chatime | ✧ — peach iced tea.

[ the mention of protection has him thinking. hmm. ]

… That's an option. Doing contract work in Siracusa. If we really need the money, that'd be it. I just won't let you take any of the jobs on alone.

[ on the safer end, thorns' skillset outside of combat is rather marketable while elysium's skews more niche. he'd stick out like hell. ]

Did you want to try bunkering down in Yan…?

I think we should pick a spot and stay there for just a few weeks and save up, and then from there we can figure out what our actual next move is.

[ the other option is to keep traveling from place to place, but at the moment that will likely just burn up their savings much faster. and thorns does want a cushion for when they may need to get treatment for elysium eventually... ]

[ thorns is so funny. well, it's not like elysium wouldn't be infinitely more pressed if the situation were the other way around. his sense of urgency for himself is so low. ]

… And the first thing you thought of was a farm, huh. You don't actually make a lot from those since most of your pay tends to come in the form of board and food. We'll probably end up having to see what's available in the city.

I still think you're underestimating my capabilities as a writer.

[ … captain valourchin may not sell as well without the actual folk hero existing to back it up. much to think about. ]

[ admittedly the farm is simply nostalgia but he isn't going to admit to that.

he pokes elysium annoyingly though. ]

Write about someone not me.

[ the tales of........ lumen. ]

I can't.

[ solemnly. ]

How can I write about anyone other than my muse? Maybe the plot should be about your tumultuous life into your dream retirement in the countryside.

[ this is so embarrassing. thorns should throw him overboard. ]

No one is going to read that.

[ his life is so boring... this is objectively untrue but it's what he is going to believe.

thorns stands up, stretching. he may as well try to get an idea of what time it is. ]

People like having someone to cheer for. I wouldn't write it unless I thought I'd read it.

[ his life now might not be as dramatic as it was when he was a pirate, but thorns by himself is an inspirational enough of a figure. he brings his knees to his chest and rests his cheek on top, thinking about all the ways thorns has made him want to try harder, be better. because there was someone else doing just the same in parallel. ]

Where are you going?

[ a hand just grips thorns' pants leg. don't trigger his separation anxiety. ]

Just to the door.

[ he needs to sneakily take readings... it sounds like there's been less foot traffic in this area, so people may be going to sleep. they can use that opportunity to explore the cargo hold more. ]

You can come with me.

[ it's like ten feet away but they can go there together. ]

I'm coming with you even if you don't give me permission.

[ ten feet away puts thorns out of reach and that's just not right. by approximation, it is a shorter passage, so if they're going to make out like thieves in the night, this is one of their few opportunities.

still— ]

… Let's try not to draw too much attention to ourselves. The last thing we need is our faces plastered across wanted posters.

At least we can both swim.

[ but okay. thorns reaches over to take elysium's hand before carefully treading out. it's a little odd, being on a ship that isn't his. the sounds are familiar but also not, and if he closes his eyes it can almost feel like he's back on it.

at the very least, he doesn't plan to be away from their hiding spot for long. he can use the corazonix to get readings and then they can go and try to peek at some cargo. the main problem is that if there is absolutely no food down here, they're going to have to go to the kitchen and there's only a specific time frame where that will work as cooks tend to wake up earlier. ]

We'll really be starting from zero if we have to abandon ship and swim.

[ he smacks thorns' head. don't give him an ulcer.

the bright side to well-travelled trade routes and not being out at open sea, there is the benefit of there not being as many defense mechanisms for them to worry about. there are a sprinkling of employees, but they're mostly doing rounds to make sure everything is operating as intended.

not having to worry about other pirates and countries in peacetime hit different… ]

There aren't any cameras, are there?

[ as tempting as it is to peek over thorns' shoulder, he doubts he'll be able to glean much if anything at all. ]

It doesn't seem like it. If there's any, it would likely be where they keep any money, so we'd just have to stay away from there.

[ this ship seems on the older side and doesn't appear as well kept as it could be, so it might just be that they don't want to spend the extra money when they could just have people on guard duty.

but it's easier to avoid people than it is cameras, so they luck out there. ]

... They could take better care of this thing.

[ criticizes their ship care. ]

Oh. That's convenient. We only want a sandwich or two, anyway…

[ they're humble thieves.

except. he contemplates something… ]

Should we throw in a little work as payment for transport and the meal?

[ this is so funny when elysium just stole the hat earlier. his morals pop up in funny ways. ]

What do you suggest?

[ he is not against the idea. ]

[ the sense of urgency had been higher back then. and now they have time to kill… it's different. if elysium has the luxury to do something nice for the other guy he would've done that too. ]

You were just mentioning how they don't take good care of this thing. Is there any small thing you think we can do with what we have?

Well, it'll have to be something that doesn't make noise...

[ the last thing they need is to alert others.

but he will suggest something "what" i do not know enough about ships to confidently suggest a quiet activity to make one better, so you will have to trust me that thorns gives an answer that makes sense. ]

[ me lobbing the hot potato back to you because i don't know shit either.

but with their act of good done: ]

Now we don't have to feel bad if end up eating more than bread.

[ their good and honest work ]

Most people should be asleep, so if we're going to make our move, we should make it now.

Mm.

[ he starts tugging him along. they probably took notice of where they went when they snuck on in the first place, so can just follow the path until they reach the kitchen. no one is here... but they have no idea what the crew's sleep habits are, so they can just hurry. ]

Have you done this before?

On missions…

[ whack how someone so loud is put on covert missions.

he will occasionally put a hand on thorns' shoulder and tug him back when he hears a sound. most often, it's a false positive. it doesn't hurt to be careful. ]

I'm usually a law-abiding citizen. You believe me, don't you?

No.

[ he answers so fucking quickly. ]

... But that's fine. Sometimes you can't be.

[ they are still better than so many rhodes operators. ]

[ he's about to smack thorns' head before he adds the next part, hand suspended mid-air before he drops it down. ]

… Yeah. And sometimes you have to prioritise what's important to you. But that's why you have to make up for it where you can.

[ when the opportunity arises, he'll talk about how great this logistics company is (to stow away on)

but they make it!! to the kitchen!! no one's currently in it so it's completely dark. ]

Think you can make us a light? Turning them on might draw too much attention.

Mmhm.

[ he will do so.

they can search... boats are risky in that thorns is confident that they could overpower the people on the ship if they get caught, but at the end of the day they would still be stuck on the boat. at least with rivers, swimming to shore won't be nearly as difficult than if they were out at sea, but elysium is right that a lot of the belongings they brought with them would get destroyed in the process...

he finds some bread. they should also probably find some non-perishables that are easy to carry. they really are like mice. ]

[ elysium's squaring away bottles of water, mostly. food isn't as much of a concern when yan's land is as abundant as it is, but he will squint and look for things that are higher and denser in calorie count. ]

Mm. I almost forgot, but we should get our story straight before we dock. [ spoken as he quietly rummages through more cupboards. ] If we tell people we're runaway lovers from Iberia, I don't think anyone will ask anything beyond that.

[ iberia being the way it is doesn't make them being armed and adept that much of a surprise, either…

but then he pauses, falls silent, and goes completely still before he moves on and pretend it'd never happened. ]

… Going forward, we'll have to keep in mind that my options for employment are a lot more limited. I might really have to become an author, huh.

[ well, him freezing up is odd, but considering they are currently trying to be very quiet thorns won't think that deeply on it.

but hmmm. ]

I guess it depends on how we expect our travel to go. Are we going to quickly move from place to place, or do we plan to stay somewhere for a couple of weeks or months before moving on?

[ if it's the latter, it'll be easier to pick up an easier job like bartending or working in a shop versus just doing more labor intensive jobs. ]

And that would depend on how many resources Rhodes decides to expend finding us. My guess is not a whole lot.

[ they are just two guys, after all, and it's not like the other group has a specific vendetta against them.

unless…? ]

I've filled my bag. You?

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