Closed Rocking seas, and a curious Akavatari (Gwin)

[Evalin]

15th of Summer, 515 AV
Location: Deck of a boat sailing to Syliras
Time: Night

Evalin disliked boats. Dull, slow and tedious things they were that rocked far too much for the Immortal's liking. When she was young, and still alive, she had often been prone to motion sickness, a fact that her father had made light of at the time but was key to the aversion she now felt to all vessels that traveled across the water. What made it worse was that Evalin knew there was a better way... for her at least. She could fly the rest of the way, possibly making it to the shore before the boat itself. The problem however was that others who traveled with her could do no such thing, and then if she were to fly her belongings would have to be left behind. That, of course, would never do.

Overhead the stars and moon shown and glittered from behind a thin layer of clouds that tried, and failed, to mask their presence. This Evalin stared up at with an eye that neither cared nor took in what she saw as her thoughts drifted toward other things, loftier goals and plans that would one day take her far far beyond that barrier in the sky.

Shifting slightly where she sat near the bow of the boat upon some crates that had been tied down with expert knot work, Evalin moved the staff from where it rested on her left shoulder to rest now upon her right. Her clothing was the dark robes which had become her usual attire. Hood pulled back and cloak that fell to the floor given her sitting position, a single pale hand moved to brush a stray lock of hair that blocked her vision of the night sky behind one hear with long fingers tipped with sharp black nails.

As her hand lowered Evalin looked at her fingers they curled into a loose fist with her nails resting just barely pressing into the palm of her hand. Evalin knew that if she pressed much harder she would draw the ichor within her body to come flowing to the surface. It made her smile then as she realized how easy it was to reveal what she really was to the outside world.

"Just a doll." Evalin whispered, "A walking cage of flesh and bone that traps the spirit within."

[Gwin]

In cities and towns Gwin could blend in with the bipedals, despite her odd colors, fins and wings, but the journey along the coast brought out the differences between Akvatari and humans. She regularly left the ship to swim with the fish and hunt for squid that she ate raw. Afterwards, she could be seen sitting on the railing, the figurehead or in the crow’s nest, combing wet locks with both hands and humming softly to herself. She didn’t eat or drink anything the others ate or drank, save for fresh water. Unlike bipedals, she wasn’t confined to the deck, ropes or ladders, although she liked high places as much as any sailor. Sometimes she played her violin, making the crew stop and listen, although keeping it dry and free of salt wasn’t an easy task.

The night Evalin gazed at the sky, Gwin had been sitting on the railing of the forecastle and watching the dark waves lying before them. Occasionally, she glanced back over the deck, noticing sailors move with changing night shifts. The wind carried faint voices over to her and their accent sounded a little like home. The sea and the sky, those welcomed her at least.

When the witch appeared, however, Gwin beat her wings and came down to join her. Height and figure suggested that she wasn’t in child or beast form. No, that night she was the ordinary pale girl that she used to blend in with the crowd. Needless to say, neither crew nor passengers needed to be unnecessarily scared. As she approached Evalin, Gwin could hear soft words falling from her lips.

Perching on the railing next to her, Gwin took a few moments to balance herself before she lifted her sea green gaze. “Is it really? And what would you spirit do if it was free? With no hands to grasp, it’d be detached from all things, and with no legs to connect it to the ground, it’d be blown around by the wind.” With a thoughtful hum, she followed Evalin’s gaze up and into the midnight sky. Contrary to her words, Gwin wished for greater freedom too – and was only arguing for the sake of the argument.

Another tick or two passed as she considered the idea in light of everything she’d learned and experienced recently. Suddenly a spark caught in her mind, a detail that she tried to hold on to. “But I’ve seen you change shape before. Is it a natural talent or a skill you learned and practiced? Either way, if you can mold your flesh and bone into different shapes, surely it’s not so much of a cage anymore…” Distant longing colored her words and her fin slapped against the wood once. Sometimes she’d tried to imagine how it felt like to have two feet and, more importantly, to look like everyone else, not in Abura, but everywhere else.