It was another beautiful day on the shorelines of paradise. Syna’s light was beating sweat off the faces of even those who were well shaded. Her reflection off the sands of Syka was blinding to those who were just greeting the day as Theo was. Theo stepped carefully down the steps of his bungalow, shielding his eyes from the brunt of Syka until he could adjust.
It was the morning, but Syka was already alive. The homey smell of smoked bacon perked Theo’s attention. A neighbour was cooking in a pan held above an open fire a few houses down. Following their lead, Theo circled his way around the coast to The Tidepool Bar he had been hearing about.
Theo listened to his senses as he walked, calming his mind and meditating on his surroundings, trying to tune out the comments of his own mind as best he could. By the bungalows, men were looking over their canoes, sanding off any algae or chips and plugging any would be holes with dried mud. There were children playing in the water, building sand castles, and nagging their mothers around the bay. And greeting the new day was a bandaged and refreshed akalak outside The Panacea, stretching his body and smiling as he embraced the light.
Patrons were rubbing their full stomachs as they exited the tidepool. A man wobbling across the wet wood stumbled into Theo as they passed, spinning off of him and towards the water. The drunk’s head splashed against the water right before Theo grabbed his shirt. ”Help me out.” Theo urged the man’s acquaintances, who rolled their eyes at the proposition. The fire spinner grabbed the man’s left arm with his own, and he squeezed the man’s wrist through his whole arm. ”Plant your feet against the wood,” Theo urged the man. His feet slipped as he tried to place them on the same time, but eventually he got hooked against the dock.
As soon as they were planted, Theo heaved the man up above and onto the dock, losing his balance in the process. Shifting backwards, he let go of the man’s arm and shirt as his feet shifted one at a time on his heels. A few steps and he too was standing at the edge of the deck, wobbling on the arch of his foot. Theo was swinging his arms forward to maintain his balance when one of them was caught and jerked forward. The drunk man had saved him. He looked at Theo with his cool blue eyes and braided goatee and gave a nod.
Inside The Tidepool, Theo found the barman shining his bar. ”Hello!” he called, opening his arms with a huge smile on his face.
”Greetings!” Theo replied with sarcastic enthusiasm. ”Just had to save one of your patrons from taking a swim out there.”
”That’s Marcus. Don’t be to hard on him, his girl was supposed to come ‘cross from Riverfall and she hasn’t turned up.” He said, returning to his bar shining.
”Got no room to judge, I’ve had more than my share to drink more than my share of times.” Theo laughed. ”You should tell him to talk to me about her, I came over on that boat, maybe I’ve seen her around. ‘Name’s Theo.” He extended his hair to the barman.
”And I’m Stu,” the barman said with a smile. He was a young man with wrangled black hair sporting a goatee. His grip was tight but his hands were soft. He came off as a kind man, he hadn’t judged Marcus either. ”What can I do for ya, Theo, a little ale to get that fire cooking?” He said, placing a mug on the counter.
”Sure, but Marcus was all the wakeup I needed, if you catch my drift. What do you got for grub?”
Stu filled the cup from his tap and placed in front of Theo. ”Well,” he began, scratching his head, ”we got some swordfish in yesterday.”
Theo sipped his drink, looking at Stu. He was suddenly nervous, Theo could tell. ”What about pork? I smelt pork when I was out on the walk up.”
Stu laughed. ”Ya got me, I’ve been smoking a pig since it was dark. Honestly, I had planned to keep the last few helpings for myself, but ya helped out Marcus so I’ll help you out too.”
It was good pork. Good at least for what happens when you smoke a whole hog, Stu told him. The barman told Theo that if he had enough time to get the animal butchered, the flavors could permeate the individual cuts better. Theo couldn’t complain about something he hadn’t known, but it made clear just how new Syka still was. Theo thanked Stu and left him money to cover his cost before leaving.
Back in the light, Theo could make out a man puffing on a pipe across towards the shoreline. Theo sniffed twice, and then with a long inhale breathed in the smell. Tobacco. How long it had been since Theo had a good smoke, and Theo knew just who had it.
Theo entered the Mercantile and looked for Captain Chaliva. Instead of noticing The Captain free, he noticed him dealing with another customer. A short brunette with a dolphin tattoo on her shoulder. Chaliva handed her a sword and she tucked it in her trouser leg. She was trying to hide the sword, but why? The Captain seemed to pay no mind to it, or perhaps he was preoccupied by other things and did not notice. Worse yet, she had gripped the sword awkwardly. She was curious.
Chaliva then turned his attention to Theo, and told him in a short manner he wanted a pipe and some tobacco. Rambling something at Theo, he caught no attention from the former squire, his eyes fixated on the girl. He quickly came back with Cyphrian tobacco and a pipe, telling Theo it was a traveler’s pipe and the cost. Without a thought, Theo forked over his forty GM, unintentionally buying the upsell.
The girl went down into the town as Theo received his goods, and Theo followed behind shortly after, keeping a safe distance. The young man hung on the stairway behind her as she lifted her sword from her leg and hung it on her belt. Why was she being so sneaky? Theo went down towards the alley as she turned behind a building towards the beach, and then shuffled his legs quickly to be at the corner of the building. Peaking his head out, he could see her.
The way Theo looked at it, he had some responsibility here. If she was up to no good, someone had to call her for it; if she had no idea what she was doing, Theo had to instruct her in some part. With this in mind, Theo turned his body from behind the building and issued his challenge: ”You, girl! What’re you doing with that blade?” Theo had his hand on the handle of the sword thrown across his back, ready to send it whistling from the scabbard at the first sign of danger.
Word Count = 5594+1225=6819/50000
by Sara on August 8th, 2017, 3:03 am 
