Topic: Nip It in the Bud

Carley · Date: 2009-06-23 23:12 EST

"Yeah, me and CyCy had a lot of fun last night!"

"Can't. I'm meeting boss for dinner, old man."

Orson wasn't particularly pleased. Not with whatever was going on with Carley and Cyrail. It was suspicious how much time they suddenly spent together as of late. Outings to taverns, working late nights together, and now dinner! "Pah!" Orson grumpily voiced his aggravation aloud as he paced his cabin in the Luinista.

Carley was a dear, sweet child to him. Vibrant and full of life. Then? Then there was Cy. Cy had good qualities, of course, but he wasn't right at all for his dear, sweet adopted granddaughter. "Cocky bastard..."

Orson had to nip this in the bud.

He would fight fire with fire. Hi jinx with hi jinx. Shenanigans with shenanigans. Mischief with mischief. He would do something he figured Carley would do, in such a situation. Scheme. Lie. It was for the greater good, after all.

After spending a good half hour scouring his room for a blue pen, Orson tacked an additional fifteen minutes to his search to find some paper. The pen had to be blue, since Carley always seemed to write with blue, and this had to look legit. Cy was no fool, after all. Still, he knew her handwriting, but how did she write? How did she formulate her thoughts on paper? Bah. No matter. It wasn't likely that Cy knew either. Sitting down, Orson opted to pen something short and perhaps, not so sweet, while he did his best to emulate Carley's handwriting.

CyCy,

I find you to be a very good employee, but I feel you're trying to carry our relationship to a level I'm uncomfortable with. I don't mind having a friendly work relationship, but I would appreciate if you started to respect boundaries and discontinued your pursuits.

C

It was a masterpiece, in Orson's mind. Grunting in satisfaction, he folded the paper once, twice, thrice, and one last time for good measure. He simply had to deliver the letter now.

Upon exiting his cabin, the gnome snuck around and peeped around the various hallways of the Luinista. No one seemed to be out and about. Excellent. They were likely tired from having to clean up so much muck earlier that day. Something that Cy should have helped with, he thought, since it was Cy's fault in the first place!

Eventually after all his sneaking, Orson stood in front of Cy's room. Rather than barge in, though he knew it to be empty, he simply shoved the letter underneath the door. The boy would see it when he returned from his outing with Carley, surely.

All he had to do was wait.

Cyrail · Date: 2009-06-24 00:35 EST

Dinner, in Cy's opinion, had gone pretty well. He'd gotten to try a couple new foods he'd never had before. Having lived in the forest most of his life, the food and other goods carried in the various city were a wonder to him. Not to mention, Rhydin had a larger variety than any other place he'd visited. He hadn't really been sure where to go, but he and Carley ended up going to a diner of the shorter elf's choosing. Cy had a hamburger and some onion rings. He thought they were both quite good, but he especially liked the onion rings. He wasn't really sure why.

After the meal, Cy decided to stop by the Luinista before he returned to the inn he was staying at. He wanted to check on the mana core in Tower 3 and grab a book that he'd left in his cabin. Once he was aboard the airship, he looked around the deck. He could see pretty well, as the sun was beginning its descent past the horizon. There was no sign of the fight that took place the night before. His thoughts lingered on the encounter briefly.

He headed down to the cabins below deck and wandered down the hall toward his own room. His was near the end of the hall. Orson had insisted when Cy first joined the crew that the elf's room not be anywhere near Carley's. The memory made Cy roll his eyes. No one else seemed to be around. He figured that was going to be the case when he got there. He pushed aside the door to his cabin and stepped inside.

He didn't even notice the piece of paper he'd stepped on. It continued to go unnoticed, as Cy got absorbed in reading the book he'd come to get. He forgot all about the mana core and pretty much everything else. He read for such a long time, that he eventually fell asleep. The book slid from his hands and onto the floor.

When Cy awoke, he let out a sigh and looked around. The clock on the wall opposite him indicated it had to be morning. "Aw, hell." Cy hurriedly changed out of the clothes he'd been wearing and into something more suitable for him to work in. It wouldn't be long before everyone got to the Luinista. They could have been there already, actually. He reached down to pick up the book off of the floor, when he noticed a piece of paper near his door.

He unfolded it and started to read.

CyCy,

I find you to be a very good employee, but I feel you're trying to carry our relationship to a level I'm uncomfortable with. I don't mind having a friendly work relationship, but I would appreciate if you started to respect boundaries and discontinued your pursuits.

C

The ink was blue. The handwriting looked pretty similar to Carley's, but the wording seemed kinda formal. Cy frowned as he reread the small letter. He couldn't help but feel a little hurt by it. What pursuits was she talking about? Really, he had been starting to think that Carley was going to be the first close friend he'd made in a long time. The letter was discouraging. "Tch." Cy tossed the letter aside in an annoyed manner.

Not long after everyone had started their work for the day, Cy approached Carley since she didn't appear terribly busy at the time. "Hey. Got a second?" The talk was brief. Two sentences actually. Cy spoke to Carley curtly. "Didn't realize I was crowding you. I'll stop." And then, he walked off. He planned to concentrate on his work more than usual today. It'd help keep him from getting into a worse mood.

Carley had been all smiles until Cy's curt reply. She seemed confused for a moment, blinked, then snorted. "Must have woke up on the wrong side of the bed." With that, she went off to work with Orson, rather than with Cy.

Carley · Date: 2009-06-25 21:17 EST

Orson was more than delighted when the two elves departed that night, at different times, to different places. Carley to a sticker party, and Cy to drown in booze at some tavern.

"Serves ya right, boy."

The gnome couldn't allow his plan to die there, however. He had to keep pushing! With another letter, perhaps he could drive a bigger wedge between the two. They might not talk at all for days. Weeks. Months, even! The idea delighted him so, he couldn't help but give a jolly laugh from deep in his gut.

Just as he had done the previous night, Orson dug out from within the depths of his room some plain paper, but rather than pen this particular message in blue, he chose to do so in black ink. He hadn't a clue what sort of handwriting Cy had, but he took a shot in the dark and wrote in small, delicate writing.

Carley,

As your employee, I don't think it's a good idea for us to explore anything beyond that. We are getting all too familiar with one another, and that's impeding our work. Also, it's not 'CyCy' - My name is Cy. Got it?

CY

"Now she can find a nice young man to spend her time with."

Orson folded the letter twice, thrice, and yet again. Just as he did the previous night. And just as he did the previous night, he delivered the letter beneath someone's door. Not Cy's this time, however, but under the door leading into Carley's room.

She would find it in due time, and his plan would be taken to greater heights.

Carley · Date: 2009-06-25 21:57 EST

The previous night had been full of ups and downs, as life was wont to do. Stickers. Scented markers. Gossip Gangstar Issues. Fun with Cy. It was all fantastic! Really, it was the most fun Carley had had in a while.

And then there was Glenn, who may as well have ripped her heart out of her chest and put it on the sandwich he was eating.

Carley had thought friendship possible, at the very least. After all, it was Glenn that wanted to break up, so many months ago. It was Glenn that wanted to depart for a magic school, so very far away. It was Glenn that had left her. If anyone had a right to be angry or upset or act so flippantly, would it not be her? But no, it was he who acted as if she were the bad guy. It was obvious - with the way he hugged her (or didn't, really), the way he regarded her, the way he simply ignored her. He simply didn't like her.

It had hurt. In fact, it still hurt. She knew it would hurt tomorrow as well.

She thought herself lucky to have a friend like Cy. He had perked her right out of her funk when he found her in the alley behind the inn.

The good mood had followed her, in spite of hurts, throughout the night and all of the day. It followed Carley as she woke up, made herself breakfast, left her apartment, and departed to the Luinista. And really, that just improved her mood all the more. It wouldn't be long at all before the airship was operational again, and that was as it should be. It wasn't right at all for such a beautiful vessel to be so... wounded and earthbound.

Rather than start work just yet, the little elf ventured into the ship itself to head to her cabin. She had to change into more appropriate attire for work with Orson that day. He had plans to teach her more on the fine art of navigation, key to any pilot of any sort of vessel.

Entering her cabin, Carley immediately took note of the letter on the floor. She had booted it a couple feet away stepping in side. Curious over what it could be about and who it could be from, she immediately snatched it up to unfold and read.

Carley,

As your employee, I don't think it's a good idea for us to explore anything beyond that. We are getting all too familiar with one another, and that's impeding our work. Also, it's not 'CyCy' - My name is Cy. Got it?

CY

Blinking bright blues, Carley read it again and again. Furious, she huffed, puffed, and turned to kick at her now closed door. The absolute audacity!!

Her anger, however, wasn't directed at Cy. It was directed to the one who wrote the letter. Yes, she knew of the letter Cy received. He spoke to her about it last night! And whoever was at fault for the first letter was obviously at it again! But who could it be? Who would do something so... mean?

It wasn't something Carley could figure out on her own. Though she didn't know the cargo workers terribly well, none seemed to be the type to pull such a trick. It would have to be sorted out later.

With her blueberry scented blue marker, Carley wrote beneath the message.

They're at it again, CY.

It was then that the little elf changed into work-appropriate gear and departed from her room. The letter was slid beneath the door to Cy's room on her way up to the deck. After that, it was put out of mind as Carley went about her day, working and toiling about the Luinista.

Cyrail · Date: 2009-06-26 15:58 EST

It wasn't until Cy was taking a break from his duties that he went to his cabin. It was usually fairly cool in there and a welcome escape from being out on the deck, in the sun. He noticed the letter that was on the floor. He picked it up and read it over. It annoyed him immediately. Carley's message at the end of the letter was an obvious indication that it had been delivered to her, and that she had read it. Cy folded the letter up and tucked it into one of his back pockets.

He moved to sit in the only chair in his cabin. It was wooden and old. It had hardly any luster at all and tended to squeak quite loudly when it was used. His dark brown eyes lowered to gaze at the floor. Whoever the person writing the letters was, they were pretty damn determined. Two letters in two days. Cy shook his head. Who was it? He couldn't think of anyone right offhand. It was a dirty trick and seemed like something no one aboard the Luinista would resort to. Cy leaned forward in his chair a little and thought. The reason why this was happening was even more mysterious than the who of the matter.

It was apparent that someone was misunderstanding his relationship with Carley. Both letters had the common theme of requesting distance from the one they were addressed to. Not only that, but they were also slightly curt and formal. Cy wasn't really sure how Carley would phrase something when she wrote, but by the way she spoke he didn't think it would have been formal or short. It was something he should have considered before accepting the letter at face value. He sighed. His own expression of thoughts to paper would most assuredly have been short, but even Cy knew that the tone of the words wasn't his.

There were only two possible conclusions in Cy's mind. Either someone on the crew secretly wanted to date Carley, or someone was simply not pleased with the fact that they thought she was dating him. The first scenario would be the simplest to fix. However, Cy already had an idea that would suit both situations. If he and Carley pretended they were together, Cy was confident the culprit would reveal themselves. Observation would be a key component to the plan. He knew he'd have to be more convincing that he had been during the incident with the drow, but he was confident he would be able to handle it.

All that was left was to ask Carley about it. He decided he would ask her to go somewhere with him after work and he'd bring it up. He stood up and stretched for a few moments. With a nod to himself and a sly smile, Cy left his cabin. For the time being, it was back to work.

Carley · Date: 2009-06-26 19:30 EST

Clipboard in hand, Carley leafed through various pages and idly glanced them over. It was really more of an effort to look busy than be busy. Out on the deck, she leaned lazily against the railing. Paperwork was boring work. With a sigh she turned her attention to her surroundings. Various workers ambled here and there, preparing for the long day ahead, as it was early yet. Seeing one smile and wave to her, she returned the gesture in kind, but with no small amount of suspicion. Could it be he...? No. He was married. He had a happy family. Carley shook her head at herself and turned her attention back to her clipboard. Perhaps it was best to let the issue of who wrote the letters go. Sure, Cy had a plan, but it was obvious he didn't want to execute it. And beyond that, she was at a loss. Although, she could always ask Orson for his thoughts later. But really, shouldn't their attention be going into the Luinista? She was growing restless with it being out of commission for so long!

Cy was a little later than he usually was. He'd nearly overslept, so when he came aboard the Luinista, his pace was quite a bit quicker than normal. He looked around the deck briefly. He saw Carley leaning against the railing. Orson wasn't too far away from her. Even so, he had to go through with what he had planned. Cy had decided that having Carley think he didn't want to kiss her for reasons of disgust just wouldn't do. He made his way right on over to the shorter elf and leaned down to kiss her, just like that.

It wasn't until Cy was close that Carley noticed him. Straightening somewhat, she turned her head to regard him. Last night... maybe she was a little harsh? He was otherwise nice to her and she just had her hurts and foul mood. She didn't really have time to think of that though. Nor could she speak, since as soon as she tried, Cy's lips were on hers. "Mrf?" Bright blues wide as saucers, they crossed a little as she went rigid.

Cy was not an experienced kisser. It was the first time he'd kissed, actually. He wasn't entirely sure what to do, but he at least tried to make the kiss pleasant. He leaned back after a moment and moved to lean against the railing as Carley had been doing. He smiled softly and spoke just loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. "Morning, sunshine."

Her eyes still wide, she stared at Cy unblinking. Now it was her turn to fail at this act. But Carley was unaware he still had plans to go through with it! Let alone go and kiss her, just like that. Although... there was something not quite right about that kiss. She just couldn't put her finger on it. Finally, she drew a breath and opened her mouth to speak-

"Bloody hell!!"

In spite of being a gnome, Orson stomped his way towards the elven pair with all the conviction and hotbloodedness of a dwarf. Surely that was a vein on his forehead pulsating. And the grinding noise. Was that his teeth rubbing together? Carley figured it best to be silent for the moment.

Cy had been looking at Carley. It wasn't for long, however. When he heard Orson, he slowly turned his head to regard the gnome.?He watched him get closer. Cy crossed his arms over his chest. "The hell's the matter with you, old man?"

Hearing Cy, Orson began to veer that way. Since Carley didn't exactly want Cy thrown overboard, she skittered forward to put herself between the pair. "Uh, heya Gramps! This isn't quite-"

"Pah!" Grunting in frustration and anger, the gnome stopped just short of Carley. He likely glowered at Cy from behind his thick goggles, but he dared not manhandle Carley to reach his target. "I just saw what he did! He walked right on up to you and defiled you! You can't make excuses for him!" Cursing loudly and violently, he stomped his foot. "I knew this was going to happen! I knew it!" Workers nearby had slowed, their attention shifting to the scene.

Cy was, of course, rather calm. He was simply to sticking to his plan. "It was?just a kiss."?He stared at Orson over the top of Carley's head. His dark brown eyes narrowed, though he didn't move. "Hold on a second. What do you mean you knew this was going to happen?"

Carley, still stuck between the two, sighed quietly. "Gramps-"

"I knew ya had your sights set on her as soon as we took you aboard this vessel!" Orson reached out to point downwards, indicating said vessel. "And lately I've been seeing you make your moves on her, and take advantage of her while she's been so sad!" Carley's features shifted to agitation at hearing Orson spout off things spoken to him in confidence.

Well, now Cy wasn't happy at all. He was being accused of trying to take advantage of Carley. It was rare that anger actually made it into his expression, but it did this time. His lips curled downward in a not so attractive expression. He tried to step around Carley, his eyes on Orson all the while. "Yeah? I think you're letting your mouth run too much, Orson. You don't know anything. Shut the hell up."

Cy moving had Carley trying to shuffle to the side to intercept. "CyCy-"

"Oh I know plenty, boy! More'n you think!" Orson grunted and took a step backwards. "I know you can't respect simple wishes, for one!" His attention shifted between the pair. "The two of ya. Shouldn't you be angry at one another! You were the other day. What happened!?" Something was obviously bothering him. Something he didn't fully voice.

Cy froze in place and ended up having Carley between him and Orson once again. Something was not right at all. His anger simmered down and was replaced with suspicion."Why would we be angry at one another?"

The gnome gestured violently. "Because of the let-" He cut himself off rather abruptly. But Orson knew. He had said too much. He could tell by the horrified look upon the little elf's face.

Cy couldn't see Carley's expression, so he wasn't really aware of why Orson had truly cut himself off. "So it was you? What the hell is your problem, Orson? The kiss was an act. We were trying to figure out who sent those letters. I haven't been chasing after Carley! She's my friend and it's none of your business if we do anything together!"

Orson didn't hear Cy. Not really. His attention was fixated on Carley. Seeing her expression? Well. He couldn't help but wither. "Sweets-"

"No!" Carley screeched, cutting him off. She was beyond livid. If she could break the clipboard she held in half, surely she would have. Instead, she simply threw it on the ground with a clatter at his feet. "After everything I've told ya, and everything ya know, for you to have done what you did!? That's inexcusable!" She glowered at Orson, seemingly shuddering in rage. "It makes it all the worse that it was you who did it... I trusted you! Ya don't have a right to interfere in my life, not even Cythia would go this far! Yer just.. Yer just... Yer just a mean old man!! I'm not talking to you again. Ever!" Spinning on a heel, she started to stomp off in the direction of cabins. Workers quickly moved out of her way. "And I'm workin' alone today!"

Cy's expression didn't change. He said nothing as he listened to Carley. When she stormed away, he looked at Orson. He shook his head. "Like I said, you don't know anything." That was quietly spoken. "I didn't really expect something like that from you, Orson. I know you don't like me, but now look what you did."

Oh the look of regret on Orson's face. To hear those words from Carley. To see her storm off like that. It broke his heart. He frowned at hearing Cy and turned to him, but really, he had nothing to say for himself at this point. It was then that one of the workers golf clapped. Others joined in.

Cy looked from the golf clapping workers back to Orson. He frowned and shook his head. "Whatever." And off he went. He decided he'd be doing all his work in the Towers today, away from the others.