Open A Day at the Local Dive

Delvin visits The Tidepool to learn more about what's what and who's who in Syka

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Syka is a new settlement of primarily humans on the east coast of Falyndar opposite of Riverfall on The Suvan Sea. [Syka Codex]

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A Day at the Local Dive

Postby Delvin Brynmor on April 5th, 2018, 4:43 am

The Tidepool Bar, 4th of Spring, 518

The midday sun bore down on Delvin’s back, an unwelcome companion as he plodded along the beach. Thankfully, The Tidepool Bar was just a short distance more, but walking on the beach made the distance feel longer than usual. He had never walked on sand before coming to Syka, and it had taken him an embarrassingly long time to realize that walking on the edge of the sand where it was wet and firm was far preferable to the shoe-swallowing dry sections, even if the wet stuff still tugged at his shoes as he tried to lift his feet. The going had been much easier since then, and he was plenty glad that he had only brought his pouch with some mizas and his waterskin instead of bringing a backpack, but it still felt like he had been walking much longer than he had, and the sand in his shoes was of no help in his situation. No matter how hard he tried, some of it always ended up in there and until he could actually sit down for a while somewhere he doubted he would be able to get it all out. Never before had he been so glad to arrive at a bar as he did when The Tidepool was just before him, inviting him to come over and take a good long rest, kick back, and have a drink.

He had hardly just arrived in this land of sand and jungle, and already he felt a bit overwhelmed. Everything was so vastly different from what he knew. Even something as simple as sand had been an obstacle, and of the dangers yet waiting to face him he doubted that would be the most menacing. Perhaps the long trip over the sea and the newness of the whole thing was clouding his judgement, but as he was feeling at that moment, he was unlikely to get anything productive done. Developing a forge would have to wait for another day. Before truly starting his life as a settler of Syka, he was determined to learn all he could about the facilities and people already there.

His mind wandered briefly to whether it was wise to spend his mizas while his means of earning them was still under development, but he swept the thought to the side with a quick promise to himself not to drink too much of his money away. Caution out of the way, he made his way across the walkway and into the bar, where a friendly bartender who introduced himself as Stu got him acquainted with the menu. The drink names were slightly concerning, but Delvin could not help but be amused and put at ease by the seemingly good-humored nature of the bartender, and before long he was sitting down at a table with a mug of Sunshine and Sandcastles. Despite making him feel a bit weak for picking what was supposedly the calmest drink on the menu, it was probably his safest bet to start. The young blacksmith was no stranger to alcohol, but he tended to stick with the lighter stuff, preferring tipsy to pass-out-drunk any day.

There was something hypnotic about the interplay of sights and sounds on display at The Tidepool. The sun danced on the water as usual, but under the roof of the bar in the shade looking out on the ocean with drink in hand, it was somehow different than it had been before. No ship lurched beneath his feet, and while the glare on the water made him squint, it was not so oppressive as it had been when the sun’s rays were boring into him on the way there. After shaking out his shoes as thoroughly as he could manage, he set to work on drinking his Sunshine and Sandcastles. It was surprisingly good, but just like everything else in Syka, it was definitely a new experience. The doubts and anxiety he had harbored began to ease slightly as the surroundings and alcohol tamed them. Closing his eyes, Delvin listened to the sound of the waves lapping at the shore, the distant calls of birds he could not recognize, and the ever-present whoosh of the sea breeze.
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A Day at the Local Dive

Postby Nieve Glass on April 6th, 2018, 8:46 pm

Nieve was lazing on the edge of the pier near the tidepool bar, dozing. She lay stretched out on one side, one wing tucked under her and the other splayed out, enjoying the warm sun on her fur. Sinaetri had wanted to go for a drink, but the Kelvic didn't like having alcohol during the day, so she'd taken up a spot to sun herself instead.

She'd been dozing on and off for some time; Sinaetri had come by to get her when she left, but finding the yowlwing blissfully soaking up Syna's rays, had left her to it. A few people had come and gone as she lay there, and Nieve would usually crack open an eye to lazily peek at whoever it was. When another pair of footsteps sounded, it was no different.

Evie yawned, her sharp teeth glistening and rough tongue poking out of her mouth as she lazily opened one bright green eye, the pupil a mere slit in the bright sunlight. Curiosity roused the Kelvic, however, when she realized she'd never seen the man currently making his way into the Tidepool Bar. A newcomer to the settlement?

Rolling onto her paws, Nieve dropped her chest down to the dock, stretching out, her wings spreading to their full span before she straightened and shook off. Padding into the bar, she spotted the newcomer easily. But first...with a small flap, Nieve leaped up onto the bar, meowing at Stu. The bar always smelled divine, and it was no different that afternoon.

Nieve hadn't spoken to Stu much one on one, but as small as Syka was, everyone got to know each other quickly enough. He chuckled upon recognizing the winged cat, walking over to give her head a quick rub. Nieve purred loudly, arching her back and pushing her head into his palm.

Stu shook his head, turning to pluck a shrimp out of where he was frying them for a platter. "Just the one," He told Nieve. "And be careful, it's hot." He dropped it on the counter in front of her, giving her head one last scratch before turning his attention back to the food.

Evie meowed her thanks, a small paw darting out to bat at the shrimp. Judging it cool enough, she quickly devoured it, enjoying the burst of juice and flavour. Satisfied, she leaped off of the bar, and in a swirling of lights, stood in her human form. The breeze wafting in off the ocean was pleasantly cool on her bare skin, still warm from her hours of sunning. She would need to drink plenty of water later or she'd wake up with a headache.

Licking the last of the shrimp from her lips, she turned to face the stranger, smiling brightly, her teeth flashing against her tanned skin. "Hello. You must be new to Syka, I haven't seen you around yet. Did you just arrive?" Evie walked over, perching herself on the seat next to the man, cocking her head slightly to the side as she examined him curiously.
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A Day at the Local Dive

Postby Nya Winters on April 7th, 2018, 10:22 pm



Nya slipped into The Tidepool with a loose hipped stride. She had a green bandana wrapped around her chest and a larger green and blue swirled sarong wrapped around her waist. Barefoot and with her hair loose, the Kelvic glanced around and nodded at Stu. She looked dirty, not in the way of someone who doesn't wash frequently, but in the way of someone who just got done working hard. A backpack was slung over her shoulder, one hand on its strap at her neck to balance the heavy load.

Nya paused at the bar, slipped the heavy pack off, and all but dumped it on the wooden counter. She offered Stu a grin, unfastened the top, and began emptying kiwi onto the counter. He shook his head, ran to grab a bowl, and carefully set it within Nya's reach. She transfered her attentions to the bowl, filling it with the fuzzy brown fruit from her bag instead of setting them on the bar.

"I hope this was enough. The tree wasn't one that was good for climbing, but I got all the fruit I could get within reach without chopping up the plant. It was more like a vine than a tree, Stu... but I found it easily enough. More will be ripe in the coming days... maybe two or three from now." The Kelvic said, finally fishing the last one out of her backpack and leaving it to Stu in the overflowing bowl.

"Nya, my dear.... many thanks! Mathias loved the Kiwi drink I made for him but I ran out of fruit too fast. This will make him very very happy." The Kelvic grinned in response.

"For him... of course I went and looked. I cut a trail to the tree too and marked it well on our community map. I'll add others in as well. We need to find someone who can carve signs so we can start making the trails clearly as to which goes where." She added, and tossed her sweaty hair out of the way.

Nya's hair fell loose and full, slightly curled in the humidity. It was brindled in oranges, greens, browns and reds. "Can I have a cold water and maybe something to eat? Whatever you have?" The Kelvic asked, looking around and spotting the two strangers at the table.


"Sure... coming right up." He said, spinning around and heading back into the kitchen. Stu could be heard rummaging around, pulling out something and adding wood to the fire. He stoked it up in the back and tossed something on the grill. Nya smiled and sniffed approvingly. Stu could seriously cook.

Nya's attention focused on the strangers. A woman sat beside a man and she automatically headed for them. Taking a seat at the table opposite of them, Nya nodded and tossed her now almost empty backpack down beside her.


"I'm Nya Winters, one of the Sykan Kashac." She said, in way of introduction, and leaned back, groaning. "I'm tired. I cut a lot of trail today and found more orchards that look like they've gone wild. We really need to get some people who are good with trees and orchards here to start taking care of these food sources gone wild." Nya said, glancing between the two of them. She gave Nieve a careful look and an even more careful sniff. The pair of them could tell each other were Kelvic and feline at that. Nya's smile was even more warm and welcoming after that. She liked other cats. She could understand them far better than she could humans.

Glancing at the man with the woman, Nya wondered if they were bonded. She studied the man carefully, wondering if he was a horticulturist too. They really needed one. But she hoped he'd volunteer the information if he was. She had so many places to show him if that were true.

"How are you both this fine day?" She asked, leaning back even further and stretching before she got comfortable.

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A Day at the Local Dive

Postby Delvin Brynmor on April 8th, 2018, 12:34 am

Delvin’s daydreams were interrupted by what sounded like a meow. Curious, he glanced at the bar expecting to perhaps see a stray cat or the like. He blinked hard, sure something was wrong with his eyes, when he saw what the source of that meow had been. Never having known cats to have wings, his gaze fell to his drink, wondering what exactly was in this stuff. Deciding that winged cats were probably just another unusual creature of this land, or perhaps the cat was even the bartender’s pet from somewhere else, he settled his thoughts once more for the most part. He tried not to stare but couldn’t help himself from smiling as the bartender threw the cat a shrimp, which it gobbled down.

Right when he was about to look away and go back to his daydreaming, he noticed swirling lights out of the corner of his eye and was shocked to see a woman, a naked one at that, standing where the cat had just been moments before. He tried, and failed, to conceal the wave of confusion that swept over him. His mind was slow to come to the realization that she was a Kelvic, but it got there eventually. Desperately attempting not to look anywhere inappropriate by accident for fear of angering her, he focused hard on looking her in the eyes, but could not quite manage an appearance of calm like he wanted to. Nakedness was definitely not something he was familiar with, and he tried to stifle his feelings of discomfort as he forced a smile and a quick nod in response. “That’s right. You’re one of the locals then I assume? A pleasure to meet you, my name’s Delvin.” He mentally congratulated himself for not stuttering too badly. Noticing that no one else in the bar was particularly shocked by the transformation and nakedness, he came to the conclusion that this sort of thing was not a particularly uncommon occurrence in Syka. That would definitely take some time to get completely used to.

He didn’t see the brindle-haired woman unpacking her stock of kiwis in the bar until she came over and tossed her backpack down, joining them at the table. Still jumpy from the surprise of being approached by a naked flying cat Kelvic out of the blue, he tensed visibly at the sound of the tossed backpack and his gaze shot over to the newest addition at the table. Thankfully, this one was wearing at least some clothes. That should make things a bit easier, he hoped – at least someone was safe to look at.

The woman introduced herself as Nya, making polite conversation as she related her labors, lamenting at the condition of the orchards. The mention of orchards immediately drew Delvin’s attention. Without the slightest clue as to what edible plants grew in this region, he was a bit stumped in regards to collecting food. He had some light experience with foraging for food, but here in Syka, he had no idea where to start. The woman clearly knew something about the local trees at the very least, and though he had never tended to orchards, the curiosity got to him. Nya sniffed at the air, which he simply attributed to the delicious scent of cooking wafting from the bar, entirely oblivious to the understanding that had just passed between the two Kelvics.

“My name’s Delvin. It’s nice to meet you, Nya,” he started, “and thank you for asking, I’m doing rather well so far, I think. Although I must admit this land is a bit overwhelming for someone who grew up in a city.” He laughed nervously. “As for the orchards you mentioned, do you mean to say they are public? I admit I have not cared for trees before, but I do have an interest in plants and would like to learn what grows here.” His smile was growing softer as his thoughts shifted away from the awkwardness of his situation.
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A Day at the Local Dive

Postby Nieve Glass on April 11th, 2018, 1:43 pm

Evie purred out a laugh at the man's blatant surprise, then palpable discomfort upon seeing her transform. He was definitely new to Syka, then; any previous doubts she might have had disappeared at his reaction to her. "I suppose you could say that," Nieve nodded, thoughtfully. She was still new enough to Syka that she wouldn't consider herself a local; but then again, the settlement was so new, who could really be considered local to it?

Before she could response much else to the man, another new presence caught the yowlwing's attention. Nieve's gaze flickered up as another woman entered the bar; she was dressed somewhat modestly all things considered, and looked somewhat dirty. That combined with the large pack slung over her shoulder made Nieve think that she must be coming from the jungle, though she likely hadn't been very far in given her bare feet.

Evie watched with both amusement and intrigue as the woman spoke with Stu, dumping handfuls upon handfuls of small, fuzzy brown fruits onto the counter. Her long hair was a peculiar but pretty brindled colour with various shades of gold, red, and even green streaking through it.

The woman, upon finishing with Stu, suddenly seemed to catch sight of Evie and the stranger, and made a beeline for them. She sat at a table across from them, introducing herself. Through the smell of food and the earthy scent that the woman had brought in with her, Nieve caught something familiar yet strange all at once.

She inhaled deeply, and her eyes lit up when she registered the scent of feline. The woman was a Kelvic! She knew Randal had mentioned there were other cats in the settlement, and Nieve was excited to finally be meeting one of them face-to-face.

"That does sound tiring. There are so many fruit trees here, I've never seen anything like it before I arrived. I suppose they need to be more contained though, don't they?" Evie watched the other feline Kelvic, Nya, stretch out comfortably in her chair.

"What were those fruits you brought in? There were so many, I haven't seen that type yet. I only have banana, mango, and coconut around my land." The words 'my land' still felt strange and foreign on Nieve's tongue, but filled her with a swelling sense of pride all the same. She still found it hard to believe she had such a thing as a piece of land to call her own.

"I'm good. I've just been enjoying the sun mostly." That sounded downright lazy compared to Nya's description of her day. Nieve really needed to start doing more, but she had such little experience with the wilds, let alone the jungle. Perhaps it was time she started working on that. "And your day seems to have been good as well. Much more productive than mine, in any case."

Suddenly realizing she had yet to introduce herself, Nieve flushed slightly; she was getting better at the habit of introductions, but still found herself forgetting them often. "I'm Nieve," She added, somewhat hastily. "Nieve Glass. I think Randal mentioned you," She added to Nya, with a sharp-toothed grin.

The man responded to Nya politely, and his words made Nieve tip her head slightly, her gaze amused as it settled on Delvin. "Where are you from, then? And why did you come to Syka?" She wasn't aware that the question perhaps was invasive or even rude; even if she had been, she wouldn't have particularly cared. She was curious. Everyone had a reason for coming to Syka. One didn't simply up and leave a city to travel to a still new tropical settlement for no reason. "Are you visiting, or are you planning to stay awhile?"

His question about the orchards made Nieve burst into bright, lighthearted laughter; it wasn't unkind, but the Kelvic couldn't help but find the concept of something around Syka being not public borderline hilarious, especially something such as a food source. She glanced to Nya, wondering if the other Kelvic would find the question as amusing as she had.
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