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She sells seashells... [open!]

Started by Rhindeer, May 04, 2013, 03:58:33 PM

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Rhindeer

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!"
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Winters-Feather

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.

Rhindeer

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!"
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Winters-Feather

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.

Rhindeer

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?"
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Winters-Feather

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.

Rhindeer

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."
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Winters-Feather

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." 

Rhindeer

"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?"
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Winters-Feather

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.

Rhindeer

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?"
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Winters-Feather

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.

Rhindeer

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."
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Winters-Feather

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?"

Rhindeer

"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.
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Winters-Feather

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."

Rhindeer

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.
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Winters-Feather

"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.

Rhindeer

"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?"
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Winters-Feather

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."

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