better look. Behind him, one of the crew caught hold of the rope with difficulty, swearing under his breath for the "bloody bushman" to watch what he was doing.
Pindari didn't notice the comment, and if he had he simply hadn't acknowledged it. "Milil-ma lagiban," he told himself, then added in crude English, "Changes quick as thunder." Stay strong, stay a dreamer, stay Pindari. Just like his father had told him so long ago.
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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:23 pm
Michael Bloodstone was of a flighty-looking sort, the kind you'd expect to be blown away by a light breeze and curse it. It wasn't that he was skinny, though, for he had some weight to him. It was more the expression on his face. Seedy, perhaps bordering on calculating, as he stared off the port side of the small boat. He was sharply dressed in worn, ragged secondhand clothing, and leaning on an umbrella that was full of holes. Of all his many brothers and sisters he had not been the smartest nor the most successful in trade. The only valuable to his name was a small dragon-shaped cape clip set with an emerald, a family heirloom and his treasure.
He hadn't spoken much to anyone, choosing to while away his time with a flask of a liquid smelling strongly of home brewing. The smell clung to him still, heavy, and it would seem he wasn't quite as sober as he should have been. The stuff helped the days at sea go by, though, which was all that mattered to him. A hiccup punctured the silence. He glanced to where the stout man was whispering and saw a blur of green and brown. Perhaps an island, or a moss-covered rock. He grinned idiotically. "S'about time."
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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:31 pm
After some time of ushering the boat to land and guiding the captain with a few waves so the reef could be avoided, she roughly brushed up against the wood of the docks with a loud creak. The resultant noise made Alphonse wince, and he begun work on helping tying the small ship down as soon as it got close enough for him to do so.
The creak of wood is heard as the ramp began to go down almost directly on top of Alphonse, but the man skittered away from it before it could do any real damage. "You a**!" Moreau cried, shaking his fist at the deckhand who lowered the ramp. "Make sure I'm not right there before doing that!"
"Sorry, I'm sorry, sir!" blurted the young deckhand, a wiry boy who didn't seem very experienced or careful with what he did. "Y-you're alright, aren't you?"
"I am," Moreau said harshly, smoothing down his cream-colored hair with a hand. "I shall be docking your pay for that, though. Do be more careful next time."
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Alphonse Moreau Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:50 pm
Pindari cringed at the sound, but otherwhise the incident didn't phase him. Things like that happened on ships with inexperienced crews. Though from the voice he heard, the man waiting for them on the dock was not an experienced sailor. The aborigine raised his right arm to shield his face as he walked to the start of the ramp, shadowing the deckhand as he did. He saw nothing wrong with being curious, this was what he had been looking for afterall, he had rights. It was a wonderful thing. Rights, never needed as a young man, though they now seemed so important.
"Hello," he called out, his voice booming against the sound of the waves. The call wasn't followed by anything on his part, but for a wide snaggle-toothed smile. His already dark skin was tanned even darker from the weeks of constant sun, and his once white shirt now a dull beige.
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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 7:14 pm
The grin faded momentarily at the swearing from below the boat. But the floating timber was no longer rocking violently, and he'd finally escape the nasty stench of wet cat. Gleefully he tossed his umbrella into the air and made to catch it. By a combination of drunken dexterity and poor depth perception (for he only had one eye) it clattered to the deck. He stooped and groped for it.
The sunlight made his headache slightly worse, but it wasn't as bad as that one time after he'd been drinking with the very loose lady in the bar... Weaving, he stumbled his way to the top of the plank, unconsciously shying away from the towering dark-skinned man. He flung out an arm, clinging desperately to the side of the ship. If he let go, surely he'd fall into the sky.
"'Hoy there, sir! Ah tell ya, land's never looked so-" He hiccuped again. "So wunnerful!"
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Alphonse Moreau Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:06 pm
Alphonse greeted the two men as they appeared on deck, his face shadowed by the wide brim of his hat (given his complexion, he was not much a fan of the sun). "Good day, sirs! How was your voyage? Rather well, I hope?"
"Sir, I'm really sorry, I'll have you know, I--" babbled the young deckhand as Moreau started up the ramp. The taller man turned to the boy, narrowing his eyes as he spoke.
"You silence yourself and do what you are supposed to before I dock even more of your pay," he warned, pointing to the door that lead below deck. "Go help unload the ship. Shoo!"
The scrawny young man immediately scrambled past, loudly clambering down the stairs to the cargo hold.
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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 5:20 am
Pindari started to follow the boy back to the cargo hold, he would probably need help after all, but stopped when he realized the "sirs" comment had pertained to him as well as someone else. Turning back, he waved a calloused hand, "Maman! Maman no-dew-ma mamin!" It didn't take him but a few long strides to get to the ramp, and with practiced balance a few more to come down it onto the dock. He looked back up at the ship to see who of his company on the ship was getting off here, genuinely interested in who else the pale man was calling "Sir" if he himself fell under the category.
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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 4:15 pm
"Ne'er seen land in weeks, I tell you!" He tripped his way down the ramp. In a last-moment effort to keep himself from being flung face-first on the dock, he held out his umbrella and made to shove it into the wood. Poor braking device though it was, when the middle-aged doctor finally stumbled hard into his crude walking stick, he stayed put. The metal bottle at his hip swung and sloshed as he gathered his wits, still forcing all of his weight onto the umbrella.
Everything was still indistinct, and Alphonse's delicate skin tone blended in with the rest of the brightly lit surroundings. A couple turns in circles afforded Michael no sight of the man he thought he'd heard down below the ship when they'd reached shore. He looked up at the big man he presumed was a deck hand. "Wasn' there someone down 'ere?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 3:13 pm
The ghastly sound of the ship scraping against the dock, followed shortly by the clunk of the ramp was all too startling a noise to be ignored by one final passenger of the small schooner. With a very unlady-like snort, a delicate lady sat bolt upright on her 'bed.' More like lumpy obtrusion from the wall. Dazed, she looked about her surroundings and remembered her reason for being on such a grotty little boat.
Wishing to look her most impressionable, even in front of foreigners and beastly crewmen, Emily quickly threw on her undercoats and petticoat, followed by her lovely blue embroided bodice and deep blue skirt. Nice white shirt, which could have been more crisp to Emily's usual tastes, finished off the look nicely.
The flurry of activity of deckhands and crewmen confirmed Emily's thoughts - they had docked and were unloading. Although, she hoped the ship would be docked long enough for her to gather some exotic plants and then join them for the trip back to England. She couldn't imagine the thought of being marooned.
Lightly locking her fingers in a very dainty way, she appeared on deck, looking around feverishly for any sign of a civilised gentleman, or the captain at the very least. She had spied some of her belongings being unloaded. That was when she saw a tall, and strangely dignified, pale faced and pale haired gentlemen, conversing with a foreigner and an inebriated fellow. Oh dear, a complete scoundrel and a foreigner...she took a breath and gracefully descended the ramp.
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Alphonse Moreau Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 4:45 pm
A primal roar and a loud 'thud' sounded from below the decks. Alphonse winced at the noise and shook his head, bringing two fingers to rub impatiently at his temple.
"Fool, I hope he didn't uncover the cage," the man groaned, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose to acknowledge the new men off the boat. "Good day to you sirs, and..."
He paused. Damn it all, another woman? Alva and Chris were enough! Pale eyes flicked to the fashionably late female passenger, and the man chewed on his lip in irritation. "Are you somebody's wife?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 6:48 pm
Pindari didn't seem too bothered by the noises from the ship, he had helped tend to the cargo for much of the trip after all. Instead, the wife comment got his attention. "Eh?" He questioned, following the man's gaze up onto the ship. Definitely not his wife, she was far too pale, "Not mine."
He had chosen not to say anything to the apparently drunk man, but he realized that leaving him in the dark about who was around might not be the best idea. "Right there," he said surely, pointing toward where the pale man still stood, "He mamin."
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 12:32 pm
"Yer mammy?" Michael rumbled, confused. "Listen, boy, that there's a man. He's no one's mammy, I'll tell you."
Michael tugged at the umbrella, which he'd shoved three inches into the wood in his fall. The blurry image of the pale man down on the dock seemed to be fixated on someone on the boat, so he whirled around in slow motion. The sea and sky wobbled and steadied themselves. When all things cleared up he spotted a lady he must have missed while on the boat (due to his inebriation, though he didn't realize it in said state). Here was a woman!
He gave another sharp tug and the umbrella flew out of its hole sending him reeling backward and almost falling right off of the dock. He fell flat on his butt instead, howling with drunken laughter. "Oh yes, sir! She's m'wife! Purdy little flower, i'nt she?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 2:45 pm
Emily approached the little gathering, her eyes fixed on the polite if somewhat cold gentleman, and was about to reply when she was rudely interrupted by the drunken man. As comical as his antics were, he was annoying and made Emily wrinkle her nose. Cupping her hands once more in a refined manner, she ignored Michael's comment.
"No, I'm certainly not anybody's wife. At least not here, not yet," she replied with a pleasant smile.
"I do apologise for my late embarkment, one does get quite carried away when studying plants."
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 9:28 pm
"She's jus' a little shy, aren't ya, wifey?" he grinned, showing his crooked smile. The umbrella was still loosely in his grasp as he sat on the dock. Getting up was going to be a real challenge, so he figured staying on the rocking ground was preferrable to being flung about by it and right back where he was, on the ground. He gestured toward the crotch of his scruffy pants, his face redder than ever with the ongoing drinking binge he'd been on. "I got somethin' yeh can examine righ' down here, though. Beats lookin' at plants!"
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