closed.

[hassaran]

WHO: Darras & Yseult
WHAT: the Vice Admiral and the Scoutmaster discuss boat stuff
WHEN: Now-ish
WHERE: Scouting office
NOTES: Nah

Tonight, the maps spread across the table are focused on the Waking Sea, coastlines and currents from Val Royeaux to Llomerryn. Yseult is perched on the edge somewhere around the middle of the Amaranthine, a half-eaten pie from the kitchens' supper in one hand and a report in the other. A number of tokens are already distributed around the map, more sitting in a little pile near Darras, waiting their turn.

"Passenger who survived the Heinrich says he saw a two-masted ship," she reads, crossing dangling legs at the ankle. "But describes what might've been a fish on the flag. Says they were a day out of Hercinia, bound for Dairsmuid. Captain of the Tawny was on the same route about four hours behind, he said he saw a three-masted ship with Antivan colors that he lost turning landwards. He thinks the figurehead was a woman with a sword."

She sighs, and sets that page down in favor of her wine glass. "Is it possible to confuse a woman with a sword with a swordfish?"
,

Comments

[staysail]

"It is if the woman were holding the sword in front of her face."

Darras demonstrates with the crust of bread that he was just eating. He's the woman, and here's his sword, held horizontally in front of his nose. Behind it, he gives a grin to Yseult.

"Or else she's named Fish and she's holding a sword normally. You know how it is at sea. Your eyes start to play tricks on you. Before you know it you're seeing mermaids and shapes in the clouds and fish with women's legs and swords with fish legs."

[hassaran]

She smiles through this explanation, even if it makes her cast her eyes up to the ceiling and shake her head. She swallows, and brushes a crumb of pie crust from the corner of her mouth with a thumb. "And women with sword legs?"

"Fine, we'll call those a possible Fiscella sighting. This many," she gestures at the board, the clusters of blue wooden squares, "even if they're not all accurate, I'd be surprised now if he weren't involved. You were going to tell me about the time you met him." She delivers this reminder with a lift of her brows in prompting before she takes another bite.

[staysail]

"Ah, now, a woman with sword legs--" He drops the crust back to his plate with a sigh. "Now, that, I'd like to see."

But with this statement made, Darras is free to squint down at the board and the squares upon it. He picks up one of the squares and rubs his thumb against it.

"Have I not told you about the time I met the Swordfish? I'd have thought that I'd have gotten to that one by now. How long have we been married?"

[hassaran]

"Twelve years, and in all that time you have not once mentioned meeting a man called Swordfish. I do think you told me a story about an actual swordfish. Possibly stuffed?" She attempts to cast her mind back as she chews a bite of pie, and then gives up with a shrug.

[staysail]

"Stuffed," he agrees, "aye," and he reaches over with his fork to stab a bite of pie off of her plate, trying to outpace any counter she might issue. "Featured at last in the time I broke out of the jail in Treviso. I've had a particular liking for swordfish ever since. Less so the Swordfish. He's never broken me out of a cell."

With his non-fork hand, he reaches to take her hand.

"Twelve years, really?"

[hassaran]

"Really," she confirms, brows bent and arching as he clasps her hand. "You can consider that bite of pie your anniversary gift if you like." Only six-ish months late.

"And for mine, you can tell me about the man-Swordfish." She flashes him a smile. Romantic.

[staysail]

"Part of my gift." Darras squeezes her hand. "I'm not letting you off that easy. And the story will be part of yours."

But. He releases his grip so he can lean back in his chair.

"No one knows where the Swordfish came from. That's the first thing you ought to know about him. One day he sailed up on a ship with a skeleton crew--not an actual crew of actual skeletons, mind--and took a place among the captains without anyone inviting him to it. It's said one day he'll disappear as suddenly as he appeared. But that's the talk of lazy and jealous men, hoping that rumor will come true so their competition will narrow and they'll have an easier time of it without having to work too hard."

[hassaran]

"We might as well wait til the next at this point." It's dry but not a complaint--she's never been good at anniversaries either.

Listening to his stories, on the other hand, she's great at. Yseult lifts her fork like she's about to ask for clarification about the skeletons when he goes ahead and fills it in, and she laughs and returns to finishing off the last of the pie. "Sounds like quite a character. And he's obviously Antivan with a name like that." She smiles, wide and a little apologetic for interrupting to introduce logic into the narrative. "Go on."