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[Meriann]

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1st Winter 517 AV
"Speech"

On the coast near to Sunberth

It was morning, as it often was. The wan light of that overcast day alighted on the grey waves that foamed at the base of the gravelly beach that Meriann and her family stood upon, and made the white sails of her casinor look more dirty than they should. She frowned, and made a note to clean them once they arrived at Sunberth. They were close now, they all knew it. The beach that they had spent the night on showed signs of previous fires in the sunken firepit some way from the high tide mark. Meriann had recognised it after a while, having not been there for some years, but once they'd lit the fire and eaten their meal well into the darkness of the previous night, she'd remembered when they'd last been there and knew Sunberth could only be some bells away.

She poked the fire, and got a hiss and a crackle in return. Breakfast was due to be served, not a moment too soon, a sentiment that her stomach agreed with. A hard day of sailing yesterday had worn the woman out, and the tantalising scent of fresh fish never failed to wake her tastebuds up. Meriann winked at Mirillia*her niece, whose eyes were wide and eager. They were quiet that day, as the fire spat into their silence, quiet but glad of each other's company like always. Mirillia scooted closer, and rested her head against Meri's arm as the older woman leaned forwards to turn the skewered fish. It was blistering in the heat of the flames, its scales puckering and looking delicious. The oil dripped and sizzled on the hot stones that surrounded the fire, and she kept a careful watch as she ruffled Miri's hair.

Cooking was a role they shared equally, but Meriann loved it especially. It wasn't so great when she burnt the food, or when it tasted foul, but she loved making good food. It was satisfying, she thought, and these fish looked just right.
"Right, I think we's done. Breakfast's up!" With that, she grabbed a skewer and blew on the silvery fish to cool it, before burning her lips as she devoured the small meal. Gods but she would be glad of some bread when they got to the city. There wasn't much that was great about cities, but she had to admit there were some comforts there that were difficult to get ahold of on a ship, delicious, fresh bread being one of them.

It wasn't long before the pod had finished their meal, and it took less time for them to spring into action. Everyone was keen to get moving, and they moved like a well-oiled machine. The Lia was the first to board their small rowing boat back to the palivar, where it was anchored further out in the deeper water of the shallow bay. Meriann's casinor was further to shore, but still anchored out in the water, so she strode into the waves and swam the short distant to her beloved ship with simple front strokes, her skin bristling in the delicious coldness of the water.

She pulled herself out, and climbed up the side of the ship, using a rope she'd left to help her haul herself out of the water. It would ordinarily be a bad idea to be sopping wet in Winter, but Meriann and the small Oceanroar pod had a wind to fight that day, and a city to arrive at. She wouldn't have time to rest, and the work would soon evaporate the last of the Suvan from her body. They weren't going to spend another uncomfortable night on a beach.

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[Meriann]

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"Speech"

The sails were down, and the anchor needed pulling. First came the sails. There were various ropes tied all across to keep them in place, and Meriann was well-accustomed to her ship and the knots that were her everyday life aboard her home and vessel. She worked as quickly as she could, fingers sticky from the salt water. One very important thing that she had always been told was that ropes were to be stowed away neatly. Every time. There was plenty of rope in different places on the Sunrise. She untied the sails so that they flapped free, but she worked quickly to lash the line to the bow. The knot was not too difficult, but she took care with it anyway, as she always did. A little loop, then pulling the end through, up and around, through the hole... It was messy, but workable. The sail was taught in the breeze, aching to get moving. She moved over and repeated this for the smaller sail on the other side, making sure each were stable with a brisk tug. Once she was satisfied, she shouted over to the other ship and waved. A wave and a similar shout followed in response, and she grinned.

"Laviku!" They knew their course. The wind seemed promising, and life was good. Her belly had a silver fish in it, and although her skin bristled with cold, she felt good. "Thank you, Laviku, for your blessing." She hoped the god could hear her voice, hear the gladness in her short prayer. To further the good luck, she rummaged in her coin purse for a simple silver miza, and threw it into the waves. It landed with a neat plink, and she nodded with satisfaction. They were set. The Sunrise was straining to move off, and so she loped over to the anchor. She began to haul it up, fast as she could, and the heavy metal knocked twice against the hull as she grabbed it with a quick heave and stowed it with a few loops around a cleat.

They began turning. The boat was adrift, and she had to work fast to stop it from drifting any further and losing control. Meriann's sails were flapping and billowing, she hadn't quite caught the wind. She hurried along the tilted deck towards the tiller. She needed to head off and roughly follow the coastline up. Right now, the bow of the ship was facing out to sea, pointing towards freedom as if it wished to escape the land. Meriann agreed with it. The call of the open seas was strong, but it was also incredibly dangerous, and she just did not have the strength to survive the wildness of the ocean that lay out there. Still, she couldn't help imagining the islands that lurked out there, the hidden treasures and delights, monsters, wildness and the thrill of the utter unknown. She shivered, and began slowly pulling the tiller handle towards her.

The push of the ocean in return was strong, but her arms strained against the currents and the woman and her Sunrise worked in unison until she was pointing in the right direction. They weren't moving yet, because the wind had dipped, but she muttered a prayer to Zulrav and teetered out to push the swinging jib. Her prayers were heard. The breeze stirred again, and caught the sail so that it swung around and gathered the fullness of the crisp wind. She hollered in delight, and it was always the case that as soon as everything fell into alignment, she felt such a delicious thrill of happiness.

She grinned, and the journey began.

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