Closed One Fish Too Many [Moxie]

[Kai']

42 nd Day of Summer 515 av
The Great Harbour
Very Early Afternoon

　

　　Despite Syna's gleam growing brighter and hotter as the morning wore on to afternoon, the young Svefra lazily swung in his hammock nestled high within the rigging of The Puer Lavinium. Sunburnt, exhausted, the man had only just returned the night before from the Mithryn fields from a few days of labouring away in the unforgiving summer heat. His skin afire, the young Svefra sat in nothing but his simple navy pants, allowing the cooling breeze to ease his burnt flesh. He had been looking forward to finally returning home his whole trip. The thought of sleeping in his own bed, with the gentle rock of his ship had been dashed however by the radiating heat and red itchiness of his arms, face and shoulders. Next to no sleep was gained last night, not a wink.
　　Today was a day of rest and the young Svefra was reveling in the cosy confines of his hammock, his quill scratching away as he wrote a well needed letter home. His heart aching at the absence of family, though the presence of his best friend and Tavan Companion Lexa was a comfort he could never express in words. How he missed her also, for he had not seen her since returning from the fields. The young man's deep sapphire gaze continuously glancing away from his inked words to the gently lapping waves of the Suvan, scanning the surrounding sea around the Great Harbour for any signs of his beloved companion. Though she had not come to him yet. He was growing worried, but knew she could look after herself and was probably out playing with the schools of strykers, over indulging herself as always.
　　Almost as if she had heard his concerned thoughts, Lexa's distinctive bark tickled the young Svefra's ears. Flipping his notebook closed, Kai instantly leapt from his swinging hammock. Grasping onto a secure rope attached to his mast, the young Svefra slid down onto his deck and dashed to the port aft of his small Casinor. His chest aflutter with excitement of laying his gaze upon his best friend. The young male's hopes were shattered however when he saw not the lively, joyful and spry sea-lion he had grown up with. No, what he saw in the undulating waves was perhaps one of his greatest fears in life.
　　Lop-sided, the young teenage sea critter groaned painfully as she floated among the waves. The current of the Suvan bashing her from side to side as the water followed the motions of the tide. Lexa's usual widely curious gaze, was nothing but droopy black wells as her face contorted in pain. The young Svefra's eyes began to cloud with the beginnings of tears at seeing his best friend in such a state. Kai's heart sunk with the weight of dread as his chest heaved with the growing knot of panic in his gut, his rough sea voice broken "Lexa! Lexa what's wrong? Are you hurt? What's the matter girl? Lexa?! Talk to me girl"
　　The man's worried plea was merely responded to with a gurgled cry, muffled by the noises of the Harbour. Kai's mind was a flurry as his thoughts ran in every direction. He was not an animal doctor, if there was something wrong with Lexa he had no idea how to help her. Restraining his fleeting mind from cascading down the road of panic and fly-away emotion, Kai reminded himself that Lexa was in need of a solution - and fast.
　　If he was no doctor, he simply had to find someone who was, in a city as large as Syliras how hard could it be? "Wait right there Lexa! Don't move!" Tearing himself away from the sight of his Tavan Companion contorting in pain among the waves, the young Svefra raced into his cabin. Swiftly pulling on his boots, the man didn't even bother to spend the time tying the laces, nor did he bother grabbing a shirt. He bolted from his cabin and raced to the side of his ship, his heart hammering in his chest as he feared that in the time it had taken him to collect his boots, that the worst could have happened to Lexa. He almost sighed in relief when she was still there - almost.
　　The teenage sea-lion struggling to raise her fin towards him when she saw him, the young Svefra smiled as best he could to reassure her, pointing with his finger to the small beach that had formed underneath the base of the main pier of the Great Harbour as the tide went out, "See that? Swim towards it Lexa, go on. I'll meet you there, wait for me. I'm going to get you help alright? I'll be right back! I won't let anything happen to you Lexa... I promise, you're going to be ok." Almost as if she had understood his words, the young Sea-lion croaked her response, her whiskered nose twitching in the way that Kai knew was her attempt at a smile back. As Lexa dipped back under the lid of the Suvan sea, Kai immediately exploded across the deck of his small casinor. Leaping over the side of The Puer Lavinium, the moment his boots hit the planks, Kai thundered across the wooden pier as fast as his sea-legs would carry him.


　　Racing towards town, the young Svefra cried out for help as he went, "Help! I need an animal doctor! Anyone? Please I need an animal doctor!" But a sight the young Svefra was. Imploring for help in broken common, wearing nothing but a pair of navy pants, sunburnt shoulders, arms and face. Kai wasn't surprised when passersby turned away from his pleading gaze. Desperate, for fear that Lexa's time was short Kai even began resorting to approaching every person he saw, attempting to stop them and somehow force them to help him. Alas it was fruitless. The people of Syliras were turning away from him. As he sprinted away from the docks and took the main road into the city, yelling for an animal doctor as he went, people even began to cross the street away from him - thinking he was a man gone mad in the summer's heat.
　　Out of breath, exasperated from panic, fear - the run - the young Svefra couldn't help but begin the fall down the spiral of terror as the images of Lexa, dying, ran before his mind's eye. Stumbling to a stop Kai ran both hands through his coarse, sea-crusted, shortly cropped locks. Refusing to return to Lexa's side without aid, the young Svefra channelled his fear, his despair into a booming roar, "IS ANYONE AN ANIMAL DOCTOR?! I NEED AN ANIMAL DOCTOR! SOMEONE PLEASE... help me" The man's voice was broken as tears formed on the brims of his oceanus gaze. What would he do if no one was to help him? What could he possibly do?

　

[Moxie]

Moxie was going about her day with a bright smile upon her face, as she walked the streets of Syliras. This season had brought many good things her way, she could not help but smile brightly. She rolled the sleeves up of her white cotton shirt as she walked, the summer heat was being exceptionally cruel to the Konti it seemed, but no matter it did not ruin her joyful mood. She gave passerby a bright smile as she walked along the street, some smiled back while other's looked the other way. She shrugged her small shoulders, as a pleasant breeze brushed her moist face, making her sigh in delight.

Her pleasant thoughts were interrupted how ever by the yelling of a man. Moxie frowned a bit as she rounded a corner and saw a man panicking asking for assistance, for an animal doctor. The Konti aspired to be just that, though she was not very knowledgeable of such things she had one day hoped to have a career tending animals who were sick. She glanced at the man, noticing he was running around in just a pair of navy pants, that appeared to have seen better days as they were thin. His short chocolate hair looked as if it also had seen better days, and his skin was red from a sunburn that needed tending. She walked closer to the man, now only a few feet as he let out a booming yell for help, that broke into what appeared to be a sob.

The Konti's heart sunk at the sight of the man, he was rugged and had a stern face, but the stern features now looked so forlorn and beaten. He was quite large too, he appeared to be so much taller and bigger then the short and petite woman that she was almost too afraid to approach him, he may be mad and dangerous. But the look of sadness made her think otherwise, he did seem desperate for help of some kind. She inhaled a deep breath and prepared herself for the approach of him, hoping he would not harm her but she knew she had to at least try to help even if she could not offer much, it was one of her flaws in a way. Always kind and helpful to others, whenever she could be.

She hesitantly approached the man, she was not that great at common as she spoke, her Konti accent laced over the words, "E-excuse me.. She said faintly, as she now stood before the man, "I try..to help..if I can." She said in a hesitant tone, hoping he would not then lash out at her like a wild man. Moxie knew the nights would however help her if he did so, but she still did not like confrontation as it made her ill and sick to her stomach, "Take me to..the animal." She said shyly, a light blush lighting her cheeks as she held out her hand so the man could lead her to the poor animal that needed help, or her demise. She hoped the latter was not true as she waited for the rugged looking man to grasp her hand.