Temp Board - Full Moon

[Dutch]

Trying to keep a smile off his face, but unable to restrain the amused glint in his eyes, Dutch cocked an eyebrow at his lovely companion.

“Well, I approve your enthusiasm, my lady, and I will do my best to accommodate you,” he said, and promptly quickened his stride to the inn, shouldering through the door backwards to protect Giselle’s body, and strode up to the desk.

“Sir, I’ll have a room and the largest bath you possess, and I’ll pay extra if you can have it ready by the time I undress this lovely young woman here,” he said evenly, trying valiantly not to look down to see if the expression he imagined was on Giselle’s face.

[Dutch]

Grinning for all she was worth, Amelia looked from Maverick to her ship-in-progress, blushing a little bit. She was smart, people told her that all the time (though it was usually in the form of an insult, which was of course spawned from jealousy), but it wasn’t as often people called her beautiful. And here it had happened twice in one day!

She waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, I’m alright now. I’m afraid I have a bit of a temper, sometimes. Though, I do still feel perfectly justified. It was his fault for being an incorrigible flirt,” she said, a little distractedly, as she hefted her ship. Carefully holding the mast and hull at right angles, she progressed towards the door, doing her best to keep her bubbling nervousness and excitement in check. Finally, a demonstration for someone who actually wanted to see it, and not just to prove her wrong!

“Would you grab that bag there?” she asked, nodding at a plain grey sack by the door. “It’s my fuel. Careful, it’s a heavy sucker,” she warned.

[Giselle Danielle]

She knew that would quicken his stride and was pleased that she would get her bath quicker. She really did not want to be in the sticky clothes anymore and smell like ale any longer. She looked up at Dutch and smiled softly, simply observing him for the moment. The pit of her stomach turned suddenly and she knew that it would hurt when she saw his ship sail away again. She knew that it would hurt every night away from him, thinking about the girl that he had in his bed that night.

She looked toward the man behind the counter and blushed, turning her head away to bury it into Dutch's chest. That was possibly the first time she had blushed in years. Damn the pirate, damn him to hell. She cleared her face and looked up at him, smiling.

"Silly." She sighed, reaching up to kiss his neck gently. She looked to the man behind the counter and took the key as he held it out to her, who gave her a small wink. She turned away quickly and looked up at Dutch, a serious look on her face. "What are you waiting for? We have the key."


Maverick caught her blush and smiled. He liked making people feel good, it was something he felt he had to do. He liked her, though, more than he thought he would.

"He would have gotten a punch from either you or Giselle, so it was probably best it was you. Giselle tends to have sharp pointy things to help her beat people up..." He laughed slightly.

He saw her excitement, even if she tried to hide it. He found almost wanted to hug her and tell her what a great job she had done, even if it didn't fly. He just couldn't bear to see her upset, just with all the excitement she had. He didn't remember a time he had been that excited. Maybe when he had caught his first rabbit. He turned to look at the bag she wanted him to pick up and he walked over toward it, picking it up. He leaned to one side, it reallyw as heavy. He straightened himself out and walked over toward her with the bag.

"Here you go." He grinned.

[Dutch]

Dutch was dumbfounded, which actually happened surprisingly infrequently.

He had felt her hide her face against him, and smiled smugly as he looked down at her, but when she withdrew and accepted the key, her face was perfectly straight. Not a trace of embarrassment, irritation or modesty.

She may as well have slapped the smile off his face as she held the key, asking what he was waiting for with that serious face.

An incredulously amused look arranged his features, and he smiled at her, tilting his head.

“What indeed?” he replied and headed toward the stairs to the rooms, leaning down to kiss her while simultaneously shifting her weight with practiced efficiency and reaching around to kindly remove her vest for her.

[Amelia]

Amelia laughed as Maverick described his Tandem’s fighting style. She rather liked the sound of this girl.

She was still grinning as he picked up the sack, and she pressed her lips together as it actually tilted him off-balance. How cute.

She laughed again as he handed her the bag. “Oh, well, you see, I’d like to carry it, but you’ll notice I seem to have my hands full…” she said, trying not to smile too big. In all actuality, she lugged that damn thing around all the time, and could have quite easily swung it over her shoulder with practiced ease and it wouldn’t have fazed her, but… she kind of wanted to see the wolf’s muscles flex as he hefted the thing around. Not that she would have admitted that to anyone in a thousand years, much less herself.

“Besides, it’s proper protocol for the enormous, strong, manly man to carry the heavy stuff for the tiny, frail beauty, you know. I’m all brains, I never to work,” she joked.

((Gack! I did it again! >.< bad dutch, bad dutch))

[Giselle Danielle]

((Giselle: Yes, bad dutch. -glares at Dutch- Evil little man making me fancy you. -glares more-))

She knew she had looked serious all of a sudden, yet it was only to keep another blush from rising to her face. She absolutely hated blushing. She hated it because it was almost impossible to control. She felt almost bad, having seen the small shifts in Dutch's face. He was a good sport, she had to admit.

"I'm sorry." She said, after the kiss and after the vest had been removed. "I didn't mean to look so serious." She mumbled. "I just didn't want to blush...not in front of him. You I can make an exception for, because you're so devilishly handsome and impossible to resist. Also, forgot to mention your mass amount of strength for you ahve carried me quite a ways...."

She was trying to make up for what she had done, even though it really wasn't a big deal. She sighed and looked up at him with a softness she had only given her horse.

"You're the only person to have ever made me fumble..." She paused, wondering if she should say what she wanted to say. "You're the only person to be on my mind when I said no to a man who, mind you, was very good looking but I would have much preferred you. I said no to every man since you...ah, bullocks, I'm just rambling..."

Almost scared as to what he would say, she reached up and kissed him. What she had really wanted to say, amidst all of that, was that she had missed him and that she didn't want him to leave again. She knew he would.


Maverick raised an eyebrow, slinging the bag over his shoulder as he tilted his head to one side. He had to laugh at her joke and he shrugged. He didn't mind in the slightest. Yes, it was heavy, but it wasn't too bad. Sometimes Giselle had him carry half the horse's load while she carried the other half when they had been on a long trip. Now that was heavy. He really did come to admire the horse. The horse could carry both of them and all of Giselle's junk.

"Oh, I see." he chuckled, "I like that. 'Manly Man.' Well then, tiny frail beauty, where am I taking this bag that only a strong manly man such as myself can carry?"

He really did like compliments. He didn't get them often. It was like heaven came down from above when Giselle praised him with the rarest of compliments. The day after she and Dutch spent that first night together was the day he got the most compliments in his lifetime. He almost looked forward to the next day. That bloody pirate better not leave soon.

[Dutch]

As he entered the room given to them, Dutch listened with mild surprise as Giselle explained her earlier actions; it seemed she had misunderstood his expressions. On the contrary, he wasn’t upset or offended, he was amused at her antics. A little surprised that she could handle herself to quickly and so well, but that was part of what he liked about her - the inability to predict her movements.

He smiled at her mention of his strength, and was glad the years of endurance work upon his ship had paid off. It was no easy task to hold a several thousand pound ship on course with naught but a wheel, for hours upon hours, or to secure an untethered sail until the lines were repaired, but after a while, his muscles became adept at sustaining moderate strain for extended periods, rather than great shows of massive strength. He winked at her.

“What, holding you? My darling, that’s a pleasure, not a burden,” he said lightly, and ran his fingers gently along her side. “And if you’re so adverse to blushing in front of others, I suppose I’ll try to only make you blush in private,” he promised quietly, doing his best to look the part of devilishly handsome and impossible to resist.

He was unprepared for her sudden (or so it seemed to him) flash of emotional honesty. He floundered. This was uncharted territory for the pirate. Crippling guilt raced through him as she told him she’d said no to any offers for company she’d received. When they first separated, he sought out any and every bed he could weasel his way into, hoping to distract himself enough to lessen the aching burn of longing her absence had created, and though he had reduced his efforts when he found them failing, he still found himself in the arms of a woman he pretended was another, more out of force of habit than any real desire.

He doubted she’d like to hear that, however.

Closing the door with his foot, he carefully set her down and kept his arms around her supportingly.

Pulling back slowly, he cupped her face in his hands and tried to push everything he wanted to say through his eyes. All the nights in the arms of a woman who still left him lonely, all the empty days and gaping holes he wished she would fill, every little moment he’d wanted her there to share with him, he poured everything into his gaze, and when he found it insufficient, he returned his mouth to hers and laced it enough heat to blaze down the world around them. He wrapped his arms around her and crushed her tightly against him, trying to convey without words how much he didn’t want to let her go.

He only hoped she’d understand that words were incapable of describing the fire she ignited in his blood.

[Amelia]

The winged girl laughed as Maverick played along, and nodded toward the door.

“Out to the courtyard. Follow me, oh impressively beefy one,” she teased, and led the way back outside, to a small open space beside the building. Setting her ship carefully on the grass, she pulled out a pair of pliers and a tiny wrench from one of her assorted pockets and set about repairing and rearranging the rigging and fuel lines, clenching the tip of her tongue between her teeth as she concentrated. Her precise, practiced movements were soon completed, and she stood back and examined her work critically, then nodded in satisfaction. She turned to Maverick and gravely held out her hand.

“The fuel, please, assistant,” she said formally, a mockingly stern look on her usually cheerful features.

[Giselle Danielle]

She couldn't completely understand him. She couldn't read him like she had been able to read many others. Sometimes she didn't know when he was being serious or when he just wanted her to get into bed with him. She didn't view him as the most honest of people and she saw his flaws, but she also saw his perfections. He was gorgeous and his attitude towards life seemed optimistic. Which, was a rather good change for someone, like herself, who had always been pessimistic towards the world. He also made her smile.

As she looked into his eyes and was taken away by his kiss, she knew that this was not a lie. She knew that this was him and that was how he felt. This was not a kiss designed to solely bed her, though she was already tempted to throw him onto the bed.

She pulled away when she could no longer breathe and she looked at him. She had forgotten the bath at this point, it no longer concerned her. Though, during their kiss the men had brought in the large bath that could easily sit two to three men, had filled it and left before their kiss had finished. She didn't think it had been that long.

"Oh how I've missed you." She whispered, hugging him tightly. "I wish I could stay with you forever..." She pulled back to look at him, biting her lower lip. "And I know you've been with other women since our last encounter, I know that. I won't lie, it hurts to think of that but..." She paused before resting her forehead against his chest. "I can't believe that I fell for you." She laughed slightly and shrugged. "How do you feel?"

Her question came out slowly and in a whisper, almost scared to hear the answer. How had he done this to her? How had he turned her into a woman who no longer was in total control of her surroundings, of what was to happen. She had been so sure of herself before, that she'd never settle down ever or ever fall in love. And all of that was shattered.

((Poor Giselle, haha.))

Maverick grinned and followed her, enjoying this.

"Beefy." He repeated, laughing slightly.

The woman had bought him food, although it had ended up free. She had given him compliments and was impressively pretty. It was a bit strange for him, however, to find himself liking someone of the opposite gender of another species. He knew, very well, that wolves tended to mate with one other wolf for the rest of their life.

Silly Maverick, what made him think that she'd even be interested in bedding with you. He thought grimly.

He stopped, a bit startled at her mock face, then realizing that it was just for show. He relaxed a bit and handed her the fuel.

"M'lady, will you be able to hold it with no problem?" He asked, teasing her gently. He knew very well that she'd be able to carry it. How else had it gotten in her room?

[Dutch]

The pirate’s heavy eyes fell upon the standing bath with a start; he hadn’t even noticed the men either bringing in or filling the thing. Apparently, he’d been a little more intense than he’d realized.

Insides twisting, Dutch gently encased Giselle in his arms, and avoided her eyes as she called him on his bed hopping. He almost wanted to deny it, to spare her and uphold a decent appearance, but they both knew him. It would be a useless, insulting gesture. Instead, he said nothing and tried to think of a way to show her that his arms only felt right when wrapped around her.

His heart fluttered when she admitted, out loud, her sentiments, and asked his in return. He knew this was pivotal for her; she was so strong, certain, in control - and she had laid at his feet the core of her being, and he could hear in her voice how terrified she was that he might tread carelessly on it. He wanted so badly to put her at peace, to assure her that he would rather twist himself inside out than draw from her a single tear, but he was such a novice at these matters. How on earth was he supposed to express to her what it was to him to be in her presence?

He faltered, groping for any words that would help him make her see.

“I feel like my heart only beats when I see you,” he said, pressing his hand to the side of her face and slipping his fingers in her short, wild hair. “Like I stop breathing when you leave and I’m just pretending to live in your absence, because whatever brings me life can’t exist without you,” he rambled, knowing how inadequate his words were when faced with the realization that on some primal, instinctive level, he suddenly knew that he needed her, like he’d always needed the sea and her roiling, tempestuous beauty. He leaned down, and gave her a kiss as full of tenderness and aching, bittersweet longing as the last was full of scorching passion.

[Amelia]

Grinning over at the wolf, Amelia decided to blame the alcohol. She could still feel it burning in her cheeks and blurring her vision faintly, and obviously it was responsible for the searing flashes that were racing through her system, accompanied by images that would make her head explode with embarrassment if anyone ever knew of them.

Such as the idea of Maverick standing before her shirtless, holding the sack with casual strength, his biceps rolling…

Mentally shaking herself, she forced her mind to focus on the task at hand. Of course, his reply to her little quip didn’t make it any easier. She instantly imagined him pressed against her back (shirtless again, why did her imagination shun his clothes, suddenly?), helping her to lift the fuel bricks into place. Annoyed with herself, she did her best to smile at the wolf.

“Well, perhaps you should stand by, just in case,” she said, hoping she wasn’t blushing as badly as she felt like she was. Swinging the sack’s strap onto her shoulder and reaching inside, she extracted a brick of chalky black material, and broke it in half, revealing a sparkly substance at it’s core that greatly resembled sugar.

“It’s carbonic crystalite. I invented it,” she told him proudly, then looked away, bending over to feed it into the small ironwork furnace. “Actually, I sort of almost blew up my lab and this happened to be the result, but all the same,” she admitted with a shrug. “It’s releases enough carbon to start her up, but it won’t sustain it for any amount of time. The crystal helps prolong it a little bit, but it would still consume phenomenal amounts of fuel if I wanted to keep her in the air for more than a few minutes.” she sighed and brushed her blackened hands off on her knees, running a finger along one of the slender wings as she waited for the fuel to kick in. “I’ll find something eventually, she said, more assuring herself than Maverick, but looked up over her shoulder at him and smiled.

[Giselle Danielle]

She was so full of emotions she almost wanted to cry, she almost wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. She felt frustration at her weakness, sadness of their separation that would inevitably happen again, jealousy at the other women, hope that somehow she could stay with him, and fear that she might be wrong. It was strange how his touch seemed to soothe her, to push the emotions down to a simmer and keep them from boiling. Maverick couldn't even do that.

His words brought a smile to her face. They were, in essence, the words that she had wanted to hear. She had wanted to hear him say something that would make her want to stay with him, and those were the words. The kiss poured emotion into her and she knew he felt what she did, and she relished in it. Her fear seemed to go away and she wrapped her arms around him tightly.

She pulled away after a while and looked at him with a small smile.

"Do you need a bodyguard again?" She brought a hand up to ruffle his blond hair. "My services include protection, killing those who get in your way, helping you dress and undress, putting my strength to good use and convincing others to part with their treasures. For payment I simply ask that I fall asleep and awake in your arms." She paused, "And a bath."

She was being perfectly serious. She was willing to give the stallion to the old woman. At least for a while...a long while. She expected Dutch to at least come on land for a bit, she wouldn't ask for much, but just long enough to visit the horse that she called family.


Maverick was unaware of the girl's thoughts. If he had been aware he certainly would have pounced on her and torn off her clothes like a rabid dog. Though, Maverick wasn't one who assumed things and he wasn't about to start making love to a woman he had just met. Especially with the whole, wolves mate with one thing. Though, with perhaps a bit convincing or a push in the right direction he may push his wolf side away and be quite the gentleman.

He walked up behind her, looking over her shoulder as he watched curiously. He wanted to see the thing fly. He was sure it would, he didn't think she'd lie.

"Sometimes a mistake can be the greatest thing in the world." He said, staring at the ship. "It's pretty cool that you invented it. I'm pleased when I can make a fire or a shelter." He chuckled and shrugged. "But, this is extroardinary. What other tricks do you have hidden up your sleeve, hmm?"

He asked, looking down at her with that wolfish grin of his. Sometimes his words got him into trouble because sometimes he didn't know exactly what he was saying. This was one of those times. With that grin of his and the way he said it, it seemed as though he was hinting at something that involved the removal of clothes. Though, if that were to happen, he wouldn't complain.

[Dutch]

Dutch couldn’t restrain the enormous grin that spread across his face as Giselle offered to sail with him again, and rattled of her services and payments. He laughed at her added condition, and stepped back from her a bit.

“Of course, m’dear, whatever you desire,” he laughed. “And after having someone half my size knock me on my ass earlier, I’m hardly in a position to refuse protection,” he said and gave her a quick kiss before moving his hands to the hem of her shirt. A sudden realization made him pause and pull back, however, and he looked at her, concern etched into his face.

“But… What of your horse?” he asked. He’d never ask her to leave something so dear behind for him.

[Amelia]

The winged inventor felt a little rush of pride as Maverick complimented her, and chuckled with him as he revealed his own deficiency when it came to construction. She looked up at him, smiling pleasedly, and found herself confronting a smile that made her stomach flip, accompanied by a teasing question that was far to easy to infer things from.

Amelia’s blood spontaneously combusted.

Her mind raced with paranoia. He was actually a wolf; how good was his nose? Had he smelled her thoughts? She mentally shook her head.

Don’t be a sex-addled idiot, Amelia, not everyone’s system is overrun with hormones. She berated herself. It wasn’t her fault her brain thought such things; he shouldn’t look so appetizing. And he kept complimenting her - he’d already told her he thought she was pretty. Beautiful, actually. And really smart. And he didn’t seem to think she was crazy.

She managed to get out a strangled “Hah,” before quickly looking back down at her ship and trying to pretend her face wasn’t on fire. Good gods, even her arms were blushing. She wouldn’t have been surprised if even her feathers turned pink.

The sudden movement of her creation’s wings saved her from having to come up with a lame response, and she quickly stood and backed away, giving it room.

As she watched it rise into the air, the long, white feathered wings flapping quickly to displace the air, she felt none of the elation she usually felt at her progress or frustration at her inability to progress further. Instead, she peeked at the wolf through her lashes and wondered what his plans were for tomorrow. When was he leaving? Or was he leaving at all? Not that she would go with him… she barely knew him, after all. Shaking her thoughts clear, she looked up at her ship, now hovering a few inches above her height and slowly being blown across the courtyard by the breeze, and admired it’s wings.

“I love white feathers,” she said absently, and scowled down at her own arms and their brown-tipped feathers. “One time I put lemon juice on mine and sat out in the sun for a while to try and bleach them, but it didn’t work. Actually, half of them fell out and I look half-bald for a month or so,” she admitted, smiling back at her ship.

[Giselle Danielle]

She had not forgotten about her horse, and she didn't expect Dutch to remember him. She had rarely spoken to him about it, despite the fact that when he had transported the stallion she had been nit picking at every single action to make sure it had been absolutely perfect. She even cleaned the stall herself after she found the first cleaning rather inadequate. She was picky when it came to her horse...perhaps a bit too picky.

"Oh, yes...I didn't forget, I just forgot to tell you." She laughed slightly and sighed, looking up at him thoughtfully. "I'm going to have to take him back home...there's an old woman there who can keep him for a bit. He'll have to be bred anyway and I knew there would be a time that I would be separated from him. It'll take me perhaps a month...and I know you're not one who can be separated from sleeping with a lady every night...but that's what I have to ask of you in return while I'm gone..."

She disentangled herself from his arms and began to walk toward the bath, removing her shirt as she went and unbuckled her belt.

"I'll make it worth it for you when we meet up again." She said, looking over her shoulder. "I hope that's not a problem..."

She knew what this would do to him, and what she was doing right now would be distracting him. It was a test. She didn't plan on riding down to the woman, she planned on Maverick riding down with the woman and she planned on hiding on his ship. She had an array of disguises.


Maverick stared as the ship took off, distracted by it for a moment before he looked back to the woman before him. Was she...yes, she was blushing. What he had said suddenly dawned on him and he mentally smacked himself in the face. What an idiot. yes, he was an idiot. But...he still wanted to know what she had up her sleeve.

"Really?" He said, slighlty distracted. "I've always preferred brown wings...and brown fur. I like rolling in mud as a wolf." He smiled. "the ship is quite beautiful, and amazing...really, it's...fantastic. I can't really say what I feel about it because it's too many words." He paused. "I don't make much sense any more..."

He laughed and shrugged, staring at the ship again. PErhaps he would put aside that wolfish law.

((Sorry it's short and crap, gtg.))