Solo A night, not so calm

[Maurelle]

[70th day of winter 512.a.v.]
[Middle Suvan Sea]
[Near Oyster Isle]
[evening]

The Sun had just set down and a light golden glow was still present on Maurelle’s skin as she sat on the cold deck of her cozy ship and watched the Svefra’s not that far from the place she had settled. The girl had spent most of the day watching them, out of the pure curiosity. Sure she had nothing better to do as the herbs she collected had to be dried before usage. But couldn’t she really find anything better to do the whole day than watch them fish? Probably not, she had fallen and since leaving Riverfall had always been alone. The thought forced painful memories to creep back over her mind, like a child hiding from something she pulled her knees closer to her chest and pulled the winter blanket over her tighter.

Back on the southern parts of the Suvan Sea, she wouldn’t even think before jumping into the water and swimming along the fish when these thoughts crept upon her. She found similarities to herself in them. Fish had silverfish scales like her and had gills, lived in Laviku’s arms just like she longed to do. Being in the water, with fish, made her feel like she had found someone similar to herself, aside from the few wondering Ethaefal’s she had met. But that was impossible here, where she had almost wondered up all the way to the North. Maurelle usually avoided that part of the sea at winter. It was the storm that was rumored to be taking over the South that forced her to run here. Her fragile mind that was so similar to a newborns, was still terrified of the word ‘storm’ for her to risk seeing it. She was too terrified and so, stayed here.

A bell passed, maybe even two and she kept on sitting there, watching the people of the see that seemed to celebrate every day and night, she watched the moon’s reflection on the watery surface. Maurelle began humming to a melody she recalled from back when she was in Riverfall, her knowledge of their language were poor so she had no clue about the songs meaning. Her pronunciation was broken and the Akalaks claimed her tukant to sound as bad as Zith screams. That’s why she didn’t sing, she hummed to the moon father, the one she thought of as her father, she hummed for Laviku who was always near. This was the way she enjoyed showing her love to the gods. She couldn’t manage a prayer out of herself most of the times, the last and probably only time she had genuinely prayed the way she thought it should be done, was during the Djed storm.

”I’d love to speak properly with you, Sea Father…Like with my mother, but I seem to never find the words, I never know what to say to you” as she realized what she was doing, she couldn’t help but giggle. She was speaking to the gods, that’s what everyone called praying, did they not?

[Anchor]

Maurelle's ship was as small as a casinor, yet because of the twin pontoons rather than a single bottom it created a curious appearance in the water. Beneath the surface, an otani that had been playing with a particular shark noticed the strange hulls and sought to investigate, forgetting the fish in his fickle nature. Before long his face broke the surface of the water, but just out of sight of the Ethaefal for the moment. His head cleared the ocean just as Maurelle began to speak her sentiments allowed, listening with amusement as she ended her little thought. "The Sea Father cares not what is said, if you speak to him he will listen," the otani said, his rich baritone voice sounding like a musical instrument echoing across the water. Though he had a vaguely humanoid face, strange whiskers sprouted from either side of his face on his cheeks, much like a blowfish. He was also much larger than most humanoids, about three times the size of Maurelle herself in her current form. "You look like a Konti, a child of Lady Avalis and my Lord Laviku," he observed, his sea green eyes smiling. "The Sea Father will listen to you whatever you say, though he will not always answer. Understand that he is a very personal god, but that's why we are here: to help if he directs us." The color of his skin was a coral blue, but appeared slightly paler in the moonlight. Smiling at Maurelle, his whiskers shivered a bit, though for what reason was unknown. "What brings you so far from your island home in the north, daughter of Avalis? It has not been for some time since I have seen one of your kind."

[Maurelle]

Lost in thought it toke the Ethaefal a brief moment before she recorded that a voice had spoken to her. Even then she didn’t really come to realize that she was alone in the sea, and there was nobody to speak with her ”yes, you must be right, but don’t you sometimes feel like he just...!” and then it hit her scaled head. She was alone, who was talking? The svefra? Even in her wildest dreams she couldn’t assume a human could hear so far, and the voice was different. It wasn’t what Maurelle usually heard coming from the sea people. This seemed to trouble her.

Desperately she was looking around, but couldn’t really manage to find the place the voice was coming from, until it spoke again. This time she even managed to hear the depth of the voice, which was highly pleasant to the ear. She got on her knees and arms, with a bit of cautiousness crawled to the left, to look at the man that was speaking. By this time her eyes had adjusted to the dim light of the moon, so she could tell apart some things from the others, but what she saw seemed to be a trick of her own mind.

”who are you?”Was the first question that came to her mind before she managed to even properly look at this man, or what she assumed to be a man? He reminded her of an akalak with his blue skin, or did it only appear to be blue because of the light? Might as well be just dark and reflect a dark blue just like everything in the water, she couldn’t really manage to see much of the facial details but that didn’t seem to bother her, what was the real reason for a small gasp was the size of him. Even the sturdiest of akalak didn’t seem to be quite this big, not to mention, what on earth was this man doing in the middle of the sea? At winter!

”Konti…yes, I was a Konti…someday, long ago” she realized, but shock the thought out of her head ”Er, Sorry, I’m looking for answers and my home, I have never been to the white island, I was born here at the Suvan Sea” she stated, her voice carrying a tilted hear clearly identifying interest at the interesting and strange man. She had no clue who or what he was, but it hit her, he must be cold! ”Come on board, you must be cold!”she offered with a smile, not really taking into account that she didn’t know him, or even what he was and could she trust...it.

[Anchor]

The Otani chuckled at Maurelle's frantic search, spinning her head round and round like she was a toy, scanning the water. It was greatly amusing, and for a moment he considered sinking below the surface just to culture her confusion. Briefly an idea for a game popped into his head, speaking from a different point on the water each time until she figured out who was talking. In the end he waited patiently for her to peer over the side and beheld his unique form for herself. "My name is Hafgard," the whiskered whale-shaped being said, eyes smiling with amusement. No arms reached up to the side of the boat, not legs kicked beneath the surface, just a tail and flippers working to keep him afloat. "Though your question was probably meant to be much more general. Perhaps you wonder what I am, to be so large and to withstand such temperatures?" Hafgard rose up slightly from the sea and fell backwards, doing a reverse somersault within the ocean before resuming his initial position. If asked he would answer it was an expression of freedom, but in reality it was that he liked to show himself off slightly. "I am an Otani, a moldling of Lord Laviku, made from life granted to him by the generous Kihala. The sea is more than my home, it is my state of being and source of existence. It makes me what I am." When the Konti explained her lack of connection to Mura, the Otani's whiskered shivered again as he smiled. "So you were born here, in this home as well?" he asked, the wealth of his voice echoing across the water. "Do tell! Where is your mother that you are so alone so far from the White Isle? Was she from Riverfall, or perhaps Kenash? Did you set out on your own to explore our Lord Laviku's domain? It is a great undertaking for any of his daughters to explore his great realm, I still remember the first to do so so many years ago." Instead of accepting her invitation to come aboard, Hafgard chuckled and performed another reverse somersault. "It is not cold," he remarked. "It is just right for this time of year. You should come out and join me in this fine water." Then, before she could respond, he began squirting water into her face that he had collected while he went under, giving into his playful nature. As the liquid fell down the gentle contours of Maurelle's face, Hafgard would remain afloat, laughing. "What is your name, pale one?" he asked, keeping his strange way of speaking.

[Maurelle]

Once the name was spoken, she knew manners requested her to give her own, but her mind felt other things to be a bit more important. The girls webbed fingers pulled up to her mouth as she only now registered just how large the man was. No, he wasn’t a man; he reminded her more of a fish and of all things he even said he was something else… Maurelle was trying to rewind the word in her mind over and over, but she didn’t manage ”otin..otou..otam?” she was scared to be rude, but she hadn’t heard of such things as moldings other than the ones that are used for aquatic poisons. Could this creature be used for that? ”a molding? Is that like…a jellyfish?” she spat out without thinking, but soon enough corrected herself, or at least attempted to ”not that I am comparing you to a jellyfish…”

“I…I wasn’t born in Riverfall but I lived there, I was born in the sea, in the water and I don’t know my mother” was the best thing she could come up with to explain the interesting state she was in. The creature was far too interested in her Konti heritage, so the little girl decided to be a bit of a liar and not say she is the daughter of the sun, or more precisely, just keep silent, as long ago she really was a Konti. ”saying I explore is probably the best way to explain my actions, I am fascinated by water and I feel better here than back in Riverfall, in four walls”the ethaefal explained as she came closer to the edge of the boat to be capable of telling apart the creatures actual features. Only now did she realize he had whiskers, she wasn’t sure, was the comparing of a cat appropriate, but he reminded her of one with his playfulness. But she had to admit, comparing a sea creature to a fish was funny.

”I am Maurelle…”Maurelle said, hesitant to answer the offer of joining for a swim. She had gone in the water at winter, but she preferred not to, she wouldn’t call herself to be the brightest of them all, but her sanity kept on saying she would freeze when this high up in north.Are you sure it’s…safe? she questioned, more out of habit than actual curiosity, she came closer and closer to the water. The Ethaefal had to admit, a part of her wished to join the strange creature.

[Anchor]

The Otani chuckled at her reaction and confusion, a sound that kept his baritone pitch but sounded much smoother, like water flowing over river stones. Almost everything about this stranger was amusing, very interesting as well. It was quite refreshing as well that he met a sailor who did not know of his kind. "No pale one, moldling," he corrected with good humor. "When Laviku made the oceans, Kihala shared a little of her power with him so he could make us, his moldlings and servants of the sea. Not that it is a very stressing job." There was humor in his voice, and his fins flopped about, splashing water up onto the deck. Some kind of expression? His whiskers began vibrating again, accompanying another chuckle. "We are not jellyfish, but we can look like them." Without explanation, Hafgard left her to ponder how. An odd look passed over the Otani's face, scrunching up slitly as if trying to figure someing out. "You were born in the water?" he asked, his head bobbing up and down from the surface of the sea. "Does that make you a sibling of myself and the Otani? I don't think so, you definitely look like a Konti. Anyway, the Akalaks must have treated you well down in Riverfall, been in the waters near there a few times myself. They are mearly as big as me!" This last remark was followed by another melodic chuckle, finding great amusement in his own comparison. The Otani was in a very jovial mood it seemed, though he was nearly always like that. As Maurelle drew closer to the edge of the boat, so did he, his whiskered face looking curiously at her. "Nice to finally be introduced to you Maurelle," Hafgard replied snickering. He was just poking fun, that's what he always did. While the Konti may have had reservations about getting into the colder waters, such considerations didn't even cross the Otani's mind as his form and kind meant that temperature did no bother him in the slightest. "Of course it is safe," he answered. "All of Laviku's children in the sea are kind towards his moldlings, and you will be safe near me. We won't be going anywhere dangerous anyway. Come on, jump in! Just for a bit." His front flippers were moving vivaciously now, excited to see this new woman in the water for him to play with.