Stormcatchers

Day Zero

I finished early on the very last day, going to sleep hours sooner than usual - I knew I wouldn't sleep as much as I wanted. After a breakfast served by my amazing mother and a goodbye that was in a sweet spot of emotion between sad and proud, I got my jam packed hiking bag and boarded the small carriage that would take me over the hills at the southern end of town to get to the Sky Port - a name given to any official place where the Stormcatching ships could anchor.
It wasn't until I paid for the ride and turned to face the fancy looking building that I realised I still had people wanting to say their farewells. Upon saying my goodbyes to various friends I'd known since childhood, I stopped to pay attention to the architecture: the whole building had a stone facade - the floor and supporting columns made of a pearly white marble. All the doorframes and the details at the edge of the roof were made with a pitch black basalt stone, I would assume, and everything else had a less polished white tone.
My friends excused themselves one by one, until I was left with only one familiar face on the flat marble pavement; Rory Woodland. He'd been one of my greatest friends all throughout childhood. He stood beside me with an arm around my shoulders, with the same bright smile he almost always smiled to me. "Remind me which ship you're working in," he arched both eyebrows, pulling a certain brownish envelope from the pocket of his aged jacket.
I grinned widely. This day was starting to get a little unbelievable. "La Bella. But you already know that, don't you?" He had a cheeky smile crossing his lips.
We handed in the forms and signed in to board the ship together. We were still hours early, as was my plan, and we'd have time to explore La Bella for a bit.
As we walked out the back of the crowded wooden building to the port, our eyes were met with a great wooden ship, made of dark planks of beautiful hardwood, with all the details in a lighter oakwood, hovering a few feet off the air and there it was: the name of the ship was plastered on the side in shimmering golden paint. "La Bella". It was beautiful.
We climbed the rope ladder to emerge onto the main deck. I was still rather breathless from the absolute awe at the sight of the ship. When taking a look around the main deck and finally the helm, I bumped into someone, immediately turning to face a hardened look on a face surrounded by unkempt grey hair. "I'm so sorry, sir." I bowed my head slightly in respect and Rory stood in silence, with the posture upright. The man laughed a hearty laugh at me after a few seconds of agonizing silence. I was so surprised by his smile that I flinched - I expected reprimanding.
"What might your name be, young man?" His voice was just as scruffy as his facial hair, and just as friendly as the smile he was sporting. I eased up a little with how warm he seemed, but Rory still didn't make a sound.
"Corviell, Captain Barley, pleased to join your crew." The old man gave me a pat on the shoulder and a chuckle. "Run along, Sport," was all he said.
I nodded with a court smile and tapped Rory on the arm.
We went to the the lower deck, occupied the first vacant quarters we found and tossed our luggage beside each bed. We caught up on the couple months in which we hadn't talked. Surprisingly, his mother had been even more worried about him leaving home. She almost demanded to board with him to make sure he was completely safe.
We talked and laughed through the afternoon, and passed out a couple hours after sundown. The ship was going to depart the very next morning, and we were going to work from sunrise to sunset.