[Patchwork Port] Leaving Illusion Behind

[Ifran]

"Ifran of the House of the North Winds," he said, bowing elegantly. He had been just plain Ifran in Alvadas, or whatever silly stage name Master Fabel had required for whatever production, but now he was heading back toward Ahnatep and the time had come to reclaim the mantle of his nobility, else he might incur the ridicule of his peers. His legs remembered the rock and roll of the sea, and he managed to stay upright without clinging to anything, but he was maintaining a keen awareness of his body and his balance as he watched and listened to everything the Svefra captain said and did, committing it to memory in case he should be asked to help.

[Galys]

Galys' explanations ended abruptly as they broke free from the port and entered the open sea. The seaman stood and stretched before nodding in a sloppy, halfhearted acknowledgement of the bow, “So there’s a title what comes wit’cher name ‘stead o’ surnames? S’pose ‘tis jus’ as good as bein’ a whitecap or a drunktide or what ‘ave ye.” He glanced around and then made his way back to the mast, grunting, “I s’pose we’s far ‘nough out to let Laviku’s Wind have some runnin’ about time ‘f we’re to get there afore we’re old an’ dry,” before unfurling the mainsail inch by inch until it billowed proudly in the wind behind the jib. The shaggy Svenfra allowed himself a glance northward toward the open sea of the Northern Suvan and let his mind wander, skipping off across the waves toward his kin, towards the dolphins and whales and other sea brothers and sea sisters he'd left behind to be a courier before snapping his attention back to affairs of the ship. Galys immediately sat taller and shook his head from side to side, removing his hair from his eyes, "Supposin' ye get hungry, ye're welcome t'take whatever ye need from b'low deck. 'Course, rations're sorta tight, unless ye're fine wit' raw fish."

[Ifran]

"The House of the North Winds is my family," he said simply. "You might prefer the House of the South Winds with their ships or..." He paused thoughtfully. "You might not. They are proud." This was said as if all Eypharians, noble or otherwise, were not proud. But he nodded at the mention of food. "I ate before I came to the harbor. I will not require more for some time, and I can live off of little if our journey requires frugality." With that, his dark blue gaze tugged away to the horizon. They would sail south and into the estuary that led to the outer oceans, but it would be faster to trek overland from Riverfall to Ahnatep rather than sail around the entire region of Eyktol.

[Galys]

"Jus' as well," Galys replied, "Posh men don' do ver'good on water. Too stuck up on theyselves t'change wit' the wind." Galys was watching the wake that Laviku's Wind left behind her, rippling out for a short while before submitting once again to the endless ebb and flow of the sea. That's why the Svenfra had been so successful - that's why he had been so successful, wasn't it? Their willingness to adapt. If one let the sea carry them where they needed to go, they'd get there eventually. If one told the sea where they needed to go and forced their way through, eventually she'd get tired of all of it and suck them down to her icy depths. His stomach growled. "Well, eit'er way then," Galys began toward the ship's cabin, "I'll be havin' meself a bit o' eatin' afores the fresh food goes bad, leaves us wit' nothin' but pickles an' pickle't eggs."

[Ifran]

He did not respond to the jibe about the nobility. Few outside Ahnatep truly understood Eypharian politics and culture, and many within its bounds did not either. If pressed, he might agree that certain tropes of their culture were grasped too tightly, but they were a conservative race trying desperately to maintain some level of luxury on the edge of a dangerous continent that had not yet recovered from old apocalypses, and now they were apparently having more, storms of wild djed from out of the north. "Well," he amended, "I can eat if it means not putting the stores to waste. Will we not fish when we need fresh meat?"

[Galys]

"Oh, aye," Galys was pleased by Ifran's willingness to adapt,"but we don' 'ave anywheres t'cook 'em. Fire's're tricky on the sea an' we don' wan' a fire on ship in the midst'a the Suvan do we?" He still couldn't put his finger on the Eypharian. Was he a noble? He spoke like he might be and had a family name of which he was clearly proud in some capacity, but he seemed to lack the Eypharian snobbery of which he'd heard legends. Indeed, Ifran was actually a fairly pleasant companion as far as Galys could see - though... six arms. It still creeped him out a bit - wouldn't it do the same for anyone? A quick battle raged in his mind on who had more arachnid qualities, the widows or the Eypharian, but it came to a disappointing tie as he entered the darkness below deck and made his way to the hold. It was light enough to see, thanks to the lanterns on the sides of the cabin, but the candles inside flickered and danced, weird shadows danced over the interior of Laviku’s Wind. Galys opened a crate which he had only brought onboard ship that day, full of fruit and salted meats, and snagged a small piece of pork and an apple for himself. He ended up at the table nailed to the floor, sitting on one of the buckets and pulling the half carved wooden block from the inside of his jacket as he ate and began to work it with a knife. The piece of wood was beginning to take the shape of a tiny, brutally (accidentally) maimed Casinor. In particular, his knife trimmed the mast, over and over, taking care not to take too many chunks out of the sail (though this seemed to happen whenever he tried the tricky angles, whether he liked it or not)

[Ifran]

Ifran took an apple too, taking a seat and observing. It was the easiest way to learn, was observing, and he began to hum quietly to himself the song he had written while in Alvadas, The Port of Ahnatep, but only in fits and snatches. It wasn't polite to hum while eating, so he only did so between swallowed bites of fruit. It would be important to maintain as high a level of moisture within his body to prepare for the desiccating winds of Eyktol. And even here on the Sea, one could not drink salt water and survive. He ate everything save the stem. The seeds would not hurt him, and he had learned not to waste. "How will you know if we have gone off course?" he asked.

[Galys]

Several moments of thoughtful silence ensued. Galys then picked up his head and stated flatly and gravely, "Well, we'll prob'ly be crash'd by then. No way t'know 'fwe're off-course 'til we're dead." A handful of seconds later a laugh burst from his chest, "O, Don' worry, 'slong as the right stars is ahead o' us an' th' right stars is behind us, there's no real worry 's far as stayin' on course goes. An' b'fore ye ask," he added, still grinning, "we use the sun durin' the day." He winced and grunted in displeasure as he carved another chunk out of the ...ship? It looked rather more like the bastard child of a horse and a crossbow - petch it! Galys stood and hurled the block of wood over the side of the ship, throwing himself to his feet and grunting, "Goin' ta be right back up, gettin' another piece o' timber out from underdecks."

[Ifran]

Eloquent black eyebrows rose like raven wings at the joke, but when he got the humor, he smiled, white teeth flashing. He should have known better than to ask a Svefra how to navigate the sea; from what he understood, they had salt water in their veins. But it was comforting to think that the stars would guide them at night. He had met the Star Lady, and she had liked him. Her pendant lay upon his chest under the traveling clothes. "Well, that is comforting." He nodded as the man went belowdecks. It was his ship, after all. Ifran did not know the rules of Svefra etiquette. The only time he might have been in a ship this small down in Ahnatep would have been a pleasure barge to seduce someone or other. "Welcome back," he said, when the man returned.

[Galys]

Galys' gloved hand waved the greeting away cheerfully as he plopped down. The Svenfra pulled his knife from its sheathe and began to carve away intensely at the small block of wood, "Ye'll Prob'ly be wantin' to find somethin' to do, aye? 'twill be some time, for sure, before we sight land."

OOC :

Sorry about the short post; I cannot brain right now. Gott' keep things rollin' though~