Off-watch with the Marines

"That'd sure be nice," Allen nodded his agreement, "I'd near forgotten what it's like t' have a proper officer in charge."

"Aye. Wunner what he's talkin' to Corp'ral 'bout, though." Branning glanced aft, as if hoping to hear or see something of interest.

"Whatever it is, I don't s'pose the Cor'ral's temper's goin' to be any nicer when they'm done." Thompson shrugged. Unless he decided to round up all the off-duty Marines for drill, he was the most likely one to be on the receiving end of any outbursts. They were survivable, if not fun to get.

Emily sauntered across the mess deck, looking for entertainment or somewhere comfortable to sleep. She was steering clear of the cabins for the timebeing - several of the officers seemed to have moved and there were new people there she didn't recognise - and seeing as her lieutenant was elsewhere she was getting rather bored.

She had been down to stare at the horses, who had stared back; but apart from that they weren't the most sociable of creatures. So she wandered aft towards the cabins and saw a whole bunch of the red men sitting about and chatting. Now this looked more promising... She sauntered up to the nearest one who was sitting on his seachest, and rubbed against his shin.

Thompson looked down, to find Miss Emily wrapping herself around his good leg. He put a hand down to scratch behind her ears.

"Hello there, Miss," he said. "Mister Leat too busy for you, is he?"

(OOC - Thompson will just keep petting her until she wanders off - I've got to go to work. )

[OOC: Nuuuu! *clings* I have to go and take a bath anyway, before the water gets cold. See you tonight?]



Emily purred, stretching her head up so the Marine could scratch more behind her ears. Success, it would seem. Not all the sailors were invaribly kind to her, but the men in red always seemed to have time for her.

"Like that, do you?" Thompson said. She was purring anyway, which was enough of an answer. He kept stroking and put his hand in his pocket to see whether he had anything she might like. There was a bit of biscuit which he held out for her.

Allen chuckled as he watched Thompson petting the purring cat.

"Seems Miss Emily's concerned about you too," he said, then added jokingly, "Though she'd prolly be glad if'n you stayed on th' sick list fer a while. Then you'd be around t' pet her more often."

As if in confirmation of this Emily increased her purr in volume, walking back and forth under Thompson's hand, winding round his legs and shaking her tail. She paused momentarily in this action to sniff at the offered piece of biscuit, before deciding to eat it and chewing it up out of the Marine's hand.

"'Fraid I don't have any more, Miss," Thompson said and grinned at Allen. "She'm an officer's lady, an' they'm allus worried about the sick 'n' injured, y'know. If she weren't Mister Leat's cat, I reckon she'd have found herself a home with us, though."

He had kept stroking her and now looking down. "There's allus folks here to give you a fuss, ain't there, Miss?" he said.

Often enough there were. More or less. The men in red certainly seemed to be friendlier; of a different stamp to the sailors who either saw her as a welcome visitor or an omen of ill luck. she returned to her pacing, purring again now she had swallowed the biscuit and leaping to meet the Marine's next caress, hoping he'd take the hint and lift her onto his lap.

Thompson grinned. Emily was certainly one of the friendliest cats he'd met. She loved being with people and having a fuss made of her. He picked her up and put her in his lap, where he kept stroking her. "I just hope Mister Leat don't get jealous," he told her, running a hand gently down her back, to the very tip of her tail.

"Don't think he will," Allen said, reaching over to give Emily a pet on the head, "He knows she'd never stay away from him fer too long. An' you're right, she's a proper officer's lady fer sure."

"She ain't so snobbish that she won't give you the time o' day, though," Thompson said, rubbing her tummy with a finger. "D'you like that, Miss?"

"Mow."

Did she not? Emily rolled over onto her back, turning herself inside-out and upside-down as only cats do, exposing her tummy for the Marine to rub.

I won't tell if you won't.

"You're right about that too. She's certainly likin' all th' attention at th' moment."

Allen smiled as Emily rolled over and added, "An I'd say she definitely likes that."

"Seems to be her favourite, that does," Thompson said, obliging her with a proper tummy-rub. He liked cats, always had done, but had rarely known one that liked a fuss the way Miss Emily did.

Again, the increased volume of purring confirmed this as Emily closed her eyes and went completely boneless, stretching out and flopping either side of the Marine's lap, only the very tip of her tail twitching. She could live with this; she definitely could live with this...

[OOC: Off to bed now, so if you just keep scritching I'll carry on enjoying it. Night!]

"Never known a cat like you, Miss," Thompson said, grinning. "Must be nice to be a cat," he said, looking across at Allen.

(OOC - Night!)

"Must be," Allen nodded, "Gettin' all that attention, bein' treated so well...almost better'n bein' royalty. Almost."

[OOC: Good night!]

"Alamost," Thompson agreed. "If'n it weren't f'r the huntin' rats, it would be, I'd say."

"True. Don't think I'd like the rat huntin' an' eatin' so much. Guess I'm glad I'm not a cat after all," Allen said, then glanced down at Emily again, "Still, it must be mighty fine t' have a life like that th' rest o' th' time when you're not eatin' rats."

[OOC: Dinner time, so I'll be going off myself. See you tomorrow!]

"No worryin' about drill or inspections or anythin' o' that sort. Aye, that'd be a grand life, that would." He grinned down at Emily. How did cats manage to look so completely boneless when they were enjoying themselves, he wondered.

(OOC - See you tomorrow!)

Allen nodded and reached over to give Emily another rub on her belly.

"Mr. Leat sure is lucky t' have a lady like you," he said, grinning at the supine cat.

Branning grinned at the loudly-purring feline, amused as always by Miss Emily's blatant love of attention. He reached over to scratch at the cat's ears.

"Think I got some more biscuit somewheres," he muttered, carefully patting his coat pockets. If not in his coat, there was likely to be something stowed away in his sea-chest.

With that thought in mind, he trundled off to his sea-chest, as there was nothing in his pockets. A moment later he was back, unwrapping a little bundle. "Foun' this, Miss," he said with a broad grin and offered a small hunk of bread to the cat.