Flashback Innocence Within the Waves

[Ricky Maze]

Innocence Within the Waves
Spring 44th 498 AV, 14th Bell
Location: The Docks

The rise of Syna had already turned into a descent as the day proceeded to unravel in the usual cycle that it followed, both Ricky and Burt had delivered their stock of fish to the sailors as prior part of some deal his father made. Ricky didn’t know what the deal was exactly but knew off hand that involved them providing whatever they caught to the sailors and merchants, and in turn his father earned something called a “cut” from the deliveries he made. Though Ricky didn’t know it really pertained to money just yet he was still learning the ropes in terms of trading, as being a fisherman was what he believed to be his lifelong trade as he started to grow older. Burt had told him though that apart from whatever they took home from their haul, the cut he earned was what helped them afford the daily living habits they had. Still Ricky had yet to fully comprehend this as he were only a child, therefore his innocent mind remained naïve to the workings of the world as he focused more on the fun things in life.

"Hey Pa," Ricky tugged on Burt’s shirt with pleading eyes shot up to the sailor’s face, "can Oi go?" It was the same usual question he would always as his father after a long day with the rods, each time he felt like going out he would ask his father if he could until at last he just merely had to ask. Where he went of course was always the same, so in general Burt already knew where to find Ricky later on when it was time to come inside.

"Hmph," Burt sounded amused, somehow he always was when Ricky asked, "Yea just be careful son, ye know ‘ow dangerous it can be." He reminded Ricky not because of an incident, but because of a fact that he made sure Ricky realized when they were out on a boat. The ocean, being big after all, was always something to be considerate about, especially when one didn’t think on whether or not they’d upset Laviku.

"T’ank ya!" Ricky hugged him as snug as he could and ran on ahead from the docks after Burt ruffled the boys roughly with his hand, and then the child was eagerly off to a section of the docks that didn’t seem so busy. He ran as fast as he could to get there without stopping, his breath came in pants soon as he arrived at an less active dock with but few dinghies and rowboats around. This was usually where he jumped off to go for a swim, and was in fact the first place he did learn to swim thanks to his Konti friend Nira’lia. As he stood at the edge of the wooden planks he looked into the water below, ready to take the plunge into the deep with all thought casted on the world below. He quickly grasped his hands at the edges of his shirt, and then lifted upward as the fabric rolled off his skin to reveal his slightly tanned body. Next to come off were the shoes he wore, which he placed the front of a foot at the other heel to remove them.

Now of course he was in his shorts, the faded blue with a white trim a sign that they were well worn from constant wearing. They endured a lot of swimming, and fishing, seeing as how the only hobby he seemed to love was swimming. After a few shivers shook Ricky from the cool breeze of the sea’s kiss, he finally closed his eyes and took the biggest leap he could. Within just a moment where the air around him cloaked his entire body, water immediately followed as the very wet, and very cool, feeling of the sea welcomed him within its embrace. Bubbles tickled his belly, chest, and face as he soon found himself no longer in descent, and then he alternated his legs with kicks within the water to rise to the surface for a breath of air.

The ocean felt cold at first. A refreshing sort of cold compared to the winter that they lived through, one that didn’t seem to last as he started to feel his body warm up a little while he swam in a few circles. It felt so good, so great actually, to be within the vast openness of the sea, he found it not just fun but adventurous to bravely dive down to explore what he could of the ocean floor. Sort of like now. As Ricky took a deep breath he dipped his head in the water, probably made it look like he was an unconscious floater, and looked underneath to see the world that awaited for him below. Seaweed and sand with different variations of some sea shells were present, along with a little bit of marine life that dwelled further out in the vast depths of the immense ocean. He smiled as the salt slightly stung his eyes for a moment, then brought his head up to the surface once more with eyes closed to rub them. He loved this. He loved being in the water. He decided to wait until he’d caught enough air to relieve the deep heavy breaths he took in, and prepared himself to make yet another journey down below to the world that waited underneath the surface.

[Tydus Tempest]

Unfurled sails towered over the Svefra child as Tydus cast his gaze about the ship. The Pod was working in unison to navigate the ship towards Zeltiva, a pair of the younger males moving to the lower deck of the ship to fish out the anchor. There was a total of six Svefra, an even mixture of men and women, including the Lia Tatianna herself moving their way to the casinor to drive them to port. It was the established, and easier way to come and go given the population of Zeltiva's port, but in truth, Tydus didn't care about any of that.

Yes! Finally, we've stopped! A vibrant grin materialized upon the Tempest child's face as he looked over the gunwale, his eyes of Laviku's blood staring into the ocean, in awe of the vibrant glare that spread along the surface of the water like glowing fire. He felt the grin widening as he climbed onto the gunwale, hearing a chuckle before he was pushed into the water. He yelled out, feet gripping at the slick wood, but to no effect. He fell overboard, his body pressing into the ocean's depths as the ocean's sense kicked in. Water flowing with the presence of creatures, their life forces shining like radiant stars in his mind.

The Svefra felt each light interact with his mind, numbing him to the cold of the water, and for a moment, even the begging of his lungs for air. He gasped in shock before he narrowed his focus, mind humming with the intimate, arcane connection that Laviku embedded into each of his sons and daughters before he reached out, both physically and mentally, for his dolphin friend, his tavan, Boost.

The vibrant grin that had fallen as he was pushed replaced itself as the Svefra kicked upwards, his hands pushing water underneath him in an elementary effort to rise in the water. When he broke the surface, his lips parted, air pulled into his lungs and expanding them, a satisfied laugh pouring from his lips as he felt smooth, rubbery skin against his bare back. Boost flicked his tail against the Tempest's upper back playfully before moving it along Tydus' arm.

"Ha! You want to play, Boo? Well let's play Turbo Speed!" The Svefra pressed his hands against the slick skin, losing grip more often than not, but eventually, after nearly a chime, managing to make forward progress onto the dolphin's back until he reached around its body.

"Fast, go fast! Yeah!" The dolphin made a clicking sound before it raced forward towards the Zeltivan shore, as if attempting to race towards the casinor that were already making progress. However, Boost turned its body. Tydus, unable to withstand the force of the shift, let go of the dolphin, flying forward and splashing rather violently into the water. He wasn't far from shore at this point, though his diminutive form had no chance of touching bottom. He looked back at the dolphin as it swam away, sticking out his tongue and mumbling a curse in Fratava before he kicked towards the shore.

In the distance, the Svefra saw a figure of approximately his size, looking about in the water as if he were unfamiliar with it. The Svefra child arched his eyebrows, climbing to his feet when able and looking along the way. The docks were close enough that the Svefra lad could see the rise of a multitude of masts rising form the ocean, but he didn't care, he was having too much fun to play "Which ship is that?". Instead, the lad called out to the child in the distance, "HEEEY! Wanna play?"

Without listening for an answer, the Svefra began to swim forward in the hopes of finding a Svefra friend to ride dolphins with. Races were fun!

[Ricky Maze]

He’d just taken his next plunge down under the surface when something happened, a voice seemed to shout to him, carried over the surface of the oceanic waves to his position. With his head being underwater though the density dulled the volume of sound from above, thus the call out was rather muffled when he dove under to see the world below once more. He didn’t ignore the sounds that tried to reach him though, instead he curiously looked in what seemed to be the direction they originated from at first. Sure enough when he looked he could see something flailed and kicked about, something that looked to be the same size he was if not a bit smaller. It was another human by the looks of it, a human child that swam his way to Ricky’s general direction. Yet even if Ricky noticed that there was another who joined him in his favorite hobby, something else seemed to lure his attention further, something so beautiful that he’d never thought he’d see one up close… up until now of course.

It was a dolphin. A somewhat larger creature than he imagined compared to other fish, but all the more beautiful to witness as it swam around in a large circle with Ricky and whoever else was approaching in the center. The sounds that echoed from the dolphin bounced off Ricky’s eardrums as he listened intently to the creature, deep blue eyes wide in awe as he watched just a little more before he resurfaced for another gasp of air. The one who approached him was in sight, and he looked to be a boy by the looks of it. A boy overly excited to greet him, likely wanting to play around within the water. "Ahoy!" He called out with a wave overhead, though the wave only lasted a moment since he couldn’t swim very well without two arms. "What’s yer name!" He probed curiously as the boy was finally close enough to be in talking range, he wasn’t prepared to hear the language that the boy had of course when the answer came out.

Fratava. It was a language he hadn’t thoroughly learned yet as his dad conversed in it sometimes, he was to learn as much as he could too this year though the reason for it remained uncertain. In truth Ricky knew only some words and phrases, but nowhere near enough to strike full conversation with another. In short Ricky would only have to do his best to determine whatever it was this boy said, and in turn try to get through to the child what he meant to say. Language barriers were always fickle like that, tricky to deal with but all the more worth a challenge. His father would likely be proud to know that he was making another friend, even better a foreigner that could teach him something.

oocOkay so I skipped ahead just a wee bit to put out a little more detail, but left it open enough to determine whatever Tydus might say to Ricky so it can flow into the next post. Feel free to do the same if you feel it necessary!

[Tydus Tempest]

x

A vibrant laugh escaped the Svefra's lips as he treaded water with only his legs, kicking the water around in a steady, swirling rhythm that he had learned with his life in the water. Of course, the boy was unable to maintain it for long, his legs straining with the effort before he called back to Boost,

"Boo! That way!"

The dolphin swam forward, tapping at the Svefra child with the tip of its nose. Slowly, but surely, it taxi'd the boy to the shore, the Svefra climbing onto the rubbery surface of its body, gripping at its body for about thirty ticks before they were in the other child's vicinity. Several moments after the Svefra made his way forward, he realized that the other boy was calling out to him, a chuckle escaping the Tempest's lips as he tilted his head curiously. The Tempest had absolutely no clue what the young man was saying, his fluency in Fratava automatically putting his brain in the mindset of the language. Though he understood Common to an extent, he lacked the ability to pay attention to the language from afar and so, he heard nothing but indistinct jibberish.

He ignored the foolish boy for a moment as he looked to Boo, waving the tavan off with a laugh before he said, "Go, Boo! Back the the Fist! I'm gonna play here for a bit! See if this one's fun or not." A grin materialized upon the Tempest's features as he ran along the shoreline, carefully balancing himself along the last line between wet and dry sand. He slipped twice in his approach before he became irritated with it, the slow ascent beginning to bore him.

He quickly made his way to the other child, who he perceived to be Svefra, though the sloshing of his stomach present around the Pod was not so here. Why was he speaking jibberish when there was perfectly good Fratava to speak? Tydus had no idea, but was intent on finding out. The Svefra stopped when he was within three steps of the child, a chuckle escaping his lips as he pointed at himself, then at the sea, his words flowing in quickly-paced Fratava as he called out,

"Hi there! I'm Tydus of the Tempest Pod! Are ye with a different pod? Or does yer pod live 'ere in Zeltiva? Can ye show me around a bit? Look a bit more familiar with this place than I am. Do you have a tavan? I wanna see!"

His words were accompanied with a bright grin before he looked, a hand reaching out to grab his new friend's wrist before he could answer, intent on going for a swim.

Common | Fratava

[Ricky Maze]

Ricky watched in awe as the young boy he hollered at was suddenly propelled by a mammal of the ocean, the way he was carried to shore it was an amazing and yet unusual sight to behold. With the unusual workings of words he wasn't quite familiar with hearing Ricky was able to see that the boy had a way to communicate with the animal, as it soon headed back towards a large boat that seemed to have docked within the city.

That didn't stop Ricky from looking back to the boy and offering a friendly smile though, with the way this newcomer approached him so quickly he could only return the same amount of energy with his own. Therefore the both of them met halfway, in between shallow and deep waters. It was a meeting that was going to very much prove interesting for Ricky, as he was addressed with the same unusual language by the boy upon encounter. The fact this boy intended to reach out to Ricky was returned with the same childish manner, the new sudden friends grasped each others wrists as Ricky was overwhelmed with the same unknown language as before.

From what he understood it was Fratava, a language his father had been making him practice since it helped sailors and fishermen conduct business often. The name was clear as that was said as it would be in the Common Tongue, though Ricky could only understand a small portion of what was being said entirely. "Oi dun understand ya mate, Oi 'ardly know what language yer speakin any way." He responded with a vexed expression on his face, his mind had vacantly drawn a blank with the sounds of the words the boy tried to say.

"Oi got Tydus t'ough, is dat yer name? Oi'm Ricky! D'yew know any Common? Oi dun really know any Fratava just yet." He inquired with hopes that the boy would know some Common, although that was likely to be a long shot seeing as how he was a foreigner.

[Tydus Tempest]

x
A deep, instantaneous frown pursed the boy Tempest's features as he realized that the child in front of him was speaking in Common. It was a language that he absolutely hated, the strange, slow-paced droll of a language by and far the least of the two that Tydus had his grasp on. Svefra were born speaking Fratava, they said. The hand gestures and boisterous cries of baby Svefra reminded one of the language, albeit it as gibberish, or at least, Tydus saw it that way. As far as Tydus knew, only the Svefra came out truly being what they were. Other infants lacked a mark that identified them as what they were, but the Svefra emerged from the womb already proclaimed and embraced by Laviku as his children.

And to him, that made the Svefra and their language, Fratava, the only language worth speaking. But, in all honesty and now that Boo was, if Tydus' ocean's sense told him correctly, off playing around with a different dolphin... the boy Svefra decided that he might as well stick around, if only to show the boy, who the Tempest had perceived as Svefra by his apparent joy in being in the sea, how it was to truly live.

The Tempest hid his grin, attempting to hide away the excited, mischievous nature that he held, but he tapped into the power of Oceanus. He found, through the ocean's sense, a fish just about the size of Tydus' own hand, compelling it to flip through the water and swim towards the pair as the boy's lips parted to speak, slowing down his voice tremendously to speak the Common tongue. His words would be completely slathered in the accent of Fratava, the boy's hands even still moving to convey his meaning behind his words,

"I know bis and piezes of eht, aye. Ricky, eh? T'is... good? To meet ye. Tydus Tempest, aye. Ay' don't ye know Fratava, eh? Yer a Svefra, aren't ye?"

The Tempest pursed his lips for a moment, looking the boy in the face for several moments to not the odd discolouration of his eyes. He reached out to him with his gnosis, intent on checking again if the boy was blessed with Oceanus. And... he wasn't. Tydus felt the fish getting closer and was very much wanting to show the normal, now that Tydus knew what he was, what a Svefra could do. He guided the fish between the fabric of Ricky's shorts and his thigh, guiding the fish to slide into his shorts and swim about inside of the garment, intent on having it flop about as much as possible while the Tempest laughed. If successful, that was exactly what the Tempest would do, but in either scenario, he'd flash a grin at the normal and say,

"Yeh ave a funny, righ'? Yer not a bass, aye ope. Caus I'm boored wadin on teh pod... Wanna play?"

Common | Fratava

[Ricky Maze]

Ricky's eyes showed intensified interest in the boy as he tried to speak Common, his words strongly slathered in the heavy accent of the Fratava he so naturally spoke. Ricky smiled as he heard the question about being Svefra, the inherited blood he bore not quite known in relevance to lineages he was tied to. He had a blend of variety and that was all he knew, simple variations that made him what some would refer to as mixed.

Something that few hardly looked down upon seeing as he looked like a natural human. "Oi t'ink Oi am, only partial t'ough! Yew must be a complete Svefra den- Wah!" Something slippery and very much alive swam into his shorts, and from there it was more than enough to get him to stir about as he practically freaked out trying to get the fish that flipped about around his manhood.

Gods it hurt. Felt weird in a way but when he felt a fin or something smack against that area, a world of pain haunted his lower gut momentarily as he continued to struggle with getting it out. It took about ten ticks worth of Tydus' laughter, until at last Ricky finally "fished" out the little creature and sent it off into another direction away. De petch! Dat petchin' hurt! He thought as he kept a hand cupped over his manhood with a small grimace on his face, getting a fish stuck in your shorts did NOT feel as funny as it sounded. But Tydus seemed to take an interest in him, after a quick joke with the fish trick he must've pulled. How it happened was a mystery to Ricky, but the boy figured it was a quick prank between two young boys. If anything he was bemused, and tempted to play with Tydus all the same.

"Aye! Waddya wanna play? We can go divin' t' sea level if ya like! Oi usually try t' find buried treasure at de bottom!" Ricky suggested with a hearty smile on his face, the idea that something fascinating rested at the bed of the ocean a temptation worth investigating. He was still up to other ideas of course though, and prone to get a little rowdy with the boy in turn should Tydus make any notions for horseplay in the water.

[Tydus Tempest]

For the life of him, the Tempest had no idea what the kid was saying. However, the tone that he used was far better received than the Tempest had expected for someone who had just had their manhood attacked by a fish. And it was because of this that Tydus deigned the boy someone that could be a friend. A bright grin marked the Tempest's features. The Tempest then closed his eyes and reached out with his ocean's sense, taking a half-step back in the water before he called out in his mind,

Boo! See if you can bring Aedre! She's the only one I know that speaks Common and has the time to play!

The Lia and her women were too busy in the city to care, and Tydus knew that Aedre was not the type to hang around with Tatianna, for whatever reason. It only meant that she had more time for him! As the dolphin swam off, Tydus able to follow it for the moment until he lost interest and turned back to Ricky, he decided to respond to something that he had very little power to understand,

"Play? Dive? Yes! Dive, yes! Friend come, but dive now!"

The Tempest threw words together without a care for how they were received and not a moment later, he pushed from the ground and began swimming farther from the shores of Zeltiva and into the waters. The Tempest cared not to see if Ricky followed, because he suspected that he would, seeing that there was little else to do in the pits of the ocean. The Tempest instead fixated his attention on swimming. A first stroke, then a second. His body rolled with the application of force, twisting on an axis as his legs kicked furiously, water splashing skyward before he surfaced to take a deep, filling breath. Legs kicked beneath him to push him lower into depths. However, before he could explore deeper, he felt Boo and another presence moving quickly towards him.

And a moment later, a hand pulled at his arm, raising him above the water as Aedre Tempest looked to the younger Svefra with a laugh,

"You called, Tydus? Why?"

"There's a boy nearby, but I can barely understand him..."

"Oh? You should've studied yer Common, you little beast." The Tempest woman chuckled and ruffled Tydus' hair before she turned to face Ricky to call him over with a smile,

"You, kid! What's your name?"

The Tempest looked between Ricky and Aedre with a rather flustered expression, shaking the water out of his hair before moving back towards Boost. Fingers traversed the rubbery skin of the young dolphin, and the Tempest kept his focus on it until he got over the embarrassment of being called out by Aedre.

She can be so mean sometimes! Rude! But she's still my favourite auntie.

Fratava | Hypnotic Fratava | Common | Hypnotic Common | Vani

[Ricky Maze]

With the way the boy seemed to throw common words together out of excitement, Ricky could only gawk in puzzlement at first until he decided to just simply follow along after Tydus. Were they diving first or were they meeting a friend? He wasn't sure but he figured he'd learn sooner or later, seeing as how Tydus looked to be swimming further and further out into the deep end. When he saw that the boy submerged under water, Ricky chuckled as he reached the spot where Tydus was last seen at the surface. Without further wait the young fisher followed along after he took in a big gulp of air to hold, and in turn dove deep down with kicks at the surface above him to push further down into the depths. So they were really going to dive first then, which was fine by Ricky seeing as how they were both going to check out the sea floor.

He was rather behind the Tydus kid but that was because the boy seemed rather impatient, eager to jump onto things first compared to Ricky. Either way the young fisher aimed to try and catch up, that is until some larger form approached to grasp his arm, and returned him up to the surface in the process. Huh? The Zeltivan released a bit of air as an eye brow creased out of curiosity, as he too traveled back up to the surface to see who this friend of Tydus was. When he surfaced he noticed that while Tydus had a terrible time speaking Common, the woman had practically no trouble at all really. When she turned to greet him with a smile, the young fisher did the same in turn when he answered her call. "Me pa calls me Ricky m'lady." He introduced warmly as he managed to swim a little bit closer to the new friends he'd made.

"Oi'm a fisher 'ere in dis city. What do yew do?" He inquired the adult curiously as he looked between Tydus and the adult that joined them, he had to admit she looked to be a pretty friendly woman even if she was a stranger.

[Tydus Tempest]

While Aedre was busy speaking to the other child, Tydus decided to sneak away from her. The woman's arms naturally raised to press her hands to her waist, and the Tempest found that he was able to swim freely. He took several strokes back as Aedre continued to converse, then took a deep breath and submerged. He waited several moments, to ensure that Aedre was deep in conversation.

As Tydus waited, Aedre decided to address Ricky again, quirking a brow as she noted,

"You carry an accent in your Common. It's almost like you were raised by a Svefra. Do you speak Fratava at all?"

Aedre's own voice was tinged with the accent of Fratava, but only just. The verse of the Svefra was very light on her tongue, her words taking a favourable hint towards the choppy, but it accented her words rather than making them unintelligible.

It's not my fault I haven't been studying... Aedre's just the only one that bothers to teach me...

A pout formed on the Tempest's lips before he finally decided to spring into action. Legs whirled beneath him as he adjusted his posture. In the time Aedre spoke to Ricky, Tydus had raised his lips to the surface for long enough to take a breath, but continued to keep himself submerged. But it was no longer so. The Tempest leaped in the water and lunged towards the elder Tempest with a fierce, sudden burst of kicking, his arms paddling until they caught onto Aedre's waist. His legs kicked up again and he found his arms upon her shoulders, his legs whirling around her torso as he sought to tighten his grip around her.

Rather than struggle, as the young Svefra had anticipated, Aedre simply kept her composure and continued speaking,

"I think you speak the Common tongue a bit better than you're letting on, Tydus."

The Tempest, flustered in being called out, shook his head,

"Nuh uh! No speak! Very few words."

But the colour on his cheeks and his ability to understand the elder Svefra's common verse rather readily said otherwise.

"I really don't speak it, I swear... I can just... understand it a bit better. It's hard to say those long, flowy words. Fratava's easier..."

"It just means you need to work harder at it, Tydus."

Fratava | Hypnotic Fratava | Common | Hypnotic Common | Vani