the Dalaverse

Now officially titled "As You Were." Just a little bit to round out what will be the first chapter (last part has been unlocked, and what I've got so far is going up in communities too).

So,
As You Were (I.5)



James woke up on the floor, body aching and head pounding. Automatically he groped for Jack, who was the most likely cause of both conditions, but the room was empty save for himself.

He rubbed bleary eyes, fumbling several times before he managed to disentangle himself from the bedclothes. Water from the side table parched his dry throat, though it did nothing for the faint trembling in his hands, or the clammy feeling of his nightshirt twisted around his body.

When he had washed up and dressed, he found his breakfast waiting for him downstairs, as well as a maidservant with an odd fearful expression on her face.

“Is something amiss, Mary?” The eggs were fresh, but they tasted like ash in his mouth. His stomach rebelled at the thought of the hot tea.

Mary looked at him curiously. “I’d thought to ask you that, sir, the way ye was shoutin’ last night.”

He realized he was crumbling his roll into small bits and unclenched his fingers. “I was?”

“Aye, sir.” Her eyes shifted uncomfortably across the table. “I thought o’ wakin’ ye, but...”

James clattered his knife loudly on the plate. “Ah, yes, of course, I can understand why you might hesitate.” Jack was still needling him about that time he’d abducted a willing James from his afternoon duties and they had forgotten to lock the door.

The thought made him frown and pick at his food. It simply wasn’t fair that Jack always got to have the last word, that he could storm out and leave James to his uninspiring daily routine. At times he felt almost jealous of the ship that could give Jack the one thing he couldn’t, as well as being able to bear him away. He had a harbor of his own, but his ships answered to the Crown rather than the beckon of the horizon or the whim of a mad captain.

In the throes of brooding, he realized Mary was still studying him. “Sure yer all right, sir?”

“Yes,” said James, giving her a tight smile. “Yes, I’m fine, Mary, thank you.” The dismissal was evident in his tone, polite though it was, so she nodded and left.

He raised a hand to his face and ran his fingers over his lips, the sole reminder of a childhood nail-biting habit. If he had been dreaming – and he must have been – he remembered none of it. No doubt it had been bred by troubled thoughts of Jack after their less than amicable parting. The twinge of his muscles was already fading, and it should be a simple thing to put the nighttime worry out of his mind.

It should have been a simple thing, but it proved quite the opposite.




It stayed with the man throughout the day, watching closely. It had been conscious of him for some time, but till now had failed to reach out. When it did, it found a strength of mind far surpassing its suspicions – and as its nature was highly suspicious, that was quite notable. He was young, and healthy, and as content as someone with his intelligence and self-awareness was ever likely to be. This would mean a difficult fight, but it was not averse to the idea, for the victory would be all the sweeter for the struggle and it have loved victory best of all. Well, it could not really be said to love any more than it was possessive of a form. But if it could have loved, it would have loved its own triumphs, and if it had a form, it would be that of a man.

This man.

This man who had left behind the place that birthed him, who had bent the seas to his will, this man who was beloved of many, but most importantly of one: the one to whom She belonged.

It did not yet have the force to seek out the other man and thus Her (because where he was, She would be).

But it would, and soon, and neither man nor beast would stop it.


Oh! And I managed to make a Snake icon! Lookit!

ETA: I just posted this everywhere because I'm way too excited about it. So...*wince* sorry for the spammage.