Dragon of the Sea-Chapter 2
Title: Dragon of the Sea
Author: Lithium Delusions
Rating: R (language)
Characters: D (May we remind you again this is one of the D-we-know's ancestors), Jack Sparrow, Bill Turner & Barbossa
Notes: As promised, the second chapter to Dragon of the Sea. Watched PoTC 1&2 like three times for reference. (Wot a Hardship, mates!) Hope you all enjoy
Oh and lest we forget- Heres the link to the first chapter:
http://community.livejournal.com/psohfanfiction/18067.html#cutid1
And now, On to chapter 2...
Captain Jack Sparrow regarded the creature in the glass jar with a jaundiced eye. Tiny black eyes watched him calmly from the sea dragon’s narrow head. “And how, precisely, are ye t’help me with me plan? Pretty bit that ye are, tis no way ye are dangerous enough for me old friend.”
The tiny creature that D had called Neria fluttered multi-colored fins and pressed close to the glass. Jack had seen seahorses before and her eyes were nothing like those of her lesser cousins. Deep and dark and as alluring as the sea, they regarded him with something he would have almost called longing. Jack shook his head, breaking free of her spell. Wrapping the jar safely in a gunnysack, he rowed for where the Pearl was moored.
Willing hands helped him aboard. “Did you find what y’needed, Captain?”
Jack regarded his wrapped jar thoughtfully. “Can’t say as yet, Bootstrap. Might be, might not be.”
Bootstrap Bill shook his head. His captain, confusing as ever. “Do we cast off, then, sir?”
Jack shook his head, braids and assorted ornaments swinging freely. “It occurs t’meself that the crew could use with a bit o’ shore leave. Where’s me shiftless rogue of a First Mate?”
Bill cocked his head toward the quarterdeck. Jack nodded and strode to where Barbossa was studying a chart by the light of a single un-shuttered lantern. “Hector, y’old bilge rat. What’re ye doin’?”
Barbossa turned to regard Jack with a jaundiced eye. “We sail with the morning tide, then? Tide’s already risin’ and with the look o’them clouds, we’ll ‘ave a nice followin’ wind.” He gestured at a darker spot on the horizon.
Jack shook his head until his many hair ornaments clattered against each other. “Methinks not, Hector, old friend. I was thinkin’ the crew could do with a spot of shore leave.”
“Are ye daft?” Barbossa’s face was grim as he turned his attention back to Jack. “In Singapore of all places? ‘Alf these buggers would be floatin’ out with the mornin’ tide, sure enough. All of ‘em with their throats and purses slit.”
“Yer worryin’ for ‘em does me ol’ heart good, but fer no reason. Singapore a lovely place for a bit o’ recreation, like.” Jack fiddled with one of the braids in his beard.
Barbossa studied his captain with a murky gaze, baring his jagged teeth with a grimace. “An ye are not telling me the whole truth, methinks. Ye was all set to go after the lass what ‘ad the compass ye said could lead us to the Isla de Muerta. And now we’re holin’ up in Singapore? What are ye not tellin’ me, Jack?”
Jack cradled the swaddled jar a bit closer. “What make ye think I’m tryin’ to fool, lie, mislead or otherwise bamboozle ye, Hector?”
Barbossa grated a laugh unpleasant as the sound of coral ripping at an unprotected hull. “Fancy words won’t be doin’ the job fer ye. What sorta devilry are ye brewin’ now?”
“Ye wound me deep, Hector, m’lad. I’m only of a mind t’repay some favors what was given t’me.”
Barbossa’s eyes darkened and he loomed over Jack like a massing thunderhead. “Ye daft bugger!” He shouted, his face uglier than a dockside whore come the light of dawn. “What are ye thinkin’, t’cross one of the nine lords? He’ll have ye swingin’ from the yardarm faster than the navy!”
Jack’s dark eyes, ringed round with kohl, hardened. “I’m of a mind to pay hisself back in kind for the kindness he showed me!” He hissed, anger making his pleasant face something far more dangerous. “Lest we forget, Hector, I’m one of the bloody lords now! Or didja think that ol’ Gallows took one o’the pieces of eight down with him?”
Barbossa snarled, but took a step back from Jack’s daunting glare. All the pirate lords were aware that Gallows Grim had given his token to his young first mate when a shattered spar during a fierce storm had ended the life that the Royal Navy had failed to end on four separate occasions. Gallows proudly had worn the rope scars around his throat that had given him his name. “Aye, well enough I know ye have his piece. But Gallows didn’t give it to ye so as ye could be a fool and tangle with Sao Feng.”
Jack let his shoulders relax and took the hand that wasn’t cradling the jar away from the hilt of his cutlass. “What would ye ‘ave me do? Ignore what the bastard did?”
“Nay.” Barbossa shook his grizzled head and backed another careful step away from his seething captain. “I only think ye’re bein’ a fool t’challenge Feng in his own bolthole. Wait till ‘e comes out into the open waters and then repay ‘im in kind.”
Jack snorted and was as suddenly all affability again, the dangerous man gone as if he had never been. “That bein’ about as likely as the entire Navy turnin’ pirate, Hector m’boy. To do that would mean ol’ Feng would have to do it all honorable-like, and he’s as shifty, sneaky and downright underhanded-like as some o’the lads what run the East India Trading Company.
Barbossa didn’t miss Jack fingering the brand that scarred his arm. He didn’t know what run-ins his captain had had with the company, but fair to say, they were not a cherished memory. “Feng would follow the code.”
Jack snorted. “Only s’much as he could not twist it t’suit hisself. Feng’s a tricky bastard and I’ve no intention of letting him do somethin’ backstabbin’ like t’me.” He turned a steely gaze on Barbossa. “Tell the lads. We’re in port fer two days. Anyone not onboard come dawn the third will have t’find hisself a new berth. Savvy?”
“Aye.” Barbossa scowled as Jack turned and headed for his cabin.
“I’ll be in me cabin. Less it’s a disaster the likes of the Pearl sinkin’, the whole royal navy showin’ up fer tea, or worst, me old da comin’ aboard, leave me undisturbed fer the next hour or so. Good man.”
Barbossa waited until Jack was safely in his cabin before grinding his teeth in anger. Damn him!!
*-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
D stared quietly at the imposing black boat moored safely just where the water deepened. On his shoulder Xac complained softly. D reached up to stroke his head. “You are sure that is his ship, little one?”
Xac chattered an ill-tempered threat directed at the captain of said ship. “Certain, master. He rowed to it less than an hour past.”
D tightened slender fingers on the piling that supported the bridge beneath his feet, feeling the wood crack. “And…?”
Xac quieted and observed the boat with shuttered eyes. “I can smell the magic there, even from here, Master D. One or more of the bindings are on that ship.”
D raised a hand and a graceful, brightly colored parrot drifted down from the night sky. She perched on the piling beside him, wearing her human guise. “My vision is nowhere what it would be in the daylight, Master, but I counted some thirty men aboard before the light faded too much. There are two who feel like magic.”
D reached up to stroke the feathered cloak that trailed down her back. “Thank you, Pheeria. I regret that I would ask more of you. Can you manage one more flight, carrying Xac here?”
She rubbed her cheek against his fingers with a smile. “Of course. Anything for you, Master.”
D gave her a pleased smile before turning his attention to the monkey clinging to his arm. He offered Xac a small pouch that gave off a rich herbal scent. “You know what to do, my pet?”
Xac took the pouch and offered D a grin of his own, a baring of his teeth that no one who knew his species would mistake as a pleasant expression. “Oh, yes, Master D.” He chattered a soft warning. “That pirate will learn better than to cross you.”
Dee caressed his head. “Do nothing more than what I asked. And stay safe, Xac.”
The monkey regarded him with amused brown eyes. “I know my task, Master D. I have know my task since the day I was born.”
He leapt from D’s shoulder and perched beside Pheeria, who lifted him silently into the air and bore him across the black expanse of water.
A small gray crab observed D as he watched Pheeria’s bright plumage fade into the darkness. D addressed it softly, as he watched her until he could see her and her burden no longer. “And the first move of the game is in play.”
Was it only his imagination that he heard a sibilant hiss of laughter in the wind as the tiny creature scuttled off the dock and disappeared beneath the water?
Author: Lithium Delusions
Rating: R (language)
Characters: D (May we remind you again this is one of the D-we-know's ancestors), Jack Sparrow, Bill Turner & Barbossa
Notes: As promised, the second chapter to Dragon of the Sea. Watched PoTC 1&2 like three times for reference. (Wot a Hardship, mates!) Hope you all enjoy
Oh and lest we forget- Heres the link to the first chapter:
http://community.livejournal.com/psohfanfiction/18067.html#cutid1
And now, On to chapter 2...
Captain Jack Sparrow regarded the creature in the glass jar with a jaundiced eye. Tiny black eyes watched him calmly from the sea dragon’s narrow head. “And how, precisely, are ye t’help me with me plan? Pretty bit that ye are, tis no way ye are dangerous enough for me old friend.”
The tiny creature that D had called Neria fluttered multi-colored fins and pressed close to the glass. Jack had seen seahorses before and her eyes were nothing like those of her lesser cousins. Deep and dark and as alluring as the sea, they regarded him with something he would have almost called longing. Jack shook his head, breaking free of her spell. Wrapping the jar safely in a gunnysack, he rowed for where the Pearl was moored.
Willing hands helped him aboard. “Did you find what y’needed, Captain?”
Jack regarded his wrapped jar thoughtfully. “Can’t say as yet, Bootstrap. Might be, might not be.”
Bootstrap Bill shook his head. His captain, confusing as ever. “Do we cast off, then, sir?”
Jack shook his head, braids and assorted ornaments swinging freely. “It occurs t’meself that the crew could use with a bit o’ shore leave. Where’s me shiftless rogue of a First Mate?”
Bill cocked his head toward the quarterdeck. Jack nodded and strode to where Barbossa was studying a chart by the light of a single un-shuttered lantern. “Hector, y’old bilge rat. What’re ye doin’?”
Barbossa turned to regard Jack with a jaundiced eye. “We sail with the morning tide, then? Tide’s already risin’ and with the look o’them clouds, we’ll ‘ave a nice followin’ wind.” He gestured at a darker spot on the horizon.
Jack shook his head until his many hair ornaments clattered against each other. “Methinks not, Hector, old friend. I was thinkin’ the crew could do with a spot of shore leave.”
“Are ye daft?” Barbossa’s face was grim as he turned his attention back to Jack. “In Singapore of all places? ‘Alf these buggers would be floatin’ out with the mornin’ tide, sure enough. All of ‘em with their throats and purses slit.”
“Yer worryin’ for ‘em does me ol’ heart good, but fer no reason. Singapore a lovely place for a bit o’ recreation, like.” Jack fiddled with one of the braids in his beard.
Barbossa studied his captain with a murky gaze, baring his jagged teeth with a grimace. “An ye are not telling me the whole truth, methinks. Ye was all set to go after the lass what ‘ad the compass ye said could lead us to the Isla de Muerta. And now we’re holin’ up in Singapore? What are ye not tellin’ me, Jack?”
Jack cradled the swaddled jar a bit closer. “What make ye think I’m tryin’ to fool, lie, mislead or otherwise bamboozle ye, Hector?”
Barbossa grated a laugh unpleasant as the sound of coral ripping at an unprotected hull. “Fancy words won’t be doin’ the job fer ye. What sorta devilry are ye brewin’ now?”
“Ye wound me deep, Hector, m’lad. I’m only of a mind t’repay some favors what was given t’me.”
Barbossa’s eyes darkened and he loomed over Jack like a massing thunderhead. “Ye daft bugger!” He shouted, his face uglier than a dockside whore come the light of dawn. “What are ye thinkin’, t’cross one of the nine lords? He’ll have ye swingin’ from the yardarm faster than the navy!”
Jack’s dark eyes, ringed round with kohl, hardened. “I’m of a mind to pay hisself back in kind for the kindness he showed me!” He hissed, anger making his pleasant face something far more dangerous. “Lest we forget, Hector, I’m one of the bloody lords now! Or didja think that ol’ Gallows took one o’the pieces of eight down with him?”
Barbossa snarled, but took a step back from Jack’s daunting glare. All the pirate lords were aware that Gallows Grim had given his token to his young first mate when a shattered spar during a fierce storm had ended the life that the Royal Navy had failed to end on four separate occasions. Gallows proudly had worn the rope scars around his throat that had given him his name. “Aye, well enough I know ye have his piece. But Gallows didn’t give it to ye so as ye could be a fool and tangle with Sao Feng.”
Jack let his shoulders relax and took the hand that wasn’t cradling the jar away from the hilt of his cutlass. “What would ye ‘ave me do? Ignore what the bastard did?”
“Nay.” Barbossa shook his grizzled head and backed another careful step away from his seething captain. “I only think ye’re bein’ a fool t’challenge Feng in his own bolthole. Wait till ‘e comes out into the open waters and then repay ‘im in kind.”
Jack snorted and was as suddenly all affability again, the dangerous man gone as if he had never been. “That bein’ about as likely as the entire Navy turnin’ pirate, Hector m’boy. To do that would mean ol’ Feng would have to do it all honorable-like, and he’s as shifty, sneaky and downright underhanded-like as some o’the lads what run the East India Trading Company.
Barbossa didn’t miss Jack fingering the brand that scarred his arm. He didn’t know what run-ins his captain had had with the company, but fair to say, they were not a cherished memory. “Feng would follow the code.”
Jack snorted. “Only s’much as he could not twist it t’suit hisself. Feng’s a tricky bastard and I’ve no intention of letting him do somethin’ backstabbin’ like t’me.” He turned a steely gaze on Barbossa. “Tell the lads. We’re in port fer two days. Anyone not onboard come dawn the third will have t’find hisself a new berth. Savvy?”
“Aye.” Barbossa scowled as Jack turned and headed for his cabin.
“I’ll be in me cabin. Less it’s a disaster the likes of the Pearl sinkin’, the whole royal navy showin’ up fer tea, or worst, me old da comin’ aboard, leave me undisturbed fer the next hour or so. Good man.”
Barbossa waited until Jack was safely in his cabin before grinding his teeth in anger. Damn him!!
*-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
D stared quietly at the imposing black boat moored safely just where the water deepened. On his shoulder Xac complained softly. D reached up to stroke his head. “You are sure that is his ship, little one?”
Xac chattered an ill-tempered threat directed at the captain of said ship. “Certain, master. He rowed to it less than an hour past.”
D tightened slender fingers on the piling that supported the bridge beneath his feet, feeling the wood crack. “And…?”
Xac quieted and observed the boat with shuttered eyes. “I can smell the magic there, even from here, Master D. One or more of the bindings are on that ship.”
D raised a hand and a graceful, brightly colored parrot drifted down from the night sky. She perched on the piling beside him, wearing her human guise. “My vision is nowhere what it would be in the daylight, Master, but I counted some thirty men aboard before the light faded too much. There are two who feel like magic.”
D reached up to stroke the feathered cloak that trailed down her back. “Thank you, Pheeria. I regret that I would ask more of you. Can you manage one more flight, carrying Xac here?”
She rubbed her cheek against his fingers with a smile. “Of course. Anything for you, Master.”
D gave her a pleased smile before turning his attention to the monkey clinging to his arm. He offered Xac a small pouch that gave off a rich herbal scent. “You know what to do, my pet?”
Xac took the pouch and offered D a grin of his own, a baring of his teeth that no one who knew his species would mistake as a pleasant expression. “Oh, yes, Master D.” He chattered a soft warning. “That pirate will learn better than to cross you.”
Dee caressed his head. “Do nothing more than what I asked. And stay safe, Xac.”
The monkey regarded him with amused brown eyes. “I know my task, Master D. I have know my task since the day I was born.”
He leapt from D’s shoulder and perched beside Pheeria, who lifted him silently into the air and bore him across the black expanse of water.
A small gray crab observed D as he watched Pheeria’s bright plumage fade into the darkness. D addressed it softly, as he watched her until he could see her and her burden no longer. “And the first move of the game is in play.”
Was it only his imagination that he heard a sibilant hiss of laughter in the wind as the tiny creature scuttled off the dock and disappeared beneath the water?