The Hearts of Men (1x1 with Eternal Chronicler)

[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 looked at Erathis, a raised eyebrow. "And who may I ask would mind the ship?" He asked, quickly snapping his attention back to their path of sailing to avoid another thought of the temptation. Below on the main deck, Mr. Porter's orders rang out dimly in the rain. Soon enough, the man had come up and shouted to Jack.
"Sir, we need to drop canvas!" He yelled and Jack thought for a split second before shaking his head.
"We can make it a little longer," He called back, indicating with his head the long strip of dark land. "She can make it to the opposite coast,"
"Aye Captain!" Mr. Porter said before he squeezed past Scarlett who had made her way up again.
"For God's sake Jack! Let me handle her! You need to get below, you aren't well!" She said, sliding her hands over Jack's and ducking under his arms, him releasing as he did not want to entice her any farther. Reluctantly, he made his way to the Captain's quarters. "You'd best follow him, even vampire's blood would not help him now," Scarlett shouted to Erathis, her eyes glancing off his bared wrist for a moment before meeting his eyes, then she was back at full attention to the swells, wind whipping her hair around her.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

}---Erathis Nekaedhe---{

Through trial, you learn.

Through effort, you improve.

Through struggle, you grow.

That's not life, however.

Life is a series of these and these alone.

I came knowing this, prepared.

And I'm ready to bring it all on.

Erathis looked to the cabin for a moment and lurched in the wind. He removed his hat and quickly forced his way to the captain's cabin before outright falling to a knee in exhaustion.
"And that's the bad part about being Qedrin," he panted, "I have the strength of a child."
He looked up and regarded Jack for a long moment before he stood and dropped his back against the nearest wall.
"Still, my offer stands captain. Being a bloodless living doesn't mean anything to me in the long run, and it's obvious for your sanity's sake something needs to be done."

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's jaw muscle pulsed as he stood by his desk before going over to Erathis. He looked him in the eye and raised an eyebrow. "You intrigue me," He said, grabbing Erathis' wrist and inspecting it for a moment. He then bit, eyes lidding in instantaneous bloodlust. For a long time he drew blood into himself, putting his hand against the wall as the ship lurched again. After a while though, he was able to stop himself and wiped his mouth with the neckcloth bound hand.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

}---Erathis Nekaedhe---{

Through trial, you learn.

Through effort, you improve.

Through struggle, you grow.

That's not life, however.

Life is a series of these and these alone.

I came knowing this, prepared.

And I'm ready to bring it all on.

Erathis' vision spun for several moments and he lowered his head slightly, gritting his teeth all the while.
"Don't..." he gasped, "just stop there, I might as well pass out and make this painless when I wake up."
His voice was already weak, easy to tell the contrast between what he was used to and what he now had to his name. Still he did not back away in the slightest.
"You'd actually be doing me a favor if you just finished it here and now. I can explain everything later."

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 looked up at Erathis, before obliging, his eyes flashing black as he did so. Tightening his grip, Jack finished off whatever blood he could obtain, shifting Erathis's weight onto his shoulder as he untied the neckcloth from his hand, and bound it around the other man's wrist, eyes a dark brown, not quite normal, but getting there. He kept Erathis leaned on his shoulder and shifted himself so he could easily move him to the bed. Upon doing so, Jack submitted himself to the storm outside.

The storm raged on into the next afternoon, and by the time it broke, the Duchess had concealed herself in a bay, and the crew was taking well deserved rest. Jack laid on the deck, staring at the sky. Scarlett sat nearby, sharpening her knife on a whetstone.
"You know Jack, now that Tessa's gone..."
"She isn't gone, not forever at least," Jack quickly said, turning his head towards Scarlett who raised a skeptical eyebrow before sighing, looking back to her knife.
"I still kept the ring Jack," She said softly, running the stone along the blade. Jack looked away and towards the sky again, attempting to draw blank his mind.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

}---Erathis Nekaedhe---{

Through trial, you learn.

Through effort, you improve.

Through struggle, you grow.

That's not life, however.

Life is a series of these and these alone.

I came knowing this, prepared.

And I'm ready to bring it all on.

"Ugh..." Erathis groaned, "Well I guess that could be worse."
He picked himself up slightly and looked down at his arm. After testing his basic flexibility he folded his sleeve down over the bite-wound and put his mask back to cover the majority of his face. Aside from his blood missing, which did not even show outwardly, he appeared entirely unchanged.
"Jack, are you here? I can't see..."

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.

His extra sensitive hearing picking up his name, Jack made his way back into the cabin, and looked at Erathis. "Aye, right here," He said, closing the door behind him, squinting his eyes to adjust to the slightly dimmer conditions of the cabin. He sat at his desk, sideways so he was facing Erathis. "How are you feeling?" Jack asked looking over Erathis.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

}---Erathis Nekaedhe---{

Through trial, you learn.

Through effort, you improve.

Through struggle, you grow.

That's not life, however.

Life is a series of these and these alone.

I came knowing this, prepared.

And I'm ready to bring it all on.

Erathis gave a light chuckle, his voice seemingly no different from when they had met.
"Quite alright, just having trouble figuring my senses out again," he said simply, "I'll manage though. I've been through enough to know what my limits are. So long as I have an intact body I should be well enough."
He dropped his head into his hand, reflexively adjusting such that his eyes were not nearly impaled by the gesture.
"How are you though? I'd be a lot better knowing I didn't just reincarnate for nothing."

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.

"Alright, I'll be fine," Jack said, knowing Scarlett would be more than willing to give up her blood, however vampire-esk it might be. "Thank you," He added after a moment, looking towards the balcony. The bay they were in was peaceful, white shores, but a deep basin, deep enough for the Duchess. A jungle was the middle of the island, with a volcano in the distance, the island being rather large in size.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

}---Erathis Nekaedhe---{

Through trial, you learn.

Through effort, you improve.

Through struggle, you grow.

That's not life, however.

Life is a series of these and these alone.

I came knowing this, prepared.

And I'm ready to bring it all on.

Erathis took several long moments to recover his vision before he leaned up from the bed and looked over to the window, allowing him a view contrary to what he'd expected. Still he let his curiosity escape him for the time being.
"That's not Serendale..." he said simply, "a trip on the side, I assume? Where are we anyway?"

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.

"An unclaimed bay, recovering from the storm. I would call it a hurricane, but it gathered too quickly and dissipated." Jack said. "I do hope that Calypso is not trying to warn us," He muttered, drumming his fingers on the map as he located their location on the map. After a while, he located them, far west of their destination, and still rather far away. "We nearly lost the foreyard," He muttered to himself. Another storm while being pursued may prove disasterous.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

}---Erathis Nekaedhe---{

Through trial, you learn.

Through effort, you improve.

Through struggle, you grow.

That's not life, however.

Life is a series of these and these alone.

I came knowing this, prepared.

And I'm ready to bring it all on.

Erathis nodded his agreement and tried vainly to keep his calm at the mention of Calypso.
"You travel in interesting company indeed, Jack. I suppose if anything I should explain why that ship came after us? It's nothing I can't handle, but you at least ought to know."
He looked out to the horizon and winced slightly. After a moment he turned back to Jack.
"I guess it only holds fair I express my thanks for taking me, too. Especially so unaware, but I'll make it well worth your while."

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.

"Very well, I suppose I will repeal my non-curiosity for the moment," Jack said, looking over at Erathis before taking out his compass, taking a drink of rum, and bending over the map again, rather alert, but yet absorbed by charting a course to the islands still a long while away from them.

This is what I loved...And lost.
[OutrageousObliviousCats: I resisted the urge to post for about...five more typed pages. Was meaning to post when you got back and finish up to page fifty, but...well, sorry its short...back to writing...]
 

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

}---Erathis Nekaedhe---{

Through trial, you learn.

Through effort, you improve.

Through struggle, you grow.

That's not life, however.

Life is a series of these and these alone.

I came knowing this, prepared.

And I'm ready to bring it all on.

Erathis tilted his head curiously for a moment before shaking off his suspicions. With a slight roll of his shoulders he composed himself.
"The Qedrin... an astral-mortal race if you will, is a known prize factor for a lot of mages and other such practitioners of magic. Often times there are people who would exploit that fact in killing me or, much worse as in the case of those following me. I was requisitioned a few months ago to disrupt some activities of an organization of Shadow Hunters, but I got found out halfway through. They've been after me ever since, and they're not getting any more stupid about it." He shrugged, "Oh well, eventually they'll catch up and probably catch me off guard. Then it gets fun - I just hope I'm alone when it happens. Probably at least a year before that happens; you shouldn't have to worry."

Order Of Chaos: Bah, since when was short a problem? Workable wins.
 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

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

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

"Still, we don't need to be chased by a fleet all the way to our destination," Jack murmured while tapping another island with his finger thoughtfully. He furrowed his brow before nodding slightly and looking up. "Four months for this voyage you say?" He asked before standing and going to the balcony, staring at the water beyond the ship blankly. His chest ached slightly and he damned himself ever so slightly.

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