Up before the Captain

"You wouldn't, then. You know your hammick's got a number an' so's the place you sling it. You'd be missed if you suddenly decided to come an' sling your hammick 'long of us." He pulled his hat out and passed it across to the lad. "You wear it with the plume on the left side. I'm surprised mine ain't more bashed up than it is, what with the low deck-heads and stuff aboard ship."

"I do, but numbers are so hard ter read all in t' dark.. n'.. they're all so alike. A lad can easily mistaken one with the other. It happens." He leaned back, gazing up. He took the hat and turned it about till the plume was on the left side. He turned it over so he could look inside. "Nothing hidden 'ere." He commented and then turned it over again so that the top pointed in the right direction.

"You're not too tall for a ship." He grinned and placed it on his head. "Though your head is certainly big." He nudged the hat up, as it had slipped over his eyes. "You'll have to be on ..shore soon, you know?"

"Well, seein' as you sleep forrard of the mainmast an' I'm about level with it, I don't see how you could get all confused where you sling your hammick." Thompson chuckled at the sight of de Guarde trying his hat on. "Think you need a smaller hat than mine, though I don't see why you'd wear a Marine's hat anyhow. An' no, I don't keep anythin' in me hat - no room for it. Well, 'cept for me pipe, when I'm on duty on deck an' know I'm goin' to have a chance to have a smoke when I come off duty."

He straightened up and demonstrated that the deckhead was only just above his head. "We'm lucky in Terpsy that we've got enough headroom to stand up straight, like. In me first ship, most of the men had to keep their heads bent, or their knees, so's not to bump their heads on the beams."

He shrugged. "Think so, yes. They ain't goin' to wait around for us an' it is a punishment, after all."

"Dark.. orientation can be easily lost." He answered innocently. "N' I'm new here, remember?" He smiled and prodded the hat again, till it sat on his head in such manner that he could see well with it, even if it was anything but straight.

"Seem good ter shield from the sun... front n' sides." He tapped the curved parts of it thoughtfully. "Good, aye. A bit too white here. It would get dirty so quick." He reasoned. "Your pipe? where do you keep it?" He asked and raised his hat to inspect it again.

"No hat for you while yer on punishment work on land." He nodded sharply and grinned. ".. Ah, I have no such problem as you to stand, see." He stood beside the marine, and had a good distance between his head and the deckhead. "Nice plume." He prodded it carefully.

"Slip it into the band, here," he said, pointing it out. "Only when I'm on deck, an' then only when I ain't goin' to be anywhere near the Captain. An' you wearin' it like that... Well, it's big enough that if you was up on deck, it'd get blown off easy as winkin'. Oxley's hat'd fit you better. Or mebbe one of the Shepherds' hats would."

He shrugged and pulled out a soft blue woollen hat, edged in red. "This here's me forage hat. I wear it when I ain't on duty, like Cob Chase wears his woollen one. If we ain't s'pposed to wear hats, it'll fit in me pocket. Otherwise, that's what I'm goin' to be wearin'. All depends on the officer, o' course. Whatever he says, I ain't goin' to be wearing me smart hat."

"Oh." He peered at the forage hat. "Don't think I've seen a marine wearing that before." He said as he hopped of the chest. He leaned closer as he reached for the woolen cap. "Neat. Warm?" He held the other hat out to the marine to put away somewhere safe. He couldn't say anything, but he smiled and thought to himself how perhaps quite soon he might be wearing just such. Couldn't say anything though. Not to the marine! "I've bought summat on me shore leave. From them Portuguese ladies. A hat, sort of woolen I think. " He shrugged. "If it gets cold, it'll do me good."

He pointed at Thompson's sea chest." You better hurry if you have anything more ter do to get ready. We don't want you ending up late, do we?"

"You can try it if you like. An' I'm pretty sure you've seen me wearin' it afore now." He held it out for de Guarde to take. "It is pretty warm, on a cold day, true enough. Ain't so smart as me other one, o' course. An', well, you Tars can wear all sorts of hats we don't. Comes with us havin' a proper uniform, see." He took his other hat back and put it back in his sea-chest before lowering the lid. "All right, we'd best get movin'. Well, I ought to, anyhow."

De Guarde placed the hat on his head and pulled it down. Since it was a different make, it felt a bit more snug on his head. He smiled and turned about. There wasn't a mirror to see himself in, so he was rather satisfied with imagining it. "Maybe. Might've forgot it. Might be you didn't need it when we talked." While the other hat might've flown of his head, by the manner of wear, this one certainly wouldn't.

"Don't think we can wear just any odd thing. ..Never tried to see how far t' captain would let us." He said and tapped Thompson's sea chest. "So, this'one is yours and Vinnin's?"

And then stepped out of the way. "I'll go with you too, dunno who'll be rowin' you ashore... Might be us, might not."

"Aye, this's mine and Vinin's." He ran his hand over the battered lid of the sea-chest. "Can't see it too good in this light, but he painted it with mermaids an' stuff, ages back. Looks good, if you could see it." He shrugged. "Can't keep his stuff neat, but can paint. Anyhow, c'mon, 'fore we get in trouble. It'll be one of the cutters, I think - too many of us for the jolly boat."

He turned to lead the way forrard again.

"They could make you row as well, would save on t' number of men needin' ter acompany you." He said softly, moved to take a better look at the sea chest. He could barely see what Thompson was suggesting was there. With a grin he turned and followed the marine. He quickened his pace to catch up to the man, and where it was possible, walked along side of him.

"Here, you're taking t' forage hat too, ain't you?" He asked, having nearly forgotten he was still wearing it on his head.

"They could, but if we'm s'pposed to be workin' ashore, they ain't so daft as to have us half wore out by the time we get there, are they?" He accepted his forage hat back and pulled it on. "Can allus take it off if they decide they don't want me wearin' it." It wasn't as though he was a prisoner, not now. And being bare-headed just felt wrong. "You sure they'll let you be one of the boat's crew? You not bein', well, a big lad, I mean. Not as well-grown yet as Tom Oxley."

"Don't know. I've been it before. Can pull my weight, though that doesn't say much. " He smiled and rested his hands at his sides. "Me bein' ..light." He explained, if his little joke wasn't understood. "What do yer mean , well - grown?" He scowled, looking at the marine. "I'm perfectly well grown for me age."

This reminded him, with a rather strange relation of thoughts, that he hadn't drunk as much as he was used to. He hadn't had anything when on his own shore leave, doing exactly as his terms of leave demanded and permitted.

"You ain't as old as Tom Oxley, so you ain't quite as big as him. So you ain't got the strength that even he's got, not like the older men, see." He shook his head. "Though if you want to end up rowin', that's up to you - and if the cox'n will let you." He shrugged. "You'll grow up quick enough, though, Mathew."

"You say it as if I were a child. But I ain't." The boy retorted and began ascending the companionway. "Don't want to be as old as earth." He added and frowned. "But I ain't a baby either. You know that. "He looked at the marine. "Jus' younger than Oxley there..." He finally smiled. "...N' you're jus' jealous of me youth." He stuck his tongue at the marine with a chuckle following the action.

"We'll see who goes. Ain't Chase who's going to row this time though!"

"I know you ain't. But you ain't a grown man, yet, neither," Thompson pointed out, following the lad up to the weather-deck. He poked him. "Where I come from, you doin' that would get a clip round the ear, brat," he said, grinning. "Depends what boat we go in, who ends up rowin' it, don't it, after all?"

"But we ain't there are we?" He placed a hand against his ear protectively. "Don't want that neither. Las' time I was boxed 'round t' ears, it hurt." As it would any time, a man smacked another in such way. "Sure depends. Well, yer can't say I didn't properly escort you up on deck." Though a Tar would not have been ever assigned to such a post, he thought and grinned. "If yer got any tears ter spend, you've got some time still, n' then you'll be left to the cruel, cruel world o' punishment!"

"Of course it hurt. S'posed to, ain't it?" Thompson said, emerging onto the much fresher air of the gun-deck. "You really are aimin' to get strung up to the mainyard an' left there, ain't you?" He indicated an unused signal halyard belayed to the pin-rail above them, on the level of the weather-deck. "Got a spare halyard to do it with, an' all."

"Don't ye dare. I've got.. Tars n' I ain't 'fraid to use 'em, if you decide ter do summat funny!" He crossed his hands over his chest as if to make himself look bigger, stronger or more imposing. He did spare a glance at what Thompson was pointing at , but then quickly looked at the marine again , and grinned.

"There, made sure you didn' loose yer way, poor lobsty."

"One of these days I'll sneak for'rard and lash you into your hammick," Thompson said, raising an eyebrow. "I've been in Terpsy longer than you have, I should think I know me way around her by now. You shouldn't back-answer that way, you know. Ain't p'lite."

Might'a been here longer, but you're still a marine. N' you lot just ain't made for sea." The lad teased. He smiled and looked a bit more apologetic when he spoke again. "Was , ... was kiddin' so you know. ...Like you said we can, young folk." He looked about to see how many of the group that would go on punishment duty, had gathered so far.

"Thanks fer not addin' ter t' list." He was speaking rather quietly. "Not addin' two lads to it..you know wot' I mean."

Thompson poked him. "Don't go 'pologisin' all the time. Though it's nicer than not 'pologisin' at all, o' course." He smiled. "An' we wouldn't rat on a mate, none of us. They only wanted to see the folks as was 'fficially ashore, anyhow, an' we wasn't goin' to say anythin' to anyone, 'cause it'd likely get you in more trouble than we are, if they knew you'd bin ashore when you wasn't s'posed to be."

"It would, but you know. Well.. I'um glad you ain't the sort to rat out on people.. or wantin' to see all o' them pay for it even if worse. "He smiled warmly and as he spoke next, he was no longer whispering but speaking in a tone, confident and normal. He would not have gone from one extreme to the other, and there was no good reason for it neither. "I knew you weren't. Well, felt like it, but still glad I ain't just guessin' n' hoping."

He pulled himself up on the rail, seated so that his legs were still keeping most of his weight going forward to the deck rather than over board. "Not a bad day, isn't it?.. You lot didn' get flogged, it ain't being tottally miserable, up from above." He pointed at the sky. "n' you're goin' ter touch land another time! Maybe last fer a while, but 'ey, better than not!"

"I wouldn't sit up there, mate. Not when there's officers as will see you doin' it," Thompson pointed out mildly, indicating the quarterdeck and the offficer of the watch with a motion of his head. "Anyhow, as far as all that goes, you should know me a bit by now. All the talkin' and stuff we've bin doin', I'd be surprised if'n you didn't."

He stretched. It was a nice day today, for once. He couldn't believe the weather - every time he'd been in the Mediterranean it had been hot and sunny, and weren't they near the Mediterranean where they were? He wasn't sure, but thought they were, though he'd never seen a chart of the area, and couldn't read it if he had.

Mathew scowled, but as Thompson had a point, he hopped of the rail again, and chose rather to lean against it. "I do. Do know you atleast. Or what I think I do, of what we talked." He looked to be thinking about it, not just saying something to flatter a man. "It's good so far. Reasonable, trustworthy." He added and looked up.

"Friendly to a Tar, which a marine ought not to do." He grinned, not really scolding the other man for it. " I could almost say...I can trust me life to you, n' you wouldn't waste it." He said seriously.

"Who's to say Tars an' Marines oughtn't be friendly with each other, like?" Thompson said, raising an eyebrow. "They ain't, really, which is understandable 'cause we'm got diff'rent duties and things, but there ain't no rule against 'em bein' friendly. Not even in the Articles, there ain't." He was referring to the Articles of War, which had to be read out to the assembled ship's company at least once a month.