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beluga_man ([info]beluga_man) wrote in [info]nosuchplace,
@ 2008-11-11 14:24:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:corisanthias xyllaniasodas, nuray

Sunday, October 28th
Who: Corisanthias and Nuray
When: Early morning (around 8 o'clock)
Where: Van'taurë Lake
Why: Because land walkers shouldn't have all the fun :)

Corisanthias leaped into the water and felt his mind grow at ease as his tail returned. He may not be home in this place, but these waters were as close as he was going to get to it. He stretched himself out and gave a little yawn, sending bubbles to the surface. This was where he really belonged.

The water was far warmer than he was used to, but by now he'd come to accept that everything was going to be warmer than he was used to. At the very least he could hope that the water might freeze at some point.

He breathed in deep and then spotted a fish from the corner of his eye. He immediately switched into hunting mode and jetted off, diverting the fish with carefully planned false lunges, circling the fish into a better place to assault from. It was a good sized fish, and he could hear it calling out in panic, making it easier to know where it might be going. He had to catch it before it found a school.

Then he saw his opening. The fish, in an attempt to divert Corisanthias, accidentally turned the exact direction that Corisnanthias himself was lunging in from and with a quick grab, the fish was his. He immediately switched direction to the surface and breached into a somersault, bringing the fish to his mouth and taking a bite as he landed. Breakfast was served.

It was only after the hunt was finished, with half the fish still hanging from his mouth that he noticed he wasn't alone.

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[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-11 02:54 pm UTC (link)
Nuray had actually been in the water since sunrise, it wasn't terribly uncommon for her to come to the lake immediately after waking. She'd left a scarf, almost a towel, that she had left on shore for when she finally did come out. Assuming that she didn't find a good reason to stay overnight. Though if she did that, she could guarantee that Jay would come looking for her at some point in order to make sure that she was okay. Once he knew that, he'd go back to the house and stay there unless he wished to go elsewhere. They were friends in that sense.

It was easy to miss her in the darker waters of the lake, deep brown to black in most places, she looked too much like the floor of the lake. So she had gotten a good look at the other mer joining her in the lake. Well, that was something she hadn't seen in a while. Her father and brothers had all hunted. Nuray knew how, but while there might have been some major emancipation of the females of the species on land, in the water, hunting was still a male thing.

When he realized that she was there, she didn't shy away from him. Instead, she swam in a circle and motioned for him to join her. Where she was from, the action of swimming in a circle meant that she was not occupied and thus it would be okay to start a conversation. She'd never seen a white tail before, most of those she had known were like herself, dark colors of brown, black, and green. Meant to blend in and hide.

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[info]beluga_man
2008-11-11 03:05 pm UTC (link)
He felt some relief when he realized that it was another mer in the water, and not a predator he had overlooked. He would have to reprimand himself later for not paying closer attention, but when he saw her tail, he knew why he had missed her. She was meant to blend in with these waters. It made him focus more on his own coloring. Even in these waters he was like a fish out of water.

He continued chomping on his fish as he saw her swim in a circle and motion him over. He was excited enough by the invitation, and the opportunity to communicate with one of his own.

Especially if she wanted to play. But first they'd have to be acquainted. He didn't know how the other merfolk behaved and didn't want to offend before he a chance to befriend.

With a flick of his tail he closed the distance and extended the remaining half of the fish in greeting.

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[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-11 03:38 pm UTC (link)
It had been a while since she had been around other mers. Marit, whom she had met on her first day, was the only other mer she had met so far in Elysium. This was not Marit, this one was a male. He was coming to meet her and she was quite happy to meet this new person.

He closed the distance and she waited, bobbing in the water, not really sure what the particular customs were where he was from.

The merman offered her a piece of his fish. Obviously that was normal for his people, to offer part of what he had. She ducked her head in quiet acceptance of his gift and the death of the fish that she was going to eat.

Her hands had lengthened just a little, giving more space for her webbing to grow in. To any normal person, her fingers would have looked odd. There were bits of fish flesh in the water, but she was glad that he'd made the first move.

It was only polite to eat what one was given. Then it was gone and they could talk. "Nuray," she indicated herself with a shake of her head. Introductions were a good thing. After all, one should know their friends.

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[info]beluga_man
2008-11-11 04:00 pm UTC (link)
He was glad to see she liked the fish. It put him at ease and he put his arms behind his head as he floated while she ate, smiling at getting some interaction with someone who would understand better the things he did.

He was also glad to hear that she spoke a language he understood. He'd been afraid the other Mers might speak words he didn't understand.

"Corisanthais" he said, as he put his clenched fist to his chest and bowed. He let the motion carry him and twisted slightly, now staring at her upside down in the water.

There was no reason to be too formal, after all he hadn't played with someone in ages.

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[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-11 04:20 pm UTC (link)
"Corisanthais," wow, that was a name that got a lot of bubbles. Her name was tiny by comparison. It was not polite to laugh at someone's name, but she wondered if her parents had called him all of that all the time. Nicknames were something that she was familiar with though her family didn't use them all that much, probably because they had short names like Sveda and Alp.

It seemed that merperson language was essentially the same, though the other languages they were exposed to effected what they spoke out of the water. He turned upside down and she moved up close enough to bump foreheads with him. A kind of affectionate nudging gesture.

Then she settled back, back swimming, but not running away. Initiating a game of tag maybe?

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[info]beluga_man
2008-11-11 04:26 pm UTC (link)
He laughed when she bumped her head against his, glad to see that they'd connected so quickly. He had to imagine that there weren't many of their kind around here. Though it was hard to tell outside of the water.

When she started swimming he had to think for a second. She was either swimming away or goading him on. Either way he could have some fun.

He didn't hesitate to take off full speed, swimming towards her but at a downward angle, then arching back up as he closed the distance

If she hesitated, he'd be bumping into her pretty quick. If she bolted, then it'd really be a game.

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[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-11 04:47 pm UTC (link)
He came at her and rather than continuing to backswim away from him, she shot upward ahead of his curve, making him have to chase her.

This was the kind of game one could easily play with dolphins because they understood the idea of one person being 'it' and having to escape from that person. It could also be considered a training game to teach one to stay away from sharks by having the one who was 'it' pretend to be a shark.

Nuray had grown up with several siblings, so this kind of play was normal even if she didn't see many other merpeople in her section of the sea. At least when she was going upward, she was easy to see against the light. It was when she dropped back toward the bottom that things would start to get more difficult.

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[info]beluga_man
2008-11-11 05:09 pm UTC (link)
He was glad she knew the game, and followed her arc towards the surface. It had been a while since he'd even played with his tribe mates, since he was at a disadvantage with his tail. But he would try harder to catch her before the pain flared.

As they approached the surface he shot sideways and braced himself for when they reached the surface. It wasn't the best maneuver in tag, but if she wasn't a breacher than he'd have the advantage when they started going down.

But if she was, well...it was always more fun to have a challenge anyway.

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[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-11 05:22 pm UTC (link)
Nuray kept up her speed as she headed toward the top, aware of his change in direction, but not letting it stop her. Up, then out of the water, and she turned a flip in the air before slipping back into the water with little more than a ripple. Obviously, she was practiced at this particular maneuver.

With that, she shot down for the bottom. Now the game was going to get really interesting, going from being tag to being more like hide and seek.

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[info]beluga_man
2008-11-11 05:32 pm UTC (link)
When she breached he knew she was a formidable challenge. So he settled for doing a full double somersault in the air before landing face down and following her back towards the bottom. He could feel the waves he'd left behind with his less than graceful entry, but it wasn't too important.

Now they were more in her territory, and he knew he'd have to stay on his toes. He stood out with his white markings, and she blended in with her own coloring. But he was a hunter. He was used to picking out fish who excelled at blending in with their surroundings. He kept his focus and continued after her, slowing a bit to take in more of the area.

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[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-11 05:55 pm UTC (link)
She was pleased with this because it was more exercise than she had gotten in quite a while. After all, Nuray didn't get as much exercise swimming as she should have been getting and she had spent more time on foot walking on her legs over the past few weeks than a little bit.

Down, she headed for the bottom, leveling off and letting the movement of her hair and tail help her blend in with the dappling under the water. There were natural formations at the bottom of the lake, pieces that could add new bits to the game. Going around a piece of rock that stuck up in the water like a finger, she pulled herself up short. Ducking her head out one side, she seemed to be daring him to follow her.

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[info]beluga_man
2008-11-11 09:21 pm UTC (link)
It was amazing how her natural coloring helped her blend in. Several times he nearly lost her as she blended in with the natural hiding places of the lake. He paused as she swam behind a rock, daring him to follow.

He knew he had to come up with something better.

He turned his head and saw a fish drawn by the movement, probably thinking he'd find a quick meal. Corisanthias smiled and asked the fish if he knew a good place to sneak up from.

When he spotted a way, he bolted down, hiding himself among the rocks along the bottom, knowing he didn't have the camouflage to aid him. Still, the rocks were eroded from time and left him holes and cracks to slip among, as if they were the ice of his home waters. He quickly made his way through them and smiled, finding himself behind her hiding place.

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[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-12 08:57 am UTC (link)
It would be fun to try and play on teams, but fish had notoriously short memories when it came to most things. That made things difficult, but they were occasionally helpful as they knew good hiding spots.

In this case, the fish were helping him to try and get a one up on her since she had the obvious advantage in these waters. Even in the waters up where he was from, she could have worked out well, dark coloration still working in her favor, but it would have been closer to even as he could hide in the white spaces a good bit more easily than she could. Pity they wouldn't get a chance to try that out anytime soon.

She was expecting him to keep coming the same way that he had before and the fact that he didn't surprised her. Him popping up out a hole in the rocks got wide eyes and she bolted off again, though she was only an arm's length away when she did.

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(you know talking to fish is a special power for Corisanthias right?)
[info]beluga_man
2008-11-12 10:00 am UTC (link)
He was disappointed his ploy had failed, but he'd come close, and he bolted after her, pushing himself to his limits as he pursued.

He was amazed at her speed, not having had this much fun in years, and was surprised enough to actually be smiling without the effort of forcing himself to. He laughed, sending bubbles towards the surface and yelled out to any fish in listening distance to clutter the path ahead.

He'd use anything he could for this game.

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(Nuray's not so lucky)
[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-12 10:50 am UTC (link)
He missed her by fingertip lengths as she darted away again. So close that she could actually feel his attempt to grab her.

Nuray was having a grand time as well, glad that there was someone to play with in this fashion. It made her miss her family and the darting around they used to do. Mother or Father would always join in to even things out while the other was busy. So very much fun. Corisanthias seemed like her older brother, Soner. He'd been bigger and stronger than her, but she had always been able to outrun him being the lighter of the two.

Though the water had been clear only moments before, now there were fish bodies all around her, bumping into and filling her space. It was like swimming, not through water, but through bodies and it forced her upward to try and escape the press. It slowed her down more than enough that he should have been able to catch her before she made it to the surface again.

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Re: (Nuray's not so lucky)
[info]beluga_man
2008-11-12 02:33 pm UTC (link)
He was glad that the little fish wanted to play too. He'd talked to some of them over his previous days swimming in the waters, and they knew him to be a hunter of bigger fish. So when they came to help his game, he was happy to know he could count on them.

He let out a thank you to them and pressed on.

Lucky for him, she cleared a path for him through the fish, and so while she was hindered, he was not. As he caught up to her, he reached out and tagged her tail with his hand, bubbled out "you're it" and then breached the surface at the same time she would have, relishing in having finally caught up with her despite the disadvantage.

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Re: (Nuray's not so lucky)
[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-12 03:23 pm UTC (link)
"No fair," was an adolescent thing to say, but that didn't make it any less applicable since he had gotten help from the fish to catch her. That didn't stop her from chasing after him anyway.

He breached and her speed had been cut so much that she simply jack knifed near the surface and headed back down near on his tail. Cor might have the advantage of assistance, but when it came to outright speed, she had him beat.

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Re: (Nuray's not so lucky)
[info]beluga_man
2008-11-12 03:53 pm UTC (link)
He laughed, shooting bubbles behind him as he swam back down towards the rocks, the fish having already dispersed probably not wanting to get swatted anymore in their chase. He knew he had to be quick. He was built more for stamina than speed, and he could already feel his tail beginning to grow stiff with the exertion. Bursts of speed were more his style.

But he was also adapt at navigating tight turns at high speeds, used to navigating the strange ways ice could freeze, the tunnels and dead ends of glaciers. And he still had the advantage of having gotten a full breach, and used gravity to his advantage as he pressed forward. He took the risk to swim backwards for a second, sticking his tongue out with a smile as he took towards the rocks, turning around before seeing her reaction to his taunt. He rounded the first bend of a rock, knowing she couldn't be far behind and quickly scanned the area ahead, figuring out which would be too small to squeeze through, and which would offer him an added bonus if he could either play chicken with them, or actually make the way through their forms.

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They are having great fun
[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-12 04:23 pm UTC (link)
He stuck his tongue out at her. Of all the nerve. That only spurred her to greater fits of speed, trying to catch him before he would could get away. She wasn't quite as used to having to change direction at the last moment, but that didn't mean she couldn't learn. Right now, she was getting her first lesson.

Zig-zag and then she pulled up short, trying to figure out exactly what was in front of her. A network of caves, oh now that was going to be fun. She'd done a number of caves before, mostly through her treasure hunting days. All she could see was the end of his tail shimmying through one of the holes; well, too could play at that game. Off she swam after him.

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Re: They are having great fun
[info]beluga_man
2008-11-12 05:27 pm UTC (link)
He was impressed with her tenacity. He'd always left behind everyone but his sister and those few hunters who refused to lose to a man who had shown little promise as a child. In the end only his sister ever caught him, and that was because she could slip through the smaller holes.

He weaved in and out of places, taking a glancing blow from a wall that did little damage, but caused him to corkscrew, one of his favorite maneuvers. Then he saw the opening he was looking for, too small for him to go through, but large enough for her.

At the last second he pulled up, leaving just the tip of his tail for her to brush against. He knew he'd be it, and he also knew she'd be somewhere he couldn't go. But he also didn't know where that path would lead, and so he would wait outside the cave system to try to get her then, either at the end of the tunnel or back where they'd began. And it would give him a second to rest his tail.

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Re: They are having great fun
[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-13 06:15 am UTC (link)
If you want it, you'd better be willing to work at it. That was the kind of work ethic Nuray had been raised with. It was the work ethic that kept her looking long after she should have given up trying to find anything and helped her bring home to finds that were the talk of the town.

She was catching up, the distance between them shrinking. He was stronger and over the short distance maybe even faster than her, but she could keep up the speed without much in the way of effort. Was he going to go into the wall? That didn't really make sense, but he was going to do it...then he pulled up. It was a chicken maneuver that usually happened when you misjudged the size of something you were going to try and pass through. Fortunately, Nuray was small enough to fit, otherwise, she would have had to follow his lead.

That kind of turn, she wasn't quite ready for yet. Fingertips brushed his tail. "It!" she called before disappearing into the rock face and down a natural tunnel. About 20 feet in, she found a branch off and swirled down the left. Now that she was in, she either needed to find a place to turn around and go back out or find another way out. It was a network, of course there was going to be another way. It was just the matter of finding it.

Inside the cave was darkness, but on the walls seeming almost purposeful was a substance that glowed in the dark to throw some little bit of light on one's direction. The explorer in her wanting to see where this would go, what was down here. In one thought, she cursed that Jay's diving equipment no longer worked and wondered if perhaps they could find a large enough hole for Cor to join her in her. For all she knew, she had stumbled upon an old colony of mers that had since disappeared. That would be so cool.

Yes, she literally thought of the word cool in conjunction with finding something historical to her own people. Mer history was of course a fragmented thing. Either way, she still had to find her way back out. The tunnels continued downward, into the lake bed it seemed before curving to come back up. When she stuck her head out, it was like watching an underwater rabbit, she was at the bottom of the lake looking upward to the sky the sent down its dabbled rays to the depths. Looking around, she tried to spot the it guy. The game was still on.

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[info]beluga_man
2008-11-13 01:13 pm UTC (link)
He leisurely made his way out and above the cave system, laughing at the still ringing "it" in his ears. But his tail was fast getting better, and when he exited the system, he picked up speed and swam up, making sure he didn't miss where she came out. It would have been pretty foolish to make himself it but give up the advantage.

He brushed his fingertips across some of the rocks before rising higher, enjoying the roughness of them, not the smooth, slick feeling of the ice he normally swam through. He had little time to appreciate it though. He barely saw her with her head out of the rock, like an eel ready to slink back in. He would have missed her, so well was she camouflaged, if it wasn't for the tiny flecks of white in her eyes. But he saw her and quickly sped towards the spot, doing his best to approach unseen.

Of course that was hard to do with a snow white tail.

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[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-13 06:54 pm UTC (link)
He definitely couldn't hide all that well in all this dark water, deep blues made white stand out like a sore thumb. So she saw him coming, but she could either come back out onto the playing field or retreat back into the caves she had only just come from.

It wouldn't be sporting to duck back inside. So she dashed out, making a break for open water. Let him chase her. That was the whole point.

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[info]beluga_man
2008-11-13 09:26 pm UTC (link)
He was out of ideas on how to trick her now. The fish wouldn't be back and the caves were already explored. So he just dashed after her, swimming with all his might despite knowing he wouldn't catch her. She not only had a head start, she had the speed and stamina to outlast him.

But it was still fun, and worth pushing himself to chase after. After all, without the workout he wouldn't get better. And If he didn't get better he wouldn't be able to catch her if they played again.

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[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-14 05:30 pm UTC (link)
The game would go on, with her running away, until he acceded that he couldn't catch her. At which point, it would be called for the moment. Perhaps another day they would do so again.

After the fact though, it was easy enough to stay and drift with the flow of the water. He seemed to be a fun sort, the kind one could play tag with or some other game. As far as Nuray was concerned that was a very important trait in the people around her. They had to be able to play games, to see the happy side of life. She rarely saw anything but.

"That was fun," the smile was in her face and in her body language, the way she angled near to him and stayed in his general space. If she had been worried about him, then she would have been doing more to keep her distance. "Maybe we'll play again?" Having a regular underwater playmate would be the epitome of awesome.

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[info]beluga_man
2008-11-14 11:36 pm UTC (link)
This was the most comfortable he'd felt since arriving here. Floating there, stretching himself out, just enjoying the peace of it.

"Very fun. We'll definitely have to do it again."

He smiled, more than he'd probably smiled in the past few years. It was easier to smile around people who smiled. He hardly remembered why his tribe hadn't smiled.

He brought his fist to his chest and bowed, the universal symbol of respect.

"Thank you for the game Nuray. I have needed something like this since arriving."

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[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-17 05:43 pm UTC (link)
Having fun had been a large part of her life with her family. Even as the eldest daughter with its responsibilities, her life had been full of fun. Chasing her siblings through seaweed and cave systems to keep them occupied and let her mother have a free moment when her father was away with her older brother hunting what the family needed.

"Yes," she would love to play again at some point, but for now it was just enjoy the winter sunshine and the warm water. For her, it was lovely, the kind of do nothing weather she would have sunned herself in at home. "You're welcome." For her it was bringing her hands together and bowing, but it was the bow itself that meant the respect, lowering one's head to another. "Have you been here long? I've only been here a week or so. It's beautiful here."

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[info]beluga_man
2008-11-17 08:09 pm UTC (link)
He'd never seen the gesture, but it resonated something peaceful. He allowed himself to drift in the rise and fall of the water.

"I washed up on shore a few days ago. It was an...accident of sorts. I was worried I was the only one of our kind here. I'm glad to find that I'm not.

It was a comfort, knowing at the least he could create a new family of sorts. Certainly not as close as his tribe had been, but at the least there would be people to turn to, to provide for, to play with and who knew what else.

He marveled at the way to sun reflected off her tail, storing it in memory for a sculpture later.

"What do the...people here do? For work or pleasure? My social graces with the land walkers aren't the best and I confess to not knowing their habits or idea of fun."

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[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-18 06:18 am UTC (link)
Nuray had enough experience with humans to make some guesses about Helicharis though she hadn't explored a whole lot of the town yet. Finding a place to go was somewhat overwhelming to her senses, so she had been spending a lot of time in the lake rather than getting to know everything about the town. The fascination would pass so that she could concentrate on getting to know where she was living.

"If it's like most human places there are markets and music and sports." Jay loved his football, the European version as opposed to the American kind. "Much talking, eating, laughing." It was hard to describe human society now that she thought about it. So many abstractions that needed words she wasn't entirely sure of. "You have not met many humans?" She had met many, many humans. But she had been born near a resort town, humans were practically unavoidable without going into deeper water.

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[info]beluga_man
2008-11-18 01:14 pm UTC (link)
He knew about the markets, but he'd heard they were different here. People got what they needed without having to barter for it. It was a strange concept for him.

"My tribe interacted with humans only when we needed something. Any time we went was a major expedition, and one we didn't take lightly. We had to swim far and cross wide stretches of land, and not using their money we had to hope they would take the fish we caught and offered them."

He had only been on two of those trips, one when he had just became an adult in the tribe, and the other ten years before arriving in Elysium.

"It has been quite some time since I touched land though. Not since breaking my hunting spear in a foolish gambit. And they were not the friendliest of people towards my kind. They called us "crazy" for the way we dressed...or I should say the lack of it. There was not much laughing when we interacted with them, unless it was to insult us."

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[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-18 03:21 pm UTC (link)
To not have to deal with humans on a regular basis. What a novel idea. Even when it had been just her and Jay, it had been her and Jay who was very human in some respects and very much a non-human in others. Or that might have been her influence on him. He didn't eat processed food at all anymore, probably because she couldn't stomach it and there wasn't enough room on the boat to have one type of food for one and another type for another, even if she could just hop over the side and find her own dinner if she so desired. It was better fresh anyway.

"My family lived just off of Alanya, that's a coastal town in Turkey," that that she thought he even knew where that was since if he was from a far part of the waters, he might not have ever heard of it. "Lots of people. Can't get away from them, so I learned early how to deal with them."

She didn't always want to, but she did know how to play the games necessary to get along with land dwellers. Even going so far as to have money of her own in order to do business with them. "Wearing little clothes attracts attention away from the beaches in Alanya, but on the beach it's normal to see people wearing very little." Of course, warmer climate meant that such things were common. "Perhaps it would be easiest to go to town and interact with them. I've found work on the docks when a boat comes in. It's a good job, you meet lots of new people and learn all kinds of stuff."

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[info]beluga_man
2008-11-18 03:36 pm UTC (link)
He had never heard of humans enjoying the water. It must have been that they simply didn't like the cold water. It puzzled him all the more then that humans would live somewhere that the environment didn't suit them.

"The humans called my home the Arctic, though we had no name for it. We enjoyed our isolation. I can't imagine what it would have been like, unable to get away from people. I think I would have been...quite frightened in such a place.

As it was, his one trip into the city had left him quite shaken.

"I am glad to know the humans do not wear their clothes in the water. I have always wondered just how crazy they are with their strange obsessions with them."

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[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-18 08:03 pm UTC (link)
"Oh," she made a surprised sound. "No wonder you never see people in your water, it's too cold. They'll get sick or freeze to death." She turned over in the water so that she was looking up into the sky. "The water near where I'm from is a lot warmer, but even there they only really want to swim in summer." It seemed like something she had gotten so used to that it didn't even bear explaining, but he didn't know, so she explained. And then there was the other part.

"But they do, they have these things called bathing suits that are meant to preserve modesty." Modesty was a concept that she really didn't have any idea what to do with. One was born with a body. One would never have another body. So why be ashamed of the one you were given? And did not all bodies of each gender look essentially the same? It just didn't make any sense to her at all. "I'm not really sure about the whole modesty thing. Jay explained it to me, but I still don't really get it completely."

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[info]beluga_man
2008-11-18 10:13 pm UTC (link)
He knew the changing of the seasons, but had never given them much though. The temperature of the water rarely changed unless he approached the mainland, that was rare.

"I never knew the humans were so...fragile. They must really be crazy then to live so close to water that would kill them."

He brought his tail up and gently rubbed his scar. The mornings chase had aggravated it, and the touch felt good in the water.

"Even in the water they wear clothing? Well that confirms it. They are all madder than poisoned Salmon." He shuddered at the thought. He had seen seen one of his tribe eat one of the poisoned fish and also slip into madness. It had been quite a terrifying time, and the only time in his life he had seen a Mer put to death.

"At least some of us still believe that how we are born is how we should be."

He didn't want to ask about this Jay person. Surely her mate. He could hardly imagine anyone gone unmarried after the age of adulthood. If he hadn't been injured...he shook the thought out of his head. What had happened in the past didn't matter.

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[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-19 08:08 am UTC (link)
Humans as mad creatures. Well, honestly she'd never really thought about it that way, but they do some extremely mad things. Like pissing where they slept by poisoning the waters they drank from with strange chemicals and going gaga over things that the world made and cared little about. She had to shrug at the thought. "They don't take changes in temperature very well." Leaning backward, she turned over in the water, the edge of her tail fluttering in the air for a moment before her head popped back up. "Yes, even in water, they wear clothes. Specially made clothes that don't shrink because they got wet." She'd seen a lot of bathing suits over her lifetime and even on a dare stolen a few. They were such odd things to pull and stretch.

He could have asked about Jay and all she would have said was that he was her friend. One thing she had learned about that man was even though she had played his wife in front of his family, he was a born and bred BACHELOR. A woman was never going to fix him. He'd be himself until the day he died and that was that, open and shut case. However, she didn't really think about it all that much. What was obvious to her was not always obvious to other people. Hence why his sister had immediately seen Nuray as his wife and not just his ship mate, best friend, and occasional chess opponent.

"Yes, one should be comfortable with themselves." The idea of being unmarried after adulthood was actually an easy one for her, she wasn't married and had no prospects for a mate. Too much time spent away from her family and really any other mer for it to even be a possibility. Before, her life had been all about adventure. Now she had been forced to settle down. So now, it would be the kind of thing that she might worry about. If she wasn't too busy having fun and hanging out. "Did you hurt yourself?" He was rubbing his tail, generally that either meant scales needed to be loosened so they could shed properly or one was hurt.

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[info]beluga_man
2008-11-19 01:03 pm UTC (link)
The more he heard the more dumbfounded he was. That they would go through all that trouble to go places they were either not meant to go, or obviously were not comfortable in confused him to no end.

"I have never known how to be anything but myself. I suppose I will have to learn to cope with the people being not who they truly are here."

He realized he had shown weakness in front of her by favoring his tail and did his best to shrug off the soreness.

"It is an old wound, almost twenty years ago now i received it. I nearly lost my tail to a shark on my first hunt as an adult. After such a strenuous exercise it sometimes gets sore, and I am still not fully recovered from the ordeal that brought me here. Do not worry about me, though, it will pass as it always does."

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[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-19 04:39 pm UTC (link)
"Humans are strange that way," it sounded philosophical the way she said it, with that hint of knowing wistfulness that was just too patient to be normal.

That he had received an injury in a battle with a shark due a somewhat surprised and maybe even a little adoring, "Oh," probably because her Father had been a hunter, he'd fought his fair share of those things that there were to fight, but to be nearly crippled by a shark and survive, that took some strength. "I won't worry, you seem to have it well in hand." Which was true, one generally knew the most about their own injuries.

Nuray had really no old scars, not because she never got hurt, but it was never bad enough to really leave one on her. Otherwise, on her, it was show up as a lighter colored marking. Luckily, she'd faced nothing of the kind yet. "There's a woman who wants to study the sharks here." Her meeting with Syndi was still fresh in her mind. "It sounds like you would know more about how to find them than even I would."

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[info]beluga_man
2008-11-19 04:50 pm UTC (link)
He probably knew more about sharks than he did people. But that still wasn't too much.

"Thank you. For not worrying that is. I do not know if the hunters in your own tribe were prideful but...the ones in mine were. The shame of being injured hurts far worse than the actual injury ever could. It is...a reminder of sorts. Of the harm that pride can bring. Of the danger that exists in the water when we forget about them."

Someone who wanted to study sharks? It seemed strange, but he recalled stories from other Mers of humans who dressed as seals and swam the water to stare at the fish.

"I suppose I might have some knowledge to help her, but not much. We had only smaller sharks in the waters of my home. I'm sure what I could tell her about them she already knows, but I would be happy to share what I know with her. It would make me feel...useful."

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[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-19 06:26 pm UTC (link)
"Father was very proud, so was Soner, my elder brother. Our pride was really just me and my family. There were a few other mers who passed through the area, but mostly it was just us. Where we lived wasn't really safe for mers anymore." Too many humans. Too many boats. Too much fishing. It just wasn't safe.

He'd obviously never seen people in scuba gear, when they dressed like seals and wore tanks so that they could breath like fish. She could show him a set of scuba gear without a person in it, but it would be a long walk since they had left the tank back at the boat.

"Help is help. She'll adore having someone to talk to who will understand." There were definitely somethings that it was best to learn from someone who knew it best. "What was your tribe like? Was there many of you? Do you have sisters and brothers?" Perhaps she was forgetting her manners, but she wanted to know as much about him as she could.

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[info]beluga_man
2008-11-20 01:35 pm UTC (link)
With all the troubles he was gathering humans had with the water, he couldn't imagine there were places that weren't safe for Mers. Apparently they were not hindered by their deficiencies.

"I suppose my tribe was just lucky we were in a place the humans could not survive. Even if they could have we would not have given them our home waters."

He didn't mean it to come out as a harsh criticism, but as simple fact. His tribe would have fought to the last if it had come to it.

"We were very isolated, and there were not many of any kind of creature. There were only around two hundred of us, and that was before the destruction wrought by the battle between a Squid and a Whale. We mostly just worked to survive, the hunters hunted, the women tended the children and the homesteads, and our elders led us with their wisdom. What little time we had to ourselves was generally spent procreating or learning the ways of our neighbors."

He didn't want to confess he'd spent more time learning the humans language than the other past time.

"As for family...I do not believe they survived the destruction of our village. In the confusion...it was hard to tell who was killed, but with how far away I am now, they are as good as dead anyway. I know I will never see any of them again. There is just too much open water between here and there."

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[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-20 06:51 pm UTC (link)
Nuray could hardly imagine a world where humans weren't everywhere. It was just one of those things that was intrinsic to her world.

"A squid and a whale?" That would have been terrifying. Just moving along near a whale was like a mountain moving. She'd swum with them before just because she was adventurous. The huge creature had barely noticed her. "If they're strong, they could make it here."

Optimism. Just one more gift that she had. Nuray saw the bright sunny side of things all the time. It was a gift. "After all, you are here and I bet you didn't see that coming."

She ducked down in the water, swimming a figure eight and then popping back up like a cork. "All things are possible."

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[info]beluga_man
2008-11-21 08:08 am UTC (link)
He vividly recalled the commotion when the battle had spilled into the village, the piercing calls of the whale and the pure hatred spilling from the squid. He had rarely met a creature he could call evil, but the squid had been one of them. It ate whatever came close enough to its beak. He could still hear his father as he'd...

"No. They could not make it here. I only made it because I clutched to the side of the whale after it had swam its way here. I was only able to do so because it was too tired from its battle to dive to the dark water, and it only dragged me here out of the annoyance of my spear at its side. We are not meant for the open oceans. Our camoflauge is not suited for the blue water."

Optimism was not one of his strong suits. He simply did not have imagination enough to be hopeful.

"Much as I may wish to see them again, it is as hopeless as trying to wish that the fish could live on land or the birds could live in the sea."

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[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-21 07:45 pm UTC (link)
It was hard to watch someone else who had given up hope. Nuray loved for the people around her to be happy. For her, that was part of a goal in life, to make those around her happy and see them smile. So to watch someone give up hope was perhaps the absolute worst thing that she could be faced with. But what did you say to that?

That you thought they were wrong and miracles did happen. That sometimes wishes did come true, even when you didn't think it was possible and if there was enough one person out there who'd made it, it would be better to believe in the possibility? Yeah, that didn't seem like the best way to go about it. Truthfully, it seemed better to just be quiet. So she did that, which was odd for her.

Nuray could talk a person to death if she was in a good mood. Now she was morose and silent, a look that didn't suit her. She was bright and undeniably bubbly. So the sourpuss expression that she didn't hide very well just didn't go with her facial features.

Thankfully, that passed almost as quickly as clouds on a summer day and she used her hands to make a wave to splash at him. "It's too good a day to be gloomy," she declared, that seemingly everpresent smile right back on her face where it belonged. "Race you to shore?" It was as if she forgotten about him being injured. Well, he had told her not to worry, so she wouldn't worry about him.

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[info]beluga_man
2008-11-22 11:36 pm UTC (link)
He was unfamiliar with her cheery attitude. He was too used to simply approaching the world through truth.

"Gloomy? I suppose if that is what I'm being, than it is a good day to be it."

He didn't respond to the second question, eh simply took of swimming. She was faster and had the advantage, so he wasn't about to give her more of an advantage. His tail would take him to the shore, and he would not be hindered by it. He would pay later in the day, but that was not a worry. Only now mattered.

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Fin?
[info]seabrightmoon
2008-11-23 06:03 pm UTC (link)
Nuray was certainly the faster of the two and she was after him when he moved, dipping into the water and swimming for the shore with everything that she could give it.

One last game before she got out and dealt with the rest of the Haven. There were other things to explore outside of the water and she aimed to find out what they were.

Though now she knew that there was somewhere to come back to and someone in it that she could relate to.

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Sounds like a good place to end.
[info]beluga_man
2008-11-23 07:25 pm UTC (link)
She beat him, not surprisingly. She had the speed and he knew it, but it was fun to try. It was fun to battle against unfair odds and not worry about the outcome.

As she left the water he swam back and watched her go. She had grown up around the humans and was more comfortable around them. He was not so brave. It wasn't that he was afraid of them, it was that he didn't understand them. And the thought of offending them worried him more than what would follow from actually doing it.

But he had enjoyed himself, and now knew he wasn't alone in this strange new place.

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