Out of the Loop

[Marcel Durand]

Marcel's legs dangled above the ocean below as he sat on the railing of the Anne waiting for his friends Wesley deGrey and Shane O'Sullivan to arrive. They'd agreed to meet up here the morning before the ball that the men were attending that afternoon so that he could hear all about this fabled 'hunt' that he wasn't allowed to attend. The higher class sailors had been participating as prey to be chased by the noble women, which, frankly, sounded like a game where you wouldn't want to try too hard. Why not a mild jog and just let a pretty girl catch up and ask to kiss you as her prize? There wasn't really a way to lose unless someone awful decided to chase you. And were there really that many unappealing noblewomen that weren't already married? He wasn't sure, seeing as he only knew a few women, and they were all commoners. 

Ah well, he wasn't in any rush to have someone else to leave behind when he went off on trade voyages. Having to leave behind his mother and sister was bad enough as it was. He did his best to pick up little trinkets and souvenirs for them, as well as collecting interesting stories to share when he returned home. 

Even so, he was curious to hear what his friends had been up to during such a strange party and game. He hoped they had made out well--and that any ladies they caught wouldn't begrudge them a friendship with one commoner who served on the same ship. He doubted either one of them would leave him in the dust so easily, but then, love and money both did funny things to a man, and marriage for nobles could involve either.

He was about to give up and just get back to reorganizing the supply room (It was something he did every time they were back home, in the hopes that maybe, someday, people would start putting things back where they belonged. They never did, of course, but he still liked a fresh start for a fresh trip.) when he heard Wesley's telltale laughter echoing down the docks. 

"Oi, it took you long enough, you vagabonds!" he shouted down to them with a grin. "I thought you'd decided you had better things to do than talk to me."

[Wesley deGrey]

Personally, he didn't know if or when he was going to show at the ship simply because it had been a very long day yesterday. Not only did he get completely wrecked in the chase, there was dinner that same evening. A dinner he had been fooled into. Well, no, he lost a bet...and that was the price, and a bet he still didn't think he actually lost.

Wesley was still in his clothes from dinner, deciding to just crash at his dark and cold manor along the shore instead of going back to the castle, so he was an exhausted and tired mess as he wandered his way to the docks. He'd have spare clothes on the ship, so he wasn't terribly worried about it. He was going to have to just get dressed again for the ball later. Normally he didn't care about going, but this year seemed a little...different, he realized.

He might have had a reason to want to go this time.

Nearly at the docks, he heard a sharp whistle from behind him. A look over his shoulder, he saw Shane with that cheshire grin of his, who was giving him a once over. "Did you not get sleep?" he asked.
"Didn't bother goin' back to the castle," Wes was quick to point out. That didn't seem to placate the other sailor's curiosity.
"Oh yeeeah?" Did their roles reverse? Normally Wesley was the teasing one.
"I went to the house. My house, thank you very much." Shoving Shane, his steps quickened to avoid any retaliation. He was stepping out onto the dock, erupting laughter before Marcel's voice brought both their bright gazes to the ship. "Never, my friend! Just had a bit of a late start this mornin', is all!" Later than normal...and he was always late.

Although tired, he practically skipped up the ramp onto The Anne, grinning widely. Shane wasn't too far behind him, laughing quietly before he was clapping a hand onto the younger man's shoulder. "Hope we didn't miss much while we were gone."

[Marcel Durand]

Marcel chuckled. A late night, huh? He was definitely going to need to hear alllllll about it.

"Miss much? Lads, you missed the fight of a century. Me versus the gigantic mound of nonsense that people shoved into the storeroom so they could pretend everything was clean and get onto dry land faster!" He put up his fists and mimed like he had actually 'fought' the monstrous heap of garbage. "I found an actual fish in there that smelled like it had been dead since the day we left this place. I don't know who in the hell thought that was a good idea, but I'd half a mind to find out who it was and put the stinkin' thing in their bunk."

He wasn't kidding, either. He had a strong stomach, but the smell had been enough to make even him gag. He didn't hang onto the fish long enough to use it, though--he'd tossed the thing overboard as quickly as he could just to get it away from him. He'd have to think of some other suitable revenge for the prat that had put it in there for him to find. The whole crew knew that Marcel went through the storeroom to clean it out, so anyone who'd been rude enough to do that had done it on purpose. The rest of the people...well, at least most of the things they put back in the storeroom actually belonged there, even if they weren't in their proper places.

"But what about you, eh?" he crowed, putting his hands on his hips, "How did your chase go? Were the two of you caught? And was that what kept you up late?"

[Wesley deGrey]

He had only been expecting the chase and possibly the dinner at the castle where he could sneak out of it early to retire for the evening. Oh, but Helene had other plans. It had been another bet, one randomly thrown in on their way back from the chase...and yet, he would have agreed to go regardless. All she had to do was ask, and ask she had. For a moment, he recalled that quiet moment in that small ballroom, the heavy silence that had lingered around him.

The thoughts that had gone through his head.

Marcel's humorous comment drew Wesley from these thoughts, and he was laughing again. He was often one to pull pranks on the others when the need called for it, but that definitely hadn't been him. And it didn't matter that Shane was looking at him accusingly. "I swear, it wasn't me." A brief pause, he murmured quietly, "This time." In all honesty, he was about to gag just imagining the smell it would have put off, and it would probably linger for a few days even still. Good thing they weren't going anywhere for another couple weeks!

Wes lightly jabbed Marcel in the shoulder. "I'm sorry, mate. Wish you could have been at the chase. Lots of lovelies there." Normally he would have wished to be here on the ship instead of at court during some silly event, but it had been far more amusing and interesting this year. Very interesting, indeed...

"This one here got caught, certainly," Shane said with a chuckle, his thumb gesturing over at the deGrey.
He blinked, realizing he was zoning out again, before a wry (and somewhat embarrassed) grin curled his lips. "Aye, I got caught."
"He was completely covered in mud," his friend added before he was looking at Wesley with a furrowed brow. "Did you trip and fall? Surprised you're still not coated." Shane glanced over to Marcel, gesturing with his hands to the entirely of his body and further mouthing, just completely covered.
Recalling how Helene had reacted at dinner when Lucian spilled about her "pouncing" on him, Wes wasn't sure if he should repeat it. But then again...she wasn't here. "For your information, gentlemen-" he said, pausing to adjust his fine shirt on his shoulders. "She pounced me."
Shane was rolling his eyes, grinning, "But you didn't get a kiss."

Fuck you, Sully.

[Marcel Durand]

Marcel grinned and nudged Wes with his elbow, his grin only widening when Shane made it clear that Wesley had been well and truly caught. The image of Wes looking like some kind of swamp monster covered in mud made him laugh, and he used his hand on Wes's shoulder to keep himself from falling right over.

"Pounced, eh? Is she a lady or a lion? And does that make you a gazelle?" Marcel snickered. And then he heard what Shane had to say on the matter, and was off laughing again. "Wait, wait, wait--you let this woman tackle you into the mud, and she didn't kiss you after all that work? She's either a genius or a torturer...maybe both."

He did think it was funny, but the daydreamy, faraway look that had crossed his friend's face more than once hadn't escaped Marcel's notice. Wes had it bad for this Lioness Lady Love of his. It was almost cute, but Marcel would like it better if he was getting details!! And wait a minute, something else was missing here.

"And you! Sully! You were caught too, weren't you? I saw that devilish grin, and what with your amazing dancing skills, I'm sure no lady could resist."

[Shane O'Sullivan]

Marcel's laughter was infectious, because Shane was swiftly joining in even as Wesley looked over at the young sailor with very little amusement on his face. Well, it was the truth, wasn't it?

"Both, I'd say," Wes replied, finally with a bit more humor in his tone. "She's, uh...somethin.'"

Shane paused, his laughter dying off as his attention drifted to Marcel in question, wondering if he was hearing the same things from that man's mouth as he was. Sure, the deGrey paid attention to women numerous times, but he was usually very adamant about getting back to the sea just days after returning to shore. This time, Sully realized, it wasn't the case. "Uh huh...it's certainly somethin'," he added before Wesley was jabbing him in the arm.

The question was ultimately turned back around to him and he paused. He'd told Avalynn that he wouldn't talk about her, at least not in a sense that it would seem like he was mocking her in anyway, but still. Marcel was going to be relentless if he didn't give him something.

A corner of his mouth curled up in a lopsided, somewhat embarrassed grin as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "Aye, I was caught," he told him. "Kind of." Shane backed up so that he could casually lean against the railing, tilting his face up to the morning sun for a moment. "To be honest, I climbed a tree to avoid it all-" Wes' soft chuckle made him pause for a second. "She, uh...well, she didn't know I was up there and started talking to herself. No, she was more like arguing with herself, I think?" Honestly, he still didn't even know. "It felt wrong to remain quiet, so I made myself known...and eventually, I talked her into climbing up into the tree if she wanted to catch me." Trying to suppress his amusement, Shane ran a hand down his face as he remembered. "Lads, she hurt herself climbing down, tripped over herself a couple times, and I had to carry her back to the castle." It was probably an embarrassing story to tell of Avalynn, but his tone wasn't in any way making fun of her, but it was still amused nonetheless.

[Marcel Durand]

Marcel listened to Wesley and shared that questioning look with Shane--the look of two friends who realized that something was different about this one. Hm. Apparently, Lady Lioness was more than just 'something'--she meant something to the notoriously flighty Wesley deGrey. That wasn't easy to do, and frankly, he'd started to lose hope for his friend. Wesley had seemed determined to avoid the others of his own social class. Shane was an exception, not the rule.

Marcel was content to let the subject change to Sully, though, because he needed to know what had happened there, too! He'd really missed a lot. The story had him starting out with a grin, then a horrified gasp, and by the end, he had his hands on his hips. He swatted Shane on the back of the head and gave him a stern look.

"Shane O'Sullivan! How dare you! You made the poor thing climb a tree? And she got hurt?!" He tutted and shook his head, then crossed his arms over his chest. "I thought Elliot and I raised you better than that, Sully! At least you carried her back...Please tell me you managed to salvage things, after all that. Or at least that you'll be seeing her at this ball with flowers or something to make up for it? Because really, my friend, I love you but you really stepped in it."

He gave his friend a meaningful look. Really! He'd thought the man had more sense than that, at least. The poor girl! She sounded sweet, honestly, and he hoped Shane hadn't scarred her too horribly with his clumsy responses. Goodness. These boys were a trainwreck, tackling ladies into the mud (or being tackled, as the case may be) and dropping them out of trees. He thought he'd have handled things better, but then, he wasn't about to announce that when it was two against one...

[Shane O'Sullivan]

"So, after all of my persuasion-" Wesley started. "You decided to hide up in a damn tree anyway?" The other sailor laughed and shook his head. Well, he should have known Shane hated social gatherings. He only said it every single time they went to shore and Wes had to go to the castle.
"And I'm never doing it again, mind you," he told him bluntly. As kind and fun as Avalynn had been, he hadn't felt comfortable being anywhere near court. Most people knew who he was, who his father was, and that Eamon O'Sullivan thought his son was nothing but a disappointment. They all probably agreed with the drunkard.

Suddenly, Marcel was swatting him on the back of the head. Shane flinched, immediately rubbing fingers into his hair to soothe the strike. "What the hell was that for?" Then his friend was baring into him, letting him know what a fool he had been. Blue eyes rolled into white almost immediately. "Well...I didn't know she'd actually do it! I had hoped she would just...give up and go."

At the mention of the ball and flowers "or something", he sighed. "Damn, I guess I need a gift now..." he murmured to himself mainly. He actually hadn't thought of that, and it probably would have been embarrassing to show up empty handed...right? "And for your information, yes. I think she forgave me...because she asked me to attend the ball with her."
"Ooooh, well, would ya lookit that? I didn't even have to nag you this time."
"Oh, right, because you would really need me there. You're just going to be waiting for her."
"Yes, but-" Wesley started, grinning up at him. "While I wait, I need someone to torture. And Marcel can't be there, so..." The man shrugged before shifting his gaze to their friend. "We should sneak you into one of these parties sometime." The scary thing was, Shane knew Wes would do it, too. Now, he was just curious whether Marcel would be foolish enough to actually do it.

[Marcel Durand]

Marcel laughed heartily at his friends as they went back and forth, trying not to be just the slightest bit jealous that he wouldn't be going with them. He liked being the responsible one, the grounded one...but being the odd one out was frustrating at times. He'd much rather be able to go along on their adventures.

Wes must have read his mind because no sooner had he had that guilty little thought than his friend turned and suggested sneaking him into one of those fancy noble parties.

Marcel started to laugh, then cut off when he realized that Wes was the kind of person who would really try and do it for the laughs. He quickly dropped his smile and shook his head.

"Good god, man, you can't be serious! I'd never pass for one of the fancy types--I wouldn't know the first thing about how to deal with all that. Unless you're planning to give this poor sailor etiquette and dancing lessons, I'm thinking I'm better off staying right here where I belong." He rolled his eyes and shook his head again. "Can you even imagine me dressed up like that?"

[Wesley deGrey]

Despite how exciting the chase probably sounded, it wasn't what Wesley usually enjoyed. Sure, this year it had been strangely different, but he wasn't the type to attend many gatherings at the castle, duke or not. Many people probably forgot that he even possessed that title. Honestly, at times he often forgot he actually owned land a ways down the beach from here. It was a nice home, too, but mostly empty and unused. It was a bit of a waste, really, but Mother insisted he keep it. You know, in case he actually decided to stop sailing the seas and settle down one day.

She was seriously becoming dafter in her old age.

But if he had a friend with him at one of these parties, it was bearable. And yes, he was very much the kind of person who would offer Marcel some of his fancy clothes and drag him along.

Know what? He was going to do it. He made a mental note to keep this promise.

"I'm very serious, Marcel," he told him so matter-of-factly. Wesley moved then, casually walking around him as if sizing him up while his friend continued to come up with excuses. All the more reason why he wanted to try this now. He couldn't help it. "You're a fast learner, aren't you? Get you some nice clothes...clean the dirt from beneath your fingernails...it's doable." Bright eyes drifted over to Shane as if to ask for his opinion.

Sully stood there in quiet contemplation, his eyes narrowing in thought as he watched their fellow sailor. "I could see it." Then his attention regarded the younger man, shrugging his shoulders as if in apology for agreeing with Wesley. "You know he's going to do it now..." he said in way of an excuse.

[Marcel Durand]

"Sully, mate, C'mon!" Marcel dragged both hands down his face with a dramatic groan. He couldn't believe Shane was actually going along with this nonsense. It was a terrible idea. Honestly, couldn't he get arrested for something like this? What would his mother say if he was clapped in irons and hauled off by guards?

"Don't encourage him; he's bad enough on his own! I've done enough dumb shit with you two as is, I don't plan on getting tossed out of the goddamn castle on my arse. No one in their right mind would believe I was a nobleman."

He sighed heavily and plopped himself down on a nearby barrel as a chair. "I'm perfectly happy getting my high-class adventures vicariously, thank you very much. You two get into enough trouble for the whole crew combined. And besides, the holidays are nearly over. There won't be any more fancy parties for you to drag me to for ages, right?"

[Wesley deGrey]

Shane just seemed to laugh at him because he knew once Wesley had his mind set on something, it was almost guaranteed to happen. Smart man to realize this while the deGrey was already grinning madly over the idea.

"Look, Marce...just one time wouldn't kill you," he attempted to argue, throwing an arm around the younger man's shoulders once he sat down on that barrel. "Just to- I don't know...satiate your curiosity? It's clear that you're curious." Now he was just trying to egg him on. If they weren't careful, Wesley would somehow turn this whole thing around and make it seem like it was entirely Marcel or even Shane's idea to begin with.

'There won't be any more fancy parties for you to drag me to for ages, right?'

Wesley patted him on the back. Oh, sweet, innocent, and naïve Marcel. That grin on his face became a little more devious then. "There are always parties, mate. Always."
"Yeah, like that New Years thing at Willow's Edge every year." Shane looked immediately guilty the moment those words left his mouth. It was clear he hadn't meant to make things worse for his poor friend.
"Ah, yes." Well, Wes was pleased for the reminder. "Who's to say we'll have another job for a few more weeks? Might still be home for that one."

Run, Marcel. Just run.

[Marcel Durand]

Always? Always parties? How did these people get anything done, like running the country, if they were always dressed to the nines and drunk?

Marcel shot Shane a dirty look as he brought up another upcoming party, and rolled his eyes so hard it hurt when Wes immediately latched on. He was worse than Mimi, really. Like a child! But Marcel wasn't ready to be anyone's toy.

"Alright mate, you just keep telling yourself that. Now, unlike you lot, I'm going to go do my job." He stuck out his tongue at them and stomped off toward the storeroom. "And if I find any more rotten fish, you better believe it's going in your bunk, Wes. Can't take me to any parties if you're puking from the smell!"

[Wesley deGrey]

That was the thing with the high society of Tresteria- they had people to get things done for them. Wesley liked to believe he was an exception to this, along with his brothers who were all hard workers as well as others he knew...but yes, there were always parties. And now that the highborn sailor had this idea in his head, Marcel was going to struggle to find ways out of it. It wasn't often that the deGrey even went to such events, but this simply gave him another reason to. If only to see his friend squirm.

'Can't take me to any parties if you're puking from the smell!'

Wesley chuckled, slowly wandering off after him. "Shows how much you know, Marce! If I'm not pukin' here, I'm throwin' up over the castle balcony!" Alright, maybe that wasn't something he should be sharing. It'd been awhile since the deGrey had that much to drink.

Thinking about it, he kind of felt bad for those guards down below during the holiday party six years ago...

[Marcel Durand]

Marcel groaned when his friend trailed after him to the storeroom. Couldn't a simple sailor just live his life without his buddies trying to make it more complicated? He was having a hard enough time just surviving the second-hand embarrassment of hearing their adventures.

To be fair, he did love his friends. They were the brothers he'd never had. He enjoyed hearing their stories, and their antics...most of the time. The idea of going out there and getting tangled in it himself was more frightening than exciting, however. He was no fancy noble who could get away with things because of his family, he was just an ordinary sailor. He very much doubted that Wes's mother and brothers would take kindly to having to bail his peasant friend out of trouble if something went wrong.

"Shows how much you know, Marce! If I'm not pukin' here, I'm throwin' up over the castle balcony!"

"Boy I'm sure the castle staff just looooove you, mate. Everybody's favorite." Marcel replied dryly.

Reaching the storeroom, he tugged a coil of rope off the shelf and tossed it at his friend's chest. "If you insist on following me around, I'm going to put you to work, mate. Hang that over on the wall where it belongs, eh?"