7th day of Frost, Mid Morning
The Widow's Lace slid smoothly in to dock at one of several empty spots large enough to fit the sloop's wide berth. Leith could tell they had arrived by the slowing of the ship, the increased shouts both from above and to the side, and a part of her itched to dart up to the deck and look upon the city, but her duties though nearly at an end still had to be completed. This had been the first ship she had been given a title on as she bit by bit made her way up around the coast toward Kalzasi. As a Steward's Assistant, she had mostly assisted with the preparation of meals, but had also cleaned both quarters, decks, and other supplies. It had made time pass quite swiftly despite the season long journey to get here for which Leith was grateful. The closer she got the city the more her anticipation had risen, mingling with a dull homesickness as the cold set in the further she traveled.
Her arms were sore, back had a twinge from being bent over scrubbing since before the sun had risen, but the more menial tasks were behind her as she helped the Head Chef take stock of the remaining food, make a list of supplies the cook's crew that was staying on would need to get while on port, and made sure all remaining stock was fresh and tightly closed.
"You sure you don't want to stay on? We'll be back to Kalzasi within two seasons I suspect and I could make the captain up your pay." The Head Chef was a tall reed of a man, initially stern until he got a read on your work ethic or lack there of. Eyes almost as dark as her own held a bit of regret, anticipating her reply.
"Apologies, sir, but this is the destination I seek. When you come back though, see if you can find me, I hope to have something of a business of my own by then, I'd welcome a familiar face and a chance to feed you one of my recipes."
Her eyes must have held a similar look to his own for he opened his mouth, paused, then with a wan smile said, "I'll make the attempt next time we're back."
She nodded appreciatively and they returned to work. Leith made a note to get herself the supplies to make inventory ledgers, she'd need to keep stock of something approaching this amount of food if she planned on getting into business for herself. They found a contaminated barrel of wheat, Leith picking out a spot of mold on the outside of the barrel that revealed a small but growing batch deep within, and the chef showed her showed her the terra cotta jars they kept fruits preserved in honey in, explaining how certain ones were boiled in a sugar mixture before being added to the honey when they could spare the substance. This was a concept that Leith wished she had known of back in the Southern Ocean. Leith rattled off numbers and quantities of dried meats, fish, and hardened cheeses in barrels, re-sealing containers as they went and finally the chef looked satisfied with their work. He thanked her, wished her well, and Leith went to the crew quarters to get her things.
She did feel a twinge of melancholy as she dragged her things toward the stairs leading to the upper deck. She had spent her entire life on and around boats. Whatever she found in Kalzasi that would alter that to some degree or another. A tiny part of her reconsidered the Head chefs offer for a moment.
Then she broke into early afternoon light, dimmer than she expected, for the sky was immutable cotton-like gray as far as she could see. It took her several long moments of observation to realize why. Tiny flakes of snow drifted down from the sky, and looking directly up into the grey but still light sky they were hard to make out on the back drop. She let go of one of her luggage packs to put a powder blue hand out, watching the tiny ice crystals collect and melt upon her skin. Then she turned and got her first look at the city.
She was in what she would soon know as the Low City, which not long after would come to be her home. Layers of buildings, like strata appeared before her, starting with the plain, close together buildings that began to pepper the outskirts of the docks, then clustered and stacked as her gaze continued to sweep outward. There was a clear line where these types of buildings stopped and other began, and obscured by more grey she could see the intimidating mountain face, which seemed to have structures carved within. Already amazed and she hadn't yet glimpsed the floating sections of rock, obscured by clouds as they now were, Leith strode off the deck, saying a few goodbyes before hauling her things down the gang way and into the city.
----
It didn't take her long to find the Wayfarer's Rest and book a room, dropping off her things, and spending none too long in the room, already unsettled about the motionless floor. The room was the cap of a growing anxiety rising within the Rathari. She had been and still was excited about all of it, but the lack of sleep she'd surely get in the coming days being on solid land dampened this somewhat. It had also been an age since she had been in the water. Most of her journey she hadn't hidden what she was, but for some reason the higher class vessel she had found in The Widow's Lace had made her keep her Rathari heritage hidden. She longed to shift and try out the cool water of Lake Udori, and after a long walk through the fish market to calm her nerves, she realized there was no real reason to not do just that.
The sun was setting when Leith felt isolated enough, having walked off from from the port to where the slums dissipated and only the occasional fishing shack dotted the landscape. She found a small cluster of rocks to store her clothing and walked out, flakes still falling lightly around her into water of the lake where they disappeared into the black expanse. It was cold. She had been expecting this, but it still shocked her system as her feet and legs sank into the shallows. One of the things she would have to learn is how long she could stay in her Zoan and Lycan form in the water. Her beast form was truly made to inhabit the coldest depths, but she was curious to see if that would hold true to her others. It was, however, not a test she would perform today, and even as the thought occurred her body began to lengthen and change. It took less than a minute, perhaps because it had been so long since occupying her beast form. The impatient eagerness of finally getting to stretch out consumed her. She walked as far as she could until her legs were no longer legs and her body arced downward into the cool clear water depths. And then where once there was a Druskai seeming woman, there was suddenly the sinuous and massive form of a leopard seal. She lost herself for some time, at first only joyfully flowing through the water. It was strange to her how she could feel so acutely how much colder it was here in this place, yet feel so comfortable in these depths, even as she dove excitedly straight to the bottom of the lake, following the gradual slope downward until she was surrounded by near blackness. She let out a series of joyful trills, a deep well within being filled and a sense of blissful belonging in the dark depths.
Several hours later a wet and dripping Zoan Leith emerged from the water, the chill biting at her more refreshing than worrisome. She would have stayed in the depths all night, but as the initial thrill of returning to Beast form faded, her instincts kept her fairly close to the shore. She wanted to hunt the depths, to understand every aspect of this giant body of water, but dangers could lurk there too and she had no intention of testing them on her first night in Kalzasi. Shaking her hair out and slipping on clothes that stuck awkwardly to her wet form, accentuating her curves she made her way back to the inn to sleep. She had a lot of work ahead of her, so much to learn, and so much to seek, but first things first: Tomorrow she needed to find a job.
