Knock on Wood

"Mine." Clara said simply, weighing the shell in her hand.

Nodding, Lorelei studied the woman. "I see. I apologise for the lack of introductions. My name is Lorelei Tucker, Captain of the ship Dorothy Nott. This here is Rudy, Nance, and Coran. Minikin you already know, I suppose."

"Clara Duvalt." she said, "Pleasure to make your acquaintances. Where is your vessel, exactly?"

"On the shore, back down the path a ways," Lorrie answered. "What's left of her, anyways..."

Clara stood on her toes, looking back. "I see...hm. Quite a bit of damage you took there..."

Lorelei managed a tight smile. "You should see the other guy."

Clara whistled low. "Might be better off not seeing him." she commented. "If he got off worse."

Without really thinking about it, she spoke, "Are you hungry?"

Minikin's eyes lit up, but she didn't speak.

"A square meal might be nice, actually," Lorrie admitted, glancing at her shipmates. "But if you don't mind, I need to attend to an injured crewmember of mine before I eat. The others can go, but I have a duty as a captain."

Clara nodded. "Understood. Completely! Do you need any help?"

"I should manage just fine, but thank you for your offer," Lorrie said graciously. "Coran, if you wouldn't mind keeping an eye on things while I'm gone?"

"Aye, Captain," he replied, touching a finger to his forehead.

Clara cleared her throat, looking up at her house. "Well, if you'll follow me, maybe I can have some food underway by the time the Captain takes care of the injured crew?"

She picked her now-wet shoes up and carried them as she walked back to the grassy hill.

Minikin followed her without so much as a backward glance at her crewmates, Tikkat on her heels.
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"Ow-ow-OW!! Bloody 'ell, Syrus! Take off my leg, will you?" Booth pushed himself away from the older pirate with a pair of makeshift crutches, wincing.

"Well, that'll teach ye to not lissen to th' Cap'n, eh!?"

When Clara, opened her door, she studied each person carefully, remembering their faces. It was something she'd always done; names were slippery to her, but she never forgot the way someone looked.

Those two must be related. she thought.

Nance whistled lowly, glancing around the house as he walked through the door. "Nice place," he commented.

"Compared to your bunk, anything is nice, Nance," Coran laughed, following Minikin inside.

Clara smiled, "Why, thank you. It's a miracle the place isn't a wreck." she said, trying to shoo away the itch in her throat.

"Minkin, was it? You and your kitty cat can have my room. It' right down the hall. I'm sure there's room for me to make the Captain a place, too."

She studied the rest, "As for the rest of you...hmmm..."

Grinning, Minikin nodded, dashing off.

"I'm fine with sleeping on a blanket under the stars, actually," Rudy commented as the other two nodded. "The air is nice at night; I allays leave a porthole open."

"I've got to agree with the big man," Coran shrugged.

Clara nodded thougtfully, "Alright. Suit yourself, but don't catch cold."

She studied the red-headed boy. He couldn't be that much older than she was, if that. "I have a guest room, if you'd like. You could share with your injured crewmate, hm?"

Nance quirked a laugh. "With Booth? No thank you, ma'am. He's the type that doesn't shut up, even after he's sleeping."

"Aw, come on, kid," Rudy laughed, slapping him on the back. "You can keep watch if anything happens during the night!"

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"Pack up, lads," Lorrie announced, stepping into camp. "I've found a spot where we can clean up, and get a good meal to boot. Can you move, Booth?"

Said gimp was already on his feet, leaning heavily on his crutches. "Yes, Cap'n. Ready when you are. Just keep the old man away from me!"

Clara laughed at Nance, "You don't have to call me ma'am, really. Any of you...Clara is just fine."

Glancing between her guests, she grinned. "At any rate, I can worry about where you sleep, and whether or not you all catch cold later...right now, I'll make food."

And with that, the charcoal-haired girl disappeared into the kitchen.

Nance nodded. "Yes, m-- Clara. Can do."
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"Oh, quit yer whinin' kid," Syrus growled, feigning a kick at one of Booth's crutches. "How'd you ver make it on the Nott?" They plodded along the path, Lorrie behind them, making mental notes of how much they would need for repairs.

"Don't harass him too much, Mr. Syrus," she said distractedly. "He has to get that leg better, or we'll be without a carpenter."

Clara was a whirl of activity. If there's one thing that girl could do, it was multitask.

Within ten minutes, she had a full-blown meal in the works, and she deftly tended each dish as needed.

Note: Go back to the store soon... she thought.

Minik was in the indicated room, turning slow circles, taking in everything that her wide eyes could see. It'd been next to forever since she'd seen a room like this... or seen a room at all, for that matter.
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Pausing at the path where she'd stopped before, Lorelei nodded at the house on the hill. "That's the place, boys. The rest of the crew is in there, too."

"Finally," sighed Booth, favoring his injured leg.

"Just um...take a seat wherever." Clara called to the sailors, taking the potatoes off the stove and stirring the beans.

Coran nodded, making himself comfortable at the table, as did the other two. "So, uh... how long've you been living here?"

Clara cut up a loaf of bread.

"Mm...a couple of months. The air's nice here."