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[Titus Galesong]

Titus lowered his watery stare to the light-haired woman. The way Dust was embraced in the rays of the goddess almost gave light to a tangent train of thought that went far too deep for the young fisherman. Still, it was worth folding down the corner to find later. The Svefra did just that and gave a broad smile to his new friend. They had time to delve into their personal mysteries later. Between his thumb and index finger, he held the small sac and lifted it to where it was eye level for Dust. Titus turned so that she could find her best point of view by placing herself midway between his torso and his arm. This was completely intentional, of course, as the teenager wanted to take every opportunity to be close to her. The way his shirt covered her small frame was like something out of a dream and Titus wanted a closer look and just how the fabric sat on her little seat.

“This is air sac.” Titus slogged through his Common trying to find a way to describe it. “It...changes your feeling.” He made a half twisted face not really liking the translation. It changes your feeling alright. It makes you feel petching fantastic! Titus thought to himself. Not wanting to linger on something so trivial as a popper, the man went back to soaking in the woman on his deck. She was so happy and curious. The fisherman rolled a few questions around in his mind but got lost watching the bay breeze change how and where his shirt stuck to her skin. The light shining through the thin fabric painted a picture that gave him a brief chill.

Thankful for the goosebumps and the interruption, the Svefra smiled and moved his arm back to his side. Once show and tell was over, Titus went back to work. He gently placed the small organ sac into his pants pocket. The wet material would keep the tissue moist until he could properly dry and store it. The sailor’s adept hands took hold of his carving knife and the half-butchered fish. A narrowed expression of focus and determination set in as the young man’s stomach let out an audible growl letting Titus and dust both know that he waited too long to find breakfast.

The tanned skin didn’t wrinkle when bent into a tight grip –such was the blessing of youth. The Svefra rested the tip of his blade against one side of the fish’s spine then saw forward with a light touch that angled the knife. This allowed the edge of the blade to follow the spine and ribs without breaking the tiny bones. After four pulls of the blade, each gentle and intentional, Titus held the knife in his palm then used several fingers to grip the hunk of pure meat. He pulled it away from the edge and dropped it into the bucket by his feet. He flipped the fish over on the rail and repeated the process of removing a slab of pure pink meat and dropping it down into the bucket.

Now that he was all done, he lifted the remains by the spine and examined his work. He uttered in Fratava “Papa wouldn’t approve but Lia would smile.” The young man smiled to himself and his thoughts of family. The remaining skeleton had meat covering all of the bones which could be deemed wasteful but Ushaka needed to eat, too. The sailor’s eyes looked back to meet the slate-blue wells of Dust as she studied him. He gave her a wink and dropped the rest of the fish into the bay. Ticks later, a slight bump against the hull would signal them that the shark had fed.

The cabin of The Maelstrom formed a bench on the deck that sloped up gently towards the center peak and then rescinded back down on the opposite side. Titus knelt down and took hold of the bucket then moved it along with the carving utensils to the roof of his cabin. He set them down in a line and shoved the bucket of apples over with his foot. The man was about to plop his arse down as well when he realized that he had left the ale, spices and the clams. With several long, quick strides, Titus retrieved the items and then stood triumphantly before Dust with a jug in one hand and a spice box in the other. “Time to eat!” He said through a broad smile. “Sit.” He motioned with the spice box for her to climb up on the cabin across from the spread they had between them.

The Svefra took the fork and stabbed one of the filets then brought it up on top of the cabin’s soffit. The pink meat was solid, without scale and rather good sized. Titus suddenly got the impression that he was going to have to dry the other half out and store it away. The man sliced a few long, slender ‘fingers’ and then set his knife and fork on the wood next to the waiting meal. Titus opened the spice box and pulled out one of his salts and opened the vial. He dumped a small amount into the opposite palm then set the container down. With his free hand, he pinched the seasoning and sprinkled just a tiny bit on the pieces he had already cut. When he was satisfied, he replaced what was left in his palm back into the glass piece and reapplied the stopper. He repeated the process with a few crushed up flakes of dill then took one of the seasoned strips of raw fish and offered it to Dust.

“Worth the wait. I hope.” He smiled and took a piece for himself. When he bit into it, the juicy meat split and instantly began to melt away under the weight of his teeth, tongue and gums. The salt and dill mingled to make a faint bite of savory flavor that sat nicely amidst the almost sweet taste of the cold and smooth fish. Moreso than enjoying the feeling of sating his hunger, Titus watched his guest to see how she would take the meal. Not all were in love with raw seasfood. He desparately wanted this to make a good impression.

[Dust]

In response to her question, Titus held up the bit of innards. It didn't occur to Dust not to step closer in, all the better to cant her head and peer at the little piece of flesh from several angles. Air sac, he called it, before hesitating over the rest of his explanation. Dust glanced back at him, and inferred from the stitch in his expression that the issue was one of vocabulary. Oh well. Air sac seemed pretty self-explanatory. "Changes feeling?" she echoed, bemused by the idea. "Huh."

Afterwards, Titus returned to processing the fish; the Kelvic removed herself from the vicinity of his blade at work. He cut the fish into pieces and removed bones with the familiarity born of a life at sea; Dust could not have done the same with nearly as much assurance. It was neat to watch... not least because butchering the fish put them that much closer to eating breakfast.

He tossed some fish over to Ushaka with a wink, then collected what remained and padded down to the cabin. Dust followed behind, nearly colliding with the Svefra when he spun about to fetch other things from the deck. Hopping back out of his way, she watched him go and return, and slid into the seat opposite his when that little lapse had been settled.

Sitting there, right next to all the food, with Titus' attention on the preparation of the fish... the temptation was just too great for Dust not to oh-so-carefully reach out and pluck a couple of dried apples from their container while the man wasn't looking. Unfortunately, chewing them just made her feel even hungrier.

Finally, Titus held out a bit of the prepared fish for her to take. Raw, which was a pleasant surprise -- no waiting for the meat to cook. It was about all Dust could do not to outright snatch the piece from his fingers and gobble it straight down. There was something expectant and even hopeful in Titus' manner which forestalled that greed before it could be expressed. Instead, the Kelvic received the tidbit with... well, deliberation at least; decorum was too much to ask... and took time to chew and taste the spice-dashed flesh.

Which the raven in her certainly had no complaints about.

"It's good!" Dust assured her host, words which freed them both to set about the meal with a will. Their mutual focus upon the food curtailed further conversation, at least anything beyond pleasantries and observations concerning the meal itself. All too soon, however, the pieces of fish ran out, and the clams and apples too, not to mention the ale which helped wash it all down. But at least by then Dust's hunger was sated... and her thoughts might turn to other things.

Like the reminder that things like clothes were important, and hers were not here. Plus, she'd intended to do some things after breakfast... she just hadn't expected breakfast to be so prolonged an affair!

So it was that Dust gave cheerful thanks to her host -- with a quick hug thrown in for good measure -- and took her leave of his cabin. Which was a bit easier said than done, as Titus wanted to talk more. And while talking was tempting... No, really, she had to go but they were friends, right? Friends were for hanging out with. And Dust wanted to go swimming again which meant she'd be back. Just... later.

It was only when she'd gotten a hand on the rail at last that Dust realized she was still wearing his shirt... and that garment was kind of in the way of her intention. She exclaimed in surprise, then promptly shucked it off with characteristic nonchalance, thanking Titus once more for the loan even as she tossed it back to him. And then the woman was gone, shifted mid-hop in a play of ivory light, the white raven wheeling about overhead and calling once before turning its course towards the nearby peak.

Common | Pavi | someone else