Cast Away (Enrick & Qit’ria) [Graded]

[Ellen'wyn]

Ymiden 25, Arc 718

Ellen stared at the canopy of leaves ruffling in the dry wind that blew off the sea. Several meters away waves rolled up the shore in their rhythmic dance before sliding back out. She'd spent a lot of time watching the pulsing water at the end of every trial after foraging and hunting for food. At the moment though, she didn't feel like doing any of it. The signal fire she'd kept going since just a few trials after washing up on this island was barely smoldering. A weak column of smoke rose from the pile of branches, leaves, and driftwood she'd collected so meticulously.

There was plenty of fuel lying nearby, but what was the point? No one was going to find her. She'd been tossing around the idea of lashing a bunch of trees together and trying to float away, but she had neither an axe nor sailing abilities. Once the half-breed had even tried to fly away--to where, she didn't know, because she didn't know where here was. But that had been a ridiculous idea. She'd flown higher than she'd ever dared before, up to where the horizon curved at the edges and everything was cold and quiet.

When she'd seen no sight of land in any direction, she knew it would be suicide to leave. Ellen couldn't swim, and she couldn't stay in the air forever. So she'd returned to her little camp and vented her frustration by repeatedly punching the beach. The beach didn't seem to care. Now she lay on her back at the edge of the forest contemplating her fate. It seemed to her that she had particularly wretched luck. Sure, there was good sprinkled here and there--but when she really though about it, things were going pretty piss-poor lately.

Patrick had left her after his Sessfiend had nearly killed her, Niv was gone--hopefully only temporarily, and all the redhead had wanted was to go home and recuperate. But no. She was stranded on this island instead. Ellen fished around carefully in the small pouch lying beside her and pulled out the seed that Niv had entrusted her with. She'd given it to her before she was--No, there's no need in thinking about that. It would only make her miserable. She'd done a decent job of keeping those thoughts at bay. Any time they tried to creep back she listened intently to the waves, letting their rolling sigh drown out everything else.

Ellen did just that again while she held the seed up in front of her face, pinched carefully between her thumb and index finger. It was somewhat broad and flat, with little swirls that looked almost etched into it. It was mesmerizing to look at. Endless and infinite. Was Niv's soul cradled inside? She closed her fist around the seed and held her knuckles to her lips.

"Sev hìtua ariwo av nïkïän iwọnotu ïdäkẹjï wiwọle miu alailesin. Tioni snätänhìtsyìp av toṣe srä," she murmured before slipping it back inside the pouch and crawling to her feet.

Her bare feet were silent on the white sand as she wandered down to the surf. Cold water rolled over her toes and splashed around her ankles. She stepped carefully into the waves, stopping when the water pushed and pulled at her naked thighs. She'd stripped down to just about nothing in her time on the island and was running around now in her undergarments because--well, because why not? She was totally alone and it was hot. So the small knotted loincloth around her waist and band of cloth around her breasts was acceptable enough. Her pale skin was burnt and peeling from exposure. Her lips were dry and cracking.

Ellen shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun with her hand. The cold water felt nice on her sunburnt legs. She blinked rapidly in relief, at least for this brief moment. The waves tugged away at her frustrations one by one. If she stayed like this long enough, she was able to imagine that she was standing on the beach in Desnind. It was the same sea. The sand felt the same between her toes. She peered at the blue expanse that seemed to the stretch on forever, uninterrupted.

Or not.

Her eye caught something in the distance. Some sort of dark blob on the horizon. She peered harder, watching for a long time before she realized it was a vessel.

"Ship?!" she screeched aloud, wading into the water around her belly as if those few inches would really help her see it better.

But it was definitely a ship. The flash of a white sail was unmistakable, and the way it bobbed slowly closer over the waves. Ellen didn't hesitate. She sloshed back up onto dry land, unfurled her wings, and launched into the air. Whoever they were, she didn't care. She was saved.

[Ricky]

Wind and water, sea and sky all around but for how long? Their venture to this point had been more or so Qit's doing by now, after what had occurred with the escape of nature's turbulent fury. The last storm the Windrunner had braved being a volatile one, both ship and it's captain felt it's mark left upon them. For Trials now Enrick has worn bandages over his eyes to keep the gash from getting any dirtier, albeit trying to brave the frontier of the sea blind hasn't been easy already. He's shared what insight he knew off an on with Qit about sailing over the course of the trip, but overall he's been nothing but blindly sailing the waters since then.

To top it off the mast of his ship had suffered damage from the whirlwinds that battered the ship, as both the mainsail and the jib sail had multiple tears from the storm. Rather loosely the rig dangled with the fabric flapping about in the wind loosely, since Enrick hadn't the guts to attempt tying the sail back down after what happened. Thus the blind fisherman sat with his back against the post of the wheel, his other eye closed beneath the cloth that kept his eyes covered. The other eye however? For all he knew it could still be there, but he didn't dare try to open it. Even now it ached and throbbed painfully, as the ointment applied to it from the med kit had been used up just the Trial prior to this one.

And how much longer were they from Desnind? As of right now the only one able to determine this was Qit herself, since she had to play the pivotal role of navigator here. To become completely blind really effected Enrick deeper than he knew, deeper than one could anticipate unless they've been where he was. While he wouldn't mind the fact he lost an eye later after it's healed, the fact he couldn't see where they sailed now troubled him. Would he get to see Desnind when they arrived? Would he even make it before then? If this injury got infected or worse then...

He shook just thinking about it. That and the fact Qit herself was the pregnant one here, if they didn't get to Desnind in time before she fell into labor.... especially if Enrick were still blind at that point? Their situation looked grimmer and grimmer the more he worried about it, and all he could do was just sit there and bite his lower lip apprehensively. He focused on his other senses to perceive the area, the smell of the sea a little less humid compared to the other Trial. That told him they were past the weatherfront in case another storm loomed overhead at least... the feeling of the wind was from his back, as he felt it brush over his shoulder towards the mainsail in a gentle fashion. Smooth sailing... It would've been at least if he could fix everything that was wrong. As it was they were probably stranded in the middle of the ocean.

And was Qit even at the wheel? He checked with a slight crane of his head to adjust the range of his hearing, his hands used to hold him up steady as he turned slightly. "Qit?" Something seemed to reach them across the water though just barely, an inaudible word which implied someone else had to be within proximity. "Qit y' t'ere? We need t' find land. Find some place t' berth so we can restock on supplies." Their rations probably were getting low... Since he couldn't fish anymore either and... a good amount of his gear washed overboard in that damnable storm. Plus if they found any herbs to help with his injury, then that'd certainly be a bonus since it'd begin to bother him here soon.

[Qit'ria]

Common Text
Xanthean Text
Kashehino Text

Qit was there, though she didn't reply to Enrick at first. How had it all ended up like this? She remembered the storm, and how it came to be that they'd survived it. She hadn't spoke about what really happened, about what Enrick didn't see after he was blinded. That was hers and hers alone. She wasn't sure how far from Desnind they were, but she knew it wasn't terribly distant. The weather had changed to a temperature she remembered, the sun in the sky where she remembered it being as a girl. She hoped she was right, there wasn't much longer until her daughter would be born.

She looked over at the injured man in disgust. Useless. Not counting the storm, sailing was easy. She should've just taken his boatship. She wondered if that happened a lot. It didn't seem like it would be hard to do. In Scalvoris Town and Almund both, the docks were full of ships. If no one was on it, you could just sail off and no one would even notice. At least of the small ones. The big ones would be much trickier.

After the storm it had been smooth sailing, easy for the huntress to manage. She just kept them going south, using the sun as guidance, and staying as close to the coastline as possible. Now that they'd traveled enough, if she kept the sun at her back, and the land at her right, she'd eventually get to the south continent. Or she hoped. During the night, the ship had drifted a bit away from the coast, so she had a bit of a westerly heading now, to bring it back in sight. But the sun was still at her back, so still southward she went.

"I find land. Soon."

Hands on the wheel, she felt her baby kicking like crazy. Damn thing was strong, and using her as a practice dummy. She was looking forward to getting it out at least. Being fat, trapped, sore, cranky, etc etc etc was not what Qit longed for. She watched the water intently, taking in the soft winds, the smell of the salty air. Qit didn't know this but there tended to be two types of sailors. One who bonded heavily with their ship, knowing every crack, knot, curve and line. But there were others who bonded heavily with the sea instead, preferring the feel of the air through their hair instead of the wheel between their fingers. Qit was part of the latter.

It wasn't long until an island came into view in the distance. Qit turned the wheel toward it, as the ship banked softly. She'd over shot it a bit and had to bring it back. Once on a closer coarse, she tied a rope through the wheel like Enrick had done that first time they'd met, to hold it in place. She kept her footfalls silent, rolling heel to toe, just as she did when sneaking up on pray. Once in front of Enrick, undetected she was sure of it, she spoke, "Land soon. Island. Get up." She hoped to get a jump out of him, to further make him realize he relied on her. That his life truly belonged to her now. And that he was useless, even as a pair of ears.

She moved past him, over to the bow, and looked down in the water. She looked out ahead, trying to determine a good depth, as well as if it was safe here. The beach was sandy, and it didn't seem to be particularly rocky. Qit brought the Windrunner in closer, then schlepped over to the anchor. Bending at the knees, she got her hands under it, and slowly flexed upward, making sure to keep it away from her belly. Grunting and straining, she got it into the sea. She then moved back over to the mast, and began pulling on ropes, to halfway tie up the sails. She scowled at the sloppiness though.

Grabbing another rope and putting a foot against the mast, she began pulling herself up the mast, careful with her steps. It was slow work, but once she got up to the yard above the sail, she pulled herself upon it in a seated position and began pulling the sail up. She tied it off. Then she looked out over the island, only to catch a glimpse of something taking off from the beach. It was too far to make out details clearly, but it was larger than a normal seabird. And it was flying toward them. Qit smiled, and grabbed the rope, beginning to lower herself back to the deck.

She grabbed one of her javelins, and kept her eyes on the flying being. Dinner. The winds were practically nonexistent, the ship lightly bobbing. Qit watched and saw that it was indeed on a direct course, this strange big bird. It seemed to be flying at a continuous speed. So Qit lined up her throw, knowing she'd need to throw well ahead of it in order to hit it. Strange that it was flying so low and directly at them. Qit decided to try out something she'd been thinking of.

She took an easier stance, letting it come closer than she normally would allow, and then hop skipped into her throw. She launched it further up in altitude than the bird thing was flying, and watched with a grin as her javelin arced. Her plan was simple. She'd learned that throwing at birds from the ground usually meant they saw it coming. So instead, she arced it over the bird, to try and get it to come down on the bird from above. Her mouth watered as she thought of the dinner they would be having soon. She grabbed another javelin, ready to try again if she missed.

[Ellen'wyn]

The wind rolling off the ocean current filled her wings and lifted her higher. She paddled through the air quickly, a smile stretched across her face. Relief flooded her, revitalizing her with renewed energy. It was an amazing feeling after the sense of helplessness that had been creeping up on her the past few trials. She could see someone clambering around the ship's rigging, drawing up the sail. It seemed they had anchored.

Her initial burst of speed made her muscles burn so she paused, gliding on a updraft, letting it cradle her. She puffed quietly while catching her breath, and saw the body shimmy down a line. It looked like there was one other person on the deck, but they were sitting to the side. Was there only a crew a two people? The ship she'd been on had been manned by a small army--not that that had helped them in the end.

Ellen squinted. The figure hefted and threw something. Discard something? She heard the faint whisper of it through the air not long after. The half-breed cocked her head, stiffening a moment, and saw the spear dropping her way.

"Bäbbän!" she screeched.

The woman turned sharply, end over end, rolling in the air and dropping several feet. She heard the projectile splash into the water behind her as she struggled to right herself. She flapped wildly, leveling out but with hair and feathers thoroughly ruffled. Her heart pounded against her ribs and as she made it to the ship, came down hard and slid to a stop first on her hands and knees, then ended up on her belly like a fish thrown on deck.

Ellen crawled awkwardly to her feet, clutching the ship's rail, looking around wildly like a spooked animal. She saw the woman then, regarding her with predatory eyes.

"Dẹọdọ awt ke’u noiva?!" she screamed, rounding on the stranger. "Ke’u waje jasi killed eo!"

Ellen's hands were held up in a gesture that could have been taken as either surrender or ready defense. She was half-crouched, prepared to take off, wings partially unfolded, and knees trembling from the adrenaline. She'd reverted Xanthea on instinct, but as her nerves settled incrementally she licked her lips and continued in the Common tongue, not knowing what language they crew actually spoke.

"I don't mean you any harm. I needed--help, is all." She pointed to the island across the waves. "I've been stranded here for trials. The ship I was on sank in a storm."

The mixed-blood remained still, watching the woman's reaction, hands still raised and poised to make a run for it. Ellen swallowed visibly. The stranger had long black hair, deeply tanned skin, and she looked very, very pregnant.

Translations

Bäbbän! - Shit!

Dẹọdọ awt ke’u noiva?! - What are you doing?!

Ke’u waje jasi killed eo! - You could have killed me!

[Ricky]

She was still there after all. Enrick wanted to feel relieved but truthfully he couldn't, not when the lingering issue still hindered him near useless. He wasn't totally helpless of course but a lot of things he was used to did rely on his vision, and now that he no longer possessed it he floundered quite a bit. Naturally this caused him to be more frustrative and nearly short tempered, therefore moments spent interacting with Qit were typically short for safety reasons. She could've continued throwing cold shoulder at him all she wanted, but at this stage of their venture he truly held little patience for her typical behavior.

From what he could tell the wind felt gentle from behind them, but of course what could that imply to be exact? He had no sense of direction. No real way of knowing north from south, no innate capacity to determine the time of day without vision. Sure he felt the heat of the sun rays, but even that barely told him anything of the trial. Silence seemed to linger between them once more and Enrick just sat there, listening to the sounds around him with a bit of a frown. The waves sounded a little more gentler than he remembered, and the tears in his sail flapped while the fabric groaned quietly from the wind. No way he could repair those in his condition... Ultimately he was better off just trying to manage sailing, since navigation and everything else required vision.

He didn't move once however when he heard Qit speak from the front this time, merely lowered his head to a level point where he would've stared straight ahead. She'd found an island? Well that sounded promising enough. They could take a bit to resupply on essentials, food and water mostly, if the mass of land was big enough. "Island? How big?" He'd hoped it to be large but not too large, it didn't seem like a good idea for him to leave the sloop anyways. He didn't appreciate being told what to do however, and in fact nearly wanted to speak against it for just a trill. He'd grown weathered of Qit's general attitude naturally, but at the same time knew to do so in his condition invited more trouble. There didn't come an answer though as he slowly moved to rise on his feet, the wheel of his ship half-used to keep him balanced as he rose to a full stand. Had she already moved past him? He felt the underneath of the ship brush into solid ground and grimaced, hopeful that the huntress knew what she was doing in that particular moment.

In retrospect she had to. Therefore when he heard her grunt and groan with the anchor, his face lined towards the source of the noise as he tread towards the guard rail. Rough hands reached out for the familiar location of that wood he knew, but his reach fell short as his backhand tapped it with questionable elevation as well. "Shyte..." He swore with bitter thought as the hand moved from under to the top of the rail, his head craned slightly as he heard something heavy splash into the water below. "She's already lifted te anchor. And she don't need t' be." Yet what could he do to stop her? He could've easily managed to lift it on his own, if she'd just help him with communicating on where to drop and etcetera etcetera. Truly. He wanted to make himself useful as much as he could, being helpless aboard his own ship was already insulting to his own mental health.

He heard Qit do something behind him at the mainsail and for a trill remained, his hand gripped at the rail loosely so he could walk further towards the head of the ship. By the time he reached the starboard side she'd moved yet again, practically snarling and eager to hop overboard while he stood there. What was going on now?? Had she already found herself eager to hunt for something? She was such a ferocious woman and really, Enrick wouldn't have faulted her for wanting to vent out any aggression at this point. Of course that left him all alone on his boat and while he approved of the thought, knew it wasn't something he'd be able to survive if she left him longer than a couple of trials. Too much was uncertain to him now since he couldn't see anything, and regrettably he wanted to be able to look and see where she was about to go.

And then pandemonium filled his ears...

A voice screeched as large wings seemed to flap in the air somewhere close by, and Enrick's expression genuinely fell into perplexity at what he heard. What the hell was going on? Qit was likely on the hunt but what was it she hunted? And that didn't sound like Qit talking at all, it was more higher and lilted compared to the huntress. The fuck?? Enrick's guard rail groaned a bit at the sudden increase in weight there, as though something large seemed to grapple onto it. Could've been a large predator for all he knew! And he definitely wasn't in the mood for that kind of stowaway aboard his ship! "Ey, ey, ey!!!" He shouted out with his face lined out toward the source of the noise, as he could still hear what sounded like a woman exclaiming something foreign. It was indeed a woman...

One that needed their help or so she claimed, likely because she was marooned on whatever island they'd come across. "Te fek is goin on?! He called out with a downward tilt of his head, along with a slight angle adjustment to use his ears better. Qit sounded like she was in the shallows bellow, still likely on the verge of hunting who or whatever this woman was. She had survived the recent storm that hit Enrick's boat too no doubt, somehow leading right up to where they are with him being blind no less. He would've easily stepped in to intervene if he could've, however with everything going on all at once; Enrick really hadn't any clue where to step since he wasn't sure who was who and where was where in that moment.

[Qit'ria]

Common Text
Xanthean Text
Kashehino Text

Qit'ria watched as the bird came closer and closer, ready to chuck another spear at it. Until she realized what it truly was. Another Avriel. If she were a humorous person, she might find it funny, her carrying the half breed bastard of a one winged avriel, only to have yet another quite literally flop onto the deck of the Windrunner. Qit'ria didn't lower her javelin, nor her guard. This was an invader on her territory. An extremely irrational side of her wondered if this was somehow Noth's other mate, Nightshade. Qit'ria didn't know how she found out nor how she found where she was.

But she never tolerated invaders.

Though Qit'ria paused. This invader was speaking Xanthean. And she looked scared. Her arms were up defensively. Qit'ria could see the tensed wings, the limps coiled, the cracked lips, and the eyes looking for an exit. This woman didn't want to be here. Which meant that she needed to be here, despite her instincts. She was desperate. And desperate was dangerous in animals. Yet this was a woman, a person. No, Qit'ria was paranoid before. She'd been desperate, and she remembered how Faith had helped her the times she was.

She lowered the spear, and in Xanthean, "Dinith. Sev aji kïnä osise ai'troug biwonninu ke’u. Sev äṣäyän ke’u were av cazryn. Ïdäkẹjẹ hìtua ise agbese." She turned toward Enrick, the friend she'd made and yet hadn't treated like one. For his own good. She couldn't let him get close to her. Not him, not anyone. She didn't deserve friendship, love. Not until after she'd fixed what she'd broken.

She walked over past Enrick, opening one of the barrels where she'd kept the oh-deer meat. It was her own personal stash of food for the trip, in case of emergencies, special for it never spoiled. Best meat to be hunted on Scalvoris. "Enlick. Bird woman on boatship. Need help. She much scared." She slapped the top of the barrel, to seal it back down. "We go shore. Take barrel. We cook. Feed bird woman."

She moved over to one of the rain barrels, and filled up one of the spare waterskins next to it. She waddled back over to the bird woman, holding out the waterskin for her to drink. "Drink. I call Qit'ria," she then pointed at the disabled man, "He call Enlick. No see. Bad storm." She pointed at the half busted mast. "You have hurt? No is doctor. Can help some."

She looked out over the island. It was sizable, had jungle on it. That meant hunting. Meat. "We go island. Eat. Get food. Rest. We go Desnind. You come with."

Exactly what Faith would've done, right?

Qit'ria let Enlick and bird woman alone, to get acquainted and for Enlick to get to work on bringing the barrel of meat to the ship. Qit'ria could've done it, even in her condition, but he needed to work too. She wasn't going to do everything. Lazy, injured bastard. Walking over to the anchor chain, she straddled over the rail, and kept a tight grip with both her hands, and her ankles, and slid slowly down it. Once she was in the water, she pushed away from the boat and began her frog style swimming toward where she'd seen her spear hit the water. She was not about to lose another spear because of Enlick.

As she swam, she could feel her spark trying to get her to change into the ganditlip. The sword nosed dolphin fish thing would love these waters. There were tons of fish, of bright colors, and the equally colorful rock things. She swam around them, amazed at how much food was readily available. These waters weren't the same as those in Scalvoris. But in a good way. Clearer, full of much more life. And everything looked delicious.
And she was in luck, her spear had lodged deep into one of the colored rock things. Grabbing the shaft, she yanked it out, and continued to swim for shore.

She'd hunt later. They'd need a fire first. And for everyone else to get here. Enrick could deal with bird woman, he was probably better with people anyways. And she didn't talk much on this trip. Part of her felt bad for shutting him out. But it was for his own good. Or so she'd keep telling herself.

Dinith = Calm.
Sev aji kïnä osise ai'troug biwonninu ke’u = I am sorry for almost killing you.
Sev äṣäyän ke’u were av cazryn. = I thought you were a bird.
Ïdäkẹjẹ hìtua ise agbese = We will help.

[Maltruism]

MOD BOMB!!

Fate delights in the unlikely....

What were the odds that a javelin, thrown from the deck of a surface vessel, would lodge in precisely the point between two merging banks of coral in such position as to bring enough leverage to weaken the base of one of them? The weapon's slim girth would not seem to provide anywhere near the amount of pressure needed.

Of course the bit of rocking and rotation to widen the point of penetration enough to withdraw the weapon would have some small increase in the leverage against it. But surely mortals had been loosening things from coral reefs for hundreds of arcs without breaking off entire shelves of them. Or were there other forces at work here?

The wash of current, and splash of her own kicking, was more than sufficient to prevent Qit from hearing the brittle cracking sounds sputtering behind her. The coral formation her javelin had lodged in surged strangely up as it broke free, releasing an oddly spherical formation of rock that bore no color to match the patterns it left behind as it floated to the surface.

There were a few bits of coral that clung to it as it bobbed to the surface beside the anchored vessel. Only a genuinely discriminating eye could tell that it defied the surface ebbs and flows to occasionally tap the side of the hull, as if lightly knocking on a door. But most such eyes would not be getting far beyond the shock of seeing what appeared to be a 3-foot diameter sphere of rock floating in the water.

Off Topic

So, three PCs, all sailing MY ocean. And not a one of you thought to sign the roster!
You shall pay for your insolence!

[Ellen'wyn]

Ellen relaxed incrementally when the woman finally lowered the tip of her spear. There was something familiar about the way she held herself, her appearance, and the general aura about her. When the stranger suddenly spoke in Xanthean, the redhead visibly jumped. The dark hair, olive skin, and predatory demeanor all seemed like a dead giveaway in hindsight. Ellen couldn't help but smile a little.

"You're Sev'ryn," she observed aloud.

Qit'ria--she introduced herself as such--seemed to come to a decision quickly. Bustling about, she explained their current situation and their plan. So they were heading to Desnind. Could she be any more fortuitous? Although their vessel was damaged, which before the redhead had been altogether too excited to notice, the Sev'ryn woman didn't seem perturbed by the predicament.

"Yes, I have a camp near the beach. We will go there. Thank you..."

And there was another among them. Ellen followed Qit'ria's motion, standing relaxed now as she pushed a full waterskin into her hands but then froze. She wasn't quite sure if she was seeing things properly. Perhaps the intense sun playing tricks on her, or maybe she was dehydrated. Ellen mumbled a quick thanks to the woman, though she couldn't look away from her companion.

There was a bandage over his eyes and he was scruffy from the journey, but he was unmistakable. She would have recognized him anywhere. Her mouth felt suddenly dry, and she only just peeled her eyes away in time to see the other woman depart over the railing to fetch her discarded spear. Ellen released the heavy breath she'd been holding, hands shaking, not sure how to answer the sailor's frustrated questions.

His injuries had blinded him it seemed, and the thought made her gut twist. He stood motionless as she approached, bare feet quiet on the smooth deck of his small ship. Ellen paused several feet from him, silent and intent. She remembered him from her dreams. Appearing before her now, some of those foggier memories came rushing back with a gust of air off the waves.

"Enrick?" the half-breed asked tentatively, voice small and quiet.

She sat the waterskin at her feet and shuffled a little closer, reaching out to him. Ellen touched his arm carefully, barely brushing them with her fingers, not altogether sure if he was truly real. Was this another dream? Would she suddenly wake up on the island, alone as she had been these past trials? Perhaps this was a fantasy cooked up out of desperation. A sort of escape for the mind.

Yet he felt real. The redhead loosed another shaky breath, daring to reach for his fingers. As they touched his, she paused and pulled away, cocking her head suddenly as a strange noise registered.

Tap... tap... tap...

As if something was knocking against wood, rhythmic and steady as the waves against the hull. Ellen turned.

"What--?"

OOC

Well this should be interesting.

[Ricky]

Enrick could only observe through one important sense in this particular moment, as it sounded like who or whatever boarded his ship was large and humanoid. There came to be an exchange between the panicked lilted voice and the sharp lower tones Qit tended to growl. Yet they were more complacent than her normal statements, and finally took to address him after their brief conversation in the foreign language he heard. Xanthea. How he couldn't wait to hear the words and understand them, know what the language of his forebears meant and even speak amongst them. But from what he heard Qit say, he could only raise his eyebrows in surprise. Bird woman? He had never heard of such a thing, but somehow the term used created a idea the reference. Probably far from the truth when he imagined the crossover, of a half human half birdlike woman aboard his vessel.

Whoever this 'we' was remained a mystery as Enrick only knew him and Qit to be aboard up til now, then again she was always just as bad at Common if not worse than Enrick. His was due to the accent though while Qit... was a combination of that and just butchered words altogether. "No worries," He murmured with his hand raised into a wave awkwardly, "Oi'll just, y' know, hang 'ere and make sure she's alroit." Though he wasn't sure if it were aimed in the right direction, he shot a brief smile just to enthuse on the rhetoric he posed. Whether or not Qit saw it was of course missed since he proved blind, needless to say he held onto the guard rail of his boat to listen further with what transpired next. Qit'roa must've provided her with water because he heard the word drink, which then led towards introductions for her as well as himself. Though he grimaced a bit when he heard her pronounce it, Enlick certainly not the name he'd want others to throw around upon a whim. No matter, he'd correct that when she wandered off.

Sure enough the sound of water splashing implied that one of them had gone, which had to have been Qit since she was determined to head out and hunt. Perfect. Now he was all alone with a stranger he couldn't see, and somewhere deep down he hoped they weren't psychopathic by any means. Otherwise he'd be having a very bad trial, struggling to fight off some murderous croon because they wanted his ship. He wouldn't put it past someone to do such a thing, especially if they went crazy from being marooned on an island for so long. But... somehow the air suddenly possessed a more earthy scent, a salted sort of musk as though nature somehow loomed closer than the sea. Was this person closer to him now? His eyebrows folded and for once he wished he could've seen who was aboard, knowing it would only pose risk of exposing his injury to the world.

And then the mystery woman spoke his name. Strange. She sounded more human than bird, but what fascinated him more was that she said his name. His name. Not the one Qit'roa shared earlier. Eyebrows tried to furrow beneath the bandages as he answered with a "Yes?" at the inquiry. Did this person somehow know him? When they had just met? Fucking seven hells. It was hard trying to discern anything with just sound and smell alone, if he could actually see who this person was then maybe... fingers seemed to prod at his arm subtly as though they were testing him. Why he didn't know for sure. Were they testing to see if he'd react? He did in a way as he moved his head almost to imply he'd looked at the brush against his skin, aside from that though he didn't do much else initially except reach over with his other hand. He tried to cover whatever had brushed his skin, only to find nothing but his forearm underneath the calloused palm. Dammit he was not in the mood for games. If whoever was there intended to tease him, then...

Thunk.

What the hell was that.

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.

He felt faint brief vibrations through the wood with each tap of whatever that was, his body turned towards the guard rail as he leaned into it. What was that? Why was something bumping into the side of his ship? It couldn't have been Qit could it? He growled a little flustered by his disability, as he tried ad to rely on the other pair of eyes present. "What is t'at? Somethin' bangin' on m' ship?"

[Qit'ria]

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Qit'ria hadn't heard the cracking and breaking of the coral and stone, nor had she seen the large, round chunk rise up, floating in the ocean and knocking against the wood. She had her spear, and her focus was obvious. Get to the island, settle in, distance herself from the man who seemed insistent on getting chummy with her, distance herself from this new bird woman. And so, she swam, in a half frog fashion, using the up stroke to pop her torso out of the water to catch air.

As she neared the shore, she saw the waves crashing into the beach ahead. She paused, treading water as the current lightly pulled her toward the beach. She'd have to deal with the large waves somehow, she couldn't afford to be thrown about like a coconut while she was heavy with child. She looked back toward the ship in a moment of hesitation and self doubt, only to now see the floating rock knocking into the ship.

That was... strange. Rocks don't float. Qit might not know much in this world, but she knew that much. Her curiosity was piqued, much more so than any sense of concern or danger. A floating rock. That could be interesting. And so, she turned around, and began the slow, swimming crawl back toward the ship. She moved slower, keeping her eyes fixated on the clear waters beneath her, able to see the coral and seaweed and the like below, but primarily looking ahead. She wanted to see if the floating rock had more friends. She wondered if it was a lost earth stone spirit, stuck out here in the ocean. If it was, it would be scared, she assumed, and she'd have to help it.

Javelin still in hand, she frogswam toward the ship, toward the rock, looking for anything strange or related to this phenomenon in the surrounding waters. Once she got to it, she saw it bouncing off the ship's hull lightly. She wondered if it was a hollow rock. Maybe that was why it floated. It didn't sound heavy. getting right up next to it, she didn't call for the blindman and the bird girl. She just reached out and touched it with a few fingers, experimenting. She wanted to see how it moved, see if it did anything more than just float.