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Dinnertime; [P]Akala
Topic Started: Thu Mar 21, 2013 8:32 pm (1,638 Views)
Akala
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Oh dear. She had blundered. Still, he was almost funny, trying desperately not to offend her or any of her family while, frankly, her family couldn't have cared less. She laughed, though quite kindly. "I'm not going to eat you. Get up - you look silly down there." She made her way over to the edge of the deck and peered down into the foamy water. "We've got to get this boat of yours off whatever its hung up on." She eased herself over the side and into.

It was only about hip deep and quite warm in comparison to the deep ocean they'd just left. Akala slogged around the wreck, looking it up and down. "Well, it did a number on your hull, but it doesn't look like too much damage. A few cracked boards - scraped off a lot of barnacles and tar. One moment..." she submerged and came up a few moments later, a frown on her face. "She's hung up pretty tight. The tide will probably get her off, but there's a gash about as long as my forearm where's she stuck on the rock. We'll have to repair her before she'll be seaworthy again."
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Goby Vega
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Goby rose to his feet, a bit shaky and beginning to feel the bruises the water pounded onto him. Well, so far Miss Akalasoto...Akalasotema....Miss Akala had been kind to him, had done nothing to threaten him, and even aided him by saving him. Besides, even if she was only being nice before a violent mood swing, she gave him an order, so up he got. Besides, from the sound of it, she wasn't going away anytime soon, and he couldn't spend all day hunched over.

She went over the side and surveyed the hull of the ship, reporting the damage she could see and causing him to cringe when she pointed out the barnacles scraped off. He'd been meaning to dry dock and scrape them off, he really had. It just never ended up happening.

"Ah...Ah figured Ah would, Miss Akala," He shouted over the side. "But yoo don't have to worry about it. Ah've got the framing for dry docking it belowdeck, and Ah can scout out for scavenge to fix her and Ah promise to clean her hull proper while Ah do that, and Ah've got plenty of stores an' can get food around here, and Ah can get her off the rock on mah own, so yoo don't need to worry about it, Miss Akala. Ah'm sure yoo've got more important....sea dragony business to tend."
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Akala
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With a flash of guilt, Akala did remember that she was supposed to be out hunting an octopus. On the other hand, that water elemental should have been enough to crush it for her and if it didn't...well, she didn't have the magic/skill to track it anyway.

Still, it was clear that she was making Goby nervous. She wasn't entirely sure why, though introducing the concept of her parent into the matter obviously hadn't helped. She considered him as he stood looking down at her from the deck of his ship.

"Actually...I'd really like to help. You did...kinda save me back there. I'm fast underwater, but elementals don't get tired. I'm not sure I would have made it out of there if you and your ship hadn't been there. I owe you a debt, captain, but I'm not a mermaid and I can't give you one of my scales to call for help if you need it." She pulled a face. "Mermaids don't actually do that sort of thing, by the way. Most of them are pretty much normal people with fins and tails." She thought about it. "I guess a siren might, but she also might just eat you. Nasty creatures." She shuddered and certainly not from cold. "Anyway, whatever you think I am, I'm probably not."


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Goby Vega
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"Ah..." He thought she was a half dragon with a ship wreaking sea dragon for a mother and a near supernatural dragon seducing captain father. Maybe she referred to the rest of his imaginings. He wasn't going to share those, though. However, she seemed to feel beholden to him, and if she felt she owed him a debt, he wasn't going to argue with her. It would be far faster for both of them if he helped her fulfill her debt and be on her way.

"Well, ah, if yoor sure...If yoo think yoo can help lift them, maybe help me get the frame down to the beach? It's in bits now. I mean bits that need fit together, not bits like broken...hopefully." He went into the galley and living quarters, the less secure containers littering the floor, though thankfully none of them seemed to open in the impact. He reached down, pushed aside a dented metal box, and lifted an iron ring set flush into the floor. It took a bit of effort, but he pulled the trapdoor open with a grunt.

A short ladder lead to the squat area below the deck, stuffed with various gear and supplies. There was a layer of water within, likely gained from the battering the ship took earlier, and he could see far more light than he should without a lamp as sunshine slipped through the broken boards. He bent nearly in half, walked a few paces over the flotsam of disturbed gear, and found a pile of lumber that, thankfully, was still intact where it should be.

He grabbed a long, curved piece, one he knew to be the more difficult type to maneuver, and half hauled, half carried it back up and through the trapdoor, barely getting the length of it free in the small room so he could take it outside and lay it on the deck. Well, that was one down. He'd focus on getting the pieces above deck for now. If Akala shouted she was unable to transport them onto the beach, well...he'd think of something else. Maybe mending the sail? She'd know how to sew, right? Her dad was a captain, she said, so she must have learned how to mend a sail.
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Akala
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"I can do that," Akala shouted back up. "No problem."

So Goby brought the framework up and passed it down to Akala, who carried it to shore. It took them nearly an hour to get everything on to the beach, at the end of which, she was quite tired. Slogging through water was a lot of work. She didn't complain though. It didn't even occur to her to complain.

However when she made the final trip out there, a new problem presented itself: how to get the boat off the rock. It was already high tide, so they couldn't rely on that to lift it off. It was too large for the two of them to just lift it off themselves. Pushing it would merely tear the hull further. "Any thoughts on how to move this girl?" she asked him. "I could...um..." she began, then decided that the suggestion would not make Goby feel any more at ease and she should save it in case he didn't have a way. "...Erm...yeah. Any ideas?"
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Goby Vega
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"Ah, yes?" Goby said, beginning to snap the frame in place. Now that they were all in one place and not cramped in a crawlspace, actually reassembling the skeletal frame was simple work. "Ah can get it down on mah own." He hammered in one of the pegs that held the framework steady. "The hard part was getting all this out from belowdeck and onto the beach. Once we got that done," he grunted and put another of the curving ribs in place. "Ah get do the rest. So yoo don't have to feel like you need to stick around. It'll be a bit before Ah find supplies to repair it, anyway, and yoo don't need to feel stuck here with me, miss."

He finished assembling the dry dock framework, which looked like the upturned ribcage of some wide, squat, unfortunate creature that died on its back. Goby waited a bit, but realized that saying he could do it alone might not be sufficient. She'd insist on staying and helping until that boat was off the rock it was moored on. He sighed and walked into the surf, feeling the cool sand envelop his feet and the surf lap at his ankles.

"Could yoo stand back a bit?" he asked first, as politely as possible. "Ah don't want to hurt yoo by accident, Miss Akala." Once she was cleared, he breathed in, ignored the aching and bruises he'd received form the wild ride and strain, and shifted one foot back, turning his ankle slightly so his toes pointed to the side. He focused, shifted his hands once more, and began to move them in a steady, wide circle. The water around them swirled, shifting into a whirlpool around the rock. The circling of his arms raised from his waist to his chest, and the whirlpool raised with it, rising up and around the rock. The Midnight Star began to creak as the water pushed against it, lifting it by inches from the rock.

It moved slowly, cautiously, careful not to scrape or jar it against the outcropping. Most of the water around them was drained away, increasing the size of their island to create the column of water the boat rested upon. Once it was clear, the speed of the operation grew exponentially. Goby shifted his weight forward, then back toward the frame, his arms circling over his head at the sockets. The great column bowed and fell in a wave of water, dipping the ship overhead into a downward arc, rushing across the frame and the island, but still retaining its shape and never touching Goby besides some stray spray and droplets. Goby pulled his feet back together and lowered his hands. The column collapsed at last, the water rushing across the small sandy island and back into the sea, which rose back to its normal level. The Midnight Star was left on the frame, soaked wood groaning lightly as it settled into place.

"See?" Goby said, turning back toward Akala. "Easy enough. And now Ah can work on fixing her up so I can get her back to shore, at least."
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Akala
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Akala could feel Goby's spell resonating in her very bones.

And then it became her turn to look at him with something very much resembling fear.

At some point, Akala found she could gauge a mage's power - or at least the power of the mage's spell - by the way it felt. It felt like a humming that traveled through her skeleton - like the feeling you get by standing on something that rumbled beneath your feet. The stronger the spell, and the stronger the mage, the stronger the vibration it created. And Goby's spell had caused her skull to resonate.

He was powerful. Extremely and incredibly powerful. He had commanded the oceans and still had strength to spare. It was...amazing. And frightening. Ye gods, he couldn't have been that old - magic potential often reached its peak only when the hair started to go grey. And yet he jumped at her like she could pound him flat. More likely it was the other way around.

He said something to her that she didn't catch.

"I'm hungry," she said quickly, to cover the fact she'd missed it. "Are you hungry? Cause I'm starved. I'll go catch us dinner." She scanned the sky briefly. Yes, that was a good plan. Focus on something mundane. Like how the sky was just starting to turn a bit pink. To far away from sunset to be great fishing this close to shore, but good enough to be decent fishing.

She quickly stripped off her belt and tunic, unaware of any looks Goby was giving her. She freed the skinning dagger from her belt and clenched it between her teeth, then ran into the water with a flat dive.

She swam out a little way from shore, through the thick reeds and kelp, ignoring the minnows and small fry that danced around her ankles. The water was foggy - the elemental had probably dragged in a great deal of silt.

But it had also dragged in a great deal of prey as well. A lemon shark was chasing a group of assorted fish, but having little luck. Akala was certain she'd have better, but blood would attract the beast.

So - if the predator was going to steal your dinner, just eat the predator.

She swam as near as she dared. It was a small shark, only about two feet, but one bite could still end this fight before it began.

The shark, still distracted by its own food, darted within her reach. She shot from motionless to full spell, slamming the creature in the side and grappling it. It tried to bite her, but couldn't get it's head around far enough. As she struggled to roll it over, it struggled to get away. Finally, in one sharp kick, she, and the shark, went belly up.

To Akala it made little difference. To the shark, it meant unconsciousness.

She dragged it back to ankle deep water and silt it's throat there, all the way down to the bone on the other side. She didn't trust a shark not to keep going with a wound that would have been fatal to other critters.

As she dragged it out on the beach, quite a ways away from Goby and his ship, she was able to give puzzling the young captain out some serious dedication. He was terrified of her, that was clear, but yet was still throwing spells around that would have sucked most mages dry of mana, exhausting them. That meant that, possibly, he didn't know how powerful he was or he wasn't aware of the difficultly of the spells he was using.

She drained the blood from the shark and gutted it, leaving the entrails on the beach for the birds. Then she walked back, dinner under her arm, still unsure was what to do about this situation.

"I'm back," she called as causally as possible. "I brought dinner." She held up the shark in both hands. Then she noticed how red the said hands were. "Erm...drat." This was probably not improving relations and a jumpy mage is a dangerous mage. She set her catch down on a nearby rock and waded in to rinse off. "This probably isn't going to help matters, but I don't know how to actually cook." The water around her ran red before the blood was swept out to sea. "I can't even start a fire. But most people aren't exactly comfortable eating raw fish, so...I thought maybe you'd know what to do with it."

The blood on her left arm seemed higher up that her right. Some probing found the reason - a shallow gash on her left shoulder. The shark had tagged her after all. The cut didn't feel deep, so she resolved not to worry about it.

Edited by Akala, Mon Apr 22, 2013 3:29 am.
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Goby Vega
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"Ah, alright?" Goby said, or perhaps asked. He wasn't going to argue. He'd used a lot of magic so far today, and he'd been hungry when he began hunting ages ago. He would have suggested going out for food eventually himself; if she wanted to find some fish herself, he wasn't about to argue. He hoped she didn't get something weird, like a sea cucumber. Sea dragons would eat normal fish themselves, right? They ate tuna, at least.

He climbed up into the ship, dropping a rope ladder behind him so he didn't have to struggle up the high sides of the ship a second time. The galley was a mess, but most things remained strapped in place, and those containers that were thrown about stay closed, except for a container of beans and a few spice bottles. Goby sighed. That could be dealt with later. He gathered up a pot and pan, potable water, flint and steel, other utensils, some from the floor, and carried them back outside. Some more digging through the tossed supplies found a dented portable stove.

Together with some broken bits of wood too small to even consider using for repairs, he started up a small fire and got a pot of water boiling. He considered putting in some rice to cook; he wasn't certain how much Akala would eat, and he wanted to at least feel full. Akala returned, her hands still red from the small shark she slew.

She confessed at being uncertain how to cook nor how to make a fire as she cleansed herself of blood. That made sense to Goby. There wouldn't be much chance of flames underwater. Goby tried not to watch. She'd yet to get redressed from her swim, after all.

"Ah...It's alright," He said, staring resolutely at the bubbling water. "Ah already got a fire started. Maybe we can clean that and make some shark soup? Ah got water boiling already. It's not salt. Ah have a still on the ship, though that got banged up, too, so Ah have to fix that before we can get more water from that." He kept staring, starting to stir the water with a spoon to appear to do something besides looking away from the sea dragon. "So, ah, Ah guess yoo can get dressed then? Since yoo probably aren't needin' to be swimming again soon."
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Akala
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Akala laughed and cupped both her hands over her head. With a minor effort of will, cool, clean, fresh water cascaded from her cupped hands, washing the last of the blood and sand from her. "We shouldn't need the still." She flicked water from her dorsal fin and from the crest on her head. "I know it's odd - being a creature who lives in the water but has a spell for creating it - but I can't drink saltwater. Gods know I've swallowed it enough over the years, but I don't get anything from drinking it except a terrible case of cottonmouth."

She gave her dorsal one last flick, splashing Goby with a few droplets. Then she made a point of walking right by his line of vision to go get her tunic. She snickered a bit at his facial expression. "Landwalkers and your need for clothes," she said, sly smile on her face. She pulled her tunic over her head just the same though and strapped on her belt, adjusting the various pouches back into place.

She went over to the shark and began skinning it with remarkable efficiency. "So what's your story," she asked while she worked. "What brought you out to the open ocean, captain?" She was unaware that blood was soaking through her shirt.
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Goby Vega
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"Ah was hunting tuna," Goby said, staring resolutely at the pot. There was a long pause. Goby felt he was meant to fill it. "Ahh, that's it, miss. Ah wanted tuna, and their out in the deep sea, so Ah sailed out there, found a school, and dove in to get one for supper. And then Ah bumped into yoo, and then that water spirit came after us and...ah, Ah guess you know the rest...."

He glanced up at her. She could handle cleaning a fish on her own, even a trickier one like a shark. Should he mention how she was making a mess of her tunic, though? Would it result in anything beyond her taking it off again and strutting about nude? What was wrong with women? They'd either scream and throw things at you for stumbling upon them naked, or flaunt about bareskinned and laugh as you blush. Sometimes both happened with the same woman in the span of five minutes! Why did his blushing make them laugh so much?

There seemed to be a cut on her arm, as well. Should he mention it? Offer to help with it? Leave it be? He didn't know anything about sea dragons either. He was just lost when it came to Miss Akala.

"Ah...Ah should get some spices or something for the soup," he said, rising to his feet and heading to the ladder. "Maybe some lemons, too. Ah think Ah still got some..."
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Akala
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Akala sighed as she watched Goby head back into the ship. "I try to start a conversation and he shuts up tighter than a clam at low tide."

She finished skinning and filleting the shark, then went to rinse off. As she stood there, looking out to sea, waves pulling at her ankles, she found herself wondering just what was the point of it all anyway? This instant of living and breathing was just a flash of light as far as the ocean was concerned. Was the only point of this existence just survival?

There were times like this that she wished she could speak with her mother. She may not have been as all wise and all knowing as some portrayed her to be, but it would be nice to know how she took the passing of years - watching life begin, run its course, and die around you.

Her mother was not much of a talker though and philosophy was one of the aspects of human nature she struggled with, so perhaps she would have nothing to say on the subject.

Akala sighed again and kicked the sand. Enough of this moping - she started whistling a sea shanty to cheer herself up.

Just as she was turning around, movement, caught her eye, but when she looked hard at the spot in the undergrowth she'd thought she'd seen something, nothing was there.
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Goby Vega
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Goby returned from the cabin, cupping a few tin bottles and three lemons in his arms. Some onion powder, some pepper and sea salt, and a bit of citrus should be enough. Or maybe not the onion powder? He didn't know how sea dragons felt about that. He should probably stick with salt and pepper. The sight of his broken still, fixable but demanding time, did push him to attempt to ask Miss Akala a question. He didn't want to owe her more than he likely did, though, so he hoped he had a serviceable trade.

"Ah, Miss Akala?" he asked, swinging his legs over the sides of the ship so he could drop down without the ladder. "Ah was wondering if yoo could maybe teach me that water spell?" He landed on the beach, bending his knees to absorb the shock and rose, readjusting the jostled lemons. "It'd let me put off fixin' the still, an' maybe Ah could show yoo how to start a..."

He stopped as he noticed her staring into the thick ferns and trees at one end of the beach. He looked over there, but didn't notice anything. He looked back at Miss Akala, wondered if he should repeat his question, then dropped to the ground, spilling spice cans and fruit across the sand after he noted the dart that narrowly missed hitting his face. "Watch out!" he shouted, finally noticing the shifting in the shrubbery. He still didn't see any attackers, but attack they planned to do.
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Akala
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Akala dodged another dart. It grounded itself harmlessly in the sand. She turned and lept into the water, streaking toward the open sea.

She had no fear of being caught. There was very little in the water that could catch her.

She circled around and again came back to the shore. She couldn't just leave Goby to the attackers. But she couldn't make herself a target either.

She drifted in on a wave and raced for the dubious cover of the boat - on the far side of where the attacks had originated. She might stand a chance there, unless they'd gone so far as to...

...they had. Four tribal looking folks armed with spears and covered in feathers, tattoos, and piercings slipped silently out of the forest. They armed with spears, blowguns, and bows.

One pulled his spear back and threw. Akala jumped behind the stern and the spear hit the wood with a thud.

She threw herself on the ground and crawled to where Goby was, sand caking on her wet body. "Bad news," she said when she reached the captain. "We're surrounded."

Fwift! A dart struck her in the back of her hand. She muttered an unladylike word and tried to pull it free, but found the end was barbed and firmly stuck. This time her unladylike word was a bit louder.
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Goby Vega
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Goby ducked down further as one threw a spear. He heard a wooden thunk behind him. He glanced up and stared in shock at a long spear shaft sticking out of his ship, still vibrating. Miss Akala came crawling across the beach toward him, wet from the ocean and coating herself in sand.

"Bad news," she said when she reached him. "We're surrounded." More information on what she meant wasn't forthcoming, however, as one of the darts fired and struck her hand. She cursed, tried to free the barbed thing from her skin, and cursed some more. Goby raised his eyebrows. Normally, he'd be impressed. However, at the moment, he was surrounded by those he'd done no harm toward who attacked him, harmed a denizen of the sea, and damaged his boat. He grimaced and turned back toward his attackers. "Yoo pustulating, ooze filled, hagfish sons of-" the rest of the curse was more an anguished shout of rage. He raised his hands, fingers spread and palms down. They shook, as though he were lifting a great weight, then he brought them both back down to the sand.

The attackers vanished. The trees vanished. The ocean vanished. Everything that was a foot beyond an outstretched hand was lost in a deep fog that obscured friend and foe alike. Goby rose and moved, shifting his hands and weight and staring into the mist as though he could see beyond it. There was a rush of water and a collective scream of shock and surprise, followed by crush foliage and the thud of bodies on pounded sand. Goby breathed heavily for a moment, then turned back to the fallen half dragon.

"Are yoo alright, Miss Akala?" he asked. "Sorry," he added, taking her hand up without her permission. "Gotta get this out. Their sort likes to put nasty goop on their weapons. Sorry, this'll hurt." He grabbed the dart, pulled it back and up, tearing the minimum amount of blue skin in extracting the dart. He slapped his own hand upon hers and tapped his fingers over the wound, which slowly began to close. "If worse comes to worse, Ah can get the Sun back out, though it'll make fixin' her take longer, though not as long as us getting stabbed."
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Akala
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The world was going a little gray around the edges. So were her scales. Goby had said something about 'nasty goop'. She had a pretty good idea of what sort of goop this was. Or she could speculate.

But her body was starting to feel like lead and everything was starting to blur. Speculation on anything was going to have to wait. She tried to muster up her will for...something...she couldn't remember what...a spell? The ability to make her feet move? Telling Goby that she kind of liked him holding her hand?

She opened her mouth, but her mind was a blank.

And then, suddenly, so was everything else.
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