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[shavedaway]

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[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.

[adherency]

I was never given one. If there one, it still remains a mystery to me.

( he shrugs and stretches his legs out in front of him, peering over at the water. )

I haven't been cited and, as far as I'm aware, haven't really caught the eye of anyone who's in charge. I suppose it was just random bad luck.

[shavedaway]

[ That sits badly with Thomas. He frowns, and rests his hands on Billy's ankles as they enter into his space. ]

Maybe it's a test. To see what you're made of in dire circumstances.

[adherency]

Maybe. I know I'm not the only one that it happened to so I know I wasn't singled out.

( but, just from talking to finn, he still doesn't know why they'd both gone from dominant to submissive. there was no rhyme or reason to it. )

I guess I've passed their tests so far. I haven't been arrested or strung up.

[shavedaway]

And thank heaven for that. I'd be short a guide, then, never mind the good company.

[ good humor to lighten the mood. Even out here on the sea, they can't escape melancholy. He looks past Billy, back towards the shore, thoughtfully. ]

I suppose I'll have to find someone who needs my help passing theirs. I feel as if I'm on the wrong end of service. I've come out on top, and I don't know what to do with it.

[adherency]

Well, the good thing is that as a dominant, you can help people that might not otherwise get it.

( he knows that not all dominants see it that way but a lot that he's spoken to do. )

Not that I'm saying pick someone at random to contract with but when you find someone, you can help them out a lot and make it so they don't suffer in the Down for too long.

[shavedaway]

[ See this is why he has no inkling about your pirate past, Billy. Because you suggest things like that. He smiles at that, though his thoughts are more complex on the matter. ]

Oh I'll be selective, I know that much. I just can't tell if I'm meant to be carer or jailer in these circumstances. Or if I'm being tested myself. I imagine I am, if we all are.

[adherency]

You'll figure it out.

( not that billy himself had figured it out while he'd been a dominant. )

Or you won't and it'll be a fucking disaster. But, I think you'll be fine. You've got a good head up there.

[shavedaway]

Well thank you, sir.

[ His tone is facetious, playful even, and in turn he hoists one of Billy's legs up into his lap so he can take a look at the state of his boots. Wet, from heaving, but not in a bad state. ]

You seem in a good enough state to not need my immediate care, at any rate. And should it be a fucking disaster when I fail to figure myself out, I've got a sneaking suspicion that you will be there, ready to help me back up.

[adherency]

( billy startles just a bit at having his foot hefted up but once he realizes what thomas is doing, he stills. it's unusual but definitely not the strangest thing that's happened to him here. )

Yeah, I'd do what I could. There's not a lot I can do with this mark on mu neck but I'd definitely be around, provide company at least.

( and then he smiles a bit. )

A boat if you nee to get away and all.

[shavedaway]

[ Thomas smiles back, and there's a warmth in his chest about it. About feeling like he's got someone he can rely on in strange new lands. This experience seems the exact opposite of the one he had in life, and yet themes repeat. He considers telling Billy that the last person whom he trusted completely left him to die, but he doesn't. He only considers it, with some hesitation. ]

The pleasure of your company's more than enough. For as little of you that I know, I find you to be a good man, Billy Bones, and I'm glad to know you.

[adherency]

( billy knows that he's not a good man. he's managed to cultivate an image of his own making because no one knows him here and he hopes to keep it that way.

a smile flickers its way across his face and he nods. )

There isn't much to know about me, I promise. I'm quite boring.

( he's been boring for a few months, at least, but he knows that that's not true overall. )

[shavedaway]

I find that hard to believe. You'll be hard pressed to find a boring seaman and you don't seem the type.

[ he nudges Billy's knee with his own, now that he's gone and put Billy's leg down. ]

If you want to be shy about, I'll offer a tale for a tale.

[adherency]

( that could be dangerous, couldn't it? he pauses for a moment before he nods. )

All right.

( there were things that he could say that weren't about his life as a pirate, he thinks. )

Do you want to go first?

[shavedaway]

[ Well, he should have expected that. For just a moment, his smile is more...strained than it was before. But. Well. He did start with the inquiry, so sure. ]

Alright. I've been to the South Pole. Serving as a subordinate officer's steward, but I've been there.

[adherency]

South Pole? Isn't it very cold there?

( he's never been but he's heard things. )

What brought you there?

[shavedaway]

It's freezing.

[ Colder than the north by all accounts, and yet his memories of Arctic North are far colder, and far less cozy. ]

Sir James Clark Ross went looking for magnetic south. We didn't make it all the way, but we made it well further than anyone else. I was serving the lieutenants, and the Captain's second.

[adherency]

I've sailed to many far off places but never that far.

( he's been cold before, freezing, but he thinks the south pole would be a whole new level of cold. )

Would you ever go back, do you think?

[shavedaway]

[ He thinks on it, watching the rock of the sea. His immediate reaction is no, but that's not necessarily the truth. The truth only compounds melancholy. ]

If the right person asked me to, I think I would. I wouldn't volunteer, though.

[adherency]

I don't think I would either. I don't mind the cold but spending that much time in it?

( he shivers like he can feel it right there around him. )

I don't think I'm meant for it, really. Not enough meat on my bones. You probably had that problem too.

[shavedaway]

[ there is a tension in Thomas's jaw as he listens and watches Billy feel about it, a harrowed sadness in his eyes even as he tries to remain neutral. It's still too fresh, and he's still too skinny from recent starvation. The flirting quip that comes to mind, that Billy has plenty of meat on his bones, in all the right places, feels inappropriate, feels vulgar for everything that he's known had occurred to the men, might have happened after they left him to die for all he knows. The great and terrible custom of the sea.

He doesn't want to talk about this. For all that he likes Billy, they haven't known each other long enough yet to warrant that sort of clarity.

When he smiles back, it's tight, and it's quick. He knocks his foot against the bag he brought with him. Inside is a box from Honestea, with a biscuit and pastry selection. ]

Luckily for us both, I brought snacks. We're blessed with a wealth of affordable baked goods here.

[adherency]

You were thinking further than in advance than I was.

( billy's more than happy to let the matter drop, not wanting to press a sore subject. he latches onto thomas' baked goods and nods. )

They really do have some good food here. And most of the time, it's not even drugged.

( it tended to happen during the strange occurrences and not just during daily trips to the bakery. )

[shavedaway]

It's been my job for many years to think in advance. Hard habit to shake, really.

[ He reaches over to grab a biscuit from the box, careful not to rock the boat too much. ]

Drugged? How do you mean?

[adherency]

This place — it will sometimes drug the food and drink and even air to make it so you want to fuck whoever you see.

( he's seen it happen many a time and he knows that it will continue to happen. )

I've had it happen to me a few times since I've been here. But, just be aware that it does occur even if it's hard to really avoid.