Just Another Day

"More than you'd think," Dawson said innocently. "Why are you up here doing the deck?"

"Everybody got tanked last night!" Shanku complained and made drinking gesture with her hand.

"Want a hand?" Dawson asked.

"Please?" Shanku gave him the most pitiful, sad-eyed, sad-eared, droopy-winged look she possibly could.

"Alright, alright! Put those away," Dawson shook his head and stood up. "I'll go see what else needs to be done."

I can't believe that actually worked! Shanku laughed.

Dawson came back with another mop and bucket and helped Shanku finished. They went down into the galley to have a quick lunch with a very groggy crew. Dawson and Shanku picked up a few more chores off their hungover crewmates and set about minding the ship. Templeton invited them to keep him company as he started on a supper and Shanku and Dawson joined him.

"Don't you ever get tired of potatoes?" Dawson asked tiredly as they worked on a basket of the tubers.

"Nope!" Templeton laughed.

When they were finished, Dawson went back on deck while Shanku helped Templeton prepare the other ingredients he wished for his stew.

"How much longer will we be in Mruha?" Shanku asked as she held a platter full of different things meant for the stew.

"'Til Cap'n fills the hull back up," he said simply as he stirred the great pot in the galley. The cooking pot was on an iron frame above a box of sand where they made their fires. Templeton was only allowed to cook in calm weather, so the crew relished a warm meal, even if they were in port.

The rest of the crew had finally woken up and spent a day grumpily tending their pounding heads. They sat down to eat at the table in the galley.

Marley and Shanku reached for the same crust of bread at supper and got into a growling match over who would get to have it.

"Stuff it, you two!" snapped Patton and shook his spoon at them. Marley and Shanku sullenly settled down, but still tugged the bread between them. Patton took it from them, ripped it in half, and gave a piece to each. "Not one more word out of either of you."

Marley and Shanku grinned at one another. The meal continued without incident. Dawson and Shanku washed the dirty bowls and spoons afterward for Templeton as he took the first night watch.

"I'm tired," Dawson said to Shanku.

"Me too," came her weary reply.

"I'm going to take a quick break," Dawson said and stretched out on the floor after he finished the last bowl.

"Sounds good," Shanku said. She dried the bowl with her towel and curled up with it.