Jay’mes / Hook:
He was happy he had gotten away from her, to be honest. Not because he disliked her company, but she always made him think of his past and that was something he didn't really feel like reliving. After their conversation, Ana had decided to go find somewhere to hole up for the night. She wasn't going to take his help, and he had known it before he had even offered. But what gentleman would he be had he not offered his den up anyway. He chuckled at that, and grinned. The night was still young.. He really did enjoy a good stroll.
The wind was cool, and he closed his eyes to take in a deep breath. He smellled the salty ocean, the musk of a hare, and the faint scents of a few other creatures that he was sure were probably lions. Hell, if he took deep enough breaths, he liked to joke that he could even smell Jakk all the way out here.
Pushing all thoughts aside, he decided just to walk. No clear destination, maybe to find a fruit bush to see if any of its products ggonebadd.. His paw was tingling, the paw that was scarred and torn up. The weather usually caused it to give him more pain than usual.. But he didn't notice any clouds in the sky.
Nimue:
"Ah, there you are. I've been wondering if I'd run into you or not," a low, feminine voice purred, her voice barely a whisper over the sound of the ocean. A rather petite lioness who looked just as dangerous as any wily corsair, the female slowly drew herself from around the rock she'd been curled against, dark even in the moonlight. The painted pelt over her back, held closed at her throat by a string of bones definitely set her off as anything but a fluffy bunny. But even without that, her eyes... Dark gray and filled with secrets, they shown with her interest as she looked him up and down. What her intentions were, on the other hand, were for the moment quite unknown.
But she didn't give him a chance to speak, she just continued on, stepping towards him one pace, two, three before stopping, leaving plenty of space between them.
"Have you met my friend, then? She's a pretty thing, isn't she? Gold as the sun and eyes like the sky on a perfect day." She paused, sighing as she sat down and looked away, a mask of feigned sadness on her face. Even her tone lacked true empathy, though one could almost say she tried. That's what counted, didn't it? "Poor, poor Ana. So much pain. Devastation runs in her family you know, going back generations..."
As if a realization suddenly struck her, her demeanor shifted and she narrowed her eyes on him.
"I hope you have no intentions of running into her again. You need to stay away from her. She needs to find the deal-maker and you'll just get in her way."
Jay’mes / Hook:
The voice surprised him, and he would have jumped had he been any corsair. But he was prepared for battle, usually, and strange voices appearing out of nowhere, only put him on the defense. Her voice was low, seductive, with a tinge of creepy. He arched an eyebrow when she slowly emerged from where she was resting.
"I think you have the wrong lion, love. I'm afraid I have no idea who you are." He had been prepared to walk right around her. Just.. pretend she didn't exist and keep on walking. He'd had plenty enough conversation for the evening anyway. But then she mentioned a friend. He looked confused for a moment, before chuckling.
"You sent Ana then, aye? Well if you are looking for her, she is gone for the evening. I'll be sure to let her know you were looking." He wouldn't -really-, but who cared? But then her tone went sad, and he found himself even more confused.
"Pain? She didn't seem like she was in pain to me. I know pain." He said, his tone hardening a bit as he motioned to his mangled paw.
"I shall see who I damn well please, woman. Who are you to tell me I will get in the way?.." Then he narrowed his eyes, unaware he was playing right into the lioness's paws.
"Deal-maker?"
Nimue:
"Oh, I did no such thing. I doubt anyone could send the little dear anywhere, at least not without a great deal of force," Nimue replied with a small shake of her head. One paw rose and she considered it in a bored fashion, as if she was contemplating if she should trim her claws sometime soon. She chuckled when he took offense. She didn't know the full extent of what had happened to him at the paws of the red male, but she knew it hurt him. Would he want to find the other male? Would he want revenge for whatever had happened?
She was too curious to say no!
"We all know pain. Some just are better than others at keeping it tucked away until there's just. Nothing. Left." Each word she punctuated with a small shake of her head. He would certainly get in the way, this boy. Males always tended to get in the way. It was probably why Nim was so... friendly with Ana. She wasn't a male and they could grumble together over how stupid they could be sometimes. At least, they used to.
Her head tilted when he asked about the deal-maker and it took all of her will not to smile like a snake.
"Oh, he has a name... What was it... Something an a** would say..." She tapped her chin in thought for a moment. "Bray... Braedi, that's what it was. I'm sure she's making plans right this minute to track him down."
Jay’mes / Hook:
"That so? You don't exactly strike me as someone who won't use force to get what they want." He chuckled, but it was a very serious chuckle. He knew games like this one was playing. He had ran into Oceane', the seer of the Pirates on more than one occasion, and she usually talked in riddles herself. But at least this one, was easier to understand.
"You don't have to hide it to have nothing left. Just let a few alligators do it for you." He said, bitterly. He wasn't sure why he was acting so bitter with her about it. Maybe because she was preaching to him about pain, something he knew too well. But he hadn't really thought Ana had been in pain, so maybe this lioness had a point. Would he admit that? Absolutely not. But he could think it all he wanted.
As soon as she said his name, his ears went flat and he snarled a little. That name, brought back a lot of memories. A lot of promises of revenge, that he still intended carrying out.
Ana knew Braedi? Enough to want to track the b*****d down? Suddenly he was intensely curious. Though it was hard to see past the rage that he felt when he thought of the red coward.
"Well that would make two of us." He said, looking her dead in the eyes.
Nimue:
Oh, how could it be so easy? This stupid little scamp, it was like taking a toy from a cub, getting him to hang onto her every word. He was just too precious. Nim contained her sense of triumph over drawing him into her trap, for lack of a better word, instead drawing a frown on her face.
He had snarled when he heard the name, so she hadn't Seen wrong. He had a connection to Braedi and it wasn't a good one. Ana's sort of was, but she wasn't about to tell this boy that. He didn't need to know that Ana owed the demon-spawn a favor. No, he didn't need to know that.
"You're looking for him? Well, that certainly settles it. You leave her alone, pirate and find him yourself. She doesn't need the likes of you slowing her down. Sooner she gets this done, the better by my way of thinking. No doubt by hers as well." To emphasize her current stand on the matter, or at least the one she was presenting, she pointed one claw at him. "I mean it."
Jay’mes / Hook:
"Yes I am looking for him. He killed my love, he took her from me, and gave me this as a reminder!" He ripped the fur that covered his paw off, to show the damage the croc's had done. His paw was scarred, and he was lucky he still had good function of it. He could walk on it, although painfully. The fur hadn't grown back in some spots, and the scars gave it the appearance that he had been burned with acid. He had been thankful it hadn't been ripped form his body completely. But in exchange for his paw, his heart had beem.
"I will seek him out, and I will destroy him. It will be her, if anyone, that gets in my way." He looked at the green tinted lioness, and narrowed his eyes just a bit.
"You'd do well not to demand things of me. I don't do well with commands." He growled. His brother was a leper, and it was his job to take him down, not some lioness. Not that he really wanted to call the b*****d a brother. Half brother or not.
Nimue:
If the demigoddess was fazed by his outburst, she showed none of it. She merely set her paw back down and let him rant. So that's what it was. Braedi had killed the pirate's lady. They were all so young, the lot of them, she wondered how long ago this had happened. Foolish children. Ah, but who was she to judge? Everyone made mistakes, even she did. She should probably go apologize for whatever it was she'd done this time to make her own precious jerk grumbly at her, even if she couldn't for the life of her remember what it was.
Then again, if he found out what she was doing now, he wouldn't talk to her for an eternity. Self-righteous son of a b***h.
"Well, there you have it, then. Why bother arguing with me when you'll just find him yourself, and faster? You know, I didn't really consider that prospect, you males tend to get so distracted at times, I suppose I tend to bet a bit more on a female's tracking abilities." She paused and waved her paw. "No matter. What's said is said, what's done is done. No need to growl at me. Males, always growling at me."
She was grumbling now and she didn't care. And frankly, it wasn't part of her act, either. They really were always growling at her, even when she was trying to help. Granted, her methods of helping were if just a little bit unconventional, but who really had the right to judge? She was only curious after all.
Jay’mes / Hook:
"I imagine that more males wouldn't growl at you, if you didn't command them. I have a Captain, I do not need two." He said, suggesting he only took orders from one lion. Though Blackbeard was a hell of a force to be reckoned with. He only obeyed out of his need for self preservation. He didn't really have anything against the lioness. But she wasn't exactly the friendliest of souls either from what he gathered.
Or maybe she was. He couldn't tell.
"Fine. I shall travel alone." He wasn't sure that was true, but he didn't really need to bring Ana.. though he would ask her about it. He needed to know where she had last seen the beast. He had searched for him many times before, but Braedi was sly, and he was easy to miss.
Nimue:
Nim huffed in response.
"I don't make a habit of it. But I do make it a habit of helping my friends. And if it means ordering around a few grumpy males, well then I relish the challenge," she replied with a short, but rather obviously sincere and serious nod. Granted, helping her "friends" usually meant herself, since she didn't exactly have friends persay, but that didn't change anything. For all she knew, this might end well for Ana. Then again, it might not. There was always that possibility. From what she had gathered here and there about the family, she couldn't help but wonder if drama just seemed to follow them or if some god had long ago cursed the line. But they all seemed to have their happy endings in the end. Maybe just a half-curse.
Would he really leave her alone? She didn't think so. She considered telling, or rather asking him to tell Ana she said hi if he did by happenstance see her again before they officially parted ways, but then that seemed like far too much of a contradiction to her earlier vehemence against him bothering her friend.
Ah, but then her mind was so clever, so quick. It took so much effort to hold back her smile. As languid as a slow stream, Nimue stood.
"I wish you luck in your quest," she said, gave him a small nod and turned away to leave. After only a few steps, she paused as if she'd forgotten something and glanced over her shoulder at him.
"I almost forgot. Whether you intend to or not, I'll let you know. Should you ask her, even outright about this Braedi fellow or even simply where she's going or where she's been," her head tilted slightly. "She won't tell you."
Jay’mes / Hook:
"Good thing I don't plan on asking." He said, voice firm as if that had never been on his mind. He'd try it, because if she refused then he would deal with it then. But he wasn't going to tell this lioness that. No, he really was done with conversation for the evening. She turned to leave, and deciding against his walk, he turned to head back towards the pridelands.
He would find Ana in the morning.. That would be his first mission. Despite Nim's warnings to stay away, he hadn't ever been the type to listen.. This would definitely be interesting..
