#short samples

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✦ "I see… word has gotten around that you've left this life behind," The boss commented, taking the cigar out of his mouth for a moment, "So I'm a little surprised that you'd come to me. With him, no less," He pointed the cigar at the captain as he said this. He leaned back in his chair, glancing at the other up and down for a moment. "Tell me what you want them for, and I will decide if it's worth the trouble." ✦ Sam smiled, recollection flickering in his eyes as he watched Henry draw. "Not now, but I had a cat when I was growing up. His name was Lucky. He was white, and he had black spots and orange stripes… He had some long scraggly whiskers and his meow sounded a little grouchy, haha, but he was a sweet little guy. Playful, too. He liked doing tricks, actually… I taught him how to fetch and spin, and he taught me how to give him a little bump back after he'd bump me… He was my buddy." ✦ As Sam followed Lila, he thought about everything before the hospital. The state of the room, the state they found Henry in, the stranger who was adept at breaking into Henry's apartment. "Hey, this is going to sound a bit odd… but do you know of any mechanics in the area? I know that's really vague and there's tons of them here, but I think the person who helped Henry out was one. Tall, blond, blue eyes… hardly spoke a word… He said he was Henry's neighbor, but I wonder if he knew him too. He vanished when the paramedics showed up, so I didn't get his name." ✦ "With all due respect, Captain… while I appreciate the offer, I'm quite fine working above deck in order to attend to his Grace whenever needed." Anthony poured them their drinks as he spoke. "I'm afraid working below and out of his reach would put my service into contention. Besides, I could never replace one of your loyal crew."

"Ya hear that Cap'n? I'm irreplaceable." Orville leaned back and rested his head against his hands with a cheeky smile. ✦ "Ah, no, no! It's not bad… you're just… defying known biology again, that's all," Grace explained, not wanting to make Simon panic more. "I guess if it doesn't hurt, you should be okay…"