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sinking - Flora - 09-04-2024
Flora was sinking.
Having gotten up early that morning to try and beat the heat, by the time she'd finished her run, she was drenched in sweat before dawn had done much more than stretch its fingers over the horizon. The sky was still a dusky pink when the Doubletake kicked off her shoes and socks, shimmying out of her sports bra and leggings before slipping her invisibility ring into position and then removing her underwear as well. The water was cold enough to coax out a gasp as she strode into the waves, though after submerging herself Flora's entire body sighed with relief as the ocean chased away the humidity leaving her feeling refreshed and weightless.
Not wanting to slip into wet clothes or walk home naked (invisible as she was), the Doubletake opted to let the rising sun dry her skin. However, not wanting to part from the caress of the sea, she'd positioned herself right on the shore where each pull of the wave sunk her down a little more, and then a little more, until her ankles were completely covered.
RE: sinking - Jack - 09-04-2024
The Ark doesn't sail back into Kaiholo Port - she flies, and it's still such a deliciously new experience during the daytime that Jack thoroughly enjoys her descent into the warm Torchline waters, the way she cuts through the turquoise waves after just being airborne, the way she glides effortlessly into port to put down anchor. It's just past dawn by the time he leaves her and heads off down the coast towards one of his favourite stalls for breakfast - a little tucked away place within the foliage of the palms and grasses, where all but the most vigilant are likely to pass by.
It's on his way back, with a cup of hot, spiked coffee still in hand, that he catches a little twinkle of familiar thoughts, but of course the Doubletake is nowhere to be found. That means nothing to a man like Jack, as Flora will well know by now, and though she's invisible, her clothes are not. Thus the captain finds himself standing beside two suspicious lookingh holes in the sand, the waves lapping around them rather than through them, his coffee in one hand and a pair of very lovely underwear in the other.
[say]"You ought to keep these better hidden,"[/say] he drawls. [say]"There are real shady types about who'd love a pair of your undies."[/say]
RE: sinking - Flora - 09-04-2024
Indeed it had been over a week or so since Flora had spied the Ark docked in the harbour (it had felt like a month, in truth). When she'd gotten up that morning and hadn't spied the big galleon out of her window, she'd assumed it would be another full day (and night) before she might return. So it was that with her eyes closed and a sea breeze pushing back her salty hair and drying her skin, the very last voice she expected to hear was Jack's.
[say]"Ewwwuhh."[/say] The queen gasps as an invisible hand reaches out to snatch away the underwear—and not simply because they were a pair meant for running in rather than being seen in. (They were ugly, okay). Not unable to turn properly toward him with the shoreline slowly devouring her, that Jack couldn't see the smile that blossomed instantly across her face at the sight of him hardly meant much. That she felt excited and relieved made her instantly feel a little foolish, and quickly she tried to douse the girlish flush of her thoughts.
[say]"I didn't expect you back today."[/say] Or even anytime soon, if she was being honest.
RE: sinking - Jack - 09-04-2024
[say]"Ah, don't be like that. This might come as a shock, I know, but there ain't many people out there who are ever actually happy to see me,"[/say] Jack continues with a shit-eating grin, allowing the underwear to be snatched out of his hands even as he quit enjoys the golden flush to Flora's thoughts. What can he say? He's in a good mood, even if there is an extra little star tattooed near left eye these days that he's almost certain Flora will pick up on soon enough.
[say]"Maybe I sailed in just to surprise you,"[/say] he says, nodding out in the distance at The Ark safely docked in the harbour, lifting his cup to take a long sip of his spiked coffee before he offers it out to Flora almost on autopilot. [say]"She flies a lot quicker at night these days."[/say] And a lot in general, though he's not going to give up the ghost on that just yet.
RE: sinking - Serendipity - 09-04-2024
You've encountered the OG random event! This allows you to skip one levelling requirement with the character in this thread. (Unfortunately does not count for characters over level 10, how sad.)
RE: sinking - Flora - 09-04-2024
Truly it was unfair how even the most insignificant bit of attention or affection from the captain delighted the Doubletake, and here she was, biting at the inside of her lip once more in an effort to keep the laughter that sparked on her tongue contained. As she does, whatever mental walls she'd learned to try and construct fell away entirely, allowing the golden delight she felt to colour her every thought. [say]"Well, I am happy to see you."[/say] She huffs softly, finding it a touch harder to stroke the captain's ego the way she'd once been able to do so easily now that the words and thoughts she'd only pretended at before were becoming more and more true.
[say]"Oh yeah, sure."[/say] Rolling her eyes, Flora turns her head and indeed spies the silhouette of the Ark in the harbour. Frowning and wondering if she'd somehow missed her this morning when she'd
Jack will feel the press of Flora's hand against his shoulder at the same time the hole in the sand begins to fill in. Slorping herself out of the shoreline, she reaches for her bra, and, after a moment of fighting with it (truly there's nothing harder than putting on a sports bra when you're still slightly damp), she appears at his side; clothed, in principle, at least.
RE: sinking - Jack - 09-04-2024
[say]"A pity I can't say the same thing,"[/say] Jack says with a smirk around another sip of his coffee since Flora has declined it. Get it? Because she's invisible? Ha ha ha. Even so, he's able to gaze sidelong at the space she's meant to be almost as though he can see her - which probably looks a little odd to anyone watching, but it's still fairly quiet at this time of the morning. (It will likely stay that way all day, given the heat).
As for The Ark, it's a testament to their developing situationship that the captain finds that he doesn't want to keep his ship's upgrade a secret from the Doubletake, no matter the amusement he'd get out of surprising her with it. [say]"You didn't miss her,"[/say] he says airily enough. [say]"She flew in about an hour ago."[/say] All bright and shiny in the daylight, though now they're home, he's of a mind to do some well-deserved maintenance to the ship. (Can anyone say PQ?)
Shifting to brace against the weight she leans against him, Jack dutifully waits for Flora to appear again before he raises his eyebrows and looks her over. [say]"A run during Longheat? Who pissed you off?"[/say] he wonders. Was it me? It's usually me.
RE: sinking - Flora - 09-04-2024
hahHaHaAh. So funny. It isn't at all, and yet Flora hears herself laughing despite the way her eyes are rolling once again, and though she has no such ability, her eyes drift toward his torso as if she might somehow see through his shirt to make sure the injuries he'd sustained up north had healed over.
[say]"She...what now?"[/say] Waiting until she was visible before repeating the incredulous look that had initially come over her, it's only as he turns to look at her and she at him, that Flora notices the second star nestled against the first just below his left eye. Swallowing, she pulls her hand slowly from his shoulder, folding her arms over her chest for a moment before immediately feeling as though she was stifling herself with her own body heat.
[say]"Uhh...no, no one."[/say] She murmurs, her mind immediately flitting to thoughts of Koa and the news about Sohalia he'd shared
RE: sinking - Jack - 09-04-2024
[say]"Good as new,"[/say] Jack supplies as he feels her concern about his injuries, the captain tugging at the already loose collar of his shirt enough for her to see the way he's not even marked from the encounter with the boggart - not thanks to Safrin. [say]"She flew in,"[/say] he repeats, raising an eyebrow as she suddenly recoils into herself, a gesture that has him sighing deeply and finishing the rest of his coffee as if needing the liquor in it more than the caffeine.
[say]"She wanted three,"[/say] he supplies. [say]"Children, I mean. So I renegotiated."[/say] And voila, look at his ship now, all for the low, low cost of actual lives. (#worth, says Jack). [say]"We shook hands, if knowin' will put a smile back on your face. That's it. A handshake, a business meetin'. Happened in a dream, so it's not like I was even really there to begin with."[/say]
Hearing about no one pissing her off and her penchant for running does not, unsurprisingly, convince Jack of anything, though he's learned not to bring up Flora's other boyfriends love life unless he's really in the mood to be bombarded by emotions, or for her to storm off. [say]"Well, if you want to run back towards the port, that's your decision. I'll be walkin',"[/say] he tells her.
RE: sinking - Flora - 09-04-2024
Rising up slightly onto her toes in an effort to peer down Jack's shirt before feeling a touch pervy about it, Flora lowers herself back down on the sand. [say]"Not even a scar."[/say] She murmurs, and had it not been for the mention of the Ark flying in, the queen might not have put two and two together. But that it is mentioned, along with the captain's sigh that she'd learned meant here we fuckin' go and the new star by his eye, there's very little that Flora can do to keep herself from jumping to all sorts of conclusions.
[say]"Thr—"[/say] She starts to say, but then Jack is already providing the answers and gods Flora wishes she'd never unsank herself from the sands given how wobbly her legs suddenly feel. Three children, but he hadn't fucked Safrin? It seemed wildly hard to believe, and yet the ring on her finger remained as cool as the others. The fact that Jack hadn't been with a literal goddess should have made Flora feel better, but not if the reason was because he hadn't wanted to embarrass himself. Of course what the queen wanted to hear was that he DiDN'T WaNt tO Be WiTh AnyOnE buT HeR but they both knew that wasn't true. No doubt it was probably the best handshake of his life, though.
[say]"Yeah right, it's already about ten degrees warmer than when I stopped running."[/say] Reaching to tuck her socks into her shoes, Flora begins to walk toward the port, keeping herself where the waves were still ankle-deep. [say]"So...does that mean you're immortal, now?"[/say]
RE: sinking - Jack - 09-04-2024
[say]"Mm, lucky me,"[/say] Jack agrees, and by the raise of his eyebrows in her direction, he doesn't seem to give a fuck about how pervy it might seem with her peeking down his shirt. He might even take it as a compliment, in fact. [say]"Three,"[/say] he agrees with a nod of his head. [say]"I didn't ask why. If a goddess wants three more kids to call her own, that ain't any of my business."[/say] Not beyond the handshake, anyway. The requirements of his quest had, after all, been to have a baby with Safrin, not to be a parent to whatever child was produced.
Still, as Flora gathers together her shoes and begins to stroll down the coast, Jack does stick close enough to her to reach out and snag an arm around her waist, drawing her against his chest and stopping dead in the sand. [say]"What happened to not wantin' to own me? Just to have me, for a bit?"[/say] he inquires, his voice low enough that despite the emptiness of the beach all around, this is intended to be a conversation that won't be overheard. [say]"And technically I'm just eternally young. But no, not yet. I figured it would be better to approach a starlight goddess at night."[/say] When the stars were out.
RE: sinking - Flora - 09-04-2024
The two of them have gotten into enough arguments and near-fights over their differing points of view that by now Flora knew what was and what wasn't worth arguing about. True, she still sometimes argued with the captain even when she knew it was a last cause, but in this, in the fact that he'd soon be the father to three kids but haha who cares, she knew anything she said (or thought) would just fall on deaf ears.
Inhaling sharply with surprise as if half expecting to feel a blade pressed against her skin rather than his fingertips for the abruptness with which Jack moves, Flora uses her free hand to brace against his arm in order to find her footing and not drag them both into the waves. It isn't an accusation she'd been expecting to hear, not when Jack had been doing literally whatever he pleased whether that meant fathering children, preparing to fuck Safrin, running off to the Grounds to get himself killed, or whatever else he got up to when he wasn't acting inconvenienced to be around her. [say]"I mean, I don't even have that."[/say] The queen protests, of having him for a bit. Their one date had been transactional, and everything else felt like happenstance save for the one night he'd found her by the fountain.
The colour that flushed across her cheeks has little to do with Tallsun and instead perfectly complimented the dark garnet of her thoughts as she gave her head a small shake. [say]"How am I trying to own you?"[/say] She wonders a touch weakly, not able to look him in the eyes because of how distracting the second star suddenly was.
RE: sinking - Jack - 09-04-2024
Drumming his fingers against her bare side as if he might be able to stop the tidal wave of her thoughts before they start, Jack can only raise his eyebrows down at the Doubletake. [say]"And what have you been doin' all this time, if not whatever the fuck you please?"[/say] he asks. With Koa? With Astaroth? With meetings with Dahlia and truth rings and jaunts all across the world for whatever she pleases? He knows better than to paint the air with any of their names, but they hang silently between them nonetheless. (Especially those first two).
[say]"You have me more than anyone else in Caido has me, and that includes Safrin,"[/say] he objects. [say]"No, I didn't shake your hand and promise you three kids I don't care about. But I've shared things with you that no one else knows."[/say] Flora is the only one to have seen a room alive with his magic, the good and the bad, or to witness the captain in anything close to a vulnerable state.
[say]"You're jealous,"[/say] he says simply. It isn't strictly trying to own him, no, but the feeling is enough to make it seem like an invisible cage descending down around him.
RE: sinking - Flora - 09-04-2024
Straightening at that, Flora's lips part to argue before she realizes that he isn't wrong. Only..only..[say]"But you don't care."[/say] She protests; the casual tap tap tap of his fingers against her waist hardly helps matters. [say]"You knew how I felt before all of this, knew.."[/say] Heat and colour splash against her cheeks and across the bridge of her nose at the exact same moment that the tide of her thoughts suddenly rises as if having been hit by a flash flood. [say]"..that I liked you."[/say] That she still did, that she...
Pressing her eyes closed, Flora shakes her head. [say]"But that's the thing. I only have you when compared to the way you treat everyone else."[/say] She mutters, trying not to see the double-star behind her eyelids and thus failing to see anything but it. [say]"That isn't the same as having you."[/say] Her tone has taken on a pleading tone that she doubts will get her anywhere, and gods if this doesn't feel suspiciously like one of those times the pair are simply going to talk in circles around one another.
Tilting her chin upward, Flora barks out an abrupt laugh. Of all the nonsense Jack had ever pulled from her thoughts, that was the one that upset him? [say]"Of course I am."[/say] Incredulity has her thoughts growing