Ralph felt rather annoyed.
Not only was Heanith unavailable when he'd tried up to this point, either because she was too busy or because he couldn't find her, but now he had to get up at this ungodly hour, or maybe ungoddesly hour on this world, just to ensure he'd be able to talk with her before she had a chance to get around to being 'in the middle of something' and so unavailable for him to talk with.
He was currently climbing the ladder to the ship that was currently under construction and was nearly completed. On the outside at least, since Ralph had no idea how close the engine was to being completed. Though, Ralph couldn't help but wonder if any of this would matter or not. After all, as far as he knew, the engine would take longer than any of them expected it to.
As they only had Heanith's word that she'd be able to get it done soon.
Although, Ralph suspected that his feelings on the matter were more because of his annoyance than any actual evidence that he'd seen. Besides, he'd avoided coming to this place anyway. Which meant that he wouldn't have a clue as to what kind of progress was being made on the engine itself. All he could be certain of was the fact that it was hard to get time to talk with Heanith about what he'd been tasked with talking with her about.
It'd even gotten to the point that he was having trouble remembering what it was that he was supposed to ask her about. He was pretty sure what it was, but he certainly wasn't going to admit to his friends that he'd forgotten what it was. Which meant that he needed to proceed and act as if what he was pretty sure the task was, was what he'd really been tasked with.
Besides, he doubted that his friends remembered exactly what he'd been tasked with anyway.
As he reached the top of the rope ladder, a wind started to blow, making it treacherous to be on the ladder, since it wasn't secured to anything and could make it hard to climb up or down the ladder depending on how strong the wind was. The stronger, the more dangerous it would be.
Fortunately, with being at the top, Ralph knew that he could at least grab hold of the ship as he pulled himself onto the ship. Though, it did make him wonder why they wouldn't secure a regular ladder to the ship while it was being built rather than just a rope ladder. Especially since it wasn't clear when any wind would start to pick up.
While if dark clouds gathered in the sky, that could be a sign of strong winds, that wasn't always the case of if there would be any wind.
Not that it really mattered, since if this attempt failed, Ralph would just declare a failure on his task. He wasn't going to waste his time trying to talk with someone who didn't want anything to do with them. Especially considering the fact that there wasn't anything he could do to make her talk with him anyway.
Yet, he doubted his friends would accept him going back down the ladder without even trying. He couldn't be sure, but he suspected that they'd somehow know if he really tried or not on this attempt. Which meant he at least had to actually try. Rather than heading back down the ladder, no matter how much he felt like just giving up on this right then.
While it would be easier, he knew that he'd have a harder time giving up on talking with Heanith if he didn't actually try to talk with her while he was there.
So, Ralph walked towards where he knew the engine to make the ship fly would be, avoiding the people who were just starting to get to work for the day on building the finishing touches of the ship. Such as installing the railing around the ship to keep people from falling off the edge, something that Ralph would have thought would have been one of the first things they should have installed. Though, the sails certainly didn't need to be installed early, as that was another thing that was currently getting installed.
Although, Ralph had to admit that he was surprised at how quickly the ship had been getting built. If anything, he'd have expected the marquis' people to take months to get this far. Though, he supposed that it helped if there were several people working on it and the fact that they probably weren't trying to make the bottom of the ship water tight. After all, cutting certain corners certainly could help speed up any process, even if it might come back to bite whoever was cutting them later on. Besides, with the railing going up, he wasn't sure what would be the next item on the agenda.
Pushing the thoughts of the railing out of his mind, Ralph continued on to try and locate Heanith. Though, he did wonder if he shouldn't be talking with whoever was in charge of building the ship itself about when they should have installed the railing on the ship, but he didn't care enough to give it more than a passing thought. After all, he doubted that anyone on this world would listen to someone like him.
Especially since he was what this world termed 'a twig' which apparently meant that he wouldn't know what he was talking about even if he could demonstrate that he knew more than they did. A fact which still grated on his nerves whenever it came up.
Ralph pushed those thoughts out of his mind as well, if only to keep from getting worked up over trivial matters that he knew wouldn't affect him in the long run. Especially considering how he didn't plan on sticking around on this world any longer than he absolutely had to.
Eventually he reached where the engine was being built, and luckily, Heanith and the girl who was helping her weren't anywhere to be seen. While Ralph assumed the girl was Heanith's apprentice, he couldn't say that for certain. Especially considering the fact that he hadn't exactly heard them really getting along at all. Then there was the fact that he knew the marquis had appointed the girl to work with Heanith rather than Heanith choosing to work with that girl on her own.
So, Ralph merely sat down to wait. He wasn't sure how long he'd have to wait, but he was at least confident that it wouldn't take very long. After all, he knew that Heanith wouldn't abandon the project just because she was unhappy with the 'help' she had or anything like that. He was confident that she'd only abandon the project if she determined it wasn't going to work or had to be redone for reasons that would probably be beyond his understanding.
Still, he was willing to wait. He didn't know where Heanith and her 'apprentice' were, but he knew that they wouldn't be absent for very long. Especially with how much had been completed of the engine. While he didn't know how much was left to deal with on it, he could at least compare what the engine on the ship that he'd flown on before had looked like versus the one before him. Although, he did at least accept it could still be far from completed, considering how appearances could be deceiving. Especially when he didn't know the details of what he was looking at.
A sound behind him made him turn around. It wasn't a sound that was coming from the others who were working, this one sounded like something had been dropped close by. It was a quiet noise, one that would have been drowned out by the other ambient noises around him if it hadn't been close by.
A moment later, the 'apprentice' came into view. She looked like she was ready to work, but she stopped when she saw Ralph.
"Uh, can I help you with something?" she asked, sounding more curious than anything right then. A change from what Ralph usually heard her sound.
"I was looking for Heanith. I thought I'd try to catch her before she got busy with something."
The 'apprentice' looked around, looking more confused than anything else right then. "She should have been here. I'm not sure where she is-"
"I'm right here," an irritated voice sounded right behind the 'apprentice, interrupting her. Ralph looked and saw Heanith walking around the corner and through the doorway into the engine room with them. "What do you want this time? I don't have time to waste talking with you about just anything."
"Yeah, you don't have much time to talk to me anyway, so I thought I'd try when you weren't busy," Ralph retorted, not sure why he was so upset with her words or even why they touched a nerve in the first place. "I wanted to talk with you about how long it'd take you to build another of these engines? My friends and I were wanting to travel around on a bigger ship than the one this engine is attached to, but we were trying to get an estimate of how long that might take."
Heanith put a hand to her head, as if she was getting a headache from Ralph's words. A point that annoyed him even more. Why was it that anything he said made people react like they were wasting their time responding to him?
"Seriously? I have no idea how long the next one will take to build and I have no idea what size ship the marquis plans on building next, nor how long his women would need to build that ship," Heanith answered, sounding rather exasperated. Then she sighed, sounding almost as if the weight of the word was being heaped on top of her before continuing, "This is why I don't like working with others. They always keep expecting more and more."
Ralph nodded. "No problem. I was just asking. My friends were the ones who were pressuring me to ask, so if you don't know, that's fine too."
"I didn't say I didn't know. I just don't like saying it in the first place."
Ralph sighed. Those were two completely different things. Though, he supposed he could understand a little of where Heanith was coming from. Especially when it came to being bothered about something that he'd rather not discuss.
"I get that. Still, would you be able to give an estimate? Just for my friends at least?"
Heanith looked like her headache was getting worse, Ralph supposed it was only fair as he was still pressing on with the same topic and not giving Heanith the respite she clearly was looking for from Ralph's questions. Not that he was without sympathy. He hated it when he kept getting bombarded with questions that he'd rather not answer.
"Fine, but I can only move as quickly as the ship is being built. A larger ship would take longer than this one, so however long it'd take for the marquis' women to build that ship is how long it'd take me to build the engine, okay?"
Ralph nodded as he turned away without saying anything more. Her response didn't really help, but he supposed that it just meant that building the engine didn't take very log for her. That she was able to move along as the ship was being built. He hoped that meant that he'd just have to get an estimate of time from the Marquis, since he doubted his friends would accept him coming to a dead end in getting this response from Heanith.
Although, he knew that it'd be a lot safer to reach where he'd be able to find the Marquis. Plus, the Marquis would likely be easier to find a time to talk with him rather than how it'd been with Heanith. A fact that made the next step a little easier to bear. Especially considering that he had that climb back down the rope ladder and there was no telling how long that wind was going to last.
Even if he used his magic, he certainly would wear himself out from protecting the entire rope ladder, which he doubted he'd be able to climb down the entire length before that happened. Which meant he'd either have to wait for the wind to die down or risk getting trapped on it if the wind got bad enough that he'd have to stop and wait.
Which is what he planned on doing, since if he waited for the wind to die down, there would be no telling if it wouldn't pick back up while he was on the way down. Where if he started out, at least he'd have that much distance cleared already.
Besides, if the wind got bad enough, if he was close enough to the ground to risk jumping, he'd at least have that option. Where he certainly wasn't going to jump from the height he currently was at.
As Ralph reached the rope ladder, he immediately started to climb down the ladder. It was easy while he was by the ship, as he could use the ship to keep from having the wind force him to stay in one place. Though, the wind wasn't quite strong enough just yet for that to happen, it was just slowing his descent as it kept moving the next rung on the ladder from where he had thought it was, nearly making him lose his grip a few times before he found the sudden, jarring sensation of solid ground beneath his feet.
At which point the wind started to die down. A fact that Ralph could only roll his eyes at given the fact that he had no clue as to the fact that it was going to happen then. Or even how long it'd last.
However, when he turned away from the ladder, he was surprised to see that he had a visitor. Someone who was clearly waiting for him. Lily.
As soon as he saw her, she smiled and ran over, taking his hand in hers. Ralph couldn't help but feel that her smile made her look adorable, even though he wouldn't admit that to anyone.
Though, as they started walking, Ralph couldn't help but hear Lily say, "Papa."
He wasn't sure what that was about, but he had a feeling that it wasn't going to go away, like he first thought it would when she'd first called him that. As he was quite confident that she was referring to him when she used that word.
While Ralph didn't object to that title, he did wonder why she'd chosen him out of everyone. After all, any of his friends would have been a better choice for a parental figure than him. Even he knew that much. Yet, Lily had clearly taken a liking to him for reasons that still escaped Ralph.
As they walked towards the castle, Ralph glanced at Lily, unsure what she was thinking right then. While he usually didn't care to be around children for that very reason, he couldn't help but feel like Lily was different from most children he'd encountered. Not including how quiet Lily was. He wasn't sure if it was a developmental problem or something else, but from his time around her, she rarely spoke in any manner. He wasn't sure what to make of it, but he had a feeling Lily wasn't a stupid kid. He just wished he had an idea of what was going on in her head.
Sighing, he decided that he could at least speak and see if Lily would respond to his words. Maybe that way he'd get a sense of what she was thinking right then.
"I was going to head to the Marquis and see if he was available to talk. Want to join me?" Ralph asked, feeling like he already should know the answer to that question, even as he asked it.
Lily merely looked at Ralph for a minute or two before nodding, her smile making her seem happier than she usually seemed to be to Ralph. He wished she'd communicate a little more verbally, but he supposed that was the best he'd be able to hope for right then.
Besides, it wasn't like she annoyed him. In fact, he often forgot when she was near him, with how quiet she was. Though, he sometimes did wonder if there was something about her that was different from all the people on this world. As she hardly seemed like the typical girl on this world. Even though she clearly preferred the clothing that were considered 'women's wear' over what Ralph was still used to, Ralph had a feeling that she didn't quite belong in this world for reasons he couldn't quite explain.
He wished there was something he could do right then to figure out if it was just in his head or if there really was something else about Lily that he couldn't pin down. She clearly wasn't going to share anything with him or his friends about her past, considering her lack of verbal skills, nor was she going to suddenly change. At least she hadn't shown any kinds of signs of that happening, which Ralph had a feeling would precipitate any action leading up to her sharing anything about her past.
Nor was he really expecting anything. Although, he did find it a little surprising at how he didn't care as much as he felt he probably should about it. He was at least content to let her hold his hand while he tried to figure that out. Even though he couldn't quite explain why that was to himself.
Maybe if they found Charlie, she'd be able to shed some light into what was going on in her mind and maybe find out why Ralph felt that way about her. As he certainly didn't know what else he could do to find that kind of thing out.