video, un: hexadin

[halforc]

Hi, ah.

[ Awkward fingergun for you, network. ]

Quick question, the reason for it will sound obvious given recent events. [ ie: that giantass flood that ruined everyone's homes. ] Does anybody here own any of the ships docked in the port about a ten minute walk above the Crystal Beach? Specifically, the large galleon. I know a few are owned by companies and the other dock is strictly for Lunar Knights, but I'm looking to make a purchase or strike a deal for that ship in particular.

I'm Fjord. Thanks ... for your time.

Comments

[halforc]

[ Just gonna throw his head back on a laugh, barking it out. ]

Who the fuck puts wheels on a boat? It's a boat! What he made was a ... concave cart.

[speakerstone]

[Oh no. His laugh is cute.]

That's what I'm saying!

[No time for that, though, because holy shit someone finally understands her pain.]

He went around calling himself the Pirate of the Roads. I just had to be sure you weren't going to do terrible things to that boat before I helped you acquire it.

[halforc]

[ His chuckling runs down to a deep snicker, grinning. ]

I sincerely swear I will be captaining a ship on water, although that guy sounds like he was either living his best life or needed some serious help.

[speakerstone]

Good. I suppose we’re all both of those things in some combination?

[She lets a tiny laugh escape her, bringing her clawed fist up to her mouth like she’s trying to catch it.]

Anyway. Boat documents.

[halforc]

Well, someone clearly lived their best life by watching him live his, that's all I'm saying.

[ Mocking the land-boater ... Shameful behaviour, how does Sypha sleep at night? Fjord would never do such a thing. ]

Yes, yep. Documents!

[speakerstone]

What a fleeting best life it was.

[Godspeed, land-boater. Godspeed.]

Documents. I'm no expert on seacraft, believe it or not, but if I'm thinking in the right direction, there must be some system to tell who owns what. Like those plates of metal on the back of cars.

[halforc]

Usually that's kept in the captain's cabin.

[ ... Not that they should break in, but. Hmm. ]

Maybe no one owns it, they haven't come forward.

[speakerstone]

Maybe...but I'm not sure why anyone would abandon a nice-looking ship in the middle of the port. Unless they happen to be a filthy rich boat-hoarder.

[She thinks for another moment, clearly trying to avoid any scenarios where they'd have to steal shit...and then snaps her fingers.]

How about a stakeout?

[halforc]

Maybe they died in the queen's attack. No, I'm not that lucky.

[ That's some dumbass shit though, he's in. ]

A stakeout of a stationary ship, sounds like nothing could go wrong with that. [ But first, ] This isn't my first rodeo, we're need snacks. Especially if the plan changes. Plans can do that.

[speakerstone]

[She shoots him a Mildly Disapproving Look at that first bit, like if they were in person she'd give him a smack on the wrist for that. Ah, well. Let it go. They're here for some dumbass shit.]

Absolutely nothing. [This is a perfectly sound plan.] Snacks are a good idea, buuuuut they can't make too much noise if we're planning to be sneaky.

[She says sneaky like the thought is more exciting than anything else right now.]

[halforc]

[ Welcome to the Mighty Nein, everyone's a shithead here!! ]

There's nothing to say we would need to be undercover for a stakeout. [ Ooo, idea ... ] What if we took a picnic down to the pier? It wouldn't look strange to see two people having a romantic meal in this city, we'd probably be even more inconspicuous that way. Not that it would actually be romantic, of course.

[speakerstone]

[...eyebrow raised. She rests her elbow on her knee and leans closer to the camera. You little shit.]

Well well! Aren't we forward.

[It's not a no. It's actually a pretty good idea, but you can't get this shit past Sypha without some requisite teasing. Of course it wouldn't actually be a romantic picnic with a pretty Speaker woman. Who would ever have that idea?]

[halforc]

[ !! ]

No, no, no! Just food! Food and a lovely, ah, very beautiful woman is the best cover of all. I didn't mean we would be on ... some sort of ... date? I mean, I'd ask if I wanted ...

[ Ahem. ]

It's an un-undercover stakeout. Of a ship.

[speakerstone]

[Now it's her turn to tip her head back and laugh her ass off. Oh, this big, nervous dork. Give her a fan and a fainting chair, she's been wooed.]

Sure! Sure, just food. Food for our undercover picnic stakeout.

[Why not. She'll entertain this. She mimes wiping a tear away from her eye, breathing settling back into her normal rhythm.]

But I'm paying. Okay?

[halforc]

I ... have no money after the Chroma blackout so that actually works out.

[ What is pride anyway around this woman. ]

I'll bring something. Do you drink?

[speakerstone]

I see! So you're suave and broke.

[A little mean, by her standards, but said with the same cheeky energy as always. Leave your pride at the door.]

I do. Ale, if you have any lying around, but I won't be picky.

[halforc]

Well ... [ Who is seducing who!! ] One of those things is always true.

[ Ale. She's got perfect taste. ]

I think I can manage that.

Thank you for helping me with this, Sypha. I really appreciate it. After we lost our house I'm ... eager to find somewhere safe to keep my family.

[speakerstone]

...wait, wait, wait.

[Any coyness in her tone and in her expression immediately fades into the aether. Back up a minute.]

You lost your house?

[halforc]

Oh, did I not mention that? Ah.

[ Oops. ]

One of my friends from home has been here the longest and he set down roots in a particular house, with someone he fell in love with. It became a haven for our people as they came and went, a hub of memories.

The flood trashed it completely. It may be weeks or even months before it's back to the way it was.

[ It's a sad wreck to walk through. Molly is broken-hearted more than anyone, more desperate to fix it with no way to do so. But Fjord ... ]

I have sailing experience, I grew up at sea and this one isn't so different. If I can fix up that ship, I can give us somewhere to run if there's another catastrophe, and maybe it'll sink too or it's a bad idea, but it's the best one I've got.

I have to do something, Sypha.

[speakerstone]

[She folds her hands and listens, eyes brimming with an aching kind of sympathy. Having a home may be new to her, having a single place to set down your roots, but she knows exactly what losing one feels like. She knows how to do minor repairs, but on the scale of a small wagon, not an entire house.

But that's the way her thoughts run, in the direction of how she can help. He talks about it so casually, like it doesn't hurt him when it clearly does. He cares. He's broke and houseless, clearly without any money to strike a deal for the ship as he claimed, but he cares, and he's not giving up. She doesn't think that's stupid. In a way, she recognizes it.]

...I don't think it's a bad idea at all. You're doing the best you can to help your people. You're trying to give them a home again.

How many of you are there? Where are you staying?

[halforc]

There's me and Mollymauk, Molly's lover Fish, Caduceus our Cleric, and Connie's the latest addition. We're staying in one of those posh apartment complexes right now while we mend the house.

[ He's used to digging his heels in to mend things, even if he doesn't necessarily have the Mending spell. ]

It's coming along, this week I blocked all the holes in the roof with driftwood.

[speakerstone]

[If she'd only known she was going to be whisked away to an alien planet, she might have made it a point to memorize more spells. Maybe they can go digging and find something in the local shops.

Still, though. It's a relief, knowing all five of them aren't just out on the street. In the end, even if she knows the physical space of home is important to other people, what really matters is that his friends are all okay.

...Maybe this is presumptuous to offer, maybe not, but she'd much rather take the chance then leave him wanting in this moment. Her smile returns, softer but ]

Well, we'd best get you your ship, then! It sounds like we don't have any time to waste.

And...if the space you have is ever too crowded, my couch is your couch. It isn't much, but Speakers help people however we may.

[halforc]

That's very generous of you.

[ He clears his throat again, sitting up from where he's slumped during the conversation. ]

I'd like to ask you more about being a Speaker at our stakeout. Is tonight convenient?

[speakerstone]

[She nods, reaching for a backpack just out of frame.]

Of course! Text me what you'd like at our picnic. It looks like I'll have some shopping to do.

[Sanguis is certainly going to make this interesting. Maybe she'll smell whoever owns this god damn boat. Shiver.]

[halforc]

Sure, yeah, I'll do that. I'll see you later then!

[ He waves as he signs off, feeling uncertain what he just got himself into but excited to see what the evening holds. Texting Sypha that he likes meat in particular but anything works if that's too expensive, he turns up at the arranged spot and time with a blanket tossed over his shoulder like a second cape, only this one is red and white wool with tassels. He's still in his armour from home as he leans on the pier, since nothing seems certain after the flood and he doesn't want to be caught without protection from, say, giant sea monsters, and Fjord looks thoughtful as he stares at the creaky galleon docked a-ways off in the moonlight.

He also has a bottle of whiskey, since he couldn't find ale. ]