Open Sun and Shells

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Summer, Day 63, 513 AV

Tenth Bell

I've been here before.

That's the first thought that came into Jorin's mind as he watched the gulls fly overhead. It wasn't that Riverfall didn't have its share of beautiful places he had yet to visit, nor that this particular beach wasn't beautiful in and of itself, but retreading his steps was so uninspiring. Like drinking old, flat ale.

Sighing, Jorin opened his journal and tried to concentrate. What had he learned that day? Not very much. He gazed with disappointment at the numbers and figures he had drawn on the paper, carefully marked by his ink and quill.

-3 Copper Miza: Tavern fees
-12 Copper Miza: Meal
-2 Silver Miza: New Ink

The list went on and on. When he added the numbers, they came to a depressingly large sum. Jorin frowned. This was becoming unsustainable. He needed work ... and soon.

Deciding to take his mind off these unhappy thoughts, he turned the page, and looked out to sea. The day was bright and calm, the sun peeking through the occasional cloud that floated across the sky. Jorin decided now was as good a time as any to do some drawing and calculations.

Marching up and down the shore, he stumbled across an interesting-looking seashell, with a remarkable spiral pattern. He picked it up, turned it around in his hands, peering at it from all angles. With a curt nod, he set it down before him and plopped down onto the sand, taking out his quill and some ink.

He began to slowly sketch the shell, crudely at first. It was difficult just from sight, and, sighing, he decided to use his thumb as a crude form of measurement to ensure he got the proportions right.

After a few false starts, Jorin was able to sketch a passable facsimile of the shell. Nodding, he jotted down a few details.

Found on beach, Riverfall, 63 Summer 513. Interesting pattern.

In fact, very interesting. Jorin took a crude measurement of the spiral, and discovered that this shell's spiral followed a very precise formula; namely that the spiral appeared to get wider by a factor equal to what he remembered was called the golden ratio. Fascinating. He remembered his father teaching him of this ratio, when the ratio of two quantities were the same as the ratio of their sum to their maximum, but he never imagined seeing it in nature.

Pattern follows golden ratio (?).

Jorin decided to keep this interesting shell. Who knows? Maybe he could write a poem about it. Tucking it away for now, he turned his attention back to the ocean before him, and decided to sketch the scene before him. It was good practice. And besides, if he were being honest with himself, he didn't have a good poem ready for the scene anyway.

[Malla]

Malla frowned as she glanced around. Somehow she was thinking the map in her head was wrong and this wasn't the exact gate she was looking for... But that didn't mean she was going to look at the map she was still carrying around nor was she going to outright ask for help; she was much too stubborn for that. Beaches were nice, though, especially since, like other Konti, she rather did enjoy water. Without thinking she darted towards the shore, taking her boots off, and letting the water lap over her scaled feet. She titled her head back, looking to the sky with her boots and scroll in hand. A quiet beach; perfect for the Konti not wanting to be obviously Konti, she thought as she enjoyed the morning sun for a little while longer, her hair shimmering a more silvery color in the light. She sighed and moved a bit from the water, slipping her boots back on her feet and checked that her top hid her scales and Windmarks. Maybe she was being silly with trying to keep her race and such hidden, but it made perfect sense to her. She looked to the scroll, which had the map in it, debating with herself, before looking down the beach. Malla needed a distraction so she wouldn't look at the silly, but probably helpful, map. She did not need help, not in the least. That was when she spotted a man writing or sketching or something in a book, which immediately piqued the Konti's interest. She looked to him for a few moments, but form this distance he didn't look like someone who killed someone before, so hopefully she wouldn't get any 'sensation' coming from him. "Person!," she called out, not sure how else to address the man, as she dashed towards him and added, once near, "Can I ask what you're doing?" She looked to him with her blue-green eyes wide and curious, a smile on her face, and her free hand toying with a small wooden bird that was attached to a leather cord around her neck.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Summer, Day 63, 513 AV

"Can I ask what you're doing?"

The question jolted Jorin out of his reverie. What he saw when he looked toward the source of the voice interested him. A thin, willowy woman with almost-white blonde hair and blue-green eyes was looking at him expectantly. She wore a lot more clothes than Jorin thought was necessary for being on the beach, but he didn't think much more of it.

"Oh, just trying to get away from things," he replied, grinning. "On occasion I wander the city, looking for inspiration. Or at least something interesting to spark creativity."

Jorin got up and bowed low and dramatic, making sure to add the flourishes of the hand he'd seen the other actors do when introducing themselves to the audience during a prologue for a play. An actor had to maintain proper form,
after all! Just because he wasn't in a troupe anymore...

"I am Jorin Ertihan, late of the Traveling Thespian troupe, and actor extraordinaire! I've also been known to sketch at times. And pen a poem or two on occasion." Jorin smiled modestly. "Nothing to write home about of course, but then that's not what's important in art!"

Jorin tilted his head curiously.

"And you, my lady?" he asked, curious. "From where do you hail?"

[Duce Hazimari]

He could not believe that he had lost it. He was sure that it was in his hand and shoved deep into his pocket when he found it. "Where could it be?" he continuously asked himself after searching his pants and scanning the surrounding ground for the fifth time in a row. He sat down on the road head in his hands backtracking everywhere that he had been after he found the present for the human child that he had met in the tavern. "Excuse me mister." the young girl called out from under her mother. "My mommy and I heard that you find things for people." Duce sat up from the table curious about who the little girl would want to find and why. "Yes I find things for people. Why? have you lost someone?" he said kneeling down realizing that he must have seemed like a giant to the little girl.No. Well I lost something. My grandmother gave me a special shell for my birthday. she said that it followed a gold rule and when I got home from the beach, i realized it was gone. I looked everywhere for it but I can't find it. My mommy's friend said that you were good at finding things for people so I begged her to bring me here so I could ask for your help." The young girl pulled out a piece of paper with a poorly drawn picture of a spiral shell scribbled in with color and three copper mizas placing it on the table. Duce found this to be very funny as he looked up at the mother who shrugged and shook her head. Gently picking up the paper and mizas, he smiled and nodded his head. Don't worry I will find it. Meet me here in two hours."Duce said standing up and walking our the door studying the picture. He couldn't believe that he had lost the the shell. Frustrated he let out a loud sigh leaning his head back looking at the sky. It was a warm summer day. The sky was blue and clear of clouds, and the gulls were calling out to each other in the air. He paused remembering how the birds tried to attack him for the small shell that he found on the beach. He shot back up onto his feet and darted down the road as fast as his long muscular legs would allow him. "Hey watch it!" a merchant called out as Duce almost nearly ran him and his goods over.Kicking off his shoes, his feet hit the sand hard as he kicked it up traveling along the shore. He stopped in his tracks scanning the ground for any trace of where he had the tussle with the winged creatures, and cursing himself for having the habbit of covering his tracks. A small breeze passed along the beach twirling a bird feather pass his face. "Farther up the beach." he said to himself as he now trudged through the shallow water quickly skimming the sand underneath for the shell just in case it may had traveled. Not paying attention to the waves, he stumbled crashing down into a medium sized one. He stood back up looking at the sun that had moved significantly stating that his time was almost out. "Hey what's that?" he heard a female voice call out. Whipping his head around, he saw a human male and a female whose race he could not determine. Thinking that they may have saw the shell, Duce pulled himself and his now drenched cloths out of the water and across the sand toward the two. As he was debating on how to ask his question without seeming silly his eye caught glimmer of the shell in the male's hand. "Excuse me sir, but the owner of the shell you are holding sent me to look for it and we would both appreciate it if you could return it. Duce said getting strait to the point digging into his pocket that was filled with water and pulling out the now soggy, ruined drawing that the little girl gave him as he awaited a response.

[Malla]

"Oh, just trying to get away from things. On occasion I wander the city, looking for inspiration. Or at least something interesting to spark creativity." Malla tilted her head at his reply, "Things? Like what?," she wondered aloud, looking him over and taking his features in; brown hair, some facial hair to match, and sea-green eyes. Admittedly, she was biased towards the color of his eyes, though in a good way; but she wouldn't admit that. Mostly she looked for anything that might mark him as a Dryka, but there were no Windmarks on this man as far as she could tell, so at least her luck was holding for that much. She didn't look for scales or anything, since she really doubted he was a Konti unless he had some magic hiding his appearance. Her brows furrowed a bit at that thought, but she was soon snapped form that line by the man's next words. And his bowing, which only caused her to a raise a brow at the dramatics. "I am Jorin Ertihan, late of the Traveling Thespian troupe, and actor extraordinaire! I've also been known to sketch at times. And pen a poem or two on occasion. Nothing to write home about of course, but then that's not what's important in art!" The woman smiled, slightly amused, by the modest smile accompanying his words. "You sketch? I've tried to do that myself before, but never managed much. Though, are you sure it's nothing to write home about, what you do? Most people judge themselves more harshly than they judge others." She nodded as if to affirm her statement, her hand dropping from her necklace. "And you, my lady? From where do you hail?" She bit her lip at the curiosity in his tone and on his face, trying to think of something so she wouldn't outright lie to this nice-seeming man. She tilted her head, looking him over for anoterh moment, realizing he was about her height. Well, that was a nice change since most of the city were tall and blue-skinned. Maybe she'd get lucky and run into more non-Akalak to speak to, so she wouldn't feel so small. "Nice to meet you, Jorin, I'm Malla,"she replies finally, though the name still felt weird on her tongue, "I don't really come from anywhere, though...I mainly-" "Excuse me sir, but the owner of the shell you are holding sent me to look for it and we would both appreciate it if you could return it. The voice of a new man had cut her off, not that she was complaining. She turned to look to him the tilts her head back, blinking. Tall, blue-skinned...and making her feel very tiny. But instead of asking anything about why someone would want a shell found, she asked, "So, enjoy your swim?,"while grinning and carefully looking him over, already expecting to feel a strong vibration from him; afterall Akalak were warriors so probably she wouldn't get away with not feeling something from this man. At least it wouldn't be unexpected and she wouldn't wonder, too, much what caused this man to kill someone. Of course, if she didn't feel anything from him, then she would be surprised.

[Duce Hazimari]

"So, enjoy your swim?" He heard the women ask wondering what exactly did that have to do with the question that he asked. At first he thought she was serious, but felt that she had to be "Touched" a little considering the fact that she was wearing cloths that covered her entire body on the beach. He looked at the piece of paper in his hand and threw it on the ground realizing that it was completely useless now."Could you please return the shell sir?" he asked again putting more demand rather than question in his voice. He glanced back at the sun that had moved more from when he last checked. He wondered if the little girl was back at the tavern waiting with her mother for him to return when he said. He really needed to hurry. Looking back down at the women who was still awaiting a answer to her question surprisingly, making him think that she was really "Touched". "My swim wasn't really pleasent." he said feeling more uncomfortable with each second. He studied the as she peaked his curiosity. She was small and petite...Then again all women were to him. She had beautiful skin, green eyes, and blonde hair. At first glance he figured that she was human but determined that she was too pretty to be a human. The attire she was dressed in covered her from her shoulders to her feet which made him wonder why would she be on the beach fully dressed let alone in boots? Was she trying to hide something? He realized he was letting his mind wonder and that he was getting cold form the water on his shirt making it stick to him. He took his shirt off and squeezed most of the water out then flapped it in the air a few times and threw it around his neck to protect it from the suns rays the attacked his back. Neither the man nor woman had said anything about the shell and he was not about to lose it again, especially when its right in front of him. He took a step back and sat on the sand. Luckily he had been standing long enough for the back of his pants to dry and he wouldn't have to worry about sand being stuck to him. He sat in silence awaiting yet another answer.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Summer, Day 63, 513 AV

So her name is Malla, Jorin thought.

She seemed like a nice person, and he was prepared to continue to ask her questions, perhaps even pen a poem or two, when an Akalak ran up to him, all soggy from the water. What had he been doing, jumping in with all his clothes on?

"Excuse me sir, but the owner of the shell you are holding sent me to look for it and we would both appreciate it if you could return it."

Jorin's eyebrows raised in surprise. Shell? Before he could answer, the woman asked him if he enjoyed his swim. She seemed intimidated by the Akalak's size. Jorin for his part was more surprised a member of the usually stoic and warlike Akalak would bother diving into water fully-clothed for a shell.

"Could you please return the shell sir?"

So polite! Jorin was really quite pleased. This Akalak was much nicer than the ones in the taverns. They were much more ... forceful in their displeasure at his art. Perhaps this man could tell him where some of the more understanding Akalak lived?

"Shell? Jorin was genuinely confused. What shell ... oh that shell!

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't even realize I was holding it! Of course, here it is." Jorin handed the shell over without complaint, grinning as he did.

"Interesting shell, that," he noted as the object in question left his possession. "Did you know that the spiral pattern follows a certain mathematical principle? It's really quite fascinating. I'm just curious, who was the previous owner?"

Jorin then turned to Malla. "And ... you don't come from anywhere? But surely you must have some place you call home?"

[Malla]

A light frown crossed Malla's light lips at the look the Akalak was giving her. She simply asked a question, not being exactly serious, but...well, too late now. Since the tall man continued with his shell question to Jorin, she turns to look to the sea, watching the water crawl onto the sand only to retreat quickly back again. If she thought of it, she hadn't been to a beach since that one time she had gone to Mura with her mother. She glanced down to her boots, chewing her lip, but decided it best to not take them off, again, thanks to the webbing and scales on her feet. "My swim wasn't really pleasant." The Akalak's response caused her to look up to him and nod. "I thought as much. I don't think it can be wonderful to swim in clothes...which makes the question: why not take your clothes off before going in the water when you only wanted a certain shell?," she wondered, looking to him with a tilted head. The woman frowned then as she studied the man more and was, by this point, certain she wasn't feeling 'something' from him; which caused her to look to him rather curiously while Jorin replied to him, only half listening to the two men herself. But Jorin's question to her cuts off her wonderings of if she knew less about the Akalak than she thought. "And ... you don't come from anywhere? But surely you must have some place you call home?" Malla looks to the seagreen-eyed man and chews her lip. "Home...well, not so much a house as a...," she frowned for a moment, trying to remember the word in Common, since for some reason it just slipped from her mind. She vaguely gestures with her hands, making a rough tent shape with them, momentarily forgetting about hiding the light webbing between her fingers."Tent," she finished after a moment of thought, smiling. "I live in a tent just outside the city. That is my home." Obviously she didn't quite think of a tent as a bad thing, like most might, but a rather good thing about equal to a house.

[Duce Hazimari]

I'm curious who was the previous owner? Duce heard the end of the males question for he was too busy trying to figure out what was wrong with the female. "It belongs to a little girl. Human like yourself." Duce answered leveling his hand at the hieght that a normal sized human would be compared to himself. "I thought as much...which raises a cerian question: Why not take your clothes off before going in the water when you wanted a certian shell?" The female's question coming out of no where like her last one. Duce really didn't know what was going on. He was ok with the male, but the female really had his mind stumped. Why did she ask him these strange questions? Did she really think that he went swimming for a shell? "I did not plan to go under the water...I stumpled under a wave and got my clothes wet. Why do you wear clothing covering you body at the beach?" Duce responded releasing his curiousity and hopping that he would not get another strange question. "You don't come from anywhere? But surely you must have some place that you call home. The male asked the female who now looked as if the words were lost in her mind somewhere. She started making the shape of a tent with her hands "Maybe she's a Drykas." He thought until she finished with "I live in a tent just out side the city. That is my home." A tent out side the city? All alone? With no one to help her? Duce thought feeling that someone as special as her shouldn't be living alone by themselves in a tent outside of a city that is prone to raiding. He looked her up and down again trying to figure out something about her but still could not find anything. He looked back down at the shell in his hand remembering the little girl as he once again took off kicking up sand leaving the two without word. He got back to the tavern and to his relief the girl and her mother were there waiting as planned. "Mommy he brought it back." the little girl beamed as he placed the shell into her hands. "Thank you mister." The girl smiled as she and her mother walked away. He was happy that he had done a good deed and turned around to go back to the beach to retrieve his shoes and shirt. He returned to the male and female to grab his shirt, but still wondered what was it about the woman that she was so desperately trying to hide as well as properly meeting the male that spoke to him earlier. "Hello my name is Duce. Pleased to meet you both" He spoke slower to the female to help her understand what he was saying.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Summer, Day 63, 513 AV

She lived in a tent outside the city? But why? Jorin wasn't a very wealthy man, but even he could, for the moment, still afford to live at Ati's Place. Why would she need to endanger herself by living all the way out there alone? He saw that her clothes seemed ... unusual. They covered more than they needed to, more than was necessary here on a beach.

Was it because they covered something that would mark her as different? Something that would make people hate her? Jorin mentally shrugged. He genuinely could not think of anything so awful that he would kick an innocent woman out of the safety of Riverfall to fend for herself in a tent outside the city.

He turned to the woman, with concern in his eyes.

"A tent? Outside the city? But that must be so dangerous! Why would you need to do that?" Belatedly realizing it was, perhaps, a sensitive topic, he hastily added, "Oh! But you do not have to tell me, if you do not want to..."

Just as the woman was going to respond, the big Akalak returned. Well, Jorin didn't know if the man, who said his name was Duce, was big. All the Akalaks seemed big to Jorin. For all he knew, Duce was small for his race.

"Jorin Ertihan, actor, poet, and general creative artist, at your service! I am pleased to make both your acquaintance as well. Though I am curious, why is an Akalak warrior retrieving seashells for little human girls?"