Pots nodded. “Anyone that specializes in only one part of the body and doesn’t listen to the others is a fool. Land dentists are to be trusted, sea dentists are not-” he said as though that were a wise and commonly held belief. “Any pirate worth their salt believes cats are more than they appear to be. And whatever that is- they are certainly extraordinary creatures who deserve respect-” he answered. Though it wasn’t really an answer to the question, it was obvious that a cat’s blessing or curse made a great deal of difference to things.
“Well, people don’t like being called out as foolish, especially navy and navy adjacent ships-” Pots noted. “Cats are a good measure of a ship’s power- celestially speaking. If a cat won’t stay, I’d abandon. Don’t even care what kind of oaths I taken otherwise-” he said, shaking his head.
There was something to be said for being superstitious, one could suppose.
“Don’t worry about the Below though. It doesn’t bother you if you don’t bother it. There’s no amount of gold worth those caverns to me, thank you. And I’m the curious one-” Pots said.
Pots gave Mani a little smile. “Well, hey, that’s a good and piratey attitude. And after the way they treated you, nobody would blame you for getting your revenge. We come upon them again, you’re welcome to be on the boarding party, huh. We’ll make sure you’re handy with a weapon of your choosing first. Besides your good looks-” he said in even tones, obviously in approval of Mani’s desire for vengeance/revenge of what was owed to him.
“It doesn’t make any sense-” Scout concurred with a nod. “But the Parson understands it better. Good to ask him about the nobody story. I think it’s a trick but a lot of things are happening at the time so it’s hard to pay attention so much. The Greeks were good at tricks though. They’ve a wily bunch of gods if you ask me. No good there-” he said, wrinkling his nose. Not in disgust necessarily but in the way it was where too much information was distributed at once.
Scout grinned, a little purr in his voice. “Aww, it is fun. I like fun-” he mused. “What’s the point of being a pirate if you’re not having fun, eh?” He smirked at Mani. “No. I’m going to tease you until you’re right and properly besotted, just like I want-” he said, grinning at the other. Obviously not meaning harm but certainly *implying* things of a desirous nature.
Pots nodded. “Okay. But let me know if you ever find you have trouble swallowing. Then we’ll know. You might find even a regular fruit diet like what we use here will help to uncover things that already should’ve been dealt with. It’ll be fascinating to see.”
Pots shook his head. “You don’t have to. The deck is as splinter free as any deck is and nobody’s gonna be flinging anybody overboard anytime soon, time out of your shoes will help with the healing. Ship doctor’s order-” Pots said, a nearly cheerful warning. “You could probably walk around naked if you wanted but I know modesty is a thing for some people. I try to be sympathetic.”
“Nothing to be modest about on Mani-” Scout said. “But modesty only makes for all the more attractive.”
As the examination of Mani’s member and area wound down, Pots thought some massage might be good. Bruises would heal but some massage could help speed it up. Or perhaps they’d be too tender. In either case, he gently ran his hand along Mani’s member. Both as a professional and as a man.
“Why not let yourself melt a little then?” Pots asked, working now to stroke evenly. Seeing how it affected Mani. Seeing how hard the man became. Scout’s thick, warm fingers slid right up and gently began to pinch the nipples.
“Let Doctor Pots bring your pleasure Mani. It’s quite nice-” he said gently.
Scout smiled. “Nobody will think you weak after seeing the healing lines on you with Pots medicines but a shirt will be nice. To take off later too-” Scout said thoughtfully. “Shirts are easy! Sometimes we steal them from barmen who don’t keep an eye on their washing lines!”
Pots made sure Mani was asleep. “Will you hold him? I’ll make sure the captain knows what’s going on-” Pots said in a low voice.
“Poor Mani’s been through a lot.”
“Mhmm- like you- but not as much.”
“We’ll see-” Pots said with a breath out. “No matter what happens, he certainly needs as much healing as we can give. Don’t pressure him with too much affection-”
“I won’t-” Scout said, making a face.
“Alright, you gentle giant. See you at dinner-” Pots said, running a hand along Scout’s face lovingly as Mani slept, wrapped in Scout’s arms.
--------- Dinner and Watch ------
Captain Lilt tended to know himself as a sort of abrasive figure. He’d always been described as a young lad as ‘on the wind’ and growing into piratehood hadn’t abated that at all.
“Hey, he calls me capt’n already! That’s a good lad!” Lilt said cheerily. “See, he knows whos in charge-”
Lilt caught the piece of fruit that was thrown at his head with ease and munched on it. “That’s how I get extra dessert, hmm lad?” he said with a grin. “You know, we’ve got a lot of the world to catch you up on, so you can’t be shy. Life doesn’t wait for any man-” he chirped.
Lilt grinned. “Ooh- sir. I like that.”
Cofina grunted. “Don’t call him sir. It just encourages him. Save it for the bed chamber, your highness-” Cofina said, arching his brow at the captain. They exchanged a look.
“See how they treat me?” Lilt fake pouted. “No, lad. You just keep calling me sir. I’ll like that just fine-” he said with a wink. “Now lads, I’ll be doing the evening draw in half a bell, aye?”
“Aye-” came the chorus as people chewed.
“Parson, how are we doing on the inventory from the navy crawler?”
The parson’s wife interjected before the parson could speak. She had a voice made for singing or possibly to ride the waves. “Well captain. We’ve got some cloth, some rations, a few maps, and a few sundry items of interest. Shall we report?”
“Oh yes. Tell us what we snuck off, eh-” Lilt said with a grin and he nudged Mani shoulder to shoulder gently. “This is my favorite part of being a pirate. What we scavenged off-” he said with a grin.
