Around the Fire (Open)

[Castiel Moontide]

Castiel's stargazing was interrupted by the arrival of another Svefra, this one not of the Moontide Pod. His hair was sandy blonde and he had the typical blue eyes that one would expect from any other Svefra. Castiel was not nearly as social as Selphi, at least not anymore. He used to be, but since the betrayal he had retreated inside of some sort of shell and he was ever so slowly coming out of that shell. While Castiel did not necessarily hate meeting new people, he was certainly not overjoyed about it. It was simply another person that could possibly betray him somewhere down the line, but for now, Castiel did his best to try to seem sociable. Besides, it was a perfect starry night, he was by a warm fire with his pod, and his fish was done cooking. Life was all right, for the moment.

Castiel raised himself from laying in the sand and dusted some of the sand out of his hair. He gave a slight smile to the stranger and subtly waved, introducing himself by simply saying "Castiel." After that short introduction was taken care of Castiel returned his attention to his fish which was now ready to eat, or so he thought. Castiel carefully peeled the skin off and then took a large bite. It was...actually pretty bad. Castiel had burned it, badly on one side and not cooked it enough on the other, making for a fairly unappetizing meal. But Castiel did not want to waste it so he decided to endure, even if it cost him his stomach. He took bite after bite until the fish was nothing but a few bones and skin. After it was finished he fell backwards gripping his stomach, and found himself gazing at the stars again.

"Alright Crest, you're coking from now on" he moaned as his stomach grumbled.

[Kywan Maelstrom]

Grinning, Kywan planted himself at the fire. Opening the bottle with his teeth, the Maelstrom took a swig and passed it to Crest. His blue eyes took in the pretty young blonde with an appriciatve eye..but the possessive arms wrapped around her advised against any such persuits. Eyeing the fish, the young man picked out one and skewered it.

"Much obliged, thanks Crest, Selphi." Kywan couldn't resisting winking and the girl, before holding his fish over the fire. It was then the other man spoke, one word. A name. There was anger there. Unwilling to disturb the peace, Kywan left it akone before glancing at Selphi again.

"I'm Kywan, Kywan Maelstrom. I saw your fire from the water and figured you'd either be kin or kind. Eitherway, rum's an awful thing to share alone." Glancing at Crest, the boy chuckled.

"Nice catch then Crest." He said with a raise of his fish on a stick...as to whether he actualy meant the fish was another matter.

[Talgir Moontide]

On the horizon, the point of light called to him. Beneath the water-slick hull, the Suvan murmured restlessly. Like a curtain of shadow, the entire sea rippled in pitch-black turmoil. The surface was placid, a deceitful invitation to swim beneath the waves or frolic in the surf. But night was a time of feeding, when prey was short sighted and vulnerable. Tycho strafed beneath the boat, flicking his powerful tail toward indications of movement, of food. Despite their relationship, Talgir was not foolish enough to test his companion during a prime feeding moment. Sharks, as a rule of thumb, were perfect carnivores. Never at rest, never tired, always eating. Streamlined and swift their purpose was no illusion and unlike humans, they never pretended to be something they were not.

Hand on the ropes securing his sail to the mast, Talgir strained against the weight of the night wind, turning the billowing sail toward the flickering orange glow set on the horizon. Sailing was difficult work, far more the product of straining muscles and luck than any true inherent skill.

No, that was a lie, but Talgir had never been a fair hand at it. His ability was enough to set him a course, but he strayed more oft than not. Pushing against the mast, turning the sail again, the Moondance pitched and rolled on the uneven Suvan, spinning toward her destination.

The gleaming bodies of still fresh fish lay next to each other, catches still fresh by an hour and one still twitching in the memory of life. Talgir, kept a close eye on them, careful for night borne predators to swoop from the gathering shadows and make off with his prize. The Suvan was a jealous creature, always snatching at what did not belong to her and claiming all that crossed her back. The Svefra remembered her nature, even shared it...perhaps they owed their thieving reputation to her instruction.

Double tying ropes around each other, cinching a knot enough to keep the wind high in his sails, Talgir approached the small island with the silent grace of the wind, ghosting over tide and sand.

The shapes of other Casinors loomed in the flickering shadows, others that had come before him. Loosening the ropes, letting his sail fall flat against the mast, Talgir rode the momentum toward the island before beaching quietly on the sand. Tycho was likely out in the surf, gone amid the darker depths hunting for fish. Jumping from the side of his Casinor, Talgir heaved against the weathered hide of his boat, pushing it up onto the sand. The fire loomed ahead of him, shapes and words ghosting to him from beyond. It had been a small while since he'd seen his family, his pod, and this was an opportunity he wouldn't miss.

Grabbing the three fish silently staring into Leth's face, Talgir pushed through the water and stepped out onto the beach.

"Room for one more?" he asked, smiling as he stepped out of the darkness and into the circle. He already recognized the others, a Malestrom among them and certainly an unexpected surprise. He noticed them eating and held up the fish almost with disappointment, "I don't suppose anyone will be wanting a second helping eh?"

[Crest Moontide]

Crest laughed heartily at all that was happening before him. Castiel had messed up his cooking, and Kywan was hitting on Selphi, he thought, and Talgir had just shown up with his fish. “Castiel, how about I cook you up another one now. Because now that Talgir is here, we have enough fish between the two of us fishing to have three or four each.” Crest will take a swig of the rum, and turn to face Talgir and hold up the net full of fish, “Hey add yours to the pool, and do you have a bucket that you can grab, It will make the cooking a hell of a lot easier. Kywan if you want me to cook that for you by the way, I can make it a little bit fancier than just over a stick.” He handed the rum to Selphi saying, “Not too much.” He moved the board that he had been cooking on either, scraped some more coals into the hole and added some small sticks and driftwood, and replaced the board. Now looking over at Kywan he says “Yeah, they are, and she is.” Glancing over at Selphi. Crest had caught Kywan’s meaning, and knew full well that he was right. “She’s saved my tail more than once, best swimmer I’ve ever met.” He smiles knowingly looking over at Kywan, and then says to Selphi, “Isn’t that right?”

Pulling three fish out of the pile, he will walk over to the water and gut them, this time saving all of the hearts, and livers on top of a leaf, both are rather good if cooked right, and now he has the stuff to do it. He will take off the head’s and tails again, no meat there. and put those on a separate leaf, because he had noticed Selphi looking at them last time, she may want them, and if not he can give them to Tycho. After all this the fire was starting to die down, so using the very minimal morphing that he know, he stretches his fingers out, pulling on each of them separately, then he pulled out the part in between his fingers, and started to fan the fire, and once it got back up to a decent heat to cook by, he replaced the board, put some more leaves on top, and laid the fish down. Letting them cook on top of their scales.

[Selphi Moontide]

Selphi blinked in confusion at the wink. Why had he done that? Was there something wrong with his eye? Selphi spent the next few chimes trying to duplicate the action failing at first, closing both eyes instead of one, but eventually she figured it out and was able to wink with her right eye. Which she did several times. She had no clue when it came to flirting, and in truth she had yet to even lie with a man. Not even Crest, for whom she would have done anything. But he had never brought the subject up either, though Selphi certainly wouldn't have turned him down. It wasn't as if she wasn't willing. Selphi had just never shown an interest in anything beyond cuddling and perhaps kissing, and just assumed Crest must not have been interested either. But that was an entirely different matter which Selphi wasn't even thinking about at the moment. She was still confused over the whole one eye closing thing. But her thoughts were interrupted when another Moontide arrived, one she hadn't seen in a while. That was in part due to Talgir's scary Tavan. "Talgir! How are you!? I haven't seen you in forever. Is Tycho... well?" Selphi didn't want to say, 'Is Tycho gone," but that was certainly what she was thinking. In fact, just thinking of the shark had her worried. There were children swimming in the water! But no.. no.. it would be rude to accuse his Tavan of something when it hadn't even happened. When Crest handed her the bottle of rum she took a big swig as soon as it was in her hands. Normally Selphi wasn't that big of a drinker, since she was a light weight, but the idea of a shark swimming around in the water nearby had her on edge. Sharks ate dolphins, and Selphi didn't want to be eaten. She took another heavy swig, already feeling the tingling sensation in her body as the alcohol took effect. Crest mentioned something about her being a good swimmer and Selphi held up the bottle in a toast like manner, "Best there ever was," she said, her words already just a little bit off. Not quite slurred, but enough that she had difficulty pronouncing them clearly. She took one more drink, a smaller one than before, before passing the bottle on.

[Castiel Moontide]

Castiel sat up glancing at Crest, "Yeah, you do that" and then collapsed back into the sand by the fire. Talgir, another one of the Moontides, had also arrived on the scene. Castiel was glad that some of his fellow podmates had managed to show up. Since he was the first Moontide to show up, he feared he may the first and only one to show up. Sitting around with a bunch of strangers is not exactly what Castiel would call a good time, even if they were all Svefra. Plus there was always that risk of running into someone of his old pod, and boy would that make for an awkward and possibly violent confrontation. Fortunately Castiel had not heard anything regarding his old pod. Perhaps they had left the Suvan Sea, maybe they were wiped out completely, or perhaps Castiel was just extremely lucky when it came o avoiding them.

Still laying in the sand, Castiel peered up at Talgir, whos face was illuminated by the light emitting from the flames, before giving a slight wave with his hand, saying "Hello Talgir" before returning his attention to the nightsky. Finally the bottle of rum that Kywan had brought with him had come around to him after Selphi had taken a swig from it. He did the same, taking a large gulp of the sweet alcohal before passing it onto the next Svefra in line for a drink. Castiel couldn't help but chuckle at Selphi's question about Tycho, Talgir's tavan. Selphi never really did like that shark. Castiel never really minded it, as long as it was friendly with Talgir, he figured it would be friendly with any other Svefra. Castiel's own Tavan, a stingray, was another potentially dangerous creature he had with him, just in a less ferocious way then a shark. But Castiel trusted that his tavan would not harm anyone.

[Marrow Moontide]

The one time there was a party on her island, Marrow was asleep. Her body was slumped against the strong trunk of a tree she had used to watch out for the arrival of her pod her Tavan, a slender young shark, was circling a point about ten meters from the shore, her triangular dorsal fin cutting the water in the closest thing to a wave the creature could make.

Marrow stretched out slowly, her back cracking pleasurably before she slumped again and she opened her eyes before turning her them about her little camp. Her two chests, filled with her meager belongings lay further inland where a tide could not come and douse what she kept dear. Everything the Healer had was here with her. Her Tavan, her belongings, and herself. She didn't even messenger bird, an Avikki, to her name. She needed to either find her pod or create a new one.

Her eyes once again half-lidded in the lazy expression of a lizard, but before the Svefra could drift off into the peaceful bliss of sleep, the scent of cooking fish woke her. She hadn't managed to make a fire yet, and the prospect of cooked food among company was enough to make her slaver hungrily. Was this how her Tavan, Rashel, felt when she scented blood in the water? Like a shark, she was drawn to the scent, not a care for her belongings stirring in her mind. She rose to her feet and started off towards that scent, Rashel cutting a swath through the waters in pursuit.

The Svefra came upon a group of people, and she was so happy to see members of her own pod! There was Talgir, Crest, Castiel... And who was that woman? Marrow frowned inwardly, cursing her own failure to remember a beloved sister's name. She'd have to discreetly figure it out or be left floundering like a stupid fish.

As she neared the bonfire, she hoped Rashel would behave herself. The shark was feisty, but since she'd eaten, her mood should be as lax as Marrow's own. Diverting her attention to glance to the water, she saw Rashel's fin circle lazily again. A smile curved the lips of the tattoed face of the Svefra and she looked back to this group. She stood within a meter of them.

"Hello," she said in greeting, smiling still in that strangely optimistic way of hers, her aquamarine eyes flicking over all the faces, smiling at them. She took a moment before continuing. "I was wondering if I may join you all. I've been on this island for a while, see, and the smell of cooked fish was so enticing I couldn't resist coming. My name is Lyre, but I insist you call me Marrow." She addressed mainly that stranger, and anyone of her siblings who had forgotten her. Her name was odd, in all senses. Marrow was bone matter. She chose it for her fate. Rak'keli had marked her at birth, not Laviku, and even stranger was that a Healer had a tiger shark for a Tavan. She didn't know if she was the only Healer Svefra, but that was originally why she was kept to the Lia's ship. Now that she was off, maybe they had decided to leave her there, on a nameless island... Well, at least she had visitors now! Even short term company was better than none. Marrow's smile flashed again, used instead of the laughter that was bubbling her throat.