Blaze of Glory
This small, light ship is one of the fastest in the Temple's fleet,brilliantly decked out with red, orange, and yellow sails. Though itsregistry and side-marks denote it as the 'Glorious Wildfire', it's known asthe 'Blaze of Glory' by all sailors of the air.

The small temple airship with sails the colors of a wildfire cuts swiftly through the cloads, in this hour of twilight. The crew- save for a Savanite lookout, and a Jupani steersman- is belowdecks at mess, leaving the deck free for conversation among the temple-sent contingent.

Envoy leans out over the bow, trying to see the details of one of the sail winches.

Naomi fumbles with her recorder, mumbling, "'B' then 'E', rest, rest, low 'C'… hmmm… "

Chiaroscuro sits near Envoy, watching her with one eye and the fluttering of the sails with the other.

Naomi seems a little less worried as the trip has worn on, though she still won't approach the railing any more. She sits with her back to a mast, making notes in a little book, and occasionally squeaking out a random part of a tune.

Envoy smiles to Chipper, and confides, "I've never been on an airship that flew this fast before."

Mircus wanders across the deck, poking at this and examining that curiously, and occasionally peering over the railing. While appearing much better than previously, he still looks somewhat ill at ease…

Envoy keeps one ear turned to listen to Naomi.

Chiaroscuro nods… "Neither have I, Envoy. I've been speaking with some of the crew… they say it was a custom craft designed by a nobleman, but he was unable to build it with his own funds. So, he offered the designs to the Temple, who built it… and it proved the fastest ship in the Temple's fleet, they say."

Envoy spots Mircus and waves to the mapmaker.

Naomi waves cheerfully at the cartographer as she notices him. "Hullo, Mr. Mircus! Did the niknikberry paste make you feel any better?"

Mircus, peering over the railing at the moment, doesn't notice Envoy waving, and almost fails to hear Naomi. He turns and waves to the other Rath'ani, then walks closer so he won't have to shout, "Yeah, either that, or I just think it did. Still feel a bit woozy, but better… "

Chiaroscuro nods, stepping closer to Mircus. "I do hope you feel better soon. This… " he gestures about with his hand, encompassing the sky, the sails, the ship. "… ought be enjoyed."

"Oh, good! I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to boil them first. Did you know some herbs are poisonous unless you boil the toxins out of them? We had a test on that once." says Naomi brightly.

Mircus starts slightly and notices Chiaroscuro and Envoy, waving to them, too. "Yeah, I guess so, Chipper, sir, but I've never really enjoyed… " *urk* "Um… poisonous?" The young Rath'ani mapmaker looks positively ill…

Envoy looks at Chipper confusedly. "Enjoyed?"

Chiaroscuro turns to Envoy. "Well… you have wings, Envoy… most others do not. To you, I would imagine flying seems normal. To me… " He gets a wistful smile on his face. "It is still so amazing to be here, when the ground is there. To be a step nearer the stars."

Envoy looks up to where the Procession can be seen through the shroud covering the gasbags.

Naomi remains oblivious to Mircus' sudden turn. She begins drawing a small pipe-cleaner through her recorder, shaking her head at Chiaroscuro. "Maybe it's different for you kavis, but I think, if Rath'ani were meant to fly, we'd have been born as Eeees instead."

Envoy says, "You could always strap on a paraglider and leap over the side. We're high enough to give you some nice flight time."

Envoy wonders if they have any bunjee cords onboard…

Mircus sits down fairly hard, beginning to look slightly better at the thought that if those berries were going to kill him they would have already.

Chiaroscuro blinks, and thinks of that for a moment. "I… suppose I could, were those not supposed to be saved for emergencies, Envoy." He hmmms thoughtfully, and smiles. "Perhaps sometime in the future, I might, and we could fly together through the clouds."

Envoy nods, but warns, "Clouds can be pretty cold."

Chiaroscuro grins. "I shall dress warmly then."

Envoy smiles to Naomi, and asks, "How long have you been playing the recorder?"

Naomi toots a few more squeaky notes, looking frustrated. "About six months now," she says, eyeing the cherry-wood instrument ruefully. "I didn't think my true calling would be so tricky!"

"Sometimes, the right path to take is the hardest one, Lady Naomi.", the mongoose says.

Envoy blinks, "Your true calling?"

Mircus perks up and asks curiously, "Really? How'd you know? Your true calling, I mean."

"That's right," chirps Naomi. "I found out that music was what I really wanted partway through my healer's training, when an injured bard played for us in the nurse's infirmary. Grandmama insisted I learn the more 'lucrative' art first… huh, but what does that crabby old blotch-tail know?"

Envoy says, "Healers earn more than Bards?"

Naomi's eyes go distant for a moment, a silly smile on her face. "His playing was so beautiful… and even with a splint on his leg, he was very handsome… " She snaps back to the here and now, and nods at Envoy, stray wisps of head-fur bobbing. "Not usually 'more' more… but healer work tends to be steadier, more predictable. Bards travel a lot, so they don't know when and where their next sheckel will be earned."

Envoy hmms, "I never really thought about my finances much… "

Chiaroscuro says, "I try not to worry about money… but it is why I am here, I cannot deny. Though my curiousity about the Paquebot is also great… "

Envoy says, "Who is your instructor at the Bards Guild, Naomi?"

Naomi shuffles her feet, staring at the deck. "I… uh… no-one," she sighs. "Grandmama wouldn't let me quit the Physician's guild, so I couldn't join them, and the masters won't tutor me."

Mircus pipes up, looking slightly shocked, "That's hardly fair!"

Envoy blinks.

Naomi puffs a wisp of fur off her nose. "No, it's not," she huffs. "But it's always 'listen to to your Grandmother, Naomi,' and 'Grandmama knows best, Naomi'."

Envoy says, "Does she? Know best, I mean?"

Chiaroscuro nods to Naomi… "I had a… similar situation myself… "

Envoy blinks at Chipper now.

Envoy says, "I was just bought by the Bards Guild. I didn't realize getting in was so complicated."

Naomi leans her head on a paw, dejectedly. "She's so old, and everyone thinks she's so wise, she must be. It doesn't feel like she's right to me, though. It's tradition for our family to respect the eldest, though, and I don't think I should mess with that." The Rath'ani raises her head, a bit surprised. "You did, Mr. Chipper? What happened?"

Mircus looks terribly interested in the coversation, "Bought by the Guild? How'd that happen?"

Naomi scratches the back of one of her triangular ears. "Yes, Ms. Envoy, how is this?" she asks curiously. "I can't join the guild because I'm dedicated to the Physicians, but being bought?"

"Well, Lady Naomi," The mongoose says with a easy tone. "I had to chose between training for a… religious role, and one more secular. I felt more drawn towards retcotheric study, rather than work for the church… and it was difficult to make my parents- and others- understand. I held my ground, and in time, they did understand."

Envoy nods, "I'm an Exile. The Bard Vielanika bought my service contract from the Temple."

Naomi nods hopefully, at Chiaroscuro. She giggles a little bit, saying, "Maybe I should get you to meet Grandmama. She's more fearsome than the Venerable Officer!" The girl halts, holding her muzzle for a moment. "But… I, ah… didn't say that."

Mircus nods at Envoy, immediately believing her being an exile; after all, he hasn't seen many winged unicorns around these days.

Chiaroscuro chuckles. "I can only imagine whom one more… tenacious than Lady Nuttenboltschen could be."

Envoy blinks, and wonders if Chipper is talking about her now. She's tenacious…

Mircus tugs at one ear, looking thoughtful, "I don't know, Naomi, but Venerable Officer Nuttenboltschen didn't seem… well… not too bad. She just… " He trails off. "Then again… "

Naomi nods at Mircus. "She's… venerable," says the Rath'ani, grinning.

"So, you're a musician, Ms. Envoy?" asks Naomi, a bit excitedly. "Do you sing?"

Envoy nods, "I sing better than I play."

Naomi clasps her paws together hopefully. "Oh! That's so wonderful! I'd love to hear you perform some time," she chirps, a note of wistfulness in her voice.

Envoy smiles, "I'm sure there'll be plenty of oppourtunity for that… during the day. I don't want to wake up the captain… "

Chiaroscuro smiles. "Envoy does have a lovely voice. And another more lovely.", he says with a wide grin.

Mircus tugs on one ear, head tilted to one side, "Two voices?"

Envoy nods.

Envoy says, "I usually use the second one for mimicking woodwinds."

Naomi nods, sulking. "That nasty old captain… he pounded on the Pawtuxet's and my cabin door, yelling for me to 'stop that caterwauling' or he'd have his crew lash me to the rigging and let me take the rest of the voyage with a Korv's eye view of the deck." She frowns.

Envoy's eyes go wide, "Really?"

Mircus tugs violently at his ear at Envoy's statement, then blinks at Naomi's. "Wow… wonder if he was serious… "

Naomi crosses her arms in front of her apron, snorting. "He's so angry all the time, I wouldn't put it past him!"

Envoy says, "I wonder what he's angry about?"

"Ohh… you can sing and flute at the same time," breathes Naomi, admiration and a hint of envy in her voice. Thoughts of the captain snap her out of her wonderment, and she looks disgusted. "Oh, he's a brute. Brutes are always angry. He probably has some sort of sky-barnacle on his tail."

Chiaroscuro shrugs. "I imagine he is a captain who wants things run very much his way. Such people often grow angry when their plans are interrupted. The crew say he is a good skipper despite his gruffness."

Envoy will have to ask the Savanites about that, just to make sure.

Naomi turns up her nose. "Well, he's positively beastly to me! I won't cross his path if I can help it."

Envoy says, "Perhaps he is just nervous about this mission."

Naomi's eyewhiskers twitch. "I thought the mission was to be fairly routine," she says, shrugging. "No reason for a slope-browed beast like him to be worried at a milk run like this, hmm?"

"I don't think I ever did find out what we were doing," Mircus rambles cheerfully. "When do you think we'll find out?"

Envoy freezes for a moment, then changes the subject by asking Mircus, "I'm sure you've travelled to many interesting places. What made you decide to become a cartographer?"

Mircus scratches at his muzzle, apparently not noticing the hesitation, "I don't really know; it's just something I'm good at, I guess, and it's kinda fun." His eyes unfocus slightly as he thinks…

Chiaroscuro listens to Mircus with renewed interest, joining in Envoy's topic-switch. "It must be a fascinating work."

Naomi tilts her head to one side curiously, but just attributes the abrupt change to some mysterious Exile habit she doesn't know about. "Can we see one of your maps?" asks Naomi, smiling again. "I want to see if you draw little sea serpents in the oceans."

"There are little sea serpents in the ocean?" Envoy asks, glancing towards the railing.

Envoy says, "Do you have special tools? I can't draw well at all. It's difficult for me to visualize things in two dimensions."

Mircus' eyes suddenly refocus. "Hrm? No, they won't let me take any of the maps out of the guild hall; don't want me to mess them up, I guess… Sea serpents? Ahm, nooo, I do a little drawing now and then, but I don't think the guild would appreciate it if… "

Naomi glances at the sky for a moment, idly wondering how much time has passed.

Mircus pauses and blinks at Envoy, "I don't think there are any sea serpents, but then… Well, yeah, it helps to have the right equipment or the map's a bit sloppy… " The Rath'ani appears slightly confused at answering so many questions at once.

Envoy says, "Do you record quantum fluctuations on your maps?"

Mircus looks even more confused. All fidgeting stops, "What's a quantum?"

Envoy blinks, "Well, a discrete packet of information… "

Chiaroscuro stays silent while Envoy explains, or attempts to.

Envoy looks at the young Rath'ani, and decides that trying to explain wave theory will not lead to a closer friendship. "I guess you don't record it on the maps then."

Mircus shakes his head, "Um… Probably not."

Naomi tucks her recorder safely into the pocket of her apron, putting her paws behind her head to recline and watch the sails rustle.

Envoy tries to come up with a non-threatening or non-confusing topic. She looks to Chipper for help.

Chiaroscuro looks out over the ocean a moment. "It's an hour after dusk, now… the captain wanted quiet from here on. Perhaps we ought head to our cabins… " he says in a relaxed tone.

Envoy hmms. She's not tired, but… "I suppose so." Maybe she can talk about the dragon that people say was seen at Freedom Park. But then, the raccoons probably have family on Rephidim…

Naomi stifles a yawn, rubbing one eye with a balled paw. "Maybe that's a good idea… the air is starting to get chilly, and it'll make my tail frizz if I'm not careful."

Envoy says, "Frizzy tails are bad?"

Mircus nods agreeably, "Suppose it couldn't hurt; not a bit tired, but I still need to study those maps more before we get where we're going… "

Chiaroscuro stands up, stretching to a digitigrade stance for a moment, then settling back on his heels.

Naomi spends so much time tending her tail, she'd be pretty mad if it frizzed! "It takes an hour and a half to properly shampoo this thing."

Envoy blinks, and looks at her own tail, with it's lone puff of fur.

Envoy says, "That's longer than it takes me to comb my feathers."

Chiaroscuro's tail swishes behind him. "It only takes me a bit of washing and brushing for mine. But my tail does not have the rings yours does, Lady Naomi; I imagine you must be more carefull or they will fall off."

Mircus grins suddenly (not that he wasn't already), "Kinda like mine?"

Envoy says, "Chipper is lucky. He can wash his own back."

Chiaroscuro looks behind Mircus, and chuckles. "Indeed."

Naomi looks at her tail, then Mircus'. "Why… you're right, Mr. Mircus. That's strange… "

Envoy looks at the two Rath'ani, trying to decide if they are teasing each other or flirting.

"Shall we head belowdecks then, everyone?" Chiaroscuro says, stepping to Envoy's side.

Envoy nods to Chipper.

Mircus breaks off the reply he was about to make to Naomi and scrambles to his feet, "Sure. ."

Naomi yawns, and stands stiffly, working the kinks of of her joints. "A good idea. I think I need a snack anyway. The food on this ship is deplorable."

Chiaroscuro walks belowdecks, staying near to Envoy.

Naomi will have to raid the stash she duffled on board.

Naomi folds up her music notebook, and falls into step, disappearing into the hatch.

After peering around a moment more at the darkening sky, Mircus steps cheerfully, albiet unsteadily, towards the hatch, and his room.