AN: This a sequel ficlet to "Tales From a Loris". Hopefully, more of these shall come later.

Bovril raised her head into the wind. The engines made a rumble-noise behind her, and the barking prince was working on them. Bovril liked the noise, imitating it.

Alek gave the loris an amused glance. "I guess you like the engines, don't you Bovril?"

Bovril continued her purring sound.

They'd been in the air for almost a week now, heading full speed ahead towards Japan. They were nearly to China by now.

Alek sat back from the engine, examining his working. "Klopp!" he called, speaking in German, "I don't think we need to work on this engine anymore!"

The injured mechanics master limped over, looking over the engine. "You're right, young master. It looks good to me."

"Can I leave?" Alek asked Mr. Hirst, this time in English, who was watching him with a curious look. "I think it's in perfect condition right now."

"Perfect," Bovril parroted.

He shrugged. "I guess. But you're supposed to have a guard." After a quick glance upwards, he yelled, "Mr. Sharp!"

"Mr. Sharp," Bovril corrected.

Alek shushed him, "Hush."

'Dylan' stared down from where she was sketching. "Yeah?"

"Watch Alek for me, will ya?"

'He' nodded. "Of course."

Alek spoke to the beastie riding on his shoulder. "Hang on tight, Bovril." With that said, he started to climb the ratlines up to 'Dylan', with Bovril cackling all the way up.

She gave the loris a strange look. "I really do think she's lost it," 'Dylan' muttered.

Bovril giggled. She could practically see the future laid out in front of her- 'Dylan' was the one who'd lost it if she thought she could stay like this forever. But, it was not Bovril's place to reveal what she was. "Lost it. Mr. Sharp," she chuckled, connecting a barking new phrase and her favorite one.

'Dylan' glowered at the loris, while Alek laughed.

"I still can't believe that she's a she," he said after his chuckles trailed off, "I would've thought by the way that she acted that she was male."

"Male!" Bovril said. Like her brotherkin.

"Yes, Bovril," Alek said, not skipping a beat, "There are so many females on this ship!"

'Dylan' deadpanned, "Well, how else are the barking things going to breed?"

"Um…"

Bovril starting cackling again. Blisters! Barking prince wasn't thinking! Dummkopf!

"You're not helping, Bovril," Alek grumbled, a bit amused.

"Help!"

'Dylan' started laughing now. "She's quite a clever-boots, isn't she?"

Alek was about to respond when a cry rose above the wind; "We're in China!"

"Don't get so excited," Dr. Barlow told 'Dylan', "We've still quite a ways to go."

"Aye," 'Dylan' replied, nodding and squinting up at the Huxley, "Are you sure putting Newkirk in the Huxley is a good idea? Remember what happened last time he was in a Huxley?"

"He came down safely."

"Oh. Well, I mean last time before I went to put the barnacles on the net."

Bovril thought on this. The Huxley reminded her of the balloons she'd seen in Istanbul- big, on a string, and floaty. "Balloon?" she voiced.

"No, Bov," 'Dylan' corrected, for once, "this isn't a balloon. It's alive, and it's more like a jellyfish."

Bovril decided that she liked the living balloon. "Balloon!"

"Huxley." The other, male brotherkin loris poked his head towards Bovril from where he was sitting on Dr. Barlow's bowler hat.

'Dylan' smiled at this, but a flicker of worry flash through her eyes. "Ma'am, is it just me, or are the loris' getting smarter every day?"

The boffin frowned. "It seems so. I fabricated them to be quite perspicacious, but I wasn't expecting them to be this... far-sighted."

"Perspicacious." That was her favorite word.

"Hey, Dr. Barlow?"

"Yes, Dylan?"

"Mr. Sharp," both loris' said together.

Ignoring them, 'Dylan' continued with, "You don't have a name for the male loris, do you?"

"No. Don't you remember the lesson about not getting attached to the fabrications?" Dr. Barlow asked, a bit sharply.

"Aye, I do. But…" 'Dylan' stopped here to shout up at Newkirk, "Oi! Are you okay up there?"

Newkirk glanced down, hearing her voice faintly.

"Y!" Bovril chirped, looking at the boy's motions, "E! S!"

"He's fine," 'Dylan' confirmed cheerfully.

Dr. Barlow gave Bovril an alarmed look. "She knows the semaphore signals?"

"Aye. She kinda picked them up on her own."

Dr. Barlow looked troubled by this.