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+---- Thread: i'm not the boy i was before (/showthread.php?tid=10000)
i'm not the boy i was before - Jack - 08-23-2024
[say]"You never know,"[/say] Jack says, speaking softly into the steam-clouded caverns, [say]"maybe this time you'll find one of those gods-forsaken lilies."[/say]
The good captain, of course, is only here for the water for his quest - you know, the quest that Flora thinks is stupid and that has garnered nothing but her disapproval - but hell, she's come along with him, so he supposes he ought to be grateful.
And whilst he's no longer in quite such a state as the one she'd found him in directly after speaking with Safrin, he's still drawn and pale and quieter than usual. He has been the entire trip up to The Climb, and if Flora is in any doubt as to where she sits on the does-Jack-give-a-damn ladder, perhaps the fact that he'd told her specifically that it's nothing she or anyone else has done should give some indication.
Heading deeper into Frey's Breath, he shrugs the satchel from his shoulder and withdraws a decently sized container, kneeling so he might fill it with water from the hotsprings.
RE: i'm not the boy i was before - Flora - 08-23-2024
Snorting under her breath, even Flora who has been handed so many things on a silver platter has all but given up hope of stumbling upon one of the lilies. [say]"Honestly I'm starting to think it's all just some marketing tactic by the ancients to get more people into the Climb."[/say] What for she didn't know, but she'd also never see Frey's Breath more populated than it had been for the past few weeks.
Flora hadn't needed to comment on the captain's appearance for him to be aware of her concern, but his mild reassurance combined with the fact that she'd seen for herself that Safrin's effects had only been mental (devastating as they were), she'd tried to tuck away the plumes of worry that erupted like Ol' Faithful every time Jack took a misstep. 4
Standing at his side, Flora bites at the inside of her cheek as she watches him fill his container. [say]"The urge to shove you in is so strong."[/say] She murmurs, her thoughts suddenly wickedly juvenile despite the knowledge that his revenge would be swift and absolute especially given that water and air was basically all that was around them.
RE: i'm not the boy i was before - Jack - 08-23-2024
[say]"Yes, I can tell,"[/say] Jack drawls, smirking over his shoulder at her. Her mischief sparks through his magic between them like a red rag to a bull, and had he not still been feeling somewhat sorry for himself, the captain might have appreciated the diversion. Alas, if Flora acts on her impulses today, whilst she's certainly likely to be successful, there's more than swift retribution at stake. Jack might sulk about it.
Anyway - filling the container to the brim and steadying it against the hot, rocky ground so he might tighten the cap on it, he glances back up at her once he's done. [say]"If the Ancients are tryin' to get people up here, I imagine it's to eat 'em,"[/say] he points out dryly, raising his eyebrows. He doesn't need to say more than that, he imagines, for the point to hit home in the shape of a tall, well dressed butcher of a man who hadn't known how to keep his teeth to himself.
RE: i'm not the boy i was before - Flora - 08-23-2024
Widening her eyes flirtatiously as if to say can you really?, the queen sighs theatrically and takes a step back from the captain as if to suggest he was safe from her antics. He wasn't of course, she just wasn't going to push him into the springs.
Probably.
Now it's Flora's turn to sulk as Jack mentions Asta, or comes as close to it as he's likely to given that they're in public. She still hadn't responded to the butcher's latest letter though she was fairly certain she was going to send back the gown he'd custom-made for her, no matter how beautiful it had been. [say]"Well if that's the case at least you'll be safe."[/say] She sasses, pulling a large container out of her bag before sinking down onto her knees to fill it. [say]"You don't look like you've eaten since I last saw you."[/say]
RE: i'm not the boy i was before - Jack - 08-23-2024
Allowing himself a private smile as Flora's thoughts grow murky, Jack resists the urge to shake his head and instead tucks the container of water safely back away in his satchel. Only once that's done does he rise back to his feet, adjusting the pack on his shoulder and stepping away to allow Flora to take his place to collect her own payment for quest requirements water. [say]"Ow, my feelings,"[/say] he says flatly in response to her sass, and whilst he'd been (mostly) safe from Flora's antics, there has been no such agreement from Jack.
He reaches out, just ever so slightly, to nudge her with the toe of his boot. It might be enough to topple her balance and send her tumbling into the hotsprings. It might not. Who is Jack to decide matters of fate and luck? [say]"I have eaten, though, thank you. It just hasn't been staying put for all that long."[/say] It's getting better now - his head only hurts a fraction of the amount it had in the days immediately after his visit to the shrine, and he's not yet seen his breakfast again, but they both know he looks like shit.
RE: i'm not the boy i was before - Flora - 08-23-2024
[say]"I'm just thinking about your safety."[/say] Flora hums sweetly in response, grinning at him over her shoulder before turning her attention back to the water and her slowly filling container.
[say]"How stupid do you think I am?"[/say] Flora wonders, and while she'd aimed for her voice to sound flat and a touch annoyed, the smile that curls at her lips and illuminates her thoughts betrays her. Obviously she'd assumed Jack would try and push her in after she'd threatened to do it to him, so she'd sunk down onto the backs of her heels in anticipation.
Sitting filly back onto her calves as she pulls her water from the spring, Flora glances at the captain again over her shoulder and considers. She doubts if he's at all inclined to hear her concerns or take her up on any help she might offer, so instead she opts to keep sassing. [say]"If this is you after, a, what? Three-minute conversation with her and one kiss?"[/say] Flora's head tilts to the side before she gives it a shake; they both knew for all the things Jack was, quick in bed was not one of them. [say]"Unless you want to become a skeleton and go utterly mad, I think you're going to need to find a way to beat three minutes."[/say] Then again, if Safrin didn't actually need Jack that way, what was the point of a race to the finish anyhow?
RE: i'm not the boy i was before - Jack - 08-25-2024
[say]"Yes, of course. Torchline's queen is always so selfless,"[/say] Jack says flatly, though the amusement is written quite clearly across his face. As for his failed attempt to knock her into the water, he can only scoff and raise his hands in defeat at that, stepping back to take a seat on a - yes, a very particular - flat rock to wait for her to be done. [say]"I feel like it's best not to comment on that,"[/say] he drawls. The reality, of course, is that he doesn't consider Flora stupid at all, and her cunning is beginning to mature into something he can fully respect, but of course he doesn't say that either.
And no, of course he isn't interested in the concern he can feel rippling through her thoughts like a gentle breeze across a still lake, and so her sass is almost appreciated in comparison. [say]"Well,"[/say] he mutters, leaning his elbows on his knees, [say]"I can only assume - since it was pretty difficult to actually read any thoughts from Safrin - that she's perfectly capable of appearin' in a way that would be most comfortable to anyone, anywhere."[/say] Telepaths included, presumably.
Which, of course, meant that she'd blown Jack's mind on purpose, which is both terrifying and something he can deeply understand.
[say]"So I guess it depends on what she wants."[/say] Would Jack fuck a goddess? Without a doubt, yes. Would he embarrass himself unnecessarily in the process, though? Yeah, no.
RE: i'm not the boy i was before - Flora - 08-25-2024
The amusement that flickers across the captain's face has him looking almost young for a moment in a way that temporarily wipes away the mentally fractured man she'd come here with. It's fleeting of course, but the golden delight that bubbles up the back of the Doubletake's throat remains long after the captain's smile has disappeared. Then it's his turn to sass her, and in response, she reaches out to give his shoulder a shove. Even if Jack couldn't predict Flora's thoughts he should have known better than to think the queen would let that comment go without a bit of retribution.
What Safrin wanted wasn't the sort of thing Flora was equipped to wrap her mind around. Presumably with Ronin and Sunjata she'd slept with them as a way of adding intimacy into the arsenal she was building to keep them onside, but surely she'd know something like that wouldn't work with Jack. Completely egotistical as it was, Flora couldn't help but think the goddess had been trying to make her feel jealous, recalling the way the goddess had looked at her and said Who'd have thought it would be so easy? after Jack had all but mewled that he was hers. Clearing her throat, Flora peers through the heavy curtain of mist settling atop the water. [say]"So when're you gonna go?'[/say] Not that it was any of her business, but the question was going to be in her thoughts constantly unless she just came right out and asked it.
RE: i'm not the boy i was before - Jack - 08-25-2024
Accepting the shove to his shoulder both because he likely deserves it and also because he's still in no fit state to offer a retort, luckily Jack is already seated on the rock such that he isn't at risk (still) of tumbling into the hotsprings. Unlike with anyone else, of course the silence that stretches between them isn't really silent at all, and he cocks his head as he considers Flora's opinion. [say]"I wish I could say either way,"[/say] he says of the attempt to make the Doubletake jealous. [say]"For what it's worth, I much prefer not to have to mewl to anyone, so you're already winnin' that one."[/say]
As for when he's going to go, Jack wrinkles his nose. [say]"Soon as I feel up to it,"[/say] he says. [say]"Maybe in the next week or two? I figure sooner is better than later for it."[/say] Because whilst he's not keen to utterly ruin himself after just getting back on his feet, it's easier to have this all happen at once rather than get invested in a job only to have his mind melt all over again.
RE: i'm not the boy i was before - Flora - 08-25-2024
[say]"Mmmmmmm."[/say] Flora hums, and if she could have kept the petulance from her thoughts she would have. Alas, she was young and this situation was endlessly complicated such that she could hardly help the insidious flash of green that coated her thoughts as she shrugged. Doesn't feel like winning. If anything it felt like losing in a contest she hadn't known she'd entered because she'd already been told point blank that she'd lose. Still, she knew what the captain had said was basically his version of a compliment so she did her best to shrug it off.
[say]"Makes sense."[/say] Was Jack fucking Safrin really any different than him fucking anyone at the Halenani? Or fucking anyone in general? If anything it would probably be worse which should be reassuring, and yet...[say]"I've got a trip planned to Halo in the next little bit."[/say] Flora says with a small shrug; it wasn't a lie, but nor had the queen actually pinned down the dates for her travel yet. [say]"Maybe you can ask Safrin to put you back in your bed afterward."[/say] Picking up the pieces of the captain after he'd fucked someone else felt like a bit outside of the jurisdiction of the S.S. Situationship.
RE: i'm not the boy i was before - Jack - 08-25-2024
Other might have clarified for Flora, might have offered reassurance to quell the green tint to her thoughts, but Jack considers his work done in terms of giving her details. And thus as she allows herself to drift into silence, as uneasy and unreal as it might be, the captain shifts to get back to his feet and adjusts the satchel on his shoulder, clearly ready to leave the sweltering caverns now that they both have what they came for and there are no lilies to be seen.
[say]"Sounds wretched,"[/say] he says conversationally, of Halo and her planned trip there. Up at the north end of nowhere, blisteringly cold and without any water worth sailing on? It's not Jack's idea of a good time, put it that way. [say]"Maybe I can just think really hard about it before sleepin' and she'll visit me in a dream,"[/say] he suggests. [say]"Wouldn't even need to leave bed, then."[/say]
RE: i'm not the boy i was before - Flora - 08-25-2024
[say]"Yeah, I hate the cold."[/say] The queen agrees with a huff, her mind silently filling in the relevant justification of but Deimos just had a baby so he isn't really in a fit state to travel and I need to talk to him.
[say]"Sounds great."[/say] Flora says brightly, sarcasm hugging her every. That she'd been the one to bring it up wasn't helping to temper the unease she felt imagining Jack basically going to sleep literally praying for a wet dream about the goddess.
Standing as well, Flora slips her water into her bag, adjusting the strap on her shoulder to accommodate the weight. She had more than enough for her purposes
[say]"If you don't need anything else from here, shall we?"[/say] And, given neither of them did, the pair once again left sans any lillies.
~FIN