The Hearts of Men (1x1 with Eternal Chronicler)

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Tessa Cortez

The fear of the many,
the price of the truth.

Tessa woke easily enough, though the moment she realized it was not Jack who had roused her she sat up with a look of mild alarm. After a brief look around the cabin, she let her eyes flicker to Calypso's, and they narrowed in slight fear. "What happened?" was all she could ask.

The Wisdom of the Slaughter,
forever drowning...

Order Of Chaos:
 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

"Tessa, you need to help Jack." Calypso said firmly. "Felix has taken it upon himself to punish Jack for his recent actions. He can smell you on him." The goddess said. She looked around with a sigh, looking rather shameful in herself. "They are in the courtroom," She said quickly. "You must hurry!" She said.  

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Tessa Cortez

The fear of the many,
the price of the truth.

Tessa was out of bed even before Calypso had mentioned Jack's location, and by the time she had mentioned the urgency she was already at her blade and out the door. With a dead run, she quickly picked out the path she and Jack had taken and followed along, as quickly as her legs would carry her - which in itself alarmed her slightly.
For a brief moment, she felt as though she were no longer Tessa, not even a Cortez for the smallest moment. That anyone would dare to raise a hand against Jack for what the both of them had done quite willingly, inspired in her a slight change of being. One that she had feared for years...

The door of the courtroom flew open, and the Wisdom of the Slaughter stood with her blade drawn, eyes narrowed with several layers of flame in their glare up at Felix, and the entire room dropped into a chilling temperature.
"I've got business with you, you wretch." she said, quite venomously.

The Wisdom of the Slaughter,
forever drowning...

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.

"Ah. There is your wife Cortez," Felix said, turning and looking over Tessa, tsking. "I always knew you were an idiot, but this makes me wonder about you." He said, stepping aside to reveal Jack sitting in one of the high backed chairs, nose bloody and a split lip. He was breathing heavily but managed a weak smile and wave at Tessa.

"Hello darling, did you sleep well?" Jack asked, looking at her with apologetic eyes.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Tessa Cortez

The fear of the many,
the price of the truth.

It took a fairly tremendous personal effort on Tessa's behalf not to simply freeze the man where he stood, though Jack's odd display of mirth caught her well off-guard. She let out a half-hearted laugh and stepped forward, her eyes darting from one to the other. "About as well as could be expected, but I woke up with an unpleasant surprise." she answered her husband, and set her glare to Felix. "Get down here, you slime. If you want to cause a bit of pain I'd be happy to see how far you get with a sword lodged in your skull."

The Wisdom of the Slaughter,
forever drowning...

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.

Felix chuckled and shook his head, looking over to Tessa with a smile. "You are no better than I am. How soon do you think it will be before you take your first life in thirst?" Felix asked, but paused in his advanced at the hand on his shoulder. Scarlett whispered something in his ear with a curving of her lips, glancing back to Jack, watching his anger and confusion well in his eyes, before looking back to Tessa.

"It wouldn't be wise, Mrs. Cortez, to threaten a Pirate Lord." Scarlett said, sitting up on the table, perching near to Felix as if to dissuade him from advancing further.

"You--"

"Where else would your mother think to stick me Jack?" Scarlett asked with a shake of her head, annoyance silencing the man. Felix stepped closer to her, the two of them blocking themselves from their opponents. "Under the protection of the Courts is a safe place to be." She said, before sharply turning to Tessa, narrowing her eyes upon noticing the change of scent and sound coming from her. She shook her head and looked back to Felix. "So that was what you were going on about." She said, tossing her fiery mane.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Tessa Cortez

The fear of the many,
the price of the truth.

Tessa gritted her teeth and straightened, her sword lowering behind her. "You would..." she said with a growl, "Let him go then. He's done nothing to bring on either of your wrath than either of you have to provoke mine. I'm beginning to see why he hated you so much Scarlett. Let me ask you something, then aye? What's your business with my husband got so much to do with that you would get in the way of the one he loves just to get it out?"

The Wisdom of the Slaughter,
forever drowning...

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.


"Ouch Tessa." Scarlett said, narrowing her eyes. "I for one specifically told Felix not to touch poor Jack, but even I cannot control a king." She looked up at Felix who narrowed his eyes at her, but from the way the two of them acted it was hardly in anger. "So take him."

"Scarlett!" Felix said, dragging his dagger down the side of her face, stepping into her. The woman chuckled before giving a glance to Jack, one that told him to leave, that she would take care of things, that she was not against him. In that moment Jack rose from the chair, blotting his lip with his sleeve and whisked towards Tessa.

"Time to go love," He murmured in her ear before whisking away at a fast pace. Back in the Courtroom Scarlett wished for a way to communicate with Tessa but instead only shot her an apologetic look mixed with a touch of anger and pain before grazing along Felix's neck with her lips.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Tessa Cortez

The fear of the many,
the price of the truth.

Tessa paused for a moment, her glare at Scarlett not dying in the least, though she had learned to mask one emotion with the next quite some time back. "I suppose I'll have to wait then, won't I? I'm not done with this yet..." With that she took off after Jack.

Several minutes down the road she held out a hand to stop him in his tracks. "What happened, Jack... Calypso just came to me, woke me up and mentioned you in trouble, but what in all Hell happened?"

The Wisdom of the Slaughter,
forever drowning...

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 slowed before stopping once they were out of the courtrooms and spat blood onto the ground, the black substance glistening on the cobblestone. He wiped his nose before shaking his head, looking back for a moment before at Tessa, pinching his nose which was now steadily leaking blood. "We finished up in court a while ago, but Felix..." He trailed off and shook his head, wincing soon after.

"He didn't like that I changed you I suppose, and he hasn't let go of the past, especially since learning I am alive." Jack muttered as he rummaged through his coat with a hand, looking for something. "Oh bloody hell. Would you go in the back, lower left, inside pocket? It is the third in. I need a cloth or something." He asked Tessa, indicating his coat with his hand.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Tessa Cortez

The fear of the many,
the price of the truth.

"Oh, sure!" Tessa went through the pocket for a brief moment before pulling out the small cloth within it. "And Felix never had the nerve to ask me my take on the matter? Pshhh... I distinctly remember asking you to, and what does he do..." She sighed. Irregularities were easily becoming the norm now.
"Is there something I can do to stem the bleeding, at least...?"

The Wisdom of the Slaughter,
forever drowning...

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.


Chuckling, Jack looked over the cloth that was steadily blooming ebony tinted scarlet at Tessa and shook his head, but not to answer her. "I suppose draining my blood might help," He attempted to growl seductively, but the sound was distorted as he coughed and he groaned slightly.

He slid down the wall of the building they were next to and collapsed into a seated position, pinching his nose. "I think it would probably be best just for me to wait until it stops." He said with a sigh.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Tessa Cortez

The fear of the many,
the price of the truth.

Tessa gave a soft laugh at Jack's initial answer, but however tempting she was definitely not in the practice of redundancy when it came to potentially lethal actions towards her own husband. So, she sat down beside him and brought an arm around his shoulders, laying her head across both his shoulder and her arm as a result. "How long until we leave again?" she asked hesitantly, "I'm really starting to think I don't like this place so much."

The Wisdom of the Slaughter,
forever drowning...

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.


"Just a few more days love. You must remember though, I am a pirate, and pirates tend to...not get along...some times." Jack said, sneezing and the rest of the blood dripped from his nose. He dropped the cloth on the street and sighed, leaning his head on Tessa's gently. "You'd like Asyayana, the elf that is. She draws conclusions a little quickly but she is very intelligent." Jack said softly. He let his eyes close before he jolted himself awake.

"We had best be returning to the Duchess. I'll relieve Calypso so she may leave." Jack said, rubbing the side of his head wearily.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

Tessa Cortez

The fear of the many,
the price of the truth.

Tessa nodded and came around to help Jack to his feet if he needed, with a wary glance back to the courts. "I don't think I'll be letting you go anywhere alone, though... seems you may as well have a price on your head from 'friends' as well as enemies."
She laughed a little at just the thought of her having to take care of him, but it didn't matter really. Shared effort, and by all accounts it was definitely her turn to pitch in her share. She went with him back to the Duchess, but she paused once she realized the remaining Sisterhood were nowhere to be seen. She shrugged with a resigned sigh; she knew some things were more urgent than farewells among the Sisterhood, but in turn she hoped it wasn't all too bad...

The Wisdom of the Slaughter,
forever drowning...

Order Of Chaos: