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[shavedaway]

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[shavedaway]

[ oh good. To say the letter hadn't been on his mind would be a lie. ]

I'm glad to hear it. I can admit when I have been been overly cautious, all things considered, but a lifetime of caution is proving hard to unlearn.

I have been well, Mr. Huaisang at Plumage is keeping me busy. And yourself?

[adherency]

I've been all right. I teach a few classes at a friend's gym in swordsmanship and self defense so that's been keeping me busy.

Are you finding things easier to deal with now that you've been here longer?

[shavedaway]

I imagine you're quite good at that, and in high demand no doubt.

I haven't been here that much longer. I'm still not sure what I think about all of it, or how I feel.

[adherency]

I understand. It took me awhile to really feel like I wasn't confused every moment of the day. Now, it's like every other moment.

Can I do anything to help?

[shavedaway]

[ there are many reasonable and accurate answers to that question. No there is nothing you can do to help, because you are very much part of the problem, because I need to be with my own thoughts to collect them, because you're distracting, and he was caught off guard before and doesn't want to be caught off guard again, before he's got himself sorted.

Yes there is, because he enjoys your company very much, because you're the one person he's met here who truly understands where he's coming from, and who hasn't tripped him out, who makes him feel marginally less unmoored and adrift. Yes, and no, because he could get far too used to being weak now that he has the opportunity, and that could be a problem.

He goes with something simpler instead. ]

You said something about a boat.

[adherency]

I did.

Did you want to see it?

[shavedaway]

I would, if you will have me.

Being on the water again might help clear my head.

[adherency]

I'll have you.

Do you know where the beach is as of yet? Do you want me to meet you there or come and get you?

[shavedaway]

I know where the beach is. I'll meet you there, and I'll bring biscuits.

( action → beach )

[adherency]

Very well. I'll see you soon.

( and true to his word, billy does arrive earlier than thomas just to pull the boat out and clean it up to make sure it was seaworthy.

he keeps his eye out for the other man since, while he says he knows where the beach is, he's still new and he doesn't want the other man to miss him.

he's clean the bow of the boat while he watches out for thomas. )

[shavedaway]

[ A large man cleaning a boat is a hard thing to miss, even on an island. Thomas shows up right on time, with his trousers tucked into his old navy issue boots, jumper and shirt sleeves rolled up. He looks more relaxed than when they last met, had a proper shave and a haircut, time to take in his issue waistcoat at the back, and to eat more regularly. Even in near a month, he already looks healthier than he did before, though there is still work to be done.

Healthier, and a touch underdressed for a November at sea, but then his sense of cold is not what it used to be.

There's something comforting in seeing a man at work by the sea. It feels like home. So even as he approaches with a wave, he takes a beat to just look. ]

Permission to come aboard, Captain.

[adherency]

It's still strange to hear people call me that. I never did attain that rank.

( even pirates had ranks and while he'd had aspirations of that, he hadn't had the time to make it that far. but, with a boat of his own, he supposes that he is the captain. )

Of course, permission granted. Come aboard and I'll get us moving.

[shavedaway]

[ It's a joke, Billy. But Jopson just smiles, and drops his small back down gently into the boat. He leans his arms against the side of it then, feet dug into the sand. ]

I can help heave at least.

[adherency]

All right, let's go.

( he definitely doesn't mind doing it alone but it might be a bit easier with two. so, he gets on one side and nods at thomas. )

On three? One, two, three —

( and he starts pushing, glancing at thomas to make sure he wasn't going too fast or anything like that. )

[shavedaway]

[ He takes to heaving with, if not ease (able he may be, but he's no strongman), then with practice. It is very clearly not his first rodeo. The mere action of doing so, once they get the boat sufficiently into the water, so that the sea is lapping at his ankles, keeps him smiling. It's a wide one this time, and more genuine than any of the other smiles before, as he hoists himself into the boat and tries to keep it balanced so that Billy can do the same. He offers a hand for the assist. ]

[adherency]

( once thomas is in the boat, billy gives it another quick push before he clasps thomas' hand and hefts himself into the boat. he settles down and grabs the oars so he can start rowing out, putting some distance between them and the shore. )

It's nice, isn't it?

( billy remembers how he'd felt once he'd gotten back on the water. it was familiar and comforting and it loosened up a few knots that had settled in his shoulders and neck. )

[shavedaway]

[ Thomas loves watching the shore get further away, loves the rock of the sea, the smell, the sound of it. This is the first peace he's had in a long time, and he can feel it calming him already as Billy rows. He could watch the sea all day. ]

It's wonderful. I keep finding ways to owe you, it seems.

[adherency]

You don't owe me. I would be out here on my own even if you weren't here. This just means I don't talk to myself.

( he sends a smile thomas' way as he keeps rowing, trying to get them as far as possible without hitting the weird, invisible boundary. )

This isn't exactly a ship like the two of us are used to but it's good enough. I don't think there's enough supplies for something bigger.

[shavedaway]

It's more than good enough, Billy.

[ he smiles back, and brushes his hair back behind his ear out of habit. A nervous tick for the well composed. ]

Either way, you'll at least allow me to have you over for supper and a drink soon. I'm no great cook but I can manage well enough. Presuming your Lady can spare you for an evening.

[ is he prying, being a bit nosy? Certainly. Daphne seemed nice enough, but he's infinitely curious. ]

[adherency]

You mean Daphne?

( since that's the only lady he tends to really be around on a consistent basis. he laughs a bit at her being called lady. she'd like that. )

I think she'll be fine with that. I'll ask her but I'm pretty sure she'll be fine with it. She tends to let me do what I want to do as long as I'm not going to cause a bunch of trouble for myself.

[shavedaway]

[ The laughs a surprise, but he can roll with it. ]

She sounds perfectly reasonable, then. Never let it be said that a seaman ever tied himself to a woman who weren't flexible.

[ He leans his hands back against the plank behind him, considers Billy for a moment, in the privacy of distance from the shore. He is curious, for his own sake, and privacy makes him bolder. ]

I imagine you've been all sorts of trouble before this, given...

[ He motions to his throat, miming the line down Billy's. ]

[adherency]

Ah.

( billy's still rowing though he's slowed down now that the shore is just barely visible in the distance. he doesn't want to go too far and have them end up at the start again. )

I wasn't always a submissive. When I first got here, I was actually a dominant. But, we were made to leave this city for a time and when I came back, this place had changed my designation. I haven't had a lot of time to get up to trouble, though.

[shavedaway]

[ Thomas's expression softens, in both sympathy and mild relief. ]

I am sorry to hear that, though I'll admit I'm glad knowing you started off in better standing. You seem better than where you've landed, to me at very least.

[adherency]

Thanks.

( oh, if you only knew, thomas. but that's not something billy's going to talk about right now. he just looks down and then finally let's the oars rest once he thinks they're far enough out. )

It's not so bad. I got lucky with my contract partner in that we knew each other before she offered. And I was here long enough before the switch to know what I'd be dealing with. It wasn't a surprise.

[shavedaway]

[ It's good for everyone involved that he doesn't know. He can be sympathetic because he doesn't know, and he is that, certainly. He's sympathetic, but careful. He's still not sure how he feels about a system that vaguely resembles both what he's very well used to in regard to class and employment, and slavery at the same time. ]

I'm glad she treats you well. They don't always.

[ Does he mean employers, superiors, or masters? He's not so sure himself. The line is blurred, unclear. ]

Do you know what it was that you did? To get swapped, I mean. There must have been some cause.