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.

Standing, Jack went over to his table and poured himself a glass of wine, indicating the other glass on the table, should Mystriel care for a glass, before he took a sip. He thought for a moment, before shaking his head slowly. "For now, nothing, I believe," He said. "I am indebted to you as it is, I needn't further it yet," Jack chuckled before taking another drink, looking back to Tessa in the process, then to the door thoughtfully, then back to Tessa, the thoughts behind the two different gazes different.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

`'*^~-Lady Mystriel Silverlight-~^*'`

I cannot have seen this.

How all this could have fallen asunder.

Every day I continue to watch.

Every moment, I am horrified by what I see.

Darkness, death.

Conflict and betrayal.

And yet, I can do nothing.

"I believe in relieving debts, not exploiting them," Mystriel said calmly as she poured a mere half-glass of wine and took a sip of it, "You house a fair stock of wine, I might add. Would it trouble you too much if I left Ilyia in your care until such time as I am needed? She is not often released into the material planes, and it troubles me so to see her constantly wanting to see more. If I am not mistaken the seas offer quite a conceptual freedom, do they not? I can think of no better place for her for the moment."

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 nodded with a small smile. "Of course, I see no problem with it," He said, refilling his glass before settling into his seat. "Aye, our wine stores are nearly as impressive to our rum stores. I did trust that...Erathis, knew a good rum from a bad rum," The last words were muttered under his breath, along with a mental note to personally check the stores. He drummed his fingers three times on the table to remember before setting down his once again, empty.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

`'*^~-Lady Mystriel Silverlight-~^*'`

I cannot have seen this.

How all this could have fallen asunder.

Every day I continue to watch.

Every moment, I am horrified by what I see.

Darkness, death.

Conflict and betrayal.

And yet, I can do nothing.

Mystriel gave a soft laugh at Jack's mention of Erathis and his choice of rum, in fact covered her lips to retain as much politeness as she possibly could in the act of displaying her mirth.
"Erathis Nekaedhe? Oh, what a coincidence..." she giggled again, "By all means, if you trust my word I promise you if you are to be surprised it will be pleasantly."
With that she bowed again and faded into a silver mist.

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 nodded as Mystriel dissipated. He looked absently at Tessa, thinking more of his mother though, and stood, leaving his glass on the table before heading out onto the deck, pausing at the door to look back at Tessa, before looking at Calypso up in the helm. He proceeded to cross the deck, nodding at Mr. Porter as he went. He paused though, at the stairs up to the helm, and instead looked out over the sea, attempting to think of what he was going to say.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

A light among the shadows,

A hope among the despairing.

And yet merely the hand of another.

Ilyia appeared shortly thereafter in the captain's cabin and stepped over to the open doorway, watching about her with a slight unease but a wonder betraying her nature as extremely protected concerning the outside world. For the moment she could content herself on allowing the view about her, and so she leaned against the adjacent wall with her arms crossed watching with interest.

 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

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

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

With a sigh, Jack grudgingly trudged up the stairs and faced Calypso, who wordlessly handed him back the Duchess' key. Jack was silent for a moment, before Calypso spoke.

"I...I must apologize, for everything Jack," Calypso said quietly, looking up between her lashes. "For leaving you, for not being there, for even now when I offered to kill Tessa myself," Looking back towards the sea, a tendril of water snaking up and depositing something in her hand. Sea-glass of the fairest cyan formed a small ring, a silver band running along the inside of it twisting up to support a sapphire setting for a luminescent black pearl. This the goddess deposited into Jack's hand after taking it with her own. "Please, accept this as my blessing," She said quietly, as Jack looked at her stunned. Two rings, from two different goddesses...his mind reeled slightly as he took the ring and examined it, finding it perfect.

"Thank you...mother," Jack said softly, awkwardly embracing Calypso.

"Your father would be proud," Calypso said proudly, even as a tear left her eye. Jack smiled and put the ring in his pocket, leaving a mental note to find a box for it.

Leaving Calypso, Jack felt relieved, and he tilted his head as he saw Ilyia in his quarters. "Hello," He said, with a broad smile, it displaying his mood plainly.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

A light among the shadows,

A hope among the despairing.

And yet merely the hand of another.

"Strange, isn't it?" Ilyia laughed softly, "I spent a fair five minutes trying to cheer you up while Tessa was being raised, and the grand simplicity of a family shines through where I can't."
She shrugged her shoulders, and looked out again to the sea with a faint smile.
"I don't mind though. There are a great many things I can only pretend to understand as it were, but it does me a fair consolation to see you happy again."
She turned her head from the window to face Jack and eyed the still-open doorway with a faint cautiousness in her expression. She turned to Tessa and gave a half-indication her way.
"How is she?"

 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

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

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

"Weak, but she is strong," Jack said, going over to the table, shrugging on his coat, and transferred the ring to a small box that he found in his inside pocket, along with a small bottle filled with sand that puzzled him, and several pebbles. "Hmm," He whispered before pouring himself a drink of rum and sitting at the table in his seat.

"I trust you find the Duchess welcoming to you?" Jack asked, looking up and over to Ilyia with a smile, gesturing the seat across the table from him in offering.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

A light among the shadows,

A hope among the despairing.

And yet merely the hand of another.

"She rivals a number of my friends, surprisingly..."
Ilyia turned fully to face Jack and offered a slight shrug with a soft laugh.
"It's new, and I doubt I'll be here long enough to fully appreciate it, but it's a relaxing change of pace. Tell me; what is it like, truly? It seems to me as if a life of seagoing vandalism would be poorly looked-upon, but I try not to judge based on so little as rumor. I'd much rather take the word of someone who would know firsthand."

 

[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 at the mention of vandalism. "I think of it more as an...ongoing expedition without a governing body," He said, putting down his glass and leaning forwards on his arms a little. "Although, the capture of a company ship is definitely something to celebrate," He said with a chuckle. "I find great solace in the seas, although that may be related to my lineage," Jack said, looking towards the door leading to the balcony. "Freedom, quite plainly," Jack said softly with a smile.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

A light among the shadows,

A hope among the despairing.

And yet merely the hand of another.

Ilyia laughed softly, surrendering her position to Jack's prior knowledge and the reality that he did not outright refuse her claim.
"So I see," she remarked, "something I get to see for the first time in..."
Her voice trailed off and her gaze fell slowly to the floor in thought. After several moments she bit her lip and her eyes narrowed slowly in passage from contemplation, to confusion, to sadness. She fell into a lean against the wall with her back aligned right next to it and her arms dropped at her sides. When she finally spoke her voice was both comparable to a whisper and cracked to near-inaudibility.
"In my entire life."

 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

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

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

"Better late than never, no?" Jack said softly, looking up from his drink. "Besides, overexposure to piracy leads to piracy itself and that," Jack said looking from the window to Ilyia. "Is probably something that you wouldn't want," Jack said with a grin. "Honestly, I am surprised that Tessa is at least fighting the urge to become scoundrels like the rest of us," He chuckle at his own self directed teasing and took a drink from his glass.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

A light among the shadows,

A hope among the despairing.

And yet merely the hand of another.

Ilyia suppressed a laugh to a whisper, but her eyes betrayed the slightest hint of mirth behind them.
"Tessa Orinae's ways are chosen for the path of wisdom, Jack. She is Half-Elven, after all; their ways are crossed between high levels of thought and finesse. How can you expect her to fully understand the one thing she never asked, brutality?" She lifted a hand, "Just as an inherent Light cannot understand the Darkness, and the living cannot fully grasp undeath as I am sure you have become aware, a scholar is that much less likely to take up massive arms in combat."

 

[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 at the logic in Ilyia's words and set down his empty glass, fatigue of the day catching up with him. "Very well then," He said with a smile. "Increasingly around here, I find myself out logicked, outwitted, and outsmarted," Jack said with a sigh, accompanied by his usual grin. "Perhaps I should buy some books the next time we make port," he indicated the near empty shelf inthe corner. "Some of my novels seem to have gone missing since the last time I was aboard this ship consistently," He explained.

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