[her ambivalence stymies him further - it pleases him ferociously to have her support, but there's definitely a voice of reason in the back of his mind now, telling him that to start a fight he has no chance of winning, and for no good reason, is the kind of stupid he's got no excuse for any longer.
loyalty. a hot-button issue for him, to be sure.]
I don't fucking know.
[except even admitting that much is closer to the truth than he realizes. it would do no good at all, acting violence upon her now. in fact, if anything, it might reopen a wound that has been very slow to close - and is clearly still tender, judging by his volatile reaction to max's presence now.
then he has an idea.]
You talk to her. Before she knows who you are. Jack said she told him they found a way to reconcile. I want to know what she'll tell you.
[on all counts, he knows. he knows she has his back no matter what he decides to do. and he knows it has to be worth it, whatever choice he makes.
it doesn't feel worth it. he's struggling to reconcile that with himself.
he pauses, with some tension in the line of his jaw, before speaking again.]
If she's seen a future beyond all of ours... see if you can find out whether Anne survived.
[they can decide based on the answer whether it'll be worth it for jack to know.]
And bring it back to me, before anyone else.
[he doesn't think she needs to be told, but it's important that she knows it's important to him. any information she gets out of max is more likely to be relevant to jack than to him, but he wants to know what he needs to be ready for.]
[he lets himself be coaxed, soothed, the initial flare of his temper blown out by her steady patience for it and the offer of unconditional support. the more secure he feels in that, the less inclined he is to use it. and it's easier to explain, when he's calmer than he was.
easier to be honest, rather than impassioned.]
She knows how to manipulate power from behind the scenes more effectively than anyone I ever met. [that includes jack and silver, both ruthlessly skilled dissemblers in their own right.] The way I understand it, Jack's captaincy was more her doing than his.
[charles draws away from her - not far, just so he can lean against the arm of the couch behind him. talking about nassau feels like a muscle slowly growing stiff from disuse. but if he's going to ask her to spy for him, he needs her to understand what she's looking for.]
I don't mean that he didn't deserve it. Jack had plenty of chances to prove he could command a crew. But Max brokered my forgiveness, to lift the black mark on his name. Max used her girls and her tricks to secure Jack both a ship and the men to sail her. By the time the governor showed up, she owned half the businesses and all the secrets on the street.
[had things not turned as they did, charles vane would be putting some genuine respect on max's name, and that probably shows. hence the depth of his offense for building up jack and anne so far, only to rip the rug out from under them. he thought they were her people, and in a time of war, turning on one's own people is surely an unforgivable offense.]
She's very dangerous. And very good at making you think she's not.
[Daphne looks thoughtful; she puts her hands back on the table. This isn't terribly surprising; this woman sounds like the most ardent kind of survivor, and Daphne can respect that. She knows that she's had some very serious and extremely painful things happen to her, and she knows that can make someone dangerous more dangerous.
Daphne isn't that kind of a power broker; she's always managed in raw strength, more like Charles than anything else. But that doesn't mean she doesn't understand that.
She nods a little.]
Well, she's already half hamstrung, being a submissive, but I suspect that won't be much in the way of a struggle. The honest truth is, find the right Dominant, and work through them, and she's probably even more insulated than she was in Nassau.
[he watches her carefully as she turns over what he's told her in her mind. there are plenty of additional details, of course, should she need or just decide she wants them, but this is enough to start with. he wants daphne to have her guard well up.]
If she's sitting in the Creator's lap the next time we see that motherfucker, I won't be surprised in the least. But she'd be nothing for you to worry about, unless she believes you're standing in her way.
[charles just snorts. he doesn't need to be told that.]
Here, Jack has the power that matters. So do you. She wouldn't like what I'd do to her, that's for fucking certain, but in the end it would accomplish nothing and draw more scrutiny than we need.
[realignment has, in recent weeks, become a significantly more effective deterrent. still... that's not to say he can't be pushed. max had a prime seat to witness how much damage he can do, right up until the last breath he draws.]
I'd be willing to take your... professional opinion, once you've dealt with her for yourself.
First time I've thought about it properly. But I won't deny it's very appealing.
[he reaches for her hand in turn, and uses it to give her a quick, insistent tug toward him. as soon as she's close enough, he curls an arm around the back of her neck and draws her in for a kiss. it's slow and deep - and grateful.]
[he's glad he came to her, too. he's had his issues in the past with being too short-sighted for his own good, but he's never made a decision without considering the cost as he understands it. over time, his perspective has expanded.
max was part of that, at one point. it makes her betrayal that much more poignant, but there was a moment once when charles vane thought they might well have been two of a kind. it doesn't count for much now... except, perhaps, to make him more inclined to hear her side of the story first. daphne being willing to acquire that for him makes it that much more viable as a plan to move forward.
he just slips an arm around her, and tilts his head to kiss her.]
There's no one else I would trust with this.
[a smirk.]
Besides, isn't it your job to keep me out of trouble?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[She watches him with that cat intensity.]
If you're that angry, then her death - especially here? - that's not going to do much except get you into trouble. And, frankly, probably me.
[She says it with a shrug. She doesn't mind being in trouble, and he knows it, so this isn't a case of you need to behave for me.]
Would it be worth it?
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loyalty. a hot-button issue for him, to be sure.]
I don't fucking know.
[except even admitting that much is closer to the truth than he realizes. it would do no good at all, acting violence upon her now. in fact, if anything, it might reopen a wound that has been very slow to close - and is clearly still tender, judging by his volatile reaction to max's presence now.
then he has an idea.]
You talk to her. Before she knows who you are. Jack said she told him they found a way to reconcile. I want to know what she'll tell you.
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Yes, I can do that. Make sure Jack knows not to say a word about who I am.
[She won't fuck them over; and she knows that there is power in keeping secrets.]
You know that if you want to kill her, I'll help you. If you want to destroy her, I'll help you too.
[She reaches her hands for his, now.]
But it has to be worth it.
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[on all counts, he knows. he knows she has his back no matter what he decides to do. and he knows it has to be worth it, whatever choice he makes.
it doesn't feel worth it. he's struggling to reconcile that with himself.
he pauses, with some tension in the line of his jaw, before speaking again.]
If she's seen a future beyond all of ours... see if you can find out whether Anne survived.
[they can decide based on the answer whether it'll be worth it for jack to know.]
And bring it back to me, before anyone else.
[he doesn't think she needs to be told, but it's important that she knows it's important to him. any information she gets out of max is more likely to be relevant to jack than to him, but he wants to know what he needs to be ready for.]
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[She says it softly, and then she opens her arms, reaches for him.]
Come here, will you?
[She catches one of his arms, by the wrist, first.]
How dangerous is she?
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easier to be honest, rather than impassioned.]
She knows how to manipulate power from behind the scenes more effectively than anyone I ever met. [that includes jack and silver, both ruthlessly skilled dissemblers in their own right.] The way I understand it, Jack's captaincy was more her doing than his.
[charles draws away from her - not far, just so he can lean against the arm of the couch behind him. talking about nassau feels like a muscle slowly growing stiff from disuse. but if he's going to ask her to spy for him, he needs her to understand what she's looking for.]
I don't mean that he didn't deserve it. Jack had plenty of chances to prove he could command a crew. But Max brokered my forgiveness, to lift the black mark on his name. Max used her girls and her tricks to secure Jack both a ship and the men to sail her. By the time the governor showed up, she owned half the businesses and all the secrets on the street.
[had things not turned as they did, charles vane would be putting some genuine respect on max's name, and that probably shows. hence the depth of his offense for building up jack and anne so far, only to rip the rug out from under them. he thought they were her people, and in a time of war, turning on one's own people is surely an unforgivable offense.]
She's very dangerous. And very good at making you think she's not.
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Daphne isn't that kind of a power broker; she's always managed in raw strength, more like Charles than anything else. But that doesn't mean she doesn't understand that.
She nods a little.]
Well, she's already half hamstrung, being a submissive, but I suspect that won't be much in the way of a struggle. The honest truth is, find the right Dominant, and work through them, and she's probably even more insulated than she was in Nassau.
[She takes a moment.]
But I'm not really worried about that.
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If she's sitting in the Creator's lap the next time we see that motherfucker, I won't be surprised in the least. But she'd be nothing for you to worry about, unless she believes you're standing in her way.
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Likely, she will.
[Believing she stands in her way, because she might.]
But I'm dangerous, too.
And so are you. If she's afraid of you? That's not for nothing.
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Here, Jack has the power that matters. So do you. She wouldn't like what I'd do to her, that's for fucking certain, but in the end it would accomplish nothing and draw more scrutiny than we need.
[realignment has, in recent weeks, become a significantly more effective deterrent. still... that's not to say he can't be pushed. max had a prime seat to witness how much damage he can do, right up until the last breath he draws.]
I'd be willing to take your... professional opinion, once you've dealt with her for yourself.
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Thank you for the trust.
[She tips her head a little.]
While I work this, we should probably only be seen together if I'm a tiger.
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Won't that make a hell of a show.
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You've always wanted a tiger to follow you around, make you look more terrifying?
[She reaches a hand out.]
Now will you kiss me?
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[he reaches for her hand in turn, and uses it to give her a quick, insistent tug toward him. as soon as she's close enough, he curls an arm around the back of her neck and draws her in for a kiss. it's slow and deep - and grateful.]
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[She giggles at first, against his mouth, sounding a little more girlish than usual, but then she’s just kissing him back.
She puts her hands on his chest, but not to push him away.]
I’m glad you came to me.
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max was part of that, at one point. it makes her betrayal that much more poignant, but there was a moment once when charles vane thought they might well have been two of a kind. it doesn't count for much now... except, perhaps, to make him more inclined to hear her side of the story first. daphne being willing to acquire that for him makes it that much more viable as a plan to move forward.
he just slips an arm around her, and tilts his head to kiss her.]
There's no one else I would trust with this.
[a smirk.]
Besides, isn't it your job to keep me out of trouble?
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[She says it as she drags him down for another kiss.]
It's my job to agree to the trouble we both get into.
[She says it as she puts her arms around his shoulders, and puts her chin on his shoulder.]
And then to make sure neither of us get into trouble over it.