I run with a d a n g e r o u s crowd, && o p e n ;;

[Taylor Elliot]

<sub>Free at last! Taylor thought to herself with a grin. She ran off the ship, the one that found her floating in the water on a piece of driftwood after her latest escape. She laughed, running down the docks, into the market place where she threw off her hat, jumping in the air only to catch it in her hands again, twirling around with a squeal as she hugged it to her chest.

There was a bit of kohl left around her eyes, and she was still dressed like a man, but once she took her hair down and ripped her sleeves off, she looked like a woman again. Her deep brown eyes scanned around. She'd landed herself back in Port Royal. She didn't know many people here, but she did know the area, which she was thankful for.

Whenever she got on a ship, she never knew where it was going, just that she was getting away from Davy and his crew, even if it meant risking the crew of the other ship. If she got out alive, it was all worth it. She always wondered what Jones wanted from her. She didn't really belong to his crew. They just took her, or "him", as they thought.

Taylor never had an amount of servitude, which made her wonder why Jones came back after her. Sometimes they found her right away, and she was beaten for it, but sometimes, they couldn't track her for up to months at a time. Even a day away from the Dutchman was worth it, but she tell anybody she was with the Dutchman? No, never.

If she told somebody she'd been on the Dutchman, she'd be doomed socially. She'd be avoided, a topic of gossiping. That's why she kept her mouth shut, and it was easy for her to keep her mouth shut as well. She was usually quiet, not used to talking.

Taylor was so blinded in this large heap of excitement, that even the sound of chattering and oddly loud yelling didn't seem to bother her, which was amazing for her when she was usually so skittish, she'd run at the sound of even footsteps.</sub>

[Jack Sparrow]

One step, two, remember to dodge behind the corner of a building whenever there comes a guard or member of the Royal Navy, step again....

It was a pattern of sorts, random thoughts that ran through the mind of the infamous captain of the Black Pearl. He didn't quite understand how it was that the pride of Port Royal's defense could be so blind as to his being there, but there wasn't much for it. If he was getting away with the number of haneous things that he had done in his past, and receiving a while in peace to explore the city that he really didn't much like, there was no way or reason that he could complain.

He weaved his way through a crowd of fairly busy and hectic people, pulling his hat down slightly over his face to shield it from the men and women's view - they undoubtedly would be able to recognize his face, what with the recent uprisal in needing to find him, all due in part to the lousy ex-commodore - and slowly made his way down the center of the street.

He very well could have stepped to the side, to press his way through the less crowded paths, but that, in Jack's eyes, was the cheap and easy way out. What was the point of going down the main street of a well-known city when he was going to hide?

None, of course.

And so he made his way down the most crowded area, finally arriving at the market place. He planned on picking up a fair number of goods for the voyage to Tortuga. How he planned on doing such was an idea that had taken him only a matter of moments to come up with:

Pay some cheap little twit that was clearly out of their right mind, give them a handful of shillings, and tell him or her to buy what he needed and keep the rest.

Simple, and easy to remember: just how he liked it.

And so, once there, his eyes scanned the crowd for someone to use in his ploy, and his eyes finally rested upon a girl with blonde - and brown - hair, and figured she would do well enough. He made his way toward her, taking large, exagerated strides, finally reaching her and tapping her with a rough finger on the shoulder.

"'Scuse me, lass," he said to her in a slightly muddled voice. "Might I be able to persuade you to do a man a favor?"

[Taylor Elliot]

<sub>Taylor turned her head, jumping almost when she felt a finger placed on her shoulder. Her heart almost jumped hard to enough to burst right out of her chest, but of course, she recovered when she saw that this was not somebody who was after her, though they did look like a person she'd heard of.

Enough of that, she didn't care whether she knew them or not, the fact was, they spoke, she listened intently and came up with a response. So far, she wasn't liking this man.

What did he take her for? Some cheap little twit that was clearly out of their right mind? No, that was not Taylor, not at all. She wasn't going to do any favor unless she found it reasonable. Sure, she was a nice person, but she was not a door mat, and in no way was anybody going to walk right over her.

"Depends on what that favor is, mate," she said, crossing her arms and looking at him, her hat clutched tightly in one of her hands until she placed it back on her head, her eyes square on the man with that cold, "death stare" as her father would have called it, had he still been alive.

Taylor was raised to never be pushed around, and if she was, she was taught to push back. She wasn't going to just do anything for this man right away. One, she didn't know him. Two, he didn't look like somebody she'd like to associate herself with at the moment. Three, he smelled a little funny, like dirt and sea salt, and some other foul smells.

Taylor was not liking this man.</sub>

[Jack Sparrow]

He watched as she turned around to face him, large brown eyes coming to meet his own. She wasn't rightly the worst looking person on earth, but she certainly wasn't a painted doll either. He tried to force his mind to think of something other than the fact that she was a girl, and moreso that he had a task to accomplish and a ship to return to that was docked quite some ways away.

"Depends on what that favor is, mate."

He watched as she placed the hat that she held between two hands upon her head, and reflexively put a hand to his own. Pulling it back slightly to allow his face to come into a clear view of the girl, he fixed her with an apraising look.

His tongue brushed against the inside of his cheek as he thought for a moment. There had to be a way to convince her to help him with what he wanted - needed - to get done. If he dawdled around Port Royal for long, it was certain that Gibbs would lose patience, and send Pintel and Ragetti out after him - something that was not greatly smiled upon.

But how?

Shrugging and figuring that straight-forward was the best approach, he said, "I need you, the lucky little lass of a contestant you are, to pick up a few . . . items, per se, that I can't rightly do all by me onesie. Savvy?"

Something told him that it would be a bit harder than that, but he didn't pay it any mind. Instead, he raised his brows in an expectant manner as a hand came up to stroke his beard once in impatience. "It's no' anythin' that'll getcha killed, I assure you," he added, just in case.

[Taylor Elliot]

<sub>Sparrow? was the first thing to come to Taylor's head. She'd heard Jones describe him to a couple of the crew members. All she heard about Mr. Sparrow was the yelling that Jones never seemed to cease. He was extremely angered with Jack Sparrow, but Taylor never seemed to know why.

Her face had lightened a bit when he lifted his hat, but only for a second or two before going back to the stern-looking expression she gave to anybody who walked up to her and would expect her to perform a favor.

Why did people always do that to her? On the Dutchman, with the East India Trading Company, and any other ship she'd ever set foot on. In Tortuga, people would mistake her for an entertainer and ask her those kinds of favors, which perhaps she wouldn't mind if they weren't horribly drunk and maybe looked a little better.

"Lucky? How am I lucky to be sent on errand by Captain Jack Sparrow?" she said, her expression not letting up. No, she didn't exactly hate him. She just didn't see why of all people, he'd have to ask her to get whatever it was he wanted. Why couldn't he get it? She knew that he was probably running, but then again, so was Taylor, so why she should waste her free time running errands for somebody else.

Anything that would get her killed? I'll be as good as dead if Jones finds out about this... she thought to herself, realizing that it didn't matter what she was doing, but if Jones knew that she was with Sparrow and didn't do anything about it, she was going to get beat even worse than she normally would for running away.

Taylor gritted her teeth a little, sighing. " What's in it for me?"</sub>

[Jack Sparrow]

Something about her, something in the general air that surrounded her being and made her who she undoubtedly was, seemed a bit odd, as though she was quite a jumpy one, even if she hadn't yet shown it. She didn't look to be like someone who normally made their way around the blasted city he found himself enclosed within, nor did she appear to be a lady from around - in her shiftmake shirt with torn sleeves and bits of heavy kohl trailing around the eyes.

A part of Jack guessed that she wasn't there out of desire, and at the same time, that she wasn't there because she had no place else to be. A stowaway was the first thing that came to his mind when looking at the girl; someone who was possibly supposed to be heading it off to some other island but happened to think it was her stop.

But that couldn't be.

"Lucky? How am I lucky to be sent on errand by Captain Jack Sparrow?"

"Ah, so you do know me," he said with a slight flourish and touch of pride. A grin spread across his features, lips parting to allow a glimmer of his golden teeth to show.

Egotistical: that was an easy word to sum up Captain Jack Sparrow, and the fact that she remembered the key part to his name was enough to make him swell, even though it was only just slightly. It seemed that his name was high in the fancy-ta-do list around the city, which, while a very good thing, was slightly foreboding and worrisome.

"What's in it for me?"

It was a good question. He hadn't really thought of what he could do for her in exchange, having first thought her to be nothing more than a city-lass. However, it was now clear that she was anything but, and rather analytical in the mind to boot.

"It all depends," he said with calculating tones. "What is it that you're a'wanting?"

[Taylor Elliot]

<sub>"Doesn't everyone?" Taylor said, a little less bitter than before. It seemed that everyone knew Mr. Sparrow. Whether it be Tortuga, Port Royal, other ships. It seemed everyone knew him or of him, especially naval officers, rival ships, and especially women.

She watched him intently, her face softening a little as he grinned. She squinted a little, trying to keep her focus off his gold teeth, which were reflecting light off them and back into Taylor's eyes, which wasn't pleasant, especially being accustomed to the dark.

Taylor never seemed to find any place with light on the Dutchman. Even her room seemed to have no light, not even a candle, but of course, her room was more like a small-sized closet. An extremely small-sized closet.

"Well, Captain," she said, looking him in the eye. " It'd be most pleasing if I could perhaps... stowaway on your ship and perhaps, sneak off at the next port?" she said, her expression not changing, not even into a pleading grin.

"If I could get that, I'd do more than this errand," Taylor said. Even though she regretted this thought, she said, " I will work on your ship, hell, I'd do anything to get out of this town."

Indeed she would. It was truth, though with her luck, she'd end up catering to his every whim, fufiling his every need, which in some ways, might not be too bad, if she looked on the brightside, but in order to get herself out of here and away from Jones, she'd have to do something.

Sure, it could put Sparrow in danger, but she didn't give a damn about Sparrow. She barely knew the man, and from what she heard, he was not one to fool around with. Right now, she was not fooling around, not if this could get her an escape route.</sub>

[Jack Sparrow]

"Doesn't everyone?"

The smile that had faded off his features returned quickly upon hearing that. "I woul'n' doubt that," he said with an air of too much haughtiness and pride about himself.

In the limelight of the situation, the one that showed the truth and the likes, it was far from likely that everyone knew his name, nor the fact that he was Captain of the most infamous ship to sail the waters of the Caribbeans. However, had he his own way, everyone would, and he would stand reknowned and praised and there would be little companies and rum-producers named after him.

That was, though, getting a little - er, a lot - ahead of himself, though.

"However," he said with gusto as he held up a finger, "I still lack in knowing who it is that you are."

"It'd be most pleasing if I could perhaps... stowaway on your ship and perhaps, sneak off at the next port?"

He raised his brows at her request. It was fairly uncommon that anybody in their right - or thoroughly twisted and completely wrong - minds would want to take leave of entry upon his ship. In the corners of his subconscious, Jack was reminded that he had two-hundred souls to collect still, and anyone willing enough to hand themselves over would be fine and dandy with him.

"Then you are trying to hide from someone," he mused aloud, but waved it aside with a, "Then we have an accord. You do my task here, and you have yourself safety. For the moment, at any rate."

"If I could get that, I'd do more than this errand. I will work on your ship, hell, I'd do anything to get out of this town."

Another Port Royal hater. Jack was quickly taking a liking to this girl, and he was most certain to allow her passage upon the Black Pearl until she drove him up a wall - and who knew when that would be?

More out of custom and habit than anything else, he asked of her, "Do you have the courage and fortitude to follow given orders and stay true to your colors in the face of danger and almost certain death, then?" That would be the breaker, the one that projected the answer to her question.

[Taylor Elliot]

<sub>"Yeah, neither would I," Taylor said, rolling her eyes a little. She found herself not egotistical. When she possibly could have boasted about who she was, the daughter of a famous mapmaker and pirate, she didn't. Her father was dead now, and she'd been left for Jones. Lucky her.

Yeah, right. She was in no way lucky to be stuck with Jones. That ship traveled underwater, and there, Taylor could not breathe. She'd lock herself in rooms because she was deathly afraid of the crew. They scared the bloody hell out of her. She didn't want to turn into a starfish or a shell or a squid. No, she liked her fleshy body, even if Jones called her "meat-bag".

Taylor looked up at him as he asked her name, and she was wondering whether she should tell him or not. It was risky to tell him, though, she did need a way out of her. Not back to Jones, but she couldn't tell him she was with Jones either, because if she did, she wasn't going to a passage out of here.

"Taylor Elliot," she said, holding out a hand, just to be somewhat polite. She'd have to learn to like him if she was going to be stuck on a boat with this man, which if she answered his questions the way he wanted them heard, she'd be out of here in no time.

"Yes, I am trying to hide, or more so, run," Taylor said with a nod. " I can't just hide, I have to keep moving, another reason getting out of here is far better than staying and risking my own neck," she said casually. Of course, she would risk Jack's neck. She didn't know him, it didn't matter.

"I'm a pirate, what do you take me for?" she said, a little sternly. She didn't want to waste valuable time with pointless questions such as that. She knew that in the end, one of them would probably turn on the other, just to save themself.</sub>

[Jack Sparrow]

"Taylor Elliot."

He watched as she stuck out her hand for him to shake, and he momentarily entertained the thought of just brushing it aside. It wouldn't be a gesture of rudeness, or at least it wasn't in his own mind; rather, shaking hands was like signing a contract: there was always something more involved with it hidden behind the scenes.

And then there was something about the name: it seemed somewhat familiar, and for a brief second, Jack cursed himself for not knowing full well the going ons of the world about him. He knew that at some unholy hour of the night, he would shoot straight up in bed and pinpoint the reason that 'Elliot' was so important, but at the time, he was lost.

His tongue pressing against his inner cheek once again, he took her hand cautiously, giving it a firm shake before quickly recalling his touch.

"I have to keep moving, another reason getting out of here is far better than staying and risking my own neck."

"And to what would that reason be owed to?" he asked carefully, the wheels in his mind turning slowly with an air of calculation. He wasn't going to make it seem like he was suspicious or anything, but merely curious.

If he was to take her under the Pearl's flag, it was best that he knew what sort of devil would come a'following him. He didn't want to have a stowaway with the fair majority of the known world after her stealing away with his ship; however, he wasn't far better off, so there was little, if any, room to complain.

"I'm a pirate, what do you take me for?"

"Oh good," he said with simplicity, ignorring the second half of her question. It was enough of a reason to take her along - even if it was bad luck to take a woman on board a pirate ship. Bending low to near his lips to her ear and to keep others from overhearing him, he said, "Welcome to the Black Pearl, Miss Elliot," a cheeky grin appearing once more as he pushed his hat back down over his face.

"Now for the nitty-gritty, then."

[Taylor Elliot]

<sub>He'd seemed hesitant about shaking her hand, but Taylor could see that. Hand shaking often meant finalizing something, but with her family it was more of a greeting. She remember back in London that everyone in her family would give each other hugs or shake hands to greet each other. Taylor found it odd, but she always just went with it.

"Jones," she said quite seriously, but all of a sudden, her face twisted into a grin. "Nah, I'm just pullin' yer chain. I stole a bunch of supplies from the East India Trading Company when I was on their ship," she said with a nod.

"I'm a bit of a ship-hopper, so I get my share of whatever I can get me hands on," she said with a nod, looking at the bag strapped over her shoulder as she pulled out half of a loaf of bread. Breaking off a piece, she took a bite out of it and put the rest of the loaf back into the bag.

She did get her hands on quite a lot. At the moment, that bag was weighed down by a bottle of rum and two and a half loaves of bread: the left overs of her last little heist. She was sneaky too, whenever she did this. She had to be. She needed food to last her until she could get her next passage out of the town, and stealing was the way to do it.

Taylor smirked, now knowing she surely had a way out. It was good to know that she didn't have to go around and sleep with anyone to get a ride this time. She'd done that two or three times, but not many other.

"Yes, what is it that you need? Because you know, I just got off the ship of the East India Trading Company. A little.. heist.. seems more than doing it the way you're planning to.." she said with a mischevious grin.</sub>

[Jack Sparrow]

"Jones."

For a moment, his eyes widened ever so slighly and his hand closed around itself instinctively. Davy Jones was not one that he had in mind to cross any time soon, and as long as he could stay out of his path, he was pleased and ready for whatever came barelling his way.

However, if he was to take aboard someone that was fleeing the pirate, there was doomed to be some sort of disaster awaiting him, and that was not high on his fancy-ta-do list. Perhaps he should have rethought taking her along before it meant his own skin.

"Nah, I'm just pullin' yer chain. I stole a bunch of supplies from the East India Trading Company when I was on their ship."

He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, certain that it would not have been heard over the ruckus that was stirred up around them. After all, they stood in the center of the city, and it was far from likely that anyone would have heard him to begin with.

"If only things had been that dan'y and simple when I had m'own brush with them. Harder to evade 'em than you'd think," he warned with a knowing look in his eyes.

"I'm a bit of a ship-hopper, so I get my share of whatever I can get me hands on."

He clapped his hands together in slight gusto. "Even better!" he said with glee; she was really starting to look a good being to take along wtih them aboard the Pearl. Someone like her could probably get away with a fair share of lifting from the markets and stops that they made along their voyage. It was a shame that she would end up gone within the next eleven days....

"Yes, what is it that you need? A little... heist... seems more than doing it the way you're planning to.."

"It shouldn't be too hard of thing for you to do," he replied with yet another wave of his hand to dismiss the thought of it being difficult. "All we be needing for our next little sail is that there basket of breads and a keg of rum."

So the rum wasn't especially needed, but it was something that Jack felt should never be without when setting sail to Tortuga. It was always best to walk into the city of pirates with a swagger in one's step; those that came completely sober usually had something coming for them, and rarely was it welcomed.

[Taylor Elliot]

<sub>|OoC: Ugh, sorry I can't reply on WtSS, somethin' is being wierd with my computer and it won't load it!!! ><|


Taylor noticed the ever-so slight change in his expression when she'd mentioned Jones. She was starting to wonder what would have happened had she said, ' Ya know Sparrow, Jones in lookin' for yeh.' Just to see his expression woul dhave made her grin.

She would have taken so much pleasure in that. Taylor had an odd liking to joking with people and scaring them, and obviously, she knew how to scare Jack Sparrow. Oh, this was going to be good.

"See, I play it out like I got out of a terrible wreck, floatin' on a piece'a drift wood, just floatin' through the water. They take me onto their ship, thinkin' I'm an innocent victim, and they'd never suspect I did a thing. They never do," she said with a michevious, little grin.

Taylor laughed a little at his enthusiasm. " You suddenly like the idea of takin' me along, don'tcha?" she said with still a hint of a laugh. She knew she was a bit of a perky little thief. Quiet, stealthy, and easily disguised.

"No, actually it seems fairly easy compared to some other things I've had to do," she said with a grin. When she heard rum, she reached into her bag and held the bottle out to him."Need somethin' to tide ya over?"</sub>

[Jack Sparrow]

"See, I play it out like I got out of a terrible wreck. They'd never suspect I did a thing."

She just seemed to become more pirate like with each passing moment. It was hard for Jack to believe that he had allowed himself to think that she was nothing more than an innocent city-dweller when she most obviously was so much more than that. It would, undoubtedly, explain the rugged look about her, and much besides.

"Tricky one, are we?" he asked of her with a grin, the question more rhetorical than anything. He hadn't been looking for an answer, though if he got on, it was nothing upsetting.

"You suddenly like the idea of takin' me along, don'tcha?"

"It's not that the idea was ever anything besides that," he replied defensively, holding a hand up as though to protect his being. "Bu' now that you do bring things into light, we'll just say I'm all the more into it, per se."

"No, actually it seems fairly easy compared to some other things I've had to do."

He raised a brow in curiousity. She must have been something of a pirate and swashbuckler to have made that kind of comparison, though he didn't ask anything of her experience. Rather, he chose the more interesting topic of conversation on which to roam.

"And that would be in comparison to what other such things?" Jack chose his words carefully, trying not to sound too into the topic of conversation, even though Taylor did, moreorless, intrigue him.

"Need somethin' to tide ya over?"

"Rum!"

It was more a reaction than anything out of seeing the drink. He made as though to grab for it, though he stopped mid-action, thinking better of it as he moved for the bottle. "Drink afterwards," he said wisely, and had to resist the urge to reach for bottle, uncap it, and swallow it down swiftly.

[Notta problem. ]

[Taylor Elliot]

<sub>|OoC: Dude, I think my computer thinks WtSS is like.. porno or something ah, I have to fix that ><|

Taylor grinned a little at his rhetorical question. Sneaky was practically her middle name. She was the one who ran off around her father's ship, stealing bits and pieces of random, useless things.

The crew would always stumble around, looking for something they'd "lost". Eventually, her father joined the source and found all of it to be hidden under Taylor's bed. She didn't get in trouble, rather, conragulated. The whole crew had taken it as a joke, which surprised Taylor since she'd only done it to anger them in the first place.

Taylor laughed a little. "Oh, jus' 'cause I happen to be wandering Port Royal be meself.. I's not just you, but seems everyone mistakes me for being.. a resident," she said, shrugging a little. Yes, everyone thought she was, of course, she didn't quite look like a Port Royal resident did she?

She didn't exactly want to look like any regular women. She had a tendency to stick out, always had, always will have. She learned to grow up with that, and ever since she was eight, she'd grown accustomed to wearing men's clothing, because she'd had to disguise herself.

"I've stolen from a ship while I was still on it.. They ended up holdin' me captive, though I cleverly picked the locks of the chains with a shard wood from the deck. After that, I knocked out most of the crew on deck...I dove off the side of the boat after stealing that bottle of rum in me bag," she said with a bit of a nod, a small smile.

Taylor grinned a little. " Whatev'r you say, Sparrow," she said, placing the bottle back in her bag.</sub>