Today on the S S Silver Widow

[Arabella Porter]

Ara woke up and slipped on trousers and a shirt. She unplugged her belt from the charger and put it on as well as the bracelet and necklace. She thought about Oz, (it was still weird calling him that but what the hell, right?) he was probably somewhere strange doing god knows what and she was waking up hung over pirates for the morning. They weren't moving or looting today, and the captain had fallen asleep at her desk. Ara had thrown a blanket over her, Charlotte's face, stuck to a letter from Captain Virote of the P.A.S Su Chin. She then went to the middle of the floor where Thomas Dunning had been up already, watching her wake everyone. She sat down with him on the bean bag chairs and pillows while Marlow, Ezra, Jon,David, Kolfife, and Dario followed, Marlow setting up the hookah with a can of cherry tobacco. They sat around and chatted, Dunning explaining what he had explained last night to the Captain and Ara confirming it while platting her hair. The crew was up and cranky but It was a different morning than usual. Today would be boring with no missions or tasks but cleaning and such. Dominique came in and took a drag of hookah before sitting next to Ben who had joined the discussions. Hungover crew, pirate Dunning, confused Arabella.

Later that day, Roderick invited Arabella out into the desert valley to collect leafy greens for a salad. She agreed and they walked together.

"Nomadic tribes ate more than 80 kinds of desert shrub in this part of the world. He plucked a leaf that appeared to be like lettuce with thorns embroidered on its perimeter. He tore away the thorny edge and put the safe part in the basket Ara held. Then plucked a different plant an pointed. "I love this one. It's citrusy and refreshing." He said. They walked, picking up different edible plants before coming to a beautiful pink flower on a tall, smooth, dark green stem. He plucked the blossom off and handed it to Ara. "Try it. It tastes like candy." Sure enough, she popped it I. Her mouth and a sweet sort of candy like taste pervaded her tongue. "So tell me," he said, " popping off more pink blossoms and throwing them into the mix. "I know you're caught up with our new and unexpected crew member but have you noticed a few people acting strange lately?" Roderick stood up from his harvesting stance and looked Ara square in the eye. "Something's coming." He said in his thick German accent. "Keep an eye out on David."