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Word Count → 471
Neela's ear twitched violently when saul put his arm around her waist, the collie being rather uncomfortable with having a male in such close contact, but she didn’t resist, recognising that the weakness in her legs made the help necessary. Soon the mismatched pair had made their way along the pier and to the side of the boat, which then presented the next challenge. "Thanks." Neela said as she surveyed the ship, her voice having regained its composure and returned to the collies usual soft, almost musical tones.
Just in-front of her Neela could see the makeshift "ladder" that gave access to the Meria, small slots carved halfway into the wood surrounded with raised sections of foot to create a foothold. It was a rather daunting climb, at 35 foot long the Meria was a fairly tall boat and the ladder offered little by way of handholds, but it was a climb that Neela was familiar with, having made the climb hundreds of times, often in worse conditions than this. She had made the climb in stormy seas and, apparently, once when so drunk that she couldn’t remember that entire night, a little nausea wasn't going to stop her climb.
Neela made her way slowly up the ladder, her hands seeking small breaks and holds in the wood automatically, the motions learned from years of experience with the boat, and slowly made her way up. At the top one hand grabbed onto a dangling rope from the pulley she used to transport cargo off the ship and the other grabbed onto the ships railing, hauling herself up.
When up on the deck Neela collapsed gently, sprawling out comfortably across the smooth, familiar wood, her cheek resting against the cool surface as shelet the rocking of the boat sooth her mind and stomach. The deck was empty, the Meria's stock of food, tools and other supplies had been taken down and stored in the shed that Neela had built in the same clearing the pier was in, the small wooden structure just visible through the gloom, "I used ta do this a lot," Neela mumbled unexpectedly, "Just lay on the boat at night, the rocking is relaxing once you're used to it." Neela was half explaining her actions and half just talking for the sake of it, to break the silence that threatened to return her to the dark thoughts of her nightmare; there would be no calming silence tonight, not with her mind so troubled.
"Do'y want to come up?" Neela asked. While she didn’t want to impose on the boy who had already helped her tonight she wouldn't say no to some company, thinking along this line Neela dangled an arm down through the railing near her, offering Saul an extra handhold if he wished to climb up.
