Where Lights Lead (Jay)

[Naia Whitewater]

Speech | 37, 515 AV | Thoughts | OOC Notedon't mind the constant font changed, I just can't decide what is the easiest to read!

It was almost strange to be present as the kelvic carried out his work duties.

Well, the duties that didn't consist of fetching the drinks she'd ordered and handling coin.

She couldn't help but watch the bartender as he went about work, and wondered absently about her own, varying duties, and considered what it would take for one of the designated navigators to teach her - or at the very least, sit in on their duties when she had their own.

She'd already begun familiarizing herself with the night sky, and making due logs of her duties, but she seemed to be lacking in the proper mindfulness - afterall, how long had she chased those pesky whirls of light without looking towards the sky in greater depth than a fleeting moment? She rocked her body from side to side, trying to get a more definite direction for the pull of Laviku's embrace, and tried to make a picture of the sky's stars in her mind. She'd tried making such mental projections before, and it seemed like she was steadily getting better, but her focus was cut the moment Jay spoke again.

Although his words seethed excitement, the Svefra had scarcely expected him to be so willing to act upon it. "We'll be docked until early spring, then back once more late Autumn, Laviku allowing. Though, I am afriad the vessel is not Svefra," she hoped the detail would not be a downer to the man, but still couldn't help be proud of vessel. Even though her people had their own style of ship, and deep culture tied in its carving, she new a good ship when she saw it.

"But she's beautiful - Ionu bestowed upon her his own gnosis, and she's..." the woman gave a general gesture, to the world entirely around her, nearly falling into Jay's prior trap of using her motions as though she were speaking Fratava. "She's exactly the kind of magnificant thing you'd expect a city like Alvadas to have sail in her name. Although she's trade, there are a host of performers, too - dancers, actors, knife thrower acrobats - the list..." she took a breath, as though to accentuate the point, "Goes on. If you like," she hummed, before taking a long sip of ale as she made the final consideration on what she was soon to offer. "You can walk with me back to the docks when you finish your shift?"

Did that sound creepy? Zulrav, she hoped that didn't sound creepy.

[Jay Darkcrest]

OOCDon't worry, I think all of them are easy to read, haha! As you can see, I'm guilty of switching styles myself. And I took the liberty of moving the thread along, hope you don't mind.


Jay nodded along to her words, drinking up the dates eagerly. Of course, the vessel would spend winter in a port, then sail the oceans during spring and summer before returning to the same port before autumn storms struck. How lucky that the port happened to be Alvadas! Then again, the Mischief, blessed by Ionu and full of performers, already seemed to share an extraordinary connection with the city, so it most likely was no coincidence.

He also noticed that Naia rectified his assumption that the majority of the crew was Svefra. After the initial pang of disappointment, however, Jay was more than fine with that. As long as they weren’t pirates, he’d readily share a drink with anyone who loved the ocean and sailing as much as his family did. So he merely shook his head and smiled a little, indicating he didn’t mind.

While she elaborated with words and hand gestures how magnificent she was despite the lack of Svefra on board, Jay finished polishing and aligning the mugs on their shelf. After a moment of bouncing on the balls of his bare feet, he slipped a hand in his pocket and got out his lucky coin. It was just a lone gold miza, but he absentmindedly flipped it around in his hand, threw it in the air and caught it again, checking whether it was heads or tails, as he listened to Naia. To a stranger, it might seem like he wasn’t paying attention while in fact it helped him focus on her words. A lot. Keeping his hands busy, having an excuse to avoid looking her in the eye, the little coin helped him to all that.

And then she finished with exactly the kind of invitation he was hoping to get and Jay couldn’t help but flash her a big smile. “That’s great, really great! I did not know ships can have a gnosis! Does it look like a picture on the hull or something? But I guess I see it if I go with you…” Trailing off, he pocketed the coin.

At that point, Winona returned with a fresh batch of mugs and a few glasses. She slid them towards him and gave an encouraging half-smile. “After that, we’re almost done. Don’t worry, you hop along while I wipe down and clean up the rest.”

Jay shot her an ‘are you sure’ glance, but she had already returned to the kitchen. Anyway, he knew Winona was fair and kind as a superior – she’d probably overheard his conversation and decided she didn’t mind closing up by herself. Grinning, he turned back to Naia. “You heard her? I just polish those and then I can go with you to the docks!”

True to his word, he tackled the task with fresh enthusiasm, carefully polishing one mug after another. Since he was looking forward to touring the Mischief so much, his work might’ve been sloppier than usual, but he hoped it was still good enough for Winona. He was half suspecting she was a predator like himself, maybe a forest cat or a bird of prey – her eyes were definitely sharp enough. Still, Jay had finished and stored away the last glass in less than twenty chimes. Drying his hands with a fresh towel, he grabbed the mug Naia had emptied and carried it into the kitchen before returning to the front.

By then, the taproom was empty save for two men who seemed intent on finishing their card game. Jay nodded at Winona wiping down tables in the back, then waited for his new Svefra acquaintance to lead the way.

[Naia Whitewater]

Speech | 37, 515 AV | Thoughts | OOC NoteNo, No, I'm quite glad you did! And sorry this post took longer than it should have, it is first week back to university for me - feel free for your next post to be as far as the port/the mischief, assume Naia subtly guides him.

Jay had drawn a question that Naia didn't know the answer to. She knew the fact that it was the ship's gnosis that lent it its abilities... but what did the mark look like, and where was it placed? In all her time in Alvadas, and on board, the Svefra had never been able to get a proper look of the mark that defined any of Ionu's followers, but she understood the general geometric shape.

"I..." she let the word drawl quietly as she considered her words, gaze falling from the counter to Jay, and back again, and then at the woman who shortly appeared, not at all sure how she could admit to lacking such knowledge. She's surely seen the gnosis before, but lacked the knowledge to know it as such. Her ignorance was immensely helped along by the fact that although she appreciated The Mischief's beauty, she always felt at odds and ends with the nature of illusions themselves.

The short exchange between the two certainly put Jay is a kind light, for as much as he'd been a pleasure to speak with thus far, the woman was weary of the many different faces that people wore, especially in such a city. "How exciting," she flashed a conspirator's smirk, and she couldn't help a soft giggle as she stared down the remainder of her drink, and summoned all that was her mother's ability to take copious amounts of alcohol in very little time, and put herself to work in finishing the mug so as to not keep the kelvic waiting.

Instead of muddling the man while he worked, she let herself observe the room, and keep to her task of downing her dwindling drink. As the woman had put out the last call, many had left the room - not that the Svefra had been in any mind to notice - and she wondered about the creatures, the zith, that seemed to cause so many unease.

Not that Naia did not house her own suspicions, but she was suspicious of many small things, and generally of most races that were not her own. Like the phase of Leth, and the claim that many went wild at its full, of touching a fortune teller's work and craft, and the swearing of oaths in particular manners. The zith were not a particular practice, but a people, and they had their own language, a culture of their own. Some seemed intense in conversation, and others relaxed in their own way. As relaxed as anyone in the city was.

Tanroa's river of time flowed quite quickly, as whirling and writhing as it was, and it almost seemed as though as soon as Jay had set about his work it was over, and Naia had taken a quick pace towards the docks, a biting edge of anxiety piquing every fleeting moment she saw a spark of light out of the corner of her eyes. "Laviku's gnosis..." she hummed, shooting a glance towards the man as she lead him in the direction of the sea, thrilled at his own excitement, and having peviously perhaps been too focus on the prospect of reaching the Port to give ample conversation. "Its the only way I've been able to get through this city's winding streets," She nodded her head in their direction of travel, a smile gracing her lips, "The Ocean is this way, but we'll still need to make sure we chose the right streets."

She scrutinized the road ahead, working her memory as she tried to summon what streets had previously failed, pressing her lips as she lost herself in thought. If they took the next left, then they should be able to take the following right and find an entrance to the port, The Mischief too grand to miss once they broke through. Easy.

[Jay Darkcrest]

When they stepped outside, Jay stretched and yawned, but not out of exhaustion. His shifts at the Watering Hole were exhausting, sure, but as far as he was concerned, when they were finished there the fun was only just beginning. Despite protests from his internal clock, he’d taken to exploring Alvadas during the twilight and early night bells in an attempt to get to know the city as much as he could. There was always more to see, more to discover…

That evening, however, they were striving to get out of the city instead of wandering aimlessly. Naia seemed to know where she was going, so he gladly followed her lead. It was a nice change too, handing control over to another person, not being required to think and decide for himself. Not that he had any problems letting instinct decide in the Alvad maze of streets and alleyways.

Although he was content strolling along by her side, playing with the gold coin in his pocket, Jay did wonder how she could be sure her way was the right one though. After some time, she answered that question. Of course, she was marked, just like all the Darkcrests. “Is practical.” He winced a little, not satisfied by his word choice, but too occupied to think of an alternative. He’d wished for Laviku’s blessing too, many times during his life on the Sebakem. To be able to drink salt water! To feel the state of the tide, to read currents as easily! Given, he’d forgotten they could also feel the call of the ocean because they’d always been on it, but that obviously came in handy every now and then.

At least Alvadas and its riddles was something the Kelvic could comment on without unwanted feelings rising to the surface and he did so gladly. “Oh, it’s easy if you like to take your time. Just follow your instinct, forget directions, and you end up where you wanted to go. Sometimes you don’t even know until you’re there!”

They came to a crossing. Jay waited as Naia stopped and pursed her lips. He could almost see her debating which way she’d taken on the way into the city, but he’d been around long enough to know that streets could shift. Nice straight alleys could turn into dead ends. It was the way the city worked. “Where do you feel the sea? The streets change, you know. The previous way could be gone now.”

[Naia Whitewater]

Speech | 37, 515 AV | Thoughts | OOC NoteNext time on "University started back and I became such a slacker over break I forgot how to be a productive member of society"... Sorry for the lateness!

Naia's brows drew, and a bitter twist to her mouth followed.

Right, for a few, fleeting moments of life, she had forgotten that the city of Alvadas had decided, for whatever reason, that it was going to be quite ridiculously difficult.

As if the streets merely changing day by day were not enough, they'd been changing by the damned bell.

"Ah," the word was a filler, a verbal signifier to mark that she had heard the handsome man's words, though her mind was far too busy working away to come up with something all too coherent. She nodded her head forward, though somewhat to the left, and she set her sights skyward as she searched for the constellations of her making. It was almost cruel that Jay could not feel the tug of the ocean, and so she set out to ensure he had another manner to find his way always to the sea.

"That way- but you can find the ocean by more than Laviku's ocean heart," she continued the determined pace, and at the kelvic's recommendation. Straight to the sea, perhaps Ionu would bless them with quick travel. "You are familiar with the cardinal directions?- North, South, East and West," she tried not to assume too much, or too little, and let the words slip as easily as she could manage, his prior wording reminder her of his fluency in the common tongue.

"The ocean is to the East of Alvadas, if you know the stars of the sky, and the placement of them in terms of that, you can find your way, even without Laviku's blessing."

Naia's own gaze was set on the sky to the east, seeking and picking out Illan and the stars that made the crooked cross - she quickly found Illan's daughter, and made a note of where they sat in the sky. Even the stars moved, she reminded herself, and tried to gauge how far they'd shifted from one another, in the fleeting days since when she named them, and the time of evening that was.

[Jay Darkcrest]

OOCNo problem, I know what you mean! Sry for the length, there wasn't much to reply to. We can be on the Mischief in your next post if that's okay.


“Aye.” Jay knew most of what Naia was trying to teach him, but he figured interrupting wouldn’t do her mood any good. He watched her decide on a way and leave the crossing with a hesitant smile. “But it’s difficult to know where they are in Alvadas. Sometimes I think even the sky, sun and moon are illusions.”

He wondered if Naia knew more about illusion than she had shared, sailing with the Mischief and all. Perhaps he could learn from her? If not, surely the rest of the crew and performers knew more about Ionu and its tricky domain, knowledge that Jay was eager to acquire. If it meant surviving in its strange city, he’d go to great lengths. Then again, he supposed he could join the Mischief and sail away. But where to? His previous journey had been about running from a place. He still didn’t know where to go, but he liked the people of Alvadas. Winona, Danisar. Karin.

The Svefra’s words were still ringing in his ears, so he only replied after a (quite possibly awkward) moment of silence. “You know a lot about stars? About the shapes they form that are useful for navigation on sea?”

A couple of ticks and two corners later, they finally found the Gaping Maw and left the city through it. Looking back, Jay silently challenged the mouth to speak. Of course it didn’t. As they followed the path down to the Patchwork Port, Jay stroked his gold earring and kept his gaze on the darkening sky, trying to make out stars and their constellations.