flannel cure

your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand

"Mmhmm, and what about them?"

Trying to distract Jack from the thought of getting back onto the skyship, as the passengers gather and mill about waiting to board, the Doubletake slips her arms around the captain's shoulders as if she was nothing more than a lovestruck girl with nothing else to do than be clingy. Really, it was only so that Jack could whisper secrets into her ear that anyone around might mistake as sweet nothings.

Already he told her the dirty secret of a couple nearby, both who were cheating on the other but who refused to leave because of a substantial amount of money they both stood to lose, and so pawed at one another and paid the appropriate lipservice to convince the other nothing was wrong. The funny part was that if they were honest with one another, things would be significantly better for both of them.

JACK

"Them?" Jack drawls, not needing to even look the direction Flora means, able to lift from her mind that she's asking about the group of strangely subdued men standing apart from the rest of those waiting for the ship. Letting an arm slip casually around her waist and keeping the other in his pocket, he falls silent for a moment before scoffing out a laugh for her ears only.

"They came to hunt down some of the ferocious new beasts out here," he informs her, voice barely beyond a whisper. "They ended up havin' a rather intimate few hours with each other unexpectedly, an' now they don't know where to look." He has to block them out for a moment or so, actually, because the awkwardness is really getting too much.

believer, believe it or not you'll know
when it ends and how it goes

your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand

Inhaling her surprise and delight, though her smile will be lost in the fabric of Jack's shirt the captain will still be treated to the mischief now rife in her mind. Uncoiling her arms from around his neck, Flora laces her fingers through one of Jack's as she casually tugs him after her as if merely wanting to be in a better spot to wait for the skyship. With little more than a cursory glance toward the two men, as if they'd only briefly caught her eye, the Doubletake flashes them an illustrious grin as she calls out, "You two make such a cute couple," in a voice that's just a little too loud. Flora crinkles her nose affectionately as they pass as if it had been her duty as someone also part of a very cute couple to point out others.

Does this mean you're going to get all weird around me now? Flora thinks, grinning up at Jack, only able to imagine the awkwardness her comment had caused before wondering in turn what it would be like to see Jack all awkward and unsure of himself like the two men were.

JACK

Ferried along in Flora's wake, Jack completes their image of a cute couple by not rolling his eyes as the aloof yet casually intimate shadow to the Doubletake's vibrant presence. Offering little more than a smirk as she chirps at the (rightfully mortified) men nearby, it's with his arm still laced around her waist that he raises his eyebrows. "Love, I am already weird around you. Ask anyone on my ship," he purrs, knowing the multiple meanings that risk interpretation from such a statement, and making it anyway.

The captain is about to speak again when something evidently catches his interest; he grows still and his expression melts into something carefully neutral, fingers flexing subtly against Flora's waist. "There's a rather interestin' conversation going on over there," he murmurs, the worst almost spoken against the Doubletake's ear. Behind them, close to the cliffsides, a man and a woman are speaking quickly and quietly to one another. Every now and then, one of them glances quite obviously towards where Flora stands.

believer, believe it or not you'll know
when it ends and how it goes

your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand

"You really want me to do that?" The queen chirps back, her mind cherry-picking the interpretations that best suited her, obviously, and had Jack not wanted that to happen he knew damn well better by now to choose his words more carefully. He also knew how calling her love tended to have butterflies taking wing in her belly but he still did that often enough.

About to nudge Jack back to life as he stills, recognizing what it was he was likely doing, Flora did her best to try and slow the tide of her own thoughts, focusing dimly on just one thing—an errant string on the corner of Jack's shoulder—that she might not drown out whatever he was trying to hone in on. Go on.. Snaking her arms around the captain's chest and leaning her mouth and nose against his shoulder in a pantomime of bored girl waits for ship with broody boyfriend, the queen lets her eyes brush casually over the two figures.

Are they looking at us?

JACK

"Only one way to find out," Jack fires back - ask them, Flora. Jack secretly wants to hear them stumble over the answers - but more on that later, because there's fuckery afoot, and where the captain would normally shy away from having Flora all over him like this, it's different when it's matters of murder, or business, or occasionally both of them at the same time. "They are looking at you," he purrs against her ear, leaning in just enough to make it seem as though he's kissing the side of her neck.

"They know who you are, and they've stolen quite a pretty penny from Torchline over the past few weeks. They just got done hidin' it up here. I know where it is, but I'm more interested in findin' out more about them than the shit they stole," he tells her, straightening up just as a shape appears overhead in the form of the approaching skyship.

believer, believe it or not you'll know
when it ends and how it goes

your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand

"Great." Flora confirms brightly, no longer quite sure what to expect now that the captain is supporting the idea, but of course having absolutely no intentions of backing down either.

Normally those words would have the queen inclined to give onlookers something to look at, but Jack's tone suggests their eyes aren't roving over her in quite the way she'd normally have thought. Tilting her head in slightly, the queen hides the feathering of her jaw against the captain's chest in order not to give away their cover, though her fingertips do flex subtly against his back as her thoughts turn a deep scarlet.

As he straightens, Flora beams up at him even though her eyes remain sharp and cold; no one save for Jack would be able to tell she was anything other than girlishly happy to see the skyship appear. How do you want to play this? She thinks, turning and making a fuss over pointing up at the ship as if it might have escaped Jack's notice.

We could try and separate them..?

JACK

"Easy, love - they're no threat to you. I can tell that even from here," Jack murmurs against Flora's soft skin, the crimson splashes of her thoughts flecking against his magic like blood from an artery. Straightening up enough to turn and look where she points, a faint smile curls across his lips and he guides them towards where they'll be expected to climb the ladder to board the skyship - it doesn't take them any closer to the couple, but it certainly allows them not to have their lips read so easily, should they be inclined.

"It's a long way back to Torchline," he continues, leaning in as if he's explaining something about the ship to the Doubletake. "Plenty of time for accidents to happen. Unless Her Highness wants to be merciful?" He raises an eyebrow.

believer, believe it or not you'll know
when it ends and how it goes

your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand

Shivering ever so slightly as if they'd been back inside Frey's Breath with Jack's magic freezing the sweat on her spine rather than in response to him calling her love as if it held any meaning at all for him, the tension in Flora's jaw melts as her lips curve into a smirk. Silly Jack, Flora didn't think that they were a threat; she was trying to keep herself from becoming one.

Because of how one-sided their little conversation was going to become, every now and then Flora would mutter something nonsensical if only to make it seem as though the pair really were having a conversation. Nice weather here though, or We should come back again soon.

Peering up, her eyes narrowed, pretending what Jack was whispering had something to do with the masts instead of their fellow passengers, the queen shrugs softly against him. "The sails are so pretty." Only one of them. "I like the colours." If they both disappear it could have been an accident while they were away, but if one comes back, word can spread about what happens to those who try and steal from Torchline.

There was stealing within Torchline, and then there was stealing from Torchline.

JACK

"Wise and fair," Jack drawls, inclining his head to Flora as if to agree with whatever nonsensical remark she's made rather than the permission she's just granted to kill someone. "Do you have a preference, or shall we flip a coin when we board?" Laughing softly and straightening up - apparently in response to something she's said, according to all of those around them - Jack plants a soft kiss against her hair and lets his hand drift low enough to give her ass an affectionate fondle, before heading for the ladder that's dropped.

"Ladies first," he says, gesturing to her with a catlike smile that belies the fact that they're about to make some real trouble for the thieves on board. And, when she's close enough for him to assist her onto the ladder, "We can come back for what they stole. Some of it might work for our little guild."

believer, believe it or not you'll know
when it ends and how it goes

your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand

The whole thing is as real as it isn't, from the affection that's just for show to the words with their double meanings. If Flora thinks about that for too long she'll likely get all blue thinking about the one-sided nature of their relationship (and gods just wait until Asta manages to tell her that she's only gone and bloody done it with him as well), and so she simply doesn't. Not for now, anyway, instead choosing to take full advantage of the situation by threading her fingers up the captain's jawline and into his hair, forcing his lips sweetly against hers.

Dealer's choice, the queen purrs, pretending to adjust her bag in order to better catch the words whispered against her ear before climbing the ladder.

Once on deck, Flora waits for Jack before ambling a short distance away that they might not be in the way of the rest of the passengers trying to board, but not so far as to lose sight of their quarry. "Maybe a drink to pass the time?" She suggests out loud, both for appearance's sake and also because why not. It was a long flight back to Torchline and there was no need to be hasty.

JACK

What's that term? Fake it 'til you make it? However blue Flora's thoughts are at risk of becoming depending on what the future holds - and that goes for Jack and a certain sharp-toothed Ancient - there's no denying that for whatever tangle of emotions that tag along for the ride, the captain and the Doubletake make a very good team. The couple who had been suspiciously glancing at Torchline's queen are now fully immersed in themselves again, so convincing has their performance been, and Jack even smiles a touch against Flora's kiss before releasing her to collect her things.

Climbing smoothly after her - and one doesn't have to think about complicated matters like wHaT aRe wE? to enjoy the soft peach of Flora's ass as a view on the way up - Jack steps away on deck to appropriately loiter with the Doubletake. "How could I say no?" he drawls, leaning against the railing and lowering his voice enough that it will be lost on the wind to all but Flora.

"Men are dumber an' easier to scare," he says. "Leave him alive an' he'll spread all the rumours we need. We'll wait for it to get dark an' I'll go take care of the woman."

believer, believe it or not you'll know
when it ends and how it goes

your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand

but what r we tho

"Good point, you can't." She quips, grinning. Letting her gaze drift off into the middle distance, Flora nods lazily even as her thoughts remain sharp and focused. Some small spark of feminism flares in her mind for a moment before she shrugs it off. Both the man and the woman had known the risks of their actions, and in the company of a telepath or no, they were foolish to stand about gawking at Flora and Jack anyway.

Lifting a brow, both wanting to know how he intended to take care of things as much as she didn't—not because she wanted to keep her hands clean of it, but because she'd no doubt find something to be jealous of—the queen nods, tickling her fingers up Jack's back before disappearing to get them each something to drink.

Returning with a rather full glass of whiskey for Jack—it had seemed watered down to her, so she'd poured a second in—and a gin for herself, the queen leans against the railing with her elbows comfortably against the wood. "The Ark is much better than this." She says over the rim of her drink, hoping how large of an understatement it was would get under Jack's skin.

JACK

"If it's any consolation, she's dyin' because she's the bigger threat." Which, yay for feminism? Maybe? Jack neither knows nor cares, honestly, and he's got the rest of the time before dark to sift through their minds in more detail. Who knows - perhaps the gentleman thief will make himself out to be more of an issue in the next few hours? Raising a brow right back at the Doubletake, Jack doesn't give explicit details about his plans, it's true, but as he clenches a fist and opens it against the railing, Flora will be able to see the wickedly sharp points of ice that have appeared there. Enough said, he hopes.

Rolling his shoulders in the wake of her touch, Jack straightens up and watches as the ladder is withdrawn, as the rest of the passengers go to mill about the deck and the skyship makes its slow turn away from the heat of The Climb. Only when Flora's thoughts come back into range does he turn, holding a hand out gratefully for the considerable amount of whiskey. And she's right, of course - the flat look the captain levels at her is proof enough over the rim of his glass - and he lowers the whiskey to wrinkle his nose around at the ship.

"She is," he agrees, "but it's not always the ship's fault. Maybe this crew'll be better than the last one."

believer, believe it or not you'll know
when it ends and how it goes