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Rae's Fingers had always been described as a very mysterious place, with all these confusing tunnels and networks and how you really needed to know what you were doing in order to navigate it safely and properly. D'you know what else is vaguely described that way? The female orgasm; given Flora had sailed those waters many a time (solo voyages, sadly), she was fairly confident she could do this.

She could do this.

Also, she sort of wanted to see the weird Deepfrost shrine thing that was making everything so cold. So, with her makeup done, her hair in an exaggerated ponytail that made her look like an adventurer and an outfit to match, Flora entered into the Fingers. Holding a torch out before her and with her chin held high, she ignored the way her body tried to warn her this was a bad idea via the cramping in her belly, and instead began to hum under her breath to drown out the thundering of her own heart.

JACK

hellraiser
risk taker

It begins as a faint rumble. This, however, soon becomes a thunder of feet, and if Flora isn't quick about it, she might well be trampled by... by...

Well, they're a substantial group of thugs, if one had to place a wild guess. Armed to the teeth (what few they have between them, anyway) and smelling like old beer and brine, they barely notice the dashing young woman in their efforts to not be in the Fingers.

Barely being the operative word, of course. "Git outter the way!" One of them barks the order as a rough elbow tries to shove her towards the side of the cavern. "Ain't gonna be killed cuz'a some runt girl!"

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Anyone else might have run at the first sounds of danger, but of course Flora wasn't afraid, and because she wasn't afraid, she couldn't run. So...what reason did she have to run? Think brain, think. No answers were forthcoming, and so as she was shoved into the cavern wall, all Flora could do was utter a sharp, "Owwwwwuh," while rubbing at her elbow. Glancing down to see blood oozing from a cut, she stomped a foot down, calling, "That was very rude!" After the gobble of men (gobble seemed an appropriate name for a bunch of smelly toothless ruffians).

Huffing, Flora straightened and gave her head a brief shake. She hadn't dropped her torch and luckily the flame hadn't gone out, so while she might have been in the dark about why the men were running and shoving, at least she wasn't in the actual dark. 'Okay,' She whispered reassuringly to herself. "They probably just saw an actual woman for the first time and it sent them running, that's all."

And so, because what story begins with someone smartly walking away from danger, Flora continues forward.

JACK

hellraiser
risk taker

The gobble of men (it is a very good word) do nothing but grunt and tell Flora to fuck off and other, similarly low-brow curses as they continue to amble out of the Fingers at a brisk if not clumsy pace. Once they are gone, the girl and her torch are left in a silence punctuated only by the unsteady plop of water from the wet rock overhead.

And on she will go, until the flicker of her torch is joined by another, and another still, and the tunnel opens into a larger sort of cavern containing a few old, wet crates.

Oh, and Jack.

His magic has snatched at her thoughts as soon as they've come into range (solo orgasms, hm? good job Flora) and so he's stopped his pursuit of the thugs, sitting on one of the drier boxes to smoke and wait for her to show up. "One of these days you're really gonna get yourself into trouble," he informs her just as she's about to come into view.

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Now that her pulse isn't thundering quite so loudly, it's a far bit easier to try and talk herself from the heights of her panic. It was just a cave after all. Probably one of those types of places where the reputation far exceeded the reality. Trickling her fingers across the slimey stone to her left and frowning, Flora's foot rose and then comically halted in the air as Jack's voice slithered through the darkness. Feeling instantly relieved, righteous, intrigued, and perhaps a bit annoyed all at the same time, Flora made a point of smoothing down her sweater before striding gallantly into the open cavern with her torch held aloft.

"Is that so?" She wonders, lifting one of her shoulders to shrug. "Funny, because the only thing I keep finding, is you. Or rather.." Having been around Jack a few times now, Flora has grown far more confident than she has any right to. "..you seem to keep finding me."

Walking closer, Flora frowns at the various crates before shooting the captain a skeptical look. "What, Ark run out of space?"

JACK

hellraiser
risk taker

Shaking out the match he's struck in order to light his cigarette, Jack takes a deep pull on it and watches Flora through the smoke that curls out from his lips. "That is funny," he agrees with a catlike smile. "An' I think you found me this time, given that I'm sittin' right here, an' you're the one walkin' around." Shrugging his shoulders right back at her, he flicks ash onto the wet stone and glances around.

"Mm? Oh, these ain't the Ark's," he says. "They ain't anybody's, I don't reckon. Wreckled by the tides. Th'Fingers is useful for hidin' stuff, but it'll get ruined if you don't put it in the right place." Rising to his feet, the captain stretches lazily. "What're you doin' here?" As if her outfit doesn't make it obvious.

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"Mmmmmmmmm." Flora hums as if she's been backed into a corner, before smiling sunnily in his direction. "Except you were the one who called out." She notes with a somewhat triumphant smile. "You didn't have to do that." Not that she figured Jack was one for hiding, but surely he could have made himself scarce had he not wanted to see her.

So..did that mean he wanted to see her?

'Is that so?' Nudging one of the crates with her boot and immediately recoiling as if had begun to gush blood instead of wheeze seawater, she glances at him over her shoulder. "Talking to you of course." Flora answers, knowing perfectly well that wasn't what he was asking.

"So what's the captain of the Ark doing sitting on some ruined boxes?" Inclining her head towards the way she'd just come without taking her aqua eyes from him, she adds. "I met some of your friends on the way in. Really lovely bunch. Super up on their hygiene."

JACK

hellraiser
risk taker

He'd only be lying to himself if he said he didn't want to see her, perhaps a little. Her thoughts are vibrant and refreshing in their confidence (however skin deep it might go at times), and Torchline has been sorely lacking in such things since they kept either running off or getting drowned by nefarious smugglers. (Shh, shh). "No, I didn't. Looks like it's your lucky day, mm?"

Depending on who she asks, that may or may not be true. "Well yes, of course you are." He rolls his eyes, adjusting the cuff of his shirt to hide the smudge of red soaked into it. "I was givin' them a headstart," he tells her, answering both her question and her remark about his friends. "I promised 'em thirty seconds. And it's been well beyond that now, I s'pose."

With that, he acts as if to breeze past her, before pausing. "Unless you're gonna be goin' and gettin' yourself murdered in here? Because that'd be a cryin' shame."

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"Mmm. Super lucky." She agrees, crinkling her nose and swallowing down an unbidden wave of excitement as her mind darts down two distinctly different paths. One path imagines hushed voices and secrets told in the safety of torchlight, while the other images bare backs pressed against the walls of the tunnels and moans echoing off of each other like audible fun-house mirrors.

"Oooh thirty seconds until what?" Pausing, Flora bites at her lower lip both in an effort to look seductive, but also to genuinely stop her girlish smile. "Let me guess. Hide and seek? You must be super good at finding based on how.." Pulling in a sharp breath (that she clearly disguised by clearing her throat), she trails off.

"Well I hadn't actually, so no need to worry yourself. I was actually hoping to find that shrine...thing..." This time when she trailed off it was intentional, though based on the way her thoughts were the equivalent of neon signs flashing COME WITH ME and NO DON'T GO, Jack probably wouldn't need much help to fill in the gaps.

JACK

hellraiser
risk taker

Jack misses the first part of what she says, because gods if thoughts like that aren't distracting as fuck, and the longer he spends around Remi Taliesin's jailbait, the more he forgets why it's a bad idea not to do all the things she keeps insisting on thinking about. Biting the end of his cigarette and huffing out a slow stream of smoke to refocus, he raises his eyebrows across at her.

"Sure," he says to the hide and seek. "Somethin' like that. An' what're you lookin' for the shrine for? Decided you're gonna follow some frosty bitch instead of Frey?" He scoffs, lingering in the tunnel where she'd come from but not making any move to follow after his hide and seek buddies. "Or... are you gonna go try and destroy it?"

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Flora rolls her eyes, planting one hand on her hip (to emphasize her waist which was hidden by her sweater). "Bingo." She says, mouthing the letters more than was required before grinning and winking (by puffing up her cheek rather than just closing one eye). "I'm sick of being chilly." Aka sick of not being able to wear cute sundresses and bathing suits all the time. "And it can't be that hard."

Her aqua stare didn't flinch even as her mind took that innuendo and absconded with it down pathway #2 which cared far more for clothing torn and tossed away than it did for shared secrets and loving gazes.

"Those guys didn't seem all that bright...I bet they'd appreciate a bit more time to hide..?" Again the neon signs in her mind flashed bright enough to make the Rainbow Road look like some washed out child's painting.

JACK

hellraiser
risk taker

Narrowing his eyes a bit, Jack can only stare at Flora for a second, wondering whether this is honestly how she lives her life. Just... I think I'll destroy a shrine today and all that. Blinking himself out of his thoughts, his shoulders relax and he turns more fully towards her. "What'd you have done if you'd not run into someone to do all this for you?" he wonders with a tilt of his head, glancing down the tunnel before resigning himself to keeping Flora from killing herself. Again.

"You're lucky," he mutters. "Tide's not due in for a few more hours, else you'd have been trapped in here." And drowning, and dying, ad all that jazz. Stepping forward once more and taking another drag of his cigarette, he gestures for her to lead the way. "Go on then."

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"To do all what?" Flora asks, making mountains out of the mole-hill that was him turning towards her. "I'm perfectly capable of doing this myself if you want to go chase down your friends." She adds, arching a brow and hoping that the way she'd contoured her makeup this morning would be enough to keep him from calling her bluff. She did look really cute, after all. Very explorer-chic.

"Maybe I planned it that way." Flora suggested, making a smacking sound with her lips around the m sound to emphasize the glossy sheen on her lips. "Going on." She chimes, more than happy to walk blindly down a corridor if it meant giving Jack an unfettered view of her ass.

Wait, had she leaned against anything that would make her butt wet? Or covered in algae? Confidently, because how else could she be, Flora raised her chin and walked into the darkness. "Hey, so...what do you know about drugs?" She asks casually. "Like, as in buying and selling them. Specifically selling. Is that like...a good business model around here, or.."

JACK

hellraiser
risk taker

Trying to decide whether Torchline is responsible for making Flora's flirting game so intense or it's just who she is, Jack lets himself enjoy the very cute, explorer-chic curves of her body as her glossy lips continue to move. He's listening, mostly, though whether he's hearing her words or her thoughts is another matter entirely. By the way his blue eyes linger on the not-covered-in-algae view of her ass, it's probably the latter.

He prowls behind her like some big cat after some prey, though he seems innocuous enough as he strikes another match to relight the cigarette that's gone out. "Everythin'," he says matter-of-factly as he lifts the glowing end of the match to his lips. "It's a lot of my business model, so I'd say it's the best one 'round here. Why, you lookin' to build your own enterprise?" He grins.

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