Closed [Entrance to Thunder Bay] Sea Full of Hooks {Aidara}

[Una Tanta]

12th Day of Spring, 513 AV, Morning The creeping warmth of spring finally permeated the waters of Thunder Bay as the thick layer of ice near the land vanished. Stumbling through the water Una clumsily slipped to the surface taking in the fierce horizon of the Inartans. Smiling sleepily she sank beneath the waves and approached the shore giving the peculiar Thunder Island a wide birth. Closing her eyes as she wove through the coral her mind wandered once again to what had plagued her throughout her Journey. When Cy, her Kelvic partner, had died during the former springs djed storm swept the oceans and destroyed the home that for years had represented her mothers embrace she had thought of nothing else. She had condemned her father for his relationship with his own Kelvic but only a year ago, she had met her own Kelvic and fallen utterly in Love. Though she couldn't forgive her father she finally understood the intoxicating bond that had taken him from her. How could any earthly bond compare to the spiritual and unending bond one had with the Kelvic? Yet, she knew that her Kelvic was a mirror of herself, and she a mirror of her Kelvic. A relationship with her Kelvic was like a relationship with herself, a relationship with another full of the trials and tribulations held together by love had its own unique beauty. As intoxicating as she found her bond she knew the bond of love was equally as beautiful for all the work it took to build and the ease with which it could be destroyed. While her life's journey was now to fill the hole Cy had left with the world he had surrounded himself in she also felt the thrilling jubilation of her realization and what it could mean for her parents. If they could understand what she had realized about Kelvic love and marriage she could save them. Filled with the fire of her perceived martyrdom she had spent the winter season traveling from her home near Avanthal to her parents home in Thunder Bay. Una, Cy, and the coral. That was what their life had been. Una with her cartilage and thin light bones surrounded herself with weak brittle things; his bones an echo of hers, her creations made from the delicate deposits of the ecosystem of the sea. Yet despite this obvious fragility to their lives they were mighty and strong. The power in her long limbs to compete with the dolphins and whales in maneuverability and height when jumping crests, the dizzying vastness of the coral formations despite their evident fragility, and Cy's strength. She could feel it most tantalizingly when the wind buffeted under his wings for take off and the stares of the keen and observant who wondered amazed how such a large swan could heave itself into the air and remain there so elegantly. This paradox she would bring to her parents, the realization of the prevailing beauty of marriage despite the Kelvic bond. Her fathers relationship with his Kelvic, a relationship essentially with himself, was masturbatory. As fulfilling as such a spiritual and physical relationship was it couldn't compare to... As her mind worked to complete this train of thought, a train of thought she had repeated obsessively hundreds of times on her journey, she felt something sharp against her underside. Gazing down slowly as she emerged from the fog of thought she watched her thick blood seeping from a wound. Wrinkling her brow she felt against her side trying to work out the glinting object in her side and suddenly she was being yanked to the surface her hands and legs tangled in a strong woven grid of robe. Frightened she cried out into the water but as much as she felt this underwater world was her home there was no one there to share it, and no one there to hear her and not for the first time since Cy died she felt utterly alone. As she hit the surface the sun and dry air scratched her skin. She had never before hated the surface as she did now. Another scream yanked itself from her pale lips as the hook dug deeper into her side. Looking over the side of their ship the sailors called out to her and she felt the hook loosening as the net tightened around her limbs and she was pulled from the water and dumped on the deck. Laying prostrate on the hot deck she glared at the sailors pulling her lips back to show her sharp teeth. "W-What is that thing?" one of the sailors murmured stumbling backward. "It looks like a Charoda..." stated another peering closer at her only to receive a hard blow from her flailing body. She hated all those men in that moment, a blind obscuring hate as fierce as the pain in her side. "Let me out!" She demanded, sending the sailors scrambling back in surprise. After a few minutes they had removed the hook and unwound her from the nets. Diving off the side of the boat before they could inflict more pain she torpedoed to shore, a black haze making her spin and loop as she approached the shore. Nails digging into the shore trying to pull herself toward a hidden cove where she could take a better look at her injuries the shock and adrenaline from the incident wore away and she passed out, rising to float a few meters from the shore.

[Aidara]

“Ew, ew, ew, ew… Only a few more steps! Or, maybe a couple giant leaps!” Talking aloud to distract herself, Addy gauged the distance that still remained from where she stood on the beach to the water. Sand spanned the space between here and there, and the little woman just couldn’t take another step forward in the stuff. Going down to the Bay had seemed like a good idea earlier before the hike from where Sira dropped her down to the shore became apparent.

Trying not to wiggle her toes in the stuff, Addy braced herself and bent at the knees, wind-milling her arms out at her sides for balance as she prepared to launch forward as far as possible; and it worked… for the most part. More of a flail than a jump, Addy managed to fling herself forward a mere two feet, landing awkwardly on one foot, her skewed balance lurching her to one side. “Son of a- NO! ACK! PETCH!” Leaning drastically to the other side in a vain attempt to compensate for her lack of balance, Addy tipped [ijust[/i] a little bit too far and found the sand rushing quickly up at her face as she toppled.

Spitting in anger and to get the sand from her mouth, Addy hauled herself to her feet and sprinted the last few yards to the water; it was a bit cold, but the little redhead didn’t seem to care as she waded quickly to her knees and began to splash herself with the salty brine. Clothes were disregarded, as they were quickly soaked, clinging like a second skin to the healer’s body as she practically rolled around in the shallow waves. Luscious, dark red curls became black, clinging strands as a Addy completely submerged herself in the water.

With the disgusting sand quickly forgotten, Addy carefully picked her way out into deeper waters. It was a nice day for a swim, the sun shining strong and hot enough to balance the absolutely frigid temperatures of the water; though she was alright for not, Addy wouldn’t be able to stay in the water for long before hypothermia set in. It was really too early in Spring for an extended swim.

Nevertheless, a long, grueling Winter had driven all the Inarta stir crazy; Addy wasn’t the first one to make a beeline for the outdoors once the snow melted. More than a few cases of severe colds had already showed up in the Infirmary and they weren’t even a dozen days into the season.

After just a handful of chimes, Addy felt her legs begin to numb, her teeth chattering wildly as the chilly water began to take its toll. Turning with a forlorn sigh, Addy began to paddle her way back to shore, unable to go very fast at all thanks to her lack of swimming practice… It was much more funs to have beautiful naked men (and women) tote you around in the water.

However, Addy hadn’t made it more than a few strokes before something collided with her leg, whipping her feet out from under her and dragging her a few yards down the shoreline. Unable to catch a breath before she went under, Addy swallowed a lungful of water as she gasped in surprise.

Up was down and down was up as oxygen deprivation set in, stars that had no place in the ocean swimming across her vision. Flailing wildly towards what she hoped was the surface, Addy managed to close her mouth and prevent any further water intake as she struggled to not drown. Though it seemed like bells later, the little woman finally broke to the surface, greedily sucking in air with gasps that sounded almost like sobs.

A flash at the corner of her eye caused the Inartan woman to whip her head around, spotting the figure as it climbed from the water and into the cave that was only a dozen yards away from where Addy had discarded her clothes. Though the near death experience had taken most of the strength from her limbs, Addy pulled herself to the shallows and began to slog through the water towards the figure.

“Hello? What the petch was that? It’s not very considerate, trying to drown some unsuspecting naked woman. You could have at least said hello first!” With her voice cracking and rough from all the salt that she had swallowed, Addy stopped outside the cave and lifted her voice until she could hear it echoing within. There was no use running head first into a dark cave where whoever had just tried to kill her was lurking.

x

[Una Tanta]

12th Day of Spring, 513 AV, Morning Throwing herself to a far back wall of the cave Una slid down to the cool wet stone floor. Closing her eyes she tensed as she explored the deep gash in her side, whimpering she cupped some salt water that had pooled in the floor of the cave and poured it over the wound trying to clean out the debris and sanitize with the salt. It was the little she had learned about healing from nicks and scraps as a child. Freezing she felt the chilling rough words of a stranger in the cave entrance. Terror and pain having clouded her vision as she streamed toward the cave she hadn't noticed she had run into anyone. The words sounded like the rough screes and cries of the ocean gulls but having grown up around the Inartans she knew the words were human. Though whether they were meant for her or not she wasn't certain. "Hello?" She answered timidly in Vani and then in Common suspecting the person would likely at least know the latter as well as she did.Gripping her side she leaned against the cave wall and slowly stumbled toward the sunlight. If it was another fisherman come to dig his hook into her flesh she wanted to be near the water not trapped at the back of the cave. Gazing warily at the black silhouette that was the voice she gripped her side harder ready to dash and leap into the ocean if the shape should approach. "W-who are you? Go Away!" She demanded, the pain making her short tempered. "Your kind has already done enough damage." She added when she saw the black shape was moving neither toward nor away from her.

[Aidara]

The feminine lilt in the echo that made it back to the little Inartan was not what she had expected. Eyes widening, Addy took a few shuffled steps to the side, further into the mouth of the cave, for a better look before she attempted a response. Syna’s weak morning rays failed to penetrate very far into the shadows that lingered there, disguising well the depth of the cavern. The voice could have come from anywhere, really. “Who am I? Who are you? I was just enjoying the water when you knocked me down.”

Another few feet were edged upon as Addy kept up the flow of words, rather meaningless as they were, her voice as calm as she could make it as she stepped onto the slick, moss coated rocks that framed the entrance of the cave. “I have not done damage. What happened? Are you hurt?” Though the echo had distorted the stranger’s words enough to make deciphering difficult, communication was further hindered as Addy had to then translate Common to Nari and back again for her response. Language had never been her strong point, but it did give one clue: They were not Inartan. Or, not a native Inartan anyway.

“If you are hurt, you could please come here.” No, that wasn’t quite right. “I will not enter the darkness and be fooled.” Still, not the best articulation. “Friendly.” It would have to do, for Addy knew that those desperate enough to hide at sea would not be above luring, stabbing, and killing an innocent young woman in the relative seclusion of a cave. They would probably never even find her body!

Or, what if they were those Cannibals from way across Mizahar. She was too pretty to be eaten. But did they even speak common? Why would they be swimming. “Come out?” While her imagination ran wild, Addy had made it to the middle of the mouth of the cave, where she stood silhouetted by the late morning light, with her hands off to her side to display the lack of any weapon, as well as the lack of any clothes in which to conceal a weapon. Should the stranger still hesitate, Addy had one last plea up her sleeve. If this person really was injured and not just trying to kill her, it would have to work.

“Am a healer.”

x

[Una Tanta]

Una squinted her eyelids moving rapidly to whisk away the water running rivets over her pale skin. Finally clear-eyed she squinted into the entrance the light highlighting the lithe figure of what Una presumed was a woman from her voice. A red halo of flames danced around her head and Una could see the rise and fall of her breasts and smell the dank scent of feather oil that coated Inartans from the mountains. Crouching in the corner she crawled closer to the woman one hand on her side staying the bleeding. "Friendly." Una echoed in response, and was glad when the girl peered around obviously not able to decipher her location through the disorienting echoing effect of the cave. Distracted from the girl by the sight of fisherman sails in the distance as they carved their way through the water she reached out unthinking into the revealing light of the sun and wrapped a hand around the girls ankle yanking her down and into the cave. Out of sight of the fisherman she leaped on the girl pinning her flailing body as best she could and covering her mouth to abbreviate any screams. Her blood, colder than humans, dripped over the girls cheek and neck. "Stop." Una demanded gazing into the older womans' wide eyes. Without pupils the Charoda gaze had a reliably disturbing effect on humans and they would typically avert their eyes, a gesture Una found rude. However, this effect also meant that when she demanded it, her gaze usually scared people into obedience, an effect she hadn't cared to notice. Once the billowing sails left the sky cloudless once again she slid off the naked body of the Inartan and lay prone on her back. Gazing, blank with pain, at the ceiling of the cave, "Fix." She stated pointing at the wound in her side, her head rolling to the side to gaze into her neighbors eyes, her pale pink ones slowly covered by the white lids. "Please." She added, memories of the phrase repeated by pleading children from her childhood slipping through her foggy head. They always got what they pleased for. Una fought for consciousness, watching the womens shape through the white lenses simultaneously hoping she would leave and draw nearer. As adrenaline released her, its powerful claw creeping away from her heart slowing it, she plunged into the darkness of unconsciousness. As the dark waves surrounded her, she felt the fleeting hope that swimming through the darkness would be as easy as swimming through the darkness of her home water. Instead, she felt, for the first time in her life, as if she were drowning. The thudding rhythmic weight on her chest shoved the air and water from her lungs, dribbling over her lips and the pain in her side moved like a tide over her body lapping at her fingertips and eyelashes. She thrashed, reaching out, desperately hoping that in the darkness she'd find her mothers hand and emerge her booboo kissed and healed.

[Aidara]

Though there was no sign of movement to signal that the hidden individual was making their way out of the cave, Addy was heartened by the friendly reply. “Hurt where?" Stuck with terrible Common, the little woman decided to stick to as few words as possible as she began to wade into the looming darkness of the cave, keeping her steps small as she shuffled forward.

“Coming in, okay?” It was slippery going, the floor of the cave partially covered with slick algae while other spots stabbed maliciously at the bottom of her exposed feet; the water that spilled into the mouth of the cavern didn’t seem to recede and made her going slow thanks to the less than preferable footing. Focused as she was at staying upright, Addy hadn’t the chance to brace herself when a solid and surprisingly heavy object slammed into her sternum. It was lucky for the both of them that the impact forced the breath from her lungs and stifled the screech of shock that had fled on instinct from her lips.

Arms and lets flailed wildly, mouthfuls of bitter and salty seawater flooding the Inartan’s mouth as soon as she opened it to cry out; whatever it was had pinned her to the cave floor, the water level just high enough that Addy had to strain to keep her head above it to breathe. That was a pointless effort though, as the stranger clamped a hand down over her mouth, effectively cutting off her ability to breathe.

Left with only the limited air she was able to suck in through her nose, Addy began to fight back, her fingers curled into claws that sought and raked at the arms that pinned her; it didn’t even register that the flesh beneath her nails didn’t react like any skin she had felt, her attempts to injure the hands that held her prevented by the rubbery resistance. It was futile, however, for as her breath failed her so did her strength.

Just about to throw the rest of what remained to her in her attempt to throw that who pinned her, Addy was instantly subdued by the harsh command to stop, swallowed whole by those fathomless black eyes. Not human. This discovery, added to the whole turn of events placated enough that the stranger-thing was able to loosen it’s hold on her head, allowing her to breathe even while still pinned.

As suddenly as she was on her, the creature rolled off, panting and wobbling as she attempted to stay upright. Scrambling to her feet, Addy ignored the pain that erupted along her back as the movement further tore open the gashes left by the harsh rock, a burning sensation consuming her entire back as the saltwater worked its way into the wounds. “Not okay?”

Yelping with surprise, Addy darted forward to catch the creature as it fell, its hands falling away from its side to reveal a seeping wound. Hooking her hands up under its armpits, Addy tugged and dragged the creature towards a flat bit of rock along the cave wall; mostly out of the water, the little healer could lay the stranger down without worry that the rise and fall of the sea would drown her.

It was only when she pulled Una into the partial light of the cave mouth that she saw exactly how strange this was all turning out to be. More fish than human, the creature that Addy pulled along behind her was like nothing she had ever seen before. The color of her skin, paired with those eyes and the tentacles…

As Addy was busy staring, the creature began to choke and sputter, her eyes rolling back into her head (or so Addy assumed, by the fluttering motion they made in their sockets) as she fell into unconsciousness. Shortly after, her chest began to stutter and falter in its rise and fall. “Oh no no no, don’t do that.” Switching back to Nari, Addy fell to her knees and placed her hands on the creature’s chest, her palms down and her fingers interlocked as she prepared to pump life back into it. “Don’t you do that. I don’t even know what you are. Stay with me!”

One, two, three, four, five. And stop. One, two, three, four, five. And stop. Again and again Addy repeated this process, not even sure if it would work on this woman; she had discerned its sex by now, even if she hadn’t been able to figure out her race. Was her heart in the same spot? Were her lungs even the same? The method she used to try and force the strangers heart back into action might not even be helping at all…

Doubt began to flood the little healer, tears beginning to obscure her vision as hope began to dwindle when the body beneath her hands twitched and convulsed, twisting out from under Addys hands and onto her side as she retched. Strangely, the creature lifted a hand up into the air, her fingers obviously searching for something that wasn’t there.

Hesitating for only a moment, Addy reached out and gently clasped her hand, holding it tightly as the other fought to regain her bearings. “Can you hear me?” Switching back to common, Addy tried to keep her voice gentle. “You okay. Calm. Safe.”

Addy sat and watched, her hair wet and straggly, bearing all assortment of sea debris even as blood seeped from one of her many cuts and abrasions. What a sight she must make, wild looking and half drowned, but her eyes were wide and kind, sparkling with worry and confusion. “Aidara.” She said, pointing at her own chest. “Help fix. What is broken?”

x

[Una Tanta]

12th Day of Spring, 513 AV, Morning Gulping in a breath of air when she felt the warmth of a hand around hers she opened her eyes slowly the water droplets obscuring her vision. A face leaned over her the dark ringlets around her face making her smile, "Mom..." She murmured deliriously, though the voice didn't match the girl appeared enough like her mother in her haze that she ran her fingertips through her hair, and furrowed her brow at the odd texture. Running her fingers over the females breasts and stomach her brow furrowed further, "Feel...weird...mom..." She murmured coughing up more water. The pain in her side where the hook was buried obscured the pain of the salt water and the bruises and scratches the barnacles on the cave floor had caused. Finally Una was able to blink away the water and realized the girl before her was a stranger. Her dark coiled hair sat on the top of her head stuck together with sand, mud, and seaweed. Her body was covered in as many cuts and as much blood as Una. The sight frightened Una the pain reverting her into a child with basic thoughts and actions; pain, run, fear, attack. Catching a glimpse of the girls beautiful eyes she fell into them and held her gaze fixedly. Nodding she pointed at her own chest, "Una" She murmured in reply. "Broken?" The word was beyond her. "Hurt. Pain." She replied instead gesturing slightly toward the wound in her side. Her legs and arms were covered in rope burns that made the sensitive beluga-like skin appear torn, the white translucence of it ghostly in the shadows of the cave without the pink tinge of health that typically lingered. "Ay-doo-a" Una pronounced slowly and incorrectly, "Healer. Fix." She nodded emphatically. Lungs clear and fear gone she was able to retain consciousness. It never occurred to her that her anatomy might be so vastly different so as to leave the healer helpless, and it never occurred to her to learn her own anatomy. Leaning forward painfully she rested her cheek against the strangers breasts the sound of her thudding heart reminding her of her mother and as soothing as her presence would be. Though not in debilitating pain her judgement was clouded and now that Aidara wasn't a threat she could only be a friend which Una felt gave her permission to do what she wanted, though her thought process was not nearly that involved before allowing herself to rest on the womans breasts. "Fisherman..." She whimpered, talking distracted her from the pain as she shifted revealing the hook within her slowly working its way deeper. "Overzealous..." She said slipping into Char and then correcting herself in common, "much excited. Fish coming. Swam, saw many. They know. Not....seeing...watching..." She searched for the right word. "In net, in air. It bit me. Rope and hook. I run." She slapped her hands together loudly, "boom! hit water, hit you? hide here." Una bit her lip and reacted unabashedly to the pain as the hook was worked out screaming, whimpering, and crying as she saw fit.

[Aidara]

The genuine fear and pain that lingered not only along the lines of Una’s face, but present also in the few words she had been able to choke out was enough to bring Addy around completely. This was not some trick, nor was she any sort of monster. Pain and fear were two emotions that even those of different races could share, and Addy might not know exactly what she was, but she was going to help her.

“Shhhh, shhhhh…” Trying to soothe the creature, Addy ran her free hand along the length of Una’s arms, her voice taking on the musical sort of twitter it did when she spoke Nari, even though the sound of comfort was unanimous throughout the languages. “Will try. Be still.” This in common, the little woman was about to push the girl back flat on the cave floor when she curled in tight to her chest.

Whether it was the cool air or the fear, Addy could feel the poor thing shaking as her arms quickly encircled and drew Una close. She had called her “Mom” in her delirium, and that had pulled at more than a few heartstrings; if Natalie had been hurt somewhere far away from her or Sira, she hoped that someone else would take pity on her child. “It okay. Calm. Here now, will fix.” Unwilling to push her away, Addt tilted her head until her gaze locked again with those eerie black orbs again. “Lay down? Need to look.” A hand indicated the injured side, her arms spreading out as she mimed how she needed Una to lay.

When the Charoda complied, Addy wasted no time getting a look at the wound. Sure enough, there was a hook lodged deep in the girls flesh. Though she hadn’t doubted her story of the fishermen, the proof only served to enrage the woman. If they were going to be so careless, they need to take their boats elsewhere. “Okay. Close mouth. Starting.” Not as comforting as she would have liked, Addy was far more worried with the hook than her words.

It was a big metal thing with multiple prongs, the ends curled up and barbed so that once they sunk into flesh they didn’t come back out all that easily. Luckily for Una, only one of the prongs had worked deep into her side, the other two merely grazing her flesh and ripping it open- not that the latter was any less painful, but it would mean for a lot more wriggling and tugging if more than one prong had gotten a good hold on her flesh.

Taking a moment to dip her hands in the salt water to clear away any blood or debris that had gotten onto her skin in the process of their struggle, Addy gently and carefully rolled Una onto her side so that the hook was further exposed and easier for the little woman to grab onto. Luckily for them both, her fingers were small and was able to grasp the single embedded prong without much difficulty.

“Going to hurt.” There was no way around it. She would have to simply pull the metal from her flesh and hope to minimize the damage. Making sure that her hold was good, Addy began to steadily apply force to her pull, trying her best to ignore her patients screams and moans as the metal shifted beneath her skin. At first, the whole thing resisted and it seemed to Addy as if it would never come out, but intuition told her to twist the whole thing around as far as it would move and try again.

This time, there was movement as the hooked end of the barb was turned on its side within her flesh and given space to move around as it was properly aligned with the entrance wound. Varying the strength behind her arm, Addy carefully worked the hook out of the skin, making sure to go very slowly at the end so the whole thing didn’t just pop free and create a bigger mess.

“Done! Done!” Using her free hand to scoop Una’s head up, Addy helped the girl sit upright while her other hand held the hook far out of reach. “Need bandage. Clothes on the beach. Can you move?” Standing up, Addy placed the hook into a crook in the rock wall, lodging it there so that there was no chance of it ever escaping the confines of the cave. She took a few shuffling steps away from Una before holding out her hand and beckoning her forward. It would be hard going, and probably excruciatingly painful, but there was nothing else Addy could do for her in the cave. They had to get to shore, and the little Inartan tried to convey that the best that she could:

She reached back behind her and held out a hand towards Una. “Come."

x

[Una Tanta]

Aidaras soothing stroke calmed Una, her touch and voice was intuitively motherly. She paired this with a stern gaze and hand that kept Una still while she worked on her side. Gritting her teeth she tried not to move, the stiller she stayed the more vocally she protested. Gazing up through eyes fuzzy with pain Una saw her mom in Aidara and whimpering quietly did whatever the women asked of her. Reaching out she took the hook from the crevice and held it tightly in her right hand. She wasn't leaving the cave without protection. Normally peaceful and quiet the Charoda still lived in a threatening ocean, as dangerous as the wilds and Una was prepared to protect herself. Leaning against the wall she struggled to stand, reaching out she caught Aidara's hand. Body shaking Una stumbled along the rough floor the water making it slippery in places where slimy moss had accumulated. Grabbing at Aidara Una leaned against her struggling their way out of the cave. Squinting into the sun as they emerged the appearance of sailors boats made Una want to bolt back into the darkness of the cave. They both slipped into the salty water, though the water undoubtedly sanitized her wound the pain made her cry out. Cy! Help me, please...She begged silently staring up at the sky to get her bearings through the pain. Her life had revolved around him for years and though she was here for her parents her mind didn't flicker to them in the moment. They made their way to the beach slowly and painfully. Aidara wasn't a skilled swimmer and Una was painfully limited. Struggling to remain near the shallow end they got several disgusting mouthfuls of water before struggling ashore. Dragging herself, the pain making Una delirious, sand filled the wound. "Ah!" She rolled onto her back gazing at the bloody sand. Looking to Aidara she touched the healers hand. "No further..." Both nude and vulnerable, Una in her pain and Aidara in her exposed motherhood, they lay on the sand breathless and exhausted for the moment. Anyone looking at the scene would have found it picturesque, the clear sky and gentle ocean accentuating the pain and empathy of the moment between them. "I love you mom...please...he loves you too. Don't give up..." She murmured as darkness swam in front of her eyes again making her delusional.

[Aidara]

Making sure to lower the injured woman to the sand before taking a seat herself, Addy got a better look at the creature she had rescued from the cave, as exposed now to Syna’s light as they were. Beautiful in her strange uniqueness, Addy was fully aware of the almost lecherous way she looked upon the woman; her eyes devoured Una’s form as she stretched out on the sands before her.

“What are-“ But the pair both spoke at once, though the soft lilting of Una’s voice cut Addy’s sentence neatly in half, voiding her question before it was complete. The dreamlike quality to her words, and the fact that Una had called her mom worried Aidara. Her curiosity could wait.

Scrambling around on her hands and knees, Addy spun in a circle while she sought her clothes; not where she had left them, the bryda and vinati sat in a clump, waterlogged and sandy in the shallows of the ocean not a dozen feet away. The wind and the waves had worked in tandem to steal the fabric from the dry protection of the beach.

Leaving Una where she lay, the little woman’s feet slapped a wet staccato on the sand as she dashed into the shallows for her clothes. The shirt was going to be the easiest to tear, though it was riddled with clumps of stubborn, sticky sand. Grimacing as she stooped to brush as much of the stuff away, Addy shook the Vinati into the wind, twisting the fabric between her hands as she ran back to Una’s side. “Going to tie round waist.” A firm tug was all it took for the fabric to give way, ripping into a long strip that Addy was sure would reach around the waist of her patient. “Can you sit?”

Helping her upright, Addy quickly slid the makeshift bandage around the woman’s middle, tying a quick and clever knot on the un-injured side so that a simple tug in the right place would undo the knot no problem. Though now protected from any outside debris getting into her wound, Una was still not in a good place. Barely responding to her prods and pokes, Addy knew that she had to either get back to her people or consent to being taken to the Infirmary.

“Will you come up?” Waving a hand in the general direction of Wind Reach, Addy gently grasped Una’s face until the delirious woman was able to focus on the Inartan’s deep green eyes. “To Wind Reach. To help.” Unsure of how to exactly say what she needed to in Common, the little woman then twisted the injured one around and out towards the sea. “Or back to family?”

x