<div align="center"><strong>-=’Small Fry’ – outside the Gamble – Avalon=-</strong></div><br/><div class="floatleft">(http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l533/KeikoShinju/Cherish%20and%20her%20big%20Gamble/Blued-Eyed-Drew---Red-Top.png)</div><br/>The captain seemed even more irritated than the red-blond thought the situation might warrant, but then she’d never been a ship’s captain (to her memory’s knowledge) or solely responsible for a crew’s welfare and the attainment of jobs with which to keep their crate flyin’. Stumbling after him, she was shocked to find the chains of power over two badduns thrust into her hands. Blinking at this new situation, she looked up at the captives, wondering just how much pressure she would need to exert to keep them from escaping if they really tried. Thankfully, they couldn’t exactly move in tandem with the way they’d been trussed up and never had the opportunity to try shaking loose of her.<br/><br/>The skiff roared to life inside the cargo hold and revved out to stop before her, sending dust everywhere. The captain arranged for the prisoners’ seating and climbed in front, ready to split. Sad to see him go, Small Fry was surprised again when he said, “Well, you just gonna stand there and look pretty all day or are you gonna get your ass in gear?” Blinking in order to process this string of words, she suddenly realized that more importantly than his compliment on her appearance was his expectation for her to accompany him. Forgetting to answer him, she hopped forward and climbed in, uncertain just how to get the safety harn… w<em>hoa!</em><br/><br/>Fussing with the harness as they sped off, she turned her face away from straight on, letting her scarf shield her from the wind as well as the sun. She would normally have watched over the lay of the land, mapping without really trying all the topographical information she could view along the ride. Instead, she was turned inward to the center of the skiff, her eyes lifting to watch the captain. He was fine enough to view, a tick in his jaw making his day-old beard jump. She tried to recall him at a point when he did not appear angry… and was kept busy for some time considering all the times she saw him when he was.<br/><br/>Strolling into town, the place looked like it needed a good scrubbing all over. She was extremely glad to have changed boots after all. Those adorable short ones she found in the locker would not have done well under such abominable conditions. The shit-kickers she now wore were her allowance that the planet didn’t seem to have cities of glass and metal... at least, none she had noticed from the files… in her head…<em>huh?</em>She ‘flipped’ visually through the diagrams and statistics in her memory, wondering where she’d acquired such information.<br/><br/>The skiff slowed and stopped, the captain making another order of her. Any unrealized hopes for camaraderie were dashed at the idea he might be leaving her here to fend for herself. Then she realized that his comment about returning for a drink might in fact be his hope to do so eking out. Confused, she slid from the skiff and watched him zoom away without comment, feeling bereft. Biting into her lower lip, she slowly backed up toward the establishment, glancing around surreptitiously. Unsure how long this might take and knowing that she had no money for anything inside the tavern, she turned on the casual rating and leaned against the wall near the door to look like she was waiting for someone specific.<br/><br/>Time passed and the sun moved in its arc. Ducking looks inside the tavern, she watched individuals drink and talk, play betting games and generally ignore her. Just the way she liked it.<br/>