1 June; Stargazing

"Thank.. thank ye." De Guarde glanced at Danver and answered a small smile with his own.

"Um'..'s true." He murmured then. "..I'm learnin' ter be a right proper sailor. Like 'im. T' capn' n' officers want that dun' they?" He studied the pipe thoughtfully. "N'..any lad's been curious 'bout things. You smoked. Ain't right you tellin' me not to. Lissen' ter Danver 'ere. Lissen! N' join' us 'ere on deck." He looked back at the Tar and asked. "He can, can't he? He'm a friend too."

Danver shrugged again. "Doan' see why no'," he said, slightly amused at being asked.

He nodded a greeting at the marine. "Eyvenin'."

"Wot' do ye like bettuh?" He looked at Danver. "t' smoke it or t' chew it? Or.. or, there's even snuffin' it, you know?" He flushed red, looking embarrassed. "..I mean.. sure you know."

"Ahlwas smoaked, m'self," Danver said. He made a slight face. "Nivver much lahked th' idea o' snuffin' nowt up m' nose."

He winked at the two lads. "And iff'n th' smoake maykes y'cough, snuff'd be reight entertaainin'."

"I fink I like chewin' it best," Terry said. "People sniff it?" He screwed his face up in disgust at the thought. "That don't sound right at all, it don't."

"Snuff makes you sneeze!" De Guarde said knowingly, and gave Danver a sharp nod to confirm that he was quite confident in that theory. He smiled and puffed his borrowed pipe, only to prevent the fire from going out or going bad, because he was convinced that that could indeed happen.

He hesitated then and offered the pipe back looking apologetic. "I oughtn't smoke all of yours. 's not like it grows on...masts or summat!" He chuckled at Button's grimace. "Aye. it's called.. bein' real posh n' smart lookin'... I dunno if I'd want summat in my nose like that. Feels like it couldn't go anywhere good."

Danver chuckled slightly. "Reight enough," he nodded. "I druther breathin', m'self."

He accepted the pipe, taking another puff on it himself. Waving a hand at De Gaurde's apologies, he said, "doan' worry none 'bout tha', lad. Offered, din' I?"

"Aye, you did. Much obliged to ya." He smiled broadly at the man. He scooted closer, careful of his aching posteriors and opened his mouth thinking to whisper something as well, but then changed his mind and gave a small shrug.

After a few moments of his own silence he murmured. "You been long a Tar?"

"Pressed inna th' naavy nigh oan six years naow," Danver replied, letting the boy steer the conversation. He figured De Guarde would ask whatever he was mulling over when he was ready. "Behn a saailor mos' of m' lahf, though."

He looked over his pipe idly, letting it burn out before tamping the remaining tobacco down into the bowl with a leathery finger. Better save what he had than waste some. As had been pointed out, not like it grew on masts.

"Terpsichore's a good ship t' be oan," he added. He had certainly been on far worse.

"..Aye. S' not that bad." Except, some could be better. But some things were indeed better than on his previous ship. "...fer t' mos' part." He chewed on the inside of his left cheek thoughtfully. "How many ships 've you been on?... You... you been pressed inter t' navy?"

He was glad for the man to be willing to enter into their conversation and to continue it, even now. These were things he feared would not have been as easily done after...some things.

"Aye," Danver said, nodding again. He thought for a moment. "Mebbe threy differen' ships? Mahnd, tha's encludin' Terpsichore."

He smiled, slightly wistfully. "An' a sweyt wee booat back 'ome." Now being sailed by his brother and his son in his absence. Not that he was complaining about being where he was - that was not his way - but it was good to know that she was being sailed by good hands. Danver chuckled, shaking his head. "Plenny o' lads 'ere been oan mooar ships 'n me, iffn tha's lookin' fer tales."

Terry listened to the sailor, frowning as he tried to decipher the man's thick accent. Buckles had asked how many ships he'd served in so that must be... three?

"Terpsy's me first," he confided, looking up at the man. "I come 'ere fr'm the M'rine S'syty, an' the Foundlin' 'Ome afore that. Well. Was a work'us, really, but they called it a Foundlin' 'Ome."

"Oh no. I wos' jus' wonderin' how's.. you come 'ere. I've been on two m'self. Me former one's sailin' with us' round 'ere. ..jus' we don't see her now. But she's in t' same seas." He glanced at Button. "..they founded you ter.. have you fund them." The boy murmured softly.

"..I's ..well you knows where I come from. Isn't much o' a story."

"Lets hope we don't have no ships taking our prizes. I could do with some of that money. Like that Frenchy we were huntin'. Lets hope nobody's got it afore us." Cattling appeared civil for once. "An' lets hope he ain't 'scaped us couse of someone again." This was somewhat less civil.

"Five," Tide called, having heard De Guarde's question from where he stood at the helm. It was probably not an open query but if they were sharing stories of past ships, Tide had a few of his own to offer.

Cattling the grumbling bugger was at it again too, but he was ignored.

De Guarde glanced past Cattling towards Evans. " Five? Five ships you been on?" He asked, calling back. "Which un's?" He dusted himself of as he stood stretching a limb at a time. "If It can be asked, mister." He added quickly.

Cattling on the other hand seemed disgrunted. The conversation did not interest him, really, but rather smartly he was keeping his mouth shut this time.

He grinned. "First was Melampus frigate as an able. Good ol' Cap'n Moore. I were in Penelope frigate after that, then shifted to Sparrow brig as maintop cap'n."

"You mean you was a maintop lad? Ain't right, that!" Cob Chase teased.

"Stow it," Tide countered cheerfully. "Went to Fame next, but shifted to Marlborough 'cause she had Cap'n Moore. Good sort, him. An' now I'm here!"

"You's been in plenty." De Guarde studied Evans. He did not even look so old and yet he had experience with several ships more and seemed to have followed Captain Moore a couple of times. "N'..wot's ship was your favourite?" A tricky question even if it had not meant to be when he first asked it.

He tilted his head a bit and then added to that, knowing Tide would not speak ill of the other captain even if he had not been serving under him any more. "Wot' was this capn' Moore like, Evans?"

Terry shifted a little so that he was sitting closer to Buckles and could talk to him without anyone else overhearing.

"Don't go on about Seward," he whispered. "Really, don't - ain't worth it." Not if his suspicions were right, anyway - he was positive that it was Seward who was one of the two who'd tried to do for Buckles that night. The knowledge and its implication made him shiver a little.

"You'um afraid of him? Does he bully you?" He whispered back. "You've talked like that only about 'nother man, and he was a right bully too. " He was still rather quiet as he said that, wanting Terry to tell the truth.

"You can tell me... though it might be better if you tole t' officers."

Tobias watched the two boys whispering back and forth, and frowned. Whatever it was they were talking about seemed to have them both quite tense.

"Alreigh' o'er ther, lads?" he called over.

De Guarde looked from Button in the direction of a call. He was a good Tar, what he learned of him till now. Not like Seward. But he could not be everywhere always, just like anybody else could not be everywhere always all the time either. Their duty was to the ship, not to each other's safety.

"We's good." He called back, though he was no longer so sure about that.

"Don't ask," Terry said, wrapping thin arms around his drawn-up knees. "Really. It ain't worth ant... ant... makin' him angry. He's awful mean when he's angry." And dangerous anyway, though he couldn't say that.

"... Button. You'm daft not to speak out... but...." He could not push him, much as he wanted to. He looked past the boy. "...T' officers... they oughta prevent such things from happenin'!"