I talk. I think. You talk.
Hopping down the final steps to the dock, Anais gave her casinor a quick glance, double-checking that her only real possession was securely moored to the dock before turning to face the simple settlement ahead of her. Syna's heat made the air shimmer in the distance, turning the small collection of buildings into something more fantastical, a bit of dream-landscape-turned-reality. The whimsical thought caught her unawares and her face softened, though no smile curved her lips. Maybe it was fanciful, but Anais hoped that the beauty of this first sight of Syka would bode well for her stay here. A new settlement, primitive conditions, survive or perish...
Survive or perish. At that thought, her lips did curve - downward in an angry sadness. That part is certainly familiar, she thought bitterly. Along with the words came the memory of a faint cry on the wind, the sound persisting for a scant moment before being drowned out by the waves of the Suvan Sea, carrying the child - her child - away.
With an audible gasp, Anais tore her thoughts from the past - now was not the time to lose herself in an old sorrow. Squaring her shoulders, she strode purposefully forward, putting enough energy into the motion that she'd have none left over for wallowing. Blue eyes took in the surroundings eagerly; the dock was not long, but there were few buildings to inspect: most seemed open to the air, and many were elevated. Surely the tide doesn't rise this high, she mused, pausing as she stepped off the wood onto sun-warmed sands, relaxing into the sensation and letting it soothe away some of the tension and nerves she hadn't realized were there.
"Well, don't just stand here looking foolish," she chided in a voice so like her Lia's that it was uncanny. "Time and tide and all that." it was pragmatic wisdom that propelled her forward, feet headed toward the sounds of civilization. As she drew nearer, she saw a small group of people mingling near what looked, and smelled, like an open-air kitchen. As she watched, a man sauntered away from the group and a brief war waged within Anais: stomach against brain. Brain won out, and Anais pointed her feet away from the food and toward the lone man, hoping to intercept him before they'd both gotten too far away from the kitchens.
"Hello!" Hailing the man with one hand, Anais raised her voice to be heard over the distance and the sound of the water lapping at the shore. She hurried her steps along; this close to her goal, she was suddenly in a rush to find someone in charge and see what it would take to join the settlement. The man approaching her was a bit older than she, and carried himself confidently - and didn't seem particularly surprised to be greeting strangers at the dock.
"Hello - you must be new here," the smile he offered was warm and unwavering, despite not receiving one in response. "I'm Randal Zor, one of the settlement's Founders. That your ship?" He nodded in the direction of Laviku's Kiss.
Up close, Anais could see that his smile reached his eyes - he seemed genuinely glad to be the welcoming committee, and she let out a small sigh of relief. He'd said he was a founder, which meant he was probably exactly who she needed to be talking to. She forced the baret hint of a smile and nodded her head, putting all the warmth her face may have lacked into her voice, instead.
"I'm Anais. Seawind," she added, as an afterthought; the pod name wouldn't mean anything in Syka, but it served as a surname, as well. "That's my casinor, Laviku's Kiss. Home for the past 60 days - or so." Not that she'd minded the confines of the ship's cabin, but the solitude had made her Common a bit rustier than usual, and she thought hard about her next words. Fratava hand signs unconsciously combined with the spoken communication as she continued, "I hoped to settle here." Signs for hope, home, family flashed whether Randal recognized them as such or not, and Anais waited, eyebrows slightly raised, for the man's response.
*Word Count 705
14th, Summer
13th bell
13th bell
Hopping down the final steps to the dock, Anais gave her casinor a quick glance, double-checking that her only real possession was securely moored to the dock before turning to face the simple settlement ahead of her. Syna's heat made the air shimmer in the distance, turning the small collection of buildings into something more fantastical, a bit of dream-landscape-turned-reality. The whimsical thought caught her unawares and her face softened, though no smile curved her lips. Maybe it was fanciful, but Anais hoped that the beauty of this first sight of Syka would bode well for her stay here. A new settlement, primitive conditions, survive or perish...
Survive or perish. At that thought, her lips did curve - downward in an angry sadness. That part is certainly familiar, she thought bitterly. Along with the words came the memory of a faint cry on the wind, the sound persisting for a scant moment before being drowned out by the waves of the Suvan Sea, carrying the child - her child - away.
With an audible gasp, Anais tore her thoughts from the past - now was not the time to lose herself in an old sorrow. Squaring her shoulders, she strode purposefully forward, putting enough energy into the motion that she'd have none left over for wallowing. Blue eyes took in the surroundings eagerly; the dock was not long, but there were few buildings to inspect: most seemed open to the air, and many were elevated. Surely the tide doesn't rise this high, she mused, pausing as she stepped off the wood onto sun-warmed sands, relaxing into the sensation and letting it soothe away some of the tension and nerves she hadn't realized were there.
"Well, don't just stand here looking foolish," she chided in a voice so like her Lia's that it was uncanny. "Time and tide and all that." it was pragmatic wisdom that propelled her forward, feet headed toward the sounds of civilization. As she drew nearer, she saw a small group of people mingling near what looked, and smelled, like an open-air kitchen. As she watched, a man sauntered away from the group and a brief war waged within Anais: stomach against brain. Brain won out, and Anais pointed her feet away from the food and toward the lone man, hoping to intercept him before they'd both gotten too far away from the kitchens.
"Hello!" Hailing the man with one hand, Anais raised her voice to be heard over the distance and the sound of the water lapping at the shore. She hurried her steps along; this close to her goal, she was suddenly in a rush to find someone in charge and see what it would take to join the settlement. The man approaching her was a bit older than she, and carried himself confidently - and didn't seem particularly surprised to be greeting strangers at the dock.
"Hello - you must be new here," the smile he offered was warm and unwavering, despite not receiving one in response. "I'm Randal Zor, one of the settlement's Founders. That your ship?" He nodded in the direction of Laviku's Kiss.
Up close, Anais could see that his smile reached his eyes - he seemed genuinely glad to be the welcoming committee, and she let out a small sigh of relief. He'd said he was a founder, which meant he was probably exactly who she needed to be talking to. She forced the baret hint of a smile and nodded her head, putting all the warmth her face may have lacked into her voice, instead.
"I'm Anais. Seawind," she added, as an afterthought; the pod name wouldn't mean anything in Syka, but it served as a surname, as well. "That's my casinor, Laviku's Kiss. Home for the past 60 days - or so." Not that she'd minded the confines of the ship's cabin, but the solitude had made her Common a bit rustier than usual, and she thought hard about her next words. Fratava hand signs unconsciously combined with the spoken communication as she continued, "I hoped to settle here." Signs for hope, home, family flashed whether Randal recognized them as such or not, and Anais waited, eyebrows slightly raised, for the man's response.
*Word Count 705
