That’s Not a Fish (Astrolabe)

[Warden Thrice]

Astrolabe hesitated, looking at their hands oddly, and Eorar was struck with panic. Had he done something wrong? Had he offended him in some way? Eorar pulled back and sank slightly, preparing to dive into the water to safety if the human… well, Eorar honestly didn’t know what he would do. And he certainly didn’t expect what Astrolabe actually did. He took Eorar’s hand with an extremely warm, though not actually hot, hand of his own and shook it. Eorar looked back and forth from their clasped hands to Astrolabe’s face, not knowing what to make of his situation. “I’m sorry,” Astrolabe said. “I-I don’t know your customs. Here, humans shake hands - like this. It's a way to say hello.” Eorar stared a bit more, then found his shoulders shaking. A deep sound appeared in the back of his throat, slowly working its way forward until Eorar was laughing and trying to mimic a smile as best he could. It was a strange sound, with the same undulating quality that his speech had to it, but he couldn’t care less. “Not problem,” he said when his laughter quieted. “Did not know to shake. Afraid I offend. We usually—” He broke off and dropped Astrolabe’s hand. He frowned, not knowing the word. “Krrrru,” he krued. “When meet we usually krrrru. If friend or family, we touch here.” He stroked his own cheekbone softly to demonstrate. “But you not Charoda and we not in Charbosi. So…” He took Astrolabe’s hand again and shook it rather weakly. “Hello.”

[Astrolabe]

The sound emanating from the Charoda had Astrolabe completely nonplussed for a moment. Eorar was shaking a bit and grimacing and Astro wondered if he was in pain – perhaps human touch was too much for the fishlike creatures. But he had never heard such a tale about the Charoda, and just about the time the sound ceased and Eorar spoke again, Astro finally got it. He was laughing! Without knowing exactly what was so funny – but relieved that this fascinating individual wasn’t offended or harmed in some way through his own ignorance – Astro grinned again. When it was clear that Eorar was going through the same thought process as himself – fearing giving offense through being unfamiliar with human ways – Astro felt some unexpected surge of empathy. Looking at Eorar, he marveled at his courage to be approaching another being without knowing how he would be received. He gave a short laugh himself. “That’s so funny! I was just thinking the same thing – that I was offending you!” As Eorar made his odd sound, Astrolabe’s fingers went to his own cheek, in an unconscious mimicry of the gesture – as if his mind was already eager to learn whatever Eorar had to share about his culture. “Fascinating.” He murmured. It was a much more intimate and gentle way of greeting than the hand shake. “We shake hands to show we don’t have any weapons – or at least I think that’s what it was supposed to mean, originally. It was a sign of peace – that you don’t mean to cause trouble. I like your greeting better, I think – though I’m not sure it’s one many in Zeltiva would be comfortable with.” He shook Eorar's extended hand again, noting the delicate grip of the delicate looking creature. Astro looked at Eorar with open curiosity. “Why are you here – in Zeltiva? Did – did you come on . . . business? Or to study, perhaps?” He had no earthly idea if the Charodae even did any business with humans – though he thought the Svefra he had met here and there might have mentioned trading with them. And he had obviously not run into any Charodae at the university. But people of many races attended, and taught, there. So, it wasn’t an impossibility, although he wasn’t sure if such creatures could stay out of the water for very long. Eorar seemed to be fine at the moment but it had only been a scant few minutes since he had surfaced. The thought of having been in the cold water of the harbor caused the soaking wet young man to shiver involuntarily. His eyes went to the pier above them, as he said, “I’m sorry. I’m getting a bit cold here.” That was an understatement. He was actually very cold though he was trying to ignore it. “I have a cloak up there – if you’ll wait, I can go fetch it and I’ll be right back. Alright?” More than anything, he did not want Eorar to hop back in the water and swim away – this encounter was far too intriguing to let it end so soon, Astro thought. If needs be, he would forego the cloak and shiver.

[Warden Thrice]

The man laughed as well, a sound that strongly reminded Eorar of an announcement trumpet. Eorar tilted his head as he continued, explaining the meaning of handshakes. Eorar listened attentively, and after shaking hands again, Astrilabe looked at Eorar with childlike curiosity. “Why are you here?” He asked. “In Zeltiva? Did – did you come on . . . business? Or to study, perhaps?” Eorar blinked. He opened his mouth to reply, but couldn’t find words. After a few moments, he closed it and frowned. Why had he come here? His chest suddenly began to ache in response, and he bit the inside of his cheek to keep from reacting. Thankfully, Astrolabe didn’t seem to mind his lack of an answer, and was shifting about restlessly. Eorar nodded at him and as he turned to go, eyed the stairs. He decided that this would be as fine a time as any to learn to walk. He was perilously unstable on two legs, and had to grip the wall with both hands to take his first step. He was immediately struck by his speed. Without water everything seemed to be immaterial, and in amazement he tilted sideways to see his foot. His hands lost the slick wall, and he was falling forward. Saying what few curses he knew in Char, he swerved back towards the wall and put another foot on another step to catch himself, but he was soon falling again. He took another step, and another, until he was racing frantically up the steps to avoid falling. He arrived on the boardwalk with all the grace of a wounded flamingo, and jumped to the side to avoid charging into Astrolabe. He tried to take another step, but there were no more stairs, and as a result he fell in earnest and rolled to a stop. His face became quite noticeable purple, and he sat up carefully to both avoid another mishap and to try and preserve what little pride had not been damaged. “I cannot walk,” he stated, rather embarrassed, “Though I fall very well.”

[Astrolabe]

With that nod, which Astrolabe took as some silent reassurance that Eorar did not intend to plunge back in the water as soon as he went up the stairs, the student turned and hurried as best he could up the slippery stone. He was intent upon fetching his cloak and wrapping up in it, and so was completely unaware that the Charoda was, in essence, following him. Nor was he cognizant of how difficult the simple acts of walking and climbing stairs were for his new acquaintance. If he had thought about it, it might have occurred to him that a water dwelling creature deprived of buoyancy and freed from inertia might find the whole endeavor of motion on land and in the air complex and tricky – much like learning to swim or float. But then again, Astro had no knowledge of Eorar’s life prior to the five minutes since they had met. For all he knew Eorar had been on land many times. At the moment though, as he gained the pier again, reaching down for his abandoned cloak, he wasn’t thinking of anything other than how cold he was. When his new companion went sprawling past him, rolling like a ball and coming to land in a heap, Astro’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Tossing his cloak aside once more, he stepped to Eorar in one long stride. The Charoda was already sitting – hopefully a good sign that no serious injury had been sustained. His face a mix of concern and confusion, Astro knelt beside Eorar, his hand automatically going out to touch the thin arm gently. “Are you alright?” He asked, his voice as solicitous as his expression. “What the hell happened? Did you trip?”

[Warden Thrice]

oocRediculusly small post. Sorry. Eorar twisted to examine his back. It didn’t seem like any skin was torn, though he was quite dusty. He checked his elbows, knees, and heels, unstartled by the hand on his arm. He looked at Astrolabe when he approved of his overall condition and tilted his head, trying to make sense of what he had just said. He didn’t understand ‘the hell’, and decided to disregard it to remain safe. “I seem fine. Only walked once before.”

[Astrolabe]

That declaration caught Astrolabe by surprise, but he set that aside for the moment. Rising he bent still with his hand extended. “Need a hand up?” He asked. “I suppose it must be like learning to swim for us – only if we don’t get it right we don’t fall down – we drown.” He laughed. “And we can’t breathe in water, so you have a definite advantage over us there as well.” OOCHa! Two can play at that game No worries - it's hard to have a conversation with long posts. And it would be silly to imagine these two not having a good long convo.

[Warden Thrice]

Eorar took the offered hand gratefully, pulling himself to his feet. He nearly fell over again, and caught Astrolabe’s shoulder tightly to steady himself, placing both feet resiliently on the ground. “Thank you,” he said. “I suppose we have advantage, but you humans are always surprise. If we think something, you prove opposite, and when we agree, you prove what we think before. It both good and bad, but never boring.” Eorar raised his head and inhaled slowly. “Smell is much better up here.”

[Astrolabe]

Astrolabe couldn’t disagree with the Charoda’s take on the unpredictability of human behavior. Keeping a hovering hand an inch from Eorar’s back as he clung to Astro’s shoulder, he said, “You’re right there, my friend. Some say animals are unpredictable, but it seems to me that a man’s behavior is the most erratic of any beings I’ve ever encountered. And don’t even get me started on how flighty women are.” There was a slight tinge of something – not contempt, but . . . chagrin, perhaps – underlying that last comment. Then he chuckled a bit. “But sometimes their surprises can be quite . . . wonderful – and , yeah, anything but boring.” As Eorar inhaled, Astrolabe looked about, as if seeing the docks for the first time. He – if Eorar was in fact a male – was right. The further one got from the harbor and its polluted waters, the better, if you had a sensitive nose. “I suppose I don’t notice the smell much – I’m down here almost every day. I guess I’ve gotten used to it.” He looked at Eorar speculatively. “This is your first time – on land? You never said – why exactly are you here? Just wanting to see how the other half live?” He hesitated, then added, “Is this just because I fell in the water – and the hoop and all? Or were you planning on staying anyway?”

[Warden Thrice]

Eorar nodded in agreement. When they were children, girls tended to be either quite mellow or quite adventurous, but when adolescence came they would chew your head off for something as small as a stray chuckle. Astrolabe continued on about the smell, but the next set of questions caught Eorar off-guard. He was silent for a few moments, thinking wildly about his answer. “L-learning,” he said. “The University.” It was good as anything else.

[Astrolabe]

Astro could easily accept Eorar’s answer. All manners of beings came to study at the renowned university. Its reputation was lauded amongst all races that cared for such higher learning. It was certainly one of the reasons his own family had sent him here – as a kind of last ditch effort to see if there was anything of the Dusk family flowing through his remarkably unmagical veins. “I’m a student there.” He said, with perhaps less enthusiasm than others might have mustered. “Is there something in particular you plan on studying?” Just then another shiver caught at his body. He looked over his shoulder at the cloak laying still in a ball on the ground. His gaze swiveled back to Eorar. “I, um, I’m getting a bit cold. I – I don’t suppose you’d like to, um, walk a bit?” His eyes went down to the thin legs which didn’t seem completely ready to bear Eorar’s slight frame or carry him in a straight line. “If I can get my cloak, you can hang on to my arm, if you like. Would you like to take a look around – or . . .” He tried to think if he had heard how long Charodae were able to stay out of the water, but couldn’t recall. He looked at the harbor behind them. “Do you need to get back to the water soon?”