22 May, First dog Watch - later in the evening

"Sticks!" Chase called out, looking around the messdeck. The round-faced drummer had to be here somewhere. "C'mon, we got one of yer fam'ly here wants to see ya!"

A tousled head appeared out of a hammock a little ways down. "Wozzallathat shoutin' for, ain't ya lot ever heared of lettin' a lad sleep?"

Sam Oxley frowned. "Though I guess really I've already met him," he explained to his brother upon further thought.

"Dunno 'bout that," he said, grinning. "You'll see in a mo, though, Sam, promise."

Ware made a half-serious noise of annoyance and reached out to lightly whack the back of Andrew's head. "Gettup, you little heathen, an' go see what them lads want."

"Arrigh' arrigh'," Andrew grumbled, rolling out of his hammock. He looked woefully untidy, wearing just a shirt and trowsers. "What's all yer noise for, then?" He asked, not bothering to stifle a yawn.

"Seems there's some lads who want to interduce theirselves, Sticks," Oxley said, grinning as he looked between his brother and de Guarde.

"That so?" Andrew rubbed the last traces of sleep from his eyes and padded toward the group of seamen. "C'mon then, lads, who's the new faces aboard?"

Sam grinned and handed him the bottle. "Shepherd! Remember me? I seen you at the fort today!" He eyed him up and down and then frowned with gentle reproach. "Well you don't look nothin' like your brother at all."

Andrew blinked. His brother? He and his brother had been aboard ship during the fighting ashore, as somebody had to stand watches as duty drummer. He was almost about to deny that he had another brother when he glanced at De Guarde and remembered something that Everett had told him about the goings-on ashore.

"Well, ain't that somethin'. Mattie, lad! Why aintcha come 'round sooner, to say yer hullos?"

"You was' asleep, remember? Didn't want ter wake yer up, or all 'ell would break loose!" De Guarde grinned in turn.

It was silly, it had little reason but to have fun, perhaps a bit confusing because even they didn't tick wholly to all the details shared, yet all in all at present he was having the oddest family on the ship and some real fun.

He kept himself from laughing at the idea, and stuck to playing his part as well as he could. He turned to Sox and nodded at Andrew. "Socks n' Sticks." He grinned as if introducing the two.

"That's Ol' Tom's brother there. Come all fresh from t' Defiance I think."

Surely, even in the fairly dim light of below-decks, he and Sam looked enough alike that they could be seen to be brothers, even though they weren't identical twins like the Shepherds were.

De Guarde and the Shepherds, though... that was anther story. They didn't look anything like similar, unless you counted the obvious similarities: two arms, two legs, two eyes, a nose and a mouth.

Tom Oxley grinned at the confused look on his brother's face. "You really shouldn't drink so much, Sam," he said, as if telling off his older brother was an every-day occurance.

Andrew grinned and stuck out his hand to the other Oxley. "Fresh aboard an' all? Me an' the lads here'll have to show ya 'round proper."

"Drinkin' never hurt anyone." De Guarde piped in with Oxley's warning to his older brother. He was of course as baised as can be. He grinned at Andrew. "I wouldn't trust yer to take him around, what sor' of tricks yer be setting the poor lad to!" As if he wasn't innocent of it. He decided to keep the talk that he, Tom Oxley and Foley had had, about a uniform cut, a secret for now. Say too much and it wouldn't be as much a surprise and confusion.

It was a wonder to ponder on since when he was up playing around like a child - for these tricks were obviously not for ol' mature men - instead of acting like he had a pole up his bum, all stiff and all. But it was a pleasant change, having him forget the freight that master-at-arms had caused.

Tom Oxley grinned. It wasn't as though his brother was a green hand - he'd been pressed four years ago, and that was long enough in the Navy for him to have got to be an Able Seaman. Even so, he wasn't sure he trusted Sticks to show anyone around.

"Even so, mate, shouldn't drink too much or you'll start seein' things," he said, wondering what sort of confusion would result when he relieved Tom Shepherd and there were suddenly two Shepherds plus de Guarde.

"Aye.. Seein' things like seein' double for one." De Guarde glanced innocently over at Andrew. "n'way. Always good ter meet family, ain't it?" He yawned and stretched a little. To say he wasn't tired would be lying.

"Oh aye," Andrew agreed. "Nothin' better'n that." He slung an arm around De Guarde's shoulders and grinned. It would be a real hoot when his brother came down off-watch. They'd really have this poor Tar not knowing what was what!

Sam Oxley grinned benignly at them, wondering why the boy they were calling Andrew Shepherd was grinning so hard. and why had the other lad been addressed as 'Andrew Shepherd' earlier?

The younger Oxley sighed, shrugged and grabbed his jacket. "Wish you'd had a proper wash earlier, Buckles," he said, giving the fabric a sniff. He pulled a face and shrugged it on, frowning a little as he did the buttons up. "Where's me crossbelt then?" he asked, looking round for it.

The youth called Buckles, one having a name to spare, shrugged. "Duty firs', than all t' good looks n' smells."

He crossed his hands over his chest looking up at Andrew of the Shepherds. He grinned. "Sorry though. Will make up ter you sum'time." The boy whispered the last, nodding towards the marine of the Oxleys and smiled.

Seeing double might happen soon enough, but he wondered if the name confusion would have been even funnier if the new sailor had met one marine first, then the other of the twins, then of course he was already having trouble to know who was who when he and the Shepherd weren't even the same. He tried to hold in his grin, stifling a yawn instead - and making one - as if tired.

"T' Crossbelt would be t' same place as always.. 'cept if it's elsewhere."

The Tars grinned at each other. Andrew said, "Here, gimme a minute, I'll go get Tom. Ain't got too long left in the watch anyway." He scampered off to toss on his uniform and grab his drum before disappearing topside.

"This'll be good," Chase declared, looking at Sam Oxley.

"..Good as pie." The young lad agreed glancing at Sam and being himself, the image of proper innocence and honesty. Alas, being a Shepherd and looking anything but, wouldn't be too out of character. Not with the two lads being too often up to no good. How he had turned to play with them, instead of harbouring that ill feeling against them was easily excused. He hadn't known any of them was guilty of the prank in which he'd lost his robes and had them fluttering like a proper flag, up high.

"um takin' Tom's sticks if he ain't down 'ere quick. Ain't right, letting our new Terpsy wait all this long!"

The younger Oxley watched Andrew Shepherd head topside, and shrugged. "Was my turn on duty," he said, and pulled his jacket off again. "If he wants to do instead though, I ain't complainin'."

Sam Oxley looked from the young Tar, to his brother, to the other Marine drummer who was heading topside, to the adult seaman he knew as Chase. There was something going on here, and he couldn't quite work out what.

Chase grinned. "I think he's got summat planned in that head of his," the topman said. He reached out to tousle Sam Oxley's hair and added, "Got yerself on a fine ship now, lad!"

"Gerrout of it!" Sam said, batting Chase's hand away. "Dunno 'bout a fine ship. You lot're all mad!

Tom Oxley grinned and perched on someone's sea-chest, enjoying the joke.

Mathew grinned and laughed at the hair that now stood at all ends atop Sam's head. "Ain't mad that we are." He spared a glance towards Chase. "...Well, he is, but we ain't." He grinned innocently, keeping laughter in, although barely.

He shifted on his spot, wondering if the Shepherd would come down with something to make the game they were playing even more amusing and complex.

"Mebbe so," Chase said, "but yer 'mongst us now, an' I reckon that makes you mad too!"

Shoes clattered on the ladder and a moment later, one of the Shepherds appeared. Chase and the other Tars peered curiously at him, unable to tell if it was Andrew or Thomas.

"C'mon then, lads, who's the new faces aboard?" The drummer asked, setting his drum aside.

Sam Oxley looked at the lad who'd just come down the companionway. There was some joke here, but he couldn't work it out - this lad was the same one who'd just gone up.

Tom Oxley grinned. "This here's me older brother, Sam," he said, and indicated de Guarde. "But you know your brother Buckles well 'nough, dontcha?"