I think I can manage being collateral damage
Everest was no stranger to the docks thanks both to his line of work and his ancillary interests in flying, such that Torchline’s skyport was practically a second home to him—he knew its schedules, its regular crews, the way the air patterns shifted just before takeoff. Which was why he was standing near the dock, idly sipping at a cup of something cold and sweet, watching as a stranger struggled with a crate that was—based on the string of inventive curses currently being hurled at it—giving him far more trouble than it should.
Ever tilted his head slightly, watching as the man hopped on one foot, swearing under his breath as he tried to avoid toppling into the sea below. "Would you like some help?" The words were crisp, polite—offered in the way one might suggest correcting a navigational miscalculation.
Ever took a slow sip of his drink before setting it down, stepping forward with the same quiet confidence he carried everywhere these days. "I can lift one side if you’ve got the other," he added, already reaching for the crate. The words weren’t hesitant (nothing about him really was anymore), but there was an easy-going curiosity to them, the way someone might assist in an experiment just to see what happened.
"You seem rather determined to fight with this thing," he noted dryly, glancing from the crate to the man in front of him. "Should I assume it started it?"
Ever tilted his head slightly, watching as the man hopped on one foot, swearing under his breath as he tried to avoid toppling into the sea below. "Would you like some help?" The words were crisp, polite—offered in the way one might suggest correcting a navigational miscalculation.
Ever took a slow sip of his drink before setting it down, stepping forward with the same quiet confidence he carried everywhere these days. "I can lift one side if you’ve got the other," he added, already reaching for the crate. The words weren’t hesitant (nothing about him really was anymore), but there was an easy-going curiosity to them, the way someone might assist in an experiment just to see what happened.
"You seem rather determined to fight with this thing," he noted dryly, glancing from the crate to the man in front of him. "Should I assume it started it?"
.
