#virtuouscandlelight

Clandestine meetings with Eleanor was not...uncommon. Unwelcome, yes, but he’d grown use to the bitter taste. Carving his claw into the table nearby, he could hear every word. He’d purposely found or made every spot he could find on the Jolly Roger to hear the going-ons here. Perhaps it was paranoia, but it had served him well and he had no mind to change it anytime soon!

No one took his quest seriously. Peter Pan was a monster, an abomination against all that was right with this world. An eternal winter, eating all in its path! But they couldn’t feel the pain, only him. The phantom pain, the ticking, the damn ticking! Scratching at his walls like hellhounds clamoring for his soul!

Only she...only she kept the worse at bay. Only she could pull him from the farthest edge of damnation. His angel.

Now came the devils, now came the sheep with wolves’ teeth. Teeth he would pluck out if he had the power. He could hear them, wooing her like the filthy, spoiled princes they were. 

Neverland was a rich land, in magic and treasures of old. It was a fine land to rule over, albeit a weird one. They talk evil about him behind his back on his own ship!

And yet...they were right. From her point of view, he had failed to deliver on what he owed her. His quest for justice was his; her right should be to the land and sea of her choosing. The Caribbean was lovely...she would be happy there. Making hell for the foolish empires, helping the sick and the needy. 

He thought back to their first time in the cathedral. How hard he worked to woo her, to show her that Earth was greater than Heaven. Now...he was paying the price, for Earth without his Heaven would be Hell.

Still...at least from this Hell she would be free to fly. And what was an angel without her wings? He was mortal anyway. The game was up. It was time to pay the piper and let it go. So he waited outside the door for the meeting to end, to have what could possibly be the last time they ever talked. 

@virtuouscandlelight

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Trembling was an understatement.

Sun was shaking, inner cooling systems going crazy, causing little drops of water to appear all over his body.

"I THOUGHT YOU-YOU-YOU" His voice box glitched out like crazy. He shook his head, voice reverting back to normal. "I thought you were a goner!"

He enveloped Lullaby in a hug, holding on as if she would be taken away from him the second he let go.

"Gee, you've never been off that long! I was so worried! Worried, worried! We've gotta get that memory chip of yours fixed! You almost made me short circuit!"

He was just happy Lullaby was still operational. If not for herself, than for his own reasons. He couldn't go back to the old days, forced to spend hours on end without anyone to talk to! No one to play games with! No one to be a real friend... was that selfish? Pulling away, Sun finally noticed the time displayed on the clock. The hour would change soon, signaling the upcoming 'power issues'.

Still as beautiful as ever, I see — even when bound to humanity. I would say that’s a blessing rather than curse, to be that close to the mortals ! “

The heathen goddess turned from tending to her small crab. "I been 'round fer a long time... dat kinda talk don't seem ta sit too well wit'cha boss," she stated, feeling the bit of divinity she was. "If ya t'ink it be fun ta be locked in a single form, cut off from sat which give ya life, power, an' meanin'... den it be a blessin'. But fer me... it took freedom."

@virtuouscandlelight

{ 🕯 }

“ . . When I first interacted with humans, Jackie, I thought they’d always be like the students of my mother’s. “

She finally admitted, eyes glazed over and distant.

“ Kind, gentle, offering, a pure joy to be around . . . lovingkindness. I thought that alone was what humans were made up of. That they were docile creatures who learnt how to care for one another due to such a short life span. “

A pause, taking a hard gulp before hissing, her hand trembling a tad,

“ . . Nobody tells you in heaven about the sinful nature of love. Nor do you truly acknowledge it until it happens to you.

Love is a . . . it’s beautiful, but so deadly. “

"Aye, we not be pure," Jackie admits, "Me ma...she tried teh bargain fer her life when Da came. I not be but a few hours old. Used me as a bargainin' chip."

The teenager is safe in the knowledge that Eleanor is drunk. Chances are, she won't remember this conversation in the morning.

She continues, "But...Da, he had not a reason teh keep me. Even if he not wantin' teh kill a newborn, he be able teh hand me off teh an orphanage. Yet an undead, cursed captain decided teh keep the wee babe he found."

Internally, she wonders why he'd choose to keep her. It would have been easier to give her to someone else. And he did his best to parent, too. Even though she's not his biologically, he still made her feel loved. And now he's...gone.

"And Will be proof as well," she then adds, "He be a fifteen year old blacksmith's apprentice when I washed up. His life...it be hard enough without a wee pirate lass teh look after." And it's true. She was a colored pirate child. Will had no love for pirates.

Yet he still did his best to make sure she was okay, look out for her. She still did mostly provide for herself, as he didn't have the money to provide for a child and himself, but simple things like letting her sleep in the shop so she had a roof over her head and even using his free time to be play and be with her sent a clear message.

It's the reason she was able to stay stubborn. Someone, albeit she did force his hand a bit, wanted her to be okay. Someone cared about her.

"All right, all right! Better be the good ones, though. Some of 'em I'll need a lot more rum. I know a few rude versions, too!"

He hesitates.

Send me “Can’t sleep?” to have a tired conversation with my muse in the middle of the night. @virtuouscandlelight @anklesalltheway