Fic: Orion The Bard
A/N: This is a collaborated piece of fiction by mamazano and danglingdingle .
This started out as mamazano 's very first Jack/Will story, with a bit of persuasion (and a lot of help) from danglingdingle .
Special thanks go out to compassrose7577 , a world traveling beta reader whiz for helping with the overall story and ainsoph15 , for her encouragement and excellent J/W advice.
The authors hope that the end results are enjoyable.
Orion the Bard
****
The sun set slowly into the Caribbean Sea, the brilliant blues gradually fading, first to purple and then a velvet black. The night sky was ablaze with a multitude of stars, as the black ship sailed on into the night. It was that quiet time on board; those not on watch were nestled in their hammocks, lulled to sleep by the gentle lullaby of the sea lapping against the hull. After some light hearted conversation and laughter, those on watch fell quiet as well, the only sound remaining being the faint creaking of timbers and soft rattle of wind in the rigging.
Jack Sparrow, Captain of the Black Pearl, was reclined on a pile of coiled rope on the forecastle deck. After coming off the second dog watch, he had retired briefly to his cabin to record the day’s activities in his log. Unable to resist the beauty of a balmy tropical night, and mourning the distinct lack of a certain piratesmith in their cabin, who happened to be on watch, Jack had come on deck, bottle of rum in hand, to contemplate the heavens above.
Will Turner found Jack still there, after first watch. He flopped down wearily beside him with his back against the mast, plucked the now mostly empty bottle of rum from Jack, and smiled at the feel of a hand coming up to the back of his head, the thumb rubbing slow, firm circles in his scalp. Will swallowed a good mouthful and gave the bottle back to Jack, pressing against the soothing fingers. The two men shared the tranquility of the starry night in companionable silence, passing the bottle between them.
The breeze blew lightly across the deck, caressing and warm. The sky was an incredible display of bright stars, the vastness of the universe stretching outward, beyond the horizon. Jack stirred, the movement making Will reluctantly open his eyes to find Jack gazing at him, his eyes reflecting the stars above, his smile a golden glint in the night.
“William, do you remember the last time you saw such a wondrous sight?” Jack waved the bottle upward towards the sky.
Will squinted up at the sky, shrugged and leaned slightly forward in hopes that the hand on his neck would move to rub the next knot. “Most likely, last night’s watch. Why?”
“No, no, no! That is not what I mean t’all.” Jack sat up and gestured to the celestial display above their heads. “That, my dear William, is not just a random scattering of stars, but a canvas on which the story of Man himself is written.”
He glanced at Will, who frowned at the loss of the warmth and promptly made his point by yawning widely. Sighing, Jack stood in one sinuous movement, swaying slightly before regaining his bearing. With the bottle in one hand, he swept his other beringed hand towards the horizon and began anew.
“The ancient mariners depended on those very stars to guide them across uncharted ocean depths, with only their intimate familiarity with nature to rely upon. That’s what navigation is, you know. It’s about watching and understanding nature.”
Jack plopped back down on his cushion of rope, swallowed the rest of the rum and inched closer to Will, draping a possessive arm around his shoulders.
“For example: everything you need to guide you is in the ocean, you just need t’ be skilled enough to see it. It’s about learning the faces of the ocean, Will, t’ be able t’ sense the subtle cues, the slight differences in the swells, in the colors of the sea, the shapes of the clouds and the winds… ”
Jack was roused from his tale-telling reverie by the familiar sound of Will snoring in his ear. He turned and paused, quirking one side of his mouth.
Will sat, back against the mast, eyes closed and mouth slightly open…sound asleep. Suddenly, the vastness stretching around and overhead with all its navigatorially important sparkling things no longer mattered much to Jack.
In the past, on nights when the weather was fair, Jack had preferred to sleep on deck, under the stars, finding his cabin too closed-in and stuffy. Well, that was until a certain blacksmith had joined his crew, and had begun sharing his cabin, the presence of said blacksmith nigh miraculous on belaying any kind of feelings of discomfort.
Tempting as it was, Jack chose not to wake Will and drag him back to their cabin, instead he settled down for the night as well. Smiling, Jack put the bottle on the deck, nudged Will gently, just enough to have him a little more alert. Pressing his arm down on Will’s shoulders Jack whispered; “Shhh, luv, no reason to wake up, just scoot down a bit for me…”
Will murmured something almost inaudibly and followed Jack’s manoeuvrings so they both slid down along the mast for Jack to rest his head on the coil of rope. He felt a jolt of tenderness in his belly when Will turned and settled his head to snugly fit Jack’s shoulder, sighing deeply and throwing a heavy, sleepy arm across Jack’s chest.
“There you go. Much more better, isn’t it?” Jack shifted around carefully until he was comfortable, tipped his hat down over his eyes, placed his hand over Will’s on his chest and murmured a good night to a now softly snoring Will.
***
Several nights later found the two men in a similar predicament, Jack in their cabin and Will finishing his duty on watch. The night was once again gloriously clear, the sky festooned with countless stars. They had enjoyed a following wind through most of the day, and as the night wore on, Jack had sent hands aloft to shake out both the fore and main topsail reefs as the Pearl sailed steadily on through the night.
Emerging on deck with a freshly opened bottle of rum, Jack frowned at his ink-stained fingers before absent-mindedly wiping them on the front of his shirt while his eyes searched the moon-lit deck for Will. Locating him, Jack took a step, glanced at his shirt now streaked with ink and propped the bottle carefully on the deck, divested himself of the clothing, and tossed it into the cabin. It wasn’t like there was much need for clothes on such a balmy night anyway.
Strolling over to where Will stood with his head tilted back to look straight up into the never-ending blanket of stars, Jack paused, struck, mid-step to admire the view.
There really weren’t enough possibilities to properly take in the sight of his William being bathed in the pale light like that, throat exposed, practically begging to be licked an nibbled, his figure poised on the thoroughly pecked canvas that seemed to stretch on forever.
Jack startled from his reverie when Will righted his head and looked around like he was looking for something and stopped at Jack. It was the blue light of the night that caught in Will eyes, making them gleam like that, which finally made Jack unclench his hold of the bottle he’d been hugging and close the distance between them.
“Star-gazing, then, eh?” Sliding his arm around Will’s waist and the other with the bottle on his shoulder, Jack greeted Will with a lingering kiss, smiling onto Will’s lips when he felt the man respond with an agreeing hum and his strong arms wrapped around Jack tightly. Sternly reminding himself of the cloudless sky being perfect for the occasion, Jack slowly, with much reluctance, receded from Will and instead of giving in to the urge to lead the way back to their cabin post-haste, Jack, heroically, he thought, resisted and cleared his throat, closing his eyes for a moment.
“Good, yes, stars, navigation, nature, North, and East, sailing skills...”
Presuming that a little compromising never hurt anyone, Jack leaned to Will to steal seconds inhaling his scent and licking a stripe over Will’s throat. Just a taste, enough to keep Jack past the moments before the more opportune one.
Satisfied for the instant, Jack once again perched on his pile of rope, intent on resuming his navigational lessons with Will, who, if not completely interested, at least stood in front of him and generally seemed to be more alert than the last time, though to be honest, Jack suspected it might’ve been the preceding actions, rather than genuine eagerness towards the subject at hand showing.
Jack pointed at the horizon and began once more to point out the many constellations visible in the night sky.
Will, seemingly obliged to the fact that a lesson was to be had, crossed his arms on his chest, watching Jack patiently.
“Now, William, one does not need a compass to tell which way is North…”
Will snorted. “That’s a good thing, given the condition of your compass.”
Jack flicked his eyes at Will’s suspiciously, tilting his head in an indignant manner and added a brief pout.
“What’s wrong with me compass?”
“It doesn’t’t point north.”
“Ah, that’s what I’m trying to teach you here, Will, how to find north. At night you steer by the stars, they’re the only compass you need. One only need find the North Star to know which way is north, and the Southern Cross, which always points south.”
“What if it’s cloudy?”
“Or Orion, that rises due east and sets in the west.” Jack continued without a break, giving Will another meaningful look and blithely ignoring his comment. “Did I ever tell you the tale of Orion?”
“The one about how Orion was a great hunter and the goddess Artemis fell in love with him, but her brother Apollo was jealous and killed him?” Will recited, rolling his eyes. “Several times, twice over.”
Jack waved a dismissive hand. “That’s just the better known tale. I’m talking about the tale that’s told around these islands, about Orion the Bard.”
“The Bard?”
“Aye. Great storyteller he were too. Sailed around to all the islands, telling his tales. When the people would see him, they would cheer, begging him to sing his songs.”
Jack sat back and began humming, gazing at the constellation Orion, hanging low in the sky.
Will stared and waited for him to continue for a few beats before following Jack‘s gaze and moving over to lean against the rail, breathing deep the fresh tang of the sea. Will couldn’t help but to smile at the change in Jack’s humming betraying the lecherous grin he undoubtedly wore. Will swore he could feel Jack’s eyes raking over his back to the curve of his arse.
After several minutes passed, punctuated only by the slapping of wave against hull and Jack’s incessant humming, Will’s inquiring mind, going over what he’d just heard, got the better of him and he turned to see Jack.
“What happened to Orion?”
“Pirates!” Jack grinned rascally and went back to humming, apparently indifferent of whether he should go on with the tale or not.
“Pirates?” Will sighed and moved in front of Jack, squatting to look him in the eye, placing his hands on Jack‘s knees for balance. “Jack. Are you going to tell me the tale or not?”
“Thought you weren’t’t interested in the stars,” Jack said feigning surprise, his eyes twinkling. “But, if you’re insisting on knowing…” Jack patted the space next to him to indicate Will to sit.
Will sat down next to Jack, leaning languidly against the mast. Jack took a swallow of rum, handed the bottle to Will and leisurely landed his hand on Will’s thigh before resuming his tale.
“So, Orion sailed among the islands, singing his songs and telling his tales. One day, however, he’d set sail for home when he was set upon by pirates. These pirates demanded all of his money, his possessions, and his ship, and threw him into the water.”
“Anyone we know?”
“Maybe.” Jack smiled and stretched his back straight, rolled his shoulders and turned to lay back, using Will’s lap as a pillow. After settling comfortably with his leg over the other and Will’s thumb pleasantly tracing his jaw line, Jack gazed contentedly upward at the stars and Will’s face.
“Now, this Orion bloke was good at telling tales, but decidedly not as good at swimming. He was all fit t’ drown, when a dolphin swam up, told him how much he enjoyed the bard’s music, and asked if the bard would sing for him in exchange for carrying the bard to land. The bard agreed, and the two swam all through the night, singing songs and enjoying the evening.”
Will leaned back lower against the mast, absently moving his fingers to play with Jack’s hair as he listened to his tale, his other hand putting away the bottle he was holding so he could splay it across Jack’s bare chest.
Jack instinctively put his hand over Will’s and wriggled contentedly before continuing his tale.
“By the time the night ended, both the bard and the dolphin had had a wonderful time, and they decided that they didn’t’t wish for it to end, so the two of them continued swimming into the heavens, so they could enjoy the night forever.”
Jack concluded the tale with a satisfied smile and began humming again, then quietly sang a few lines, delighting himself in the eyeful of Will rather than the starry skies that, again, seemed to rapidly lose their meaning, and relishing in the feel of the small, round scars under his fingers on Will‘s forearm.
The night was filled with magic, they bid the sea goodbye
Swam into the heavens and they stayed up in the sky
And all the Island people when they wish upon a star
See the Dolphin and the Jolly Mon
Who tell them where they are
“Jolly Mon?” Will laughed, shaking his head.
Jack smiled warmly up at Will. “Did I ever tell you the tale about Jolly Mon?”
“No, you never did, Jack”
“Well then, darling Mr. Turner,” Jack grabbed Will’s hand, swung one leg for leverage and stood up swiftly, listing dangerously to one side before pulling Will up to his feet.
“Should you allow me the pleasure of your company in our quarters, and furthermore, on, shall we say, more suitable surfaces, this night just might be the night you’ll hear it.”
****
This started out as mamazano 's very first Jack/Will story, with a bit of persuasion (and a lot of help) from danglingdingle .
Special thanks go out to compassrose7577 , a world traveling beta reader whiz for helping with the overall story and ainsoph15 , for her encouragement and excellent J/W advice.
The authors hope that the end results are enjoyable.
Orion the Bard
****
The sun set slowly into the Caribbean Sea, the brilliant blues gradually fading, first to purple and then a velvet black. The night sky was ablaze with a multitude of stars, as the black ship sailed on into the night. It was that quiet time on board; those not on watch were nestled in their hammocks, lulled to sleep by the gentle lullaby of the sea lapping against the hull. After some light hearted conversation and laughter, those on watch fell quiet as well, the only sound remaining being the faint creaking of timbers and soft rattle of wind in the rigging.
Jack Sparrow, Captain of the Black Pearl, was reclined on a pile of coiled rope on the forecastle deck. After coming off the second dog watch, he had retired briefly to his cabin to record the day’s activities in his log. Unable to resist the beauty of a balmy tropical night, and mourning the distinct lack of a certain piratesmith in their cabin, who happened to be on watch, Jack had come on deck, bottle of rum in hand, to contemplate the heavens above.
Will Turner found Jack still there, after first watch. He flopped down wearily beside him with his back against the mast, plucked the now mostly empty bottle of rum from Jack, and smiled at the feel of a hand coming up to the back of his head, the thumb rubbing slow, firm circles in his scalp. Will swallowed a good mouthful and gave the bottle back to Jack, pressing against the soothing fingers. The two men shared the tranquility of the starry night in companionable silence, passing the bottle between them.
The breeze blew lightly across the deck, caressing and warm. The sky was an incredible display of bright stars, the vastness of the universe stretching outward, beyond the horizon. Jack stirred, the movement making Will reluctantly open his eyes to find Jack gazing at him, his eyes reflecting the stars above, his smile a golden glint in the night.
“William, do you remember the last time you saw such a wondrous sight?” Jack waved the bottle upward towards the sky.
Will squinted up at the sky, shrugged and leaned slightly forward in hopes that the hand on his neck would move to rub the next knot. “Most likely, last night’s watch. Why?”
“No, no, no! That is not what I mean t’all.” Jack sat up and gestured to the celestial display above their heads. “That, my dear William, is not just a random scattering of stars, but a canvas on which the story of Man himself is written.”
He glanced at Will, who frowned at the loss of the warmth and promptly made his point by yawning widely. Sighing, Jack stood in one sinuous movement, swaying slightly before regaining his bearing. With the bottle in one hand, he swept his other beringed hand towards the horizon and began anew.
“The ancient mariners depended on those very stars to guide them across uncharted ocean depths, with only their intimate familiarity with nature to rely upon. That’s what navigation is, you know. It’s about watching and understanding nature.”
Jack plopped back down on his cushion of rope, swallowed the rest of the rum and inched closer to Will, draping a possessive arm around his shoulders.
“For example: everything you need to guide you is in the ocean, you just need t’ be skilled enough to see it. It’s about learning the faces of the ocean, Will, t’ be able t’ sense the subtle cues, the slight differences in the swells, in the colors of the sea, the shapes of the clouds and the winds… ”
Jack was roused from his tale-telling reverie by the familiar sound of Will snoring in his ear. He turned and paused, quirking one side of his mouth.
Will sat, back against the mast, eyes closed and mouth slightly open…sound asleep. Suddenly, the vastness stretching around and overhead with all its navigatorially important sparkling things no longer mattered much to Jack.
In the past, on nights when the weather was fair, Jack had preferred to sleep on deck, under the stars, finding his cabin too closed-in and stuffy. Well, that was until a certain blacksmith had joined his crew, and had begun sharing his cabin, the presence of said blacksmith nigh miraculous on belaying any kind of feelings of discomfort.
Tempting as it was, Jack chose not to wake Will and drag him back to their cabin, instead he settled down for the night as well. Smiling, Jack put the bottle on the deck, nudged Will gently, just enough to have him a little more alert. Pressing his arm down on Will’s shoulders Jack whispered; “Shhh, luv, no reason to wake up, just scoot down a bit for me…”
Will murmured something almost inaudibly and followed Jack’s manoeuvrings so they both slid down along the mast for Jack to rest his head on the coil of rope. He felt a jolt of tenderness in his belly when Will turned and settled his head to snugly fit Jack’s shoulder, sighing deeply and throwing a heavy, sleepy arm across Jack’s chest.
“There you go. Much more better, isn’t it?” Jack shifted around carefully until he was comfortable, tipped his hat down over his eyes, placed his hand over Will’s on his chest and murmured a good night to a now softly snoring Will.
***
Several nights later found the two men in a similar predicament, Jack in their cabin and Will finishing his duty on watch. The night was once again gloriously clear, the sky festooned with countless stars. They had enjoyed a following wind through most of the day, and as the night wore on, Jack had sent hands aloft to shake out both the fore and main topsail reefs as the Pearl sailed steadily on through the night.
Emerging on deck with a freshly opened bottle of rum, Jack frowned at his ink-stained fingers before absent-mindedly wiping them on the front of his shirt while his eyes searched the moon-lit deck for Will. Locating him, Jack took a step, glanced at his shirt now streaked with ink and propped the bottle carefully on the deck, divested himself of the clothing, and tossed it into the cabin. It wasn’t like there was much need for clothes on such a balmy night anyway.
Strolling over to where Will stood with his head tilted back to look straight up into the never-ending blanket of stars, Jack paused, struck, mid-step to admire the view.
There really weren’t enough possibilities to properly take in the sight of his William being bathed in the pale light like that, throat exposed, practically begging to be licked an nibbled, his figure poised on the thoroughly pecked canvas that seemed to stretch on forever.
Jack startled from his reverie when Will righted his head and looked around like he was looking for something and stopped at Jack. It was the blue light of the night that caught in Will eyes, making them gleam like that, which finally made Jack unclench his hold of the bottle he’d been hugging and close the distance between them.
“Star-gazing, then, eh?” Sliding his arm around Will’s waist and the other with the bottle on his shoulder, Jack greeted Will with a lingering kiss, smiling onto Will’s lips when he felt the man respond with an agreeing hum and his strong arms wrapped around Jack tightly. Sternly reminding himself of the cloudless sky being perfect for the occasion, Jack slowly, with much reluctance, receded from Will and instead of giving in to the urge to lead the way back to their cabin post-haste, Jack, heroically, he thought, resisted and cleared his throat, closing his eyes for a moment.
“Good, yes, stars, navigation, nature, North, and East, sailing skills...”
Presuming that a little compromising never hurt anyone, Jack leaned to Will to steal seconds inhaling his scent and licking a stripe over Will’s throat. Just a taste, enough to keep Jack past the moments before the more opportune one.
Satisfied for the instant, Jack once again perched on his pile of rope, intent on resuming his navigational lessons with Will, who, if not completely interested, at least stood in front of him and generally seemed to be more alert than the last time, though to be honest, Jack suspected it might’ve been the preceding actions, rather than genuine eagerness towards the subject at hand showing.
Jack pointed at the horizon and began once more to point out the many constellations visible in the night sky.
Will, seemingly obliged to the fact that a lesson was to be had, crossed his arms on his chest, watching Jack patiently.
“Now, William, one does not need a compass to tell which way is North…”
Will snorted. “That’s a good thing, given the condition of your compass.”
Jack flicked his eyes at Will’s suspiciously, tilting his head in an indignant manner and added a brief pout.
“What’s wrong with me compass?”
“It doesn’t’t point north.”
“Ah, that’s what I’m trying to teach you here, Will, how to find north. At night you steer by the stars, they’re the only compass you need. One only need find the North Star to know which way is north, and the Southern Cross, which always points south.”
“What if it’s cloudy?”
“Or Orion, that rises due east and sets in the west.” Jack continued without a break, giving Will another meaningful look and blithely ignoring his comment. “Did I ever tell you the tale of Orion?”
“The one about how Orion was a great hunter and the goddess Artemis fell in love with him, but her brother Apollo was jealous and killed him?” Will recited, rolling his eyes. “Several times, twice over.”
Jack waved a dismissive hand. “That’s just the better known tale. I’m talking about the tale that’s told around these islands, about Orion the Bard.”
“The Bard?”
“Aye. Great storyteller he were too. Sailed around to all the islands, telling his tales. When the people would see him, they would cheer, begging him to sing his songs.”
Jack sat back and began humming, gazing at the constellation Orion, hanging low in the sky.
Will stared and waited for him to continue for a few beats before following Jack‘s gaze and moving over to lean against the rail, breathing deep the fresh tang of the sea. Will couldn’t help but to smile at the change in Jack’s humming betraying the lecherous grin he undoubtedly wore. Will swore he could feel Jack’s eyes raking over his back to the curve of his arse.
After several minutes passed, punctuated only by the slapping of wave against hull and Jack’s incessant humming, Will’s inquiring mind, going over what he’d just heard, got the better of him and he turned to see Jack.
“What happened to Orion?”
“Pirates!” Jack grinned rascally and went back to humming, apparently indifferent of whether he should go on with the tale or not.
“Pirates?” Will sighed and moved in front of Jack, squatting to look him in the eye, placing his hands on Jack‘s knees for balance. “Jack. Are you going to tell me the tale or not?”
“Thought you weren’t’t interested in the stars,” Jack said feigning surprise, his eyes twinkling. “But, if you’re insisting on knowing…” Jack patted the space next to him to indicate Will to sit.
Will sat down next to Jack, leaning languidly against the mast. Jack took a swallow of rum, handed the bottle to Will and leisurely landed his hand on Will’s thigh before resuming his tale.
“So, Orion sailed among the islands, singing his songs and telling his tales. One day, however, he’d set sail for home when he was set upon by pirates. These pirates demanded all of his money, his possessions, and his ship, and threw him into the water.”
“Anyone we know?”
“Maybe.” Jack smiled and stretched his back straight, rolled his shoulders and turned to lay back, using Will’s lap as a pillow. After settling comfortably with his leg over the other and Will’s thumb pleasantly tracing his jaw line, Jack gazed contentedly upward at the stars and Will’s face.
“Now, this Orion bloke was good at telling tales, but decidedly not as good at swimming. He was all fit t’ drown, when a dolphin swam up, told him how much he enjoyed the bard’s music, and asked if the bard would sing for him in exchange for carrying the bard to land. The bard agreed, and the two swam all through the night, singing songs and enjoying the evening.”
Will leaned back lower against the mast, absently moving his fingers to play with Jack’s hair as he listened to his tale, his other hand putting away the bottle he was holding so he could splay it across Jack’s bare chest.
Jack instinctively put his hand over Will’s and wriggled contentedly before continuing his tale.
“By the time the night ended, both the bard and the dolphin had had a wonderful time, and they decided that they didn’t’t wish for it to end, so the two of them continued swimming into the heavens, so they could enjoy the night forever.”
Jack concluded the tale with a satisfied smile and began humming again, then quietly sang a few lines, delighting himself in the eyeful of Will rather than the starry skies that, again, seemed to rapidly lose their meaning, and relishing in the feel of the small, round scars under his fingers on Will‘s forearm.
The night was filled with magic, they bid the sea goodbye
Swam into the heavens and they stayed up in the sky
And all the Island people when they wish upon a star
See the Dolphin and the Jolly Mon
Who tell them where they are
“Jolly Mon?” Will laughed, shaking his head.
Jack smiled warmly up at Will. “Did I ever tell you the tale about Jolly Mon?”
“No, you never did, Jack”
“Well then, darling Mr. Turner,” Jack grabbed Will’s hand, swung one leg for leverage and stood up swiftly, listing dangerously to one side before pulling Will up to his feet.
“Should you allow me the pleasure of your company in our quarters, and furthermore, on, shall we say, more suitable surfaces, this night just might be the night you’ll hear it.”
****