[open] at least the month couldn't get any worse, right?

[fonomena]

Who: Jade Curtiss and YOU!!
When: Several days after That Party but before the start of next month
Where: Various places! Mainly the Promenade / some random hall with a supply closet / in front of the menacingly new Tommy Bahama...
What: Mostly some processing of a few Neat and Fun gifts from sundries! .....But also like, what is up with that Tommy Bahama place though--
Warnings: Nothing too pressing! Some talk of earlier events in the month and all the murder/party stabbing therein may arise, though, considering...well. Gestures at the last few weeks.....
Notes: (I've started out with brackets, but feel free to use prose! I'll match whichever style you prefer)

A; hawaiian shirt hell persists...with a twist??
[It's a bit of a belated sort of takeaway, from the one part of Friday's last announcement before the party that had seemed entirely innocuous in the grand scheme of...everything else. A new shop being opened in the Promenade, apparently--because that's just, a thing that can happen on a ship like this, apparently. Granted, the evening following that announcement had been quite the mess in and of itself--and such small things were promptly forgotten for a few days afterwards.

But eventually, Jade finds the new storefront standing out in a passing sweep of the Promenade one day, its wide display windows now taking up a space that had most certainly not existed between Sand Dollars and John's a few weeks prior. --From that point it's only natural to investigate, isn't it? i.) Perhaps you're investigating it too, and might find Jade rather further inside, staring hard at an assorted setup of polo shirts in various distinctly...tropical color gradients with a thoroughly exasperated sort of frown on his face. One would think it's at the expense of the casual gaudiness of it all--which, to be fair, it sort of is. But........he also feels like he's walked by this display a couple times already. He's been moving in a straight line this entire time. Yet the back wall sure hasn't...actually gotten any closer, for a good few minutes now--??)

...Or maybe ii.) you find Jade outside the Tommy Bahama, after the fact, hovering in front of the entrance once more with a moderately-filled matching shopping bag now on his elbow but...a frown still on his face, too, this one a great deal more perplexed.

If you're passing by, or happen to be looking even vaguely interested in checking it out:] You know, I think you might want to exercise some caution, if you're headed in there...

(closed to Natsuno) Room 109; awkward unboxing session
[Early one morning there's a card slipped under the door; familiar to Natsuno, perhaps, but actually addressed to Jade for once. Several packages waiting for him in the sundries shop, apparently--and so Jade had set out to pick them up promptly enough, probably making some airily sarcastic remark about the impressiveness of the nonexistent postal system apparently afoot here on his way out. It's a half hour or so before he returns...

Though it's not immediately obvious, because it's not like he actually comes back into the room off the bat. No, instead, Natsuno might find Jade's return instead heralded by...well, it's not quite a knock, is it? More of a weirdly muffled thump--and then another one, for emphasis--like somebody's mildly kicking the foot of the door or something?

That's exactly what it is, actually; Natsuno would open the door to find Jade on the other side, sure enough, arms full between a couple boxes stacked in the crook of an elbow and, propped in another hand...something longer than he's tall? Very narrow, shaped vaguely like a pole, with some sort of horizontal piece attached to the top of it...? Not much else to go off but the shape, though, considering it's wrapped in matching nautical wrapping paper as well. --Jade shrugs, insomuch as he's able.] Ah, thank you. Might want to step aside a moment, yes? Let's see--

[--Well, alright, initially trying to move through the door has the pole-thing promptly rapping against the top of the doorframe. Hm, time to attempt awkwardly angling it through instead...]

B; that feel when you get the useful item drop only after the nasty boss fight...
[It's an hour or so after he's processed the "gifts" in his room; at length, Jade opts to take one of the boxes in question someplace else for a closer look, if only mostly out of a discretion for Natsuno's reactions to well over half the contents. Jade can thus once again be found seated at one of the many Promenade tables--this one near a window, in the full light of the sunshine streaming through--considering the contents in said box as it now sits open on the tabletop. Slowly, one at a time, he's pulling a series of pocket-sized glass bottles from it; each one is critically examined, before evidently being considered cleared to be set upright in a growing line on the table proper. A couple of the bottles are an eggshell white, with a very vague but distinct sort of luster; a few other bottles are black, and seem to reflect rather less daylight than glass ought to; and two of them are a deep brown, oddly-shaped in a more rounded sort of way.

Jade's attention lingers rather longer on the odd-shaped ones than the others. In fact, he even opens one of them, and seems to try peering inside before testing the scent of the contents as well. Whether he's actually happy about whatever he finds is difficult to say, though, a rather inscrutable sort of expression on his face as he recaps the bottle and sits back in his chair...though a deep sigh follows the movement, too, and his tone is very dry as he speaks--more to himself than anyone in particular, but perhaps audible all the same if you happen to be nearby.]

Well, this certainly would have been rather useful about a week ago. Seems practical jokes take many forms, around here...

C; obligatory deck-cleaning happens only after burning away to ghostly nothing ok
[The question, though, the real question...is what to do with the most exasperating gift of the bunch.

Should you happen to be passing through one of the smaller and quieter halls connecting one part of a deck level to another, you might end up bumping into Jade lingering in one of them. In front of one of the more basic janitorial supply closets found throughout the ship, specifically? The closet doors are opened, anyway, and there sure are some very boring cleaning supplies in there...though Jade's still hovering and staring inside in a weirdly intent sort of way, for some reason.

Then again, difficult to miss is the fact that he's also got a deck brush with green bristles propped over one shoulder. Did he...just take it out of the closet? Or--?]

Hm, what do you think? [Oh, he's looking over to address you now, noticing your presence and acknowledging it with a cheery sort of smile, as if this is now a totally normal conversation in totally normal surroundings happening here.] If I put this inside, do you suppose it would stay put? I'd almost bet it doesn't, if I were a betting sort of man... [...Jade this doesn't actually offer anything in the way of any context here, though--]

D; wildcard!
[This log can also serve as a catch-all for any other interactions that might arise before the end of this month! Jade can generally be found in most any of the more-trafficked areas of the ship, as he does like to check around all the more common facilities at least once every few days. Feel free to have your character bump into him for whatever reason! As always, if you have something more specific in mind you'd like to thread here and want to hash it out beforehand, feel free to hit me up by message or on plurk at rainbell!]

Comments

A ii

[saltwaterlungs]

"Why, because the flamingo prints will make you want to throw yourself overboard?"

Darcy asks, leaning her shoulder against the wall beside the entrance. She had no intention of going in, considering she cannot see a single black item of clothing or anything she could comfortably punch someone in, but if this dude knows something she doesn't, she wants to rectify that immediately.

[fonomena]

"No--well, actually. Yes, that can also be simultaneously true." Jade's perplexed stare slides from the entrance to the girl now propping a shoulder against it, and the perplexed part does end up wearing off a bit at the remark in the process, a wry sort of amusement crossing his features instead. "The sights in there aren't exactly meant for mortal eyes anyhow, to say the least, unless being bright and floral enough to pass off as a poisonous creature has some sort of appeal. But even besides that! ...Hm, how to phrase it..."

Jade seems to turn it over in thought for a second or so, before a vague gesture is made with a free hand not currently weighed with a shopping bag. "Some sort of--spatial warping, also seems to be afoot in there. ...You wouldn't happen to be familiar with such things, would you?"

She doesn't look like any form of dimensional scientist, by any means. But if there's one trend Jade's identified in his stint amongst the passengers of the Serena Eterna, it's that there are some myriad walks of life represented here all the same--so who knows, really? (...Actually, her face does strike a note of familiarity, too. Come to think of it, Jade's almost positive this is the same girl Skulduggery made a very college attempt at bodyslamming, back at the party--?)

[saltwaterlungs]

Yep, she sure was, and if Darcy hadn't been so busy nursing her emotional wounds and squaring off with the captain she might've seen his more successful attempt at calming his own responsibility. As it stands, this is Some Guy telling her about dimensional warping, and she offers him a broad shrug and a small smile at his own dig at the questionable fashion choices of Tommy Bahama.

"Nope," she pops the stop at the end of the word, "but say more about it. What kind of dimensional warping?"

[fonomena]

Quite fair enough, all things considered--it'd been a terribly distracting sort of party all around, with an abundance of other things to be preoccupied with. Jade's quite content filling this initial role of being Some Guy with opinions on the fashion and interior of this particular Tommy Bahama; at this point, infamy by skill of holding back very angry teens, or by the decidedly scythe-and-explosion-filled section of the earlier weeks' island death highlight reels...are both potential reputations he's not terribly fussed to be dodging, wherever possible.....

"An excellent question! Perhaps I could say, if I knew anything at all about categories of dimensional warping..." Okay, no, but he does know what she's actually probably asking here. "It's some sort of--manipulation of distance, perhaps. The space within, at the very least. Not very noticeable at first, but the further you go in...the larger the store seems to get?"

Lowering the hand he'd been gesturing earlier, Jade goes on to shrug a bit instead.

"I've never seen anything like it. To be quite honest with you, I've been standing here thinking about running some tests on it, or perhaps hoping some passerby or another will come along to tell me that would be a terrible idea..." A sigh! And then a wry sort of look, back in Darcy's direction. This is probably assuming, but just to take a very wide sort of guess-- "But you're...probably not going to be that sort of passerby, are you?"

hi and welcome to jade's unboxing video

[neverleave]

[Things are probably not back to normal, but trying to get there. For start, Natsuno returned to the cabin after the party instead of heading back out in the lifeboat. He's surly as usual, answering Jade's quips with dry sarcasm or inscrutable one-word replies. The only sign something is still off is that he takes short naps, though it's hard to tell whether it's lasting trauma or simply a pointed reminder to Jade that he's not giving up the bed.

He figures he can just leave to start (or continue) his day, but he's curious to see what kind of package Jade got. You can learn a lot about a person from their mail, whether it's an item from home or something a higher force decided to gift them.

Natsuno opens the door and quirks an eyebrow.]

Seems excessive. [He moves out of the way, but makes no effort to help Jade with all the boxes. Is he hearing glass rattling?] Hope it's not going to blow up the room when you open it.

muffled license-free music in the bg, cue dramatic box zoom-ins.....

[fonomena]

[The fact that Natsuno's recent inclination towards naps could equally be attributed to post-island recovery and utter mattress-related brattiness has been a mild point of contention between them on and off in the past several days already, rest assured. ...Though it's also a bit as if an edge has been taken off all the mutual snarking somehow, too. At first it was easier to pass off as the both of them just being too mutually tired--and in some ways that still remains the case--but, for all that neither of them are particularly interested in examining it...it's also like something has fundamentally changed, now, in the atmosphere for cabin 109.

Jade hasn't actually made any jabs veiled or otherwise at the expense of Natsuno's stranger habits, in a little while. And Natsuno's prickliness in return--well, from the outside, it's still at about the same level. But there's other rather slighter tells, too...like the fact that he does not, in fact, immediately leave the room to pursue his usual personal morning habits when Jade leaves for the sundries shop. --It's a point of more objective relief anyway, too, when Jade doesn't have to actually kick the door open to get inside once he's back. But besides that...

Well, no, there really isn't any need to get into any of that anyway. Not when there's another perfectly preoccupying topic at hand, right this particular moment. That sure is glass rattling, as Jade gingerly one-handedly sets the two proper boxes on the coffee table in front of the couch; the glass-sounding box is rather larger than the second one, which doesn't seem to make any noise at all when jostled. And then there's the matter of the third very not-box thing that Jade's now holding horizontal between both hands, as he sinks down onto the couch and peers at it.]

It is all a bit excessive, isn't it? I was under the impression there'd only be one package at a time, generally...but apparently not. Making up for lost time, perhaps? This is my first brush with the privilege of experiencing this ship's mysterious gifts. [By now Jade has more or less started to ease back into his more general habit of cheeriness even at more inopportune times. A sort of vocal muscle memory working its way back to form, as the more raw aspects of the island events...have finally started compartmentalizing properly, a little. Natsuno's remark on explosives earns an idly amused smile across the way, even as a very brief memory of Rita's miscast spell only a couple weeks past--nearly surfaces, but is tucked back down without external acknowledgment, very promptly.] I'll be sure to very valiantly shield you with my own body, if it blows up in my face! You'll have to tell everyone it was very brave of me, though, or I'll have to haunt you forever afterwards.

[Idly, he starts picking at the wrapping paper at one end of the..."pole", thing. Tugging apart the seam reveals...wood?] --Hm, so far so good. Any guess what this could possibly be, you think?

[neverleave]

[It's much better to address the mysterious packages than the new atmosphere in cabin 109. Emotions are to be disconnected from and squashed if necessary, and it's nobody's business that Jade is, slowly but surely, becoming a trusted adult.]

There's no rhyme or reason to it. One time I got a gun, and the next time clothes from home.

[Jade's noble offer is met with an eyroll.] If you do things for praise, then it's not really valiant.

[Natsuno looks at the wooden pole.] Maybe it's a weapon? You like pole weapons. [He nudges the bottom with a foot.] Feels more like a broom, actually.

[fonomena]

[Who needs emotions anyway, really!! Not the inhabitants of cabin 109, that's a fact. Disgusting stuff. No feelings here, only...mysterious packages, for the moment. Though at least one of them's getting a lot less mysterious real quickly--

Jade was just about to level a totally-clever retort at that eyeroll and very rude discredit of a totally valiant theoretical explosion scenario, for the record! But. Then Natsuno's making his guesses, as the wrapping paper comes away, and it all ends up being quite sidetracking enough in the end, considering...]

--Mm, the weight distribution's very poor for a polearm. A training rod would be lighter, but still better-balanced. You really think it's...oh, no.

[A very mild and thoroughly exasperated note of dread, there--or more like disappointment, really--because the broom notion is sinking in while Jade pulls away more of the wrapping, revealing the rest of what's definitely a wooden handle. Attached to...a head of lime green bristles, as it turns out, as the rest of the nautical wrapping paper comes apart at the bottom. Jade...rotates it very dubiously, between his hands, as a brief pause falls in which they both process this reveal.]

...Look at this, you've invoked this. Clearly this is your fault. [Jade you literally asked Natsuno to take a guess, don't take this out on him???? ....Okay but really--] This--is a deck brush. ...Has anyone else ever gotten a deck brush?

C; skeletons, closets, it's a match made in heaven

[light_mischief]

[Somebody has just recently gotten his own sundries package, and is currently avoiding said package by not being anywhere near his cabin. Skulduggery isn't interested in dealing with the potential ramifications of his new gear, and he's been doing everything in his power to distract himself from what's starting to feel like a very low-grade, persisting headache.

So, obviously, seeing Jade rummaging around a janitor's closet is essentially like winning the All Ireland-Championships of avoiding issues. So yeah, obviously, he is going to engage with this situation, enthusiastically so!]

Depends on which deck it originally belonged to, I suppose... But there really is only one way to find out, isn't there?

it's like magnets, always one gravitating to the other....nature is beautiful......

[fonomena]

A good point, there! But the stakes are even higher, in this case; this deck brush comes from none of the decks on this ship at all.

[What a coincidence, that a morning trip by the sundries shop would end up eventually driving the both of them to this particular weirdly obscure spot! In front of this janitor's closet. ...Though, alas, Jade couldn't even say that a deck brush was the most concerning of his own set of gifts. No, a certain dusty little doll remains boxed and tucked away in a drawer of his own cabin, and Jade may be whiling away time as he debates what he wants to do with it himself--but that's not the topic at hand right now, is it?]

In fact, unless I'm sorely mistaken...this thing came right off the shelf of a certain thrift shop in Daath. There's even the stamp of manufacture--here-- [Jade cheerfully lowers the brush's angle on his shoulder, to show Skulduggery the stamped impression of some sort of tuning fork design near the base of the piece holding the bristles. (After some maneuvering to not, you know, accidentally whack his skull off with the other end of it, or something incredibly rude like that--)] They still had the whole thing in wrapping paper, believe it or not, when I picked it up from sundries. ...You wouldn't happen to have any uses in mind for a deck brush, would you? Now's your chance, before I throw this thing into this closet and see what happens!

[light_mischief]

...You were sent a broom?

[Sorry, what? Excuse him, how does Jade get cleaning supplies while Skulduggery ends up with -- you know what! It's fine. It's absolutely not an issue.]

Why would you get sent a broom? Is it... well, obviously it's not special, if you're planning on chucking it. [He gestures for Jade to continue with the experiment, realizing as he does so that... he does want to know what will happen. The broom could get spat out, or disintegrated, or teleported -- or, unhappily, nothing interesting at all could happen. Still, that's a risk science has to take sometimes.] I think I need to know what happens, so... have at it.

[fonomena]

Well, it was one of three different packages! But yes, among them, they sent me a broom. [With a cheer that's very, very dry. Because...yeah, Jade's still in about as much disbelief over it as Skulduggery, even without awareness of his skeletal associate's rather more grim gift of the day.] I'm still asking myself that question, too. There's nothing remarkable about this whatsoever, no! Barely qualifies as any sort of emergency weapon, honestly...and I'm certainly not using it to clean anything around here. I do wonder if it might be some sort of message, in that sense...?

[Never mind that it actually is categorized as a (completely terrible) weapon in Abyss, and can be equipped as such, but whatever!! We have no patience for traditional gag weapons here gdi-- Jade's shrugging off the theories even as he speaks, though, as he steps towards the closet.]

Either way, I certainly see no point in keeping it! I figure perhaps the ghost crew here could make some use of it, if nothing else. But considering the way this place seems to react, to misplaced items...

[Welp, in goes the deck brush without further ado, propped against the back wall of the closet alongside some other brooms before Jade steps back and pulls the doors shut. ...He doesn't take his hand off the door handle just yet, though, as he looks back over to Skulduggery sidelong with a smile still in place.]

There might be some sort of rejection! Suppose it shoots back out, when I let go of these doors? I might have to use you as a bit of a human shield, against such a dangerous projectile...hm, or--I suppose a skeletal shield would be the more accurate term, in this case?

B

[myagic]

[Rita had simply been passing by, but while she's often going somewhere with a goal in mind, right now...it's more aimless. She's obtained a perfect new replacement outfit (cinched at the waist with a clashing striped scarf and complete with mismatched sandals, of course because hey, let's just continue the luke comparisons with bad fashion too) and has a waffle cone piled with strawberry ice cream, and is vaguely annoyed at how normal the ship's trying to pretend to be even as she devours the frustratingly-tasty treat.

So when she spots Jade, she figures now's as good a time as any to try picking his brain some more, now that there's no weird hospital situations or awkward feelings or anything happening. Probably. The clacking of her sandals probably gives her away as she comes over and peers at whatever has his attention--huh, they look familiar...]

Are those panacea bottles?

[fonomena]

[Really, it's sort of a testament to just how preoccupying Jade's actually finding these bottles, that he doesn't actually spot Rita's approach until she actually speaks up. The familiar voice does sidetrack him promptly, of course, straightening in his seat as he sets the bottle onto the table and--

--Well, good heavens. It's not actually possible to be blinded by clothes, of course, but Jade does feel rather as if he's going to damage some part of his eyesight just by looking too long over there?? Wow...]

I see you've been doing some shopping at the new facility of late. [Slipping out in all its dubious and mildly sardonic glory, before he can quite stop himself. (Not that he's trying particularly hard, admittedly, becasue really...) Fortunately, at least, Rita's question does sink in a moment afterwards...and it's just startling enough to cut any more thorough mocking rather short, in favor of a vague surprise that crosses Jade's features right after in turn.] --Yes, though, they actually--you do know what these are?

[Granted, panacea bottles are fairly common back home in general, but with the passage of time Jade's started to get rather more used to aspects of home not being very familiar at all to anybody else around here. Seeing as he seems to remain the only ambassador of Auldrant aboard this ship... (Which is a good thing, all told.) So, to hear some recognition in such an offhand way now...it's unexpected, to say the least?]

[myagic]

[She's trying to figure out what's going on with him, staring like that just a little too long (surely their last conversation didn't end that awkwardly), but then he goes and comments on her...outfit? The way he says it makes it sound like less of an observation and more like he's judging her choice of clothes, and Rita's narrowing her eyes and about to ask if there's anything more he'd like to say--but his reply is weird enough to draw her focus instead. Crisis averted? Well, kind of...]

Of course I know what panacea bottles are; do you think I've been living under a rock?

[She's going to go ahead and invade his personal space to peek inside the box to see if there's anything else of interest, but--holy and dark bottles?]

Hmph, those are pretty useless here, aren't they? I haven't even seen a single monster since getting on this stupid ship.

[fonomena]

[Fashion ribbing very narrowly dodged!! Well, for now, anyway...if Rita's going to be embracing the contents of the new Tommy Bahama this enthusiastically going forward, a very stupid argument about this is. All but bound to happen sooner or later, let's be real...

But not now! No, the topic for now is travel bottles, and more surprising parallels found therein...though honestly, finding this one's almost a bit of a relief? Enough so that Jade doesn't really begrudge Rita the personal space invasion she's performing about now, coming right up to his side of the table for a better look as she now does. ......Or maybe that's more a developed tolerance for her presence after Recent Events, even--but that's way sappier for reasoning, so we're not looking at that!! Anyway--]

Well, not so much under a rock necessarily, but you are from a different world...and I've run into several people who have no idea what these are whatsoever. Seems our homes in particular do share a similar level of common sense, at the very least! [As if common sense is even a factor at all, here, and it isn't just...some series of coincidences that either align or don't. (The similarities between their worlds in particular do just keep piling up in the most peculiar sort of way, though...) Jade idly props his elbows on the table and rolls his shoulders in a vague shrug, when Rita makes the same sort of observation that had crossed his own mind.] The fauna around us in general really is quite limited, isn't it? At this point I'm starting to wonder if there are even any fish in this sea, let alone monsters in general. There wasn't anything else living on the island but plants, either...

[Although. Jade's thoughts may be wandering back to some very subtle reactions Natsuno had, to those particular bottles, and now he's sirt of wondering.....how many other passengers on this ship these bottles might actually have an impact on? --Not enough data to say that aloud just yet, though. Especially since--]

I'm almost certain this bottle distribution must be intentional. It'd be far too useful to receive a box full of panacea bottles, surely--but a smaller number of something useful, alongside a larger number of something rather less so? I daresay there's practically a message here. [If not an outright veiled attempt to expose 'monsters' of other kinds on this ship...but, again, not enough grounds for that thought just yet. Speaking dryly in this fashion, though, Jade's pointing at the row of three dark bottles about now (in contrast to there being only two of everything else--)] You and I both know these are the least valuable of the bunch--perhaps outright slightly more dangerous, in certain circumstances. It certainly drops hints as to just who might be responsible for the contents of these packages, now doesn't it?

A ii

[makesomedeals]

[Standing outside the Tommy Bahama is an entirely metal being, arms folded over the chest of his $40,000 suit, apertures of his red eyes narrowed as he scowls at the offending store. Maybe if Maximilien glares at it long enough it will go away.

All he had done was innocently ask Friday if she could supply them with additional clothing (and dry cleaning) and this is what she did. He's never experienced the monkey paw curse of getting exactly what he asked for and Max is definitely not a fan.]

I'm not planning on going in there again, I think being within arms reach of that much bastardized silk is bad for my wellbeing.

[He has obvious opinions about the quality of the clothing in there.]

Why specifically?

[fonomena]

[You know, he's been preoccupied enough with staring at the entrance to the Tommy Bahama--as if looking hard enough might somehow yield answers all on its own--that Jade hasn't actually directed a proper look to the approach of the vaguely person-shaped impression on his peripheral vision, despite the warning spoken aloud. Still, the voice that actually responds does end up more properly snaring his attention pretty quick: unfamiliar, but strangely-modulated, and--

--Oh, but that does explain itself pretty quickly, when it turns out to sure be coming from the entirely metal man in a suit across the way. A familiar metal man, even if this is the first time they've actually interacted in any particular capacity; you've been making quite a name for yourself lately, Maximilien! Between the enthusiastic machine-gunning footage on the island (before a prompt whip-based beheading, whoops), and the fairly successful stabbing attempt blatantly made right at the beginning of that last party, to which Jade had a very fun front-row view at their large shared table....

Well. It's all rather a Lot, you know. Extenuating circumstances to be sure all around, though; here and now is a decidedly less extenuating atmosphere altogether. Jade suspects his initial second-hand impressions will have been rather more honest than the impression he might gather here and now...but that's half the interest in the end, now isn't it? Limited as the space on their current mutual prison is, they're bound to bump into each other sooner or later anyway--if not have some other unfortunate encounter in an ""excursion"" down the line--so! As good a time as any, here, to get a measure of just what's going on with this particular person...

A proper mildly amused smile is now being leveled Max's way, belying nothing in the way of all that actual thought process up there. (Which had transpired in about a second or so's pause, and a speculatively peering sort of glance...)] The material's flashy enough that it does look like it might try and drag you in should you get too close, doesn't it? Brave enough of you to have gone in just once already, truly! Though I assume it must have been only the briefest of visits...

[Not that he's judging on that front, necessarily. Jade might indeed now have a Tommy Bahama-branded shopping bag on his arm anyhow--because sometimes you just have to take what you can get, in these trying clothing-sparse times--but evidently the styles in there aren't exactly up to his speed either, even if the sharp teal lines of what he's wearing currently do denote some sort of uniform. But it's a well-tailored uniform, you know--and his civilian wardrobe was more tailored than not anyway, back home--and Max's suit certainly does look thoroughly tailored over there too, even if the styling is somewhat foreign by Jade's own perception...

Anyway, the point is that the existence of this store sure is a travesty, and they can both readily agree about this!! Finding out who was responsible for making this happen will be fun for sure, if it ever comes out.... More importantly, though--]

You didn't get around to trying to move towards the back wall in there, I take it?

[makesomedeals]

Extremely brief, I wanted to verify that it was as horrid as it looked from the outside. I'll admit I was in a bit of disbelief that shirts even came in so many patterns of foliage.

[He wants to say that he also can't imagine who would wear this nonsense but he's already seen Sharky parading around in his full Tommy Bahama glory with as many mismatched florals as possible. Unfortunately he apparently knows exactly who it's for.

Max won't judge the bag over Jade's arm because whatever it is at least he's not wearing it currently. Though the thought plagues him that in the future he might have to converse with and be constantly surrounded by people dressed like Florida retirees pretending their backyard pool is a Caribbean vacation. Yuck.]

No, I only went about halfway maybe? It seemed to be unnaturally long and I didn't want to spend any more time there than necessary.

I also don't understand how this store appeared between two other stores, that's not how architecture generally works.

B (with apologies for the delay!)

[more_magic]

The man is familiar like most of the passengers are, someone he's seen around but hasn't spoken to beyond an occasional pleasantry--at least so far. Darlington doesn't even intend to stop as he passes his table, but something about the bottles in front of him and the rueful sound of his voice gives him pause. When he uncorks one, sniffing the contents, that's almost painfully familiar, too.

"Timing is rarely if ever what we'd like it to be," Darlington observes, equally wry. "What do those do?"

no worries at all, you're just fine! 💕

[fonomena]

This man is familiar in turn, in a similar vague passed-by sort of way. It's difficult to truly go long without encountering some face or another, aboard this ship--impressive in size in comparison to conventional sailing ships in general, perhaps, but a limited space in the end all the same, especially when the weeks start stacking together and you end up often retreading and sharing similar haunts with others.

Still, they've never spoken beyond the barest waved pleasantries across the way; in that sense, the reply happening now registers as a vague sort of surprise, effectively tugging Jade's attention from the bottle to the man pausing beside the table quite promptly.

"Well! For starters, this is a panacea bottle. I suppose the most conventional category type for this sort of apothecary item would be 'elixir', if you're familiar with such things?" Tempting as it might have normally been, to playfully beat around the bush on the matter--Jade finds he's not in quite the mood for such amusements this particular time today, and so the answer is a rather more direct one...very fortunately for Darlington! It could be said that the irony of these bottles now existing before him in general has planted something of a lingering bitter note in thought, for Jade...not that he lets said bitter note shine through at this particular moment, though, addressing the perfectly sensible curiosity of a stranger. That would be rude, after all! Jade smiles wryly in turn, as he caps the brown bottle in his hand and idly swirls the contents to indicate it. "Most commonly used to cure poisoning and paralysis, though it's very effective for a variety of other ailments as well. Extremely handy, as you might imagine--but of course, I didn't have any on my person when I arrived here. This package has only arrived today...well after our island venture."

Not that he's entirely sure a panacea bottle would have even been enough to stop a collar poisoning, in the end...but still. He places the bottle back down onto the tabletop, though the spot he chooses might be obligingly closer to Darlington's side of the table, on the off-chance he wants a closer look at it for himself. "It could just be coincidence, of course. I can't help but wonder if it's actually very intentional timing too, though..."

[more_magic]

No small number of the people he's met on the ship hold what information they have as close as possible. It's a reaction Darlington can't fault; Lethe prized discretion in its delegates as much as it did a facility with languages or evidence of a regular fitness regimen, and he'd acted accordingly. He's kept secrets about the uncanny, about his own life, and to be displeased when others maintain their own silences is at best hypocritical.

Still, when his question is answered by a veritable torrent of information, it comes as an exceptionally welcome surprise. Especially when the response hews so closely to so many of the things he's spent so long pursuing himself.

"I'm familiar with elixirs," he says, pulling out the chair opposite and sitting down. "Brewed one or two myself, honestly, but healing magic was more someone else's purview than mine." When the bottle's set back down, he's quick to pick it up, holding it to the light streaming in through the window and letting it illuminate the elixir within. The man's musing takes an understandable turn, and Darlington huffs a polite if dry laugh. "Ordinarily, I'd say never attribute to malice what might be coincidence, but on this ship, I think the reverse might be true. It would figure you'd be given this immediately after it might have been of most use."

closed to palamedes; room 105

[fonomena]

A day or two after Jade receives his assortment of packages from the sundries shop, Palamedes Sextus receives a morning text message on his phone. Within is an inquiry as to whether he's in his room presently, and receptive to a brief visit; if not, a willingness to schedule a good time is outlined. But either way, should the inquiry be met with an affirmative of some form...

Well, at some point, Jade's knocking on the door of cabin 105--a small cardboard box tucked under one arm, and a bag labeled to be from sundries in the other hand.

It's been a bit of time since their last proper conversation, all told. Barring a few times in which Pal might have checked up on his status via message, immediately following the aftermath of the battle royale...well. Jade wouldn't say he's been avoiding the young man, but--it'd be lying to say that the weight of their last talk hasn't been sitting atop Jade's head for a fair amount of time ever since they had it, either. Tread and retread, in thought. Between the clarity of hindsight and a thinning of the mental haze that jungle excursion had left behind--there are surely things he'd said in that conversation that Jade regrets. Even if the air had finally ended up clearing between them, in the end...even if it had seemed that Pal was able to take it more or less in stride, eventually....

Still.

--Jade's ready with a pleasant enough smile of greeting when the door opens, at least. With a couple weeks' buffer from the events on the island, exhaustion finally weighs rather less heavily on his frame, and his more normal air of idle composure has seemingly returned, carried over to his tone when he speaks. A promising start?

"Good morning to you! I feel I ought to apologize for the short notice. I was hoping you might have the time to examine something, perhaps? ...But I've a few other things for you too..."

Re: closed to palamedes; room 105

[hellonspectacles]

In the end, Palamedes and Jade had parted still friends after their tense conversation following the dreadful adventure with the murder island. They aren’t angry at each other, exactly. But it can’t be denied that the air between them has changed slightly. Jade had made assumptions that Palamedes cannot quite forget, and had told him things that, perhaps, make Pal see him just a little differently. It’s nothing either of them could pinpoint, but there’s something there, and that has made it easy for them to give each other a wide berth while avoiding thinking too much about why.

Whatever the barrier between them, though, it’s thin and pliable enough that Pal isn’t about to refuse a direct request—especially an intriguing one. He tells Jade that he can, of course, come by whenever he likes, and greets his cheerfully enough when he opens the door.

“Hello! Please, come in.” Pal, admittedly, eyes the box with naked curiosity. “No need to apologize—I would be happy to. What is it you need me to examine?”

[fonomena]

The text exchange had indeed been amiable enough, at least; the greeting that Pal offers in turn when the door opens is similarly not without a perfectly suitable amount of cheer. Part of Jade is already mildly relieved that at least this initial foray in person isn't immediately awkward...but a part of him does also wonder, vaguely, if Pal might be putting up something of a similar front to Jade himself about now too. As they both very prudently sidestep that bit of a change in atmosphere that had...certainly occurred, during that conversation and following it.

...Still, trying to guess an answer to that question would also be an utterly pointless endeavor about now anyway, now wouldn't it?

No, such thoughts are quite firmly and promptly set aside, never quite reaching the pleasant smile that persists on Jade's features as he cordially steps into the cabin once invited. Pal's question--and the naked curiosity with which he's already eyeing the box under Jade's arm--is met with a slight hum, as Jade finds himself needing to take a second just to actually...phrase an answer, properly, seeing as something more direct would just be. Very weird out of context, probably......not that it isn't going to get pretty weird in a few minutes when Pal inevitably opens the box anyway, of course, but still.

"A delivery from sundries, so to speak--one of a handful of packages I received, in fact. This was part of my own first round of these famed 'mysterious deliveries' that several seem to acquire aboard this ship...very odd results, all told." Only one of the three packages had turned out to be anything even vaguely useful, honestly. Then there was the deck brush, and...this.

But Jade doesn't actually offer the box over initially. Instead he's actually holding out the sundries bag Pal's way, first, something a bit more wry curving into his smile.

"There's also these--not a package or anything related, though. No examination necessary for these. While I was there, you see, I also located a shelf containing notebooks with a surprisingly decent quality of paper within, for once. ...I thought perhaps you might be interested in them?"

He'd seen the sheer number of notes Pal had assorted in his half of the room during the last visit. Something of a mutual writer's solidarity, perhaps, in this pick of stationery...though he's not sure Pal actually needs it. Perhaps the young man is plenty well-supplied enough already, but...

Alright, so maybe the bag is just a bit of a peace treaty. Unmentioned but present are several pens of varied color and upper quality as well, painstakingly picked out from the clutter of the sundries shop too...and maybe Jade isn't quite making direct eye contact, for a moment, as he continues in an entirely idly casual sort of air: "I profess I'd also debated on bringing in some hot drinks for the morning, perhaps...but I've never actually ascertained whether you're more of a tea or a coffee sort of person--"