All aboard (for vicioussweetie and oh_what_a_story

[goodform]

*The Captain hasn't welcomed visitors to his Nexus rooms for a while: he wonders, briefly, if he ought to have dusted the place, or, he corrects his thought, got one of the new scugs to dust it. He adjusts the bunched white lace at his throat fastidiously. Ah well. The Nexus room is merely an entrance hall. Today he's welcoming people to board his

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[vicioussweetie]

When they arrive, Ali reaches instinctively for the doorknob, then rethinks and raises her hand to knock. "So, ready to check for ducks?"

[oh_what_a_story]

"Yup." Sel sticks a duck call in her mouth, brandishes the bag of bread she's brought along, and digs a seam-ripper out of her pocket. Clenching her teeth on the duck-call, she speaks around it, "quack, quack."

[goodform]

*The door opens: the Captain's vaguely accusatory expression peers around it, eyes flicking to Sel and her duck-call and being unable to move away*

....good day....

[vicioussweetie]

Ali waits a beat to see if he's even going to look at her, then shakes her head a bit. "Don't mind her, she's crazy."

[oh_what_a_story]

Sel blows a quack, then grins (still clutching the call in her teeth). "Hi, Jas! How's tricks?"

[goodform]

*Hook manages to drag his astonishment away from the madwoman with the birdy whistle for long enough to look at Ali and incline his head politely - that is, before the loud quack rings out*

I would never have suspected, my dear...*he meets Sel's eyes cautiously, in case it's catching.*

Things are...fine. *He gathers himself* Please, come in.

[vicioussweetie]

"Thank you." Ali takes Sel's arm and propels her into the room. Never know when she'll try and bolt and all. "Sel, be nice, you know he can't handle these things very well."

[oh_what_a_story]

"Aww, I'll be good." She takes the duck call out, looking subdued for a brief moment before something catches her attention. She's in Jas's sooper sekrit room, after all--there's all sorts of things to look at and peer into and poke. And... is that a teddy bear dressed as a pirate? Looking guilty, she hides the seam-ripper behind her back, then leans down to give the bear a conspiratorial whisper: "don't worry, it's not for you."

[goodform]

*It is indeed a teddy pirate - and it's not usually sat out on the side where anyone can laugh at see it! Hook's heart lurches, then he decides to pretend manfully it never happened and closes the door behind his two guests.

The Nexus room is small. There's a large and much-abused desk taking up most of it, with deep grooves of James' anger scored into it: it is swamped in paper, books, dribbling candleabras and a small tank containing a tarantula. There is also a laptop lying on top of a copy of Anatomy for Artists, which has a skull and cross-bones sticker on its lid. There's a fridge, which no-one in their right mind should ever open, and bottles, and a tea caddy: there's an aged sofa which osteopaths would condemn on sight: and there's a bunk set into the wood-panelled wall, made with red silk sheets and pillows. The walls too have seen their share of the steel claw's rage, it seems.*

Do you wish to commence the tour immediately? Or would you prefer a rest?

[vicioussweetie]

"Oh, I think we'd better let Sel go and terrorize your new crew now, before she gets bored." Ali is always the voice of reason in these situations.

Isn't that a scary thought?

[oh_what_a_story]

"There's ducks to find!" Sel chimes in--although she gives the desk a longing look. If she'd had a few seconds of Jas not looking, she'd have nipped one of his pens and written "Wolverine was here, bub" among the scratches on his desk.

[goodform]

Very well.

*No, he doesn't sound relieved, why do you ask? Certainly not for the safety of his desk... He strides over to the little interior door which leads to his ship's cabin, and opens it: warm light spills out, sunlight...*

If you would follow me, ladies...

[vicioussweetie]

Ali's very wisely somewhere not between Sel and the door. "Try to not hurt them too badly, Sel."

[oh_what_a_story]

"Aw, I'm not gonna hurt anyone," she protests, "I'm just gonna check for ducks!" And, once again putting in her duck-call, she blows a quacking charge and runs through the door. Anyone she finds on the other side will be pestered with quacks and offers of slightly-stale bread until they're thoroughly confused.

[vicioussweetie]

Ali watches Sel go, then looks over at Jas with an amused smile. "Thank you for humoring us."

[goodform]

*She'll probably find the captain's cabin empty, but if she runs out onto deck heaven help the crewman who challenges her. Hook gives Ali a sidelong look, eyebrow on the rise, and offers her an arm*

I am always trying to work on my sense of humour. Shall we?