Meeting Head-on (Tydus)

[Atoll Northwind]

73rd of Spring, 514AV It was a decent day for sailing. The breeze wasn’t steady so the sails sagged when the breeze fell. But the Sextant was able to sail jerkily up the eastern coast of the Suvan, and Atoll kept a close eye on little red. It was at constant odds with the waves Laviku gave him. However, little red flapped happily along the main sail for the moment. A ways off Littoral swam just beyond where Atoll could sense. He didn’t like it when the Littoral did that but he never reprimanded his friend. He was too big for the Sextant to handle most days. “Laviku, tell me the Northwinds have better waters and winds than I!” He yelled to the water. As if in response the waves rose higher, splashing onto his deck. “Oi! I just cleaned that!” More water splashed. “Alright, alright. It wasn’t an insult, just well wishin’. They didn’t hafta leave me the longest. Weren’t all my fault.” His teeth clenched then he stood up stiffly. Near a season by myself, he grumped, only land-dwellers for company. Wouldn’t know a good cutlass if it ran them through. Once more he looked out for Littoral, just a cursory glance over the water and wasn’t surprised to find the great whale surging towards him. He never strayed far for long. The great whale did a little spy hop then slowed to slap at the water. Atoll called out, wondering what the fuss about, his anger already long forgotten. “Lose your fish?” Another slap, followed by a surge of water that rocked the casinor roughly, above him little red began to shift but Atoll took little notice. Littoral breached the water and sent a wave to rock the boat right as little red abruptly shifted. Atoll noticed several things at once. The tiller jerked violently in his hands. The damned boom jibed, nearly taking his head clean off. His deck was now covered in an inch of water. The Sextant had decided to shift directions with the jibe. Littoral had not stopped his over excited swimming about. And there was a ship headed towards him. “Ya brat! Could’ve just said.” Littoral did another spy hop, and Atoll waved him off. “Oh aye, capsizin’ me is tellin’ me. Ya seen these waves?” The whale ignored him in favor of returning to his wide circle of the Sextant while Atoll hopped around his ship to fix her course. He forced the tiller back the way it had been, ducking as the boom swung back. The sails wiggled in anticipation and caught the breeze on the opposite side again. The Svefra took his moment to loosen the sails to get his direction back under control. But a sudden gust caught the main sail and swung his boom again. “Girl, you’re not bein’ friendly!” Another wave caught him in the face and Atoll flung up his hands. He crouched down then inched across the deck. The Sextant was beat on both sides and bobbed wildly. Keeping a close eye on the boom Atoll tugged the sheets off their cleats and winches. The Sextant jerked roughly. Atoll was thrown onto his butt with a curse. But it had done its job. The Sextant was strolling along the waves without much of a course, and the sails slapped at the mast. Without the wind as a driving force it rocked much slower along with the waves. Atoll stood up and found he was still heading for the other ships but slow enough that he hoped they could move or stop. He hoped. “Litty!” He called warningly but the whale was already slapping at the water.

[Tydus Tempest]

x

Zulrav's winds blew in tiny spats of breath, as if the deity were coughing rather than allowing full, complete breaths of wind to fill the sails. It was a problem, to say the least, given that the Tempest's forward sail was torn at the foot. Air pushed the sail forward, but there was a danger to the situation that required attention at the earliest possible stop. Perhaps when Tydus and Kel both felt the pang in their gut that led to hunger, he would suggest a stop and the two Svefra could think of something to do for it. Callispia had sailed past the pair, and Tydus and Kel were sailing alongside one another, a habit built out of the camaraderie that they shared. Of course, this did nothing for the situation.

Upon a second breath supplied by Zulrav into the sails, Tydus felt the ship sway, waves crashing to the port side, the ship quickly flooding with Laviku's blood as a swear escaped him, a deep frown marring his features as he looked around for his bucket. Two inches! A blasted two inches of water weighed down the ship, a true danger of capsizing present, and just as the Tempest drew his attention towards the flood and away from the winds, he realized that his ship's wheel was not locked in place. The boom spun with the movement of the ropes binding it to the wheel, Tydus audibly swearing again as he ducked to avoid the sharp movement of the boom, his body slamming against the floor as he felt the ship sharply turn towards port side. Kel was at starboard, and this, at the very least, ensured that he wasn't going to hit him, but it was a massive problem nonetheless.

As the ship turned, Tydus timed his rise to his feet, quickly pushing upwards with his arms, feeling the strain upon his chest and triceps as he called upon the musculature of his core. He pulled his knees forward and jumped from the ground. He had timed his jump right, and managed to make his way to his feet just as the ship made its turn, tripping backwards and crashing directly against the ship's wheel. He coughed violently as the oxygen was pulled from his lungs, but his arm reached out, gripping the wheel and beginning to turn it backwards. When he caught his breath, he made the final transition towards the wheel itself, taking place in front of it and using both hands to grip the thing, slowly, but surely turning the ship back on course as a pained laughter bubbled from his lips.

Despite the inconvenience, the entire situation held an excitement in it that Tydus so desperately loved about voyaging across the sea. Tydus looked over to Kel, a sheepish grin marked across his features as he called out,

"How ye holdin' up, Kel? T'was quite the wave, righ'?"

The grin plastered upon his expression ,it was only after all was well that he noticed the fourth casinor in the distance, but that wasn't what fascinated him. No, he saw a petching whale just under the surface of the water, its spout puttering out a store of water as it exhaled, Tydus' eyes wide with curiosity just as Vesh made his way out of the cabin, the penguin's feather ruffled and disheveled, presumably from being pushed around the quarters like a doll. Vesh quickly preened himself, looking to Tydus twice before looking down to find the ship flooded. He flapped his wings excitedly and flopped onto his stomach, using his wings to propel forward and about the ship as Tydus called out,

"Kel! KEL! Do ye see the whale? And where de bloody petch does Calli tink she's going? Damn woman thinking caus she's a better sailor that she can pull ahead."
Common | Fratava

[Kel Tempest]

I was invited to jump in on this so here I aaaaaam.

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