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angelo and the hickster's post-belle arctic adventures

MUTINEERS

SOLOMON TOZER

MARINE (T)

GEORGE HODGSON

LIEUTENANT (T)

CHARLES F. DES VOEUX

MATE (E)

MAGNUS MANSON

AB (T)

JOHN LANE

BOATSWAIN (T)

JOHN DIGGLE

COOK (T)

WILLIAM PILKINGTON

MARINE (E)

JAMES RIGDEN

COXSWAIN (E)

JOHN SULLIVAN

CAPT. OF MAINTOP (E)

ROBERT FERRIER

AB (T)

ROBERT THOMAS

MATE (T)

John Diggle

COOK

John Diggle

COOK

mutineers:

Sgt. Solomon Tozer, marine (T)
Magnus Manson, AB (T)
Lt. George Hodgson, lieutenant (T)
Charles Des Voeux, mate (E)
Pvt. William Pilkington, marine (E)
John Diggle, cook (T) - lung damage from inhaling goodsir's evil cloud
THE STUPID FOX
~~Pvt. James Daly, marine (T)~~ - mauled by the Tuunbaq
~~Edmund Hoar, captain's steward (E)~~ - throw into the water by the Tuunbaq
~~"Pvt." Thomas Armitage, gunroom steward (T)~~ - mauled by the Tuunbaq
~~Harry Goodsir, surgeon (E)~~ - rescued by Silna after the Tuunbaq attack

boat boys:

John Lane, boatswain (T)
James Rigden, coxswain (E)
John Sullivan, captain of the maintop (E)
Robert Ferrier, AB (T)
Robert Thomas, mate (T) - actively dying of scurvy for the crime of having two first names
and perhaps eventually lt. little depending on how much of our minds we lose along the way
~~Thomas Terry, boatswain (E)~~ - died from scurvy before the mutineers showed up
~~Thomas Work, AB (T)~~ - died from scurvy before the mutineers showed up

angelo cr chart
mutineers cr chart...

timeline:

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[ 'Mhm', Angelo affirms, around the cigarette between his lips. It's on its last legs now, nearly burned up. ]

"You'll need some help, keeping all those secrets". He's clocked in on us having knowledge we're not sharing with the rest and he wants a piece of the cake.

[ Meager cake that it is. Knowing about Ish and the castle isn't going to do Tozer any good even if the story is relayed to him. Will that be a disappointment to Tozer? Is he expecting more 'miracles' like Hickey had suspected way back? ]

He was your inner circle before, right? He probably feels he lost a privilege.

[ Hickey chuckles. Well played, Solomon. Perhaps Tozer's greatest strength as a second is his ability to anticipate an order. He doesn't need to be told how to best complement the greater strategy. Even now, he's predicted exactly how Hickey would put him to use. Sly, indeed. ]

He did lose a privilege. You've stolen all of my attention these past weeks.

[ It's a flirt, yes, but it's also just fact. Both of them know it. ]

The sergeant will find reward enough in making himself useful. His word will carry with the men where ours won't. If Manson has spoken with any of the others, having Tozer to back our story will be especially important.

[ It seems like Hickey has found his footing with the situation again - if it wasn't an opportunity to him before, he has now willed it to be. Angelo relaxes as soon as he hears that little huff of laughter. The relentless optimism is often infuriating, but it is also a power that Angelo has wound up betting his life on.

He finishes the cigarette and tosses the small bud over the railing, into the dark waters below. ]

Let's hope you're right about that, because I have no intention of stopping my thieving ways.

[ The tone is a little lighter now, and there's an actual smile to go with the words. ]

[ The return volley is unexpected, in part because Hickey didn't think Angelo's mood would turn around so quickly. It's a relief, but also a distraction. ]

Even if I'm wrong?

[ He is not wrong. He knows how Tozer operates by now. ]

That's quite the risk to keep me all to yourself. Are you the jealous type, lieutenant?

[ Hickey grins. It's all play, he tells himself. He would stop Angelo pushing too hard if he sensed a real threat to further damaging relations with Tozer—or with the rest of the crew, if suspicion truly ran rampant. He will not let their fun compromise their odds of survival.

But he watches Angelo lean against the gunwale, the flicker of a faint aurora overhead shining in his eyes as he smiles, and Hickey doubts his own resolve. They'll be stuck here a while yet. How far will Hickey let the scales tip? Already, Tozer knows more than he should because of their missteps, but it's difficult to care. Immortality comes with overconfidence. All he has to do is keep Angelo alive until Ish returns, and in these moments, that feels like a simple task with or without a crew.

He will keep sense enough not to let them fall too far into recklessness. Their ragtag crew is easy to control, easy to predict, easy to assuage. They will be fine. ]

[ Is he? Angelo barely knows. For much of his life, he hadn't cared about anybody but himself and about himself only barely. Not much to be jealous over. Then Frontal entered his life, cast out all the care Angelo had left and replaced his every cell with feverish devotion. There had been no room for petty jealousy there, Angelo would like to tell himself. It surely had been larger than that. But he knows how he felt when Frontal removed his mask for Banagher Links, how everything started slipping out of his hands in that precise moment... A Full Frontal he hadn't known, a Full Frontal beyond what Angelo needed him to be, a terrifying uncertainty.

Was that jealousy? Was it jealousy that made his world feel like it had been disintegrating? If it was, then is he capable of feeling something so shattering about Elias Cooper? Surely not. He's watched him die before.

But the thought of Hickey and Tozer having had an entanglement in the past had bothered him. The thought of splitting the status of Hickey's favorite had bothered him. A much more benign emotion, an irritation that feels entirely human.

Angelo shrugs, still smiling thinly. ]

Shouldn't you be able to guess the answer by now?

[ Hickey shrugs too, turning to lean his back against the railing. His hands find his pockets. ]

I don't like guessing. I like hearing.

[ For the sake of his own ego, yes, but it's also safer to draw conclusions when Angelo speaks plainly. There's still a tension between them as they attempt to pinpoint this new dynamic. Hickey is never quite sure how much he can get away with now that they're no longer delirious with exhaustion. He won't back off entirely, he doesn't have the patience for it, but he's deliberate with the pressure he applies. Care is needed if he hopes to avoid Angelo's many tripwires.

Angelo did say he wanted this, after all. He'll open doors eventually if Hickey keeps knocking. ]

Reading you is not as simple as you may think.

[ That makes Angelo raise an eyebrow, looking over at Hickey's profile in the dark, a futile attempt to turn the tables and read him instead. There is nobody in the world who knows more about Angelo than Hickey does. Even Frontal might not have known as many details about his biography - sharing such information with words hadn't been necessary then. It hadn't been necessary with Hickey either, but Angelo still did it, because it was nice to share on his own terms rather than through horrible magical photographs.

If that isn't enough to read him, even when he so often is overtaken and steered by his emotions, then maybe nothing is. That's a satisfying thought, at least. Now that Frontal is gone, nobody gets to touch his soul. And Hickey... maybe Hickey won't get bored too quickly.

Though just as likely, Hickey is just lying to get him to speak plainly. It is a subject they've been dancing around for two days after all. He should affirm that he's not regretting his choices, at least. ]

If your attention were to wander too far, I definitely wouldn't appreciate it. And you know I don't hide my displeasure.

[ Hickey wonders if Angelo is even capable of hiding his true feelings so completely. What a surprise that would be.

He can say with certainty that he won't allow his attention to stray off of Angelo, in no small part because it's not as if Angelo has any true competition. Any wandering on Hickey's part would be a product of boredom and idle curiosity, neither of which holds a candle to this relationship and thus can be considered a closed book. Angelo is his favorite, and that position is secure.

In return, ranking as Angelo's favorite should be an easy victory for Hickey. This is true as far as the ship's roster is concerned, but...

My heart belongs to the Captain. ]

You'll need to hide it some if I'm going to secure Tozer's trust. He craves human connection, and he'll be all the more starved for it with the loss of his marines.

[ It's vague, and purposely so. Hickey has already assured Angelo that Tozer is no threat. ]

[ Angelo's stomach drops, and so does his expression. The order itself isn't unexpected - there was always going to be some tension here, and he understands it as a necessity for their survival. The way in which Hickey chose to deliver it? That's what smarts.

Goading Angelo into that verbal admission of attachment only to throw it in his face purposefully... He hates feeling like he is being played with. The cold air out on deck hadn't bothered him before, even the growing numbness of his cheeks had been easy to ignore, but now it seems as though the temperature has dropped another few degrees.

True to his word, he does not hide his displeasure any. What used to be a smile just moments ago is now a glare. ]

Understood.

[ Still, he has no intention of giving Hickey the satisfaction of bargaining on the matter. He's not a wind-up toy that dances for someone else's entertainment.

Angelo pushes off the gunwale. ]

Goodnight, Mr. Hickey.

[ With a bitter scoff, he moves to retire below deck. His pace is brisk. ]

Hey.

[ Hickey is quick to follow, reaching to place a hand on Angelo's back.

The outright storming off is new. Such an overreaction is a troubling development. His aim was to needle, not stab. If he has to stomach the hypocrisy over the Captain, then Angelo should feel the sting, too. It's only fair. ]

I don't mean I intend to seduce the man.

[ Hickey says it incredulously, as if it's a bizarre leap to make. He'd have thought his prior assurances would've counted for something. ]

Only that I'll need to convince him we're friends.

[ The hand on his back makes Angelo whirl around, effectively shaking off the touch, but at the same time halting his grand escape. He meets Hickey's eyes again, still scowling. ]

I know. Of course I know that!

[ If he'd thought Hickey had any serious designs on what he was implying, there would have been more than just snippy words here. By now, Hickey may have forgotten what Angelo's fist tastes like, but he is not above reminding the man. If offering up all that still remains of himself were not enough to tie Hickey to him for even a week, then there would be nothing for Angelo to gain here. Then two nights ago would have been a terrible mistake.

(He doesn't want to believe that. The warmth of Hickey's chest against his palm, the beating of his heart so reassuringly steady yet so quick... He thinks of it more than he wants to admit.) ]

You can be his friend for real, if it so matters to you. I won't stop you.

[ Angelo is not going to like it much, but that is primarily owed to the circumstances. He does not think himself so blindingly jealous that he'd forever forbid Hickey from having pets, or friends, or whatever he chooses to call it. That's not the core problem here. It's not the thing that makes him want to leave the deck, retire to his berth, and kick the wall for a little.

But he also doesn't feel like explaining the true heart of the matter to Hickey when he's being this way. So he leaves it at that, merely giving Hickey a piercing look as he awaits his response. ]

[ Hickey frowns. His mind works quickly, but even still, it takes him a moment to realize Angelo has seen through him. Once he does, he straightens, uncomfortable. He's used to being caught in bolder plays, but this was a gentle nudge, and not one with any great strategy behind it. Still, Angelo sees it for what it is, and that's...

Mr. Hickey. Angelo was calling him a liar, flaunting the familiarity that makes him immune to such tactics. It's as dangerous a prospect as it is maddening, but even Hickey knows he'd never win an argument to the contrary. Even if he could win, he doesn't want to argue in the first place. Angelo's trust cannot be earned by outplaying him.

Can it be earned at all, then? Hickey twisted his words intentionally, but doing so was such an automatic thing, an obvious next step. The thought of moving in any other direction feels... He struggles to put a name to the discomfort, though he knows he doesn't care for it.

It's the same shade of discomfort that grips him now, faced with the choice to stand his ground or concede that he's made a misstep. The latter option would not make him recoil as it does if he could do so without admitting to hidden motivations, yet doubling down will only drive Angelo further away.

Hickey's eyes drop, frustrated that he can't sort out a path toward better results. Then his chin tips up again, lips pinched together tightly. Fine. ]

I won't stop you, either.

[ He nods to the hatchway. Go, then. ]

[ While Angelo is glad to be let go so he can stew in his own feelings uninterrupted, the fact that Hickey isn't putting up a fight leaves him uneasy. There's a split second where Angelo lingers without leaving, as if expecting something else to follow. Nothing does. ]

... goodnight.

[ He reiterates it without any warmth, but also with significantly less bite. He's frustrated, with Hickey and with himself for letting Hickey do this to him.

Even after he's climbed down the ladder and arrived at his berth, that frustration is pins and needles in his brain. Despite the physical exhaustion of the day's labor, he feels restless. Tozer's advance, Hickey's transgression... Angelo balls his fists, nails digging into his palm. There is no sanctuary on this ship. Even his own bed is a hard and filthy thing, incapable of calming him down. No amount of washing will get these sheets clean. His frustration can only mount and mount, unsoothed. ]

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