FADE IN. INT. NIGHT. EGG ROOM. DERYN sits in the green glow of the worm lamp with her sketchbook. She is drawing the eggs. BOVRIL is curled up next to her. Occasionally making happy, sleeping, cooing loris noises. DERYN finishes the egg sketch, and flips to an empty page. She begins to draw from memory, a portrait of ALEK. In the drawing, he is smiling, and has his jacket slung over one shoulder. The drawing in the center of the page expands out, DERYN adds BOVRIL into the picture. They are both sitting in the shade of a tree in summer. The night sky outside slowly turns pink as the sun rises. Light creeps its way across the small room, and onto her sketchbook page. She looks up at the small porthole and squints her eyes against the sun. A sleepy BOVRIL lifts his head and opens his mouth in a yawn accompanied with a mewling noise that sounds like it should come from a cat. DERYN looks down at the loris and smiles.
DERYN
Good morning , Beastie.
BOVRIL
Guten morgen.
DERYN (rolls her eyes)
And of course you have to speak Clanker with me. But what
Did I expect? Alek taught you everything.
BOVRIL
Yes, Mr. Sharp.
DERYN
You can stop calling me that. Almost everyone knows. You did
your daft job of being perspicacious.
Footsteps are heard from outside the door.
BOVRIL
Friend. Knock -knock (someone knock on the door.)
DERYN
Come in …friend.
The door opens to reveal ALEK. He walks in looking sleepy.
ALEK
Friend?
DERYN
Aye. Bovril didn't give me much of a clue as to who you were.
ALEK looks confused but doesn't say anything. He sits down next to DERYN and looks over her shoulder at the drawing.
ALEK
That's very nice.
DERYN
It's of that day we had off, in the summer, and we spent it in the park.
ALEK
I remember. Bovril ate our lunch for us.
DERYN (laughing)
That little bum-rag.
BOVRIL giggles. ALEK looks at the drawing again, then at DERYN.
ALEK
Can you teach me? How to draw, I mean.
DERYN hands ALEK the pencil and flips to a new page in her sketchbook
DERYN
Well, it's all in knowing where to put the lines. Now, I first started by just
looking at something, and not looking away. It's called a blind contour.
Pretend that your pencil is a wee ant, following every line you see. Keep
drawing, and when you pick up your pencil, put it down anywhere, it
doesn't matter. Just don't look at the page until you're done.
ALEK begins staring intently at the eggs. He starts to draw. When he is done, he looks down.
ALEK
God's wounds! That's awful! Are you sure this is how you learned?
DERYN
Fairly sure. It makes you look at the small details, or something. But
you didn't expect to be an expert at drawing after just one lesson, did you?
ALEK
Are you teasing me, Mr. Sharp?
DERYN (leaning closer)
Am I?
ALEK tilts his head to the side a bit and DERYN closes her eyes. He kisses her, but they are interrupted when BOVRIL makes the noise of footsteps coming towards the room. ALEK and DERYN pull apart quickly and ALEK whips his head around to look at the open door.
ALEK
Scheiße. I forgot to close the door.
DERYN
The crew will be waking up soon. I have to leave. I promised that
I'd help Newkirk with midshipman duties.
DERYN gets up and makes her way to the door, almost running into DR. BARLOW.
I say Mr. Sharp! Watch where you are going.
DERYN
Sorry ma'am!
DR. BARLOW
The captain would like to tell you that the ship is arriving at our
destination very soon.
ALEK
Already?
DR. BARLOW
Yes, Aleksandar, we have been on this air ship for quite some time,
If you haven't noticed.
ALEK
I have been preoccupied as of late.
DR. BARLOW (a little uninterested)
Of course you have. (looking at DERYN) the captain wants you at the
cargo bay in one hour, with the eggs safely packaged ,he also wants
you to wear these,(she hands them two Italian uniforms)so you blend in.
Don't be late.
DR. BARLOW turns and briskly walks from the room.
DERYN
She seems in a foul mood.
ALEK pantomimes confusion and turns to egg crate. He starts to stuff more straw into the crates and DERYN walks over to help.
CUT TO CARGO BAY. DERYN and ALEK stand in front of an opening in the floor. They are both holding onto ropes and carabineers. BOVRIL peeks his head out of ALEK's pack, but quickly ducks back inside when ALEK peers over the edge and steps back, looking pale.
ALEK
Are you sure this is safe?
DERYN
Of course, you dummkopf, when I performed a keelhaul-drop, the
ship was going much faster. This will be a barking walk in the park
compared to that.
DERYN flashes a smile to ALEK, which he tries to return, but is too nervous to do so, and settles for a curt nod.
DERYN
Clip yourself. (Snapping the carabineers to the ropes.) On three: one,
two, three! (she jumps, followed by ALEK.)
CUT TO ALEK and DERYN on the ground DERYN is leaning over her pack checking the eggs.
ALEK
Did we make it down in one piece?
DERYN
Aye. (standing up and looking about) I guess we should make our way
north, that is if we were dropped off in the right place, and not in
Austria.
ALEK (sounding worried)
They did tell you we were over Italy, didn't they?
DERYN(punching ALEK in the shoulder)
Course they did you ninny. (Hoisting her pack onto her shoulders)
Well, let's be off then!
She pulls out a compass and trudged through the snow off to the north, ALEK follows. FADE OUT.