15th Wave

[tentacruelest]

[Valentines]

Sylvanas;
Stay true to yourself.
Keep a weather eye on the horizon.
I'll guide you through the storm.

William Bush;
You keep me ship-shape,
Even if I loathe you for it at times.
Steer fast and true



[Spam]

[at dinnertime, a new face appears in the pub. He's old and he's an inmate, fiddling with an odd pocketwatch with one hand and hugging a Maine Coon cat in the other. Still, he navigates the Barge like he's been here for months. If anyone were to look closely they might determine that it's Tentacle Beard himself, disguised as a human.

He drops down in a booth, setting the cat on the table, and begins to order drinks.

Lots and lots of drinks.

Midway through, he starts singing;]

What d'yeh do with a drunken sailor..

What d'yeh do with a drunken sailor..

What d'yeh do with a drunken sailor, ear-lye in the mor-nin'...

Comments

[tentacruelest]

[He eyes the scars without flinching; he's seen far worse in his day]

Int'resting. There's the word for it.

[sickjoke]

Didn't last, though. [ He was uncomfortable with the looks, the questions. ] Got a chemical plant job, and that was better.

[tentacruelest]

[Jones knows a thing or two about not wanting to be seen. He gives a quick, dark nod]

An' yeh didn't stay out of trouble.

[sickjoke]

Who learns their lesson the first time, really? [ He shrugs his shoulders. ]

[tentacruelest]

No one I know of. An' that includes me.

[sickjoke]

Well, that just means you're in good company!

[tentacruelest]

If yeh say so. We're on a ship of fools.

[sickjoke]

All ships are filled with fools, it seems.

[tentacruelest]

As anywhere. But the Barge has the most prolific set.

[sickjoke]

Guess because it runs on faith and the beat of butterfly wings.

[tentacruelest]

[A long, slow pause}


...That'd be the most idiotic thing I've heard in my life.

[sickjoke]

[ He shrugs slightly, grinning. ]

Yeah, well, we're all still here, aren't we?

[tentacruelest]

An' your point bein'?

[sickjoke]

Mmm. Not sure yet. I'll find one eventually. [ He drains the last of his glass. ]

[tentacruelest]

Yer an odd sort, Hood. I can't make head or tail of yeh.

[sickjoke]

[ His grin reappears, and it's-- very very broad, very wide. ]

That's fine by me.

[tentacruelest]

[The cat, an ordinary quiet sort, puts her paw on Hood's hand. Hello, sir. She would like some pets.

Davy only snorts and drinks more of the strange liquid he'd been offered]

[sickjoke]

I'm just a little screwloose, aren't I, pretty moggy? [ His pale fingers wind into the cats fur, scratching her chin gently. ] That's all.

[tentacruelest]

[He grunts, suspicious-like]

At least yeh continue to look human.

[sickjoke]

For a relative value of human, yes.

[ He tilts his head, green eyes fixing on the man instead of the cat; he doesn't stop petting the queen, mind, he just has to look at Davy while he does. ]

Is that a problem?

[tentacruelest]

[The queen in question deigns to purr, a slight rumble that adds tenor to the conversation]

I can't stop yeh from looking how you do.

[sickjoke]

No, not at all.

[ He kept giving the queen. ]

You haven't introduced your friend, either.

[tentacruelest]

She ain't my friend. She's the bloody animal my warden stuck me with last week.

[sickjoke]

You've not named her at all?

She looks like... [ Hmmm hmmm hmm ] She looks like a queen, so...

Mary?

[tentacruelest]

[Jones gives a snort, shaking his head]

Grace.