Spring comes, and Nie Huaisang is seen with his sabre for the first time since— anyone's guess as to when.
After— after. When Tang Fan is home, and safe, Sui Zhou sees to it that he is comfortable, then moves to take leave of his imposition.
Like a wolf, Hickey senses Crozier's weakness; like a wolf, he descends on him. Like a wolf, he can hardly do anything else.
A scene of traditional seamen's handicrafts, for traditionally handsy (and crafty) seamen.
In a public street, Goodsir gazes at another man with a less-than-scientific eye and gets more than he bargains for.
Cornelius Hickey robs graves. Wouldn't you?
Caleb tries to put himself in a favorable position for the inevitable. It doesn't work out.
“They'll have to make a few surgical incisions, of course.” With a single finger of each hand, Tsurumi traced two lines, one across each side of Ogata's face, from the corner of his warped jaw to the centre of his cheek. “You'll still look fetching as ever, I'm sure.”
On the one night of their journey that suspends itself in the in-between, not yet Hetao but no longer home, Wang Zhi joins him for dinner.
They were nearly at the end of this bout of fucking, when Sergei gave that damned scarf still looping over his shoulders a playful jerk and whispered in his ear if he would mind if he choked him a little?