Captain Horatio Hornblower (
captainhornblower) wrote2011-08-04 01:09 pm
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Sixth Dispatch - [action]
[Horatio Hornblower possessed a naturally quiet disposition. He preferred thinking to speaking more often than not. He was also often considered to be... "prone to melancholy" if a friend were speaking, "ill-tempered" if described by others. The two traits engaged and furthered one another constantly. When he thought for long periods of time about things that were not an imminent battle, his spirits sank. The worse his mood, the more he thought.
To stimulate the mind and make its burden easier to bear, Hornblower walked. Paced. The length of a quarterdeck suited perfectly, but Hotspur was long out of reach. Even the damned Retribution would have answered, but it, too, was far away.
Instead, he walked the length of a small wooden bridge over and over. That it was a known haunt for a particular pirate had either not crossed the Navy man's mind or had been dismissed. The click of his heels across the planks made him feel more at home. His solemn, focused expression remained unchanged with every step he took and every turn made to walk the path again as his customary hour became three.]
To stimulate the mind and make its burden easier to bear, Hornblower walked. Paced. The length of a quarterdeck suited perfectly, but Hotspur was long out of reach. Even the damned Retribution would have answered, but it, too, was far away.
Instead, he walked the length of a small wooden bridge over and over. That it was a known haunt for a particular pirate had either not crossed the Navy man's mind or had been dismissed. The click of his heels across the planks made him feel more at home. His solemn, focused expression remained unchanged with every step he took and every turn made to walk the path again as his customary hour became three.]
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The question strikes him. Not as peculiar, no, though that was his second thought. His first (and then third) thought was how appropriate the question was.
Because, as she had said, he was not in this place. Not while he paced.
When he answered her, his voice was low, contemplative.]
Somewhere between Renown and Hotspur, on the quarterdeck.
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To be back on the Hotspur... He'd like nothing more. That is precisely what he longs for. To have Hotspur back beneath his feet, spokes of the wheel in his hand, to hear Matthews on the bosun's pipe when he came aboard, to be back on his ship.
But the Renown... Dark and treacherous, the woodwork laced with blood and pain. He left that ship long ago and has always tried to never go back, even in his mind, yet he often finds himself there when he sleeps. It occupies a place as dark as or darker than Justinian in the recesses of his mind.
Was it a good trip?]
Are you well, Miss Jilly?
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Much better. Len's even stopped making faces when I leave the house. [well, not entirely. But it was near enough that she figured it counted]
How about you? What has you out walking in the rain? [for her, it was second nature. But there weren't too many others she'd met who actually liked standing out in it for longer than they had to]
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[Habit. And a way to calm his fraying nerves, recollect his scattered thoughts, and try to make some sense of them.]
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Here, where they had so little structure, it wasn't hard to see the appeal.]
How long have you been out here?
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What time is it?
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[A pause.]
But there is no choice but to make the gamble.
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...Have you talked to Archie, yet?
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I just... need to figure out what to say. To him. And Mister Bush. And Mister Wellard.
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[her head canting slightly to one side] You think they won't agree? Archie, at least, is every bit as furious with the Malnosso as you are. As any of us are.
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But she's seen the way Archie looks at him. William too, for the little time she's had to know him. She can only imagine this Wellard must be the same]
Maybe.
But they respect you. I don't think that'll change with this.