Fantasy The Open Seas (with TheDarkButterfly)

[Shy2Infinity]

She carefully turned her attention back to the pirate in question. The sea and sky were as blue as could be, without any trace of a storm. She should have felt relieved but as someone that made the ocean her home, she was well aware how fast the tides could change. And then, abruptly, her stomach rumbled almost as if in answer to Alfred's question. Her face warmed and she gave a sheepish chuckle. "I suppose I am."

Though Caleb had the exact opposite reaction. His stomach abruptly dropped at the mention of food and his arms tightened around his knees. Even though he knew that food was really important, he was half tempted to argue against it. He hadn't eaten anything that entire morning, much less a snack and even though the thought of food made him feel queasy, he knew he'd regret it later. "I guess I'd rather have something light, at least..." Even in the midst of his illness, he still found it odd how quickly the air changed as soon as the captain went to rest. It was almost eerie...

He was still ticked about what Patrick said, concerning Irissa. He wondered how he'd been able to contain himself at all.

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

Alfred couldn't help a chuckle at the two of them and their different reactions to his offer of food. "Right. We'll get you something. Gavin!" He called for one of the crew on deck and the sandy-haired young man lifted his head from his mending. "Aye, sir?" The freckled boy answered. "Go down and bring our guests something to eat, lad. Make it light." Gavin nodded and quickly set aside his mending, quickly disappearing below deck.

"It won't be anything you're too used to, I'm sure. You'll have to get used to it though, I'm afraid. No much in the way of fresh food that lasts long on a ship." He shrugged slightly. "I hope you guys are ok with most everything being pickled after we're out of the fresh stuff. Not much of a choice at this point." He chuckled again. "We'll live off that until we get to our first stop to restock. We'll be able to get off and stretch a little too. The ship can get a bit cramped after a while."

 

[Shy2Infinity]

Turning to gaze curiously at the young man that Alfred pointed out, Irissa considered him. Not exactly a boy, but not too old either. His features spoke of a lack of experience on the open seas. He was likely new here. Or, well, newer than many of the crew members. Her brows furrowed as she considered something very seriously. Whatever she was considering must have been something she disagreed with, as she quickly shook her head at it. "It's fine," she waved her hand dismissively. "We've dealt with far worse," though she hesitated as she glanced over to see how Caleb was faring.

Which left Caleb to pay more attention to Alfred's words. He wished he could tell Alfred to not talk so much about food, but what choice did he have? Placing one hand on the rail beside him, he shoved himself up and almost paid the price, as the world wobbled around him. A hand curled around his stomach as he took deep breaths in through his nose. "Maybe I should just throw myself over board right now," he couldn't help groaning.

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

"That'd be a long way down, lad." Alfred answered him, not unkindly. "If you want, we could end it quick for you and then send you over." It was clear that he was just messing with Caleb a little, maybe taking small revenge for the irritations he had caused to the captain earlier. "If you're not keen on that one, I'm sure we could find a nice big fish to feed you to." He winked at him playfully. "Use you as bait and get some fresh meat out of it."

Gavin quickly returned with two portions of fruit and dried meat for the two guests. He handed Irrisa's portion to her, smiling shyly at her before heading over to Caleb and offering him his portion as well. Once this was done he skittered back to his work, offering Irrissa another shy smile as he passed her. Alfred stifled a grin at the clearly already crushing lad. He just hoped he would be let down gently when the time came.

 

[Shy2Infinity]

Caleb couldn't help shooting him a bitter look in return. "Cannibals'," he huffed in irritation as he leaned against the rail behind him, staunchly refusing to give the ocean even so much as a passing glance. He wasn't actually considering throwing himself over board, but heavens wasn't it tempting right that moment? He continued to sulk up until Gavin strode back up with their portions of food.

That was when he noticed Irissa smiling politely at the boy... That in itself wasn't worrying, but something behind the politeness as she thanked Gavin chilled him. And the longer he stared at her, the more he was certain of his thoughts. He was determined to have a chat with her later. For the mean time though, he decided to try and eat. Taking small bites, chewing and testing his stomach. Though his stomach roiled in displeasure, he was able to keep it all down.

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

"Nah, the cannibals are further south." Alfred retorted quickly. "Don't have to worry about them." He offered a playful smile at them both. "If we do run into them, we'll do you the service of killing you first." It was unclear if he was only half-joking or not. "Anyways, try not to get yourself too worked up. You'll feel a bit better if you can keep that food down."

He shaded his eyes against the sun before making a slight adjustment to the wheel. "I'm afraid there's not too much for you two to do to keep yourselves occupied. If you want, I'm sure I could convince Pat to let you help out with some things on the ship. It would help the time pass a bit quicker if you're willing to learn." The biggest hurdle would be getting Patrick to agree to let them learn, but Alfred wasn't too concerned. Once Patrick got his sleep, he'd be a lot more relaxed and open to their guests.

 

[Shy2Infinity]

"You're the cannibals as far as I'm concerned," Caleb retorted right back, crossing his arms stubbornly. He never did want to feel like he was losing an argument, but when Alfred next spoke, his frown intensified. He tried to figure out if the pirate was telling the truth. It was more difficult than he thought. He didn't know this pirate, didn't really know what kinds of jokes he liked to make. That in mind, he decided against answering and bit into his food.

Irissa watched the two as she ate, more than a little amused... At least, until Alfred came out with his proposition. Her eyes abruptly widened and she nodded rapidly. "That sounds great!" She bit her lip, and tried to reel in her mounting excitement. "Er, I mean... Boredom is a slow killer when stuck on a ship, right?" Besides, she'd felt weird if she didn't do anything, even if she was a guest. Then she sought out Caleb, seeing that he was stubbornly not looking at them. "Besides, it might help your seasickness."

That got his attention. "Hm?" His eyes landed on them and then he shrugged, "Maybe. If you say so."

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

"It'll be easy stuff, so don't worry. Mending and such. We won't ask you to do anything dangerous, of course. Definitely nothing in the rigging either. That'd really set off your seasickness." He looked Caleb up and down. The last thing they needed was him breaking his neck falling out of the rigging because he got dizzy. No, they would leave that to Patrick and the others who were not afraid of climbing to such heights. "We won't ask you to fight either. Unless it's some mythical creature coming from the depths." He laughed at that. "But I wouldn't worry about that!" The gods and goddesses help them if they ever did encounter something like that.

 

[Shy2Infinity]

And that was that.

Caleb grunted an answer at Alfred and settled down once more below his line of sight. There was little he could do when his Sea Sickness was as bad as it was, except not be a nuisance. Which he wasn't doing too good a job of. Then there was Irissa, turning away from them and gazing out of the crystal clear seas. Whenever she stared out on the waters, her worries practically melted away. But even so, there was always that constant thought wriggling in the back of her mind. Something that begged to be noticed. She wanted to ignore, to forget the worries for just a while longer.

It seemed like they didn't have anything to worry about, with the sunny weather. And there wasn't another boat for miles to be seen. The skies were also devoid of birds. The deck was full of light hearted chatter. The wind pulled and teased at their clothes and hair, relentlessly. Some time passed like that, with good natured babble.

She wasn't sure when, exactly, she noticed it. She continued to gaze dutifully over the ocean when she noticed something slipping underneath the water. A huge black shape swam towards the ship at great speeds. She must have been mesmerized because though her mouth fell open, not a single sound escaped. That was like no fish she'd ever seen. "Um, Alfred?!" Her eyes widened as the shape disappeared right before the ship.

"What is it?" Caleb frowned at her, puzzled.

She hesitated, not quite sure if she was willing to admit anything 'less they think she was seeing things. With one hand resting on the railing, she gazed out over the sea again. "I - I thought I saw--"

All so suddenly, something rammed into the side of the ship and she fell to one knee.

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

Alfred grunted at the impact as he and the crew onboard lurched. It went dead silent for a moment and all eyes shot to the first mate. "There's nothing but open waters, what the hell could we have hit?" He mumbled to himself, eyes darting to the man perched in the rigging as his name was called. "There was nothing indicating that there was a shoal, sir!"

It was then that Patrick emerged from the depths of the ship, a murderous aura surrounding him. Not only was he roughly thrown from his bed with the impact, but the blow had slightly damaged the ship, sending the crew below deck scrambling to repair the small leaks it had caused. The crew above went dead silent again as Patrick strode past them, barely containing his fury. "Would someone like to tell me why the hell my ship is damaged?" He growled as his eyes locked on Alfred. Any others would have flinched under the hot glare, but Alfred stood his ground. "We don't know."

 

[Shy2Infinity]

Whatever had hit the ship, it vibrated through her whole being. Her fingers bit into the wood of the rail and she hauled herself up. That massive shape that she'd seen before, where was it?! Her searching eyes roamed among the water but try as she might, there was nothing that she could see. The waters were violently disturbed though, smacking against the side of the ship angrily. Even Patrick showed up with all the force of a harsh storm, she ignored him in favor of glancing over the ship into the seemingly blank waters below.

Caleb was glad that he had managed to keep his lunch down. His hands were clammy as he started to haul himself to his feet. From the way the others were glancing about in complete and utter confusion, they had no idea what was going on. And he had a bad feeling about this. The like that cautioned him to be prepared to face a much bigger predator. Besides, now that he was forcing himself to stare into the ocean... He could see there wasn't a single thing to hit for miles. So what--?

It happened again, much more violently than the first time and he stumbled back from the rail. As he was struggling to get his bearings, something rose from the waters. Angry and twisted. It was huge, larger than the ship itself. Its tentacles were numerous and when its mouth opened, a furious half-squawk half-scream met their ears.

This thing... Was a Kraken.

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

All the men aboard the ship froze as the great thing lifted itself from the sea, faces as white as the sails. The anger left Patrick as swiftly as it had come as he uttered three simple words. "Gods help us." It took the roar of the beast to snap him out of it. "Prepare for battle!" He bellowed and the crew scrambled to obey. 'It's better to fight and die than not fight and die anyway' Patrick thought grimly as he drew his pistol. It wouldn't do much, but it might help somewhere. "Don't let it damage the masts! We're sitting ducks if it takes them down! Prepare cannons below and fire when you have a clean shot!" More of the crew lept to obey his orders, diving below deck to pass on the commands and rouse the men in the depths of the ship.

Alfred abandoned the wheel after securely locking it, dashing to grab his rifle. It had more strength than his pistol and it was better than a blade at the moment. He stood firmly beside his captain and friend, cocking the weapon and firmly resting it against his shoulder. A part of him was regretting his comments to their young guests. "Caleb, Irrissa." He didn't take his eyes off the beast as he addressed them. "It might be best if you go below. You may get hurt up here."

 

[Shy2Infinity]

Admittedly, she was mesmerized by the kraken as it loomed above them. This thing was the source of many sailors fears made manifest, with pure destructive power. Rumors said that this thing was the reason behind many capsized ships and lost lives. It was powerful, destructive, and she'd never seen anything like it. And she wondered if... Patrick's roar snapped her out of whatever daze she found herself in and her wide eyes found the captain with his first mate.

She startled as Alfred addressed them and hesitated, biting against the instinctive words that longed to escape her lips, "We can be useful!" Could they be, though? While she had some experience on the seas, she didn't have enough of an experience for combat. And Caleb... Well, he was still fighting his sea sickness. They were both useless in a fight for the time being. Still... She nodded and hurried below deck with Caleb on her heels.

Though he slowed as he passed them, "Be careful. Don't aim to kill it, aim to get it to leave you alone." No matter someone's combat prowess, it was practically impossible to fell a kraken. He hurried below deck with Irissa, still cradling his stomach. As Irissa continued ahead of him, he sucked in a sharp breath. "Did that thing really come out of no where?"

She froze in place. Slowly, she turned to face him, crossing her arms tightly against her chest. She had a worried expression. "I didn't sense anything. I think we legit just stumbled across that kraken's territory."


The kraken gave another roar. Its leathery skin glistened dully beneath the noon sun. Beady eyes peered out at them, transparent lids closing over them as its alien eyes flickered across the crewmates. Four tentacles rose up out of the waters, and who knew how many others lurked just beneath the surface. Finally, it struck. With the force of a large hammer, two tentacles slammed down into the surface of the ship and pressed sharply down. Before long, the sound of wood splintering echoed out.

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

There was a loud crack of a pistol in response to the splintering wood. Cold rage gleamed brightly in Patrick's eyes, smoke trickling from the barrel of his gun. His shot landed in the flesh of one of the tentacles. Alfred also took aim, calmly sighting down the rifle and firing a shot at the body of the beast. The rest of the crew also began taking shots or braving the destruction to hack and slash at the fleshy appendages with their blades. A roar of a cannon below them rattled the ship lightly. There would be hell to pay for the damage to his beloved ship. He would hate to think the amount of work it would take to repair the poor girl. If she didn't sink that is.

 

[Shy2Infinity]

The shot only seemed to make it angrier. With a loud, furious roar the mighty beast slammed its tentacle across the deck and swished it into anyone that dared to venture too close. Not one tentacle seemed too keen on staying still for long. It was absolute mayhem. Where one tentacle struck, another was off trying to pull apart the ship. And yet, there was another doing its damndess to smash into a pirate - though undoubtedly thanks to his quick reflexes, the beast never quite struck. There was one thing that seemed to work to their advantage. The kraken wasn't apparently used to dealing with so many morsels of prey at once.

It couldn't quite divide up its attention evenly between them, so when one pirate slashed and was batted away, another rose up to the occasion and began the fearsome battle anew. And then, there were the cannons. One caught in the side and it jolted. It gave another of its fearsome roars before raising its tentacle high, seconds from battering poor, young Gavin with it.

Irissa's POV
She was well aware that she and Caleb had said that they would go safely below deck, but she was far too antsy to actually listen before long. She was well aware that there wasn't much she could do against a freaking kraken, but she still wanted to do something. Watching the other crewmates hurry around, she pursed her lips. The thumping in her chest threatened to send her scurrying off to a different corner and hiding with her head pressed into her knees.

But no, she wasn't a little girl anymore.

"What's wrong, dear?" She jerked, glancing about for the source of that voice. The phantom touch of a hand wrapped around her neck, choking her. For a split second, she worried that there was someone there with her. Her hands were clammy, remembering the threat. The promise-- "You'll be back, I know you will. And if not--" She ran. Scurrying up the stairs that would take her to the upper deck and arriving just in time to see the tentacle slamming down. She reacted without really thinking, raising a hand in response.

The tentacle slid off of an oddly translucent force field. She gulped, stumbling back and scrambling back out of sight.

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

Gavin let out a shaky breath as the tentacle just barely missed him. An older pirate pushed past him to attack the tentacle in the poor boy's stead, letting him center himself again. Patrick certainly was the one doing the most damage to the offending appendages. He guarded Alfred against any blows from the monster as the other man reloaded his rifle. Alfred calmly took shot after shot at the beast, knowing full well that Patrick would protect him. Finally, he got a clear shot that he was looking for and fired directly at one of the beast's eyes. He hoped that the shot would drive the creature off. He wasn't sure how much more the ship could take.

 

[Shy2Infinity]

It seemed like that was the shot needed to stop the beast. When the shot landed, blood spurted from its eye and it thrashed, unintentionally sending water onto the deck as it roared in pain and agony. This shot, unlike the rest, did more than annoy or even anger it. Still screaming, the kraken fell into the water, causing waves to thrash against the sides of the ship. And then, all fell silent.

Caleb's POV
Tentative relief mixed with confusion as Caleb, along with the other crewmates as they pondered if it was over. Checking to see if anyone was injured and finding none too terribly injured, he turned his attention to the newest problem. In the pandemonium, Irissa had completely vanished. His eyes narrowed as he sought out the stairs. If she wasn't below deck, then she definitely had to be somewhere up above.

But before he could set one foot on the stairs, something huge slammed into the side of the ship and he fell to his hands and knees. The shaking happened again, but this time he was able to steel himself against it. Breath catching in his throat, he shot an anxious glance around, "Don't tell me that thing's..." A cry made him hurry to look around, to see an open hole in the floorboard and water pouring in.

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

"Damned foul beast!" Patrick snarled. "Don't let your guards down! Be prepared for another attack. Half of you, make sure you prioritize the ship not sinking. The rest of you, guard them!" There was a chorus of ayes and the scrambling of the crew.

Those below deck frantically rushed to patch the leaking belly of the ship, knowing that there was no hope for them if the ship sank. There was nothing but noise as the crew hammered and shouted at each other. It was a long while before some semblance of quiet returned to the battered ship. When the emergency repairs were finished, Patrick ordered them again.

"Tend to those injuries now and then we'll work on limping the lass in somewhere." The crewmen nodded and went about their business, tending to the minor injuries they had sustained. Patrick sighed wearily, gently stroking the wheel of the ship. "Ahhhh, you poor lass." He bemoaned softly to the ship. "You held strong but you took quite a beating." He could hardly stand to see his ship in such a state. They would have to risk making port to truly repair the damage and who knew how long that would take. Impotent rage still bubbled deep in his belly but it was directed only at the beast. If he ever clashed with it again, he would kill it or die trying.

Alfred frowned softly at his friend but held his tongue. Patrick looked exhausted, but Alfred knew it would do no good to try and get him to rest for quite a while. He doubted that any of the crew would be able to. None of them would be able to rest peacefully until they were safe in port, he was sure.

 

[Shy2Infinity]

Once the leaking was all patched up, he helped to bucket out some of the water that had escaped into the ship from the onslaught. Sure he could have stayed back and simply watched, but there was only so long that he could do that. They were all on that ship. They were in on it together and if the ship sank, then they'd all go with it. Besides, this was something he could do that wouldn't unnecessarily endanger his life.

After that was done, he turned around to find Irissa nervously glancing about. When he came near, she gazed at him inquisitively. "What happened?" It was easy to see that the crewmates had just finished doing something.

He rubbed his arms, nervously glancing out the portholes as though he might be able to see the monster. "That thing put a hole into the ship," at the first panic settling across her face, he waved a hand dismissively. "It's patched up. Thankfully it wasn't too big." He hesitated then and whispered, "That thing isn't gone, is it?"

She shook her head, "No, it's not. I think it's still around, just prowling." Dropping her hands, she turned and made her way across the other room. "Alfred did a good job of half-blinding it," she ignored Caleb's, "wait, what?" and went on, "But that thing is still powerful, and still angry. All we can really hope for is that we hit it enough until it decides we're not worth it." She hesitated, putting a finger to her chin. "I wonder if it would go away if Alfred got its other eye...?"

"That'd be a good idea that might work, only, we'd have to lure it out of the water." When Irissa frowned at him, he sighed. "It can do as much damage as it wants under water. If we don't do something now, it may do some serious damage."

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

The men remained on high alert even as they began to clean up the smaller damages done to the ship. Alfred kept his rifle loaded and close at hand, ready to grab it again if need be. He and Patrick talked quietly with each other, discussing their options for making port and repairs.

"It's risky, but we'll have to do it. We need to make it out of these waters before the beast comes back for more." Patrick said thoughtfully, leaning over one of the maps. "If we go through here," he slid his fingers across the oiled paper, "we can make it to Port Iefriid in a week. I think we'd be safe once we get close enough to the waters there."

Alfred rubbed his chin, also looking at the map. "Week's a long time to limp her, but Iefriid is our best bet for major repairs. My concern is if the ship can make it through the waters here." He tapped at the location. "They can be rough there this time of year and I don't know if the ship could handle it."

Patrick sighed. "She'll have to. We can't wander around with the ship in this state. That'd only be asking for trouble. I think she could make it, but we have to be very careful." He looked up and out at the crew, watching them clean up as much as they could. "We were very lucky to have no lives lost, but we can't guarantee that that luck will hold. We need to fix the hull before it's too late and we sink. That'll be the end for all of us."

 

[Shy2Infinity]

"There's one way this could all end..." Caleb subtly suggested to her and her expression went blank immediately.

She swiveled away and crossed her arms loosely over her chest. And with a sharp inhale, she huffed, "I'll pretend you didn't say that." They both fell silent then, observing the pirates as they nervously shuffled about. It seemed like they were all waiting for a hit that may or may not come. Shivering in the chill of below deck, she thought back to that moment above deck, where she was undoubtedly about to see poor Gavin's body smash against the deck. The thought of what she'd been planning before the kraken attacked, the guilt of it all... "I'm such an idiot," she suddenly mumbled.

Caleb must have been close enough that he heard her, because he frowned. "That is true, in general. But why in this instance?" She stood closer, if only so that none of the other crewmates would catch what she was telling him. Whatever she whispered to him didn't seem to take him off guard. If anything, he seemed unsurprised. Shooting her an unimpressed look, he merely said, "I thought you were up to something."

"Yeah, well, I was getting desperate."

"And as I've said, you need to be more patient."

She shook her head and considered the stairs, "You think they have a plan?"

"Poooosibly?" But as uncertain as he was, a grimace pulled at his features. He turned to survey the stairs, almost as though he were willing them to pop into sight. That didn't work, of course. "I think I'll go see."

Irissa snickered and covered her mouth, "Patrick's going to chew your head off~"

He was already headed to the stairs, waving backwards at her. "He'll get over it."

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

"Have the crew ready the sails and they can clean as we move." Patrick told Alfred. "Everyone's pulling double shifts. Halve the sleeping times and only have a fourth of them rest at a time. We have to be prepared if that monster comes back. The fourth that aren't working are watching the waves at all times and send two men up to the nest. I want no surprises." He rolled up the map, putting it away safely before Alfred could argue more about their course. Alfred sighed but nodded, going to tell the crew the captain's orders as Patrick took the wheel. He waited for the sails to drop before he pointed them in the right direction. Now to see if they could outrun death yet again.

Patrick couldn't help gently running his thumb against the spokes of the wheel, surveying the damage to his precious ship. While part of him knew that at the end of the day she was nothing more then pitch and wood, he couldn't help the ache in his heart. The Ragamiffin had been home for too long to not care deeply about the vessel. She had carried them through many dangerous moments and he hoped that she would continue to carry them through more. "We'll patch you up nice and fine when we reach port, lass." He whispered to it.

 

[Shy2Infinity]

As he found himself on the top deck, he paused and allowed his gaze to rove the sight before him. Alfred was going from place to place, ordering the crewmates about. Occasionally a piece of a command drifted to his ears. It was just enough for him to understand that it was a dire situation. Suddenly seeing a few crewmates headed towards him, he hurried to step out of the way and watched them head below. Steeling himself against the churning in his gut, he forced himself to look over the side of the ship. The waves, for the time being, were calm. But who knew when that would change.

Then, he turned and watched Alfred for a moment. Looking carefully to see if there'd be a lull in his movements. After a bit, he saw his chance. Sidling up to the first mate, he wasted no time, "So what's the plan?" Now that he thought about it, maybe it was a good thing after all that he didn't seek out Patrick. He'd already seen how much the pirate captain could be unpredictable and he wasn't particularly keen on revisiting that, no matter what he told Irissa.

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

"Run for safe waters as fast as possible without running the boards off her. There's a port that we can make in about a week if the gods and goddesses haven't abandoned us yet." Alfred replied, seizing a rope and helping haul at the sails, letting them drop and catch the wind. Once done he tied it off and looked at Caleb properly. "If we can make it to Port Iefriid we can repair the ship. The issue is making it there. Neither of you were hurt, were you? I know there was some bad damage below." He moved to his next task, helping to clear more debris off the deck as they talked. "I feel a bit bad about joking about mythical monsters now that we've met one." He sighed.

 

[Shy2Infinity]

As Alfred spoke, he nodded along. That was a fair plan. Crossing his arms loosely, he deftly avoided the other crewmates as they came a bit too close. Inquisitive eyes were all too clearly gauging the distance between himself and everyone else. Watching the first mate haul at the sails got him to thinking, This is a good a time as any. He was shaken from his thoughts as Alfred turned to gaze upon him seriously. When Alfred's attention turned to their state of affairs, surprise flashed across his face but it was quickly turned into a mask of indifference. The man waved a hand dismissively towards the stairs and shook his head. "Not at all, luckily. And Irissa's tucked away safely down below." Upon his next words however he shot the other a sharp look, "Come now. It was just a jest, surely you didn't think you jinxed us?"

But now that they were out here talking, with Alfred giving the other crewmates their orders, he was more than a little antsy. Up until now, a majority of his attention was off of his sickness, even if he could still feel it churning away. And he wanted something to do, if only to distract himself.

"In that case," he sighed and ran a hand roughly through his hair, it feathering over his fingertips. "Is there something I could do? I know that we're guests but that was before we ran into a fucking kraken of all things and..." Well, it was obvious, wasn't it? At least to him. A kraken significantly changed things, he wasn't asking out of boredom anymore. "If this boat capsizes, we're all going into the water. I'd even be happy with simple errand work."