PM to join A Work of Art (Liana)

[Kalina]

68th Day of Winter, 513AV Despite spending most of her life on the lake city of Ravok, and having since spent more days than she could count on a ship from Nyka to Zeltiva, Kalina still despised large bodies of water. She had been swimming, yes, but the pool that she had found in the Wildlands over a Season ago had been small. Kalina had been able to see land all around the outside of the pool, and she had been able to see much of the bottom. It was there that the Kelvic had first worked up the courage to dip her feet in, and then submerge her entire body. A frightening moment when she had tried to swim in human form had taught her that she should probably wait until her Master was with her before she attempted to learn to swim in that form. In her ocelot form, however, Kalina had found her attempts to be relatively successful, for a first time. Staring out at the harbour and beyond, however, Kalina was in awe of the sheer volume of water in front of her. It was a deep shade, suggesting that the water was deep as well as wide. She imagined falling over the edge of the ship they had travelled on… she hadn’t been able to see land, even with her remarkably keen eyesight. The concept of nothingness had frightened her, and every day she hoped that her Master wouldn’t make her leave Zeltiva for another city. But if they had to leave, she hoped that it was by land. Boats were not fun. Not fun at all. The sun was high in the sky as Kalina sat by the docks, off to the corner somewhere. In her ocelot form, she was small enough to avoid too much notice, and she remained out of everyone’s way, and no one disturbed her. Her moss green eyes, which were wide and bright, with her pupils narrowed into vertical slits, alternated between looking out at the reflective surface of the ocean beyond Zeltiva, and looking down at the sloshing water just beside the wooden dock upon which she was sitting. As she listened to the water splash against the wooden poles beneath her, she didn’t fully understand why water had to constantly move, “Hasn’t anyone told it to calm down yet,” she wondered as she stared through the holes in the planks at the mini waves, “When I make too much noise Master always tells me to quieten down.. and if I’m moving too much, he warns me that I might break something…” Today, the ocelot kitten was too tired to bother the new people milling about her. Nocturnal, she had not tried to sleep last night and now she was feeling the effects of the lack of rest. The young Kelvic would just rest today. Mewling softly to herself, she stretched out her front paws until she could lower her underbelly to the floor, at which point she rolled over so that she was sprawled out, and resting on her side. Two of her paws hung over the edge of the dock planks, as did her long, ringed and spotted tail, which swayed lightly in the breeze, with just a little help from Kalina. The sun wasn’t particularly hot at this time of day during winter, but her dark coat meant that she would soak up enough of the sun’s rays, if she lay still long enough. Kalina didn’t understand why this was, but in just a few chimes, she felt her fur growing hotter, more so on her back than on her white stomach, and I worked better when she remained still.