[ so very, very prickly. and over a compliment. wash doesn't mind, for now, acknowledging the remark with nothing more than a slight raise of his eyebrow. d'artagnan approached him with an honesty and vulnerability that tells him that he's serious about learning, and wash will quietly assume that any resistance along the way is less about wanting to be difficult and more about, well. internal struggles. wash won't even necessarily push back too heavily, up until he balks at anything actually important. as always, he takes his responsibilities very, very seriously. ]

Depends on you. [ he gestures slightly with a tip of his head towards the case -- encouraging him to continue examining the ropes, if he likes. that's basically why wash had left them out, after all. ] When it comes to just the ropework alone, I said I could walk you through a lot of the actual basics pretty quickly. If that's all you want to do right now, a lot of people learn by tying themselves first. I can work on my own arm, you can do yours, and I can talk you through it. It's a good enough start.

But you asked for help for understanding the intricacies of it. [ more than just a series of knots, right? the series of knots are important technical skills to learn, and wash has little doubt d'artagnan could wrap his mind around them with some practice, but everything else, well. ] Why I do it, what I'm thinking, what it means for me or whoever I'm working with. For that, either we can just talk -- or you can let me tie you while we talk.