OOM: Pearl Repairs

[politestpirate]

The sky is cool, grey, and occasionally misting, but that just means when you are working hard you can keep warm enough.

And there is certainly plenty of work to be done. The deck of the Black Pearl has been cleared off, with debris and pieces that are large enough to reuse stacked carefully. All over is the gleam of cut and exposed wood, the splintered edges cut and smoothed in preparation for patching sections. One mast has been cleared of charred and torn sails and rigging, the canvas and rope set in one area to work on before it can be sent back up.

One of the current priorities, however, is fixing the stern section of the ship, the back wall of the captain's cabin, that took some of the worse damage from the kraken-

Scottish autumn nights can start to get chilly, afterall.

Party thread style, slowtimes more than welcome.

Comments

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

And now, Wellard will indulge in a deep breath and a momentary wince, before he starts pulling the sailcloth and ropes off the two of them.

[aj_crawley]

Crowley gets to his feet, brushing himself off and trying very hard to look as though nothing happened.

"We're good. We're good. You're good?" he enquires of River, helping her up. "We're good."

The sail, thankfully, has stayed largely rolled. Crowley sighs with relief, and sets to helping Wellard straighten them out, muttering under his breath.

"'Hard-a-port'. I'll hard-a-port you..."

[river_meimei]

"Next time allow for gravity," River informs Crowley.

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

Wellard gives Crowley a sideways look.

"... dodging would have worked either which way, however..." A quiet mutter, and he then works on winding some of the ropes trailing from the sail.

He glances over at River. "... That was sort of the plan, just a little bit more... controlled."

[aj_crawley]

"And next time, I'm assuming the yard won't be so cracked that I have to bring the sail down from the middle."

With the lines squared away, Crowley hoists up his end of the rolled sail, walking it towards Wellard's until the long length of it is folded in two.

"'S what I was doing for the topgallants - coming down from the end of a yardarm, you're a lot clearer of that mess," he finishes, nodding up at the intricate tangle of rigging above their heads. "Less chance of things getting caught."

[river_meimei]

"Cat's cradle."

It's an idle comment, directed at the crow's nest.

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

"A cat's cradle is much more organized than that- and easier to sort through." Wellard eyes the mess of ropes over their heads.

"Hopefully none of the other yardarms are as bad- those certainly can't be patched up as the hull and deck can."

[aj_crawley]

"Fingers crossed," he says, bending down and readying to hoist one end of the sail - rather more compact, now, - once more onto his shoulder.

[river_meimei]

River gives Crowley a weird look.

They are not. Neither his nor hers.

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

Wellard just gives River a shrug, then nods at Crowley.

"With any luck, at least. Though if there are more... we'll get enough practice in replacing them, at least."

He shakes his head, grabbing one of the ropes that came down during all of this, and begins winding it around his arm.

[aj_crawley]

Conceding the point with a nod, Crowley winches in his wings once more.

"Hokay," he grunts, straightening up and settling the sailcloth - by dint of some slightly awkward manoeuvres - across his shoulders. "I'm going to get this up on the quarterdeck and then maybe see 'f I can get started on the forecourse."

He turns to Wellard.

"Wellard, make sure no one else falls on her."

And then to River, sternly (the effect ruined somewhat by the odd tilt of his head as the heavy sail presses against the back of his neck):

"River... stop letting people fall on you."

[river_meimei]

"Next time I'll be proactive," River informs him serenely.

Interpret that as you will, Crowley.

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

Wellard muffles a cough.

"Certainly. And Mr Crowley, sir?"

[aj_crawley]

"Yes?" he says, eyeing Wellard a little warily.

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

"Please stop falling, sir?"

The straight face is totally ruined by the grin.

[aj_crawley]

>:O

"Yeah, well," he mutters mutinously.

And then, for lack of anything better to say, he turns on his heel and swans off towards the quarterdeck stairs.

[river_meimei]

"He takes so much looking after," River informs Wellard tolerantly.

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

Wellard's lips twitch, and he glances up to the yardarm before looking to River.

"Lots of people do. It could be argued that everyone does, in fact."

[river_meimei]

"Crowley fell," River says logically.

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

"... But he didn't crash. Thankfully." Quietly.

Wellard looks down to the rope in his hands, then back to River.

"Would you care to learn about splicing, Miss River?"

[river_meimei]

River follows his gaze to the rope.

[politestpirate.livejournal.com]

Silence means assent, so Wellard pulls out a knife and grabs one of the marlinspikes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlinspike) let by the coils of rope.

"A good section of the ropes got burned through by an explosion, so we're having to re-join some of the sections."

Wellard thus beings showing River how to splice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rope_splicing) a couple shorter pieces of rope together.

[river_meimei]

River frowns at the ropes in her hands, solemn as a child. But her hands are quick and deft, and stronger than they look; she picks up the trick of it swiftly.