[ it dawns on him suddenly that maybe the kid keeps calling him scarfy because of. well. his scarf. which would make sense if he was, in fact, around the same age as Teucer (what's a sixth grader??? nothing but a mystery), since that was the sort of thing kids his age tended to do. a lot of things about Gin reminds him of his little brother, and that by itself fills him with the sort of relief that comes with experience dealing with these kinds of situations.

rather than be offended that he doesn't seem to have won him entirely over - being suspected of lying despite everything wasn't exactly a clean victory, he thinks, and sounds more like a compromise with Gin saying he could work with him - Childe only finds himself laughing and shaking his head. smart kid. though he supposes that comes with the whole "been kidnapped before" experience. ]

An ally, huh? I'll take it. My name is Tartaglia - [ he pauses, realizing that that might be a mouthful, though his nickname isn't much better for other reasons. ] - but you can call me Childe. It's nice to meet you, Gin. Have you ever been on a boat this big before?