[Job Thread] Fish Food.

by **Bay'Lin La** on March 5th, 2017, 8:54 pm

1st Day of Spring, 517 A.V.

(9th Bell/morning)

To those who longed for companionship, to be alone made the soul sick with rotting corrosive blacknesses. They could cut it away, whined like little infants until the notice of other people turned them into towering titans. But that was not the way that Bay'Lin chose to live. For most of the previous season, Bay remained in self exile to the sea. Never moving far away from the shore. And never hiding the fact that he was a Voider.

He didn't even know if the Syka settlers had ever caught anything more than a glimpse of his face in brief partial flashes, the shadows of his drawn hood, or face hidden behind bending and curling lengths of tendrils that hung from his head. Each gently wrapping around his face as he kept his head down. It was his desire to remain within the fracture points of the perceptions of those that glanced upon him. To remain beyond their grasp of social awareness.

At first, the settlement was like all things. Outward beauty, or a lack thereof depending on your perspective, was only skin deep. To Bay'Lin, Syka was a leaf floating on water. Thrashing wildly by every small ripple underneath it. And that was why Bay'lin had spoken to his sister May'lin specifically about perspectives. He was a protective brother who kept his sister away from Syka since they had arrived last winter. The city had no defenses and could hardly be called a city.. it was hardly even a settlement. But since it still stood after a season, Bay'lin knew he needed to start build a life for himself.

For his sister.

Bay'lin had walked, then almost crawled, from the ocean onto the shore on his way to The Syka Mercantile. He was dressed in his usual attire: clad in black linen short sleeved shirt and pants, over which he wore his light armor made of stiffened kelp. if it was not clear that they lived under the seam then the live mollusks clinging to his armor; unable to digest the treated kelp, would make it obvious. He wore no backpack, but a flat water tight body pack container and trident on his back.

His sister May'lin followed shortly behind him, exiting the water with a wide smile on her shark toothed maw. Even though they were the same age, Baylin treated May'Lin like a little sister. That meant as long as they traveled together, she was his unwilling pack mule. Wearing Bay'Lin's actual backpack with and carrying his violin case.

"Really? Are we going to explore today? Lets go over there!" She pointed to the distant trees in the jungle. "No." His webbed feet acted like a snow shoe that helped him walk across the top of the sand, without really sinking into it. "Then tell me what you have planned. Why are you keeping it a secret?" He glanced over his shoulder with a smug smirk, "Because you are being annoying. But if you must know, we are going to buy some supplies. And by 'we' I mean me."

She quickened her pace to walk along side her brother as they trudged towards the shops entrance. "I do not feel like living off of kelp, nor do I wish to venture inland to garden. To support ourselves, we will supply the meat eaters with fish meat. In turn, we will buy fruits and vegetables for ourselves."

As soon they walked up the stairs to the shop, May began to act like a child in a candy story. But Bay'lin began to gather very specific items. He'd stop to glance over his shoulder when his sister called for his attention. "Can I have this?" When he turned back around without speaking, she took his silence as a no.

Bay'Lin stood, still dripping wet from the sea, in front of James Chaliva as he perched each of his items. "I will no doubt require more salt in the future." Giving the man a faint nod before turning to see what his sister was doing. She held up two things in her hand a clam shovel and a clam tube. "We can look for clams on the beach!" He waved her over to him. "That will be useful." His sister smirked then placed them inside of the barrel.

Ledger :

by **Bay'Lin La** on March 6th, 2017, 10:01 pm

Bay'Lin started to place the rest of the items into the barrel, except for the dagger. “I need my cloak.” In response, May pulled the folded cloth out of the backpack she wore. He did not take it from her, he only used the dagger to cut a small strand of fabric from the bottom hem long enough to use as a belt. He tied it around the midsection of his armor, then slid the dagger into place so it was pinned to his armor. “Why didn't you just buy fabric? They have some right there?” May pointed to the large collection of fabrics the store had to offer. He shrugged nonchalantly. “I'm cheap. But should this business venture succeed, we will have the means to buy better weaponry.”

If charoda had the ability to blink, May would have blinked her always open fish-like eyes at the mention of weapons. "Why? We don't have to fight. There is always a better way than violence." He huffed out a muted scoff, not wanting to make fun of her naivety. He remembered when he used to be a true pacifist. But that was a long time ago. "If you had to chose, would would you want me to continue meditate on the void to defend myself or train in physical combat with weapons?" He stood up to look her right in the eyes. "Choose now, beloved sister, and I will commit to that way of violence."

May'Lin's gaze drifted to over Bay's shoulder where James Chaliva stood just curiously watching the pair. As if the man was curious about what the sister would deiced. The human shrugged at her, unsure of why she was looking at him because he had no advice to offer her.

"I don't like either. But you know I do not like you practicing the magic. So train with those weapons instead." She motioned a hand to the dagger then the trident on his back. "Then it is decided." Bay'lin turned to James a nod then knelt down to wrap his arms around the barrel to get a better grip around it and Then tried to lift it up. "Gahh" The grunt instinctual emitted from his mouth. It felt like he was lifting a the bodyweight of a full grown human female charodae. "Need help?"

Baylin shook his head as he lifted his knee to help keep the barrel up. "No, I got it lets go." He then started to slowly walk down the stairs to head back to the shore. Bay'lin wasn't weak; In fact he had no useless fat on his body with an anatomy built entirely around swimming. But he was built for grace, now strength. And the sand that he sunk into made it worse. He slowly hobbled his way to the beach, then set the barrel down in the sand at a point where the highest tide would not reach it.

He shook out his arms his arms before taking out the items used to set up the tent he'd bought. "Do you know how to set that thing up?" The question caused the siblings to just stare at each other in an awkward silence. "Of course I don't. Since when have we ever needed to sleep on land? ...But we need a physical store front." He started to spread the tent fully out onto the sand, then placed the tent polls out where he thought they might go.

As he stood over it, glanced to the strands of ropes with stakes tied to the bottom that came along with the tent. "Looks like the polls keep the corners up right, and the ropes are suppose to be staked in the ground to keep the structure from collapsing inward." Baylin then started the tedious process of trying to get one of the tent corners upright. It took him a few chimes, but managed to erect one side and stake it into the sand by digging down into the beach, then covering it with sand.

The sounds of loud clapping caused him to glance towards his sister who appeared to be cheering him on. "Oh, that must mean you were watching what I just did." He spoke with a smug grin, exposing the razor sharp rows of teeth in his mouth. "You are going to set up the rest of the tent for me." The woman gave a loud sniff in annoyance. With some distaste, she questioned. "Why me?"

Bay'lin collected the large roll of fishing net from the barrel, then started walking towards the ocean. "What good is a store that has no stock? I need to go catch some fish for us to sell. When I get back, I want to see that tent up and everything else cleanly stored inside of it." He stopped for a moment to glance back over his shoulder. "Use that bucket to fill the barrel with sea water. I'll be using that to store with some fresh fish when I get back."

May'lin glanced to the empty bucket inside the barrel. Then back to her brother who started to become swallowed by the Suvan Sea up to his waist. "Does this make us cannibals?" She playfully jested as he sunk down up to his neck. "We are amphibians, Sister. Not fish. And we are also vegetarians." Those where his last words before finally vanishing beneath the sea. Once she was alone, May slowly started to do as she was instructed, clumsily trying to emulate what her brother did to erect the tent.

by **Bay'Lin La** on March 7th, 2017, 1:04 am

No one other than the members of an aquatic race would ever truly understand how it felt to escape from the emaciating grasp of air into the loving embrace of Laviku's domain. He reveled in the sensation of the cool water as it enveloped his skin. The sensation was multiplied by the feeling of his body starting to breath through his skin.

Pushing carefully away from dry land he forced past the gentle current that wished to carry him back toward the beach, kicking his feet until he felt the deeper ebb that drifted outward to the open water. He settled down, allowing his body to propel forward through the false weightlessness of the sea when he stopped kicking his legs. He swam towards the area of the sea floor where he had last left his seahorse.

Bay'lin did not know much about land horses, but he knew that riding Sea Horses acted with the same instinctual nature of their tiny kin. They did not need to be tied down, they were only content to live out the rest of their entire lives within a set territory. A small seahorse would live and die within a few square feet. Bay'lin started to search for his horse within a much larger territory.

It took him a few chimes to notice an odd set of saddles draped across a patch of kelp. It would seem odd to anyone else, but he knew that was his horse. He swam towards it to run his hand along the side of the seahorses head. In response, Bay's entire body had slowly begun to change color. The normal light green color of his hand shifted to an intensely darker green that matched the kelp the horse lurked within. The creatures natural camouflage extending to him upon contact.

"Anyalsi, what are you up too?" The words were beautiful sung form his mouth to rhythmically harmonize into the underwater Charoda language of Char. As he spoke, Anyalsi turned her head to shoot out her long snout to pull a small fish into its maw. "Hunting? Well that's good to hear. because we are going to go catch a lot more than one fish today."

He put the weighted fishing net he held under one arm into Anyalsi's saddle bags, then swam up so he drifted above the saddle, then softly drifted down against them. Letting each of his webbed feet nestle into each stir-up. The reins were softly wrapped around the buckling roll; the small numb at the front of the saddle to keep them from openly drifting around in the water. After unwrapping it, he pulled the long length of woven kelp rope backward. Anyalsi responded by unwrapping her tail from the seabed rock she anchored herself to.

The Charodae began to feel his rear end vibrate once the seahorse started to flap the dorsal fin on its back; the fin that his saddle was place directly ahead of. The fin stated to force them both forward as it naturally flapped near seventy beats per second. It was impossibly to 'snap' the reins in water, so as a sign for her to go faster, he pushed his weight forward. Then yelled. "Lets go!" Shifting the reins softly to the left, nudging the horses head towards the right causing them to ride off in that direction.

by **Bay'Lin La** on March 7th, 2017, 3:21 am

Bay'Lin paused in his physical motions, allowing the swift current of the sea to wash around him as he glanced around. Keeping his body in a forward lean so that his seahorse would continue on its course. Every so often Bay'lin briefly glanced behind him before continuing on his way, searching for any large school of fish that he could find. He shook his head at himself when one came into view and he paused once more, regarding it. The school appeared to be relatively small, all of them were just past the first stages of their life. It was at the moment that he promised himself that he would only catch schools that were excess in number.

As a child, he learned that there was a status quo of sea life within the ocean. He hardly considered himself a worshiper of Caiyha, but some things learned as a child were hard pressed to go away. His heels tapped against Anyalsi's sides as he sat upright, then softly pressed his heels against her. Anyalsi's started to release the air from her gas bladder which caused both the horse and rider to sink further into the water. He released heels that informed the female seahorse to stop releasing air, holding its position in the water.

Bay'lin absently held one of his hands out to the side, feeling the water glide around it as he leaned forward for the horse to move again. The tendrils hanging from his head fluttering in the current behind him as he road. His hand hovering in the open water moved to stroke the side of Anyalsi's neck. "Faster." He beckoned her onward, triple tapping his heels against her side. The sea horse started to beat its dorsal fin much faster, at a speed equivalent of a land horses canter. Bay'Lin had to grip the reins in both hands to keep himself in control, otherwise he'd simply be bucked off of the saddle.

The canter lasted for several chimes until he pulled at the reins to slow her down. Deep in the water below him, he saw a large mass of fish shuffling around below him. It was exactly what he was looking for. A school so big that he could even seen the dark silhouette of sharks lingering in the distance.

Once the horse came to a complete stop, he patted the side of its head gently. "Stay here, girl." He swam up to dismount her, then retrieved the fishing net from his saddle bag. His feet were set a flutter to keep himself hovering in the water as the weights on the net tried to pull him down. "Now where to do this?" He thought to himself as he watched direction way the large mass of fish seemed to move. Using a solid kick to force himself forward, he began to swim in a wide birth around it. Trying to circle around it, and away from where the sharks lingered, cut it off so that he was in front of where the group was heading.

Bay'lin began to let go of the netting one foot at a time so that it dragged behind him as he swam until the whole thing was spread wide, sinking further into the water as he held the hand line. He made himself sink along with it as he waited for the school of fish to cross his path.

By the time the school of fish had reached him, he'd sunken enough that the net was below the floating mass. "Now!" He yelled to himself as he swam straight up towards the surface pulling the handline with him as he swam up through the middle of the school of fish. The twenty five square foot net pulled upward into itself when the hand line acted like a zip tie, ensnaring many of them within it. He used his upward momentum to arch towards Anyalsi's direction. He'd almost reached her when his arm felt like he'd been snatched by a shark.

He looked back over his shoulder to see the net filled with fish sinking to the sea floor. He grasped the handline in both hand to pull on it as his feet kicked to drag it to the horse. "Come on!" He grunted as some of the fish naturally moved with him while the others resisted. Once he'd gotten close enough to Anyalsi, he looped the handline around the buckling roll, then tied it into a knot around it.

Bay'lin wasted no time in mounting the saddle to hold the reins in his hands, pulling at them to turn the horse back in the direction of Syka. Three quick taps of his heel sent the horse into a forward canter that ended with a sudden jolt from the sudden tension in the handline. It slowed the canter to a normal walk, but slowly worked its way back up into a canter after a two chimes. Anyalsi held the speed for a few chimes before slowing to a walk, but by then the net had become manageable when the fish all started to swim in the direction of the current they traveled.

by **Bay'Lin La** on March 7th, 2017, 5:25 am

"Come on old girl, just a little further." As far as he was concerned, Bay'lin didn't want to over work Anyalsi. She'd been his mount for so long, that he knew he'd need to get a new seahorse specifically for work rather than riding. As they closed in on the beach, he lifted off of the saddle to swim along side her while holding onto the reins to guide her as close to coast as possible. The surface of the water lingered only two feet above his head when he stopped to open the net just enough to grab one fish out of it. It wiggled in his grasp, struggling to swim free as he looked it over. It was coated in red colored scales, but looked like a snapper fish.

He held it out in front of Anyalsi's mouth. "You earned a meal. Hope you like Mahogany Snappers." A long near-prehensile like snout reached out to snatch the fish from his palm, absorbing it into the horses mouth. He patted his hand down her nose then moved to walk up onto the beach. When he exited the water, he saw that May had erected the tent and was in the process of pouring water into the barrel. The next words he spoke were as if nails on a chalk board. Proving that Char sounded like primal shrieks when spoken on above water. "Wonderful. Things are starting to come together."

May'lin stood with a proud grin on her lips as she continued to pour sea water out of a bucket. "Catch anything?" She said as she walked over to him with an empty bucket in hand. "Yeah, we've enough Mahogany Snappers to fill the barrel. The rest we will set free. Come help me start to load them in." It took a few chimes, but together the siblings each started to venture back and forth from the net; using their own hands and the bucket to fill the barrel. By the end of the process they stood in front of a barrel filled with colorful fish that were all trussed up within themselves, making it almost impossible to not see them as anything other than dancing with amusement.

"I will need to be sure to add in fresh seawater every bell. With that many fish in one place they will remove the air from the water very quickly. They will need the fresh water to breath." He spoke as he looked inside of the tent where all of the items he'd bought were neatly stored away. "Easy. But now what are you going to do?" He then started to speak in common. "We have more than enough fish, I'll work on salting a few of them. But I need you to yell out that we have fresh fish for sale to start earning profit. Call out for me if someone shows up to buy something."

As he started to walk back into the ocean, Bay glanced back to see his sister yelling. "Fresh fish for sale!" At anyone who she could see.

by **Gossamer** on April 2nd, 2017, 8:07 pm

The Fates Have Spoken
Here is your thread grade!

Character: Bay'lin
Experience Awarded: Observation +3, Socialization +2, Leadership +2, Planning +2, Wilderness Survival +2, Fishing +2, Riding (Sea Horse) +1
Lores Awarded: WS: Pitching a Tent, Syka: Syka Mercantile Location, Fishing: Using a net underwater, Observation: Finding ones' sea horse in one's sea horses' territory.

Notes: I liked this thread. It was a great glimpse into the watery world of a charoda trying to make a go of it near the shore.

As always PM me if you have issues.