Collecting on the Beach [The Baggywrinkles]

[Ginny Ardell]

Day 91 of Winter, 511 AV The third day that Ginny awoke on this particular piece of coast was finally blessed with more friendly weather. In fact, it was rather sunny, with only a moderate number of clouds in the sky, and the wind was not too strong. Ginny got up and tried to shake off the sleepiness. She was immediately greeted by the slightly burning sensation in the stomach that indicated hunger. She had not eaten since the day before yesterday. And, what was worse, she was also very thirsty. But she was determined to ignore it all for the time being and, even though she was weak, try to start a fire again. With low hopes, she looked out on the sea. Of course, nothing was there. So Ginny turned away and, after shouldering her backpack, towards the woods behind the beach. In the last two days, she had not found anything dangerous there, and that made her a bit less nervous this time about going to find firewood. After about an hour or so with no encounters other than a squirrel, she was back on the beach, with her arms full of short sticks of wood that she had collected. As it hadn't rained since yesterday night, it had had time to dry up. Maybe this time, starting a fire would actually work. Ginny put the wood down on the sand, quite a bit away from the water, and went back to the tree line to gather some grass and fallen leaves. She put it all together, the grass below, then the wood on it, just rather randomly and not in the proper manner in which skilled survivalists formed a cone from the wood so that the air could reach every place. Then she took of her gloves and retrieved flint and steel from her backpack. Clumsily, she held them both close to the grass and struck the steel against the stone. Nothing happened. Not even a spark. Ginny made another attempt, striking harder this time. Her left hand, which still hurt where the crab had pinched her, lost grip upon the impact and let go of the flintstone. The girl made a sound of frustration, took up the stone again and rested her hand against the ground. Another strike, and finally, some sparks appeared and flew around for the blink of an eye; without, however, so much as singing a single blade of grass. Ginny made another attempt - and hit her thumb instead of the stone. She exclaimed in pain, dropped the stone and sucked it, even though, there was no blood. Angry at herself and the situation, she picked it up again and began to frantically strike the flintstone and the firesteel against each other, with little attention to where she held her hand. And then, suddenly, all her anger was blown away as she saw a little line of smoke rising in the air before her. Almost in awe, she followed it with her eyes back to its origins. A lichen on one of the wooden sticks was smoldering away. Thinking quickly, she drew out a blade of grass from the heap and held its end against the lichen. Anxiously, Ginny watched it for one second, and another. And then, indeed, the grass caught fire! A small flame was dancing at its and and crawling along the edge towards her. Moving it carefully, so the air wouldn't blow out the flame, she lowered the blade of grass to the bundle that she had lain under the wood. A few seconds later, she grass stood in flames. Ginny jumped up. "Hah!" she exclaimed, with a wide grin on her face. She had actually done it! Quite proud of herself, she sat down again to watch the fire. She waited several minutes. Indeed, the sticks of wood had caught fire, too. When she was quite sure that the fire was burning solidly, Ginny, having completely forgotten that she was hungry, ran off to gather more wood.

[Sable Baggywrinkle]

“You know, Vrix, if we get caught out in the storms you’ll have to do something with those,” Sable sighed, slapping assorted slips of ragged parchment against an open palm. Azure hues grazed the elegant sweep of her rich green horns. “I hear Zulrav has a fondness for tossing lightning at tall green things.” A stiff breeze tumbling over the starboard bow whipped away the dry attempt at humor. Fixing stray tendrils of flaxen hair into a bun, the lanky captain lurched to her feet and stuffed the missives from various pods into a pocket. Avikki birds waited in an open cage, bedded down on various materials strewn throughout the bottom. It had taken the white birds quite a while to reach them, and now the duo had little time to find shelter. The Sea Sparkle zipped along, travelling at forty five degrees into the southern winds. They tacked back and forth in a zigzag to travel against the breeze. Currently, they were close hauled toward the center of the Suvan. “Ready about!” Sable called, warning Vrix to prepare the jib for tacking toward shore. They’d gone as far out as she thought necessary and now had to cut back diagonal the other way to keep moving south. Repositioning herself and sheeting the mainsail, the skipper eyed the planned course. “Hard alee!” The traditional signal heralded the tiller swinging hard to the lee side and the boat turning first into the wind and then across it. The boom swung free across the deck, mainsail quickly refilling and pushing the ship forward ninety degrees off its earlier bearing. As they cut toward an island, Sable resituated herself at the tiller and fished out the missives once more. Not only had her family sent word about the Konti prophecy, but so had Tungsten’s and Sirroco’s. Her mother, Tungsten’s mother, and Sirroco himself had written concise warnings. They were all heeding the Whitewave’s advice to remove to Riverfall. They desired the Baggywrinkle’s company. Svefra shouldn’t abandon their home and god so easily, she thought. Laviku was just as capable of protecting them as the blue mans’ gods. Kalista Island would provide a safe haven, and they would be lucky to make it even that far before the storm hit. “What do you think about all of this, Vrix?” Wind burned hues crawled up the length of the Sparkle to seek out the spirited woman. “Do you think…” philosophical tones faded as Sable focused on the island. “Vrix…” A chin tilt directed attention that way. Hazy and blue, a weak column of smoke lifted from the deserted shore.

[Ginny Ardell]

When she came back with the additional supply of wood, Ginny casually surveyed the horizon and then suddenly dropped what she had been carrying. There was what was essentially a black dot to be seen in the distance. Ginny rubbed her eyes and looked again. The appearance persisted. She ran forward to the water, until the waves weakly touched her feet. It was still only a black dot. But on that wouldn't go away. It had to be a ship. Ginny's heart was jumping. "The ship ahoy!" she burst out, shouting at the top of her voice, despite there being no hope that she would actually be heard. She waved her arms for a moment, and then turned around hurriedly to gather the wood she had dropped and add it to the fire. Ginny had trouble sitting still beside the fire, looking fiercely at the horizon, impatiently imploring Laviku to guide the ship to her. At the same time, with growing desperation offset so suddenly, she felt euphoric and already quite certain of her impending rescue. OOCSorry about the shortness. I was waiting for Vrix to post, but then felt compelled to do something.

[Vrix]

Vrix sat dejectedly in her seat, "But I don't want to get hit by lightning. Doesn't he like Ethaefal?" She gazed out at the sea, drops of spray clinging to the curve of her cheek and jaw. Sailing always brought back the memories. Fond ones, where a smile was as bright as Syna's rays. At Sable's call, Vrix scrambled toward the jib, preparing the necessary jibsheets and releasing and securing them as was required. Tougher on a single crew member but something she had practiced with the other girl on several occasions. "Ready!" She called, as the boat swung about, and the Ethaefal lurched toward the port side, watching the distant shore draw closer. "I'm sure we'll be okay," She replied, offering Sable a glowing smile, "We've always been okay, and a little storm won't stop us, or our people." Her gaze wandered over to the isle, where her friend had paused to assess a wisp of smoke in the distance. Vrix cocked her head, "Could it be stranded Svefra?" But as the boat approached, it was the sight of a girl that she could see, and only a girl. The ethaefal called out when they anchored relatively close to shore, waving her glimmering arm in the air, "Ahoy! Do you need help?"

[Sable Baggywrinkle]

As Vrix called out, Sable rode the tiller and flipped the ship around, cutting out of the wind and sloughing off momentum. The vessel rotated slowly, bouncing in the water and Sable tossed out an anchor. She joined Vrix at the prow, waving to get the person’s attention. “Oy! What are you doing?! There’s a storm coming!”

OOC :

So this is bare bones, Sable doesn’t exactly have anything to add but I wanted to get the thread moving.