Knock, and it Will be Opened to You (Day 1 - Evening)

When Vas handed Elle her pay she realized she had a problem. Maybe two but she hoped only one otherwise - well, best not to think about otherwise. Not when her alternative was Bodie. She hadn’t clawed her way off Newhall to end up in a place like this. The plain faced girl turned the coins over and over in her hand after Vas paid her, seeming to be a little worried but she didn’t say anything about it and finally got out of the way.

Back on Newhall when she got paid the mate always knew her situation, and a lot of others, and paid accordingly. Here though, on the Veil? Vas just paid everyone and - and she was too proud, or scared, to say anything about the problem. Especially in front of Vas, doubly especially in front of him and Serena.

It worried Elle all day. She couldn’t go to Marisol about it. The mechanic was banged up and she’d already been put in a bad way by Elle’s stupidity. She definitely couldn’t go to Riley or the Captain. They’d been placed so far out of bounds by Vas that Elle knew better than to even step on their shadows. Roose was a possibility, she trusted him, but some things you just didn’t want a man to know. Not Roose anyway.

If she was back home the Shepherd would kn-

Oh.

For the first time in days Elle smiled. She didn’t have a Shepherd but she had the next best thing; a Sister.

Glancing up and down the passageway Elle made sure no one was watching, not even the one-eyed waif. Checking again she went quickly to Lyen’s hatch and quietly knocked on it. “Sister?” she said, voice a little odd because Serena’s punch had swelled her nose up good. Elle knocked again, holding the side of her head near the hatch. “Sister. It’s Elle. I need your help. Please?”

The hatch slid open to slightly surprised nun. "Elle, hello," the young deck looked perturbed, maybe a little irritated. "Come in," she said to that face framed by red hair. Hatch closed again behind her, Ly motioned for them to sit on her bed. The passenger cabins were slightly larger, but only slightly, than some of the crew berths. Lyen folded her hands in her lap as she sat down.

Too caught up in her own worries, Elle didn’t notice the Sister was not her usual fully collected self. Big clunky work boots shuffled on the deck as Elle worked herself up to getting to what was wrong. She sat on the very edge of the bed, trying not to rumple it or get it dirty from the day’s work. Long, long seconds ticked away, a full minutes worth or more until Elle got to it, never once looking up from her lap.
When she finally moved the clink of coins, first in her pocket then more muffled in her hand, spoke louder than she did. Elle held them out in both hands like a bowl towards Lyen. “Can you tell me how much this is, Sister?” She still didn’t look at Lyen, only at the gleam of her wages.

Her own hands steered Elle's to the bed where she splayed them, allowing the coins to spread out on the sheet. Wordlessly, she separated one at a time, now with piqued curiosity at the deckhand's motive for coming to her. Was she not able to count? Or perhaps she couldn't read the inscriptions on the coins? Maybe this was more of a philosophical question vis-a-vis daily wage, how much it could purchase, whether it was fair. She knew Elle had some strong opinions, but she hadn't heard the deck wax political, yet. Still, it warmed her heart to know she felt she could come to Lyen.

She decided this was practical, perhaps a second counting for posterity. Each metallic object slid across the bedspread and Ly relayed the tally to the tense woman beside her, cupping her own hands to pour the lot into Elle's. "Everything okay?," she added with comfort.

Relief relaxed her shoulders and Elle audibly exhaled when Lyen’s counting matched what she’d been told she was paid. Guilt tried to shove its way in for thinking Vas would have cheated her but she poked it in the eye and told it to get lost. “Okay. Okay, that’s good,” she said and looked over at Lyen for the first time, a gracious smile softening her normally tight features. “That’s good,” she repeated.

Elle raised her handful of coins back towards Lyen. “Normally Shepherd gets the tenth share but he’d tell me since he ain’t around to give it to you for good works.” Elle took Lyen’s hand and poured her wages into them then closed the nun’s fingers around them. “Can you get these in little bitty coins for me, Sister? After you take the tenth share? I - I need the smallest ones that count like fingers. One, two, three,” she said before letting go. “Like that”

A pang deep within Lyen set low in her stomach. Elle's vulnerability in her request was without bravado, without facade. It made the nun want to stretch out her arms over those strong shoulders, but instead she nodded, "Yes, yes I can do that." She bit her lip, looking at the coins, careful not to light her eyes on Elle's. "I'm going into town, so I'll be able to bring this back to you in change. And there's no need for you to give; I'm no Shepherd, but nuns of my Order usually return kindness with kindness. What would you say to another meal together? Maybe somewhere off ship when... well, when crew is free to roam?" She offered a small smile to her companion.

“It’s right,” she said stubbornly. “Might not have no schooling but when Shepherd gave his lessons I listened. Tenth share for good works,” she insisted. “Ain’t up to me to decide what they is but I reckon you’re as righteous as Shepherd.” She looked over at Lyen and stood up, turning to keep facing her as she did so. “Obliged to you, Sister. If’n it ain’t no trouble could you ask one of the cooks in the best smelling sit ‘n gulp if’n you could buy a pinch of her sourdough starter and some flour and maybe a little ceramic bowl to put it in?” Elle ignored the invitation to go walkabout or eat with the Nun, knowing it was a bad idea that’d bring trouble from the only two sets of eyes that mattered; Mohawk and Pigtails.

"Dāngrán (of course)," she offered making a mental note of the list, "and you're very kind, Elle." A plan was hatching for this 'tenth' the deck was so adamant about, though a body like Elle may value respect for her wishes far more than secret surprises, Lyen wagered. "Are you a baker?" A secret smile appeared. "I have this weakness for brioche. I could just eat and eat it. It's terrifying, trust me. Sourdough, though, that's in my top three." Ly felt herself relaxing, felt a warm connection with Elle. She didn't know if the feeling was mutual, but knowing Elle even as little as she did, friendship would be a banner hard earned but well worth it.

“No, I can just cook a little and bread is easy. Sister, I gotta go turn my hand to things yet,” she said. “Thank you for helping me. Reckon you’re like Shepherd and that means something.” Elle smiled and left to go back to work.

And just like that the deckhand was back to work, leaving the nun to ruminate over their little exchange. Retrieving a slip of paper and pencil, Ly added Elle’s requests: bread flour, ceramic bowl, and sourdough starter. Folding the note, she slipped it into the pouch at her waist, the heavy jingle of Elle’s wages clinking with each step toward the bow of the Veil.