There are Waves, but no Beach

B

Boss Frost

Guest
Original poster
The sound of water as it splashed against the dock was always a soothing sound.

Wood had always been a rare commodity, but there had been at least enough of it to make the town of Flotsam. Ships, shattered against the coral reef when the water had been lower eventually piled up. The survivors used the wreckage to create more, eventually finishing the makeshift "town" way out on the water. With the population at around three hundred, it was the biggest human settlement in the world.

Dressed in the loose blue vest of an apprentice wizard, Moth sits with a fishing line in the water. The bobber floats uselessly upon the surface of the water - it was so clear today that you could very clearly see the fish look disinterested at the bait at the end of the line.

The human's familiar, a grey-colored cat, climbs on his shoulder, tugging at his blond hair. "Hey, quit it." He said to the cat, brushing the being's paw away. Behind him, other people move among their various businesses - which wasn't much. The peaceful little community had little else to do but sit around and wait - fish, create things... draw on the shipwrecks, climb things, swim... many played music.

Out in the distance, beyond the reef, a monolith stands - a rock box, known by many as 'The Ruin'. None was able to tell the dangers of such a thing's proximity... since no one was able to find the way inside.

Moth sighs happily, basking in the sun. Even without a fish on the line, he wasn't that worried... maybe he could steal over to the Shipper family's place and have a meal with them...

From the west, behind The Ruin, a storm approaches.

OOC: Just a little tale about a watery world, a group of peasant heroes, and lots of swashbuckling in a dungeon setting! Work with what you please!
 
The shy girl walked quietly, listening to the sound of the waves crashing. Her green optics filled with loneliness as she stared off into the distance, her long brown hair whipping behind her as the wind blew. She sighed, her head filling up with thoughts--being new, she fills lost and alone, not knowing anyone. She wore a purple sweatshirt, designed with white stripes with jean shorts and black chucks.

She looked over, bringing her hands to her eyes as a shield from the sun, her nose wrinkling. A few yards away, she notices a being, accompanied with a gray cat. Her head tilted to the side, her bangs falling into her eyes. Hesitantly, she started to walk towards the male, biting her bottom lip in a nervous manner. Once she was a few feet away, she stopped.

"Excuse me, sir?" she asked, quietly, hopping she wasn't a bother. "May I join you? I'm new here." The right corner of her lip curled up into a light smile. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

She grabbed the end of her hair, which hung past her bust, twirling it in her finger. Her optics dropped to her shoes, her right foot digging into the dirt playfully.
 
Tilting his head back, Moth laughs. "Coral, girl. You don't have to ask for thin's 'round here. Doubly not somethin' like that." He winks, "A pretteh girl goes wherever she wants, seh?" He points towards the bobber in the water. "'Sides. I'm just fishin'." He pats the wooden dock next to him, his cat looking at the hand, attempting to pounce on it.

"Hey, quit it." He says to the feline, which looks up at him.

"I'm so bored, though." It states, in a male voice. "Can't we just go buy some fish?" Moth snorts, "Oh, and I'm sure you have the shells for it?" The feline "hrmps!", tail flicking, and looks out towards the bobber impatiently.

He looks up at the female with a soft smile, "New, eh? Newly shipwrecked, or did you come on one of the trader's boats?" He thinks for a bit, "Oh! My name's Moth. The feline's name is Bane." He rubs the vest he wears for a moment - proudly. "Transmutation specialist."

Bane snorts, "Transmutation and laziness. You haven't even studied today." Moth shifts, "Well, I'm hungry. We'll study after we eat." The feline raises an eyebrow, "Riiiiight."
 
The girls cheeks flushed a light pink as he laughed at her. "Oh, okay." She tugged on the sleeves of her sweatshirt in a nervous manner as her optics switched between the two as they talked.

"I'm Kato -- Kat for short," she said, her voice soft and light. She brought her hand out for a friendly shake. "It's nice to meet you both." She brought herself down to a seat next to him. "... Is it okay to sit?" Her eyes filled with nervousness, hoping not to offend the man and his companion. "I was shipwrecked, about three days ago," she said, answering his question. "I was sailing, by myself, hoping to go back home to see my family." She brought her knees up, hugging them to her chest tightly. "So, I'm here for awhile until I get a new boat -- my old one is long gone." She rested her chin on her knee, looking over at bob in the water.

"Transmutation specialist, eh?" she said, her focus now on the man's vest. She smiled at the two shyly as they bickered at each other. She brought her hands up to head, adjusting her headband firmly. "I'm not much of an expert of anything special like that. I was a slave back on small island, a few hundred miles away since I was about 10; not even sure if I was heading the right direction of home."

She sighed softly, her head turning back towards the water, watching the waves slowly. "Where is here anyways?"
 
"Kato? You've got a weird name. What language is that? Tymorian? Sahaugin?" He shrungs, "Eh. Nevermind, doesn't matter much anymore. Sort of weird to hear of a slave with no specialization. I mean, my great-grandfather was a slaver. Pearl-diving business. Rather lucrative, but I'm not as good with people as he was." He shrugs, pulling his legs from the water as he spots a passing reef shark.

He smiles, gesturing, "This here is Flotsam! Biggest human settlement in the world. If your folks aren't here, I'd give up on finding them. Water looks the same no matter where you go... and land's impossible to find. I've never even seen it. Sorta envious you have..." He knocks on the dock, "Since that's where the wood is. Can't make ships without wood, and most of it goes into the construction of Flotsam."

Bane sneers, "Oh, look at you. Moth, the History and Geography specialist. Pity you can't use that knowledge to get something worth eating."

"Hey, I'm trying, alright! Using a fishing pole's harder than it looks. I'd rather just dive in and get the fish myself, but you know the rules." He sighs, shrugging. Bane sighs as well, frowning. "...Yeah."
 
She blinked slowly. "My name was changed when I went into slavery -- but, I'm not sure what's so special about me," she replied, tilting her head with curiosity. After a few moments, she shook her head back into reality. "I'm just thankful I escaped, and I'm not back there." She wrinkled her nose some. "I was afraid I wouldn't find them here, but I'm sure they're long gone."

She rested back, with her elbows locked and her palms flat against the surface to support her as she signed deeply. "... You've never been outside of this place?" She tilted her head to the side, looking at the man. "Grow up here I assume?" She nibbled on her bottom lip gently, looking at the man. "It's... really beautiful out there -- from what I've seen anyways, but this place seems nice, I might stay here." She turned her head, looking at the woods.

The girl reached behind her, grabbing her hair to pull it over to the right side of her head, her loose curls hanging below her bust. "Rules?" she cocked her brow some with question. "What king of rules?" She stood up straight then, tugging on the sleeves of her sweatshirt.
 
With the sharp sound of something hard hitting wood a conch shell with a hand firmly wrapped around it bent over the top of the wharf and thudded down. The fingers uncurled from around the colourful shell and leaving it's prize on the dock disappeared beneath the clear water. Attached to the arm was a shoulder, neck, body, limbs and large mess of long brown hair that flowed around an upturned face as the hand shot up again gripping the edge of the wharf and pulling the young man out of the water his other hand coming up holding a net bag full of crabs and other crustaceans.

Ty has a third generation resident, his grandparents having been shipwrecked on the flotsam reef over half a century ago. His full name being Typhoon his parents had hoped that by naming him after the storms that occasionally brought devastation to the settlement the storm gods would look kindly on them and spare Flotsam their ire. But none of that bothered Ty as with a small grunt he pulled himself and his catch up using what had once been a ship's wheel but now served as a handhold for exactly this purpose.

Shaking seawater from his hair his put the string bag aside and sat on the planks and picked up the shell turning up over in his hands and brushing away a few stray pieces of seaweed that clung to it. Resting it in his lap he looked over to where Moth sat, his rob in his hands as usual and not catching anything, as usual. Though he was a little surprised to see him talking to the girl who had washed up. Not because she was talking to him but because she had been pretty banged up when she had arrived.

"Not biting?" he called out grinning at his friend. "I could offer you some soup later, Dads gotten the salt water purifier up again and we have plenty of shellfish." He stood, the shell in one hand and the string bag in the other. "Good to see you're up too. You're welcome to join us too if you want we traded some for bread to go with the soup, what outsiders see in pearls I'll never know."
 
In a nervous and gentle manner, the girl nibbled on her bottom lip with her head tilted to the side, resting on her shoulder, as she stared at the water. She shifted some, sending a sharp pain from her left ankle all the way to her left hip. She groaned some as she sat up quickly, her hands massaging down her calf slowly. "I keep getting this sharp pain in my ankle, and it keeps growing," she said, wincing as her fingers made their way up her calf, working them to her hip. She laughed quietly to herself, her cheeks turning deep red. "I haven't even done anything, just been looking for places to sleep for the night.. Maybe I just need to stretch a little bit..." her voice trailed off, her gaze looking at the water. "I want to go for a swim, but frankly, I'm scared as crap." Her optics filled with fear, her gaze now looking at her ankle, which seemed to be swelling up.

Tears formed in her eyes, falling down her cheeks as she propped herself up with her hands, her right leg bending towards her to use a leverage to stand without bending her left leg. Limping, she made her way closer to the edge, partially unzipping her sweatshirt. A voice of another man startled her, causing her to loose her balance. She squeaked, landing on her back, her arms sprawled to her sides. Blinking slowly, she looked around before sitting up straight, rubbing her head. "Boy, am I graceful or what?" she muttered to herself in total embarrassment. Her cheeks flushed deep red again as she looked up at the man. "I-I-I can't," she stuttered, brushing her hair behind her ears some. "I'm not dressed nice, I haven't washed up since I've got here, I don't even know where I'm staying tonight." The longer she spoke, the faster she talked. "I'd feel awful." She took a deep breath as she brought her gaze down."
 
"Theres no dress code, its not like we have carpets that you could mess up. Besides you could use a wash and some food. My parents would understand, my grandfather was wrecked here too." he said reassuringly offering a smile. "We're not rich but always happy to share with those who need and I don't think we could eat all of these ourselves it would be rude for me not to offer."

He leaned forwards looking down at the girl. "By the way I'm Ty, I saw you when they pulled you from the rocks, it wasn't pretty and this is my way of helping you back onto your feet. Uhhh here." he held the conch out to her "Take this, I was going to put it next to the lantern at home so the flame danced off of the colours on it buy maybe you could trade it for something if you don't want to come over."
 
She adjusted the sleeve of her sweatshirt onto her shoulder, smiling up at him as she thought for a moment. "I'll take you up on your offer. I would really use a wash," she replied. "Keep the conch, I couldn't take that from you." She threw her head back some, swishing her hangs out of her face. "I'm--My na--Just call me Kat." She winced as she brought herself up onto her feet once more, being aware of her balance this time as she brought her hand out to shake his. "Nice to meet you. I thought I remembered you, but.. I really don't remember much of that night. Took a few too many hits to the head." She laughed nervously at her joke, her gaze looking down at the ground.

"I'm guessing you know Moth, and Bane," she said quickly, trying to avoid awkward silence. "First ones that have actually talked to me since I've been here--minus the people who helped me land here, but I'm not sure who they all were. She brought her arms out straight as she started to wobble once again, her left foot slightly off the ground. "Still not fully heeled, but I can't complain." She wrinkled her nose as pain ran up and down her entire left leg with each move she made. "Moth was mentioning some rules..." she said. She squeaked as she noticed her balance falling forward, her arms flailing to help her stand straight.
 
"Yeah, yeah. Not biting. The only thing I got so far was a horribly annoyed Ceptu," Moth sighed, shaking his head. Bane looks up, "Still said we could have eaten him."

"They're sentient creatures, Bane." The feline, however, did not look impressed. With a sigh, Moth looked over at Kat. "Don't worry, the rules aren't too strict, unless you've learned to do magic. Gotta keep the power in check, or something." He shrugs, "Basically, unless you've registered a 'Mastery' of a particular spell, you're not allowed to use it without the supervision of someone who has mastered it. I guess it's understandable, but it's still pretty annoying."

Bane smirks at him, "Moth's only got a single mastered spell." With an embarrassed look, Moth nods. "Uhh... yeah. I can cast 'Tooth and Nail' - the easiest transmutation spell there is. I've got to get more registered mastery spells if I could really call myself a Magic-User. It's... harder than some people make it seem."

Moth nods though, smiling at Ty, "Yeah, Typhoon and I have been on Flotsam since we were born." Pulling his line out of the water, he gets to his feet - towering about a head over the other two. Looking down at the others, he leans on the fishing pole with a smile. "I think I'll take up staying at your place tonight, Ty - I can't go back home with no meal. You know pops -" he mimics a deeper voice, "If you don't come back with fish, don't come back at all!"

Tipping an imaginary hat to a Ceptu floating by, an apologetic grin on his face, "Sorry about earlier." The human-sized, flying jellyfish 'looks' annoyed at him with all three eyes, moving a little faster away. Bane chuckles, "What a grump."

Grabbing Kat's shoulder to steady her from a fall, he shrugs, "As for your heel, it'll heal. If you're looking for a faster cure, there's always..." He hunches over, twiddling his fingers and adopting a menacing voice, "The Sea Witch..." Adding a silly laugh at the end, he grins, "He's in the giant skull-house on the other side of town."