24th May, Morning - Deck

"I won't go doin' that to anyone aboard Terpsy. Well, mebbe to Shriver, but I reckon I wouldn't want to. Useful skill to have, that, in some ways." He gave a wry grin. "Not that some folks'd appreciate that, till they was in a sticky mess you could get 'em out of if you could pick pockets."

He turned the figurine over and started carving her hair, carefully. "Learned it when I was a kid, that. Helps, sometimes, when you'm real hungry an' want a bite to eat."

"I'll appreciate it,..I do now. And.. because you've told me n' trusted me with it." He smiled tenderly gazing up at the marine. "You trusted me with it.. which is...I'm honoured, you know...couse I know it's summat which could get you in trouble with some or jus'.. it's not t' thing many should know..." He lowered his gaze.

"It's bad.. what made you learn it but.. it shows you was a fast learner , I guess. I mean, if you wasn't you wouldn't be here, would ye? You'd have been caught n' punished for it as a child, n' I don't think that's a light punishment for stealin'. No matter the cause."

The Marine shook his head soberly. "You can hang for it, on land, if they catch you with anythin' worth more'n a shillin'," he said. "We was never caught though, us kids. An' I know you won't tell, not unless there's a real good reason for it." He held up the figurine for another look.

"Tell me one good reason why I'd betray yer trust." The boy said curtly, his eyes on the marine, glancing briefly at the figurine which had been now more detailed than before, with her hair flowing better and the lines more certain, evident.

"If we was taken prisoner an' the only way out was to get the keys off the guard's belt or summat," he replied promptly, grinning. "I dunno. Jus' that if you did tell, you'd only do it for a real good reason." He looked at Terpsy again. "She's comin' on good, ain't she? I might have to do a Tar or summat an' sooner than I thought, too."

"Oh, I wouldn't tell then either.. I'd jus' ask you whether you was fortunate enough ter find the key dropped on t' floor." He spoke seriously. "I wouldn't tell..George. Not unless you told me I could. But if you didn't, n' if I didn't hear it right from your mouth, like that. Then I wouldn't. "He shook his head sharply. "..couse you've done 'nuff for me ter varrant meself bein' leasat a little grateful for it."

He smiled and nodded at Terpsy, that sour, serious little look gone from his face. "She's comin' a fine n' great I'd say. Has her hair now, and pretty eyes n' mouth!"

"Wonder if that first Tar I do might not be you," he said, smiling as he moved on to do the ribbon in Terpsy's hair. "You don't half look... strange, when you'm bein' serious," he said. "As though you've gone back to bein' that horrible middy you was when you first come aboard. A bit, anyhow."

"Would you?" He asked admiring the work, thinking that the marine had his hands fine enough to create something out of wood, something that would resemble what it was meant to be as the Terpsy was now, slowly coming out of her wooden shell.

"I would understand if.. if you'd not do me firs' ofcourse. 'mebbe hard to do.. but, um if you would I'd promise ter be as still as possible that is, if you needed me to be that. you'd jus' need ter tell what position ye'd need me ter be in or summat so it'd be easier for you ter do it!"

He looked apologetic at the later:" It feels. ..i'm like me .. me former self If I'um real serious n' somber like?"

"Don't see why not. I know you better than the most of the others, after all, don't I?"

The model was coming on really well now, and he sat back. "You don't have to be still or take any partic'lar position, lad," he said. "I'll just do you how I can. Unless there's some position you'd like me to do you in? An' no, you just look older an' all sour, sort of, when you put on your serious face. I know you don't mean it, like."

"Yer certainly do. Been spendin' enough time with yer n'.. ain't nothin' that I lied 'bout neither. Which is what I 'old yer accountable fer." If he had wanted to lie to Thompson he felt that the guilt would just drive him to eventually tell the truth. It was easier to lie to the officers, true, they were somehow formally more distant, not withstanding that he had had such a habit before.

"Yer t' one who'll have ter do most of t' work, so I ain't got much of a call how I want ter be. Jus' say wot's easiest for ye, n' I'll do it." He smiled thinking what position would have been interesting, but not painfully hard to do. "I know you're goin' ter do it real good n' that I'll like it lots!" Like the figurine that he hoped to see soon, now that he was hyped by Thompson's idea to make one.

He looked rather playful as he pulled a face at the description of his sour, serious face and shook his head. "Oh, n' I thought I was intimidatin' n' Frightening. Least yer honest in tellin' me how I am!" He chuckled.

"I know. Don't think you could lie to... Well, I don't think you lie well enough that folks'd believe you," he said. "Though I can. I just don't, 'cause I don't need to. Not here, an' 'specially not to you."

He smiled. "Reckon I can do most positions for things... though I know I ain't so good at the carvin' as your mate Westdale is. I have to spend more of my time polishin' an' pipeclayin', after all, which he don't. So he gets to spend more time whittlin' things. An' I ain't frightened of you, neither, Mathew, lad."

"I can lie good! " The boy protested gazing at Thompson. "Not that I lie... well I would not lie to you, n' I don't make it a habit, no.....maybe I did, a little.. before." He dropped his gaze knowing he was telling the truth this time, and he did hope that Thompson would not think poorly of him now. Though everybody knew to learn to lie on that ship. Lie for their benefit and gain.

"But yer polish it good, I saw! Well I'd like ter learn that sum'time. Jus' fer t' fun o' it. Like you let me rub it all earlier." He grinned. "Till it was all done n' good, i hope!" He looked surprised at Thompson's words. "Not 'fraid of me?...not even if I wos' soon ter be a middie?"

"I'm glad you don't make it a habit," Thompson said. "It might be useful to know how, but it ain't allus good to do it all the time. Like me an' divin' in your pocket."

He chuckled. "Polishin's good when you'm goin' on parade, but you can't do too much, or you'll polish it away, prob'ly till it vanishes, an' that wouldn't be good, would it?"

"Aye. Don't ye do that again n'less I give yer a wink n' a nod to... meanin' a secret signal or summat for it. 'specially if I wos hidin' summat i shouldn't have.. like drink.. n' you could hide it fer me.. so t' officers.. ye know. Wouldn't get it." He grinned at the marine.

"..You mean.. you can actually polish through it? How they say .. as.. really polish it away?" He stared surprised.

"Oh, I ain't goin' to do it again. Not unless there's a real good reason for it, like I said." He ran his hand through his hair and shrugged. "I dunno if you can actually polish things away, but it'd be real funny to see it happen." He chuckled and ruffled de Guarde's hair.

"Oy! You'll make it all messy, n' you'll have ter do it all over again." He was scowling for a moment then grinning as he pressed against the palm of the offending hand. "On t' other hand, messy away!" He exclaimed with a short laugh.

"Yer know...maybe it would break sooner than disappear.. though.. real thinking about it...if it disappeared it'd be kind'a scary, wouldn't it?"

"Will not," he answered, laughing as de Guarde pressed up into his hand. "You'm just like a cat, you know, doin' that. It ain't no trouble to tidy up, neither." He frowned a little, thinking. "I dunno. Seems the pattern'd wear off sooner than anythin' an' then I'd have to get a new one. Dunno how long it'd take to do that, neither. Think Sar'nt Quinn'd have a fit if that happened, though."

"Then you better be tidyin' up after you mess it." He smiled, thinking the words to be a compliment even if they might have been meant as a tease. He felt safe and at ease, no matter what he kept trying to tell himself, so a ruffle of his hair just felt nice and could be done.

"Sar'nt Quinn is a real nice guy." He murmured nudging the hand as if to challenge it into another messy affair. "..I like 'im. He's friends, n' he teaches things without really givin' you a frown for it. Think he's strict too, n' wise to things.. anyway. Maybe he'd jus' look at you and say you ain't needing to .. give THAT much effort into having it all polished. Or.. uh.. that enough is really enough?" He chuckled.

"I already done that, ain't I?" he asked, assuming an innocent expression. "You went an' got your comb, an' all." He raised an eyebrow as de Guarde went on to talk about Sergeant Quinn. "Dunno that's he's friends. Well, he ain't with me, bein' me Sergeant an' all. You ain't wrong 'bout him bein' strict though - he was practic'lly in charge of the detachment till we got Mister Cartwright, back in Lisbon. He likes things to be all clean an' neat an' shiny an' smart-like, y'know."

"Aye, you'd done it before, but you didn't think 'bout making it messy before that.. So now that you'd made it, you are redoing it again. See, it mus' be neat n' perfect. That. You don't want me ter get in trouble fer turnin' out all messy, do you? I'd have our lieutenants n'..well middies too I think, all a' mad." He grinned quite as innocently and pointed at his hair, which didn't look all as bad as he made it sound.

"Think he's right though. If a musket isn't clean, n' ye try to fire with it.. well, sure greater chance it don't fire, no? If you have it all prime and as proper as new, she won't fail you then. Or mos' of the time she won't. N'.. you's our marines. It's us....Tar that can turn out with a smudge or two sometime. Not you though!"

"I ain't, then," he said, grinning. "You ain't goin' on any p'rade in front of Sar'nt Quinn any time soon, not bein' a Marine. 'Sides which, I ain't pulled it out or nothin', so there's nothin' to sort out, is there?" He bent to give Terpsy's figurehead another quick flick with his knife, to hide his grin.

"An' yes. If a musket ain't clean, chances are it ain't goin' to fire, an' findin' that out when there's a Frog goin' to spit you with a cutlass ain't my idea of fun."

"But yer think that is only yer sergeant that'd be all upset if 'is men's turnout was anything but without fault?" He shook his head as if disappointed that Thompson would think so. "Look 'ere. There's me lieutenants too. They are. N' yer made a few.. uh spider legs hang out now." He wasn't sure, not having any sort of mirror to see himself, but he felt that it would only be logical something like that happened to his hair.

"Hmmm." He waited for the Terpsy to have that flick and carve, not wanting to be the reason that she'd have gone wrong, because he'd have startled the marine. But once he had the knife safely away from it he jumped up, reached for the marine's own head and made to mess up his hair as his own had been done. He was carrying a broad grin on his face.

"We don't need to worry about yours not bein' clean. I've seen you polishin' n' rubbin' n' scrubbin' it all a long time. Helped m'self t' last time!"

"You don't have to have yourn like we do," Thompson pointed out, trying to catch the squirming boy in his arms. "Jus' you sit still, do, Mathew! An' your hair ain't so bad as you think it is, honest." He tried to hold the boy at arm's length, laughing. "You wouldn't want to have yourn like we do, neither. Gerroff, do!" He shook his head, grinning. "Well, you are diff'rent from the lad who come aboard that day, an' that's no error. Reckon they wouldn't know you if they saw you now, all laughin' an' playin' like any lad should."

"Can't say what I would or would not want to! S' me who said I'd want to, and so I would! N' if the hair ain't going any place, 'specially not in t' eye, then I'll be doin' a much better work than if I was half blind trying ter climb up n'all!" He laughed trying to squirm out of Thompson's grasp so that he could 'attack' his hair again. He heard the man laugh and felt to do the same.

"That's what playing is?" He asked curiously, grinned and leaped up again to try and have the marine over, even if it meant that he would loose his balance, as long as he could get an upper hand on him and his hair. He was smiling, so it was clear it wasn't a real fight at all. It was.. playing, just as Thompson had called it.

"Come 'ere! I'll get yer hair lookin' a mess if you don't do mine proper! I will!"

"I have done yourn proper, so I have," Thompson protested. "Jus' you put your hand up an' see, then. You jus' wouldn't want it so tight as ourn is, that's all." He was still laughing, even as he fended the boy off. "You really don't know what playin' is?" he asked, blinking once or twice in disbelief, and tried to wriggle a finger against the lad's side, where his shirt had started coming untucked.