"Your cousin?  Wow, that's unfortunate."  West laughed.  Ai might've already mentioned that fact - but West had forgotten long ago. 

He knew plenty of that kind in the army.  Those who would sucker up to their commander, or those with good family roots.  Family roots had very little value, but there were still those who attempted to use them.   "I think we all know people like that," he agreed. 

"If you're a commander in the army, you're probably not a complete idiot.  We can tell what's going on outside is better than what we have.  But there was once commander who worshipped the General, praising his name and feeding him compliments.  He was a snitch too, he'd run to the General and repeat whatever he heard.  And of course, he got all the special treatment.  I'm not sure if he's completely blind, completely mad, or the smartest one out of the lot of us.  The rest of us hated him." 

He stretched out.  He could feel the gentle rock of the boat beneath him. 

"What do you think you'll do after all this is over?"  West asked her.  It was a question he'd been tossing up in his mind for a while now - especially since offering his aid to Lie.  "I guess I have to go to Altaire.  I promised to help Lie.  You could come too if you want.  I think Tsane is coming too..." he quickly tacked that last bit on.  This was in no way a special invitation just for Ai.

Since leaving the army, he hadn't really stayed in a single place long enough to build up relationships with people.  All the friends he had - even acquaintances - were all from years ago.  People he'd probably never see again.  He's just gotten used to Ai, that's all.  She was alright to travel with.

That was a little more upsetting than it should've been.  He didn't want to travel with Ai anyway.  Paying for her food and lodge, having to put up with her upper-crust attitude.  To be honest, he couldn't stand travelling with her much longer as it is.  Leave her in Pirentiqa and be done with her.

"Thanks," he said to her well-wishes.  "Best wishes to whatever you must do back home too."  Then he added with a snarky smile, "We could hear you and your sister fighting through the walls last night." 

The non-certainty of her statement made West even more confused, now not quite sure if he liked her as a travelling buddy or not.  She was good to have around.  They'd somehow managed to run into more trouble than he ever thought possible.  On the other hand, she sure could be a pain sometimes.

West laughed a bit, even though nothing she said was particularly funny.  "Well, I guess we'll just wait and see what happens."

"Don't worry, I understand," he said to Ai about her clarification.  He was confused about a completely different matter.  It was probably a good thing that she didn't realise what.

"I always get the short end of the deal," West said.  "Karmodis got to load the cannons.  I got sent down under deck to make sure the cargo was secure.  A captain once told me it's because the winds were pretty dangerous and could hurt 'a little guy like me'.  I wish I could do something else, though.  Karmodis has probably been doing a bunch of interesting jobs."  He paused for a little while, thinking about the situation.  "At least that means I get more time off," he added.  "I guess that's even better.  Although I imagine they'll call me in later to start helping with meals."

As little as he liked to admit it, the winds could be dangerous.  "It's not just the crow's nest," he explained.  "It takes surprisingly little wind to make the sails and ropes flap around a lot.  I once saw a guy fall and get tangled in the ropes.  He broke both an arm and a leg."  Regardless of the risk, it was still something he wanted to do.  "I guess size... and gender ... isn't everything.  I suppose it all comes to experience and I don't have any of that." But how could he ever get experience if they never sent him up there!  It was no-win situation.

"I like the idea of working on a ship," he admitted.  It was strange to hear himself say it.  Like working?  Not thieving and fighting and pillaging?  "You get to travel.  Something to keep you busy."  He looked away for a moment, when he turned back towards Ai he had an somewhat embarrassed look on his face.  "Before I transferred to Dan Durem, I was a mechanic." 

West could hear Ai's confusion.  "I failed the first test into the Army, you see.  So worked as a standard labourer for a couple of years.  It's wasn't ever really by choice."  At the time, he was infuriated by having such a low ranked job but looking back, it was never so bad.  A lot less stressful than his time as a commander, that was sure. 

"I wasn't a mechanic for very long, so I was never an expert.  I worked on things like farm equipment.  Irrigation and the horse-drawn plows and that kind of stuff.  Don't tell Karmodis," he said with a laugh.  He always gave the blonde a hard time for being a farmer.  "I could also work on the boiler and other little things like that."

"Really," West said with a grin.  "We all has past embarrassing jobs?  So tell me, what embarrassing jobs have you had?"  That wealthy noble hadn't worked a day in her life.  Even if she had, she wouldn't understand.  In the army there was a social stigma to anyone who failed the tests.  There was a lot of shame related to working a job like that.

"Maybe I'll ask him next time I see him.  I can't imagine it'll go down very well.  Most likely just get told to shut up and that I'm getting a free ride."