Comments | hellpointe_log: the signal was made for the grand fleet to anchor

leastof2weevils in hellpointe_log

the signal was made for the grand fleet to anchor

Feb 20, 2011 18:32

Who: Jack and Stephen.
When: Day 41, after this log!
Where: 230 Marigold Avenue.
What: The boys settle into their new lodgings.
Rating: PG for a cold, wet, and miserable physician.

( and all in the Downs that night for to lie )

stephen maturin, jack aubrey

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halftheduet February 21 2011, 03:34:45 UTC

Stephen Maturin looked even smaller than he usually did. Damp and with his knees tucked against his chest, he huddled in front of the fire, trying to keep himself warm. Jack's military coat was draped over his shoulders, and he clasped it tightly. He had a blanket over him as well, and the shivering had finally stopped.

His clothes were laid out on the floor not far away. They'd dry faster and so would he.

When Jack returned, Stephen raised his head. "Another blanket would be nice. Thank you, soul." He pulled the jacket tighter around him. He closed his eyes briefly. "This cold is terrible." Falling in the ocean was bad enough, certainly, but to get wet when it was so frigid outside...

He was more than miserable.

leastof2weevils February 21 2011, 04:45:16 UTC

Jack smiled at Stephen and obliged, adding the second blanket to the rest of the other man's layers and taking a seat beside him. Though he wasn't feeling it as much as the doctor was, he was no exception to the cold; the warmth of the fire was a great comfort, as was the fact that Stephen was looking a bit more at ease, now.

He made a noise of agreement in his throat, nodding. "Miserable," he replied, reaching his hands toward the fireplace to warm them. "I trust you're warming up at least a bit, however?" he asked, a wide hand reaching to grip the vague, blanket-covered area of what Jack assumed was Stephen's shoulder.

"We seem to be well enough provided for at least a few days," he said, tone cheerier. Perhaps a change of subject would keep Stephen's mind off the chill. "Plenty of provisions to be had--as well as a number of strange devices of whose purpose I've not a clue of. What say we investigate once the fire's warmed you up right, Stephen?"

halftheduet February 21 2011, 05:02:31 UTC

"Thank God for small-- though I suppose it's hardly a small favor." A fireplace, wood for it, blankets, food... He couldn't help but wonder, though. The home seemed to have been waiting for occupants. Had it been prepared them? That was unsettling enough. But Stephen's mind wondered something else too. What if someone else had lived here before? Been lured in? What if the same fate awaited them?

But he wouldn't worry Jack with that yet. He would just keep his eyes and ears open. Be ready.

"Yes. Yes, I'm warming up quite nicely," Stephen replied, moving closer to Jack, though the shift was almost impossible to see under the coat and two blankets. He smiled faintly. "Do keep yourself warm too, Jack. I cannot know what sort of medical supplies are available should you take ill."

Then, after a moment of thought, he added, "An examination of the house would be quite appropriate, I believe."

leastof2weevils February 21 2011, 05:25:47 UTC

"A rather large favor, in fact," he replied. Stephen wouldn't need to worry himself about worrying Jack, as his thoughts already echoed Stephen's--this entire arrangement ached of some sort of farce. It was much too convenient. But what choice did he have but to take advantage of what supplies they'd been given? "As always, even now, we must constantly be aware--on our guard."

"Wonderful," he replied. "And not to worry, my dear. I will be perfectly fine. I do ask that you take heed of your own health." Pulling his arms closer to him, folded tightly, Jack inched closer to Stephen.

"I had a few moments to look about when I first arrived," Jack said, thoughtfully fiddling with a loosened lock of golden hair. "It wasn't much of a thorough search, I will be frank, though in those brief moments I found nothing particularly amiss."

halftheduet February 21 2011, 08:50:19 UTC

"I glanced at the rooms briefly," Stephen agreed, looking up at the larger man. He chuckled faintly at some thought before he shifted under his blankets and extended an arm-- now slipped through the sleeve of Jack's coat, which hung as loose as a father's shirt on a small boy-- to reach for Jack's face. His fingers found a strand of blond hair and tucked it behind the captain's ear to keep it out of his face. How rarely it hung like that... but after exertion and finally with a chance to rest, he could understand why Jack was not bothering to right the tie. He would not suggest that he simply be done with the ponytail entirely for now, though the thought crossed his mind ( ... )

leastof2weevils February 22 2011, 19:59:43 UTC

Jack blinked back the brief moment of surprise--he hadn't been paying attention to Stephen's movement--but he smiled at his friend's gesture, then moved to remove the tie. Now was as good a time as ever to re-tie the ponytail.

He listened intently, mulling Stephen's words over.

"Strange boxes, you said?" he repeated. Jack tried to think back to that particular room, but nothing came to mind. He'd gone through the area much too quickly, and...honestly, there were too many unknown devices littered about the place for him to remember a particular set of them.

Jack's hair hung loose at his shoulders, now, and he was making a move to reach and secure it back on his own. Fingers stumbled over the tie, as he was more focused upon the situation at hand than his own hair.

"It could be a trap."

halftheduet February 22 2011, 20:15:15 UTC

"As high as your waist, I would say," he muttered, shrugging. For now, he was content not knowing what they were. The two of them could figure it out later. Once they were dry and warm and possibly after they'd had something to eat ( ... )

leastof2weevils February 24 2011, 11:51:43 UTC

Jack made a soft noise of agreement and, obediently, tilted his head back. Having someone else (especially when that someone else was Stephen) help him with his hair was a comfort, and the great familiarity of it all soothed him enough that he let his eyes shut, sighing gently. As Stephen shifted back to his side, Jack raised a hand to his hair to test it: perfectly neat, no loose strands--just as he'd thought. Stephen had always been particularly good about that.

"If I could only figure out where on God's earth this Bell Pointe is," Jack muttered. "No doubt you've gathered how much of a risk it is to remain here, but for now, I see no other option."

He fell silent, then reached for the fallen second blanket, offering it back to Stephen.

"Are your clothes any drier now, brother?"

halftheduet February 24 2011, 18:41:26 UTC

"It probably is a trap," Stephen repeated. "But if it is, we have already sprung it. There is nowhere else to, and our needs are provided for here. We must simply bide our time and exercise great caution." His eyes raked Jack's hair again, double-checking his own work, but it met with his satisfaction ( ... )

leastof2weevils February 24 2011, 20:52:59 UTC

"Tell me, Stephen--have you any weapons?" he asked, glancing over at the other man as he dressed. "I'm afraid I haven't got my pistol, but my sword remains, at least." What a stroke of luck that he'd managed to have it on him when he'd first found himself in Bell Pointe--though he would've liked his pistol as well, at least he wasn't armed at all.

"Good. I'd hate for you to go out in that a second time. Have you ever seen snow so deep?" Jack cast a look out of the window at the sea of white outside. "Maddening."

Jack rubbed at one of his arms gingerly. He was beginning to feel the cold. Maybe he'd take one of the blankets for himself, now that Stephen was at least dressed.

halftheduet February 24 2011, 21:07:44 UTC

"None at all," Stephen replied apologetically. What he wouldn't give for a pistol... Or a sword. He would prefer that, really. Less hassle in a moment of crisis. One bullet was useful, certainly, but a sword against one shot? No, no. He'd take the sword any day. Though, he supposed, he would rather be unarmed and in Jack's company than without him and in possession of a sword. "Nor do I have any of my instruments. Those, I must see to replacing as soon as I possibly can. It would not do to have you get injured and be unable to assist ( ... )

leastof2weevils February 27 2011, 23:42:38 UTC

"Perhaps there is some sort of armory in this town," he suggested. He was hardly delicate by any means, but Stephen without any sort of weapon was an idea that greatly worried him. No matter how close he intended to keep to the doctor, could he help it if they ever needed to separate or... God forbid, were forced apart, somehow? "It wouldn't do for you to remain unarmed for long, either," he replied, his thoughts turning to the gilt sword now sitting propped up beside the couch ( ... )

halftheduet February 28 2011, 01:26:13 UTC

An armory. How strange it felt to him, to want a sword. For years, he'd sworn off carrying a blade or pistol. His youth had been spent clinging to weapons, facing off with any challenge offered or issuing them himself; his adulthood had been spent trying to make up for that foolishness. But now he felt a pressing need for arms. Jack could not be expected to always protect him, not if he hoped to uncover information about this place. He had to come and go in silence, follow threads of suspicions. Well as he meant, Jack was loud and brash. Subtlety was lost on him ( ... )

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