Boredom. It was going to kill her someday.
She let out a groan and plopped onto her bed sideways, her arms and legs hanging over the sides.
"Dummkopf!" came an indignant yelp beside her. Bovril grunted and muttered things like 'Daft ninny' and 'Bumrag' as it crawled onto her back, turning around once like a dog, and snuggling into her shirt.
Deryn sighed. She was supposed to be on an adventure, playing spy for the Zoological Society, yet here she was, bored to tears, with only a loris and a ridiculous amount of paperwork to keep her company.
She traced the intricate designs in the woodwork of the fabricated wood floor, a pang going through her as she traced the shape of the Leviathan. She could have been up there, topside, the wind whistling through her hair, the feeling of the airship's membrane beneath her boots.
"Mr. Sharp." Bovril murmurred. "Daft."
Another sigh and a glare directed at the dozing beastie. "Little bum-rag."
It just chuckled, curling tighter into a ball, its claws digging into her back.
Of course, it was right. She couldn't have stayed on the Leviathan for long without being discovered. After all, Alek, had figured out her secret; both secrets actually, and he wasn't exactly the most observant person in the world. How long would it have been before a crew member found out? A few months at best.
Personally, Deryn blamed her anatomy for that, not the cleverness of the men on the ship.
"'Papers due by Monday, Mr. Sharp.'" the loris said in a perfect imitation of the lady boffin.
"Shut up!" she growled, sitting up, shaking the creature off.
It giggled and scampered up the bed post to sit on the headboard.
"Papers!"
Deryn shot Bovril a look that could have frightened the tentacles off a kraken, then twisted around to glare at the offending pile of paper, willing it to disappear.
"Bloody boffins." she muttered, falling back onto the bed.
It had been a month since they left the Leviathan, and Dr. Barlow had yet to give them a life-threatening mission. The most dangerous thing she and Alek ever got to do was walk Tazza, and maybe even collect some samples of plant life threads. Most of their time was taken up by a barking lot of busywork, and two or three tongue-lashings from Count Volger for sneaking off to explore the zoo or the city unaccompanied. 'A young lady and a young man should never be alone together.' he had said, giving Deryn a pointed look. 'No matter what everyone else thinks the two in question genders are.'
She chuckled a squick, remembering the way Alek had taken her hand immediately after the Count had gone, and led her off to explore for once. Her amusement quickly faded and she remembered her former spell of boredom, slinging an arm over her eyes, biting back a groan.
"Deryn?"
She jumped, realizing that someone was talking to her, and she raised her head, a bit startled to find Alek looking down at her, concern in his gaze.
"What?"
He frowned and set his own stack of papers on her desk, the two piles matching quite nicely.
"Are you alright?"
"Oh, aye." she said, smiling sheepishly.
She had often teased his princliness while on the Leviathan for complaining of boredom, letting many sarcastic comments drop as she headed off to perform some duty. Now she was the one complaining of the exact same thing, and she didn't want him to think her a hypocrite for it.
"Hmm." he didn't sound convinced. "Well, I suppose you would like to hear the news."
Deryn swallowed. "What kind of news?"
"The good kind, at least by your standards."
Alek looked a bit hesitant, but handed her a written assignment. "Dr. Barlow said we have to be ready by tomorrow morning."
She grinned as she read, her eyes growing bright.
"You know what this means?"
"Another madcap adventure?"
"Aye."
"I was hoping you wouldn't say that."
Deryn just laughed.
