Post by Jade on Jun 17, 2018 0:33:45 GMT -5
When things were quiet, she liked to go out into the garden on the Porcelain Lady's deck, find a nice spot to sit down or even lay down on the grass, and watch the skies. The blue-haired girl was doing just that, this early morning - they were set to make land on Notice Island shortly, but there was nothing for her to do just yet. The steady vibrations sent through the ship from the paddle wheel, pushing the vessel forward at a remarkable rate despite the weak winds, were calming, as was the gentle warmth of the sun...
Mako stifled a yawn, and then stretched out on the grass, arching her back as she gripped her left arm with her right hand over her head. "Mmmmmmmmmm!""C'mon, didn't you just wake up?"
The feeling of something hard jabbing into her side startled the young woman, sending her rolling across the grass before rising to her knees. From that awkward position, she threw her palms forward, small vents opening up in their centers - an empty threat, given that she was as likely to send herself rocketing off the deck as actually dissuade the assumed attacker. Mako took in the sight of the lanky man, who spun his sheathed blade - the thing he had used to jab her in the ribs - and tossed it onto the nearby bench, shaking his head of rather unruly dark hair all the while. "Oh. Uh. Hi Thomas! Or, um, Mr. Hot Chocolate? Sorry, I should really get used to calling you by your title..."
Thomas grunted and walked ahead to lean against the railing, lighting up a cigarette to let dangle loosely from his lips. He took a short drag from it before responding. "Yeeeeeah, or don't, whatever. It's no skin off my back and whatnot... It's Bianca's stupid naming convention, not mine," he grumbled, dropping to a lower tone of voice as he complained.
Mako bounced up onto her feet and took the few steps needed to join her new employer's so-called secretary, planting her palms on the railing and lifting her feet up off of the deck. "For your information, yes, I did just get up, but c'mon yourself! Who wouldn't want to nap out in the morning sun, right when the day is starting to warm up?" She turned her head to fix Thomas with a massive grin.
He hardly reciprocated, instead turning in order to lean his back against the railing rather than look out to the bright sea. "Good god, I don't know where you get all that energy from this early in the morning..." Thomas shook his head again and sighed, breathing out smoke. "Look, if you're going to be all chipper, go use that energy to make Bianca's tea or something."
"Mm," came her response, and then a shake of the head. "Nah, she yelled at me last time, since I broke a cup. She was pretty mad about that, huh? I think I'll just go and get everyone together so we can make final preparations for landfall." With that, Mako bounded across the deck - weak jets from her heels speeding her up - leaving Thomas to grumble something to himself.Three days later...
The door to her quarters swung wide, slamming into the wall quite unceremoniously. Bianca didn't even bother tearing her eyes from the papers on her desk - it wasn't as if Thomas's rather rude entrances were anything new. The traditional spot for her morning tea was, of course, clear, and so the teacup was set down, filled, and then the teapot itself was set down next to it; even if the newly-dubbed Mr. Hot Chocolate didn't like it, he was getting used to the routine. Bianca set the article she had been pouring over down, throwing a critical eye to the cup she had been presented with. No splatter, which was an improvement over when she had had him begin preparing tea for her, though he could do with some refinement in how full the cup was... But still, improvement was improvement.
"Good morning, Thomas," she said, reaching out to gingerly pick the cup up and raise it to her lips. The man reeked of smoke; whether he just didn't care or if he was so oblivious to the smell that he though she wouldn't notice, the white-haired woman had no idea. "How go the preparations?"
Thomas shifted his gaze across the room, just on the off chance that Bianca had moved a chair into her room since yesterday morning, but, of course, she had not, and so he continued to just lean against the doorway, empty tea tray flat against the side of his leg. "Uh. Well. They're going... Fine? I guess? We restocked on supplies, and we've got some of the workers working on moving those onto the ship, and we did, still, verify that that... Ridiculous pirate guy is in town." The wannabe bounty hunter looked at the white-haired huntress questioningly, as if to attempt to communicate something to her without words - but she had turned her head back to the papers. He coughed once, twice, to try to get her attention again, but to no avail. "... Hey, Bi?"
She tore her eyes from the paper once more, looking back to Thomas. "Yes?"
He rubbed the back of his neck and stood a little straighter. "Look, it's just... We got here a couple of days ago now, yeah? And we identified this, this... 'Bananabeard's' ship shortly after we made land. I guess we're all just wondering... Aren't we going to do something about that? Like, that seems like it's part of the job description, given that we're... Sort of established bounty hunters now?"
Bianca's frown returned as she once again set the paper down, neatly stacking it over another, making sure the edges lined up evenly before bothering with her response. "Of course. Something shall be done about this 'Bananabeard' before we set sail from Notice Island, of course. He and his crew shall not leave this island as free men, I promise you that. But, my dear Mr. Hot Chocolate, I do not intend to so much as lift a finger in that endeavor."