[SE] Lighten Up, Buttercup

Aurelia

as if you were on fire
from within

It's a little past bright and early. Aurelia's a morning person, clearly, so she's already gone and come back to the Ark by the time the sun has actually risen. The ship is relatively quiet today, has been most days lately. That is, until she returns.

Boots stamp against the deck as she makes her way across it, her steps weighed down by a box she's carrying. Her thoughts, which might become perceivable to Jack given that she is suddenly right outside his quarters, are bubbling with enthusiasm and a certain sort of smug resolve. He's not gonna like this.

The door to his room, or whatever he wants to call it, is forced open. Whether that's by means of a swift kick or by swinging it open easily, that is up to whether or not it's been locked. Nevertheless, her arrival is by no means subtle.

"Rise 'n' shine, Captain! I got somethin' for ya!" She declares, setting the box down on his desk with a clang. There might've been papers and such strewn about it, given that it's where he works, but they're shoved aside haphazardly. This is when she finally adjusts her eyesight to look around the space for him.

the moon lives
in the lining of your skin

JACK

It's an empty bottle, today, that's thrown directly at her head.

Maybe it's Jack's fault for, y'know, consistently forgetting to lock the door to his cabin. It's unlike him, but then he's never had to deal with not feeling shit before. It's surprisingly distracting.

Back to the matter at hand, though. Some bitch busting into his cabin while he's still asleep, knocking all the shit around his desk and being loud and obnoxiously there.

The captain who sits up in the bunk looks dishevelled and young, the steel in his eyes not quite so sharp at this time of the morning. Indeed, it's only the scars, piercings and tattoos that give it away. And the foul mouth, probably.

"You can got somethin' for me in an hour, on deck, like every other sane fucker on the ship," he grumbles, voice hoarse with sleep. There's another empty bottle next to the bunk. Yes, he does reach for it for a second go.

Aurelia

as if you were on fire
from within

The bottle that swings through the air isn't unnoticed - nor unexpected - but she still doesn't dip out of the way in time. Small space, not much room to dive out of the way...

"Ow! Damn, Jack!"

It fell a bit short of Jack's aim, at least, popping against the bone of her shoulder and ricocheting into a shelf, scattering whatever is there onto the floor. She arches a brow over at him, bringing one hand up to rub the pain away. "Well! I'd say I'm sorry, but I don't really want to now," she retorts with a toothy wince she directs at the sore spot on her arm. Her eyes don't miss the hand that reaches for another bottle, though.

One of her hands sneaks into the box and, suddenly, a piece of wood goes whizzing for Jack's chest.

"Alright, alright! Cut it out! Eye for an eye!" She lifts her palms up in front of her chest and face, partly to show she was empty-handed and also to block anymore flying objects. There's a nervous chuckle that begins in her throat as she shuffles back behind his desk (again, to shield herself). "If you'd calm down, I could explain."

the moon lives
in the lining of your skin

JACK

There's more where that comes from. Or there would be, if Jack wasn't distracted by the hunk of wood aimed at his chest. "Oi!" he growls, the wood bouncing off him and falling harmlessly into the blankets in his lap. It's not that he actually feels it, but more the principle of the thing. Aurelia is that exquisite brand of what the fuck that has the audacity to barge into his rooms and cause (yes, cause) trinkets to go scattering from shelves and onto the floor.

"You've got ten seconds to explain before I get another turn at this." He waves the bottle at her, a mark already starting to bloom against his skin where she's managed to hit him in turn. His blue eyes flick between the thing on the desk and her face, and even groggy and undoubtedly naked beneath the sheets, the captain manages to look ready to murder someone.

Aurelia

as if you were on fire
from within

Aurelia smiles sarcastically at the way Jack glowers at her and then shakes her head. "Nice to see you, too, Jack," she grumbles. Right. That leaves eight seconds.

"Okay, hear me out, there's this tree," and she winces because she knows he isn't going to be amused by this, "in the middle of Haulani. Just appeared in the street. It was a sapling, like, literally a few days ago. But now, it's grown at a pretty alarming rate and me an' some other people were gonna- ah, fuck it. You just-" She points a finger down to the box in front of her, scowling back at him, "You're helping me make these things! It'll be fun."

"Come on, Jack, up and at 'em!" She strides over quickly, arms ready to defend herself from whatever else he intends to throw at her. Picking up a stray pair of pants, she tosses them at him with a completely necessary ferocity, "Don't make me dress you myself."

Out of her pocket, she pulls a pack of cigarettes out. These look and smell and even taste different from the usual kinds, though, which might interest him (well, she's unaware of his numbness, oops). "I got you these, they're a special blend. Happy fuckin' birthday, buttercup." She tosses the box onto the sheets that cover his lap.

the moon lives
in the lining of your skin

JACK

Nice to see you, she says, and Jack gestures wildly to himself as if to remind her that he was asleep, in his bed, and now here she is. Interrupting all of that. And it gets better when she mentions the tReE, the captain's expression growing even more flat and unimpressed, if that's something that's even possible at this point. Picking up the hunk of wood she's thrown at him - and swearing as she proceeds to clobber him with a pair of pants, Jack's just about had enough of this.

"You're 'bout to get your ass thrown overboard," he informs her through a growl, throwing back the covers to get up, shucking the pants on and glaring across at her with suddenly narrowed eyes. He should have expected it, really, but it's still an unpleasantness he'd have liked to avoid. "An' who the fuck told you about my birthday," he snaps, reaching over to snatch the cigarettes. It's a physical habit at this point, and even if he doesn't get anything from the smoke, the act of preparing it and lighting it is still calming.

"So what, you're makin' shit to hang on some tree that appeared?"

Aurelia

as if you were on fire
from within

Aurelia can't help the loud laugh that comes out when he threatens to throw her overboard. "Ha! And I'll take you down with me," she smirks at him, a challenge lighting her green eyes. She means it, too, quite happy to oblige him should it come to that. But he's getting up to put his pants on, so she sharply turns away (to avoid any sight she doesn't want to behold) and returns to the box she brought in.

When she looks back up at him, she's sitting at the desk, in a seat that presumably would be his. She's leaned back into the chair and kicked her boots up on the desk. There's a sly grin on her face, because she hadn't actually known it was his birthday. Casually, she grabs another chunk of wood out of the box, pretending to examine it. "Oh, so it is! Should I bring the crew in here to sing you a birthday shanty?" She's taunting him at this point, but part of her thinks that might be a pretty good means of blackmailing him into this. The look on his face would be priceless, too.

Oh, and he'll find that the cigarettes taste vaguely reminiscent of something fruity and sweet. Like a tart. Not enough to be a bold flavor, but it's there, if only just. (If he can even taste it. If not, well... that sucks.)

"I am," she confirms, wiggling the piece of wood in emphasis, "and so are you. Hmmm... Maybe you can use one of your knick-knacks? You sure do have a lot of 'em," she casts a cursory glance around at his trinkets and treasures.

the moon lives
in the lining of your skin

JACK

Quite when she oversteps is anyone's guess; any small act leading up to this point might have done it, but if you were to ask Jack, it's probably when she puts her gods damned feet on his desk. He buttons his pants, lights his cigarette and leans one hand against the desk so he can stare her down with eyes like blue glass. "Perhaps you've missed a memo here, love. I get it - crew's a bit raucous, life's a bit of fun on the water. Ain't your fault."

He reaches out, aiming to unceremoniously shove her feet off the various pieces of work that litter the surface of the wood. "But let me make somethin' clear If you disrespect me again, I will fucking kill you." The tone is nearly conversational, and Jack jerks his head towards a small chair that definitely isn't the one behind the desk. The implication is clear: move yourself.

Then he picks out another hunk of wood from the box, tossing it into the air in one hand and grunting. "And what, pray tell, am I supposed to make out of this decoration?"

Aurelia

as if you were on fire
from within

Jack comes over, as expected, and Aurelia has no intention of keeping his seat. She knows he absolutely would kill her should she give him a real reason but, something tells her feet on a desk ain't it. So even as she meets his glassy eyes, there's no fear or whatever he might want to incite in her own. But her grin is gone, if that helps. She moves out of his way without much more egging on, to the other seat he's gestured to. Seems as though her plan to get him to help has worked, so poking the bear much more would probably only prove detrimental to the cause.

"Alright, alright. Was just messin' with ya."

She does have to wonder, a split-second thought, if there's something else bothering him. You know, other than her breaking into his room and interrupting his beauty sleep. But she doesn't ask. Yet.

She clears her throat and the teasing nature of her tone from before is replaced by something more genuine. Because, believe it or not, this is her attempt at making friends with Jack. Doesn't appear to be working.

"Well, anything you want," she sighs, raising her brows at the box. It's not just wooden pieces, but little tiny ropes, seashells, glue, colorful paper, and other crafty things. She rummages through them. "Got a lot in here..." and what she presents to him is a clear, glass bottle with a slightly green tint, "this might suit you better than whittling wood.." it's obviously up to him, but she explains further, "You could put things in it, like shells or pebbles or a note that says "fuck you, Aurelia". Whatever you wanna do. It's your decoration."

She settles her arms on the desk, twirling the bottle. Then, waiting expectantly to see what he does, she cups her chin in her hand. "Already know what I'm gonna make."

the moon lives
in the lining of your skin

JACK

He makes no comment on her messing with him, sure that it will only incite further shitfuckery if he bites, so instead he merely slumps into the vacated seat and turns the wood over in his hands, as if trying to imagine what he might make out of such a thing with whittling or carving tools. But then Aurelia is offering him a small green bottle, and the captain leans forward to take it from her with reluctant curiosity in his blue eyes.

Eyes that flick up to her face with a hint of suspicion for a moment - curse aside, yes, there is something else bothering him, but fuck it if anyone is close enough to Jack to know what it is. Still, eventually he glances back to the bottle, a smirk on his lips as he moves to jot a very elegant Fuck you Aurelia, rolling it into a scroll and tucking it into the bottle. "That'll do for one," he says, his temper cooling somewhat. "What are you gonna make?"

Aurelia

as if you were on fire
from within

Aurelia's simultaneously disappointed and amused that he went for the bait, leaving her a special little note - just for her. "You're the sweetest," She tilted her head at him, giving him a smile. All sarcastic, of course. "I'll have to write you something, too. Can't leave you hangin'," So she grabs a piece of paper and jots down the words 'Kiss my ass, Jack' with a little itty-bitty heart at the end. Flashing it at him, she grins and stuffs it into another, similar bottle.

Briefly, she takes a moment to survey the rest of the box's contents. Because she did have a few different ideas, but there's one in particular she wants to start on now. She picks up a circular wooden bauble, a classic decoration. For now, she's ignoring Jack's question in favor of preparing all of the ingredients she'll need for this masterpiece. "I'll show you," is all she can offer in answer.

A brush, which she takes and dips into the little can of glue she has. She proceeds to spread it around the bauble until it's entirely covered in it - and so are her fingers. Then, she takes out a smaller box from the bigger box, and dunks the bauble into a bunch of shiny, silver glitter. This action alone is enough to send some into the air. When she picks it up by its little string and shakes it off, flakes of it spray out in all directions. She doesn't appear to notice this, focused more on the object in her hands.

She admires the look of the bauble as she lifts it up between them. "Whaddaya think?" She asks genuinely, tilting her head to glance up at him, only to see that glitter - somehow, because that's how glitter works - had gotten onto his face, hands, and pretty much everywhere else. "Oh, sorry..." she grimaced slightly, lowering the offending bauble. "I'll use something else for the next one."

"So... it's really your birthday?" she asks after a moment passes, prying in a curious, tip-toe-y manner. She's already working on a different bauble. No, she's not using glitter this time.

the moon lives
in the lining of your skin

JACK

"I know," Jack drawls in response to being the sweetest, purposely ignoring the sarcasm and tying a bit of string to his bottle to complete it as a decoration. A similar reaction is granted to the response Aurelia provides him in bauble-form, the captain's hand flying against his chest in a play of dramatics. "Be still my heart," he says without even a hint of emotion. Two ridiculous decorations down. Countless more to go.

What follows is an act of chaos that Jack can honestly only appreciate, if only because he's usually the instigator of such things. When Aurelia looks up it will be to see a glitter covered captain with sparkling eyebrows, stubble, hair and shoulders, his expression utterly stony by design. "Are you though?" he asks, already having selected a block of wood and a knife to whittle.

He's left her to it when she asks her next question, Jack raising an eyebrow as he considers answering. Her curiosity rolls against his telepathy in a way that wants to get his back up, but he resists the obvious. "As it so happens, yes," he mutters. "Twenty-nine years young. Surprised I ain't been killed yet."

Aurelia

as if you were on fire
from within

He's not the only one with glitter all over him. A few of her fingers look as though they've been dipped in it, because they have, and her hair and skin is dotted by little pieces of it. Wiping at them appears only to spread more everywhere, so she gives up quickly on that. At the sight of Jack's shiny face, eyebrows, and beard, Aurelia's arms shake as she tries to hold back her laughter. "Incredibly sorry," she chokes out, not meaning it at all this time.

But she quiets, and she allows herself to concentrate on the next bauble. The plan for this one is much less messy. She uses a pencil to begin drawing an intricate design around it. When that's done, and the details look ornate enough to suit her, she begins to etch them out with a knife. Simple, but maybe it will look pretty when she's done. Or maybe not...

His attitude regarding his birthday keeps her silent for a moment, wondering why it seemed such a.. well, sensitive subject. Should I ask? Her gaze wavers up at him, hoping he doesn't catch the questioning look she gives him before she turns her attention back to carving.

"I don't celebrate my birthdays either," she starts, figuring maybe it will be easier if she talks about herself instead, "I never had the time or the means. I stopped caring about it pretty quick. But people in the upper districts? Rich people, you know. They'd throw these huuuuge parties. Absolutely glorious. Loud music, lots of alcohol - and whatever else you needed. Tons of people. They'd have a time of it," she shook her head before continuing, "that lifestyle never really suited me but, I did sneak into one, once," she smirks up at him, as if she has a great story to tell, but all she says is, "don't remember a fuckin' thing. Except! When they threw me out because I wouldn't stop pouring my drinks into the fish tank." She scoffs at the blurry, vague memories of a very drunken night.

the moon lives
in the lining of your skin

JACK

"Listen, I make this look good," Jack said of the glitter that coats the two of them; indeed, for a man so rough, he seems to mind the conversation more than he does his sparkly new appearance. And so Aurelia plans and Jack whittles, and by the time she thinks so loudly in his direction, let alone speaks aloud, there is an unmistakably phallic shape forming as his next bauble.

He can't help but smirk - she's wrong and right at the same time - and he makes a surprisingly good listener as her tale unravels. "Are you sure that's why they threw you out?" he asks with a smirk. "Or is that all that you remember 'bout it?"

Slouching back in his seat with his eyes on the glorious penis-to-be in his hands, Jack finally raises his eyes back to Aurelia. "I celebrate my birthday every year," he informs her. "Just not this year. Had an unfortunate run in at a shrine - means I can't feel anythin'. Gettin' hammered and fuckin' everyone in the Halenani don't have the same appeal right now." But there is still something wriggling away underneath, something that has his gaze dropping back to his work.

"You didn't have 'rents or family to celebrate it for you?" he asks.