I'm Still the Queen of Me (Open)

[Kaylee Fleming]

Kaylee turned her head side to side on the side of the lake, observing the bright and beautiful day before her with a content smile. The lake reflected the bright blue sky that had puffs of clouds floating through it. The heavy sunlight seemed to have a shape in the air. After looking left and right once more, and decided that there was no one else around, she sat down by the edge of the waters and put her burlap sack beside her.

So far, the day had been a good day. She had just spent the past few months working as a carpenter on a ship, and now she had a small bag of silver, and the sack wad full of apples. Just the money would've been enough...but the fruit! She had scored big time. And now she could relax for a few days in Skye before heading out to find more work. After all, what was life without work?

Once again, Kaylee thought about permanently settling in Skye. It was where she went when she didn't have a job, and many people thought that she was a Druid. After all, she hated fighting and liked peace. The thing was, Kaylee felt odd whenever she had to interact with the Druids. They used big words and talked about books, and Kaylee could only barely read. She loved the land, but she couldn't connect with the people there.

She was a pirate, and led a pirate life, leaving out the fighting bit. But every once in awhile she longed to have a home, a permanent home, whether it be a ship or on land. She wanted something to be regular. She wanted to be able to see the same person more than once. The only person she could depend on was...herself, and she would've liked to share the day, with someone, anyone. But she still had herself, and that was something.

She slipped off her boots and dipped her feat into the water, and leaned back to soak up the sun, letting her honey-bronze hair fall down behind her. She closed her eyes and absorbed the warmth. It was times like this that she just wanted to live here. You couldn't lie back back on grass and sunbathe on ships, but hey, it made it more special when she could.

She picked up her hand and dug through her bag to pluck out an apple. She looked at it, eyes half-closed for a second before she bit deeply into her, savoring the sweet juicyness of fruit that she loved so much. Yes, right at the second, life was good.

[Simon Black]

His coat was little darker than a light, periwinkle blue and a great deal of gray threads were woven into the light blue, creating an oddly regal effect. The hood on the cloak was the same color and it clashed, rather nicely, with the Druid’s dark hair. Under the light blue cloak, he wore a dark blue tunic and white breeches, along with a leather belt of a dark, rich brown, which not only was buckled around his healthy waist, but wound around his shoulders as well. He wore no adornment, magical or otherwise, save for a small, sapphire stone that was suspended from a silver chain around his neck. On the rare occasions that he sneaked out of Skye, he would hide the pendant below his shirt, as to avoid attacking any unwanted attention.

He was quite a handsome man, with a well-chiseled face and a strong chin and jaw, but not to the effect that he looked like a bulldog. He had eyes of the brightest, most piercing blue and rather shy features, to accompany his reserved personality. Yes, although he would never admit it out loud, Simon was a magnet for the ladies of Skye, provided, that was, that he didn’t insult them too heavily upon getting to know them a little more thoroughly. But the face beneath the hood was still shrouded in shadow, too dimly lit for the human eye to discern completely.

His tall, black boots, which were also highly polished, were left untouched by the mud of the lake, roughly twenty feet away from where he was standing: under the protection of the outskirts of the trees. He carried no weapon and he had no skills of martial arts or other methods of self-protection. He was, for now, virtually defenseless and not very garrulous, but one seldom had to defend oneself in the land of Skye. Well, there was still talk of going to war with the Scoailtes against Sceith, but most Druids argued that this conflict was not their battle, that this was not their business and some even argued that it would be rude of them, as a nation, to go sticking its nose places where it didn’t belong. Whatever Skye decided, Simon wasn’t interested, for he had his sight set on a much more personal goal; getting his sister River, out of the hands of the Sceithians.

But for a moment, he was temporarily diverted by the sight of a pretty girl by the side of the lake. As mentioned above, he had often been described as “pretty”, but that simply didn’t compare with the rare, but infatuations fleeting glances, he would throw a girl whom he had never met before in his life. Of course, he didn’t have the guts to go up and introduce himself, so he would be restricted to mild, but fleeting thoughts of what could be, but this girl, she was different from the others, besides the fact that he had only laid eyes on her two minutes ago.

She had hair the color of ripened wheat, off which the sun glimmered and flashed briefly. She was longing near the lake and seemed to be eating something, a fruit, by the looks of how she was holding whatever it was. Although he could not get an entirely clear view from this angle, eh could see something on her face and he could sense something around her, even from this distance, a sense of happiness that radiated from her. It would have been contagious, except the healer wasn’t affected…yet.

A slight wind ruffled the leaves of the trees that he stood under and he turned his head ever so slightly, so that the weak, October sun flashed against the pendant that was hanging around his collar bone. It was then that his character more or less abandoned him, and he began walking, almost compulsively, towards the lake’s edge, his eyes flicking back and forth between the girl and where he was going.

Simon Tam, one of the most gifted healers in Skye, was in for some serious drama.

[Kaylee Fleming]

Kaylee had turned her attention to doing a typical thing when lying in the sun: making shapes with the clouds. Kaylee loved clouds, as long as they weren't dark and didn't come between her and the sun. They were like big puffs of downy feathers that you could wrap all around you and eat like taffy. And when the sun shone through them and gave them a yellow center, they looked like daisies in a field of periwinkle blue. And sometimes, when the sun was about to set or rise, and all the clouds looked golden or pink or purple or red, they looked like dancers swaying to a waltz in a fancy ballroom. Kaylee still had dreams about wearing a big, fluffy, ruffly dress and dancing in a fancy ballroom. But alas, that wasn't something that could happen to a pirate. And balls were for the fancy rich people. Kaylee was neither fancy nor rich.

But that didn't stop Kaylee. In fact, not many things stopped Kaylee from doing anything she wanted to, especially when she held an image so clearly of it in her mind. When she half-closed her eyes, her tan jumpsuit became a ruffly pink dress in the shape of a bell and the wildflowers became dancers that looked like pieces of wrapping paper blowing in the wind. There would be a table with those exotic fruits she had never tried but longed to, like mangoes and pineapples. And then a nice young man would come up to her and say, 'Miss Kaylee, would you grant me the pleasure of a dance?' and she would say yes and she would become one of the butterflies. It was one of her favorite dreams. She would often dream it while on board a ship, where the swaying of the boat would be instead her own swaying to a sweet melody that had no words but only a dance.

So far, the only parties she had been to were little villager gatherings around bonfires, or maybe going to a pub with some week-long fling of hers, and most likely getting drink. Kaylee blamed it on her small stature that alcohol got to her quickly and dragged her down. Then again, she didn't really care. After all, she wasn't exactly the type of person to be thought of as very dignified, or an aristocrat. No, even though she was a pirate, the title most given to her was "Prairie heartbeat,' because she was, or at least, was thought of, as a simple country girl, with no real prospects when it came to the future. She had to disagree with that, not because she thought her life was going to take a turn for the better, but because she already thought it was better. She saw nothing wrong with life as it was.

Suddenly, Kaylee had that feeling that someone was watching her. she was able to do this, because most people naturally gave off an "I'm here" aura that was hard to cloud. At first, Kaylee felt frozen, but then remembered she was in Skye and bad things never happened in Skye. (This was probably not a wise thing to believe, but she believed it) She brought her eyes to the side slightly, and then turned her hold head a little bit to see the mysterious person.

A little smile came onto her face. At first, it was just because he was wearing things that looked fancy, and fancy things were always a plus, but as she looked further, she decided that he had a nice face. It was calm, and serene, and pale, like frothing milk, which contrasted with her dark hair. But before she let herself get too far, she quickly turned her head back with wide eyes, and a bigger smile. She was just about to sneak another peek when she shook her head at herself. There was no point in looking from afar. She pushed herself off the ground, using her hands for support, and then wiped them on her jumpsuit, proceeding only to make it look more grimy.

"Hello!" she shouted, picking up her sack and swinging it over her shoulder, "How are you doing?"

[Simon Black]

Simon jumped at the sound of another human voice, floating to him across the lake, or at least he thought the voice was human. If he had not been in Skye, his breathing would have increased greatly and he most probably would have begun the dance most commonly known as running. But Simon was in Skye now, and he most likely had nothing to fear, unless he was suddenly faced with a very pretty girl. He habitually reached down to finger the hem of his long, blue-gray coat as he gazed out, over to the other side of the lake, where his eyes settled on the girl whom he had caught a glimpse of earlier. Her hailing to him, assuming that it had been she who had spoken, had sounded friendly enough, and although Simon had learned that judging by a person’s tone of voice isn’t test enough for their alliance, something about this voice welcomed and calmed him. It gave him the not-so-familiar sense that everything was going to be all right.

He raised his head to look over the water at the girl on the opposite side of the bank and all of a sudden, he felt a great pull to go and join her, to talk to her, but he wasn’t certain about consequence his actions might bring. There was no way to test the waters and if he wanted to converse with her, he would have to make his way around the lake and met with her face to face, for there was no other way. Taking a deep breath, he started forward, placing each boot on the ground only after careful consideration. Finally, when he had made his way around the water and he had come within earshot, about fifteen or twenty of feet of the girl. Then, he halted where he was and inclined his head in a polite, reserved greeting.

“Greetings.” He returned, and his voice was crisp and correct as he used to formal speech of the land. This girl to whom he was speaking to was very pretty, from what he could see, even prettier than he had thought her to be from a distance and that alone was enough to intrigue him further. Aristocratic Druid he might be, but he was still a heterosexual male and he was still young enough for any pretty girl walking through the streets to turn his dark-haired head. “I am well, and you…?” He asked, his voice trailing away as he never met her before and he didn’t even know her name.

She had a pleasant face, which was complemented by her honey colored locks and blue eyes, but the most appealing feature about was the sense of optimism that stayed with her and that infected everyone around her just about instantly. It was odd that the healer should have been as attracted to her he was, seeing that, even on first meeting, she was as different from him as she was, but then opposites did attract.

She’s pretty… Simon thought, searching for the right word in his mind, ...pretty. He completed, thinking of how much the over used word did fit his first impression of her and an uncommanded smile found its way unto his handsome face.

[Kaylee Fleming]

x

Sun is shinin' in the sky
There ain't a cloud in sight
It's stopped rainin'
Everybody's in a play
And don't you know
It's a beautiful new day

"I'm Kaylee," Kaylee said with a bright grin as she held out her hand. Only that she was a bit more forward and just grabbed his hand where it lat by his side and vigorously shook it. "I'm doing perfectly great," she added, answering the question he had actually asked instead of answering a question meant for getting to know him better. Her words were swelled with enthusiasm, apparently for no reason, other than the fact that for some reason this time and place was perfect. But it usually seemed to Kaylee like all times and all places were perfect. So why shouldn't she be optimistic?

With a thoughtful eye, she looked him over again, confirming what she had seen from afar. It was a pretty, relaxed face different than any other she had seen before. Men at sea were rougher, almost always with some type of facial hair, tough, leathery skin, and eyes that were always squinting. Not that she had anything against sailors, seeing as she often had short-lived love affairs with them, but it was nice to see someone without the tiniest blemish.

However, if she was someone who was out to buy a new puppy and did a test to see which ones were timid and which ones were bold, this guy would have failed the test. It was in the way he stood, the rigid my-mother-told-me-to-sit-up-straight-so-I-did posture. It was something one usually saw with people who were nervous. It was something she would steadily grow unaccustomed to seeing while at sea, and then would shock were when she came back to Skye. It was funny, she though, that the people who had the money were too proper to enjoy the good life and the people that would've gladly taken the opportunity were too poor.

One thing that people never seemed to do in Skye was laugh, so much that it was almost embarrassing when she would burst out in a sea of silence, earning the shocked faces of upper-class druids. She would abruptly stop and say in a polite little voice, 'Ahem.' if anyone was to ever question her as to why she was a pirate instead of a druid, they would need only to witness one of these episodes to understand that under no circumstances did she fit in. She was loud, she was boisterous, she was happy-go-lucky, she was wild. She went forward like there was no tomorrow and never looked back. In more than one way, she was like a big, dopey, doofus dog that chased it's tail from the end to the finish, convinced throughout that one day she would reach her goal. A dog that followed the ones she loved with an undying loyalty and took time to enjoy the simple pleasures, and treat every day like her first.

"What's your name?" she asked cheerfully, as intently and genuinely as if he had offered her a pony and she was asking for conformation.

[Simon Black]

x

Tell me, did you sail across the sun?
Did you make it to the milky way to see the light all faded,
And that heaven is overrated
Tell me, did you fall from a shooting star?
One without a permanent star
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?


She was more confident and forward than Simon could ever hope to be himself, or want to be, for that matter and he was slightly bothered by her habits. He let her shake his hand and he could not help but notice how strong and callused her was, as if she actually used the muscles on it quite regularly, but then he dropped his own hand at the first available opportunity; no need to stay in an uncomfortable situation longer than was needed. She was very pretty, just as he had concluded earlier, but that alone didn't grantee that he would trust her, a noisy, bold stranger whom he had never seen before.

"I'm Simon, Simon Black." He told her in his voice, a voice untouched by hair-raising screeches or another improper usage. He had never been tortured in his life, which was no unusual for any druid, but neither had he seen the world, or the world as most knew it. He was fairly close-minded as well and not the most skilled at adapting the change. Of one thing he was certain though, it had been his mission, for as long as he could remember to do that he could manage, to bring his sister River back. She had been in the hands of the Sceithians for several years now and it had been several years too long. He did miss her, even though she could be a bit of a spoiled brat at times. Nothing compared to her innocent, yet vibrant dances as she whirled across the room and nothing could quite match the times when she would hit her brother over the head with something sharp and heavy--on purpose. What Simon didn't know, however, was how his sister's brain had been penetrated, altered and otherwise been programmed to become something different from the inventive girl who had been his sister, now, she was little more than a weapon.

But this girl was a little more interesting to him than was the average lady in Skye. There was something about her; the way her inflections alighted upon her words or her attitude toward meeting new people that intrigued him. And then there was the fact that she dressed like no one else whom he had ever seen. Surely, she wasn't Sceithian: he could see that from her general carriage and look in her eyes, but she wasn't from any of the other Scottish mainlands either. She was exotic.

He was like a skittish horse, one that was of yet too wary to fully trust his visitor, one that would be blowing and pawing the ground anxiously right now. His clothing was immaculate, clean and spotless; too clean for any of normal occupation, but he hated dirty clothes, but then he just about hated dirty anything, but that was about to change, as his entire vocabulary was about to change in the intervening days as he would redefine the word "dirty". As the months would pass, he would learn how to be bold, he would learn how to fight, even though he certainly wouldn't enjoy it. Taking a leap of obvious courage, he asked her the obvious question on his mind.

"Where are you from, Kaylee?"

Okay, so I've never done this before on this site, but I think you've probably seen it before.

Notes: Ugh, I hate being sick
Word Count: 580 or so (of purely RPG text)
Listening to: Drops of Jupiter, by TRAIN
Mood: Slow, hopeful

[/blockquote] [/blockquote] [/size]

[Kaylee Fleming]

x

Would you spare me a minute, give me a single chance
To look in your eyes and let me hold your hand
I want to get close to read you, understand you
Open up your heart, open up your mind


Kaylee felt a surge in her chest as she heard his name and heard him say her name for the first time, but at the same moment, she felt ridiculous. She wasn't afraid of love, nor was she a stranger to it, but for some reason, right now, it felt like she was jumping into a deep, dark hole that she would never be able to climb out of, like she would be stuck forever. For some reason, she had this feeling that if let herself go now, it wouldn't just be a little fling that was over in two weeks. Something told her this was different, and it would be different from anything else that had happened to her.

Stop being silly, you just found out his name. Stop acting like he introduced himself as 'Prince Charming,' he could be a jerk...

That same part of her seriously doubted that.

Simon, Simon Black. The name rung a bell, tugging at some part of the back of her mind, like the name of a parent's friend's child's friend, or like she had heard some old women gossiping about it as she had passed by. Then she was able to connect the name with one word: healer, and it all flowed from there. Yes, he was one of druid's many healers, but she knew she wouldn't have remembered him if it was just that. He was good, and a part inside of her was beaming at that. She was good at fixing things, but fixing people, that was something entirely different, it was...important! It was special! It was...different.


"Where am I from?" she repeated, grinning as large as the sun, "I'm from..." She paused, not sure what to say. Where was she from? She never really thought about it. She flung her arms back in what was supposed to be an enthusiastic arm gesture and instead accidentally hit herself. However, she was unfazed, and continued on. "I'm from the ocean!" she said cheerily. She unaware of the fact that many people disliked people who lived by the sea, seeing as they were a rough kind of people. In her mind, people lived away from stereotypes. Nice people like nice people, right? Wasn't she nice? Wasn't he nice?

"You're from around here, aren't you? You live here, with druids!"



I need a hook so you won't be the one that got away
I need a look that stuns you, makes you want to stay
Don't want to speak in case it comes out wrong
Don't want to blink cause in that second you could be gone

[Simon Black]

xx

if there's a price for rotten judgment,
i guess i've already won that.
no girl is worth the aggrevation,
that's ancient history,
been there, done that.
who do you think you're kidding?
she's the earth and Heaven to you.
try to keep it hidden,
boy, we can see right through you.

A slight smile crossed over Simon's pale features. She was charming in an odd, barely expected way, and she was pretty, and that was a huge plus. He took a tentative step forward, as if that skittish horse was overcoming his fear with curiosity instead. The animal was stretching out its graceful neck, ears forward, entire body tense and waiting for what Fleming would do. But Simon wasn't technically a horse.

It was then that he recoiled in shock. A pirate! They looted and burned the free kingdoms (and the tyrant kingdoms as well, but that was a different story). They were people of such little thought and of such great greed. They committed more crimes than all of Saor and the Hebredes put together. How could a girl so friendly and carefree be a member of such a people?

Appearances can be deceiving.

Inwardly, Simon groaned. And he had thought her pretty, he had thought her pleasant, he had thought her safe. What was wrong with him? He should have been able to tell of her true nature the moment he saw her. Weren't his senses supposed to be keener than most other mortals? Whatever, they still weren't keen enough for him, not if he wasn't able to tell who people were upon first meeting them.

"You're a pirate." He said, his voice filled with unhappiness as he realized how disappointed he was by this. That worried him further. Had he made such a connection with this girl upon first sight? Why was he so unusually attached to her?

How could he live with herself? How could he live with himself? Why was this so confusing? Why did this all have to be so difficult? Why couldn't he be free, like her? Why couldn't he go with her to wherever...

Okay, stop it right there, Simon.

He couldn't just go running off with a girl he had only just met. He couldn't go running off with anyone, for he had a commitment to one girl, River, his sister. He could not live a life of true happiness until she was by his side once more. It wasn't right to do so.

no chance, no way,
i won't say it,
no, no.
you swoon, you sigh,
why deny it?
it's too cliche
[and i don't swoon]
i won't say i'm in love.

__________________________________________

word count: 381
listening to: i won't say i'm in love by disney
lyrics credit: i won't say i'm in love by dinsey
mood: so-so
notes: I know the song's supposed to be sung by a girl, but I did a little, uh, messing around with the lyrics

[Kaylee Fleming]

x

Let it go
Let it roll right off your shoulder
Don't you know?
The hardest part it over
Let it in
Let your clarity define you
In the end

We will only just remember how it feels

One could say that Kaylee was good at noticing things, that she was observant to the people around her, but the truth was, that she only noticed what she wanted to. Therefore, she did not detect the slight but sudden rise in tensity in Simon's body. She just kept on smiling, because that was what she did. It was her default setting. After all, life was good. she was in Skye, she had fruit, she had silver in her pocket, and she had just met a seemingly willing and handsome stranger whose name was Simon and fixed people. A good swelling feeling came throughout her.

"Yeah, I guess you could say I'm a pirate," she stopped to giggle for a second, "I fix ships. Put 'em back together when they're broken. It's pretty important if we get fired at." Kaylee had temporarily forgotten that piracy was something against the law. She had grown so used to it that saying 'I'm a pirate,' was similar to saying, 'I'm a farmer,' to her. It was just something she talked about like she talked about the weather. What was so bad about it anyway? Pirates just drank, made threats they wouldn't carry out, and took some things. Were material matters that important? If someone took something from her, she'd be a little miffed, but not enough to want that person dead. She would accept it. She wondered for a moment if a person had ever wanted her to die...but it wasn't a pleasant thought at all.

"You're a healer, right? That must..." she stopped to collect herself, but completely lost what she was going to say. Or was it that she had started speaking for the sake of talking to him without actually having a plan? "I...I was going to say something intelligent sounding and complimentive but I guess I lost it." A faint blush came over her face as she looked down. What should she say? What should she do? Was she being too forward? Should she try a little harder? What could happen so that she would see Simon again? What miracle did she have to help along?

[/blockquote]


Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders
These twists and turns of fate
Time falls away
But these small hours
These small hours still remain
[/center][/size]

[Simon Black]

xx
i don't mind spending every day
out on your corner in the pouring rain
look for the girl with the broken smile
ask her if she wants to stay awhile

She didn't fight? Well, that changed things a little; made them slightly better, in fact. Unless she had already guessed it, Simon was opposed to pirates ransacking the houses and lives of the innocent, land-bound people and he was opposed big time, but she had apparently been in battles, sea battles, and that was a bit of a downside, apart from the fact that she was, undeniably, a pirate. Even if she had denied it, Simon would have guessed it before long. Her rough speech, easy, thrown-around words, her longing position on the ground, all pointed to one thing: life on the seas. Simon hated sailing and being in boats in general, but he was not about to be impolite just because of her occupation.

You know you would do anything to get River back. An unbidden voice said in his head.

Wha--, oh, oh no, surely not. He couldn't do that, not for the love of...but he could and he could stop just as soon as he had his sister back, safe and sound. He could live a double life, adopt a double persona and then his sea-bound self could fake his death as soon as he was through. It was not only possible, but it would work. He could overcome any fear for the promise of getting River back and could overcome any moral obligation for that hope, even piracy.

Okay, here goes...

"I see," He said, searching for the right words. Exactly how did one go about these things? He paused, putting a finger behind his ear characteristically as he thought. After a moment of thought, he said,, every word sounding foreign in his mouth.

"Mind, if I sit down, er, Kaylee?"

tap on my window
knock on my door
i want to make you feel beautiful
i know i know i tend to get so insecure
it doesn't matter anymore
it's not always rainbows and butterflies
it's compromise that moves us along
my hardest fool
but my door's always open
you come anytime you want

_____________________________________________

word count: 299
listening to: she will be loved by i don't really know
[i\yrics credit:

[/i][/b] she will be loved by no idea
mood: pretty good
notes: hey, looks like i'm finally getting my longer-post muse back

[/size]
[/blockquote] [/blockquote]

[Kaylee Fleming]

x



Am I not pretty enough?
Is my heart too broken?
Do I cry too much?
Am I too outspoken?

Kaylee smiled to herself, feeling giddy, as was typical to her. She was known for being so enthusiastic when meeting new people that she would scare them away, like a big, friendly dog who would jump on people because they loved them so much, only to find that person would never return because of it. But if you took that out of the equation, Kaylee could easily make friends for her outgoing and easygoing personality, and that fact that she had plenty of time on her hands.

"Oh, of course you can sit!" she said, sitting down again herself. The rare sunshine felt so good. It was one of those things in her life that were small, yet made the greater majority of her happiness. Warm days, the sound of seagulls, the ocean rocking her to sleep, holding the children she had befriended in harbor towns...they made her life complete. To her, those things were more important than the parties and treasures she experienced as a pirate. They made her human, something that connected her to everyone, and she loved everyone, which is why that was good.

"Glad I got to see you today, Simon!" she said with her always bright smile, "Isn't it funny? Maybe we were supposed to meet for some odd reason, wouldn't that be somethin'?" Kaylee was definitely hoping they had met for a reason. Perhaps they had been fated to be at the same place at the same day because from then on their paths would be intertwined, perhaps they would become the best of friends and help each other achieve what they wanted to in life. Maybe she could make his life better, and in return...he could make her life better. Whatever the case was, Kaylee vowed right then to always do whatever she could for him.

Don't I make you laugh?
Should I try it harder?
Why do you see right though me?

[Simon Black]

xx
i don't mind spending every day
out on your corner in the pouring rain
look for the girl with the broken smile
ask her if she wants to stay awhile

He carefully lowered himself into a sitting position next to her, letting his arms dangle over one knee and letting the other leg lay flat out in front of him and tried to look at ease. A part of him was appalled at his actions. Here he was, sitting by the lake, talking to a pirate girl as if he did this every day. And what exactly was he planning to do next, seduce her? No thank you, he didn't think so. He had never been one for seduction, unless he counted his foolish years as a youth in Skye and he didn't. He had been rather wild as a youth, nothing compared to the constantly sober, cautious and driven-to-get-his-sister-back adult he had become. When had he changed? When River had been taken, what else could change the very essence of what he was, or rather, what he had become.

"So, Kaylee," He said, a rather lame beginning, but at least it had potential to go somewhere, "what's it like being a pirate? I'm a healer in Skye, so I've only been on a ship a few times to go to the mainland and the Outer Hebrides. Have you traveled far?" He took little heed to how talkative he had suddenly become. It was almost unsettling how many words were flying out of his mouth so quickly.

And yet, his crazy plan could work, if it didn't completely backfire and make a complete fool of himself first. He could see him asking her about her ship and if he could "go see it", as if out of pure curiosity. There was nothing odd about that, was there? Simon Black didn't usually spend a lot of time hobnobbing with pirates, but a man had to do what a man had to do, and as he had known from the moment she was born, he would do anything for her.

He would do anything and stop at nothing.

tap on my window
knock on my door
i want to make you feel beautiful
i know i know i tend to get so insecure
it doesn't matter anymore
it's not always rainbows and butterflies
it's compromise that moves us along
my hardest fool
but my door's always open
you come anytime you want

_____________________________________________

word count: 323
listening to: stand in the rain by superchick
[i\yrics credit:

[/i][/b] she will be loved by no idea
mood: muse-ful and expeditious
notes: and so it continues...lame. simon is such a dork. ha ha ha ha ha ha

[/size]
[/blockquote] [/blockquote]

[Kaylee Fleming]

x


Sun is shinin' in the sky
There ain't a cloud in sight
It stopped raining, everybody's in a play
And don't you know, it's a wonderful new day!

Inside Kaylee, everything was flitting with happiness. he was sitting right beside her, like they were old pals or something. However, she tried to keep most of it within her and only let herself display her usual grin, instead of her why-don't-you-just-kill-me-now-because-I'm-sure-I'll-never-be-this-happy-again grin. It was her grin, other pirates joked, that could be used as a signal in the heaviest of storms. It had also been said that her smile would make the Tyrant King or whatever his name was give up trying to kill everyone and instead plant a vegetable garden and watch butterflies as they floated about. But then...Kaylee didn't exactly want to try, in case it didn't work out and she never wanted to step a foot in Sceith.

"Oh, I've been lots of places!" she began excitedly, "I've been to every country around here, 'cept Sceith, of course, and I've been to France and Spain and what's that little one by France? Starts with a B? Belrium? Yeah, I've been to Belrium. Oh and that Portugal place and the Netherlands. One day I'm hoping to even go to Morocco! I want to see all the cool things they have there, and maybe I'll see one of them, uh, what do call them? Shiks? That would be amazing. Anything you want to see? I could bring one back for you if I ever go!"

She laughed, and it felt so good. No matter how many times she did it, her need to laugh never lessened. She could laugh from the north pole to the south pole and back again. Which was one of the reasons she loved traveling. She could meet new people and discover new ways to laugh and enjoy herself. it was also why she was trying so hard to make Simon laugh, for it seemed like he hadn't for awhile, and what was a life without laughter?

Mr. blue sky, please tell us why
You had to stay away for so long

[Simon Black]

xx
i don't mind spending every day
out on your corner in the pouring rain
look for the girl with the broken smile
ask her if she wants to stay awhile

"Belgium." Simon corrected her, before he could stop himself, then he froze, worrying that he might have discouraged her by his rudeness. So far, everything was going smoothly, which never happened for Simon, at least not for long. When he was involved in anything, it usually went to pieces sooner or later, it was just that he was used to his plan shattering into a million tiny pieces much before this point in previous experiences. When he had been a child, whenever he had a "brilliant idea", River would regard him warily, his mother would get nervous and his father would ask how much the potential damage (not to mention materials would cost). His mother would then go ahead and purchase said materials at the market while his father was away (against her better judgment) and Simon would proceed, usually failing dismally. The only difference was that back then, failure was all right, because he could always just crawl into his bed at the end of the day and play with River around the fire. Now...all that was gone. There was no room for error now and if he did make a mistake, he would be spending a lot of time and risky business trying to fix it.

He smiled politely, spreading his hands as if to show that there was no harm done, although it was officially her job to do that. "Forgive me," He apologized, with that same, wide, tooth-filled grin, each one glistening with good health. "In my spare time I read...about far away places and ships." It was true, of course. Simon did spent a lot of time reading, but it was not for pleasure. He studied ancient volumes of spying and getting in through locked doors, of magic he could not understand, how constructing rafts and on the history of Sceith, which went all of eighty years back.

"I would like that, Kaylee." He said, rocking back into a more comfortable sitting position. "I have read about them and to see one in person would be..." He paused, searching for the right word, "thrilling." Of course he had no real interest in meeting a sheik, unless he had a trained army ready and willing to rescue his sister. "I do read a rather lot about ships, but I was but a boy the last time I set foot on one."

tap on my window
knock on my door
i want to make you feel beautiful
i know i know i tend to get so insecure
it doesn't matter anymore
it's not always rainbows and butterflies
it's compromise that moves us along
my hardest fool
but my door's always open
you come anytime you want

_____________________________________________

word count: 393
listening to: nothing, at the moment
lyrics credit: she will be loved by no idea
mood: tired
notes: none

[Kaylee Fleming]

x


Sun is shinin' in the sky
There ain't a cloud in sight
It stopped raining, everybody's in a play
And don't you know, it's a wonderful new day!

“Belgium?” she repeated. Hmm, maybe that was right. Geography wasn’t really her strong point, but then again, she didn’t exactly have a strong point when it came to education. At least she was literate, and that was more than your average person, and that added to her usefulness on ships. She could read signs, and as long as they didn’t use really big words, she could read letters as well, and even write a bit. She could spell her name and the names of her family members. It was something she was rather proud of, though she expected it was nothing to Simon.

“You read…books?” she questioned excitedly. Oh wow…her small amount of skills was nothing compared to being able to read a book! Or even owning a book at that. Books were for rich, fancy peoples, and she hadn’t expected that Simon would be that, though she didn’t know why, since he definitely looked clean and well off from his clothing, but then again, he was talking to her, which was most likely what had made her think he was more common, though she had known he was a very good healer. It made sense, she supposed, but she guessed it meant she wouldn’t see him again.

It made her sad that the Druids, especially the rich ones, never seemed to like her. She liked them a lot, but the sentiment was never shared. And she definitely liked Simon, he was nice and sweet and…handsome, definitely handsome, but next time he saw her, he’d probably avoid her, right? Handsome, well-off Druids did not waste their time with plain and frivolous pirates. But hell, she would try. There was nothing wrong about trying. “Been that long since you were on a ship? I love ships. The movement is so…” She rocked back and forth to demonstrate the movement of the ship, occasionally lightly bumping into him as she did so, and each time that happened she giggled, until she stopped with a bright grin on her face.

Mr. blue sky, please tell us why
You had to stay away for so long