What's Fun About Being Sober?

[Eliro Darkcrest]

10th OF AUTUMN, 515AV
6th BELL, EVENING
EAST STREET DOCKS

Eliro retired with the sun, her arms sore from that day's work. Perhaps she could search for an inland job that she actually had skill in. Scraping for coins at the docks was hardly cutting it, but the mourning Svefra hardly cared. Snuggling the clay bottle of Kelp Beer in her left arm, she twisted her Atani around her neck loosely as she walked. Bare feet moved from the dusty cracked stones of east street to the splintered wood of their docks, and Eliro sighed with the growing sight of her Casinor's mast on the horizon.

She relaxed with the unsteady wood under her feet, it was only a small drop to the comfort of the sea, but tonight was not right for a swim. May was likely out at the edge of the bay, searching for the food he couldn't find closer to land. But tonight she had a small problem to fix. The issue of her current sober state. It had to be corrected.

Letting out a shrill whistle, Eliro gripped the neck of the bottle and hopped onto her Casinor, unlocking the hatch to her cabin and slipping in. She deposited the coin she earned that day in a empty cup and opened her cabinet, eyeing the bare amount of food. She squinted at the pickled fish, wondering if it was worth opening yet, but ultimately decided not to. She didn't often store food, but she knew it was a habit she would have to fix as winter approached. Zeltiva did not offer much in the way of food. And since the Svefra was still waiting, she wouldn't leave for more plentiful waters. Not yet.

The reminder of her wait sparked a surge of pain and Eliro slammed the cabinet shut, whirling on her feet and scaling up the ladder once more. She balanced the Kelp Beer in her elbow as she reached the top of the short climb of stairs. The gently rocking of the tied boat was suddenly sickening and she scrambled back onto the dock, reaching the end of her particular section and sat down, letting her feet hang over the edge. Carelessly, she wiggled the cork off the top of the bottle, tilting the vile liquid up to take a long swig.

The immediate reaction to gag the poison back up showed itself, but Eliro cringed and kept the alcohol down. Making a face at no one in particular, she took another long drink, her thoughts now invaded by the faces of her Pod. Her mother, her aunt, her cousin. Eliro took large gulp, her stomach now threatening to throw the kelp beer back at her, and wished the notorious drink would work faster than it had previously. She set the clay bottle down, coughing painfully as a drop of the drink caught in her windpipe.

Dira, take me now. She laughed to herself at the pitiful prayer, as if she hadn't been asking it for a year already. Of course the Goddess would not grant her with such a luxury unless she took it into her own hands. And definitely not from a poorly taken sip of the vile Kelp Beer, much to her disappointment.

[Felicity]

Felicity often followed people. She found it interesting to see what exactly they were like in different settings. How they acted at the bar seemed far different than how they were when they were at home with their children. Likewise they behaved differently toward their wives and husbands than their mister's and mistresses. There did not really appear to be an obvious reason why to Felicity, but the novelty of seeing multiple sides of a person intrigued her just enough that she would, from time to time, put the effort into observing it for herself. Thus now she followed someone new. Someone strange, with tattoos. Someone a bit taller than her who had the same color eyes and hair, roughly at least. Best of all was what she carried. A jug of what could only be Kelp Beer.

That was probably the real reason Felicity followed this woman now. The season previous had been hard on her, and money was scarce and hard to come by. Mother and father had taken the little she had managed to save already and spent it on their latest narcotic craze. Worst though was that they had not shared even a bit of it with her. Felicity toyed with the idea of putting pins in their feet while they slept, but then if she did so that would mean she had to take the time to steal them. That, more than anything else, made her decide against it. She would think of something better anyway.

Walking 10 paces behind felicity's bare feet only lightly scuffed the dusty stones as she walked with a conscious effort to make as little noise as possible. She raised her feet just a little higher, set her feet down toes first just a little softer than normal, and when she could she would drift toward the side of the street where the growing shadows welcomed her. At least that was what Felicity tried to do. It was still some time before she could call herself a master of stealth, but she figured she was doing the basics right... right?

Staying back and out of sight Felicity simply watched as the woman went aboard her little ship, making such a racket before finally coming back out. A part of her wanted to just slip inside after the woman left and rummage through what was most likely some rather unusual objects. What did Svefra keep in their belongings anyway? A lot of fish most likely, and hooks. Maybe sea bird feathers that they tied into their hair and rope made of seaweed. Felicity had never seen rope fashioned from seaweed before and the more she stared at the Casinor the more she wanted to try. The lock on the latch probably wasn't that difficult to pick either. The woman didn't look like she could afford the finest of locks. Worse case she could hit it with a rock.

The thought of hooks and fish and seaweed ropes made Felicity pause as she struggled to decide what she wanted to do more, but ultimately logic and reason won out. The woman had Kelp beer, and she never could pass up a chance to drink. Her eyes strayed longingly at the Casinor as she passed, her steps holding a slight skip to them as Felicity lifted her bare feet slightly higher than she needed to as to avoid unnecessary splinters. With little reason for stealth a soft tune hovered on her lips as she made her way down to the end and, without invitation, sat down beside this woman. Her feet dangled off the dock as well, kicking at the foaming waves below as Felicity smiled sideways at the woman.

"Hello." Felicity tried to make her voice soft and airy, like she had seen some of the richer girl's do. She always thought they sounded simple and air headed, but that also made them seem all the more innocent and harmless, "It seems a shame to be drinking alone. Are you sad?"

Tilt the corners of the mouth up, eyebrows raised slightly as eyes flicker between each of the other person's shining orbs. That was how you conveyed interest, but was it too much? felicity wasn't sure but it was the best she had for now. Don't look at the beer, look at her eyes. That was what she said over and over again. Look at the eyes, and the beer will come later.

[Eliro Darkcrest]

The creak of a forgein pair of feet on the dock alerted Eliro and she struggled to end her fit of coughing and look at who was approaching. She didn't miss the slightly too long look at her Casinor, but the Svefra didn't quite put two and two together as she watched the woman approach. She seemed to have the intention of sitting directly beside Eliro and the sea-woman scooted to the side to allow her room. Eliro squinted, trying to make something of the sudden presence before the woman spoke.

"Hello." The simply greeting was given oddly. Not any of the accents she had heard before, so perhaps this strange woman was not from the East end of the city. But then again the Svefra didn't care much to pay attention to the land-dwellers and their accents, so perhaps she was. She didn't dress like the snobby land-folk of the University.

"'Ello" Eliro returned the greeting, clearing her through one last time and tapping her temple with two fingers in greeting.

"It seems a shame to be drinking alone. Are you sad?" The innocent words threw Eliro off. She wasn't quite used to strangers coming up to her, especially not with a somewhat friendly demeanor.

"Aye." She confirmed, reaching up to run a finger over her atani. The girl wouldn't realize the clothe as a weapon, so perhaps the move would go unnoticed, but the almost uncomfortable intent with which the blonde stared at her didn't give Eliro the feeling that this woman was who she was pretending to be. Not at the moment at least. "'Nd, I s'pos'a doll like yerself doin' dandy this evenin'." She remarked, not really asking, and switching the drink between her hands uncomfortable. She didn't much care to share, but it would be rude to drink it in front of her.

"Here." She resigned the bottle before the woman could answer, noting her odd behavior. "Yer lookin'a ma strange 'nuf."

Eliro hiked a thumb towards her Casinor. "Taken in'rest in sailin'?" She asked, remarking on the previous looks towards her baby. Might as well start a conversation if this woman planned on sitting right there. Out in the secluded docks, where she really shouldn't be.

[Felicity]

It was a strange gesture, not quite unfamiliar and yet at the same time not really something Felicity was used to. It caught her eye the second that she made it. Was it conscious, or subconscious? Two fingers to the temples and extended in greeting, how curious. Was that native to only her, or to her culture and people? She could feel a tingle and an ich down her arm as she desperately wanted to mimic the gesture, to see what it felt like. Maybe she could soon, but for now there was something far more important.

Focus. She thought, Act like someone normal.

The returned greeting made the smile broaden further to show teeth. The switch of the drink from one hand to another was too much to go unnoticed, and without meaning to Felicity glanced down and just as quickly back up. Perhaps it was good fortune that she did so, for it made her think that, perhaps, it was not so normal to smile so big for so long or even to stare so long into the eyes of a stranger. So she let the smile subside and flicked her eyes away to look out over the sea.

The woman's accent was thick, and so foreign that it took several ticks of repeating the strange sentence in her head for Felicity to gain any meaning from it. Luckily the bottle was offered before she had to answer, and accepting the beer without question or hesitation Felicity tipped it back and let it slide down her throat. The familiar burn raced through her body, and the perhaps over zealous draw from the bottle made Felicity cough slightly. The drink staid down though and the warmth in her stomach was a sudden and welcome distraction. Reluctantly Felicity offered the bottle back, her eyes lingering on it even as it was in the other woman's grasp, and she only looked up when she at last spoke.

"You're accent is strange. Did you call me a doll?" As she observed this her own accent had faded to its normal Zeltivan. Still looking at the bottle Felicity gripped the edge of the dock and leaned forward slightly, kicking her legs as her expression turned thoughtful, "I've never been interested in sailing. I thought I might steal your things and leave before you noticed, but I decided not to."

Was that too much to say? Felicity wondered if, perhaps, she should not have been so honest in her reply. Most people seemed to take offense to such openness. Oh well, nothing for it now she supposed.

The warmth on the back of her neck reflected the drawing upon the mark of Ionu's power, the power scorching down her throat as she opened her mouth and continued, "Ne'er 'eard 'n accent like yer's b'fore.

A slight pause and Felicity shook her head, removing the illusionary accent,"No I don't like it at all. Where are you from?"

Once more she looked intently at the woman, the expression only changing slightly but the smile stayed firmly in place.

[Eliro Darkcrest]

"Good ya don't!" Eliro grinned at the woman's explanation of her thought on stealing. "I'd'a hadda kill ya 'couse fit." Her smile vanished and she made a point to look straight into the woman's eyes on the last few words. She wiggled her lip piercing with her tongue and winked. She didn't intend for the silly face to make her words any less meaningful, only to simply carry on the conversation. For some reason she didn't think the woman was lying that time, and Eliro wanted to make sure the stranger knew she wasn't either. She made a note to either ensure the woman returned home or retire her to the waves by the end of the night. The Svefra didn't want any surprises while she was sleeping. The strong keep what the strong want, and the Svefra wasn't quite sure how strong she would be once she got halfway through the gallon in her hand.

She took another large gulp of the Kelp Beer. Licking the putrid green from her lips, she continued the conversation and answered her question. "Yer call'a doll, 'cause yer all small 'en prutti. Lik'er doll." The sea-woman explained, but then shrugged, her lips contorting in an expression of indifference. "But if ya gotta 'nutha name, be tellin' it." She looked back up at the blue eyes and waited for an answer to her query, offering up her name if it was asked as well.

Eliro laughed when the woman copied her accent, a little unsettled by how perfect it was. "Ri'outta Laviku." She took another gulp of teh beer before handing it over once more. "The ocean. Whur'eld a Svefra be?" She gave the stranger a look to say it was insulting to think she came from anywhere else. "Me think'in yer com'atta this here?" She nodded towards the darkening buildings, not quite sure her broken common got across to the land-dweller. She scanned the dumpy buildings of east street, just beyond the wrapped masts of their equally dumpy boats, suddenly realizing how the light was leaving them. She wiggled her toe in the waves, glancing down at the black water for a second. She listened with her Oceanus, finding that creatures where quieting down for the night, just as she should. Eliro toook another greedy chug before shouldering the beer over to the stranger once more, polite as her mother taught her.

[Felicity]

Felicity thought it was a thread, but the expressions the woman made did not seem to line up with what Felicity believed a threatening expression entailed. The slight confusion made the smile fade a bit, but just as quickly it was put back into place. Whether it was a joke or not, a smile was required. A smile to dissuade the act of violence, and a smile to perhaps convey good thoughts and a non threatening demeanor. It was the wink that was so perplexing. Was it normal for this person's people to wink when they threatened? It was odd.

More than the intended threat, what caught Felicity's eye was the piercings. Such interesting things they were, like decorations for the body? Faintly Felicity wondered if they hurt, and grew more intrigued as she decided that surely they must.

Accepting the bottle, the opening paused just before it touched her lips as Felicity stared out to the sea. It was an odd thought, being called 'pretty'. That was what she suspected she was called at least, the accent still threw her off more often than not.

"I'm a doll..." She whispered, finally tilting the bottle back and taking a hearty swig. Licking her lips she handed it back once more, "Maybe I am." Chewing on her lips after a few ticks Felicity shrugged, "Doll is fine. You can call me that."

Greedy hands extended to take from the bottle once more, only half listening to the explanation of this woman's origins. So she was a Svefra. Felicity heard they were not uncommon in Zeltiva, but she had never spoken with one herself. If this woman was any indication though they seemed quite interesting. Maybe she could ask where her piercings come from.

Invested as she was in her thoughts, and the bottle that was still clutched in her hands, Felicity almost missed the questioning statement. Blinking and looking back at the Svefra she would shrug again and knock back another mouthful, handing the bottle over once more.

"I come from there sometimes." Was her simple answer, kicking her feet as she looked out over the sea. A Svefra from the sea, or from Laviku was what she had said. Where was Laviku?

Looking down at the woman's toes as she dipped them in the water her eyes followed the ripples made from that contact. Wrapping her fingers around the neck of the bottle she held it to her chest, looking up at the Svefra curiously, "What are you sad about?"