Comments | kptn_sparrow: 004 [Open! Video/Comment log] Avast!~

kptn_sparrow

004 [Open! Video/Comment log] Avast!~

Aug 17, 2011 09:48

[Oh the good captain has spent the better part of his week gathering supplies of a curious sort. Lengths of cloth and rope. Wood gathered from the leavings of bench making, a few forgotten ladders and broom handles and some cautious and quick dashes to the very edge of the forest to snatch whatever deadwood would do ( Read more... )

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[Audio] doctoral_bird August 17 2011, 18:45:15 UTC

[Malkus is running around the thermal pools, trying to look for frogs when he hears Jack's voice in his journal. The doctor can't help but contain a laugh at the swaying pirate, but is still interested in that sail and the boat.]

I haven't heard that one before, sir. It sounds interesting, though!

[This bird-man is like a child, mystified by the idea of a life at sea.]

doctoral_bird August 22 2011, 01:37:57 UTC

[The doctor grips the bottle tightly with both hands, making sure not to drop it as he observes.]

Oooh. I see.

[He observes closely, doing his best to memorize every twist and loop made. It'll take a bit of practice, though.]

I think I understand...

kptn_sparrow August 22 2011, 03:20:56 UTC

[Jack hands the rope over to the bird-man.]

Alright then, now it's your turn!

You've got to be able to do these in your sleep, now. Blind and disorientated. A knot can save a life on a rough sea.

[Pressure!]

doctoral_bird August 22 2011, 06:08:00 UTC

[He grabs the two ends of rope, staring at it blankly.]

A-Ah. Yes, okay.

[Oh god, he's sweating under his mask. Blind AND disorientated? He begins to nervously tie the rope in the way the pirate had showed him. After a few minutes longer than Jack had taken, the result is a loose and messy but correct knot. Well mostly correct.]

Huh-...W-Well practice makes perfect, of course..

kptn_sparrow August 23 2011, 05:46:12 UTC

Practice. Practice. Practice my fine unfeathered friend!

[Here, let him see the ropes again would you? He'll tie it again for you, slowly so you can catch what he's doing.]

If you rush it now- it makes more mistakes than going slowly. Better right than wrong and all that!

doctoral_bird August 24 2011, 05:58:36 UTC

I-Indeed. Practice.

[The doctor quickly holds the ropes out to the pirate, leaning in to observe the master of ropes closely.]

I-I see. R-Right right...

[Jack might see the birdman's eyes slowly floating over towards one of the bottles on the boat for a moment. Is the doctor thirsty and just too polite to help himself? Perhaps.]

kptn_sparrow August 24 2011, 06:07:29 UTC

[Jack notices alright! It's rather disconcerting, it is.]

That's a little disturbing.

The thing there, with the eyes.

[He reaches over to the bottle that caught the doctor's eye and offers it to him.]

So what's the occasion? For you know -

[And the captain gestures to all of Malkus' face.]

this.

doctoral_bird August 24 2011, 06:45:09 UTC

[A grin under the mask appears as he gratefully takes the drink, nodding a thanks.]

My apologies, sir. Quite dry, despite the close waters... Occasion?

[He sinks his head back into his shoulders when the captain's hands come near the mask, looking a bit like an unhappy owl.]

What? I-Is there something I cannot see on my face- e-er mask?

[Malkus reaches a hand to rub at his beak, curiously.]

kptn_sparrow August 24 2011, 17:11:30 UTC

[Too bad he can't actually see Malkus grin.]

Occasion! Reason for. As in, circumstance to which you have done something not of the norm.

[Jack points to the mask.]

That is not your face, fellow of mine, but a caricature of a bird upon your face. I'd like to know the meanings and possibilities of why it is there to begin with.

[Jack TL;DR's himself.]

I'm curious why you're wearing it, mate.

doctoral_bird August 24 2011, 17:42:47 UTC

O-Oh...

[PLENTY OF REASONS, JACK. Shame and not wanting to show his face after causing the death of an entire village. A paranoia of the plagued air that may or may not still be present. Holding HIS own sickly air in, just to be sure he won't bring any diseased air to the keep.]

I do not wish to get sick.

[He drags his finger against part of the beak as he explains.]

My mask serves as a filtrating barrier against the bad air. It's likely the only thing that kept me alive back where I'm from.

kptn_sparrow August 24 2011, 17:47:19 UTC

[Jack blinks. Well, that's actually perfectly reasonable and all.]

You get sick easy then, lad?

[Don't think he hasn't noticed there isn't a lick of bare skin upon you either.]

Or well, did you work with lepers?

doctoral_bird August 24 2011, 23:36:47 UTC

The man with the strongest resistance to disease will succumb to the Black Death in a matter of days.

[His voice takes a grim sort of tone for a moment, slipping the top of the bottle up under the bottom of his mask.]

You could call them lepers in a way. Not leprosy, but cursed souls all the same. The plague is a hungry kind of demon that never seems to be satisfied.

kptn_sparrow August 25 2011, 01:02:30 UTC

I've heard of that.

[It's a curious soft reply.]

About the Black plague and how it tore a chunk from the prosperous bosom of the European nations. Grisly deaths.

It seems to crop up occasionally from year to year.

Last I heard it was in Paris. Is it still there then?

[Jack raises an eyebrow. He'll grab another bottle to ease his suddenly dry mouth.]

doctoral_bird August 25 2011, 21:44:45 UTC

[Malkus silently nods, feeling his heart sink just by talking about it.]

I would not know. I am merely one plague doctor out of many. It was my responsibility to care for a small village and-

[His voice quickly fades, realizing he's said too much. Could Jack sense Malkus's FAILURE seeping out of his mask? He takes a large gulp from the bottle, coughing and slightly gagging. The doctor isn't much of a drinker.]

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