Odd things on the horizon (Umen'thia)

[Drakn]

The third of summer, 512 AV

Drakn had started this day just as he did most days, he said a quiet prayer to the Laviku, asking for a good day and for blessings upon what he did. After brekfast he pulled anchor and set sail for his favorite fishing spot, a place his father had taught him about when he was a boy.

The sea was very calm that morning, some would take that as a bad sign, others a good one. The sky was clear and blue not a cloud in sight, this caused the sea-water to become very warm and Drakn found it nearly impossible to pass up. He flopped backwards, looking as if it were an accident, and began to swim in the water. Wearing nothing but his short pants he swam all around his boat, he enjoyed the cooling of the sea to the fullest extent.

He floated along with his boat for the majority of the morning and into the afternoon, until he had found a decent sized school of fish. He climbed back into his boat and got his net ready, then he lowered his sail, which brought the ship to a slow stop. He had the chance to throw his net once and bring it back up once before he saw it. As he brought the net up he saw two things, first was a several small fish and a couple medium sized fish, and second an odd looking creature to the port.

Drakn had never seen the likes of it before and could only describe it as a large jelly fish looking thing. Though as it got closer he could tell it was something differnt all together, though what he still had no idea. Being the carefree young man he was Drakn drew closer as to see what it was.

[Umen'thia]

Umen’thia was observing the man while he undressed. Silly land dwellers – getting naked seemed to be their answer to every situation. Somehow the girl was curious would the young Svefra be so bold had he known there was an audience. Reaching out one of her ends, it quickly started reforming into an arm, yet before she could snap at the man’s leg – he did the unthinkable! How could he climb back up? They haven’t played yet! Did he have something against her? Umen’thia really wanted to dance… yes, they would dance. Just how should she approach the ship as to freak him out? The land dweller deserved it – boring creature! As she floated just below the surface, her incessant growling was contained by the water. The man wouldn’t hear it, but a small nearby school of fish seemed entertained enough to pull closer. And it all happened just in time for this lone sailor to drop a net over all of them. Silly, silly, silly land dweller – He had just given her a way to board his ship. She hated those wooden water horses, yet she understood not everyone could swim. Only those who loved Laviku enough ever learned. And those He loved enough never had to – she thought of herself here of course. Swimming to an Otani was pretty much what walking those boring planky floors was for a sailor – it was too mundane to be considered serious. Besides, it was nice to feel His touch all over her body – it showed her better just how close they were. Where was she? Ah yes, the silly creature had started to pull the net up. No self respecting Otani could ever be caught by means so primitive. Yet she allowed this creature of Semele to pull her up. Sure the Svefra were her father’s people, she just never saw them like that – not those that appeared so ignorant anyway. Transforming in what seemed a mere second, she would go from a seamless blob to a full grown girl – and a tall one at that. She couldn’t fool anyone, she knew. But it gave her some comfort to look like the one she was conversing with. Even though they didn’t look at all alike, she found those pesky land legs to be humility enough for the moment. Besides they were best utilized when one needed to walk out of water. What the silly man couldn’t see however were a couple of tentacles growing from her back. Before he could pull out, she would swing one of them from the net and to his leaned forward neck. He might’ve caught her, but now she had him. Losing interest for a moment, she wouldn’t set her grip too tight, just tight enough for the man to be immobilized. Fish! It had been ages since she ate, she remembered finally. Digging her teeth into the small animal, she would smile and talk at the same time. It was hard to do with her mouth full, but she had perfected that one over time. Besides full mouths made the funniest noises – and with that in mind she would speak before she swallowed too. “P’ll m’ up.. ‘r I p’ll yu d’wn” gnawing on what was left of the bite, she would never lose sight of the man. It wasn’t her intention to scare him away just yet. That’s why her awesome tentacle held him in place. She talked to him in Fratava – hopefully he wouldn’t be dimwitted and he’d understand. Where was she? Ah, yes – the fish. Going back to chewing, she’d try and inspect the man, but at first sight she couldn’t find anything particularly interesting.

[Drakn]

As Drakn worked his net and drew closer to the strange creature something even stranger happened before his eyes. It morphed into what looked like a girl a translucent girl. At first he thought that he had lost his mind and maybe suffering from some sort of insanity. This thought however passed as he shook his head as if to snap himself to reality, no it was real indeed.

He had gotten to close and as a result a tenticle took hold of him, at first he thought he would have to fight the crature but then he noticed that the grip was not a harmful one. Was this an intelligent creature? Was it some form of trickery, he knew not.

Then his questions were somewhat answered when he heard the girl speak his native tounge through a mouth filled with fish. He rsponded to her request, "Alright, Okay I will pull you up." With that said Drakn went about pulling his net up and the girl out of his net.

He could not mask his suprise and wonder as he looked at her, "Sorry about netting you. I am Drakn and what er I mean who are you?" He did not mean to come off as rude and most of the time tried to treat all kindly but this girl really threw him through a loop, and then some. He helped her up and to her feet then pointed her toward a spot to sit.

[Umen'thia]

GOOD! So there was sense in this land dweller after all. Should she even call him that? He was more of a ship dweller. Which made him more or less a rider to the wooden seahorse – if that even made any sense. Upon being offered a hand in getting up, she thought about pulling the man down. Drakn did he say his name was? Ah, who cared anyway? Names were just names and nothing more – nothing terribly interesting about a bunch of letters jumbled together. Unless they made a story – or a song – or… alright letters kind of mattered. Names still weren’t too important though. Using the same tentacle she had wrapped around the man’s neck, she enveloped it around his arm this time. Confident this would freak him out more than simple hand holding ever could, she giggled as the man pulled her up after all. It must’ve been awkward for him – she just found it fun. As soon as she got up however, she would feel balance slipping from her figure. This stupid land dwelling form wasn’t used in a long time. Therefore she was literally unable to walk. Well she was unable to do the land dwelling walk anyway. Not that it mattered. Sea-walk was much better in her mind. Not that she could use it here, but it was better – everyone should know, always. She laughed as she fell, all the way down, until she hit the deck. Squealing, she rubbed her behind where it had connected with the wood. Instead of trying to get up, she would then proceed to rolling around the deck while laughing. It was pleasant and fun and generally wasn’t something one could do in the water. Unless there was a reef… but reefs weren’t much fun and they hurt her back. Bad reefs! “Drakn, hey Drakn!” she would exclaim, but before he could answer, she would just continue on her own volition “You should try this too! It’s fun!” then another pause as to remember his question “I’m.. Tia is just fine” sticking out her tongue, she made a strange noise as she wiggled it at him. Silly, silly land dweller – why was he so stuck up? She would stop after a bit, seemingly tired or something along those lines. Looking up at the sailor, she would start talking again. “Do you have anything to make music with?” then a pause “We need music to dance… people who have music are interesting people, except when they’re too stuck up to dance… and… what were you doing anyway?” never in her head did she notice that he might’ve been trying to fish. Fishing was after all for land dwellers and he was a wooden seahorseman.. or something.

[Drakn]

The feeling of her tenticle going from his neck to his arm was by far the strangest feeling he had ever felt. But he did not want to risk hurting her feelings and pushed the urge to jump out of his skin inside. Once he heard her giggle he knew it must have been some sort of game to her and smiled.

Watching Tia try to stand was the most entertaining thing he had seen all day, now it was he that giggled. He knew it was only a matter of seconds before she would fall and then it happened. Her laughing was replace with another sound, but soon she was rolling on the deck laughing. He thought for a second that perhaps she was a bit daft. But then he brushed that notion away, she was very much like a child in a good way. It was fun watching her so when she asked him to join her he thought why not.

It would have been a strange sight to see, the two of them rolling on the deck acting like big children. Once they had stopped he started to speak, "Well Tia I is nice to meet you. I must say that was the first time I have caught someone in my net." When she asked about anything to make music with he thought for a second then answered, "I don't think so but we have the sound of the sea. Let that be our music." He paused a second then answered the last part of her question. "I was fishing, thats what I do out here. Now how about that dance, just please lets keep the tenticle grabbing minimal." He smiled as he wondered how she would dance when she could hardly stand.

[Umen'thia]

Surprisingly enough, Drakn went along with her wishes and rolled beside her. It was strange for a land dweller to understand, even more so to obey. It was probably his seahorsemen ways that gave him an edge over ordinary pesky leg people. Speaking of legs, as if reading his mind, she would stick out her lower lip, obviously pouting. She knew what he was thinking all too well. She wouldn’t tell him that though. If he wanted, he had plenty of time to figure it out. Moving the tentacles away from him, she would use them as additional legs, helping keep her steady. Now stable, she would step closer to him. Moving her head awkwardly she’d inspect him at quite a close range, her hands tracing across his torso – but then as soon as an indecent thought crept into her mind, she suspected him of having the same and she moved away. Placing one hand on his shoulder, she grabbed his other hand by the other. Umen’thia had seen humans dancing like that before. She had no idea why, but the leg people surely enjoyed it even though it looked much too slow for her tastes. Hopefully Drakn knew what she was trying to do as well and could help her with it. Still feeling a bit too close to the man, she would raise one of her tentacles up in to the air. There was no longer much need for balance now that she had latched onto him. “Saw leg people dance like this before” she’d begin, strangely shy. Unfortunately for Drakn strangely shy for her meant just a bit more calm and focused than usual. “Y’ know what I mean?” she looked up at him. Even for a human he was tall, that was good – she disliked males smaller than she was – regardless of the species. The raised tentacle slowly passed over her shoulder and stopped just in front of the man before poking him in the forehead. “You’ll help me out! But keep your hands where I can see them and no grabbing!” she wasn’t sure about the last word, but she had seen what sailors tended to do with women that got too close. Unluckily for him she wasn’t just anyone. And had he tried something like that, she would likely break his arm – at least. Then she’d smile at him, like everything she said was the most normal thing in the world. Not knowing the steps to his weird land dance, she would start moving in sloppy circles, legs feeling unsteady. Just as she felt confident enough to raise the other tentacle in the air as well, she would trip over her own foot and land squarely into the man. There wasn’t enough force to knock him down, but she would back a full foot away as if stung by something and blushing strangely. There was no way she could do this without help. She had learned her lesson. Tentacles were a must.

[Drakn]

As Tia began to pout, sticking her lip out, Drakn could not help but smile and chuckle a little saying something he had been told as a boy, "If you keep that lip out a bird is going to land on it and poop on it." He meant it in jest and hoped she did not take it wrong, though after seeing her roll on the deck of his ship he was confident she knew how he meant it to come across.

His unspoken question was answered as Tia used her tentacles to steady herself. They moved closer and he could feel her study him both with eye and hand. This was indeed a first for him, trying to dance with a creature both as fun as she was differnt. He could not help but wonder why she pulled away but he decided to let it go. One of his hand were holding hers and the other he moved to the small of her back, he would try to lead her as they danced in circles on the deck of his ship. "Not to bad considering you fell only moments ago. he said with a smile as he try to help keep her steady.

Then she said something about saw leg people which confused him, but he figured that she was likely speaking of land people. Drakn noticed the differnce, she was more calm and a bit shy now. He looked down into her eyes and said,"Yes I think I know what you mean." As strange as it was he did not mind dancing with her. Then she poked him in the forehead with her tentacle, he said, "Ahh come on what was that for?" She then told him to keep his hands from becoming handsy and asked him to help, he replied, "Of course I assure you my intentions are honorable."

Her returned her smile and kept dancing with her, he knew he was not very good at dancing but Tia's land dancing made him feel more confident. Not much later she got brave and lifted the other tentacle, tripping and falling into him. He caught her in his arms so that she would not fall and hurt herself. "There you go got you. Are you okay?" he said as he helped her steady herself and would continue to dance if she wanted.

[Umen'thia]

It felt somewhat humiliating to crash against the male like that. Perhaps dancing wasn’t the best idea? Yes, she would stop dancing now. And then they could – ah, she’d think about it when they got there. Awkwardly struggling from Drakn’s grip, she’d fall back to her… tentacles, this time. Using them much like some toys used a spring; she would propel herself back to her feet and start looking around the small boat. Was he living here? Smart man, best way to maintain a stable relationship with Laviku was to keep being close to Him. Yet he still seemed so leggy to her, and she didn’t appreciate that much. “Enough dancing!” she’d announce in Common, forgetting for a moment that he was indeed a Svefra. No matter – he could surely keep up. In all her years, she never met any of the leg kind that didn’t speak common. Even Akvatari spoke it and they didn’t even have legs! Come to think of it, she really liked that about the furry tailed wing thingies from Abura. Perhaps she would like Drakn better too if he lost his legs? Could humans even operate in a sound way without those? Ah, such pesky thoughts – pesky, pesky ideas. Kneeling down, she would keep eating another one of the fish he caught. Unless stopped, she would devour it whole, but before she did that, she’d start talking again. “’ake e fe’st ‘or ‘aviku and ‘e w’ll grant y’ good wind’” there was hardly anything sensible in the noises she made with her teeth grinding the fish down, and Drakn would probably be even more lost because it was Common. Regardless of this, she’d look straight at him, expecting an answer. One thing was certain, she was taking the fish one way or the other, and hopefully he’d be willing to comply. Then she could leave him one even… she was sure father would approve of that. “I tell you story if yes” Fratava again, yet not as refined as one would expect from an Otani. Over the years she never took an active interest in it long enough to better herself, and when it was about the leg people Common worked just fine.

[Drakn]

As she struggled against his grip Drakn could tell that she must have been upset by the falling into him. He let her go and watched as she fell back on het tentacles and looked around his boat it was indeed his home and Laviku his keeper. She exclaimed that she had had enough of dancing and he said, "Alright sounds good to me, I am not that good at it anyways." Though she spoke in common he understood it enough, though not as well as his native tounge.

He saw her go about kneeling down as if she were going to eat more of his catch, which he did not really mind. Again she spoke with food in her mouth and in common, making it very hard to understand. He thought that he had caught the just of it though, something about a feast for Laviku. This was a good idea to him indeed and would please Laviku for sure, so he said to her, "If I understand what you said then yes but I would rather you speak Fratava, I know it much better."

She spoke in his native tounge again saying something about a story and he noticed that she spoke common better he thought to himself that he should let her speak in what tounge she was better at. "A story would be nice and in second thought speak it in which ever language is easier for you." he said and would then help her in anyway she needed to prepare for the feast.

[Umen'thia]

“Of course you understood!” she’d exclaim, going forward in common. More than anything, her expression told him she wouldn’t take no for an answer. And quite frankly – she didn’t need to. She was stronger than him, and he was alone… then again he never did her any harm. Maybe he was actually a decent leg person… there must’ve been a trait for that… like lecent! She could’ve probably done something, like cook the fish. But no sir! There was no way she would ruin good fish like that. Instead she used her tentacle to throw one of the remaining fishes back into the water. There, now father could eat too. The animal would disappear for a bit before resurfacing as the fish was obviously already dead. Shrugging to herself, the Otani reached out her tentacle to grab back the food. Guess father wasn’t hungry – perhaps she did need to ruin that fish. Or not… after all only leg people did so, and father wasn’t one of those – he could never be! “There! He won’t eat” she looked back to Drakn “You sit and listen. There’s a good story here, you’ll see!” then waiting for him to take his place, the same one he pointed her to earlier, she wouldn’t explain anything. It was all clear to her after all – so why shouldn’t it be clear to the rest of them?