Octopus! (Solo)

[Seri Cartwright]

80th Day of Winter, 511 AV Eastern Coast of the Northern Suvan Sea, Near Syliras It was beautiful day. Tivaku was definitely making a statement, and it was that her season was finally close at hand. Seri had the hammock she used for a bed tied up between the mast of her Casinor and one of the boat's cleats, so she could relax and enjoy the weather more comfortably. The coast was stretched out in front of her, fading into the distance to the north and south. This is a good view, she thought absently. A cool breeze blew off the water and licked her skin, making goose bumps crop up while the hammock started to rock slowly too and fro. The swinging, plus the sound of water lapping softly against the hull of the boat, lulled her into a daydream. Swimming underwater, fish, sea plants waving in the current... A loud splash tugged her from her thoughts, and she sat up. Jasper was perched on the rail of the boat, chittering at her and shifting back and forth impatiently. The splash had been Jess jumping into the water. "What do you want, you silly old thing?" she asked affectionately. She rolled out of her hammock, onto her feet, and walked over to the rail next to him. Lovingly, Seri scratched the top of his head, making him hum in the back of his throat. Another splash then drew her attention to the water, and from below, Jess happily called to her as she twisted about through the calm surf. "Oh, I see." she said with a grin. Her lack of action obviously annoyed Jess, who called up again with an air of impatience. "Fine, fine, but while we're down there I expect to get some mollusca." Obviously satisfied, Jess dove below the surface of the water, turning into what looked like a rippling brown smudge from Seri's point of view. Looking back at Jasper, she smiled, picked him up, and nonchalantly tossed him overboard. With a cry of indignation and a splash, he landed near the smudge that was Jess. Without hesitation, after taking a good breath, Seri vaulted after him, landing a little farther out.

[Seri Cartwright]

For a moment, all Seri could see were bubbles are foam. She rapidly blinked her eyes against the sting of salt, but accustomed to it, as well as the sudden stab of the cold surf, quickly. While the water around her calmed, she turned back in the direction of the boat and otters, who were swimming after some small fish close to the sandy floor. The water in this area was clear, like she was swimming in liquid glass, and there was a surprisingly large menagerie of plants and fish around her, despite the proximity to the shore. Her body was starting to float back to the surface, so she twisted downward and paddled leisurely to the rocky bottom. As Seri grabbed hold of a particularly lumpy rock, using it as an anchor, Jasper and Jess rejoined her from their follies with the fish. The two stirred up a fine stream of bubbles as they glided quickly through the water, looping around and underneath her playfully. She smiled absently as she pulled her feet up onto the rock, then used it for momentum as she kicked off toward the belly of her boat. She moved along slowly, mostly using her arms to cut the water and pull herself forward, while Jasper and Jess followed below, combing their paws and noses through the sand for anything to eat. As she passed under the boat, she turned over on her back to view its bottom. Her eyes narrowed at the sight. Barnacles, she thought bitterly. Seri hated it when they attached to the hull of her Casinor. They were unsightly, and of all places in the sea they had to attach to her ship. She'd clean them off, then right when she turns around more latch on in their place. The barnacles were feeding at the moment; their feathery appendages were whipping about outside the mouth of their shells, coaxing plankton into their annoying little maws. We'll see how you like being relocated, she thought angrily to herself. Seri twisted so she was parallel with the belly of her boat, and while she let her body float up toward it, she pulled her dagger from its sheath at her thigh. As she reached the barnacle covered hull, it acted as a barrier to keep her from floating further, and she latched onto the knobbly surface with fingers and toes, like a giant spider. Jasper and Jess were twirling in the water below her, watching with curious interest.

[Seri Cartwright]

With a calculating strike of her dagger, Seri dug the point of the knife underneath a cluster of three barnacles. They must have been newer, because they came off with only a little jimmying of her blade. With satisfaction, she watched them slowly spiral downward and settle on one of the rocks below. With meticulous determination, she turned back and started working on the rest of the hull. It was a slow task; many of the barnacles had been there for a little while, so they were stuck like they'd grown out of the woodwork itself. Seri didn't want to kill the barnacles, she just wanted them off her ship, so she tried not to be overly rough when handling the little shells. As each individual or cluster came loose and floated to their new home below, the otters would chase and bat them lightly with curious paws. A few barnacles had the misfortune of becoming toys in a game of "Here, try to grab this out of my mouth". A couple minutes into the work, there was a clean space about double the size of her torso. Her air was running low, so she decided to take a break. Pushing sideways off the bottom of the boat, she powerfully kicked and churned the water with her legs, while sheathing her dagger, to quickly breech the surface. Then taking a quick breath, she dove straight back down again. Seri swam down to the sand below, using both her legs and arms this time to tread more water, and started running her fingers through the grainy sea floor. Sometimes mollusca were buried below the surface, so while she propelled herself along toward an outcropping of coral and rock, she combed the sand. Jasper was following next to her, kicking up loose rocks with his nose, while Jess was a little ways off, poking around in some coral crevices.