Happy Birthday, Sweet Fifteen (13 June)

"I bin in the M'rines for twelve year now, near 'nough, an' I've served in all sorts of ship." He started counting them on his fingers. "There was Vixen, sloop, an' then Temmyrare - Saucy, she'm called in the Service, dunno for sure why. Then it was back to barracks durin' the Peace - though I did a bit aboard the Nore guardship 'fore I went to Calypso, frigate, than Surprise frigate, then here. An' none of 'em had a captain anythin' like so bad as your first one."

"I don't want ter leave this ship though. Even if I am stuck wif' this.. couse there can be more ships like me old one out there.. and there won't be friends I got' here. I know I ain't here ter have friends but ter be in the service.. but I'd like that added bonus, when I've got it." He looked thoughtful. " You're going to leave Terpsy sometime soon?.. Couse.. coue you've been in plenty of ships and it seems like yer jus' like.. well collecting them almost!"

Thompson shook his head. "I only bin in that many ships 'cause me first got paid off 'cause she needed a deal of work. An' there was the Peace, though Calypso was commissioned afore the war started again, dunno 'zackly why. An' she went back to Chatham for repairs an' Surprise was fittin' out there so I got transferred - else I'd've bin at Trafalgar. An' I was in Surprise for four years, give or take."

"So.. if we're lucky, you'll stay on this ship and not move 'round again? " He asked hopefully."And ... if you do, can I come too?" He scratched the back of his neck. "Um..... I mean , if we all get written off couse Terpsy's goin' .. or something. ..." He sighed. "Nevermind. I know it ain't possible that i choose where I go. It's going to be where they need this'un or another one.. won't it?"

"Summat like. You can request to go with someone else, but it don't allus work like that - though I think Grattan an' McEwen have served together in two or three ships." Thompson shrugged. "That's life, though. Got to take the rough with the smooth an' hope it all evens out in the end."

"Well if it happens so, I might just ask.."Though if he considered it, he could not ask to go with several that he was now thinking of. Great. His best bet would be if everybody on board Terpsy would remain on board for good.. or atleast till they could retire.

It was a silly thought, and honestly, some men he would not mind leaving the ship. A couple of seamen and a couple marines could go, what he was concerned.

"Anyhow.. Lets hope we don't go shiftin'. I'm rather.......pleased to be here and, I'd hate to loose it for something entirely ..different and possibly, unpleasant."

"Ain't any chance of goin' anywheres - we'm here for the commish'n, 'less we take a prize an' get made prize crew, an' even then we ought to end up back here after," Thompson pointed out, and smiled at the lad. "Glad you'm pleased to be here, Mathew. Though, i hafta say, all ships is diff'rent - diff'rent captains have diff'rent ways of doin' things, see. It don't mean that they'm all bad. Pretty much all my ships has been good'uns."

" I know they are.. and I'd still rather not risk it. You was lucky. I am not so much so lets stick to what I know, eh? And hope it lasts for long!" He nodded quickly.

"So... anyway. Now that we've settled that we don't want things to change ...hmm, do I look any different, a year older?" He stood up, turned around to show himself and grinned. "Other than me bum not hurtin' any more!"

"You don't look a day over fifteen," Thompson said with a grin. He felt lazy in the sunshine, which was not a good state of affairs for any marine to fall into, much less a Corporal. "Are you s'posed to look diff'rent?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow and struggling to regain a serious look.

"Of course I do! I'm now a man. And I am 15! " He straightened to his full height. "I'm moments from growing a long beard and of having my voice be all .. " He rubbed his throat. "Well, see, it's happening already! It is! Sure as I'm here it is." He said and cleared his throat.

"Days from now I will be all raspy and high pitched and low pitched and all!"

"It don't happen so quick as all that," Thompson said and stretched. "At least you won't have your voice crack when givin' orders, if it does happen that fast," he added, relaxing again. "Don't grow a beard - I never yet met a man with one, who I could trust. Not that I've seen so many men with beards, though." He ran a finger down his sideburn. "Whiskers, though... they'm much nicer. Easier to keep in proper trim, too."

"I sure hope it don't! That'd be mightily embarrassing!" Mathew exclaimed then sat back down and then onto his side, looking rather content. "...Don't think I want a beard.. sideburns.. maybe..they look pretty neat. But that's as far as I'd want to go. ....I quite like not needing to shave at the moment. It's just one of those things that I don't need to bother with!"

He stretched too. "...if it was up to me I'd never grow a beard!"

Thompson grinned. "There's some men who look like they'm gettin' a pretty good beard if they don't shave every day... makin' 'em wait three days 'tween shaves is... they'm hairy as anythin'. An' then, at the other end, is folks what can go a week without shavin'. Most of us, though, shavin' on Wednesdays an' Saturdays, it don't get too outta control." He ran a hand over his jaw. It was slightly bristly, but not badly so.

"Oh.. gods, I hope I won't end up bein' one of those who need ter shave every day!.. That'd be downright terrible." He shook his head at the thought, touching his jaw, which was not showing signs of hair just yet. "Who's ever invented a beard in a man... I don't see many having one.. so it ain't very useful!"

He reached out and touched Thompson's cheek, feeling the bristles. "You ever cut yourself whilst' shaving?" He asked curiously, deciding that growing up, could wait.

Thompson grinned and took de Guarde's chin in his hand to make an inspection of his jawline. He shook his head, letting the lad go. "Ain't even got peach fuzz showin' yet," he said, and nodded. "Reckon everyone does once in a while, though it ain't so bad as that. Bleeds a bit but then you've got other things to think of and forget about it."

He had a sudden thought. "Is... is the needlebook all right for you?" he asked. "Only... You wait here a minute."

"What's peach fuzz anyway? Sounds rather degradin'... an'.. how long till yer get promoted from peach fuzz ter a proper beard?" He was about to say more, then explain that he was perfectly happy with the needle-book when Thompson seemed to want to go somewhere.

"Uh, I'm happy...you know.. " He smiled, and looked at the man curiously.What did he have on his mind?

"Depends how long it takes to go from peach fuzz to a proper beard... an' it ain't no more'n the truth. If a young'n's startin' to get hair on the chin an' round the chops, it's just as fine and nice as the fuzz on a peach, see." He was standing by now. "Jus' want to get summat from me sea-chest, I'll be back d'rectly minute."

"A'right, I'll wait. And I ain't a peach." He said pointedly. "So you ain't going to call it peach fuzz even when I get it or I'll.....Well," He shrugged faintly. "...Well, we'll continue after yer back a'right?"

"Oh, shh," Thompson said cheerily, and darted off, remembering a moment later that he was a Corporal now and probably ought to be a little more dignified.

He headed down to the messdeck and rooted around in his sea-chest for something, which he wrapped in a clean cloth before heading back up to where he'd left de Guarde.

"You still run like a private.. a ship's boy even!" Mathew chuckled as he saw the marine return. He wanted to know what the other had gone off and fetched. Curiosity was a curse, and he loathed to admit to it, but he wanted to know right then, right that moment , and not wait for ages for it!

He held the cloth-wrapped package out. "Only jus' now thought of it," he admitted. "But, really, I'd like you to have it."

What the lad would find, when he unwrapped it, was Thompson's recently-completed miniature figurehead of Terpsy, unpainted but complete.

De Guarde unwrapped the little bundle and his eyes lit first with recognition then excitement. He recognised the little Terpsy figurehead and he remembered when Thompson first began to carve it into the wood. He tilted it around, looked at it from all sides, and while he did all that he was grinning broadly.

"It's real lovely!" He exclaimed and looked up at Thompson. " I .. thank you. I love it." He held it close to his chest, as the figurehead somehow meant more than just a little carving out of wood. He moved forward and hugged the marine then withdrew again, and sat himself down.

"Are you sure you want me to have it?" He asked, though, if Thompson was, De Guarde would have been thrilled.

Thompson nodded, wondering why he hadn't thought of that in the first place - it was a much better gift than some needle-book. "Yes," he said, and sat down again. "You liked it when I showed it you, the first time, when she warn't finished... an' she'll be a nice reminder of your first proper happy ship, won't she?" He shrugged. "'Fraid she ain't painted, though, but if you'd like me to paint her for you, I can get some paint off the carpenter an' do that for you."

"I did, I like both your gifts." De Guarde smiled brightly. "One will have me look prim and proper even if there's a tear, and the other is jus' so nice lookin' and..I'm really impressed." His smile broadened. "Don't need it painted unless you want to. I like it either way!" He nodded and then slowly moved back. He fidgeted a little.

"If you ever need to learn more, like writtin' or all that, you jus' tell me, ok? I'll do it any time, and yer don't need to give me anything for it. Don't need to, no matter how many times we's got lessons!"

"Do need to get better at doin' that," Thompson admitted. "I mean, there's all sorts of stuff I'm s'posed to do that'd be easier if I could read an' write prop'ly - it'd mean I wouldn't have to ask someone else to write the watch-lists an' stuff out, for one." He smiled at de Guarde. He'd never really been able to help a friend celebrate a birthday before, beyond sharing his grog, and it was rather nice to be able to give a proper gift.

"Wouldja like me to paint her same as Terpsy's real figurehead?" he asked, looking back down at the wooden figure de Guarde was holding.