Afternoon of the 24th of Summer, 520 A.V.
The rain had been coming down hard all day, with no signs of letting up in the least. A fact Marino was quickly becoming accustomed. Since the Watchtowers had signaled the start of Summer, it had been coming rather regular, and always it poured like it was today. He didn’t mind it too much, though it made sailing slightly less pleasant. It was almost a relief to the steaming furnace the days had become otherwise.
Only today he was supposed to be training with Buraga, but this rain complicated matters. So there they were, sitting together at a table within the community center. Marino had taken off his boots, stretching out his bare toes under the table. Buraga had done likewise, their shoes having gotten more or less caked with wet sand on the trek over here. His clothing was mostly dry thanks to his canvas slicker that had been treated to keep the rain off of him. Just the bottoms of his breeches clung to him, though that wasn’t enough of an irritation to make him want to take them off. Having his toes free of those soggy boots was relief enough.
Beside him, Buraga finished his bowl of stew and looked up at him. “Don’t think this rain is going to let up any time soon.” He said, pushing the bowl aside to rest his forearms on the table. Marino nodded, leaning back. “Suppose that changes things.” The Svefra had brought his full kit like Uta had advised though it didn’t seem like he was going to need any of that now. Unfortunate, though there was nothing to do for that now. He was more curious now to see what they could do, if anything, within the confines of the community center.
Buraga scratched at the stubble on the side of his cheek for a tick before he responded. “Considerably. I don’t suppose you have fought unarmed before?”
Marino shook his head which served to illicit a sigh from Buraga before the man continued. “Nah, I didn’t expect you hand. Which isn’t a bad thing necessarily. Means you won’t have to unlearn any bad habits.”
“Bad habits?” Marino asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah. Sometimes a little knowledge is worse than no knowledge at all. That little bit of knowledge can make some folks stupid thinking they’re a lot better than they are, and they can be throughly stubborn when you are trying to change them. People like that often don’t get a second chance to reconsider.” Buraga let that hang there for a few ticks before he continued. “So don’t get all high on yourself after you have learned a few licks. Confidence is good but you’ve got to earn it the hard way. If you don’t, you’ll get yourself killed out there in jungle, got it?”
Marino swallowed and nodded. “Yeah, I get it.” He was no stranger to the costs of bravado out on the sea. Such attitudes usually lived short lives as their antics became dangerous. Marino was determined not to be that kind of person. He admired the calm and self control of Buraga. It was a thing he would strive to emulate.
“Well this isn’t the right place for it, but it is something we are going to work on when the rain lets up. Before we get to the rest because it is that important.” Buraga said, drumming his fingers against the table. “You won’t always have the luxury of a weapon and you need to be prepared for that before you venture out into the jungle on your own. Have you been keeping up with your studies with Uta?”
“Yes, she’s been quite helpful for pointing out the quirks of the jungle.” Marino said, placing his hands flat on the table. He looked at them wondering if he could really defend himself with just these. It seemed ridiculous now, but maybe if he was as muscular as Buraga.. He looked over.
The man snorted at his choice of words and rested his chin on his palm. “Good, keep up with it. Everyday till thinking about it becomes second nature. Because your focus is going to be needed elsewhere out there.” Buraga stood up, and gathered his boots. “I want you to think about those pigs Marino. About how their life is out on the swells and get back to me with your answer tomorrow.”
“Okay, that is something I can do. I’ll see you around then, yeah?” Marino said, confused by the abrupt departure.
Sunrise, the 25th of Spring
Marino was pleasantly surprised to find that it had actually stopped raining come morning. Which was fortunate as he planned to retrieve the boots he’d left. He probably should have brought them in yesterday but he hadn’t wanted to deal with them at the time. Now that he found himself delaying breakfast to go out to retrieve them, he was starting to regret his earlier decision making. There was nothing to be done about that however, and really he didn’t mind going out to the commons. It was good to get the blood flowing so early in the morning with the sun just rising from behind the island.
Naturally his eyes were pulled to the great tree that was a permanent presence in the commons after the goddess Kihala had left them. Stomach growling, he went over to pick one of the fruits that hung heavy and ripe from its branches before he continued on to the community center. Biting into its sweet flesh, he walked up to the table he’d left his boots by yesterday. Sitting on the edge of the bench, he reached under while he savored the delicious fruit.
He barely had time to register something rustling beneath when something stuck the meat of his hand. Searing pain shot up his arm as he abruptly stood up to stumble away from the table. The fruit fell from his grasp in the commotion as his eyes settled on a rather large snake slithering from underneath towards the opposite side of the table. It was a bushmaster, but he didn’t know enough about snakes to recognize that. All he knew was that the burn was spreading from his hand. As it spread it became more intense. His heart was pounding in his chest as he gingerly touched the bite before he winced.
It was quite tender and he felt suddenly scared. He couldn’t stop staring in the direction the snake had disappeared off to. Couldn’t decide what to do next with this steady pain coursing up his arm. Stepping back, he bumped into a table on the other side of the commons which startled him more than he liked to admit. Abruptly, he looked under it which he then regretted as it made his head spin. Fortunately there was no snake under this one as he knelt for a moment to catch his breath which was hitching every other gasp. The Panacea right? The thought gave him a brief surge of energy to stand up and start running in the direction of the clinic.
Marino was now frantic, not really watching where he was going as he hurried in the direction of the Panacea. So he didn’t see the piece of driftwood he was running towards. His left foot caught on the underside, and he promptly face planted into the sand.
