Goblin Town -- Logs

Up top, Cinnamon sees Rafe emerge from belowdecks looking positively ecstatic as he treads across the deck. He gets a mischievous look on his face as he slows and walks carefully up behind Jareth, who is occupied with coiling some ropes. Rafe leans in close -- and then, in a voice that carries all the way across the ship, shouts, "Hou!" Cinnamon blinks startledly, jumping at the yell -- then makes a small half-smile. Looks like Thorn's magic worked! She feels a little sorry for poor Jareth, though. Hopefully he won't hurt himself or fall overboard! Indeed, Jareth jumps, falling on his rump and then starting to say something sharply in return -- only to see that the person who just frightened the life out of him -- is Rafe! The young Welsh wolf almost levitates to his feet, throwing his arms around Rafe and laughing joyously. Cinnamon quietly goes back to working on her next language. When the excitement has calmed down a bit she'll shyly try asking Arvid if she could maybe learn some ship's navigation.

Thorn smiles and nods to Arvid, going up topside with the captain -- he's just in time to see Rafe scare the heck out of Jareth. "Oh, what have I done," Thorn murmurs amusedly to Arvid, adding facetiously, "Hopefully he'll use his new powers for good!" But all in all Thorn feels both happy and relieved: he's very, very glad it worked! But also relieved in that he wouldn't want to have gotten anyone's hopes up for an end result of nothing.

Arvid is still grinning and yells across the deck to Rafe, who grins and calls back. The captain turns back to Thorn, "He says he promises to not cause anyone to fall overboard because it's a pain in the ass to retrieve them." He walks with Thorn toward Cinnamon where she's been studying.

Thorn laughs quietly. "I can imagine!" he replies, walking with Arvid towards Cinnamon. He becomes somewhat somber as he approaches, thinking, [Cinnamon will want to know about the fighting that was going on. Basque country is, if I recall correctly, part of her 'territory' -- the lands and peoples she's representing.]

Cinnamon blinks as crew come walking towards her, pushing her glasses up and hoping worriedly that she's not going to be expected to participate in what her father always refers to as 'good-natured roughhousing'... but which usually means she's going to be knocked over at some point and lose her glasses. Arvid smiles at Cinnamon, "How are you doing? Is your stomach better?" He's almost vibrating with the great goodwill he's feeling just now. It's clear that having his packmate and crewmember healed is amazing to him.

Cinnamon nods silently, her eyes still a bit wide as she studies Arvid... then turns to watch the exuberant swathe Rafe is cutting through the joyful crew. After a few heartbeats she looks back at Arvid, her voice soft, "I've been drinking the tea just like instructed, sir."

Arvid smiles and pats her on the shoulder. It's a more gentle pat than Thorn got, perhaps in deference to her seasickness, "Good. I am glad! And your friend has helped Rafe. I will have to write the elders of the band to let them know he was healed. They felt very bad when he was injured."

Thorn says cautiously, "Rafe was... injured in Basque Country." He looks to Arvid, not sure how much of Rafe's story to tell.

Cinnamon had been feeling rather full of herself, she realizes, due to the (relative) success of her research and exposure of the conspiracy on the Council. However, this trip has certainly helped her re-establish her real location on the mental hierarchies of those around them. She gives Arvid a puzzled look, "Band? I thought you were Rafe's pack? The Havvarger, I mean?"

Arvid says, "We are his pack. But he was injured while we were protecting a band of Rom. Their elders will want to know he has been healed." He beams, "You have brought us wonders!" He leans down to hug her instead of another pat.

Cinnamon jumps startledly at the unexpected hug, then confusedly pats Arvid on the shoulder, "Er... thank you? Though... I'm not sure what you mean? Thorn is of Trod of the Elm, not Elgan? Or did you mean something else?"

Arvid crouches in much the same way Fraser did -- it's as if they're aware that they can tend to loom. They are all fairly large men, after all, "Yes, but you are a councilor. You and the bi... the female wolf. This is council business, yes? So you have brought the others with you?"

Cinnamon looks confused, "Er... Josie and I? Yes, and Aisling too... and Jaeger is a retired Councilor -- his son is the current Councilor." She tilts her head slightly and pushes her glasses up again, trying to figure out what Arvid is saying, "Do you mean... oh! Are you wanting us to let the Council know about your ship, for ocean travel? That, for sure! We'd be happy to -- because it really helps all the elves!" She pauses at a sudden thought -- and then her eyes widen a bit, "Oh! Oh, is that why there's no iron on this ship, even though the ancient Norse did use it -- do you have an aelfar werewolf?! How cool!" She grins at Thorn, adding, "Hilde will be so excited to meet them, if so!"

Thorn smiles and nods happily, "I imagine she would be, yes!" Though he becomes serious again, "You may want to ask Arvid or Rafe -- he speaks French too -- about the fight they were in. It was only about twenty-five years ago. It happened just inland of the Bay of Biscay, in the French regions of Basque country."

Cinnamon blinks at Thorn, "Fight? Er... what sort of fight, please?" She frowns thoughtfully, "Twenty-five years... let's see, that'd be pre-Marcus. Maybe Jaeger knows something about it?" Absently gnawing on her lower lip, she adds, "Okay, so... I'm supposed to represent southern Europe, which includes Spain... which includes the Basque country, if I'm remembering correctly. So... is French Basque part of that or not, I wonder?" She thinks for a moment... then grins shyly, "Guess I'll have to ask Jaeger that too!"

Arvid shakes his head, "You mean of the Norse? J�. We have one. But the lack of the iron is because Valkyrie is old and we did used to take the aelfar and the others back and forth." He nod at Thorn's explanation, "He's right. Twenty-five years ago..." He circles back, "It would be good if the council knew we were still here and still safe for the sidhe, I think." He holds up his hand, "Let me put things in order. I do know that you and..." he pauses, digging up the names, "Josie and Aisling are councilors and that Jaeger is a retired councilor. They seem to defer to you, though. As for the injury..."

Cinnamon laughs, shaking her head, "Oh, no, they don't defer to me! I just, um... I figured something out, and I think they appreciated it."

The captain explains to Cinnamon what he explained to Thorn: a battle deep in Basque country twenty five years ago or so -- though he goes into a bit more detail this time. There are, deep back in the forests and on the edges of less populated places, still tensions and occasional skirmishes. The Havvarger had been contacted by a band of Rom that had a history of taking in and even intermarrying with various of the supernatural races. Cinnamon listens with interest -- this is new to her! Thorn adds, when Arvid is done, "I thought this might be of interest to you. I recalled the region you're responsible for includes France."

Cinnamon shakes her head with a smile to Thorn, "No, I have southern Europe -- the poorer countries. That's Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Malta, and Cyprus. It doesn't include France." She wryly adds, "Marcus is polite to the French."

Arvid nods, "That is when Rafe was injured. Some of the trods and bands and other enclaves are still... fractious. Battles like that are rare, though. The people attacking them were... what is the English word? They do not like people that are not like them."

Cinnamon glances over at Arvid, asking curiously, "Were the attackers non-supernaturals?"

Thorn shakes his head, "Sorry, I misspoke. I meant the Spanish part of Basque country. You're right." Cinnamon grins and nods to Thorn, then looks inquiringly back at Arvid.

Jaeger has wandered up at this point; he murmurs wryly, "Marcus admires the French. But what he admires is the memories of Versailles."

He leans against the rail and breathes in the sea air as Arvid replies, "No. Not human. If they were human there would have been guns. They were..." He looks over at Jaeger and says something apologetic in that old Germanic tongue, "They were a band of elves. Very isolated."

Cinnamon frowns consideringly, turning the data over in her mind... then she looks up at Jaeger, "So this was during your tenure as a Councilor, then... did you know about this? Also, is this the sort of thing that Councilors intervene in?"

Jaeger blinks slowly, "Yes, it was. I did not hear of it." He looks troubled as he asks Arvid if he knows what trod they were.

The werewolf captain rumbles, "They were not a trod. They were rogues. Thought themselves outside the council."

Jaeger nods slowly, "If Liam had known, he would have intervened."

Cinnamon looks surprised, "Wait... Liam would have butted in on your, er... terrain?!"

Jaeger says, "I thought this was in Spanish Basque country?" He apologizes, "I overheard only part."

Cinnamon says, "No, apparently it was in French Basque country... though honestly, I thought all of Europe was yours? -and that southern Europe asked Liam to represent them only after Marcus took over for you? which would make that... less than three years ago, right?"

Jaeger nods, frowning as he gets some of the details straight, "Yes. I would have intervened. I was for revelation, but not because someone stumbled upon a bloody battle!" He doesn't say bloody like a curse, just as a descriptor.

Cinnamon looks troubled, "Hmm... Arvid, do you know if those rogue elves are still around, and fighting folks? Because... if they are, then it sounds like, um... like I should go see?" She sighs as she adds, "Though... it's quite possible Marcus will be upset with me if they turn out to be in France... but... well, honestly? I don't want any more supernaturals to die for no good reason!"

Arvid says, "We did not wipe them out. We simply impressed upon them that it is a bad idea to attack those weaker than they are. So they are still around. I am sorry if I have troubled you with this news."

Cinnamon shakes her head, "No, don't be sorry, please? This is... well, it's possibly part of my new job, so I've got to hear stuff that's happening if I'm going to be able to figure out what to do." She sighs thoughtfully, staring up into the rigging for a few moments... then looks at the three men, "This is like the best time to go look, too, isn't it... I'm actually in the area." She sighs a bit wistfully, then squares her shoulders, "Well. I may have to give up on the visit to Wales this time, so I'm not late for the Arizona council meeting in about two months... but I can always come back later!"

Jaeger says, "Or we can send a message to the rest of the council asking for the meeting to be postponed. It would not be the first time. Or to have the meeting cycled to a different enclave this time and Arizona next."

Cinnamon shakes her head a little worriedly, "Um, but... I don't want to draw that much attention to what I'm doing, honestly... since I'm really not sure if I belong in French Basque country! And..." She pauses for a long moment... then looks up at Jaeger, "Actually, you'd know best. Do you think Marcus would be a good peace negotiator? Has he had training in that? 'Cause if he has, totally down with his taking over!"

Jaeger considers, "Then we will have to all think and discuss. You have almost a quarter of the council here on this ship. Marcus has been trained in it. But I would like to find out more." He smiles and says, "For now, we are on a ship at sea with people we do not have to hide from!"

Cinnamon grins at that, "Josie will be thrilled!" Then she nods at Jaeger with a bit of relief, "OK, so Marcus has this one, then. Thanks!" Thorn's brow furrows. One of those sentences included 'Marcus' in close proximity to 'good peace negotiator.' He knows Jaeger just said that Marcus has been so trained, but he can't parse that sentence. Cinnamon too is a bit perplexed at hearing Marcus -- the person who so offended the Greeks that the entirety of southern Europe defected to Liam -- has training in peace negotiations... but she trusts Jaeger's opinion. If he effectively is doing research for his son, then she'll believe he and Marcus all have it well in hand.

Arvid stands and claps his hands once, "Now! We are far enough out at sea that the crew can calm down." He motions around the deck, calling attention to the fact that there's him and three other of the crew on deck: Fraser, Rafe, and Jareth. "We have time to show you the workings of the ship if you want!"

Cinnamon trots off in search of Josie to pass on the good news to her -- she can shift shape if she wants now! She calls over her shoulder, "Be right back! Jo and Spice will want to see this too, I bet!"

Spice and Josie are chatting in the larger of the two 'girl' cabins with Aisling. When Josie is told she can be lupine shape, she beams, excusing herself to the smaller cabin to get her wolf-sized clothes -- and also because she's shy about making the change in front of people. Cinnamon also mentions in quiet awe, "Girls, you will not believe what Thorn has done! Remember Rafe, the silent sailor? He has a twenty-five year old scar... and Thorn healed it! Just like that!" She shakes her head in amazement, "He didn't even look tired or anything when they all came up on deck again!" She's silent for a moment, then adds softly, "It was like... like a miracle in a way, you know? Like... I feel like I don't really even know him any more, in a way."

Josie's voice is soft, "He has his gifts. You have yours. You'll get to know the new Thorn. Remember, when you first met all of us you hadn't turned into a gorgeous 20-foot dragon yet." Cinnamon smiles and shakes her head. This is... qualitatively different, to her, but she doesn't have the words for it yet.

When Josie and Spice arrive back on deck with Cinnamon, the young wolf is wagging like mad and her ears are happily perked. Arvid beams at her and says, "You are lovely! We have not had a..." he pauses, perhaps changing gears, "...a female wolf aboard in more than ten years. We welcome you to our territory!"

Josie is wagging and almost trembling. Those that know her recognize her 'I really want to hug someone, but I don't want to scare of hurt them' body language. Cinnamon giggles as she watches Josie -- she's really happy to see her dear friend so enthusiastic! The sailors on deck are watching with interest, but none of them stop what they're doing. They're keeping a respectful but friendly distance. Cinnamon wishes she knew how to help Josie let the sailors know that a hug would be nice, actually... but then she remembers she's not very good at reading people. If she's wrong, she'd just be making everything horribly awkward! She just watches, therefore, waiting for Arvid to start showing off how the ship works.

Arvid claps his hands again, "Now... is there anything you'd like to see specifically?" He's got the demeanor of a proud parent. Cinnamon glances at everyone else with a smile. Thorn is suddenly acutely aware that they're aboard a ship full of male werewolves, with one female werewolf in the party. He's reasonably confident that none of the men will do anything untoward. And Josie, of course, can take more than enough care of herself. He just has this slightly nagging worry. At Arvid's announcement and question, he looks around, letting himself feel content for the time being. He wants to let other people get a chance at the font of knowledge first.

Spice nudges Josie gently and says, "You know, you can ask if you can hug them." Her voice is very soft and a little affectionately teasing.

Josie looks bashful for a moment -- then asks Arvid, "Are hugs OK? Like... I won't scare people?" Arvid laughs and steps toward Josie, hugging her in answer. She beams and hugs back tight enough to lift the captain off his feet an inch or so. This makes every crewmember currently deck laugh and clap as if it were a good thing. Cinnamon sighs in relief -- thank goodness Spice is here! With a bit of pride, she thinks to herself that Spice has clearly figured out Josie... better than Cinnamon has, fortunately! Sounds like Spice is just what Josie needs.

Arvid motions everyone to follow him and takes them to the bow first. As he goes, he points out various parts of the ship and names them. When they're at the most forward part of the deck he reaches over the rail and pats the figurehead, "On a Norse longship this would have been a dragon. But for us, this is �r��r. Her name means Strength. She is our Valkyrie." The carving is of a woman in a bullet-shaped helmet with golden hair flowing out from beneath it and down along the bowsprit. She is depicted wearing a white robe of some sort and her hands are held together between her breasts in what looks like a position of prayer... except that she's holding a sword. The expression on her face is proud but peaceful.

Cinnamon smiles as she admires the figurehead, murmuring, "She's lovely. Did one of you all carve her?" Then she blinks at a sudden, startling thought, turning to Arvid to ask with surprise, "Wait -- are Valkyries real?!"

Arvid says, "The one that carved her is no longer with us. He died eighty years ago or more." Both Arvid and Jaeger blink in surprise at Cinnamon's startled question -- and then Arvid smiles, "They are. Though there are not many left. Or at least not many that will show themselves. They pass in the world better than many."

Cinnamon ooohs softly at that, her eyes shining, "Oh, wow -- I would so like to meet one! I loved them as a kid!" She laughs a bit self-consciously as she adds, "I was so disappointed in Wagner when I found out that lovely operatic piece didn't have them calling out encouragement in battle to each other, like I'd always imagined! Instead they were... well, gossiping together like... like fishwives at market or something, you know?" She grins shyly, "So I told myself that clearly Wagner must've been afraid of them to belittle them so... and that way I could continue thinking of them as these fair, fierce, beautiful women!"

Thorn grins, "That sounds more like the Valkyries I heard about. Um... not that I know any real ones... I mean, the ones from the Norse my- um, stories." ['Myth' is a very squishy word to use, now that you know at least some of the truth of the world, you know!] he thinks to himself.

Arvid snorts, "Wagner was... racist, sexist, and xenophobic. The music is beautiful, the words are not always so." He motions them to follow him. The captain is obviously proud of the ship and is bragging a little, "We have all the safety equipment they make us have before we can register her. Of course, it is all currently packed very safely away. We have never needed any of it. Not even the engine, though we keep it in good repair." Sometimes what he's saying seems like it's a whole different language, but he explains what each thing is in fairly simple English. He also assures them all that he doesn't expect them to remember this all, "But if I say the word and point it out, next time I say it you will have a small seed of memory to build around!"

Cinnamon wanders around with the group, learning about how the swift, lovely ship works... though she prefers to stay on deck when everyone else goes clambering up into the rigging! When they all return, Spice ebulliently assures Cinnamon that she totally has to try the crows nest once she's feeling better and more steady on her feet! Once everyone has had their curiosity assuaged as to what the crew does, however, Cinnamon shyly asks if perhaps Arvid could maybe show them how he navigates?

They end up at the stern of the ship and Arvid almost bounds up the stairs, calling, "This is the quarter deck! This is where we steer her!" One of the Havvarger they haven't met yet is actually at the wheel. "We navigate in an old-fashioned kind of a way. We do not use GPS -- even though we have one on board. Instead, we do much stellar navigation and knowledge of currents and winds. There are charts below in my cabin of stars and currents, but I do not use them much. None of us do. The youngest of us has been on-board for over a decade."

Cinnamon looks disappointed, though she doesn't say anything -- she'd rather been hoping to learn how to use all those things! She clears her expression politely, though, as she follows along with everyone else. Arvid catches the look and smiles, "I say this is how we navigate, but I can teach you how we do it. I can show you the charts. I even have a sextant and an octant belowdecks! And if you want to learn and maybe help on the voyage, you can use these things!"

Cinnamon brightens at that, "Ooh, really?" Shyly she adds, "It, um... wouldn't be too much trouble?"

Arvid smiles and leans against the aft rail, "Not at all! We do have Scouts and Outward Bound and all those sorts of people on board at times. We know how to teach! We can man the ship and sail her on our own, but extra hands are welcome!"

Cinnamon beams delightedly, "I would love to learn navigation! Er, if you d-don't mind?"

"I don't mind! It would be a joy and an honor!" The captain is still grinning.

The man at the wheel also laughs, "Arvid will be overjoyed to tell you how to navigate and steer her. If he could, I think he would marry her!"

Arvid snorts and says, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Bjarke. Which is funny because it means Bear." It's actually a rather fitting name. The man at the wheel is large in several of the many ways a person can be large. He is at least a couple of inches over six feet, broad through the shoulders, and has a belly despite having what look like quite powerful arms. His blonde hair is bleached nearly white with the sun and his long beard is more gray than red. Cinnamon blinks a bit startledly at the huge man! She finds herself sticking close to Josie -- the werewolf's large bulk is a reassuring shelter in times like these.

The first week is actually rather fun even if the passengers are doing a lot of helping out on the ship. The Havvarger run three watches, with the midwatch running from around 11:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., and with only two of the crew having to stay awake in those long, quiet hours. The arrangement of the watches was such that no one crew member had to stand the midwatch two nights in a row. Fraser turns out to be essentially second in command. He explains that in the navy he'd be first lieutenant and in the merchant marine he'd be first mate, "But what I really am is the one that makes Arvid actually sleep!"

Cinnamon grins shyly, "So like... second mate? Or more like, um... like a wolf pack's beta?"

Fraser shakes his head, "First mate. Second mate would be third-in-command. But yes, beta."

Cinnamon nods sheepishly, "Oh, sorry! M-my mistake."

Arvid spends time teaching Cinnamon older navigation techniques because, he says, GPS may supposedly be the emergency backup -- but a sextant isn't going to stop working because a generator dies! He teaches her to read charts and lets her do some of the steering. Bjarke is more than happy to let her take over steering sometimes during his watch. Cinnamon is initially a little shy of actually steering the ship herself... but consoles herself with the fact that it's not like she can drive the ship off a cliff or crash into a tree or anything! Consequently while she's very nervous... she does make herself at least try! Plus it helps tremendously that Bjarke, Fraser, and Arvid are all very encouraging to Cinnamon. She's quite touched by their obvious kindness to, and patience with, her!

Rafe, who for obvious reasons has taken rather a liking to Thorn, keeps Willem nearby to translate for him as the pair of them teach Thorn about the rigging. Willem actually writes down some of the terms, explaining that mains'l is actually mainsail and foc's'le is actually forecastle. He adds in his lightly accented English, "I think that sailors needed to say things very quickly for safety's sake and so they smooshed the words together." Both Havvarger are fearless in climbing in the rigging, but they fit Thorn with a safety harness -- at least at first. Shane absolutely loves the whole adventure and does much the same thing Thorn does, trying to make himself useful in small ways. Aisling spends her time mostly just taking joy in being on the ocean again. She flirts with the crew but doesn't cause any dissension. Jaeger spends his time talking with various crew and learning the history of the ship.

At one point Fraser is helping Thorn with some of the myriad knots, "This is a bowline. Bloody useful. Makes a fixed loop. This is a sheet bend. It's good for tyin' together two lines of differin' sizes. Or hell, same size when you don't need t' splice 'em. This is a cleat hitch. We use it mostly in port to tie up. This is a square knot... more useful under load than slack. An' this... this is a granny knot. It's th' perfect knot for when y' need somethin' to come untied at the most bloody inconvenient time possible." That makes Thorn laugh!

Cinnamon wanders by and sits down near Fraser and Thorn -- she doesn't want to be in the way, but she'd really like to learn this too! Thorn easily and gladly makes space for Cinnamon, and actually is pleased for her presence; in his experience, things are learned better when learned as a group. Cinnamon is a little nervous that Fraser might be annoyed at her interruption... but when nobody yells or sneers at her, she cautiously tries tying some of the knots herself as well. She's almost glowing with happiness at how easy they are, once she's completed the lot! By the end of the week she realizes she should also start working on the next languages she wants to learn. She's excited when she checks her notes: Melanesian pidgin & Greenlandic next! She'll only be able to speak them, rather than read and write as well, due to a lack of any full or formal courses created on them... but that's better than nothing, she thinks! However, somewhere in the middle of the first week Spice and Josie talk Cinnamon into coming up to the crow's nest with them.

Cinnamon is nervous but excited at Josie's and Spice's encouragement! Further, it occurs to her: even if she falls, it's not like it'll hurt her, right? With that (rather cold, honestly) comfort, she makes her shaky way up the rigging little by little -- and with several slightly panicked almost-freezes! Once she's actually made it up into the crow's nest, though, she almost crows herself with excitement! She's very proud of herself for actually making it and not utterly locking up in place and humiliating herself -- and the view is astounding -- just as her friends promised it would be! Thorn is seriously impressed by Cinnamon's bravery in getting to the ridiculously high crow's nest. He's become rather attached to the safety harness the crew kitted out for him, and isn't really planning to take it off anytime he feels he might get more than an inch above deck. The ship rolls a bit, and up at the top of the mast? It's like being on a gigantic lever!

Josie is positively puppyish in her joy with the whole experience. The crew seem delighted to have a female wolf aboard and there's flirting there, but every bit of it goes directly over Josie's head. Spice, however, notices -- she's more socially-aware than her lupine sweetheart. Jareth, who is the youngest of the Havvarger, is a very sweet young man and it's obvious by the end of the first week that he is quite taken with Josie. He gets frustrated, though, when none of his overtures seem to be making any headway... so he asks Spice -- who he has mistaken for being Josie's best friend rather than her partner -- what he's doing wrong. The conversation happens belowdecks, when Jareth manages to catch Spice there -- he doesn't want Josie to hear because he's doing his best to be smooth and charming and subtle. Spice snorts laughter, "Dude, the first issue is that you have a dick. Is your fuckin' gaydar really that bad?"

Jareth frowns, "Wait... you're saying she's..."

Spice grins, "Gay! She's gay. A big ol' lesbo. A giant, fluffy, adorable dyke." The hacker beams as she adds, "And my girlfriend!" It's actually only been a couple of days that the pair of been using those terms and Josie was positively giddy when she confided in Cinnamon and Aisling about it -- which delighted them all!

Jareth frowns, almost scowling, "I mean, I got nothin' against it, but there ain't so many of us wolf-folk about. Seems like she'd be better off with her own kind, y'know? We need pups!"

Spice blinks slowly, "Nothin' against it, huh? Because it sure as fuck sounds like you're bein' a goddamn homophobic asshole right there. And misogynistic, too! Not everybody with a womb wants to have it occupied, asshole!"

Spice's voice has been going up in volume steadily. Cinnamon was belowdecks herself, doing some of her language studying... but as she starts hearing Spice's upset, her head raises... and then she sets down her laptop and steps out of her cabin. She moves over to stand by Spice, facing Jareth, and smiles a bit uncertainly, "Hi, um... Jareth... Spice? What's going on, please?"

Spice is fuming when Cinnamon sidles up, and she pokes Jareth in the chest, "You're gonna back the fuck off. Get it? You say one fuckin' word to Josie about bein' with 'her own kind' and I will personally kick your bigoted ass!" Jareth actually growls slightly. He's got several inches and at least fifty pounds on the human hacker, but she shows no signs of being intimidated. Spice snorts as she adds to Cinnamon, "This dickwad was just saying Josie oughta turn straight and pop out some puppies!" The young dragon nods slowly, her slightly bemused gaze flicking between the two individuals. She wonders: is Jareth really that... thoughtless? Does he not realize what he's saying here, or did Spice sort of... exaggerate for effect?

Jareth's jaw is clenched and his hands are clutched into fists at his side. The growl has moved down into his throat. What Spice is doing -- perhaps unwittingly -- is reacting in a dominance display sort of way. He manages to grit out between his teeth, "She's. A. Wolf. There aren't a lot of bitches amongst us!"

Cinnamon tilts her head at Jareth's growl -- she doesn't do dominance displays, so that part isn't registering for her. Instead she watches a bit more alertly, since she doesn't want Spice hurt, and says softly, "Jareth, she's not, like... your pet or property or anything, you know?"

The young wolf takes a deep breath and doesn't take his eyes off Spice. It's like he can't take his eyes off Spice, but he's obviously addressing Cinnamon, "I know she's not a pet or property. She's amazing. We need her!" Cinnamon isn't sure how to reply to that -- she quite agrees on all counts! Though for her, it's she and Spice who need Josie. She hesitates, glancing at Spice to see if that worthy wishes to say anything.

Spice is just glowering, "So do we! And she needs us! If she decides to have pups it's gonna fuckin' well be when and if she wants -- and with who she wants!" Cinnamon nods firmly in agreement -- she's on solid ground there!

Jareth, who is young and not quite as fully in control of his abilities, bares his teeth -- and they're not entirely human teeth any more. His growl ratchets up and he tenses as if making ready to push forward. Spice's eyes widen and she shifts her weight backward. It never even started to occur to her that she might physically be in danger. Cinnamon's eyes also widen, "Uh, Jareth? You... really don't want to do this, I think, dude!" She slides forward a bit more -- she wants to be between Spice and Jareth if necessary! Jareth's eyes are starting to change color as well -- from a deep blue to a rich amber almost like Shane's. Cinnamon's shifting motion makes him bare his teeth... and is the shape of his face changing? He's either not hearing or not understanding, because the way he moves is to get around Cinnamon. She doesn't sound certain -- so he figures this is his to solve!

Cinnamon blinks, a sudden determination hitting her -- Spice is her friend, and this boy is not going to harm her! The young dragon is a bit breathless with nerves, but braces herself as much as she can in the narrow passageway as she says, "Jareth? Please... don't do this! I d-don't want to hurt you but... but I'm not going to let you hurt Spice, okay? A-and... um, I'm not, like, a -- a martial artist or a negotiator or -- or whatever... all I have to work with is fire -- and that'd be, like, really messy on a wooden boat, okay? So... s-so please... back off!"

Jareth is quite far into wolf-mind and determined to teach this little upstart where she actually belongs in pack hierarchy... even if she is just a human! But then an important word is said. The Havvarger are two things: wolves... and sailors -- and one thing every single sailor on a wooden ship knows to be careful of... is fire. That word stops him in his tracks -- and then he does indeed back off. He backs off several steps, in fact, his wide and pupil-blown eyes fixed on Cinnamon. Then he puts his hands over his face and growls -- but this time it sounds like a human growl of frustration. Cinnamon sighs in relief -- though she doesn't move from her current position. She just waits to make sure Jareth is back to human... and she whispers over her shoulder, "Spice? You're ok, yeah?" She doesn't take her wary gaze off Jareth as she does so, however.

Spice (who has just now realized she might actually have been in danger) is a little quieter than normal as she says -- almost whispers, "Yeah... yeah, I'm good."

Cinnamon nods in relief, reaching back one hand to pat lightly on whatever part of Spice she can reach. Jareth raises his head, and when he does he's back to the pleasant looking young man they first met, so she says cautiously, "Are you... okay now, dude?"

Jareth is panting a little, but he nods. His facial expression is a little set and his voice is hoarse, "I should... go topside. Need some air..."

Cinnamon nods quietly, her gaze still wary, "Sounds good. We... may come up in a bit too." She'll wait for him to leave first. Jareth keeps his eyes downcast as he scoots past the two women and then swarms up the ship's ladder. Cinnamon sighs gustily, relaxing as his feet disappear from sight... then turns to Spice and gives her an impulsive hug, "Oh my gosh, Spice, don't scare me like that!"

Spice hugs Cinnamon back tightly enough to almost hurt as she gasps quickly and breathily, "HolyfuckIthoughthewasgonnaeatme!"

Cinnamon laughs shakily and doesn't break the hug until Spice feels ready to -- heck, Cinnamon was a bit scared herself! She doesn't know anything about pack hierarchies, so she also doesn't realize this was just a dominance display. Instead she says softly, "So... do we mention this to... who, Fraser, maybe? I mean... wow, I wasn't sure he was gonna stop either!"

Spice is panting a little, but getting it under control minute by minute, "Yeah. Fraser. Him before Arvid, I think. He's the... gah... what's the goddamn word... bos'un?"

Cinnamon shakes her head, "Not sure, but I do think he's the second in command, you know?" She strokes Spice's back, adding with quiet fierceness, "Jareth may be nice most of the time, but he does not get to threaten us!"

Spice hugs again and takes some deep, shaky breaths, "I keep forgettin' I'm human. Besides Thorn, I'm the only one -- and he's got magic."

Cinnamon smiles with unwitting sweetness as she replies, "You've got us... me and Josie. That counts, surely?"

Spice grins and laughs, less shaky this time, "It does, yeah. When you're there. Fuck. Shit. Fuck! I'm so glad you came down..." She's starting toward the ladder as well.

Cinnamon follows behind her friend, beaming shyly to herself -- she matters! Spice was glad she was there! She replies almost absently, "Oh, I was in my cabin. I heard your voice rising and thought I'd see what was going on -- you don't tend to get angry without reason, after all!"

Spice snorts, "Yeah, I do sometimes." She grins over her shoulder at Cinnamon, "I've just been on my best behavior." The tone of her voice says she teasing. Cinnamon laughs, scrambling up the ladder after her friend. She's still feeling inordinately happy -- she has friends! They really like her! Once she's on deck, Spice takes a deep breath. Cinnamon glances around once she too is on deck, checking out where both Jareth and Fraser might be.

Jareth is nowhere to be easily seen, but Fraser is just coming down from the mains'l, calling up into the rigging that he'll be back with the patch in a few minutes. Cinnamon murmurs softly to Spice, "There's Fraser. Want to talk to him now? Want me there for, like, verification?"

Spice smiles crookedly, "Yeah. Now would be good..."

Cinnamon nods and pats Spice's arm reassuringly, "I'll stay, then... and you let me know what you want, ok?"

Spice nods and waves to Fraser, calling over, "Hey, dude! Can I get a word with ya?"

Fraser catches the wave and the call and comes trotting over. Like the rest of the Havvarger, he moves easily aboard ship... just as if it wasn't heaving and rocking under his feet, "Aye, of course, lass. What's up?"

Spice takes a deep breath, then says, "Jareth and I just had an argument about Josie..." Cinnamon nods to Fraser in agreement with Spice's words, a worried expression on her face.

Fraser's brows go up and he looks around to see if he can spot either Jareth or Josie. When he can't, he brings his attention back, "Oh, aye?" He looks at the two women, "I'm guessin' this wasn' jist a little bit o' glowerin'... what happened?" He's starting to look moderately thunderous.

Spice takes a breath and describes the argument with a lot less profanity. She gets to the point of, "Then he started to growl and his eyes changed..."

Cinnamon adds with a bit of embarrassment, "I, um... I... sort of told him to back off or... or I'd have to use fire... I'm sorry! It was all I c-could think of...? But he... he was trying to get past me to Spice, and... well, I couldn't let that happen!"

Fraser goes from moderately thunderous to positively glowering, but his voice is calm and quiet, "He was trying to get to Spice... you mean as in he was movin' to attack the lass?" He rolls his eyes heavenward and sighs, then looks back at Cinnamon, "M'lady, I believe you'd only use fire under duress, but thankee for tellin' me about it."

Cinnamon thinks for a moment, then says carefully, "He... looked like he wanted to sidle past me towards her, yes? And he... his, um... jaw? It... looked really odd, like he was... like his teeth were changing first... I think?" She glances at Spice, then looks back at Fraser and adds with quiet firmness, "Also, we are really sorry there aren't very many wolf girls, okay? But... but I really hope you guys all realize: you cannot decide for Josie who she's going to love or have puppies with! Okay?"

Fraser grinds his teeth and says something rather short, sharp, and (if Cinnamon remembers what little Scots Gaelic she's picked up) extremely profane. Then he raises his voice and bellows, "Bjarke! Find me Arvid and Jareth, please!" He tips his head upward and bellows again, "The patch's delayed!"

Cinnamon winces at the bellowing, then says in a small voice, "I... I'm really sorry? I mean... we didn't mean to delay the patch...? B-but... but Spice's safety is really important to me... and to her and Josie too!"

Fraser snorts, "It's a hole in a sail. They happen regularly. It can wait." He takes a deep breath and says more calmly, "Lady, I am truly sorry this happened." He looks to Spice and says, "Especially since Jareth is apparently too noseblind to smell what you and Josie mean to one another."

Cinnamon sighs in relief, "Oh, good -- you get it!" She smiles at Spice, adding, "There! Are we good, or is there more we need to check on or do? I want to be sure you're comfy, after all!"

Spice takes Cinnamon's hand, "Please stay."

Cinnamon beams shyly again, giving Spice another impulsive hug, "Of course! As long as you need, Spice!" Spice hugs back and then squeezes Cinnamon's hand.

It's not too long before both Arvid and Jareth are there. Arvid is looking puzzled. Jareth is looking like he'd have his tail between his legs were he in wolf form. Fraser waits until both of the other Havvarger are with him before he snaps at Jareth, "Please tell me you weren't so bloody fucking idiotic as to make a dominance display with a human? And a passenger? Over the human's mate?"

Jareth's head is down, his shoulders hunched. Arvid blinks slowly and his voice is chilly, "What is this now?"

For once, Spice is a little speechless and seems to be having issues getting her words out. Cinnamon blinks, looking puzzled -- what's a dominance display? She continues holding Spice's hand, though. Being a bright girl, she pieces it together as she watches: Jareth must have been trying to... to dominate Spice? And he wants Josie, so... so maybe with wolves, whoever is, er, 'top dog' gets to win the girl... or... something like that? The young dragon finds herself feeling a bit indignant -- what a horrible way for the wolves to act towards their women! No wonder there aren't many female wolves, if this is the way they're treated!

Jareth mutters, "It got out of hand. Lost m'temper..."

Now it's Arvid who speaks, "You are a good man, Jareth, but sometimes you are still very much a pup. She is not a wolf! And not of our pack. Were you trying to challenge her for Josie?" Jareth nods shamefacedly; Arvid sighs, "Belowdecks. You're confined to quarters for the next two days when you aren't standing watch." Jareth hesitates -- and the normally laconic Arvid snaps, "Now!" Jareth almost scuttles off! He passes Josie as he goes, and she gives him a puzzled glance as she comes over to find out what her friend and her girlfriend are talking so seriously about.

Cinnamon smiles at Josie -- there's something about the happy young wolf girl that just always cheers Cinnamon up! She releases Spice's hand so they can hug, too... then turns to the two sailors and says earnestly, "Gentlemen, thank you so much for taking this seriously! Spice is very important to us both."

Arvid closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Fraser sees things are being resolved, so he politely takes his leave to go after the patch for the sail, giving a smile and wave of acknowledgement as he does so. By the time Josie is with them the captain is opening his eyes again, "Ladies, I apologize on behalf of my packmate. I don't know where he gets his ideas. In my world it's the woman that chooses the man."

Cinnamon thinks about that seriously for a moment... then says slowly, "I think he... didn't immediately realize Josie wasn't interested in men? So when he found out... maybe... maybe it was disappointment that made him react that way?" She sighs, adding, "But... I don't really know, captain. I'm sorry; I'm just guessing here."

Josie looks confused, "That's how it works in my tribe, too. The men dress up pretty and try to impress the women." Cinnamon has known Josie long enough to know that when she says 'tribe' she also means 'pack.' The young wolf shifter oofs and then giggles as Spice throws herself into Josie's arms for a hug. Josie has been in her bipedal wolf form ever since they discovered the true nature of the Havvarger. Cinnamon's words make her blink, "Wait... what? What about me not liking men?" Spice tugs Josie downwards so she can explain quietly. That makes Josie's eyes widen and her ears go red, "I mean... yeah... I kinda want pups, but not for years!"

Cinnamon giggles, patting Josie's arm companionably as she smiles up at Arvid, "Thank you again, sir. We... weren't sure... quite how to handle it, you know?"

Arvid nods, "What he has done is a serious breach of not only pack law but hospitality. I will be having a long talk with him." He smiles wryly, "Were this a century or two ago he would be given a much harsher punishment." Wryly he adds, "Slap his nose. Figuratively or literally. The threat you made was not malicious and was to remind him that he was threatening one of your pack. Thank you for not biting him in half."

Cinnamon thinks about that for a moment too... then glances over at Spice as she says to Arvid, "I can't-" She cuts off with a blink, then gives a startled laugh, "Slap...?! Uhh... okay?" She grins bemusedly as she adds, "I, um, wouldn't do that? I'm too big in dragon form for downstairs, and I d-don't want to k-kill anyone! That, uhh -- that's why I said all I had was fire!"

Arvid smiles wryly again, "And I appreciate you not breathing fire on Valkyrie. There are still places we use tar. We would be a tinderbox." He sighs and shakes his head, "Forgive my pack, ladies?"

Cinnamon smiles with genuine warmth up at Arvid, "Of course. I think Jareth was just... over-excited and young? I, um, totally get what that's like, honestly... and you and Fraser were both real straightforward about handling it, so... I'm good, and thank you!" She glances at Josie and Spice, tilting her head inquiringly, "How are you two?"

Arvid nods, "Yes. Very young. In our terms, anyway."

Josie is still looking stunned and blushing, "I mean... I'm... confused, but I'm OK?"

Spice nods as well, "Hell, I can't blame him. She's fuckin' hot."

That makes Arvid laugh and nod, "Then I will leave you to it."

Cinnamon laughs as well! She waves, still grinning as Arvid departs, then giggles as she looks at Spice and Josie, "I think that's my cue too -- to leave you two to it!" She laughs again, not quite skipping off and wondering idly where Shane is!

Thorn, for his part, isn't privy to what's going on seeing as he's high in the stunts'll rigging and hanging on for dear life, while Willem and Rafe are walking on the footropes like some sort of brine-born mountain goats. Rafe and Willem are both quite fine with Thorn having the safety harness, in fact! At one point Willem says, "In an actual navy, they'd make us wear shoes up here."

As he clings on for dear life, Thorn gasps, "Do actual navies still have square-rigged sailing ships?!"

Willem grins and translates for Rafe, since he speaks so little English. Both Havvarger laugh, and Willem says, "Not that they use for actual battle. I think most navies that have them use them for ceremonial purposes."

Thorn's grip tightens as the ship rolls slightly to starboard, before gently rolling back to true. Of course, that slight move is exaggerated because he's at the top of a very long lever arm. Still, as nerve-wracking as it is (and he starts to see how navy boys got all their crazy lingo from) he admits that there's something exhilarating about it. Rafe grins at the expressions on Thorn's face as the changes happen. He calls something in French and laughs -- and Willem again translates, "He says we'll make a sailor of you yet!" From down on the deck there's a sharp whistle; Willem adds, "Our signal to get our feet on the deck."

Thorn nods to Willem and Rafe, "Thanks, guys. I'll, see you down on the gr- uh, deck!" He starts to make his way across the spar to the ropes that -- eventually -- lead down to the ship's deck. He's confident that the two men will beat him down by a comfortable margin! Both of the sailors do indeed make it to the deck well ahead of Thorn. They meet Arvid on the ground and he speaks seriously with them. Rafe and Willem both look shocked, and Rafe scowls before taking his leave. Willem waits for Thorn on deck. Thorn's sneaker-clad feet touch the deck sometime well after Rafe and Arvid leave. He glances back at where the two men went off to. "Is it all right to ask what happened?" he asks.

Willem sighs and nods, "It is. Jareth was an Arschloch to the little one with the big jacket over her mate. He's been confined to quarters. He'll be standing watch, though, so at least no one has to do his work for him. I'd smack him myself if that happened."

It takes Thorn a few moments to sort through the idioms, and he wonders if this is more naval lingo and what it could mean. Then he finally understands it. "Uh, you mean Spice?" he asks. "What did he- er, actually, I don't need to know right now." He'd want to hear it from the others, anyway. "Will confining him to quarters help? I mean, we're kind of on a boat -- ship! -on a ship, I mean, in the middle of the ocean. That... doesn't seem a good place for someone to be an ass. How do you normally handle situations like that?"

Willem mms and rubs the back of his neck, "It depends on just how much of ein Esel the person has been. Confining to quarters is hard for us -- we're all wolves, in our ways -- separation from pack. If it were a more... if it were something that ended up with actual damage or injury, there might be corporal punishment. We've not had to put anyone to the lash in years."

Thorn stares at Willem for a moment, "Wait. Okay, I get how confinement to quarters can be hard. But... you're serious. Corporal punishment? I...." He rubs his mouth. "I... don't really know what to make of that. But I guess since you're all doing this for love of the sea, docking someone their pay isn't really much of a threat. Yikes... things seemed a lot simpler in the Army." He gains, ever so slightly, a bit more respect for maritime folk. This is the sort of thing that must keep captains awake at nights.

Willem smiles wryly, "By years, I probably actually mean decades. Not since Jareth's been aboard, I know that... and possibly not since Alfred." Alfred is the other dark-skinned man of the Havvarger. Willem adds, "Our previous captain was a good warrior, but he was also a hard alpha."

"What... happened to him?" Thorn asks. Visions of the Caine mutiny, marooning, and keel-hauling (whatever the hell that is, and he doesn't want to know) go through his head.

Willem sighs, "A bad storm happened to him. There are times in a bad gale that you can't keep up with everyone. It was night -- deep night -- and only the electric torches. We used them then because the Valkyrie was pitching about so badly and the oil lanterns could have caused a fire even with the downpour." He gets a faraway look in his eyes, "We lost him and we lost Solveig."

Thorn grimaces. "I'm sorry," he says quietly. "That sounds like it was a horrible night."

Willem nods, "It was." His face is serious, "Sometimes we still grieve." He takes a deep breath, then adds, "But come, let us get some food in you. That was what we were called down for."

Thorn mms and nods, "Thank you; that sounds perfect -- and also thank you and Rafe for the lessons."

Willem grins, "I like teaching. I like when they bring the children! Now, come! Food!"

The two days during which Jareth is confined to quarters have a little more solemnity than usual to them... but only a little. He is on deck to do his watch, but he is confined to quarters for meals and any free time he might have had. The rest of the Havvarger go about their duties and seem simply thrilled to have people on-board from whom they don't have to hide themselves. As the crew becomes familiar and comfortable, the passengers get to see some of the playfulness between them, and they try to pull the passengers into the play. The passengers are all given completely free run of the ship -- something Fraser says is fairly rare, since the Havvarger need to have some privacy from normal humans. For instance, the passengers are allowed to see the small brig. Arvid says, "We do not use it for punishment, though it was originally built for that. We use it to keep us safe from human passengers and them from us."

Jaeger tends to smile and watch this with almost paternal affection, while Aisling is simply gleeful at being able to move about the whole ship with very little chance of running into anything iron. Shane, like Thorn and Veles, is learning how the ship works. Arvid is more than happy to teach Cinnamon anything she wants about navigation on the ship. Cinnamon excitedly learns all the nifty things she can from Arvid -- as long as he's interested, so is she! The star charts, the old and curling oceanic maps with the tiny islands and the almost decorative longitude and latitude lines, the sextant and octant -- all the ancient, intricate, cleverly designed tools fascinate her utterly!

When Arvid is busy, Cinnamon happily patters around the ship exploring and talking to folks. She tries out her French on Rafe -- and blushes with delight when he compliments her on her accent! She gladly spends time chatting with Bjarke, the steersman (or steerswolf?), as he double-checks and sometimes corrects her navigation experiments. Once Jareth is free again, she shyly asks him if he'd like to talk with her about Wales... and as the full moon approaches, she excitedly wonders to Josie, "So how different are the various subspecies of werewolves, Josie? Do you know?"

Josie beams and wags, "They're very different sometimes! Some of them don't have an in-between form like me. They really are wolves or human-seeming. Some of them lose any ability to think like a human when they are wolves. Some are dangerous when they change."

Cinnamon blinks, her eyes widening, "Oh, my! Should we... I mean, do we need to, um... tuck ourselves away or something?"

Josie tips her head, "They tuck themselves away. That's why they kept the cage."

"Oh... ok, I see." Cinnamon feels unaccountably sorry for those wolves, in that case! "Um... do the poor things have to stay in the cage all night? Or can they come out once they've changed?"

Josie considers, "We can ask, I think. I mean... I think they have company down there?"

"Oh, good point -- they're a pack, right!" Cinnamon grins shyly, "I admit I was, um... kind of hoping to at least see most of them... maybe even talk to some of them?"

Josie grins and wags, "Oh, they'll be happy to let you see them! They like you! They're acting like we're all part of their pack now. Fraser thinks you're awesome!" She giggles.

Cinnamon starts to beam happily -- but then blinks startledly, "Me? Fraser? Huh! I wonder why!" She tilts her head thoughtfully, remembering both Fraser and Arvid calling her 'lady' during that incident with Jareth -- that had been startlingly nice! But... had she really done anything awesome? Though... "Huh! I guess he's really pleased we weren't really annoyed with Jareth... maybe?" She adds a bit worriedly, "He's been on good behavior around you and Spice since then, right? Jareth, I mean?"

Josie grins, "Jareth made a very heart-felt apology and then said that he would be honored if I ever wanted to have puppies with him. He's funny."

Cinnamon laughs, giving Josie an impulsive hug, "Oh, that's cute! Well, good -- I'm so glad that worked out okay!" She looks forward to the full moon, in that case -- she's quite curious as to how all the different wolves will look!

It's maybe a day or so after Thorn's miraculous restoration of Rafe's voice, and Cinnamon is looking for someplace... quiet, secluded. After some consideration, she packs her laptop into her backpack and with slow determination climbs up the rigging to the crow's nest. She can be private here. She can think here.

Cinnamon spends a little time staring out over the ocean, wondering quietly to herself: why is she so... disturbed by Thorn's healing Rafe? She lets her mind wander as she rocks easily with Valkyrie's motion, safe within the crow's nest, and silently drinks in the beauty of the vast ocean surrounding the scudding ship. Below her people walk back and forth on the deck, talking or calling to each other... there's the creak of the rigging, the wind-snap of the sails, the rolling groan of the ship's wooden structure... but aside from the brisk, insistent breeze there's no one else up here with Cinnamon.

Or not physically, at least. Cinnamon's mind pulls up a relevant memory... her father yelling in exasperation at her yet again for her not being able to perform some "simple" physical exercise which her athletic younger sister was able to do easily. He'd berated her for her fatness, disgustedly adding that it was like she didn't even care how awful she looked... then snapping that he couldn't do it for her! If he could, he absolutely would so as to not have to bear the shame of such an embarrassingly obese daughter -- but unfortunately she had to do the exercising herself... and he was sure she didn't have the guts to do so.

The child Mary had had nightmares that night of her father somehow being able to actually change her -- to mold her very body into something that wasn't really her -- so that he wasn't embarrassed to be seen with her any longer. The adult Cinnamon shudders slightly at that memory, remembering the acutely felt, visceral horror of that nightmare -- of being helplessly altered, made alien to oneself due to someone else's desires. That, she realizes, is what disturbs her so about Thorn's action. It wasn't non-consensual (thank goodness!), but after 25 years... Rafe had been voiceless for pretty much the entirety of Cinnamon's life! That injury was no longer an injury -- it was a part of the man's very body. What happened wasn't healing. It was body modification.

Cinnamon makes herself consider carefully -- is that actually correct? Technically both she and Josie are altering their bodies too, aren't they? Hmm... no, it's actually not really the same... unfortunately. She'd be less squicked if it was, after all. But what she and Josie have is two different physical forms which they can access at their choosing. Neither of them are imposing their will on someone else's body -- nor can they change flesh (theirs or someone else's) into whatever their imagination might come up with.

Thinking about it, Cinnamon shudders again at another realization. Even more disturbing than the body alteration was how easy it had apparently been for Thorn! She'd seen him after that explosive Council meeting. He'd healed one or two folks and been panting, sweating, exhausted... really worn out! This time, though... he had looked fresh as a daisy -- completely unaffected by having physically altered someone else's body! That, in its own way, makes Thorn even scarier to Cinnamon. If it's this easy for him now, how will he react if he's frightened? If in fear for his life... would he cripple someone? That thought terrifies Cinnamon -- she's only just now getting used to being a dragon! What if Thorn decides for some reason to steal that ability away from her -- or Josie, or anyone else? Cinnamon's pretty sure he wouldn't thoughtlessly do that now... but how will this new ability change who and what he is? Will he end up creating chimeras or monsters on a whim? On someone else's whim? How good a person is Athala anyway? Or... wow. True, the fickle elf has Thorn completely under her thumb right now... but does she even know what she's created?! Cinnamon sighs worriedly, rubbing her forehead, and hopes Athala's never foolish enough to break Thorn's heart -- the elf might not like the results!

Uuuugh! Cinnamon mutters under her breath in exasperation -- thinking of Athala reminds her of Jaeger, which reminds her of how he and Aisling effectively completely ignored her when they first boarded the Valkyrie. Cinnamon had glanced repeatedly at them to try and figure out if they wanted her, as the youngest/newest councilor, to do the honors. That, after all, is what she figures is the case with Marcus -- it's the only reason she can figure that Marcus, rather than some more ancient, canny, and/or eloquent councilor, is the 'face' for the reveal faction. Thank goodness Cinnamon didn't humiliate herself in front of Jaeger by assuming the French Basque were hers to represent. She sighs ruefully again; at least Jaeger had been polite in his dismissal of her thoughtless offer to butt in on his turf. Just as well he'll be handling it with his son, she supposes.

On the other hand, Cinnamon has seen situations where the 'big bosses' ignored the new person -- and it always meant they (the new persons) were in deep doodoo! What's so frustrating to Cinnamon now, in this situation, is: what did she do that so offended the two ancient elves?! How does she find that out? Cinnamon leans her chin on her clasped hands, resting them on the railing around the crow's nest, and frowns unhappily. She really needs to find out as quickly and subtly as she can, so she can fix whatever her faux pas is -- leaving that sort of thing hanging tends to lead to one getting fired, after all! The question is how. She sighs gustily, remembering Aisling telling her once that she-Cinnamon could always ask Aisling anything she wanted to. So... was Aisling just being nice? Or did she mean it?

Cinnamon muses about that, feeling faintly grumpy. Why are people so darned difficult to understand? Why don't they just talk plainly?! That's one of the things she likes the most about Shane, in fact -- he says what he really means! A faint smile crosses the young dragon's lips as she thinks about Shane for a bit... but then she sighs and yanks her thoughts back to the issue at hand -- gotta focus!

That's when the idea occurs to her: maybe Aisling did mean it -- maybe that's why Shane likes her so much? Cinnamon considers that for a bit in slow-growing excitement -- it would sure make things so much easier if so! After a few minutes she hesitantly decides... she's going to do it! She will try carefully and cautiously asking Aisling about this issue. If the sidhe seems to be becoming offended, Cinnamon will back right off and not assume just any question was okay... but if Aisling is willing to answer, that'd sure make things a ton easier for Cinnamon to fix!

Well, ok then! Maybe this will turn out okay. She's just got to do her best to tidy up whatever mess she's made, learn from the process, and move on, right? After all, both Jaeger and Aisling each have more life experience than Cinnamon can even imagine... and then there's Shane -- Cinnamon grins ruefully to herself -- who is utterly unique. Thorn is... is... Cinnamon shudders in visceral horror again, then hastily moves on with her thoughts: Josie is a real sweetheart about it, but she's also quite obviously just better at being a shifter than Cinnamon is. Lucky thing -- Josie got to grow up knowing who and what she was! Heck, Cinnamon suspects Josie actually loves her family too. A bit enviously the young dragon wonders what it'd be like to be supported and loved by your family... then wishes fervently (for neither the first nor the last time) that Liam was still alive -- so he could train her to be a 'proper' dragon.

After a moment of dreaming self reflection Cinnamon sighs and shakes her head briskly. Not gonna happen! Might as well not whine about it any more. And hey -- at least she's not alone any more! She's going to do her best to protect her family (hey, she did good with Spice! That's a positive!), and to be a good friend to Josie and Shane, like they've been to her (another positive!). She's going to keep learning about the people she's supposedly representing... and past that, she's just going to keep on trying her best -- even if she is surrounded by some really amazing and unique folks that will be hard to live up to! Trying her best is what worked while Cinnamon was growing up -- and it's what's worked in her job, too. She may have to work a bit harder now, but she doesn't doubt it'll eventually all come out well. With determination she mutters to herself, "If I have to, I will make it come out good, darnit!"

A second later Cinnamon smiles faintly, shaking her head at her fun/silly little melodramatics, then settles down cross-legged in the crow's nest and pulls out her laptop. Ooh, another positive: she's legitimately good at learning languages! Time to learn another tongue of those she represents -- so that even if her accent makes them want to giggle, the people will at least know she's doing her best to communicate clearly with them in order to present their desires in Council. She smiles faintly again as she glances up at the beautifully clear blue sky... then pushes all her current distractions and anxieties out of her mind. She can try talking to Aisling later! For now she quietly and happily loses herself in the intriguing intricacies of language.

That night, as Cinnamon is preparing for bed in her little shared cabin with Aisling, the young dragon remembers her decision to simply ask -- albeit cautiously -- Aisling as to why the elders appear unhappy with Cinnamon. Admittedly, remembering her intention isn't as easy as actually doing it, though! Cinnamon dithers nervously on how to ask... as she uses the shared restroom to wash up and brush her teeth, then returns to the cabin and changes into her jammies... and waits for Aisling to come to the cabin for bed as well. Cinnamon has pretty much talked herself into doing so -- she's just not sure how at this point!

Aisling is humming to herself as she gets back to the cabin. She's proven to be completely un-body-shy; she starts getting out of her daytime clothes to put on her nightdress. She's been wearing practical trousers and shoes and tunic-like tops on board. "I swear, if Shane didn't love Coblyn as much as he does, he'd be a sailor."

Cinnamon giggles startledly at that, jarred out of her tension, "He- wh-what? A sailor? Shane? Why do you say that?" She blinks, then adds in an equally intrigued tone, "Why does he love Coblyn so much? Do you know?"

Aisling folds her clothes away and starts getting into her nightdress. It's a simple chemise, so it's not a complicated process. She laughs again and settles on the edge of her bunk, "I'm honestly not sure... except that he feels useful there."

Cinnamon blinks interestedly as she sits up on one elbow in the bed, and pushes up her glasses, "Useful is good, sure -- but can't he be useful at all the enclaves where the Councilors meet?" She adds with quiet pleasure, "I get that, actually -- I like feeling useful!"

Aisling gets out her brush -- a very old wooden one with gold inlay -- and starts to brush her shining mane of hair, "But he has friends on Coblyn. Elias. Me. Josie. Hilde. Others you haven't met. Shane knows a lot of people."

Cinnamon thinks about that for a moment... then asks curiously, "He didn't feel useful at the trod, then? Your trod, I mean: Rowan? What made him choose Coblyn? Do you know?"

Aisling continues brushing her hair, looking almost dreamy as she does, "I was going back. Poor lamb... he got to help me with being so sick because of the plane, and he was such a sweetheart about it... and we got to the street and he simply fell in love." She pauses with a wry smile, adding, "And we didn't want him and Quinn too close together."

Cinnamon looks confused, "Wha... wait, who's the poor lamb?" Being used to thinking of Shane as almost supernaturally effective, as Cinnamon currently does, means that she has trouble considering the young man to be poor anything!

Aisling smiles, "Shane. Shane is the poor lamb. He's a dearheart -- and he was maybe nineteen when he had to be my guardian on a transatlantic flight."

Cinnamon sits up abruptly at a sudden, horrible thought, "He... he fell in love?! Er... w-with the street, you mean, r-right?" She considers for a moment, realizing that even if Shane did fall in love with a person back then... they certainly appear to be out of the picture now! A bit sadly she adds, "Or... do you mean someone broke his heart?"

Aisling smiles, eyes twinkling at Cinnamon's startlement. She's got a good idea how things stand, but she's far too tactful to actually tease Cinnamon about it before Cinnamon herself has said something, "With the street. As far as I know, Shane has had bedmates but not lovers. At least I've never seen him seem to have a particular interest in anyone that went beyond a friendly romp."

Cinnamon nods at that, settling back down into bed with a vague sense of relief... which, she realizes, makes perfect sense -- who'd want to wish heartbreak on a good friend! She smiles uncertainly at Aisling as she adds, "So... Shane was a poor lamb, as in he had to take care of you?" She thinks about that, then grins with more confidence, "If that's what you meant, my guess is that he didn't mind it at all, actually? That he was glad he could help, in fact? I mean, that's how I'd feel, at least?"

Aisling smiles, "Yes. He had to deal with a very sick, very cranky beansidhe... and he had to do it internationally. So: customs, a busy airport, trying to keep anything steel or iron from touching me..." Her eyes are still twinkling a little, "I did try to make it up to him. He stayed with me a few days before he got his own place and got his feet under him."

Cinnamon nods slowly as she remembers her earlier intention. She hesitates nervously, absently biting her lip as she guardedly studies Aisling for a few moments... then takes a deep breath and decides to take the plunge! Before she can chicken out she hastily gabbles, "So! Uh, Aisling, uh... did you, er, d-did you really mean it? Er... I m-mean, d-did you, uh, is it, is... umm..." She sighs ruefully at herself -- could she possibly sound more like a gibbering idiot?! and blurts out in one hasty breath, "So like, canIreallyaskyouanything?!" Unfortunately Cinnamon isn't really aware of her true and growing feelings for Shane... and so it also does not occur to her that her timing has unwittingly made it sound like she intends to ask something about Shane's feelings!

Aisling continues brushing her hair as Cinnamon works up to asking whatever it is she wants to ask. The sidhe is still quietly humming to herself and smiling, "Of course, Cinnamon. Anything." She wonders if it's another question about Shane.

Cinnamon sighs in relief -- so far, so good! So! Now to ask... um... to ask... oh dear god how does she say this?! The young dragon gnaws worriedly on her lower lip again, her gaze unwittingly nervously averted from Aisling, "So, um... yeah. So! Like... Marcus? He's, like- no, wait, that's not what's really important, is it. OK. So, um... elders! They're... like bosses, right? S-so, uh, when bosses like, um, ignore you? That's... a really bad sign -- that I've seen, at least, you know? And so, uh... so, either it gets fixed or, more commonly, the, er, person gets fired, right? So, uhm..." She sighs gustily, glancing nervously at Aisling as her words all run together, "I really like it here and don't wanna get fired so please tell me what I did so I can fix it please?!"

Aisling stops in her brushing. This was not the question she was expecting -- not now and not ever. Her brows go up as she says, "Ignore? Who's been ignoring you? Did wrong? Cinnamon, you've got me a little bewildered here."

Cinnamon tries not to wince or hunch up her shoulders defensively -- she knows that tended to piss off her parents and make bullies just push harder, after all. She fidgets with the edge of her blanket and studies her fingers assiduously as she tensely replies, "W-well... y-you and Jaeger? I mean, I, um, thought you both were really pleased with the ship idea, right? B-but when we were on board -- w-when Arvid was t-talking to us about what the crew is -- I, um, I k-kept glancing at you both to see if you wanted me t-to do the honors, right? But... but neither of you looked back -- not even to shake your head no! -and, um, I... w-well, I sort of assumed that's what I was supposed to do, you know? Like Marcus does for the reveal faction, since he's the youngest and newest?"

She glances nervously at Aisling for a heartbeat, then away again as she adds, "That, er... th-that was the only thing that m-made sense to me, right? -that the youngest and newest was the 'face' instead of the older and stronger and wiser folks? Er, I m-mean... the only thing that explained it? Umm... if... if that makes sense?"

Aisling smiles in understanding, "Marcus speaks for the reveal faction because Aoi tends to not want to talk to people she considers herself to be above and Marcus is speaking to the whole room. Plus, he's very pretty and -- when he's not being an ass -- actually rather charming. When Jaeger was on the council he often spoke for the reveal faction... because people like him. As to why I didn't shake my head no or give you instructions... is because you've proven yourself quite capable of taking the lead."

Cinnamon blinks startledly at Aisling -- then frowns thoughtfully as she considers the sidhe's words carefully. Finally she says slowly, "So... so Marcus talks for the reveal faction mostly because... because he's in the chair of the man who usually talked for them? It's more like, just... habit that the person there speak for them?" She absently adds, "Yeah, he really is pretty. It's a shame he's so aware of it."

Aisling's eyes twinkle at Cinnamon's comment about Marcus, "No. It wasn't habit, exactly. When Jaeger left, any of the others could have. But Aoi doesn't like speaking to the masses. Neither did Qadan. Jalil is just reserved by nature. Nasteexo was asked but they demurred, and no one on either side wanted Killa speaking for everyone."

Cinnamon nods slowly as she listens -- that actually makes perfect sense! She can't help grinning as she asks almost mischievously, "From Aoi's reaction to me... guess I qualify as the bourgeoisie, then, for her!" She giggles, adding, "'Cause she sure doesn't seem to like talking to me!" She sighs in huge relief, feeling as if some unaccountable weight has been removed from her shoulders... then hastily checks, "Um, is that -- I mean, do you think Jaeger feels the same as you? About, uh... me, I mean? "

Aisling watches Cinnamon's face clear up and the sidhe's amber-yellow eyes twinkle a little, "Well... in your case, I understand you met under circumstances where she didn't know who you are -- and then you were revealed, and now she's miffed there was something she didn't know."

Cinnamon looks intrigued, "She's... oh! She's someone who doesn't like not being in the know? She likes being a... um, like a... a secrets know-it-all?" She adds honestly, "Because I was totally wowed at how gorgeous she was when we first met -- and I even said so! So... it's not like I was rude or anything... but yeah, I didn't say who I really was."

Aisling nods and smiles, "She's a deity and royalty and likes to be the one that knows all the secrets. From what I understand, you met her while we were still trying to keep your nature secret."

Cinnamon nods in agreement! Thoughtfully she adds, "Well, maybe... maybe the flowers and the card will help a little...?" Then she grins hopefully at Aisling, "So, um... could you maybe... speculate on Jaeger's thoughts perhaps being like yours? About me, I mean?" She considers, then slowly adds, "And... so, as long as I'm being polite... does that mean it's okay to, uh, like... take the lead? Sometimes?"

Aisling smiles, "Yes. Jaeger feels the same about you. We've discussed it. He's actually a bit pleased that there's so much young blood on the council."

Cinnamon sighs in relief again, almost hugging herself as she says in very heartfelt tones, "Oh, thank you, Aisling! I really, really, really appreciate your talking to me!"

Aisling finishes a last few strokes of her brush and starts to plait her hair for the night, still smiling, "As I said: ask me anything. If I don't want to answer, I'll be polite."

Cinnamon sighs happily as she snuggles down under the blanket, "I will, and thank you again!" Her small smile is shy as she adds, "Though I, um... hopefully w-won't have to work up my courage quite so much next time... if there is a next time!" She laughs a bit nervously as she takes off her glasses and sets them carefully aside, "I've, um... never had fo- er, friends like you all before! It's... kind of wonderful and new to get used to, you know?" Cinnamon's smile gets sleepy as she relaxes and quietly adds, "Good night, Aisling, and thank you again... for being you..."

Aisling smiles back as she nestles into the bed. She finds sailing to be soothing and has been sleeping like a rock. "I think Shane was right. Your family didn't see you right. So you've got another now." Cinnamon blinks a bit muzzily at that, wondering how someone can see wrong... it's not like her parents needed to wear glasses or anything, after all! She's more delighted, however, at the reminder of her lovely, beloved family of choice... and it's on that small happiness that she drifts off to sleep.

Two nights before the moon will go completely full, the crew bring up tables that they fasten to the deck, along with chairs that do the same. Fraser explains that when they can, they have a dinner together on this night because at least two of them sometimes cannot. Cinnamon tilts her head thoughtfully, then checks with Fraser, "Won't the two be able to eat with us anyway, though, since we're all either supernatural or in the know, sir? I mean... it'd be mean to leave them out deliberately, I'd think, when we don't really have to?" She asks cautiously... since she knows Fraser is one of those two wolves.

Fraser smiles almost sadly, "It depends. Some months I am absolutely fine. Other months, I can be hard to handle. I didn't choose this... and the person that chose it for me meant for me to be a monster and outcast."

Cinnamon is silent for a moment as she stares at Fraser with a bit of shock... but then she rallies, her voice almost fierce, "Wha- bu- oh! Oh, that's horrible! Well then, we -- we j-just have to make sure they're wrong! Right?!" She frowns as she thinks furiously fast, "Okay, so... so what makes a month good or bad, please?" This, she figures, is a situation where maybe her strength and toughness could be put to really good use! If there's a need for it, at least?

Fraser shakes his head and shrugs with a wry chuckle, "We can never tell until it happens. We'll know tomorrow night. I won't be alone. Rafe stays with me. He has to change too, and the rest... they come and visit me if I have to stay below."

Cinnamon nods firmly, "Well, then! Unless you ask me not to, I'm going to come say hi too, ok?"

Fraser grins, "I'd be honored, lady. I think any of you that want to, can come down. The bars would make it safe." He motions at the table, "But come eat with us first." Cinnamon nods happily! She patters off after Fraser, looking for some way she can be useful -- setting the table or carrying food or something. Thorn too helps out where he can, and when he isn't getting underfoot. All the Havvarger are happy for any of the passengers who want to help with the dinner. They asked about dietary preferences and seemed quite pleased to find out that no one aboard was a vegetarian. Alfred had admitted that he wasn't very good at vegetarian dishes, so it was always nice when everyone was an omnivore, if not actually a carnivore.

When the dinner begins the Havvarger have ranged themselves along the table in such a way that they are mingled with the passengers. Rafe and Willem have Thorn between them. Jareth has put himself between Shane and Aisling. Bjarke is with Josie and Spice, and so on. Arvid is at the head of the table and has asked Cinnamon to sit at his right. Fraser is at the foot of the table with Alfred to one side. The last Havvarger sits on Arvid's left. He has been quite good at not being where any of the passengers are and he fidgets a bit when he looks around, shifting to be a little closer to the captain. Arvid introduces him as Thomas; the man looks like he could be in his fifties, except that he has very young-seeming eyes. "He's been with us longer than anyone else but me," Arvid says, taking Thomas' hand and giving it a gentle squeeze as he adds, "He is shy."

Cinnamon smiles at Thomas, "Hi! I'm Cinnamon... and sometimes I'm shy too, so I get it." She's a bit surprised at being seated in such a place of honor -- but also determined to hopefully show well, so no one's embarrassed by her! Thomas smiles and nods, ducking his head slightly. Cinnamon turns her attention away from Thomas after that -- she hates it so much when people stare at her like she's an oddity, so she's certainly not going to do it to anyone else! Instead she beams as she watches the food being brought out. She'd been happy to help Alfred with the food, so she finds it rather nice to know that she participated in the creation of the feast! It's a very warm, homey feeling.

The moon that is drifting along above the ship looks almost completely full. It takes concentration to see the very bare sliver that's missing. Cinnamon is a bit surprised to see the full moon -- and also realize that Fraser and Rafe are still human. Interesting! Maybe... maybe it only happens once the sun is down? Arvid catches the look and smiles, "True full is in two nights. Rafe and Fraser will change for three days: the day before the full, the full, and the day after. On the day of the full we will all change. It is not always that we can do this."

Cinnamon nods with interest, her eyes bright, "OK! That's cool. Is there anything in particular you'd like us to do during that time?" She hesitates, then adds slowly, "Also, um, if... if it's a bad month for Fraser? I... would like to go visit him, please?" She grins shyly as she adds, "I told him I would, you know?"

Arvid looks down the table to where Fraser is leaning over with a grin to say something to Thorn. The captain nods, "He would like that. He may even know you, though he cannot speak."

Cinnamon nods happily, pushing her glasses up, "OK!" She thinks for a moment, then quietly asks, "So I take it curses aren't removable?"

Arvid smiles, "Some are. Some aren't. Some can be removed -- but it would be so hard as to be nearly impossible. Fraser's was set with very exacting rules. The situation to cure it only happens every few hundred years. We are yet at least two hundred and fifty away."

Cinnamon nods thoughtfully, musing aloud, "I imagine it's quite a mixed blessing for him too, right? After all, he has a pack now." She smiles at Arvid as she adds, "Thank you."

Arvid smiles and looks down the table at his packmate, "He does. And he says that the curse is sometimes a blessing to him. He found us. He says we were his salvation."

What Fraser was saying to Thorn at that point was, "Rafe and Willem tell me that we will have made a sailor out of a soldier by the end of this voyage!"

Thorn laughs, sounding humorously unsettled. "They did, yes," he admits. "And they probably will! If I can get the hang of all the terms, at least. You definitely do things differently from the army -- you kind of have to -- but everything, everything! has its own name."

Fraser grins at Thorn; even this far out from full moon there's a bit of thickening of his beard and hair. "Well, it has to. Precision is important when the storms come up and you don't have two minutes to try to tell someone which rope or which sheet by describing its position. Better to have one word for each thing."

Thorn nods, "Mmph... you're right, of course. That makes a lot of sense. Well... even if I don't get the hang of the jargon I promise not to make fun of the navy or merchant mariners for their dictionary!"

Fraser grins, "At least not where they can hear you!"

Willem grins, "And we will make sure no one makes fun of the Army." Thorn laughs as well at that!

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Last modified: 2019-Jun-12 19:53:32

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