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+---- Thread: [SE] run baby run (/showthread.php?tid=10210)
run baby run - Jack - 10-06-2024
It isn't often that Jack takes himself off for the day, but there's something to be said for a little bit of quiet, especially when you can suddenly summon lightning with little more than a thought. The magic had been useful against the void sea panther - for the brief moment he had been able to do anything to it, granted - but having since tried to use it with more subtlety, even the captain knows when he needs to improve.
The Ark can be seen from the shoreline of Metacarpal Island, a ruddy-sailed speck in the deep water, and Jack has rowed himself in one of her smaller boats, dragging it ashore and heading up the beach to find a space where he can practice without the island itself trying to make him into a meal. Rolling up the sleeves of his cloud grey shirt (it's new, crisp, and by the tailored fit of it, clearly picked out by Flora during their trip to Stormbreak), Jack takes a breath, gazes out towards one of the bleached skulls in the sand, and focuses.
On the plus side, the lightning that cracks down towards it does hit. But where Jack had intended to merely crackle it with electricity, instead, the skull explodes. And with no one around to see his startled hop backwards, he's once again thankful for his choice of location.
RE: run baby run - Flora - 10-06-2024
While there might be something to be said about a telepath going to a mostly deserted island for a bit of peace and quiet, that isn't what Jack actually has coming his way.
Based on the placement of the Ark and the sudden snap of lightning the queen had a fairly good idea where to search for the captain—she'd been told that he'd taken himself away to the island that afternoon and it had taken the simplest of bribes to hop aboard a fishing vessel heading out that way— but still, she'd had to look for him. Dressed wildly inappropriately to be on a carnivorous island, Flora sported a pair of too-short denim shorts and a white bikini top, the entire ensemble pulled together by delicate golden chains that hung down between her breasts and then wrapped enticingly around her waist. Of course Jack won't be able to see this at first, even as the queen stumbles out of the foliage, having turned invisible to keep herself from being harassed by the local flora and fauna.
From 40ft out he'll feel the warmth of Flora's thoughts like a cloud finally passing over the sun; at 30ft that warmth will begin to be defined by starbursts of excitement and coloured by ultraviolet streaks of adrenaline and youthful affection; at 20ft the golden landscape of Flora's mind will be utterly Jack's to wander through though there's only one thought truly discernable based on how it outshines and eclipses any other idea that might try and take root: I've missed you. Over and over it dazzles and radiates, filling the Doubletake's chest with the overwhelming urge to laugh or scream with nervous delight until it detonates like a supernova as Jack finally comes into view. [say]"Hey."[/say] The casual confidence she'd been aiming for is utterly swamped by her joy, and unless the captain stops her, Flora intends to run to him before leaping into his arms.
RE: run baby run - Jack - 10-06-2024
Having promptly straightened up in the aftermath of his little display with the skull and the lightning, as if there really might be an audience of hundreds watching from somewhere on the island, Jack is busy fussing with the mageglass ring on his finger when Flora's thoughts first prickle to life through his telepathy. Freezing, because it's a very rare thing for the captain to be alone, and any interruption sets a wildfire along his magic, he nonetheless tenses and then relaxes in a matter of a second or two.
Flora's mind is as familiar to him as his own these days, though he hasn't anticipated the intensity of her thoughts as they swarm him; with no other souls around to distract or take up valuable mental bandwidth, Jack is free to drown in the Doubletake and everything she is. Her joy vibrates in his bones, making the sun brighter and the colours of the foliage more intense, and Jack turns only moments before she's jumping into his arms.
With calloused hands slipping beneath her thighs, Jack stumbles only a step or two as he catches her, and he turns his head up to find her lips in a kiss that says much more than hey. Only when he's satisfied that he's been able to taste the gold in her thoughts does he part from her, an eyebrow raised questioningly. [say]"Are you stalking me, love?"[/say] he wants to know.
RE: run baby run - Flora - 10-06-2024
Had he not captured her lips so quickly, Jack would have found himself peppered with kisses as Flora wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs coiling around his waist. Perhaps it had always been his plan to avoid that, but if it had, the queen was more than happy to gild the captain's silver tongue with a bit of gold before pulling away. Delighted nearly to the point of being breathless as Flora straightens in the captain's arms, her tongue is paralyzed by the way her mind can do little more than drown in the blue of Jack's eyes as the waves of I missed you, I missed you, I missed you slosh against her every thought.
[say]"You can joke about that now, but I've nearly done everything Safrin has asked me to do to get that ring."[/say] Especially with her invisibility, if she ever mastered the ability to block Jack from her mind she really would be able to properly stalk and sneak up on him; knowing how much he'd hate that only had Flora grinning all the more.
Uncoiling herself from around him and letting herself drop back onto the ground, the queen smoothes invisible wrinkles in Jack's shirt, her thoughts bright with approval. [say]"You look good."[/say] She hums under her breath, and only because it was still the height of Longheat did she force herself to take a step back.
RE: run baby run - Jack - 10-06-2024
Near dizzy with the force of Flora's emotions as they grow positively kaleidoscopic, flooding his mind with love and I miss yous and whatever else she can conjure, it's a wonder that Jack doesn't stumble over his own feet or drop her entirely by accident. Thankfully able to keep his wits enough to steady himself and gaze up at her in his arms, he offers her raised eyebrows and a devilish smirk in response to her remarks.
[say]"I suppose we'll soon find out how good my other senses are,"[/say] he supposes, wondering if after all this, Flora's perfume will still give her away if she tries to sneak up on him. Alas, stealth isn't why he's come out here, and as she drops back to the sand, the captain is able to think a little more clearly about the (remnants of) skull across the beach. [say]"That makes two of us,"[/say] he says, his fingers tracing the loops of gold that plunge between Flora's breasts.
[say]"How was the Oerwoud?"[/say]
RE: run baby run - Flora - 10-06-2024
If and when the day comes that Jack ever manages to say I love you, better he down an entire bottle of Advil if he's at all inclined to think that this is what constitutes an emotionally bright reaction from someone like Flora.
[say]"Can't wait."[/say] She purrs, and indeed if one day the smell of
[say]"Ugh."[/say] Rolling her eyes, Flora presses her fingertips against her temple, leaning into the pressure. [say]"We managed it, but..."[/say] But the queen had once again been knocked to shit (39% health bby), had been drowned in disgusting void-goop, and had missed her target far more than she would have thought possible given that the entire fucking jungle seemed to have come alive. Recalling images of Noah pierced by the roots, of Sah battering him inadvertently as well as the general air of chaos and lack of preparation, Flora merely smoothed out the hair going into her ponytail before shrugging. She'd used her compass to go directly back to the healing fountain afterward with Noah so she'd ended up fine, but even without the benefit of telepathy it was clear just by looking at the Doubletake that she wasn't pleased with how things had gone.
[say]"I'm coming to realize that I really only like it when you're the one throwing me around."[/say] She admits with a laugh that doesn't quite reach her eyes.
RE: run baby run - Jack - 10-07-2024
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes (of course Flora would find the good in any scenario where he'd be able to catch her out) instead Jack allows himself to stay distracted for a few moments more on the twinkling gold chains and the way they drape across her barely clothed body. His blue eyes do flick back up to her face as she focuses properly on the Oerwoud and all that had happened there, even if his fingers continue their explorations; all that Flora experienced plays back in the captain's mind, his brow furrowing as he sifts through memory and emotion.
[say]"Y'know, I'd have expected more from a demigod,"[/say] he mutters; Noah had been present for the fight on the beach, too, and it had still taken calling in the big guns extra help to put the panther down. Still, it's easy to pick at others' faults, but the truth of the matter is that Jack is out here to better himself as well. (And it's in large part because of how things had gone down along the coast).
[say]"Well, in the interest of not gettin' thrown around, how's your dodging?"[/say] He smirks, nodding over his shoulder at the ground blemished with ash and glass from his lightning strike.
RE: run baby run - Flora - 10-07-2024
[say]"Right?"[/say] Frowning, for all the times that Noah had friendly-fired upon her, Flora didn't really have any issues with the demigod. She'd thought he was kind of hot, once upon a time when she'd first met him in Halo, though even back then he'd been far too lawful-good to have seemed like much fun. Even so, she couldn't help but think that he somehow seemed behind the others. [say]"I mean, I think he's in the same boat that Ronin is in. Most of his magic is useless against the void."[/say] Flora offers with a small shrug.
The press of Jack's fingers cuts through the golden glimmer of the queen's thoughts as she imagines how it would feel to have the captain's body sandwiching hers against one of the nearby palms, and how her skin would look covered only by the golden chains and his hands. [say]"Mm?"[/say] Glancing over her shoulder where the skull had once been, the Doubletake narrows her eyes skeptically as she looks back at Jack. [say]"You aren't suggesting I try and dodge lightning, are you?"[/say]
RE: run baby run - Jack - 10-07-2024
[say]"Maybe he ought to leave all the void-related fights to demigods who can make a difference, then,"[/say] Jack says, his logic caring little for feelings or alignment or the kind of man that Noah undoubtedly is behind his ineffective skillset. Letting his fingers drift down Flora's torso towards her navel, only as she (rightly) calls out his idea does he let a grin flash across his face, shrugging his shoulders. [say]"You just said you were tired of gettin' thrown around. You could use your invisibility ring if you wanted."[/say]
Not that it would matter much to Jack, but he's still less likely to get a precise hit on her if he can't see her, especially if his focus is on a very different branch of his magic. [say]"I'm just sayin', if you expect me to keep givin' you the good kind of shocks, it's probably an idea for me to practice not electrocuting everythin' I see."[/say]
RE: run baby run - Flora - 10-07-2024
Leaning into his touch as if Flora might trick Jack's fingers into slipping beneath the waistband of her shorts, the queen snorts a huff of laughter that has the muscles of her stomach tightening enough for the delicate chains to dance across her skin. [say]"Yeah, thrown around. Not electrocuted."[/say] Flora counters, before rolling her eyes; leave it to Jack to make it sound like his control over his new magic was her problem.
[say]"If you kill me, I doubt even I could stop my dads from killing you."[/say] The Doubletake warns, though despite the way she points an accusatory finger at Jack, her thoughts are steeled by the challenge he proposes as she backs away from him. [say]"I think I'll stay visible."[/say] Flora adds, seeing no reason for Jack to just blindly start shooting bolts of lightning around if the point was for him to better hone his skill.
With sweat already trickling down Flora's spine and causing the baby-hairs around her face to curl, the queen stops when she's put about 15ft between them. [say]"Alright. Hit me with your best shot."[/say]
RE: run baby run - Jack - 10-07-2024
[say]"All my problems are your problems now. Ain't that what they say about relationships?"[/say] Jack quips, his expression turning very smug indeed. (Listen, it's not often he can use the fact that they're together to his advantage quite like this).
[say]"And much as I appreciate the confidence you have, I don't reckon I could kill you with this. I've seen you walk off worse than a little bit of lightning."[/say] Even so, Jack does remove his mageglass ring, slipping it into a back pocket whilst Flora gets situated.
[say]"Don't let me,"[/say] he retorts with a smirk, rolling his shoulders and taking a steadying breath before reaching for the newest, most volatile strand of magic in his blood. Letting the electricity crackle around his fingers at first, it takes visible focus before Jack seems ready, and he lets it crackle out towards the Doubletake in a whiplash of lightning.
RE: run baby run - Flora - 10-07-2024
[say]"Is that what they say?"[/say] Flora counters, and while it might not be her wittiest retort, hopefully she'll be forgiven as hearing Jack say the word relationship out loud has rendered the queen a touch tongue-tied, and not for the reasons one might think. It makes her heart pitter-patter a little, yes, but it also sounds so wildly absurd leaving the captain's lips that Flora can do little more than smirk crookedly at him.
[say]"I'm going to take that as a compliment."[/say] The Doubletake calls over her shoulder, preferring to interpret the captain's comment as calling her strong rather than saying he could be careless without there being any fatal damage.
Wearing only sandals
RE: run baby run - Jack - 10-07-2024
[say]"It is a compliment,"[/say] Jack insists, though whatever amusement lingers in his expression vanishes as they get to work. And for good reason, too - however impressive the explosion the lightning makes on contact with the ground (and it is the ground, he's almost glad to note, and not Flora) - it's still far more wild than the control freak of a captain would like. And so as the Doubletake invites him to strike again, he shakes out the sparks from his hands and forces a sense of calm.
The bolt of electricity he throws towards her next is arguably less showy if no less potent, Jack's eyes narrowing as if that will help his aim at all. He has every faith, strangely, that Flora will dodge out of the way of this one as well. Give it a couple more shots and he might even hope he hits her. Not yet, though.
RE: run baby run - Flora - 10-07-2024
Flora, newly crowned queen of rolling absolutely terribly, is once again nearly caught by the bolt of lightning that Jack sends her way. She avoids it by a slightly larger margin this time, though it's certainly not the sort of athleticism that they both know she's capable of. Were it someone else they might have thought she was merely letting the strike come close to boost their ego, but given the way adrenaline sings through the Doubletake's body causing her thoughts to shiver with a frustrated sort of anxiety, Jack would have to work pretty hard to interpret the nearness of his strikes as anything to be proud of.
Hissing out a breath as she straightens, Flora wipes her forehead with the back of her arm. She could complain about her footware, about the difficulty of running on sand, about the heat, but in the end, what did it matter? Not all attacks would be ones she could foresee—the presence of the void cat on the beach had proven that—but nor had Flora faired all that better even when she had been prepared.
Balling her hands into fists, all the hours she'd spent going for runs and lifting weights simply to look hot now seemed like a waste of time. In that moment Flora realized that she didn't just want to be thin, but to be strong. Strong enough to hold herself in whatever position Jack fancied while she was suspended above the ground in a swing, and certainly strong enough to take down whatever the fuck might try and come at her next.
[say]"Again."[/say]