Professional Pirate

[dying_breed]

A ship needed a Captain. A Captain, on the other hand, did not always need to necessarily be in possession of a ship. Jack had been a prime example of that more times than he'd care to recall. But no matter how many times the Pearl had been pulled out from under him, he had always been adamant about the use of the title.

So, a ship needed a

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[dying_breed]

Jack had left the actual task of spreading the word that there was a crew being assembled to Delirium. It wasn't all that hard a task, and if anyone she approached was scared off altogether, then it was likely for the better.

She probably seemed an odd choice to most, and Jack wouldn't argue the point with anyone if they were to question it, but he did have his reasons for appointing her to the position. As the anthropomorphic personification of insanity, Jack knew that he could trust Delirium to be one thing: completely predictable in her unpredictability. He was aware of what he was getting into and would forever expect the unexpected from her. The last time his first mate had gone and done the unexpected, Jack hadn't been expecting it. Had he been, he may not have ever lost the Pearl to begin with, all those years ago.

On the subject of his mutinous former first mate, the sooner Jack got his belongs out of his quarters and off of the Pearl, the better. That was including, but not limited to, his silly hat and that flea bitten animal that was still running wild on his ship.

Seated behind his desk, boots propped up, Jack had his sword in hand and Barbossa's hat perched on the end of it, twirling it idly. Perhaps he'd burn it on deck, out in the open so the monkey might see and take the hint that neither he, nor his owner, were particularly welcome aboard.

[curiously_cora]

Coraline knocked before sticking her head in.

"Are you the Captain? I want to join your crew," Coraline said pausing when she realised she was talking to Johnny Depp. A fairly unkempt Johnny Depp but still Johnny Depp. Coraline took a breath before continuing. "I'm an explorer. I know the island backwards and fowards and sideways. I can swim, I can climb, I'd really like to shoot the guns but mostly I'm not allowed near guns. And I've got maps and I'm not squeamish. And I work hard. And Miss Del mostly doesn't scare me. Mostly because she's well... Miss Del."

[dying_breed]

She was capable of spout long strings of words in a single breath, too. Her age might have put him off for a second or two, but Jack did set out on his own at a fairly young age himself, probably not much older than she was now.

"That's all very impressive, but do you have a name?" Jack asked, extending his hand with the sword and pushing the hat in her direction. "And how are you with monkeys?"

[curiously_cora]

"I'm Coraline, Coraline Carter. But I'd consider adopting a sea name if I needed to. For the pirating," Coraline said seriously. She'd thought about Crooked Coraline, Cutlass Cora and Cut Throat Caroline. They were rather seriously good names especialy Cut Throat. "Well, they're okay. They're not my favourites but I don't hate them either. Why? Do you have a monkey problem? I'm good with animals, I work at the vets office."

[dying_breed]

"You've obviously not met this particular monkey, then," Jack said. That explained her lack of disdain for the creatures. One meeting and she'd surely hold a grudge on the species as a whole, he was sure of it. "There's one aboard my ship. Somewhere. Unwanted cargo that need be tossed overboard sooner rather than later." He needed to be caught first...

"If you can catch him and dispose of him, consider yourself as good as hired."

[curiously_cora]

"No, I've not. I've met talking dogs and haughty talking cats, they're the worst and the best. What type of monkey is it? What does it like?" Coraline explained. She herself had a talking Cat, one who would probably finds its way to the ship to eat any and all vermin that had arrived on the ship. She was surprised he wasn't here already, glaring in disdain at the pirate Captain. "Is everyone going to try? Because it's only fair if everyone does. I'm not going to go and catch it if say someone older only has to turn up and go hello I want a job."

[dying_breed]

"Black and white? And how should I know what it likes?" He'd never stopped to ask it and had no plans to do so. "It likes my ship. And it does not like being shot at." Who did, really?

"No, just you. And if you're already taking issue with completing a task asked of you, then I'm sorry to say, but there's no place for you aboard this ship, young miss. Doing what's asked of you, when it's asked is all part of the job. If simple requests pose trouble and are met with resistance, what'll happen when it's no longer a request and you're given orders." And while Jack understood teenage rebellion and the need to ask why, he was not going to subject himself or the rest of his crew to it. "Besides, what has fairness got to do with being a pirate?"

[curiously_cora]

"But that's the difference. It's a request not an order. I'm good with orders. Orders have to be obeyed but requests well, that's different. Unless it's one of those requests that aren't really a request but are orders or threats instead. But you need to make those more obvious by either appearing more... piratey and threatening or yelling a bit. That's how you know," Coraline explained rambling on at great length. Coraline pressed a lip when he said about the fairness and shrugged. "Well, nothing really I guess. So, it's black and white? And you're Requesting not requesting it be done? Right?"

[dying_breed]

"Right," Jack said, though he had admittedly stopped listening at 'but'. The first. His were the only rants he was inclined to suffer, though he was sure she had a valid point or two mixed in there somewhere. In her opinion, anyway.

[curiously_cora]

"Okay then, I'll be back in a bit." Coraline grinned before bounding out of the cabin. Coraline was a sneaky girl and within an hour she had the monkey literally eating out the palm of her hand as she carried him back to Jack. Coraline knocked as she fed the monkey various fruity treats. "Hi, Captain what do you want me to do with him? He's cute. You should keep him as a mascot for the ship. Or do you have a parrot. Everyone knows pirates should have a parrot."

[other_valentine]

For the past four months, Hester Shaw had kept herself away from people as much as possible. She'd made some connections -- with the boy Hiccup and that interesting man Spike -- but her natural wariness had found her a hut far up the mountain, far away from people, and she had liked that.

Until, that was, she realized there was nothing to do here. The boredom of the Island was as bad as Anchorage.

Her trip down to Rapture had re-awakened her need for action, and the thought of exploring the surroundings by boat intrigued her. The man Aragorn had been building a boat, but this man, Jack Sparrow, had one all ready. She'd had experience with ships -- well, airships, anyway -- so she should have no trouble signing up.

She stepped up in front of the Captain's desk, her scarf and sunglasses in their usual places, covering her missing eye and scarred cheek, and she focused on the Captain. "I hear you have need of a crew. I know my way around ships. I would like to join."

[dying_breed]

"I have," Jack confirmed, head tilting as he assessed the woman. Apparently, it was said to be bad luck to have them aboard, but in Jack's own experience, that had only ever been true when said woman aboard just happened to be Elizabeth Swann. Turner. Whatever.

The scarf and glasses were admittedly a bit curious, but he'd sailed with those who had much more peculiar quirks. "And who might you be, then?"

[other_valentine]

"My name is Hester Shaw," said Hester, arms folded across her chest. This captain looked slippery, but she could handle slippery. It might even be fun. "I have had years of experience piloting an airship. I've crossed the air roads of Antarctica and escaped from sky pirates in Nuevo Maya. I could help this ship."

[dying_breed]

"... This ship generally remains on water." Except when it didn't. But riding a sea of crabs across dry land wasn't an everyday occurrence, not in the land of the living, at least. Assuming, of course, that was in fact where they were. While hellish at times, Jack had been to The Locker, and this place was not that place.

"Captain Jack Sparrow," he introduced himself. "I do suppose that airship experience is better than no ship experience at all."

[other_valentine]

"Well," she said, "You have far less distance to crash if something goes wrong on a water ship. Do I get to join?"

[grasshopper_m]

I've never been a pirate. I guess that's not something most people have been but I just felt like throwing it out there. I didn't think this Captain Sparrow really cared whether or not I had experience and I knew, at least, Del would vouch for me.

"So. Where do I sign up to join your merry band of pirates?"