At the BenBow
It was one of those days; a day when no one could believe that anything would happen.
But on this day, a man arrived at a space port, and made his way to a ship. He had on a cloak, as well as a hat, on so no one could see his face. He was walking to the ship that would take him to the planet Montressor, when he heard a female voice.
"…and I have said this before, Delbert, once you've decided to do something, do not ask any help from B.E.N." The big man turned around to see none other than Captain Amelia, surrounded by two male canids (A grown up and a teenager) and three female felinids like herself(all teenagers).
"Very well, as you say, dear," the canid gentleman said, just a bit sheepishly.
"So, Mom…what did you do on the trip to Xayus?" The redheaded girl asked.
"Oh, nothing special, or anything out of the ordinary," Amelia repiled.
The man who had heard the Captain began to laugh quietly. So, the famous Captain Amelia has become a wife and mother…and with that astrophsyicist Doctor Doppler to boot! What a surprise...
Amelia and her group approached the ship and said to him politely, "Could you please let us aboard, my good man?"
The man came out of his trance, and entered the ship so that he didn't continue to block the door. Amelia smiled at him, and he said to himself, If only she had knew who she was talking to…
Once back on Montressor, Amelia instructed her son, "Benjamin, please run over to Sarah and Jim, and tell them that we will be a bit late for the party, would you?" The boy grinned, and then ran, the man following him all the way to a inn.
He looked at the sign, which read: The Benbow Inn, Sarah Hawkins, proprietor. He made his way to the inn, and when he opened the door a voice said to him, "Welcome to the Benbow Inn! What may I do for you?" A human woman with brown hair looked up at him.
He said, "A room for the night, please, and a cup of Earl Grey tea, if you have any."
The woman nodded crisply in reply, and fetched him his tea while he found a table and took a seat.
The human woman came over him and introduced herself in a friendly voice, "I'm Sarah Hawkins, by the way."
"Sylvester," he was all he said, and sampled the tea from within the shadows of his hat and cloak.
"Well, Sylvester…there's going to be a party here this day, and you're welcome to come, if you are interested."
He simply nodded his acceptance, and Sarah continued on, "You can have Room Number Five, if you want to stay for any length of time." She pressed the key into his hand, and went to the door were her son had just made his arrival. She excused herself, and wended her way through the throng that congregated about the slim dark-haired youth.
The man finished the last of his tea, and then headed for young Mr. Hawkins.
"Here's six crontars, my boy. That's for the tea. Keep the rest as the tip," he said gruffly.
"Thanks," the young man replied and the big figure headed up the stairs to his room. Once inside his room, he took of the voluminous cloak and tri-corner hat so that his face was revealed. His skin seemed to be made of hard gray stone and that was a good thing, because if he hadn´t been, he most likely would have died after falling overboard and being drawn within the influence of a black hole. But Sylvester Arrow never did actually die, though. No, he just made his way to a nearby planet, one far away from sleepy Montressor.
Arrow rested himself for a while, and when he again heard many voices, he presumed that the party the woman had spoken of had began. Deciding he'd attend the function, he put on his hat to cover his face once again, and went downstairs to where the revelry had began.
It was one of the most wonderful parties he had ever been invited to. People danced and talked…why, he even saw Amelia and Doctor Doppler dancing, which surprised him, as he knew that Amelia hated to dance.
He sat down at a nearby table, and took a piece of cake. As he ate, he noticed that Amelia had stopped dancing, saying to her husband, "I simply need a moment to rest, Delbert dear." She took a seat at Arrow's table, then noticed him and asked, "Do you mind if I sit down here for a few minutes?"
Arrow nodded, to let her know it was all right with him, and Amelia gratefully took a seat.
"I don't believe we've met. I'm Amelia, by the way," she said and held out her hand to shake. "Captain Amelia Doppler."
He took her small offered hand, shook it briefly, and said, "Well, I'm new here. Just call me Sylvester."
She nodded, then looked back at him, scrutinizing the big man, finally saying to him, "Do you dance, by any chance?"
"No. Not really, I'm afraid," he said.
"Why not?" she asked, curious.
"Why didn't you, Captain, before you meet him?" he said and pointed to the wildly dancing Delbert.
"What? How could you know that?" she demanded.
"Why, Captain, every spacer has heard about the good Captain Amelia," he said and added. "The best Captain ever to ply the Etherium, it's said."
She smiled briefly, and had the grace to blush. "Am I not correct in that you said your name was Sylvester," she observed.
"Yes," he said succinctly.
"Hmm. That was the name of one of my best friends as well," she said.
"Oh, really?" Arrow said with a false sense of surprise.
"Oh, yes… but he was lost overboard and drawn into a black hole on a voyage."
"I´m sorry to hear that," he said and looked over at her. Then he saw something gracing Amelia's neck: a thin golden necklace with a charm of a panthyger dangling from it.
"Lovely necklace, Captain," he said.
"Yes, isn't it? I got it from my friend Arrow, well, on the day he died," she said and looked down upon it.
Jim Hawkins ambled over, handsome in his cadet's uniform, and tapped his finger on Amelia´s shoulder.
"Yes, Mr. Hawkins?" Amelia said and looked up at him.
"May I have the next dance, Captain?" he said, grinning.
"Why not?" she said happily, and got back to her feet once more.
"A pleasure to meet you, Sylvester," she said.
"The pleasure's been all mine, Captain," he said. He watched the Captain and Jim dancing for a moment or two before he went back up to his room.