An Excellent Sense of Direction (1)

Writers: AL, Devin
Date Posted: 8th October 2008

Characters: Jerroll, Edele
Description: Jerroll takes Edele exploring ashore.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 12, day 1 of Turn 4
Notes: Silver Sails

Edele was just putting away the last pot she had cleaned when she heard footsteps and the creak of the galley door opening and announcing a visitor. She turned and managed a small smile at the first mate. "Hello Jerroll. Still hungry?" Her hands went to her apron and she wiped them upon it, though they were not wet at all.

"No. I wanted to see if you'd like to go ashore for a while," he said.

"Oh I don't know." Edele looked around as if trying to find an excuse. The galley didn't lend her one, for she had already made lunch and the place was sparkling. "I don't really have a reason to."

"What if I ask you very nicely?" he asked. She shouldn't spend so much time hidden away in the galley. And hiding from him, he strongly suspected.

"I guess I would have to ask your motivation behind that." Edele's tone was light, teasing, but inwardly she truly wanted to know.

"I enjoy your company, Edele, and as much as I love this ship, it's good to get off once in a while."

"Well, you are right about that." Edele reached behind her to untie her apron. "Anywhere in particular you care to go?"

"There's a little hold on the east shore we could visit, or there's a gorgeous stretch of jungle on the west bank." He considered a moment. "Though it's getting dark and that might not be the safest idea." He would enjoy a night walk through the jungle, but he didn't think Edele would.

"You choose." Edele set side her apron and drew closer to the door. "I'm fine with either." On the one hand, it might be nice to visit the hold. On the other, not being around crowds of people sounded pleasant.

"Well, the hold is closer, and if we feel like more of a walk, it's surrounded by jungle." He smiled. "And honestly, I don't feel like rowing all the way to the west bank."

"I should ask you to row me there just for that reason." Edele slipped past Jerroll and into the corridor.

He followed her. "If you paid me in cookies."

"Is that all you men think about?" Edele's soft chuckle warmed the air and she cast a teasing glance back at him. "Cookies?"

Jerroll bit back a response. Instead, he said, "Pie would work, too."

"If it's not one thing, it's another." Edele heaved a dramatic sigh. "What kind of pie?"

"Any kind. I'm sure whatever you make will be delicious."

"So does that mean," Edele led the way up to the deck, shoes clacking against every step and punctuating her words, "You're going to row me over?"

He chuckled. "I suppose it does."

"At least we won't have to worry about crowds." Well, not crowds of people, only trees. Edele didn't mind people, but for some reason she just wanted something a little bit less busy. A stroll in the jungle sounded like it might be relaxing, as long as they didn't go too far.

"A walk through the jungle at dusk with a pirate ... I'm beginning to think you're adventurous, Edele." He led her over to the side of the ship, where a small rowboat was waiting.

"Me? Adventurous? Surely you jest." Edele peered over the side and frowned at the boat. "I think climbing down that latter is going to be more adventurous than actually going to the jungle."

"We'll see." He helped her over the side.

~ ~ ~

The canopy was still brightly lit by the setting sun, but most of the jungle floor was cast in shadow. Jerroll tied the boat to a tree overhanging the water and leaned over to offer Edele a hand.

"Thank you." Edele stated graciously as she took Jerroll's help and went ashore with him to steady her. She glanced around, the darkness of the underbrush while mysterious, didn't seem menacing.

Jerroll leaned back into the boat again for a glowbasket. "Let's see if we can find a trail. The holders from across the river come here fairly often."

"Do you hunt at all?" Edele asked lightly. She didn't know the first thing about hunting. Or if she did, she didn't remember anything about hunting. She got the feeling though she wasn't much of a hunter.

"Oh, yes. I don't get too many chances for it, but it's a good way to get fresh meat when we stop at an island or along the shore."

"A good way...and a cheap way." Edele pointed out with a grin. "Fewer marks spent means more marks earned."

He laughed. "We'll make a pirate out of you yet!"

"You mean you haven't already?" Edele's laugh echoed her companion's. "You, first mate, are a bad influence on me."

"I'm a bad influence in general." He grinned. "Oh, there's the path." The glowbasket illuminated a dirt track, littered with leaves.

"Doesn't look like much, but let's follow it." Edele ducked down beneath a low hanging branch and stopped to look back, waiting for Jerroll to follow with the light so she could see.

"Good idea. You should take the lead. That way, when a feline attacks, it'll get you first and I'll have time to run away."

"I thought men were supposed to be protective of women." Edele placed her fists upon her hips. She hadn't thought about felines. She should have. She needed to stick close to the light.

He shrugged and smiled at her. "Pirate."

"I see. Well, perhaps my chances are better with the wild felines." Edele sniffed as if stung, but the corners of her mouth continued to try and turn upward. "So where are we going?"

"Wherever the path leads." This was more fun than he'd thought it would be.

"Well, I guess that means this way." Edele carefully picked her way over the path, ducking the occasional branch that tried to swat at them as they passed.

Jerroll, being taller, did a lot more ducking. "I've been in this area before, but I don't think I've been in this particular area of the jungle."

Edele came to a sudden stop as the light shop upon a fork in the path. She glanced back at the first mate. "Which one should we take?"

He shrugged. "Pick one." It was growing darker, but he wasn't in a hurry. The Silver Sails would stay docked until early morning.

"That's a big help." The woman turned and looked from one path to the other, then turned to the right. "I guess this way."

He chuckled as he followed her. "I make decisions all the time. It's nice to have someone else make them once in a while. Besides, I don't know where we're going."

"We shouldn't go too far, then." Edele glanced back but she could still see the fork in the path from where they were. "We don't want to get lost."

"Of course not." It could be fun, though. Farther up the trail, he spotted a large flower, still bright amid the growing shadows. "Golden Fire," he said, pointing it out.

"Oh? It's pretty." The woman paused to admire the blossom, then continued on. "So you know lots of plants too? Is there anything you don't know?"

"I'm sure there must be something," he joked.

"Indeed." Edele continued to wind her way down the path for a few more moments before she finally came to a stop. "We probably shouldn't go too far."

"Don't worry. We'll just follow the path. You aren't getting nervous, are you?"

"I just don't want to get lost." Edele cast a glance behind them. No, getting lost in the jungle at night was certainly not something desirable.

"We won't. I have an excellent sense of direction." He stepped over a tangle of tree roots.

"If you say so." Edele continued on. Eventually they came to another fork, then another. The path twisted and turned and with Jerroll's assurance that he could find his way back, she fell into a comfortable pace, not paying attention to where she was turning and where, exactly, they were going.

Last updated on the October 11th 2008

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An Excellent Sense of Direction (1)