(Untitled)

[usethecompany]

For all that he was removed from England, from the war, from battles at sea and prisons on land, Archie couldn't quite find the peace that seemed to prevalent here. Of course, peace could only last for so long, even in a place such as this, but most things were out of his hands, and it would do Archie no good to dwell on them

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[crazyspacegirl]

River had had a long night, too. Sometimes the dreams were just worse; they didn't need a reason. She'd made it almost to morning before she had given up and gone out for a run, leaving Mal asleep with a little pang of jealousy for his restfulness.

She supposed that she should not have been quite so surprised to see Archie on the dock, seeing as she had heard he had come back even if she had been avoiding talking to him. It was hard, meeting again people you had known before, and she hadn't really felt up to telling someone who thought she was a stranger that he had been her friend.

There wasn't really any avoiding him now, however, so she stopped running and smiled and said, "Hello."

[usethecompany]

Archie was not quite surprised to find someone else up with the dawn as well, but while he didn't welcome the intrusion, he didn't mind it, either. Sometimes good company was all it took.

"Good morning," he replied, and managed a smile up at the girl.

[crazyspacegirl]

"Good morning," repeated River. It was redundant, but she couldn't think of anything better to say. "I'm River. I don't think you know me now, but we were friends. When you were here before."

No part of that wasn't weird, but there wasn't much she could do about that.

"But that was before and probably doesn't matter. But if you ever want to make a kite and fly it, I'd like that."

[usethecompany]

"Ah," said Archie after a long moment. He took in River's words, and though he knew there were others here, friends he'd had once and remembered nothing of, it still threw him off balance at times.

It wasn't as though he and his previous self were much different, and Archie trusted that anyone he'd been friends with before couldn't be all that bad a second time around. "It's nice to meet you, then, River. I don't think I had any plans to build a kite, but I don't have much else taking up my time."

[yoursarahjane]

Sarah had been happy to find him, of all people (even if it'd taken her sleepy mind longer than usual to determine whether it was him or Lee). She wordlessly planted herself right down beside him and clasped the dock with both hands. If she were a more tactile woman, she might have laid her head upon his shoulder. "Couldn't sleep, either?" she asked quietly, trying not to disturb their surroundings.

[usethecompany]

"I slept little," Archie agreed after a moment of hesitance. Sarah Jane was not an unwanted presence, even now, and Archie mustered up enough good cheer to give her a smile. "Not quite a good morning, then?"

[yoursarahjane]

Sarah Jane wrinkled up her nose just slightly and afforded a mild shrug, not really needing to be one hundred percent lovely this morning. "Not quite a good go here. It just catches up sometimes a little faster than other times," she murmured, smoothing her palms out on her trousers. "I started to think about living here. As though long-term. It came up a bit lacking, I must admit."

[usethecompany]

Archie made an understanding noise and nodded, though he wasn't sure he truly knew how Sarah Jane felt. After spending two years locked up in a Spanish prison, staying on this island for longer than that didn't seem so bad. "Do you miss home, then?"

[strandedseaman]

"A long way to walk for a quiet moment," said Horatio, his own steps quiet as he could make them on the wooden boards of the pier. "Shall I find you on the mountaintop, next time?"

[usethecompany]

"This is quiet enough," Archie replied, relaxing as he recognized Horatio. While he would like to have said he was no longer under the spell of dreams now that the sun was gradually rising, Archie would have found Horatio sooner or later anyway.

"I could barely sleep," he explained, keeping his eyes on the ever brightening horizon. "I kept dreaming of El Ferrol."

[strandedseaman]

Horatio flinched, hoping after that it had not looked as overt as it had felt, jolting over his shoulders.

"Even now?" he asked quietly. The climate was much the same, here as there, Horatio would grant him, but he hoped the company was much improved. That his friend could still be in the prison's thrall, or indeed, the thrall of any unhappy memory, was troubling.

[usethecompany]

"Even now," Archie answered with a nod. "It's not so bad, honestly. One sleepless night every few months is better than a week of them." He looked back over his shoulder at Horatio, and lightened his tone. "Are you going to sit, or just continue to hover?"

[great_thief]

It's something of a marvel to Bela to be able to take the time to properly appreciate the world around her. There had been days when it felt as though she'd been running to or from something the entirety of her life. Slowing down is difficult and strange, but not without its benefits.

She makes time, these days, to wander. The docks are some of her favorite skulking grounds, especially at dawn and dusk, and it doesn't surprise her much to find that someone else is partial to the view at that time of day, either. Her shoes are already off when she settles down beside the stranger without pretense or invitation, and she wiggles and stretches her toes toward the water, but they don't reach.

"It's nice, this time of day," she observes, and then affords him a sidelong glance and a faint smile.

[usethecompany]

Surprise wasn't exactly the word that sprang to mind when the woman sat down, but he hadn't expected anyone else to come around for a little while. Most early mornings were quiet for a reason.

"It is," Archie answered, and he returned her smile before leaning forward a bit, looking past his legs down into the water. "It's my favorite time of day when I managed to wake early enough for it."

[great_thief]

"The quiet's nice," she adds, and then offers her right hand. "I'm Bela."

He's cute, in the most literal sense of the word. There's an openness to his expression that makes him look incredibly naive, and convincingly so. She's just invaded his private morning ritual, and he's too polite to say so. It's quaint, in a way, and she's secretly glad for his sake that she's trying so very hard to turn over a new leaf.

[usethecompany]

He'd been here for months now, had seen and heard things he could never have imagined had he still been back home. Yet, Archie still could not wrap his mind around the simplicity of greeting a woman with a mere handshake.

Still, he shook her hand, and with a smile. "Archie Kennedy. Pleasure to meet you, miss."

[anneotherboleyn]

"I'm surprised to find a real pier in this place," Anne said with smooth curiosity. "For an island, we've a shocking lack of naval superiority." She folded her hands in front of her skirts, looking out at the picturesque view.

"I wish I knew as much about setting that sort of thing up as my daughter does." The B glimmered at her throat, but for all she knew, he was American, or a damned Spaniard.

[usethecompany]

Archied started a bit at the sound of the woman's voice - not out of surprise, but the familiarity of it. She sounded every bit the sort of noble Englishwoman that made Archie just a bit homesick.

"There isn't much use for it, ma'am," he said, getting to his feet. "Not when we can't sail far, anyway."

[anneotherboleyn]

"That would be too easy, wouldn't it?" Anne shook her head ruefully, her gaze pointed at the horizon. "All the same, it has been such a long while since I've been on a ship that I would find it to be enjoyable. Not since my return from France..."

If she did not count those hours spent on the river.

[usethecompany]

For all that Archie enjoyed his stay here on Tabula Rasa, the familiarities of home were still welcome. Besides, he enjoyed helping others when he could.

"Well, ma'am, I don't know if a few miles out is any consolation, but perhaps I could talk to Caspian for you? He's captain of the Dawn Treader, and we make regular trips to the second isle out there."