Breath. [[Shut. Captain Jack Sparrow]]

[Ariel]

Ariel, eyes skyward, hands resting unthinkingly on the entrance to her cave, intently watched the boat.

The Black Pearl.

She knew it: and, she was sure, her father did, too. It traversed these waters enough to both endear the redhead to it's presence and make her father very suspicious. He thought they might be pirates, looking in these waters for his trident: it could be true, but one thing was certain. Either that ship was after something, or the captain was very ignorant to the fact that these waters belonged to Triton, and Triton alone. Only a very stupid or an unknowing ship would sail these waters.

But it was a chance. And the girl took it.

Leaving her satchel just inside her grotto, the girl moved the rock back into place, with effort, and, her heart leaping a little bit in fear, started for the surface, blue and gold under the rays of the setting sun.

Neither Flounder nor Sebastian were with her.

Neither of her friends would approve of this blatant disrespect of her father's rules: but she didn't care. She needed, for once, to do something for herself, to prove to all of them that she wasn't the silly young girl she once was.

So she rose above the painted waves, hair swirling about her at the water's surface. Low sounds came from the ship and she, curious, swam toward it, trying to catch the words of the men. Who were they? What were they after?

Anything to satisfy her insatiable curiosity.

She, after a moment of hesitation, lifted herself into the netting of the ship, sitting on the anchor and leaning toward a hole in the side, peering onto the deck.

The humans!

Her heart raced; she'd never been so close to them before. She wanted to soak in all the faces: there was two short men, one with muttonchops and one with a balding, scragly-haired blonde head. There was a tall, skinny one with one eye that didn't seem to quite follow the other, and a tiny man nearly half the size of the others. Her ocean blue eyes skipped from man to man, examining everything from their clothes to their weapons to their hair, but the one man she didn't see was the captain. Ariel's cheek rested lightly against the wood, shock of red hair reflected in the blooming red of the sunset.

What wouldn't she give to be part of that world?

[Captain Jack Sparrow]

Jack knew these waters. He had sailed through them many a time, peering into the water for anything out of the ordinary while his crew manned the ship. He never really expected to see anything other than the usual (fish, birds, the occasional dolphin, etc), and since he never expected anything, he was never really disappointed.

Except, he was. He couldn’t really place his disappointment, but shouldn’t the sea offer … more than "just the usual”? Shouldn’t he be able to look down into the sea and see something different every day? She was ever-changing, the sea, so shouldn’t her sights be, as well?

The pirate Captain sighed, leaning on the railing of the Pearl, gazing into the water for something new.

And then he saw her. Red hair glinting in the moonlight, she was a glorious apparition. Perhaps his longing to see something new had conjured this beauty out of thin air. But what if she existed? What if she was real? He had to find out.

Being the “clumsy” drunk that he was, it didn’t take much for him to “trip” over the railing, plummeting into the cold ocean waters.

[Ariel]

The moment, which lasted only a split second, stretched long enough to captivate the mermaid, breath held, eyes wide, mouth softly parted.

He was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen.

And he was falling.

She caught the graceful plunge off the side of the ship, dark hair splaying in the air, cloth whipping behind him. He was, all in that one moment, land and sea, victory and failure, good and evil.

She wasn't sure if he'd already seen her or not, but Ariel couldn't take the chance; it didn't matter. She had to save him. The girl, launching herself off the anchor, dived lithely, silently, into the darkening waves, eyes widely searching for him. Where had he gone?

Ah, but there he was, only a few lengths away. She flicked her tail, riding the motion to him and, not thinking twice, twined her arms around his waist, tugging him up to the surface. The water clung to her cheeks and eyelashes in little beads, reflecting the last rays of the setting sun. The men would be getting to bed, wouldn't they? As the sun fell?

She didn't know if this human was alive.

The red-haired mermaid pressed her hand to the man's cheek, feeling for a heartbeat. Where would she feel it? Here? In his wrists, like the merfolk? Her blue eyes were darkened with worry, examining his features.

"Human?"

She knew that, to breathe, this man needed to be above water but, even with the strength of her tail, it was proving difficult to keep his lips above the surface. A number of times her own mouth dipped into the water, only for the girl to strain, shimmying her lower body, trying to keep them both up. And then it caught her eye, to the right.

The shore.

She tightened her grip around him, body pressed to his in an effort to keep him from slipping in her arms and back into the water.

"I'll save you." She whispered, "Hold on."

[Captain Jack Sparrow]

Under normal circumstances, Jack would have been able to swim back to the surface and call to his crew to lower a rope, but these were not exactly normal circumstances. For one thing, he had had ... rather a large amount of rum earlier this evening. For another thing, at this point, he wasn't quite sure which way was up.

Before he either had to swim desperately for what he hoped was the surface or breathe water, thin, strong arms circled his waist, pulling him towards the glorious, oxygen-laden surface of the water.

In a few moments, they broke through the top of the water, Jack taking in large gulps of the fresh, ocean air. Having this much water in his lungs was not an experience that he would like to repeat. Whoever had hold of him was struggling to keep both of them above the surface and, in this state, he was no help.

But they were moving again, not down to the depths, the dark, crushing ocean depths, but towards the land he had spotted earlier.

And then, a voice spoke to him, the voice that belonged to the arms.

"Hold on," it said, "I'll save you."

It was the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. It was a mixture of the sunset on the ocean surface and the most glorious silk. There was something about that voice...if he survived this night, Jack knew that he was going to need to find out who that voice belonged to. He needed to hear more of her.

[Ariel]

The swim to the shore was nearly three times longer then it might've been had Ariel not been carrying the deathly silent man but she, with pure determination, managed, the clock in her head racing. How much time did he have?

When she finally got to the shore she dragged him out of the reach of the slow tide, curling up beside him to lay her head on his chest, heart hammering with exertion. Her arm draped loosely over his stomach and she lay, gasping in breath to make up for the swim, with each inhale her heart slowing and her breaths coming easier.

And as her own heart slowed, she heard another, curiously in time with hers, at her ear.

The girl raised her head slowly, looking at the man's chest. That had been his heart! She pressed her head down again in one sharp movement, hair whipping over her shoulder. There it was again; the unmistakable flutter of twin hearts, hers and his. How very odd.

Ariel looked up, brushing her fingers carefully over his jawline before, hesitant, the contact rising a shadow of pink to her face, pressing her palm to his cheek, thumb dancing to brush against the edge of his lips, curious at how soft they felt next to the scratch of the hair above them. Her blue eyes softened; taking in the sharp curve of his nose, the slope of his cheekbones. Something in the pit of her stomach squirmed, and she tilted her head. Why did she, suddenly, want to be so close to him?

"What would I give to live where you are?" The words were a whisper, barely audible, but as the siren sang, her voice, like the tide, rose, "What would I pay to stay here beside you? What would I do to see you smiling at me?"

Her voice trailed off, and she remembered her father. What would he say?

Nonetheless, it was little but the man before her that plagued Ariel's mind. Despite his heartbeat, she still feared for his life. Humans couldn't drink seawater, Ariel knew, or they died: and this man had certainly drunk seawater. Ariel's hand moved from his cheek to dart along his hairline, brushing the thick strands from his face.

"Please wake up."

It didn't matter that, so long ago, her mother had been stolen from her by seamen. It didn't matter that he was a human and her father thought them thieving scoundrels.

If he died, Ariel wouldn't be able to forgive herself.

[Captain Jack Sparrow]

Jack felt the change from the water to the shore. Though he had ... rather deliberately fallen into the water, he hadn't anticipated just how awful almost drowning would feel. Thank goodness his beautiful savior had been lurking on his ship or the infamous Captain may very well have drowned. And that was not how Jack was going to meet his end, not at all.

He felt the girl leaning over him, trying to revive him. It was all he could do just to breathe, at the moment, or he would have reassured her that, yes, he was alive.

It was at that point that she came close enough that he could hear her heart beating. At first, their hearts had a separate rhythm, but as the woman's breathing gradually slowed to a resting pace, their hearts began to beat in tandem. It was a ... strange sensation, to say the least, but he didn't want it to end.

But it did have to end, eventually. He hadn't even met this woman; he didn't know her name, but he wanted to know more about her. She had saved his life, and he owed her something, at least. What could he give her, though, other than his time? If he had been right about what he'd seen, she would have no use for any money of his, if he had even had any to give her, really.

And then she started to sing and all thoughts except thoughts of her were wiped from his head. Even if he never saw her again, he had to know her name, had to have a name to put to the face he had seen momentarily and the beautiful, siren's voice that was singing to him, willing him to live. He had to know who she was.

Coughing up about a gallon of seawater (making sure not to spew all over the lovely young woman who had saved his life), he managed to sit up, grabbing for her hands. He couldn't let her escape before he knew her name, at the very least.

[Ariel]

The mermaid was perfectly content to lay, framed by the dying sun, here by his side for eternity. The flecks of blue and gold from the sky danced along his chiseled features, from his browline to his cheek to his jaw, as the sunset sank.

How long would he live? That thought came with a undeniable mourning in the girl's eyes. This moment had to end, her flawless reverie shattered, if this human died here, curled in her arms. Then frustration. She was a mermaid! Could she do nothing? Could she not revive his still form? Ariel's head dipped, infinitesimally, eyes squeezing shut against the unfamiliar warmth in her eyes. She didn't want to live with out him: live in a world where he didn't exist. This exquisite human...

All she could do was sing.

They were mostly true, her words. What wouldn't she do wake him? The thought of Ursula even flickered to her mind and Ariel, eyes darting back to Jack's closed ones, looked frightened but determined. If her witchcraft could save him, it was worth it to her. He couldn't die.

All of the sudden, before she could even move back toward the sea, the man had turned to cough vehemently, upturning the whole ocean from his mouth. Her hand, as his movement, was ripped from his face, hovering, instinctually, at her collarbone. He'd swallowed more water then she thought. Worry etched on her features, until...

He whipped back toward her sitting up and grabbing her hands. The contact made her blush but, before her parted lips could utter any words expressing her worry for the man, instinct kicked in.

He was a human. He was bad. His kind killed her mother, pillaged their goods. He'd do the same.

Immediately the mermaid lunged for the water, tail curling and eyes impossibly wide with fear.

He was awake! He would capture her, torture her, all of those awful things her father always told her humans did...

But the girl was stopped by the light pressure around her hands. Though her body, half-lunged, was now arched away from him, Ariel's eyes darted back to the mysterious human, loosing a bit of the wide fear. Then to his hands. Were they there to capture her? Or for another, much more innocent reason?

Her instinct was roaring at her that it was the former, but the girl, subtly leaning back in, toward the man (though not too close to him) hadn't forgotten how perfect he looked, lying motionless. How could a world that made such beautiful things... be bad?

Surely the tandem of peaceful hearts was lost, because the combination of his hands encircling hers and his eyes so intently on her made her heart flutter like--well, like a hummingbird, despite Ariel not knowing what that was.

She, caught between fleeing and staying, spoke only four soft words, whispered.

"What do you want?"

[Captain Jack Sparrow]

Now that Jack had gotten all of that salt-water out of his system, he was starting to feel rather a bit better. Then again, that probably also had something to do with the fact that, thanks to whoever this woman was, she had saved him. His eyes wide,he clutched onto her hand, desperate to keep her there.

She couldn't leave, not yet, not after she'd just saved him.

He could tell that she was terrified, worried about something. The man had no idea what would have worried her so; he certainly wasn't trying to be threatening. Then again, most people who had met him were intimidated, purely by the fact that he was a pirate. Jack wouldn't be able to stand it if he terrified her in the same way; he wanted to charm her, not scare her.

The pirate captain clutched the girl's hands more desperately as she started to flee. No, no, he wouldn't be able to cope if she left now.

But then she spoke. Her voice was as beautiful when she was speaking as it was when she was singing; he would never be able to forget that voice, nor would he ever want to.

"What do you want?" she whispered, words piercing directly to his core.

"Your name," he responded, equally softly, simply. If he got nothing else from this girl, he would have her name, he had to.

[Ariel]

The moment before he spoke, his eyes told her what even his words couldn't. It wasn't a tangible thought, just a swirl if indistinct thoughts, detached ideas. His eyes, fluid and dark, spoke of loss, heartbreak, despair... but of redemption. Her body instinctively leaned closer to his, not yet close enough to feel the warmth emanating from his (albeit sopping-wet) body, but close enough to again find that blush subtly hinting at her cheeks. What was he doing to her?

She blinked softly, confusion coloring her aura. Weren't mermaids supposed to be the ones to enchant the humans? And yet she found her fingers tightening around his. She found herself unable to turn away. What kind of human was he?

And then he spoke.

"Your name,"

His two words responded fittingly to her four, but the girl held his gaze steadily. Despite her flight instinct quickly leaving without a trace of regret in her mind, she still knew to be cautious; even if she was only cautious of how completely he held her attention. It was unnerving. Pleasant... but unnerving.

"Ariel."

She could find no other words to say--who was he? What had been that ship he came from? But none of those words formed, her lips pressing carefully shut. The fear still plagued the back of her mind--her fear and the words of her father.

Her father. He would be furious.

If he knew that she'd saved this human... even now, that, after he woke, Ariel was still here, allowing him to sit this close to her, see her fins... He'd absolutely kill her.

She didn't care. She would prove him wrong--this human meant her no harm. She knew.

Finding words, the girl whispered;

"What is your name, sailor? What has brought you to these waters?" Now that she'd found her voice she, curiosity overcoming fear, listed off the other questions she had quickly, "What is that ship you came from? Who are you? Are you alright? You--you swallowed water."

Her eyes flicked to his hands around hers and she, softly, finished with the prodding words.

"And why are you holding my hands?"

[Captain Jack Sparrow]

"Ariel," she said, and the heavens rejoiced. Jack's heart skipped a beat at the single word, her name. She had given him something precious, revealing one of her most intimate secrets within moments of their first eye contact.

And then, a barrage of questions, uttered in that same, sunset-and-silk siren's tones. Her curiosity brought a smile to his lips as a laugh bubbled up from inside him.

"Jack, love," he murmured, somehow feeling it unnecessary to use his title, "I'm Jack Sparrow. The wind has brought me to these waters, in search of ...," and here, he trailed off, not sure how to continue. In search of freedom, yes, but in search of something more.

He smiled again, more than happy to answer any questions she might have for him. "She's The Black Pearl, angelfish. She's a beautiful vessel, but her loveliness pales in comparison to the epitome of beauty I see before me."

"As for me, I'm the Captain of said vessel, and yes, thanks to you, angelfish, I'm all right."

Her last question, though, brought a blush to his face. "I was worried you'd run off before I knew your name," he said softly, staring deeply into her eyes. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

[Ariel]

"Ariel[/b]."

His voice was rugged, masculine; everything the young creature of the sea had imagined of man and more. He said her name in a way she'd never heard it before; it wasn't the calm summoning of her father, the trill of her sisters. It was foreign, exhilarating; it made her pulse flutter and a shiver rake insistently down her spine. She didn't like showing such weakness, not in front of a human such as he, but she knew it was too late. She already dreaded the inevitable moment in which his hands would release hers. For, in time, she would have to leave him.

But not now. Not so soon...

But then she showered him with questions, with each word leaning a bit closer, trusting a bit more. Her instincts may have said no, but her heart was quickly insisting upon yes, and the mermaid found herself closing the distance between them, eager for his firey touch. Were all humans as warm as he had been? Or only those escaping death?

But, before the girl could berate him with even more questions, he answered the ones she'd already asked, his addictingly husky voice quieting the mermaid quickly.

"Jack, love, I'm Jack Sparrow."

"Jack Sparrow." She repeated the name, wonder coloring her voice as she tasted it on her tongue. "Jack." It did have the feel of the land to it, not that silken enchantment of the names of the merfolk.

"The wind has brought me to these waters, in search of ...,"

She waited, eyes impossibly wide and brimmed with curiosity, but he didn't continue. Perhaps...

Ariel's eyes shot to the sand, downcast and now stormy in their hesitance. Perhaps he didn't finish because he'd come to hurt her or her kind. Perhaps he was as evil as her father said...

"In search of the treasures of my people?" She murmured, the only thing she'd known men to come to these waters looking for. Long ago, the pirates who had killed her mother came looking just for trinkets: for instruments or shells. More recently, a ship, sailing on tattered sails, had come looking for her father's trident, stupid enough to think he'd be easily beaten...

Ariel's ocean-blue eyes darted back up to Jack's, vulnerable and silently pleading he prove to her otherwise: prove that he wasn't here for her father's trident, her kingdom's treasures.

"She's The Black Pearl, angelfish." The captain explained his ship, and Ariel smiled softly at the nickname. 'Anglefish'. It wasn't just the word, but the way those lips formed it... "She's a beautiful vessel, but her loveliness pales in comparison to the epitome of beauty I see before me."

Ariel dipped her head, cheeks turning pink. What was he doing to her?

Before he could to the same, however, hide the rose dancing across his cheeks, the blue-eyed siren looked back up, one side of her lips tilting up as she noticed the matching flush across his own cheekbones. Unable to resist, she slid one hand out of his, reaching up to feel his cheek, unreserved, with curiosity dancing in her ocean eyes.

"You're warm." The redhead, now hovering dangerously close to the drying human, noticed his husky sent. Many found Jack unappealing in that department, but Ariel, not being used to any sort of perfume or power or any such nonsense (also considering that Jack just had a rather thorough bath thought he smelled of the land, despite his time on the sea: with his sent came thoughts of swashbuckling and street-chases. Adrenaline and adventure. Everything she's always dreamed of, and nothing as dull as being tied to the water.

Ariel tilted her head, examining the dashing brunette with liquid eyes.

"Why are you so warm, Jack?"



COMMENTS. I'M SO SORRY. I TRIED TO WRITE A GOOD POST. BUT IT JUST... FAILED. -_-

[Captain Jack Sparrow]

And suddenly, the reason for her fear, her suspicions became painfully clear. "No, love," he murmured, gazing into her eyes. "I search for freedom," he told her. "But also something more, something that even I don't know what it is." He thought he may have found it, here, in the shape of this beautiful young siren, but he wasn't about to presume anything; they'd just met, after all.

Yes, he was quite taken with her, but it was an infatuation; he needed to know her, more about her, her hopes, her dreams, anything she wished to tell him, before it could ever be more.

But then, her hand was on his cheek. Her touch was cool, like the ocean, but just for him. The ocean has many lovers, but Jack felt that Ariel's touch was his, only. And then, she spoke again.

"You're warm. Why are you so warm, Jack? and the words brought another blush to his cheeks. The dashing pirate captain very rarely blushed; this was a new experience for him.

"I'm warm, angelfish, because of your touch," he said, unable to resist running his now-free hand over her cheek and into her hair. "You make me feel more alive."


((YOUR POST WAS LOVELY. IT'S MINE THAT'S MEDIOCRE.))

[Ariel]

But, somehow, without even speaking, Ariel knew that Jack meant her no harm. He wasn’t here for treasure, or to harm her people; he, too, dreamed of adventure. Those eyes were not those of a murderer, an unthinking plunderer, but those of a man yearning for freedom. He, too, wanted to taste the unknown. Just like Ariel. While his adventures lie in the sea, her adventures lie on land.

"No, love," his eyes didn’t, not for a moment, loose hers, those eyes so filled with mystery and the promise of danger and thrill. He was everything she’d ever yearned for… everything she’d never found in the sea. "I search for freedom, But also something more, something that even I don't know what it is."

She wanted to be his something.

Ariel chased that thought from her mind, guilt seizing her. Her father… this was all so… forbidden. The land and the sea were never to meet, and she was sure this uneasy, beautiful feeling in the pit of her stomach wasn’t good, either. They were never to touch, the land and the ocean, never to interact…

Or were they?

Thoughts of the shore danced in Ariel’s vision, the endless embrace of the waves and the sand. They weren’t as separated as her father always said, were they? Perhaps Jack and Ariel were meant to be just that: the shore. Forever locked in the kiss of land and sea.

She couldn’t stop her hand from flitting curiously up to his cheek, the contact itself sending a strange warming sensation through her abdomen, and he, too, seemed to react to the touch, which only made that odd feeling worse. What was this? No merman had ever made her feel this way before.

"I'm warm, angelfish, because of your touch," Suddenly, everything changed. His hand dashed over her cheek, into her hair, and Ariel couldn’t breath. Her eyes flickered closed and her hand, formerly at his cheek, drooped limply to the V of his shirt, fingers caught around the fabric in a desperate attempt to keep themselves close to that addicting warmth. "You make me feel more alive."

What was this feeling? The way her hair stood on end, her nerves became ultrasensitive, her insides squirming where her human top met her tail. He made her feel in ways she never had before.

The girl, perhaps more of a woman in this moment then she ever had been before, opened her eyes again, blue fire searching for his.

“Do I make you feel this way, too, Jack?” She, unthinkingly, leaned in towards the pirate, unwilling to let this strange, thrilling feeling pass.

“I want more of you.” It was low and soft, a whisper.

Did he want more of her, too?