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.

"Thank me? I believe I should thank you for being her mother. I am very happy that she exists," Jack said, kissing the top of Tessa's head softly. "For more reasons than you could possibly know," He added, looking back to her mother with a nervous smile, his bloodless cheeks unable to blush.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

--<._.-'--.__Tessa Cortez__.--'-._.>--

So cold...

All the same, all about me.

The wit, the wisdom.

Here I stand,

Here I live...

The truth of a revelation, frozen in fear.

Slowly dying...

"Jack!" Tessa cried playfully, "is that really necessary?"
Tyele merely smiled and waved off Tessa's embarrassment.
"Remember Tessa; I was in the same position you were at some point. I do believe I can understand the man's reasoning here. I just try not to think of it, is all."
Tessa sobered immediately and her shoulders dropped the slightest bit. She had failed her lifelong ambitions to find her father, and yet still her mother managed to hold to her cheerful manner, whereas she herself had often times noticed trouble finding reason to smile throughout the years.
"Thank you, mother," she said quietly.

Obliteration On Cheetos:
 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

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

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

"You still fail to realize that without you Tessa, I would still be in that God-forsaken desert," Jack said realistically, with a smile. "Still though, certainly there are happier topics that we could discuss, no?" Jack asked, attempting to cheer up not only his wife, but to banish any unwelcome thoughts from himself also.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

--<._.-'--.__Tessa Cortez__.--'-._.>--

So cold...

All the same, all about me.

The wit, the wisdom.

Here I stand,

Here I live...

The truth of a revelation, frozen in fear.

Slowly dying...

"The desert?" Tyele inquired, "I thought you said he was a pirate captain, Tessa?"
"He is," Tessa said simply, "I just found him on my way for particularly poorly-given information to your own whereabouts."
Tyele stopped for a moment, confused. She sat down upon the bed and held her chin thoughtfully for several moments before shaking her head.
"I haven't been to the eastern lands in nearly a decade, Tessa... how could you have tracked me there?"

Tessa froze. By this point she was no one to complain about what it had brought about, but if her prior leads had turned out false, then something - or someone - had to be behind it. If it was the only tracking she held any faith in, it was Vanessa's and Ferathi's uncanny means to string anything together in the factual manner, and yet those were the same two she had consulted...
"I'll have to look into it later," she decided, "but for now I'm contented with the situation at hand."

Obliteration On Cheetos:
 

[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 furrowed his brow for a moment before taking a seat on the ground, crossing his legs and removing his hat. He ran a hand through his hair, which was now rather long (he wished to change this fact soon), and set the hat on the ground next to him. "Then at least one thing is good, if you are content," Jack said with a smile, looking up at Tessa.

"My coming to the desert was a brush with unfortunate fate that remained unfortunate for near five hundred years. Fortunately, that turned to luck that eventually lead me here," Jack said with a smile, looking down to his hand and he twisted his wedding ring absently.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

--<._.-'--.__Tessa Cortez__.--'-._.>--

So cold...

All the same, all about me.

The wit, the wisdom.

Here I stand,

Here I live...

The truth of a revelation, frozen in fear.

Slowly dying...

"So I see," Tyele smiled, "Well your timing is admirable; I was about to take a week to return to the woods, so feel free to rest here if you like."
Tessa raised an eyebrow. For a moment she let herself fall into thought but her stare continued for what could have seemed hours.
"Are you sure, mother?"
"Have I ever once been unsure of what I say, Tessa?"
Defeated, Tessa lowered her face slightly and sighed. She turned to Jack and thought for a moment further, then back to her mother and nodded appreciatively.
"Thank you then," she said a moment later.

Obliteration On Cheetos:
 

[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 smiled and looked up Tyele, eyes echoing his thanks. "Thank you, it is rather gracious of you to do that," He said, bowing his head in respect. Then, he thought of something and looked back up. "What else is around here?" He asked, gesturing around vaguely. He was curious, this was in fact where his wife grew up. "Or rather, how safe is it to wander about?" He asked, realizing that Tessa could very well answer his first question.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

--<._.-'--.__Tessa Cortez__.--'-._.>--

So cold...

All the same, all about me.

The wit, the wisdom.

Here I stand,

Here I live...

The truth of a revelation, frozen in fear.

Slowly dying...

"Well that depends," Tyele said with a shrug, "How well-off are you against a dragon? The wilds house as much of a territorial threat here."
Tessa dropped her head. She knew well enough the last thing anyone in their right mind would want to do was to discourage Jack with intimidation regarding anything of a threatening nature, but she had to surrender the point to her mother.
"Seleni may not be the grandest of cities in Tessalona, but I'm sure in three days' time we could find something to do, no?" Tessa offered.

Obliteration On Cheetos:
 

[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 eyes sparkled at the mention of dragon but he quelled the growing desire to contest himself against it. He nodded towards Tessa in agreement. "I am positive that we will love," He said with a smile. That he was confident enough about. Regarding Tessa and himself, they merely needed to wait for something to come to them. Worse came to worse he could find that dragon...He touched the hem of his jacket thoughtfully. Dragon coats weren't all too common.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

--<._.-'--.__Tessa Cortez__.--'-._.>--

So cold...

All the same, all about me.

The wit, the wisdom.

Here I stand,

Here I live...

The truth of a revelation, frozen in fear.

Slowly dying...

Tyele quickly and promptly excused herself and stepped out through the hut's doorway. Tessa merely dropped her face into her hand and shook her head within it before looking up to Jack.
"It wasn't stated literally, dear," she said, "it was only to express the tenacity of the wilds around here. Tessalona as a whole isn't considered very safe by most. The nearest dragon's den is at least two months' journey from here. I doubt our stay will be too eventful if you're not feeling excessively brave."

Obliteration On Cheetos:
 

[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 eyes looked slightly disappointed until he moved over next to Tessa and stood up, kissing her forehead gently. "I promise I won't do anything stupid," He said. "Like make a dragon coat," he added after a moment, looking down at his own coat. Chuckling, he intertwined his fingers with Tessa's and brushed his lips across her knuckles with a smile.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

--<._.-'--.__Tessa Cortez__.--'-._.>--

So cold...

All the same, all about me.

The wit, the wisdom.

Here I stand,

Here I live...

The truth of a revelation, frozen in fear.

Slowly dying...

Tessa giggled, and brought her hand around to catch Jack's chin before it had finished.
"You missed," she whispered as she lifted his lips to her own.

The next few days were relatively uneventful, though Tessa seemed to gradually regain her cheer and to a mild extent, surpass her own standards for it.

"Jack," she said as she was cooking eggs for the third morning, "I just realized it's been three days. Shouldn't we be going back sometime soon?"
She removed the morning meal and dropped herself onto the bed, but not before surrendering Jack's own portions to him.
"I think by now we might have been missed."

Obliteration On Cheetos:
 

[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 slowly and thoughtfully ate before nodding. "I daresay that hellfire may have come upon the ship, and my mother is probably at her wit's end." Jack said after a second, a slow grin happening onto his face. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked over at Tessa.

"Have you any idea to call my mother?" He asked, finishing off his eggs. He put his plate on the floor, pondering how to go about it.

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

[Kares-Eternal Chronicler]

--<._.-'--.__Tessa Cortez__.--'-._.>--

So cold...

All the same, all about me.

The wit, the wisdom.

Here I stand,

Here I live...

The truth of a revelation, frozen in fear.

Slowly dying...

Tessa shook her head, but smiled all the same as she pointed across the room to the blade that had been propped up against the far wall for nearly their entire stay.
"I don't have any direct means to commune with Calypso herself, no... but I wasn't given the title 'Wisdom of the Slaughter' for nothing either, was I?"
She set down her own empty plate and walked over to the blade and retied it to the loop at her side. As she rest her hand across the hilt the entirety of it seemed to glow a faint silver, and Ilyia appeared at the center of the room as though stepping through air itself.

"You called?" She asked with a smile.
"I think it's time we returned, Ilyia. Would you be so kind?"
Ilyia giggled, "Oh, of course! Here..."
She swept her hand off to the side, whereupon an ovoidal silver glow showed a clear fizzle in space, but settled to an image of the middle of the Duchess' cabin.
"Thank you," Tessa said as she turned to Jack, "shall we?"



Obliteration On Cheetos:
 

[The_Scarlet_Lark]

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

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

"Of course," Jack said with a smile, instantly recognizing his ship's cabin. "Thank you, very much," He said to Ilyia before stepping into the portal, looking around the cabin warily, instantly recognizing his mother who was writing a letter on his desk, sporting a pair of glasses she looked over the rim of before taking them off and folding them within the folds of her shirt.

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