Olive pressed closer, eyes bright, spectacles hanging precariously on the bridge of her nose. The crew may change, they may sail on different waters--and skies--but the one thing that remained unchanged were the books.<br/><br/>What language made no difference. What topic, she didn't care. Olive's love of reading didn't change over the years, and with an eager smile, she gave the vendor a few coins in return for the novels she wanted.<br/><br/>Of course, it wasn't all fiction. There were books about how to fix engines, how to clean wounds--the real practical stuff that she could learn from, that she could refer to in case of emergency. And emergencies were startlingly frequent these days.<br/><br/>Luckily, her captain was smart. Smart enough to prevent most emergencies.  And hopefully, Arres thought Olive was smart, too. She must be of some use after all, to be made first mate. How long had it been anyway, since Olive first joined this crew?<br/><br/>Ah yes. Three years. Four months. Sixteen days, and seven hours on the dot. Not like she was counting or anything, no, not at all. Though it had been maybe six months since she became Captain Arres' right hand 'man'.<br/><br/>Oh, if only she knew, Olive thought dryly, slinging the bag of books over her back. Heavier than expected, but no matter. She was strong. Stronger than many of the crewmates--like that new boy. What was his name again?<br/><br/>Before she could even start to ponder, the loud booming of drums filled the air. Olive's posture became straight, every nerve on edge as her head whipped towards the ship. "Oh dear," she mused, saying a soft thank you to the street vendor and took off towards the docks.<br/><br/>No doubt that accursed Steel Maiden had found them again. They were a persistent lot, she'd give him that--annoyingly so.<br/><br/>From a distance, she saw another man running towards the docks. She waited for him to catch up to her and smiled wickedly, lowering her voice and making it gruff, like a man's. "Bonjour, Richmond! There's nothing like a little run. Makes you feel alive!" She refrained from snickering, watching him struggle with his bags. "I can carry some of those, if it'll help."