Twenty-four bells: [Action]

[simplestgift]

[Luceti. Even the name is beautiful.

It's quiet here, but not silent. No cannonfire, no stomping feet or shouting men. No bars or guards or grey stone walls. Everything is lovely and serene and everyone is pleasant. Well. Nearly everyone, but that's okay.

In Hornblower's company, Kennedy stops by the bakery and selects, for some reason, cheesecake. He's never had it--not that he can remember, at least--and it is absolutely the most beautiful thing he can imagine. Chocolate cheesecake, smooth and rich and flavorful with a drizzle of raspberry syrup. He tastes it and doesn't just eat it.

They visit the tea shop and he is floored. They visit the clothing shop and he finds a new linen shirt, already made. They visit the library and...

And...

O the glory of the library. It's as if this town was created for his rehabilitation.

Hours are spent in the library until he learns he can take books out. Even then, he very nearly doesn't leave.

On the way home, he asks to be alone for a moment. When given the chance, he walks the woods close to the village. At twilight, he sits at the fountain, staring into space with utter blankness because he knows the pleasantness of this day is going to end.

He doesn't realize it when the moon rises and he's still sitting alone in its pale light.

OOC: Kennedy's replies will come from babymid_archie. Meet him absolutely anywhere during the day or at night. Depending on when and where, Horatio will tag in as well, so remember to specify when/where in your tag. Share his rapture or cheer him up. Possible triggers--character is hella post-traumatic.]

Comments

IF JACK KNEW HE WOULD NEVER HAVE SAID IT. He thinks he is being nice.

[all7seas]

Sparrow was certain of one thing: that Kennedy, as a lad, is nearly as traumatized as men he had seen going into the Devil's Horn off the coast of Venezuela. That dungeon had sent men mad just at the sight of it, screaming and begging for mercy.

Some of the men, though, had gone limp as they were dragged inside. Their eyes seemed dull and lifeless, their minds thousands of miles away. It was these men that Jack was reminded of when he saw the look on Archie's face in the doorway.

"Oooor just Jack, really. You never stood on formality with me before, Kennedy."

That's the thing about stuff like this, though, isn't it?

[unneeded]

Archie sits at the bar and clasps his hands atop it. He does not want to call this man Jack. "Sparrow, then?"

[all7seas]

".....Sparrow's fine." What the devil? "Sparrow it is!" Jack will order them both drinks---whiskey and rum---unless Archie for whatever reason moves to do the same.

[unneeded]

He does not. However, he definitely relaxes now that Jack isn't pressing the matter, or any other matter. Boundaries are being respected, and that's not a dignity he is offered by just anyone, certainly not proud miscreants.

"So you're a pirate."

[all7seas]

"Correction: I am the pirate. The best of them all!" This is said with a great deal of enthusiasm as Jack lifts his bottle in a toast.

"What are we drinking to, eh?"

[unneeded]

Archie lifts his glass. "To the best pirate of them all, naturally."

And there's a smile with that.

[all7seas]

Damn. Well NOW Jack can't drink, it being bad form to do so after a toast to oneself.

Instead, he toasts right back to Archie.

"Aye, and to the finest of midshipmen who might one day be lieutenants!"

NOW he could drink.

[unneeded]

Archie does drink, the grimaces just a little as he swallows and looks into the glass. Whiskey is insisting on being stronger than he remembered, although it might simply be that he hasn't had it in so long.

"The finest in Luceti, at least. Unless I'm mistaken and Horatio and I are not the only navy men here."

[all7seas]

"You're not, actually." Jack sets his bottle down and thinks for a moment. "There was Bush, once upon a time, but he's gone, now. Then there's James Norrington--an Admiral of sorts. And Aubrey. You're far from being the only two about, sad to say."

[unneeded]

The smile immediately begins to evaporate. "Are we."

An admiral, no less. What would he say, if he ran into Kennedy?

[all7seas]

"You're....this worries you? It shouldn't, lad. Aubrey is actually, I think, some very large and content species of humanoid koala. And Norrington's...Norrington's a bit of a stick in the mud at times but not a bad sort. He's a different man from when I last knew him, back home."

ROFLMAO JACK

[unneeded]

"I'd...rather not find out."

XD

[all7seas]

"....Right, then. I'll keep the place clear of him, eh? Long as I can cheat in a satisfactory manner I can best him with a sword. And he's no match for me as a shot. I'll have his wig off in a trice."

He drums his fingers on the counter and takes another sip. So rabbity, this Archie. Hornblower. Hornblower will have to be consulted, blast it.

[unneeded]

Archie doesn't look greatly reassured, but he takes another drink. The last thing he needs is someone popping in and expecting him to act like a midshipman. It's the thing to love most about this place--no expectations, and the luxury of "let's just get you back on your feet" can be felt again.

Time to switch topics.

"You know Horatio well?"

[all7seas]

"Ha! I---what? Know him well? No, lad; I barely know him at all, I imagine. If Horatio Hornblower were a turnip, I could swear I only know the green leafy parts of him. And even then, possibly only the very top of that green leafy bit."

[unneeded]

"I'd suspect you of lying if you said otherwise. I don't imagine he'd approve of our friendship." The purely hypothetical one, of course.

[all7seas]

"Luckily, never once in our acquaintance has Horatio Hornblower's approval ever mattered to me." A semi-truth. A mostly-lie. "I know he's worthwhile to have at one's side in a war. You and him proved that much, last draft."

[unneeded]

"...Draft?"

He's aware of the term. It refers to a group of pressed sailors. He does not like hearing it used here.

[all7seas]

"The Malnosso send us off to fight their wars, don't they. Bastards. But we're really fighting for ourselves, in the end. Food. Supplies. We keep those lines open when we fight."

[unneeded]

"Sounds like home." But as justified as these drafts sound, the bottom of Archie's stomach falls out. Fighting sounds like more than he can handle right now, although he found that when Horatio gathered everyone to rescue the shipwrecked Spaniards, he somehow had the strength to do his duty. Maybe something like that would happen again.

[all7seas]

Noticing that nervousness, Jack hurries to qualify that information: "They don't happen often, these drafts; possibly they'll happen less now that the missions have started."

[unneeded]

"They make people go on missions, too?"

[all7seas]

"Best not to think about it, lad. Probably not nearly so bad as being in the Navy."

[unneeded]

Where Kennedy has to behave like a midshipman. Archie stares into his glass for a second, then takes a long drink.

[all7seas]

"I'll tell you now, lad---I've told no one else as of yet. But I've a mission myself coming up soon. And I'll need you to look after Buffy and Jilly for me."