Seiko made her way into the cargo hold. There was always the need to fix things on a ship, and to fix things, you needed supplies. Obviously, the Half Moon was well-stocked... but it always felt good to know the numbers.

There was, without question, a system. Somewhere.

No one had thought to leave it written down anywhere that Seiko could find, however. Instead, she found the ship's heimen contigent of craftspeople sharing a large pot of tea and murmuring to one another, the sound stopping at once when the samurai arrived on the scene. All of them rose and bowed with careful respect and then returned to the last of their breakfast in silence.

Keiko nodded automatically in reply, but said nothing. She continued to scan the area, hoping that something would make itself clear.

Then she turned toward the heimin and addressed them as a group.

"Who's the foreman?" Her tone was mild and a touch quiet.

"O-washi gunso's the quartermaster. I'm foremost o' the crafters, o-Crab-sama. Crew calls me Chuckles." The speaker was a man in his prime, unsmiling and as brown and weathered as any sailor Seiko'd likely ever seen. Broad of shoulder, he had shifted to shield his fellows from the samurai's view as much as possible, his eyes carefully on his own bare feet.

Seiko nodded.

"Good. Finish your breakfast. My questions will wait."

She moved to turn back to give Chuckles room, then stopped.

"Kaiu Seiko."

Then she stepped back a little to let the heimin get back to his breakfast.

The small group, two men, one woman, was swift in the finishing of their meal, a simple dish of dried salmon and buckweat soba. Once it was done, the oldest man moved off to crate, pulling out a bundle of sailcloth and then fetching a small pouch as well, setting out his materials. The girl, who had yet to look at the Crab, moved to a large timber, half-way to becoming a ballista bolt, and took up a hasp to continue the work on it.

Only the man, Chuckles, dared approach. "O-Kaiu-sama, what did ya need?"

"The captain assigned me to this duty station," Seiko explained. "I would like to know the system this ship uses for stocking supplies, where everything is located, the rundown on the duties, and the names of all crafters."

Again she paused as she considered.

"As well as anything else you believe is germane."

"Don't know what 'ger-mean' is, O-Kaiu-sama." Chuckles kept his gaze lowered. "The one workin' the ropes is Knots, He's a tailor. The girl is Blossom, she's my junior. Both of us're Carpenters. As for what's where, I can show you were the wood and the tools and such are an' what's waitin' on repairs down here or above but if you want a full inventory you'll have to talk to Isawa-gunso."

"Show me what you can," Seiko evenly replied. "Show me everything."

She paused again, thinking. Heimin or not, it was important that they come to respect her as a fellow crafter. How to earn that depended on them.

"The inventory will wait for now," she finally said, implying in her tone that she was waiting on him.

Obediently, the man began to lead her through the ship's hold, saying nothing of what they found but what was strictly necessary, not at all eager to risk giving offense by implying this woman, who's Family was so renowned for their skill that even the Heimen knew of it, didn't know her way around ship repair.

The tools were neatly organized by specialty, all of the metal coated in a heavy sheen of oil to protect it from any sea water it might encounter. There was a respectable supply of seasoned wood on the ship as well, though most of it was average quality at best. By the looks of it, they'd be able to patch a significant breach or even build a new skiff if it ever came to that. Should they lose a mast, however, they'd be left with no option but to jury rig a join between upper and lower halves, bracketed with heavy steel mounts that were kept for just such a purpose. There was spare sailcloth, several bolts of it, and several large coils of rope, both hemp and silk.

The door to the hold creaked open and Amaya stepped in, stifling a yawn. She'd just caught the duty station's reports earlier today, and the first day's schedule was going to be a little rough, as she'd set up for the day shift beforehand. Emerging, she saw the others and nodded before catching sight of the Kaiu. She'd had someone read the duty roster off and point out people so she didn't feel too much a fool, but she hadn't met this one... and... well, what with everything recently.

Fuck it. Old habits died hard.

She bowed low and murmured an "O-samurai-sama" towards the Kaiu, and waited to see if she was needed by anyone.

Seiko glanced at the newcomer. Chuckles hadn't mentioned this person, but the roster had said that there was someone named Amaya on duty at the same time as her.

"Kaiu Seiko," she mildly corrected. "You are Amaya?"

She hadn't dismissed Chuckles just yet - there were a few things to ask him still.

Another bow. "Yes, O-Kaiu-sama," came the gravelled and thick response. It sounded as if her voice box had seen better days over the years. She remained with her head faced at a downward angle, listening to see if the woman had specific requests or orders. She had a few minutes, after all, before the rope was going to need braiding. It wasn't really going anywhere.

Seiko eyed Amaya for a moment. She searched her memory, reading the woman for clues.

"You are new to this crew too, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yes, O-Kaiu-sama," she said, nodding to that, her scarred face not necessarily giving much of a clue on her mood. She had it framed and wooden, like tanned granite chiseled one or two too many times. "Jus here th'last week or so."

Seiko nodded, apparently satisfied.

"Has Chuckles showed you everything, where it is at, already?"

Apparently, the Kaiu wanted to be sure that everyone was well-trained.

"Yep, O-Kaiu-sama," she said, nodding to that. "I'm one'f Knots' assistants, so I know where th'repair gear for rope work is, along with th'material for mendin fabric." She seemed not particularly concerned in her tone with why a question was being asked so much as the fact that it had been asked in the first place.

"Only ropes and fabrics?" Seiko quickly asked.

"Anythin related t'my trade, O-Kaiu-sama," she said, knowing where the needle, the thread, and anything else related to tailoring on the vessel would be. She seemed to be keeping her answers mostly to the exact questions she was being asked.

Seiko now turned back to Chuckles.

"Is this standard protocol on this ship, that the heimin are skilled in one area?" She had noted that Amaya had not mentioned anything about actual carpentry work, but seemed only mildly curious.