The Hearts of Men (1x1 with Eternal Chronicler)

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

"You think I forgive myself?" Felix asked quietly, kneeling before Kimberly before laughing as if he hadn't been serious about his question, although his eyes had taken on a cold, guarded, blank look as he looked up at Kimberly expectantly. "The arm, dove? I wouldn't want to leave a hindering scar." He asked, trying to test his will, prolonging his torture.

His hands however took Kimberly's slowly, his eyes hungrily gazing over her wrist as his rough skin inspected hers, wanting to insure she had no last thoughts about their agreement. "And what would you say if I thanked you?" Felix asked suddenly, looking up at Kimberly, his thoughts hidden.

 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Kimberly Sarani

They believe in the Alpha and the Omega,
The Beginning and the End.

α ♦ † † † † † † α ♦ ♦ α † † † † † † ♦ α

Kimberly remained resolute about her decision, and his question did nothing to catch her off her guard. She flipped the bottom of her wrist up in his grip, her face hardening with irritation. "You've left more than a physical scar on me, Felix. I don't believe you want forgiveness, and so that much I refuse to give. As for your thanks... call it a shift in the scales. You've agreed to submit yourself to deliberately avoiding me for the remainder of eternity; I intend to hold you to that."

She looked away for a moment, sighing for a third time before taking a nail and clipping the edge of her wrist with a slight hiss of pain. Her shoulders dropped, effectively defeated. "Go too far and you're a dead man, keep that in mind." She said as fair warning.

Ω ♥ † † † † † † Ω ♥ ♥ Ω † † † † † † ♥ Ω

But for the End to bring about the Beginning...
What resolves is often believed impossible.

Order Of Chaos:
 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Felix sighed in relief and bit down on Kimberly's arm, a small noise escaping his throat suggesting hunger mixed with pleasure. His eyes flickered closed as he shifted forwards, digging his fangs into the girl's flesh.

It was some time later that Felix forced himself away from Kimberly, the resulting thud from his back hitting the wall unmuffled. His eyes were closed and he was forcefully holding himself to the wall, nails digging into the wall before he opened his eyes, their color a deep red, and he made his way to the window. He paused, crouched on its edge and looked back blankly at Kimberly.

"I pray for your sake that our paths do not cross again." Felix said before disappearing, the thought of a waiting woman spurring him faster.

 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Kimberly Sarani

They believe in the Alpha and the Omega,
The Beginning and the End.

α ♦ † † † † † † α ♦ ♦ α † † † † † † ♦ α

"Felix." Kimberly said, slightly forcefully yet somewhat strained all the same, leaning on her arms propped against her knees for the time being. "My father, Jonn Sarani... if you ever find him. Send him my regards, and he may understand. It's the most I can do, now go."

She lifted herself from the bed, walking over to her doorway but she paused to ensure that Felix was indeed on his way. This was one parting she wanted to witness into its end, regardless of circumstance. Still as she turned back to see him go, he had already left. She moved over to the window and looked out over the edge, confirming he was not lying in wait before heading through her own doorway and making her way to the deck. To her surprise she found a strange woman shrouded in the most powerful white glow she had ever seen. The figure turned with a skeptical eye to Kimberly.

"Well well, there really is no end to the company that couple finds themselves in, is there?" She asked with a slight chuckle. "Don't mind me, importance has long since left me behind."
Kimberly tilted her head, half out of weakness and half of confusion. "All the more reason to be curious; who are you?"
"A long-standing enemy of the Sisterhood of Slaughter, and thus an enemy of the crew of this very vessel. My name is Illumine Kerael, but as I said my importance in these days is long since gone."
"Then why are you here...?"
"To repay a debt. Times haven't gotten any easier for any of us. Divine, Supernal, Mortal... Undead, as it were. Everyone faces their own troubles, and realizing all the while committing one evil for the sake of avoiding another doesn't make you any better for it. I have that much and plenty more to repay, believe me..."
"...You'd better be going, miss Kerael. I don't think any more figuratively unfriendly figures would be a welcome sight after everything that's happened just these past two days."
"You've figured out the norm already?" Illumine laughed softly, "Very well then, but relay one message for me. Chaos exists on the boundaries of conflict. The boundaries are not born as a place however, but as a living. Tessa should know well enough what I mean. Farewell for now, daughter of blood." With that she vanished.

Ω ♥ † † † † † † Ω ♥ ♥ Ω † † † † † † ♥ Ω

But for the End to bring about the Beginning...
What resolves is often believed impossible.

Order Of Chaos:
 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Jack------------------------------------------
------------------- Cortez

Of Blood and Gold I know,
of the freedom of a ship,
and only the wind holding you back.


Jack awoke before dawn, pausing at the balcony to observe the horizon lighting before he withdrew back into the cabin, pausing by Tessa to brush his lips against her cheek before he moved onto deck.

He worked his way briskly through the docking system, finally finding the docking master and exchanging words and paper with him before returning to the Duchess, shouting rather loudly mid deck, causing a flurry of activity to spontaneously occur and he watched with satisfaction while the Duchess was pulled away from the dock.

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Kimberly Sarani

They believe in the Alpha and the Omega,
The Beginning and the End.

α ♦ † † † † † † α ♦ ♦ α † † † † † † ♦ α

Kimberly turned her head slightly at the sound of what had erupted behind her, smiling slightly at the reality that at least she would be getting away from the Courts. Enough had happened to dampen her spirits without the unexpected arrival of Felix and this Illumine person... whom the girl had yet to even contemplate trusting, let alone the message she had been delivered.

Still, it seemed to her a long time of patience awaited her. Nothing left to do but wait until something happened. Resigning herself to just that, she flipped around on the rail she had perched on the night before and leaned back against it, arms out at her sides on the rail itself. "Day one..." she muttered to herself.

Ω ♥ † † † † † † Ω ♥ ♥ Ω † † † † † † ♥ Ω

But for the End to bring about the Beginning...
What resolves is often believed impossible.

Order Of Chaos:
 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Jack------------------------------------------
------------------- Cortez

Of Blood and Gold I know,
of the freedom of a ship,
and only the wind holding you back.


"Why hello there Kimberly, sleep well? None of the crew members disturbed you did they?" Jack asked, approaching the girl with a bounce in his step and his voice was rather cordial. He leaned on the rail next to Kim and oversaw progress, Miguel taking over as crew master. The captain was in good spirits, without even using his usual aid of rum or wine. He could quite help it, putting distance between the Duchess and the Courts set his mind at ease...even if his mother...A shadow passed through his eyes before he banished any thoughts of Calypso and what her choices may or may not cause in the future.

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Kimberly Sarani

They believe in the Alpha and the Omega,
The Beginning and the End.

α ♦ † † † † † † α ♦ ♦ α † † † † † † ♦ α

Kimberly gave a slight start at the fact - let alone manner - that she was addressed, and for a moment after puzzling the realization hit that she had not even so much as returned Jack's greeting, but it occurred to her only then that the delay would have been long enough to cause some unwanted suspicion, so she dismissed her immediate thoughts on that subject.

"I can't honestly say I slept well, but at the same time it was more my own fault than any of the crew; I didn't hear a thing from them all night. Unexpected occurrences, nothing too exciting." She lied, which immediately left her with a roll of her eyes. She shrugged, "How about you? You seem excited about something."

Ω ♥ † † † † † † Ω ♥ ♥ Ω † † † † † † ♥ Ω

But for the End to bring about the Beginning...
What resolves is often believed impossible.

Order Of Chaos:
 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Jack------------------------------------------
------------------- Cortez

Of Blood and Gold I know,
of the freedom of a ship,
and only the wind holding you back.


Jack narrowed his eyes a fraction, suspecting that the full truth was not being told, but he was in no mood to dwell on such matters, nor did he want to intrude onto Kimberly's personal life. And so, the slightly suspicious face left his face merely a second after it had coming, leaving no evidence of actually having been there in the first place. It was replaced with a gesture to the ocean and a smile.

"We are leaving, a thing wondrous in itself. If I had to speak to the dock master one more time, I think I may have threatened him." Jack said with a small laugh, although his tone suggested that he had already done so, and would have taken it further than a mere threaten if he had not gotten the necessary help to leave port.

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Kimberly Sarani

They believe in the Alpha and the Omega,
The Beginning and the End.

α ♦ † † † † † † α ♦ ♦ α † † † † † † ♦ α

Kimberly nearly made to respond but decided instead to restrain herself with a pinch of her lips in kind for Jack's neglect to inquire as to her own rather obvious bluff. She instead shook it off with a slight nervous laugh and waved away the comment she was already considering. "I'm having second thoughts about a lot of things lately." She admitted, "Mainly events in my childhood and what happened immediately after. I don't mean to come off strangely, but changes of pace in my life aren't usually welcome, and yet here I am -" She indicated the ship about them and the oceans beyond that, "recovered from one sunken ship onto another that's been torn in twain more than just once. I'm not sure what to make of it, but am I wrong to have high hopes and an honest feeling like I don't want it to end if it goes well?"

Ω ♥ † † † † † † Ω ♥ ♥ Ω † † † † † † ♥ Ω

But for the End to bring about the Beginning...
What resolves is often believed impossible.

Order Of Chaos:
 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Jack------------------------------------------
------------------- Cortez

Of Blood and Gold I know,
of the freedom of a ship,
and only the wind holding you back.


Jack chuckled. "Then you'd be mad like the rest of us if you did." He said simply with an easy grin before laughing. "For those of us who have had spells of hardship in life, it is expected that a bout of good fortune would bring about hope, no?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow as he shifted his weight against the railing slightly.

"Or rather, does anyone want a stretch of good life end?" Jack asked before being called away by Mr. Porter, the captain screaming bloody murder as one of the pulling boats scraped the hull against a shallow part of water. Adeska wandered over to Kim after a short bit and perched herself upon the railing.

"They're certainly entertaining, huh?" She asked Kimberly with a shadow of a smile on her face.

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Kimberly Sarani

They believe in the Alpha and the Omega,
The Beginning and the End.

α ♦ † † † † † † α ♦ ♦ α † † † † † † ♦ α

"Entertaining?" Kim laughed with a bite of her lip, "Yes, I suppose it could be said as much. Worrying, though. It seems there's far, far more to this ship than I'd have expected."

Easily the truth. More than enough evidence stared her in the face, between the Sisterhood, the goddess, the demigoddess - as she had recently come to suspect, and the overall indication by the vessel's own captain of madness. There was easily no room whatsoever to dispute that it merited her worry. "I expect nothing less though, really. Never take surface value, as I've learned several years back. How are you feeling, by the way?"

Ω ♥ † † † † † † Ω ♥ ♥ Ω † † † † † † ♥ Ω

But for the End to bring about the Beginning...
What resolves is often believed impossible.

Order Of Chaos:
 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Adeska------------------------------------------
-------------------Nessin

I was a child of sin.
I carry my mother's power.
I was possessed.

"Better." Adeska said with a small smile, withdrawing from the light cloak she had wrapped around her a nearly finished bottle of rum, a hint of mischief in her eyes as she took the smallest of sips before she tucked the bottle between her knees. "I doubt Miguel will notice. He's more sober than the lot of them anyway." She said with a smile. "And I deserve to relax for once." She mumbled before taking a larger sip of her bottle.

This is no more.
I am my own master.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Kimberly Sarani

They believe in the Alpha and the Omega,
The Beginning and the End.

α ♦ † † † † † † α ♦ ♦ α † † † † † † ♦ α

Kimberly closed one eye for a moment, betraying a slightly-skeptical expression on her face before resigning herself to the circumstance at hand. Still the mention of comparative drunkenness as a norm at least gave her some insight as to what would be expected - or at the very least what should be - and for that much she was grateful. "I wasn't kidding when I said the two of you match each other quite nicely." She remarked with a soft laugh, "And to boot it will be a nice experience knowing what diversity is for a change. Everywhere I go it's either all this or all that, no variation. Very boring too, easy to get judgmental."

She sighed, thinking of the only place she could really call "home" anymore to exactly that extent. Judgmental was the least of her worries anymore, since it always seemed to escalate to murdersome alarmingly quickly. "I noticed something strange at work here though," she thought aloud, "they seem a little more accepting here than most. For instance, take yourself. Up there perched as calmly as ever discussing matters with a Dhampyr. Most people I know would just run in terror and possibly get me executed. Here, glad to say not so much."

Ω ♥ † † † † † † Ω ♥ ♥ Ω † † † † † † ♥ Ω

But for the End to bring about the Beginning...
What resolves is often believed impossible.

Order Of Chaos:
 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

Adeska------------------------------------------
-------------------Nessin

I was a child of sin.
I carry my mother's power.
I was possessed.

"We're pirates, we don't give a damn what other people are." Adeska said with a giggle, partly at identifying herself as a pirate, and at Kimberly's question. "Besides, you're nice, and it wouldn't be my place to judge anyone." She said simply. "And execution? If any one of the Company ships captured off where do you think all of us would be shipped off to? Best leave the gallows to them and keep our numbers."

This is no more.
I am my own master.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: ---]