Afternoon antics, Sunday

"I know." Since he played a good deal of it at home, he knew the later well enough. He'd heard some when he was in taverns and when he was a young middie waiting to be picked off and sent to a new ship. How many of those boys ate till they nearly burst and then went on a boat to get to their ship, just so that they'd be emptying their tummies anywhere but in the heads and in any way but the normal.

He followed Oxley's lead, letting the tune he suggested play in his mind. After quite a few awkward moments, he found himself relaxing enough that it didn't look any longer as if a stiff legged table was trying to do it. With a sheepish grin, he had near silently hummed the tune to himself and done a fairly better job in dancing it too.

Oxley grinned. It was a good tune to dance to - one of his favourites, in fact, and he began humming it to himself, glancing at de Guarde's face and humming it a bit louder as he saw the recognition there.

At least the younger boy was relaxing a bit, now, which was good.

(Portsmouth. Link goes to a YouTube vid by the incomparable SwissKun. I don't know how old the tune is, but who cares! It's fun!)

The boy followed suit, humming it louder once he heard the marine. He knew he could as he felt the boy still louder than himself. The later gave him some feeling of comfort. He was grinning now and while he followed Oxley's lead fully earlier, he was now doing some of his own.

"That's.. fun." He said and then pulled Oxley into a turn. Which began as now so fast, but then picked pace.

Oxley broke off humming to laugh with delight as de Guarde pulled him into a spin. "You're gettin' it, right enough," he said. "And o' course it's fun - wouldn't do it, else," he added, before resuming the humming.

"Dunno." He grinned and found that the longer he did this the more relaxed he had felt. It didn't matter if some of what he did looked silly, nor if others were watching. They were being as silly as him, and some even worse than that. With all the humming he'd wished suddenly that they had an instrument to play with. It would give the boys a proper tune - though even this one, a mixture of one in each boy's head - was fine.

He was very glad that the officers left them in peace. The two middies were somewhere above, Kinsella and Chandos, he didn't know where they were, and neither of that new boy. And the rest of the officers, well they were elsewhere and that's all that mattered!

"Well, you look t'me like you're havin' fun, anyhow," he said. "Ain't it nice, to have a good time with folks?"

"I am, n' it sure is. That I can say. Sure is!" He laughed and danced a little before pulling Oxley into another spin, laughing as it got faster. And the spin which would for landlubbers, who already had trouble with their tummies, be something of a terrible idea, was for him just another fun thing.

When they'd let go, they would sure be trying to find their feet, as dizzy as turning made people. This made people forget that they were at war and that the next ship's sighting might be their last.

Oxley laughed as he leaned back, holding de Guarde's hands firmly as they spun. It had been a good race and was turning into a good bit of fun for all the lads - and some of the sailors who were watching them.

It felt good to be able to forget, even for a short while, the duties and responsibilities he had, and just have fun. He wondered if they could organise a game of tag in a bit.

"Nice to have friends, ain't it?" the Marine drummer managed to ask after a couple of turns.

"It is! Much so!" He grinned and tried to quicken the pace some more. He held tight on Oxley's hands and leaned back so that it felt that they were going faster than they were. He was feeling the first traces of dizzy, but at the same time it felt a lot of fun, and the world around them just turned blurry, while them two were as clear as can be.

"Should do this again.. sometime." He said, as if aknowledging that even once their fun was to be over, he'd have liked another one again.

"We should, but this'n ain't done yet," Oxley said, grinning at they younger boy as the world spun around them. It had been better than he'd thought it could be, and de Guarde was a different boy from the one who blacked Oxley's eye from two days ago. Was it really only two days ago? It felt longer than that.

"Yes, it ain't!" And he hoped it would last a good while longer.

How things changed. From being so sour faced even a lemon would squint if it came close to him, to now, laughing and smiling and being in general in a great sort of mood. But he was having fun, the sort he didn't expect he could have. All fears that something would go wrong, that what was promised wouldn't come true, were now gone. Oxley and the lot of boys promised a competition, and they finished it! And there was promise of fun afterwards, and it did not disappoint at all.

"Will we have music too?" He asked with a laugh. If they stopped at any moment, they were sure to walk like drunk. But he didn't care.

"Dunno. Was thinkin' 'bout a game of tag." Music was for later, really, once they were tired out. And then the older sailors would join in, most likely, with a hornpipe or a sing-song, or something of that sort.

He didn't think anyone from de Guarde's old ship would recognise the lad now, with his eyes dancing with the fun of the thing.

"Tag?" The boy didn't know and had a thought not to show it for a moment, but decided to ask, and nearly slipped too. "How's that um played?" He asked. Terpsy was nothing like what he'd been at before. It did have its share of mean officers, and it had one Corporal that he hoped never to bear his rump to, but in general it had young ones who were willing to be like children and not always stiff and serious. And they didn't look to ask for much in return.

He grinned. "Will let go any time you will" Though hopefully by then they'd also have slowed down, else two pair of boys would be flying their designated ways.

"Tag? It's easy!" Oxley started to slow down; he didn't want to risk either of them careening into the side and possibly ending up in the drink. "What you have is one lad who's It, and he has to try to get one of the others - anyone else and make him It, instead. Sort of a chase. It's fun!"

"So like what we had, 'cept we don't snatch a marine's hat or his sticks." He grinned at the mention (i hope I didn't mix up the time line just!) but go and have one chase everybody else.. n' the it." He was slowing as well till he could let go of Oxley's hands and stumbled a little, the world around him continuing to spin.

"..The one who's It.. runs to get them but.. what are the others called?"

"Summat like that. A bit. Don't think there's a name for the others, only the one who's on. The chaser, I mean." He grinned, though his surroundings were still spinning and he had to hold on to the bulwark and close his eyes for a moment to regain his equilibrium. "And when we do it, we don't go through the messdeck and all like we done earlier. We stay up here, and mebbe head up the riggin', a bit. It's just a bit of fun, see."

"Can we hide then?" He blinked and shook his head. The turning had sure messed up his sense of balance. He was grinning though , because it felt funny and he did not feel ill. Which was all the better.

" I think I get t' rest. No messdeck runs.. jus' here or riggin'!" And after he could actually run straight too.

"No, it's just a chasin' sort of game, is all," Oxley said, though he did remember playing things like hide-and-seek with his brother when he'd been younger, before the Press got Sam and Oxley himself had run off to join the Marines.

He missed those days, even now, and suddenly wondered if he'd joined the Marines in order to have a better chance of finding where Sam was. "And yep, it's just on deck or up aloft - though you have to be careful goin' up there. Don't want anyone fallin' off now, do we?"

"Alright. If them other boys are up to it, we can start it whenever." He noticed one of the boys come down the mast , followed in the same direction by the other midshipman. It looked as if though he had gone to report on something, which had sent another midshipman up the mast to be sure. Nearly knocked what looked to be Mr. Fletcher, of going up.

Now the two boys were back down, and that was the last he saw - or went to observe - about the two, turning to Oxley.

Oxley grinned. "'S easy enough to start," he said and tapped Johnny on the shoulder. "Hey - you're It!" he said, and darted off.

De Guarde blinked, looked at Johnny then after Oxley and with a laugh darted in the opposite way. Some of the boys were quick to catch on and soon the group of boys scattered in various directions. One of them using Branning as a means of protection, someone he'd be running around if Johnny went after him. A few of the boys mixed with the Tars, leaping and jumping where things were in the way.

Oxley grinned. de Guarde caught on real quick and Johnny grinned, going after Danny, who headed for the shrouds up to the foretop.

This was proper fun, he thought. Maybe they should do it more often - though Sundays were the best day because that's when folks generally had a bit of free time and the older hands didn't mind the boys enjoying themselves.

De Guarde watched as Danny climbed higher, and Johnny right after him. He grinned seeing as them boys on the ground were safe. Johnny could never get down so fast that he'd catch any of them off guard. Poor Danny though was in a pickle.

Oxley grinned. He shouldn't have headed up there. He was going to get tagged when he reached the futtock shrouds, anyone could see that - though he might possibly get high enough to reach a backstay before Johnny could tag him.

Either the boy had gone for the closest thing, or he knew what he was doing. De Guarde dare bet on the first, it didn't look like the easiest way to go. Not even if one had the confidence.

He slipped past a few Tars that were watching them curiously, but mostly minding their business, and secured himself in a spot where he had atleast two directions into which he could run. He gazed up curiously then moved further ahead, not even seeing the two middies, as he'd passed them.