They stood in a long stretched yard, with doors ending on it, and steps up and down to more doors. Clearly a densely populated area. There was a pump in one corner, and two outdoor privies at the far end. Some ragged children were playing a game with some stones. An old man sat on the steps leading up to one of the doors, smoking a pipe. Four women sat in front of a door, with a tray of mussels and other molluscs between them, cutting them open and collecting the soft bait, the ground around them littered with empty shells. They looked up, greeted Ben and nodded at the stranger, except one - a red-headed girl with a long braid, a fringe, and a rather round face, who looked at Anthony shocked. Anthony might recognize her as the teenage girl who had beaten the shit out of him - if Anthony remembered all the people who had beaten him up. (The list seemed endless.) The girl's face shot red and she quickly turned her head again.

Ben, meanwhile, had nodded at the women and turned back to Anthony. "Aye, I've been sick a few weeks back, and still have a nasty cough, s'all…" he explained. "Listen, we started off on the wrong foot. A friend of Elijah's is a friend of mine. Why don't you come in for some tea?"

Anthony felt very out of place, here. He stood close next to Ben, a bit too uncomfortable with the situation to act like a normal person. Chewing on the inside of his cheek, he glanced towards the women who greeted Ben. The fact that one of the girls was just staring at him did not elude him, and though he felt very uncomfortable and nervous because of it, he pretended he simply hadn't noticed her.

Anthony turned his attention back to Ben. "Oh. Well. Sure. I guess," he said, certainly taken by surprise by the offer. In all truth, he didn't exactly want to do any of that, but what he did want was to be polite and not cause any more drama.

Ben led him up some steps, to the door of one of the cottages. The girl who had given Anthony that look earlier, watched them go up anxiously, and winced as she accidentally cut herself. Ben led Anthony into a room that had one other door, which was slightly open. There was a table, with a bench and quite a lot of chairs, a bed in a corner, a cooking range in the fireplace, and many cupboards and things hanging off the walls. There were nets drying on wires suspended from the ceiling. There was only one window, with thick glass, and the lack of daylight made the cluttered room feel even more cramped.

Ben put the basket on the table. "Please, have a seat," Ben offered, and opened a door in the cooking range, poked the coal with a fire poker, and added some coal. "Are ye from around here?"

Anthony followed after Ben as the latter led him into a room in a cottage. He stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, before finally comprehending the fact that he had been offered a seat, and sat down on one of the chairs. This whole place felt very uncomfortable to Anthony. It was unfamiliar, cramped, and kind of made him feel like he was in a really cluttered jail cell or something. Anthony tapped his foot nervously.

"Yeah. I am. I've been from here for all my life," he said, laughing awkwardly.

"Oh really?" said Ben, finding some tea in a cupboard. "What did yer parents do?" Ben was almost certain he was not one of the fishing community, but he did not look like he was much wealthier than them.

Ouch. That was a question he would prefer to not answer. But he didn't want to cause any more drama or hostility between them, so... "My mum was a prostitute and I don't know my dad," Anthony overshared. And instantly regretted it.

Ben was putting the tea in cups, but his hands suddenly stopped moving. "Oh..." He dropped the tea in the second cup. "I.... err..." His mouth was still half opened as he searched for a response, his back turned to Anthony. What did you say in this situation? "Do you take milk and sugar?" Adequate.

Yeah, he should not have said that. Anthony chewed on the inside of his cheek, looking everywhere except at the other man. He only turned his focus back to him when he finally managed to say something. "No," Anthony answered.

Ben was so awkward that he didn't even register the response and he put milk and sugar on the table anyway. Then he filled the cups with hot water and handed one to Anthony. "I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head. "I had no right to ask questions..."

Anthony accepted the cup that was handed to him and took a sip from it, trying to pretend that he actually enjoyed the tea. "It's fine," it was not fine, "not a big deal or anything. Really."