1 June; Stargazing

"F... fish-men? What're them?" He chewed the quid of tobacco slowly and shifted around a little so he could see the quartermaster without twisting his head around and giving himself a stiff neck.

Tide's eyes were on the sails above him when he replied, "Half-man, half-fish. Got long scaly tails on 'em, for their bottom half. Top half's like yours an' mine though. Scary beasts, sure."

"Like... like mermen?" It made sense, that - if there were mermaids, there must surely be mermen for them. But did they grow to such huge sizes down in the South Seas as well?

"There ain' no mermaids." They were telling Button all sorts of tall tales. He could not be sure about all of them, but not he was convinced he should just better not believe anything they said. Safest that way.

"Big or small." He mumbled. It was the seamen who did it in for other seamen so that they drowned at night. Not pretty mermaids! Then he relented, the Tars had to know better, more. He was going towards an attitude again and he bit his lip adding more quietly. "..W...who o' you.. .saw one?"

"Somethin' like," Chase said. "Worse-tempered than mermaids, sometimes. They get jealous, see."

Boyles smiled slowly. "Dere's sea-dragons in da Caribbean. Fight wid sharks fer shipwrecked men, t'ey do."

Sea-dragons? Terry had heard of the other sort - the one that looked something like big lizards, but that had wings and breathed fire, but he'd never heard of sea-dragons before.

He suddenly hoped he'd never get shipwrecked, not in the Caribbean (wherever that was!) nor anywhere else.

Sea-dragons. Chase pointed at the sky. "Aye. Like that dragon up there. They're cousins, see. Sea-dragons an' land-dragons."

"Do the sea-dragons breathe fire too?" Terry asked, looking up at the sky.

He was going to have to spit tobacco juice in a minute, he thought.

"Wind," Tide said. "Wind an' spray."

Chase and Dyer exchanged grins. "Like just 'fore a storm," Dyer added.

"....Any o' you seen any o' these creatures yer so happy ter tell us about?" He started with a tone, and almost as if recoiling from a whip lash continued in a much more timider, quieter voice. "...I.. mean no disrespeck."

"I have," Dyer said solemnly. "Out the West Indies. One'a them sea-dragons came up 'longside an' brought a hurricane with it."

Thom Boyles nodded. "Aye. Dang'rous t'ings, dem dragons."

"I seen mermaids," Billy said. "Though they wasn't singin' then. Give us a turn with that pipe, eh?" But as soon as he inhaled the smoke, he doubled over coughing and clutching his side, muttering a few choice exclamations as he shoved the pipe in Edwin's direction.

De guarde burst into a bout of chuckles and laughter as he saw Barrow choke on the smoke. It was something to see a lad who never smoked cough, but a grown up Tar, that was something else!

"...ahn' ....you must be right." Though he thought he would believe when he saw it. But while he would have had an urge to protest verbally before, he thought to hold his tongue now. It meant he could stay with the Tars, on deck. He winced, as in laughter he forgot that he had an ache, and had rolled too much onto the side, ending on his back. He yelped and rolled himself forward then. He nearly choked on what pinch of tobacco he had in his mouth. He might've been smart to spit some of it out too.

Terry grinned as Billy Barrow took a pull on Edwin's pipe, only to end up coughing as he had done earlier. Even the adult Tars weren't immune from that, then. He scrambled to his feet, moving to the rail to spit tobacco juice into the water alongside before dropping to the deck again, pulling his legs up to sit cross-legged. "You ever seen anythin' like that, Billy?" he asked, not entirely sure he shouldn't be calling the older man 'Mister Barrow'.

"Me lungs still a bit raw," Billy choked out by way of explanation. The burning sensation had taken him by surprise, and he felt a trifle embarrassed. He would not be a fire or storm-breathing dragon any time soon.

"Don't you lads be killin' the cap'n's cox'n," Tide called, a little concerned by Barrow's fit of coughing.

"We ain't, Mister Evans, promise," Terry called back, and looked at Billy in concern. "Want a drink o' water, Mister Barrow?" he asked, getting ready to scramble up if he said yes.

"We didn' do nofin'!" De Guarde protested defensively and bit his lip quick after that. "........." He dropped his gaze. "...um...mermaids, we's ...been t' talk 'bout mermaids." He offered and frowned. It was Billy who had his chest burning but it was this boy who was feeling like he should just shut up.

Billy nodded, coughing before he could answer aloud.

"Get him a wet," Tide advised brusquely, his voice carrying across the deck. "Lively now!"

Terry needed no second telling. He scrambled to his feet and fled for'rard to the scuttlebutt, filling the dipper with fresh water and carrying it carefully back to the group of sailors. "Here y'are, Mister Barrow," he said, holding it out.

Billy took a long drink. "Thankee, lad," he said, handing it back and wiping his mouth on his sleeve. He grinned sheepishly in the quartermaster's direction. "I ain't copped it yet. Take more'n a puff on a pipe to do for me."

There was relief on the faces of the seamen nearest Barrow. "Take more'n a Frog musket ball, even," Dyer observed.

Tide breathed out a quiet sigh. It would be some time yet before Barrow was fully fit for duty again. Poor beggar.

Terry took the dipper back and hovered a little. "Need any more, Mister Barrow?" he asked, worried.

"Nah, thankee," Billy said with a grin, waving the offer away before changing the subject. "Anyone ever seen them sea snakes? I seen 'em kill a man in under a minute."