made from bone

Loyal to Captain Hook. Fuck off.

[billy-jukes]

The toad bellowed, throwing back its head as the oozing remainder of its tongue thrashed about in its gaping maw. “Jesus, Sam!” Jukes shouted in disgust as the limp piece on the floor twitched. He grinned though, and fired several shots into the creature’s open mouth. The double attack seemed to be forcing the beast back, back, back into the trees. If it disappeared into the woods, who knew what would happen, what the creature would go on to do. Would it heal? Would it return with a vengeance? Jukes didn’t want to find out. “We can’t let it get away!” He shouted over the firing shots; forever grateful to the captain for upgrading their guns the last stop on the mainland. He had three left, if his numbers were right, and backed up to try and circle around the creature again.

[sammybones]

Sam gripped his side as he watched the toad lollop away from them, the pain searing across his chest. He was grateful to Bill for those shots scaring it away because he needed the moment to recover. “Follow it!” Sam’s yell was strained as he started forward, pulling his gun out of the holster with his left hand. He forced the chase despite the pain, rushing through the forest following the trail of destruction through the brush. This creature needed to be killed, if it got into the village it would put too many of their people at risk. After running straight on Sam thought better and slowed, shifting around the side to sneak up on it. Soon he found it and crept through, lining up a shot to it's eyes like Bill had done well with.

[billy-jukes]

With the wind knocked out of him, it took Bill a moment to catch his breath; he hoisted himself to his feet, clutching his left side where his ribs had connected with the tree. It didn’t matter, he had to get in there and help Sam; he pulled his gun from its holster as well as the wavy curved dagger from his boot. Jukes circled behind Bones, steadying his firearm with the sword arm underneath, trying to aim for a clear shot at one of the beast’s eyes. “If this bastard doesn’t buckle soon we may have to leg it,” he muttered in a low voice as he passed behind Sam fully now, angling to the creature’s other side.

[sammybones]

Sam grunted in response, rationally Bill was right and the smart thing to do was cut and run but Sam had never been good at doing the smart thing in the heat of a fight. The creature was moving slowly, seemingly keeping an eye on then and as Jukes was moving around, Sam bounced low on his feet to demand attention but the wait felt endless as he waited for the toad to make a move. The tension was creeping into his shoulders, tight and uncomfortable, until the toad finally shot out with it's tongue and Bones jumped aside. He yelled in pain as his left side was slapped by the disgusting thing, but with his right hand swung down with all his might and chopped through the tongue and watching it slap onto the dirt.

[billy-jukes]

The only thing for it that Bill could see, was to keep fighting, or turn tail and run. However, despite the building desire in him to do the latter, Jukes followed Bones’ lead and also charged at the creature from the other side, slashing and jabbing where he could. “If only we had like,” Bill started, shouting over the goliath toad’s grunting and stomping. “A cannon,” he continued, pulling his blade out, tucking and rolling away from the large, webbed foot landed where he’d just been standing with a thud. He wiped sweat from his brow onto his shoulder, tightened his grip on the sword with both hands, and ran into the side of the beast, blade going in to the hilt. It howled something ancient, which was encouraging, but when Bill tried to pull his sword out, the creature swung its arm; the bumpy skin connected with Jukes’ side, and he was thrown back about ten feet, landing at the base of a tree.

[sammybones]

Whatever Jukes had done had been a big blow to the creature and it made a brief smile of relief cross his features. It could be hurt, and whilst slim, they did have a chance here. He heard a thump and Bones rushed a couple steps to see Jukes on the ground. "Shit!" The best he could do for him was keep the toad busy and so Sam hacked his sword into the side of the creature's mouth, hoping to give him a Chelsea Smile and maybe damage that disgusting tongue of his. The creature didn't shriek like it did for Jukes, but it made a gurbled noise of displeasure and it started to angle itself towards Sam. Sam shifted back and tried to ready himself to slash his tongue off, hoping the adrenaline gave him a boost to his reflexes.

[billy-jukes]

“How the hell–” Bill started to call to Sam, when the toad’s tongue thwacked out past its lips, thumping the ground just inches away from Juke’s right heel. “Shit!” He shouted in surprise and brought his sword down against the bumpy tendon. A wet squelching sound echoed through the woods as the smallest piece of the tongue was severed and splatted to the ground beside him. “Eugh, what the–” Bill grimaced as the creature jerked back, a rage crossing its grotesque features. “How the hell do we fight this thing?” He finished his initial thought, leaping out of the way as the toad writhed, but was seemingly unimpeded by the attack.

[sammybones]

When Sam yanked out the blade, this time some sort of purple looking blood smeared the edges. It was gloopy and unlike anything he’d seen, but it was different to the green slime from before. The toad jerked and Sam jumped back, spotting the chunk of tongue flopping onto the ground. “Fuck knows!” Sam yelled in response. His only solution to something like this was blind rage and he charged back at the toad, a series of slashes and hits as he circled the monstrosity towards its front. Perhaps if they blinded it or chopped off its tongue they could do something more effective to kill this thing for good.

[sammybones]

When Sam yanked out the blade, this time some sort of purple looking blood smeared the edges. It was gloopy and unlike anything he’d seen, but it was different to the green slime from before. The toad jerked and Sam jumped back, spotting the chunk of tongue flopping onto the ground. “Fuck knows!” Sam yelled in response. His only solution to something like this was blind rage and he charged back at the toad, a series of slashes and hits as he circled the monstrosity towards its front. Perhaps if they blinded it or chopped off its tongue they could do something more effective to kill this thing for good.

[billy-jukes]

Panic flooded Juke’s body, but he shook himself and followed Sam’s lead, throwing himself forward to the toad’s other side, and was rewarded only slightly at the beast’s mild confusion. He wondered if they could get the beast to lash out again, if they could strike the tongue from its mouth, to at least rid it of that particular skill. His blade slit against the creature’s arm, and while it managed to connect with it’s slimy skin, it didn’t seem to do much damage.

[sammybones]

It took a lot of force to drag the blade from the toad, but again it looked as if the skin globbed back together as if it never happened. There was residue on his sword though, a green slime that Sam wasn’t sure was blood and bearing in mind the stinging of his left hand, he was careful not to touch it. The toad was slow moving at the very least, so they had one advantage over it. It seemed to be turning towards Bill, so Sam tried again with a stab instead of a slash, trying to push the blade as deep as possible into the creature hoping somewhere beneath that thick skin there was an organ he could pierce.

[billy-jukes]

He’d have been lying if Bill had said he hadn’t started to wet himself at the sight of the absolute beast revealing itself. “Shit!” He screamed, falling back as the creature had landed, the sound of gunshots filling the air. Scrambling to his feet, Jukes jumped forward with his blade, trying to keep his hand steady as the beast struck out at Sam. “Get down!” He yelled, though it wasn’t much help. The lingering smell of gunsmoke filled his nose, the metallic tang making his teeth run cold. The monster hadn’t even seemed to flinch as the bullets had made contact; how were they supposed to fight this?

[sammybones]

Sam yelled out as the tongue connected, though his arm was covered with his jacket it still touched his hand and searing pain spread through the skin and up his forearm. He tried to shake it off, though the pain didn't pass. The skin was red and welting, and stung as if he'd touched a jellyfish. "Don't let the tongue touch you!" He yelled to Bill. Luckily it wasn't his dominant hand. He raised his sword, took a deep breath and charged at the horrible creature. Bones rushed in, dodging to the side and swung his sword hard into the toad's arm.

[androtherika2]

[billy-jukes]

Bill nodded, holding his sword out in a defensive pose and slowly turned so his back was to Sam’s back, figuring to get a better coverage of the area. It would have been so much better had more men shown up for the hunt, but he couldn’t focus on that right now. The air was so thick with the silence that a creeping feel of suffocation was working its way up Bill’s arms, and the hair on the back of his neck began to rise. A slight wind rustled a bush to his left and he turned on instinct, both hands gripping the handle tighter. “Something’s in there,” he murmured, heart pounding in his ears as he realized there hadn’t been a breeze.

[sammybones]

Sam's head snapped to Bill, he hadn't heard what he'd said but figured he wouldn't have said a thing if it weren't important. A second later, a monstrosity leapt into view, landing so hard it made the floor beneath him shudder and Sam stumbled backwards. The monster looked like a toad and was at least a foot taller than him, it's skin patterned green and brown, slick and slimy, with ridges of pustules down it's back. Sam raised his revolver and fired three shots into it's front. They pierced the skin but no blood was drawn, it was as if the bullets were absorbed into it's blubbery flesh. "Fucking hell!" Bones exclaimed as he rushed to holster the gun and drew his sword instead. As he did, he stepped backwards as the toad's tongue lolled out of it's mouth and suddenly snapped out at him, cracking like a whip as it hit Sam's arm.

[billy-jukes]

Bill swallowed and then cleared his throat; if there was one thing he didn’t want, was to appear as nervous as he felt in front of Bill. The man had seen him flinch and duck out of a bar fight with a very intoxicated Evans, and didn’t need that memory dredged up. Looking around the clearing, he reached for his sword. After patting for a good fifteen seconds, he looked down to see the scabbard had somehow rotated to his other hip, and retrieved it quickly, adjusting the belt back around and scanned the area. He squinted his eyes a bit, looking anywhere besides Sam, in case the man had seen his mishap.

[sammybones]

Sam took two slow steps forward, not so far as to enter the clearing, but enough for a closer look. He hadn't noticed before while they were walking and passing through the brush, but the space was silent. Unnaturally silent, not even a bird chirping above them. It was disturbing, and Sam swallowed hard. There was something here, something had terrified all the creatures away from the area. He wished they had some idea of what they were walking into, it might have taken some of the nerves out of Sam's chest. "Stay back a couple steps." Sam turned to whisper back at Bill, figuring spreading out slightly was a better tactic when they were going in blind. Sam crept around the edge of the clearing, behind a tree, ten feet or so away from Bill before he stepped past the grass and onto the drying mud of the clearing.

[billy-jukes]

Bill nodded and swiped his brow with the back of his hand. “Wha’d'you suppose it is? I’ve never seen anything rip apart a man like whatever done Martin,” Jukes commented, pausing a moment to take a pull from his canteen. “Surprised there’s still grain,” he added, scanning the area a moment, wondering if the beast still lurked around, warding off any critters that would normally make a feast out of what Lenham dropped.

[sammybones]

Sam glanced around, making sure they weren't being watched by a stalking creature. "Not sure, Lenham was... unhelpful." He'd been a trembling wreck, and whilst Sam understood his fear, he couldn't help but judge him for running. Bones looked at the grain and nodded, "Good point." It was concerning as to what beast's hunting ground they might be walking into. "It must be close, stay alert."

[sammybones]

aurorasmitty​:

Her gaze softened as his words came, and she looked at him with such love, that Mulligan, who had started to come over to chat again turned on his heel and moved to the other end of the bar. She hadn’t noticed of course, because even if she wanted to, she couldn’t pull her eyes off Sam. “You did, you know,” she said, leaning forward and resting her hand on his thigh. “I know I was a mess, but honestly. You sticking by my side and putting up with my darkness; you did.” Rory assured him, before leaning in and pressing a kiss on his lips. “I love you.” She said quietly. “I love you so much.”

Sam let out a slight, doubtful chuckle at her initial words. It hadn’t felt like he’d been helping in the slightest, he’d felt useless and lost, she’d been broken and he couldn’t do anything about it. He wanted to believe though, and nodded gently as if allowing himself a moment of acceptance. He returned the kiss quickly, “I love you too.” He whispered, hand finding the side of her neck and thumb stroking gently. Sam pulled her in for another kiss, then peppered a couple over her cheek. 

[sammybones]

aurorasmitty​:

Rory chuckled at his teasing and shook her head. “They can expect away, but I’m not made of money,” she commented, sounding like her late parents from yesteryear. She raised the beer to her lips and looked over the foam at Sam at his question. Smith set the drink down, and swiped a napkin across her upper lip. “You know,” she shrugged. “I don’t want to get all sappy, but,” Rory looked away, almost unable to meet his gaze. “I’ve been really down all this time. And I knew you had to go look for him, and I never felt resentful for that, but,” she gave a short breathed laugh, shaking her head. “It was harder when you were away. You make things…” Rory trailed off, picking at piece of chipped bar top. “You make things easier for me to deal with. When you’re with me,” she finished, feeling silly for saying it, and silly for the shyness it was making her feel. 

Sam sat on the stool beside hers and leaned in close to hear her as she spoke, feeling quite touched by the sentiment. Who knew he was such a fucking romantic? He put his hand on her knee, “I feel the same. It was hard, being gone, I just wanted to look after you.” He sighed, glancing away for a second. “I just- I think I knew more than everyone else, had the best chance, you know?” Not that his knowledge had helped, there was little to no chance of his stumbling on the witch’s lair. “I just wanted to make you feel okay, again.” In a way, finding James would have done that too. He was being pulled two ways, and his chosen option might have helped two rather than one. 

[sammybones]

aurorasmitty​:

Rory settled onto a barstool in content when Mulligan confirmed, and gave Sam a broad grin. “That’s a relief,” she stated, in a tone that suggested that she hadn’t become a shell of who she was over the last few months. She glanced around the room, counting about fifteen pirates and adding up numbers in her head before turning back to Robert and raising her voice. “A round of drinks for all the men,” she glanced over at a booth where a few birds sat, glowering at her words. “And women,” she added, feeling in great spirits. “On me,” she added finally, drawing a few cheers from the surrounding pirates. She hadn’t been out much and had saved quite a bit from being at home most nights. 

Rory turned to Sam and gave another sigh, reaching out and cupping the side of his face gently with one hand. She then turned to the drinks now set before her and Bones. Picking one up, she held hers up to him and smiled. “Cheers, love,” she beamed, eyes curved merrily. 

Sam smoothed his hand down the back of her head, he’d vocalise his relief later when they were alone, but his relief that Rory was more herself was almost on par with his relief that Hook was back. “Careful, they might start to expect that from you.” He teased, sliding his hand down her back affectionately. Bones tried to read her thoughts as she touched his cheek, and was slightly embarrassed by the way he leaned into her touch. He couldn’t help it, he felt touch starved. Though they had touched in the interim, it didn’t hold the warmth that her touch did now. “Cheers,” He smiled, taking his own drink and taking long gulps. It had been a hell of a walk back to town. “I know we’re celebrating, but has everything been alright with you while I was gone?”

[sammybones]

aurorasmitty​:

The kiss caught Rory off guard, and a surge of warmth flowed through her; it had been some time that they’d kissed like this, and she guessed that it had to do with how she had become lately. Cold, unapproachable, sad. It reminded her of all she had been missing lately, and she wanted to pull him back to the house and just disappear with him for a while. But it was over quicker than she could think, and all she could do was look up at Sam in quiet adoration before he turned her around. “Me too,” she murmured, heading towards Mulligan’s. 

The mood of the place washed over her as soon as they entered; people were laughing, raising drinks, and looked all around more pleased than they had in months. Aurora sidled up to the bar and nodded at Mulligan who was filling a row of pints. He set them down in front of a line of pirates at the bar and wiped his hands on the towel slung over his shoulder as he walked over to them. 

“Heard the news then, you two?” Mulligan asked, leaning both hands on the bar, his forehead glistening in a sheen of sweat. “Pints?” he added, and Rory gave a nod before speaking up. 

“It’s true, then?” She asked, though she didn’t doubt it.

Heading into Mulligans and seeing all the joy was like being hit with a brick wall. It hadn’t been like this for so long. It was as if everything had been grey and lifeless, and Hook’s return had just turned on a warm yellow lantern. Would it stay this way? Sam doubted it, but he wanted to relish in it for as long as he could. Things had been pretty fucking awful of late, and though he had Rory, he’d had no one to discuss it with. He briefly considered that if he and Starkey were on better terms, they might have been able to handle things better, more jointly, and released some of the pressures off each other’s shoulders. 

Sam rested his free hand on the bar, looking around and noting who was around, hoping one face would be James. He wasn’t there, so he focused back on Mulligan to garner whatever detail he had so far. 

“Starkey confirmed it, he’s back.” 

“Thank fuck.” Sam replied, feeling the weight that had been in his chest for the past four months release in one go.

[sammybones]

aurorasmitty​:

“He’s back,” she huffed out again, eyes shut tight as she breathed Sam in; he had that just had a hike in the fresh air smell, and for the moment she couldn’t get enough. “I’ll kill him,” she muttered, and then gave a laugh, leaning back slightly to look up at Bones. It was the first time in the past few months that she had actually smiled; she couldn’t wipe the grin off her face, and shook her head, pressing her palms onto Sam’s chest. “They’re all talking about it,” Rory commented, nodding towards the pub. “We should go see what happened,” she added, tapping an index finger against his shirt front. She felt a wave of exhaustion take over; she hadn’t slept well at all these last couple of months, grieving what she thought to be the death of her closest friend. Aurora had to know more about what had happened, and any secrets could be discovered in Mulligan’s. 

Sam laughed at her threat, brushing her hair back from her forehead. “Let me get a word in first, will you?” He looked down at her, taking in her bright and beautiful smile that he’d been missing the past four months. He knew she was mourning, but something still twisted inside him that he hadn’t managed to give her even a moment of relief in Hook’s absence. He pushed down his feelings of inadequacy, and nodded at her suggestion. Bones ducked down first though, pressing a solid kiss on her mouth, holding either side of her jaw. “I missed you, by the way.” He told her, his time away from her always felt longer and colder than usual. After a moment of taking in her features, he turned her around and wrapped his arms around her from behind, walking her forward a few steps before falling in line beside her, arm around her shouders. 

[sammybones]

aurorasmitty​:

Rory squinted bleary eyed into the sunlight, unable to properly grasp the concept that Hook was really returned. Her ears pricked for any more discernible words on the matter, heart beginning to thumb against her ribs as more conversations broke out of his arrival on the Roger. She pressed her hands to her temples and slowly turned in the street. A movement caught in her peripheral and she dropped her hands to her side and turned to see Sam sauntering down the path. 

“Sam!” She screeched, and began to run towards him, color rushing to her face as she slammed into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her breath was heavy as she tried to form the words. “H-he’s back! Sam, he’s back, he’s safe,” they came flooding past her lips. The knowledge that James was indeed alive, and Bones in her arms in the next moment was so overwhelming that she couldn’t stop the tears that flowed down her cheeks. “He’s alright. He’s alive,” she murmured, burying her face in his neck as she dropped down from tiptoe.

Sam had been watching the floor as he walked, attempting to avoid eye contact with anyone that might strike up a conversation. He’d been away, had failed, and didn’t want to do his job right now. Responsiblity could be such a fucker sometimes. He jolted up when he heard Rory screaming his name, and when she rushed into him he immediately wrapped his arms around her. 

“What?” Sam asked, not sure he heard her right. “He’s back? He’s-” He trailed off, it didn’t feel real but it also hadn’t felt real when he’d disappeared out of nowhere. The witch had returned him to them. He squeezed his eyes shut and lowered with her, keeping his grip on her tight. “Thank god.”

[aurorasmitty]

head in the clouds but my gravity centered || rory & sam

Aurora stared vacantly down at the book she was reading, eye traveling over the page but not catching onto any of the words. She was tired. So tired. Her entire existence in Neverland hung on Hook being here, and now he was gone. Queenie held out hope for his return, and Sam had taken upon himself to go and find the captain. But after the first two months, she’d dismissed any thoughts of his coming back from her mind. Of course, she’d never tell the others that it was hopeless; it would be cruel to tear into them for childishly believing that any man gone for that long could make it out alive. A brisk wind pushed open the windows above the desk Rory was reading at, and she closed her eyes in a frown as the chill ran right through her. With a sigh, she set her book, pages facing down onto the table, and stood to close the windows. 

It was at this point that she saw that a crowd of pirates down a ways at Mulligan’s enthusiastically clapping each other on the back and howling with delight. She frowned and turned her ear to the window to try and make out what they were saying. Back! and on the Roger now! and the captain’s back! could be heard on the wind, and she stepped back, her stomach sinking like a rock. After a half a second, Rory pulled on her boots and ran to the door, swinging it open and stepping out into the street, looking down one way, and then the next to see if Sam had returned from his search. Had he found him? Was Hook truly back?

[sammybones]

The last few months had been nightmarish, and Sam had the unbearable weight of knowing of the Captain’s visions and his intentions to find the witch. He knew it had to be done, knew Hook wouldn’t last much longer without it, and yet he wished he’d done more. He should have gone with him, found a way to help. There had to be better solutions, but he wasn’t fast enough. Knowing what he knew, Sam had been on regular expeditions to find the Captain but it had been fruitless. It felt like he’d gone over the entire island multiple times, and yet there was never anything. He couldn’t find the Witch, no matter how often he called out to her figuring she’d come to make a deal. 

There was little he could do in his search, and there seemed to be less he could do in the port. Even less he could do to comfort Rory. That was just as upsetting as the Captain’s disappearance; the fact he couldn’t soothe the woman he loved, and the fact that she was so broken over another man. He never expected it not to upset her, but it was complicated and he was struggling to process it all. 

He made his way back to port, once again alone and miserable but glad to be returning to Rory. The port had also been a mess, he’d done his best to manage it and keep people in check but it was harder the longer Hook was gone. Starkey had done a half decent job, as much as he hated to say it, but there were so many things he could have done better. 

Sam hoisted his backpack higher on his back for comfort as he wandered out of the forest and into the port, eager to kiss Rory hello, and hope to make her smile again.