Late Night Snack 1/2

Writers: Cali, Jane
Date Posted: 19th February 2007

Characters: Mosler, Trellyn, Swift
Description: Mosler and then Trellyn find a sympathetic listener in Swift.
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 2, day 4 of Turn 4

Dolphineers might sometimes find themselves working odd candlemarks of the day or night so there was always somebody on duty in the kitchens.
It had been that way at Topaz, it was more so at Dolphin Cove where some of the Hall's people were still suffering the effects of what had happened to their former home.

This night was Swift's night on duty and when he glanced up from his vegetable preparation duties to see who had entered the echoingly empty dining hall, he caught sight of the Hallmaster. He smiled and rinsed his hands before drying them on his apron and heading out into the huge room. "Good evening Hallmaster. Juice? Water? Something to eat?"

"Klah?" Mosler tried with a weak smile as he stood close to the hearth.
He knew Swift wouldn't give in... not after his heart attack, but juice just didn't seem strong enough for tonight.

"Juice with extra ice," the kitchen hand suggested as a not-very-
satisfactory alternative. "You don't really want klah, do you?"

"I suppose not, I'd just keep me up anyway." He hadn't been able to sleep that night, hence his late trip to the kitchen.

"Have a seat, sir, and I'll bring something over for you." And perhaps a light snack. The man looked as if he needed a distraction from his thoughts.

Mosler sat down at a near table, watched the flames flick from the fire, and let his mind drift over the events of the last few days. So much had happened, yet so little could be done. His thoughts were interrupted by Swift's return with the juice as well as a small plate of cheese and crackers. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Is there anything else?" the older man asked as he hovered, wondering if the Hallmaster wanted company. Sometimes people liked to talk instead of sitting alone in the empty room.

He shook his head, not wanting to keep the man. "No, I'll be good. I was just thinking of Tippo." He knew word had spread quite quickly about the journeyman's death, and Swift would have surely heard about him by now.

"Yeah." Swift wondered if the soft-voiced rumors he had heard had any substance, and if that was what had the Hallmaster awake and thinking about the dead man in the middle of the night. He could give the man an opening, in case he wanted to talk. "Strange way to die for a dolphineer."

Mosler frowned and looked down at his cup. "I'm not going to let things drop, he deserves better than that. I might not have any leads right now, but the bastards that killed him will screw up eventually."

"I'm sure you'll take advantage of it when they do," Swift said. The man was determined and with dolphins and dolphineers he had a lot of resources to call on.

"I guess I just feel like I let him down somehow." Mosler said as he continued to look at his cup. "I know it doesn't make sense, Kouna has told me over and over there is nothing I could have done, but he was my special apprentice before he swam the current, and I feel responsible for him."

"You would probably have still felt that way even if he had his master's knots. He did the best he could for you - and now you'll do the best you can for him. Won't you?"

Mosler looked up at the cook, the man was sound, and he wondered how many others found their way to him in the middle of the night. "Thanks for the drink and snack Swift. I'd better be off to bed."

"And to sleep, now, I hope."

He nodded as he stood up, "And I hope as well."

Last updated on the February 19th 2007

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Late Night Snack 1/2