1. The Academics Problematic Care (1/2)
"i can see it in your thoughts. you know it isn't safe. you know you will probably die. why not wait for the captain"? woodfish did all he could to try and convince her, but the stone pilot ignored his pleas. she was determined to follow him, regardless of the risk it would put on her own life. how could she have been so foolish as to let that young boy...cowlquape, wasn't it? how could she have let him go after twig, alone, while she was forced to wait behind? carefully re-positioning the lufwood trunk on her back, she bent her legs at the knees and prepared to take off. woodfish could feel her determination and without a word understood she would not take no for an answer. goom had also done his best to try and convince her to stay, but without knowing her language he had quickly learned that woodfish was better suited to the job.
yet even knowing her determination, the waterwaif still hesitated. by now, woodfish had resorted to speaking to her out loud in the hope it would get his point across more clearly.
"please, miss maugin...you must understand the risk you put yourself at by sky-firing yourself. at least wait a while, i'm sure-"
"light it, please, woodfish. i want...i need to know that twig – i mean, the captain, is alright." maugin retorted, her voice lowered to a desperate whisper. the waterwaif hesitated for a moment longer before finally surrendering; it truly must have meant a lot for the usually silent stone pilot to have finally spoken up. with an exhausted sigh, he finally lit the log. upon smelling the flames goom suddenly leapt towards her again, trying to prevent yet another of his crew-mates from leaving him behind. yet it was too late, and goom crashed to the ground as maugin silently flew into the air. she was unable to set the trajectory as carefully and safely as she had for twig and cowlquape, but she had faith that she would at least not find herself over the edge. goom groaned sadly as he looked at the stone pilot fading into the distance, woodfish laying a comforting palm across the huge banderbear's head.
as she flew through the sky, maugin focused her thoughts on twig, desperately trying to keep her confidence in the air and hoping he had made it to sanctaphrax successfully, and that she would do the same. with the tension and worry that filled her, the journey seemed to take forever. flocks of snowbirds passed by in the distance, and as the wood burning
ighter and hotter she swore she could have even felt it through her stone pilot outfit. it was designed to withstand the great heat of a flight rock with no problem, yet it was hardly fire-proof. it reminded her of the time she had purposefully set it alight, during a flight with the late captain cloudwolf – sky rest his soul – in order to try and prevent the ship from going turvy. she was glad to have done it however, for some years later it led her to meet the son he had – twig verginix. a small smile played across her lips, the thoughts diverting her attention from the heat that slowly grew unbearable. she strained her eyes to look into the distance once more, considering releasing herself from the log as it grew hotter. finally the floating city came into view, and her dexterous fingers prepared to release her from the log as soon as her opportunity arose.
upon finally reaching close enough to see the specks of people on the ground ahead of her however, it soon became obvious that twig and the cowlquape boy had in fact landed in undertown instead, and seemed to be fighting someone near the anchor chain. she drew closer still as finally the anchor chain was severed by the young blond boy, the figure that had once been fighting with them clinging to the end of it – slowly but surely being pulled away into the air with sanctaphrax itself. maugin was entranced by the action taking place, and were it not for the sudden burning that made her release her grip she may not have parted from the log at all. her unexpected drop made it difficult to decide on a safe landing place, so she instead aimed towards the now freely hanging anchor chain. her hands burned from friction, even through her gloves, as she clung onto the chain for her life and slid down it rapidly. she could feel herself slowing as she descended, but even so did not expect the landing to be particularly pleasant. it came as a surprise however when she hit something solid, even before releasing the anchor chain. the solid object gave a yelp and fell beneath her, maugin herself having slowed enough to avoid a painful landing and rolling on the floor as she landed beside the heaving old man she had knocked to the ground. feeling consciousness drain from her, she realised it had in fact been the most high academe himself she knocked to the floor, though any punishment she might receive for this did not concern her. no – she was happy enough just to be able to hear twig's voice calling to her as her eyes fell closed.
maugin awoke some time later, though she had no idea of how long had passed. looking around slowly she realised she was in a small room and lying in a soft bed – obviously not having been kept in a low-class tavern whilst recovering. she tried to move yet her body still ached, and only now did she notice that parts of her burned as if the log was still strapped to her back. she exhaled sharply with pain upon trying to sit back, quickly succumbing to it and laying down again. for the time being she would have to simply lie here, and wait for someone to visit. fortunately, it was only a few minutes later that the door to the room creaked open. maugin hoped it would be her captain, yet effectively hid her disappointment when the blond academic crept into the room.
"h-hello? ...are you awake? i've
ought you some hyleberry salve, for your burns, miss stone pilot..." he sounded uncertain and afraid, as if he expected her to act like a trog turned termagent. maugin gave a pained moan as she tried to respond, the pain apparently worse after she had dropped back onto the bed and put even more pressure against her burns.
"...yes..." maugin eventually managed to say, her voice strained with agony. cowlquape's confidence seemed to grow as he hurried over to her side, careful not to drop any of the hyleberry salve he was carrying.
"oh, no, no, you shouldn't push yourself! we were so surprised when you landed...twig and the others are busy with negotiations right now. you actually saved the life of the most high academe! you did very well...oh, um, sorry, i must be rambling. here," he sat down on a small stool beside her bed and prepared the salve, looking at her uncertainly. he was by no means an expert at applying medicines like this, but with all his academic studies he was the most qualified of the crew to do it. this did not change the fact he was the least experienced at interacting with women though.
the stone pilot seemed to ignore him for a moment, before managing to roll onto her back. as she did so the blanket that was once cast over her fell to the floor, leaving her in clothes much more revealing than cowlquape expected compared to her full stone pilot outfit. she had been dressed, assumingly by one of the gabtrolls that originally started tending to her a week ago, in a simple sleeveless white dress that extended to the back of her knees. unlike normal clothes however the simple dress was held together at the back by small pins at regular intervals, ensuring the bedclothes would not stick too closely to her aching burns. cowlquape looked at her dumbstruck for a moment, uncertain what to do.