Closed Beaches, Rivers, and Seas [Eamon]

[Anibesa]

54th Summer, 517
"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

It was mid-morning and Anibesa had just woke up from a nap she'd opted to take once the sun had risen and she no longer had the opalescent form that fed off the moonlight.

She arranged to meet with Eamon for a walk along the beaches and to try and explore the coastline, to see what they could find, whether it be something pretty, something interesting, or even just something.
Obviously most things on the coastline had probably been found by the founding trio, but it wouldn't hurt to have a look at what was around. She had to look a bit further than just the settlement, after all, she hadn't really looked very far and had been spending her time safely in the settlement, only going far enough to get to a few of the nearer places.

Smiling slightly, she pulled on her boots and made sure her pants were rolled down, hoping to cover her legs fully, before opting to tuck her pants into the top of her boots.
Then she pulled on her shirt and grabbed her backpack, quickly shoving her cloak into the backpack, before slinging it over one shoulder, ready to set off.

She'd arranged with Eamon to meet on the beach near the Syka commons at around 11 bells, and Anibesa intended to get there slightly early.
With a smile on her face, Anibesa headed out of her tent, making sure to secure the entrance, before heading up to where the cobbled pathway lay.

She followed it, eyes glued to its form and how it changed stone when it moved from the beach to the forest. It was fascinating to her, and all she could wonder was how much time it had taken to craft such a path.
She'd heard that it wasn't put together by hand, but rather by some form of magic.

Magic was something that intrigued Anibesa. A part if her yearned to learn more about it, maybe even learn how to use some magic if she could find someone that was willing to teach her.

When she looked up next, she found herself looking at the Syka Commons, with the beach just to her left.
It was calm and quiet, most people in the settlement were likely hard at work or exploring, attempting to find treasures. Some were maybe even trying to catch their food, or trying to learn from others.

Smiling wider, she turned to the beach and walked onto it, feeling the sand shift slightly under her boots as she sank slightly, before she took a few steps forward, glancing around to see if Eamon was there before opting to sit on the sand when she realised she was the first to arrive.

As she waited, she stared out to sea, enjoying the sight of the light reflecting off the rippling waves.
It was beautiful to see, and one of many reasons that she thanked Laviku as frequently as she did. That combined with spending most of her earthbound life with Svefra who prayed to the sea god.
She picked up their habits, praying to Laviku every day, praying to Zulrav when a storm approached, and even having moments of pure joy shared with others.
She'd kept what she would have considered her own habits, though being with her pod and using their customs and habits had been the most fun times of her life and now she couldn't help but feel slightly lonely.
She didn't know much of anyone in Syka, and while her pod would spend every waking moment together, the inhabitants of Syka would usually keep to themselves or their own families and friends, and Anibesa had yet to find herself being friends with the other inhabitants.
Word Count623
Seasonal Total: 6514

[Eamon]

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54th of Summer 517 AV

Eamon was, perhaps not so surprisingly, running late to his meeting with Anibesa. He was also literally running as a result. He had a tendency to get lost either in thought or his work, or, more typically, both. He wasn’t normally so scatterbrained – in fact, his attention to detail and his memory were both aspects of him he was proud of – but seeing as he was incredibly new to the art of pottery, he was doing everything he could in a short amount of time to better his skills on that front. Nearly daily, he practiced his craft or expanding his business, if it could be called that; this time he’d started off his morning by hunting down rocks both on the beach and on the very edges of the forest. He had to find ones that were a suitable size, then carry or drag them to the place outside his tent he’d designated as his fire pit. It was hard, backbreaking work, and he only managed to find a semi-circle’s worth of stones before he had to take a break. Eventually he’d have a fire pit that would be actually usable as the alternative to a kiln but for now he was still working on it. He had to work a little more quickly, though, given that the leaders of Syka didn’t look kindly upon people who didn’t pull their weight and so far Eamon had nothing tangible to show for his efforts.

Deciding he needed to work on something else while his arms, back and legs recovered from the burning pain of carrying heavy objects, Eamon made his way to one of the buckets that he’d filled with purified clay. That was also a very involved process: he had to go to the clay deposits, fill up half a bucket with either wet or dry clay, then fill it with water until the clay was liquid. Then he poured it into a sieve, to get rid of any imperfections. After that, he had to let it sit for a while until the excess water was removed, then pour that out carefully. Only after all that would it be worth actually using. He’d gone through the whole sequence a few days ago and now all he had to do was add water until it was the correct consistency.

He’d had a large chunk of it in his hands and was making an ever-deeper crater in the center through the expedient process of shoving his fingers into the clay and pushing outwards from the center. Last time he’d try to make just a simple bowl, which was what this was supposed to end up as eventually, he’d failed and there had been incredibly varying thicknesses throughout it. This time, he was making slightly better progress, and was actually getting something that might charitably under certain lights be called a bowl. Still, it was misshapen and Eamon sighed, upset with his lack of progress. At this rate, he’d never be able to make a useable container, even a simple or small one, and that didn’t bode well for his continued future in Syka.

He mashed the clay together again and threw it into the bucket. Next time. I’ll get it next time for sure. Eamon very carefully didn’t think about how many next times this had been now. Eventually if he kept working at it, he’d have to get better. At least, that was the dream. Leth let it be so, he prayed fervently even though Leth’s lover Syna was currently completing her orbit across the sky.

He was about to take another clump of clay up when the thought of Syna crossing the heavens jogged his memory. “Oh shyke,” he exclaimed, and sprang up. He’d made plans to meet Anibesa at the Commons this morning and he had no idea what time it was. It was one of the problems in living in Syka: other than sunrise and sunset, being able to tell what time it was turned into a losing proposition. Mostly, Eamon just approximated the timing of tasks, which was probably part of why he was having so much trouble getting his business off of its feet. On that note, he sprang to his feet and started running awkwardly through the dunes, not bothering to grab any of his supplies. He didn’t know exactly why Anibesa wanted to get together, but considering the insane situations they’d had in the past Eamon figured that whatever it was would be exciting, to say the least.

His already tortured muscles didn’t like this exertion, and before too long, he had to slow to a walk, his strained lungs gasping for air as his limbs set themselves on fire. Apparently, he was incredibly out of shape and running would be beyond him until he’d recovered further. Hopefully Anibesa wouldn’t require any significant physical labor, because Eamon was all out of it at this current moment in time. He thought not – she’d mentioned something about exploration, which could mean basically anything, but surely she’d have told him if there was a significant excursion, since he would’ve had to bring supplies. So as he walked as quickly as he could, he tried to think positively about the upcoming meeting. Exploration could just mean walking! he kept reminding himself, but his protesting body made it hard to think.

Eventually he made it to the Commons, which were, as always crowded with people. It was one of the only locations where one could gather with friends in Syka and it also was quite comfortable to either lounge, or, more commonly, do work that could done done while sitting. Scanning the crowd, Eamon tried to pick out Anibesa. Spotting a familiar shock of red hair on the beach, Eamon smiled and started making his way towards the woman. It didn’t surprise him that she was by the water. She, like him, and many others in the settlement seemed to have a special connection of some kind with Laviku. It made sense, since the sea God provided them with quite a lot in their little community.

Coming up to stand behind her, Eamon lowered himself into a kneeling position. He’d introduce himself to Anibesa and apologize for being late but first he felt it was prudent to pay his respects to Laviku. “Father of the waves, your humble servant and child thanks you for guidance through your waters. May you be ever blessed and may your tides and the waters you call home stay strong and true and sweet.” He wasn’t especially good with his words, but he felt that it was a good prayer. Even if he wasn’t sure it was necessary or appropriate, it did indeed make him feel better.

Turning to Anibesa, Eamon let out an apologetic grin. “Sorry. Habit of mine. Picked it up a long time ago and it seemed appropriate under the circumstances.” The Ethaefal stood up and went to go brush the sands off his pant legs, before nothing that they were still covered with clay from before, since he never took the time to clean them. He frowned and them, and then shrugged, figuring he could always clean them later if he had to. “I’m also sorry for being late.” He held up his muddy streaked hands as part of his explanation. “I was working and I simply lost track of time. You know how it is when you get focused on a project. Especially here. Everything seems to blur together in a pleasant stretch of time, doesn’t it?” Indeed, sometimes he wondered if Syka didn’t operate on a different calendar or timekeeping system, since the temperature was steady and the climate, though rain was common, didn’t actually seem to have that much variation in it.

“It’s good to see you again. Especially with just the two of us and in a slightly less stressful situation.” The Ethaefal grinned. “We really have to stop meeting like that.” True the two early encounters were different but they had both ended up giving him a headache, and, if he aged normally, he was sure he would’ve gotten some gray hairs. “Anyway, you said something about and meeting and some exploration of some sort. I’m always happy to find new places! Tell me what you’re planning; I am all ears.” With that, Eamon settled in to a companionable silence, eager to hear more about Anibesa’s plans for the two of them.

word count1408 + 19172 = 20580

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[Anibesa]

"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

The sea was beautiful to watch, and Anibesa had been staring at it intently. To most passersby it might appear that she was waiting for some sort of sign, but in reality she was just admiring the sparkling blue water that rippled under the warm light of the sun.

When she'd first fallen she'd landed in the sea, though in a different place to here, and all the waters of this sea had probably been the same water that had cushioned her fall and then helped her to Riverfall.
For that she would always be thankful to the sea. Even despite living with the Svefra and adopting their religious values, her main respect for the sea and Laviku came from the day that she fell.

As she sat lost in her own thoughts of the sea and Laviku, she hadn't noticed Eamon approaching.
The first she noticed of him was when he started to pray to Laviku, and Anibesa jumped slightly, shocked by the sudden voice, before she turned her head to see the blonde man and a smile spread across her face.

She was glad to see him, especially considering that he was one of the first people she'd made an effort to try and get to know. She felt that Syka would be much safer and a much more enjoyable place if she made friends with people.

"It's always a fitting time for giving thanks. After all, Laviku has given us a wondrous gift with the sea. It's beauty is just an added bonus!" she grinned as she spoke, briefly turning her head to look at the sea again. "Though it's even more beautiful at night. I like watching it most when the moonlight is shining down on it. It's all sparkly and magical then!" she mused out loud with a content smile on her face, before turning her head back to Eamon.

She listened to him as he apologised for being late and explained how he had lost track of time due to being so focused on what he'd been working on, to which she nodded in agreement. It was easy to lose track of time, here more than anywhere she'd found. Since there were so few people it was easy to become engrossed in what you were doing, and a few chimes could turn into several bells unless something else drew your attention, like a person coming to speak with you, or a creature making noise and distracting you.

"No worries about being late. I understan', plus it's been nice to just sit an' watch the sea for a bit. Peaceful and relaxing really! 'Aven't 'ad much chance to just sit for a while." she said, before opting to slowly get to her feet, brushing the sand off herself as she did so. "Weathers nice 'ere too. If it were raining I might be a bit more annoyed." she grinned, knowing that if it had rained, she'd have simply stepped into some shelter and continued watching the sea, she highly doubted that any weather would have changed her mood at all.

"I don't know, those time were quite interesting, if not enlight'ning." she grinned as she spoke. "But it's nice to meet in less hectic circumstances." she smiled, briefly looking down at herself to make sure she'd got rid of most of the sand and using a hand to swat away a patch of sand on the back of her thigh that she must have missed.
Then she glanced at Eamon's pant legs to notice the clay on them and she grinned slightly. The man must be a potter of some sort.

"I was thinking that it could be cool to explore the coastline?" she started, before turning to look each way up and down the beach, before pointing the direction of the teeth. "We could walk up past the teeth and along the coast around the Maw, see if there's anything to the North, if that's okay with you?" she suggested.

The other direction was probably just as valid a place to go but for reason going around the coastline near the Maw seemed more interesting to Anibesa.
Ideally she'd have liked to venture into the Maw, though that sounded dangerous and Anibesa had no way to defend herself from animals, and knowing her luck she'd likely end up poisoning herself.
The coast didn't seem to have many dangerous compared to the Maw, though Anibesa realised that there would still likely be dangers near the sea, but those dangers weren't as frequent or prevalent.
Plus, she'd heard rumours of different things along the beach that could be fun. One of them she'd heard of was an area of the coastline where Swine had inhabited, while others were the River and a smaller stream, though she had no idea whether they were a long way away from the settlement, or whether they'd be reachable within half a day.

"So, shall we get set off then?" she started before beginning to walk, briefly turning her head to Eamon to ask a question. "So, you know medicine? Where did you learn that?" she asked, smiling as she did so.

She was curious about the man, but she also enjoyed conversation, so it seemed like a good way to start a conversation by asking about his medicine skills. Maybe she could find out about his past and how he found himself in Syka.
Word Count904
Seasonal Total: 7418

[Okara]

Grades and Awards   Anibesa Experience Observation 2 Socialization 1 Persuasion 1 Lores Anibesa: Intrigued by Magic Syka Location: Syka Commons Eamon: Follower of Laviku Notes It’s unfortunate this thread didn’t get far, both because it left me with little to award you and because it seemed to have the potential to be really fun. I hope Anibesa gets a chance to do some more exploration.   Eamon Notes Eamon, if you should return, please PM me and I will provide a grade for you. Please edit your post in your grade request to reflect that it has been graded. PM me with any questions.