Flashback One coin in a fountain (Aladari)

[Aq Sulei U'sij]

Fall 1, 513

Fountain of Cascading Harmony

They stood musing, watching the never ending cascade of water appear, flow downwards and then join the rest in the pool below, to ultimately be drained away and repeat the process all over again. ”A fitting representation of life, and death,” Sulei observed, an inaudible voice inside their head. After a pause, he urged, ”Go on! Throw it in!”

The hand that held the coin did not move, however, the thin bit of gold still grasped between deep, blackish-red fingertips. ”I don’t know,” Aq replied. Seems like a waste of a miza if you ask me. I mean, how do we know that Laviku gives a damn whether we toss money into some stone fountain or not? It’s not like he needs it! He’s a god!”

”Yes, a god – and worthy of our praise, and gratitude for not having been drowned long ago! Sulei retorted. "If you won’t do it, let me. You can go and sleep off last night some more.”

The offer was tempting. They had visited Zeltiva many times in the past five decades. There wasn’t that much to see of the place that they hadn’t already encountered, during one lay over or another. If he did relinquish control to Sulei, Aq could go deeper into unconsciousness and thus be ready for another night of drinking and carousing later on. It had been Sulei’s idea – his insistence – that had brought them to the fountain in the first place, not Aq’s. He loved and worshipped Laviku as much as his brother. But he was skeptical about the merit of tossing money into manmade edifices. Probably the city guard came along once a month and scooped out all those ‘dreams.’

”Well…” he began tentatively. I guess we could…”

Enough already!” Sulei interrupted in exasperation. ”Be off with you! Sleep. And yes, I will wake you when evening falls.”

Still hesitant, Aq lingered a moment longer, and then the long, muscled arm of the Akalak shot out and the coin flew, to plop into the rippling pool of water in the base of the fountain.

”Hey! I wanted to do that!” Sulei grumbled, as Aq chuckled with glee before sliding off into the unconscious world. Sulei felt the body responding to his thoughts, as he shifted his weight from one foot to another, still gazing in reverence at the shrine. To all outwards appearances, absolutely nothing had transpired except for an exceptionally tall, muscle bound red guy, dressed as a sailor might, silently throwing a miza into its depths.

[Aladari Coolwater]

Timestamp: 1st of Fall, 513

The girl's breathless laughter filled the crisp Zeltivan air.

"No!" She squealed, still laughing. Despite the half-hearted protests, her friend jumped on top of her, taking both children to the ground in a tumble of early teenage limbs and sweat.

"Ah ha! Gotcha!" He laughed triumphantly. "I won!"

"Alright, alright." Aladari giggled, pushing at the boy's chest. "Get off me, then. Let's play something else." By the time the boy had removed himself and helped her off the ground, Aladari had already decided on a new activity. "Let's go play in the fountain."

"Play in the fountain? That's for babies! Besides, Ma said that fountain is special, and we're not allowed to play around it. It's Laviku's, or something."

"You're really going to listen to your mommy? I think you're the baby!" Aladari teased.

"Yeah! She beat my ass last time! It's not worth it. Plus, I've got chores to do before sunset. You go play if you want. I'm going home."

"Ah, fine. Whatever." Aladari waved a hand at him dismissively. Then, she turned to face the direction of the fountain. She fully planned on playing in it, if only to prove her friend wrong. "I'll see you tomorrow, baby." The boy rolled his eyes, waved, and departed, leaving Aladari alone on her walk to the fountain.

Had she been accompanied by someone, she may have been more bold upon spying the man. With no one to help her (and no one to show off for) she felt slightly intimidated by the figure taking up so much space around her fountain.

He was tall, even more than some Svefra she had seen. His body rippled with the muscles of a sailor, even when standing still. His black hair was long and thick, edging on unkempt but not quite messy enough yet to be careless. But most shocking was his dark skin. Aladari had seen many skin colors in the ports, but never had she seen such a deep hue of red, like spilled blood all over him.

Aladari took a quiet, tentative step forward, considering her options. She could address the man directly, and possibly learn something new. She could learn something she could gloat about to the other children, even. Or, she could back away and avoid trouble.

It was hardly a decision for her.

"Hey, mister!" She called, moving towards the fountain and around to his side. "You're a sailor, right? Where are you from?"

Rock the Boat

[Aq Sulei U'sij]

Aq was gone – off to sleep and recuperate – and it was Sulei who turned to observe the interloper. It might have been grossly unfair for him to view the girl as such. She was a native, although he didn’t know that at this point. Thus the city and all its places were far more hers than his. Still, he felt a mild irritation at this disturbance to his just achieved contentment – at being both in charge of the corporeal body he shared with his twin soul, and having the opportunity to contemplate the godhood of the one upon whose whims they traveled – safely or otherwise. The girl looked to be in her teens, if that, and her nosy questions heralded a chatty persona. She certainly did not carry the air of one come to worship, as he had.

Dark gold eyes peered at her from under heavy, black brows as he gave some thought to simply ignoring her. However, she seemed the type which would be rudely oblivious to the social signals of I want to be left alone. Better to give her a limited response and make it clear that was exactly what he wanted her to do.

“Yes. I’m from a ship in the harbor. And I’ve come here to worship.” He cocked one of those fuzzy black caterpillar’s that arched over his eyes, giving her a pointed look. He even went so far as to cross his arms over his muscular chest. His height was already more than sufficient that he had no need to draw himself up in order to look down at her.

Perhaps she’d take all these cues for the message they meant to convey. Scram kid!

[Aladari Coolwater]

Oh, Aladari understood loud and clear. The superiority in his lowered brows and defensiveness in his stance was more than enough to get his messasge to her. She acknowledged the silent request to leave with a scoff, and promptly ignored it.

"Worship?" The word was foreign to her- unknown in her Common sailor's vocabulary. She repeated herself, letting it flip off her tongue. A ship was a boat, she knew. So, she reasoned, it must have something to do with Laviku. Strangely, they were in one of the few locations in Zeltiva that wasn't costal.

"How are you worshipping here?" She asked. "Is...far from Laviku. Is just a puddle to him."

She walked closer, ignoring the hard stare she could feel on her back. Aladari leaned over the edge of the fountain, dipping her fingers in to wet them. She hesitated a moment, then smiled and flicked the droplets at the tall man.

"And no one comes from a ship anyhow. She continued. "Except the Svefra. I think they might be born from ships. Act like the ship is their mom, some do." She turned to scan the man up and down. "But you're not Svefra. No Svefra has skin like that. Not unless you colored it."

She reached out to rub his arm, as if trying to wipe away paint. Whether or not he let her, a grin would cover her face as she prodded him for information again.

"So we can do this again. Who are you, and where did you come from?

Me, I am Aladari Coolwater. I'm from the docks."
Rock the Boat

[Aladari Coolwater]

Your grades have been spotted!
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Aladari Coolwater

■ Interrogation + 1
■ Socialization + 1
■ Observation + 2

Lores

Lore of Location: Fountain of Cascading Harmony
Lore of Socialization: Body Cues of Irritation
Lore of Akalaks: Dark Colored Skin

Additional Information

Aq Sulei U'sij: Grades withheld due to inactivity. Last post was in October. Contact me if you ever come back and would like your grades.

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