[SE] rebel heart

there exists a tipping point between gods and monsters

"It was a joke, Flora." Unsure quite when the rose blossoms in the Doubletake's mind had so swiftly begin to grow thorns, Jack nods over her shoulder to the treehouse in question. "Try to remember that although you grew up here, this is still my first time in these woods, yeah?" The captain can only draw parallels where Flora makes them, and he'd picked up on the fact that it was the Guardian's Treehouse - AKA, the Greatwood Guardian, AKA her dear old dad - and that she'd helped to build it, no more, no less.

"Besides, I've never been in a treehouse before, much as it might surprise you to know, an' I'm not plannin' to just stare at it now that we're here." Gesturing for her to take the lead, Jack has no doubt there's probably some secret way to gain entry to the place, especially now that it seems to have spent the past few years being eaten up by the Greatwood.

i could be the reason you can't sleep at night

"Well, it was a poorly timed one, Jack." The Doubletake counters as mention of Remi has the heat in her belly cooling instantly, though she takes his point. "Our options are this, the cottage where Vai died, the village, or sleeping out under the stars." Which might sound romantic, but having grown up in the Greatwood, Flora wasn't keen to be jittered awake by a bloatbeetle crawling over her. "So I picked here."

Unable to help but laugh at that, the Doubletake concedes with an affectionate roll of her eyes. Releasing Jack's hand, Flora's fingers skitter across the trunk of the tree, searching for a particular knot of black bark which would release the rope ladder. "Everyone in the Greatwood can fly for the most part." She explains as the ladder falls. Almost entirely eaten away by insects as much as by time, Flora can only bite at the inside of her lip as she weighs the comparative danger of climbing up it with wanting a roof over their heads for the night. "I'm not sure I have any tricks up my sleeve to help with this." She admits, though if nothing else, for all the experience Jack doesn't having climbing into treehouses, it doesn't look so terribly different from some of the rigging she's seen on his ship.

"Catch me if I fall?" Raising her eyebrows and shooting him a look over her shoulder, Flora reaches for the ladder and begins to carefully make her way up.

there exists a tipping point between gods and monsters

"And I will never complain about your choice again," Jack rumbles, his tone as close to playful as the captain gets. Especially with it being Flora's birthday trip to the Greatwood, he also reminds himself to leave any mention of her parents (or dead grandmother, or dead anything else for that matter) right at the back of his mind. His brow furrows to see her seemingly groping around at the trunk of the tree, Jack only settling as he realises what she's looking for, stepping forward to help catch the ladder as it tumbles down to hold it steady.

"Seems like a necessity in a place like this," he admits, of being able to fly. Neither of them are suited for it, alas, and so Jack has to content himself with staring up Flora's dress as she clambers towards the base of the treehouse. "Always," he purrs in reply to catching her if she falls, and though he fully believes in the Doubletake's ability to climb, she might notice the glimmer and chill of ice in her wake as Jack raises a smooth structure up beneath her.

It will act more like a slide than anything should she fall, but it's probably better than hitting the ground. And yes, Jack will be there at the bottom to catch her as promised.

i could be the reason you can't sleep at night

Always he says, and even if he'd lifted the intended double meaning right from her mind, Flora doesn't care one bit. For all of everyone's doubts about him, the queen had fallen, and thus far, Jack had been there every step of the way.

"Wh—" Feeling the bite of the ice, Flora's grip on the ladder tightens as she hazards a glance over her shoulder, thinking that perhaps Jack was trying to be funny again, intentionally making the rungs slippery that he might actually catch her when she fell. Realizing what he was actually doing had the queen chuckling under her breath, relief relaxing her muscles as she reached for the final rung and hauled herself up. "What, you couldn't have just let me stand on a block of ice that you magically made tall enough?" She calls down, giving her head a shake only just realizing the view she'd given him in virtue of climbing a ladder in a fuck dress.

there exists a tipping point between gods and monsters

"Of course I could, but I figured then you'd complain I was tryin' to break your neck since ice is slippery," Jack calls up with a shrug of his shoulders. "Besides, the view was great." Given the special occasion, perhaps Jack ought to have been the one climbing the ladder first, but he's fairly confident he can make it up to Flora once they're both in the treehouse. And so, with her at the top and not falling to her doom, Jack gives the ladder a quick tug and promptly clambers after her.

And she's right - it's not unlike rigging, such that the captain is able to hoist himself up into the treehouse in quick time, his eyes made dark by the size of his pupils swallowing the blue as he tries to adjust to the blacker-than-black interior. Knowing better than to ask about a fire - he's already lifted the possibility from Flora's mind - Jack instead slips his matchbook from his back pocket and strikes one, illuminating them in a very intimate halo of amber.

"A'right, I believe more about the ghosts now than I did when we were down there," he quips.

i could be the reason you can't sleep at night

"You could have made me a throne." Flora counters. "Or at least something to hold onto." Scoffing under her breath the queen dramatically throws up her hands, leaving Jack to scramble up the ladder without her supervision.

Memories blur in Flora's mind, shifting unhelpfully in the dark as she gropes her way toward the cabinets that partially ring the circular space. "Spoooooooooky." The Doubletake hums in agreement, flashing Jack a shadowy smile over one shoulder as he strikes a match. It isn't much light, but it helps banish enough of the darkness for Flora to tug open a few drawers and find a stash of candles. "You want to see ghosts, just wait until I take you to Ludo's Woods."

Placing the pillar candles onto the ledge for Jack to light, Flora waits until there's enough light to vaguely see by before taking grabbing a chair and dragging it toward the center of the room. Above it was a chandelier with spaces for just the size of candle she was holding, and when filled, it bathed the treehouse in a charming amber glow. Hopping down, the queen went back to opening and closing drawers and cupboards, looking for blankets and anything else that the local fauna hadn't entirely destroyed over the years.

there exists a tipping point between gods and monsters

"And have you complain that your ass was cold instead? Or your hands?" Much as Flora has other ideas up her sleeves, Jack is evidently ready with all the possible complaints she might have locked and loaded, his amusement evident in his expression even if it's highlighted by the shadows that flicker across his face. It's amusement that promptly fades at the idea of being taken to a place called Ludo's Woods, the captain tilting his head towards Flora.

"I don't s'pose I have the option to decline, do I?" he drawls, sweeping forward to dip the teardrop flame of his match into the pillar candles, assisting in bringing further light to the treehouse. And it is rather charming now that they aren't bumping into things in the dark, the captain utilising his air magic to sweep away cobwebs and dead leaves and other debris, herding it out of the opening where the ladder still dangles.

"I can find somethin' to make a firepit if you like," he suggests; it might seem like a strange thing in a treehouse, but he can already see an opening towards the top of the structure to let out any smoke.

i could be the reason you can't sleep at night

"Gee, if only there was some way of warming up after that sort of thing." Whereas Jack's eyes might have grown a touch shark-like thanks to the black blotting out the blue of his eyes, Flora's had remained almost girlishly bright despite the shadows.

'When do you ever?" Flora wonders; for as surely as Jack was known to be, he hadn't really managed to say no to Flora in quite some time now. "Besides, after visiting Ludo's section of the Greatwood, all of this really will seem like a fairytale in comparison." Finding a cedar chest filled with furs (no doubt put here by Remi's co-leader, the Bastion having never really been good at housekeeping), Flora pulled them out, giving each a good shake (and a sniff), before deciding that they'd remained in perfectly good condition.

"I think we're okay? It isn't that cold." Though if Jack wanted things to be even warmer she'd certainly not argue with him about it. "There might even be booze stashed around here somewhere. Knowing my dad, that's definitely one of the ways he'd have prepped this place for LongNight."

there exists a tipping point between gods and monsters

"Mm, if only," Jack agrees, voice dryer than any kindling they might have been able to find up here. As for when he'd ever declined, the captain's lips part to give a list of reasons, only to find himself rather coming up short. Huffing out a sigh and shaking his head to Flora, it's with a self-deprecating smile that Jack goes to light a few more candles and to pull up the rope ladder so they don't get any uninvited guests. "You're really sellin' it to me, love," he says of the grim picture she paints of Ludo's Woods, Jack grinning over his shoulder before straightening up.

"Not cold, but this place ain't seen a livin' person in gods know how long." And injecting some warmth into the wood might assist in making it feel less like an ovegrown cave of a place. So saying, Jack finds a brazier in one corner, manhandling it towards where Flora is setting up her furs and loading it with some dry wood from a stock beneath some old canvas. It takes a little while to get the fire going, but by the time he's done, it's positively homey.

"Light, warmth, booze, you? What more could a man ask for?" Winking at her, the captain dutifully goes for a rummage, coming up with what he thinks is gin and wine, though Flora will be the better judge.

i could be the reason you can't sleep at night

"I didn't realize ambiance was so important to you." Flora chuckles, though having grown up in precisely this sort of environment where cobwebs and the threat of ghosts were as common place as the will o' wisps still bobbing around, for all of the creature comforts she'd grown used to, Flora would have been fine leaving things the way they were.

That said, the fire really did make things feel a good deal more inviting.

Laying out the furs in a thick pile, the queen snorts under her breath, rolling her eyes as she smoothed out the pelts. "Wow, someone is laying it on thick." Laughing, her thoughts now as equally warm and golden as the room was, the queen reaches doubtfully for the bottle of wine. The cork certainly looked like it hadn't gone rotten, but there was only one way to tell. Making her way toward Remi's old desk, the queen rummages around looking for a letter opener to stab into it. Finding one, she shrugs out of her cardigan before impaling the cork with the tip and yanking. Lifting it to her nose, Flora immediately recoils. "Ugh, no." Pulling a face, the queen shakes her head, shoving the bottle away. "If we need any fuel for the fire, use that."

The gin, assuming that's what it was, would have to do.

there exists a tipping point between gods and monsters

"Do I seem like the sort of man to put up with somethin' rather than have it just how I want it?" Jack fires back with a raise of his eyebrows and a smirk; in short, yes, ambience is quite important to him, thank you. And as Flora's flush of agreement reaches him down the strings of his magic, he considers his point more than well made. "Oh? Would you prefer I ignore you and go to brood out the window?" he wonders, stepping over to sink down onto the pile of furs she's arranged.

No sooner has he taken a seat when Flora is away again, though, to try and pry open the cork from the wine bottle. Jack might have offered the knife ever-present in his boot, but of course she's already got the letter opener in reach, and he's cringing even as her acrid disgust prickles through his telepathy. "Noted," he rumbles, reaching for the gin instead and using said knife to uncork it with a pop!

"Now," he says, holding it out for her to take a sip, "where were we?"

i could be the reason you can't sleep at night

Quietly laughing, Flora raises her brows in an expression of no, you're absolutely right; Jack was the sort of man to have things just how he liked them, which was one of the things that made Flora's nagging insecurities about their relationship so at odds with what she knew about the man she'd fallen for. But anways, less of that, and more of Jack. "I mean...you do look really hot when you brood." The queen counters with a wry smile.

Abandoning the desk and wine, Flora makes her way to Jack's side, sinking down onto the furs. Leaning against one hip and arranging her dress over her thighs, she accepts the bottle of gin before lifting it to her nose and giving it an experimental sniff. It certainly wasn't one her father had made, or if it was one of Remi's it was very early days, but it hadn't turned to vinegar over the years, which was Flora's only requirement for it. Lifting it to her lips, the burn spreads across her tongue and the roof of her mouth instantly, the heat of it already scalding as it slides down the back of her throat. Stifling her cough against the back of her hand, the Doubletake offers the bottle out to Jack even as her eyes begin to fill with tears.

"Gods," she sputters, half laughing, half choking still. "He must have really hated working here if that's the kind of stuff he kept around."

there exists a tipping point between gods and monsters

"Is that so? I should develop resting brooding face, just for you," Jack decides. He, of course, pays little mind as to how he looks or how it might seem to other people (well, to most other people, given how Flora has slowly but surely managed to change that). Shifting to make room for her on the furs and raising his eyebrows for her verdict on the gin, the heat is enough that Jack instinctively cringes himself at the flare of it along his magic; it's a rare thing for him to be tentative about trying alcohol, but Flora's reaction had been visceral.

Lifting the bottle to his lips and taking a healthy swig of it himself (no half measures here), it's a testament to the Doubletake's working in a bar and her maturing palette, because she's spot on. Hissing in a breath through clenched teeth that does very little to cool the burn on his tongue and in his throat and chest, Jack sets the bottle down and gives his head a quick shake, as if that might dispel the sensation.

"Fuck," he says roughly. "Well. Here's to a memorable birthday." His laughter is a touch hoarse, and no, he does not try and cheers the bottle for another sip.

i could be the reason you can't sleep at night

Arching a brow, Flora purses her lips together. It doesn't take much to conjure up an image of Jack standing on the Ark's deck, arms crossed and eyes locked on something in the middle-distance such that his lips were pulled into a thin emotionless line and the blue of his eyes was all the deeper for the way his gaze hardly moved at all. "I'd say you're pretty good at it already."

Flora's coughs turn into a peel of laughter to see exactly the same reactions contorting Jack's face as she'd just experienced, and despite his toast, no part of the Doubletake thinks they need to follow it up with another sip of gin so soon.

"Thanks for bringing me here." Tilting her head in such a way that had a brief waterfall of curls spilling down her shoulder, Flora's gaze drops unconsciously toward Jack's right arm, where a spray of flowers was hidden beneath the green of his sweater. "I knew I wanted to come back, but I also knew how it'd feel." The entirety of the Greatwood was saturated in memories, and if left to her own devices, Flora's mind was the sort that could let nostalgia poison even the sweetest echoes of her past, leaving her lamenting the sight of ghosts around every tree trunk.

"I'm glad it was you."