Balancing
Everyone loses their footing once in a while. Life happens, and shakes things up. What matters is fiding your balance once more, and righting yourself.Iris finished up her most recent report, after discharging the most recent aviator to have come in for a prescription renewal. It was times like these that she found herself thankful for taking the week to setup her form letters, templates, and other routine reports, saving herself time while she could focus on providing the best care. Taking the time to specialize in potioneering as a medical focus was serving her well, especially since the majority of the crew required various low-grade potions to manage a myriad of pre-existing conditions that would otherwise hamper their combat effectiveness. "It's good that you've found your stride," Tracy commented from behind, as she placed down some papers in a mail tray. "It is also fortuitous that your concentration is in potions, which we are sorely in desperate need of within the Aeroservices. Most of our physicians specialize in surgery, instead of pharmaceutical potions - which is great for combat, but not nearly as practical for everyday medical needs." The elder nurse stood to the side of Iris' desk as the young doctor finished up her forms, and stood up, stretching her legs. "I did have a strong mentor who emphasized being prepared for the paperwork that follows," Iris replied, smiling as she opened the door leading out of the infirmary. "He was thorough in drilling into me the importance of being prepared ahead of time, and that I should not be reliant on others to take care of the menial tasks that only I could do." She was thankful for her time being a resident at St. Asha's, having developed a degree of resilience from working at one of the busiest centers of medical care across all of Vinesia, and her tempering was demonstrated with how she deftly treated all of her current patients onboard the Rainbow. "You never did mention who mentored you. It is rare to see a young doctor with such a degree of confidence coupled with competence." Tracy noted, even as she walked with Iris into the officer's mess, with some of the junior officers nodding at the two medical practitioners. "Do you mind telling me?" Iris nodded, even as she grabbed a tray of food and assumed a seat, waiting for Tracy to sit before continuing on their conversation. Today's menu appeared to be mashed potatoes with gravy, corn, and breaded pork chops - a simple dinner, but not one she'd complain about. As Tracy sat down with her own meal, Iris cut into the pork, noting just how easily the knife sliced through the meat, and the steam that rose from the cut. "Doctor Julian Cross was my mentor, and he was rather thorough." "Ah, a Cross, hm?" Tracy nodded, as she began to eat her own meal. "I never worked with him, though I have had the honor of working with his younger sister, Zara. They are rather dedicated in their work." "They are renowned doctors?" Iris had to ask, to which Tracy covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. "Negative - the Cross family is actually one of Mithambe's extant militant houses. Julian is the odd one out, being a doctor instead of an officer - not that his father or mother appear to care." Tracy's eyes glinted, before she mentioned another item that may have escaped Iris' attention. "Julian is also Jacob's cousin, as their mother is Princess Clarisse Mitfield-Cross." This little tidbit of information had Iris' eyes widen, before certain items began to click together. "That explains why I always saw the Crown Prince at St. Asha's despite him not being injured, and why a lot of the staff gave Julian some leeway. That makes a lot of sense now." "And now you've given her reason to have higher hopes," a familiar voice called out, that crashed beside Iris, much to Tracy's amusement. "Iris, perhaps your mentor could put in a good word for you to him~" Mariel just had to tease, causing the young doctor's face to ignite. Tracy picked up on the banter, and her eyes took on their own glint, as she joined in the relentless teasing. "Oh, you did find someone, and that someone just happens to be on the very top of the world. How delicious..." At this point, Iris was wishing she could sink through the deck and just fall out of the ship, with the amount of embarassment that she was feeling. "Seriously, Mariel, it isn't anything like that!" She also glared at Tracy, who was not intimidated by the doctor's glare, while the pilot continued to chortle at her friend's expense. "Tracy, please don't join her in this vicious form of teasing..." Iris begged, as both of the ladies sitting with her managed to catch their breath, even as some of the other officers glanced at their table. "You're too obvious." The last voice that was directed at them had Mariel snap up straight, with Tracy glancing up before standing up, beckoning for Iris to join her. Iris did not know why they were acting in such a way, until she turned around, and found herself face to face with the first mate himself, Jason Marune. "Captain Marune," she addressed, not knowing why the first mate would address their table, unless they were being that rambunctuous. "Doctor Arlenia." Jason, true to his demeanor, was a man of few words to most. "May I politely ask for you three to keep it down. As enjoyable as laughter is, you three are overwhelming the rest of the mess." Mariel and Tracy had the decency to at least look ashamed, while Iris merely nodded her head, blushing and moving to sit back down, even as the other officers looked away, not wishing to be on the receiving end of his censure. "Before I depart, I will only say that I've noticed, and I am rooting for you." The stern man whispered into Iris' ear, though just loud enough for both Tracy and Mariel to hear. Jason walked away, even as the other two ladies gawked at Iris, almost unbelieving as to the events that just transpired. "... dare I ask what happened?" Tracy managed to find her voice. It appeared that the goddess had plans in store for poor Iris, even as Mariel could only blink three times, before promptly returning to her food.
After a dinner that most would call tumultuous, Iris leaned over the railing aboard the starboard side of the Rainbow, allowing the breeze to tussle her hair. She released a sigh, wondering if Jason was serious about noticing her undeniably growing affection for the ship's Master, and if he was serious in giving her his support. The dual reactions of Mariel and Tracy did not inspire confidence in herself, either - if anything, they were just as shocked to hear it, even if by simple coincidence, no-one else was able to hear Jason despite his voice possessing an ethereal quality of cutting through the din of conversation. As if to answer her internal questioning, her ears picked up on shoes making her way towards her on the gangway. Looking to her side, her heart hitched in her chest as Jacob himself made his way towards Iris, gently greeting her with a wave. "Doctor Arlenia, a surprise to meet you on a late afternoon walk," he entreated, to which she only nodded, a touch more quickly than she'd like to show. "I trust you are well?" "I am," she managed, mustering every bit of willpower to force herself to be calm in his presence. Inwardly, she cursed herself for acting like a schoolgirl meeting her celebrity crush, though it would not be as farfetched of a comparison - she was after all, a mere commoner, and he was the Prince. "How are you, Master Mitfield?" "Ah, you need not call me Master, Miss Iris," Jacob replied, with Iris raising an eye, elated that Jacob would remember her name. "Jacob is sufficient, and I am doing well myself. A little stressed from running the vessel, but that is to be expected, no?" He leaned on the railing beside her, looking out towards the city of Manhesto below them. "That's good to hear," she allowed herself, even as she glanced over at him, before following his eyes towards Castle Manhesto in the distance. "You've grown up here your whole life, no? Does it feel nostalgic to look upon your birthtown from the sky like this?" She was almost tempted to trace out the castle in the distance with her fingers. "In a way, it is an odd feeling, looking over my childhood stomping grounds from the sky like this," he replied, even as he did what Iris wanted to do, and traced over his childhood home with his fingers. "It is not a bad feeling, though - in a way, it feels liberating, to be above the everyday happenings of life, even if this scene will not last." "Do you ever feel... distant from everyone else, like you feel removed from everyone else and stand on the top, alone?" Iris dared to asked, sensing a sort of wistfulness in his mannerisms, in the slow and controlled tone of his voice, and in the way he carried himself. A moment of silence passed in-between them, and Iris secretly worried that she may have overstepped her boundaries, before Jacob released a long sigh, and addressed her question. "In more ways than one, yes," he admitted, turning to properly face her. "Ever since I was young, I have always felt distant from most who were not family. It was like I did not know how to fit into the puzzle, that everything about my life, my existence, did not know how to belong in a world that never had to deal with the aberration that was my birth and upbringing." He paused for a moment, noticing the Maved moving below them, with some of its port watch waving towards them. "Some of the greater defining moments of my life has further emphasized my alien existence from others, and have further highlighted in most places why I do not belong." Iris turned to properly face him as well, and found herself swimming in his violet eyes. "Even my own father, despite being the king of the entire nation, did not know what to do with me. Don't get me wrong - he is a good man, and I love him dearly, but I could tell that he was unsure of what could possibly be done with me, as most of the monarchs and rulers rarely have more than one child, let alone three. My family tried to do the best they could for me, and for that, I am thankful, but deep down, I know that I do not fit the standard equation. There is almost no-where for me to belong." Jacob replied, even as his eyes relaxed looking into hers, before reflecting the same question. "How about you, Iris? Do you feel as if you do not belong, either?" Caught off guard by the heavy admission, she took a moment to process his question, before allowing herself to demonstate a similar degree of vulnerability. "I am the daughter of an immigrant, Jacob. As open as Mithambe is, its upper class has never been friendly towards outsiders, and I have had to face that stigma repeatedly since I was a child. Not many parents wanted their child to associate with "pathetic immigrants", and I was alienated merely because I could not claim a degree of lineage from Mithambe's founding days. Even when trying to get into the medical program at Inverdale, I had to fight, tooth and nail, just to get my foot in the door. Even as a resident, it was clear I was not like the others - the same children whose parents' xenophobia rubbed off on them still refused to associate with me, even in our young adult years. So, yes, I know what it is like to feel like I do not belong... but not on the same scale as you." Jacob listened to her, and could only sadly nod at the mention of the nobility's xenophobia, especially against those they perceived as being aligned with the enemy. It brought back portents of the memories that his grandfather talked about, the memories passed on about conflict and combat, of people gathering and performing abominable actions against those who they considered "others". "I do apologize on behalf of my idiotic countrymen. You deserved better, and still do - for that matter, I am honored to have someone of your talent and confidence onboard with me. I have heard of your performance from many of my officers, and they praise your effort and your deftness. Sounds like Julian trained you, since he's similar in prepwork and action - am I correct in my assumption?" He asked, giving her a soft smile. Iris gave him a smile back, while nodding her head to confirm his assumption. "Tracy informed me that Julian was your cousin a little while back. Are you two close?" She was now curious enough to ask about his family, despite only knowing him for a week. Given, it was his cousin that served as her greatest teacher, and Jacob seemed to carry a lighter air about himself. "Remember how I said I was a rather distant person?" Jacob asked, to which Iris nodded, proving she was paying attention. "Julian was one of my closest friends growing up, and perhaps my first friend. Long before I met the Strixel twins, Princess Alice, Princess Irelia, it was Julian then Zara who were my closest relatives outside of my immediate family." He gazed in the direction of St. Asha's, and allowed himself a faint but warm smile, as if recalling a pleasant memory. "Even to this day, we are still close, though work has indeed been a barrier to us regularly meeting up. Doubly so, now that I'm a Master of an adventuring vessel, while Julian's a physician at St. Asha's and Zara is a Knight in her own right." As Jacob talked about some of the adventures he had growing up with his cousins, Iris listened in, enraptured by the way he allowed himself to be free. No longer the restrained and otherwise aloof Master of the Rainbow, she enjoyed how he regaled her with tales of them pretending to be knights in the castle's courtyards, or the time when Jacob attempted to carry Julian in his Croxwie transformation, only to overestimate his strength and for the both of them to fall down a storey from a balcony. She giggled as Jacob recounted all the times Zara would have to scold them for attempting something stupid, and listened as Jacob moved onto the antics of his beloved older brothers. With every story that he told, Iris felt that she began to properly understand the man, bit by bit - and this was someone she realized she could easily fall for. Not the mysterious and otherwise cold prince or captain, but someone who kept their warmth otherwise hidden, and who yearned to enjoy life with people he could trust. As the sun dipped below the horizon, Jacob and Iris had been talking for the better portion of an hour, to which they both apologized to each other as they realized the time that had passed. "I did not mean to take up so much of your precious time, Iris," Jacob apologized, even as the Talons that crept in his shadow began to appear, presumably to ensure that their liege did not run into problems. "I did enjoy our conversation, even if it started out heavy - would you be amicable to continue this on a weekly basis?" Iris nodded, giving Jacob a warm smile even as the Talons nodded once to Jacob, seeing that he was not in harm's way nor in need of their assistance. Just before their could turn on their heel, Jacob held out a hand, to which they stopped, awaiting instructions. "Would the two of us please escort Doctor Arlenia back to her quarters, and ensure she arrives without issue?" They wordlessly nodded, and gazed at Iris, awaiting her movement so they could perform their tasks without fail.
"There should be something wrong with this," commented Mariel, even as she began taking down the temporary working barricade, alongside a few other enlisted aviators. "Yet, it appears to have yielded results, though the question remains, Sir - why?" "Because she'd be without hope without significant outside intervention, and he would be hopeless without the same," Jason commented, even as the working party was dismissed. Being the First Mate, he scheduled a "maintenance event" in which both Jacob and Iris would be left alone for the better part of the late afternoon and early evening. He already knew that Jacob would censure him if he found out, so he took efforts to ensure that his own meddling into his best friend's love life was clandestine. "That dense, huh? To think that Prince Charming would be clueless," Mariel mused, to which Jason gave her a flat glare. "... I don't mean to denigate his majesty over there, but am I wrong, Captain?" Jason broke his glare away, acquiesing to Mariel's question. "You are unfortunately correct, Lieutenant. Officially, I'd have to discipline you for speaking ill of the Master, but even I know that it is the truth, which is why your punishment is instead to assist me in my own schemes of making this work. Besides, Doctor Arlenia benefits from your interference as well, so there are few downsides to this for you, other than a subtraction from your free time." Jason gave Mariel a single nod, and the aviator lieutenant realized just how badly he outmaneuvered her into this. "Damn it."
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