[The Sanctuary] Foraging For Seafood

by **Caelum** on November 25th, 2013, 2:06 pm

Kavala’s scream tore through the air and her reimancy followed, swirling around him to beat the seawater back from where he stood. Caelum’s shoulder rolled back and his fingertips spilled across the water proof fletching of his barbed arrow, all of his weight shifting back as he narrowed his focus onto the blurred shape of Tasival’s attacker. It flickered something like recognition in the back of his brain even as he notched the arrow and pulled back his arm.

The arrow never flew. Possibilities tumbled through Caelum instead, and there was far too much commotion for him to safely fire. Even if he were a better archer than he was, there was no clear shot and the risk of hitting the toddler was far too high. The bow was tossed sideways like a disc behind him to angle for the sand, but he kept his arrow while lunging forward and after the Akontak. Due to Kavala’s magic, the water continued to part for him and his heels dug into the sucking sand. Adrenaline pumped into his system, the sun shining strong over him, and he rushed forward.

He hoped dearly that Kavala’s magic held because he sucked at swimming. He blamed his fall and the waters off the coat of Black Rock. It was the fault of the thunder that had talked itself down from the torn Ukalas and the lightning that had walked the shore of Dira’s isle to welcome him with black omens back to Mizahar.

He hated the water, but he forgot his fear.

“Stop!” He shouted. “Stop! Tasi! Shay!”

by **Kavala** on November 27th, 2013, 4:57 pm

OOC NoteHey, this is just a gentle reminder. I don’t think an Otani could hold onto a child to drag them deeper in the water because they are made of water and viscous creatures, not firm flesh and bone things. A child is a bulky item to manhandle and that's not possible if you yourself don’t have flesh and bones but are only basically a magic bag of water that can shapeshift. As The Otani article author, I'm fairly sure I know what I'm talking about. What makes you flexible is indeed what makes you vulnerable and somewhat useless in a struggle. So Im’ going to have Tasi break away easily. Also, be careful NPCing an NPC that doesn’t belong to you without the pc’s permission who owns the NPC. Tasi is my pc’s NPC so I need to rp his reactions not you.

Kavala stayed on her knees, her stomach supported by her hand, screaming for her child. She was quick to act, casting both the air bubbles around both Caelum and Riaris so they could plunge into the water and stay dry if they wanted. She herself wanted to go after Tasi, but she was in no condition to fight, especially if it was a shark or something else as fearsome. She could barely walk in her late stages of pregnancy. But that didn’t’ stop her from trying nor from being incredibly mad and scared.. She came up to her feet slowly, swaying, and headed towards the water still crying out. Ungainly and unbalanced, the Konti was not going to let something take her child… whatever that something was.

But until she could get closer and see exactly what had her son – if by then it wasn’t too late – there was little she could do. And she wasn’t certain there was much Riaris and Caelum could do too unless they were willing to swim. Kavala could keep the air fresh in their bubbles, but she wasn’t sure that was going to help either. Mages worked best with concentration and quiet, not screaming and terrified that their child was about to be injured or worse yet eaten.

Tasival, however, didn’t wait for someone to rescue him. He had Shayru, and Shayru was a little monster waiting for an excuse to break out his meanness. He didn’t care why the Otani was there. Harm, no harm, it wasn’t going to be his idea to go deeper without his mother or his newly acquired father, and certainly not without Caelum whom he heard calling him and whom he never disobeyed. He did not want to play chase. He did not want to go to deeper water, and he wasn’t going too. The boy breathed in big gillfulls of air, pumped his fist, and when the creature changed into an eel shape, he turned and fled towards the shallows. When he swam in front of her, Shayru simply barged through her, his little body rock solid and determined as his webbed feet caught the sea and easily controlled which direction he was swimming. His whole body was saying “NO” to the creature. If she’d have come up and asked him to play without stealing him away, he would have easily enough. But he did not like this… his parents upset, his favorite eth standing at the water’s edge with an arrow notched into his bow. This was not how things were done. There was no honor in this.

He didn’t like the creature swimming in front of him, bumping him from underneath, or snapping at his feet. And when his feet were grabbed, he’d had enough. The boy turned on her, balled up his fists, and punched her right in the the eel shaped face. He growled his rage, which translated oddly under water and did it again, hitting the creature over and over again. His little fists did no good, but then again her watery body could not hold the child by the feet to tow him anywhere either. So they were somewhat at a standstill. He didn’t like the creature dictating the nature of the game to him, or even playing games. If he played, he wanted to do so on his own terms. And frankly, with Rairis being as brave as he was and having as many tattoos as he did, the two children inside the body that was fighting the Otani wanted ink as well. He thought, in that instant, if he could just kill her surely Riaris would take him to the Riverfall Ink place and let him finally get a tattoo.

So the boy dug deep and started using everything he could to fight the Otani. He wasn’t backing down or backing off. And though he wasn’t letting her take him deeper but was instead still in shallow five feet water, he wasn’t running away either. Tasi dunked down into the water and plucked a broken piece of coral form the sea floor and gripped it in his firm little hand. He attempted to use it as a weapon to strike the Otani. He was frustrated that it didn’t seem to harm the creature much.

“Die! Let me go and die!” The boy said, kicking at the creature and not letting her get a hold of one of his feet like she seemed to want to do. Shayru bared his teeth, making an incredibly brave show of it, and tried to grab the eel by the tail. He wasn’t sure what else to do, but he was in a full fledged Akalak rage now and wasn’t going to back off.

Meanwhile on the shore, Kavala had managed to stand up and walk down into the water more fully. As soon as it was deep enough, she started swimming – looking all around to see if she could see exactly where the creature had taken her son. She was still hugely upset and fighting that feeling, trying to calm down enough to give the men some help if they got it together and figured out what to do.

by **Riaris Dovukalis** on November 28th, 2013, 4:25 am

Riaris and Recoomas dove into the waters, thinking nothing of themselves.The bubble Kavala provided was surely a life saver, because he couldn't breath under water nor swim. Luckily in only five feet of water, the large male wouldn't need too. He ducked his head under, pale eyes searching the area until he spotted his son's battling with something weird. It was hard to tell what it was in his rushed movements, but it didn't matter. One way or the other, it was about to release his boys.

Heavy feet slammed into the mug and large arms waved and propelled himself through the waters even as he slipped and stumbled on the way. Adrenaline fueled his being, and Riaris knew that he had to protect his family as he had sworn to do. Rushing closer, Riaris dove onto his sons, letting the momentum roll them together and away from whatever had been attacking him.

Riaris pushed the boys over his shoulders, dug his feet into the ground and lifted them above the waters. He hoped that the man could get there and reach them in time, but he had no idea that Kavala had launched herself into the waters as well.

by **Uleru** on December 1st, 2013, 8:32 pm

OOC :

When the Otani pulled the child under, she expected him to be scared, maybe even mad. She was counting on him to run away after he discovered how durable she is. What she didn't expect was for him to fight back.

Coral in hand and snarling is pure Akalak rage, the child flails at her with soft fists, trying to gouge out bigger and bigger chunks of her face.

"Calm down! she wants to yell at him. This isn't a playable game anymore. She cant physically drag him away and she cant fight back. Not unless she tries to throttle him, or uses Reimancy. All she wanted was to play, damnit.

The eel shape and the distinguishing colour is quickly lost once she understands that there will be no chase. And a chase is all that ribbon-like form is for. What she needs is a pair of hands to snatch away that pink weapon before he successfully parts her with one of her fingers.

But she is barely past the most basic humanoid shape (it would really help if the boy would stop trying to cut her to ribbons while she changes) when the pair of purple legs that were so safely ashore just a moment ago suddenly stampede towards the pair of them.

The Otani is aware of how feral these people get about their children, and tries to snatch at the toddler away with her barely-shaped arms, but it's too late. A man that seems to occupy the same space as a grain silo suddenly scoops the boy out of the water in front of her, knocking her hand aside as she reels back. Even when the boy was trying to carve her up like a roast she was gentle with him, never moving beyond exasperation. But this? For some Akalak to stomp in and take away her toy? Even worse, for her to be bested by a toddler and Mr. Rainbow Brite in her own territory? The moulding snorts with indignation.

She can see the Ethaefal man closing in, holding an arrow in one hand and a determined fist in the other. And closer is the Konti woman from before, she seems to be swimming their way as well. One of the three is a magic user, obviously, but she doesn't have to auristics to tell who. But of the three (or three and a half) now charging at her with what she assumes is murderous intent, its the magic user she is wary of. The Eth's arrows can nail her to the floor, the Akalak could probably wring her out with one hand, but the magic user could do all kinds of unspeakable things.

And between the brute, the little brute, the heavily pregnant woman and the shining Eth, she has a formulating idea of who it might be.

The moulding suddenly turns, leaving the child behind (she never would have gotten him back, anyway) and heads straight for the Ethaefal man. He must be the magic user. But she doesn't want to battle him, either. She wants to best his magic. Just once. Then she can swim away with her heavily misplaced superiority intact.

She doesn't know what the magic actually is, though. The edges look almost raw, like res straight from the body. But it could be shielding, an art she has never attempted and has only seen in passing. It seems to keep the water out, so it has pressure. But the man was able to reach out of his to grab the boy. So it has pressure, but it's still breachable? Must be. And it's this thin hope that she barrels towards the man as fast as her fluid legs can propel her, a plan in her mind and a bright ball of her dijed sitting on her tongue.

by **Caelum** on December 3rd, 2013, 2:31 am

The ethaefal half slogged, half stumbled to a halt at the heels of Riaris, chest deep in the salt sting of seawater. Relief swept through him when the large Akalak hefted the toddler above the water. Caelum immediately began to look for evidence of injury even as he reached up, intending to take Tasival and Shayru from Riaris for just exactly that reason.

Caelum knew that he was far better equipped to see to any injuries than he was to potentially staving them off.

Once Kavala's son was a safe, heavy bundle in his arms, he immediately began half swimming, half walking backwards to the shore and Kavala's own approach. One hand rand through Shayru's pale hair, golden eyes dropping from Riaris to the child's face.

"Are you hurt?" He asked them calmly.

by **Kavala** on December 26th, 2013, 7:57 pm

When Kavala saw Riaris wade into the water, even knowing the man couldn't swim, she was filled with relief. A glad cry escaped her lips as Riaris plucked the boy from the water, tossed him over his shoulder, and started wading out. She'd never seen Shayru in a full fledged murderous rage, but though he was screaming incoherently, he seemed to want Riaris to turn around so he could take another stab at whatever had snatched him. His little arms and legs were flailing and he was pleading with his adoptive father to turn back because he had other ideas for making the water creature dead.

Kavala didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

And when Caelum stepped forward to check him over, she was even more relieved. They were moving away from the water now, both Riaris and Caelum, so Kavala dropped the air reimancy that was covering both, trying to keep them dry and started back towards the beach itself as well. She couldnt' see well into the water because her eyes were only on her son and the two men that were incredibly dear to her. She didn't see the Otani barreling towards Caelum or the attack the creature was trying to make.

by **Riaris Dovukalis** on January 3rd, 2014, 1:12 am

Riaris looked around, left and right into the waters. It was hard to see what was beneath the waves, but he knew something was there. Whatever it was it it must have fled once he got the boy from it's clutches. That left him still wondering what it was, and where it went, and came from. Caelum had Kavala's trust and so he had Riaris also and he wasn't worried for his sons any longer.

However when he turned around and saw a very pregnant Kavala in the waters, Riaris quickly rushed to her. She was a fighter he knew, and all thoughts of scooping her up and carrying her back to safety were quickly dashed. As long as she was ok, he didn't mind letting her make her own way. The Akalak hurried to check on his lover, and if she would allow he would take her hand and help her to stay up while she made it back to the waters.

"Do either of you have any idea what that was or where it went to? I don't like the option of leaving it be when it just attacked my sons and could also attack anyone else when they try to swim here." He looked again to his son, the boy was a little fighter and if Riaris knew what it was they were facing, he might would have let his boy throw a lakan at it.

But for the time, he just wanted to get them all back on land where they were safe. If whatever it was came to attack again, it would have to come on land to do it.

by **Kavala** on January 20th, 2014, 6:03 pm

OOCLets wrap it up since I think the Otani has vanished. If you guys want to make any last posts, go for it, and I'll turn it in.

Kavala gratefully clung to Riaris and used him to stabilize herself as half walked and half got towed out of the water. She was mad, really mad, and with her hands on the big man, she calmed considerably. Caelum had Tasi safe, and for all intent and purposes, her son looked fine. All she wanted to do was get up the beach, back into The Sanctuary, and get everyone dry.

"I have no idea what it was. I could have been a number of things. If I figure it out its going to be a dead whatever it was. Maybe Tasi saw it better but I don't think hes in any state of mind to tell us. Let's get him up the beach, dry, where I can check him over better and make sure nothing bit him to took a chunk out of him. He wasn't bleeding was he?" She asked, still using Riaris to balance her bulky body.

Kavala couldn't do anything else now anyhow. But when she was back in fighting shape, she'd patrol the waters and see if she couldn't get to the bottom of what was stalking the shore. Until then she turned to Riaris and politely asked... "Do you mind... giving me a lift up to the cave? I don't think... I can walk up there as fast as we need to without a lot of breaks..." She said, flushing slightly and gritting her teeth to ask. She didn't want to be carried and yet he could do it with ease.

When they got there, however they got there, she'd make sure to check Tasi over with a fine toothed comb -if and that was a big if - Caelum had maned to calm Shayru down by then.

by **Venser Rush** on March 14th, 2014, 5:09 pm

Grade Awarded!

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Kavala

Award :

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Uleru

Award :

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Caelum

Award :

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Notes

A fun thread to read! That little kid's a fighter, for sure. An Akontak to best us all

Well, on a more serious note...

Uleru, I noticed that you write in present tense almost 80% of the time, which isn't necessarily RP-style, but if it's your preference and not violating anything, go for it. T'was just a bit distracting when you changed from past to present tense occasionally. Do what you feel is best, but please keep it consistent!

I hope those who received grades are happy with them, if you have any questions about them, please feel free to send me a PM! On another note, Riaris! A shame you retired D: If you decide to come back, please PM me or the local ST at the time of your return about your grade!

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Open [The Sanctuary] Foraging For Seafood