My thoughts can be so vicious committed to a plan

[forbrotherslove]

Who: lists_to_port and forbrotherslove, trapped as his_to_taint.
What: Finally resolving the hat issue.
When: Oct 8th
Where: The forest past the marauding bridge
Summary: Vincent has a convenient mask thanks to the Malnosso, and he's going to get Gil's hat back by whatever means necessary.
Rating: Likely PG, but talk of threatening innocent creatures will be in here too.

Comments

[lists_to_port]

Vanessa, Vanessa. Somehow the message broke through the rather depressed haze that had taken hold of the pirate today. It wasn't a mood that he showed to the world, this melancholy. It was something he reserved for private moments and the spaces behind closed doors. Today, it was the quiet, empty living room of Seven.

The newly-returned Hector mewed and kneaded his lap as he considered this note in his journal. Sparrow remembered meeting with the girl on his birthday, and how she'd taken a fancy to Murphy. Why not? Why shouldn't he go to meet her? He had done very little since McCoy had left, apart from bringing Buffy and Jilly all kinds of comfort foods and keeping the house clean. It would be something different, a change of pace. Anything to distract himself and not deal with the loss of his best friend, really.

Finally, the pirate jotted a note in return:

Dear Vanessa:

Murphy and I shall be pleased to meet you. He will be delighted with any and all presents, though none are required.

Your Servant,

Captain Jack Sparrow.That

[his_to_taint]

And in that forest they would find her waiting, not so far from the village as to raise undue suspicion, but also not so close as to easily call for assistance. Of course there was a certain risk involved, but honestly, this man had received far too many chances. Gilbert was simply too kind, Elliot too honorable to take that final step. Vincent, plagued by neither of these qualities, would simply play the necessary role

[lists_to_port]

Murphy didn't wait for any word from Jack. He knew this game. Bag of sugar cubes? He was The Pony; he could play the role of fawning little plump love of an equine. With his pert little ears forward and a happy switch to his tail, he trotted forward eagerly.

Jack smiled at the pony's antics---possibly the first he'd truly smiled since McCoy was sent home. "You've made him very happy, darling. He loves the attention, does Murphy."

[his_to_taint]

How perfect. The distance, the eagerness, and the wonderful way Sparrow smiled. Such a sickeningly sweet moment--indeed, Vincent could almost feel his stomach churn at the notion. But only a few moments longer, and when the pony came close, he reached out with soft hands. The sugar left on the ground where Murphy would be able to feast as he pleased, Vincent slowly moved those palms over the mane and fur. So very gently.

And quietly above him, a creature came into being. A chain, the Dormouse, with the power to put any into a deep sleep. It only took seconds after the summoning, so long as Vincent touched Murphy's head. Yet this was a limitation that would remain unknown to Sparrow, as would many things. Vincent would only do enough to obtain his goal--yet another fact he would keep unsaid.