simplestgift | Seventeen Bells: [WRITTEN/ACTION]

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Seventeen Bells: [WRITTEN/ACTION]

On July the 4th, 1776, one Horatio Hornblower was born in Kent. If you see him, bid him many happy returns. He will most likely grump about it all day and act ungrateful, but don't allow it to discourage you. He does appreciate it, he simply does not know it.

[For most of the day, Archie will be running around trying to furnish a bedroom in the house for a new housemate. He'll end up in the library, Good Spirits, the grocery store, then finally the Battle Dome, mostly staring in bewilderment at the controls before deciding this is too scary and leaving. At some point, he'll also take a walk in the woods, rain or no rain, in shirtsleeves and waistcoat but no coat. After a while, he'll get back on the journals.]

[Filtered away from Grell, 44%]

If you wanted to surprise someone dear to you, to cheer her up when she returned from being kidnapped, what would you do for her?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Know what?

That there was more than alcohol in his cup.

[if he did, they might never get him to accept drinks from them again.]

I don't believe so. I'd say he had no idea.

[ooc: because Kyra fails at remembering to filter things]

[she might have hid her embarrassment, but she definitely sounds a little relieved at that]

Good. That's...probably for the best.

It serves him right, Jilly. It does. And not just for refusing to take them on his own, but for the whole bloody--

[He stops. He's forbidden to tell anyone about the duel.]

God, I wish I could...

You wish you could what?

[there's a wary edge. She's so tired of these secrets and how they always seem to end in people getting hurt]

Hurt him worse, sometimes. Teach him for his stupidity.

[a small smile] Do you think it would make a difference?

Not likely, Jilly. I kidnapped him, for God's sake.

So I heard. From Jack.

[it's a mild reprimand, but a reprimand nonetheless. Still, it doesnt' last]

You can't spend every waking moment looking out for him, Archie. Just like he can't constantly protect you.

Trying is only going to get you both hurt.

[obviously]

I wish I could tell you, Jilly. I do. You would understand if you knew.

[Grell had sworn them to secrecy in order to keep the peace, after Archie's stabbing. She'd agreed with Jack, then, content to do so if it meant ending this. And now Horatio was hurt, with only "it's settled" to say for it.

It wasn't hard to put the pieces together, and she didn't dare push. Not if it would risk more]

I know. I trust you.

I just...wish it wasn't necessary.

It isn't. Very little is necessary. Or I should say, unnecessary things cause certain actions to become necessary.

...I'm here. Just... know that much.

...Did I ever tell you why I did what I did for him?

...to save his life?

[but it's tentative. She can guess he means more, just from the way he presented the question]

[A soft laugh.] Of course. But...I remember speaking with you of second chances, Jilly, and how he gave me mine. I wonder if you shouldn't know the entire story. You might gain some understanding of him from it.

I'm happy to listen, Archie. Always. But you know you don't have to.

[it wasn't an attempt to stop him. Just a reassurance. She wouldn't pressure him]

No, I...I think this feels right, somehow. [There is an odd lightness to his voice, as if he's surprised that this doesn't scare him too badly.] Come to the house. I'll have wine, or chocolate if you prefer.

Wine and chocolate sound fine.

I'll be there in a few minutes.

[and, soon enough, she'll be knocking lightly on the door of their new house]

[He lets her in, looking fairly neutral, having poured a couple glasses of wine that are sitting on the coffee table. There's also some leftover cold cuts of meat and bread, in case she's hungry. Sorry, eighteenth-century diet.]

It's good of you to come.

[the formality of it gets a small smile, but there's enough weight in the invitation that she can't bring herself to tease.]

Of course I came.

[He meant it. But it gets a smile. He sits on the couch and gestures at the wine and food.] I may also have cheese, somewhere.

This is perfect.

A search party can always be sent later if we need it.

[she glances around, but she isn't really surprised to see Horatio gone. Not for this particular conversation. Crossing from the threshold, she'll move to join Archie on the couch and pick up one of the glasses of wine, though she makes no move to drink yet]

[He, however, takes a sip. And makes a disclaimer.]

If you want to ask questions, you may, and you don't have to wait for the end. Though I suppose I have to go back to when I first joined the navy. I'll try to keep it brief.

You know I joined because of my grandfather, of course. And for the first few years, running powder was very exciting. I liked living on a ship very much, as a boy. It wasn't always so terrible. Horatio joined much later, of course--in '93, after I'd been a midshipman for two years. So we did not even meet until I was sixteen. When I was rated midshipman, I was transferred to the Justinian, and a few months later, so was another man. His name was Simpson, and he... [A deep breath.] You should understand that the midshipman's berth on every ship is a den of lions. Seniority means little there, so someone bullies his way into high standing and lords it over the others. I want you to take my full meaning when I tell you Simpson, even in comparison with other men like that, was a monster.

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