Date 18th of Spring, 514. Late afternoon.
Location The Cliffside Grotto
It had rained all morning. A steady, heavy downpour that made for a steady, relaxing rhythm on the salt-worn deck of The Handmade'n. Finian didn't venture out in it all morning, spending half of it lazing about in his berth, under warm blankets instead of anywhere wet and cold. Eventually, hunger drove him to crawl out from his hiding place, realizing he had no idea what time it was, so gray and lifeless outside his port windows that the passage of the sun was completely unknowable.
The rain had slowed to a drizzle and the itinerant shipwright couldn't bear the thought of spending any more time trapped in the small quarters of his sea-faring home and transportation. Not that the city was much of a comfort to the Svefra, but he'd just have to explore for once. Something inside him trusted there was more to the city than towering blue men armed to their shining teeth and unreadable miles and miles rules.
Tugging on his worn breeches and dusting off his vest, he decided it was also in his best interest to wrap himself in his wool cloak as well, given that it wasn't quite warm enough yet and … well … the petching rain. He tucked his hatchet into its place at his belt, turning back to his berth to poke at the fluffy white lump still hiding under warm blankets that smelled of sea brine and sunshine.
The albino otter opened one eye to peer at his Svefra companion and snorted, whiskers wiggling in protest.
"C'mon y'lazy bum. Let's go find somethin' to do'n this petchin' city. There's some sights t'see I'm sure." Ian chuckled, waving a hand for the creature to follow him as he climbed up the short flight of stairs and out onto the deck of his casinor. As soon as his freckled, stubbled face left the hatch, he was forced to squint and sputter, assaulted by chilly mist and rain. The roar of the falls filled his senses and once he hefted himself onto the slick, wet hull, he pulled up his hood over his sea-baubled blond locks and slipped over the rails onto the docks.
Everything was heavy and grey, quietly drown out by the sound of the Bluevein falling from the cliffs above and by the light rain that pattered off sailcloth, rigging, and barnacled wood. It was finally enough sound to drown out the busy docks full of merchandise moving, bodies moving, ships moving.
Finian and Waverly wandered their way through the soaked crowds, the otter happily splashing in puddles along the way behind his companion. The blond shipwright once again dug his paperwork out from the inside pocket of his leather vest, letting the Port guards give it a once over as he stood there under their glares, feeling their eyes judge him by his Oceanus and the Laviku-glorifying inked lines that marked him as a Svefra.
Oh well.
They let him pass anyway and he was free to explore the city once again.
Once he had climbed his way up from the docks, which was a fairly steep accent to be sure, he simply picked a direction he hadn't been before and decided to walk.
He wandered past store fronts and other important-looking buildings, knowing well enough he didn't have enough Mizas to scrape together for anything anyway. Not that he felt in want, either. If he really needed something, it seemed to always find its way into his hands … somehow. Laviku took care of his own, and Ian trusted in that on a daily basis.
The itinerant shipwright and his tavan eventually found themselves in a more residential area, and Ian was curious about these land-locked, unmoving houses and apartments. Everything looked the same. Nothing moved. Everything was on top of each other, on top of the ground, far from the comforting sway of the waves and the constant motion of the ocean. He had no desire to live trapped in such a building. It looked so boring.
Eventually, Ian stopped paying attention to where he was and lost himself in thought, his studies of land-locked life leading him to daydream about building ships instead. Once he realized he'd gotten himself thoroughly lost, he found himself squinting at signs for any sense of direction.
One finally caught his lagoon-blue eyes:
Cliffside Grotto, Park, This Way --->
Well, something like that. Ian's Common was sub-par at best and he only pretended to know enough words to make sense of the sign.There was an arrow and some interesting, intricate drawings of flowers and trees. That was enough for him at the moment, considering he wasn't really doing anything but passing some time by himself.
The blond Svefra followed the sign, trudging through a few puddles just for his tavan's pure enjoyment along the way. The both of them were already thoroughly soaked, not that it mattered. Water of any kind almost felt more like a first home than a second one to someone who spent their whole life at sea.
The gates to the park were open, though it looked like it should have been closed in the weather. Trees were heavy with buds, so close to blooming. Flowers were sprouting, green curls poking up from the ground all over the place. Shrubs and bushes had recently been neatly trimmed to prepare for new growth. Stairs led downward along a series of cliffs and terraces, all overlooking the bay below. Finian was hardly familiar with land vegetation. He had no idea what the trees would look like once in bloom or any of the flowers. He wasn't even sure what was a flower and what was a weed and what was a shrub, for that matter.
It was all just green-growing stuff to him.
And most of it wasn't finished growing yet, so he was only left to guess at what he was looking at.
The park seemed almost deserted. Either it was too cold for most. Or too wet. Or too close to evening. Or it was just an off-day. Ian still had no idea what time it was, though the clouds were getting darker as the rain was getting lighter … so it may have been late afternoon.
Waverly splashed and rolled in the slick grass and little puddles while the two of them wandered aimlessly. Ian could learn to enjoy places like this on land, he thought to himself, even though it still didn't move and sway with Laviku's breath and the tide.
Location The Cliffside Grotto
It had rained all morning. A steady, heavy downpour that made for a steady, relaxing rhythm on the salt-worn deck of The Handmade'n. Finian didn't venture out in it all morning, spending half of it lazing about in his berth, under warm blankets instead of anywhere wet and cold. Eventually, hunger drove him to crawl out from his hiding place, realizing he had no idea what time it was, so gray and lifeless outside his port windows that the passage of the sun was completely unknowable.
The rain had slowed to a drizzle and the itinerant shipwright couldn't bear the thought of spending any more time trapped in the small quarters of his sea-faring home and transportation. Not that the city was much of a comfort to the Svefra, but he'd just have to explore for once. Something inside him trusted there was more to the city than towering blue men armed to their shining teeth and unreadable miles and miles rules.
Tugging on his worn breeches and dusting off his vest, he decided it was also in his best interest to wrap himself in his wool cloak as well, given that it wasn't quite warm enough yet and … well … the petching rain. He tucked his hatchet into its place at his belt, turning back to his berth to poke at the fluffy white lump still hiding under warm blankets that smelled of sea brine and sunshine.
The albino otter opened one eye to peer at his Svefra companion and snorted, whiskers wiggling in protest.
"C'mon y'lazy bum. Let's go find somethin' to do'n this petchin' city. There's some sights t'see I'm sure." Ian chuckled, waving a hand for the creature to follow him as he climbed up the short flight of stairs and out onto the deck of his casinor. As soon as his freckled, stubbled face left the hatch, he was forced to squint and sputter, assaulted by chilly mist and rain. The roar of the falls filled his senses and once he hefted himself onto the slick, wet hull, he pulled up his hood over his sea-baubled blond locks and slipped over the rails onto the docks.
Everything was heavy and grey, quietly drown out by the sound of the Bluevein falling from the cliffs above and by the light rain that pattered off sailcloth, rigging, and barnacled wood. It was finally enough sound to drown out the busy docks full of merchandise moving, bodies moving, ships moving.
Finian and Waverly wandered their way through the soaked crowds, the otter happily splashing in puddles along the way behind his companion. The blond shipwright once again dug his paperwork out from the inside pocket of his leather vest, letting the Port guards give it a once over as he stood there under their glares, feeling their eyes judge him by his Oceanus and the Laviku-glorifying inked lines that marked him as a Svefra.
Oh well.
They let him pass anyway and he was free to explore the city once again.
Once he had climbed his way up from the docks, which was a fairly steep accent to be sure, he simply picked a direction he hadn't been before and decided to walk.
He wandered past store fronts and other important-looking buildings, knowing well enough he didn't have enough Mizas to scrape together for anything anyway. Not that he felt in want, either. If he really needed something, it seemed to always find its way into his hands … somehow. Laviku took care of his own, and Ian trusted in that on a daily basis.
The itinerant shipwright and his tavan eventually found themselves in a more residential area, and Ian was curious about these land-locked, unmoving houses and apartments. Everything looked the same. Nothing moved. Everything was on top of each other, on top of the ground, far from the comforting sway of the waves and the constant motion of the ocean. He had no desire to live trapped in such a building. It looked so boring.
Eventually, Ian stopped paying attention to where he was and lost himself in thought, his studies of land-locked life leading him to daydream about building ships instead. Once he realized he'd gotten himself thoroughly lost, he found himself squinting at signs for any sense of direction.
One finally caught his lagoon-blue eyes:
Cliffside Grotto, Park, This Way --->
Well, something like that. Ian's Common was sub-par at best and he only pretended to know enough words to make sense of the sign.There was an arrow and some interesting, intricate drawings of flowers and trees. That was enough for him at the moment, considering he wasn't really doing anything but passing some time by himself.
The blond Svefra followed the sign, trudging through a few puddles just for his tavan's pure enjoyment along the way. The both of them were already thoroughly soaked, not that it mattered. Water of any kind almost felt more like a first home than a second one to someone who spent their whole life at sea.
The gates to the park were open, though it looked like it should have been closed in the weather. Trees were heavy with buds, so close to blooming. Flowers were sprouting, green curls poking up from the ground all over the place. Shrubs and bushes had recently been neatly trimmed to prepare for new growth. Stairs led downward along a series of cliffs and terraces, all overlooking the bay below. Finian was hardly familiar with land vegetation. He had no idea what the trees would look like once in bloom or any of the flowers. He wasn't even sure what was a flower and what was a weed and what was a shrub, for that matter.
It was all just green-growing stuff to him.
And most of it wasn't finished growing yet, so he was only left to guess at what he was looking at.
The park seemed almost deserted. Either it was too cold for most. Or too wet. Or too close to evening. Or it was just an off-day. Ian still had no idea what time it was, though the clouds were getting darker as the rain was getting lighter … so it may have been late afternoon.
Waverly splashed and rolled in the slick grass and little puddles while the two of them wandered aimlessly. Ian could learn to enjoy places like this on land, he thought to himself, even though it still didn't move and sway with Laviku's breath and the tide.
