Spoken Through Silence (Open)

by **Dahlia Tailrunner** on January 22nd, 2012, 12:33 am

Timestamp: 21st Day of Winter, 511 AV
Location: The Suvan Sea
Status: Open

The night was fine, as there was a full moon out but she wished that she had felt the warmth of the sun against her fair skin. Her skin quivered to the sounds of the wind as it began to brush up against the hairs on her skin. Dahlia had forgotten to take her cloak from her cabin, and she was to cold to even move. All she wore was a mere tank top, baggy pants, and sensible shoes. Worthless fabric you could say, but always got the job done right. It didn't mean that she was pleasant in them, but that they suited the job. In her case, hunting, fishing, basically, working.

"On this fine night, my fellow manta ray's I am asking if you can give me a sign of warmth. Allow it to fill my soul, and replenish the wounds that the cold winds have given me. I beg you... I remembered when the sun shone high in the sky, and I soaked up all it's fine nutrients. But now, I dance to a different rhythm... Constantly, I'm battling it to stay alive. I don't know if I can handle it anymore, give me the strength to go on. I know I have a responsibility to help this ship to stay on course, but please, please help me."

The water thrived through ripples and constant waves that brushed against one another. Dahlia stared into the water with her big blue eyes, and remembered her first time swimming with the manta ray. She never knew that she would be able to have such a connection with any animal before. Her pod told her that she was practically gifted to have such a strong connection as they did at such a young age. At the time she didn't care if she was like that, but now it was as if she was holding the weight of a horse on her back. There were expectations set for her in the pod, she had to carry those expectation to and fro.

She was only twenty years of age, but there was a whole life ahead of her. She didn't want to be chained down with all this rules and expectations. She had found balance at a young age, unlike most in her pod. No matter how much she tried to be herself, there was always that one dot of light. That just made her go evil, that made her fake, that made her ashamed to even be in this pod. Many times she had thought of leaving the pod for another to seek peace. But she thought she would have to give up her tavan, which was the manta ray.

"Why do I even bother staying Aayilah? I thought that this was my family, my friends, my home. But now all I see are shadows, mirrors, practically transperant. I wonder what would happen if I left, I could never give up any one of you. But if I seek peace, then what can I do? ... I'm so afraid, and scared... And.. Andd..."

Dahlia broke into tears, even the slightest thought of what would happen brought extreme pain. Sometimes if we loved something as they say, set it free. And if it was to be yours, then it will come back. That was a true fact of life, and everyone she thought, should stand by it. Life could be unfair, could be sickening, and sometimes revolting. But somehow she seemed to put up with all the drama, and stick with the same thing. At times, she thought that the same thing wasn't good for her. She needed something new, that would tear the bond between her and her pod therefore she could live free. But tearing those ties and bonds, would feel like sticking a knife in her heart a million times.

Suddenly, Dahlia took off her clothes and dove into the cold water. Rejuvenated but killed by the cold she dove deeper to the level of the manta ray. Taking her hand onto one of their backs, she swam with them. A feeling of serenity came over her immediately, as she glided gracefully. It was as if she was dancing on air, nothing could touch her. But in reality, she knew she would have to come back down from that high point. And again, hit rock bottom. Despite the fact, she was clearly aware of her options and what was going to happen. But she had to live in the moment as if she were going to die the next day. She had to be with the ones she loved, and do what she wanted to do.

Rising up from the water, she found a rope and clutched onto it's rough surface. Using her strength she began to climb gradually, finally reaching the top. She swung her body over recklessly, then began to walk to where her pile of clothes was. Putting them back on she felt the fabric cling to her wet skin. Feeling even more cold she ran inside and grabbed her blanket, wrapping it around her carefully. Dahlia's skin craved for more warmth, but this was the only thing she could thrive with.

"My skin is so... c-c-cold... Why did I do that..."

As she began to beat up on herself, she saw a shadow pass behind her. She listened carefully, hearing the creaks of the floorboards and stared into the darkness. Her only light was the full moonlight that shone on the sea.

"Hello! Who's there?"

Dahlia looked out into the distance for anymore ships that were near her, all their lights were off like her ship. Somebody must have been like her and climbed up the rope with her when she didn't notice or something.

by **Daske Baggywrinkle** on January 24th, 2012, 3:02 am

The girl disappeared into the cabin and Daske figured he'd better let her know he was here. You didn't want to surprise a Svefra on her own boat or she might take your head off before thinking to ask it for an explanation.

His arms ached, his legs ached, his hands and feet were numb from the cold, and he was exhausted. He had swum three days to reach the boat. He found a rope hanging over the side and used it to climb into the cockpit. He had called out, “Hullo? Anyone home? I don't intend harm. I just need some help.” He had taken a quick peek the cabin, which was obviously somebody's home, but didn't see anyone. He was making his way around to cabin to the bow of the boat when he heard the girl climb on board by way of the same rope he had used.

Girl? No, definitely not a girl. Definitely a woman. A naked woman. And a pretty good looking one at that, at least as far as he could tell in the dark. Almost as tall as him. Maybe a bit on the skinny side. She had grabbed her clothes and disappeared into the cabin. He was deciding how best to handle this when she came back out of the cabin with a blanket wrapped around her.

“Hello? Who's there?” She asked, clearly alarmed. She spoke in Fratava. He hoped she understood Common, because his Fratava was crap.

Daske stood up so she could see him and said, “Uh … hi!” Then he thought: Gods, I can't believe I said that.

by **Dahlia Tailrunner** on January 25th, 2012, 12:06 am

A shocked expression came over her face when she heard the voice of a male. The tone seemed very weak and helpless. Dahlia was always one of the people to sympathize over the ones who needed help. But at the time she was unsure if she could trust this man who had invade her boat, and had been wandering around her ship for the last few minutes. Something in her mind was telling her to stay away from him and probably throw him back in the water. But she remembered that she was not that kind of person to do such a thing, but first she had to make sure he did not take anything.

When he first spoke, she was alarmed by his language that she new very poorly but was able to speak as much as she could. Quickly, she pulled out her dagger and held it out right at him in a way of defense. Her intentions were not to harm anyone but to stall until she felt comfortable once she got her answers. "Who.. are you? Why are you here? And who gave you the... right to wander around my ship?" Her voice was very slow as she tried to process her words carefully. Her eyes were fixated on him continuously as she tried to calm herself down before she ended up doing anything. Dahlia lowered her dagger placing it back in it's pouch as she stared at him a little more innocently.

The man was still silent, therefore she repeated herself again. "I said.. Who are you? Why are you here? And who gave you the right to.. wander around my ship?" This time she was a little more powerful, keeping her barrier of defense. "Were you watching me this whole time? Do you do this all the time, just to get a little satisfaction for yourself." Her blue eyes raged at him widey, until she raised one eyebrow as she listened to the whisper of the wind. It told her to relax a bit before she got herself into trouble therefore she lowered everything about her. Her body language, voice, and facial expression. "I'm so sorry... I'm not used to strangers on my ship... And sorry for not formally introducing myself, I'm Dahlia..." She carefully studied him stepping a little closer, feeling her heart pump even more continuously. She didn't want to wake any of her pod up so she had to be as careful as she could. If she ended up dead they would most likely kill him, but who knew what the outcome of this meeting would be, aye?

"You look... Umm, how do you say? Cold... Here, take my blanket." She offered it towards him kindly as she ran back inside to dry herself off quickly. Coming back out she had on a tank top, with baggy pants, and sensible shoes; covered by a simple black cloak. Her eyes were fixated on him once again, she had never heard anyone spoke Common before. She felt very uncomfortable trying to translate her words in Common. As did he, most likely. It was a good thing that her pod was teaching her common therefore when they had business and such. Those who spoke common, she would be able to talk with them if they wanted to make any deals.

Boldly, she decided to ask him the most basic of questions he knew. "Umm... I'm sorry for the many questions.. But I'm a bit curious. How old are you? .. And oh! What's your race? .." Her voice at this time because very hesitant because some people didn't come on as strong as she did after this type of encounter. But Dahlia was always the open person at times when she was ready too, but something just made her want to know a lot. Her pod always claimed that she would carry the mind of someone who was very naive. She didn't care of course, but she always knew her boundaries. One of the good qualities about her.

by **Daske Baggywrinkle** on January 25th, 2012, 4:42 am

Daske grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around himself. He was shivering badly. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this cold.

He was fascinated by her face. Even in the moonlight it was incredibly expressive. He doubted she could hide an emotion if her life depended on it. In under a minute he had watched her go from shocked to wary to fearful to curious to inquisitive to compassionate. And now she was firing questions at him so rapidly he couldn't untangle her jumbled Common fast enough to keep up.

“Wait!” He finally said, holding up both of his hands. “Slow down. I can't follow you.” Then he picked up the blanket he had dropped when he held up his hands, wrapped it around himself again and switched to Fratava, speaking slowly. “Thank you for, uhm …“ He couldn't think of the word, so he held up one corner of the blanket. She nodded, which he hoped meant she had figured out what he was thanking her for. “I, uh, cold. Tired. I need, uhm … care ...” That wasn't the right word. He switched back to Common. “I need help.”

He frowned and rubbed the back of his fingers along the scar running down the left side of his face. Talking with this woman was turning out to be seriously difficult. He was beginning to think he should head off for another boat in the pod and look for someone who could speak half-way decent Common. At this rate he'd die of hypothermia before they got through their initial greetings.

He pointed to her cabin and said, “Any chance we can go below deck and get a fire going in that stove of yours?" He offered his best imitation of someone warming his hands over a fire. "And maybe some dry clothes? I'm kinda in a bad way here.”

“Oh, and I'm Daske,” he said. She looked puzzled. So he pointed to her and said, “Dahlia”, and then pointed to his chest and said, “Daske.” Her eyes lit up in understanding. Damn, woman, he thought. You'd better stay away from poker games. Still pointing at himself he added, “Svefra.” Her eyes got big and her mouth formed a perfectly round “oh.” It was pretty much the cutest thing he'd ever seen.

Without further ado, he walked over to the cabin door, stepped through the companionway and went below deck. He sat down on a seat and tucked his feet up under himself so that the blanket covered everything but his face. Then he thought to himself, Either she'll scream for help, in which case there's a good chance I'm gonna die. Or she'll follow me in here and stick that little dagger of hers between my ribs. Or she'll get the stove going and fix me something hot to drink. At the moment he didn't much care which way it played out.

OOC :

by **Dahlia Tailrunner** on January 25th, 2012, 8:31 pm

Dahlia followed him carefully with a very curious expression on her face. She had never had another stranger on her boat at this time at night. He seemed helpless therefore she might as well leave her cabin mates alone. The man didn't need to get in trouble, he was injured already. What trouble did she want to cause him? She began to start the first with the remainder of drift wood she had collected on her daily swimming. Dahlia searched through one of the boxes and found a lighter used for cigarettes and lit the fire. "I'm sorry but I don't speak common very well, but is this warm enough?" She asked him very slowly. At the time she was battling with herself to comprehend him while trying to translate her own words into Common.

Dahlia then realized she was soaking wet and her clothes clung to her slender skin. Outlining every single curve in her body. "Can you give me a second?" She held up one hand, holding up the number one as she ran off to go put on some new clothes. Running to her cabin swiftly, she found a slack t-shirt and some shorts to put on quickly. Rumaging through her things she found a bag of herbs she had collected from her many journies and then her medical kit that was on the ship. She ran back to where the man remained and sprawled everything out on a small table. The svefra looked at him with a smile then headed to get a bowl of water. "Now.. where are your wounds?" She asked him quietly. "And where they are do you mind exposing them, please? It's only to help you.. After you done patching up.... I will get you something to drink, and some food."

As she waited for him, she began to prepare something simple with bread. It was the best she could give him at the time due to the shortage her pod was facing this season. The harder it got to fish and hunt, the harder it was to feed ourselves. She handed him a small sandwich and some water. "I'm sorry but we have a shortage ever since this season came. It's the best I can do until tomorrow." She smiled softly, having the cutest awkward expression on her face. Turning around she messed around in the medical kit to find a clean cloth. She drenched it in some water and began to clean the wound carefully. "If it hurts, please tell me." She smiled softly, returning back to her kit. She pulled out a container of aloe, then putting a bit on her clean hand. She smeared some over the cut to make sure it healed a little faster. This she knew would hurt more than she thought, but it was the best she could do at the moment.

Dahlia found some bandaging and wrapped it around the area, making sure it was secure. "This will prevent you from having an infection, and it's the best I can do so nothing bad happens. Now you may have to stay here for a few days or so. To make sure this heals properly, the aloe would have sped up the process." She gave him a reassuring smile and returned back to her things on the small table. Packing them up quickly she ran back up stairs throwing them on her small bed. Dahlia ran back to him, sitting right beside him. Although not to close therefore she didn't have to deal with any anxiety. "So.. Daske, how did you end up here?" She asked him.

by **Daske Baggywrinkle** on January 28th, 2012, 5:01 pm

Daske wolfed down the sandwich in two bites and followed it with a long drink of water. She had done a competent job cleaning and bandaging his leg, although it hurt like hell while she did it. Not exactly a gentle touch. She was obviously trying to be quiet, which made him suspect there were others sleeping on the boat. But they were going to wake up sooner or later, so he didn't see much point in whispering. He scowled.

“I was crewing on a merchant ship,” he said in Common. “Two pirate ships attacked us. There was a lot of fighting and a lot of people were getting killed. I jumped overboard when it was obvious that the pirates had gained control of the ship. Swam for three days until I came across you. And lucky for me, too, let me tell you. The Suvan is damned cold this time of year.”

He paused to drink some more water, peering at her over the rim of the cup. “I guess this is your pod. What's it called, anyway?” He suddenly gave her a sharp look and pointed at her face. “And what's with the tattoo?” he asked curtly.

OOC :

by **Dahlia Tailrunner** on January 29th, 2012, 3:20 am

She raised an eyebrow over to his comments, he was a svefra... yet he didn't even know his own race. Dahlia was puzzled by his reaction, and grew very soft and innocent suddenly. It was as if she began to sink into a hole, as he pierced her with many knives. Here and there, she couldn't always be the brave one... Everyone had a weak spot, even she did. Being yelled at was one of them, and she hated it. Why did people have to raise there voice, why not be mellow? "Your a svefra and you don't even know... Nevermind. The tattoo, is of my Tavan. The animal I'm bonded to, which is the manta ray. Second of all, this ship's name is originally known as the The Palivar. But we have put our own style on it by calling it The Gift." She said softly.

A brush of wind blew against her skin, and she felt her skin crawl once again. She showed no sign of feeling cold, but her body language did display her feelings. That was one thing she hated, no matter how much she tried... She always ended up being, THAT obvious. "So Daske... Umm, I'm sorry for being so vigorous with you.. I'm just trying my best not to make a fool of myself here, and trying not to wake up my crew members. You understand surely.." It was almost as if she were a child apologizing to her mother, and she was begging for forgiveness. But not so desperate.

Dahlia did not know what came over her with her occasional mood swings. Now and then she would receive them, especially around men. Which were her weakness. "And yes... It's very cold. Out of curiosity, were you watching me when I was naked...?" She asked rather slowly, trying to process her words carefully. The more and more she tried to speak, the more strenuous it grew due to this language being very poor.

by **Daske Baggywrinkle** on January 29th, 2012, 4:38 am

Daske studied Dahlia for a few moments. He found her attractive, and his mind kept flashing back to her standing naked on the deck. He pushed the image out of his mind. This was not the time or place.

She seemed shy, vulnerable, unsure of herself. Almost like a lost child looking for her mother. And she seemed awfully concerned about waking up her pod-mates. In any case, he figured he owed her more of an explanation than he had given her up to this point. He could see that she was struggling with Common so he decided to give Fratava another shot, which meant speaking very slowly and haltingly.

“Me … uhm … I am Svefra. I was servant … no ... I was slave of Drykas. A born slave. Of Svefra slaves.” He thought maybe he was starting to get the hang of the language. His mother had often spoken Fratava to him, but he had never made any serious attempt to learn it. Big mistake.

“I run away and look for the people … no … my people. I look for my people.” His face was scrunched up into a scowl as he tried to find the words he needed. “I need … want … uhm ... something for you … no, something from you. A boat … damn! ... my boat is moored at Alvadas. I need to get back to my boat. Can you or someone take me there? Do you have a Casinor?”

He balled both hands up into fists and held them to his forehead. “Aaaahhhg!” Then he switched to Common. “The hell with Fratava. I don't have time for this. Look lady, I need to get to Alvadas. So here's the deal. How about you and I hop into a Casinor – you must have some around here – and go have some adventures. Oh, and pick up my boat along the way. What say?”

He paused and watched her eyes get big. He wasn't sure how much she had understood, but apparently it was enough to have surprised her.

“Oh, and yes, I did see you naked. You looked good.”

by **Dahlia Tailrunner** on January 29th, 2012, 6:17 pm

Dahlia couldn't explain the amount of pressure that was being pressed on her. The choice of leaving her pod, or staying with her pod. The choice of helping him or just throwing him overboard. The possibilities seemed endless, but the more strenuous it grew for her to make a proper decision. Dahlia drew a breath, pondering through her thoughts. Half of the time she was thinking of leaving her pod to go with this stranger. On the other hand, there was a tiny bit of her that said not to trust him. He was a slave, one who was up to no good and she shouldn't be associating herself with that. Although, she then thought to think like the way of a manta ray. Smooth, calm, graceful, and peaceful. Something she always stuck to, the way of the manta ray. She listened to their voices whispering in her ear, it was as if they were right next to her. Dahlia drew another breath and drew her conclusions. She knew what her decision was. "I'll help you, but please call me by my actual name." She had a massive grin on her face, the svefra felt somehow proud of her decision. As if a million tons had been lifted off her shoulders, and finally she was free. Sort of. "Wait, based on one condition. You have to help me learn common, therefore it becomes easier for us to understand each other. Do we have a deal?" She smiled and held out one delicate hand for him to shake. This was to bond their deal therefore it meant no giving up. What so ever.
OOC:) Lets hope they can get along hopefully.

by **Daske Baggywrinkle** on January 29th, 2012, 9:17 pm

23 Winter 511.

Two days later found them anchored in a small cove along the northern-most tip of Cyphrus. Dahlia had done most of the sailing. She seemed pretty good at it. Daske, on the other hand, was still learning how to sail. He took a few turns at the helm, but mostly served as crew doing whatever she thought needed doing. Like guiding the jib across the bow when she tacked or trimming the mains'l when she changed their point of sail. The Casinor was a 27-footer and seemed to handle well.

The sun was setting in the West, casting long fingers of colored light through gathering clouds. They were sitting in the cockpit enjoying a chilly but pleasant evening.

“How does a Svefra not know anything about being a Svefra?” She asked. She had been peppering him with questions all day. Daske wasn't much for conversation, but had done his best to at least be civil. He didn't really want to get involved with this strange woman. Life was complicated enough as it was. But he needed her to get back to his boat. Apparently he had said enough for her to reach the conclusion that he knew almost nothing about the ways of the Svefra.

He gave her the abbreviated version of his story: “My parents were both Svefra. They were captured by slavers and sold to a Drykas family. Eventually they produced me. So I grew up on the plains of Cyphrus, not on the sea. My father died when I was maybe ten or eleven. My mother died just two years ago. Her death was not a good one. Our master was a cruel man. About a year ago the pavilion passed near Riverfall and I took my chance. Unfortunately one of my master's sons, a man about my age, saw me taking some of the master's possessions and gold, and challenged me. It was my dumb luck that he was drunk, because he surely would have killed me if he had been sober. Instead, I killed him. Then I fled to Riverfall, bought a boat and set sail. That was a year ago. And now, here I am”

Daske suddenly became aware of a shadow moving on the water. “What's that?” he said as he stood up to get a better look. “There's something big in the water circling the boat.” He moved to the other side to follow it around. “Damn. It looks like a bird but it swims like a fish. What the hell is it?”

OOC :