Acquired Tastes

The news that Jaka is no longer single shocks Cerebus to his core. He climbs up on Bear and demands to know if it's true, Bear confirms it and Cerebus goes to see Jaka.

Jaka is a little different, still serenely beautiful, but she's cut her hair short and she is dressed demurely. When Cerebus enters the room she abases herself before him, murmuring Most Holy. An angry Cerebus tells her to get up and he goes to stare out the window. Dave is amazing in the way he can make Cerebus eyes look so alive and convey so much without words.

Cerebus turns and points at Jaka accusing 'You got married.' It isn't a question or a statement of fact, it is an accusation. With a smile Jaka replies 'So did you.' Cerebus explains that was different, he was drunk and then says that Sophia left him. Jaka says she's sorry, she didn't know. Of course how could she it only happened an hour ago, something that stuns Jaka when she hears it.
Cerebus flies into a rage, calling Sophia a slut, threatening revenge and breaking a vase by throwing it against the wall. Jaka tries to defuse the situation, but only seems to make the aardvark angrier.

Cerebus tells Jaka that as Pope he can dissolve a marriage...any marriage, intimating that he can annul her union. Cerebus grabs Jaka's wrist hard and growls that she said she wait forever for him. I couldn't believe Cerebus was doing it again! He has Jaka there and he's doing his best to drive her away from him. Once he lets go her wrist, after nearly breaking it Jaka shouts that she said she wait forever for him to remember, he DID remember and he never came back.

Cerebus has the grace to at least be embarassed by his behaviour then and now. Jaka remembers that first meeting, she thought he was a child pretending to ape her speech, she affected the accent herself, of course it is Cerebus' natural way of talking. When Cerebus told her he would kill a yak for her supper she thought he was the cutest thing she'd ever seen. He wanted to give her everything, he told her stories and wanted to share his life with her. Cerebus says that he still wants that.

After a silence Jaka says that now he's Most Holy he can't do that, it's not like he's an itinerant mercenary anymore. Jaka says she loves Uncle Julius (I can't get the impression out of my head that he's not her real uncle), but that everything around him is different because of the power he wields and she won't ever live that way again. Cerebus tells her to be quiet while he thinks.

Cerebus tears off his papal robes, goes behind a curtain, opens a drawer and then reemerges dressed in his vest and medallions, carrying his sword, the sword that Jaka reclaimed for him. He tells Jaka he is ready and says purposefully let's go.

I always wanted Cerebus to go back to the life of a sword for hire, ranging across the country, having adventures, but from the time he dragged his treasure sack into the lobby of The Regency and demanded a room it was just never going to happen.