Closed All the Luck in the Sky

[Jay Darkcrest]

Jay tilted his head. To her it seemed exciting to hear of places she’d never been, but to Jay, her words were nearly as exciting. During his short stay in Alvadas, the city had confused and tricked him more often than not. Often it was fun to figure out how to get to his destination or navigate out of a dead end, but sometimes it got frustrating too. He was starting to suspect the natives had more than a few shortcuts and tricks, but so far nobody had really shared theirs with him. Maybe Karin would if he asked nicely?

Eventually he shrugged. “Aye, maybe. I only wanted to be back at the sea where my family was from, but I did not go back… They disappeared, so why go alone?” With a small sigh, he pressed his lips together, then forced himself to think about something else. “But there’s still much I don’t know. Alvadas, for example. It’s confusing a lot!”

When they talked about climbing and favorite things, he watched her curiously. Not a climber, then. Not yet? Teaching her how to climb things certainly sounded like fun to him! He began to nod enthusiastically, gesturing with his hands what words couldn’t express. “I like the wind on my face, in my hair. I like how it feels like it blows you away, but then it doesn’t. Well, usually not. I like that everything looks beautiful from above. And the freedom.”

Each time Karin spoke, Jay liked her more and more. He’d already promised to teach her about her Svefra heritage, but there were really many different things they could do together! “Swimming is good too. We must go together sometime. You know the good spots for swimming here, aye?”

He grinned at the image and also at the way she wriggled her toes just like he had before. Then he leaned back with a deep sigh, enjoying the warm weather and rare peaceful moment on top of the mountain. “Is okay. You tell me more about Alvadas later, aye? Now, what do you want to know?”

[Karin]

There was a small sigh when the man spoke of his family, and a subtle but just noticeable change of conversation which Karin finally realised. Sometimes the past was a difficult place to remember, and she didn't want to push away this new friend. If there was something he didn't want to talk about, then, well- they wouldn't talk about it.

So, with a glint of amusement and also a kind of determination, she nodded as he spoke of the city. "Yes. It certainly is confusing." And then she continued nodding and listening, and a wide, unabashed smile spread across her face as the man spoke of the wind, and the sensations one gets from climbing.

She didn't say anything, just letting the other continue, but she could appreciate and understand the pure value of freedom. Maybe, if she didn't get frightened, she should try to climb. In her own, unhurried, unstressed time. As for swimming... "I don't know if I know the best places. I just know places." She shrugged. "To be honest, I don't really care if it's good or bad, as long as it's wet!"

The man answered her question with a question of his own, obviously wanting to clarify, but Karin had no idea what she wanted to know, but simply that she wanted to know. So she pondered a little, stalling by stroking the little tufts of grass with her fingers and marvelling at how the seed heads were both soft, tickly and tough all at the same time.

Finally she spoke up. "I suppose that I want to know about the sea. About travelling on boats. The places you've been, sights you've seen, sounds you've heard." Lamely she finished off by saying, "And I want to tell you anything you want to know too, about Alvadas and all that."

She propped herself up better, feeling a sudden cool breeze wafting over her skin. The blonde-haired Svefra looked up at the skies, and saw clouds in the far distance, soft and smudged darkly into peaks and billows, that brushed the edge of the horizon. However, she didn't mention it. If rain or adverse weather came, then it would come, and there was nothing either of the two could do about it.

[Jay Darkcrest]

“Wet is good!” Jay grinned. He hadn’t expected anything less from Karin. Her love for the water proved that, despite different upbringing, she was still a Svefra at heart. He was almost certain she’d come to love everything about their lifestyle and cultural habits if someone taught her.

While Karin was struggling to answer his question, Jay leaned back with a content sigh and listened to the breeze. It whispered in the trees before them, but also stirred the leaves lying around the rocky ground. They were dancing, forming patterns. Jay often wondered if those meant anything, if the winds were speaking to them.

When they shifted, bringing a chill and dark clouds, Karin spoke and Jay had to fumble for words himself. It was the first time he even explained the Svefra and how it was to live with them – people he’d talked to previously either were Svefra or simply not interested. “To start… My Pod doesn’t come from the Suvan Sea. We sail the Sebakem Ocean which is around Zeltiva. It’s not as warm, it’s rough, very big. Nobody knows how big, so we only sail the coast. When I say Pod, I mean Palivars, big ships for many people, and several Casinors, small boats for one or two. We swim around between them all the time, visiting, hunting and doing other things together. Of course, everyone is a really good swimmer and can stay in the water for a long time. The ocean is around us all the time. Even in port cities, we stay together and spend more time on ships. It’s fun. We have lots of parties with singing, dancing and stories.”

Smiling, Jay noticed the wind was picking up and ruffling their hair. The clouds were hanging deep in the eastern sky, coming closer. “The places… We were in Zeltiva a lot. Sometimes Mura. The Konti are always nice and friendly, but they know so much. That can be… creepy is the right word? Not bad though. We go past Sahova too, but never anchor. Undead are too dangerous.”

Tilting his head, Jay glanced at Karin. “You see, I only really know about Sebakem. What else do you want to know?”

[Karin]

With Jay's description, Karin was transported. Out across the sea, through cities unknown, skimming across wavetops and finally she could imagine life in a Pod. It was wonderful, and exactly what she wanted to hear, and her smile was as bright as Syna, transforming her face from its usual frown to that of an overjoyed child, truly happy.

"I don't mind that you only know about Sebakem. It's enough that you can tell me about that, really. All those places sound really interesting! I don't think I've ever heard of Mura and Konti, but I know about Zeltiva. Perhaps Sahova too." The girl was now sitting crosslegged with attention, leaning forwards intently without her really knowing it.

"So, is Sebakem further away than the Suvan? And, oh.. hang on, you wanted to know about Alvadas too, right?" With a little chuckle, the girl would continue, "It's not really fair of me to expect you to tell me all this stuff without getting anything in return."

But before either of them could reply, overhead the oncoming weather suddenly broke, the dark clouds so full of rain that they couldn't hold it any longer. Karin wasn't expecting it, despite having noticed it coming earlier, and she let out a little shriek as cold, heavy rain suddenly spattered over her head and down her neck.

"Oh gods!" She stood up suddenly, a look of comical surprise on her face, which quickly broke as she giggled. The sound of the rain was loud on the grass and the earth, and it wasn't long before her hair was completely soaked through, despite trying to protect herself with her sleeves, having forgotten to take her cloak with her.

"Alvadas is unexpected!" She spoke up above the rain, grinning. "We should probably head down! We can talk on the way, if you'd like?" If the man was still seated, she would offer her hand to pull him up, and she would quickly yank her soggy boots back onto her feet before descending.

[Jay Darkcrest]

The bright smile transformed her into a giddy child and Jay, who couldn’t help but smile in response, was reminded of himself. It was a joy to watch. He nodded. “Aye, there is Suvan, then Sylira where I traveled on land, then Zeltiva and Sebakem. More or less.” The last time he’d seen maps had been back with the Darkcrests. With the Lia for an aunt, he’d always known what was going on and where they were going. Naturally, he hadn’t cared for navigation most of the time, picking active occupations over scholarly ones.

He grinned when Karin steered them back to Alvadas, but didn’t get around to replying. Just when he tried to, thunder sounded and rain came down. Jay shuddered from the chill and shook his head, spattering cold drops everywhere. He’d seen the clouds alright, but they had approached way faster than expected! Another oddity, judging from Karin’s exclamation.

After the shock, he accepted her hand with a word of thanks. Despite the uncomfortably cold temperatures and rain, he took a moment to lift his face and feel the water on his skin. They were already soaked, so it didn’t matter. Then he grinned at Karin. “Aye, we can head down same way and talk some more. Maybe about Alvadas like you said! It’s really strange… How do you guys know where everything is? And do you know what is illusion and what is real?”

He briefly halted to furrow his brow. Could they tell the difference between illusion and… no, did it even matter? With that question, Jay had hit an unexpectedly deep and layered train of thought, one that he wasn’t sure he wanted to follow. Nevertheless, he was curious how a resident saw the city of illusion.


OOCSo I think we should do the fade to black thing during our next posts... if that's okay.

[Karin]

The rain poured but Karin felt strangely light, as she slowly came to realise that this was what happy felt like. "Well, the city is constantly moving, the streets sometimes lead in all different directions. The illusions are sometimes quite real, and I don't know which is which!"

"Places move about. This mountain isn't usually here, to be honest. We've had some strange illusions before, which feel like real things but can't possibly be. Sometimes it's best just to shrug and either think that everything is an illusion, or that everything is real."

The girl skipped her way down the mountain, alternating splashing her feet in the puddles and rivulets that were quickly forming, and stopping to let Jay catch up, or to shiver a little in the rain.

She chattered too, telling Jay about various different illusions she'd seen over the years, the dangerously sinking streets, the improbable glass fruit which was edible, that one time luminescent fish had replaced everyone's feet for a day.

With the telling, they got further and further down the mountain, further and further to safer paths, and Karin found that she had enjoyed the day today, despite having a rocky start, perhaps.

Alvadas was a fun place to live, and she was proud of it in a way, proud to tell Jay about the city she lived in. Perhaps they would find more time to talk about the places they knew with each other...

[Naia Whitewater]

Wunderbar!

 

Jay

Skills

• Observation: +5XP
• Climbing: +3XP
• Socialisation: +5XP
• Running: +2XP
• Endurance: +1XP
• Wilderness Survival: +2XP

Lores

• Alvadas: Nothing Is As It Seems
• Flipping Coins
• Climbing: Faster than Walking
• Wilderness Survival: Traversing Mountainous Terrain
• Karin: Podless Svefra
• Karin: Taken From the Sea
• Svefra: Not All are Connected to the Ocean
• Karin: Afraid of Heights
• Alvads: Suspiciously Good at Navigating the City
• Karin: Wet is Good
• Alvadas: Constantly Changing

Consequences
Jay will only be slightly exhausted after the run and play, and climbing of the day - a good night's rest will get rid of the brunt of it, but he may feel some surprise muscle soreness the next morning

 

Karin

Skills

• Observation: +5XP
• Climbing: +2XP
• Socialisation: +5XP
• Running: +2XP
• Rhetoric: +1XP
• Endurance: +1XP

Lores

• Jay Darkcrest: Marten Kelvic of a Svefra Father
• Jay Darkcrest: Seen Much of the World
• Jay Darkcrest: Inviting Disposition
• Jay Darkcrest: Family Disappeared
• Jay Darkcrest: Curious of Alvadas
• Konti: Kind and Knowing
• Sahova: The Undead are Dangerous
• The Darkcrest Pod
• The Sebaken Ocean

Consequences
Ouch, exercise! Running! Pain!
A good night's sleep will leave Karin feeling much, much better, but she's going to be feeling a little worse for wear the better part of the next day, with some muscle soreness hanging around for the next 48 to 72 hours, largely in the muscles of her legs.

EDIT: Misplaced code meant half of the above consequence was not viewable

 

Notes

All around, a lovely thread!
Despite its number of posts, you two effectively carried the plot in a manner that it was neither too drawn out, or cutting it too fine - although I feel like you could have perhaps gotten more out of some of your posts, it was a splendid read, and makes quite the case and point that the number of skills and lores that can be taken from a thread, doesn't directly correlate to its worth, and the enjoyment brought from reading it.

Jay
I liked the way that you wrote his workings through the common tongue, as well his knowledge and interchanging between the two languages when using complex sentences. I felt like the significance of the coin toss warranted its on lore to cement the talent (given coin tossing is hardly a skill), however the lack of any real danger presented on the mountain meant that I didn't feel it just giving you too many points to wilderness survival, the two you've gained more so dedicated to the ability to traverse the terrain safely and effectively, and the mindfulness presented in the monitoring of sound/noise and pace during Jay's dash into the undergrowth. These points can be attributed though most effectively into the 'Mountain' biome, however the knowledge is not too specific, and can also be easily accommodated into the 'Forest'.

Karin
I loved the depth and character that we got out of Karin Haha, she can be a stubborn introvert all she likes- she still nailed out a max 5XP in socialisation! And a little bit of Rhetoric for the convincing of Jay to share the knowledge that Karin wished for.
I did also quite very strongly wish to wrap the poor dear in a blanket for half the thread, so also brilliant job in the coaxing of emotional reaction from the grader/reader! I look forward to seeing how Karin grows from this point forward.

Enjoy you grades!
Please let me know if you have any questions are problems with the grade, and don't forget to update your grade request, thank you!