The sky was a delightfully dusky pink hue at this time of the evening. Snow had arrived, had her luggage packed and brought aboard, and had spent the rest of the hours before cast off meeting the other passengers in the large ships dining room that sat high on the back end of the ship.
The room was beautifully decorated in a deep mahogany, plush and royal and lit up with the sight of the evening sky reflecting off the large arched windows that gave the whole room an airy sort of feeling.
Her cabbie had volunteered very kindly to wheel her up to the dining room, and he had anxiously stayed with her as they waited, glancing waywards at her every few seconds as if she’d not him pressing himself against the wall's woodwork. He did profess after a little prodding that Ilya had told him to stay with her until the ship cast off.
She had sighed, ‘because of course Ilya had done that’ and accepted the man's company, asking him to push her so she was sitting at one of the two dining tables, they both waited there. Chatting idly about the man’s duties as a cabbie, and whether Ilya seemed to have any intention of leaving after she had.
Someone by the name of Sihge was the first to enter. His name announced by another noble friend of his, A Bellemarque noble from his appearance he sported a set of slim gold spectacles that didn’t fit his dark oval shaped face. His eyes peered out from above them under a notch of thin salt and pepper eyebrows. Wrinkles cut his mouth into a frown and he looked disapprovingly out at the sunset.
His friend was different, an altogether flamboyant spectacle he laughed easily at Sihge’s pallid remarks, pulling him hand in ruffled hand to the darkest recess of the dining room, where Sihge was convinced to help him unbuckle a corset that he complained loudly was far to tight for him, Sihge frowned at this display, and hid his face from the other entering nobles, while his companion’s eyebrows waggled at Snow’s and Orandal’s smothered laughter.
Snow made a silent promise to introduce herself to those two before they cast off.
Behind those two quickly followed two noble women who looked to be either from Porchimor’ or Riine, Snow couldn’t quite tell. Their bleach white faces looked oddly, unnatural contrasted against the room's mahogany. And delicate fans fluttered covering their mouths as they surveyed the interior with what Snow could only fathom as faint distaste.
Five more entered quietly, a smattering of the Copshishec upper crust, their national dress matching the pale white faced women that entered before. Off white żupan’s with filigree red accents that made them look like a group of strange blood etched doves crowding together, suitable intimidating military wear Snow supposed.
Off to the side and regarding the Copshi nobles with a skittish appraisal were to Djadguiime messengers, they broke off from the mass. and all quickly gathered in small grouplets.
Snow looked around at them curiously, smiling at the two noble women that glanced her way.
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“Fifteen minutes until we depart,” one of the ship's staff said, bowing to the nobles.
Snow bid farewell to Orandal, Passing him a few extra vennam for his time she waved as he shuffled down the gangplank.
A few more minutes passed, Snow idly folding her napkin into squares while she waited.
The sailors shouted, as they began to unfurl the moorings, preparing to pull in the gangplank as the last men on land rushed towards the plank, it skidding across the rough hewn cobblestones as the ship began to turn away from the pier.
Having seen a tugboat earlier, Snow asked one of the attendants to push her out to the front whenever possible, wanting to see how they manoeuvred out of the narrow pier.
“Hold!” a deep voice yelled out.
A tall man was running towards the gangplank, a smaller man in tow. holding two massive travelling trunks on his shoulders as he ran, the last few men had long since ran up the gangplank by now, watching helplessly as the man approached the widening gap.
He sprinted, hoisting one of the trunks and throwing it towards the ship, Snow pressed her face against the glass, the other noble who had left the dining room peering interestedly over the balcony railing overlooking the main deck. They watched as the trunk arcked towards the main deck, the man grabbing his smaller companion and jumping just as they reached the edge.
A jet of black dust was kicked up as he leaped and it followed him as he trailed over the sailors heads, landing roughly in the middle of the ship.
“Dearly sorry I'm late, Capitan!” the man yelled, brashly saluting the captain who had come out to have a look at the commotion.
Sihge’s brightly dressed companion could be heard clapping, now rid of his corset he jumped about with energy quite impressed that this stranger had managed to make it onboard.
The man deposited his little companion who was in a daze, collecting his senses he rushed to pick up their tossed trunk, it having burst along the seams as it landed, underclothes and a few thick sacks lying haphazardly across the broad sweep that marked the steps up to the dining room.
“We’d greatly appreciate two rooms nearest the sea, Capitan” the man said, patting his small companion forward to present him he sighed “my apprentice here gets seasick, dear boy.”
On a second glance and with the reference of other men the man wasn’t as large as he first appeared, though by no means small at a good six foot something, it was just that his little companion was a child. A young boy who followed him up to the dining room trepidatiously, gathering up their belongings as they walked and handing the bundle in the split trunk to the man and then shyly disappearing behind one leg.
“That was oh so impressive, sir ?” Sihge’s companion said with delight, a touch of curiosity in the question, he curled his arm around Sihge, drawing him closer to the large man, “Dalmar is the name, this my boy is Elija” he said smiling at the gathered crowd of nobles, a few of them now bored of the show walked off, leaving space enough for Snow to wheel herself out to the balcony.
“My name is Paloma, this here is lord Sihge Flores Aughustine, oh and this… hello dear I don’t actually know your name” Paloma said, looking down at Snow who had wheeled eagerly into the small cluster of people still left.
“Snow Evangeline Locusta” Snow said, putting her hand out, to which Dalmar kissed.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, need help getting to your room?” Dalmar said, leaning in at her not he took place behind her “condolences for the seizure of your shops” he lavished, under his breath. The quiet clicking of the wheels on the wood ramp down to their rooms a pronounced metronome, Paloma bid them farewell, retreating with a giggle Sihge’s murmured protestations lost to the wind.
The Ship departed finally, once out of the stifling confines of the pier spreading its wings on the awaiting gale.