Into The Belly of the Whale [Una Tanta]

by **Kel Tempest** on March 6th, 2014, 2:34 am

Day 2 of Summer in the Year 503 AV

Salt water splashed up against the hull of the ship sending a spray of mist onto the deck of the Stormbrewer. Svefra moved swiftly across the ship, focused on their individual tasks. The Lia stood by the mast, her eyes sweeping across the deck.

“Kel! Jaxon is out, he won’t be sailing today. Take his place!” The young Svefra looked up startled from his perch on the bow. His mouth dropped open and he gaped like a fish. “B-b-but Lia Christella! You know I’m not good at sailing, I’ve barely had any practice!” He jumped down from the bow and scurried over to the portside.

“Never a better time to learn than the present. If you make a mistake, we’ll crash the ship alongside those rocks. If you don’t, then well, we live.” She barked. “So don’t mess up.”

Kel gulped but gained control of his face and set his mouth in a firm line. Lia Christella nodded once in approval, watching him. The boy needs to realize every action has a consequence. I don’t know why that concept won’t get through his thick head. Maybe this will scare some sense into him. The boy observed the other Svefra men working the lines keenly.

“Okay Kel, you can do this. Remember what Jax showed you…” The young Svefra scrambled to place himself directly across from the other Svefra. The older man looked at Kel and shot the Lia an angry look. Christella glared at him and he cowered under the withering scowl. He looked away meekly but his face was still set in a frown. Kel watched the interaction between the two.

“Don’t mess with up, Kel. No one likes you as it is. You screw this up and they’ll hate you forever...” Kel shook the thoughts from his eleven year old mind and helped the other Svefra pull hard on the line attached to the main sail. The boat swayed to the left a bit too swiftly. Water shot up from the side, soaking the two.

“Shyke, Kel! Go help Kaden in the stern.” He glared at the younger podmate, wiping the water that dripped into his eyes. Kel met the stare with an equally dark look. He spun and stalked away, fists clenched angrily by his side. He heard the Svefra muttering as he left, “…petching useless punk.”

Kel reached the back of the ship and saw Kaden working the boom, keeping it in line with the main sail. He saw Kel approaching and tried to hide the look of exasperation that came over him. “What do you want, Kel.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“Lia Christella wants me to help learn how to sail.” Kaden grunted and adjusted the line as the wind picked up. “Well she couldn’t have picked a worse day. The entrance to the Wind Reach port is a pain in the arse. But if the Lia said then petch, the Lia said…”

Kaden gestured for the young Svefra to join him. “Alright, hold this line, like so.” Kel grabbed ahold of the rope and the older man adjusted his grip, making sure Kel was holding it properly. He ran a finger along the rope until he couldn’t reach any higher and then pointed to the sail.

“Now this rope keeps the sail from luffing. Luffing is when the wind isn’t hitting the sail at the proper angle and the sail starts to sag. When that happens you pull the rope to tighten so the wind pushes against it harder. If the wind blows too hard, you give it some slack so the sail doesn’t tear and gives the ship more speed.” He looked at Kel to see if he was processing any of it. “Make sense?”

Kel’s head swirled with all the information. “Uhh, yeah. I think so. Wind blows hard, give it slack. Slows down, pull tight.” Kaden nodded in approval.

“Good, you need to constantly be watching the sail and feel the sea air to see how the sail is reacting to it and see the change of currents. I think you have it all under control. Pay attention, I have to ask the Lia something.”

Before Kel could protest, Kaden left. The youth shifted nervously. He barely knew what he was doing, yet he was in charge of a very important piece of equipment. “Don’t mess this up Kel, By the love of Laviku's beard, don’t mess this up…”

He stared at the sail hard, trying to decide if the sail was okay. The wind blew gently and he saw it sag a little. He pulled on the rope and the sail straightened out, until it was taunt. The boat shifted but nothing exploded.
A wide grin broke across Kel’s face as he seemed to have done the right thing. Maybe he’d get the hang of this sailing thing after all.

Suddenly the voice of the Lia whipped across the deck, breaking into his victory celebration.

“Wind Reach Sea Gates ahead! Hear it goes, lads! Easy does it or those cave walls will plaster us good!”

Kel’s face turned pale as he saw the black maw of the cavern. The jagged edges of the cave looked like huge teeth. It reminded him of a Svefra tale of a man who had been eaten alive by a massive sea creature who had somehow managed to escape and live to see another day.

The cave entrance looked so narrow. And he was operating an important part of the ship. Alone. The words of the Lia came back to him. “Make a mistake….we crash…” Panic began to well up in his chest as he realized the next few moments would test his skills in a way he wasn’t sure he was ready for.

by **Una Tanta** on March 7th, 2014, 9:21 pm

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Drifting lazily on the top of the waves Una giggled as the water popped along her ear. As the waves moved away and air buffetted her ear everything was shrill and loud; the call of the seagulls, the crash of water on hulls. But as a small wave crested drowning her ear each sound was blissfully deep and those that didn't touch the water ceased to exist.

"-NA!" She heard, the first part of her name drown out by the air. Flicking her legs she slid under the water. Ripples teemed across the surface from where she had been. Syna's light underwater was a gossamer cloak. Diffused by the surface it came in large curtains that lit up her sisters bodies in bands.

"The ships are coming in." Nilla informed her, eyes sparkling gayly. Una grinned and the three turned on the spot to rush toward the cavern. Nilla was her older sister, 25 years old and she still loved their tradition. Una couldn't remember a time they hadn't gone to watch boats come into the cavern. The Wind Reach fisherman weren't amusing, they always made it in. But her eldest sister always kept watch for the unfamiliar shape of a foreign boat and in dwindling numbers over the years Una and her sisters would watch it come into port.

Many made it, many didn't. A romantic, Nilla always dreamed of saving some poor drowning fisherman and would watch the boats with delight if their hulls scratched against the rough opening. Una gazed at Nilla as her lithe form spun through the water toward the cavern. Her deep ocean blue skin was dabbled with the glowing white baubles all of their mothers children inherited but she looked more like their father than either Una or Tullie. Una copied her sisters movements in the water desperately wanting to be as graceful and witty as her sister.

Nilla was built for speed and Una often watched jealously as she careened through the oceans with the dolphins or whales. Una couldn't hope to keep up and was quickly restricted by a soft word from their mother to stay in the coral reef. Swimming toward the surface together Una broke the surface second, glistening droplets of water teetering down her face. Nilla glanced at her and smiled, her skin sparkling under Syna.

Una knew she always looked a little bedraggled when she surfaced, her tentacles never parted right and her eyes always squinting as water dribbled into them. Nilla never looked less than perfect her tentacles delicately curling in excitement. "Tullie went home again?" Nilla laughed, it wasn't a question Tullie never wanted to watch the ships.

Una didn't like watching either. The screams always made her sick, but she wanted to be just like Nilla, and Nilla always watched. The ship slowed as it approached the opening and both Nilla and Una tensed with it. Their hearts creaked with the sails their tentacles dancing with the wind. Would it make it? Una wondered, her heart hammered so loud she could feel the deafening thud in her ears.

Sckreeee.....Una swallowed. "It crashed, it's going to sink!" Una thought mortified. The left side of the boat was running along the edge of the opening. Nilla had disappeared into the water in the same instant the sound had reached them. Una hurriedly followed.

As they approached the ship, the sound underwater was deafening and Nilla held up a hand to tell Una to stop. She was never allowed near the crashes. Pretending not to understand, since it was too loud for Nilla to yell at her, Una passed her sister, slipping up to the hull. Running her fingers over the spongy wood Una gazed up along the edge of the ship watched the frantic wavering images of the humans rushing about the deck.

It wasn't a big crack Una pondered approaching where the ship was connected to the wall. Grabbing her ankle, and stopping both thought and progress Nilla heaved Una away from the gap. Eyes wide with panic, she had pulled her back just in time. The ship had moved right and freed itself from the rock. The swell of water filling the gap threatened to pull the young 13 year old in but Nilla's strong legs pulled them back away from the mess.

"What were you thinking?!" Nilla screamed, panic raising the pitch of her voice. Una shrugged helpless, she had just been curious. Gazing over her shoulder and Nilla pulled her out of the way Una saw the boy fall. The world slowed around her. The thud of her heart, the press of the water against her legs and arms weakened as his face disappeared from the surface and appeared in their world.

Una had never been so close to a human before and before Nilla could wrench her away she had extended her webbed hand and run a finger curiously over his skin. Soft...she marvelled...not soft like soft coral, or the skin of an octopus. A whole new realm of texture.

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by **Kel Tempest** on March 8th, 2014, 12:18 am

Day 2 of Spring in the Year 503 AV

Waves crashed against the sides of the cave as the palivar cruised towards the opening. Kel’s face tightened in fear as he gazed at the small opening. “There is no way we are going to make it…” He couldn’t believe the Lia had put him in this position. He had very little skill when it came to sailing. They had been practicing his combat skills and fishing technique more than operating the day to day aspects of the ship.

He gripped the line tightly, the fear quickly changing into a rush of adrenaline. He felt it coarse through his blood stream; a challenge faced him. He lived for that feeling of ecstasy, the slight sickening feeling in his gut. He came alive. It was that feeling that got the young boy into so much trouble. Restlessness riled within him unless he was doing something. The mundane tasks the older Svefra put him to drove him to the point of insanity. Combat was the only thing he dove into head first with any amount of relish.

Kel had been discovered one day fighting imaginary foes with a grappling pole. The piece of equipment was usually used for fishing or snatching up objects from the sea. Kel had been put in charge of cleaning and polishing the gear, making sure everything was in working order. It only took about three chimes after the supervising Svefra left before Kel was running around the deck blocking and attacking multiple imaginary opponents. The Lia had spotted his antics. But instead of stopping him, she watched him critically. She thought she had finally found a way to keep the boy out of trouble and doing what he was supposed to. So his weapon training had started.

Kel was snapped from his reveries as the Lia roared from the bow, “Portside line has broken free! Kaden, strap that shyke down!” Kel strained to see what was happening but the cabin restricted his view of the bow. All he saw was a line snapping in the wind, its deadly end cracking like a whip. The young Svefra heard a scream and swallowed hard.

The line in his hand jerked suddenly and he was thrown forward. A strong gust of wind caught the boom and jerked the rope from his hands. He cried out as the hemp burned like fire as it was ripped free of his grip. Kel tried desperately to snatch it back from the furious gust but it whirled through the air. The boom, no longer held in place by the line, swung free and smashed into the unsuspecting youth.

Kel was lifted off his feet with an oof as the wooden spar jammed into his chest and sent him flying over the gunwale. The young Svefra saw colors blur together as sky and sea blended into one as he tumbled head over heels into the ocean below.

He didn’t even have a chance to take a deep breath before the sea swallowed himl whole as he was submerged beneath the crashing waves. His chest ached and the blow lift him disoriented in the water. He couldn’t tell which way was up or down.

The murky water hid the sun, his lungs felt like they were bursting and his home in the water seemed to be fighting against him. Kel kicked for the surface but all of a sudden his head cracked against the bottom of the boat. He saw stars and his vision began to fade. The last thing he saw was the bubbles being expelled from his lips and a dark form descending upon him.

Then everything faded into darkness.

by **Una Tanta** on March 12th, 2014, 3:36 am

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Una watched the boys body fade beneath her as Nilla yanked harder on her arm. Being pulled through the water was different than being pulled on land. With nothing to brace her legs against Una was pulled effortlessly away from the plummeting form. "No stop!" Una screamed at Nilla making the older sister hesitate. "He's sinking....isn't that the center of your romantic fantasy?" Nilla scowled as she spoke, "a BOY is not the center of my fantasy..." She replied as she loosened her grip on Unas arm. A boy might not be the center of her fantasy but Nilla understood, just because it was a boy drowning didn't make their responsibility any less.

Nilla watched Una disappear beneath the curve of the ships hull where the boy had disappeared seconds before. The curve of the ship blocked Unas vision and she could only see a few feet before her. Running her fingers over the hull to guide her progress Una gulped anxiously as the hull began to move forward again. "What if it crushes the boy?" She asked herself alarmed and darted faster toward the bottom.

The low lying coral made her hesitate. The encrusting kind was hard and difficult to wiggle through, she had learned that several times over playing tag near the area when she was younger. The ships hull suddenly lurched forward and she saw the boy for a moment. Limp in the water he was wedged between the hull and a large outcrop of coral. As the hull lurched about, wiggling its way awkwardly into the cavern it slowly pressed him harder against the rock.

Una wasn't a fast or strong swimmer but her long torso allowed her to weave through the coral much faster than any of her sisters. The encrusting coral crept from rock to rock leaving a massive empty space among the rocks and coral that Una had often hid in during hide and seek. Nilla was above her watching no doubt and she was loathe to reveal her hiding place but it was their duty to save the nearby sailors whenever they got out of their depth.

Slipping through a small hole in the coral she moved through the dark cavern created by the rocks and coral. It was a tight fit forcing her to brace her hands against the rocks wiggling through the tighter gaps. Wiggling to try and avoid the sharper edges of coral she kept her eyes on the Svefra boy before her. Bubbles popped form his mouth as the boat pressed in harder against his ribcage.

Bolting forward, whimpering as the rough coral left scratches along her sides, stomach and arms. Scooping up dead coral and lumps of rocks she pelted them at the web of coral that kept him pressed against the ship. "Hold on..." She muttered to herself as the webbing began to give way. It was the same method she had used to create the first hole so she proceeded as quickly as she could.

As the coral began to weaken it buckled under his weight. Giving way suddenly in a shower of grey and brown he slid slowly through the water into the cavern. The boat lurched, no longer scraping against the rock and coral tower she had destroyed.

Grabbing the boy under the arms, eyes squeezed tight with effort Una pulled him out of the way. Deeper into the tunnel as the boats hull replaced the space where their bodies had been. "Nilla!" Una screamed beginning to panic. Until now she had moved easily enough, a path she had often tread, now with the path unclear before her she froze.

She waited for what was moments, but seemed like hours, chest constricted with the heaviness of hope. She could hear her sister scrabbling at the coral above them but there were no holes small enough for her larger sister to enter.

Slightly buoyant in the water Una moved back through the pathway she had come pulling him through the tighter spaces. Feeling him get wedged in one of the thinner tunnels Una swam harder away from him both hands wrapped around his forearm. He didn't budge. "Nilla!" Una screamed almost weeping with frustration. Grabbing the edge of a rock she heaved again. The ability to brace herself against something gave her the strength she needed and he popped free.

Hefting him through the thin opening she saw Nilla's long fingers reach through the opening grasping his body. Wiggling herself free of the coral mass neither she nor Nilla spoke as they frantically swam him to the surface. Glancing at Nilla Unas eyes dazzled brilliantly. In her youthful adoration she didn't see the pale flush of fear, or the fluttering eyes that revealed terror. "Incredible..." Una marveled, Nilla was so brave...

As they broke the surface with force Unas body rose slightly above the surface. Nilla's shot past her with force until her ankles whistled past Unas head. A sharp intake of breath and Nilla was falling back into the water. "We have to get him to shore." Nilla ordered when she had settled beside Una holding the Svefra's head above water.

"Is he breathing?" Una fretted, silence replied her as they each took an arm and swam him toward the golden safety line on the horizon. Ticks later Una felt her legs brush the wet rough bottom. Standing, Nilla and her grabbed his forearms dragging him across the surface. Each wave threatened to beat Una down. She wasn't used to this aspect of the ocean and was soon stumbling along on her knees struggling to keep up with the graceful and powerful Nilla.

Nilla dropped him free of the water, following his fall with her own. Mouth suddenly on his Una felt her chest clench with anger. What was she thinking? The boy was HER age not Nillas and he may very well be dead. Shoving her sister off the boy she scowled at her angrily, "What are you doi-" Before she could argue her sisters hand connected with her chest sending her sprawling. On her back, she gazed up at her sister eyes twinkling with tears.

The boy suddenly leaned over involuntarily as the salt water came heaving form his stomach and lungs. Choking painful sounds came from his rough heaving. Una crawled closer watching him with worry.

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by **Kel Tempest** on March 15th, 2014, 1:23 am

Day 2 of Spring in the Year 503 AV

He was surrounded.

The jeering faces of the Greytides. A sound began coming from their lips. It grew louder and louder as they chanted. “Outcast. Outcast. Outcast. Outcast.” Kel felt panic begin to rise in his chest. They began growing larger and closing in on him. “You can run but you’ll always be an outcast.” Kel tried fighting them but they overwhelmed him, their blank slated faces staring, mocking. “OUTCAST.”

The roar of sound flooded back to his sense as he jerked upright, water spewing from his mouth. He gasped for air but nothing entered. He gagged and puked up more water. His abs clenched, chest refusing to inhale the precious oxygen. His stomach grew tighter and tighter as it pumped out the water in his system. He thought he was going to pass out again as his body refused to inhale.

Suddenly, it was as if his body was released from the clutches of death, his muscles all released as one. Sweet, sweet oxygen flowed into his lungs, restoring his starved body. His vision came back as he panted and he let his body fall back to the ground. “You’re alive. You’re still alive…” He rested for a moment, letting his breathing come back under control.

The young Svefra boy finally opened his eyes, squinting into the sunlight. He realized he was freezing. He hadn’t noticed the shock of the water amidst the chaos that ensued after his fall. But now the air mixed with his soaked clothes chilling him to the bone. He blinked as the two forms in front of him came into focus. He jumped slightly, startled at the appearance of the two Charodae staring at him.

“What de shyke are yeh’?” He demanded as he looked over the unusual species. He realized, suddenly, in the corner of his mind he felt an unusual sensation. He always felt something similar whenever he focused on the ocean around him and felt the sea life with his Oceanus gnosis. The same feeling pricked at the back of his mind and he realized the two were probably friendly.

“Wait a second hurr…I be thinkin’ me hear ‘bout yer’ kind. Yehr’ a Char-o-dae.” Kel pronounced the word slowly, trying to say it correctly in Common. “Never be meetin’ one of yeh’ before…”

He cocked an eyebrow, not really sure what to make of them. He glanced around trying to figure out where he was. The sand shifted below his fingers and he realized he was sitting on a beach. The water lapped gently against the shore and he looked out across the water. He could see the mouth of the cave where Thunderbay sat. There was no sight of the Stormbrewer anywhere. He had been brought a ways away from where he had fallen into the water. He looked back at the two Charodae’s.

“I s’ppose I own yeh’ a thanks fer’ savin’ me.” He mused, looking at the two, leaning back on both hands, legs sprawled lazily in the sand in front of him. He smirked, “Me names Kel. Kel Greytide. 'N yeh’ are?”

by **Una Tanta** on April 3rd, 2014, 6:19 pm

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“Wait a second hurr…I be thinkin’ me hear ‘bout yer’ kind. Yehr’ a Char-o-dae. Never be meetin’ one of yeh’ before…” Nilla and Una exchanged confused looks. Common was relatively foreign to both of the females and the thick heavy accent made it so indistinguishable neither recognized it as the language it was.

Una couldn't help but giggle as the furry worms above his eyes wiggled and moved of their own accord. Reaching out she ran her fingers over them, stroking with and then against the grain of the air. "Fur?" She asked, trying Char, Nari, and then Common.

She was brought to the stalls by her parents for sales every so often but had little interest and patience for the land and usually tried to slip away to some other underwater chore instead. Now she realized what she had been missing. These naked pink creatures were so ungainly and amusing, even just sitting and looking around. They had the same lost peculiar eyes as the guppy flocks and Una couldn't help but wonder how intelligent they really were.

Una heard the sounds coming from his mouth but didn't understand them so she ignored them as she would ignore the chirping of the dolphins in their pods. Nilla however, had realized that his language was a sailors common and grinned. "Nilla and Una." She said pointing first at herself and then at her little sister.

"Safe? Pain?" She asked skeptically reaching out her deep blue arms to run over the boys arms and legs checking for deep wounds. He seemed perfectly at ease but Una knew there were times she had been hurt and acted normal. Her parents had called it shock.

Once Nilla caught on, Una recognized the common her sister spoke and tried it on the pale creature. "Can you Swim? Do you want to play?" Nilla shot her a stern frown in response. The boy needed to go back to his pod, not horseplay, they would no doubt be worried about him.

"I know where the best shells are." Una bragged puffing out her chest arrogantly. "I'll trade," Una offered eyes sparkling with childish greed. She had collected hundreds of sparkly shells to her parents dismay and tried to store them all at home. But she had never had a trinket from land before and the potential made her bounce up and down on her knees.

"Please Nilla Pleeeeeease! I want to play with the boy." Una pouted, communicating to her sister In the bubbly char language, Her voice popping and rising to crash like waves over each word. Nilla only groaned in response.

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by **Raien Ironarm Pitrius** on July 20th, 2014, 11:10 pm

XP Award!

Kel Tempest :

Una Tanta :

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Flashback Into The Belly of the Whale [Una Tanta]