|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 4:13 pm
Taking a step closer, "It does have a terrible taste," she admitted in a very poor imitation of a whisper. She watched as his eyes seemed to spark and she wondered just what he was thinking. It was probably nothing at all like what Phillip would be thinking. Then again she very much doubted he would be offering or encouraging to drink anything.
She shook her head, deep gold waves splaying over her shoulders as she tried not to think about that. It was in very poor company to be thinking of someone else when in the presence of another. Especially when Jack had come to see her, share with her this pastime of his. She screwed on a smile, hoping he wouldn't notice her momentary lack of good mood or attention.
In fact she rather found herself glad when he pressed the bottle back in her paw. She again closed her eyes tight to take a sip, making a comical face much akin to smelling something rotten as the liquid pooled against her lips and slid down her throat. She gave a little hiccup, blinking as the warmth intensified.
"Bad taste, good feeling," she decided as she handed the bottle back. She felt a little fuzzy, almost dizzy. It gave her a chance to not think about the past but about the present, or what little of her mind continued to work. At the very least, she was able to focus entirely on Jack-and all the ways he wasn't Phillip, the ways in which he made her heart a traitor.
Oh but she wouldn't tell him that. That would be bad, very bad. Of course consuming liquor often made one loose-lipped. And it was hard telling how much longer she would last without becoming so very pliable under his paws, in more ways than one.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2010 12:21 pm
Bad taste, good feeling, she had said after coming that much closer. It unnerved him in ways it shouldn't have, and he tried very hard to brush it off on the alcohol. It was, after all, the best drink he'd had in a while; it was going to rattle his nerves. ...Right? The captain didn't like making assumptions, so he balled whatever double entendre that his brain was trying to make sense of and stored it in the back of his mind. Now wasn't the time.
Jack rubbed the lip of the bottle before taking a long draw from the rum, shutting his eyes as though he were diving into the drink. He too, did not want to over-think things, as he was often made to do when stuck in his own company. Marooned captains, traitorous crews, pretty princesses with trust in their eyes... no, it wasn't the time. Rum was here to do its job and he needed to let it, and with that thought in mind, he grinned a toothy grin, opened his eyes, and drew the bottle away to pass over again.
"Though' you were full'a good feelins, Princess," he half-teased, swirling the spirits in the bottle. "Y'don' need rum for tha'."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2010 12:39 pm
Aurora sauntered, more from the fact the rum was tipping her world-her head-off kilter, closer and then away. Perhaps it was the headiness that made her act like waves ebbing and flowing towards the captain or perhaps it was a sense of gravity and attraction. Whatever the reason, she continued her little dance quite unaware of it.
The rum stripped down thread barren silk screens that had long held certain memories away. Her dance became a familiar waltz, eyes falling shut as she swayed. In some ways she was lost in another time and yet in the same vein she never forgot Jack.
His words invaded her mind and her eyes slowly opened as she stilled. Oh she had plenty of bad feelings. Even wrong feelings assaulted her as they'd taken root in her heart. Not that he could know that. She went to great lengths to not think about them, to be the sunshine that would light his world. But with the rum coursing through her, she managed to slip.
"I-I'm not. I left so much behind," she murmured softly. She swallowed as images of her parents and the fairies and Phillip entered her mind. Oh how she had betrayed them all, betrayed him. "Tell me, Jack, what do you do when you've changed?" She didn't see the need to explain although in a soft tone she added, "I should miss Phillip."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2010 1:24 pm
She was like the shoreline in her dance, rolling in and flitting away and leaving nothing but teasing strands of her hair to belatedly capture like hissing sea foam. And gods, Jack wanted to capture her in that instant, but instead he sat - thunderstruck - and simply watched as Aurora waltzed into a world he was sure he was not a part of. He was little more than a bystander, a man that couldn't swim, left to watch the ocean and her advances from the dunes. Drowning, he thought absently, would not be so bad if she were the sea.
Jack rolled the cork between his paws to keep from looking at her when her eyes opened, his face screwed up in utter confusion- towards his own thoughts. Glancing, up, his dark eyes seemed even darker in the wake of her query. He hadn't expected something so existential from a girl - no, a woman - who was so whimsical.
"Y'let it take over, I suppose," he answered, voice just as soft as hers, but rough from the rum. He shrugged a shoulder, an uncertain grin belaying his equally uncertain thoughts. "Try'na fight change s'like try'na fight... the ocean. S'gonna leave you on your knees. S'gonna hurt if you get caught up in th'current. Change'll win eventually."
He laughed then, a humorless, half-apologetic noise. Sometimes his allusions to the sea were more out of his desire to reunite with it-- he must have come off as one with a one-track mind. Licking his furry lips, he tilted his head and made to try again, but--
The captain floundered, brow furrowing, denied himself the breathlessness he wanted to feel and measured out his exhalations so he at least sounded normal in his own ears.
"Don' say tha'. I'm sure y'do, Princess," he said. "Y'jus'... getting use' t'this place, s'all. Y'are a strong girl."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2010 1:49 pm
There never did seem to be use in fighting, the heart out beat the mind in strength. It should have made her want to run and find a way out of this land she'd found herself lost in. It should have made her frightful and homesick. Except it didn't because she'd been just a little bit lost ever since finding out she was a princess. Even if Phillip turned out to be her betrothed, she still thought of herself as Briar Rose. And Rose much liked the chance to be free, to explore, to have friends.
To have Jack.
She shook her head with a puzzled glitter in her eyes. Well that was silly. She didn't have Jack, no one had Jack. He was a pirate, untamed and-well he was sweet with her. But friends often were. Why was it that with him she had to keep reminding herself of that word? Friends.
His dark eyes were enchanting, a seduction she couldn't name because she had never been seduced. Although if asked, many would have said she was part seductress-not that she had a clue of it.
She gave a laugh then, "You are a pirate, so in love with the sea. Your heart must be a twisting current, Jack. I bet it is lovely there, your heart's sea." There was almost a speck of imploring in her blue eyes but the rum seemed to have transformed her into a bit of nymph for she did not make it sound like anything but pretty words. Ones she meant, with the unspoken hope that one day maybe she might reside there.
"I-oh, I do. I miss them. Phillip and I used to waltz, he used to listen to me sing and bring me roses. But it would be worse to be found." She smiled, wistfully, "There are things, people, here that can't be found there."
It was easy to admit that, without pointing him out. She didn't have trouble admitting secretly that he had taken a special place in her heart though she dare not admit how much of one. She was betrothed, to a prince, and she really couldn't forget that. Much as she wanted to.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 8:55 am
Jack laughed again, this time genuinely. He took a swill from the bottle and shrugged, spreading his paws in that usual, light way of his.
"Th' sea is freedom, s'my joie de vivre I guess y'could say." The captain played his paw over the lip of the bottle, her words striking a pensive chord in him that again made his brow furrow. It was easy for him to shuck his insecurities-- he was a professional at it, an actor great enough to even fool himself, but the very fact that he mindlessly stumbled in Aurora's presence when thinking of himself was unsettling to say the least. He wondered if it was worth trusting her, and then realized he had no choice in the matter. His heart had already deemed her trustworthy while his mind was leagues behind. How she had managed such a rare feat, he had no idea. Witchery, probably.
"If m'heart's a sea, I don' doubt many things have been dashed upon her rocks," he continued with some amusement. His whiskers twitched up. Jack wanted to tell her that, why-- if she were found, then perhaps she could reside at the Oasis with her betrothed, that way she could have her cake and eat it too. That would be a wicked, wicked thing to do, though, especially with the pirate in him having claimed her as his treasure.
She wasn't a thing to be had, she wasn't a thing to be had.
Instead, Jack kept his wordy trap shut.
"M'no prince, Princess, but I've got a good pair'a ears for listening to song, an' I've been told m'not too bad on my feet," he said, leaning forward with a grin. Then he climbed to his paws as he dutifully cleared his throat, removed his hat with a flourish and bowed low, offering her a paw to take.
"Le's see if these rumors are true. Hopefully we don' end up sacrificin' your darling feet."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 9:27 am
She gave a sweet laugh, shaking her head-she imagined very many things had been dashed upon the rocks, seduced by the siren's spell of one Captain Sparrow. It was indeed very hard not to be. Oddly she thought it would undoubtedly leave one so very glad of the painful aftermath, she couldn't see regretting ever being around Jack.
"Princes can only dance for years of dance lessons," she whispered conspiratorially in a sweet throaty voice that oozed flirtation. She grinned, standing up tall and slipping into his reach, rather unaware at just how much she drifted towards him naturally. She hadn't even considered yet dancing with him before she found herself taking one paw in her own and waiting for him to finish the hold and touch her waist.
"But what a sacrifice it would be, dancing with a captain!" she teased joyfully. The small piece of herself that was aware of her actions, her words, blamed the rum for this bordering inappropriate behavior all the while imagining such tantalizing things that for a moment Aurora herself forgot how to dance or sing.
It snapped back into her with a fierceness when she looked into his eyes. She smiled widely and gave just the slightest nudge of a lead so that he would have no choice to be embarrassed.
"I wonder
I wonder
I wonder why each little bird has a someone
To sing to, sweet things to
A gay little love melody
I wonder
I wonder
If my heart keeps singing
Will my sing go winging
To someone who'll find me
And bring back a love song to me," she sang it without realizing just how bad a choice it was. So very naive.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 10:56 am
It was both easy and hardly so to deal with an impish Aurora, for as captivating as she was with her eyes turned up in innocence, she was irresistible when she took to being a little nymph. Jack gathered her up close for a moment before easing away, paw falling to the Princess's hip. He looked somewhat puzzled, before he slipped it up to her waist, his touch barely-there. Jack knew this nearness would be little more than an ephemeral one, it was just a dance, but-- she was delicate beneath the pad of his paw, just as he knew she would be. Delicate and warm and alive. The captain's grin was a faint one, though he continued to remind himself of her gift of friendship. It would be so easy to turn that friendship into something more. His ears tilted back.
"Dunno if it'd be a worthy sacrifice, love," he growled in good humor, eyes gleaming. "All my dancing I learned in taverns and on decks t'fiddles and concertinas."
As her song began he again reveled its sweetness, sweeping her into a little dance right there in her den. The captain wasn't the best dancer in the world-- perhaps if he was a bit more drunk and had a band of just-as-drunk musicians to play some cacophonous ditty-- but he managed well enough, especially since he was careful not to tread on Aurora's dainty paws or (heaven forbid) grip her waist and draw her closer (which was difficult indeed, as it was a pirate's natural response to hoard what was his). Jack hummed along, a patchy, rough sound, drifting in and out of himself as he often did.
"Perhaps if y'keep singing," he began, turning her like the dancer in a music box, guiding her with one paw brushing her waist, the other holding her own paw high; round and round she went. "Tha' prince of yours will hear n'come runnin'."
He grinned fierce then, all play and sudden burst of wickedness, dipping her suddenly, though he drew in perhaps far too close for comfort, "Unless tha' song is an open invitation."
Said the vulture sparrow to the nightingale.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 11:29 am
To say that Aurora had never been touched was both true and false. She had after all danced with Phillip but his touch had been different than this. That touch had been playful and later it had been comforting, never electric to the point that it had the power to make her breath catch in her throat like a pricking thorn. She leaned into his paws with every chance she had, citing that it was the dance dictating it instead of the simplicity that she relished it like one might an intoxicating addiction. An addiction that was surely one Captain Jack Sparrow.
"I think it would be, after all how many can say they've danced with Jack Sparrow?" she grinned, masking the fact she had been on the tip of daydreaming. Daydreaming about Jack in a more than friendly way that made the blood in her veins heat and tinge her fur pink with hidden shame.
She found no fault with his dancing nor with his rough hum, in fact she thought both rather complicated him but them-a them which she firmly reminded herself was only in friendship. A friendship in which she quite enjoyed his paws pressing into her waist, even with the most delicate of touches it felt much like a brand kneading it's way to the skin beneath her fur that screamed with a hiss of glee that she was his. A pirate's gold crown lain atop a pile of gold galleons.
Her thoughts were ruptured as he began to turn her and she lifted her skirts, eyes lighting up as she spun like a gilded carousel horse. And then the mention of Phillip brought a tidal wave of dread crashing down in her stomach that made her heart seize. She felt her mouth form the scream that never left her throat, No!, before the dip knocked sense out of her.
When she was righted, she couldn't stop herself from pressing against him-never feeling quite close enough. As though if by doing so he would know she would much rather stay with him. The darkening of the blue in her eyes as he asked about her song was evidence that she could not hide of where her thoughts wanted to rush, what she wanted to do, of the gravitational pull that existed from him to her, of the fact that she was attracted to him-
And really it was all too easy, to just lean forward a little with a simple tilt of her head as blonde strands that curled into waves at the tips swept against her back, to give in.
Without a thought of the reasons not to, Aurora leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 12:16 pm
He wanted to admit, many alas, that it was the honor of dancing with her that was the real treasure here. After all, how many captains could claim to have such dalliances with princesses without the fear of the rope so very near? But instead he gave her such a grin, all jest and charm.
It had taken him some time to get himself on the track he wanted to be running, which was one that had Aurora in the light of an affectionate friend. With her so close it was a trial, but even as he dipped her and the words popped from his mouth, he knew it was the wrong joke to quip. The apology that began to spring into his eyes, the just fibbin', Princess that curled on his tongue, fell to dust when Aurora drew nearer.
Jack had once been told by his first mate that there was a little bit of truth behind every 'just kidding,' whether it was spoken or not. His vision focused on one point as it drew near, all blue and gold and hot and blurred--
With her body flush against his, the warmth or her presence and sweetness of her kiss... he was a man and a pirate at that-- instinct told him to pull her in, steal her from this faraway prince that was, all of a sudden, his bitter rival. He was also a captain that abided by certain rules, and though he had little honor to his name, he still thought himself (on some level) if not an honorable man, then an honorable captain. Both aspects overrode one another, and Jack suddenly found himself at a stalemate and just as began to return the Princess's favor, the captain did the one thing he did not expect to do: he wrapped his paws over her shoulders and pushed her away.
Jack stared at her a moment, sucking in his breath as though he could steal the breath she took from him. He tested a laugh, which ultimately sounded like an explosion in his ears.
"Bit too much rum, eh, Princess?" he asked, trying to play it off. Jack stared at her for a long moment, not entirely searching, but invading the blue of her eyes. He laughed again, patted her awkwardly on the shoulder, pulled away from their dancer's embrace. "S'late. I should go."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 12:30 pm
As he pushed her away she was both suddenly very, indecently so she decided, sober and confused-not to mention flaming in embarrassment. She could have sworn she felt him return the kiss and yet he was pushing her away. It didn't seem to matter though for all she could focus on was the distance between them now, a distance created by her foolishness. Why had she done that?
She sucked in a breath unable to question him on his actions, for he had done nothing wrong and she wasn't sure whether she loved that he cared enough to protect her or hurt that he didn't want her. Instead of the words that wanted to come out, ones that she would never give voice to for fear of ruining what was left of their friendship, a hollow laugh escaped her.
"Yes-rum," she gave a smile that was fake. "Thank you, Jack, for stopping me," she added for cover. It was bad cover she thought, the first time she could ever remember lying so fully about anything. But she had no other choice. She did not want to embarrass him or herself, did not want to lose the best-the only-friend she had.
The mention of the lateness of the hour swept the heat from her cheeks and she gave a nod. Already she was sorry for the lost of closeness, the lost of heat, between them. She turned slightly away as if she might be able to see the placement of the moon from the tunnel's entrance, allowing the feelings to be pushed down for the time being. She could fret, cry, scream, dream, whatever she wanted when he was gone.
"I hadn't realized the time. I-I- thank you for coming, for introducing me to rum. It was-lovely," she choked slightly on the last word and attempted to cough in order to mask her blunder. "I am sorry, Jack. I hope I'll see you again," she admitted softly though she made no move to show him the sincerity of her words by voice or touch. She simple stepped back and waited for him to go as he wished.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 1:03 pm
Stopping her? Had she planned on continuing had he not--
Jack's smile grew strained; he was suddenly very aware of her presence. But she had already acknowledged his damned chivalry - why couldn't it be dead? - and he couldn't very well go back on his word. She wasn't the type he would try troubling with roundabout words to get his way. Somehow he righted his looping thoughts, focused on her like he would focus on one of his shipmates, tried to deal with the situation like one would on a ship... and except for the fact that he was a captain without a ship, that Aurora was not his crew... well, it was a harder, bitterer reality, one he found himself choking on.
His own mouth twitched, "No nee' t'lie, Princess. You're a lousy drunk, all depressed an' frisky. No more rum for you."
He had tried to joke, honest, but the room was full of stale, hot air now. Jack just wanted to get out and breathe. He did not want to dwell upon the idea that Aurora would absolutely hate him come morning for making her drink something that would loose her inhibitions. He also did not want to think of rum as the truth serum, as he often did, because if rum made people truthful, then that meant some sort of attraction on Aurora's part that he staunchly refused to acknowledge, if only for her sake.
Jack grabbed his things and pulled them on, tipping his hat back on his head. He gave a long look at the bottle of black rum he had brought and corked that too, stuffing it into one of the many pockets lining his jacket. His fumbling paws stilled at her apology, and he stopped himself from rounding on her with a shout on his lips; it wasn't her fault itwasn'therfault. He thought of her and he corset, and turned to her at the entrance of her den.
"When I pass tha' big tree, I'll preten' tha I felt nothing and you'll no' hate me, tha' sound good?" Not the kiss, not the confusion. He didn't smile, staring imploringly instead. Jack moved forward to press a furry kiss to her brow, to show her some sign of reassurance, but the coward in him held him back. He did, however, touch the ends of her hair gently before drawing away. "You'll no' be getting rid of me, 'Rora. Sleep well, Princess."
Jack turned with a flick of his tail and left her, escaping an almost-reality he did not yet want to face.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 1:29 pm
The laugh his words received was close enough to real to pass and yet if he bothered to look into her eyes he would see that rum was hardly on her mind at all. "I imagine princesses aren't raised on rum like pirates," she attempted to tease but it fell a bit flat and she curled her tail around herself like a safety blanket while her ears lowered against her skull.
"I would never hate you Jack," floated out of her mouth and she blinked, not realizing at first that she had spoken it allowed before giving a smile-one as radiant as she could manage. "I would be very unhappy to be rid of you," she snapped her mouth shut before the rest of the sentence could escape her I seem to have a taste for you. Which she did, the taste of rum against her lips and down her throat was entwined with the essence of him.
"Sweet dreams, Jack--be safe," she whispered after him watching with a slight frown as he left her.
She did not burst into sobs, merely crumbled to the ground in the elegant fashion of one whose legs no longer support her. She could not bring herself to blame him for any of it, the question of what she had done rushing around in circles. She sat there for an undetermined amount of time before slipping off to bed all the while hoping dearly that he would come back. As much as she wanted him to return that night she would be happy if she simply saw him again at all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
