Re: 5 June; Cat-scratch Fever

**Terry Button** Fri Jul 22, 2011 8:43 am

"He'll come after me, I kno-ow he will - an' ain't anyone can stop that," Terry muttered, his voice catching at the thought of it. "I wisht I 'adn't of seen it."

He didn't want to be responsible for having a man hanged, but equally he didn't want the man to get away with hurting anyone.

**Tide Evans** Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:01 am

The quartermaster scoffed. "Just let the sorry bastard try it," he grumbled. "An' stow that fool talk. If you ain'ta seen nothin', we'd never knowed who that coward was, would we?"

**Terry Button** Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:05 am

He sniffed, one long sniff to try to get himself under control and then let his breath out, slowly and still slightly shakily. "'M sorry, Mister Evans. Don' mean to be a... a... nuisance."

**Tide Evans** Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:12 am

"Git that thought outta yer head," Tide said with false brusqueness. "Or I'll thump it out! If you're a nuisance, Seward's a bleedin' saint."

**Terry Button** Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:15 am

Terry looked up and gave Mister Evans a watery smile. "You fink so?" he asked anxiously, and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "On'y, Mister Foxley allus seemed to fink I was a nuisance. Or worser."

**Tide Evans** Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:20 am

"Oh aye, I think so. Mister Foxley don't know a decent thing if it knocked him over the side, neither."

**Terry Button** Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:28 am

He managed a smile at that, and hoped that Mister Leat didn't think he was a nuisance either.

"I jus' dunno what to do, 's'all."

**Tide Evans** Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:50 am

Tide shrugged. "Cap'n's gotta know, anyways. Then all you gotta do is stick to your duties an' don't worry 'bout nothin' else."

**Terry Button** Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:54 am

Terry shrank a little at the thought of talking to the Captain again. "Wouldja... wouldja mind doin' the talkin' this time, please? 'Cause I don't fink I could do that ag'in." His voice was little more than a whisper and he clasped his legs a little tighter, afraid that Mister Evans would see him shaking.

**Tide Evans** Fri Jul 22, 2011 10:00 am

"Course." It didn't bother him a bit. Then again, he also wasn't a ship's boy about to turn in a sailor for near-murder.

**Terry Button** Fri Jul 22, 2011 10:10 am

It felt like a nightmare become real. Nobody would ever want anything to do with him again after this, he was sure.

He cuffed angrily at his eyes, but the tears came hot and wet, relentlessly, and he bowed his head, hiding his face as best he could.

**Tide Evans** Fri Jul 22, 2011 10:37 am

Dammit, Tide thought. He was no hand at dealing with tears. He dithered a moment before pulling off his headscarf and offering it to the boy.

"It ain't so bad's all that," he said, feeling awkward.

**Terry Button** Fri Jul 22, 2011 11:58 am

"I'm s... sorry," he managed, as something fabric was shoved into his hand. He wiped his eyes on it before looking at it, and then looked up at Mister Evans in disbelief. "You didn't ought to..." he mumbled and offered it back.

**Tide Evans** Sat Jul 23, 2011 7:03 am

"There's a lotta things I don't oughta do," Tide said airily. "But I does 'em anyways."

He accepted the headscarf back and grinned. "Better now?"

**Terry Button** Sat Jul 23, 2011 7:24 am

Terry nodded. "Fink so, Mister Evans... fank you."

**Tide Evans** Sun Jul 24, 2011 6:22 am

The quartermaster twitched a hand in a gesture of dismissal. "No worries, mate. Just don't you go 'round sayin' I'm gone soft, now!"

**Terry Button** Sun Jul 24, 2011 7:30 am

Terry wiped his nose on his sleeve. "I won't, Mister Evans, promise I won't."

**Tide Evans** Sun Jul 24, 2011 7:55 am

"Good lad." Tide tugged the headscarf back over his head and took a moment smoothing it into place, then reached out to muss up the boy's hair. Or at least shift the boy's lumpy wool cap about a little.

**Terry Button** Sun Jul 24, 2011 8:32 am

Terry ducked away as Mister Evans shifted his hat around, though he gave the quartermaster a shy grin as he did so. It was folks like Mister Evans that made Terpsy so much better than the Foundling Home.

**Tide Evans** Mon Jul 25, 2011 1:11 pm

"Y'know," Tide remarked, "if you're gonna be parta this foremast lot, you'll need to grow some hair, I thinks. 'Cause sure there ain't none under yer cap!"

**Terry Button** Mon Jul 25, 2011 10:58 pm

Huh? Terry pulled his hat off to reveal his tow-coloured mop of hair, and brushed irritably at a strand that fell into his eyes. "'Course I gots hair, Mister," he responded.

**Tide Evans** Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:50 pm

"Well wouldja lookit that," Tide exclaimed, "you does!"

**Terry Button** Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:58 pm

He shrugged. "Jus' like the 'at, Mister," he said, feeling self-conscious, and pulled that item back on, tucking the wayward lock back under it.

**Tide Evans** Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:05 am

He reached up to adjust his headscarf. "Nothin' wrong with that, 'course. But any good topman's gotta have somethin' to show he's a topman. Only natural, like."

**Terry Button** Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:11 am

That didn't really make sense, though Terry didn't say so. "Um... how long you bin at sea, Mister?" he asked instead, with the frank curiosity of youth.

Sponsored content

May 1809
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31

June 1809
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30

July 1809
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30	31

May 1809
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31

June 1809
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30

July 1809
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30	31

May 1809
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31

June 1809
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30

July 1809
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30	31