( ♞ | &*Dean )

<sub>He loathes the fact that he’s being told what to do like a child.  This however isn’t the first time that he’s dealt with sword fighting, the last time was a rather improper lesson that had turned into a proper one. But that had been on a ship when he actually had been attacked by smugglers, and pirates with Elizabeth and Kranos had been among them.

Now he stand among the other, adjusting, or at least trying to. But there’s a feigned confusion behind each step he takes that is wrong. He’s playing the other much like he did back home with pool. But he’s learning, taking the notes in his head of the other’s movements. He’s paying attention just not in the way the other wants. He’s a tad impulsive like a pirate.</sub>

                                      _{“The bullets, I actually know how to make. Even if the
                                      times are different the materials are still the same, if
                                      I can get my hands on them. What bugs me more, is
                                      what I’m going to kill doesn’t require a sword to kill it.
                                                 The sword is just for my own protection here.”}

                             Will watched with slight TREPIDATION as the man moved, taking note of the flickers of ANNOYANCE that crossed his face. In truth, Will knew NOTHING of the man before him. Everything he’d come to accept was HEARSAY, and though he couldn’t see why Dean would LIE to him, there was still a bit of HESITATION that came with teaching him how to PROPERLY wield a sword. If Will wasn’t among the BEST in his ( craft, ) he might have REFUSED to teach Dean at all. As it was, he was trying NOT to reconsider. But Dean seemed HARMLESS with the sword in his hand, still EAGER to learn. Not to be TAUGHT, perhaps, but to learn. Will’s head TILTS in question as Dean speaks, feet still MOVING despite the distraction.

                          “ Perhaps after this we can find you the materials you need. Would you be able to remember what they look like? ” He glances around his shop for a quick moment, looking to see which SUPPLIES he already owns. After a moment, he looks back. “Kill? In town for all of five seconds and already you’re considering murder – we might make a PIRATE out of you yet. ”

( ♞ | dxdger )

    “Bit of a wonder you ain’t learned that lesson
     before!”

Dodger fired back over his shoulder, legs pounding
the ground hard as he attempted to stay ahead of the
older and taller man. He was supposed to be leading
the charge afterall, and even if it didn’t look as if it
would be much of a race, he still thought it’d be a
little silly to fall behind.

And he caught the smile on the man’s face. He had a
good smile, didn’t he just, the sort of smile that promised
good things now and to come, an open, honest smile.
Something of a rare sight in Dodger’s experience, and he
felt himself smiling at the sight of it as he turned back
around to face the street ahead again.

    “You aiming to return to the ship, sir? Or are you
     wishing to chance another pub?”

     The  boy’s  comment   RIPPED   another  chuckle  from Will’s mouth, 
     amusement  DANCING  in his eyes now that the immediate  THREAT
     was  ( behind )  them. Will supposed he should expect nothing  LESS 
     from this particular  HAVEN.  If a drunken  CHASE was the only thing
     he experienced tonight, than it wasn’t a BAD one at all. ADRENALINE
     forced Will’s heart to beat  FASTER,  the sound of it ( echoing ) in his
     ears, mixing with the sound of his own LAUGHTER.  For the first time
     in YEARS, Will felt young and  ALIVE.  Alive and reckless,  BOLD in
     the     ( idiocy )   that had started the small   SCUFFLE.   A sense of 
     FREEDOM  filled him, and Wil l hoped  he  would  REMEMBER  this 
     feeling.

                                “ Better late than never, ay! ”

     Will’s steps slowed from a RUN to a ( jog ), keeping up with the boy
     with  EASE now that they were free to go at their own  PACE.  Here,
     AWAY  from the ruckus of the pubs,  Tortuga seemed  PEACEFUL.
     Glancing at Dodger, Will QUIRKED a brow, another laugh escaping
     him.

                  “ Chance another pub? And start another fight?
                            Best NOT chance it. I’d aim for the ship. ”

( ♞ | Norrington )

Norrington’s confident, angry strides faltered, and he stopped, with his
back still turned to Will. His head bent forward, nearly touching his chest
with his chin as he attempted ( successfully ) to rein in his emotions to
keep up the unruffled facade he’d been hiding behind nearly all his life.
Still turned away from the man, Norrington spoke. His voice hardly faltered;
it’s STEADINESS resigning himself to his own and Turner’s respective fates.

            “ Your concern is admirable, but it only serves to prove
              my need to leave is still more necessary. I won’t be
              pitied, Mister Turner. ”

          “ You mistake  sympathy  for pity, sir.     But far be it from me
          to  keep  you  somewhere  you’d  rather  NOT be.      I do hope  that
          your new destination offers you some…solace. I dare say you’ve
          earned it.”

     It was in moments such as these that Will wished for a SMALL amount of
     naivety, that he could truly believe that James would find    happiness. 
     Instead, he found himself wondering if the former Commodore knew HOW
     to live outside of the Royal Navy.  He didn’t believe he wanted to know the 
     answer. When he spoke again, it was with a  RESIGNED tone,  a touch of 
     something akin to sadness and GUILT hidden just ( beneath ) the surface.

                                                                   “ Good luck, Commodore. ”

( ♞ | dxdger )

    “Ah, well that’s the third day on Tortuga, then.”

He teased, glee apparent in his voice. And Dodger
laughed a bit more as he clapped along with the
music as the man did an admittedly tidy two-step.

    “And rob a gentleman of such a gracious
     dance partner? I ain’t so near savage as
     all that! I reckon you’ve got it well sorted!”

         “ I’m sorry to have missed it, I’d have loved to 
         see Jack trying to dance with one of these.”

     Will  couldn’t  remember  HOW  he’d gotten into this predicament,
     but he’d long since stopped asking for    reason   when it came to
     Tortuga. However, this incident would likely go down in HISTORY
     as  one  of  his  more  famously    ridiculous   moments.   His
     thought process was quickly    ( interrupted )   as the poor animal
     let out a rather loud noise, startling him into taking a small LEAP
     back. He was rather amused to find the animal follow, the dance
     continuing for a bit longer.

          “ Not savage enough to rescue me?   And 
          here I thought we were  friends, Dodger.
          Don’t be too impressed,  mate,  this is the
         direct result of secondhand dance lessons.
         Three years worth, mind.”

( ♞ | lordiism )

    The resentment hardly went unnoticed, and if Cutler  was  made  at  all
     discomfited  by  the  tension, he didn’t show it. This hadn’t been the first time
     that the young Mister Turner had honored him with  such  bitter  regards,  but
     the  lord was certainly prepared to see to it that this would be the last, should
     he be driven to hush the yapping pup’s tongue.

     Turning  his  chin  up to better hold the other’s gaze, Cutler appraised him in
     momentary silence. Turner was sharp, he wouldn’t deny him that; sharp, but
     foolish all the same,  if  he  thought  it  prudent  to  rob  the  lord  of  his  prize
     without  so  much  as  attempting to uphold his end of the bargain. Letting the
     faintest of smiles touch the corners of his lips at the boy’s wit, Cutler  turned
     away,  slowly  rounding his desk to crease his fingers over an upturned edge
     of the chart spread upon it  as  he  quite  pointedly  ignored  that  prying  little
     inquiry.

  ‟ I’m curious, Mister Turner: what was it that you planned to do once you took
     the heart?
                                                       ———Bring it back to Jones with the hope of
                                                       some reward for your honesty? ”

     Here,  he  paused  to spare the young man a glance, grey eyes flashing with
     careful scrutiny.

                                ‟ I  would  have thought your fiancée’s life
                                   would have been reward enough for you. ”

     There was a sharp edge to Beckett’s gaze that might have made  lesser
     men squirm, or at the very least turn away.    As it was,    Will fought the 
     urge to do so,       keeping his chin lifted in a form of youthful    defiance. 
     Still,    he couldn’t keep his brows from furrowing the way they did,    the
     flicker of annoyance, and even ACCEPTANCE,  answering the question
     Beckett had posed more than he ever would. His eyes   darted   away, 
     catching on the map that hung on the wall beside them,( vast ) but more
     colored in than Will liked to think about.    Somewhere in the expanse of 
     ocean represented by the map,      Davy Jones had his father captive on 
     the Flying Dutchman.    Will had been so close to nabbing the one thing
     that might ensure his freedom, and now – his hands clenched into fists,
     gaze dropping from the map once more.

          “ Despite your thoughts, I am no  fool.  I’d never planned on 
            giving the heart back to Jones. ”

     He chose not to elaborate,   instead letting the words hang in the silence 
     of the room.      Will hadn’t been sure how holding the heart hostage over 
     Jones would play out, if he would emerge victorious with his father freed
     or find the plan  BACKFIRING like so many of his did.       No matter the 
     outcome, he’d been willing to try. Getting caught had  never  been a part 
     of his plan.    But his thoughts were interrupted after a moment,       eyes 
     narrowing at Beckett’s words and the past tense he used.   He’s quick to
     reply, perhaps a little ( too ) quick, as he considers that he’s once again
     found himself without any leverage.

         “ Elizabeth had  nothing  to do with this.” 

( ♞ | dxdger )

While Will parried the first fighter, Dodger slid in close
before striking out at the body about to brain Will with an
empty rum bottle. Used to working in close quarters and
striking out from under an ally’s guard, he executed a quick
lunge, darting in and out to strike the bad man’s belly before
slicing sideways at the third attacker. And in that moment,
he was very grateful for all the Captain’s training.

    “Yes, sir.”

Nodding at Will’s order, he dashed out of the pub doors and
took a right. He’d lead them back to the docks, not by the
most direct way, of course, but they’d get there.

     Despite his earlier hesitance at granting Dodger a sword, Will
     quickly found himself immensely grateful that he had. While 
     he might have been able to handle the  drunken offenders on 
     his own, it was certainly nice to have someone  (capable )
     around to watch his back.    A dash of astonishment danced 
     across his face at the boy’s lithe movements,      though his 
     lips quirked up in a smile. There was something to Dodger’s
     movements, something that spoke of inane   TALENT  for 
     sword fighting that Will hadn’t expected. 

     Quick to follow, Will sent a final  jab  at a fourth man that 
     attempted  to  join  in  before turning and running himself,
     aware of the few that had decided to ( follow. )  He found 
     himself looking back after a moment,     laughing outright
     at  the sight of drunken men   attempting   to catch them.
     It was a bit of a sad sight in the end, as most LOST their
     balance after a few short strides.

          “ Remind me never to insult a man’s hat again!”

     He calls on a laugh, turning his attention forwards as he
     runs after Dodger, the smile on his face growing slightly.

( ♞ | sheissyrena )

She watched with a concerned air, wishing she could do more, but knowing
at the same time that her frail body would be nothing but a burden out of the
sea’s embrace. Her worried eyes alternated between watching the shoreline
and the man’s attempts at consciousness. She would not normally venture
so close to land during the heat of the day, and the danger of being noticed
set her on edge, forcing more urgency into her words and actions.

                           “ You must leave! ” She shook her head
                           emphatically, leaving no room for any
                           argument he could muster.

His reluctance to move worried Syrena, and her tail pumped harder for a
moment or two, propelling her upper torso out of the water for a few seconds.
She could do nothing from the safety of the ocean, and similarly, she could
offer him nothing upon land. His confusion of the situation in general was
understandable, but did he truly not know what made his situation so
dangerous? She sent a glance over her shoulder, now watching for intruders
on both the shoreline and from the waters below her.

                                          Does he not know the stories of this place?

                           “ – Mermaids. ”

The title tasted bitter on her lips, but Syrena pushed past it. It was imperative
that he understand the danger that Whitecap bay offered to the men who
dared to venture there.

                            “ Others will be coming. Soon. You cannot
                            rest now; you must get away from the shore! ”

     Slowly, so slowly that he hardly noticed it at first,   the spots in his began to
     recede,   leaving nothing but blissfully clear vision in their wake.   His head
     still spun, though not as intensely as it first had.   For that Will was thankful,
     for his stomach had begun to churn at the continued movement of the world
     around him.   He took deep breaths after a moment,  interrupting the silence
     while he mustered up the strength to drag himself backwards,     away from
     the water’s edge so that he might have a better chance at drying off. It’s not
     until a few moments after the woman had spoken again that Will properly 
     registered what she’d said, head turning with a skeptical air as he tried to
     wrap his head around the concept.

          “ Mermaids? ” He repeats, voice hoarse as the air in his 
            lungs struggled to travel through a sandpaper throat.

     He’d heard of them, sure. Heard of the women that were more like sirens,
     luring sailors to their deaths if they were close enough to fall under their 
     songs spell. Lifting his eyes to the woman’s he took a closer look at her,
     at the way she remained in the water away from the edge, anxiously 
     casting looks behind her. Will pushed himself further up onto the beach,
     eyeing her with something akin to trepidation. 

          “ You’re a mermaid yourself. ” He commented, the tone of
             his voice more suspicious than anything else. “ Why are
             you helping me? Is this a trick? ”

(  ♞ | thefastestship )

Brown hues follow the movement of the sun, it’s descent towards the edge
of the water visible from his viewpoint nearly intoxicating.       Long months
stood between Will and his last trip out to sea,    and it was wearing on him.
He  wasn’t  sure  how  he  could  miss  something  he’d never quite needed
before,    but he was sure the open ocean called his name.  After a moment,
he noticed another presence beside him,     and he glanced in their direction
quickly.       The woman was someone he recognized,       and a smile soon 
graced his features. 

                                                    “ Do you miss it, too? ”

( ♞ | undauntedloyalty ) 

“ You were the last person I expected to encounter here.”

The words tumble gracelessly from Will’s lips, but he’s past the point of
caring as he looks upon a face that held a bit of familiarity.      He looked 
past the man,     eyes already searching for the Commodore that usually 
accompanied the individual before him. 

( ♞ | dxdger )

   “And here I thought the Captain said you’ve
    already been to Tortuga before!”

Dodger said, laughing so hard he could barely
get a word in edgewise as the man seemed to
be doing a rather lively two-step with a goat.

         “ Spending a day or two in Tortuga was not enough
            to prepare me for this! ”

Will responded, hastily twisting in an attempt to avoid 
having a hoof land on his foot. The color of his cheeks
was a flaming red, a reaction the the laughs around
him and the laughing he was doing himself.

        “ Would you like a turn, Dodger? She’s a 
          lovely partner, though I’m afraid she has
          two left feet. ”