Realistic or Modern Call of the Sea | Closed

[elytra]

Ernesta Aguero was a lot of things, but she was no coward.

That was what she reminded herself as she made her way towards the dock. Now, it wouldn't be entirely untrue to say that she had little experience on boats. In fact, one could go as far as to say she had no experience on boats, having had no reason to set foot on a ship. There were some people of her status that would travel, having parties out at sea even, but her family had never been the sort. She had never been all that interested either, despite her tendencies to go against her families wishes; the salty air and rocking waves had never appealed to her.

They still didn't. She had no personal desire to board such a vessel, but now found herself having to for the sake of her lover. Marcus had gone on a voyage months ago after assuring her he would be back in a few weeks time. At first, she had brushed his reassurances off, seeing as she didn't feel like she needed to be reassured. The journey was one he needed to take and it wasn't exactly her place to stop him. There were plenty of things she could keep herself busy with while he was gone and then, eventually, he would be back and things would revert to how they had been prior. If anything, them having a moment apart was relaxing; she loved him, of course, but she liked having her space as well.

After 6 weeks time, it started to settle in that his trip was taking far longer than it was supposed to.

She spent a few days not worrying about it. Then time dragged on and she inquired with his family, who had no correspondence to speak of from him. They also had no intent to look for him, telling her there was little they could do; either he would come home or he was lost at sea, neither of which would change if they tried to look for him. That had rubbed her the wrong way, a sense of responsibility rising up. If they weren't going to look for him, she reasoned, then the job would fall to her, even with her distaste of the sea.

It took little time to convince herself that going to look for him was the correct course of action. It took even less time to pack her things and march out the door to the horror of her parents and the other members of the household, announcing to them that there wasn't anything they could do to stop her as she went. In fact, the longest part of the process was figuring out how to go about finding a ship, and even that she'd figured out quickly after asking around.

The first few captains she'd spoken to had turned her away. She'd thought money would've worked to gain their favor, but that hadn't been the case; instead, they'd laughed at her, telling her that their ships were no place for a lady like her. One had even told her they didn't want to deal with her inevitably break down when one of her nice dresses got ruined. Another told her that she didn't look like she worked a day in her life and they had little hope she'd start then and there to help around the ship. The latter was more correct than Ernie felt comfortable admitting, so she'd walked away in a huff.

So, she was onto her 5th option. She'd asked around and gotten hold of information about a merchant ship going a similar route to the ship Marcus had boarded. That, she figured, would be the next best bet she had. So she'd marched her way to the ship, who's crew seemed to be bringing supplies onboard, and had interrupted a few to ask the whereabouts of the captain. It took her a bit to locate him, but when she did, she wasted no time going right up to him, trying to muster as much confidence as she could.

"Excuse me? Excuse me." After all the trials she'd been through trying to get passage, she was starting to just forgo pleasantries. "I need passage on your ship. I have plenty of coin to pay for it, and I can stay well out of your way while I'm on board. Truly, you'd be getting nothing but benefits. I have the funds to pad your pockets quite well." Asking politely had gotten her nowhere, so she figured she might as well just go for it. Perhaps the more firm approach would yield better results.

 

[rumblebee.]

Not even the clouds creeping in from a distance had an effect on the captain of the Morning Star. The crew was perfectly on schedule, and though he felt a storm on the horizon he was confident they would make the next port before it was able to cause them any trouble.

Dark strands swirled about Kielan's face as he strode back towards his ship, boots falling heavily upon the wood of the deck. He couldn't keep a smirk from his face after securing a new supplier. He hardly noticed the woman as he made a B-line for his humble schooner---or, at least, he tried very hard not to notice her. Alas, it was clear his attempt was in vain as she stepped in front of him.

I need passage on your ship.

The captain's lips pursed in an uneasy combination of amusement and irritation. He crossed his arms, the wind whipping frayed braids at his narrowed eyes.

I have the funds to pad your pockets quite well.

Now this pulled at a single brow. In truth, he had only been waiting for a moment to decline her request until the fool had mouthed her wealth. Perhaps a swell in his already steep price would go unnoticed.

It took a few long seconds for Kielan to realize silence had finally manifested between them. He waited an extra count, just in case the woman was merely pausing for air.

He offered a slow blink as he drew a breath through his nose. "If you're quite done," he spoke on the exhale, faint inflections betraying his Irish roots. "I tend to expect a little more than coin from casual passengers." Far too many encounters with the misplaced upperclass had expected the crew of his merchant ship to wait hand and foot on their every whim when they simple hadn't the time. His humbling demands turned most away, which he was perfectly alright with. Their measly coin was rarely worth their wails.

"You'll have to find a way to contribute." He gave a cheeky tilt of his head. "If you think you could bear the challenge, miss."

 

[elytra]

Rude.

Rude, rude, rude. That's what the man in front of her was. It wasn't as if she were asking for passage without pay; in fact, she'd offered the implication of plenty of money. Now, he was at the very least seeming open to the idea of having her on board, but that didn't count for much in her eyes at the moment. The other captains, despite rejecting her, had at least done so in a way that wasn't wholly as irritating.

She reminded herself to not let it get to her. He'd likely have some joy come from seeing her distress. It was best to keep a calm face. Professional. This was her current best bet for passage, she wasn't about to waste it because some man had decided to treat her like a stray animal. She took a breath in, then let it out, keeping herself composed.

"I assure you, so long as your requests are reasonable, I have no issue with contributing." Her tone was flat, as no nonsense as she could make it in attempts to get the man to understand she was being serious. "I don't expect to be tortured aboard your ship, sir, but I see no issue being of service while gaining passage. So, yes. I think I could 'bear the challenge', so-to-speak."

Frankly, she would rather have something to do. Even further, it would cause her family to have even more of a conniption to hear she'd helped aboard a ship rather than just boarded it, thus making the idea even more desirable. Now, she didn't want to be scaping barnacles off of the side of the ship, but she would help where it made sense. She fully intended to respect the captain so long as he respected her in return; of course, who knew if he would, but she hoped that would be the case once he got over himself.