Closed [Hanhi's Herbologie] Sisters of the Sea (Arinel)

[Kailani]

40th Day of Fall, 518 AV, 8th Bell

Waves crashed against the sides of The Sunset Tide, jostling the casinor like it was nothing more than a toy rowboat. Kailani struggled to keep the ship upright, rain pelting her face and threatening to blind her. There seemed no end in sight, thunder crashing through the sky as lightning struck nearby waters. A ragged scream left her throat as the resulting wave pitched towards her, sending frantic prayers to Laviku and fighting to change her ship’s direction. But it was all for naught…within moments, the vessel capsized and the Svefra was hurled into the depths of the unforgiving sea.

Terror rose in Kai’s chest as she fought her way toward the surface. The Svefra struggled desperately against the rushing currents and grasping undertow, but it seemed every thrust of her arms and legs only sent her further into the deep. Her lungs felt like they were on fire, panicked bubbles filling the water around her. With only one Oceanus mark, the woman couldn’t breathe underwater, and her air supply was running out fast…

Kailani awoke with a sharp gasp, every inch of her lean body coated in sweat. The Svefra heaved in another large breath, releasing it in a shuddering sigh. Air. I can breathe again. The brindle Akinva Deerstalker lying in bed next to her sat up with a cock of his head, running a concerned tongue over her tear-stained cheek. Thin arms wrapped around the dog as she buried her face in his neck. “Just a dream,” she whispered, but she shook nonetheless. “It was just a dream.”

It was a recurring nightmare that woke her, one she’d had often since her arrival in Sunberth. The theme was common enough for a sailor, getting caught in a storm and drowning, but with Kailani’s propensity for storms…she felt the dream would become reality sooner rather than later. But it won’t happen today, the Svefra told herself firmly, scratching behind Kona’s ears.

Rising from her bed, she made quick work of dressing herself and slipping into a pair of boots. She fought to cast off the pall the nightmare had cast over her morning. Appropriately dressed with sun-kissed braids piled atop her head, she broke her fast with her dog. Once finished, the canine nosed at her pockets for more, Kailani giggling as she pushed him away. “That’s all for now, boy,” she told him with a pat on his rump. “You’ll start to get fat before too long.” The look he gave her was comical, almost offended, raising his nose in the air and trotting off toward the stern of the ship. Shaking her head with a grin, Kai started undoing the lines mooring them in place and preparing the ship to set sail.

Kona stood careful watch over the casinor as the woman raised the sail, barking and growling at anyone on the pier who took too close an interest in the vessel. She’d quickly found the dog’s muscled and scarred appearance was a good deterrent to casual thieves, the savage intonation of his bark only adding credence to his fearsome aspect. Kailani was relieved beyond measure to have the animal in a place where people were as likely to steal from someone as look at them. Even if the path to getting him had been…eventful.

“Good boy,” Kailani called in praise, tossing a scrap of sausage in Kona’s direction before she hauled up the anchor. Adjusting the tiller, she took her place at the helm and they were off. She steered The Sunset Tide toward the mouth of Baroque Bay, the early morning breeze pushing them at a leisurely pace. Mere chimes passed before she was pulling them to a halt, running the casinor up to a nearby pier and tossing a line toward the closest piling. A quick knot held them in place, Kailani warning her dog to stay where he was. She didn’t like the way he was eyeing the dock.

As a precaution, she grabbed his leash and linked it to his collar with a stern glance. “You’re not going anywhere, mister,” she told him firmly before settling herself on the bench cut into the side of her ship. “I have a job to do, and you’re not about to ruin that today.” As good of a guard dog as he was, he sometimes scared prospective passengers away, especially when he started chasing them down the plankways. Sighing in resignation, the Deerkstalker settled at her feet with his head on his front paws. Together, they would wait for the first fare of the day, enjoying the meager sunlight that fought to penetrate the ever present cloud cover.

NaNo/Job WC: 774

[Arinel]

Arinel woke up alone that morning. Her apartment was small and cramped. It felt even more so with her collection of jars, beakers, pots, and earth scattered around the place. Her kits took up most of the space on the table, the glassware had been neatly unpacked, and she was in the process of cleaning everything. No matter how orderly she had placed everything, the lack of space on the table combined with the fact that the glassware was multitude, made it look more menacing than it was. Each one needed cleansed before she could move on to her next big project and preparing for such a thing was a lot of work.

Her casual glance over the table where everything was supposed to be drying only reminded her of the work still yet to be done. However, the way the morning sun glinted over the wares caused the light to shine and almost twinkle. Dazzling were the blues, yellows, and violets. They painted an obscure scene on the tabletop and cast neat shadows on the wall adjacent. The speckled colors of light cast a happy shade on the rather gloomy looking apartment. It was then that Arinel decided that what this place needed most was a bit a love, and a bit of paint. Her apartment would be happy colors, but that would be a project for a different day.

Arinel could not contain her smile as she stared at the colors. They were filled with hope, light, and love. She could feel the emotions brimming within her, and she let them take her. She shot out of bed, her bare feet hitting the cold wood of the floor, but she did not care. The coldness of the wood only served to remind her that she was alive. Alive. Happy. She went over to her chest and grabbed a shawl out of it. A hum left her lips as he she threw it around herself, hugging herself and the fabric to her. Her steps were in motion to her emotions, and the hum was a happy tune. She hummed and stepped, and swirled around the small space, brimming with energy and the message that everything was going to be OK. Today was a new day, and there were new challenges to face.

She spun herself all the way to her cramped table where she stopped carefully, not getting carried away enough to break any of the glassware. All this was from Mura, and they were precious to her. They reminded her of home. She cautiously started to pack up some of the glass back into the carrying bags from where they came. The soft clinks muffled by the fabric she wrapped them in. Carefully she took a seat. Her breakfast was rice and eggs.

---

The streets of Sunberth were different than the wandering paths of Mura. Shadows collected even in the morning they seemed unnaturally dark. There was a haze over Sunberth, a general attitude and demeanor of the city, the free folk were not actually free. Anarchy reigned, and chaos blossomed. Dark thoughts suffocated the light in the city, and although she was new, she had realized that it was better to blend in while walking than to stick out. Her usual colorful attire was replaced with a large brimmed hat which held just purple lavender on the side. The cloak she wore was a dismissive off grey color, muted and old looking. The skirt she wore beneath was concealed by the darkness of the cloak. It too was a violet color, much like the lavender she chose for her hat that day. Her top was simple linen. Her shawl today was left at home. She had to travel far into the city and could not risk being picked out be petty thieves.

The walk from the Sunset Quarters to the Bay was not a long one, but it felt longer than it should be, having to constantly look over your shoulder. Instead, she kept her head straight. She walked forward with confidence. Her eyes tried to take in an note the alleyways and those lurking around her. She kept as well as she could towards the center of the street, in the sun. Syna’s rays made her feel safer, reassured her of the gods presence even in the gloomiest of places. Yes, even in the darkness of Sunberth, Syna still shined. Where there was light, there was hope. Change could come. People could change. They just needed to be shown a better way. A simpler way.

Her thoughts stopped as he found herself at the Pier. The wooden planks made light tapping sounds under the weight of her boots, and she looked over the ferries, the boats. She did not like to have to rely on them to ferry her across the river. Most of them were unfair in their prices, knowing that their services were a necessity. Without them there was no way to fully access to all of Sunberth and she would be stuck in the little spot of the Sunset Quarters with the rest of the poor and downtrodden.

Today her eyes spotted a different individual. It was a woman, and her boat looked different from all the rest. It stuck out, and it was that difference that caught her attention. She put on her best smile and approached the planks.

“Excuse me,” she started. Vying for the ladies attention. She waved her hand and gave her the most sincere smile.

Arinel might look strange, besides her clothes her hair was whitest-gold color which seemed to work with the scales covering her forehead. They shimmered slightly in the light, denoting her as inhuman right away. There was no way Arinel could hide herself completely. Her Konti nature was straightforward and honest, direct, for everyone to see. It had never been a problem before, but since arriving at Sunberth she had grown just a little more cautious.

“Do you take passengers?” Arinel inquired. A fair question for she had not seen the woman before.

“I am looking to get to Hanhi’s Herbologie,” She started to explain, before falling silent, wondering if she was being too pushy.

WC- 1032

[Kailani]

A growl at her feet distracted Kailani from her daydreams, the hackles rising along the back of Kona’s brindled neck. A frown marred the Svefra’s brow as she looked up for whatever had caught the Deerstalker’s attention. Upon seeing a prospective passenger on the pier, however, her frown quickly turned to a smile. “That’s enough, Kona,” she told the dog as she rose from her seat. “Stand down.”

When the weak morning sun glimmered off the scales on the stranger’s face, Kailani gasped aloud. A Konti? Here in Sunberth? And here she was, at her ship, no less. It seemed like her day was about to get a lot more interesting. “Yes, yes, of course I take passengers! Come aboard!” Her smile was open and friendly, gesturing for the woman to step on deck and holding a hand out in case she needed help.

“Welcome aboard The Sunset Tide, my new friend,” Kailani said warmly, boisterous as ever. Her dog rose to his feet, teeth bared, and the Svefra shot him a sharp glare. “Don’t mind Kona, here. He’s still learning his manners.” One slim finger pointed in the opposite direction, indicating for the dog to leave them. It seemed he thought about resisting for several moments, but finally he gave in. Begrudgingly, he walked off with his tail in the air, sparing one last growl in the Konti’s direction. “At least he does what I bought him for. If a little too well…”

She turned her attention back to her passenger, recalling the name of her destination. “Hanhi’s Herbologie, you say?” The Svefra’s Common was accented, but readily understandable. Her time in Sunberth had given her more practice with the language, and she was getting better every day. “An easy enough place to get to. I can have you there in a matter of chimes, never you fear. Much faster than these other laze-abouts.” With a grin, the blue-eyed sailor indicated the smaller rafts and rowboats near the pier who were waiting on similar fares.

“Let’s be off then, shall we?” She started preparing the casinor to set sail, detaching her line from the nearby piling. Adjusting the tiller to catch the wind, the sail billowed and started propelling them forward. The seafarer nodded in satisfaction before taking her place at the helm and grabbing the wheel. “I’m Kailani, by the way. Kailani Crestwidow. Got a name, my Konti friend?” She glanced back at the white-haired woman, her own golden braids tangling in the breeze. “A Konti in Sunberth…there’s got to be a story there. Have you been here long?”

Kailani had only been to the White Isle once when her pod had come to port for a supply run. She could remember how beautiful the port city, Mura, had been, the Konti that inhabited it utterly fascinating. The Svefra’s connection to Laviku was nothing to scoff at, but the Konti were arguably even closer to the sea than the Svefra. From what she understood of them, they were almost fish themselves—mysterious, elusive, beautiful fish that she was eager to learn more about.

NaNo/Job WC: 515

[Arinel]

Arinel allowed herself to be startled a bit by the canines growl. It gave her pause, she did not want to get bitten. Kona she took note of that name, the name of the animal. A small smile appeared on her face as he tried to shake the shock of the growl away from her. The owner of the ship seemed to be in control of the animal. Arinel was reminded of the kennels on Mura, but the dogs here in Sunberth were more vicious or at least untrained than the ones in Mura. Kona brought her back home, if only for a moment. She was thankful for the animal who seemed to be in good health.

When gestured, Arinel started to step up the planks. Her steps were slow and steady, paced, calculated. She held herself upright, and when she got close enough she reached out her hand and took the waiting one. Accepting the help, she smiled as she boarded the ship, glad to have someone who did not look too suspicious that could take her where she needed to go.

“I am relieved,” Arinel admitted to the woman. Her eyes scanned the other boats and rowboats, they all looked shady and made Arinel uncomfortable. The man she found last time hadn’t been too bad, but he had been awfully distracted by Ari’s features.

She tensed up again when the dog bared his teeth. She wished she were better with animals. Though the beast was dismissed and it was then Arinel could breathe. She had not realized that she had been holding her breath for that encounter. The dogs here were very different from the ones in the kennel. She sighed, “He will be a very good dog.” She tried to be reassuring. “Protect you well.”

“Yes, I need to get Hanhi’s Herbologie,” She stated again, nodding. Her own common was not the best either. Off Mura, it was the most used language, and she was glad that she had been instructed in the language growing up. Travelers were not often to Mura, at least in her recollection. They had merchants and ships coming and going, trading their vision waters for necessities. It was there which Ari got her first taste of the world outside. Though she was never too curious about it herself. She was content to be in Mura, and wanted to stay. She wanted to be in Mura, even now. Especially now. She longed for the comfortable and familiar.

She smiled and looked over the ship, enjoying its color. The contrast against the rest of the ships grouped there. She stood to one side, once having watched the woman get the ship ready to depart, she looked instead at the others below them, waiting for work. Arinel barely registed the womans name as she introduced herself, too caught up in her own thoughts.

The Konti offered an almost apologetic smile and repeated the womans name in her head and then out loud, “Kailani Crestwidow,” She nodded confident that she got it right, “You may call me Arinel.” A simple introduction without her surname. Many kids and children she had met called her Ari, and sometimes Lady Fish! Which she did not get angry over. She did have scales after all. She found it amusing and endearing more often than not. She was a fish lady.

Silence overtook once again as the ship started to move. She shook her head, and a hand reached up to hold onto her hat as the wind picked up, “Sunberth…” She said almost tiredly. She looked down at the water and thought for a moment, “I’ve been here nearly 30 days?” She was not sure, as Sunberth took a lot of energy out of her.

“I just woke up here.” She told Kailani, “A dream brought me here. Of a place with no name, and a man with no face. A forest without a tree…” She was speaking in riddles now, but that is how the place felt. Once-life and now death, “The dream was reoccurring. I had it night after night, and even though I tried, tried so hard, to remember more details they remained elusive. The dreams stopped the moment I left Mura, now I fear, sometimes, that I am in a dream myself.”

A nightmare. A dark place. “But here I am. In Sunberth, the closest port to Mura, looking for answers to the dream of a dream. I don’t think I will find them here, but I was drawn here for other reasons.”

She turned towards Kailani, “Those reasons I know not, but that is what faith is for, right?”

The gods will take care of those who believe. Lady Avalis would not have sent her here for no reason. Arinel just lacked the sight to see. Just because one cannot see the full picture doesn’t mean there is nothing there.

“Besides, Sunberth is not that bad.” There was a lot of good hidden here, “Laviku is here, Syna still shines, and there is still hope. The people here work for tomorrow, living for today. The children at the orphanage have hope, and as long as there is that, the darkness present here is just a shadow. One that can be extinguished with enough light.”

WC- 879

[Kailani]

“A pleasure to meet you, Arinel,” Kailani replied, glancing over at her passenger with a charming smile, shrewd oceanic eyes taking in the Konti from head to toe. An unexpected pleasure, indeed. Not for the first time, she was glad she had taken this job; she’d certainly picked up a lot of interesting fares along the way. A Konti in Sunberth. She was still amazed, and her lips brimmed with a thousand questions. Slow it down, Kailani, she reprimanded herself before she overwhelmed Arinel with all of her burning curiosity. One at a time.

The Svefra listened with interest as Arinel spoke of her recurring dreams, a subject she understood all too well. She could fiercely relate to the feeling of being trapped in a nightmare; Kai felt like she’d been stuck in one since the beginning of the season. Everything that had happened since seemed a terrible dream with no end in sight. “Let me know if you ever wake up from it,” Kailani jested with a smirk, adjusting the sail to slow their progress as they pulled up on the fork in the river. She steered them toward the right before letting the wind fill the sail and pick up their pace again. “Some days I feel like I’m asleep, too. Would be nice if this all turned out to be a dream, somehow.” After all, it wasn’t like she ever intended to come to the thrice-cursed city either. It seemed Sunberth had a way of luring in the unsuspecting.

Looking for answers. That was another sentiment the seafarer could well relate to. In these past few weeks, she’d been questioning her entire existence more than ever. Why was she here? What was she doing? Was there a greater meaning to it all? And if so, how could she find it? They were life’s unanswerable questions, but Kailani was determined to answer every one. And when she was determined…there was little she couldn’t do, even if she stumbled a few times along the way.

Arinel’s voice interrupted her musings, the Svefra snorting at what she said. “’Sunberth is not that bad,’” Kailani repeated, only barely managing not to roll her eyes. After thirty days in the city, it was amazing the Konti could still have such an opinion. Was she unrelentingly optimistic or simply foolish? Kailani wasn’t sure. “The city’s a petching cesspool, with the smell to match,” she said, the woman nothing if not blunt. “A cesspool full of murderers and thieves, who’d as soon shove a knife in your back as they would look at you.”

Her breath released in a sigh as she glanced over at the blissfully innocent face of her companion, almost regretting her blunt wording. No matter how true it was. “Though I suppose if hope still exists in the hearts of the children, the future’s not entirely bleak, eh?” she added, albeit begrudgingly. Every day she spent in this city, every thief she fought off only jaded her more and more. She truly hoped she could find her pod before Winter; the thought of spending another season in the burning trash heap of a town made her shudder.

Kailani glanced over at Arinel again, this time with a little more interest. “Do you work at the orphanage, then?” she asked, shifting the conversation back to her intriguing passenger and away from her growing pessimism. “I’m sure the little ones must get a kick out of you there, eh?” The sailor smiled at the thought, remembering fondly the faces of the children in her pod as they swam alongside Laviku’s creatures. And what was Arinel, if not one of Laviku’s more fantastic creatures? “I don’t think I could do a job like that, myself,” she added thoughtfully. “Especially not in a place like Sunberth. I can only imagine what those poor children have gone through to land them there.”

NaNo/Job WC: 647

[Arinel]

Arinel watched the ships path, and investigated the water, watching the wake that the ship created. It was a lot of fun. It reminded her of the ship that took her here, from the isle of seers to this sunken sordid place. This world was so opposite of what she grew up in. Here there was no shelter. Not for her, not for the people huddled here, and she supposed if it was better elsewhere, Sunberth would not exist. The people were trapped between here and the wilds outside. A land that the konti had not treaded but heard about from some of her fellow sisters in the Opal Order. Their stories were always fascinating, especially to the young konti, but the reality was less starry-eyed and more brutal than her imagination could comprehend.

The silver haired woman nodded at the human, taking her eyes from the water back to the captain of his fine vessel. A smile spread across her lips, “I speak of dreams, because they often have deeper meaning. On the surface they might seem nonsensical, but upon reflection they reveal a shadow of the world from the perspective of an eye rarely seen. Their revelations are so profound, that sometimes, we cannot remember what we saw. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense until it’s already passed. Dreams should not be ignored, or simply woke from. They should be treasured, and learned from, even the nightmares. Even the disturbed ones can teach us something about ourselves.”

She paced the ship, taking one leisurely step after another, one foot in front of the other. She was careful not to let herself go overboard, “That is why, I can’t simply turn my back on Sunberth.”

She was trying to explain herself, “The darkness here, the evil, the shadows, they are not as all-consuming as they seem to be. The darkness here comes from a source, and if I can understand the city, just a little bit better, then maybe, maybe, I can help improve things around here. If you give up so easily, if you lose hope, then what do you really have left? You will sink the darkness as well. Chose the bitter path.” Arinel did not like bitter tasting foods.

“It is easy to give up. It is easy to drop your mask of do-good and sink down to their level. It is easy to hurt those who hurt you, right? You want them to suffer, to feel pain, but then you are just perpetuating a cycle and reinforcing their concept of the world.”

“I have not come up with an answer to this problem. What do you do to those who hurt you? You can defend yourself. Yes. But what else can be done? Why are they choosing to lash out? What can be done to prevent this in the future? If it was one person, then the answer will be simple, but as you said, Sunberth is a cesspool of thieves and murders. What perpetuates this culture?”

“In a garden, there are weeds that you can pull, but within days they will be back. That is because you did not pull the weed out by the root. If I can get to the root, the heart of the issues here, I am sure that the place can change. If I can show the children a better way to live, teach them how to grow their own food, how to cook, how to take care of each other. Show them love. Something that they are lacking, then I am sure that I can save this place, with a smile.”

She smiled at the woman.

“This place needs a little love, and a lot of light. If I can change this place just a little bit, then I am sure, things wont so easily go back to how they have been. How they are now. This place is scary and dark.”

“I don’t like it, but there are children here. People who need help. So much need, pain, hunger. Life here is twisted, perverted by the darkest shadows in the minds of people. Life doesn’t have to be twisted…”

“But,” she laughed, “I do work at the orphanage. Though you shouldn’t sell yourself short. Anybody can do my job. I am replaceable. That is why I took the job as a cook. It is easy, fun, and I can make a difference daily in the lives of the kids. Not only that, but in my free time after breakfast and dinner, I can continue my work on Sunberth.”

“I want to get some herbs so I can make some medicine. Winter is coming soon and I want to be prepared.”

WC-782

[Kailani]

“You have a very cheery outlook,” Kailani replied, her voice dry, even if she didn’t discount Arinel outright. After thirty days in the city, it was amazing something hadn’t happened to alter that optimism. Or perhaps it had, and the Konti was more resilient than most. It seemed more like blissful innocence to her, but who really knew? “I hope for all our sakes that you’re right. Sunberth could use a little more love. Unfortunately, most people’s idea of ‘love’ here is a shiv to the gut.”

The Svefra listened to the rest of Arinel’s explanation, lips pursed thoughtfully as she brought the casinor around to their destination. “I understand where you’re coming from, but I fear for your naiveté,” she finally said, perhaps a little too bluntly, but Kailani had always been a straightforward sort of person. “The people here are exactly the kind to take advantage of those who show too much kindness. Give a little, and they’ll take you for all you’re worth. Don’t forget that. Unfortunately, it’s the first lesson too many here learn, especially outsiders.” Kailani was not a native of Sunberth by any means, but she’d visited the port city enough times to comprehend its underhanded culture. She had quite a few bumps and bruises to prove just exactly how hospitable the people tended to be.

“By all means, continue your catering toward the children—try to forge a brighter future with the young ones. Who can argue with that? But make sure you aren’t blind to reality in the meantime. If you don’t know how to defend yourself, you’d better figure it out pretty fast. Learning how to throw a punch or swing a sword could very much mean the difference between life and death here. Trust me, you won’t be thinking much of questioning their motivations or childhood traumas when someone shoves you down in an alleyway and tries to have their way with you.” Her normally dancing blue gaze was utterly serious, her face somber as she relayed her advice.

Hoping to soften the bluntness of her words, Kailani offered a smile. “My second night in the city, I got into a fight. That’s a fairly typical experience here. Just keep it in mind, that’s all I ask.” Approaching the pier closest to Hahni’s Herbologie, she carefully steered the vessel toward the closest piling, throwing out a rope to bring them into place. A quick knot held the ship where it was, the sailor tugging her line to check its security. Nodding with satisfaction, she turned back to her passenger.

“Well, here we are. Hahni’s Herbologie. It should have just about everything you need.” She looked at the Konti, a thoughtful gleam in her oceanic eye. “I’ve heard they have quite a few beautiful sitting areas and a good assortment of teas. Would you be interested in having a cup? I’d love to ask you a few questions about the White Isle. If you don’t mind, of course.” Another smile flashed across her face, indicating the sullen dog laying by the stern of the casinor. “The shop should be safe enough. I can leave Kona to guard the boat. What do you say?” Her smile turned to a grin, the somber look from before gone and replaced with her normal sparkle of mischief. “I promise I’m not all doom and gloom all the time. I am capable of civil conversation, in spite of what you might think after that chat.” She winked with a chuckle. “I even have a sense of humor, believe it or not. Most would argue I’m not serious enough.”

NaNo/Job WC: 602