it's mine because it has my name on it
Melita
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
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Posts: 1,070 | Total: 16,313
MP: 3061
#1
JACK

"A'right, a'right," Jack is drawling as the not-at-all-infamous-and-actually-relatively-obscure Jack Tar Landing comes into view through his spyglass, the captain lowering it and shooting a glare back at Melita. "It doesn't look like anythin' special. Fine. But as far as I knew this dock didn't even exist before the war, so who fuckin' knows - maybe it's magic or some shit."

The Ark very rarely takes trips at Longheat, because the baking heat when stuck out at sea is no bueno to say the least, but given Jack's ability to self-generate a breeze and produce ice, things have actually been pretty easy going. Add in the fact that the Ark can take to the skies when night falls and the trip has been shorter than expected, and relatively comfortable.

Doesn't make the dock any less shitty looking, though. "So this is where you started out in Caido, huh."
believer, believe it or not you'll know
when it ends and how it goes
Jack being an Abandoned is common knowledge these days, however his Telepathy remains a well-kept secret.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
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Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,647
MP: 9824
#2
Melita
Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down
He could glare at her all he wanted – she was right. Perched on the upper part of the deck as if she owned it, she glanced back and forth across her fingernails, before finally managing to land her gilded stare upon Jack. “True, we didn’t have any docks.” The alterations were there and present – her eyes had widened upon sighting them, but save for those key differences in land formations and this sudden appearance of Jack Tar Landing (honestly, she’d gagged when she heard it), the sentiments were still the same.

The Grounds was still exactly that – hollow. Listless. Lifeless. A series of people struggling and striving to survive, too tired to pull themselves out and away from the ruts. Maybe they should’ve saved the poor sods and just blown the place up.

“Yuuup,” she drawled further, leaning forward to pat a favored cannon, scratch Sila's head, snag Fangorn into her arms, and then glide across the deck with all the grace of a barbaric horde. Pointing in the general direction of the Inner Quarter, she sneered. “And that’s where we’d hold up during LongNight and listen to monsters.”
to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun
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
#3
JACK

Now, now, Mel, that's no place to talk about home. Well, home once upon a time. Tucking the spyglass away, Jack glances sidelong at the Honeybee as she arrives beside him. Seven is curled around his own shoulders to enjoy the sight and the breeze, and she mewls a greeting down to the girl, as affable and sociable as her bonded is not.

"I can see why you moved to fuckin' Torchline," Jack says, barking out a laugh at the idea of holing himself away anywhere at Longnight. That's when the best parties happened, the best fucking happened, and the shadiest of business could be conducted. Knowing little about the monsters that ravaged the Grounds, he can't help but think the Grounders were probably just cowards about it.

Whatever, though. Whistling through his teeth to the crewman at the wheel, he calls out a few orders to guide them into the docks. The Ark's anchor lowers, as do her sails, and they're brought into Jack Tar Landing with nary a whisper of a problem. "You have fun - I'm gonna get a map," he informs Mel, waiting for the gangplank to lower before hoisting himself off the ship to nose about.
believer, believe it or not you'll know
when it ends and how it goes
Jack being an Abandoned is common knowledge these days, however his Telepathy remains a well-kept secret.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,647
MP: 9824
#4
Melita
Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down
Smiling at Seven, the reaction was wiped clean moments after, staring along the abyss that was the Grounds. Fangorn wrapped his vines around his arms, and Sila crooned something inconspicuous along her shoulder, and the Honeybee began to steel herself for a fucking tour of memory lane that no one was going to want.

“I can give somewhat of a tour,” she offered lamely, standing there, waiting for the plank to be lowered as well. When it finally did, her feet stood planted on the wooden portions, before gritting her teeth, clenching her jaw, and maneuvering forward.

Years spent avoiding the very same soil may not have had much of an impact, but her survival mode had always served her well – it was how she still persisted and existed today. Emboldened and ridiculous, stacking first before anyone else could do the same – safe, ensconced in hellfire and fury. But Jack could get his map, and perhaps they could be on their way quicker.
to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun
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
#5
JACK

Jack doesn't take long to get his map, thankfully, but it's a sorry looking thing compared to the calibre he's used to, and it's with a soft snort that he draws back up beside Mel, a cigarette between his lips and Seven wending annoyingly between his legs. "Look at this shit," he grunts, lowering the scroll enough for her to see.

There are shapes, certainly, and weird hatch marks that he's been told are bridges connecting said shapes, but the only details are the odd series of markings labelled Labyrinth and the largest land mass, called the Inner Quarter. Honestly, he's gotten more info from Mel's thoughts, and given that she hasn't been here for years, that's not a good start.

"You reckon you could give a tour of this shithole?" he wonders, raising an eyebrow down at her.
believer, believe it or not you'll know
when it ends and how it goes
Jack being an Abandoned is common knowledge these days, however his Telepathy remains a well-kept secret.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,647
MP: 9824
#6
Melita
Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down
The map indeed, as Jack aptly put, was shit - giving hardly any indication of the world before them. She only had the mind to snort at the crude marks and barebone details, a little sigh traversing through her lungs. Maybe nothing had truly become any better – not with the passing of time, nor with those daring to remain.

“I can. At least all the old parts.” Her eyes flickered to the water, then to the distant mounds, none of which had been present before she’d escaped the land. The war, and then every shifting thing thereafter, must’ve caused the other alterations; she couldn’t imagine the Ascended and any other inhabitant bothering. Pointing towards the Inner Quarter, she rambled off a series of notions left behind in her stray memories. “Likely still has the temple, domiciles, and Atheneum, the bar, prison, and barracks. Unless all of that burnt down too.” What with the stories of the SparkBird. Her finger maneuvered towards the Labyrinth, half tempted to send him that way because it’d be funny if he got lost. “Exactly what it says. Has a lot of weird shit and squirrels that give you the wrong direction. A glade is around there too.”

Anything about the current landing they were standing along seemed to be nearly nothing, save for the skyport and the familiar bleached overpass. “Bone bridge nearby,” and then she fixed her sights on other fuzzy portions. “Probably ruins too.” The Spire was probably around somewhere as well, unless someone finally took the ugly symbol down. With half a snort, she sighed, hands going back to Fangorn. “Where do you want to start?”
to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun
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
#7
JACK

"Better'n nothin'," Jack grunts; the old parts are a starting point, even if they don't exist any more, or have become something else during the course of the war (and beyond). As Melita elaborates, Jack hassles one of the passing crew so he can use the broad expanse of the sailor's back as a flat surface, leaning the map against it so he can jot down her memories.

"So this Inner Quarter is the only bit worth fuckin' goin' to," he concludes when she's finished, adding small but surprisingly accurate sketches of things like the glade, the ruins (one of which might look like the Spire), the bone bridges, along with a few question marks to denote that they might no longer be there, or not in that exact location.

Sending the sailor on his way when he's done, first of all, fuck you Mel about the Labyrinth, and secondly... "Honestly? There." Jack jabs a thumb over his shoulder back towards the Ark. "Might as well wait until nightfall and try'n get close to the largest island. Least the docks have some stalls to resupply."
believer, believe it or not you'll know
when it ends and how it goes
Jack being an Abandoned is common knowledge these days, however his Telepathy remains a well-kept secret.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,647
MP: 9824
#8
Melita
Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down
Frowning at the poor sailor being used as a mapping device, Melita waited for the decision to be made. She peered over though, watching as the images took shape, sighing as the Inner Quarter seemed to be the only thing pinpointed. She wasn’t sure she wanted anything in particular highlighted – the ghosts of the past pressed and coiled – but she hadn’t expected that answer.

Returning to the ship until nightfall.

But without much more, she nodded mutely, clutching at Fangorn again and listening to Sila croon and warble. “All right,” and she headed back to the ship, wondering why they’d even bothered to leave it in the first place. But that had been the question since the beginning.
to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun
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
#9
JACK

Rolling his eyes hard enough at Melita's back that they might escape his head and smack her between the shoulderblades, Jack lets the Honeybee slink on her way and spends a little longer on the docks. The rest of the crew gather supplies, make small repairs where needed and take stock of everything on the Ark, and the good captain rifles through stalls and minds alike for anything akin to connections. When all is said and done, though, it is back to the ship until nightfall.

He hates Longheat for a lot of reasons, but most specifically right now it's the length of the days; it feels like far too long before the Ark is up in the air, starlight filling her sails and the strange, changed expanse of the Hollowed Grounds stretching away beneath them. "What the fuck is that?" Jack says abruptly, tilting his head towards - you guessed it - a distant, big black dong in the sky on the horizon.
believer, believe it or not you'll know
when it ends and how it goes
Jack being an Abandoned is common knowledge these days, however his Telepathy remains a well-kept secret.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,647
MP: 9824
#10
Melita
Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down
While the crew assisted, Melita volleyed between pouting and glaring, helping where she could, and then occasionally staring out at the horizon, striving to recognize features new and old. She eventually leaned against the railing, head along her palm, elbow resting on the wood, facing a world full of traumas, memories, and irritation.

So she shouldn’t have been surprised when they came upon the infamous outline of that gods damned blackened fixture. The silhouette of it alone was enough to make her curl her lip in disgust, snorting as Jack saw it too – but it was difficult to miss anyway. “That’s the Spire. Its shit.” But seeing as how that was the basis for a lot of things within the Grounds, she began to elaborate. “Had the Voice all over it. Poisonous air. Fucking weird creatures. Portals.” Another mulish and defiant air settled along her soul, eyes narrowing dangerously. “Too bad it hasn’t collapsed already.”
to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun
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
#11
JACK

Melita's thoughts are thorns and nettles, and Jack has been avoiding them thus far because they take far too much concentration for him to entertain. But given that the Honeybee is really the only one who knows shit all about the Hollowed Grounds, he's forced to open himself up to the sludge of her feelings about the matter, finding his nose wrinkling automatically as he glances out towards the Spire.

"So a delight," he finishes, tilting his head towards her before swinging his blue gaze back around towards the distant lights of the Inner Quarter. "If you're good, before we leave I'll swing us by a bit closer an' you can fire a cannon at it."

A small flash out of the corner of his eye has Jack turning his head, the captain's brow furrowing at what he swears is a fucking lightning storm in the far distance. "And that?" he asks.
believer, believe it or not you'll know
when it ends and how it goes
Jack being an Abandoned is common knowledge these days, however his Telepathy remains a well-kept secret.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,647
MP: 9824
#12
Melita
Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down
Her notions could conjure more stinging bombardments, if Jack would only ask; though the statement was music to her ears. “Oooh, yes please,” and her fingers clung to the edges of a nearby cannon, as if incited and rekindled by the mere thought of demolition. After all this time and space, she knew she shouldn’t have been the one to assault the vessel – there were hundreds more burned and scorned and scarred than she, but the Honeybee would have no issue unleashing a firestorm for them.

The flashes are somewhat new, and her lips took on a pursed faction, head tilting vaguely as she recalled and remembered bits and pieces of the past. “That might be new, but there used to be a bunch of lightning storms that kept us from getting to King’s End.” Another barricade, in its own way; she’d never been the one to venture into that plight. With lands maneuvered after the war, maybe this was a residual side effect, even with portions of terrain blistering elsewhere. “Maybe those are the same ones.” Just altered and changed with the rest of the wake.
to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun
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
#13
JACK

Grunting in response to the unexpected politeness that comes along with Melita's confirmation, Jack moves to the railing to inspect both Spire and lightning storms more fully. "So long as nothin' comes outta there and makes life difficult for us," he adds. With their luck, Mel would fire a cannon and actually hit something for once, and a swarm of ex-Voice-mutant-things would attack them.

As for the distant forks of electricity, his brows furrow at her explanation, and he hums something that's neither agreement nor disagreement. "Either way, we better go 'round 'em," he grumbles, calling out a few orders so the Ark adjusts her trajectory; as she goes, Jack takes the liberty of looking straight down.

"You had me thinkin' this place was gonna be an abandoned ruin," he confesses. "S'just fields an' farmland, so far." Nothing remotely Voicey, Spire aside.
believer, believe it or not you'll know
when it ends and how it goes
Jack being an Abandoned is common knowledge these days, however his Telepathy remains a well-kept secret.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,647
MP: 9824
#14
Melita
Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down
Melita couldn’t promise him that, based on everything else that had ever happened in the Grounds, so she shrugged. If something did come out, it’d be another target for her to unravel.

But she wasn’t banking on it. Kinda.

Going around the multitudes of lightning storms was fine by her, and she watched the frenetic dance of elements in the distance with only the slightest air and wisp of nostalgia – for that had been some chaos not so damned and drowned with trauma. Eyes still on the horizon, she snorted at his other implications. “Because for a long time, that’s all it was.” Ruin after ruin, empty lots and houses, the vague sense of emptiness, wide open fields filled with landsharks and mud monsters. “I’m glad it’s changed.”
to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun


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