Inventory Check (Jygust 30th MT)

[Camillia]

ooc: hope this is alright

On this Waneday, Camillia woke up to realize that she had fallen asleep at her own desk. The various papers of inventory, lists, her own notes and other paperwork scattered all over. Yawning, she rose from her chair and began straightening out the papers. “Ah, damn it.” Her neck did not enjoy the shut-eye. Continuing to rub her neck, she got ready to get to the docks. She wanted to see her first shipments in person. Refreshing herself and getting dressed, she set off to the docks.

The docks were simple piers where the boats moored. There were plenty of workers helping to unload the ships. Further down in the harbour, pleasure boats saw a whole different use of the docks.

Rising slowly from the village church to the city walls Roque d'Ancourt presented herself, further up to splendid houses shimmering in the last whiffs of the mist and disappearing in a line of trees at the highest levels. Clearly built on plateaux, the long forgotten but well visited city presented a picture of wealth and abundance...

If one was to forget the simple life of the workers down below.

Upon her arrival Camillia set off to find the ship carrying her selection of wines from Kislovan. Shading the sun with her hand, she looked out into the docks seeing the ship out on the farther end of the dock. Her brown hair swayed from the breeze and with each of her steps. In her right hand she clutched her book tightly to her chest as it carried the paperwork that she needed to check and claim the shipment. She approached one of the men from the ship. “Excuse me, is this the ship with the Kislovian goods?”

[Gaelena]

The man Camilla approached was a rough looking sailor, who gave her a big smile as she spoke. He was missing at least four teeth and those he had left looked only one solid meal away from falling out. "Here now, love, what would a pretty thing like you be wanting from Kislovan. I've got sumfin' from Islay more to yer liking," he said, grabbing himself in an ungentlemanly manner.

Suddenly, a shadow appeared from over Camilla's shoulder and a deep rumbling baritone, smooth and masculine, said, "Apologize to the lady or I will run you up the mast and use your miserable excuse for a spine to hang my flag off of."

"Er...um...yes Cap'n. Sorry Cap'n. Sorry, melady," said the sailor, blanching and quickly running off to attend duties elsewhere.

"I apologize for my men. They are great sailors, but sorry excuses for humans," came the voice. Turning, Camilla would find herself facing a tall, fair haired man, broad shoulders, though his face was partially hidded by shadows.

[Camillia]

It wasn't the best decision for the man to try something so vulgar in front of Camillia. Her neck was still sore and she still hadn't found anyone to talk to about her shipment. Clenching her teeth, she responded the best way that she could. “Ohh no. More to my liking? I'm not exactly in the greatest mood at the moment and if you do not step aw--” the girl paused, noticing the shadow creeping up from behind her. With authority, the large man chased the idiotic man away and Camillia tried to pierce a hole in his back with her stare.

”I apologize for my men. They are great sailors, but sorry excuses for humans.”

“It's not a problem. I'm actually kind of glad you came to help, it would have been a waste of time for me to deal with him myself.” she swept away some hair blown around by the breeze. “I assume you are the captain of this ship, correct? I wanted to check on my shipment of Kislovan wines.”

[Gaelena]

The captain stepped back, turning slightly, his face completely obscured now by shadow. "Of course, ma'am," he said, waving Camilla to go ahead of him, gesturing towards the gang plank. Men were moving up and down it, unloading cargo, but from the look of the boxes, none were the wine.

"Your cargo is still in the hold," he explained, moving behind her as they walked up on to the ship. "We hit a patch of rough weather, but I believe everything arrived intact.

[Camillia]

“It better be intact.” Camillia said sharply as she continued to move up to the deck of the ship. Having her first shipment damaged would be very disheartening. She took quick glances back at the man, noticing that she really hadn't seen his face or even asked his name. When they arrived at the top of the plank on the deck she turned towards him. “Do you like hiding your face, or is that just a coincidence? Also we haven't actually introduced ourselves. I am Camillia, and that name will stay with you soon enough.” Her last remark ended with a smirk.

[Gaelena]

The captain stopped when Camilla turned, his face finally visible. Under the fair hair, his tan skin was stretched over well chisled features. Broad forehead, strong chin (with a dimple in the center), a long almost straight nose (it had obviously been broken more than once). Against these lines came wide, full lips and deep amber eyes that were currently lit with amusement.

"I haven't been hiding my face, Camilla," came the strong baritone. "And I'm Captain Ansil Pandorian." Opening the hatch to the hold, he held out his hand to help her in and down the steps. "As for the intactness of your cargo, I can not say. We shall simply have to see."

Once down in the hold, the light from the open hatch gave some light, as well as the open grate above where men were working with nets to raise other cargo up on to deck. The wine cargo was left for last. The tops of the crates were solidly sealed and there didn't seem to be any wetness around the base of them, though looks could be decieving.

[Camillia]

Camillia examined the man's face a bit more closely, now that she could finally see it. “Should show your face more Captain, it's not that bad..” She gave him a quick smile as she took his hand going down the hatch. “Ah, thank you. Also, I'm absolutely sure it is intact.” At the bottom of the steps she took a quick look around, seeing the other workers doing what they usually do. Her shipment was last to be unloaded as evident by its position in hold. She made her way over, seeing nothing wrong with any of the crates. They were sealed of course, so she turned to the captain. “May I have one of these crates opened?”

[Gaelena]

A low chuckle rumbled from the captian's chest at Camilla's compliment. "I'm glad you like it," he said, regarding her comment on his appearance. He had never had compliants before and he would be surprised should he start having them now.

Picking up a crowbar that had been set nearby, he moved to one of the closer crates. Setting the flat part of the bar under the lid, he made quick work of opening the lid. Then, he stepped back, so that Camilla could inspect her wares, which were nestled safely inside the crate, undamaged.

[Camillia]

Camillia had been all over the man’s shoulder as he opened the crate, a bit anxious over the condition of her precious wine. Immediately she sighed, seeing that the bottles were mostly unharmed. “Now let me tell you, it’s not that I doubt you and your crew. I’m just a little anxious about it, you know?” Rolling back her sleeves Camillia bent over the crate, picking out one of the bottles. She held it up to the grate above her to see through the bottle and check its color a bit. The light let her see a deep, deep red. Perfect. She continued her inspection by opening the bottle and taking her hand to waft the wine’s aroma to her nose. “Ah… Yep. Flowery, fruity, just right. Captain, you and your men do your jobs well. When does this get out? And, would you like a drink?” It was quite obvious that she wanted to drink.

[Gaelena]

The captain tilted one blond brow up and smile devilishly. "You have no need to worry. When you place your trust in my hands, everything gets treated with care," he said, his voice low and smooth. He watched as she uncorked the bottle and smelled it. His face turned curious. Most people he dealt with would only have tossed the cork asside, upended the bottle down their throat, then tossed the empty container over the side.

"We have about half a burn before your crates go out. I prefer to leave the most delicate for last, so that no one tried to put a load of cannon balls on top of them. I have some glasses in my cabin. We can sample your wares there." His face wore as innocent an expression as a ship's captian can.

[Camillia]

Camillia quickly brought a hand to her cheek. “Now if my shipment was crushed by a load of cannonballs… I would absolutely snap. But it’s a good thing you aren’t that careless, Captain Pandorian.” She took one last quick look inside the crates. All good, all good. before turning back to the Captain. “Alright then, to your cabin.” With the bottle nestled in her arm she raised her other hand toward him smiling, expecting that he lead her up and out to the cabin. He offered before so there really wouldn’t be a problem. Camillia enjoyed it anyhow. "Oh yes, a quick question. The glasses you have at your cabin. Are they wide? Because I'd prefer it if they were wide-mouthed."

[Gaelena]

Taking Camilla's hand, the Captain helped her back up the ladder. "I will take good of your wares," he said with a smile as they walked back into sunshine. The light caught his hair, once again placing a halo around him.

"Wide...? Oh, yes, they are very wide brimmed," he said with a chuckle. Opening a door, he moved her back down another ladder, down a hallway and through a door at the aft of the ship. This opened up to a gorgeous view of the harbor. Upon entering, there was a large table, covered by maps of all of Tazlure, charts of all shapes and sized and the instruments of ship navigation. Four large chairs sat around the table. A large cabinet was on the starboard side of the room. On the port side, a large, four postered bed, unmade, was bolted to the floor.

"Please, have a seat," he said, handing Camilla into one of the chairs as he moved some charts out of the way in front of her and went to gather two glasses out of the cabinet, unlocking it with a key hidden inside his shirt. A glint of sunlight hit something shiny inside, but his body hid what it was from her view. Closing the cabinet and relocking it, he turned with a smile and placed the glasses in front of her. They were wide mouth with deep bowls, long stemmed.

[Camillia]

“Oh yes, perfect perfect.” The glasses were exactly what she wanted them to be. A complimenting accessory for her little treasure in a bottle. She set the bottle down on the table. There was no reason for it, but she felt a tiny bit anxious to taste the wine. It could have been because it was her first shipment. Doesn't matter. She let out a smile as she sighed. “You know, it's been a long while since I drank something with a man. Lucky you, Captain.”

After a burn, she poured the wine into the glasses with care. Her eyes watched with enthusiasm as the liquid displaced and then settled after she was finished. She picked up one of the glasses and held it up to the light to see the color again. Smiling, she swirled the wine around in the glass and took in the aroma before setting it down on the table. “Wine is adorable.”

[Gaelena]

The captain's lips twitched again at Camilla's comment. "I must agree," he replied, her comment on his luck amusing him. He seated himself across the table, instead of next to her, giving her space in the confined room. It seemed that Camilla, though, had a knack for pulling a chuckle from him, for her next comment had him doing just that. "Adorable? I must have been drinking with the wrong people, for that's the first time I've ever heard of a beverage being described as 'adorable'. Pray tell, what is that makes you say this?" His eyes twinkled merrily as he reached for his glass, his nose dipping under the rim slightly as he took a sniff of his drink.

[Camillia]

Oh, he laughed. Chuckled. Does he not believe that wine could be adorable? Camillia eyed the captain with a smile, smacking her lips once. “Well, they are adorable because... they are similar to children. They are born in a pure form, and are molded into sophisticated beings.” Camillia had hopes that the captain would understand her metaphors. “They learn to take in the world around them and make it their own. They become better and wiser with age. They show more personality when stirred, and they evoke emotion, good or bad.” Camillia smiled. Those were mostly her own brother's words, but they stayed with her as if she had them written on the back of her hand. It was the way he explained some aspects of wine to her.

With her recital done, Camillia took up her glass again. After taking another sample of the aroma, she took a sip and smiled at the captain. “Does that answer your question?”

[Gaelena]

Once again, the captain chuckled, lifting his glass again and taking a sip. "Very well, then. It is adorable," he replied, the corners of his mouth rising slightly. "Tell me, how did you come to be such an expert on adorable wines?"

[Camillia]

“Oh, it's a family tradition... or a hobby. No no, we just love wines. However I learned the most from my brother.” Camillia went silent for a bit, taking a breath and smelling the wine once more. “I learned more from him than the rest of my family, not to say that they were not knowledgeable themselves. Father started it all and it just spread to the rest of us. What about you captain, why do you sail?” A nice smile followed as she took another drink.

[Gaelena]

The Captain smiled, though a darkness passed over his features for a flicker before disappearing as Camilla spoke of following her family's path. "Its always good to work at what you love," he replied, taking a health swig of his wine.

"Why do I sail? Because I feel at home on the open sea. Its on land that I feel lost. I'm never happier than when the sails are open and full, the sea is slapping against my hull and the dolphins dance beside the ship in our wake," he said, his eyes losing focus for a moment. "So I do what I love too." He finished off what was left in his glass.

[Camillia]

“Well said Captain.” Camillia smiled at the man from behind the glass. “I can afford to respect a man like you. We both do what we love and are very good at it. Hmm…” She took a small sip. “Or at least I know I am good what I do. Not to doubt you though.” Camillia had a nice feeling from the Captain, that he could be trusted enough to deal with her wares from now on. She wanted a little stability for her deliveries.

“I would like it if my shipments were always handled by you and your men, Captain.”

[Gaelena]

Ansil drank his wine and studied Camilla, his eyes growing intense for a few flickers as he pondered her. A female merchant was not unheard of, but it could be dangerous, especially the cargo that she imported. Then again, danger had never scared him. One corner of his lips raised higher at her offer.

"I'm never a man to turn down an exclusivity contract," he said as he finished his glass. "Knowing that my hull will be filled is always welcome. Now, we just need to work out the contract for such," he added, leaning forward, his fingers stroking the sides of the glass.

[Camillia]

“Yes yes, a contract.” Camillia reached over to the folder she had been carrying most of the morning. The woman had planned to deal with an exclusivity contract after judging whether or not the ship and it's captain was up to her standard. What standard? It did not particularly matter as long as her shipments came in the best condition possible. She took out the page she had prepared and set it in front of her. Camillia gave the captain a calm look before proceeding.

“So captain, do you have any conditions? I am fine so long as my wine shipments are intact.” With that she took the last sip of her first glass and poured another.