(Untitled)

[thomas_grant]

Thomas swung himself down from the rigging, rubbing his hand across his sun burnt forehead and pushing his grey hair out of his face. The sun was setting on a day that had been both productive and laborious, the ship that he and Leeny had joined now ready to set sail with the morning tide. Last minute repairs had had to be carried out on the sails

Comments

[leenymcleod]

The captain had wasted little time in getting the scrawny "lad" to work; Leeny had been immediately put in charge of the goats, as well as a small assortment of little brown hens and a surly rooster. It was her duty to make their small berth ready with hay and feed that had already been purchased, and she jumped into the task with abandon, eager to push the reason they were headed to Africa out of her mind.

Leeny was on the dock, hauling a bag of feed onto her shoulder, when she spotted Thomas walking down the gangplank. "Ho, there," she said, cheerfully, carrying the heavy bag and walking toward him. The burlap was scratchy where it brushed against her cheek, but she hardly noticed. "Have ye been well this day?"

[thomas_grant]

Thomas looked back as he heard the lass' voice, watching as she walked towards him with a sack of something on her shoulder. She might be a small thing, but it looked as though she had no problem pulling her weight on board the ship.

"Aye, lass, I've been well. What about yersel'?" he answered, his face impassable as always, though he gave her a nod.

[leenymcleod]

"It's been a long day. I know I'll sleep like a wee bairn tonight," she said, nodding at the bag and hefting it into a more comfortable position.

Her stomach was rumbling, and no doubt since she hadn't eaten for most of the day, but she was so exhausted that she wondered if she might fall asleep did she sit down. As her stomach gave another hopeful grumble, Leeny quickly came to the conclusion that she would get this last bundle onto the ship, check the animals, and find something to eat before collapsing.

"Are ye headed into town for a spot of food, then, or d'ye know whether the cap'n is providing some for us?"

[thomas_grant]

"I dinnae think th' Cap'n providin' fer us tonigh', though he's given us leave t'go ashore," Thomas replied, a smile crossing his face at the rumbling in the girls stomach. He wondered if she had eaten at all that day, since they had all been busy and he had forgotten to feed himself in the bustle to get ready.

"Would ye like t'come with me?" he offered, though he wondered what made him ask. He had decided during the day that he enjoyed the girls company and so he wouldn't start second guessing himself. He never had before and he wasn't about to start a bad habit at this age.