Open A Proper Mercantile Visit

[Mercer Stormhand]

5th of Fall, 516 AV
Late Afternoon

Stormhand used his tongue to suck his teeth thoughtfully as he deployed the anchor, before peering starboard towards shore. From where he was, he could see a decent amount of people walking about and doing what normal, non-
Svefra people did; most of his own kin would be out at sea, as he was right now. At least, he was going to be for a little while longer; he had to check the Syka Mercantile.

He took a moment to release tension from the halyards, or lines, that held the sails to The Whore's Coin up. Mercer knew that his time actively sailing was finished for the day, so he felt he might as well secure the mainsail and jib. Bright blue eyes watched the sails lowering intently, before a small, humming tune came from his lips as he began the process of securing his sails.

----- A half bell later

Wading up and onto the shore, water falling in rivulets down his bared form, Mercer ran a finger through his hair, looking around. His somewhat blind swim had altered his course, so he was a bit lost, if only for a second. A quick yet slow sweep of the land allowed him to locate his target, and he nodded to himself. Kneeling down to the sand, he used his hands to scoop up water to his lips, drinking deeply after the decent exercise. It was as if the salt in the water didn't exist; the power of his Oceanus (which currently made it's appearance on the left side of his torso) turned the salt water into fresh as it ran past his lips, possibly the best tasting water in the world. To him, anyway.

He took a second to move farther onto shore and extract his slightly wet clothing from the pack, pulling it on; he wasn't totally sure what was expected here in terms of wearing clothing and such, so he went the safer route.

Slinging it back over his shoulder, he slowly trudged up to the Mercantile, attempting (and failing miserably) to whistle a jaunty tune.

[Linie Moonreef]

¤

Linie was posted up in front of the Mercantile without Buckeye today. She decided to leave him behind to do some fishing on his own and felt kind of free. No moaning, no griping. And today had been a day full of it, today he had decided to start in on her about buying a bigger boat. As if they had the coin. She had met with James just yesterday, after some searching to find him, and had gotten her wages as a fisherman supplying the Mercantile. While the wages were good enough to pay for both she and Buckeye to live, and save as well, it would still take a long time to get enough money in order to buy a new boat. Buckeye knew this, it's why he was complaining. Something told her this was just the way he worried about things, that it showed he cares, but still she was glad to be rid of him all the same. She would return tonight to some fish, maybe some passion fruit, and a couple bananas. And lots of love.

She was thinking about this love and tooting some notes on her flute. It was a double flute, capable of being played like a traditional penny whistle out of the one side with the most holes. Then the side with only three holes could be played along with it when you wanted a more exotic sound and accompaniment. This is what she played as she played the lullaby, both sides. It was a song from her childhood, one she knew well. She sat on the steps of the Mercantile lost in her music, trying to add her own flair to it but failing in some aspects. Still the song sounded as it would to anyone that would hear it, it was just clear it was coming from a novice.

Linie noticed the man coming towards the Mercantile and noted him as a Svefra, though what pod she was unsure. She nodded to him as she played but continued on, not wanting to miss the end of the song. As he was right upon her the song was finished and she put the flute down, looking at him and thinking of what to say. Even with her brief stay here at Syka she knew that not many people resided here.
"Ahoy, brother."
It was best to be friendly, especially when there weren't many people to be friendly to. She did, after all, want a good standing in the settlement.

[Alyria Riptide]

Alyria sat under the shade of a large coconut palm, her mind a million miles away as she worked through her fishing net, finding holes and repairing them with deft delicate hands. She had set herself up beside the Mercantile rather than her casinor, knowing then that if she needed more twine it was merely a couple of yards away.

Back resting against the woody trunk, she hummed softly as she laced, a tune she'd picked up back home that sounded somewhat pretty...except when you added the words it was more..crude. Probably more of a sailors sea shanty than a ballad.

"Who's that knocking at my door said the fair young maiden.." The young blonde mumbled quietly between hums, putting the large blunt needle she was using to lace in the corner of her mouth as she tied off another hole.

"It's only me from over the sea...open the door you dirty wh-" Alyria stopped herself with a laugh, realising what she was singing.

Definitely not a ballad.

Putting the net aside, the svefra born fisherwoman stood and stretched her back. It had been midday when she started, and time had just run away with her. Moving away from her work, Alyria noticed a woman playing a flute on the steps of the Mercantile. It was a much prettier tune than the one she'd been absorbed in. Moving away the establishment, the blonde reached the waterline and pulled her purple scarf out of her hair, dropping it on the sand. She was still dressed in her usual swimming attire, tunic dress left on the boat. It was just to hot to bother most days.

Wading into the ocean, she ducked under and allowed the cool water to wash away the sweat of the day and the soreness in her back, eyes open and cautious. The recent shark encounter had left her a little more careful around the coast of Syka.

Breaking the blue surface, she swam back to shore, pushing water off her arms and legs before picking up her scarf and using it to hold her wet locks out of her face in a makeshift headband. Strolling back up to the Mercantile, she noticed the flutist call out to someone. Turning her gaze slightly, she noticed a man coming up to the stilted building. She moved to her tree and began to pack up her netting, humming to herself again.

[Mercer Stormhand]

The sounds of an old, popular, and quite welcome childhood melody greeted his ears as he sauntered closer to the Mercantile, growing louder with every second. The song took him back to a time where he was surrounded by nothing but family and open sea; he could nearly hear the benevolent laughs of the dolphins, the wild screams of children at play, the booming laughs of the men father sailed with and the singing and laughing of the women mother sailed with.

It left him with a pep in his step, no doubt. His fair-skinned visage was split with a happy smile, crows feet near his eyes denoting the genuineness of his grin. To be entirely truthful, the song came from someone not all that experienced with a - what was it, a flute? But either way, he loved and relished the fact that someone was playing it. He guessed a fellow Svefra, hopefully; he wasn't aware of it being heard anywhere other than Svefra ships.

Mercer was glad it was near the Mercantile, the origins of the melody; he didn't have to deviate from his path too much to quell the curiosity that had sprung up. It was coming from a young girl with the bright blue eyes of a Svefra, though not only Svefra had blue eyes; she was also dressed as one.

She finished just as he came upon her, and he returned her nod with his own. "Ahoy. Nice playing you were doing there, you've been at it long?" He asked, motioning to the instrument with a wave of his hand.

It was around then that he noticed the other female coming up the beach at the corner of his eye; she was dressed as many Svefran women do while they swam and kept modest, and he couldn't help but mark her eyes even from this distance; as beautiful a blue as the ocean, marked by Laviku..... Though, she lacked the true Mark of Laviku on her body that adorned all Svefra, the one adorning his own body.

Nevertheless, she'd caught his eye and he gave her a wave, but whether she saw it or not, he didn't know; he merely turned back to the flute-playing woman as he awaited the answer to his question.

[Nacira]

xx

Nacira Whiterapid

Nacira had not been in Syka long. She had only arrived a day ago in the early evening and had spent much of her time on her boat making sure none of her stores had gone bad. But by now, judging by the height of Syna in the sky, she guessed it was the afternoon and that she had slept in long enough. There was no booze on board anyways, which was a good a reason as any to jump off the side of the ship and swim the scant distance from her Casinor to the sandy beach.

Once she landed her feet on the warm sand she began to wring her hair out of the salt water. It was hardly bothersome, but she assumed most people did not like having wet Svefra stomp into their shops and get sand and seawater everywhere. She dug her bare toes into the sand as she tried to wring out her shirt as well, pulling it off briefly until it was dry enough and then slipped it back on. She had left her boots back on the Casinor, swimming with them was terrible and why bother bringing them ashore if all she planned to do was hang out in the sand and maybe visit the shop anyways?

Despite being well prepared (or so she liked to believe) she figured now was as good as any to give the only real shop on the island a visit. She had not really met any of the settlers yet, but figured as the Mercantile was the single place with any supplies it was likely to have a few people either near by or poking around inside. Either way, she might see a bauble or two that aught her eye and maybe meet a few of the people here. The part of her that longed for interaction with others was pretty desperate by now, she had been sort of isolating herself in recent times and the thought of even just people watching was very enticing.

As she moved closer she began to see people moving about-- not many, but enough. Not to mention there seemed to be a few melodious tones coming from her destination. Nacira quietly made her way closer, spotting the peoples she assumed were the cause of the noise and was sort of glad to see they looked to be Svefra, her own kin. It seemed less terrifying to speak with some of her own than to deal with those who had misconceptions of her ilk. It should not have surprised her though, it was hard to throw a rock in the Suvan without hitting at least one Casinor let alone a Pod of Svefra, so finding a couple in this new Island settlement seemed fitting.

As she grew closer she realized there were three of them, two definitely had the mark of Laviku, blue eyes, Oceanus, the works. The third, well she saw the clothing style and the hair, and her eyes appeared blue, but as far as a quick glance let her know, no Oceanus, so either a Svefra with a mark that was hiding, or not a Svefra at all, but judging by her attire, chances were she was at least familiar with Svefra so Nacira did not feel too uncomfortable. For now she just made her slow way towards the shop, as she moved closer their words were easier to decipher. Seemed the man was asking the seated woman about her flute. For now she was content just eavesdropping and watching.

----
"fratava" | "common" | "others"

xx

[Linie Moonreef]

¤

OOC: Sorry for the long wait, had to get my CS approved.

He was attractive, sure, for an older man. As he approached she noted the crows feet beside his eyes. A sign of a smiling, happy individual. She couldn't be sure what he would be like; if she was right and he was a Svefra, as she usually guessed by one with blue eyes and a swagger of a walk, then they would have much in common. It was possible she was wrong, that he was just a human with blue eyes but as a Svefra she could usually pick out one of her kind with a few discerning qualities. The particular blue that her kind was blessed with was a big tell, as was their mark-- the mark of Laviku.

This is what she showed off, as he spoke. It was on her right forearm right now, swirling like a storm. She made sure it was in plain sight.
"Nay, not long, I hardly play. Though I prolly should do so more. Say when were you marked? I was marked when I was two years old. A little late, but my mother always said he was takin' his time with me because he saw my potential and he wanted me to remember. Funny thing is I don't remember it, but my mother does...."
She then realised she was talking a bit too much. Nervous habit.
"I guess what I'm asking, you be a Svefra right? It would be nice to be havin' another friendly face on the settlement."

She noticed the other two women. The one who had been sitting not far away from her under a tree messing with a net. She was also dressed a Svefra, which was interesting. Maybe there were more than one would think here. The other woman she wasn't sure about, she was pretty-- beautiful in fact. But was she a Svefra? It wasn't until she came up closer to them as Linie was speaking that she saw the blue eyes. Surely they couldn't ALL be Svefra here. Could they?

[Alyria Riptide]

Alyria noticed the wave from the man as she folded the netting up and around the very instruments used to repair it. She offered up a small wave of acknowledgment of her own, noticing the dark marks of ink on his wrists disappearing under his shirt. Tattoo? Gnosis? It was impossible to determine from here.

Once her netting was bundled together, she tied everything with her leather belt and slung the makeshift strap over her shoulder. Moving closer, she studied them both. He was tall, with dirty blonde hair and chiseled features. As the blonde made her appraisal it was quickly clear with his crisp blue eyes and seafaring attire that the man was Svefra. Alyria felt her grin broaden, even if her belly did a little flip. Meeting other svefra left her with a sense of both pleasure and concern.

The woman was younger than she by the looks of it, with brown hair that fell in waves and delicate features. As she approached the duo, Alyria heard the woman speak, now clearly able to see the gnosis swirling on her arm. Another svefra? The young fisherwoman glanced between the two. Podmates? No, no. The two were clearly strangers, their body language was that of greeting a newcomer not a close friend or family. Swallowing, she nodded to the flutist as she arrived at the stairs.

"I hope you both forgive the intrusion, but I couldn't help hear you from where I was." Offering the woman a wry smile, she raised an eyebrow.

"He's right, y'play beautifully. True svefra flavour if ever I heard it." Pausing, she glanced up as another woman approached. Youngest by far, it would appear, with beautiful dark hair and a smattering of freckles that framed bright blue eyes.

Ok. Now she was suspicious. This definitely had to be a Pod.

The blonde laughed and pointed at all three with a slight tilt of the head.

"Are you all...together?" She said, unable to contain her curiosity.