- Joined
- Sep 7, 2019
- Location
- Jurassic Park
Chloe had had a lot of concepts thrown at her by these two, and she had so many questions as a result that she felt like she could have talked to Yusef for hours, asking him all of them, and she would be totally at ease with him. Like, was he actually engaged to Akari? If so, when was the wedding happening? What was this “shortlist” he kept mentioning? (She had an idea that it might be the list of women he wanted to marry, but always hated assuming.) Who was Theo? Things like that.
She liked Akari too and thought she looked cute and mysterious, but other than a couple smart alecky jibes, she was really taking a shine to the young, deposed ruler. After giving a few simple replies and nods such as thanking Yusef (again, a freaking Sultan!) for being in her debt, Yusef said he had to retire. She tried talking to Akari instead, but the masked woman said the same, and Chloe could hear Akari flop hard onto the bed in her...uniform? Before kicking the door closed. Chloe kept in good shape from hard labor on the ship, but imagined running around and jumping everywhere today as Akari had would take a lot out of her too.
That meant that Chloe could exclusively focus on getting the Leaky Bucket flying. She first got out of the water with vertical thrusters, then had her bothoppers unfurl the sails and catch the southern wind to Sudavadiria. Contrary to Chloe’s fears, the ascent didn’t appear to wake her guests. Luckily for her as well, it would only be about a day or two’s gentle ride to the provincial capital of Kadugimir, and she could follow the Vadir River easily enough. So long as the winds stayed on course, that was. (Even then, her thrusters could help the airship fly for a limited time.) But Chloe’s philosophy was to deal with things as they came up, and it had worked well enough for her so far.
Then something did come up, and for the first time in a while, Chloe didn’t know what to do.
She was checking the floor grates for mold and dust (after all, not all the minor, menial chores could be left to machines) when she heard crying coming from Yusef’s bedroom door.
At first, Chloe thought to knock on Akari’s door. After all, if Akari and Yusef were fiancés, then Chloe didn’t want to intrude on a situation that might best be handled by one of the Sultan’s future wives. But when it opened a crack, the pilot saw that Akari was slumped on top of the bed on her stomach, wearing one of Chloe’s bathrobes and nothing else. After quickly closing the door to give the slender Gudarian woman her privacy, Chloe wasn’t quite sure how Akari had managed to obtain that, but it wasn’t relevant now.
Taking a deep breath, the nervous, awkward captain knocked on Yusef’s door and asked if she could come in. When she heard what she thought was an “Uh huh” while he was sobbing, Chloe gingerly opened the door and tiptoed inside. There she found an overwhelmed prince whose strong frame was racked by sobbing.
Chloe had been sad for a lot of her life, and so she hated to see others suffering. It meant that on instinct, she sat on the bed from behind, wrapped her slender arms around Yusef’s chest, pressed herself onto his back, and then rested her chin on his left shoulder as she sighed-
“It’s okay, Yusef. Don’t cry. Please don’t cry. Whatever you need, I’m here, okay?”
She liked Akari too and thought she looked cute and mysterious, but other than a couple smart alecky jibes, she was really taking a shine to the young, deposed ruler. After giving a few simple replies and nods such as thanking Yusef (again, a freaking Sultan!) for being in her debt, Yusef said he had to retire. She tried talking to Akari instead, but the masked woman said the same, and Chloe could hear Akari flop hard onto the bed in her...uniform? Before kicking the door closed. Chloe kept in good shape from hard labor on the ship, but imagined running around and jumping everywhere today as Akari had would take a lot out of her too.
That meant that Chloe could exclusively focus on getting the Leaky Bucket flying. She first got out of the water with vertical thrusters, then had her bothoppers unfurl the sails and catch the southern wind to Sudavadiria. Contrary to Chloe’s fears, the ascent didn’t appear to wake her guests. Luckily for her as well, it would only be about a day or two’s gentle ride to the provincial capital of Kadugimir, and she could follow the Vadir River easily enough. So long as the winds stayed on course, that was. (Even then, her thrusters could help the airship fly for a limited time.) But Chloe’s philosophy was to deal with things as they came up, and it had worked well enough for her so far.
Then something did come up, and for the first time in a while, Chloe didn’t know what to do.
She was checking the floor grates for mold and dust (after all, not all the minor, menial chores could be left to machines) when she heard crying coming from Yusef’s bedroom door.
At first, Chloe thought to knock on Akari’s door. After all, if Akari and Yusef were fiancés, then Chloe didn’t want to intrude on a situation that might best be handled by one of the Sultan’s future wives. But when it opened a crack, the pilot saw that Akari was slumped on top of the bed on her stomach, wearing one of Chloe’s bathrobes and nothing else. After quickly closing the door to give the slender Gudarian woman her privacy, Chloe wasn’t quite sure how Akari had managed to obtain that, but it wasn’t relevant now.
Taking a deep breath, the nervous, awkward captain knocked on Yusef’s door and asked if she could come in. When she heard what she thought was an “Uh huh” while he was sobbing, Chloe gingerly opened the door and tiptoed inside. There she found an overwhelmed prince whose strong frame was racked by sobbing.
Chloe had been sad for a lot of her life, and so she hated to see others suffering. It meant that on instinct, she sat on the bed from behind, wrapped her slender arms around Yusef’s chest, pressed herself onto his back, and then rested her chin on his left shoulder as she sighed-
“It’s okay, Yusef. Don’t cry. Please don’t cry. Whatever you need, I’m here, okay?”