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[Lyn'nice]

Lyn'nice giggled,"More of a clammer, I see!" She placed the pot over the fire and put on the lid and sat down. "Clamming isn't that bad, I mean you can go and buy a kit, or just use your wits." She pointed out toward the lower shore line,"See all those little indents? Watch, every so often bubbles come out of them. That means there's a mollusk hiding down under there. If you follow the bubbles and dig, you'll find the little guy." She winked. "Hey! that one just bubbled, and that one too. Did you see it?" She grinned, settling down on the beach. "So Cal, what do you do for a living, if you don't mind me asking... I garden for a living at the Sanctuary. It's way more than horses and animal healing up there, we're pretty self sufficient. I also watch the children of some of the other workers. But what I really want, is to be a great healer. My gnosis is lesser than most in the Sanc. But I'm learning medicine and herbal treatment." "As you can see, I'm a Nakivak, not by force. I volunteered. But, my Talvas skipped town so the owner of the Sanctuary took me in." She looked down thinking over all the dumb assery she had shone maybe no one else saw it but she did. Where would she be right now had she not become a womb for hire? Certainly not sitting here bloated up like a cow, that much she knew.

[Calters]

Even though Lyn'nice had seemed delighted so far (offering him advice on finding food, inviting him to lunch, and leaving him alone when he asked) something about her changed when she told him about her pregnancy.
"As you can see, I'm a Nakivak, not by force. I volunteered. But, my Talvas skipped town so the owner of the Sanctuary took me in."
Calters wasn't sure he believed her story. Would she really have looked so sad if she had volunteered? But then again, would she be allowed to wander free down at the beach if it were by force? Cal situated himself in the sand beside her.

"I'm sorry. Life isn't kind to any of us." Though he wasn't sure what to be sorry for, it felt like the right thing to say. Doing his best to change the subject, Calters pattered on.
"But medicine you say? There's always a great need for that. Especially with the warriors about. I'm just a bard. I don't do much. And my songs always come out so miserable, even when I don't mean for them to. It just hurts people so I don't know why I do it."

Cal felt his lip quiver and his heart pound heavily. Forcing the emotion back inside, he took a weighted breath and continued. "It's all I know how to do, so I guess there's not much else to it."

Calters shrugged as if he didn't care, but he couldn't lie to himself. He hated everything about his songs and consequently, his own mind.

"Would you like to hear me sing?" He thought it only polite to offer after he had talked so much about it. "It isn't as good as my ocarina playing, but it passes the time."

[Lyn'nice]

"A bard huh? Maybe you just need to find a different muse to sing about? If you need a place to preform I could talk to Caelum, the owner of the Alements. Ever heard of it? Caelum is actually my mentor. He's great!" Lyn'nice checked the pot. "Juuust about ready!" She waited for a few ticks before picking up the pot by the handles using her dress as a potholder she took it out to the cool waters they had been swimming in. The pot made a hiss as it touched the water, hopefully cooling it off to where the could eat the contents and not burn their tongues. Lyn'nice let the pot sit for a few ticks before opening the lid to a blast of steam. Yep, they were ready! Putting the lid back on she carried the pot back to her new found friend. She placed it in the sand and took off the lid. "Here we are! Three crabs for us each, you can eat the seaweed too. I bet I could change things around and maybe make a soup based off this." Lyn'nice mused. Sticking her hand in the pot she pulled out a crab, "Careful they're still a little hot and sure, let's hear a song!" She gave a smile and giggled carefully pulling apart the crab.

[Calters]

Calters plucked a crab from the pot, cracking its tough shell and nibbling on the meat thoughtfully. It was hot, as Lyn'nice had warned, but not hot enough to make him spit it out.

The heat in his mouth was similar to the heat of the sand beneath him and the air beneath his wings. It seemed that these days, everything was stuck at a temperature just warm enough to make anyone uncomfortable. Here by the water, there was at least some cool breezes but it wasn't much.

Calters nodded to the Konti between wiping his brow and blinking his dry eyes. "Sure, I've heard of Alements. Nice place, and good ale I've heard." I could sure use some cold ale right now.

"But I think you might be right. My muse must've dried up in this weather because I haven't thought of anything new in days. All I've got are old ballads that my father taught me. And of course whatever I've written since I've started composing. Admittedly, it isn't much but it keeps me going."

Already feeling his mouth drying out, Calters stopped talking and switched to singing. His voice was slightly scratchy from the lack of water and his notes were a tad more out of tune than normal but all in all, the song wasn't terrible. The Akvatari had always been proud of his music, no matter how it sounded and today was no exception.

He picked a slow ballad about the ocean, singing of how his lover had been lost to it. The song was strange and the lyrics confused Cal as much as they delighted him. It sounded as though it may have been a Svefra tune at one time with it's strong downbeats and fierce voices, but surely a Svefra would not have drowned. Would they?

Regardless of his confusion, Calters sang happily. When he was finished, he smiled at his one-member audience and returned to fiddling with the crab meat. Switching topics, he mused out loud.
"I might have to hit the water again before I head home. It's times like these when I'm glad Riverfall is so wet."

[Lyn'nice]

"If you want I can put in a good word for you to Caelum. Bards are always nice to have for events or even just for a good pick me up." Lyn'nice carefully dissected her crab as she ate. As Calters sang things felt surreal. He had a voice, no question. His song had stopped her eating and she sat there mesmerized. A song of water... His song... Yes, she would speak to Caelum, beg if she had to. Calters was perfect for the Alements. When he finished Lyn'nice couldn't help but clap. "You're very talented! I wish I could sing like that. But I'd be too shy to sing in front of people, I mean I sing to the children at the Sanctuary..." She fiddled with the crab pulling a leg off in the process. Lyn nodded, "The heat is getting pretty bad around here lately. I wish I could just swim here and there. Walking is tiring as it is add this belly and heat.... Urg." She bit into the crab.

[Calters]

A flush rose to his cheeks at her compliment. He turned his head away so she wouldn't see his embarrassment, but he felt he may have been too slow. As vain as he was, the musician never tired of hearing others acknowledge his talent. It was his pride and joy, and for an Akvatari there was no higher compliment.

Again, when her pregnancy became the subject Calters felt a shift in her mood. She spoke more heavily it seemed and she lacked her usual bubbly demeanor. Calters knew it was not his place, so rather than mention anything about it, he moved on.

"Walking is a huge pain for me too. Swimming is great and flying is fantastic but anything in the middle?" Cal shook his head. "Just isn't worth it. Can't say I've ever handled a pregnancy though. I wouldn't know. That might be harder to deal with than a tail!"

Throwing his scraps into the sand, the Akvatari moved to a hover and stretched his wings with a groan. He flexed what little muscle he had before sitting himself back down. As a polite way of asking to leave, Calters offered to help the Konti clean up.

"Do you need help getting this back to...wherever you got it from? I'm sure I could help."