What a beautiful island

[SanctifiedSavage]

Languages really were a delight. Working through the sounds and structure of Kaihe's was a new mental challenge for her and she was quite enjoying it. It was going to make staying on the island during repairs fun. The close greeting caught her off guard, but she didn't tense up or back away. Rather, she was quite delighted. Progress!

When Kaihe clarified how they slept, Vailea quirked a brow but then said, in the trader's tongue, "Bad. Wrong? Not good?" She shook her head but smiled and followed toward the edge of the village. The phrase actually caught her off guard so she laughed. "Ah, yes. One day's walk." She glanced where they gestured before she linked her arm through Kaihe's and they walked together. Vailea's sense of direction was pretty good and she knew they'd come from this direction the day before. Getting back to the beach would be easy, and from there, her ship. The walk might take awhile, but that would give them a chance to continue talking to one another and work through some more of the phrases and meet a commonality.

Once that was established, getting through a language was a lot easier.

[Icy]

"Not good," Kaihe nodded. "Kaihe slept not good!" They said proudly, forming their first ever full sentence in trader's tongue!... Sort of. Still. Progress. Kaihe laughed as Vailea hooked her arm through theirs, and they warmly stepped closer to their friend, hugging the arm as the glow of the sun began to settle on them for the day.

"Vailea good splash-splash?" Kaihe asked all of a sudden, gesturing to the water. "Kaihe good splash-splash. Very good! Nā'ēheu not good..." They gave a small flutter of their wings, but then sighed as their pace slowed down somewhat.

"Vailea, Kaihe... mmh... E aʻoʻo Vailea iā Kaihe?" They asked slowly. "Ua'ōlelo wahaheʻeʻo Kaihe i ka'ōlelo a Vailea. Not good... Vailea... Kaihe..." The maha let out a low, annoyed grumble after the string of words that felt incoherent even in their own tongue. Using context, the frustration would probably lead the long-lived pirate to understand that Kaihe was frustrated about not being able to communicate well using only gestures. They wanted to learn.

[SanctifiedSavage]

Vailea was quite pleased with both her own progress and Kaihe's, not only verbally, but as they walked as well. Learning languages after the first hundred was a bit easier as patterns and sounds became easier to piece and parcel together. That and it was a joy of the lich's. It was made far easier when the people she wanted to learn it from were very eager to talk to her, and enthusiastic in sharing gestures along with the words. Like teaching a child to talk.

When they made it to the beach, the sudden excitement made Vailea curious. Oh. Swim? She snorted a laugh and shook her head. "No, not good. At all." Vailea was more apt to sink. Granted, she didn't need to be good but it was still entertaining to her.

When Kaihe struggled to get across what they wanted to, Vailea mulled it all over. Piecing it through and trying to get the gist of it, even if she didn't understand it exactly. Sometimes, that was just as good if the literal translation didn't always... make sense. In this case, she hadn't followed what Kaihe had said, per say, but she understood body langue and could hear the frustration. Vailea didn't know how she could tell the other that she'd be around for awhile to learn, so, she smiled a little, tugged on Kaihe's arm to get their attention, and tried, "Ua maikaʻiʻoe." Then, she gestured to herself, then the beach. "Vailea stay. Eia."

It would be over time that Kaihe would see that Vailea would be around to teach them more.

[Icy]

"Oh. Aʻoʻo Kaihe iā Vailea splash-splash!" They assured Vailea. Swimming was one of Kaihe's favorite things to do, but her wings, while buoyant, sometimes made it difficult to move around efficiently. A task's difficultly never stopped Kaihe before, though.

When Vailea told Kaihe that she was going to stay, Kaihe understood immediately! Or at least, she thought she did. Embracing her new friend, Kaihe laughed and rubbed her nose and forehead against the foreigner's. "Good! Very good! E aʻoʻo Kaihe iā Veilea e'ōlelo iā Yoreiqi!" Whether or not Vailea understood immediately, it became obvious as Kaihe began to point things out and translate what they were in Yoreiqi. Shells were pūpū, fish were 'ohi, and so on... assuming that Vailea had also returned the trader tongue's version of the words in kind, each of them would have a rudimentary understanding of each others' languages in time!

[SanctifiedSavage]

Given both the excitement and assurance writ across Kaihe's face, Vailea could easily assess that should she ever find herself in water around them, she'd be in good hands. If anything, that actually made the lich want to skip around in the shallow waves that teased lazily up the sand.

It'd be a thought for later.

The excitement when Kaihe comprehended that Vailea would be present, for at least awhile – getting time across would be a whole different game – that too delighted the Captain. Languages and people were a pleasure to her. A feast in its own way. She'd seen tribes vanish, peoples no one would ever know, and she treasured the time she had with them. Voracious in consuming the knowledge they had, their languages, and the experience with them. What was eternal life if she could not enjoy the things most people did not know, such as rare language?

Vailea collected them as one might fine wine or rare paintings. These were things priceless to her. So she followed Kaihe and savored the excitement, taking in the various words, repeating what was said and echoing the trader's word for each thing as they steadily made their way towards the small port where her boat was being worked on. It was a slower walk back, mind, because they were talking and exploring as much as they were walking, but they arrived just as the sun was setting.

Her crew were mostly off enjoying the things the port had to offer. Drink, company, and the chance to be on land for a little while. The undead generally tending to the ship were quietly dismissed by the Lich. Vailea didn't want to scare the poor thing. So, as they approach, she gestured to the large ship presently docked and rolled slightly so that repairs could be made to the blasted hole. To which Vailea affectionately said, " kuʻu hale."

The Red Jewel was a large ship, capable of holding enough cargo to be out at sea for extended periods of time. Three masts, though the canvas was furled now, and the wood had been darkened with age, tar, and oil. She was dark, old ship that had seen a long life and would live to see many more years – Vailea would ensure that.

[Icy]

Kaihe enjoyed her time with Vailea, making small jokes knowing the few words in the trader's tongue that she knew, all the while skipping across the beach or holding onto Vailea's arm. She displayed an exceptionally feminine bounciness during that time, and as they approached the area where her crew had made harbor, it was only exemplified. "Hale? ʻO kēlā ka moku nui loa aʻu iʻike ai, e ka hoahānau!" She exclaimed, paying little attention to the amount of people now surrounding her as she ran toward the massive construct.

Examining the immaculate woodwork far better than any of the small boats her people carved from single trees, the girl was quickly overwhelmed. "ʻAʻole hiki iaʻu ke manaʻoʻiʻo i kēia mau mea..." She turned to Vailea and asked, "Is this the biggest boat in the world?" It was an easy enough question for Vailea to answer, considering she'd been picking up on the language for almost two days at that point.

When she finally noticed the hole in the ship, her eyes went wide. "What happened? Did you fight a sea monster?" She shuddered, her dark face turning a bit pale. Kids from the island were taught through tales not to venture out too far, else they'd meet those terribly frightening creatures.

[SanctifiedSavage]

To say that Vailea loved her ship was a vast understatement. It'd been with her through most of her life, rebuilt and patched up over the course of two thousand years. A constant in a life so vast and long when so many other things were not. Her home, her freedom. What inspired Vailea all those years ago to track down the secret to immortality and pay the heavy price for it.

Some pirates dreamt of what she had. Life eternal. Vailea frequently wondered if they'd pay the same price or if it were all bluster.

She marveled at the Red Jewel a moment longer before smiling a little at Kaihe. "Aʻole. No." Still, it made her happy to have someone else be impressed too. Even if it was because they'd not seen anything else. It was nice that the first large ship Kaihe might see was Vailea's own.

The question was an apt one and, as Vailea led Kaihe to a rope ladder so they might climb to the deck of the ship, she nodded a little. "Something of the sort, yes. Here for repairs." Vailea went first, if only so she could help Kaihe balance on the slanted deck once they were both up.

It was high, after all, but granted them a beautifully vast and expansive view around them. It made Vailea itch to be at sea, but that would come soon enough.

[Icy]

Kaihe let out a small 'Ooh!' wen Vailea spoke so fluently in Yoreiqi. "If you need any supplies from my village, let me know and I can have them readied!" Kaihe watched as Vailea climbed up first, then followed in suit, nearly tipping over backwards as soon as she was up on the deck.

The view of the sea and jungle might have been magnificent, but they were sights that Kaihe had seen her entire life, from the skies, no less. What really interested her was the amazing woodwork of the ship, the massive masts with furled sails that towered overhead, and just... the sheer size of the entire ship! "I cannot imagine how much wood it took to craft such a magnificent wonder... Likely this entire island's worth! Is the mainland truly so large?" Vailea was likely hearing some of the words for the first time, but she could fill in the blanks well enough.

Stepping up to one of the masts, Kaihe pressed the bottom of her foot against it to test its sturdiness, and once satisfied, began to scale it out of sheer curiosity, wobbling uncertainly from side to side which elicited giggles out of her. "This is one of the biggest trees I have ever climbed!" Her mind wandered like a child's when she got into this sort of mood.

[SanctifiedSavage]

Vailea continued to watch the sea a bit longer before she made her way toward the back cabin, where her personal things were, enjoying the familiarity of being on her ship. Even if it was canted on its side. Soon, she'd be fixed and they'd be back out on the water. Resupplied and going about their business as usual.

The lich smiled a little more and opened the door.  She pieced together what Kaihe was saying and shook her head a little. "Mainlaind... vast. Big." She emphasized with her arms extended before vanishing in her cabin for a moment, only to step out with a pack of cigars and cindersticks to light them. Then, she found a stable place to sit and watch Kaihe explore the ship. It didn't occur to Vailea that she should worry over the other – that just wasn't her way. Live and let live. Have fun. Laughter was the best sound.

Vailea lit one of the sweet cigars and chuckled a little. "I'd offer for you to... Come with? But I doubt... You would stay here?" It was the lilt of her words that made it a question. More than that, Kaihe would probably not want to see the rest of the crew. Undead tended to make others anxious.

[Icy]

Kaihe climbed all the way to the top of the mast and examined the sails for a bit before taking a big leap off of it, unfurling her wings to their full, magnificent twelve foot diameter, and slowly flapping her way down to the deck until her toes touched the floor. "Ahh... I really needed that stretch,"  They sighed in relief as Vailea lit her cigar.

"Me? Come with you?" She blinked. "I-... I have never even thought about leaving my island, my village... my people," With their eyes cast down at the floor, Kaihe crossed her arms and stepped toward her friend. "What is it like, on the mainland? Is there even a place for a maha like me? I may be too overwhelmed... and that is saying much, coming from me!" They exclaimed with a bit of nervous laughter, pressing their hands against their bare chest.

[SanctifiedSavage]

Vailea watched Kaihe play like a patient babysitter might a child they were set to watch. It was endearing, really. The sort of sweet innocence that Kaihe had. The wonder in the world about things they didn't know about. Vailea used to have that, though it had always been tinged with a feral hunger to know it all. Still was, she supposed. Life had been too short, she felt, and there was too much to experience.

Even after so long, she still felt that way.

Vailea took a long drag from the sweet cigar and smiled a little as Kaihe fumbled through the offer. She didn't really think that Kaihe would take it seriously. Most islanders wouldn't dream to leave. The world too vast, the thought of the unknown too scary. Vailea didn't understand it, of course, but she wasn't about to take an unwilling passenger. That just got messy.

After another long drag, she shook her head some. "Not... Not mainland.." She gestured toward the ocean, and eyed it with an odd, hungry longing. "I stay out... live out... Out on the sea. Travel. Go to beach to beach to beach. Visit. Never stay on land long." it was hard to convey that she didn't really go to the mainland. That Kaihe wouldn't be able to travel the world with her, so much as just... explore the vast ocean and see various beaches and port cities.

Granted, that was and would still be a lot to take in for an islander. Vailea turned her attention back to Kaihe and smiled a little, letting them know she understood it was a lot to... say. To explain.

[Icy]

Frowning, Kaihe looked down at their feet and bit their bottom lip. "The ocean is really scary, so... I don't know, Vailea. I like you very much, but we have only just met. My village... they do not depend on me, but I know that they will miss me, and I will miss them even more."

She looked sheepishly at Vailea's cigar for a moment, then back at the floor. "Thinking about leaving makes me feel ill. But also.. excited. There is a lot that I want to see that the island does not have. When... When ship good, Kaihe go? Small-... small journey. Kaihe not good, Kaihe come home? Kaihe good, Kaihe come Vailea?" A test-trip with Vailea sounded nice, but they were doubtful that she would agree to such a thing. To go so far out of her way, and for someone she'd just met? Kaihe had never asked for so much in their entire life.

[SanctifiedSavage]

When there were a lot of words put together, it took all of Vailea's concentration to put the sentences together, to understand what was being said. Some of the words got lost, but she could get the jist. The meaning, from key words in key places. Key sounds along with body language.

She took a long hit off of her cigar while she processed and considered. Ultimately, though she was the Captain, Vailea was as much subject to the crew as they were to her decisions. It wasn't just 'go here, do that'. They'd have ditched the ship and her with it long ago if it were run as such. So, it would be an incredibly selfish decision to make a small jaunt out into the ocean and eventually return to the island, perhaps with nothing to show for it.

Not that the island wasn't lovely, with its own fun to be had. But after being docked here for a time, even Vailea knew that they would be restless and ready for a bit more action. Something that hit the adrenaline spike.

She let out a long exhale before shaking her head a little. "It's not... Crew to think about. Not my choice.." It was a rudimentary explanation, that didn't begin to capture all of what she meant, but it was the best way to explain. Then, smiling a little, Vailea stood and hugged Kaihe with her free arm. "Is fine. Island – home – beautiful. Enjoy and be happy." Which she meant, wholly. The offer had been whim and there was no reason for Kaihe to fret over it.

[Icy]

Kaihe's lips pressed together tightly and their eyes began to well up when Vailea wrapped her free arm around them. They began to speak, but it just came out as incoherent blabbering until they finally fell to their knees and began to sob. They didn't even seem to know why they were crying-- it was just flowing out of them.

Unable to stop for a full minute, when Kaihe was finally able to speak again, their voice was shaky. "I-I wanna go... but my people...!" Which boiled it down to the essentials. The maha lowered themself to their rear and hugged their knees into their chest, curling up like a ball. "Kaihe sorry, Vailea. Very big choice..."

[SanctifiedSavage]

Well. That was not the reaction that Vailea had expected. She stood, shocked, while Kaihe started to cry. It was moments like this where the cultural barrier was the greatest divider now. She could say things to Kaihe, but she couldn't begin to comprehend what was going on. For a moment, Vailea just let them cry. Let them experience whatever emotion had brought them to that point.

Sometimes, that's all it was. Letting someone do what they needed, cry if they wanted, without judgement. Vailea could certainly do that. She took a slow drag and remained near. A quite, supportive presence.

When Kaihe began to sort it out with stammered words, she shook her head then ran a hand through her hair. She crouched in front of Kaihe and held her cigar off to the side. "No, I am sorry. Should not have..." Hrm. Vailea didn't know how to clarify, so she smiled a little waved her hand a little. "Big choice. Unfair to ask." Best way to say. Most islanders would never be presented with the opportunity and it was hardly fair to dump that on them.

Then, Vailea settled back on her own rump and took a long drag. Mulling it over a moment, she exhaled before saying, "Will visit. If possible." There was certainly a chance, once they left, they'd be back around here. The islands were set off a ways and there were always reasons to be this direction. Repairs being the main one. Restocking the other.

[Icy]

The islander shifted as they felt fingers running through their hair, a comforting gesture that helped alleviate the strange emotions that were felt within. "I would rather have the choice than not... If not for you, I never would have felt it. This..." She bit her lip and curled her fingers and toes, "longing. I think that is what this feeling is."

She took a deep breath and finally lifted her head to meet Vailea's gaze. "I have only known you for little more than a day, but I feel connected to you. Kaihe like Vailea," She clarified with a small blush spreading over her cheeks. "Promise me you will visit? Promise." Sniffling, she lifted her hands and gently sat them on the back of Vailea's head before she leaned forward, pressing their noses and foreheads together as a sign of affection.

[SanctifiedSavage]

Vailea appreciated the response. It was nice to know, really, that the islander liked her. That they could share something beyond just wanting to learn eachother's language. That was what living was all about. Enjoying it all. Finding the pleasure in it. For Vailea, it was languages. Cigars. Fine food and good company. Kaihe was just that – good company. Her enthusiasm and sweet innocence was a beautiful thing to experience second hand.

She chewed on the end of the cigar a little and smiled some. "Too kind." Having her long life ripple through others also meant something to the lich. Not every undead had to be a terror, after all. Not every undead marked their hopefully eternal life through terror and a reign of blood and chaos. Quite the opposite for Vailea. She rather liked offsetting the few lives she had to take to extend her own with the sense she'd mattered to a great many more.

Vailea was selfish like that. Collecting moments, memories, and pleasures like a king would hoard gold in a treasury. This was the sort of thing no one could plunder from her. "Will do my best.. I like you too." As close to a promise as the lich would make before she smiled at the contact. Kaihe was as sweet as her people. Open and giving.

Upon parting, Vailea leaned back on a hand and regarded the other. "I still have time. Many days before I'll be leaving. Will be here longer." Wasn't like she was shipping off tomorrow. The ship would take longer, restocking... ugh.

[Icy]

Kaihe rubbed their noses together a few more times before she giggled and let go of the lich's head. "Kaihe know. Kaihe know Kaihe... miss Vailea when... her go." She frowned, knowing that it didn't come out right, but it didn't really matter at that point. "Until you leave, I will show you everything our island and village has to offer! Splash-splash, surfing, hunting, trapping, maybe I will even glide with you off of the big rock!" She assured her friend.

Becoming bashful all of a sudden, Kaihe mutter a more complicated string of words that Vailea was certain not to understand, but the blush that spread across her cheeks as she spoke implied what it might have been about.

Rising to her feet, Kaihe stretched her arms out above her head and let out a long yawn. "Kaihe sleepy. Bed boat?" She asked.

[SanctifiedSavage]

The unique way that the islanders displayed both a greeting and affection always made Vailea smile and laugh a little. Not because she thought it silly, but because it was just so very different. Certainly not the traditional handshake.

She chewed on the end of her cigar since it was almost out and nodded a little. "I'll trust you to take me... Ah... swimming. Not good at splash-splash." she clarified. Vailea hadn't been before she'd became a lich and it hadn't improved over the two thousand years she'd been alive. For whatever reason, the water liked to pull her under. Shallows were all well and good, but anything deeper with a moving current, and Vailea was frequently out matched. The rest – hunting, trapping – wouldn't be so bad and if anything, a chance to learn more words. Become fluent in casual conversation even if it wasn't exactly her forte.

The last thing, though, Vailea narrowed her eyes and didn't catch. The blush wasn't exactly a tell either, since she had no context words with which to sort it out.

When Kaihe said they were tired, Vailea momentarily forgot that... well, they would need to sleep. With the ship canted as it were, being in the cabin would be impossible. But, that didn't mean they couldn't sleep nearby. Or rather, Kaihe could. "Wait," Vailea said before she stood up and made her way carefully back into her cabin. She came out, moments later, with a couple of plush blankets and a pillow. "Can't sleep on tipped boat. Down though. Blankets for you."

Vailea tossed them over the side, so they'd land on the ground, before she climbed down the rope latter. Getting down was definitely going to be easy for Kaihe, so she didn't worry about that. Instead, she set up a nice make shift bed out of the blankets she'd brought down and presented it for all the world like it was a work of art.

[Icy]

Kaihe was rather glad that the Lich didn't catch on, since it was already quite late and they were out of energy after that crying fit. Wiping the last of their tears from their eyes, they waited as Vailea asked, only to cock an eyebrow and tilt their head when the strange objects were taken out of of the cabin. "Blanket? What blanket do?" They asked as they followed Vailea down, gently hopping to the ground with a little flap of their wings. The sand and dirt definitely felt more comfortable beneath their feet than the slanted wooden floorboards.

The blankets and pillows, meanwhile, were the most comfortable things they'd ever felt. Just stepping on them took the rest of their energy out of them, and by the time their head hit the pillow, they were two blinks away from passing out. "Blanket... blanket nice..." They mumbled, reaching up sleepily and making grabby motions for Vailea. If the lich obliged, Kaihe pressed their forehead and nose against the woman, but as an added sign of some sort of affection, the Yoreiqi placed a small kiss on the woman's lips before letting go and closing their eyes for the night. "Night-night, Vailea... Mmh... very good blanket..." And they were gone.