Flashback Land, ho!

[Aladari Coolwater]

13th of Spring, 514 AV "Aye, kid, get those ropes pulled tight! You're gonna send us flying off into the Suvan with that limp arm!" As foreign as the Fratava was to Aladari, she knew full well the tone of reprimand. She had heard it all throughout her youth, and especially on boats. Being in the back of the boat, she could not see the captain's face, really, but in her mind, she could see his expression; he would have his brow scrunched up into the middle of his forehead, and his startlingly blue eyes would be peeled wide open. Aladari sighed at the mental picture, but pulled the tiller ropes tighter. Then she hollered back an affirmative "Aye." There was a grumbling from somewhere behind her and a creaking, swishing sound as the sails were rotated to keep the wind. Then, the ship was silent again as the crew members sat down on deck, and there was only the soft rocking of waves against the boat's edge and the sounds of the Svefra's tavan splashing in the water beside them. Aladari loosened her grip again, glancing behind her as she did so to check that no one was watching. Free of responsibility for a chime, the young Vantha excitedly leaned over the side of the ship, watching the soft blue waters pass by them and wondering at its clarity. She had been at sea for nearly forty days now, and besides the Svefra captain, she seemed to be the only one still enjoying herself. Aladari never grew old of the sea, no matter where she was, but as they neared Mura, it appeared as though it grew clearer, bluer, more gentle, and she felt her love for it grow. But she had been in the back of the boat so long, and paid so little attention, that she hardly knew they were nearing Mura until the scout shouted the crew's favorite words. "Land, ho!" There was a buzz about the deck, and the sound of stampeding feet as the crew members flocked to the edge of the ship. Aladari, not one to be left out of anything, rushed to the same side shortly after. "Move it! I wanna see!" She urged. A few of the sailors glared at her for not using Fratava, but they moved anyway, allowing the short Vantha to see past the rails. And there was the city. It wasn't necessarily tall, as some cities were. Nor was it incredibly colorful. However, there was a special light about it, as though Syna herself had kissed the very land. The docks before them were simple, in soft colors with adorable, animal-shaped boats. Aladari mouthed her amazement in silent motions, her eyes widening into a brilliant green. Immediately entranced, Aladari rushed away, pushing through the small cluster of crew to reach her supplies. She would be the first one to set foot if she had to fight someone to do it. And indeed, she was. She moved onto the little boats, and then onto the dock, faster than any of the others could even gather their shoes. Behind her, the rest of the crew settled in, stretching their legs, paying the friendly woman for usage of the dock, and asking directions to lodging. Aladari looked around unabashedly, mouth agape and a small bag of coppers tinkling at her belt. As soon as she heard the woman's tinkling voice announce that they were free to enter the city, Aladari scurried over to the imposing gateway. Without so much as a goodbye to the men she had just spent 40 days with, Aladari began to wander off, on her way to explore.

[Tap]

There was a ship coming in today. Tap had overheard a few dockworkers say so. She wasn't able to catch who what when and where though. They could be traders or travelers, they could come at dusk or dawn. Tap wondered what kind of boat it was. though she didn't know much about ships types. She wondered how big it was, Where did it come from? How many people were aboard? Why were they coming to Mura? Did the ship have cannons?

Tap bet the ship workers had many thrilling tales from the open ocean. Tap had never ventured very far from Konti Isle. Her fishing trips never went more than a mile. She only knew how to raw a rowboat, any farther and she would need a rudder. She wondered where the ship was coming from, where it had stopped along its way to Mura and where it was going once it left. She was determined to stay at the docks all day until the ship arrived. She wanted to see it. Maybe she could sneak her way in, just a peak, she wouldn't stay. She couldn't leave Mura. Not yet.

She arrived at the docks just after midnight. She brought along her fishing supplies to give herself something to do until the boat docked. For the first few bells she simply laid on the wooden docks, hands behind her head, watching the stars and the heavens. She fell asleep for a moment in the peacefulness, dreaming about an Ethaefal falling from Leth right down onto the beaches besides her. She awoke with a start just as Syna was peaking over the horizon. Looking around in a panic she saw she had not missed it. No large ship was in the harbor, it still had not arrived.

Getting up she decided to walk underneath the docks for a moment. Perhaps some treasure of fish lay below. She had her mesh bag with her so if she found anything she could easily collect it. Besides from underneath the docks she could still see if any large ships came into port. She walked like this for a good few bells more into the morning until the sun was higher in the sky. She didn't find much in terms of fish so she decided after a while to head back up to the platform to wait once more.

In order to pass the time and not look strange to the dock workers walking back and forth, she sat on the edge of the dock with her fishing pole in her hand, hanging over the water. She didn't expect to catch anything, not this close to the beach, but it made it look like she had a decent reason for staying in the harbor for such a long period of time.

Her waiting finally paid off though. Soon she heard shouts and looking up she saw a large ship in the water headed straight for the port. Standing up, her fishing pole limp in her hand, she stared, awed, as the ship docked. She stood like this all while the ship docked and the workers pulled up the sails and started to disembark. Many of the people on the boat were men and human looking. A couple women here and there, all headed towards the Entrance to Mura. Still amazed by the ship itself Tao began to walk towards it, trying to think of a way to get on, just for a quick look-see.

She wasn't paying much attention to anything besides the ship and in the middle of her walk there she accidentally ran into someone. She hit the woman straight on, and stumbled back, embarrassed and trying to to fall off the edge of the docks. Looking up she muttered an apology, mostly under her breath but perhaps loud enough for the woman to hear.

When she inspected the woman more carefully, though, she noticed she was one of the people on the ship who had recently disembarked. Suddenly ecstatic she shouted quickly to the woman, somewhat out of character to the small Konti. "You're from the ship! How was it? Where did you come from?"

[Aladari Coolwater]

OOCI hope you meant for Tap to be speaking Common. If not, I can switch a few things up. Also, apologies for the short post. Aladari's eyes nearly popped out of her head in surprise. She had been on the docks not five chimes before she ran straight into a Konti woman and was nearly taken off her feet. There was some sort of mumbled apology, but Aladari had no chance to respond, because already the excited woman was speaking again. "You're from the ship! How was it? Where did you come from?" The barrage of questions was difficult for Aladari to process all at once, and left her stunned for a tick, just blinking in surprise. Then, slowly, the words began to register. Ship. Come from. She nodded in agreement, a smile quickly forming so that she wouldn't scare the woman too badly. Her eyes lit up with a joyous green as she figured out the words. She really was learning! "Yes. I sailed of the ship. We were...I come from Zeltiva. It has been long time. Lots of days. But I am here now, and happy to be. I see that you are of the island, yes? It was obvious, between the feminine curve of her face, her soft blue eyes, pale skin, and blonde, rather-jagged hair that she was a Konti, and her enthusiasm was very indicative of an islander, but Aladari felt it wrong to assume. Instead, she smiled and returned the girl's questions. "It has been long time. I am tired, but I am excited too to see this place and this people. You want to switch stories about our places? We can find place to sit, and talk together."

[Tap]

OOCI am so sorry this took me so long, I cant belive its been a month! Good thing this is a flashback, I'd feel way worse if I left this this long during a season.

Once Tap got over her initial overreaction about the human woman it was easy to see she had made the traveler slightly uncomfortable with her out of character enthusiasm. Realizing this, Tap immediately regressed her to her somewhat usual silence and shyness. However she did look around for a place to sit as the girl had requested. She wasn't much of a storyteller, and Tap did not interact with the other islanders as much as the girl probably hoped, but she was sure she could scrounge up a story or two about the island, its history with the Gods or something, that the human did not know about already.

She spotted a bench on the docks normally used by waiting family members or customers watching for an incoming and anticipated boat. She waved over to one of them and spoke "There's a bench over there if you would like to sit..." Her voice noticeably quieter and slower spoken than before. She thought, though, about the bench for a moment and also realized that the girl probably wanted to get inside the island itself, beyond the docks and see the sights. Perhaps somewhere actually inside Mura would please her more. Although it disappointed Tap to offer to leave the docks, and the sight of the magnificent ship she arrived on, she figured if she got in the good graces of the human perhaps the girl would allow her to explore the ship she had lived on for so many days.

"Or..." She began again. "We could go to the Two Sisters Winery if you enjoy wine. It has an awesome view of the Mura gardens. However if you don't like wine much we could always go to the edge of Silver lake. There are plenty of benches there to sit and its quiet enough. The lake is gorgeous, I'm sure you would enjoy it." The thought occurred to her while suggesting the winery that some don't drink and so she offered the lake as a second option. Tap was fine with either outcome. She actually quiet enjoyed wine and would spend some of her relaxing days when the weather was bad and the ocean unsafe inside the warm abode drinking in silence. But of course the lake was her home and she would be overjoyed to show it to someone new, perhaps she could also take a dip.

[Aladari Coolwater]

A winery? If the sailor were a dog, her ears would have perked up. She absolutely adored all kinds of drink, and the idea of tasting the flavor of an island was hugely tempting. Sitting by a lake just talking to a stranger was not exactly Aladari's favorite idea, but she reasoned that there might be fish to watch in the lake, or performers about to observe. She really did want to sample the local music taste as well. So much to do, so little time! "We can sit at lake." She suggested. She could drink wine on her own time, but exploring the city by herself might get her lost, or worse- in trouble. No, it would be much safer to travel with a local. "We can speak about Mura, and what I want to see in the city. You will suggest for me?" Aladari wasn't quite certain what there was to see in Mura just yet, so it seemed logical to ask a Konti. She knew the island was famous for its fortune tellers, but she had no idea which were worth visiting and which (if any) were mere con artists. She wanted to taste the wine, of course, but she had been given a name for that. Two Sisters. Lastly, she had wanted to admire the unique architecture of the city, but she told herself that she would look and take note of beautiful buildings as they walked to the lake. It seemed that the lake was the best option for the moment. So, eager to go and loathe to waste Syna's light, Aladari took a step in a random direction. "You will show me? And tell me, too. Tell me of Mura, and I will tell you of Zeltiva." Before even waiting for a response, she began to fire off her first questions. She had always been confused by the social structure of the city. It seemed as though it were made entirely of people with the same professions. How did they function? "The Konti, you are fortune tellers, healers, yes? Who get the food? Who run the city?" She tilted her head in curiosity, looking quite like an owl with her wide, colorful eyes. "And what do your family do?"

[Aladari Coolwater]

Your grades have been spotted!
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Aladari Coolwater

■ Sailing +1
■ Socialization +2
■ Logic +1

Lores

Lore of Sailing: Keep Tiller Ropes Tight
Lore of Sailing: A Crew's Favorite Words are "Land, Ho!"
Lore of Mura: Crystal Clear Waters
Lore of Mura: Animal-Shaped Boats
Lore of Socialization: Smile, So as Not to Scare Them
Lore of Konti: Enthusiastic Islanders
Lore of Mura Location: Silver Lake
Lore of Mura Location: Two Sister's Winery
Lore of Logic: Do Now What You Can't Later

Additional Information

None

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Comments:

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