A New Crewmember

Writers: AL, Devin
Date Posted: 30th December 2008

Characters: Jerroll, Edele
Description: Edele has a surprise for Jerroll.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 13, day 9 of Turn 4
Notes: Silver Sails

"Jerroll!" Edele's call was the only warning that Jerroll was given before Edele bustled into the room. Over her arm she held a basket, the one she used when she went to any markets while in port. Her face was alight with a smile and she swept over to Jerroll to give him a peck upon the cheek. "I have something to show you."

"What?" He couldn't help smiling at her mood.

"It's in the basket." Edele placed the basket upon the small table, but placed her hand upon the top to keep Jerroll from opening it. "Can you guess what it is?"

"Well, it's not cookies, because I'd be able to smell them." He studied the basket. "You want to show it to me, but is it _for_ me?"

"Well, it's for the entire ship." Edele admitted, her mouth quirking. She knew he'd never be able to guess, but it was fun to try and get him to. "Come on, what do you think it is?"

"Not liquor, unless you found very small bottles. I don't suppose it's a basket full of marks?" He joked.

"No." Edele giggled softly, sounding more like a girl half her age than a full grown woman. "One more try and then I'll show you."

A wicked smile crossed his face. "A very revealing nightgown that you're going to wear on deck?"

"If I ever wear anything revealing, you're the only one who gets to see it." Edele shook her head. Of course, she should have known. Men had three brains, and the ones they generally used weren't in their heads. "I'm afraid you're wrong again."

The woman opened the basket, but it was a bit too far for Jerroll to really get a good look inside. Before he could move, however, two hears flipped above the rim followed by a pair of impossibly green eyes. They rested upon him, blinked once, then lifted to reveal a slender, feline face. The creature stepped over the edge of the basket, one dainty foot followed by another, then nimbly hopped her hindquarters after her. She stood on the table for a moment and regarded the First mate.

She was mostly white, the snowy colour interrupted at her head by one patch of black upon her left ear, and a patch of brown upon her right that stretched over in front of the black on the left. Her tail was the only other part of her that contained any colour, if one could call it a tail. It was more a puffball than anything, an outer rim of brown encircling a blurb of black fur. She sat down after a moment, then coolly began to groom one, shining paw.

"You got us a kitten." A little smile played on his face as he admired her. "What happened to his tail?"

"Her." Edele corrected gently. She reached out to stroke the kitten's neck and the creature paused in her grooming and leaned into the caress. "And nothing happened, she was simply born like that."

"A stub tailed feline," Jerroll mused. He rubbed a finger on her head. "Bold little thing."

A long, rumbling purr bloomed forth from the small body and the kitten leaned into one hand, then the other, switching between the two humans who were giving her so much attention. "She's very sweet, and quite the jumper. She'll be good at keeping the unwanted critters at bay, I think."

"She's a little ... small though. We haven't had a feline this young on board. Trinket was full grown when we found him. Or he found us, depending on your point of view." Jerroll smiled at the memory, and at the kitten's purring.

"She's used to a ship, though. I got her off another. She was the runt of the litter and the last one." Edele explained as she lowered herself into a chair. "He just wanted her to have a good home, so I took her."

"Maybe we should keep her in here for a while, just until she gets a little bigger." He could imagine all the ways a kitten could get into trouble and get hurt while roaming the ship.

"I don't think that's necessary. She's used to being on a ship, after all." Edele assured him. The kitten lifted herself upon her hind legs, still leaning into the caresses that both of them gave. "She'll be fine."

"Do you have something against sharing the bed with a kitten?" Jerroll cocked an eyebrow at her.

"No, nothing at all." Edele laughed softly, leaning forward to kiss him tenderly upon his lips. "But I don't think she needs to stay shut up here if she doesn't want to."

"Maybe just at night?"

Edele laughed. "You've taken to her already. I don't mind, really, as long as you are the one who gets out of bed to let her out."

He grinned. "The crew is going to spoil her rotten, you know. We'll be lucky if we don't end up with a very fat feline in a few months."

"They'd better not!" Edele shook a finger at Jerroll as if he were going to be personally responsible. "That's not good for her. You'd best discourage such behaviour."

"I'll make sure she doesn't get _too_ fat." He kept smiling.

"I take it that you're pleased with my acquisition?" Since there had been a cat before, Edele hadn't thought there would be much trouble unless Jerroll and other crewmembers thought it was too soon. Well, evidently Jerroll didn't, and for that, Edele was glad.

"Yes." He rubbed the kitten under her chin.

"Good." Edele's smile widened and she relaxed. She had been afraid as she had made her way back, the kitten curled up snug inside the basket. Of course, Jerroll was the one she had felt needed to be convinced the most. If he liked her, she was fairly certain the kitten would be allowed to stay - even more so than Lerra, unless the captain just took such a hard stance against it that even Jerroll couldn't convince her otherwise. "I should get started on dinner. Are you going to keep her company, or me?"

"She can stay with me while I do some hidework." He smiled at the kitten. "We can introduce her at dinner."

"Alas, the company of a kitten chosen over me." Edele clicked her tongue and tried to look devastated, though she failed and rather miserably at that. "I suppose I shan't deny you. I didn't realise I could be so easily replaced."

"Business before pleasure, dear. I have hidework, you have cooking.
And she, apparently, is working very hard at being cute."

"I'll take my leave then." Edele stated as she made her way to the door. She paused upon the threshold to gaze upon the rough, gruff pirate and the tiny kitten. Yes, getting that feline was definitely a good decision.

Last updated on the December 30th 2008

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

A New Crewmember