Spring is in the Air {Chord}

[Inhuman;;]

Prim and proper, Penelope. Prim and proper.

Those words echoed in the girl's head, making her hold back a wince. Why oh why did her mother have to send her to that stupid tutor? Oh wait. Stupid is an unkind, unsightly word. A word ladys were not supposed to know, much less utter or think. Oh, but Penny could find more words to describe that loathsome woman. Idiotic, obtuse, daft, ridiculous, nonsensical, preposterous, farcical - and that's just to name a few. Those words were much more lady-like, don't you think. Penny sure deemed them so. That old, stuffy lady was such a... a... well. Penny had a few choice words that weren't quite what her mother would like coming from her mouth.

Yes, she knew those words. Surprised? Well, you shouldn't be. Penny had a way of ease dropping on her father as he worked - or what he called work. See, Mr. Williams was a merchant, and quite a wealthy one at that. It gave Penny a nice, easy life; a life she enjoyed as much as possible. It also meant that he could easily bypass the system and supply the rebel forces with much needed supplies. He had lost some business from those insufferable loyalists, those lobster lovers, the red coat chasers. It made Penny sick. How someone could support such a government as the British one she had no clue. She equated the British with that absurd tutor. That had raised her, right? Given her the "rules" that she set upon the young girls of the colonies, telling them what is proper and what was not. What gave them the right to decide what was right, huh? Penny just couldn't stand it.

Yet here she was, walking down a street in the wonderful town of Boston, looking as much of a proper lady as she could possibly look. I guess it was just pounded into her head so hard that it was habit now. Sadly. Penny knew the city like the back of her hand, and she loved almost every inch of it. So as she walked, she took a deep breath, listening to the banter of people on the street and the soft ruffling of her blue dress. It was a stylish design, yet not too fancy. The perfect thing for a spring day in the 19 year old's opinion. And look! She stopped, her jade green eyes wandering in the window of one of her favorite stores. On display hung a beautiful bolt of fabric, obviously made by the most skilled hands and of the finest materials.

The brunette let out a sigh, her mind wistfully going to how she would look in a dress made up of that fabric. Oh, she could see it now. She was twirling around to the finest music on the arm of some handsome Patriot lad. Her frizzy curls tamed in a graceful and stylish manner, accenting her heart shaped face and straight nose. A smile slid upon her curved pink lips. Oh how wonderful that would be...

[Chørd]

`Nathan

Nathan was in nothing less than a foul mood. From the moment he woke up things had been going horribly, and as the morning progressed everything seemed to go downhill.

It was normal for Nathan's family to argue - they all admitted it, both to each other and to the public and friends. It was almost compulsory for them to have a daily stab at each other.
The difference this morning, however, was that Nathan had made it personal. This time, he and his father were not arguing over breakfast or money or tea supplies. No, this time Nathan had crossed the line, and had brought his father's nationality into the argument. Everything he'd wanted to say he'd vented out in the heat of the moment, and he sure did pay for it. His father was a burly brute - sturdy, arrogant, and could really pack a punch. Nathan had been lucky to dodge the first swing his father had made for him, however wasn't as fortunate the second time.


The eighteen year old walked down the street with hands stuffed in his pockets, head hung to hide the bruise along his jawline. It hurt, but he'd never admit it.

As always, it wasn't just his father Nathan had been fighting with, but was also having a conflict with himself, too. The further he walked away from his house, the more his 'other self' died down, lying subconscious and silent until something triggered him to start arguing with himself again.

You should have just let him say what he wanted and walked off, it began, his mental voice's tone sharp and spiteful. But no, you opened your mouth. He could have broken your nose had he swung a punch of equal force and caught you at a different angle. And then what? You'd look a right silly bastard then, wouldn't you?
"Shut up," Nathan snapped at himself, lifting a hand to rub his face as he crossed over the street. One of his friends patted him on the shoulder, hoping to catch his attention, but he simply ignored them and continued on. They just shrugged and returned to chatting with their other companions, joking amongst themselves, the main topic of the conversation being the redcoats they so eagerly poked fun at.

Nathan managed to block out their words, shaking his head to clear it. The last thing he wanted to be thinking about were the Brits. A slimy bunch of lobsters, the lot of 'em. His father fit right in.

"Damn the British," Nathan hissed to himself. "Damn the to Hell."
Nathan stopped when he noticed a young lady stood admiring some fabric in a shop window. Interest sparked, Nathan approached her, taking his hands out of his pockets and preparing a dazzling smile for her. With nothing better to do with his time, he may as well spend the morning with a 'female companion'.

"It's a beautiful piece, wouldn't you agree?" He decided to strike up a conversation, turning his own gaze to admire the fabric too. Actually, it was rather nice, and certainly well made. "I bet a lot of work and dedication went into its making."
Nathan smiled warmly at the girl, who appeared around his age, completely forgetting about the slowly appearing purple bruise on his jaw and cheekbone.

[/size]

[rebellioustory]

"So then, my duck just starts chasing me around and biting my ankles like he usually does and then he picks him up and starts scolding him in German! Bee was telling Danny about the various antics between her husband and her rather belligerent drake as the two were walking through the streets of Boston, "It's so clean here!" she said, "And the people are actually nicer than I thought they would be considering we're the enemy, technically." the two had stopped into a bakery in spite of being unable to buy much in there and the baker didn't give them one dirty look the whole time. Then again, her American accent probably helped a little, now that she actually thought about it.

It was a pleasant day to be off duty and mingle with the people. They would have to go about in their uniforms since none of them had civilian clothing (Bee's were meant to fit an over six foot man and not a small woman) and a few were giving them looks but so far, there was no violence, "I feel so daring." she tried not to giggle but couldn't help herself, "Don't you feel so brazen messing about in your regimental in the city where this whole rebellion began?" To make up for that girlish giggle, she tipped her cap to some young lady who was looking at fabric when she noticed that what she was looking at WAS really good quality but blue and white stripes probably wouldn't suit her because she didn't support the rebellion. She didn't have time to count the stripes but she assumed there were thirteen to represent the Colonies.

She began to hum "Heart of Oak" as the two strolled and couldn't help but have a little skip in her step. She was so happy since she was alive, in a clean city with somewhat nice people, with her friend who was also a woman in the ranks who understood what she was going through. As the two continued walking through the cobbled streets and passed a man a few years younger than she who said some rather rude things about the British. She saw the look in his eye when he noticed the young lady and couldn't help but feel jealous. Oh if she were in skirts at the moment and had her husband on her arm! She had always been referred to as something of a beauty and loved the attention she and her husband got at parties and such. She bit her lip then let a smile curl on her face, "Now that wasn't very nice, was it?" she was in a bit of a cheeky mood but figured this was a Rebel town so she better watch her tongue, "Completely uncalled for!"

[faithfulguardian]

Danny regretted now the choice to wear her regimental uniform today, her feet were sore in the stiff boots, and she sweated under the thick coat and stock around her neck, it trickled down her neck too from under the big tricorn hat. Spring in America was a warmer affair that Scotland, it was to be certain. she thought back to that morning when she had picked up the soft buckskin tunic she had been wearing for a uniform with the scouts, and then thought of the place she was going today. Boston would no doubt give looks at a redcoat, but the Indian garb would stop people completely in their tracks. she set it back down and reached for the Cadet uniform.
Danny brought herself back to the present and laughed at Bee's story as they entered an even warmer bakery, the sweet smell of fresh bread washing over them. "I'd never thought of Duck herding as a profession, it sounds dangerous!" she laughed again, eying a particularly fat tart in the trays of the bakery. "aye, Bostonians pride themselves in keeping their city clean, even when I was with the 43rd in 75' they were extremely well organized."
They stepped outside again, where it suddenly felt cooler compared to the shop, and headed up the street again towards the North Square, a place she knew well, despite having bee absent for two years. "aye, it feels strange being here while there's a war going on outside the city limits..."she caught sight of the fabric Bee was looking at, it was nice, but not Danny's style, she preferred simple patterns. she pushed past a man mumbling to himself and caught her shoulder on his as he spotted a girl staring at the fabric in the window, "Escuse me!" she said sarcastically. but he continued on, entranced with the girl. she felt a twinge of jealousy, wish Alex was there at her side to gaze at her like that. :What a Sassanach."

[E.Parkreiner]

The smell of the sea, the smell of the town. Gord was not used to either of these scents and he did not like what he was not used to. The trip here had been a long one, and thus he had overslept quite a bit. Not a problem, he thought to himself, he was here on officers business and thus the urgency of a battlefield was misplaced. Either way it was about time that he got some rest. He sat up and surveyed the small wooden room that he had rented for the week. A sturdy bed, a dresser and a well worn desk were the only furniture. It was nothing like his cottage back across the St. Lawrence; clean air, a nice hearth some fur rugs, ahh that was a place he was proud to call home. He briefly thought of his cat, Patton, wondering what mischief he could cause with a week in someone else’s care. Memories of the time he set off a chain of events ending with the settlement being convinced it was besieged did not inspire confidence in him. Well he would be back soon enough, no use moping. He rose and began to dress, he had nowhere to be today, and a hassle was not what he was looking for, so he left his rumpled uniform where it laid, instead unpacking his linen shirt and frock coat. After fitting his boots he began the cathartic process of wrapping his right eye, hiding its pocked and grotesque appearance from the world. No use moping about that either. Finally he put on his tricorn, an inferior hat if there ever was one, at a low angle as to hide the bandages some.

He made his way to the lower level of the Red Lion inn, hoping to grab some gruel and butter for his first meal. The tavern was packed, and, self conscious of his accent, Gord changed his mind, instead opting to go for a walk about the town. He thought he’d see if he could get a map of it in his head, no use being late tomorrow with only the flimsy response of ‘I got lost’ to cover his tardiness. Gorden stood alongside the wall of the inn for a bit, watching some of the towns people go about their business. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a familiar red hue. Ah! Some compatriots! He wended his way through the oncoming passers-by, and as he approached he wondered what capacity these men were here on. Getting to know some other people would be nice as well, and there were no finer men than strong armed, tall soldiers of the- hang on, these two were…well one was rather short and they were both…slender? No matter he caught up to them and cleared his throat. “Hello gentlemen, what brings you two to Boston?”

[rebellioustory]

She giggled then quickly turned it into a snicker taking her hand away from her mouth and putting both behind her hands. What did Danny just call that guy?"Sassanach? I can't help but find your Scotch terms diverting." she said pulling a disc of maple sugar candy from her haversack and biting down. Mmmmmm... Sugar..... She tipped her hat to the lady who seemed to pay her no mind. No argument today, that was always a good thing but she was kind of looking forward to a good debate. Besides, that guy was too preoccupied with looking at that one girl, whoever she was, "Let's go, Danny, clearly he's busy." she smirked then began to walk off before being greeted by a VERY tall grenadier. She looked at Danny who was a bit taller than her and then back at this guy then stood on her toes, "Hello there!" she dropped her voice a bit to address this guy, "My friend and I are just exploring the area. It's me first time here in Boston and I'm amazed! It's clean here not like my home in Jersey!" she said looking around, "I'm Bee, Bee Dolittle n' this is my friend Danny. Who might you be?"

[faithfulguardian]

Danny Laughed at Bee's questioning look "Sassanach is somewhat of a joke among Scots, it's become an insult tae anyone whae isnae Scottish, but basically means English...man..." Danny slowed her explanation as she too noticed the tall man approach, wary of whatever it was he wanted, she noticed right off the bat that he was English, despite not wearing a uniform. she new he was a soldier too, or at least, was one recently; gunpowder stained his hands and next to his one eye where he had probably leaned to close to a cannon, the other eye was covered by a bandage and nearly hidden under his tricorn.
She eyed him suspiciously as Bee introduced them, and she noticed that he did the same to her, she smiled graciously and nodded her head to him when Bee said her name. despite herself, she decided she liked this man.

[E.Parkreiner]

“Gorden P. Botwright, Grenadier of the 53rd under General John Burgoyne...” he hesitated, not wanting to be overly formal or make a bad first impression. “It’s a pleasure to you meet you two...and, ah, Gord is fine.” he added sheepishly. Maybe the trip down had taken a larger toll than he thought, as there was something definitely a little off about these two. Well they seemed nice enough, and they had yet to gawp at his bandages as a civilian would, so he wouldn’t put too much thought into it. Plus who knows how many friends he’d find in this town.

Gord also took a mental note of Bee’s accent, something that might come in handy were he to get in a pickle. He chuckled about Boston’s cleanliness, “Well compared to London’s own little cesspool St. Giles, maybe, but it’s a far cry from....” Memories of the glass-like lakes at dawn and the smell of pines filled his head. Only the smell of gunpowder could be so exquisite. “Well, take a canoe out up north one morning, and then you’ll see what mother nature thinks of all this. Sure the town is clean but...” He leaned in close and thumbed his nose “all these chaps smell a bit fishy for my taste.” Gord chuckled some and went on, feeling unusually talkative. “It’s nice to see some red down here, but I’d think going about in full clobber would garner some attention. Either way, I’ve just arrived last night so do you mind if I join?”

[rebellioustory]

Bee looked up at the Grenadier then back at Danny and quickly realized she was the smallest one out of the three of them. She stood up on her toes, an easy feat considering how long she had been dancing, to try to compensate for the lack of height as far as she was concerned. She studied him for a moment and noticed he was attempting to study the two back to see what was off about them and hoped she wasn't too feminine. The bandages on his eye showed that he was a veteran and probably had seen many strange things while in the service and she hoped that women in the ranks was not one of those things. She stopped studying the eye considering it rude and if he asked, she had seen several gory injuries as a nurse at the barracks in Trenton, so an odd eye was nothing too bad for her to see.

"Pleasure to meet you, Gord." she said with a smile, "Wow, I really would like to go canoeing. I haven't done that since I was a kid-er- a really small kid. My brother and I made a canoe once and we tried to paddle it down the Delaware but it sank before we got off the bank." she chuckled recalling that fond memory with her brother. She'd take an old set of his clothes and they could easily pass for twins. She chuckled when he mentioned the people were a bit fishy, "Some of them are nice, but there are a few here that have been less than pleasant to which I tell them to bugger off." she said matter of factly, "My civilian's clothes are a bit too big for me, I've only hand me downs, this is the only thing I own that fits at the moment." she shrugged putting her hands in her breeches pockets, "If the colonists have a problem with that, they may deal with my bayonet or my arguments, whichever they prefer. Either one is rather sharp." She looked at Danny when he asked if he could join them, "Fine with me, what do you think, Danny?"

[faithfulguardian]

Danny smiled at the man named Gord, even if he was from London, she thought of a quick comment about how the English capitol smelled worse than all of the colonies combined, but thought better of it.
"Aye, Canoeing is a pleasure few men get tae experience, especially with the natives, have yae traveled with them up north by chance?" she asked after Bee's story.
"Ah'm fine with the Private joining us, come on, let's continue our tour." she stepped between the two and they were off down the street, she was wary of the way he looked at both of them and hoped she could block his view of Bee just a little, as she was the one most likely to be discovered. she turned his wandering gaze back with a punch to the shoulder "the 53rd, eh? aren't they up in Saratoga or Fort Ticonde-what's-its-name? Gentleman Johnny has a few regiments up there somewhere I believe." Danny didn't mean to pry, but she was curious as to what he was doing this far away from his regiment, and in civilian clothes too.

[E.Parkreiner]

The relief Gord felt at being allowed to join caused a little puff of air to escape his lips, his time in his past regiment was lonely, save for his mentor, and he had not seen much of his current one since his injury slowed him down. Travelling in the company of soldiers would be a welcome familiarity. Although...he made a mental note to steer clear of jokes made at the expense of Bee’s height, it seemed that he was capable of making Gord regret it. Either way he shortened his stride in consideration. Danny seemed like he’d been through some interesting adventures as well and would probably felt just at home in the wilderness as he did. “Haven’t the pleasure, majority of people I see are French.” He was well informed too it seemed. “Yea, Fort Tricondera, Yanks turned tail as soon as they caught sight of the artillery up on the hill...shame though, would have been nice to see those lovely cannons put to good use for once... We’re planning on moving...”

Gord’s voice trailed off as he caught sight of a vagabond distracting a passer-by while swiping his pocketbook. The thief so deftly snaked his hand through to the other man’s inner waistcoat that Gord doubted for a second that it even happened. Gord sighed, and he was having such a good time as well. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to let it slide, and it would bug him later, even if it was just two Bostonians that he didn’t care about. “Hey! You there!” He heard himself shout. All the eyes in the street turned to face him as he jogged over to the nonchalant acting man. “I saw that, you blinking crook.” The man’s eyes widened at his accent

“What’re you going to do about it stinking, one-eyed, lobsterback?” Gord’s face flushed with anger and he pulled his hat lower over his eye. He regretted involving himself immediately.

[rebellioustory]

She listened to Gord and Danny talk about regiments and it made her miss her friends in the 1NJV and hoped that she could maybe get a transfer back into the heavy infantry but in the meantime, it was nice to make friends where she was at the moment. She trailed alongside the two preoccupied with the maple sugar she had purchased with the little pay she had off in her own little world filled with gunpowder, sugar, and her husband. She bumped into Danny when they stopped upon calling a thief out who called Gord a one eyed lobsterback, "Wow, such patriotism you have, my friend. Picking on someone for what he doesn't have because he's doing the right thing. Now, just give the purse back to the gentleman and there won't be a problem." she had to tread carefully with her choice of words for she had a few up her sleeves she chose not to use in the place that started this whole rebellion.

[faithfulguardian]

Danny crossed her arms and stepped up beside Gord, choosing to be the quiet back-up in this particularly touchy situation. she always felt judged when she opened her mouth and spoke in her normal voice, while these Bostonians and all other Americans stood by and talked in their colonial accent.
Bee joined them and defended the new acquaintance of theirs, her accent was nearly the same, and so got less looks than Danny would have. she was glad someone would be there to speak with Gord. she felt bad that the pickpocket had targeted his weakness, and saw the young man was obviously sensitive about it. she gave the man a hard-eyed look, one her father had taught her long ago before he had left. she gritted her teeth and sneered at the man, wanting to reach down and grasp her sword handle, but thinking better of the idea.

OOC. sorry for the ickyness of this one, its 1:30 in the morning haha

[E.Parkreiner]

Gord attempted to plan a way to hastily apologize and retreat, hopefully leaving the whole confrontation behind him. Ironic though, he thought, as he would never have backpedalled on the battlefield. Cannonballs, outnumbered, injured, no matter, forward onto victory! But here he had no rifle...no uniform, or his company. Most importantly he didn’t have his hat. For all the battles he had seen and all the courageous acts he had been a part of, a single cutpurse with braggadocio pointing out his eye, was able to make him wish he hadn’t left his room this morning. However, before the situation could deteriorate any further, Bee stepped forward and made good on his statement of sharp arguments. Danny also stood next to him, and radiated distaste at the small man. Gorden was both surprised and delighted that these new acquaintances of his would so easily step to help him, and made a concerted attempt to regain his composure. He cleared his throat,

“Three to one chap, your move.” The thief, clearly furious at the arrival of the two other uniforms, threw the purse back at the stunned and speechless man he had taken it from and slinked back into the alley. As he left he muttered further unkind words about the three and something about getting back at them. Gord, happy that the situation was resolved amicably, relaxed his posture again. “Thank you for the assistance, I couldn’t uh...ah, remind me to buy each of you a drink some time.” The townspeople, assured nothing more interesting would occur, resumed their chattering and continued on. “Where to, gents?”