that's on you, babe
Flora Kaito-Taliesin
the Doubletake
Owner of The Hanged Man / Queen of Torchline

Age: 21 | Height: 5'7" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 30 - Endr: 35 - Luck: 34 - Int: 1
SPICE - Mythical - Dragon (Ice Breath)
Played by: Odd Offline
Change author:
Posts: 961 | Total: 16,193
MP: 3059
#1
flora

Rather than enjoying the way the descending sun was bruising the sky in violent shades of indigo and garnet, the Doubletake paced back and forth along the shoreline, stealing glances at the falling star and wondering if dusk was really worth waiting for. It was, she knew, especially for a deity like Safrin who enjoyed the pomp of being summoned, but gods, had it ever taken quite this long before?

Dressed humbly (for Flora), in what would have passed for Daisy Dukes in other worlds, and a cropped shirt, the girl kicked out at the lapping waves, enjoying the spray of droplets that her bare feet sent out and the way the minnows in the shallows seemed to disappear rather than swim away, from the pelting drops. Every now and then she'd pause to glare up at the sun, huffing in disappointment when it hadn't suddenly disappeared, before resuming her slow march across the island's shore.
what doesn't kill me makes
me want you more
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Jack Barclay
Captain of the Ark

Age: 34 | Height: 5'10 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 7 - Strg: 16 - Dext: 21 - Endr: 18 - Luck: 7 - Int:
SEVEN - Mythical - Sear Cat
Played by: Honey Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,070 | Total: 16,313
MP: 3061
#2
JACK
Jack doesn't need telepathy to know that Flora is pacing across the shoreline. He can see her, for a start, even if she might be little more than a silhouette against the dying rays of light. And if she continues to pace with such intent, the odds are good that she'll be walking in a trench soon enough.

As for the captain, with his tethers loose thanks to renouncing his council position, he has been ensuring his business connections remain steadfast and that said businesses are booming despite the new leadership and whatever inevitable chaos that may bring. When, and only when those affairs are finished does he drift down onto the beach.

Not bothering to announce his presence, he merely draws up beside Flora as the sun finally starts to dip beneath the horizon, a cigarette between his lips and another held out for her to take. Her thoughts are a swarm of bees, and he isn't sure yet whether he's in the mood to be stung.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Yes, he knows, he's hilarious.
you wanted perfect, you got your perfect
but now I'm too perfect for someone like you
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Jack being an Abandoned is common knowledge these days, however his Telepathy remains a well-kept secret.
Flora Kaito-Taliesin
the Doubletake
Owner of The Hanged Man / Queen of Torchline

Age: 21 | Height: 5'7" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 30 - Endr: 35 - Luck: 34 - Int: 1
SPICE - Mythical - Dragon (Ice Breath)
Played by: Odd Offline
Change author:
Posts: 961 | Total: 16,193
MP: 3059
#3
flora

It's the smell of cigarette smoke as much as anything else that alerts the Doubletake to the fact she's no longer alone, and it's with eyes narrowed into accusatory aqua slits that she rounds on..oh. Softening before instantly hardening again, Flora snatches the cigarette from Jack's fingers as if he might try and tease it away from her if she wasn't fast enough.

Or good enough.

Or whatever other reasons had caused Torchline to turn against her.

The dramatic flare of her thoughts was inflated even for Flora. That her ego was so wounded was entirely her own doing, though rather than letting the smoke from Jack's cigarette soothe the swarm in her mind, she instead further antagonized them with the wink of flame from his lighter.

"I hate it here." Flora snaps, her words hostile and her posture sulky. "And I hate Harper." Her mind's eye saw Remi's tentacles pouring out of Harper's orifices as she used her feathers to flay the skin from his bones that she might tan it in the sun to make a purse for her brother.
what doesn't kill me makes
me want you more
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Jack Barclay
Captain of the Ark

Age: 34 | Height: 5'10 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 7 - Strg: 16 - Dext: 21 - Endr: 18 - Luck: 7 - Int:
SEVEN - Mythical - Sear Cat
Played by: Honey Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,070 | Total: 16,313
MP: 3061
#4
JACK
Shielding her cigarette from the wind and creating a soft bauble of light until it's appropriately aflame, Jack snaps his lighter shut and tucks it into his back pocket. He feels the vibrations of her bruised ego like fists pounding against thick glass, and were he not who he was, the parade of grotesqueries that come after might have made him shy away. As it is, Jack is merely impressed by the span of her imagination.

"Do you want to leave?" he asks, smoke spilling from his lips with the words. "Or just to get even?" Both have merit and both are doable, in his personal professional opinion, and given that the captain possesses a very vicious mind himself, he knows which he's more inclined to pick.

Alas, if Flora is looking for him to opine about his feelings on her staying or going, we all know that's a dead end.
you wanted perfect, you got your perfect
but now I'm too perfect for someone like you
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Jack being an Abandoned is common knowledge these days, however his Telepathy remains a well-kept secret.
Flora Kaito-Taliesin
the Doubletake
Owner of The Hanged Man / Queen of Torchline

Age: 21 | Height: 5'7" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 30 - Endr: 35 - Luck: 34 - Int: 1
SPICE - Mythical - Dragon (Ice Breath)
Played by: Odd Offline
Change author:
Posts: 961 | Total: 16,193
MP: 3059
#5
flora

Flora watches the lazy whorls of smoke trickle up Jack's cheeks as she considers. "Yes." She decides after a moment, her gaze suddenly becoming focused and sharp. Wrapping one arm under the other as she raises her cigarette to her lips, the Doubletake drags deeply. Far gone are the days of pretending to smoke; thanks to Jack's presence in her life, Flora no longer has to mime liking the taste of tobacco or knowing how to shoot back whiskey with grimacing.

"I don't want to stay if all Torchline wants to be is some perfect seaside jewel. I'd go to Stormbreak if I wanted rules and.." Unable to properly article what she meant, Flora held out her pinky finger as she waggled her cigarette. "Torchline had soul once, and now it's all about everyone holding hands and being safe." Where were the fountains of booze? Was the brothel even running anymore? Was it really just all politicians and upstanding citizens?

"I do want to make Harper pay for what he said about my family. One way or another." She adds before blowing smoke up into the sky as if to hurry the moon.
what doesn't kill me makes
me want you more
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Jack Barclay
Captain of the Ark

Age: 34 | Height: 5'10 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 7 - Strg: 16 - Dext: 21 - Endr: 18 - Luck: 7 - Int:
SEVEN - Mythical - Sear Cat
Played by: Honey Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,070 | Total: 16,313
MP: 3061
#6
JACK
Jack feels the focus tighten and fire in her mind like a detonating firework, the captain gazing sidelong at the Doubletake as if seeing her, for the first time, as a woman he might work with, instead of merely manipulating and fucking. (No promises either one of those will end, though). "Mm, the war has dried up a lot of the good business," he remarks with reluctant agreement, because even criminals want to stay alive at the end of things.

And he'd be lying to say that a lot of his connections hadn't bitten the bullet when the islands broke the fuck apart, too. "Who better to make him pay than your family?" he wonders with a raise of his eyebrows. "Your appeal to Torchline did point out that at the snap of your fingers, you could call down demigods. Why not show 'em what they could've won?"

Unable to help it, Jack laughs to himself. "All's the better if they show up to test whether shit's really as safe as it seems." Alright though, now he's just being petty and vindictive.

"Been thinkin' about takin' a longer voyage," he adds, frowning out at the lapping waves. "Lot more places out there than there used t'be."
you wanted perfect, you got your perfect
but now I'm too perfect for someone like you
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Jack being an Abandoned is common knowledge these days, however his Telepathy remains a well-kept secret.
Flora Kaito-Taliesin
the Doubletake
Owner of The Hanged Man / Queen of Torchline

Age: 21 | Height: 5'7" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 30 - Endr: 35 - Luck: 34 - Int: 1
SPICE - Mythical - Dragon (Ice Breath)
Played by: Odd Offline
Change author:
Posts: 961 | Total: 16,193
MP: 3059
#7
flora

"But the war is over. The Voice is gone, and...yeah, I'm pretty sure all the ascended are gone too." Flora agrees despite her hostile tone. "I know people will always find something to fight about, but gods, it's like they all forgot how to have fun. Like being safe is somehow more important than living." Had anyone used the bubble stream thing they'd all worked on? Had the stargate actually helped during the war? Because if not, they could have magical firelight on the beaches, or whiskey fountains, or personal fucking clouds to carry them around on instead.

Though Jack was one of the last people to let your guard down around, Flora finds herself sighing as her shoulders sag. "If I had during the meeting, no doubt Harper would have said I wasted my channeling on being petty." She says sourly. "Ronin would have just...played the diplomat, probably. He doesn't like ruffling feathers if he doesn't have to. Remi would have, probably. I thought about calling down Frey, but I don't think they'd care, and I know Harper is a follower of Safrin, but..." Glancing over her shoulder toward the shrine, the Doubletake shrugs a touch coyly. "Well, I happen to think she'll be very interested to know what was said about her favourite demigod."

Raising her cigarette to her lips and making a mental note to practice the smoke-thing Jack was able to do with his tongue, Flora smiles in the wine-drunk light settling over them. "There certainly are...and the Hollowed Ground and Greatwood are just...empty." Ripe for the taking one might say, but she didn't think that's what either of them really wanted.

"I wonder if Remi could drop a dragon onto Harper's house." Flora wonders offhandedly, grinning at the darkening waves.
what doesn't kill me makes
me want you more
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Jack Barclay
Captain of the Ark

Age: 34 | Height: 5'10 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 7 - Strg: 16 - Dext: 21 - Endr: 18 - Luck: 7 - Int:
SEVEN - Mythical - Sear Cat
Played by: Honey Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,070 | Total: 16,313
MP: 3061
#8
JACK
Similarly, Jack doesn't think he's ever been in such hard agreement with Flora, and he huffs out a laugh clouded by smoke and flicks the ash from his cigarette. "Used to be a lot more fuckin' colourful," he agrees, which feels like a cold knife being shoved up and under his ribs; he takes a long drag from his cigarette and holds it for a moment in his lungs, as if he might burn the feeling out.

"Harper couldn't have said shit if you'd have channeled them to launch him out into the ocean," he points out, frowning at the sea as it begins to lose the touch of sunset, pooling ink and winking stars instead. "Could always go to Safrin, though. Ain't sure any of the demigods have been up to much lately." He's got spiderwebs and networks that span for miles, and other than seeing a few of the wAr HeRoEs on social calls to Torchline, they're doing fuck all as far as he knows.

"Empty isn't all that interestin'," he mutters, though they've obviously got different motivations. "A dragon. Or an elephant." He smirks.
you wanted perfect, you got your perfect
but now I'm too perfect for someone like you
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Jack being an Abandoned is common knowledge these days, however his Telepathy remains a well-kept secret.
Flora Kaito-Taliesin
the Doubletake
Owner of The Hanged Man / Queen of Torchline

Age: 21 | Height: 5'7" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 30 - Endr: 35 - Luck: 34 - Int: 1
SPICE - Mythical - Dragon (Ice Breath)
Played by: Odd Offline
Change author:
Posts: 961 | Total: 16,193
MP: 3059
#9
flora

"True, but they could have still voted for him." Looking down at her cigarette and vaguely wishing it was one of Mateo's special ones, the Doubletake presses her tongue against the inside of her cheek and shakes her head. "I should have just rigged the election." She says in the midst of a sigh.

Talk of Safrin and demigods has Flora's eyes twinkling mischievously. "I think the sweet spot is staying an Accepted, honestly. I'd never want to be a demigod with all the strings, and committing to being just a zoo?" (No offense Sunjata). The girl shakes her head. "Even if it is only once a season, calling down a god is something so many people give up way too quick in my opinion."

Would she trade it for magic? Absolutely. Barring that though, she was content to stay as she was.

"Oh come now Jack." Nudging the captain's shoulder with her own, Flora grins. "Where would he find an elephant in the mountains?"
what doesn't kill me makes
me want you more
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Jack Barclay
Captain of the Ark

Age: 34 | Height: 5'10 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 7 - Strg: 16 - Dext: 21 - Endr: 18 - Luck: 7 - Int:
SEVEN - Mythical - Sear Cat
Played by: Honey Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,070 | Total: 16,313
MP: 3061
#10
JACK
"You should've," Jack agrees with a smirk, his voice muffled around another drag on his smoke. "It's what I'd've done." What he'd have done if she'd asked him to, as well. But it's proof of Torchline's beigeness that this time around merely hearing Jack's support wasn't enough to get the candidacy decided. (That's his humble interpretation of things, anyway).

Humming nonchalantly regarding her mystical Accepted status, the captain tosses the butt of his cigarette to the ground and crushes it underfoot. "Alas, some of us were just born tainted, I guess," he drawls, and as if responding to his words, the tide before them merely refuses to go back out thanks to his water manipulation.

"Might be elephants up there. You dunno," he says petulantly, before sighing out the last few days on a final, clean breath, and rolling his shoulders. "Guess it's back to hard work for me," he mutters. "An' perhaps the odd assistance from a lady who can call gods?"
you wanted perfect, you got your perfect
but now I'm too perfect for someone like you
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Jack being an Abandoned is common knowledge these days, however his Telepathy remains a well-kept secret.
Flora Kaito-Taliesin
the Doubletake
Owner of The Hanged Man / Queen of Torchline

Age: 21 | Height: 5'7" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 30 - Endr: 35 - Luck: 34 - Int: 1
SPICE - Mythical - Dragon (Ice Breath)
Played by: Odd Offline
Change author:
Posts: 961 | Total: 16,193
MP: 3059
#11
flora

Flora's cheeks flush, and not because she was embarrassed that she'd somehow failed Jack, but out of some strange sibling to pride. That she, Flora, had come to the same conclusion as Jack about the best way to win an election? Swallowing and hazarding a glance down at her toes, the Doubletake smiles around her cigarette and just nods.

"Ahh, yes." Flora agrees, rolling her eyes playfully. "So tainted." The word conjures up images of Jack's teeth against her shoulder, of sand beneath her fingernails and a silent and shadowy audience watching their bodies intertwine in the firelight. This certainly wasn't a Frey shrine, but somehow Flora thought Safrin might not turn up her nose if the Accepted chose to worship on her knees, as it were.

"Mmm?" Blinking as if to clear the memory of her own moans from her thoughts, Flora's smile is of the I-Hope-You-Didn't-Say-Anything-Important variety. "Perhaps." She coos softly, biting at the inside of her lip. "You always know where you find me."

Telepathy or not, somehow that had always proved to be the case.

~FIN
what doesn't kill me makes
me want you more
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!


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