Solo Going down the only road I've ever known

[Finn Reefdiver]

15th Spring 519

Finn sat on the deck and leaned against the mast as he practiced knot tying while he waited for Syna to start her ascent into the sky. It took him way too long to tie knots and if he ever wanted to sail better he would definitely need to be able to tie these quickly and on the first try. For now he used a five foot length of rope he had cut off to practice with as he sat waiting and practised one knot after another knot while his tavan, Camira, slept quietly and comfortably next to his left hip as he easily blocked the morning breeze off the large bird. His fishing net lay on the deck near the back of the casinor so he could grab it before he dropped into the water.

He figured, or maybe it was that he hoped, regardless he expected a good time to fish would be as Syna awoke for the day so he was prepared for the smaller fish to come inwards to feed themselves and also where he would be waiting to net them. When he had arrived he had anchored out a little further out over his normal positioning to give himself some extra room but he had also taken a couple of buckets ashore already to be set up for collecting his fishing haul. It had taken him a bell or two to find his net the night before. The cabin had become quite messy over the last while so he was forced to organize a bit of his mess. As he searched he put things away as best he could, at least until he found all of his fishing supplies and had set them into a corner for easier access when he needed.

Once found, he saw that the net was definitely in need a little care and maintenance due to several holes that had opened at some time or another. So he hauled it out onto the beach so he could unfurl it full size and check it out completely it would not do to have the fish swimming out holes as he tried to catch them. Once open he went around to the various holes that he could see or find and re-tied the ends together to make it whole again, but he was forced to tie in a couple of new pieces of cords into a spots that had a larger hole in it although he could not remember where it came from.

As he looked up he realized that Syna was getting closer as the sky was lightening quickly now. Camira protested loudly as he gently pushed her off of him so he could rise and move. “I’m sorry but I need to fish and you will like it plenty enough once I start sorting good and bad fish.” But she only proceeded to give him a baleful look as she waddled away to sit in new location while Finn made his way aft where he stepped out of his sandals and stripped off his shirt. He threw the net over the railing before he bent to grab the edge of the ship as he dropped down into the water himself.. Once armed only with his net and one of his throwing knives in his belt, he turned and started to trudge toward the shore. His first fishing excursion for Syka started as he hoped he was up for the challenge himself.

As he waded towards shore preoccupied with the thoughts of feeding Syka, he opened his mind to all of the sea life around him in the ocean. Almost immediately his gnosis activated and he started to sense all the vast life that was around him, it came slowly at first before the tidal wave of life crashed onto his conscious. The immensity and intensity of it caused him to drop to a knee and all but retch on the spot. “Shyke!” was the only thing he could utter as he stood there in the water for several chimes as he collected himself from his careless use of the gift. The feelings initially completely overwhelmed his senses but started to dissipate just as quickly once he stopped although it still took another couple of chimes before he felt like he could move without falling over into the water.

[Finn Reefdiver]

After he could stand again he set his right hand over the Oceanus mark on his shoulder as he mumbled “My own ignorance will be my undoing one of these days”. He knew it was true but rarely was careful enough and he had wanted to find out where the fish were moving in at but knew that he wouldn’t be able to for some time now as he recuperated from that unfortunately timed mistake, So for now he only had his experience and knowledge to rely on. So he continued on up close to shore moving a bit slower now as the tide gently lapped at his thighs as a gentle reminder of what he now missed.

He tossed the net towards the shore as he slowly stepped around it as he pulled the edges out to make it fully open on the beach. Once it was fully enlarged he started to pull and wrap the net up to hold and then eventually for his throw. With the pull line set between his teeth so he could grab easily when needed and the net wrapped and strung between his arms, Finn started wading through the water slowly as he searched for any fish to catch. He walked carefully and slowly so he could see a school before he disturbed or scared them away from him as he fought to keep Syna out of his eyes so he could see.

Chimes passed as he slowly waded his way up the shoreline until he spotted dark shapes that moved in the water. Finn instantly stopped and twisted his body as he waited for the water to clear from his footsteps and to calm. As soon as it cleared with the fish undisturbed, he untwisted his body and threw the net away from him. As the net swirled away, the throw was off and didn’t fully open as he had expected it to however it opened enough that he let it slowly sink into the depths. Once the net sunk over the school of fish, Finn quickly pulled the net closed and then to himself as he returned to shore to check what he caught. He could feel several fish struggled in the net but not much else until he could look much more closely on the shore.

Camira must of watched him and as he threw the net, the bird launched off his deck in a flutter of wings before she soared over his head, her cries seemed to mock him as he fished which made him wonder if he actually caught anything or far more likely what he didn’t catch unless the bird made fun of the bad throw he had just made. “Petching net, don’t worry I will get the hang of using it again quickly enough!” he shouted back as the bird slowly circled around him, she used the air currents to lift and suspend her as she watched everything he did with the carefully trained eyes that waited for a breakfast to come her way.

[Finn Reefdiver]

Once he opened the net he found that most of the fish were far too small to take back to Syka, Camira screeched her lofty laugh down upon him as she continued to watch over him and his work. He sorted through the net and only tossed a couple of the largest fish into one of his buckets, he tossed one of the remaining fish above him at the bird that had been patiently waiting. She quickly dove and expertly plucked the fish from mid air to swallow it in a single gulp. The bird’s constant cries above him started to annoy him along with the fact that his first attempt failed so badly which caused his mood to quickly spiral unexpectedly. “Why don’t you go find your own breakfast instead of complaining about it to me then!”

The bird cried once in retaliation to his comment before she sailed into the breeze that lifted her up and away so she continue her own hunt down the beach, she sailed offshore for a ways before she swooped inward gain in ever increasing circles as she hunted for fish. Finn finished sorting his own net in short order as she sailed away, the quiet allowed him a chance to focus on his own work and actually make his first trip into a success.

He travelled a short distance down the beach before he set the equipment down and returned to the water with net at the ready. Again he waded out slowly as he attempted to not disturb the sand at his feet. As the brisk water reached his abdomen he finally thought he saw something. He twisted his entire body down to the sides and around to his left until his arms were almost around his back. Only then did he release his body to twirl in one fluid motion around to the front, his arms flew forward as he released the net from his grasp. The net slightly twirled much better as it flew away from him, however he caught the edge of the net on his one hand which allowed an edge to not fly correctly and it bunched up at that spot as it splashed into the water.

The net still sank just fine as Finn waited to pull in the catch for a single chime, or maybe two at the most. The fish under the net started to jump and dart as best they could. This haul had definitely turned out to be much better than the first one it would seem. Once the net was tightened up, he turned and trudged up onto the sand with the netted fish which he immediately pulled up to the buckets to sort. The catch was indeed better with a half dozen or so fish that all went into the his containers and the rest was quickly tossed back into the sea to swim away again safe for another day. This fishing proved to take much longer than he had anticipated earlier however he had no intentions of stopping because of it.

[Finn Reefdiver]

He unfurled and collected the net again as he watched Camira circle closer and closer to him until she was nearly on top of his head, he rarely understood what the bird did or why but he also loved her company so he was glad she had returned quickly. “Did you get lonely already, dear?” He asked of her with a grin as she landed some distance away from him as if she was giving him room to fish while she floated in the water contently. He continued in her general direction as he prepared for another throw of his net. He gave his hand a little extra room on the edge so he wouldn’t hit it again and make it bunch up. Rather he hoped to get the hang of it rather soon.

Again he bunched up right before he sent the net flying outwards, this time he was rewarded with a nice even net on the way out. It sank quickly enough as he pulled on the rope to close the bottom of the net. He could feel more fish in the net this time as he struggled a little to pull it in and the fish unsuccessfully tried to jump out of the net as he pulled it to himself. Once close enough he pulled the end of the net over his shoulder and headed for the beach in front of him. He could feel he had a full catch on his back finally which was what he had been waiting and hoping for.

When he finally reached the beach, Camira had followed him closely and stood slightly inland from him but carefully well out of the way of the net. The net was filled with good sized fish that he hoped and expected would please the cooks at Syka, which was something else he thought he should learn eventually. For the moment he hoped he could get away with eating at the commons but eventually he figured that wouldn’t be acceptable and he would be forced to do something else. He opened the net and quickly started to pull fish from it to be set inside his buckets. Catches like this would make quick work of what he needed to supply and leave him with an afternoon to spare. His buckets filled quickly along with cheering his mood back to normal but Camira eyed the overflowing buckets of flopping fish hungrily and he saw her anticipation of his leaving them sitting there.

“Didn’t get your fill of them yet? Or did you leave them for me to catch for YOU?” He asked the bird with a big grin as he pulled one of the smaller fish and sent it gently in her direction where it flopped onto the beach in front of her. She made quick work of that fish and the second one he sent towards her shortly after, as he knew that leaving the hungry bird too near his work could be costly in one way or another not that he ever minded sharing his catch with her and she usually expected it. Of course Camira was very appreciative of the meal before he held the last one up in the air for her. Finn lobed it in an arc over her as she jumped up into the air to catch the offered fish. “Now off with you until I get my work done, dear!” Although she took flight and soared well above him, he didn’t doubt that she would soon find herself a comfortable spot on the casinor for at least a short nap and digest her meal in Syna’s warmth.

[Finn Reefdiver]

Fishing wasn’t a glorious job to be sure, nor did he think it normally smelled good either but it gave him purpose to stay around in Syka. He continued to empty the net onto the beach as he sorted the best fish for Syka. Only the largest, cleanest, and best looking fish did he even think about keeping, everything else was picked up and tossed back into the sea as quickly as possible to protect the bounty of oceans. He had no problem helping feed his pod, or Syka in this case, but he simply refused to needlessly squander the life the seas so willingly gave for their nourishment.

He trekked back and forth from the ship to the shore as he hauled the fish from the beach and onto his casinor after he caught it but quickly decided that he should of simply fished off his own ship to make the work slightly easier. Sorting would of been easier as would of the carrying of the fish back to the ship, it showed him that he still had a lot more he could learn about fishing event though he considered himself a good fisherman. Next time he would try just that to see if it worked out better for him, if it could save him time and still accomplish his goal then it would be a good thing.

Once the fish were stowed for the trip, he cast the net several times into the sea before he pulled it right back in as he wanted it to be clean. He then folded it as best as he could for storage below deck along with the rest of his gear. He then dove headfirst off the bow of the ship and swam towards shore where he used a little of the fine white sand to scrub the sweat and grime off him, especially off of his hands. He nor his ship had any need to smell like fish anymore then the little they normally did. Clean and cool, he climbed back onto his ship were he could see the tide had shifted out and that would make the return to Syka that much easier on him.

Finn went back to the bow and liften and pulled on the anchor line until it was right under him, the muscles in his back scolded him all the while as he pried the anchor out of the sand. Once off the seafloor, the waves quickly cleaned any sand off of it while the ship slowly drifted away from shore. He hefted the anchor back aboard one hand over the other until he pulled it into the cradle to be roped off securely on its cleat.

His little casinor drifted out to sea slowly as he prepared for the return trip to Syka, he had wanted to be away from Syka in case of problems or trouble fishing. The young svefra hoped to make a good impression on Syka, nothing more.

[Orakan]

Finn

Skills

● Logic - 2XP
● Planning - 1XP
● Organisation - 2XP
● Cleaning - 1XP
● Observation - 4XP
● Socialisation - 4XP
● Bodybuilding - 3XP
● Fishing - 3XP
● Stealth - 1XP
● Rhetoric - 1XP
● Tactics - 1XP
● Swimming - 1XP
● Cosmetology - 1XP

Lores
● Sailing: The importance of tying quick and solid knots
● Fishing: Fishing nets do no good if they are damaged or full of holes
● Cleaning: Organise items as you go
● Bodybuilding: Pushing through the resistance of the ocean
● Oceanus: Using the gnosis can be overwhelming
● Fishing: Using Oceanus to track nearby fish
● Stealth: Using slow, careful movements in water to not scare away fish
● Fishing: Using your whole upper body to throw a net so it fully opens and spins
● Syka: Must provide for and contribute to the settlement
● Organisation: Sorting fish to keep from fish to toss back
● Bodybuilding: Pulling in a full net of fish
● Fishing: Fishing with a net yields more fish in less time
● Camira: Satisfy your tavan's needs so she doesn't try and steal your catch
● Fishing: Important to do so in a sustainable fashion
● Cosmetology: Using sand and salt water to scrub yourself clean
● Bodybuilding: Hauling up an anchor

Misc/Penalities/Loot

+ 2 nearly full buckets of small to medium sized shorefish

Please add the buckets mentioned in thread to your possessions list and deduct the necessary costs (Bucket, 2-Gallon = 5 sm -- alternatively, a pail, gallon = 2 sm)

Comments

I love the interaction between Finn and his cheeky tavan as well as how you always manage to make a character feel so real with quirks and habits and imperfections. A bit of grammar stuff but still a very fun read!

Sorry you had to wait so long for it I'm feeling a bit rusty when it comes to grading so do let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding what I've given here and don't forget to delete/edit your request in the grading queue.