The Second Day (Kaiko)

[Norani]

Ash 2, 122

Norani's eyes slowly fluttered open.

Her body curled and uncurled sleepily, and she could see Ruvaf's wing wrapped around her. She reached out, patting him on the stomach, as he stirred to wake as well, a light skree escaping his beak. He raised his head over to her, and she rubbed a hand along over the top of his skull, drifting down between his eyes and along his beak, and he cooed lightly.

Norani rolled on her back, looking up at the stars that the Duck had put in the sky above her inside her room, peeking through the tall grasses. She smiled softly. Seeing the stars this way made her feel small, but not in the way that she had been recently. She felt small and a part of something bigger than herself, even if she wasn't really sure what that was. She rolled onto her other side in her grass nest, plucking a dried strand out. Idly, she began twisting and shaping it, a soft smile growing on her face.

And when she was done, she stood up from her nest, and dressed in her hunting leathers, a simple breast strap and loin cloth. She wrapped up her hair, and walked over to the so called walls of grass that made up her space. There was a small doll hanging there, from the base stalk of a tall grass strand, carved from bone. It was crude and simple, but something about it felt familiar, and it was pleasing to her. The Duck had put it here for her, and she was thankful. She grabbed her journal and diary, wrapped in a leather strap for transport, hiking it over her shoulder.

Norani looked around her nest, seeing the two paths there. One led to the main hallway with the rest of the rooms for the crew. And the other, the other well, it led to a beautiful garden, full of flowers and so many different plants, several Norani had never seen before. And in a corner of the garden, a cave, lightly glowing. This was Yeva's room, and it was beautiful. Everything about it felt... right. Suited Yeva, complimented her.

Norani walked over to the entrance of the cave, peering in, seeing Yeva sleeping there, and she smiled. Her dearest friend, who was helping to mend her heart. Norani would never be able to thank her enough. She set the little grass lotus she'd formed on the nearest bookshelf, and she left, leaving Yeva to her sleep. Stepping down the path of her own room, she found the door, and she opened it to the deck. A low whistle and Ruvaf was following after her, the door widening for him.

The sun was already rising over the sea, still early in the day. To Norani, it felt like the sun rose earlier here than back home. Maybe it was a lack of mountains here? Though she didn't know where here was, it was just water in all directions. Walking with Ruvaf over to a space with enough room for him, she spoke to him in her native tongue, "Go hunt, spread your wings."

With a loud skree, Ruvaf flapped once, sending a blast of air buffeting out to the nearest people. And a moment later, he was streaking through the sky, watching for fish down below in the waters. Norani reached out with her aether, calling to the winds, only to realize they weren't there. She cast her eyes up, seeing that the sails were slack, unmoving. She strode over to the railing, looking down into the waters, seeing that they were merely bobbing in place.

If she couldn't commune with the winds, she'd commune with the waters. She pulled her long tail of hair over her shoulder, almost reaching her knees. She untied her breast wrap from her torso, and wrapped it around the middle of her hair. She did the same for her loin cloth as well, tying it higher up. It was tied up in three places and she was as naked as a lark. On her back, a lotus tattoo over her heart. Up her spine, a great tree trunk, disappearing into a colorful, swirling sky. On her front, there were swirls of wind trailing between her breasts to her stomach, and patch of giraffe spotting over her left breast.

She stepped up and onto the railing, then she let loose a loud, blood curdling scream, startling a few of the crew nearby. And then she jumped, feet first, off the Duck and crashed into the ocean waters below. She let herself hang, suspended, under the water, opening her eyes to see the deep blue all around her, before kicking upward to breach the surface and sucking in a chest full of air.

And she was smiling.

[Kaiko Marina]

Kaiko awoke lying in the middle of the floor in her room. She at best could easily be described as a mermaid at the moment since she was in her Lycan form. Her tail half was in the water and her other on the dry side of her room. She flipped over onto her stomach and stretched. She then managed to walk to her chest and put on a shirt and grabbed the jar she had brought. She had to dig for the jar as it was at the bottom. She grabbed it and walked To the door. Half asleep she pushed open the door and walked down the long hallway before crawling up the stairs like a crocodile.

She reached the top of the stairs just in time for someone to scream. "Look I'm not a monster." She said than realised everyone was running twords the edge she quickly put down her jar and took off her shirt as she ran to the side of the boat and divided over the railing. Both hands came together to break the water as her legs melted into her tail. Which formed into that of a shark. As she hit the water she began breathing through her skin. Quickly she looked around simply to find the other had already made their way up to the surface of the water. Well at least now she was awake though honestly not how she preferred to wake up. She usually likes to sit on deck for a minute as she wakes up. But she was not mad. She liked the water and it seemed she was not the only one.

She decided to spread the heart leap and swam deeper. She then turned to face the girl. Kaiko began swimming as fast as she could. She broke the surface with a great leap over the girls head and dove back into the water. She then swam back to the surface to face the girl.

"I understand wanting to go for a swim but next time please give a warning before diving." She then slipped below the water and double checked for danger. No sign of sharks or jellyfish so she came back up. "Names Kaiko." She said offering her hand

[Norani]

Norani was treading water, bobbing up and down, when she saw a shadow streak over here. She looked up just in time to see something with a tail break through the water, diving down. Curiosity sparked up. Someone else had joined her in enjoying the waters while the ship lazed in the doldrums. Norani saw the person, a blur in the water at some distance, before they came swimming rapidly in her direction.

And suddenly they were leaping over her head, and Norani's eyes followed the person's form, as such as it was, as they splashed down on the other side of her. And Norani's smile was much bigger now. And now they were in front of her. They looked feminine, young, and Norani assumed Rathari. She'd met a few in Drathera to no longer be surprised by how varied they can appear.

Smiling brightly, "Hello Keiko! I am Norani of..." She paused. She didn't wish to say she was of Ounokt Nora now. A slight faltering in her smile, but she recovered, "Ecith." And then a bit defiantly, "Why should I give warning? I harmed no one." Then a teasing smile, she sucked in a deep breath, and awkwardly dove back under the water. Her eyes were searching for anything to focus on as she pushed herself downward. She reached out with her aether, giving some to the waters here. An offering and a greeting, spoken purely in the exchange. Hello, this is who I am.

The feeling of the ocean around her was so much bigger than it was at Nora. And it felt less... singular. This was a world, not a single lake. There were so many voices and vibrations across her Elementalism run that swirled down her torso. Some drew on the aether she offered, thankful. Others ignored her. She didn't mind. She turned, locating the ship for bearing, before kicking her way back to the surface, gulping in the air once more. A few others were jumping into the water now, but she looked around for Keiko.

She fed some more aether to the water, asking the currents to send Keiko back her way, gently. And they agreed lazily, and the waters around them began to shift to accommodate.

[Kaiko Marina]

Ok maybe no harm was done. "Honestly, I thought you fell overboard when I heard the scream," She said. Well at least they were having fun. She looked back towards the ship. Seems that the swimming opportunity was starting to be utilized by others and who could blame them. There was nothing like a nice swim in the open water. Bobbing on smooth waves miles above the sea floor. She dove beneath the waves, happy to stretch all her limbs. Suddenly she remembered she left her collection jar topside. She was looking forward to catching new things to study. Who knows there may be others that want to study things. She will find something new but first she needs her jar and her jar is topside. Her current problem would be getting someone to toss it overboard. She swam closer to the ship and waved. Once someone waved back she yelled "jar" and made a throwing motion. It only took about six attempts and many arm movements before someone finally got the idea. Who knew that the flag letters would have worked on a ship crew. She should have started with that. She nodded and made the throwing motion. The person finally tossed it.

She swam to catch it but missed. This was to be expected but she still tried. Instead she had to find the floating jar. Luckily it was close by. Grabbing it she noticed the slight change of current. She began to follow it and noticed Norani. "Norani, right? Can you communicate with the sea?" She asked. "Even I can't do that."

What could the sea say? What would it say? The thought of revealing secrets. Then the thought of sinking ships. And with that she had effectively become distracted. What was she doing? Swimming with a new person. "So, what brings you to this voyage?"

[Norani]

As the currents brought Keiko closer, the other swimmers in the area were enjoying themselves. Splashing, rough housing, and laughter were common around the ship now. At the question of her name, Norani simply nodded, then spoke. "Sort of. I commune with the water. I've never been at sea before. It is so big. Many voices." Smiling a bit sadly, "I grew up on a beautiful lake back home. It had one voice, big, deep, and old."

As for why, Norani looked confused. She had assumed everyone was here for the same reason as her and Yeva. There was a long pause. "We're here to help the Duck lift the curse? From the chaos storms?" There was a skeptical look on her face now, worn quite plainly. She didn't trust Captain Kynne, but that didn't matter, as the Duck and her crew needed help, and Norani and Yeva would help them.

She wondered just how much the Captain had lied about, and to whom? She'd seen his skeletal face, she'd seen the tatters of the ship that were seemingly hidden now, but she knew in her heart the curse was real. "Are you not here to help with the curse?" She tread a little closer, "If not, why are you here?"

Norani could feel an anger, raw and fresh still, welling up inside of her. Beneath the water, her fists were clenching, her throat tightening. The currents that had been beckoning Kaiko over were now growing agitated, swirling around the pair, pushing and pulling erratically. "What did the Captain tell you?" Her nostrils were flaring, her eyes pointed, and her body clenched.

[Kaiko Marina]

"Never been in a lake." Kaiko responded. "Uncle Skip told me that the water does not have salt and that all the lake fish look the same." She said. "I would probably drown as I'm not good at holding my breath." Or at least untill she picks one of the fish her uncle gave her and makes it one part of her shifting connection. She would choose one of the sturgeon she was sure of it. The question was did she want a larg fish or small fish.

She watched as Norani became confused and angry. Did Kaiko cause this? She never means to cause trouble but she always finds her way to the middle of it.

"We're all hear to help the ship. Or I think we are. That's not quite what I ment with my question. My question was ment more as what do you bring to the table. What did the duck see in you? Or what do you think the duck sees in you?" This was a mess. The water was tied to the mood of the other it would seem. Kaiko looked around trying to find logic in the patterns of the waves. But there were none.

"I mean I can provide intertainment and I can survive under the sea. And I wad born sailing ships.Beyond that I don't know I'm much use" She said trying not to inflat as the waters were quite worrisome.

"Captain told me that the pore ship wants to go home before she hits the sea floor. And I told him I would help. But most of that was after I stung him." She looked around to make sure she was not in ear shot of any of the others. "I don't know why you fill the way you do about Captain. But I suggest you be careful. This thinking is mutiny. Which never ends well. Besides the ship likes him and that's good enough for me." She was again distracted by the water around her. "Can you teach me how to connect with the water like you do?"

[Norani]

The angry chopping of the water subsided into a more sloppy and messy bobbing, matching Norani's confusion the more this woman spoke. But her bristling nature was gone now, and a brow was raised at Kaiko, "Well, the lake at home had no salt, but the fish certainly did not look all the same. They came in every color of the sky above and the lands below." But she couldn't help but laugh a bit. Kaiko certainly was an odd one. "I'm not very good at holding my breath either. Something to work on."

As Kaiko clarified, Norani shrugged, "The captain speaks in lies, so I know not why I was chosen. Maybe The Duck knew I needed to get away for a while." The waters calmed, returning back to the still seas that were in the area. Norani knew not this word, 'mutiny' but it didn't matter. She, as she always did, had made it very plain and clear how she felt about the Captain, to the Captain.

And then Kaiko asked about communing with the water and she smiled softly. She was reminded of how she'd asked in quite the similar way a few years ago toward one of her mother's cousins. And she would repeat his words now. "Before you can commune, you must learn to be still and to listen, to feel, to lose yourself in the water." Norani kicked her feet up, moving from treading water to floating on the surface, and she closed her eyes as the sun began to warm her body as it bobbed softly in the gentle ebbs. She remembered spending day after day in Nora, trying to find how to properly still herself, to slow down, to stop and listen and feel. "When you can do that, you will be able feel something more. And when you do, come tell me so. Maybe I'll have learned enough by then to give you a Rune so that you can commune properly. And if I can, I will."

She quieted herself now, thankful for Kaika's strange demeanor for dispelling her anger. Norani knew she was still hurting from her family's betrayal, but having some distance from them made it easier, she felt. Maybe the wound could just become a scar while on this journey. Thinking back to that night, she broke her own silence, "I do not trust those who lie. Where I am from, lying is one of the greatest of sins, and I have been hurt by those close to me by their lies."

She found herself wondering if Kaiko was similar to Juno at all. "I am sorry for losing control of my anger. It has... happened a lot since then. But it is through no fault of your own."

Norani lulled her head to the side to look at Keiko now, "The sea has many more voices in it than I expected. There's the laughing as waves play with winds, there's a steady chorus when a current is near, but there's always the deep, low rumble from the darkness below. Many voices."

[Kaiko Marina]

Kaiko was curious about a lake. She would say one day she would explore one. But she knew that deep down she would not willingly leave sight of the sea to do so. Though if the lakes are like the ocean then she could possibly convince herself that it would be okay. But there was no need to think of such things now as she had the sea water that she depended on. "One day I hope to see the fish of a lake. Though by the end of this voyage I hope to be able to breath the water without salt. Just as I do the water with salt."

When the other answered her question it truly didn't tell her much about the other person. Except that she was overwhelmed with whatever she was dealing with at home. She decided to stop trying with that subject and instead went to the next.

Be still and listen. How many times had her parents told her that? They of course were usually trying to home school her or teach her something. She of course was often distracted by the want to be in or near the water. She responded by laying back in the water. Her belly expanded with air to keep her afloat. "I prefer to get lost in the water." She finally said. "To me it's home."

With the waters calm and the sun warm Kaiko could have fallen asleep. Except the other person still had much to say and though the reasons were different it would seem that they both had family issues. But she let Norani speak. As speaking is a great way of shedding pain. "I don't get along with my family either. Honestly speaking I came in part to find peace from recent events." She said, honestly coping with the loss of her uncle hurt. She was happy to focus on anything else. "There is also much life in the ocean," she said. "Come, I can show you." She said then began slowly swimming towards the ship. She hoped to find barnacles to collect and preserve for later.

[Norani]

To find peace from recent events.

Norani wondered if everyone on this journey shared that mindset. She hadn't really thought about it that way in regards to herself, but it certainly seemed that she was doing just that. A soft smile grew. Kaiko was a pleasant person, and Norani could only hope that she wasn't pained like Norani herself was. To get lost in the water? That was an interesting thought. One she could get behind.

Sharing her smile with Kaiko, "I wouldn't mind learning how to breathe in any water. Papa could hold his breath for so long, many said that he could."

She missed him. She saw the pain in his eyes when she had confronted her family about what they had kept from her. She had seen how he had been silenced by her mothers. She knew his own pain with having people taken from him by the Unknown, and saw that pain grow when he saw how she'd felt. She had seen that it had been eating him up to keep that from her. Her heart wanted to forgive him, but she still felt betrayed, and felt that he was a coward for keeping it from her. For not standing up to her mothers.

As Kaiko led the way back to the ship, Norani flipped onto her belly and dipped into the water, frog-swimming after the young woman. She kept her eyes forward, following after the woman's webbed feet, but she reached out once more with aether into the waters around her. She asked them to help care for herself and for Kaiko, to warn them if danger was coming, to aid them with their currents. Norani gave a generous amount of aether into this, and hoped that they would hear her question.

Soon the pair arrived at the barely bobbing hull of the Duck, and Norani gulped in deep lungfuls of air. Norani was treading water, waiting to follow Kaiko's lead as she caught her breath. She placed a hand against the hull, closing her eyes, and remembered what she'd been shown. The cursed form of the Duck and her crew, the determination in Yeva's voice to help them. The Duck was alive, that much she knew. She reached out to it with her aether, tinging it with the power from her Animus rune. It pushed into the ship and was immediately gobbled up. The aether was consumed and it was gone from her. She sighed, severing the flow, patting the hull twice with her hand. She hoped Yeva was right in trusting the Captain.

And she wondered if she'd ever trust anyone else as much as she did Yeva. As much as she did her family, before she learned about Juno. She looked over at Kaiko and smiled sadly.

She could at least try, with this one.

[Kaiko Marina]

Kaiko could fill the pain Norani was holding. She didn't need to know the why, she just needed to know she could help. Kaiko could easily help distract the mind. So she did. Even if it was only a temporary solution.

Kako smiled, thinking of an old Orkhen holding their breath. "For a slug it's quite simple, I breathe through my skin. But for fish. It's more complicated. Some must keep moving in order to breathe like sharks. Others suck water into their mouth and spit it out the sides of their face. The gills do all the hard work of the lungs." She said, "If you have Animus I can catch a fish for you to make into a totem. Then you could breathe water too."

Kaiko had to deflate in order to swim underneath the water but she did so with the same skill as breathing. Kaiko looked back to see if her new friend was keeping up. Norani was swimming like a frog. This is not something she had seen people do before, but it was working. The sea seemed to try and help her swim and through kaiko didn't need the help but she did let it help. Blue dragon sea slugs tend to rest lazily on the water and let the water push them where they need to go and so she did too. Kaiko popped her head above the water to check on her new friend and to open her jar.

Kaiko gave a smile at Norani and dived under the water. She would head under the boat as she looked for barnacles. Finding one she put the lid beside it and tried to pry it off. But of course the barnacle was too strong to pull off, so Kaiko continued looking. She stopped when she noticed a little jellyfish floating nearby. She soon noticed many many more. Tiny little jellyfish. As cute as they were, she knew the damage they could do to human flesh. She scooped a few into the jar and closed the lid. She then turned to find where Norani had gone so she could show her the tiny stingers.

Not immediately seeing her, she returned to the surface of the water. As soon as she found the Orkhen she handed her the jar. "One thing the sea can teach you is pretty almost always means pain." In said Jar were 5 little jellyfish.