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Mansion: Cruise on the Titan IC!

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Re: Mansion: Cruise on the Titan IC!

Postby stargazer » Aug 19, 2018 8:22 pm

Dan didn't see the fire right away; he was facing toward the ocean, watching the incoming waves intently, perhaps looking for any stragglers or wreckage that might yet float in.

Grace was still in his lap, facing the other way. "Ooh, Daddy, look at that!"

He quickly twisted around and saw what had impressed his daughter. "Stay here, okay?" he said as he gently set her aside and rose to his feet. He glanced around but didn't see much that could help carry water, finally settling on a small hard-sided cosmetics case that had already been emptied out.

Not sure how much it might help, he dunked it into the waves and dashed back toward the fire, using its water to douse some driftwood that was just catching fire. It didn't work that well, so he decided to follow the example of Faye and Twig's and began using it to scoop sand onto the fire.
But all night, Aslan and the Moon gazed upon each other with joyful and unblinking eyes.
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Re: Mansion: Cruise on the Titan IC!

Postby Lady Arwen » Aug 19, 2018 9:17 pm

Xandria flushed at Mel's suggestion, which did not match her somewhat green skin well at all.

"No, I'm fine, I'll be fine, I just have to get un-wet," she grumbled. "Which doesn't take too long, unless we--"

Another wave interrupted her, dousing the humans again.

"Yeah," she sighed. "Tide's coming in. So, um, I think I'm just gonna go take a swim, cause I think I saw either a dock or an outcropping, and those are generally pretty good places to dry off. If any of you find any, uh, well, pants, mind setting them aside for me?"
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Re: Mansion: Cruise on the Titan IC!

Postby stargazer » Aug 20, 2018 7:03 pm

Some time before, back on the Titan IC...

One minute Angela Baxter was up on the deck, walking with her family toward their quarters, and the next, she was floundering in cold, dark water.

She had no idea what had happened. Wasn't the ship unsinkable? But more importantly, she had to get to the surface and find safety. Then she could worry about details. She kicked toward the light above, hoping it was the right direction.

She surfaced and took a huge breath of fresh salty air as she looked around her. She'd been with her family, but through sheer bad luck (or this author's plot device) she had no idea where they were now.

One of the ornate wooden buffet tables floated nearby, upside down, its legs reaching toward the sky. It would do for now; she had to get out of the water before she got too tired or too cold to float.

She tried to swim to it, only now registering agony in her left arm. There wasn't blood, just a big bruise. She didn't remember how it got there in all the excitement of the sinking, but it had come from a pesky bulkhead hitting her.

Angie managed to get onto the table after several attempts - being small had occasional advantages - but she figured her arm was broken and she could only hope she'd be found before she went into shock.

Her last conscious thoughts were of her family, of little Emma safe at home, of Grace and Dan somewhere in this watery mess, and that all of them would always remember just how much she loved them.
But all night, Aslan and the Moon gazed upon each other with joyful and unblinking eyes.
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Re: Mansion: Cruise on the Titan IC!

Postby Lady Arwen » Aug 22, 2018 4:52 pm

The next wave washed in, picking Xandria up slightly before it went back out and put her down.

"You should go, get Ainsley back with the others," she said firmly. "I'll meet up with you later."

When another wave crashed into her, she plunged into the water, hugging the ground to get as far out as she could. A second wave insured she was free of the beach. She waved at her landed fellows, then dove back into the sea.

At first she headed toward the encampment, but realizing that meant she would be showing up without pants for no good reason yet again, she decided to circle out and see if she could find any more survivors. Hopefully they would be as pleasant about the surprise as the others were. She dove, looking for shapes isolated against the light of the sky, then surfaced to inspect the various pieces of wreckage. She remembered from her earlier, pre-accident days that victims were encouraged to cling and climb on to wreckage so they had a better chance of survival. Thus she popped from clump of debris to clump of debris, hunting for humans. She eventually crossed Angie's table, eventually deciding to push it to shore while Angie slept, since that meant she was less likely to startle. Xandria began making her way back toward the shore, abandoning Angie every now and then when she thought she might check some more wreckage, or if she felt the need to dive and look about again.

It was on one such dive that she came face to face with Maeve. Both women startled, and immediately surfaced. They both had a ways to go, however, so they spent an uncomfortable minute staring at each other before they burst through into the evening air.

"What were you doing down there?" Xandria demanded.

"Trying to look for signs of land," Maeve retorted. "What were YOU doing down there?"

"Looking for more people?"

"Oh."

"Land's this way. Wanna hitch a ride?"

"Need my sister first."

"...it's a pretty big ocean."

"Nah, she's close by," Maeve said, turning around, then pointing. "She's there."

"I've got an unconscious one over here. Go to your sister, and I'll join you in a bit."

"Name?"

"Xandria. You?"

"Maeve. That one's Kaelin."

"See you shortly, Maeve," Xandria said, slipping back under and heading back to Angie. She made good time with her powerful tail, and Maeve and Kaelin were also shortly in tow. She steered them toward a sandy patch, and despite Maeve's ability to manipulate the ocean as a whole, she did manage to ensure Angie was gently carried up to the edge of the tide. Here they split up: Xandria went off on her own toward her previous landing place, and the others stayed with Angie.

They were not far from the camp, and Xandria pointed the way. Kaelin seemed somewhat revived, especially once her sister dried her off, and thought a run would not hurt, so Maeve stayed with Angie while Kaelin took off in search of Mel, Grace, or Mr. Baxter, all three being ideal.
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Re: Mansion: Cruise on the Titan IC!

Postby aileth » Aug 24, 2018 11:55 am

By the time Molly reached the beach, the fire was mainly under control, thanks to the quick actions of Twig's and the others. She looked around to find the source of the ongoing yelling she could hear. There was Mr Waters, groveling on the sand, beating his fists upon the ground.

"Now, now, what's the problem, Mr Walters?" she began, feeling just a mite impatient. Captain Knott hadn't been kidding when he said that this might be a challenging cruise. "Perhaps if you would help a little bit, instead of complaining, things would go better for you."

"I did--I was!" he retorted indignantly, "and look what happened. My bag--it's gone!"

"This one?" Molly marched over to a nearby tree and pulled out the missing bag from behind it.

"It-it-it wasn't there a minute ago; I'm sure of it," he stuttered, his eyes nearly popping out of his head, as he snatched the bag from her and hugged it close with ardent relief.

Molly shook her head disbelievingly. She could almost imagine that she heard the faintest echo of high-pitched laughter coming from the trees. "Nonsense!" she muttered, and headed back towards the fire and the people gathered around it.

More and more damp passengers were straggling in, it seemed. Molly sighed--the commisariat was going to be a bit strained with so many people to feed. Perhaps some of them would be good at fishing. If not, coconuts and seaweed would have to do.
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Re: Mansion: Cruise on the Titan IC!

Postby Ryadian » Aug 24, 2018 8:39 pm

Faye restrained a sigh. Even Molly was beginning to get frayed, she could see - this was going to end so well. Okay, it was time to get things organized. "Well... all right, so that... happened." She shook it off; not helpful. "We're all back, it looks like - we just need the others - any word from them?"

As she said as much, she glanced out across the beach to try to catch sight of the other search party. She was relieved to see a figure - until she realized that the figure was too short to be Xandria, and too humanoid to be Mel. The girl looked no older than 11 or 12, and was running towards them. She was soaking wet, looking almost like she had just stepped out of the ocean, though at first Faye wasn't convinced - her hair simply had too much volume to be that wet. Faye vaguely remembered seeing the girl around the deck of the ship, usually in the pool or otherwise letting off a lot of exuberant energy. Today, though, there was more urgency in her pace.

Faye waved at the girl - pointlessly, she realized, as there was no way she could have missed them. "Is everything all right?"
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Re: Mansion: Cruise on the Titan IC!

Postby Lady Arwen » Aug 25, 2018 7:48 pm

"Mrs. B is hurt," Kaelin said, skidding to a stop in the middle of the camp. "Hi. Maeve's with her. She's too tired to carry her."
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Re: Mansion: Cruise on the Titan IC!

Postby stargazer » Aug 26, 2018 12:31 am

Grace saw Kaelin run in before her father did, since he was still busy with some errant flames, and she was glad to run to greet her friend.

Dan, however, heard the magic words, "Mrs. B is hurt," and went over to where the two girls were standing. "Thanks for telling us," he said. "Which way?"

Kaelin pointed and Dan let Grace lead the way, knowing it was hardly fair to make her stay away when she'd been as worried about Angie as he had been. She was a good runner, and had the advantage of youth, but before long her shorter legs made keeping up hard. Fortunately, by now Dan could see someone on the ground and Maeve nearby.

He took in the situation at a glance. "Hi, you must be Maeve. I'm Dan, her husband. Thanks for rescuing her."

He knelt by her side, his (very) basic survival training kicking in. She was still lying on the overturned buffet table; she must have used it as a raft. Clever.

No obvious blood or injuries apart from a large, nasty bruise on her left arm. He wondered if it was broken. She seemed asleep but might be unconscious, but her breathing was strong.

"Maeve, have you had any medical training, or do you know anyone who has?"

Just then he felt a small, warm shape next to him and heard his daughter sniffling back tears. Grace needed reassurance right now, and he let himself give her a gentle hug.

He glanced up at the sky - when had the sun sunk so low? - and decided not to move her just yet. "This place is as safe as any. Gracie, can you run back to camp and let them know we're here? Ask for any blankets or clothes we can cover her with, and ask if anyone has medical training."

"I wanna stay with Mommy."

"I know, sweetheart, but I want to stay here in case she wakes up or needs something. And the camp isn't far away. See, there's the smoke from the fire." He pointed. "But you can rest here a couple minutes if you want to."
But all night, Aslan and the Moon gazed upon each other with joyful and unblinking eyes.
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Re: Mansion: Cruise on the Titan IC!

Postby narnianerd » Aug 26, 2018 7:46 pm

The couple rapidly recovered from their initial shock. A talking dog wasn't all that uncommon to the two of them, but the surprise of hearing one speak could still creep up on a body. Jeff, who was at this point very red in the face due to his embarrassment, quickly apologized to Mel. His sensitivity training should have kicked in, but he never stopped to considered that the puppers might have in fact been a fellow sentient.

"Jeffery, stop groveling and get me to the base camp."

"Yes Ma'am."

With that, Jeff hoisted Ainsley into a fireman carry and strode off towards the others. The group of three arrived just in time to see the last of the fire being put out and Mr. Baxter take off at a dead sprint towards the water. Jeffery laid his girlfriend down gently, but his gaze and attention followed the family man.

"Jeff."

"What?"

"Go do your job."

That was the approval the policeman was waiting for. Without even taking time to respond, Jeff followed Daniel down to the beachside, sliding to a stop just as Maeve began to assess her patient.

"Maeve right? Give me something to do."
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Re: Mansion: Cruise on the Titan IC!

Postby Lady Arwen » Aug 26, 2018 10:13 pm

"Don't thank me, Xandria found her. All I did was help get her past the waves," Maeve said, barely glancing up at Dan. "I was a field medic, so I know a fair bit about trauma. Best I can tell without any of my tools, she's most likely suffering from early stages of hypothermia, and most likely a concussion. She had a rather nasty knock to her head here,"--Maeve pointed--"and it feels like she has a simple fracture here, on her arm, where it's discolored. It doesn't feel like anything is out of alignment, so probably the best thing to do will be to splint it and pray nothing chipped."

Maeve nodded at Jeff and looked around, trying to think of what to do. She wished she had her gear.

"We'll deal with the hypothermia first," she said firmly. "We need to get the patient someplace warm and get her dry as quickly as possible. Kaelin, Grace, stay together, go back to camp, and tell them to heat water. Fresh water, not salt. Be sure to specify. If Mel is there, tell her what's going on."

The girls nodded, and ran off, Grace lingering behind a moment near her mother. Maeve turned to Jeff.

"Find anything you can that can be used to build a splint or move the table. Rope, tape, smooth wood, fabric strips--at this point, almost anything will do."
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Re: Mansion: Cruise on the Titan IC!

Postby narnianerd » Aug 26, 2018 11:12 pm

Jeff had already sacrificed both his belt and his t-shirt to Ainsley's splinted leg, but laces in his boat shoes remained. It's not ideal to use anything thinner than three fingers for a splint, because if you aren't careful you might end up accidentally creating a tourniquet. But in this scenario, the thin strands of his laces would have to do.

"Has anyone got anything I can use as a sling? I can use my laces and make a decent splint, but without stabilizing the arm, it's essentially worthless."
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Re: Mansion: Cruise on the Titan IC!

Postby Lady Arwen » Aug 26, 2018 11:25 pm

"Considering she's unconscious and not moving, I'd rather you take the time to find something substantive to use for the splint, and worry about a sling later, when it will be of actual use," Maeve said briskly. "I need someone with a cool head to try and replicate my trauma kit. Are you up to that, or not?"
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Re: Mansion: Cruise on the Titan IC!

Postby stargazer » Aug 27, 2018 11:24 am

Dan was torn between a desire to help Maeve care for his wife, and to just be at her side so that she'd see a familiar face when she woke up.

"Maybe we could use one of the table legs for a splint," he offered. "But it might jolt her too much if we just break it off."

-----

Grace and Kaelin arrived back at the camp just a few steps apart. Somewhat to Ms. Twig's surprise, Grace said nothing but simply ran to the older woman and wrapped her arms around her legs in a hug, seeking comfort from an adult figure.

Kaelin felt for her friend and swimming buddy, but quickly relayed the information and instructions Maeve had given them.
But all night, Aslan and the Moon gazed upon each other with joyful and unblinking eyes.
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Re: Mansion: Cruise on the Titan IC!

Postby Ryadian » Aug 27, 2018 1:12 pm

After Dan and Jeff left, Faye's first priority was the injured Ainsley. Thanks to Twigs' organization, she was able to find enough clothing - relatively dry, to boot - to make a makeshift seat/mattress for her. After that, though, all she could do was stand by and wait for instruction. Her only formal medical training was she had picked up a CPR license shortly after opening her store - everything beyond that was just common sense or the occasional advice she'd learned along the way.

Instead, she focused on what she could do. She glanced around at the wreckage they had and made a note of the couple of largest pieces. "Well, someone could probably sleep under one of those, if pressed." She commented aloud. "But I almost might prefer sleeping under the stars, if it doesn't rain." She glanced up at the sky, and a nagging thought came back to her: there were a few clouds, but nothing she would call a stormy sky. There was little wind, either. How in the world had the ship crashed?? The currents? It seemed to her that if the currents had been that strong, none of them would have survived. Besides, how did the Captain not know about the currents? Surely the course would've been plotted around such rough seas...?

'Not helpful right now.' She told herself. "My guess is that we have at least three or four hours before sunset, so that should be at least enough time to set up a temporary shelter for the injured ladies, if we can find suitable building material."

Faye didn't have much time to plan aloud beyond this before Grace and Kaelin returned from the other group with instructions. Faye glanced at Twigs. "We could use that bowl you found to go collect some water from the stream nearby, though heating it... requires a fire." Her eyes turned subconsciously back towards Mr. Waters and the smouldering remains of his last attempt. She cleared her throat. "I can give that a try."
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Re: Mansion: Cruise on the Titan IC!

Postby aileth » Aug 28, 2018 11:30 am

It was refreshing, mused Molly, that out of this bunch of passengers, quite a few were able to take initiative in creative ways. That last group of castaways had been really pathetic. Now, if she could just get her special charge to cooperate....

"Mr Walters, will you let me dig in your bag? You must have a few painkillers in there that you could spare."

"Waters," he muttered reflexively. His eyes were dull. "I suppose so," listlessly, after a few moments.

Molly took the bag from him, and proceeded to root around in it.

"Aha!" she extracted several bottles. "These should do. Now, some of those palm fronds for padding, a leg from that deck chair over there, and the webbing ditto. All set to go. We'll have you patched up in a jiffy, my dear--Ainsley, isn't it?"

No sooner said than done. Molly gathered up her items as she talked, and came across to where Ainsley was half reclining.

"If you'll let me..." and the stewardess ran her hand along the injured member. "Uh-huh, uh-huh. Here, I need somebody strong, to give a gentle pull. Gentle! That's right; under the heel and across the arch. Ahh! that's better. Now we'll see. Aaand hold it."

Swiftly, she wound the webbing around and around, until she could securely tuck in the ends. She stood up and inspected her handiwork.

"Not the prettiest package, but it's immobilized now, and ought to do the trick."
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Re: Mansion: Cruise on the Titan IC!

Postby Pattertwigs Pal » Aug 28, 2018 3:45 pm

Twig’s was glad that she had help putting out the larger fire. She heard the news that Angie and been found and was hurt. Jeff and Ainsley had showed up about then. Twig’s looked around for what was the best thing to do next. Faye was helping Ainsley to a bed. Jeff and Dan had headed off with the girls. Molly was dealing with Mr. Waters. Twig’s started getting a pile of fire would together again. This time a safe distance from the small fire she had left burning.
Twig’s had paused when Faye started her planning out loud. “There is quite a bit in the wreckage pile that could help build a shelter. Plus, bigger piece down by the water. There must be something we can use that waterslide for.” Before the conversation could go any further, Twig’s was surprised to find Grace attached to her legs. As she hugged the Grace, she listened to what Kaelin had to tell. “Grace,” Twig’s said. “I know you are scared and worried. I’m scared too.” Twig’s brushed some tears from Grace’s face and one from her own. She must not start crying. While crying would make her feel better in some way, it was not helpful now. Molly was busy with Mr. Water’s and Ainsley and showing signs of stress. Faye seemed a bit uncertain how to proceed. There were at least 2 injured people to care for. This was not a time to lose control. “We will do everything we can to help your mom.” Twig’s wanted to tell Grace that everything would be fine, but she didn’t know if everything would be fine and she refused to say something that might not be true. “When I’m scared, I find it is best to keep busy. Let’s go get the things your mom needs.” Twig’s dug her winter coat and a few sweaters out of the “blanket” pile. She had a few ties (the kind men wear) and two shuffleboard cues to the pile. They might find them useful if they need a splint.
She divided the pile between the two girls. “Go back and tell them we are working on the water. We have a door if that would be helpful for moving her here. We will have a makeshift bed ready for her when you get here.” She gave Grace one more hug.
Then, she grabbed the bowl and brushed the sand out of it. And walked over to Junior. Twig’s was normally a very shy person. If she could at all avoid it, she didn’t talk in public. However, when the need a rose something inside her stirred and she would take charge, if no one else was doing it. Molly and Faye were busy, so someone had to get water. Twig’s didn’t know where the water was so that person was going to have to be Junior. Twig’s came up to him. “We are going to need this as a bed for Angie,” she said grabbing the pool raft from his hand and handed him the bowl. “Would you please go and fetch some water from the stream?” Not waiting for an answer, she hurried off. She set the pool float next to Ainsley and grabbed the beach towel from her swim bag to cover the float. Then she grabbed some embroidery floss out of her trunk, a pack of tissues out of her swim bag, and Death on the Nile out of her swim bag. She walked over to Faye and handed her the tissues and the book. “I thought you might need some kindling.” she said. “Please only use the book as a last resort. I’m going to see if I can rig a tripod to hang the bowl from to heat the water.” Twig’s started poking through the salvaged items for things she could use and worked on her idea.
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