Colors and Cuddies (Lacerta, Delani)

by **Lacerta** on November 7th, 2013, 2:34 am

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Lacerta didn’t know what Brodon meant by ‘less family’, but it didn’t sound good. It sounded like there were problems among the Drykas that affected their families… and those generally weren’t a good thing. For the Drykas, at least. She didn’t know what had happened, and worried about the side effects… but got the sense her companion didn’t want to speak of it. Aware of his feelings, she didn’t ask, instead, letting the thought pass through her mind and into the wind.

When asked to explain her own race, the Eth smiled equally, before leaning back in her seat. “Well… I might as well start at the beginning. Ethaefal are souls who skipped the reincarnation cycle, instead chosen by Leth and Syna to live in their celestial abode. It was paradise… literally. However, when the Valterrian came, and all those disasters… a huge crack opened up in the world. Some Ethaefal fell through, and are still falling today. By fall, I mean literally fall. We tumble from the sky, fully adults, and into some form of water. It’s quite traumatic at the beginning, to be sure…

“Now, to explain our race, we shift with the time and seasons. Each has their own patron diety, either Leth or Syna. Syna is my goddess, though I do, of course, respect Leth. During their time of the day – so, when the sun is up, for me – we take our ‘celestial’ form, as you see here. Glasslike horns, which are unbreakable, by the way… and incredible height and beauty. I’m actually quite tall for my race, considering. In the evenings, we take on the form of a past life. As you saw, I was an Eypharian.

“Now, we also shift with the seasons. The color of our horns, and hair, changes with the passing days. What you see now will be a completely different color in a season, and was different last season as well… However, those that relinquish their gods, hate them, are called the Forsaken. They lose all Ethaefal powers, and do not shift with the seasons. On powers… we are also able to age things by a day. Each item can only be aged once a day, as well. It is an interesting gift, and one with many uses….”

Finishing her speech, she smiled up at Brodon. “It’s complicated” she admitted with a shrug, feeling slightly guilty about going on about her race. However, she’d covered most of the topics… except for one or two more minor details. She smiled at the offer to return her boat, and shrugged again. “I don’t mind. You seem to be enjoying it… go as long as you like. We still have a bit of time before turning back.” Saying this, the composer glanced back to check their distance from Riverfall. Maybe one or two bells before turning around. And with this wind… they’d have to tack more than a few times as well. Annoying. “Of course, if you don’t want to sail anymore, I’d be happy to take the wheel” she added, more as a side thought than anything else. She didn’t want to make the Drykas unhappy by forcing this on him.

OOCMerp. Sorry for the speaking text block... got a little carried away. Oh, and sorry for replying so quickly. It's probably annoying. Just... I was sitting here, and I felt like writing, soooo XD

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by **Brodon Windriver** on November 8th, 2013, 1:56 am

Brodon injected a few questions as he listened. He was curious if these souls skipped rebirth because they knew they were being chosen, or if the gods simply stepped in and "took them up" to dwell there. He also wondered about the nature of this "crack", if it was a physical thing that remained in a fixed location, because he figured it would become known to avoid that place if it was. As well, he wondered at the thought of souls "falling". He sheepishly admitted that he'd presumed a "lighter than air" nature for a spirit dwelling in a divine abode. He apologized if he sounded as though he was making light of such a terrifying ordeal.

He also took the opportunity to express an apology for anything he may have done prior to this little excursion. When Lacerta looked puzzled, he explained that he'd suffered considerable disrespect and insult at the hands of Eypharians while in Ahnatep and had not given her the benefit of the doubt when he first met her. It was only when he had nearly died while exposing a squad of false Fox guards that he began to be treated with any courtesy by them. He'd been convinced they were all the same, but had realized this was a gross injustice.

He apologized anew when Lacerta dismissed his initial apology, citing her own recognition of most Eypharians' capability to be arrogant. Now he felt bad he'd even brought it up, and assured her it was neither his intent to insult her...original...people, nor to prompt any assessment of its accuracy on her part. When she spoke of her peculiar power of aging, he muttered that she should use it on him so that he "might actually grow up." Her laughter relieved his self-consciousness considerably and he was able to join in with her laughter quite naturally.

The short-lived issue of who would take the helm resolved with Brodon staying in place. He was grateful, and when Arrow flew over to perch right on the wheel to shriek his agreement, Brodon mischievously rocked it back and forth, forcing the bird to pace along the wheel in response. Eventually though, Brodon knew he would need to relinquish the helm. "This is being a wonderful sailing, Lacerta, but...uh...I am being worried that I am not being sure how to be sailing back to Riverfall. I am not seeing how you can be going anywhere with the wind being...blowing AT you."

OOC"annoying"??? having you respond so quickly? I would have ALL my threading partners annoy me in such manner.

And feel free to do all the speaking text you like.

by **Lacerta** on November 8th, 2013, 11:59 am

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Lacerta smiled at Brodon's comment about falling, not able to help herself. However, she couldn't say much on the topic, so simply shrugged uselessly, and didn't say anything... she didn't like speaking unless she had something legitimate to say. However, when the explanation of Eypharians came up, both eyebrows raised in surprise. She hadn't realized the man's opinion at all... but was quite a truthful and sensible one, to be honest.

When he apologized for the thoughts, the Eth simply shook her head and smiled. "No worries. Though I barely remember anything from the time when I wore just that form, I have visited Ahnatep in my travels. I understand your... dislike... of the race." When he reassured her that he didn't want to insult the Eypharians, she nearly choked on a laugh. "Insult them? Do that all you want... they'd simply insult you back, simply more eloquently." She grinned at her companion, actually finding the conversation more humorous than awkward.

When his conversation turned to her power of aging, once again Lacerta chuckled. Use it on him to grow up? That was a strange request. "I don't think it works that way," she admitted with a shrug. "It would age just your body... not your mind." Though she was trying to be serious, her voice held a joking tone, and her eyes grinned more than her face. "Though maybe if you find yourself in an old man's body, you'll mature that way..." she mused, scratching her head. However, she knew the aging power wasn't that strong, and simply a day would't do much. If you really wanted to, you could double someone's aging process... but that would take a while, considering.

When the topic of their return finally came up, she glanced behind them, and decided it was time to turn around. "Well, when sailing... you rarely go in a straight line. And though heading into the wind is possible, it's very complicated. Here... it's not exactly at our backs, so we'll only have to tack a few times... but still many more than on the way here..." She shrugged, and when seeing the hawk's irritation at the moving wheel, grinned. She made sure the back of her arm was covered, and allowed the bird to hop onto her forearm. He was remarkably light, even more so than Apus, and slowly she lowered the bird so he could step onto his original perch. Of course, his talons had caused more than a few rips and scratches, but she had figured out a way to deal with that.

Moving back to her seat, she focused on the skin and aged it a day. With such light cuts, they all but disappeared, having 'healed' a day already. She smiled, and focused her attention on Brodon. "Would you rather take the helm for this, or the ropes? The wheel might get a little complicated though"

OOCHow did you know what she was going to do... exactly... I mean, you did state her reactions, but they were actually spot on o.O

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by **Brodon Windriver** on November 10th, 2013, 4:39 pm

Brodon was a little surprised when Arrow hopped onto Lacerta's arm of his own accord. It gave him all the more reason to know he'd been wrong about the woman. Animals had such a natural instinct for sensing trouble that the hawk's simple act of trust was more profound to him than any intellectual debate could have been. Another surge of shame at his prejudice bubbled up, but now he was able to shrug it off, knowing that she was not the sort that would wish to see him punish himself any further. 'I just hope he doesn't crap on her arm.'

"If you are thinking it will being...less hard...for my doing the ropes, I will gladly." he said, relinquishing the wheel to her and grinning at Arrow, now perched back where he had started. He hadn't seemed to care for the top of the mast, and the wheel had never been a serious offer either. His shriek seemed energized, and not complaining though. Brodon was relieved to see that Arrow seemed to enjoy this outing as much as he himself did. He had been very concerned that Arrow would bolt back to Riverfall as soon as the expedition left dock. Then he would have to swim back, as he could certainly not expect the whole flotilla to return and drop him back off. He would not leave Arrow. He wondered suddenly if Eywaat had granted this land-bound bird some sort of tolerance or even affinity for a journey at sea. It would seem to align with the whole god-driven nature of his life at this point.

He stepped down from the raised helm platform and walked over to where the ropes could be accessed. "Okay, tell me what to do, and be remembering that I am not knowing sailing words."

by **Lacerta** on November 11th, 2013, 6:52 pm

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Lacerta took the wheel, directing Brodon to one of the ropes to her left. ”Right… when I say ‘Tacking’, as I explained before, pull one of these green striped ropes. Remember to alternate sides…” Pausing a moment, she adjusted their course, before ordering ”Tack!” Expecting the Drykas to pull said rope, she spun the wheel to the left, using the rudder to aid the sail. If all went as planned, the boat would swerve suddenly to the left, sharply turning about three quarters of a circle. They would end up zig-zagging like this until they reached Riverfall.

She let them continue on this path for a few chimes, until she finally decided that they’d headed to far in one direction. ”Tack again… this time the right rope please.” Her instruction was short and brief, and once her companion pulled the needed rope , they turned again more to the right of their destination. The course was pretty steady, and though it would annoyingly require multiple tacks to get back to the city…. They would do so eventually. However, conversation would be a lot harder, considering the slightly complicated changes…

The Eth didn’t bother to start any more conversations, and if Brodon tried, her answers would be shorter than usual… she was trying to concentrate on heading back, and multitasking like this was not her strong suit. However, over the course of about ten or so tacks (a huge amount in her opinion) and another bell, they managed to make it back to Riverfall safely. The docking went as smooth as usual, though the tide wasn’t helping as much as it could have… She was feeling a little tired after their excursion, and politely directed her two passengers off the boat. She wanted to rest longer than normal before the Syka expedition began.

OOCWell... I guess stuff's over then

Feel free to add a last post, and submit it for grading...

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by **Brodon Windriver** on November 13th, 2013, 1:57 am

Brodon was astonished to find that, with sufficient angle, the wind hit the sails without pushing them back. They were not heading directly into the wind, nor were they going straight toward the Riverfall harbor. The oblique impact pushed the sail to the side instead, the force of which, in turn, was forced by the keel and rudder to squeeze the boat forward against the resistance of the water.

It took a few tries, once resulting in Lacerta aborting the tack on the basis of something about "irons", which Brodon did not understand. But he got the timing down soon enough. He began to see how it was all connected. The build up of inertia, the turn into the wind, using the inertia to complete the turn to the reverse angle, the pull on the rope to swing the sail to catch the angle from a reversed oblique. The flutter as the sail passed through the direct path of the wind. The vessel now angling toward left of the harbor instead of right.

He could see it was a time consuming exercise. But that just meant more opportunity for practice, and he wanted to make the most of it. He could see that Lacerta was not so enthusiastic, no doubt thinking of it as a chore instead of an adventure. Her short answers giving evidence of her focus. Brodon wouldn't have minded doing this for bells, but he was hardly going to deliberately sabotage his efforts just to drag it out.

By the time the got back to the harbor, he was pretty pleased with his progress. He had gotten to that novice level where you are good enough at something to realize how lousy you are at it. But you know what you can do to get better, and are eager to try.

Lacerta, however, was clearly spent and wanted to rest up. Brodon thanked her in his clumsy way and he and Delani returned to the city. Brodon wondered how Lacerta had acquired her boat. Had she purchased it outright? Inherited it? Built it? There were enough mariners involved in this expedition that he felt confident he could find someone that could help him acquire a boat of his own someday.

He knew it would be far into the future, long after the Syka development was up and running. It was not that he was no longer interested in riding, far from it. He and Lovaak had been through far too much for him to set his horse aside to go off cruising the world. He was not sure if anyone among the expedition was planning to breed horses. If not, there would come a time when Lovaak could no longer bear him around. Maybe by then some new pursuit would catch his fancy and he would lose interest in sailing.

Time would tell.

by **Taylani** on November 14th, 2013, 5:03 pm

Brodon Windriver

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Lores :

Delani Denusk

Skills :

Lores :

Lacerta

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Notes :