Inspired by: First and foremost, the beautiful sketch by Liza, secondly, Parasol Protectorate 

Genre: Steampunk, Supernatural  

Tink tink tink.

As the airship sailed across the moonless inky night sky, these were the distinct sounds that emanated from the southernmost room of the flying dirigible.

Tink tink tink.

Our first protagonist, the primary character of this story, had her tongue worried between her lips as she held the tiny piece of craft up to the night light, her various precision tools, oversized rolls of papers with diagrams, and an untouched bowl of gruel were strewn about her desk. This was Wendy; the mechanic and the captain of this ship.

Wendy, was the young prodigious flier who had made a name for herself in this continent for her ingenuity in ship designs and her unpredictable personality. Rumour has it that this ship which she captains has downed over a hundred other ships; evil and good alike, it did not matter as long as they were in her ship’s way. Of course, these were all untrue, for they had not encountered a hundred ships along their course of journey nor did Wendy had the interest to do so. The reasons why they had acquired such a reputation was because of the mysterious dark aura about Wendy and the secrets surrounding herself and her crew, the creepy yet almighty mechanical arm which was fitted on her and above all of these, was the ship’s diabolical designs.

The Skeleton, was designed exactly as its name suggests but for practical aerodynamic purposes and never was its intention to haunt, perhaps just a little for it suited Wendy’s fondness for dark elements.

Tink tink tink.

Enter our second protagonist as the figure walked gracefully down the well-manicured hall, towards the southernmost room and the sound of tinkering. The steady thud thud thud from her leather-heeled boots was power commanding and the crew members’ eyes went along the figure. Why they had regarded her as a powerful individual would be revealed shortly.

This was Irene, the ship’s second-in-command and their physician, the one who had stolen their captain’s heart, the one who had Wendy wrapped around her little finger, the only person privy to all of the captain’s secrets, whatever it was. Such was Irene’s power.

Despite the formidable name Irene has earned for herself on the ship, there were times where she had failed to make Wendy listen to her, this was one of those times.

The mechanic was so engrossed in her work that she had not even realised that her madam was in the room. Irene had her arms crossed as she leaned against the doorway, a disapproving expression drawn on her face. A good fifteen minutes had passed and the mechanic still had not realised Irene’s presence. Finally, the lady could take it no longer as she cleared loudly.

Wendy, who was usually not timid of nature, actually started and when she realised it was only her lover, pursed her lips. The captain was slightly upset that she had failed to detect Irene with her keen sense of smell for she was simply too absorbed with her work.

It amused Irene a little but she had not let it show on her face, her eyes was trained on the unemptied bowl on the desk and a loud sigh escaped from her lips.  

“Another bowl of wasted gruel.” Irene said coldly.

Wendy nodded absentmindedly and replied hastily. “Sorry, busy.”

It was now Irene’s turn to purse her lips. “Yes, I could tell that. Your reply was evident enough.”

Wendy paused amidst her tinkering and dropped whatever was in her hands. Usually such words from Irene spelled impending storm and usually an expert in manoeuvring through difficult weathers, Wendy was not in the best of shape to navigate through one now, especially if the source of it was from Irene.

The mechanic stood from her chair and winced a little as her various joints, the human parts of her, clicked. Then, she made her way towards Irene and wrapped her arms, both the fleshed and mechanic one around her.

“Hey, I am sorry, I got carried away,” Wendy said placatingly and nuzzled into Irene’s neck.

Irene appeared unimpressed and played hard to get. It only aroused the mechanic further. Wendy’s blood roared in her veins and she could not suppress the low growl emitting from . Such an act excited Irene a little as she caved in and exposed a wider se