Midnight Machinations

[Jack Castle]

Castle could see Varian had been disturbed by the events as clear as day. He softened a bit for the boy's sake. He looked back out towards where the beast had left. The beast that Varian had told him was Shanty. She was an alien and mysterious being to say the least. It just seemed they had no idea just how alien she could truly be.

Castle watched as Varian called out to his mentor, and then Shanty's obvious dismay. He needed to do what little he could do to help mitigate the situation. He just... had know idea how to do that. The man set aside his drink, and his pipe carefully. Then he grunted as he pushed himself to his feet, old joints complaining.

Castle stood next to Varian and clapped a hand on his shoulder in a surprisingly gentle touch. He gave Varian a supportive nod, then called towards the window, "Shanty, be careful. I doubt the boy would want to see you fall and get hurt."

Really, the comment had only been so Shanty knew that he was there as well.

[Varian]

Varian gave an involuntary little shudder when she peered in with those bright eyes, it felt a little like prey being stared down by a wolf, only not quite the same, because he was not prey, and Shanty was not a hungry wolf waiting to devour him...No matter what his flights of childish fantasy were cooking up right now! He sucked in a breath and held his hands up with a slight flinch when she seemed to notice him, and then stumble, "c-careful!" He hissed out a cautionary whisper, not too keen to see his friend take a tumble to the ground from this height...No matter what form she happened to be in.

His mind was reeling with a million questions he wanted to ask, and a million thoughts just burning and howling for attention, and it was all a little overwhelming as his breathing picked up, just a little, and he found himself rooted to the spot despite wanting to step forward and say something of use in this situation.

He let out a startled gasp when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and was reminded that they weren't alone in this moment by Castle's steady voice beside him. He was right, and his words and grounding hand managed to pull him back from wherever his overactive mind as leading him long enough for him to collect himself, "It's...Fine...Shanty..." He finally managed in a slow, careful tone, watching her closely, "Castle is right...I am...It was alarming but I have no desire to watch you be hurt..." He was stuck somewhere between trying to comfort himself, and her, and it was a strange position to be in...But the last thing he wanted was for her to feel like he feared her or something, which was far from the case.

[Shanty]

“Argh, frickin’... Castle.”

The way the name is said isn’t in cruelty. In fact, compared to the previous panic, it’s almost humorous. It’s almost in a sort of ‘just my luck’ manner, belying that terrifying outward appearance.

Truly, that’s Shanty.

There’s a sigh here, and a massive, skeletal hand reaches down, curling and resting palm-up through the window. It’s posture is relaxed, as if offering a slower, more controlled observation of just what machinery made up the strange pirate.

“I’ve fallen from much larger heights, I can promise you that. I’d be more concerned for you, Mister Castle. The floor below would be another repair for you to deal with, and I’m certain you’ve already got plenty of paperwork with my name on it already.”

There’s a soft, airy laugh here, and a sound of machinery clicking. It’s almost awkward, but it seems she’s trying to clear the air.

“I’m sorry for disturbing your evenings. That wasn’t my intent.”

[Jack Castle]

"Hrmmm," he scratched as beard, "It's the principal of the thing. We don't want to see you fall... but thank you for considering the damages."

He gave a rueful chuckle, and it seemed to help him relax some. The banter over something frivolous, like money, in the face of... whatever Shanty was, was actually reassuring. It gave the situation a sense of normalcy.

"I think we were both just looking for some peace, and ended up crossing paths," Castle let go of Varian's shoulder and retreated to his drink and his pipe, "I don't know about the boy, though."

Castle's hawkish eyes gleamed when he gave Varian a pointed nod towards the window. It was a look that encouraged him to talk to Shanty, to try and grow comfortable with this new side of her.

[Varian]

There was something about the way she spoke, the familiarity of it even in this new form, which in an of itself wasn't terrifying, that comforted him and put him more at ease. It had been less the form she'd taken that had alarmed him anyway, and more the process that had so deeply disturbed him, and now that he was over that(at least for now), he could marvel at the mechanisms present in front of him, "fascinating..." He breathed out, when the great hand lowered into the window, and he approached it with little caution to inspect it more intimately.

He glanced back at Castles words and chuckled, "I was returning to Shanty's workshop when I noticed she was gone..." He cleared his throat and looked a little sheepish, "I suppose pursuing her was not entirely polite...But my curiosity often blots out common sense." He explained to the both of them, this wouldn't have happened if he hadn't been so nosy, but he also would likely not have known about this until much later, and he was glad to know now.

He caught the look that Castle had given him and approached her further, looking curious, "I have...Many questions now...I hope you realize this..." He gave a wry smile, trying to show her for sure that he was alright, "you are beyond anything I've ever seen, it's fascinating..." He cleared his throat and leaned just a bit against her hand, "I would love to know more, whatever you wanted to tell me...B-but it's also alright if you'd rather not!" He was quick to add the last part, not wanting to pressure her into sharing things she might not want to.