Steam and Sand Game Thread

[Skinner]

Skinner paused, then threw her head back and cackled.
"Course they do! An' I imagine that Men can Womanize other Men, too. In fact, I know they can, but I believe it's called summat different. I dunno. Am I all patched up now, Kat?" she glanced over her shoulder, as the pain of the stitching had subsided.

"Anyhow. It wouldn't be... well it just wouldn't be right. Whateveh anyone else says, inside me own 'eart I'd feel a cad fer.. doin' such. An' seein'... such. An- Besides, I'm drivin' the train, 'ere! Can't do both at once." she glanced over at Scarlette sheepishly and almost batted her eyelids, taking one of her hands.
"Whereas, a nice pretty young thing like Sunshine o'er 'ere would more likely be suited to it. Got soft hands, softer than mine at least."

[Titus Wells]

After a short but high speed motorcycle riding, during which they seemed to be climbing and descending again in quick succession, Red was hauled from the back of the machine and dumped to the ground. Somewhere nearby he could smell flesh being roasted over an open fire and hear the crackling flames. He hoped whatever the Boar Men had found to eat hadn't been a casualty of the conflict he'd left. Maybe there was game in these forests, if they could sustain plant life... well, he had to hope anyway.

A few minutes later a foot fell heavily to one side of him and a voice spoak in a gruff scots accent, "Tha boss'll see ya, dinnae ye expect mooch mor 'an tae be an 'ostage mind. E's nae keen on ye Anglians"

[Mina]

Kat listened to the exchange between Conlan and Skinner with a silent smirk.

"Yeah, your all fixed up now, just be sure not to put to much strain on your arm. And really, you both make this bath thing sound like a terrible ordeal! Am I really so disqualified that you ask Skinner first?" She looked up at Conlan, her eyebrow raised accusingly.

She stood up and helped up Skinner as well. Approaching Dear and Conlan, she extended her hand to the young woman. "Come along with me, Dear, it won't be bad at all."

[Stella Gaslight]

Dear hadn't understood a bit of the exchange between Conlan and Skinner and was looking very confused.  Nervously she took Kat's hand.  "You won't make Dear stay under the water will you?"  When Dear had been much younger she had tried to bathe herself in the river and nearly drowned.  Ever since she had avoided going underwater if she could help it at all.

[Skinner]

Skinner stood up, wobbly, and gingerly pulled her shirt back on, though the buttons were torn down the front. The effect was rather dashing, the open shirt with the binding to keep her truely decent. She had been in worse attire. She even took a peacockish moment to inspect her reflection in one of the remaining panes of glass in the window. Then she pulled her duster back onto her shoulder, wincing, and went about starting the engine back up in earnest, her right arm held close to her body to avoid yet again opening the wound. In a reflection of how she felt, she moved the engine off slowly. Partly that, and partly because she didn't know where to head.

"Yeah, that's a point. Why even ask me at awl? I mean, I know I got experiance with younguns, but, it's different when they're o' marryin' age. Royce, where do we take her? Bolt past the remainin' Anglians across the Channel? I think tide might be out, an' the tracks will carry us across the soppy wet sand, too, better than their tires will."

[Aeryenne Tederich]

Scarlette, the smile still not having left her face, leant against the console when Skinner released her hand, and watched the driver absently for a while before turning her gaze out of the window ahead as the rig trundled slowly away. She allowed her mind to drift lazily until it landed on other things, tapping her fingernails quietly on the sill. Nevertheless, she was still vaguely listening to the conversation, and thought that Skinner had a point - if they were trying to evade the Anglians, crossing the Channel would probably be the wisest choice, especially when one pitted the 7-7's treads against the tires of the enemy vehicles.

[Mina]

"Of course not, Dear!" Kat said, appalled at the idea, and worried about where these ideas came from. She led Dear through the 7-7, until they came to the room which served as the bathing room. She pulled some soap from her satchel, and filled the tub with warm water.

"This will be very quick and easy, I promise." she said, looking at Dear to ensure that the message got across clearly. "Your just going to take off that old dress, here, let me help you. I have some clothes you can wear when we're done. Okay, now just carefully step in, hold on to my hand..." She helped Dear get in the bathtub, and talked to her throughout the entire process. She could tell that Dear was terrified, but she did her best to keep her calm.

Once she was cleaned up, Kat helped her back out, and wrapped her in a towel. "There we go. That wasn't too terrible, was it?" She then handed Dear a rough, clean shirt and a skirt. "There. Don't you look pretty." She said once the young woman was dressed. She turned Dear towards the mirror so she could see.

[Stella Gaslight]

"Dear is all pink."  She looked rather shocked at the color that had been hiding under the dirt. It felt nice being clean for the first time in a long while. The face in the mirror looked different, softer some how.  "Thank you." She looked at Kat's soft looking hair and then looked at her own rather matted mane.  "Could we fix Dear's hair maybe?" She asked shyly.

[Mina]

"Well, this will take a bit." Kat said, scrutinizing the hair. "Why don't we go join the others again, and you can sit down and I'll try to brush it all out."
So they headed back to the cabin, and Kat allowed Dear to sit half-in her lap on the floor, as she very slowly and carefully picked through Dear's hair with a comb. It was very slow work, and Kat was careful not to pull too hard.

After nearly five minutes Kat succeeded in brushing out one thin strand of hair, having carefully removed the odd bits of seashells and other things threaded onto it. "Well, this is going to be fun!"

[Nigel Wetherby]

Conlan looked into the distance, seeing the vision of the pinkish creature that emerged from the bathroom. Her skin alone caused his cheeks to redden just a bit. He slid the visor of his helm over his face, attempting to cover his blushing. A knight was supposed to maintain an air of stoicism, and somehow Dear seemed to be ending that.
Conlan approached the scene of Dear getting her hair combed.
"This reminds me of when Sterrin got tree sap in his hair. His master had to shave his entire head! He looked like a rather disgruntled sheep."

[Stella Gaslight]

"Dear doesn't want all her hair to go away."  She grabbed a tendril that had a shell and feathers in it and petted it.  "Dear likes her hair even if it is messy."

[MWBailey]

"Well, I'd better go and get Molly in gear," Malc said. "Good ta see you again, Royce. Skinner, Conlan, Ladies." He turned and hurried to the back door,saying, "Nice meetin' ye, Miss Dear," as he passed the bathroom, "and ye as well, Miss... Kat, was it?" I'd better go an' see ter Molly and get us movin'. Afternoon, Ladies." He could already tell, looking out the back window, the tank was already a short and growing distance behind. He made sure the back door closed tightly, leapt carefully down, and ran to the APC and climbed aboard agilely, his buttoned-up arm notwithstanding. He pulled the hatch closed behind him, and checked to be sure the turret hatch was closed and locked, and both guns fully supplied with full reserves, then pulled the SMLE's out of the side ports, stowed them back in the crate and knocked the lid shut again, and went and sat in the drivers seat and got Molly's pressure up, put her in gear, opened the throttle,  backed up, got her lined up, and then took off again, keeping rearward pace with the 7-7, thanking heaven he'd remembered the steering-wheel adaptor and had the presence of mind to attach it over the tread control levers so he could drive one-handed. if it came to battle, the one-handed maneuvering might be somewhat hectic, but he'd deal with that as it occurred.

He kept the rocket launcher in the passenger seat, along with the extra rockets, hoping he could fire it from the hatch if need be. He also had a light machine gun he'd picked up; apparently some of te Scots had attempted to set up a machine gun nest before he or Conlan or one of the others knocked it out. It looked like a late-model Maxim, and even had brackets on the side for attaching shield plates.

He drove along behind the 7-7, and whistled The Loyals' March as they headed toward the shoreline again, wondering where exactly he and Molly were off to this time...

[Nigel Wetherby]

Conlan thought deeply for a moment.
"If I recall, the sheild maidens had invented a way to end such risks."
He took a spare comb into his hand and grabbed a lock of her hair. He began to comb slowly downward, starting at the bottom and freeing grime and shells from her hair relatively painlessly. Gradually he moved upthe lock of hair, freeing her hair and leaving the lock in the form of a rather shiny and boucy length of curls.
"There we go."

[Stella Gaslight]

Dear smiled. "You do magic with hair. Make all of Dear's hair pretty please?"  She held out a lock of hair with a very small engraved silver ring embedded in the top of it. 

[Nigel Wetherby]

"Very well." He sat down behind her and began the gradual process of grooming the feral young lass. Liberating her first lock which posessed a shiny silver bauble. He freed the ring from her hair and held it up to the light. Upon the apex of the ring was the royal seal which caused him to gasp deeply.
The little girl in the photo was indeed this child, or at least thats how it seems.
"Dear, do you know who's ring this is?" He held the ring in front of her.

[Stella Gaslight]

"That is Dear's baby ring. Dear got it the day she was born.  Mama said it was special and that Dear should never take it off.   Dear kept it on a ribbon cause it was too big but then the ribbon broke and the ring almost got lost.  Dear put it in Dear's hair after that cause hair can't fall off like a ribbon." Dear said that like it was the most logical thing ever.   

[Nigel Wetherby]

"Well that's rather inventive of you, Dear. But I think it's time you put it back on your fingers. Your big enough to wear it now, I think."
He took dear's somewhal calloused, pink hands and slipped the ring onto her finger. it fit perfectly.
"There you go. Now you look like a real noble...well you will once I get this damnable knot out,"
He worked slowly, trying to keep the pain to a minimum and doing a fairly good job. Finally he jerked the knot free, setting her locks free to cascade upon her shoulders.
Conlan's cheeks pinkened.
"You look very nice."

[Stella Gaslight]

"Thank you." Dear petted her hair and smiled. "It is so soft now.  You did do magic." She sounded amazed as she looked at the pile of shiny things that had came out of her hair.  "Do you have a ribbon? Cause Dear could make a necklace out of the pretty things now and not worry about it getting caught in a tree."

[Nigel Wetherby]

Conlan reached into his bag, retreiving the circular silver music box and opening the ornate device. The song had long ended, leaving only a beauitiful velvet lining which held within it a sparkling silver chain, upon which a tarnished locked medallion dangled.
"Maybe this will work."
Conlan handed her the chain and the locket upon it. He opted not to tell her that he found them in the nursery, seeing as how she seemed petrified of the ghastly room. He could not honestly blame her.

[Stella Gaslight]

"It is so pretty. Thank you, Conlan."  Dear looked truely touched.  She hand brushed his and she gave a soft vulnerable smile.  "Thank you so much for taking in Dear."  Dear was beginning to realize just how truely lonely her life had been. Now that she had a friend the world was a brighter place.

[Nigel Wetherby]

"Well, It was no problem. It is a knight's duty to help those in need. Now It's just a matter of finding you a room. Miss Skinner said something about one not wanting a sapphist to sleep in the room of another woman, lest a conversion occur."
Though he had no idea what that meant. He would need to ask Skinner about that later.
"Would you like to stay in My room? I am sure mister Royce can supply us with a cot until we can attach another car to the rig, which will give you your own room. well...that's only if you want of course."

[Stella Gaslight]

"Is a cot like the sleeping place Dear had at the big house?"  Dear was thinking of her nest under the table in the library.  She had not slept in a real bed since she left the nursery behind.  When it was hot she slept in the trees and when it was cold she safe and warm under the table. "I could have a whole car? That is a lot of space just for Dear."

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

Royce nodded to Malcolm. He thought back to that time. Hmm, yes, the man had only been with him in the regular Yorkshire guards. He didn't know any of the rather... influential missions he undertook. While the war between Anglia and Cornwall was hot, the war between Lanchashire and Yorkshire was cool. But incidents still happened, if never attributed. He'd been behind more than one of those incidents.

"Right Skinner." he said. He needed to captain here. "I'd recommend against the channel. It's usually fast flooding and Brittany is a place to steer clear of, no matter the distance. This south area is a prime spot for French pirates.

He paused. "We'd preferably want to get back to Mercia, to a safe and established atrium and sort out what to do with all of this loot. But I'm always loathe to take the same route back - the Anglians will probably be heavier on that.

He sighed. "But I don't really see another way...."

He was interrupted when he heard a loud thundering noise. He saw a plume of smoke on the horizon from where Southhampton was. There was another, distinct rumble.

"Dear lord... that's Anglian artillery. And Cornish rockets. They must have finally figured out there was something there. We got out just in time." He said a small prayers for the trees of Wight. Southhampton was probably beyond prayers. But there was nothing they could do.

"That only furthers my point that we should vacate as soon as possible."

[JohnSix]

"If you don't want to go back towards Brizzle I think Oxford might be our best bet." Said Ben, barely looking up from the tome he was absorbed in.
"it's close to the border, but it's one of the few neutral places where we can sell some of this loot. Beside there's some stuff I need to take care of there."

[MWBailey]

Malc saw the artillery plumes and impact clouds, and a few up ahead as well, obscured by brush and greenery, but visible to a tanker who'd been through enough battles to know what it was he was seeing. He drew back a bit from the rear of the 7-7, pulled out to see how to get around her, and then saw what looked like a clear path off to the left (it was the same they had come in on)and then changed to a much higher gear, and thrust the throttle wide open. and swung out to the left when the gears caught up with the pistons and flywheel, Molly shot forward like a rocket and Malc pulled up head and in front of the 7-7. Malc set the steer lock, stood up in the seat, put his head out of the hatch, waved at what he hoped was skinner's outline in the window, pointed at his goggle-covered eyes, and then pointed ahead; the message was clear, or he hoped it was: "I'm going to scout ahead." he then sat down, unlocked the steering, and changed to a yet-higher gear, and shot off down the trail towards the cart track where they came up.