Keito & TheMountainScene [Private]

[TheMountainScene]

"Gaaaaaaaaat a whale of a tale to tell ya, lads, a whale of a tail or two..."
As she scrubbed the impossible amount of dishes she heard singing coming from a humming pipe that traveled through the length of the room.
As it approached over her head, she saw the little flap jiggle open to reveal a familiar boy coated in black flourescent powder.
"Bought her trinkets, that sailors can't afford..."
He whistled parts and sang others, ignoring the girl.
He poked his head out over hers, yelling back into the kitchen.
"Hey, Boris! BOOOOOORRRRIIIIISSSS!"
The chef came tromping out, swearing at the ruckus he was causing.
"Koma, you'll be the death of me, lad! What do you want?"
"I'll be needing another scrubber for these crystal deposit tubes, the collection bridges are wearing out on these and I snapped one already."
"Again?! This one's coming out of your pay, Koma!"
"Yes, sir..."
Boris stormed out of the room, leaving a trail of sailor's swear in his berth.
Koma layed there in the large tube, grinning to himself.
Odd jobs, they were always so much fun.

[Keito]

She blinked, staring up at him. Catherine couldn't believe that the 'most dangerous man around' was in a pipe, and looking like a grease monkey...

"...So you're getting paid and I'm not..." She hung her head. "They're gunna feed me the table scraps..." She actually looked like she was going to cry. Well, she wasn't going to let the water works flow now... but she would later. (When she went to sleep on the smelly bed roll they gave her in the dry stores room where they kept the spices, grains, and similiar dry ingredients.)

Catherine went back to srubbing the dishes, pots, and pans... She wasn't expecting any level of sympathy on the situation from this guy.

[TheMountainScene]

Koma hadn't noticed her until he scooped a large glop of amorphous and flourescent black stuff into her dish water, turning the whole sink instantaneosly a shade of sickly grey.
"Uh..." Koma didn't want to recognize this girl.
He fed her the largest spoonful of BS he could because he was in a ballsy mood, and she happens to be the stowaway on his ship?
"Do I... do I know you from somewhere?"
One of his eyes twitched, either out of thought or black dust was undiscernable. She looked terrible. Like she was going to start bawling at any second. He took his Chad Industrial Brushvacklinch and set it off to the side, trying to get comfortable in the tube.
She needed a hand.
Koma mentally argued with himself.
She knows I'm full of it.
But you could fix that! Look at her, she's miserable!
It's her fault! She wanted to stow away on possibly the classiest ship in the galaxy, so she got what-for!
She's an adventurer! A jack-of-all-trades! We all start somewhere!
She's not on good terms with Boris, either, and that's not a good place to be.
Who isn't on Boris's bad side? Boris is like a thundercloud that spews good food!
At least take her to dinner. You owe her that much. Just a dinner on the ship.
Koma sighed. He hated it when his concience beat him out.
"So... uh... have we met before?"

[Keito]

"Argh!" Dish water splashed onto Catherine as the large glop of black stuff fell into one of her sinks. Most of it was repelled by the charmed apron, splashing back off it and into the sink... but some of it got on her face and into her eyes.

She dried her face and eyes as best as she could with her sleeves, trying to get the filthy oily residue from the water off as well. She was blinking furiously during this little procress, trying to get it all out of her eyes by flushing it out with tears.

"Ah..." Catherine said in a sound of relief as she gave a sniff and made a final pass at her eyes with her sleeves. "That's better..." But then she saw the state of the water in the sink. That sickly grey couldn't be a good sign, not a good sign at all. Certainly wouldn't be healthy to but dishes in there...

She ducked down under the sink and turned that sink's valve, draining it. She then hurried over to the cleaning gear closet and got the correct soap and proper srcub brush. Catherine hurried back and set to scrubbing that sink out with all she had, which wasn't much at all at the moment. But one could tell she was bound and determined to make the sink acceptable and safe to put dishes into again. Clearly she was taking her current depression and fury out upon the current mess.

"Huh?" She looked up as she heard him ask her a second time if they met before. "Ya... you're the dangerous guy from the tavern. You must be under cover to pull a heist on this ship huh? Just to let you know... I'm flat broke... So... I don't have anything valuable."

[TheMountainScene]

Koma chuckled to himself. "I can see that."
He thought for a bit, not entirely sure how to approach this.
"Well..." He looked up like he was doing her a favor.
"Since you are flat broke... and since that means you are stuck with table scraps tonight... how about I take you about the ship? Get a bite to eat... maybe some drinks..." His voice trailed off before he could mention the ball held every evening.
Hopefully, even covered in scrum and gunk, he still had a charm he'd worked to perfect.

[Keito]

Catherine got tearful again, but in a happy way. "That sounds great!" But then her shoulders sagged. "But I'll be working at these pots and pans and everything else well past midnight. The staff has already told me that. They say I'll be averaging 2 hours sleep a night if I am lucky." And upon mentioning that he might notice a slight puffyness under her eyes

She smiled sadly at him, already her feet were killing her. The only relief she had thus far is when she got to sat down to eat the rest of the staff's left overs, wash herself and her clothes, and take that blessed 2 hour nap in which she slept like the dead.

"Hey... maybe you could talk to that Boris fellow for me?... Convince him I'm not the evil little thing he thinks I am? I'd really be of more use to the ship's doctor... I'm an herbalist and healer. That's my specialty. I could actually earn my keep that way..."

[TheMountainScene]

Koma sighed. If only it worked that way.
"Boris is as thick as a sky-whale's backside. He won't listen to anyone besides himself."
Koma quickly poked his head out of the pipe, making sure they were alone.
"However... it isn't regulation... but try a little of this..." Koma tossed her a small red back tied up with string.
Inside was a powder the same consistency as the exhaust in the pipe Koma was cleaning, but rather it was a warm ochre ((amber yellowish brown kinda color)) rather than a sickly grey and black.
Koma's voice lowered to a whisper,
"It's excited Steampike exhaust. It's basically the soot stuff with a little oomph to it. Add just a sprinkle to your soap solution, and it'll uh... help you out a bit..."
He checked again to make sure no one was looking.
"Just make sure you don't get caught using it. It's uh... legally ambiguous on this ship, if you get my drift..."
He heard Boris coming back, whistling an old sailor's hymn.
"Koma! What in blazes are you still here for? Take your brush and get down that pipe! The goblins on floor 3 said they expected you 15 minutes ago! Get crackin' ya warm-shelled sea-cucumber!"
"Ah!" Koma knew the goblins well, and knew that they were more impatient and short-tempered than Boris. Immediately he gave the pipe a clang shut, sealed it, and went back to scrubbing away in the exhaust pipe.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaat a whale of a tale to tell ya, lad..."

[Keito]

Because of the powder Koma gave her, Catherine got inspired after she was left to herself again. She went out into the kitchens and got some herbs and some lemons, bringing back to the washing area.

"Alright..." She murmured to herself as dinner finished and the last of the washing that had to be done was delivered to her. "Let's see if along with a little of this..." She added a pich of the red dust to the washing sink. "And this..." She added fresh lemon juice to the rinsing sink.

With this in place she was able to wash everything and have it in the drying racks in record time. Next she squeezed the last drops out of the lemons into a bucket of hot water and cleaned up her entire area. she poured the used lemon water into the garbage disposal along with the used lemons and sweet smelling herbs and turned it on. As the garbage disposal worked it was like magic. Instead of smelling like dirty dish water and rotting food, it smelled like lemons with a faint hint of earthy sweetness.

"Mr. Boris, Sir! I'm done seven hours early!"

[TheMountainScene]

Boris came storming in, a fresh grease stain sizzling his shirt, and the pan in question still in a sausage fist.
"Whazzat now?" He looked at the floor and the raque of dishes.
"Saaaaaay... That's really something, Squibbler!"
He had decided to name her after the crustaceans that clung to the underside of the Leos Astor. In the thousands.
His small eyes narrowed.
"Seven hours early? What are you trying to pull?"
He waddled over to the rack and picked up a plate, gazing into his reflection in the milky white color.
"Hmmm... something's fishy here, Squibby, and I ain't referrin' to the Razorfish being fried up for the appetizer..." He poked a porky finger at the plate, hearing it squeak against the sparkling surface. As a cook, his clothes became filthy, but his hands were always spotless.
He put the plate on the rack and immediately turned back to her, eyes bulging slightly in their deep-set sockets.
"You listen, Squib, when I figure out what kinda paste you've been pullin in my galley, I'll have your ah--"
He was cut short by a whistle in the kitchen. He had to get back to work.
"When you hear my whistle, Squibby, you better have your bum down here faster than a Spikehawk on a moon rat." He turned and waddled away, grumbling under his breath.
This however, couldn't stop her elation from welling up inside her. She was free for the evening.

[Keito]

Catherine hurried after Boris, gave him a gigantic hug, flashed him a mischevious smile filled with thanks and ran away before he could complain about her hug.

After showering and washing her clothes, she was good as new again. Catherine went to go find Koma.

[TheMountainScene]

Koma stood in the restraunt, feeling uncomfortable and unaccustomed to having to dress up in anything that wasn't pipe exhaust or tattered shirts.
He wore a dress shirt, buttoned up to the neck with a black choker under the collar of the shirt.
He scratched the back of a leg in the non-jean pants.
Why was he going through with this again?
Don't ask silly questions. Just do it. Have fun. She earned it.

[Keito]

Catherine was wearing what she always wore since she was an adventurer-scholar and didn't not have luggage with outfits in it. But atleast she and her attire were clean.

"Evening Sir Koma the Dangerous." Catherine grinned, walking up to his side. "Or is there a different title to go by? Ohh... Sorry..." She glanced around, wondering if she had ruined his 'secret'. "Just Koma then?"

[TheMountainScene]

Koma grinned. "Preferrably."
She wasn't dressed beautifully, but then again Koma didn't exactly expect her to. He was required to have dress attire in his cabin. Part of the rules of working the engine in a luxury air-liner.

"Do you have any preferences?" Koma gestured in all directions.
"Seafood, skyfood, oriental, barbecue, buffet, ballroom..." He went off the list mentally in his head. He was forgetting one, and couldn't remember what it was...
"Barbecue..." He thought...
"Oriental..."
"Seafood..."
"Buffet..."
Nope, he lost it. Oh well, must not have been important anyways.
"What're you in the mood for?"

[Keito]

"Why not a little bit of everything?" Catherine asked with excitement as she looked around. She could never have hoped to see something this grand if she hadn't snuck aboard pretending to be helping with loading the stores.

And some of the rich folk were giving her looks. So what? People like them certainly never complained about her clothes when she found their missing kids in a cave or made them an herbal elixier that couldn't be caught dead having their servants buy. And hey, her secrecy cost less than the apothecary's did...

"Which one would you like first?"

[TheMountainScene]

Koma's face curled into a smile. He was liking this girl more and more every second.
"To the buffet. You want everything?" He led her out of the ballroom and over to a cylindrical elevator. It slid open silently, and Koma stepped in, pushing one of the bottom buttons that simply had a fork and knife on it rather than a floor.
"Wish granted."

When the sliding door opened, foods of any and all ethnicities wafted into the elevator. The entire floor was devoted to a buffet line that stretched all the way down the room, with an assortment of lightly crowded tables in the center, and a jazz line playing quietly on the far left.

"On your mark..."