Flashback [Desperation Bay] Upon Freezing Waters (Una Tanta)

[Tydus Tempest]

77th of Winter, 507

The Fist.

Moored in the waters of Wind Reach, the Sloop was discarded in favour of a number of Palivar, the smaller, sleeker ships far more suited to the rapid movement within the arctic waters of Desperation Bay, the danger of glaciers crashing into the sides of larger ships was far too real to risk the Fist. It was the the Pod's legacy, their enduring, powerful beginning as a new Pod. The relic of Tatianna's rise as Lia and her enduring leadership in the Pod. Since the creation of the Pod, there had been no divisions within it, the fluidity of pod movement lost to the Svefra under the Lia's leadership.

She had matured from a young woman with ambitions into an experienced sailor, navigator, and plunderer. It was such a rewarding experience to be under her leadership, to know the feeling of being driven by a true Lia. It was... exhilarating, the life that the Tempest pod lived. Even now, the Pod divided into five ships through frozen waters, with frost emerging from the breaths of those with sun-kissed skin, there was not a single soul that wished to part from the collective. And it showed. Merry songs escaped from merry lips, the steamy wisps rising in the throats of sailors, Tydus allowing a vibrant grin to materialize upon his features as he sang along.

"There was a ship - she sailed to Avaaanthal,
Oh, roll and go!
There was a ship came home again,
Tatianna's on the topsail yard!

What d'ye think was in her hold?
Oh, roll and go!
There were shining diamonds, there was gold.
Tatianna's on the topsail yard!

And there was a sloop and now a fleet!
Oh, roll and go!
Good strong seas and bad fish meat.
Tatianna's on the topsail yard!

Many a sailorman gets drowned,
Oh, roll and go!
Many a sailorman gets drowned.
Tatianna's on the topsail yard!"

The Svefra laughed aloud, Tydus grinning at the sailor's faces as he watched Tatianna spin the wheel of the ship, the boom turning the mast as Tydus assisted with the tightening of the knots supporting the sails to the hull of the ship. He grinned at the rest of the Pod, adjusting the fit of his winter's coat, buttoning the top button of the garment as he cast his Laviku's blessed gaze about the ship. It was the 'flagship' in place of the Waverunner's Fist, the ship that Tatianna herself chose to sail upon. The Lia ordered the passenger crew, those whose attention were not diverted towards the navigation and steering of the ship itself, to stand outside of the direction of the wind, barking for them to retreat behind the sail on the port side as winds blew into the sail at starboard's way.

He scurried across the Palivar, taking place against the bulwark at portside. The movement of the sea shook the Svefra's body, Tydus visibly jumping at the motion, though his sense of balance failed to preserve him, the adolescent Svefra tipping backwards, his thighs crashing against the wooden surface, and he subsequently fell into the sea. The fall was not long, nor painful, but it was, at the very least, incredibly shocking. The salt water filled his throat, the Svefra swallowing it as his body sank in the freezing water. It crashed against his face, it bombarded his arms and legs with the struggle, heat versus cold, with the latter dominating the former without question. Heat was preserved at his chest, abdomen and legs in thanks to the heavy clothing he wore, but nonetheless, he cried out in shock, bubbles rising from submerged lips.

The boy struggled to keep calm, eyes flung wide open, though they say absolutely nothing, darkness filling the space of his vision. He cried out in his mind to Laviku to save him, yet at the very same moment, he understood the rush of what the Svefra in his Pod called 'Ocean Sense' flowing through him. He could sense hundreds of arctic fish in the vicinity, swimming about in schools and individually, the latter intent on devouring the former. But, none of those fish would assist him, now. Instead, he felt a lone presence, the vision of a penguin sailing into his mind in the distance, and the boy called out to it in his thoughts, Save me! Please, help me! He cried out to the penguin, he cried out to Laviku, and he cried out to Tatianna, but only the penguin came to support him, sent to him by Laviku's gift to his beloved people.

The seabird sailed through the waters, flying in it as many other varieties of birds did through the sky, the boy watching without seeing, bubbles frothing from his lips as he penguin spun around, propelling forward much like an arrow in flight before diving beneath the boy. It pushed the boy to the surface of the water with its head, nudging his form as he broke the surface, wheezing. He held onto the penguin for dear life, the creature struggling to support him, though once gasps of air flooded the Svefra's lungs, he calmed himself.

A chime passed by as he attempted to restore peace, his teeth chattering from the cold rampaging his body as the flagship sailed past, the second and third ships as well before someone called out to the rest of the crew.

He heard none of it, the boy clinging to the penguin that saved his life, kissing at the plumage at its head between chatters as he praised Laviku in his mind for saving his life. The penguin could no longer support the Svefra's weight, the coat and heavy arctic clothing too much to withstand, and it swam out of reach, the Svefra boy treading in water, awaiting a true saviour.

- Tydus Tempest

[Una Tanta]

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Una had rarely been this far north before but waiting for Cy outside of Avanthal for the last several days had left her irritable and impatient. A seal had torn through the waters earlier heavy with babe. Being the warmest month in the north Winter was frequently the birthing month of the creatures in the North. The seal was so heavy with babe she was slow and moved more warily than the ones near Wind Reach where Una was born. She had heard stories of the south, where there was a creature always within arms reach. Here though, it wasn't often one saw a creature.

Looking back in the direction of Avanthal she sent Cy an image of the seals. "Bored already?" He replied. "It's been days..." Una whined already following the seals. "Behave." She could hear him chuckling in the back of her head. Before meeting him she had been ineffably lonely in the black chasm that was the northern ocean. His presence, constant and warm in the back of her head had soothed that.

Slowly, Una pressed closer toward the female. Nothing was friendly in the ocean. Instead there was tolerance and when heavy with babe Una imagined she would be even less amicable. Una followed at a distance yearning to run her fingers over their bodies like the dolphins at home had allowed her to do. Swimming parallel to the creature at a distance Una grinned at the size of the creature and wondered whether this was the typical size of a seal. 6 feet long, it dwarfed the Charoda.

Glancing at her through dark black eyes the mother moved closer to her. More gregarious that Una expected she stiffened, feet ready to propel her toward the ocean floor. Its snout was wide like the bridge of her Charodean nose, and equally as short. Una giggled, maybe this was where Laviku had gotten his inspiration for their noses. A timid grey from a distance as she approached Una could see the line of colour that separated her back from her belly. A pale cream belly and darker topside was a colouring she frequently saw in the wild though was ignorant of the reasoning.

Letting herself sink in the water the seal followed curiously, long whiskers brushing Unas stomach as she moved past her. Looking down Una frowned, unable to distinguish the dark grey top of the female from the murky depths. Grinning when she spotted the creature move Una followed her deeper wariness slipping from her fingertips like the bubbles moving from her mouth along her chest and arms trickling off her body. The colouring made sense. Looking down one couldn't see the creature, and looking up from underneath, the pale stomach would blend in with the bright Syna graced surface.


Though slow, laboured with pup, Una was able to keep up with the mother. Her long torso and short legs not made for speed but perfectly agreeable to the twisting dance and gently body brushing the female had begun. Una shuddered when the fur slid over her smooth skin, it was dense and left a waxy residue on Unas side and arms.

The splash echoed even to their extreme depths and both Una and the seal looked up at the hull of the boat that careened over them, startled. A dark shadow thrashed above them, each beat of his legs sending alarming vibrations out across the sea. Darting away from the chaos the seal departed instantly, leaving Una staring up at the bizarre shadow.

Slowly Una rose toward it. The sea was open, with nowhere to hide and all that thrashing was bound to attract something heinous. Near enough to recognize the creature for a human her eyes widened in surprise as a penguin approached. Notoriously nervous creatures around humans Una recoiled. "Magic?" She mumbled to herself anxiously.

The thrashing ceased as the creature leaned into the human, sinking slightly under the weight. The ships had stopped and Una imagined the frantic yelling aboard though it didn't reach the water. The water was frigid and only Unas plump supply of blubber kept her ignorant of the cold.

She thought it curiosity when she noticed the mother lingering, watching at a distance. Slowly approaching, Una wondered if it too was caught under the spell the penguin suffered from. Before she could ponder further the seal darted forward, with surprising speed for her swollen belly teeth meeting the back of the penguins neck.

Unable to see through mass of bubbles and splashing Una reached out to the leg now within her reach and yanked the boy underwater away from the turmoil. She had no notion of what seals ate and she could feel her heart pounding so fiercely her toes tingled from the increased blood flow. Was that what the seal had been doing to her? Trying to get her to turn her back?

Not causing the analyze the creature she had pulled under with her she held his ankle firmly in her hand and swam, body undulating in the effort, feet brushing his nose as they kicked. Surfacing a few meters away Una screamed. Sound above water didn't easily transmute below and she was certain it wouldn't garner the attention of those beneath her. But she needed to get the ships attention.

Sailors moved along the edge of the ship towards the rear when they had spotted her quickly hoisting a ladder over the edge. It was sodden and wet. Shaking from adrenaline Una struggled to get a hold of the rungs and slipped. Biting her lip in frustrating, one arm still holding his ankle Una released and grabbed his arm wrenching him to the surface. "Climb?" She asked in common, hoping he would understand at least her gesturing as she pointed hurriedly at the ladder.

x
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[Tydus Tempest]

Cold. It penetrated the veins, filling Tydus' blood with the intensity of its might as breaths escaped his lungs as icy wisps, his body trembling in the water as he lost the will to continue on. There was no energy left to drive him, no strength left to continue his struggle against the inevitability of the cold, and Tydus was numb to it as he felt an arm move his hand towards one of the ladders of the trailing casinor. His brain commanded his fingers to obey, but he was unable to, his mind fading under the influence of the cold's fierce grip before the penguin pressed to his face. It had recovered from his weight and returned to check on the freezing Tempest.

It lifted his hand, the movement creaking his musculature, the motion allowing him to finish it on his own, but soon enough, the Tempest scion realized that he didn't have to. Strong hands gripped at the boy's waist, pulling him from the cold depths of the water. He was quickly brought to the ground, covered in a blanket as thick wisps of oxygen escaped his lips. The Tempest's strength was gone, unable to even move the blanket over his shoulders, but he wasn't given the chance. The blanket was pulled off, the clothes cut from his body as it was held up by two male Svefra. Afterwards, he was wrapped in blankets and surrounded by an assortment of dried tavan otters, the boy seated on the ground as a call was set out in Fratava to bring the kid some liquor to warm his blood.

The Tempest's mind was blurred entirely by the freezing weather, the cold gone as the layers upon layers of warmth coated his entire body, but rather than feel relief, his body was set ablaze.

AH! It hurts! It hurts! Why did they throw me into fire! I can't... I...

The boy's thoughts faded as his mind faded to black, pain erasing his awareness of the world as two Svefra moved forward and began moving his limbs, shaking them as they pushed the blanket against him, drying his body as a replacement was brought forth. The situation had happened before, but it was the first time such a young Svefra had fallen into the sea. Everyone wanted to ensure his survival.

Chimes passed in the utter blackness of unconsciousness as his frostbite was treated, then the boy was slapped in the face when at last his body was warm against the cold's treatment. He felt the pain tear through his sleep, his eyes snapping open as he cast his gaze about, searching for the strange squid-looking girl and the penguin that had burst forth from the freezing waters and saved him from falling under.

The Svefra reached out to the penguin with his mind, pleading for it to burst forth again. It obeyed, submerging within the sea before pushing forward with its flippers, driving itself out of the water and into the casinor, where it slid onto the deck and waddled over to Tydus.

"Th-th... thank you..."

The boy Svefra barely managed a whisper, the Svefra leaning into his blankets as the penguin approached, shaking itself dry before moving to place itself next to him.