10-12-2017, 10:34 PM
It was curious, Jade thought, how the engineers of Le Dauphin had chosen to design the ship’s interior. The carpeted hallways with their hypnotically-patterned rugs were all well and good— as were the golden and glittering lamps, shaped more like a deer’s antlers than a more practical candelabra, the bulbs casting pale yellow light over the walls and Jade’s skin— but really. This was all a bit… well, bizarre!
Out of some desire to preserve the appearance of being ashore rather than thousands of miles out to sea, a small café had been placed within the tallest and widest room of the ship’s interior. The décor around the shop bore some resemblance to the well-travelled Parisian streets one might find in an off-the-wall romantic comedy film. Charming flower boxes and wreathes hung from the nearby façades of streetlamps and signs, a trilling, smooth tune playing over several cleverly hidden audio devices. Colorful window displays and the spicy-sweet smell of pastries wafted from the shop’s open doorway, gleaming black metal furniture arranged outside and surrounded by a cast-iron fence. A pyramid-shaped skylight allowed for light to seep into the room, although it waned and quivered with darkness as the evening grew nearer.
A woman stood at the center of the tall room, right where the prismatic rays of light met and coalesced into a point of fine, pearly brilliance. Clutched in one of her hands was the handle of a bucket; in the other, a plain-colored washrag. She scrubbed at a small section of the floor with a fierce dedication, knees bent to the floor and her lips twisted into a frown, searching almost obsessively for any rogue specks of dirt. It was evident that she wouldn’t be finishing the job of cleaning this area anytime soon, as countless passengers with varying degrees of dirtied feet were constantly coming and going, but Jade admired her perseverance all the same.
Espera sat beside Jade at one of the café's tables, her white robes resplendent in the light and her owlish features still and unblinking. Montes, Jade learned as the three-person ensemble conversed, was the name of the cricket-like fiddler, and seated beside him, seeming like a giant hunched over in one of the café’s tiny iron chairs, was an outwardly human person by the name of Kelvin.
Kelvin was a large man with arms as big around as tree trunks, his shoulder-length dark brown hair standing out against his reddish, clay-colored skin. If Jade recalled correctly, he played the cello— and he was pretty amazing at it, too! When not in use, the instrument was tucked away into a hefty black case that he held under one arm as easily as if it were a swaddled babe. His laughter was loud and boisterous as he listened to something an irritated Montes said, erupting into the most sincere belly laugh Jade had ever had the pleasure of hearing.
He reminded her pleasantly of her grandpa, and she listened to him with wide eyes as he went on about something he had overheard one of the dockworkers saying, something or other having to do with an altercation between a seagull, a fishing line, and someone’s anchovy sandwich. A fine porcelain teacup was pinched between his thumb and forefinger like the leg of a baby bird, the contents sloshing around as he gestured excitedly, miming the flight of the seagull.
When Kelvin had finished his tale, he turned to her, arms resting on the table’s surface as he leaned forward in interest. Jade looked back at him, not a little bit self-conscious. She didn't have anything to worry about. Espera and Montes had migrated to a separate table, taking Rebecca and Bec with them. When Jade glanced over with a subtle flick of her eyes, the trio appeared to be playing a card game, the Little Sister practically bouncing in her seat from excitement while Becquerel was curled up at her feet, snoozing in the fading light. The song playing over the hidden sound system gradually faded, descending briefly into silence before abruptly bursting into a more jazzy, upbeat piece.
“So,” Kelvin boomed, grinning wide, “You’re the girl who’s befriended Espera. She was telling us all about you between songs, couldn’t seem to stop! Jade Harley, isn't it? I was curious to see if she would ever introduce us, though Montes had his doubts about you. Don't worry if he gives you a hard time, he's like that with everyone. What brought you aboard Le Dauphin, if you don’t mind my asking?” He waited for her answer, seeming expectant.
Jade fidgeted despite herself, but returned his smile without an ounce of deceptiveness. It just wasn’t her way. “We’re just roaming, really. I’ve never been to the Vasty Deep before, but I figured it would be a nice change of pace from all the places I’ve already visited! Plus, ‘Becca wanted to see the ocean.”
Which was all technically true! At the time, Jade, Rebecca, and Bec were “just roaming,” seeing as they had absolutely no idea of how to get to where they wanted to go. Nope, it was definitely not a lie.
Anyway.
The man seated across from her nodded with a lot more energy than was strictly necessary, in Jade’s book. It made her a little dizzy just to watch him, eyes struggling to catch up as the top of his head bobbed up and down. “I see! My sister and I were the same way, much like you and yours. Living in Coruscant was stifling, I think I like living on the open sea much better.”
Much like you and yours…? What in the blue blazes was he talking about? The dog-eared girl cocked her head to the side, nose crinkling in deep befuddlement. “Uhm? I don’t have a sister.”
“You don’t?” he asked, seeming surprised and… very, very nervous, the hard set of his jaw and lips now completely frozen. When Jade shook her head, the man’s face hardened like stone, a very unusual look for someone who had been nothing but jovial in her presence thus far. “That… may present a problem for the both of us, to tell you the truth, Miss Harley.”
Uh-oh. She didn’t much like the sound of that. Jade’s hackles rose unbidden, and she noticed Becquerel’s snout twitch in their direction out of her peripheral vision. The wolf-dog had sensed her discomfort. “How do you mean?”
Kelvin sighed, his great, galumphing shoulders rolling forward and making him seem like the whole of the world rested on his back alone. It was both sad and worrying in equal measure. Jade had to almost physically restrain herself before she tried to tackle him into a hug. No one should ever look so sad! But, before she could do anything silly like that, the gigantic man continued to speak.
“I had hoped I would be mistaken, and that little girl over there was kin to you, but since she isn’t… It is very unusual to see a Little Sister outside of Rapture, do you understand? You’ve put me in a bit of a hard place, and...”
Out of some desire to preserve the appearance of being ashore rather than thousands of miles out to sea, a small café had been placed within the tallest and widest room of the ship’s interior. The décor around the shop bore some resemblance to the well-travelled Parisian streets one might find in an off-the-wall romantic comedy film. Charming flower boxes and wreathes hung from the nearby façades of streetlamps and signs, a trilling, smooth tune playing over several cleverly hidden audio devices. Colorful window displays and the spicy-sweet smell of pastries wafted from the shop’s open doorway, gleaming black metal furniture arranged outside and surrounded by a cast-iron fence. A pyramid-shaped skylight allowed for light to seep into the room, although it waned and quivered with darkness as the evening grew nearer.
A woman stood at the center of the tall room, right where the prismatic rays of light met and coalesced into a point of fine, pearly brilliance. Clutched in one of her hands was the handle of a bucket; in the other, a plain-colored washrag. She scrubbed at a small section of the floor with a fierce dedication, knees bent to the floor and her lips twisted into a frown, searching almost obsessively for any rogue specks of dirt. It was evident that she wouldn’t be finishing the job of cleaning this area anytime soon, as countless passengers with varying degrees of dirtied feet were constantly coming and going, but Jade admired her perseverance all the same.
Espera sat beside Jade at one of the café's tables, her white robes resplendent in the light and her owlish features still and unblinking. Montes, Jade learned as the three-person ensemble conversed, was the name of the cricket-like fiddler, and seated beside him, seeming like a giant hunched over in one of the café’s tiny iron chairs, was an outwardly human person by the name of Kelvin.
Kelvin was a large man with arms as big around as tree trunks, his shoulder-length dark brown hair standing out against his reddish, clay-colored skin. If Jade recalled correctly, he played the cello— and he was pretty amazing at it, too! When not in use, the instrument was tucked away into a hefty black case that he held under one arm as easily as if it were a swaddled babe. His laughter was loud and boisterous as he listened to something an irritated Montes said, erupting into the most sincere belly laugh Jade had ever had the pleasure of hearing.
He reminded her pleasantly of her grandpa, and she listened to him with wide eyes as he went on about something he had overheard one of the dockworkers saying, something or other having to do with an altercation between a seagull, a fishing line, and someone’s anchovy sandwich. A fine porcelain teacup was pinched between his thumb and forefinger like the leg of a baby bird, the contents sloshing around as he gestured excitedly, miming the flight of the seagull.
When Kelvin had finished his tale, he turned to her, arms resting on the table’s surface as he leaned forward in interest. Jade looked back at him, not a little bit self-conscious. She didn't have anything to worry about. Espera and Montes had migrated to a separate table, taking Rebecca and Bec with them. When Jade glanced over with a subtle flick of her eyes, the trio appeared to be playing a card game, the Little Sister practically bouncing in her seat from excitement while Becquerel was curled up at her feet, snoozing in the fading light. The song playing over the hidden sound system gradually faded, descending briefly into silence before abruptly bursting into a more jazzy, upbeat piece.
“So,” Kelvin boomed, grinning wide, “You’re the girl who’s befriended Espera. She was telling us all about you between songs, couldn’t seem to stop! Jade Harley, isn't it? I was curious to see if she would ever introduce us, though Montes had his doubts about you. Don't worry if he gives you a hard time, he's like that with everyone. What brought you aboard Le Dauphin, if you don’t mind my asking?” He waited for her answer, seeming expectant.
Jade fidgeted despite herself, but returned his smile without an ounce of deceptiveness. It just wasn’t her way. “We’re just roaming, really. I’ve never been to the Vasty Deep before, but I figured it would be a nice change of pace from all the places I’ve already visited! Plus, ‘Becca wanted to see the ocean.”
Which was all technically true! At the time, Jade, Rebecca, and Bec were “just roaming,” seeing as they had absolutely no idea of how to get to where they wanted to go. Nope, it was definitely not a lie.
Anyway.
The man seated across from her nodded with a lot more energy than was strictly necessary, in Jade’s book. It made her a little dizzy just to watch him, eyes struggling to catch up as the top of his head bobbed up and down. “I see! My sister and I were the same way, much like you and yours. Living in Coruscant was stifling, I think I like living on the open sea much better.”
Much like you and yours…? What in the blue blazes was he talking about? The dog-eared girl cocked her head to the side, nose crinkling in deep befuddlement. “Uhm? I don’t have a sister.”
“You don’t?” he asked, seeming surprised and… very, very nervous, the hard set of his jaw and lips now completely frozen. When Jade shook her head, the man’s face hardened like stone, a very unusual look for someone who had been nothing but jovial in her presence thus far. “That… may present a problem for the both of us, to tell you the truth, Miss Harley.”
Uh-oh. She didn’t much like the sound of that. Jade’s hackles rose unbidden, and she noticed Becquerel’s snout twitch in their direction out of her peripheral vision. The wolf-dog had sensed her discomfort. “How do you mean?”
Kelvin sighed, his great, galumphing shoulders rolling forward and making him seem like the whole of the world rested on his back alone. It was both sad and worrying in equal measure. Jade had to almost physically restrain herself before she tried to tackle him into a hug. No one should ever look so sad! But, before she could do anything silly like that, the gigantic man continued to speak.
“I had hoped I would be mistaken, and that little girl over there was kin to you, but since she isn’t… It is very unusual to see a Little Sister outside of Rapture, do you understand? You’ve put me in a bit of a hard place, and...”
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Gamzee Makara Wrote:S’aight. After all, dogs have a tendency to motherfuckin’ bite.