For Forty Weeks the Sunbird Flew: An Airman's Tale

Chapter 6: A Return to Normalcy

A few days later had passed since they'd passed through the Carronade Pass, and things were starting to return to normal. Their card games had become more lively as the mood of the officers seemed to lift, chief amongst them Lawrence. Whilst he might not have joined them the last few nights, Archer had at the very least seen his boss at morning mess, likely signalling that the man's self-imposed isolation was over. At this point he'd seen a little more of Gaul, which he was thankful for, and much more of the Pass than he'd ever wanted to see, Archer had truly begun to understand how monumental the battle here must have been. He'd read of it, of course, and obviously he knew on a purely subjective and intellectual level how large it had been, but to actually see the remains lying still far below... it had been something else entirely, a whole new experience.

Lawrence's mood had improved somewhat since they put distance between themselves and the Carronade Pass, but he still seemed a little out of it. Not that Archer blamed him, of course; the Battle of the Carronade pass, though a victory for Albion, had been one of the worst military disasters in living memory. To be forced to relive a day such as that... it had been hard enough just seeing the hundreds of skeletal airship remains far below, let alone to have actually fought in it. Still, that was far behind them now. Soon enough they'd pass through Gaul's southern border with Occsa and be on the last leg of their journey to Three-Streams, not that Archer knew how anyone could tell since one patch of windswept valley looked much the same as any other to him.

"Archer."

He nodded his head formally.
"Mr Walker. Are you well today?"

The man nodded back at him.
"I am. Thank you for your diligence and concern these last few days. Don't think I haven't noticed a few things fixed since I woke myself from my funk."

Archer's cheeks flushed a little as he smiled.
"Thank you, Mr Walker. It was only simple things really, nothing technical or major."

Lawrence nodded back at him.

"Aye, that it might have been, but it's still a step forwards for you. Now I know you can keep things from piling up too badly in the event that I take ill for true. I don't expect you to try and take on the major repairs yet, not without my guidance, and to be honest I'm glad you didn't try to fix it all. No offense to you or your skills, Mr Haywood, but I do not believe I would be comfortable with anyone save myself dealing with those major systems."

Archer chuckled.
"Myself as well, Mr Walker. In time I'll learn, but I'm still far too inexperienced to entertain such thoughts at the moment."

The two men smiled at each other before Lawrence sighed and stretched, his back audibly popping.

"Ahh, that feels good. My apologies for being out of commission these last few days, Archer. It is alright if I call you Archer, yes? You said as much when we met but we both quickly lapsed into formalities."

Archer was tempted to laugh at the level of caution in his boss' voice, but thought better of it. He didn't want it to be mistaken for mocking, after all. Besides, the man was right; the two of them had told each other to use their first names and then almost immediately began using formalities again.

"Perhaps we should maintain our standards of formality when in the presence of others? I understand that they have a preconceived notion of what it means to work under you, and that my predecessors found it rather amusing to keep them in the dark."

A fond smile fell across Lawrence's face.

"That they did, God rest them both. You are suggesting we refer to each other by our first names whilst here, working by ourselves, but to maintain the use of formalities in, for instance, the mess hall?"