Closed dance magic, dance.

[Yra]

She smiled, and the smile was bright. Honestly, Yra struggled to learn more from Eilin and her brother, given how cold Calin was to her, so she felt almost joyful. It was an exciting sensation that she reined in before it showed too much. A part of her, the instinctive one that had lived through many experiences, saw the look he gave her and rejoiced. The part of her that forgot after she'd fallen simply saw interest, and it was returned.

"I would enjoy to hear your stories" said Yra. She smiled at him, but it only lifted half her mouth in a very physical demonstration of mischievous intentions. "I would like to learn the culture," she eventually tacked on. It was almost an afterthought, for she was greatly intrigued by both, but in stories could the culture be revealed. Rum, she knew that was an alcohol, fascinated her much less. However, he might have rum that tasted better than the wine, perhaps.

With his words did she move into action. He was done his drink, she was done hers, and there was little love in her for taking her time. She was politely impatient, or even simply excited, for as she stood there the smile that crossed her features and made the blue eyes she wore sparkle was even brighter than the last. She was fond of smiling.

It was a remarkable change from that uncertain woman she'd been upon her entrance, with her instrument clutched in her hands and her eyes on him, waiting. He could lead her; she knew not where the Alements was, perhaps due to her own attentiveness, but she knew the dock. It still seemed better than he lead her. "Let us go, then," she said, inclining her head to gesture at the door.

[Tydus Tempest]

Stories were integral to the Svefra. As they had not the time nor the desire to write anything down, the culture of the Svefra was shared by mouth. By mouth; by tongue, by drink and by laughter. All played their equal contribution in the oral tradition of the Svefra, but primarily, the desire to take the woman to his casinor was due to an entirely different desire. A far less innocent one. Svefra or not, the Ethaefal before him was a lovely creature, and if she wished to know Svefra culture, he would most definitely oblige.

However, there was the task of getting there. Tydus Tempest looked towards the barmaiden, a smile cast upon his lips as he wove djed. The energy flowed into his throat, the intent to repair a relationship made here, to cast upon it and foster a future returning to the Blue Bull. Things looked up, but Tydus wished it to have a purpose. A distinct need settled in his mind to have this relationship bloom once again, and he decided to foster it. A thought welled in the Tempest's mind. A singular desire that gave form when he pulled a pair of silver-rimmed mizas from his pocket and set them upon the bar,

"A tip for yer lovely service, lass."

An emotional response was cast into his words, the Tempest weaving gratitude into the mind of Janii. As gratitude marked her features, the Tempest cast forth a more powerful compulsion. The thought would strike her mind,

He's so generous. He must be a nice guy.

A singular, persistent thought. Tydus cast it with the intent of having her remember him, if only by face. Tydus needed not Janii as a contact, but to have his face known and liked around the city of Riverfall was a useful thing. Having not cast additional influence upon her, the Tempest felt only a momentary flare of fatigue, the spell taking a toll upon him for just a fraction of a moment. He shook his head, pleasure rolling through his senses when he recovered, a laugh bubbling from his lips as he took Yra's hand.

"Aye, let's get going then, lass."

The walk was a complex one, and Tydus decided to cast it with a question, though with little else to fill the silence. He had not released her hand, though she would not be met with resistance should she choose to pull it from his grasp,

"Do you love teh sea, Yra?"

It was a far more complex question than it seemed. For the sea, to the Svefra, was not a thing. It was life. Laviku's oceans were their home, their sustenance and their joy. The Tempest wanted to see if, at the very least, Yra was a proper Svefra at heart, even if she was not one by birth.

She would likely have ample time to answer the question as the pair wove through the city. When they arrived at the docks, Tydus stopped in front of the Alements. A casinor, along with a cataraman, were docked at the place, but he had eyes only for the Guilty Pleasure.

"T'is it. Right there. Me casinor, teh Guilty Pleasure. Would yeh like to go on board? Not much to see, but it's a fine vessel."

Fratava | Hypnotic Fratava | Common | Hypnotic Common | Vani

[Yra]

Yra learned by watching, and watch him she did. Her blue eyes were wide, taking in his interaction with the barmaid and the way he charmed her, intrigued at such strong charisma. In her own right, once she'd offered her payment, she provided her own smile. It was but a mimicry, however, faltering and experimental, and it was also directed to the barmaid. For her troubles, she was granted something like a smile in return before Yra was swept away by the Svefra.

"Why do you laugh?" She asked him with great innocence, as if surprised that he found humour in the situation. No, she wondered if there was something else upon his mind. It was a single moment of hesitation that the expression brought about in her, a flare of distrust sheltered in the protective embrace of a newborn's curiosity.

Riverfall was, as usual, a confusing city. The Ethaefal did not tug away from the Svefra, but curled her fingers more securely against his. In secrecy, Yra resented Riverfall's tiers and darkened streets once night fell. Everything was curiously colourless when Leth draped his cloak upon the world. If it wasn't for her affection for the sun, she might reject the moon. Love was a strange thing.

"When I was born, the sea tried to drown me." Yra's nose crinkled delicately with the memory. "It is a harsh thing, but I do love it. It is the closest I get to home." And by that, she meant that there were no buildings to clutter the sunlight away. There were no human voices, aside from the two Svefra who often fished from a single, alternating, boat. It was easy for the Ethaefal to pretend, for a moment, that it was only her and Syna. "I do not like to drown. I hope that the Sea Father deems me worthy, next time I find myself in his domain." It was an earnest thought, at the very least.

When they'd finally come to the casinor, Yra had eyes only for it, disregarding the buildings nearby in order to properly judge the ship and compare it to the two she had interacted with. It looked the same, and suited what she'd expected when he offered to show it. Yra was pleased by this. "That is an interesting name," the Ethaefal allowed. She smirked. "Does it have special meaning?" And in seeing that the exterior of the casinor was alike to the casinor owned by Yra's adopted "family", she was not as curious to the inside of it-- but she was not going to refuse the opportunity. "I am interested in seeing it further," she told him. With that, she delicately extracted her hand from his and created space between them. Her other hand was tired of holding the violin.

[Tydus Tempest]

There was always a reason to laugh. Laughter was the fallback against the whiplash of even the most awkward or demeaning of social crucibles. It was a way to banish the doubt, to cleanse oneself of fear. Tydus had always known that when one laughs at the world, the world couldn't see the tears in their eyes. However, he no longer laughed to hide the tears. He laughed because he no longer had a reason to cry. The world had forsaken him. The pod that was the Tempest had abandoned him in their demise, but Tydus knew that their death took them and cleansed them of their treachery. At least, that was what Tydus told himself to pretend to reconcile. Resentment festered in the annals of his mind, but he ignored them in favour of the situation at hand. Yra's question had put him on a mental tangent, but he quickly found the words to answer,

"Because withou' a laugh, we don' have nothing in dis world. Stories, adventure, romance and drink can only take 'un so far when der not matched with a laugh on teh lips."

Even when the laugh wasn't real, it was fulfillment. But, this time, it would be. A chuckle escaped the Tempest's lips as he watched the Svefra Ethaefal look around the ship like a curious child. Her anecdote told a story that Tydus was not new to, for the sea drowned many a Svefra when they were born. Svefra born of impure blood or unfavoured upon by Laviku. Svefra that lacked the blue eyes given to those that the Sea God threw his favour upon. Just as much as the gnosis on Tydus' shoulders, Tydus considered the blue eyes of the sea to be Laviku's ultimate blessing. For the Svefra considered it to be so.

And Yra, despite the lack of her gnosis and her status as Ethaefal, was a Svefra. It was present in her eyes, and in her eyes, there was a modicum of redemption. Even the sea's attempt to drown her could be seen as such,

"Teh sea is a rough mistress. Did ye know that the babies born withou blue eyes are thrown into the sea? Dey say it's because teh Svefra born without blue eyes are born withou' Laviku in their hearts."

It was the story Tydus had always been brought up with,

"Teh sea may have tried to drown ye, but yer not dead, lass. Yer a Svefra in my book. Yeh were saved by Laviku's grace. In time, maybe ye'll see it my way."

The Svefra offered Yra a smile before stepping onto the deck of his ship and motioning for Yra to follow,

"Now's as good a time as any to talk to our father. Want teh go?



Fratava | Hypnotic Fratava | Common | Hypnotic Common | Vani

[Yra]

Even with his explanation, Yra strained to understand what he was explaining. She had shared moments of laughter but because it felt like the moment called for a laugh. What was appropriate to laugh at? Observing people had given her little answers as they found their joy in things that did not include dappled sunlight peering through the leaves, or reflecting off the undulating waves in a pool of water. Humans and Akalak and Konti laughed at strange things in comparison to her. She did not understand it.

Not understanding something did not mean she had to actually express that.

"It seems cruel, to throw a child into the sea. If they are meant to survive, they will," Yra simply murmured her assertion. It was an honest thing and not spoken with cruelty nor ignorance. "At least they die close to their father, yes?" She smiled then, believing she grasped the meaning behind why the Svefra did what they did. It wounded her, though, to consider that maybe Syna had cast her out to test her - and it bolstered her to realise that she'd overcome the challenge and survived.

The Ethaefal returned Tydus' smile. She sought to be welcomed somewhere, to be accepted and not because she had been created in an image of her goddess' imagination. Tydus had offered her acceptance, named her Svefra, and she found herself fond of him for it.

At his invitation, Yra climbed aboard his ship as well. "You wish to speak to him now?" She had to remind herself that Laviku was not like Syna nor even Leth. Eventually, she did nod. "What is stopping us? Let us go and commune with our... father." She was very conscious of Leth as she said that.

[Tydus Tempest]

A grin cast about the Svefra's features as he murmured his acceptance of the Ethaefal before him. It was akin to the spark of life, gone from analytic eyes and wrought from a mind so burned out of acceptance. What he had once accepted was gone. He lived in a port that he could hardly accept, spearheaded by liars who believed themselves worthy of sailing the sea. The only one that Tydus could possibly consider worth even in part her salt was Aedre.

Yet, the Tempest's former podmate abandoned her life and thus earned a place of disgrace in Tydus' mind. The very essence of the docks of Riverfall, outside of the space itself, repulsed him. Liars that did not bear the mark of Laviku fabricating vessels to sail above the waters. Imposters who thought themselves tall and valuable. It was a prejudice, and possibly incredibly irrational, but Tydus didn't care. Pride surged for the culture that had abandoned him, an angry, bitter pride that he clung to. For if Tydus forsook his identity, there was no hope left for him anywhere. Tydus wrenched his mind from the bitter thought, a frown momentarily pursing his lips, for but a moment it lingered before Tydus moved forward to untie the ship.

"We'll need to push off in a moment, Yra."

The Svefra consciously changed his words to Fratava, for to speak with a Svefra in Common was a waste of effort. If Yra was truly to be Svefra, she would speak with him in the language of their people. And he expected no less in response. Tydus would, as he had offered, teach her to be Svefra. But, he had no intention of making it easier for her. The life of a Svefra was full of hardship. Bubbling with the thought, the Svefra parted his lips, a song cast at the forefront of his mind as a smile slowly worked its way back into his features,

"T'is a damn tough life full of toil and strife
We Suvanborn undergo
And we don't give a damn when the day is a’done
How strong Zulrav’s winds go
We're homeward bound from the arctic grounds
With a good ship taut and free
And we don't give a damn when we drink our rum..."

The Tempest did not finish the shanty, but he began it, the rhythm poor, but remembered. As the two cast off, Tydus pushed from the dock with his foot, then quickly made his way towards the wheel. Once the ship pushed its way past the shoreline and about twenty meters out into the bay, he began to turn the wheel. Turning it to the left, the casinor slowly, shakily made its way around, facing parallel to the dock just as Tydus called out,

"Yra, raise the sails. Let's get out of here. Onward towards Laviku."

The Tempest was fully conscious of where they were, and once they were further out on the sea, he would offer his sacrifice to the All-Father, Laviku. For he demanded it of those who traversed his waters. And Tydus would obey. He always did.

Fratava | Hypnotic Fratava | Common | Hypnotic Common | Vani

[Yra]

Yra was initially eager, more than willing to explore this culture that had opened its arms to her in the gestures of a human man serving his own desires. She was naive enough to see it as something grand and perfect, as something she wanted that she'd been unable to get until that point: acceptance.

She was stepping aboard when she realized that she really shouldn't take a man up on his word, one who was a complete stranger, even though she'd accepted the assistance of two of his unrelated kindred when she had fallen.

"I should not, actually," the Ethaefal hesitated, recoiling from the Svefra as if something about the situation worried her. She was so many things, conflicting and not. Her eyes, wide and blue and pristine, focused upon him, and in this colourless world, his eyes gleamed back like the deepest sapphire gems, like the skin of the Akalak. The world was in shades of grey but for blue, everything dim but for those sea-borne colours.

Yra would later attribute her willingness to accompany Tydus to her affection of that colour, reminded of her near-drowning and of the eyes her kin wore.

As she backed from the casinor, knowing he would be disappointed in her, and knowing even more so that she was turning her back on the opened arms of welcome from a person who claimed her a part of his culture, Yra declined his invitation to sail. A smile danced fleetingly over her lips, tremulous and wavering, before she fled.

And she took with her the name he'd given for himself, the name of his casinor, and her violin.

A story could be told of this, someday.

[Caelum]

Thread Award

Yra

Skills
Deduction +3
Impersonation +1
Observation +5
Persuasion +1
Socialization +5


Lores
Riverfall Wine
Tydus: Svefra
RF Location: Blue Bull
Laviku: Basic

Notes

Sorry this ended short! Elegant as ever. Please edit your post in the grade request thread to reflect completion and don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.