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My name is William Laurence, captain of Temeraire, and friend.

Recent events have made it clear a crew is necessary, for the safety of Temeraire, and in hopes that the two of us may be of service here. At home, a crew would consist of thirty or so men— I expect to need no more than five or so under current circumstances.

At present, I cannot offer any monetary compensation for work done, but only my gratitude, and friendship. My only requirements are that those who apply possess great fortitude, curiosity for the unknown, and have little fear of heights.

[ he takes a breath, choosing his next words carefully, but they still come out somewhat awkward. ]

Nationality is of little importance; medicinal knowledge, after all, has no borders.

Thank you.

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[ and a few hundred years ]

It is quite thrilling, although I would not entice people into service with fun as a descriptor.

[ that'd be like selling war with Call of Duty... wait ]

Would I be correct in assuming you are from the Americas?

Welllll...I live in New York, but that's not where I'm from originally.

[trollin' on the deep]

[ Laurence is just falling for it like a donkey after a carrot on a stick ]

I did not mean to assume— I hold no grudge against the Americans, although I believe Temeraire will have many questions for you about the revolution and such.

[ questions up the wazoo about the tea party and if it was a real tea party and all that jazz!! ]

[She doesn't want to have to give the Atlantis explanation again until she can stick her gills in his face.]

That's good, 'cause there are a lot of Americans here. And where I'm from, the US and UK are friends and have been for ages.

[Luckily for Nita, he's far enough in the timeline that the Act of Union has happened for him so that he might be able to figure out "the UK," but as far as Anglo-American friendship goes, she would be faintly aware that there was something called "the War of 1812" if someone else mentioned it first. The chance she would get the combatants right, however, is extremely low.]

I did not mean to imply there was tension between the two nations [ but there is ] ; I only wished to state my disapproval for the American's drastic measures.

[ but talking about politics is so drab he's probably boring the nonexistant socks off Nita ]

Perhaps Madam, it would be best if you were to meet Temeraire and me in person— hearing of a dragon is a far cry from meeting one. I'm sure he would enjoy the chance to make a new acquaintance as well.

[There's an attempted violent coup in Atlantis like once a year, so Nita's not sure what the surface has to complain about.]

That sounds-- [awesome!] --like a good idea. Where and when?

Whenever is simplest for you, [ OH SWEET REGENCY JESUS HE DID NOT ASK FOR HER NAME ]

I am ashamed, miss; we've spoken for this long and I still have not asked you for your name.

[She outright giggles.]

Namorita Prentiss.

["Prentiss" is a super-English last name, but that doesn't explain "Namorita."]

[ don't giggle he'll wonder if he did something completely faux pas!! ]

Miss Prentiss. Whenever you have a spare moment of time, I am sure Temeraire and I would be more than pleased to meet you. We may meet first, if you would prefer to become acquainted with us separately.

[ quietly puzzling out if she'd be related to the Prentisses of Yorkshire... maybe a 2nd or 3rd daughter?! ]

[Being adorably old-fashioned is not a faux pas but might still get you giggled at.]

Oh, I could come by whenever. I can meet your dragon friend later. You busy?

[She'll just fly on over nbd.]

[ just wait til he starts writing bad poetry, Nita ]

I have no plans for the next few hours, if you wish come by; I only ask that you to give me a few moments to make myself presentable. [ brush his coat and put on his dress sword!! ]

[Dress sword so cute.]

Okay, I'll be there in half an hour.

[Waaaaaait.]

Where's "there?"

[ back in the day men wore cravats and dress swords and stared at the floor when women spoke to them!! Laurence isn't entirely sure it's polite for a strange guy to invite a lady into his apartment, so he settles on something more 'public'. ]

At cafe [ random cafe in fire sector ]? You shall know me by my green uniform.

[Nita does one-night stands when she's bored, js.]

And by the fact you're not blue, I'm guessing. I'm blond and wearing green today, too. I'll see you in a bit!

[She hangs up before he can say anything else and kills the next 25 minutes doing absolutely nothing productive before taking off and flying straight to Fire Sector. She touches down outside the cafe, at least sparing him the sight of a flying underdressed woman.]

Captain Laurence?

[Nita certainly doesn't carry herself like someone embarrassed, or even someone enjoying the feeling of transgression. Barefoot and wearing less (and tighter) clothing than the cheapest whore in the worst tavern in London is perfectly appropriate for a princess of Atlantis, okay.]

[ if Laurence hadn't had years of repression beaten out of him during his time in the Corps, he would have turned a beautiful shade of eggplant and choked on his tea. But he has, so all he does is turn a shade of scarlet and gape for a moment, before rising quickly to remove his coat, while staring very obviously at a far wall ]

Miss Prentiss, I—

[ his words fail for a moment, as he tries to remind himself that standards of dress varied across the world. Even so, he'd imagine the world would agree that real actual pants was a bare minimum for dress. ]

I'm sure you must be cold. Please.

[ please being shorthand for: please take my coat ]

[It takes her a second, but then she realizes what his problem is. Not this shit again. With a sigh, she accepts the coat and slips it on.]

Yeah, okay, you can look without shocking your delicate sensibilities anymore.

But for the record, I don't get cold.

[ having his sensibilities called delicate causes him to prickle slightly; he'd like to think he'd come quite a ways, from being shocked at having girls serve in the Corps, to realizing they were some of the most capable Captains he knew. Catherine had always complained about how irritating dresses were, and he assumes it's the same sort of reasoning for Nita.

But then Catherine enjoyed breeches, so his reasoning is pretty shoddy. ]

I've had little time to keep up with present fashions, and I apologize if I've made you feel obligated to change. However—

[ he keeps his voice steady, judgement free, although it toughens slightly as he prepares to drop a logic bomb ]

In battle, I would worry heavily for your safety, with no jerkin or cuirass to protect you. My sensibilities aside, Miss, I could not see your method of dress providing any reasonable defense.

[It's because she's an aquatic superhero, bro. Also, covering up these legs would be a crime.

She blows a puff of air up through her bangs. Be nice, Nita. It's not his fault he's out of his depth.]

Okay, I know you're just being responsible and all that, but unless your world has been doing some serious metallurgy research, you've never even seen a sword that can break my skin.

[She indicates one of her pointy, obviously non-human ears he was probably too busy not staring at her chest to notice.]

I will have to take your word on it.

[ he says rather faintly, as his eyes move up to her ears. He's seen quite a few things by now, including red aliens, but seeing it through a screen is not as dramatic as seeing it in person ]

Are you from one of the other planets Dr. Natu mentioned? I had not imagined New York being so... varied.

I'm from Atlantis. I just live in New York.

[Since he's not asking, Nita takes a seat on her own, which doesn't bother her at all. She likes casual American manners.]

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