that's between me and the gods

i want to taste you again

With Flowerbirth comes preparations for the Ark to make her voyage out into the deep (though whether that's the sky or the sea is a choice that Jack is thrilled to have to make). The monsoons might not cause any damage these days, but it doesn't change the way things are and the way things have been for as long as the Ark has been sailing. So on a night where the moon is new and the skies seem black and clouded, Jack starts to scope out what needs to be done.

His ship is quiet - the majority of the crew are away enjoying their shore leave (as they should) and the captain savours the time to himself, honestly. Jack walks the deck with the familiarity of a man who could navigate his way with his eyes closed, pausing to take stock of things here and there. Curled around his shoulders like a scarf if Seven, the sear cat purring obnoxiously into his ear, something he tolerates but refuses to acknowledge he enjoys.

like a secret or a sin

JACK

Aurelia

She keeps herself tucked into a dark cloak, one that had seen better days. Her head stays down as she limps past people on the port. It only lifts to take in the sight of the Ark, its crimson sails billowing quietly in the salty air. She makes her way up the plank with a bit of difficulty, nipping back a wince of pain - and hesitance.

Stopping once she's reached the deck, her eyes quickly find Jack, mulling about his stores. The sight of Seven, wrapped around his shoulders, brings a half-hearted smile to her face.

Testing the waters with a bit of humor, she says, "It's not too late to join your next voyage..." the corner of her lip twitches lower as she looks more directly at his face, "...is it?"

looking in the mirror, drop of rum on my tongue
with the warning to help me see myself clearer

i want to taste you again

It doesn't show, other than in the way his fingers flinch a bit against the crate he's leant down to inspect, but Jack is well aware when a familiar-yet-not presence slips into his telepathic range. Inhaling slowly and straightening up - but not before Seven can mrow at Aurelia and leap from Jack's shoulders to go and greet her - he turns to face the former Queen.

"Depends," he drawls, as if it's only been five minutes since they last spoke. "You gonna fuck off at random an' leave my ship high an' dry?" Like you did with Torchline?

While they get reacquainted, Seven is trying very hard to twine herself around Aurelia's good leg. "Ship!" she says helpfully.

Unfolding his arms, the captain takes stock of Aurelia properly. "Y'know, I had most of this place believin' you were dead."

like a secret or a sin

JACK

Aurelia

Any remnant of a smile would have disappeared if it were not for Seven's greeting. She looks fondly down at the companion, not immediately responding to Jack's accusation - albeit a justified one. Instead, she kneels down - not without difficulty - and strokes the top of the Seer Cat's head. "That's right," She coos softly to her, sifting her fingers through her dark fur, "have you been taking good care of Jack?"

The captain again draws Aurelia's attention (aside from still petting Seven) when he makes his remark about her being dead, and she can't help but chuckle a little, shaking her head gently.

"I came pretty close to it," and not for the first time, "got lost in the Wilds. Lost... my mind. Someone found me in the Feverlands, but if they hadn't..." she tips her head to one side then the other as if considering something, "you'd have been right."

There's only so long that she could've kept herself alive out there with an infection like that, rotting her blood and her brain. Even when relying on her shifts to get her through the days, nights, weeks.

looking in the mirror, drop of rum on my tongue
with the warning to help me see myself clearer

i want to taste you again

"Captain," Seven agrees helpfully with Aurelia, all but jumping into the pets to her head and mrowing her affection. A completely different creature to Jack (obviously), the Sear Cat will hop up and onto Aurelia's shoulders given the opportunity - at least then she can straighten up and not have to worry so much about her bad leg.

The captain in question, on the other hand, can merely watch the exchange take place with a flat blue stare. He hears what she has to say about it all - and what she doesn't have to say, by extension - and a muscle feathers in his jaw. Rubbing at the side of his face, his fingers fluttering automatically over the small star tattooed in the corner of his left eye, he lets out an annoyed sort of huff.

"There was a time when I thought I could trust you," he tells her, and though his tone stays cool, it's a bit of a Big Deal for Jack to admit. "Things have changed since you left. You know much 'bout it?" Or do you want me to catch you up? goes the unspoken end to the sentence. Either way, Jack gestures towards his cabin, as if to invite her to stop limping around like an invalid.

like a secret or a sin

JACK

Aurelia

Seven is, of course, welcomed up onto Aurelia's shoulders. The gesture is appreciated, whether Seven is doing it out of consideration or not.

The humor fades from Aurelia's expression as she straightens up and watches the captain rub his hand over his jaw, over a... Is that a star? It's hard to tell in the current lighting but, she thinks it is.

"I don't blame you for not," she replies without missing a beat - though not in a defensive kind of way. She expected this. Still, regret softens the furrow of her brow, that she lost the captain's trust, that she lost.. a lot. Maybe more.

Mentally she starts bracing for the impact of, well, the consequences of her actions. But instead...

There's a small shake of her head as to whether she knows much about what's changed. It's followed by a glint of surprise in her gaze when he invites her into the cabin. Reaching up to support Seven's balance with one hand, she carefully picks her way into the captain's quarters. She's relieved to take a seat, sighing into it and giving things a few moments to settle.

"Well, for starters.." she looks up with arched brows, "I see you've got something new," and she taps her cheek with her finger (in reference to his star tattoo). "What's that about?"

looking in the mirror, drop of rum on my tongue
with the warning to help me see myself clearer

i want to taste you again

Seven drapes herself around Aurelia's shoulders much in the same way as she had Jack's, and as the captain and his ex-crew member make their way into his cabin, the feline busies herself in rubbing a cheek obnoxiously against Aurelia's ear. For Jack's part, he wastes no time in lighting a couple more lanterns, closing his door and slouching into the seat behind his desk.

As cluttered as ever, his cabin nevertheless contains one conspicuously new detail; a small shrine dedicated to its own shelf. Sure, the marble statuette at its centre is gloriously naked, but she's swathed in starry fabric. Not many guesses needed regarding who it is. "Mm?" Jack glances up, though of course it's all a show. It is a star on his cheek, and he's noticed she's noticed.

"Everythin' changes," he remarks, fishing around under his desk for a bottle of brandy. "War's on its way, or so they say. And courtesy of you an' Maeve, Torchline's declared itself for Safrin and the Old Gods. So I did too. To her face." And her mark is on his.

like a secret or a sin

JACK

Aurelia

The lanterns Jack lights illuminate his cozy quarters. Cozy, small, lived-in, cluttered, whatever you want to call it. Nonetheless, it's comforting to be here again. Aurelia finds a distinct feeling of safety in places that might otherwise feel nauseating. Like a small cabin that lets very little light in from outside, on a ship that rocks gently with the sea.

The statue doesn't catch her eye at first. Not because it doesn't stand out but, because she has to do a double-take. And her question is answered just as she asks it, though she would still need Jack to confirm it himself in order for her to really believe it. Her eyes stretch a bit wider and she tilts her head at the marble miniature of Safrin, bumping her cheek against Seven's face.

"Now's as good a time as any to start choosing sides," she comments softly, half into the cat's fur. Trying to relax, she gives Seven rubs behind one ear. "Of all the gods, I think Safrin could offer you the most... if not the best," she adds more seriously, an almost approving tone in her voice. (Of course, she's biased in that judgement.)

"Have things progressed with the healing fountain? And.. before I left, I'd told Maeve to work on perhaps getting you a special.. ship. Did anything come of that?" She wants to ask more specific questions, such as how things have progressed - but she doesn't want to presume anything.

looking in the mirror, drop of rum on my tongue
with the warning to help me see myself clearer

i want to taste you again

Seven, of course, takes the opportunity to obnoxiously rub her cheek against Aurelia's, mmmrowing her affection and settling around her neck like a warm, black scarf. Rolling his eyes at his companion, Jack contents himself with taking out two glasses and pouring a measure of brandy into each of them, sliding one across the desk to Aurelia. "That was my thinkin' as well," he murmurs over the rim of his glass, settling in his seat and watching the runaway queen as she takes in the cabin.

"You would think that," he continues regarding Safrin, not that he sounds particularly upset about it. Safrin has been very good to him, mind melting aside. And that shows, too, when she asks about the fountain and the skyship. "The healing fountain is almost complete, so far as I know," he rumbles. "And you're sittin' on that special ship, Aurelia. Safrin gave me more'n a pretty tattoo for my cheek." Jack's grinning now. It's the kind of expression one might expect to see on a shark.

like a secret or a sin

JACK

Aurelia

Questions that brimmed regarding the regional quest quickly fall away at Jack's answer. Simple and vague as it is, it reveals one thing - probably the only thing that matters: "So Maeve has continued progress and done well enough on her own," her hand abandons Seven's cloud-like fur to grab the glass, "even with the baby..." it's halfway a question.

A deeper and quieter part of herself wonders if the Nightshade is okay. They had ruled side-by-side, however briefly, and even though it had its kinks to be smoothed over... Aurelia's loyalty is as stubborn as she. It's where she's gone wrong time and time again.

And so that duty feels far away now, like a hazy dream. Their leadership had been born of so much chaos, so much that was... unnecessary. The events surrounding the Slagveld fire certainly had been - and thus, everything thereafter.

Aurelia glances once again at the star on Jack's face, finding it strange, unfitting, and commenting abruptly to herself that he's more of a daggers-and-snakes kind of guy.

Blinking, she gulps down a hefty swig. "The Ark flies then," she assumes, a strain in her throat from the burn, "can I see it?"

looking in the mirror, drop of rum on my tongue
with the warning to help me see myself clearer

i want to taste you again

"What's your point?" Jack wonders with another sip of his drink; it's one thing to be able to hear thoughts, but another entirely to be able to respond to them without outing himself. And honestly, he is a little surprised that Aurelia is so worried about Maeve. Then again, for all of her faults, Jack supposes she is in the regrettable possession of a good heart. (Ew).

Still, he can't stop his eyebrows from raising to hear her daggers and snakes quip, even if it's only to herself. What the fuck is she saying about him exactly? Unfortunately the captain is unable to respond - and besides, there's something much more interesting to talk about with The Ark. "You can," Jack says, "when we set sail at the start of monsoon season." He likes Aurelia, but he's not going to pull up the gangplank and prep the ship just to show off for her.

"If you're in, that is."

like a secret or a sin

JACK

Aurelia

"I'm just glad to hear she's doing well on her own. We only wanted what was best for Torchline. My hope was that she continued on in that pursuit without me. But I can't imagine what she must think of my disappearance..." It can't have been easy on her own, but then, they had built up a council for a reason. Granted, disappearing for months had not been apart of the plan... "Or Milo- what he must be thinking and feeling-" she looks at the glass, feeling all the heartache for him come slamming down on her chest, and then she looks back up at Jack, "How is he?" She's hesitant, for all the reasons she ought to be.

She might've expected not to see it tonight. Her lip curls and she breathes a small sigh of relief at being allowed to come along the Ark's ventures once again. It's probably the only place she really fit into here, after all, but her ambition had blinded her judgement. "Do you think it wise, that I come back? People will want answers that I.. don't know if I have." She shifts with unease and adds, "I don't know what they will expect of me but I... I don't want to be queen again. I don't even want to be on the council or... apart of that side of things. It-it was too much for me I think. I lost myself in it."

looking in the mirror, drop of rum on my tongue
with the warning to help me see myself clearer

i want to taste you again

Jack can't help but smirk into his drink at that. "What's best for Torchline was a Governor, not a pair of queens," he points out. "No need for thrones on an island run by the world's underbelly." But the changes had been made and Jack, for better or for worse, is part of that council now. "If it helps," he says, knowing it won't and knocking back the last of his brandy, "I told her I reckoned you were dead. People die all over the place, all the time, right?" He shrugs. "She won't have hard feelin's, I'm sure." Or maybe she would. Maeve could be a whipcrack like that.

Tilting his head at Aurelia, Jack's expression reads something like why the fuck would I know how Milo is, and he shrugs. "Around," he says. "Mopin', but workin'. Hasn't thrown himself off the Aumakua, so there's that. You gonna go say hi to him soon?"

As for what is wise and people's expectations, Jack gives her a shark's grin. "Fuck 'em," he says. "The crew'll think what I tell 'em to, an' as long as you pull your weight on deck I don't give two fucks what you do with the rest of your time. Besides, I'm the only person whose opinion matters, right?"

like a secret or a sin

JACK

Aurelia

"Agreed..." she murmurs, grimacing slightly. She barely realized Sunjata was leaving when Safrin 'crowned' her and Maeve. A lot was dropped into her lap, too much to stop and consider how the title of 'queens' would be taken. Would she have chosen the role herself? Would she have decided things differently? Titles or otherwise, she isn't sure.

'Around' is better than not. Her expression softens. She looks down at the glass, swirling the liquid around in it, "I was going to tonight, but.. I'll go look for him in the morning." She takes another drink, to stave off the chill of inevitabilities.

His shark's grin is met with a half-hearted scoff, but admittedly what he says does put her in some ease. "Yeah- well..." she tilts her head and makes a face as if she regrets breaking it to him, "second only to Seven. Hm? What's your opinion?" She asks the cat, ruffling the fur around her scruff.

More seriously, she looks back up and sets her empty glass on the desk. "So, where are we sailing to this time?"

looking in the mirror, drop of rum on my tongue
with the warning to help me see myself clearer