In the Hold with the Horses

[Raoul was previously on deck here]

Once the Terpsichore was underway, Mr Midshipman Kinsella decided he ought at least to see if the French officer whom he had been told to watch - or to look after - needed anything. Dr Maturin was a ship's surgeon,, who had served on board several ships, sailing as far as India, taking French prizes, and Spanish galleons... He could be assumed to know his way round the ship. The English Captain, poor fellow, would not be wandering at all, by the look of him, although with two doctors to look after him, he should at least survive. But the Frenchman? As an enemy, he could not be allowed to wander freely, while as the Captain's guest - and that was the Captain's word on his status he should not be prevented from moving about the ship.

Well, Kinsella thought, the man was said to speak English, and he didn't look like a monster - other than the fancy grey uniform, and he had seen English Hussars with even more gaudy coats! He had been speaking to the Captain, and then to the Doctor, but that conversation had faded as both had stood watching the lights of Lisbon fall away behind them. "Monsieur Capitaine," he said Voulez-vous quelque chose - d'information, peut-être?"

Raoul turned and looked at the youngster. "I should," he replied in the same language, "like to see our horses. I am intigued to know how you will carry them - a ship is not built like a stable."

"On nous ont dit que ..." Kinsella's face twisted in concentration. "You do speak English, sir, don't you?" When the Frenchman confirmed this he continued: "They said the horses belonged to the English officer."

Raoul shrugged:"One was mine, but now is the property of an English officer of Rifles, who is somewhere north - we take the horse back to him. But I should like to see her."

Kinsella could see no reason why not. The powder room - he should perhaps be kept away from that, but the Marines would let no one in, and would not make an exception for a Frenchman, however personable. "They're in the hold - down below," he explained. "There's your two, and the General's own horse down there. Which has its own groom, but don't worry, we have a couple of hands on 'horse duty." He hid his grin - one at least of them was going to be rather angry when he learned that it did not just mean speaking soothingly to the creature, and feeding him apples.

They climbed down the companionways - through the gundeck, the mess deck - a couple of heads turned from their dinner as they went by - the orlop, and down into the hold. It smelt of horse, Kinsella noted. Not yet unpleasantly, and the smell of Tagus mud was as strong, but it would need keeping clean. More work for the sailors. The Frenchman was looking about with that mixture of concern and amazement that seemed to affect some landsmen: but there was no sign of his taking notes to pass to his compatriots. They passed the stallion, its eyes wild, and the sailor watching it staying well out of range of teeth or hooves. Further along, Bethany, Padstowe's mount, stood (or hung) placidly, and Noix, although totally unfamiliar with sea travel, seemed to have taken her mood from her companion, and
was more interested in the hay net than in the way the floor shifted beneath her feet. She did look up when the Frenchman spoke to her, and allowed him to approach, and to touch her, responding with a huff of hay and saliva over his cheek and collar. He spoke in soft French to her, and scratched her neck. Kinsella waited until they had finished renewing their acquaintance, and then, as the Frenchman turned back, he said. "The wardroom dinner will be served shortly, sir, and you might wish to wash..."

Raoul looked at his hands and grinned. "I shall indeed - a cavalry officer I might be, but here I should not smell of the stables. Je reviens, ma belle, et je t'emporterai une pomme... Do you think there might be an apple, or will my promise not be kept until we land?" He gave the mare a last pat and said: "The Army has kept her in good condition, since they had her in charge. We shall see if the Navy can do as well!" And he followed Kinsella back up to the wardroom and the cabin allotted to him.

[To here, in the Passengers' cabins ]

OOC - Chase came from here.

IC -
De Guarde had to be down here somewhere. Chase lifted his borrowed lantern as he padded easily down the companion ladder into the darkness of the hold. He didn't usually come down here, disliking the closed-in feeling of the hold. Being up in the open air was more to his liking.

"Hoi. Buckles."

One of the horses snorted and Chase headed toward the sound. Which one of the beasts was the grumpy one that De Guarde had mentioned? He wanted to stay well away from that one.

(Mathew followed him from the same XD)

The stallion flattened his ears, revealed white in his eyes and stomped his foot sharply against the wooden floor, all at the sound of a new coming arrival. De Guarde peered from the side of the animal.

He'd learned soon enough that it was never safe to stand too close to the horse's rump. A well aimed kick could mean death to the receiving. A poorly aimed had left one of the careless sailors with a very dark bruise imprint of the horse's hoof. And another of the horse's antics had left a sailor with a broken leg. And the horse wasn't even yet safely in the hold!


He turned around and called back, recognising both the voice and the name Chase had given him. "O'er here." He waved very subtly not to frighten the animal. Copenhagen looked alert and weary. He flicked his tail here and there and had De Guarde jump to the side, with a near hit.

There he was. Chase approached carefully, mindful of the noise of a heavy foot stomping against the deck. That must be the bad-tempered horse De Guarde had mentioned.

"Fiesty one, that fella?"

"Aye. Copenhagen." He motioned to the stallion who tilted his head half way and began to sway it back and forth several times. After that he had lifted it high, ears still flat against his head. With the white in his eyes evident, he curled his upper lip to reveal his teeth. Perhaps with an intention to intimidate the new arrival he stretched his neck outwards toward him.

"Careful." The former midshipman warned. "He's the general's horse... ye 'eared of 'im aye?" He took a brush that was in shape the size of his hand with a leather belt at the back, where his hand would be able to be tucked under so as to keep the brush in hold. He moved closer to the animal, and as Copenhagen wished to bite, all he did was raise the brush to the nose. A nip at it left the stallion less eager. "He bit the groom earlier, I heard. Only wanting to swipe the filth from under him, n' have his coat a pat." De Guarde looked at Chase.

"Come 'ere.. jus' mind .. don't frighten him."

Did the boy think he was mad? Chase stayed where he was, not interested in the least in getting too close to the horse. The beast had bitten its own groom, there was no way Chase would get within reach to suffer the same fate.

"I've heared of him, aye," the topman answered, moving only enough to hold the lantern higher so De Guarde could see better.

Mathew grinned, seeing the hesitance in Chase's movement and the distance that he kept from the horse. "He doesn't like being locked down here. Poor light, walls all around him. Atleas''s fresh enough...by our standards." And for a horse, used to the open plains it was probably the stuffiest little cage or box he'd ever seen.

He did relish in the fact he was 'braver' than Chase, even if his was the reason of having to rather than wanting. "Can you hol' it a little bit closer." He motioned to th lantern. He watched the horse carefully as he began to brush along his neck. Again Copenhagen attempted to take a swipe, and was stopped by the brush.

"I'll take you to see the mares.."He murmured and curled his toes, keeping his feet well away from those hooves. One good step on them and he'd be in sure need of a surgeon.

"jus' ter finish up with 'im." Atlast he could safely see what he was doing. Couldn't afford keeping a lantern self standing too close to the animal. Not unless he wished to risk setting the ship afire. "Wot' d' ye think?..of t' horse?"

Closer? Chase grimaced, but shuffled half a pace forward. "Long's them mares're more friendly." He looked warily at the big stallion and shrugged. "Looks like summat I'd not like t'try fightin'."

The General must be a real devil, if he had such a beast as this for his horse.

"Oh, they're as tame as lambs.. mos' of t' time. He's t' only one actin' a beast." He could tease Chase and lie to him that the mares were true devils but he felt there wasn't a need for that. Moving along the side of the horse he'd gone most reluctantly to the other side. Being smaller did mean he needed less space, but with a heavy horse such as that , even if secured, it was still a risk.

"Him.. he's smart." He slipped back smoothly avoiding a bite of the horse. Alert he took a step out of the animal's range and turned to Chase.

"Yer sure ye don't want ter touch 'im?"

"Dead sure," Chase affirmed. He valued his fingers, as any good seaman should!

De Guarde grinned. Braver than a topman, he told himself. Though it wasn't quite so, the idea made him puff his chest out a little and look ever more a resemblance of a commanding midshipman. "Come then." He held a fruit to the horse. Specially brought on the ship by the groom. It was a general's horse.. therefor he would receive better treatment than perhaps many of the men.

pulling away before it would cost him his fingers he waved for Chase to follow around to where, parted from sight and so , from the stallion, the two mares remained.

"Is it true we 'ave a Frog on board?" He asked, placing the stallion's brush into a hung bag, and from another pulling out a different pair of brushes.

Chase was only too glad to be away from the stallion and sidled after De Guarde without hesitation.

"Aye, that's so," he said. The other two horses seemed far more docile than the General's horses, though Chase wasn't sure he wanted to get close to them either.

"..And.. he's our prisoner... right so?" He asked though he'd heared stories that the Frenchman was able to mostly walk about rather freely.

He looked disapprovingly at the thought, but lead Chase forward." Come. They don't bite.."He motioned for the sailor to step closer. As said the mares looked good natured and only curious at the two arrivals, blinking into the light of the lantern.

"Not t'hear the lads talk, he ain't. Got mosta the privileges of a regular passenger." Chase shrugged, showing his lack of interest in such things. He took a hesitant step toward the two mares, not fully trusting De Guarde's confidence that the pair would not try to bite him.

"Them things got nasty big teeth," he muttered, remembering how the stallion had snapped at De Guarde.

"Yes they do..but not all t' way around like we do..Wait, I'um show ye." He walked to Noix and stood at her side. Without fear he touched the mare's head. With equal lack of fear he slipped his fingers into the mare's mouth, but at the side of her face rather than the front.

"See. No teeth here. Ye want her to open her mouth, you rub 'ere. N' she'll do..."He did so and the mare looked as if trying to push the foreign bit out of her mouth.

"Dare ter try? 's. .all safe, really." He paused for a moment and patted the mare at the side of her neck.".. Fairly, atleast." He considered the rumours. True. Fairly true. And terrible!

Hmpf. Chase watched warily as De Guarde got one of the mares to open her mouth up. The boy didn't get bitten, but the topman wasn't convinced. Any creature with teeth like that was likely to use them offensively.

"Mebbe later," Chase muttered. "An' it's true, right 'nuff. Just 'nother officer, our Frog."

"..How can he be runnin' round as if he were one of us. He's a Frog!" He patted the Horse's neck. He suspected that the mare belonged to the French officer, though he hadn't yet seen him coming below to meet the horse. Best he not dare to tell him to do anything! No Frog would have any say on a ship, no matter how good his skill with horses was or how much liked he was by the captain and lieutenants. This was where he believed the ship to be more mad. On Confidence such an atrocity would never have happened. Not in a million years.

Chase shrugged, causing the lantern to sway in his hand. "He's one'a the cap'n's guests," he said simply, as if that was all the explanation needed. He was not annoyed or insulted by the Frenchman's presence aboard, having met the man previously to his joining the ship as a passenger and guest.

"An' he ain't a bad sort neither."

".. He's French.. there's only one sort of Frogs. And that's t' bad sort." He answered then paused:" Well.. all t' good Frogs are dead." He turned to the mare, not completely unsurprised that a member of Terpsichore would consider the Frenchman something good.

"..Come n' pet her if you wish. She don't bite, n'.. anyways, I'll keep 'er head like this , if that's givin' yer t' courage."

Chase shook his head. "Ain't so. Me'n'Barrow an' the others saved this fella from gettin' cut up proper. An' he bought us all a round fer it outta thanks!"

He looked around for somewhere to set the lantern, so he might have both hands free, but could see no stable spot to set it down. How was he supposed to get near that beast with the lantern? "An' that other one din't bite neither," he said, looking uncertainly at the mare even as he stepped cautiously toward it.

".. ye were bought fer a roun' o' drinks?..."He shook his head. Was that not pitiful? To think kindly of a Frog solely by getting a pint. Even he, as much as he enjoyed a good mug of rum or similar would not have steeped as low.

With a disapproving look on his face he turned to Noix. "None of them bite. 'least they haven't done it so far. They are older than t' stallion also." He patted the side of the neck of the one next to whom he was standing.

The mare that Chase neared, twitcher her right ear in his direction, her other listening for the sounds from the hold. She tilted her head ever so slightly to observe him, intelligent eyes that though were not as easily read as those of a human. As suggested, she did not try to take a swipe at Chase, but just observed them patiently and with only a slight amount of wearyness at a new face.

"It was honest thanks," Chase said. "The other bloke had a knife up 'gainst the poor lad's ribs. Savin' him was on'y right."

He eyed the mare cautiously, a little more at ease since the beast had not tried to eat De Guarde's fingers. Maybe she wouldn't bite after all. The topman reached out tentatively and brushed his fingertips over the mare's nose.

"One would think saving a Frog is a deed most wrong.. after all, we are fighting against them.. are we not?"

The mare lifted her head a tiny bit, observing Chase with her wise alert eyes. She didn't try to bite and only nudged Chase's hand lightly. De Guarde patted the mare's side, watching Chase.

The mare flicked her ears side to side, and with one hove held only at the tip against the floor, she looked fair relaxed.

Chase shrugged, heartened by the horse's slight nudge against his hand. "Mebbe so, but that don't make stoppin' t'help one Frog in a tavern a bad thing. 'Specially if he's an officer."

"..an officer Frog.. leads many a Frog soldier.., which kill our officers n' soldiers. Don't see t' problem if 'e be slain then... less soldiers ter worry about." The other mare made a sound, curling her lip then lowering her head again, as if waiting for the food and water to be given.