12th Mark [Audio // English]

[oneeveryminute]

So what's all this palarva about bushbabies?

(( ooc: Russ is shuffling cards in the casino for anyone who feels like running into him.  For the sake of lulz, he did not see the Major and Akagi's antics earlier. ))

Comments

[shenghuanzhe]

[Kage wanders into the casino with a stack of paperwork under his arm. He spots Russ shuffling cards and he heads over.]

Hey.

[oneeveryminute]

[Russ is a master of keeping his reactions under control, of pretending to be straight-faced and calm. But this? This is comedy. It's like Monty Python in real time.

And the look of absolute bemusement from Kage is just the icing on the cake. His lips quirk and he makes a strangled noise of amusement that's quickly swallowed with a cough. Picking up his bottle of beer, he grins behind it.]

Yeah that's me. Right "scoundrel", I am.

Someone even called me a scallywag once.

[shipshapeshipco]

Thank you, friend! Are you sure you wouldn't like to keep it? It's from the greatest of silkeries- at least, the greatest I have seen. I'm certain you've seen finer silkies on a work day than I have at the height of my luxury.

[he chuckles nervously and taps Kage's shoulder. The hand lingers uncomfortably. he turns away- without removing the hand- and addresses Russ.]

Now, what's the game of the evening? Canasta? "Old Slovok?" "Greek Hanging"?

[shenghuanzhe]

[Freud once said that the Eros and Thanatos drives were the root of the psyche's energies--and that the rational, cultivated, sophisticated human being could take these raw drives and change the energy by sublimation and channel it into the higher pursuits such as art, mathematics, reasoning and pure intuition.

Kage, on the other hand, was a man who took reasoning and art and channelled it into his sex and death drives. As a result, he had killed, slept with and performed combinations of the two activities over the year in a way that would dizzy even the most gluttonous of appetites.

He had no fucking clue what to do with Samuel. The hand burned on his shoulder and sheer shock stopped him from shrugging it off. The hat burned a hellish halo around his crown and Kage took it off and plopped it on Russ' skull instead.]

... dunno, I'm not a card man. I like dice.

[And gradually, gently Kage removed the hand from his shoulder and set it on the table, as one might gently remove the paw of a tiger from one's throat.

What. The. Hell.

[oneeveryminute]

[Smirking, Russ tilts the brim jauntily and sets his beer down, pulling out his own lighter to light his neglected cigarette.]

Just summin t'do with my hands. I'm crap at cards.

[Kage, you have no idea how much entertainment your growing discomfort is providing Russ right now.]

[shipshapeshipco]

Of course! Anything to keep the fingers moving, the wrists working... why, i find if my hands rest for too long, they find their ways into all the wrong places. Once I managed to get my left ring finger inside a jar of particularly delectable looking olives. After the stitching was done, I named that finger "Olivia!" It was such a jolly laugh we shared that night in our bunks, all the boys and I. I call the right ring finger Anice, by the by. Oh, what a story that is!

[Samuel takes the deck and tries to shuffle- leading to an immediate game of 52-card pickup.]

[shenghuanzhe]

[Yeah, okay, this guy is like... Kage squints. He's kinda fruity, hits on guys in position of power, sleeps in a room with other 'boys'? Yeah, Samuel's an aging catamite.

Now that he's classified Samuel, Kage relaxes, then laughs when the dapper man sends the cards flying.]

Well fuckin' done.

[He ashes his cigarette into a tray.]

[oneeveryminute]

[Russ is incredibly amused, and he adjusts the hat as he smirks around his cigarette.]

Hey watch it, those were given to me by Queen Elizabeth on her Jubilee after I rescued her from a rogue Beefeater. They're special cards, very rare.

[He grins broadly.]

[shipshapeshipco]

I wouldn't ever dream of separating you from these. A rogue beefeater, you say? I always say one should never trust a quiet man in red. Just who do they think they're fooling?

[Samuel picks up the last of the cards. ]

I see you gentlemen are enjoying a bit of the "ol' grog", aye, you sea-dog?

[he jabs at Kage playfully with his elbow.]

Let's get some gin rickeys, then we'll have a "jubilee" of our own!

[shenghuanzhe]

[Kage stiffens, a threat on his lips. No one calls him a dog. No one.

But Samuel's kinda stupid. There's no point in threatening him, and there's only shame on his own face if he lets a damn former boywhore irritate him.]

Man, I didn't understand a Zeshat-damned word y'said except I think y'said we should get drunk. Bar's over there. Go'n.

[Kage jerks his head towards the bar.]

[oneeveryminute]

Oh yeah, trouble they are.

[Taking the cards, Russ doesn't miss the slight hardening of Kage's eyes, the way his shoulders tense. He watches the First Mate with cautious curiosity.]

I dunno what a gin rickey is mate, but count me in for a round.

[He nods his head at Kage.]

Whassat mean. Zeshat.

[shipshapeshipco]

Ah, I believe "Zeshat" is a variation of the Old Hebrew "Zeskrit", meaning a naughty young sheep-herd, if I'm not mistaken. They'd flog them for hours on end. What do you boys drink?

he stands and straightens his coat as he prepares to invade the booze-hold. Samuel is feeling pretty good right now... if not a bit over-excited.

[shenghuanzhe]

[Kage will tolerate a lot, but blaspheming his god like that? His shoulders tighten, his eyes harden and he looks at Samuel, suddenly just seeing a face he can break, teeth that can splinter inwards, eyes to gouge--

His lip curls.]

Shut your fuckin' mouth. I'll beat some fuckin' reverence for a god into y'stupid empty head, passenger, 'fore I let y'talk about my god so obscenely.

[oneeveryminute]

[Ah shit. Slipping the cards back into his pocket, Russ slowly leans over to grind out his cigarette in the ashtray. If this gets nasty, he's not hanging around to pick up the pieces.]

Samuel, get that bottle up there. Top shelf. The good shit.

[And please fucking shut up and don't make this worse.]

Here Kage. First Mate.

Sounds like you've worked on the ship a while.

[shipshapeshipco]

[Samuel's face goes sheet-white. He nods a few times to Russ. His mouth is, possibly for the first time, closed.

Samuel takes the bottle in both hands, cradling it like a small child. He won't drop this. He can't. it has to save him.

He returns to his seat and puts down the bottle carefully.]

Perhaps I've forgotten my Hebrew. It was never my best subject. If you ever want someone to rearrange your furniture though- I have a degree of knowledge.

[his lip shakes pathetically. A tear shines in the corner of his eye as he looks to Kage.]

May I have the honor of moving your couch, respectful lord first mate? Please?

[shenghuanzhe]

Yeah. Been workin' for a long time, man. Too fuckin' long.

[Kage ashes his cigarette, willing his heart to stop beating so fast. Nothing will drive him to violence like people who don't understand taking liberties with his god. Redd himself can't stop Kage from defending Zeshat's honour.

He sighs when Samuel approaches, rubs his eye.]

Siddown, Samuel, I don't-- Look, just siddown'n have a drink, eh? C'mon.