Flashback Early Morn' Crab Catch

[Malachi Tiderunner]

'Twas the wee hours of the morn'

when Malachi decided to wake up. He stretched out his arms as to allow the circulation to catch back into his body, sounding off with a prominent yawn that could have woken the dead. He lifted his shirtless torso off of his cot and looked out of a porthole to note that the morning sun had not risen over the waters of The Sailor's Quater. But, that is not going to stop him from taking part in one of his favorite past times. Malachi slides his legs off of the cot and places them down on the cold wooden floors. His toes wriggle before he rises up to his full height, running his fingers through his loose hair. He walks over towards the porthole to take in Laviku's splendor in the early morning.

The air is light and warm, with gentle licking waves that lap against the hull of the thirty-foot personal vessel he calls home. Malachi's feet gently patter up a short set upstairs until he reaches the main deck. He closes his eyes as the gentle morning breeze kisses his naked flesh. He outstretches his arms, a handsome smile taking over his features while letting in a deep inhale. As he exhales he clasps his hands together in a prayer-like posture."Laviku be praised. May your respect for Sivah and her gifts bless my crabbing expedition. Blessed be your kindness and openness to sharing your Mark of Oceanus with me. I shall humbly serve you and continue to build my bond between you to be a better child of the sea. Laviku be praised."

Malachi's ocean blue eyes open as he feels a warm sensation overtake his body. He looks down at his forearm and watches as his elaborate wave tattoos once again take life and churn wildly, frothing as they make contact with the sharks on his chest. The Mark of Oceanus begins to glide around his body, taking over his abdomen and then lashing itself around behind him before gliding down his hips and lassoing itself around his legs. A deep sigh escapes his lips as he nods his head in acceptance of Laviku's wisdom. His eyes squint as he attempts to allow his low-light vision to scour the shoreline of the Sailor's Quater to find a suitable place to set up for setting his traps.

Zeltiva is quite the sight to behold, even before the morning sun begins to crest over the horizon. Thick, lush trees and foliage surround several hundred beautiful red-topped buildings. The sheer immensity of the city is a lot to take in all at once, especially for this sea-faring Svafra. He is used to ship-hulls and decks, sails, and open water. While Zeltiva does sport its share of water, the mass amount of people and university quarters is astonishing. If he had to choose a city to try and call home, Zeltiva would be it. But, the thought of being tied down to one location for too long sends a rush of anxiety through that he could not bear to even think on for too long.

With a clap of his hands, he lets out yet another sigh, looking over toward the staircase leading to the bottom of the hull were his personal cot lies. At the foot of the bed is a weather wooden trunk with a latch that he pops open with two clicks and a tug of the lid. Inside are a pair of leather pants, a thick leather belt, and a slate-gray shirt. He begins attiring himself while gathering his action plan for the morning. I shall get dressed and dock in the Sailor's Quarter. I will pay whatever Dock-Master that may be present before setting out some traps. Once done I will separate between personal catch and what I will try and sell to the local merchants before heading back out tonight. This should be a productive day. After he finishes gathering his thoughts he gathers himself up after placing his boots on and heads to the top deck in preparation to set his course.

Word Count: 685 | Total: 685

[Malachi Tiderunner]

Upon reaching topside of his Casinor

he can finally begin to spot the morning sun just starting to cast its rays against the pitch black of night. He takes several long strides to the back of the ship, raising the anchor with a couple of well-placed pulls. As the anchor finds its way to the edge of the ship he braces it within both hands and sets it down. No sooner does the weight of the anchor touch the deck of the ship does the sales catch the morning breeze and begin to set sail towards The Sailor's Quater. With closed eyes, Malachi's Mark of Oceanus begins to churn brilliantly on his forearms. Within his mind, a third-dimensional construct of the waterway maps itself out. He grows a seventh sense of how the waves are flowing in collaboration with the morning wind and expertly guides the ship down the fastest pathway. He opens his eyes and smiles, impressed with how he had managed to allow his mark to guide him to catch the best wind and angle. "Laviku be praised..." he mutters under his breath, turning the spoke of the ship port side two turns before reversing starboard for one full turn.

As he gets closer to the landmass that is Zeltiva his eyes widen at its enormity. His lips pucker, letting out a solitary whistled note of 'wow'. By the time Malachi reaches the nearest pier of the Sailor's Quarter the sun has risen well enough in the sky that he can witness dock workers snuffing the flames of the warning lanterns. Upon encroachment, he notes a pair of dock workers waiving and pointing him toward an open area for him to pull the vessel into. Malachi maintains eye contact with the men and nods his head in reassurance. He rushes to the front of the vessel and loosens a couple of ropes so that he may better control the jib sail and locks it into place with a constrictor not. he then walks back to the Captain's Wheel and begins to gently glide the ship in. Malachi first leads in with the nose before turning the wheel starboard allowing it to glide in sideways along the dock. As the hull etched closer, he would walk over toward an edge and unlatch a rigging, tossing it to the dock workers who collectively pulled the Casinor in closer to the dock and lashed it into place. As they did so he would make his way to the back of the ship and lift the anchor up and over the edge, releasing it with a loud splash in the water. The rope would unspool rapidly until the anchor abruptly met the shoreline floor.

The Harbormaster of the Sailor's Quarter was an uppity older gentleman. He was about five foot seven in height and of average build. Atop his head, he wore a white powdered wig nustled neatly underneath a brown leather tricorn hat. Judging eyes sat behind small round glasses of silver which he wore at the end of his sharp nose. Wrapped around his body was a finely woven beige wool jacket. Beneath he wore gentleman's attire and white hosen. As the dock workers set to making sure the ship stayed in place, Malachi would step off and onto the docks, making his way directly over toward the Harbormaster. The man gave Malachi a once over and rolled his eyes, being able to sense a Svefra a mile off. If it wasn't the Mark of Oceanus that was now swirling up his neck to just about underneath his jawline, the beads and seashells tied into his braided hair would have been the dead giveaway.

Either way, the gentleman had a duty to uphold and did so with the utmost of pride. He strode over to Malachi, back straight and head held high staring him dead in his eyes. He would then lift a large leather book and quill, opening to a particular portion of the page. With a small adjustment of his glasses up on his nose he would look at the Casinor, beginning to jot down its specs into the ledger. "Welcome to The Sailor's Quarter of the illustrious city of Zeltiv. I am Gules Humphrey, the Harbormaster of this pier. Your Casinor is what - twenty-five...thirty feet in length from stern to bow? What is the name of the vessel and by what..." his voice would trail momentarily as he gave Malachi a once over and then returned his attention to the book. "...surname do you go under, good man?"

Clearly, Gules used such vernacular in attempt to impose dominance over Malachi, but such foul behavior was not uncommon to a Svefra. They knew the reputation their people carried, let alone what they did as a culture to perpetuate it. Malachi's arms crossed before his chest as his eyes squinted, looking to the vessel and then back toward Gules. "That Casinor you're casting judgment upon is named Salonge." The Harbormaster gives him a blatant once over before retorting, ""It was not the ship that I was casting judgment upon, Svefra. I know of your kind and the type of carousal and foolishness you lot partake in when on shore! Do not think for an instant that we are not fully capable of handling your ilk." Malachi's body swells in the chest as his teeth visibly clench through a sharp jawline. He takes one solitary step forward which causes Gules to choke and stammer on his words, placing the book over his chest as if to hold his heart from beating out of it in fear.

"Listen, little man, if I were to do anything of the sort - you nor any breathin' entity would stop me from having my way. As it were I am here on the business of crabbin'! What say you to that?" Malachi's deep Fratava accent weighs heavily on his common tongue as his deep voice scolds the Harbormaster. He takes out the fee of 3 silver Miraz and slams them down on the face of the open book as Gules attempted to regain his composure, trying to ignore Malachi's harsh tone and failing miserably. As the hand and coins slam into the book Gules whole body jumps. "And, to answer your queries - Salonge is a thirty-foot Casinor, manned by only me: Malachi Tiderunner. I will be bringing 4 separate traps with me. This should be more than enough for my time on this pier plus my crabbing. Is that not right, Lord Harbormaster?" Each venom-filled syllable weighing heavier than the one before. Gules nodes his head and closes his book quickly, "Welcome ashore, Master Tiderunner. Any further issues, see one of my dock's men."

Gules quickly turns on his heels and makes his way as far from him as his feet can carry on a determined stride. Malachi's eyes narrowed as he watched Gules scurry off. He would then glance over to the dockworkers and shoot them a wink before hopping his frame nimbly from the pier back into Salonge, walking over toward her bow. Toward the front edge of the boat there are four worn metal box cages of similar size, individually connected to a rope. Malachi would briefly braid all the ropes into one thick strand before wrapping it around his forearm and shoulder, slipping his arm inside to hang them off of his back. He would make his way toward the edge of the ship by the pier and with a hard push off of both feet take an acrobatic leap upwards from the deck the edge, balancing skillfully before taking a calculated step onto the pier. His head would turn towards his left, noting a wonderful lonely place to set his traps at the edge of the peer and makes his way over.





Word Count: 1,302 | Total: 1,987

[Malachi Tiderunner]

The long pier is bustling with dock workers

and University folk alike, but Malachi manages to find a fairly quiet corner to prepare his traps. He kneels down and carefully lowers the four small cages off of his shoulders, making sure that each of their doors is in working condition. The idea of the box is that it allows occupants to enter from the outside in, but it does not have a means for them to push their way out. Malachi lays on his stomach so that he may lay an outreached hand into the waters below.

With closed eyes, he begins to map the contents of the sea beneath him within one nautical mile. The Mark of Oceanus on his right arm begins churning wildly causing a tidal effect to flow over his body as he furthers his meditation. Through some unspoken connection, Malachi's connection to Laviku's creatures beckons out to a nearby school of fish like a beacon. A solitary brightly scaled fish swims forward and into his palm, allowing him to grip it wholely within his hand. With one swift motion, he pulls the large fish out of the water and lays it down on the pier. With the opposing hand, he pulls free his cutlass from its scabbard and strokes the head clean off of the remainder of its body with one fluent slice. "Thank you for your sacrifice friend. Praise be to Laiku...please accept this small offering as payment to a good crabbing session."

Malachi takes the body of the fish and tosses it back into the water, allowing the circle of life to take its course. Small sea-creature predators who would feed on such a fish smell its blood and quickly lash out at the sinking carcass, consuming it so that it may once again become of the greater whole that is Lauku's splendor. Malachi uses his hands to break the head of the fish apart into four separate pieces and uses a hook system that is within each individual box to attach a piece. He then unbraids and lowers the boxes separately as to not draw too much unnecessary attention to the crabs below.

He would then sit, legs crossed and eyes closed concentrating out at the water before him. The Svefra would focus on the gentle morning breeze, and the smell of the saltwater filling up his lungs. As he did so he would continue to try and connect with Laviku and his ocean creatures. Over the period of time of his meditation, his breathing would slow, and his senses would grow hyper-focused; yet, he would push those sensations away to allow them to emanate out of him like a pulse. This pulse would act as a beacon out to the sea-life, the crabs of the location in particular, to the whereabouts of the fishheads within the traps.

As the day grew to midday, crabs from within a mile radius would slowly swim through Laviku's waters and find their way to the pulse calling them to the pier. Once there they would take note of the delectable fishhead and push their way through the trap door only to be trapped therein with no way out. Malachi would break his meditation and the pulse that had once been calling the crab ceases. Somewhat light-headed from the several-hour-long meditation session Malachi rises up to his feet and begins pulling up the traps.

One after the other they come out of the saltwater, filled to capacity with crabs of reasonable and large size! A smile would streak across Malachi's face as he laughed, pulling out the other traps. Laviku's blessing has lead to a wonderful crabbing session. Malachi would then take the full traps and once more braid their ropes together and carry it over his shoulder. The occupants in the traps would snip at Malachi, rattling their cages in an attempt to release themselves. The Svefra would remove his body from a vicinity where they may reach him and laugh, shaking his head in shock of the success of his catch.

Malachi would carefully make his way back onto Salonge, lowering down the cages of crab on to the deck of the ship. One cage at a time he would release them and dump them onto the deck. he would begin sorting them by size and bundling them in sacks so that he may sell them at the market. Until then he would walk to the bow of the ship and open up two large trunks that were filled with salt. He would carefully dump the crab inside and close the lid tightly to preserve them till he was ready to sell or eat them. What a great day of crabbing! Laviku be praised!


Word Count: 790 | Total: 2,777

[Alric Lysane]

Malachi Tiderunner Please update your CS and PM me for your grade should you return