Wading thigh deep into the water, basket in one hand and knife in the other, Koi walked along the rocky outlet. Clusters of mussels clung to the rocks, and she had been tasked with the job of harvesting some for supper.
Which was a real bore, as far as she was concerned.
She would rather be surfing.
With a huff, Koi slid her knife beneath a mussel and worked it back and forth, finally prying it from the rock and flinging it into her basket.
"Yeah, I don't like it either," she spoke to the basket--and the pile of mussels already there. "Just think, I could be out there on the waves, and you could still be clinging to your rock all fat and happy. But noooo, I get the boring job today, you get boiled alive and eaten, and neither of us get what we want. Bummer, huh? Oh, don't look at me like that. No, no, I saw that look, don't act like I didn't. Now you listen, you take it up with my brother, he's the fun sucker responsible for this whole mess."
Her knife pried another mussel free, and another mussel clattered into the basket.
She stared into the basket and scowled. "Boy. You know you're going crazy with boredom when you start thinking shells make good company."
The basket was growing a little heavy and the tide had started to come in, so she reached up and set the basket atop one of the rocks, up and out of the water. The mussels here were a little deeper now that she'd collected the ones closest to the surface, so she found herself having to submerge herself to reach the ones below. Holding her breath, she slipped under the water, pried a few more mussels free with that breath, and then surfaced.
But when she went to toss the mussels into her basket, she found it was gone.
"What...? Oh! Oh no! No, no, no! No you didn't!"
A group of seabirds had seen that as an opportunity and had descended upon the basket, knocking it out of reach and scrambling to strip the shells of their meat. Cursing loudly, Koi flailed through the water and struggled to find her footing so she could pull herself out.
"Shoo! Shoo! Go away you nasty things! AUGH! You have got to be kidding me!"
The morning's catch had been plentiful, and Narron had supplied many with their daily fish. He himself had a basketful waiting at home, but now was his time to relax. The wind was practically calling for him, and Narron could not resist the urge to stretch out his sore, bounded wings and fly. All was peaceful, until he heard some distant cries of distress.
Huh?
Startled, Narron looked down to find a flock of seagulls and a girl dancing about. He was very high up, but when he squinted his eyes, he saw that there was a basket and that the girl was trying to shoo the birds away. Curious, Narron swooped down to get a better view. Sure enough, mussels were everywhere and the girl was desperately trying to fend the seagulls from the shells.
"It's Koi," he muttered to himself. They knew each other, and had watched each other grow up some. They've had conversations now and then, though Narron couldn't really remember the last time they did.
She needs help, he thought, his expression solemn.
"OOOOOOOIII!" he shouted at the top of his lungs as he blocked the sun. He swooped in until he was only a few feet away from the seagulls, flapping his wings in a way he hoped was intimidating.
Koi had finally pulled herself up and onto the rocks and was doing her best to chase away the birds when, suddenly, a larger bird swooped down and let out a terrifying cry.
The seabirds weren't the only ones startled.
"AHHHH!" Koi shrieked, stumbling backwards and falling on her rear, arms going up to shield her face. With squawks of fright, the birds scattered, but not before grabbing a few more mussels before they took to the air in a shower of feathers and droppings.
Panting, feeling like her life had been startled right out of her, Koi slowly lowered her arms and peeked out.
And saw that it was Narron.
"Oi, you!" She grabbed an empty shell and chucked it at his chest, then darted to her feet. "What was that?! You about scared the pee outta me!"
Narron broke out into a hearty chuckle as he watched the seagulls fly away. Yeah, he knew that would work! Plus, despite Koi's wretched state, he couldn't help but to laugh as she indignantly fell over. Once the birds were gone, though, he flew in closer, a little concerned.
"Hey are you-" he started to ask, but then Koi chucked an empty shell at his chest. Confused, Narron perched himself on a rock, rubbing his chest.
"I was helping you," he replied with a scowl, his feelings a little hurt.
She's more ill mannered than I remembered.
"You could say thank you, yeah?" he said as he picked up a nearby mussel and examined it.
Empty.
He tossed it into the ocean and watched the water ripple.
Narron's answer quickly humbled her.
"Oh..." A blush rose to Koi's cheeks and her eyes widened in realization. Whoops. That, uh. That did make more sense than him swooping down to randomly scare her, but she'd gotten so caught up in the moment, fending off all those annoying birds, that she'd really mistaken him for a giant bird and, well...it was so dumb and silly in retrospect but it had really startled her.
"Oh. Uh. Heh..." She gave a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of her neck, ducking her head. Oh man. Now she felt bad. "Thank you. Really! Er, sorry about that. I guess I got all, you know...into it and well..."
She gave a light laugh and looked off to the side, voice lowering to a mutter. "I kinda maybe thought you were a giant bird? Ha ha?"
Narron nodded, satisfied by Koi's apology. Her explanation, however, completely baffled him.
"A... giant... bird?" he repeated, his eyes wide. Suddenly, Narron threw his head back, roaring with laughter. The man thought it was the height of hilariously. Him! A giant bird! hadn't Koi been around the people of the village long enough to know the difference? Of course she had. The silly girl, but who could blame her! Narron supposed the mistake was plausible.
"I'm sorry for scaring you," he said as he reached for a shell.
"Let me to help you," he pleaded, examining it to see if there was anything inside. Narron frowned.
"Greedy birds, eh?," he muttered as he tossed it aside.
Koi's face turned a darker shade of red as he threw his head back and laughed. And yet, embarrassment quickly turned to laughter of her own as the fright faded and she began to think rationally again--and see the humor in it.
Giggling sheepishly, she smacked his shoulder lightly. "Oh hush, you! The sun made it hard to see and there were so many birds and I just--" Yeah, okay, she should have known. Since when were there any human-sized birds around here? Aside from the humans themselves. She let her hand drop back down to her side. "I just got caught up in the moment?"
She was sure not going to refuse his help, though, that was for sure!
Most of the shells were, sadly, empty, except for some that were still in the basket. Sighing, Koi began to make a pile of the empty shells. "Very greedy, the nasty things," she muttered. "I was almost done, too! Now I have to do it all over again--oh! Put the empty ones over here." She pointed to her pile. "The insides are pretty."
Narron chuckled warmly at the girl's bumbling moment while he picked through the shells. Koi was right. Most of them were pretty much useless, now.
"That's a shame," he said, chucking another into the ocean. Narron was about to throw a third when she suggested to put the empty ones into a pile. Her frowned while he checked the insides. Well, yes, they were, he supposed. Suddenly, he had an idea.
"The traiders might like these," Narron suggested eagerly. "I've heard that not all their shores are lined with shells like ours. You could trade it for something from across the ocean."
"Think so?" Koi said, perking up. "I mean, I've made some stuff with 'em before, necklaces and such, but ya think those folks would be like...interested in 'em? In just the shells?"
She glanced at the growing pile, chewing her lip in thought. The jewellery making was nothing serious; just something to pass the time and put the empty shells to use, since it seemed such a waste to dump them. Other people made shell-jewellery that was much fancier and prettier than the stuff she made. Still, she had never made the connection that the foreign traders would be interested in exchanging anything for something that was so plentiful here.
"Hmm..." she mused. "Have you been there before? Met any traders, I mean?"
Narron laughed agreeably at Koi's question.
"Maybe," he said.
"I work at the port," he explained as he continued to neatly pile the shells.
"I sell my fish to the sailors. I even can speak some of their funny words."
Narron's chest swelled with pride at this skill.
"You've really never seen any before?" he asked.
Koi settled down on her knees as she helped collect the shells.
"Well, I met one. But all I really know how to say is, 'speak Yoreiqi?'" She let out a laugh, shaking her head. "Very useful, right? My sister taught me that; said it'd be useful if I met anyone, haha. Tried to teach me more but I didn't have the patience at the time. My tongue didn't wanna cooperate."
She tilted her head. "I've never been to Ainu, though..." she said, then beamed a bright smile at him. "What's it like?"
Narron laughed along with Koi at her accent.
"That's very good!" he complimented. His eyes widened in surprise. Really? The girl had never been to the port? Well, the man supposed that miles by foot were traveled a lot slower than miles in air. Everything was just so much faster with wings. Narron really on traveled by foot in long distances if he was with others or he had to carry many things or if it was raining. He often took advantage of the freedom his wings gave him.
"It's big," he said. "There are many boats from over seas."
Narron spent the next few minutes describing the giant ships, "as big as whales, even" and the different sort of people.
"Some are really pale, almost as white as the clouds. Others have skin as dark as ash. There are even some with pointed ears and funny eyes that can do magic. "
And their clothes! All sorts of material, most that couldn't be found on the island, but were common in the main land.
"Some are nice, but others think that they're better than most people on the island," he said. Narron smiled.
"I think it's because their language is so tricky," he teased. "They call it Common? Many, many people speak it across kingdoms. I only know enough to pass by simple conversation. And to sell fish."
He paused before continuing.
"Would you like to go, one day?" He asked.
Koi was fascinated by his colorful descriptions, though she had to laugh at some of them. Boats as big as whales? That was a tough one to believe, and she had a suspicion that he was pulling her leg. And people with pointed ears like animals or skin like clouds? She laughed at the images that conjured, but looking at Narron's wings, maybe it wasn't so strange at all? Their people had wings like birds, after all, so ears like animals? Alright, so maybe she could see it.
She laughed. "Well, they can have their tricky language. I bet I could beat any of them surfing," she said with a grin.
"But it sounds very interesting! I'd like to see it, if you don't mind translating." She paused. "Or, y'know, teaching. But I wanna see those boats! No way they're big as whales."
Narron laughed okay.
"Okay, maybe a baby whale," he said. "But they're really big in the inside!"
He smiled bashfully.
"Of course I could teach you," he said. "Though I'm not very good. Some of the others, though, are really talented. But before that..."
He continued to pile up the shells. Soon, they were all collected. Narron scolded himself for wasting their time.
"Koi, do you want to catch more today?" he asked, pointed towards the empty mussel shells. "You wanted the food, right?"
"I'll take your word on it," Koi said with a grin, and it was obvious by her expression that she still didn't believe him. "And I will take you up on that offer, by the way. Don't get all shy on me! I'm sure you're great and besides, it's not like I'll know if your accent's off or your pronunciation's wrong!"
But there were more important things to deal with, at the moment, than proving or disproving the existence of these giant boats or learning new languages. Koi heaved a sigh at his question and let her shoulders slouch.
"I shouldn't go home empty-handed," she mumbled, looking sadly at the empty shells. Only a small handful had survived the birds, and that certainly wasn't enough for a meal. "It was my turn to cook tonight, and they'll never buy the 'attacked by birds' excuse."
With another sigh, she slipped back down into the water with a light splash, and reached up for the basket.
"At least this time around I got a 'giant bird' to guard me, eh?" she said with a cheeky grin.
Narron laughed at Koi's jab.
"Yes. A very scary one," he said in a way that was not intimidating in the least.
He stepped into the water after her, his breeches pressing against his skin.
"Don't worry," Narron continued, bending down as black and red hair spilled over hs shoulders.
"We'll get plenty. Ah.."
His eyes narrowed as he looked down the shore, looking for mussels on the rocks. They built up high by the water. Narron waded towards one that was more into the the tide, the waves crashing against his torso. He frowned. They had one problem.
"Koi!" he said. "Do you have an extra knife?"
He shrugged.
"A sharp rock works too, I think."
Koi snorted. "Weeeeak!" she said. "I don't even have wings and even I could do a better big, scary bird." But she was grinning as she said it, showing she was only teasing, and then it was time to get to work.
Sigh.
She followed him into the water, wet sarong clinging to her legs, and then blinked at his question.
"Oh. That would help, huh?" With a laugh for forgetting the obvious, she handed him her knife and basket. Why not? He'd asked! And besides, she'd spent the last hour (or maybe not, her sense of time lengthened when she was doing something she didn't want to do) prying off mussels so she deserved a little break.
"You can use that for now. I'll go see if I can find a good rock!" she said, and turned to wade back up to the shore, hoping she could find a flat enough rock with a sharp enough edge.
"Perhaps," Narron replied with a coy smile as he reached out for the rock and basket. He placed the basket on the rocks beside him as he used the knife to pry the mussel away from the rock.
"I haven't done this in a while," the fisherman admitted as it fell to his feet. "A long while."
Narron bent to pick the mussel up and carefully placed it into the basket. As a fisherman, he didn't have to mussel hunt on the beach, like this. If he wasn't in the mood for fish, he could just trade. That was how it was. No, the last time he hunted on the beach like this was when he was a young boy, barely old enough to be able to fly properly. After prying off a couple more of the mussels, he turned towards the girl.
He was going to ask if she found one, but before he could even get to the first word, the man's sentence was lost when he saw something floating his way. It was wood, though not like the wood from trees that sometimes fell into the water. It was carved wood, bobbing its way towards the rocks, the edges jagged. Whatever it belonged to was smashed to bits.
"Koi," Narron sharply called out as he reached into the water. He touched it and pulled his hand back.
"Ow," he muttered, pulling out a splinter. Narron winced, but reached for the wood, again, careful this time. It was bigger and heavier than he had thought, so he needed both hands. It was engraved with curious patterns of plants from across the sea. A woman was carved on it, as well.
"This belonged to a ship," he stated, confused. Narron knit his eyebrows together as his lips pressed together as he scanned the ocean.
None of this boded well.
"There's no real art to it," Koi said with a laugh, peering at Narron from over her shoulder as she bent to search the rocks. "You just pry 'em free and--aha!"
Her fingers had just closed on an appropriate stone when she heard Narron call out to her--and there was something strange and different about his tone, something serious, that made her snap upright and turn around.
Her brow creased at the object he held, and she made her way over to him and waded into the water. "A ship?" she repeated, and reached out gingerly to touch the wood, lightly tracing the face of the woman carved into it. She was careful to avoid the jagged edges where it was obvious that the wood had been snapped. "You mean like your 'whale sized' ones?"
She looked up at him and frowned as though expecting him to tell her what this meant, and then voiced her thoughts aloud.
"...If it belonged on a ship, what's it doing out here?" she asked, not liking the possible answers.
That was when she smelled it.
Her nose wrinkled. Smoke, wafting over the salt and brine. "You smell that?"
Narron didn't say anything for a while, though he didn't ignore Koi's questions. He tried to piece an answer to them in his head, but they didn't seem to fit together.
"Ugh," he muttered as the rancid smell hit his nose. He looked down the shore to see the raising smoke. The beach was a rocky one, and their sight was obscured by a wall of rock. Off the shore, he knew, was a small cove and rocks. It was hard to reach by foot, and unsafe to fly over because of the ocean, but it was a mystical place. Mermaids and sirens were often seen there, their voices could be heard from the beaches. But smoke coming from that direction scarcely meant much good.
"Somebody might be in trouble," Narron said as he approached Koi.
"We're going to fly, okay?" he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Hold around my neck."
Narron grabbed her waist, and Koi's eyes lit up.
"We're gonna fly?" she repeated, and her heart lurched. She'd never flown before (cliff-dived? Surfed? Yes!), but rather than scare her, the idea thrilled her. With a grin, she wrapped her arms around the man's neck and clasped her hands to ensure a secure grip. While she knew the situation was serious, people potentially being in trouble and all, it was difficult keeping a sober expression, and she tried and failed to smooth away her smile.
"Fantastic! You ever done this before? Carry people?"
"Yes, naturally," Narron replied. He couldn't help but to broadly grin.
He enjoyed giving rides to others because it made them so happy. However, he did not think that whatever they were about to see was going to be very happy, but he decided not to ruin the sensation for Koi just yet.
"Ready?" asked Narron as he bent his knees, and suddely he launched himself up into the air, his powerful wings flapping loudly. They rose higher and higher, straight up. He shifted their position so that they were flying horizontally now.
"Look down," Narron advised Koi. "Don't worry, though. I've got you."
Below them was the beach and the boundless ocean. Below them also was the giant rock wall and beyond that, the mysterious cove, but it was not mermaids or other people like them at the jagged rocks. Instead, a giant boat was crashed against them and set ablaze. A mermaid wailed as sirens swarmed, searching for a lost soul to claim. Narron took in a sharp breath.
"There might still be some that are alive," he muttered.
Even bold and brave as she tended to be (or maybe that was just daredevil recklessness), nothing could have prepared her for the sensation of flight and, despite herself, she gasped and clung tighter to his neck. She was a little embarrassed to admit that she closed her eyes, like her first time cliff-jumping on a dare, as her stomach lurched from the force of gravity and the air rushed passed her. And then she held tight when she felt them shift positions in the air, and could swear that for an instant her heart stopped.
When Narron spoke, she cracked her eyes open. Wind was rushing passed them, making her eyes water a little, but she turned her head and looked. There was an initial jolt of surprise at how high they were, and so quickly, and the fleeting thought that if they fell they wouldn't survive. But the instinctual fear soon gave way to wonder. She could practically see the entire island!
"Beautiful," she breathed, delighted. "You get to this all the time? Sooo not fair!" Why couldn't she have been born with wings, too?
But the wonder didn't last long. Another, grimmer sight came into view.
Koi grimaced, and couldn't even appreciate that Narron hadn't been lying about the size of the boats.
"We'll have to hurry if there are," she said. "Look at the sirens..."
"Yes," Narron muttered.
He had to check, there was no time to not do anything otherwise, but at the same time he did not want to put Koi's life in danger. He gently carried Koi down to the the top of the rock wall.
"Stay here," he said with a frown as he gently put her down.
"I can't carry you there, it's too dangerous!"
Before she could argue, Narron bolted for the ship. He circled around it a couple of times. The amount of smoke alarmed him- he had never seen a fire so large before. The smoke was overwhelming. He jerked in midair, covering his mouth as he violently coughed, his eyes watering.
"HELLO?" he bellowed.
But there was nothing. Nothing alive, except a shadow moved past Narron's vision and a loud splash and shrieks rang out.
Narron zoomed to the starboard side of the ship, where two sirens were dragging a body.
"NO!" he shouted as he flew in. The sirens hissed at the man, but Narron grabbed firmly to the limp body, roared like a lion, and flapped his giant wings. Narron was not a frightening man, but he somehow fooled the sirens into *thinking* he was for just a moment before he yanked at the body and flew back up towards Koi. He settled the body next to her before sitting off at the side, hacking up his lungs.
"It's awful," he muttered, wiping the sweat off his brow. He turned to look at the person he had taken out of the water.
The sailor in question was pale skinned, their flesh suffering from burns on the neck and right shoulder. They had long blonde hair, tall, and appeared to be a woman.
"Is she alive?" he asked Koi, looking out towards the water again.
"I should go back..." he said, though Narron had a gut feeling it was useless.
"But--!" Koi started to protest, but it was too late. Narron was airborne, and Koi could do little but watch helplessly as he took off to circle the wreckage...
It was hard to make out much from her vantage point; the smoke was too thick, the scene too chaotic. But even as she watched, she knew his decision was the right one. If she had gone down there, she would have been drowned. She was a powerful swimmer, but that would do her no good against the sirens, who would knock her into the water and dash her against the rocks.
As it looked like they were about to do to some poor sailor.
Narron! she shouted in her head, chewing her thumbnail in anxiety, because she knew he wouldn't hear her out loud. But just when it looked like the sailor was dead, he swooped in and grabbed the sailor.
Thank the spirits, she thought as he returned, and she backed up to give him and his precious cargo space.
"Are ya okay? You're not hurt?" she asked, first looking him over, and then blinking down at the woman. She didn't look okay.
She didn't look like she was breathing.
With a startled curse, Koi dropped to her knees beside her, felt her neck for life, and then, pinching the woman's nose shut, began to blow hard into her mouth, hoping to return some life to her.
The woman sputtered, violently heaving up watery vomit and ash. She fluttered her eyes open for a brief moment and muttered something unintelligent to herself before passing out once more.
Narron returned, his body and wings covered in ash.
"Let's go, " he said, coughing, a sad look in his eye.
He felt weighed down by the ship wreck. Nothing. There was nothing left but this lone survivor.
He lifted the woman in his arms.
"Koi, climb onto my back and wrap your arms around my neck," he instructed. They'd be slow, but he could not bring himself to leave either women on the rocks for another moment longer.
Koi's shoulders slouched in relief when the woman breathed, but she didn't relax for long. With a nod at Narron, she climbed to her feet and moved around to his back. There was no time to waste; they needed to get out of here and get that woman tended to, because though she was alive, she wasn't yet out of danger. Though she didn't look injured, there could be internal injuries, too.
Moving carefully between Narron's wings, Koi wrapped her arms around his neck and hung on, bracing herself for flight.
"You're gonna be okay?" she asked. "This isn't gonna be too heavy? 'Cause if it is, I can wait! That girl, she's the priority here. So if you gotta, take her first, alright?" She glared out at the sirens in the distance. "I can handle a couple feathery hags."
Narron frowned, not much liking the idea of Koi fighting sirens.
"You can't," he simply said as he took off with both women in tow.
It was a slow and painful flight. Koi was right in that he was stretching his limits. He had never tried to fly with two people before, and though the fisherman was very, very strong, the distribution of weight was uncomfortable. He took deep breaths as he held the unconscious woman close to him, taking faith that Koi knew to cling for her life. He concentrated on the safety of the beach.
He landed hard and fell over, the woman tumbling out of his arms.
Narron groaned, cursing his clumsiness.
"Koi!" he exclaimed, coughing out sand.
Nevermind his aching bones, the women were more important.
(The thread said open, hoping it still applies)
Azerius had watched the whole thing unfold from his position further down the beach, where he emerged from his portal a meter in each direction the sand beneath it turned to glass. He approached the couple with the unconscious woman as he said simply "Your lady friend seems to be in a bit of trouble, would you like some assistance with her?"
He looked at the two of them and waited for an answer, but he did look out of place, wearing blood red plate mail on a beach, and his skin seemed so pale on his unhelmeted face as he spoke, wind blowing his long white hair inland as if pointing to it, he smiled and bowed "Azerius, glad to make your acquaintances"
Indeed, Koi did know to cling for her life, and cling she did! Or at least she did until Narron crash landed in the soft sand, sending her and the other woman sprawling.
For a moment, Koi just lay there face down in the damp sand, which she was covered in. She hadn't been injured in the fall save for a little bruising, but her limbs were sore and tired from holding on so tightly, and for a few seconds she just didn't have the energy to do more than that as she got her bearings. Finally, though, she lifted up onto her elbows and shook her hair from her face, and spit out salty sand. Served her right for not keeping her mouth shut!
"Blech! Ugh...I'm over here, Narron," she called, and started to wipe sand from her face and eyes before she realized that would be a bad idea when her hands were as sandy as the rest of her. It would be a fantastic way to grind sand into her eyes, though! "Ow. Ya really gotta work on your landing--oh!"
The other woman!
Looking around, Koi spotted her laying face up in the sand a few feet away. With a grunt, Koi crawled to her and checked her over to make sure she was still breathing, and that no bones had been broken in the tumble. "Oh...whew...she's still okay." She paused, reconsidered, and added, "Well, okay as she can be now. Not so sure how okay she'll be when she wakes."
Considering she had lost all her people...
"Spirits, Narron, what are we--"
But before she could finish her sentence, a person was suddenly there! A tall one, wearing red armor with strange skin and hair!
It was so unexpected, so sudden, and he looked so out of place--not to mention she couldn't understand a word he spoke!--that Koi cut off with a yelp and grabbed the woman. "Narron!"
Narron coughed, clutching his chest. He needed water, and smelt like smoke.
"Sorry," he replied as he rose to his feet, rolling his shoulders. His body ached all over, too! He looked over at Koi, but something in the distance caught his eye. He stared at the approaching figure, his mouth agape. Someone... had climbed out of the sand. Were they a spirit ?! At Koi's squel, he rushed to stand in front of the women. If he had to fight...
But the spirit seemed friendly. It looked human, too. Narron stared nervously at the armor. Help. The figure was offering them help?
"No," Narron quickly said before changing his mind. He shook his head, vigorously. His knowledge of Common suddenly failed him, due to the state of shock.
"Yes. Yes please. Come. This way. We take you... our house," he clumsily replied.
He turned to Koi.
"He wants to help," he said rapidly in their language. "I don't know if we can trust him. I don't know if he came with her. I don't know.... Let me."
Narron bent to pick up the unconscious woman, carrying her carefully in his arms. He turned towards the newcomer as he began to trudge across the beach.
"You are from the ship?" he asked Azerius, cautiously.
Azerius smiled as he realise his error when Marron spoke to Koi and instantly switched languages perfectly "No I'm not from the ship, I am but a humble observer, come to offer my help if I can, but honestly you both need attention too, that was some landing is all." Azerius was smiling, he had a strange way of indoctrination if he could, he would often befriend his potential cultists, and this Narron thought he was a spirit.
Azerius followed as requested, smiling but looking at the three, weighing them up, observing their damage, Narron put out his shoulder, Koi was bruised and the woman was unconscious, slung over Narron he could see that she had broken ribs and a broken arm, maybe a fractured skull seeing as she was unconscious but that was all. Azerius spoke to the pair "So who are you both? Koi and Narron I got but who are you to society?"
Koi stuck close to Narron and shot uneasy looks at the red man. Where had he even come from? He had come out of nowhere, and that was what startled her more than anything. Was he even human?
But...he knew their language?
She felt herself relax a little when he began to speak their tongue, though, because there was something comforting about being able to understand someone. Especially since his words were far from hostile; they were helpful, concerned even. Though his last question was a little strange. Who were they to society?
"Uh..."
Koi tossed the man a look from over her shoulder, brow knit with confusion. She thought she understood what he meant: what was their role in society, their job. But for her, that was a difficult question to answer, because she never had found her place.
"I, uh...I surf?" she offered up sheepishly.
Narron took in a sharp breath at the sudden switch of language. Not many bothered to learn their tongue.
"Your Yoreiqi is very... good," Narron hesitantly said.
Very few foreigners actually spoke it fluently, such as this one, who was dressed most impractically. He didn't bother humoring the spirits question, too focused on the nature of the emergency. What did their jobs have to do with anything? Narron smelled like fish. It was obvious what he did! Still, too polite to actually ignore the spirit, he managed a reply.
"I am not important, right now," he said. "What may we call you? The village is not far. They will be glad to welcome you, so long as you carry no weapons."
Narron looked down at the woman he cradled in his arms. She had let out a soft groan. Was she starting to rouse? That might be a good sign. Narron started to walk faster.
Azerius smiled and gave a curt bow "My name is Azerius, pleasure to make your acquaintances" he smiled as he carried on, considering he pulls his weapons from his body, he just looked like a big, handsome gentleman wearing clothes I'll suited to the environment, not that he could feel it, he felt he had to explain it since they were giving him funny looks "I apologise my attire doesn't fit the usual clothing, I just feel a little more protected wearing this". This felt strange for him since his armour was his skin, but he couldn't tell them that, people generally don't respond well to being near demons.
He smiled at the one named Narron as he said "I apologise for frightening you with the language change, I'm quite good with languages honestly." He smiled at the two of them but then grew concerned "But I'm not important right now, this woman needs help". It was strange because he could heal her pretty easily, but that may set people on edge.
Koi gave Azerius an odd look. "Protected from what?" she asked, eying the weapons he carried uneasily. True, there were many large beasts lurking in the jungles, but the armor and weapons seemed like overkill here, on the beach. Unless he planned on hunting sharks? In which case, that heavy armor would have him sinking, and he didn't even have the right weapons for that. Or a boat, from the looks of it.
It was possible he'd been hunting, of course, but...that had to be hot, wearing all that.
"You're safe here. No one's gonna attack you. Oh!"
The woman groaned, and Koi turned her attention back to she and Narron. "Is she awake?"
Narron pursed his lips at the mention of the weapons. He didn't know what to make out of those strange handles, and he didn't really see any swords, but he supposed they WERE weapons. He was trusting this stranger less and less.
"I mean not to offend, friend, but weapons like that aren't allowed on the island," he pointed out, slowly. "Your knowledge of our language is perfect. You must've had a good teacher. They would be glad to see you again. Surely they would have taught you this custom. And Koi's right, except sometimes sirens come near the shore..."
Narron couldn't help but to grin.
"But I don't think you're planning on going swimming in that," he pointed out.
He shook his head at Koi's question.
"No, not yet," he replied. He was wrong. The woman half opened her eyes and muttered something in Common. Though Narron was no doctor, he could see the delirium in her pale green eyes. She fell back asleep. In the distance, Narron could make out smoke from large cooking fires and the gleeful shouts of children and neighbors greeting each other. Narron was grateful for the comfort of its familiarity.
"Koi, run ahead," he urged. "Find a healer. Get the elders. They'd want to know about this."
Azerius smiled at the pair and said calmly and upbeat "My apologies or my weapons, they are purely for self defense and deterring though I must say, I can discard the weapons if you'd like, but anywhere can be dangerous, bandits, highwayman, they're all going to avoid me if I draw these?".
He frowned "I do suppose that the counter blow to that is it sets the more genuine people on edge ... Give me a moment" with that he disappeared behind a tree and took out his swords, putting them together as pressing his hand into the tree, emitting a miasma into it that hollowed it out, placing the swords in it and hoping nobody saw his magic since he'd done his best to hide it. He returned to Marron and said "The swords will be fine there for now, and it should let people be a little calmer about me, speaking of which, do you want me to carry her for a while, you've carried her for a while now." He held his arms out and awaited for an answer, not completely expecting to hand off the girl but hoping that he could build trust a bit more by doing so
Koi nodded at Narron, pausing only because she was uncertain whether she should leave him with this stranger or not. But the village wasn't far, and the stranger, while odd as most visitors were, seemed harmless, so she touched his arm and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," she said, and sprinted off across the sand, making a beeline back to the village.
Narron nodded at Koi.
"Thank you," he said.
He listened politely to the stranger, though kept his distance. He arched his brow, some of the words simply not translating into the language.
"Bandits? Highwayman?" he muttered. He didn't know what the words meant, but he had a feeling that this man wasn't familiar with the people of the island at all. He shook his head at the offer.
"No, thank you," Narron politely replied. Though his body was sore, he simply didn't trust the spirit with the iron suit. It was strange, for Narron wasn't generally this skeptical, but the spirit made a queer sight.
Who was this spirit that walked with him? And who was the woman in his arms? Why had her ship burned? These mysteries made Narron's head hurt, so he talked no more for the rest of the way.
It was several long minutes before Koi returned, a young man with the wings of a yellow-and-green macaw in tow behind her. It was Tama, an apprentice healer, but he was the first healer she'd been able to find. So she'd grabbed him and dragged him along with only a bare-bones explanation, because time was of the essence when dealing with injury--and because she was a little afraid of leaving Narron alone with the stranger too long.
As they approached Narron and the...the armored one, Tama sucked in a breath. "What the...?"
"Toldja he was strange. Who am I kidding? This entire situation's weird! Now c'mon, hurry! That girl's injured bad."
And so they rushed in closer, while Tama strode over to Narron and fell into step beside him. He reached out and pressed a hand to her head and then checked her pulse, frowning.
"Let's get her out of the sun and into the shade over there," he said, motioning to the treeline. "I can treat her out here."
Narron had never been so grateful to see a healer before. He nodded eagerly at Tama's advice, and stumbled towards the tree. His face was growing hot from the sun, and his throat dry from dehydration. Though he felt a little light headed, Narron carefully laid down the woman under the tree before sinking down on the other side, out of Tama's way. He leaned his head against the bark, thankful for the rest, and the cool sea breeze.
Narron licked his chapped lips, trying to focus. He reached for his water pouch and drank deeply, gasping when he was through. He left a few mouthfuls in it, still.
"Tama, do you need anything?" he asked, urgently. Narron looked up at the armored giant.
"And you?"
"Thank you, Narron, but I should be okay," Tama said as he knelt beside the unconscious woman and checked the rest of her body for signs of trauma, then felt along her skin with gentle fingers. Her skin felt hot, which made him frown with concern, and she had a good-sized knot on her head, and she was obviously dehydrated, but...
He let out a sigh of relief. "She should be okay," he said, looking up. "From that accident Koi described, she's lucky--dehydration and a bump on the head, and but otherwise uninjured. She feels feverish, though, and that's what's most concerning. My guess is she's exhausted, and that she was either ill before the accident, or was stuck in the water so long it made her sick. Who knows how long she was there? And to see her friends drown..." He shuddered, feathers ruffling.
"I won't wake her," he said. "She's been through a trauma, and she needs to rest as long as her body needs. But I will heal her head; she could have concussed. And we do have to hydrate her, and watch her sickness. We shouldn't take her into the village, though, not while she's sick."
Looking over at Koi, he held out his hand, and she handed him the knife he'd given her to carry. Holding out his arm, he made a quick, small cut on his forearm, wincing a little at the pain, and let the blood drip onto the woman's brow. Magic flowed with it, his blood singing to hers, the offering made and the tithe paid. He closed his eyes and willed it to work, and didn't have to see to innately know that her flesh was healing.
He opened his eyes when it was done, and Koi handed him the cloth he'd brought with them, which he pressed to his wound to stop the bleeding. "Her injuries are healed, at least," he said, and looked to Narron. "Do you have more water in that skin?"
And then, pausing at the sight of Narron's face, his brow knit with concern. "Are you okay?"
Narron's face darkened as the healer speculated what had happened. The stranger had been through so much... He didn't flinch at the sight of the healer's cutting, his offering. It was mildly unsettling, but that was how the healing worked. Besides, his thoughts were too haunted by the burning ship.
"I'll be fine," he said as he slowly rose to his feet. He took the waterskin in his hands. "I will go find more."
He got to his feet and walke d a couple of paces away before shooting out his wings to fly. Narron could feel a dull ache through his muscles, but he ignored it as he launched from the ground.
~
He would be back just a few minutes later with two full skins. He landed a little awkwardly, almost too conciously. He held out the skins to Tama, panting as he wiped the sweat off his brow.
"Would this be enough?" he asked. "Did she wake up? Lilai and her children are preparing a space for her... "
((OOC: As the thread is marked open, I am gonna hop in (or rather swim in) for a bit, and then back out. My character may or may not be back, we'll see.))
Swimming past The Blue Boneyard, then from there the Reeds of Snaking Green, Turquoise finally arrived above the surface, teal-green hair catching the sunlight as she emerged like some goddess of the sea. Spotting a collection of gorgeous seashells of varying blues and pinks and sparkling sea glass on the shore nearby, the mermaid made her way over there to admire the beauties she found. Taking some of these shells and sea glass with her, she dove back down underneath the waters and swam a bit further, then popped her head back out of the salty blue-greenness around her and gazed about curiously.
The smell of smoke caught her attention then. Turquoise noticed several sirens nearby a cove she loved to visit often, seizing their chance to capture unwilling victims from what looked like to be the wreckage of a ship which was where the smoke was coming from. The mermaid knew this to be the nature of her fellow sea inhabitants and did not do anything to deter them. It was not her place to meddle in such affairs, even if she wanted to, but she didn't. Observing for a while longer as some of the folks that lived on these islands came by to try to help the lone survivor in the sirens' midst, the mermaid shook her head. Turquoise noticed their tattoos and dark skin which was the norm for the people round these parts. One of them even had colorful bird wings, which was also not unusual. It was he who tried to rescue the female sailor from the grip of the sirens and narrowly doing so too.
Not too much later, Turquoise felt something dark and sinister starting to take hold of a piece of the land nearby. It was definitely demonic and also signaled her cue to leave. She didn't know what to expect and it was better not to know anyhow. While not a coward, the mermaid was far from stupid and again it was not her place to intervene, only to check out what she could. The beginnings of what looked like a portal was forming in the sand, and that was when the mermaid took her leave, purple tail flashing briefly in the air, specks of water flicking about before diving back down into the depths of home.
An interesting discovery it was, but Turquoise knew her time of observation was to end so as to avoid being discovered by whatever had crossed over into this world. The beings on land could take care of themselves as they had done many times before. The sea maiden traversed back to her home under the waves, to the Kingdom of Greenwaves to safely put away her treasures. Turquoise might come back later to see what was going on, but for now home strongly beckoned to her to return.
"That should be plenty," Tama said with a smile. Lifting the woman's head up onto his lap, Tama took the water skin, pressing it to her lips. He tipped the skin slowly, spilling a little water at a time into her mouth, and rubbed her throat gently with his other hand to encourage her to swallow.
"She didn't wake up at all," Koi told Narron with a concerned frown. "She's reeeeally out of it..."
"Whatever happened, it was rough on her," Tama said. "But I think we can get her to Lilai's. That's a really good idea; much better than staying out in this heat. I can carry her. You both look like you could use a good rest."
Narron nodded gratefully. He had never felt so exhausted in his life.
"Thank you," he said. "Take care of her."
He took one last look at the unconcious, beautiful stranger. He was anxious for her to wake up- he had a lot of questions that left him feeling uneasy. He walked over to Koi.
"You okay?" he asked. "I'll walk you home."
As Tama lifted the stranger into his arms and began to carry her to the village, Koi let out a slow breath through her lips and flashed Narron a tired look.
She hadn't actually done much--it had been Narron that had carried two people!--but emotionally, the day had been pretty exhausting.
"Oh, I'm fine!" she told him, and rolled her shoulders to ease up some of the tension that had settled between them. "What about you? You're the one that did all the work here. You holding up okay?"
"I could sleep," he admitted.
He tasted blood in his mouth, and made a face. His lips had cracked. He run his tongue along his lips.
I smell like smoke, he thought, making a face. Though that much was obvious, he still lifted his arm to his nose and took a sniff before turning his head away.
"And maybe a bath after," he said.
He was so sore, he mused if his muscles would refuse to let him move after sleeping.
And no flying for at least a few days, he thought, already starting to feel a little grumpy.
He frowned as he watched Tama carry the unconcious woman away.
"Their ship did not look like a merchant ship," he pointed out.
"No?" Koi flashed Narron a puzzled look, head cocked to the side curiously. She didn't know much about the people from beyond, or their strange boats, but Narron seemed to have far more experience in that regard.
"What kinda ship would it be if not that?"
He knitted his brow as he pondered on that thought.
"I don't know," he admitted, suddenly filled with doubt.
He didn't know. He knew he didn't see any much of cargo floating around, but he could have made an oversight. He knew some about the travellers who came to their ports, but not much more from that. They could have been merchants. He could be wrong.
"But the girl can tell us when sh wakes up," he said, hopefully.
He wondered if it woud be wise to bring up the news to one of the merchants at the port. the rumor of the girl would spread, and fast, but still Narron was cautious.
Koi scratched her chin, puzzled, and then shook her head. "Well, I suppose there ain't much to be done now. We just gotta wait for her to wake--and that could be a while. She looked pretty bad off..."
Hopefully she woke at all. .
Reaching out, she clasped Narron's shoulder gently. "May as well get some rest in the meantime. You look like you really need it. No offense."
Narron chuckled at her frankness.
"Yes," he agreed. He continued on the rest of the way back to the village in silence.
Once they arrived at the point where the roads split to their seperate houses, he stopped to give Koi a hug.
"Go rest," he said. "We will get some answers tomorrow, maybe. Find me at the market tomorrow afternoon, if you'd like. Good night!"
With that he made his way back to his hut. Normally, he would fly up to it, but , instead, he nimbly climbed up the ladder before plopping himself into his hammock. The moment he closed his eyes, darkness took over, and he feel into a blissfully deep sleep, free of smoke and broken ships.
Koi's rest that night was solid and dreamless from sheer exhaustion--and it was deep. Deep enough that she almost slept in past the time she was supposed to meet Narron!
When she woke up, it was too bright outside to be morning, and with a start she rolled out of her hammock and poked her head outdoors. The sun was high, almost at its peak. Ack! With a gasp, she threw on a sarong and darted out the door of her hut, slipped on her sandals, and took off at a dead run.
By the time she made it to market, the sun was reaching its peak, and she fidgeted as she looked around for a glimpse of the winged man. Hopefully she hadn't missed him already!
She hadn't. Narron was busy negotiating with a familiar cook from Cerenis, tanned brown with matted brown hair. The man was an old friend who told Narron strange stories that he only half understood, due to some language barriors, but today the news was even more unusual. Siren activity was picking up. Their ship was targeted, but their ship had been prepared for magical attacks. Even so, they were to stay in Yoreiq a bit longer than usual for repairs.
The story worried Narron so much, he hardly noticed the cook was trying to offer him less beads than what he usually did.
Having finally arrived to the main island of Yoreiq, Nemeril stopped at the market place to trade as she needed a few more arrows. Some of the ones she had were old and worn, it being time to purchase new ones. The market here had what she wanted, some rather finely crafted ones at that too. The tips were bronze as she could not use steel or iron tips for her arrows. Plus these were of pretty hardy make. After paying for a set of ten brand new arrows, she added them to her quiver and continued on, looking around.
A nearby conversation reached her ears then of siren activity picking up, and that a ship of some kind had been targeted by those bird-women. The ship had crashed against the rocks and there had only been one survivor left. A woman from the sound of it, greatly injured and dehydrated. Nemeril frowned at this but kept listening although in a discreet way. She did not wish to appear nosy. The two men talking there, one appeared to be Yoreiqi with huge feathery gray wings, while the other had matted brown hair and caramel-colored skin. She wasn't sure where the latter was from. If such problems were occurring here, perhaps she could be of assistance somehow. For now, she just listened.
"Oh! There you are!" Koi said in relief when she spotted Narron, his large wings giving him away even from afar. She jogged over to where he was chatting with a foreign man, lightly panting, and skidded to a stop beside him.
"Sorry I'm late! I guess I was way more tired than I thought but I hurried here as fast as I could and I hope you weren't waiting too--" She stopped, realizing a little too late that she had just sort of...barged in on their conversation.
Heat flooded her cheeks and she coughed. "...Uh. Sorry. Carry on."