Jorie's first time on a ship was thought of, in retrospect, likened to her first time having sex - awkward, exciting and dizzying. The glide of the ship, the wind, the smell of the ocean and the thousands of creatures that swam in its depths made her her heart pound. It was exciting, and it made her head hurt to think of all the ways in which she'd have to tweak the Coven's spells. Most of the spells were based on things easily attainable, but what's easily attainable when you're stranded in the middle of the ocean, except water?
But that was the beauty of it all, Jorie thought. The fact that it was POSSIBLE to be able to take the framework - generations of spells from different families! - and alter it for the same meaning. Of course, it was also possible to bring all of the necessary equipment and if all was usually frugally, then none of the tweaking would be necessary. But what fun would that be?
It was easy enough to find a trader who'd talk to her about Thanatos. Truth be told, she boarded the ship with little else but her satchel and her black cat wrapped around her shoulders. So it stood to reason to find someone who'd give her some tips on Thanati custom. She journaled the advice, trying hard to pick through the bias in the older man's voice to aid her in her... what was it? Sightseeing? That seemed too cavalier. Research? Too... scientific (she wasn't really inclined to dissect any of the Thanati, really!). Scholarly? Perhaps that would seem more to the truth than anything else she could think of.
The moment the ship docked and they were able, Si dashed off the ship, his great black tail straight up, bristled like a witch's broom. From the start, Si was NOT pleased at being on the ship and expressed his feelings through sharp claws and a disgusted growling most of the journey. But in any case, Si quickly earned his keep by becoming the most efficient mouser the passengers had ever seen. Si had even taken it to becoming far friendlier with the crew than he was to Jorie most of the time, only glaring at her accusingly with bright yellow eyes.
Jorie was pretty happy to, actually. And the thought of having to do another ship ride soon to leaves the isles left her feeling weak in the knees. She figured she'd better keep the news of their return trip to herself for Si's sake.
She paused to look around, smiling slightly at the few commonalities she could make between Thanati and Serenians. There wasn't... much, but the bright colors were enough to bolster herself. Be polite, bow, stay away from shaved head people... Why was that again? Oh, for Coven's sake, does it matter?
Of course, there was a crash, some yowling, the territorial barks of a dog and then... Si was dashing back to her fast, making a made leap for her person, claws anchored into her. Jorie barely managed to restrain herself from flinging the cat into the ocean - he went right through her clothing and into her skin!
It was good that the dog skidded short of her, and after a few uncertain barks, Jorie bared her teeth and moved forward. The dog disappeared pretty quickly after that.
"Si? Leave the dogs alone, will ya?" She muttered to the cat who had resumed his post along her shoulders.
But really, the question was... Where did she go from here? Jorie's interest in the clothing, food (although she was getting pretty hungry), and style of the isles was scarce. Her true interest lied in the magic. She knew the history, but as her Gram always stressed: sometimes, when your right foot itches, it just means it itches. So the necromancy part didn't scare her. However, she could feel the magic, just like she could feel it back home in Serendipity. But it was different here. It didn't scream to her 'evil' though. It was just. Different.
"Huh. Si. I'm tall here!" A kind of dumb-founded observation, and belatedly she realized she garnered the look of a woman next to her. It was rather clear Jorie was alone except the cat.
"We're here 2 seconds and you're already looking crazy. Tsk tsk," Si chuckled in her head. For the second time that day, she wanted to hurl the black cat into the sea.
