An Inverted Island View
Oct. 18th, 2003 10:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
niankhsekhmetThis is the latest in the Jack and Aisha story on Pan Historia. It will be reworked with more detail a bit later. They say the devil is in the details, but I think right now it was just important to get the dialogue up.
" Aiwa, Qua'btan, " Aisha blushed, embarrassed at the loudness of the sounds that her own hollow stomach was making. "We've not eaten since yesterday."
" Say no more..." the Qua'btan gave her a gold toothed grin. Loping just a short distance through the sand to the stand of trees, he began to shinny up the nearest date palm. When he reached a certain point, the Qua'btan shook the branches sending a steady stream of fruit raining down around Aisha, ducked and dove out of their way but one large bunch found its mark and hit the back of her hand. She shook off the smarting ache and began to gather their loot. As she was intent on her task, the Qua'btan climbed into another tree and shook free several coconuts. And again he found trees with bananas and breadfruit. All of these would not only sate their hunger but sustain them for at least the next couple of days.
The Qua'btan jumped, up, and broke into a dead run toward the trees and dense jungle further inland.
" Qua'btan Jack!" she cried, "Qua'btan Jack, where are you going?" Aisha shouted after him.
Over his shoulder he called, " Salvation, Luv!!! I found Sallllllllllll......." Suddenly, the Qua'btan's feet were snatched up in a snare that pulled him up high off of he ground. As he bounced and swung in an inverted position, Aisha came bounding up after him. When she finally reached the small clearing where he hung, she tried desperately to conceal a giggle. She placed a hand over her mouth in order to stave off her amusement at the simple absurdity of his position. His elflocks hanging off his head, half of his shirt untucked and draped toward the ground
exposing his belly reduced the dark captain to a clown. his boot dagger slipped from its hiding place and dropped onto the sand beneath his head and just out of reach with a muffled plop. Unable to contain herself any longer, Aisha fell down onto the ground and began to howl with laughter.
"Would you be so kind as to lend a hand to getting me down, luv? " he asked, his face a mixture of exasperation of his position and predicament while all the while trying as hard as he might to be as charming as possible.
"No." she answered, still laughing, "I think I rather like you upside down."
"Very well then, " he sniffed at her, "When you yourself get snared in this place, as you most certainly will, and since this island most certainly is filled with more traps such as these, I will just let you suffer. Who other than me is going to best show you on how to avoid them?
"Indeed." Aisha smiled sweetly, "and this is precisely why you are hanging upside down right now, begging for my assistance right now, isn't it? It is because you know how to best ‘avoid such things’?"
Yes, " the Qua'btan said feigning sweetness, " and just to be clear, luv, I'm not begging, I'm asking."
"I would be happy to comply with your request, ya Qua'btan. "
'Now that's my girl!" Jack beamed, "Get me down!"
"However, " she hesitated feigning thougtfullness, "right now I think that there is a little something that is in the way of my helping you. "
"Oh? and what's that, my lady?"
"You owe me an apology."
" Neptunes water logged balls, I do!" Sparrow sputtered, incredulous at her suggestion, "What in bloody blazes do I need to apologize for!? I found you breakfast when I could have let you starve!"
"You called me a sharmutta ....ummmm....how you say...."she struggled for the word, ".a 'whore'? Why would I be so eager to cut you down after making such an accusation?"
" I did not! " Sparrow protested, "I merely observed the mark on your neck and drew the obvious conclusion!"
"Obvious conclusion? I told you what happened.. I told you that I was attacked by a member of the crew and you refused to believe me. And then you insulted me. Have I ever done anything to indicate to you that I was such a person or that I deserve such insults?"
"Look, if you want me to hang here, so be it!" he said ignoring her questions, his anger rising, "But you'll get no apology from me!"
Aisha looked up at him and then began to brush the sand off of her trouser leg, indiferent to the dark pirate captain that hung only a few feet away from her.
"GET ME THE HELL DOWN FROM HERE!!!" he bellowed at her.
Aisha picked up from beneath him and fingered along its edge. A slow smile played across her lips as she looked innocently up at him. She scooted a little closer and sat cross legged just beneath him, but far enough out of the Qua'btan's reach. "B’trasha, Qua’btan. I am sorry, I cannot hear you...."
His tone softened and he let out a long slow breath, " Aisha, luv. Would you please get me down from here.Min fadlik?" he said in Arabic.
"I really hope you don’t get too dizzy from hanging upside down like that. You know, in my country, we quite often put men to death slowly in such a way. I've seen it done, and it is not a very pretty way to meet an end."
"Why am I not at all surprised that you come from such a place and that you would have actually witnessed it?" the Qua'btan's face was turning the crimson of a Moroccan sunset.
Aisha reached out a finger and stroked along his temple, "Your face is starting to get a bit red, " she looked up at the endless blue expanse of the sky, "and soon the sun will be high enough. I am afraid that you will bake, ya Qua'btan."
" That's a woman's appreciation for you," he muttered, "I save her from a mutinous crew, I save her from a raging storm and I care for her and get her food, and was on my way to finding her shelter - and this is the thanks that I receive!" he turned toward her, his dark eyes blazing, "Heartless, cold and indifferent that's what you are!" he spat.
"But I have thanked you for your past kindnesses and your generosities, ya Qua’btan! But all of those things are still not an apology for such an insult as you have caused me to suffer."
"Suffer? I'm the one suffering here! " he struggled and grunted and tried vainly to reach the vine that so tenaciously held him by his ankle just above the ground.
Aisha flopped down on her belly and looked up at him, the coconuts were making her somewhat sleepy. She could simply nap right here, make him suffer a bit more. 'Oh, what a delicious torture!" she thought.
"It might take you a long time to die, Qua’btan, “ she said at last, “so I think that I will need something to sustain me while I wait. Do we have any of the breadfruit left that we found earlier today? I am still rather hungry," Aisha crawled beneath where he hung and looked up at him sweetly hovering only inches from his face, looking as if she might kiss him at any moment. “Of course, "she said with a slight smile, "you could solve all of this quite simply....."
" Awright! Awright! " he relented with a loud exasperated sigh, “I apla...I aplsel...I apopo......"
"Apologize? " she prompted, whispering in his ear.
"Aye that's it!!"
Aisha jumped up on her feet and standing on her tiptoes cut the vine that held the Qua’btan’s ankle, but before she could help catch him and break his fall, the vine that she deftly began slicing through, snapped with a loud twang, and landed him splat on his head.. Aisha winced as the Qua’btan fell on his shoulders and neck with a loud cry of protest.
"Apology accepted" she said as she handed him back his knife.
TBC
****GLOSSARY****
Min Fadlik (f) - Please
ya Qua'btan - Captain (ya is a direct addressing of the Captain)
" Aiwa, Qua'btan, " Aisha blushed, embarrassed at the loudness of the sounds that her own hollow stomach was making. "We've not eaten since yesterday."
" Say no more..." the Qua'btan gave her a gold toothed grin. Loping just a short distance through the sand to the stand of trees, he began to shinny up the nearest date palm. When he reached a certain point, the Qua'btan shook the branches sending a steady stream of fruit raining down around Aisha, ducked and dove out of their way but one large bunch found its mark and hit the back of her hand. She shook off the smarting ache and began to gather their loot. As she was intent on her task, the Qua'btan climbed into another tree and shook free several coconuts. And again he found trees with bananas and breadfruit. All of these would not only sate their hunger but sustain them for at least the next couple of days.
The Qua'btan jumped, up, and broke into a dead run toward the trees and dense jungle further inland.
" Qua'btan Jack!" she cried, "Qua'btan Jack, where are you going?" Aisha shouted after him.
Over his shoulder he called, " Salvation, Luv!!! I found Sallllllllllll......." Suddenly, the Qua'btan's feet were snatched up in a snare that pulled him up high off of he ground. As he bounced and swung in an inverted position, Aisha came bounding up after him. When she finally reached the small clearing where he hung, she tried desperately to conceal a giggle. She placed a hand over her mouth in order to stave off her amusement at the simple absurdity of his position. His elflocks hanging off his head, half of his shirt untucked and draped toward the ground
exposing his belly reduced the dark captain to a clown. his boot dagger slipped from its hiding place and dropped onto the sand beneath his head and just out of reach with a muffled plop. Unable to contain herself any longer, Aisha fell down onto the ground and began to howl with laughter.
"Would you be so kind as to lend a hand to getting me down, luv? " he asked, his face a mixture of exasperation of his position and predicament while all the while trying as hard as he might to be as charming as possible.
"No." she answered, still laughing, "I think I rather like you upside down."
"Very well then, " he sniffed at her, "When you yourself get snared in this place, as you most certainly will, and since this island most certainly is filled with more traps such as these, I will just let you suffer. Who other than me is going to best show you on how to avoid them?
"Indeed." Aisha smiled sweetly, "and this is precisely why you are hanging upside down right now, begging for my assistance right now, isn't it? It is because you know how to best ‘avoid such things’?"
Yes, " the Qua'btan said feigning sweetness, " and just to be clear, luv, I'm not begging, I'm asking."
"I would be happy to comply with your request, ya Qua'btan. "
'Now that's my girl!" Jack beamed, "Get me down!"
"However, " she hesitated feigning thougtfullness, "right now I think that there is a little something that is in the way of my helping you. "
"Oh? and what's that, my lady?"
"You owe me an apology."
" Neptunes water logged balls, I do!" Sparrow sputtered, incredulous at her suggestion, "What in bloody blazes do I need to apologize for!? I found you breakfast when I could have let you starve!"
"You called me a sharmutta ....ummmm....how you say...."she struggled for the word, ".a 'whore'? Why would I be so eager to cut you down after making such an accusation?"
" I did not! " Sparrow protested, "I merely observed the mark on your neck and drew the obvious conclusion!"
"Obvious conclusion? I told you what happened.. I told you that I was attacked by a member of the crew and you refused to believe me. And then you insulted me. Have I ever done anything to indicate to you that I was such a person or that I deserve such insults?"
"Look, if you want me to hang here, so be it!" he said ignoring her questions, his anger rising, "But you'll get no apology from me!"
Aisha looked up at him and then began to brush the sand off of her trouser leg, indiferent to the dark pirate captain that hung only a few feet away from her.
"GET ME THE HELL DOWN FROM HERE!!!" he bellowed at her.
Aisha picked up from beneath him and fingered along its edge. A slow smile played across her lips as she looked innocently up at him. She scooted a little closer and sat cross legged just beneath him, but far enough out of the Qua'btan's reach. "B’trasha, Qua’btan. I am sorry, I cannot hear you...."
His tone softened and he let out a long slow breath, " Aisha, luv. Would you please get me down from here.Min fadlik?" he said in Arabic.
"I really hope you don’t get too dizzy from hanging upside down like that. You know, in my country, we quite often put men to death slowly in such a way. I've seen it done, and it is not a very pretty way to meet an end."
"Why am I not at all surprised that you come from such a place and that you would have actually witnessed it?" the Qua'btan's face was turning the crimson of a Moroccan sunset.
Aisha reached out a finger and stroked along his temple, "Your face is starting to get a bit red, " she looked up at the endless blue expanse of the sky, "and soon the sun will be high enough. I am afraid that you will bake, ya Qua'btan."
" That's a woman's appreciation for you," he muttered, "I save her from a mutinous crew, I save her from a raging storm and I care for her and get her food, and was on my way to finding her shelter - and this is the thanks that I receive!" he turned toward her, his dark eyes blazing, "Heartless, cold and indifferent that's what you are!" he spat.
"But I have thanked you for your past kindnesses and your generosities, ya Qua’btan! But all of those things are still not an apology for such an insult as you have caused me to suffer."
"Suffer? I'm the one suffering here! " he struggled and grunted and tried vainly to reach the vine that so tenaciously held him by his ankle just above the ground.
Aisha flopped down on her belly and looked up at him, the coconuts were making her somewhat sleepy. She could simply nap right here, make him suffer a bit more. 'Oh, what a delicious torture!" she thought.
"It might take you a long time to die, Qua’btan, “ she said at last, “so I think that I will need something to sustain me while I wait. Do we have any of the breadfruit left that we found earlier today? I am still rather hungry," Aisha crawled beneath where he hung and looked up at him sweetly hovering only inches from his face, looking as if she might kiss him at any moment. “Of course, "she said with a slight smile, "you could solve all of this quite simply....."
" Awright! Awright! " he relented with a loud exasperated sigh, “I apla...I aplsel...I apopo......"
"Apologize? " she prompted, whispering in his ear.
"Aye that's it!!"
Aisha jumped up on her feet and standing on her tiptoes cut the vine that held the Qua’btan’s ankle, but before she could help catch him and break his fall, the vine that she deftly began slicing through, snapped with a loud twang, and landed him splat on his head.. Aisha winced as the Qua’btan fell on his shoulders and neck with a loud cry of protest.
"Apology accepted" she said as she handed him back his knife.
TBC
****GLOSSARY****
Min Fadlik (f) - Please
ya Qua'btan - Captain (ya is a direct addressing of the Captain)
