This poor guy wanted to rescue Theo not only from drowning but from homelessness as well? What a saint. Theo might have even taken the offer, if he hadn't already made a couple enemies in the Hollowed Grounds (he was very good at making enemies). Instead he tuned his voice to the perfect mixture of "embarrassed by his circumstances" and "too proud to accept help." "I appreciate the offer, but I'd rather be in Torchline than over there, especially in the winter. Especially since I hear LongNight gets pretty rough over there."
Theo offered his rescuer an ever-so-slightly wan grin and a wink. "Besides, sleeping on the beach isn't so bad. Bit of an adventure. I'll stay above the tide line from now on."
He wasn't surprised to hear that the man was an Outlander; that would explain the accent. "I'm not from around here either. But my old home was landlocked, so I never learned to swim."
Theo didn't really want to get into detail about that old home, since he was still playing his Outlander ruse -- it made certain people more sympathetic, after all. But he'd come up with something if the other man wanted further details.
can't say good morning without lying twice
