" JACK, “ doe eyes roll to the back of her head, becoming more instinctive, the more she had been attracted to his company, like a magnetic force, so to speak. it was inevitable, that their paths crossed each time she would be called to the sea, seemingly appropriate that it would be entirely jack’s doing. “ if you’ve returned to formerly choose a side, i would suggest choosing the right one, this time. “
“Accepting, of course, that I was on the wrong side at any point – which I do not, by the way – “ Not that he would be offering the bonny lass any insights into why he thought as much. She had her opinions of him and she could sure as well keep them, for they held little impact on his awareness of who he was, regardless of what she might have to say about it!
“Your tone implicates upon me the notion that you might perhaps be considering yourself to be the right side.” A beat, not a hesitation so much as an inflection in and of itself, the silence more punctuation than conclusion. “This time.” His brows rose, as though imploring her to refute him on this score, before pointing out the rather obvious, “I’m not so certain that’s the case love. I may be in need of a more compelling argument.”
Jack was startled for a moment if only because he’d forgotten Turner had opted to tag along on this venture, and he was most unused to pirates willfully accepting untested ( or at least new ) leadership. Registering who he was dealing with however, made the intrigue die rather quickly.
“Yes well, seeing as you’re the one who married her I can’t say your position surprises me altogether much, dear William.” Unfortunately it wasn’t as though Jack could really afford to cast off the captain of the Dutchman and take on this adventure on his own. He could, but it wouldn’t be particularly advisable. Or easy. Better to keep things simple then.
Waving a hand dismissively, Jack sauntered away, checking the sails and tack. They were in close reach now, and there was little more the Freedom could do if they didn’t want to risk getting themselves in irons. Even a ship as good as this one would have little option but to weave her way across when the wind was against her heading.
The Dutchman, however, had no such restrictions – she sailed by magic and the will of her captain, the winds themselves and even law of the sea at times be damned. Timing in this was of the essence, he knew that all too well. So the question that remained was, did he trust William to do what would be necessary enough to get him to the island, and did William trust him enough to come back once he had acquired that which the king was looking for.
“Very well,” He decided, turning around and flashing a bright, disarming grin, “You’ve convinced me.” William had done no such thing – captain or no, the man knew nothing of sailing and likely had little notion precisely why Jack suddenly agreed to play by his rules. “I’ll sally aboard the Dutchman, you’ll take me where we ought to go, I’ll bring you
Teoxuacata’s bauble and off you can go to your bonny lass.”
It seemed a perfectly reasonable offer seeing as William couldn’t set foot on land and therefore Jack would indeed still be keeping up his end of the bargain to bring the necklace sought by the Pirate King and also providing a little extra assistance as if on account of being granted passage on the Dutchman rather than sailing there himself.
Leaving out the fact there was more on that island than a mere necklace ( however powerful said necklace might be, gold was its own power in these waters ) and that the Freedom would pick him up on the island ( along with said gold ) after the Dutchman had taken her leave, it was quite the magnanimous offer indeed.
“Once is a long time past, old chum.” There was no denying that once, there had been a time in which Jack had held then-Sir Beckett in respectable esteem. They had their differences, to be sure, but so long as Beckett had respected the lines Jack would not cross they’d gotten on fair well.
When push came to shove however, their world views made it impossible for them to get on – more’s the pity, when one took into account what a fabulous pirate a man like Cutler Beckett could make these days, and with Jack now so rooted in the life, there was no more running from it for him to find even if he wanted to. Beckett had seen sure to that, whether he knew it or not at the time.
“What good is once, when what we’ve got ahead is now, mm?” The real question at hand, was just what to do about a certain, unexpected survivor of a war that never would have started without him in the first place. Seemed damn ironic that Cutler could escape the Locker, when he above all men deserved it most. Things were reaching a head with the crew – and Jack, admittedly, had yet to truly come to decide his own opinion of matters.
It was time, then, to come to terms. “How about we talk a little less about what was then, and a little more on what we should be doing – because if you ask me, this little trial period’s gone on long enough. I think it’s time we came to some conclusions, you and I – what say you?”
“I will shoot!” Jack insisted hotly, even knowing he was caught out. He kept his pistol level for a moment more, staring into those wide eyes and trying not to feel disconcerted by how unaffected they were. There was no fear in that gaze, but it didn’t come from Beckett’s certainty that Jack was harmless. Rather, it came from the sort of deadness only the truly shattered could properly achieve, and it was an eerie sight on a man who was so fucking sure of himself.
Clicking the safety back in place, Jack lowered his weapon with an irate growl. “Oh – bugger off,” He stepped back, not wanting to be any closer than he had to be to the man. “Crew’s ordered not to touch you,” He reminded him gruffly, “So get out of my sight, if you please.”
“You’re talkin’ rogues, mate,” Eyes narrowed as surely as his voice had taken grasp of a darker cadence, Jack considered detailing precisely what it took to be a pirate, but in the end he opted to step in close and sway forward, pitching his words low to better ensure that Becket clung upon every word. “And you best be thanking whatever it is a grubby little monkey like you prays to that it be pirates were the ones to fish your rotten flesh out of those waters, mark me.”
He leaned back then, his arm raising up sudden and sharp, as if to slap – but he turned it, stopping shortly before Cutler’s very nose with the hideous rise of flesh in the shape of a Pbared between them. “In my experience,” A false brightness, a dangerous sort of pleasantness seeping into his tone now, charming as a snake, “All it takes is a man with a dark heart and a wicked disregard for people’s lives to make a pirate.”
“You’re in no position to negotiate, mate,” Jack waved his hand, and in an instant, Ragetti and Pintel had Beckett’s arms pinned to his sides. There was a nasty grin on Pintel’s face that left Jack more than a little uneasy – the man was still too much Barbossa’s for comfort – the sooner the Pearl was docked with Greene’s fleet, the better he would be for it. An honest crew would be quite the sore and welcome thing after so much of this mutiny business.
“You want us to gut ‘im for ya, boss?” Pintel inquired, all too eager with the idea of spilling guts across the deck of the Pearl. Jack wrinkled his nose at him, “What? No! Deck’s just been swabbed,” He pointed out as reason enough, “Toss him over – he’s gotten a bit ripe.”
As if uncertain, Ragetti leaned in and sniffed at Beckett, rearing back with a look that was comically startled. “See?” Jack’s tone was pleased, warm from amusement and vindication. “And you know what I think of that, don’t you lads?”
Ragetti started to chuckle, knowing where this was going, and Pintel stared, his face twisted in an impression set to make a gargoyle cry. Jack rose his brows, leading the older of the two to groan, “You don’t mean for us to go with him, do you captain?” Suddenly it didn’t sound as fun as it had a moment ago.
In answer, Jack made a shooing motion, and Ragetti began pulling Beckett toward the edge. “Its a good day for a swim,” The musing was remarkably good natured, and Jack smiled a little – though he was certain to Beckett, it brought absolutely no comfort to see paired with a little wave as Pintel hauled as well to get the reluctant man on the edge of the ship.
“Have fun!” He chimed, just as the deck rocked in the wake of a wave, and all three of them tumbled in. Judging from the yowl of outrage, Pintel had not been at all ready for it. Jack looked around, before waving over Moriarty, who was kind enough to bring the bucket containing cloths and a small chunk of soap and lower it, too, over the edge of the ship.
“And what do you think you’re doing?” It was about as effective as talking to a jailhouse dog. Beckett was not only tired, he was feverish and too beyond himself to consider being afraid, let alone obedient.
Jack was of the mind to stick him on the floor regardless, and just stuff more blankets around him so he could sweat out the fever without being troublesome about it. Still, considering the man’s constitution that was as like to kill him off as not, and far be it from he to kill a man through something so impersonal as negligence. He supposed it served him right for ignoring the signs of symptoms up until now, anyway.
Huffing irately, Jack stepped over and grabbed the smaller man, lifting him up and tossing him over one shoulder like a sack of grain. Tearing all his own blankets off the bed, he unceremoniously dropped the man back onto it, before stomping off to shove his bedding onto the chair behind his desk. That done, he grabbed the pillows off the floor and started chucking them with a vague sense of amusement and malice at the tired man, considering it a right treat each time there was a satisfactory plap to Beckett’s face.
That done, he picked up the blankets and drew them over, tossing them across the small fellow and tucking him in so tightly it would be a wonder if he could move. “I’ll check on you later,” He grumped, turning with every intention of transforming his desk into a bed for the night.
This is a permanent starter call for Jack Sparrow, of Pirates of the Caribbean explicitly.
These calls give me a heads up on who is open to interacting with whom ( which is handy for those who have exclusives among my crew! ) and gives me an excuse to kick you starters whenever something crosses the mind, or blow up your inbox knowing who would be most wanted.
These calls also serve as a final tag dump – when this call is posted it indicates a character has been fully moved into the blog and is ready for action!
Ocean Archive 