comes and goes in waves

// i am the man we both couldn't stand. i can't wash the dirt from my hands. what was it like to feel in love?
i can't scrub off the black from my lungs, i can't wipe off the taste from my tongue //

Amusement strikes him momentarily as he peers at the marks as Jack moves in such a way that he can get a full display, before settling back. And Sunjata’s gaze, slit steel of the dragon, linger on the captain’s face as he speaks. “Of course you did.” Sunjata rumbles, a snort slipping him in a plume of smoke. “So I’ve heard.” He comments about the other, doing his best to ensure that while his zoo of animals under his skin is known, that the new one he can feel stirring within him remains quite a secret.

He’s not sure how well he’d take to being called a ‘good dog’ after all, not in a position like he is. So that’s the one kept hidden, only for Nate.

But he focuses on his instincts instead, feeling that dark pull back to Korofi as he shakes his head and pushes away from it. “My instincts tell me I’m losing my mind.” He admits quietly. “That it’s not real, that it couldn’t be real, especially if nobody else has seen him. And coming from a place with no gods, it’s hard for me to assume it’s the them.” He sighs, pulling from the smoke again before discarding some ash into the ashtray. “I wish I could just block it out and ignore it but I can’t.” He doesn’t know how to.

i am the shadow driving the hearse, what was it like to feel in love? what was it like to feel?

SUNJATA

i want to taste you again

"Of course I did," Jack echoes with a tired grin through his own wreath of smoke, and his current state of affairs means that when he suddenly chokes on the inhale, it can be attributed to the migraine. And not the sudden good dog thoughts that come tumbling into his midst. "Fuck sake," he coughs, trying to disguise the laughter and eventually stubbing out the cigarette prematurely to slump and lay down again.

It takes a good few seconds for the captain to come around, which is good, because Sunjata's thoughts loop back to the serious and the daunting by then, and Jack peers up at him from where he's half buried in the pillow again. "And what will you do, if you are?" Losing his mind, he means. "Ain't your beau a doctor? Some Abandoned healers, the good ones, can help take the edge off... this." He gestures to Jata. "Maybe you can do that 'til Leafchange is over."

like a secret or a sin

JACK

// i am the man we both couldn't stand. i can't wash the dirt from my hands. what was it like to feel in love?
i can't scrub off the black from my lungs, i can't wipe off the taste from my tongue //

For all Sunjata knows, Jack’s choked on the cigarette, evident by the way he curses and leans forward to put it out. Sunjata still draws from his, though, scanning the captain to make sure he’s still alright — despite the migraine, of course. But he listens as his thoughts drift further to the cold dark world of Korofi, to rain washed streets and cars and tall skyscraper like buildings. He pushes them away only for them to return later when Jack’s suggesting Nate’s help.

He mulls it over, a slow nod given, before a hand reaches up to rub at his neck. “I don’t know. Treatment, I guess. Losing one's mind doesn’t exactly fall in my family’s history.” He informs Jack, chewing on the inside of his cheek. No, his family had always been sharp as could be even until the end. “I’m going to focus on making sure we get the barrier prepped before Longnight. Until then, just trying to stay out of trouble.” The last thing he needed was other people finding out, what trust they had in him gone with the realization.

And that saddening thought has his mind drifting back to that one particular building down Korofi’s main avenue, one of the tallest and overlooking an alley, one Sunjata had spent much time contemplating on. But he pushes that thought away quickly as well, already feeling somewhat unsteady.

i am the shadow driving the hearse, what was it like to feel in love? what was it like to feel?

SUNJATA

i want to taste you again

It's easier to focus his pounding head and overtired focus on the streets of Korofi and the other dark thoughts of Sunjata's making, especially now that he's safely buried away into the pillow again. There's a youthfulness about the captain in these moments, disrobed as he is, all bronzed skin, scars and bruises and jewellery. His thoughts are still old, though. Old and exhausted. "It doesn't have to. Sometimes it jus' happens," he mutters about losing one's mind, knowing that all too well himself.

Still, he scoffs at the idea of staying out of trouble, not believing it even for a second, and the way he peeks up at Sunjata says as much. He's dragged down that particular shadowy alley with the governor, though, and even without telepathy, there's a brooding silence that drops on the conversation. So Jack seizes another pillow and throws it at Sunjata's face. It's clumsy and it makes his stomach lurch to do it, but it's worth it.

"Shut up," he says to the other man's quiet nothings. "Get treatment. Keep your head 'til LeafChange is done. It'll work out." For someone who doesn't know as much, Jack sounds remarkably confident.

like a secret or a sin

JACK

// i am the man we both couldn't stand. i can't wash the dirt from my hands. what was it like to feel in love?
i can't scrub off the black from my lungs, i can't wipe off the taste from my tongue //

Watching Jack in this state does make him feel a bit bad, in here spurring on about shit Jack probably doesn’t care about or need to know. Yet here he is, dwelling and shifting into the broodiness he has tried to avoid. So he puts out the cigarette in the ashtray, tattooed shoulders rising and falling in a small shrug. “I suppose.” The admission is quiet, unwanted, a chill creeping up Sunjata’s spine. But it doesn’t last, not as he turns his gaze away from Jack, pushing thoughts away as a distraction while the silence overwhelms them.

And then there’s a pillow somewhat thrown at his face, hitting his shoulder and making Sunjata stumble a bit in surprise on the bench he sits on, almost losing his balance as he picks up the pillow to toss it back into Jack’s lap. “I hope you’re right, Jack.” He murmurs, sucking in a deep breath before stretching out his long legs, thinking on the idea of treatments and the like. “If the migraine continues I’m sure Nate can help you out with it. Probably even a room to yourself to blab to.” A crooked smirk crosses his face at the suggestion.

i am the shadow driving the hearse, what was it like to feel in love? what was it like to feel?

SUNJATA

i want to taste you again

The pillow is tossed back at him and Jack lets it land in his lap, making the captain look like he's strangely covered in them rather than in blankets (which would probably be a better idea, if he hadn't banished them to somewhere beyond the end of the bunk). "I am," he says of being right, that same brazen confidence lacing his words as he nuzzles further into the pillow cradling his pounding head.

He's nowhere near trusting enough to let himself fall asleep in the governor's presence, not in this state, but even if he was, the mention of Nate has him barking out a laugh. "Sure, why not. I've not been actually beaten up in a while," he drawls, raising an eyebrow at Sunjata as if to ask him if he's actually aware that his wife has a protective streak a mile wide.

"I have a room to myself to blab in. You're sittin' in it," he points out more softly, before letting out a weary sigh. "They happen once or twice a month. Used to 'em," he explains. Favour for a favour - truth for a truth.

like a secret or a sin

JACK

// i am the man we both couldn't stand. i can't wash the dirt from my hands. what was it like to feel in love?
i can't scrub off the black from my lungs, i can't wipe off the taste from my tongue //

He watches the pillow land as he stretches out, shoving to prop a leg up on Jack’s bed, letting his gaze focus on the captain again. “You’ll be fine.” He rumbles with all the air of a parent soothing an anxious child. “It’s not like last time.” He works his jaw, remembering the punch to it vividly. “I was low and you did me a favor.” There’s a raise of his brow as he focuses back on Jack, then, a toothy smirk crossing his face. “You’ll be fine.” He assures the captain, nothing but belief in those words.

It had just been a quick fuck, after all, though the placement of the marks on his neck were probably all the grumbling the captain would get. “Alright, so go get some shit and come back and blab to yourself in your hoard.” He raises a hand to wave about the very dragon like hoarding going on within the walls of this room. “For whenever they happen. You’ll be fine soon enough.” To be honest, Jack looks like shit and Sunjata doesn’t envy that sort of mental pain at all.

i am the shadow driving the hearse, what was it like to feel in love? what was it like to feel?

SUNJATA

i want to taste you again

"Fine or not fine, if it's all the same to you I'd rather keep a healthy distance between myself and the neck biter," Jack rumbles, eyeing the long leg that Sunjata stretches out to prop on the bed. (Where the fuck does the governor get away with being so fucking tall, anyways?)

It's a rather good thing, in retrospect, that Jack gets along so terribly with Nate - that means the pretense will remain, that it's the Ascended that the captain wants to avoid, rather than a doctor's office in general. "I'll be jus' fine here as well, thanks," he mumbles, his voice muffled from the pillow. Still, he can't help but snort at Jata's persistence about his room to blab in and getting some shit.

"Governor, are you tryin' to get me high?" he inquires, raising his eyebrows (eyebrow, he supposes, since his face is only half visible). As they both take in his 'hoard', though, the smuggler can't help but look a touch proud. "Life's work in this cabin," he mumbles.

like a secret or a sin

JACK

// i am the man we both couldn't stand. i can't wash the dirt from my hands. what was it like to feel in love?
i can't scrub off the black from my lungs, i can't wipe off the taste from my tongue //

“Fine.” Sunjata murmurs with a breathy buff of laughter as he stretches out, propping one leg up. Don’t say I didn’t try, at least. He contemplates tacking on but refuses at the end, instead leaning back and mulling over everything as he gnaws at the inside of his cheek, head tilting up to peer at the walls of Jack’s cabin, of all the intricate things that lingered within.

His gaze only continues to roam around the room when the captain’s words reach his ears. “I’m not one to judge.” He replies, letting a crooked smirk span along his face. It isn’t like he hasn’t done it before, anyway. So he peers back at the captain with the comment of life’s work, a slow nod granted. “Looks like a pretty successful life, Jack.” An easy compliment with all the truth to it as he glances back around the room. “So when are you sailing out again?” An easy question considering it would affect any plans he has regarding Melita.

i am the shadow driving the hearse, what was it like to feel in love? what was it like to feel?

SUNJATA

i want to taste you again

Now that that's sorted, Jack lets his eyes slip shut once more; while he doesn't intend at all to fall asleep around Sunjata, he can at least let his telepathy do the work to keep an eye on the governor (just in case he tries to spin any more globes). And yes, that's a little unproductive given the fact that using his telepathy is what's giving the headache more ammo, but fuck it. "If you did try to judge, I'd laugh you outta this room," he points out with a grin directed into his pillows.

Snorting softly, he can only shrug at Sunjata's compliment. "It comes with a cost, but it ain't a bad one," he mutters. "We should'a been out all'a Leafchange, but the voyage out with the ghost whales changed that. Hull got banged up - had to get Mer help in to fix it. Maybe can get another trip out before Deepfrost, but I ain't sure."

like a secret or a sin

JACK

// i am the man we both couldn't stand. i can't wash the dirt from my hands. what was it like to feel in love?
i can't scrub off the black from my lungs, i can't wipe off the taste from my tongue //

“Precisely why I’m not. Though I’m not sure how much laughing you’ll get accomplished with your head buried in a pillow like that.” He rumbles, casting a glance toward Jack with an amused smirk on his face, before its fading slightly and he’s focusing on all the trinkets abound. His gaze constantly slips back to Jack, as if he’s wondering how the captain had acquired all those trinkets, when a memory occurs to him about sunglasses, and how much Sunjata missed them from Korofi.

But he doesn’t ask, instead he focuses on the shelves and items therein. “Everything’s got a cost, just depends on if it’s worth it.” He sighs, but there’s a ghost of a smile on his lips, he thinks at the very least Jack’s was worth it, after all, Sunjata’s own smuggling of weaponry and feeding plans to the rebellion had been worth it at the time.

Ghostwhales have him pausing, however, the memory of those beasts ramming into him under the waves one that he pushes out as quickly as it’d come. “So if it doesn’t go as planned, then Flowerbirth sounds like the next trip? Let me know if you need anything.” If he could help with a favor before the Ark sets out again, perhaps he’d feel better.

i am the shadow driving the hearse, what was it like to feel in love? what was it like to feel?

SUNJATA

i want to taste you again

"Well, if it weren't for someone rudely interruptin' my plans to stay here and die all day with important an' helpful plans that affect my ship, maybe I'd be up and about and laughin' a lot faster," Jack remarks, the quip thorny but good natured. Indeed, it's with a groan of irritation that the captain forces himself to sit up rubbing hard at his eyes and pinching at the bridge of his nose as if to distract himself with discomfort elsewhere.

"S'been worth it so far. Granted, the gods haven't been involved in Torchline as much as since you lot arrived, so I dunno if that's gonna end up changin' my lot in this place," he admits, kicking Jata's leg off the bed so he can get to his feet.

Jack's squinting and visibly uncomfortable, but he succeeds in finding and pulling on some clothes. "Don't you owe me enough already?" he asks with a smirk. "Careful what you volunteer, Governor. Now, if I ain't sleepin' the day away, I'm gonna go and get quite fucked. Care to join me at the Hanged Man?"

like a secret or a sin

JACK

// i am the man we both couldn't stand. i can't wash the dirt from my hands. what was it like to feel in love?
i can't scrub off the black from my lungs, i can't wipe off the taste from my tongue //

“Mmm yeah, maybe.” Sunjata agrees with a quiet laugh, shifting as Jack pushes his feet off the bed, landing on the wooden floor with a thunk. “Well, hopefully we haven’t fucked it up too poorly for you.” Though Sunjata had arrived after the barrier had fallen, one little solace he has in claiming that it wasn’t his fault. But he draws silent, swiveling on the chair he’s picked to look back at Jack.

“It’s me giving back, making us more even.” Though something in Sunjata seems to say they’d never quite make it that way, perhaps that’s Jack’s plan all along. Who could say? But the Flood shifts to stand now, smoothing out his shirt and running a hand through his hair now that Jack’s dressed.”You know I never say no to a drink.” It’s mumbled half under his breath, but he goes to grab his books and notes he’d brought, moving to open the door before Jack, slowly, so that he might get used to the light beforehand.

i am the shadow driving the hearse, what was it like to feel in love? what was it like to feel?

SUNJATA

i want to taste you again

"Even if you have, if I play my cards right I'll be too drunk to remember it in a few hours," Jack points out with a tired smile, perching at the end of the desk (somehow without knocking anything askew - it's an art) and lacing his boots. Rolling his shoulders and taking a long, deep breath as if to steel himself against the light and bustle of the world, he can't help the sly laugh that rumbles from his chest at the idea of Sunjata giving back.

"There are easier ways to do that than offerin' to help the whole ship, not that I'd say no to that either," he remarks, giving the bruises on the governor's neck a pointed look, as if to get his meaning across. But there are drinks to get and days to forget, and the captain stands to the side to allow Sunjata to get the door. There's a strange appreciation in his waiting for him to get accustomed to the brightness of the deck, something Jack isn't sure he'd have done for the other man.

Not before today, anyway. Nodding to the Flood, Jack leads the way to the Hanged Man and, inevitably, to oblivion.

~FIN

like a secret or a sin

JACK