Rollin' on the River

Fate

After spending several days away, Slavina returned. What followed was a flurry of errand-doing and preparation for the journey ahead.

Daina's efforts to find a language tutor for what ended up being the entirely fabled land of Tír na Tearmann were disappointingly unsuccessful, but she managed to gather seeds, emergency rations, and so on.

Aaren was (as usual) the busiest body, going around to each of the expats from Hometown to check on them, generally gathering information about—among all the other Tsarbog piece locations, of course—Tír na Tearmann (with somewhat less success than Daina), visiting with Borya, and getting various medical and educational supplies for their journey.

Slavina, when she was not finding ways to repent for her lapse of responsibility to La Dama, did everything that she could to ensure that her connections in Bakersfield would be well while she was away.
As often as Aaren's busy schedule allowed, Janin put his head together with hers to begin developing the song that would allow his body to finally be able to fit him. Aside from that, though, he bounced between accompanying Slavina (and, in some cases, mothering her), finishing up business in Bakersfield, and spending the remaining time with his family.

Kelly, on the other hand, got acclimated to the crowded spaces and noisiness of Bakersfield and took to taking long walks in the neighborhood. (Once, a Templar came to Truong asking after Kelly. There was a brief interview. When prodded, Kelly would mention that the guy was trying really hard to get him into the militia, all because he helped a poor guy out. Further prodding reveals that this poor guy was being mugged and Kelly scared the muggers off. Nothing special, really.)

Chauncy, on the other hand, was a good boy. Who's a good boy, Chauncy!? He got lots of love and attention from Truong's kids (once the triplets were instructed on how playing rough with his ears would in fact hurt him lots) and plenty of yummy food from all around!

Now, with supplies gathered and business handled, the day has come to head out.

Slavina

Chauncy's a good boy!

Daina

teehee

Aaren

Aaren has checked her to-do list song against the cart. Everything is in place, every bag stored, every note on key. She nods in satisfaction and gets up on the seat to wait for everyone else to settle in.

Daina

Daina examines the garden one last time before going to join the others. Having given it a goodly boost while they'd been here, and rested up in the fire afterwards... and after warning anyone who might come into the room what she'd be doing. She double checks all her things and then finds a place on the cart to ride but for the time being walks along side.

Slavina

Slavina has spent the entire morning's energy (and then some) on the kids. She actually got up the first time Sharif pounced on her in the morning and spent the rest of the morning letting herself be dragged about, talked to, and activitied. Now that it's time to go, she reluctantly pushes the triplets away from their final hugs and says a very subdued goodbye to Truong, Soheila, and Deitrich.

She makes her way slowly to the front of the cart and looks up at Aaren. "Time to go?" She doesn't bother hiding the roughness in her voice.

Fate

Janin offers his own goodbyes (which are considerably less reserved—although that's not saying much); and Kelly is replete with warm hugs and kisses for Truong's family, even going so far as to give Kadir one of his music-making necklaces.

Aaren

Aaren nods to Slavina and then, after a moment's hesitation, offers, "Do you want a hug?"

Daina

Daina's goodbyes are more like see you next times.

Slavina

Slavina takes a loooooong time to figure that one out, and then says, "I'll save it for the end of the day. You probably don't want to put off leaving for me to have an emotional breakdown."

Daina

Diana pipes up "Fireside feel times when we make camp?" offering a little encouraging smile.

Aaren

Aaren waits pateintly, although she doesn't wait for Slavina to answer to get the goabbit moving. After all, Slavina is perfectly capeable of walking and thinking. When Slavina finally answers, Aaren nods. "Alright."

Fate

Okay! So! At some point in the past Slavina did some wayfinding whatsamawhosit to figure out which direction y'all are headed in.
IIRC we have yet to roll for that?

Slavina

That is correct

Fate

Okay. Min Diff is 3. Bonus info if you hit at or above a certain number which I will not reveal to you at this time. You may assume success and choose not to roll, but if you do you won't get the bonus info.

Slavina

Okay! Can I use my La Dama knack, since she believes La Dama wants her to go on the mission?
Got 9
Having already discussed the first stage of the journey with the group, Slavina curls up in a corner of the cart and pretends to sleep. It's not like they need a wayfinder to guide them to Kern River.

Fate

(To Slavina)

Kern River is the way of ways—it leads to many places, mundane and divine, and in this case Lake Isabella's gentle hair will guide you to the doorway, regardless of if you go by foot or by boat.

There will be a doorway waiting near a gentle delta. It will be guarded by deception and dark, whirling, confusing, suffocating death; it is there you must find a fitting vessel to remain true to that narrow path. But that is then—for now the omens can offer no more.

Slavina

(To Fate)

Got it. Can she get a sense of how long we'll have to travel before coming to the next hospitable place? (I.e. somewhere it's safe to stay for a few days and rest up)

Fate

(To Slavina)

Yeah. Mostly it's entirely up to her. There are a bunch of little villages and towns and such along Kern River outside of Bakersfield. They start dispersing maybe a couple weeks down the line.

Fate

With some more wayfinding help, the group makes their way to a trade boat which turns out to be headed to Moivoja, a moderately prominent port town which is a relatively recent Nauvas Baltijos settlement. It'll be a month-long journey; but passage is cheap (read: free), considering how the captain is suffering from a particularly painful case of gout and the rest of the crew has scurvy in varying severities so Aaren and Daina turn out to be exactly what they need.

Aaren

Aaren will cure the gout and instruct both captain and crew in the many and various nutritonal and lifestyle disorders avalible to them, and how best to change their lives to pick the ones they like.

Slavina

Slavina.... is not particularly useful, aside from the initial picking of the boat and convincing the captian that she'll really like having these passengers on board. Now that she's off the hook for wayfinding for a little while, she sits in an out-of-the-way spot and stares at the river until someone wants her to do something.

Aaren

Aaren, medical issues, cargo, goabbit and transport settled, will head over to Slavina. "Do you want your hug now?" She asks quietly.

Daina

Daina starts trying to work up plans for a more lasting solution for the crew's scurvy problem. Though for now she just starts a small growth on the cart that can provide a piece of fruit a day for everyone.

Slavina

Slavina turns her head in a syrup-slow motion to check the crew. All busy in other directions. She looks back over at Aaren and gives a teeny nod.

Aaren

Aaren, singing her 'don't pay attention over here' song, sits down next to Slavina and wraps her arms around Slavina's shoulders. The smaller woman is engulfed in a riot of warm colors and patterns.

Slavina

Slavina steels herself for the hug, but the steel melts out of her as she recognizes the purpose of the song. She curls up in a little ball and cries on Aaren.

Fate

Luck rolls for each week: 10, 8, 9, and 5.

Aaren

Hooray!!!! Lots of time to work on Janin's new song and transition! Also, time to help him re-swe his clothes now tha the is a totally different size!

Slavina

actually, Slavina had them tailored to fit a more masculine shape than he was at the time. So there is only minimal re-sewing needed!

Fate

Brujames 1-5...

The weather is beautiful. Colorful blooms line the banks of Kern River. The sky is clear, the winds are brisk, and the current is favorable. It's also relatively densely populated; and many days children can be found running along the shoreline, waving to you. There are also a considerable amount of other boats in a wide variety of sizes and styles—a small barque from Meten-Di-Netjer, transporting a minor dignitary; numerous fishing boats the size of Go-Gos from nearby towns; a raucous party barge that has a regular route between Bakersfield and Doxapolis. It's not unusual to have passing conversations with the various people floating by, or even to toss each other things (like booze or food or other goods) in casual trade.

(Back at home, things are going... tense. Dragomir is stepping on toes left and right and proving utterly uncomprehending of the serious disrespect he's showing, even when people try to explain it to him. Mom's said if it happens one more time she's going to give him a piece of her mind.

Ulysses died, very suddenly. Tris is taking it pretty hard. Shea and Jesse have taken to accompanying her to the rabbit hutches every day.

In happier news, Felix Litz has decided to switch his apprenticeship to smithing. Mom's taken it upon herself to teach Lin, well, how to teach.)

One day, on a beautiful, sunny, kinda sleepy afternoon which finds fewer water vessels around, there's a shout that rises up from the fishing crew (plus Janin, who wanted to join them). More of the crew, plus Kelly, stop what they're doing to rush over to the shouting. In short order, the entire ship lists to one side, easily at a 20-degree angle... and then rights itself with some violent rocking.

(To Aaren)
Whatever it is, it bears a medium-sized song—maybe a fish of some kind? Layered within it, however, is another song, a very strange one that you've never heard before.

(To Daina)
There's a loud... well, fish equivalent of a moan, with a deep, enduring agony, which resounds across the entire ship.

Aaren

"What is it?" Aaren sings across to Kelly. She can hear it's some kind of fish, but not anything else, and she doesn't want to add to the 'tipping the ship over'.

Slavina

When the ship jolts to one side Slavina inhales sharply as her sewing needle jabs into the meat of her thumb. She pulls her left hand away so as not to bleed on Janin's coat, then sets the cloth down and twines an arm through the railing while she waits to hear the answer to Aaren's question.

Fate

"A trout!" Kelly sings back, over the chaos and commotion. The ship continues to rock violently with its thrashing. After a moment, Kelly calls, "Aaren, can you sing my breath?" There's a pause. "I'm going in!"
Sorry guys for my poor description. The trout has been pulled onto the ship by the fishing crew and then some. Judging by the way it's shaking the boat with its flopping, it's huge.

Aaren

Aaren starts singing Kelly's breath immedently, turning her other voices to learn more about the strange things she is hearing in the song. In just a few moments, Kelly no longer needs to breathe at all. Now the ship is done listing, she strides across the deck so she can see what she's hearing.
Perception singing to learn more about the trout?

Fate

(To Aaren)

It's in a great deal of pain. There is a massive gouge in its belly, on the inside.

And in the belly is something else. That's what the strangeness is. It sounds only just familiar enough to be thoroughly odd.

Slavina

Slavina belatedly realizes that there is a giant fish flopping around next to her friend that's big enough to eat him. She hurries over to the other side of the deck to make sure Janin is okay.

Fate

Roll away!

Aaren

7

Daina

Daina winces at the 'sounds' the trout is making and rubs one of her ears. "This is why I didn't take up fishing" she grumbles softly as she can't decide if she wants to talk to the giant fish or not. She Frowns trying to decide if it'd be worse not to try .. or to see them eat something she knew.

Aaren

"Daina, I would really like to know what injured it." Aaren sings in a calm tone, gesturing to the fish's belly. "It's cut up inside. Can you tell? It wasn't a fish hook."

Daina

Daina calls out to the fish "hey.. what made you hurt?" seemingly it was a friend not food..

Fate

(To Daina)
The trout is incomprehensible, too deep into agony to be up for reasonable discussion.

Fate

Kelly ties a rope around his waist and hands it to the nearest crewmates, who take it with little protest. Then, clamping a long, single-sided knife between his teeth, Kelly watches the fish's thrashing, times himself, and leaps into its mouth, quickly disappearing down its gullet.

Janin, meanwhile, shouts "What are you —" and makes for the rope to stop Kelly. But he's too late, and didn't have enough conviction in his attempt to begin with. So instead he stands there, watching, wide-eyed.

Aaren

"Don't worry, Janin." Aaren sings, in his calm song. "Kelly will be fine. I'm breathing for him."

Slavina

Slavina slows her approach as she gets close enough to see that no one is in danger. She loops an arm through Janin's elbow and leans against him a little. She looks at the bizzare scene in front of her and tries to make sense of it.

Daina

Daina looks to Aaren "I don't know.. it's really hurting.. it's not answering me" she murmurs as she frowns "I guess we can let Kelly go.. inspect it..."

Aaren

Aaren nods. "Thank you, Daina." She gives her little sister a reasuring smile. "I certainly want to do any healing while he's in there."

Slavina

rolling mystery+knowledge spirit world to figure out what's up with the fishy

Daina

"Maybe sing the fishes calm song? " Daina suggests. "So it's safer for Kelly to go in?"

Slavina

6, I'll PM you my question Megan?

Fate

Sure!

Slavina

(To Fate)

Fish questions:

1. is the fish a normal but oversised animal, or is it a more spiritually powerful being?
2. what does a "catch" of this nature portend, omen-wise?
3. does the fish have a particularly strong connection to any gods, and if so, what is the nature of the connection?

Fate

(To Slavina)

1. Both.
2. Something like this portends some kind of blessing or good luck... provided one lets it go.
3. This fish actually has a strong connection to your eventual destination, coincidentally enough.

Aaren

Aaren brightens. "Oh. Duh, thank you!" She starts the fishes calm song.

Daina

Daina smiles, glad to have been of some help.

Fate

The fish listens to the strangely alluring, soothing song and eventually ceases its thrashing, settling to merely gasping on the deck, only occasionally twisting or flinching uncomfortably. Little by little, more rope disappears down its gullet.

(To Aaren)
Kelly's panic-edging-in song drifts up from time to time, woven within the trout's song. But it appears to remain largely at bay, pushed back by Kelly's rather powerful intentness song.

Aaren

Aaren also helps the fish breathe, since it is currently above water and all.

Daina

Daina tries again to talk to the fish, asking 'What's hurting you fishy friend?' making fish lips just to fuck with anyone watching.

Aaren

To assist Daina, Aaren also tries to muffle the fishes pain.

Fate

(To Daina)
It... hurts... The fish indicates his belly, and further indicates the fresh discomfort currently crawling down his throat.

Daina

Daina nods and explains to the fishy that the thing goin' down his gullet is trying to help, ~"hold still and relax as much as you can"~

Aaren

In response to what she can hear, Aaren also sings a song to help keep down Kelly's panic and caustrophobia. (Not that she tells anyone she's doing this.)

Slavina

Slavina stays leaning against Janin, but makes a languid shift in her neck and shoulders so the Captain can see her face should she choose to look away from the fish. She says in a quiet, deadpan tone, "Congratulations. You caught a god."

Fate

Janin leans back against Slavina, gaze still intent on the fish. This news doesn't surprise him as much as it probably should.

Captain Umija's eyes bulge, and she slides to look Slavina's way. But, despite her vigilant searching (mouth moving and working with half-formed thoughts), she is unable to find any words.

"Wait..." pipes up a crew member from somewhere amidst the crowd, "... does that mean we aren't eating fish tonight?"

"Shut the fuck up!" hisses another.

The trout, its bright white scales catching Angel's sun and brightening the deck with subtle, shimmering colors, calms further, twitching less.

It's a tense fifteen minutes before the rope grows taut, and an arduous five before Kelly crawls out from the mouth, covered in fluid and blood. Not long after, his shoulders work free—and beneath one of them is the head of another person thusly coated. Little by little they work their way out further—this other person is a young woman, nude, with complexion so fair (where it can be seen through the gore) she can hardly be real, and hair and eyes so dark it makes her skin seem whiter. Her fingernails are all broken well past the quick, and her jaw is clenched painfully tight.

She's barely conscious.

(To Aaren)
Her jaw has essentially cramped firmly shut.

Daina

Daina goes wide eyed and she makes a tsk tsk, scolding the fish for eating a person.

Aaren

Aaren starts healing the girl, dropping Kelly's songs. She focuses on fixing the underlying problem causing the girl to pass out, works on her calm-processing song, and starts relaxing her jaw. Meanwhile, she works on keeping the fish alive.

"Daina, could you give the fish a little warmth? I'd like to get him back in the water as soon as possible."

Daina

She nods her head and leans over to give the fish some warmth, she attempts to get a promise from the fish not to eat folks anymore.

Fate

(To Daina)
The trout assures you most assiduously that he will never again eat anything that will try to tear its way free of his belly.

Slavina

Slavina breaks contact with Janin in order to remove her outer robe. She kneels next to the woman and covers her nakedness with the robe. She gives the stranger's hand a gentle, comforting squeeze, and pairs soothing, velvet words to the melody of Aaren's songs. Lyricizing is technically poetry, but she doesn't care right now.

I would like to use slavina's influence to assist in calming the stranger, we don't need a roll for that right?

Fate

Nope! You're all good!

Daina

Daina smiles as she warms up the fish with energy to help it heal. 'Yeah that's smart scaly friend'

Fate

Kelly remains close to the woman, letting go of her only to assist in Slavina's efforts to cover her. Then he looks up and around.

"Hey, can I get some buckets of water —" "Get these two some water and rags, pronto!"

(The voice alongside his—and overcoming his with its volume and resonance, is Captain Umija's. This gets the crew hopping-to.)

Meanwhile, the young woman gradually becomes more alert, looking from strange face to strange face, eyes wide with confused fascination. She's calm, but were it not for that song, those soothing words which she does not appear to comprehend, she'd undoubtedly be overstimulated.

Janin carefully looks Slavina's way. "Is... she a god too?"

Aaren

Aaren moves over to Daina. "I can keep healing the fish, but I think it would be good to get him back in the water. Can you ask him if he wants to swim alongside so I can continue to help him heal?"

Daina

Daina looks up and nods "sure thing" she smiles a little and runs this by the fish, saying he will feel better faster if he does as asked.

Fate

(To Daina)

He consents to swimming alongside the boat. With great relief.

Slavina

"Probably not. But she's important." Slavina says. She helps lift the woman into a sitting position and tucks the robe around her shoulders and back without pinning her arms. "Slavina." She says, pressing a hand to her breast. She tilts her head to the side and extends the hand toward the stranger for a name.

Daina

Daina laughs softly "Hey can you guys help me get our friend back in the water?" She calls out towards the fishermen.

Fate

The crew, plus Janin, determined to make himself useful, all move to the fish and heave.

As they do, the young woman stares at Slavina, on the very edge of understanding but uncertain. Still, she hangs onto the silence for a moment, processing.

And then a few buckets appear, plus heavily stained, sorta greasy-looking towels. Kelly promptly wipes off his face, which catches the distractible young woman's attention, and then he offers her a handful of rags. She takes them, warily, and rises on uncertain feet.

But then she stops as she notices the fish, turns to face it, and steps a little towards the crew, motioning with a spread hand. Words come from her mouth, lilting, bouncing, rolling gently like rocks tumbling down a grassy hill, hissing like the crashing of waves against a cliff. This is a very unfamiliar language. (To Daina) "Please, I still need my skin."

Daina

Daina pauses "hey wait a sec, they say they need their skin" she reaches out to halt the folks she'd just asked to do the thing.

Slavina

Slavina stays kneeling in the same spot, retreating into the safety of a poised stage posture.

Fate

Little by little, kinda uncoordinated, the crew ceases to shove the trout overboard. But the ship has listed a little more as its body slid across the deck, and, with a little hopping wriggle it thrashes back into the water with a giant splash which only just falls short of the captain.

Aaren

Aaren, healing both fish and woman all this while, reacts to the spalsh instantly: she makes the fish vomit.

Daina

Daina slides down with the fish and at the last minute springs off of a railing or other protrusion to catch herself and not follow him in, landing with a tumble Slavina might be proud of, and righting herself.

Fate

The young woman's shoulders drop as the trout splashes in the water. Then she sheds Slavina's coat and lengthens her stride, headed for the edge of the deck. Kelly reaches out and grabs her, halting her procession.

Sure enough, the fish barfs. Blood clouds to the surface... but then, sure enough, amidst it all, something floats up. Something sort of clothlike in texture, at least in the way it folds. The young woman's eyes widen and she turns to Kelly, speaking much more quickly than before. (To Daina) "I beg you, sir, let me go. I need it. Please."

Aaren

Aaren focuses on healing the fish, full force, dropping the young woman's songs. It's just the fish and Janin at this point. She makes the most of the warmth that Daina had given the fish earlier.

Daina

Daina perks up "ok it's ok I'll get it" she strips and then dives into the water to get what she's assuming is the skin. "Don't eat me" she says to the trout with a teasing note.

Fate

(To Daina)
The trout offers a half-hearted equivalent of a chuckle.

Fate

As the lady calms, Kelly releases her, then picks up the abandoned towels and offers them to her again. Half-absently she takes them and begins cleaning herself off, but still quite intent on what's going on with Daina.

Daina

Daina grabs the skin and holds onto it as she holds onto a rope from the boat with one hand and runs up the side of the boat lengthwise so it's an easier feat and swings up and over the railing, clutching the skin in her arms.

Fate

The lady rushes to meet Daina, less calm now and much, much more wary, and holds a hand out in a wordless request for the skin.

Slavina

Slavina picks up her robe from the deck and drapes it over a coil of rope - she'll have to wait to wash it till they're in water not suffused with fish-blood-vomit. She keeps her face and posture in a mask of detached, elegant serenity.

Daina

Daina hands it over with no hesitation, a warm smile as water steams off of her. "Oh here you go" she leans over to hold it out rather than stepping towards the wary woman. "don't worry we're friends" the last she runs through in every language she knows.

Fate

With a sharp motion, the young woman snatches the skin from Daina. But then, once it's in her possession, she relaxes, taking a moment to draw it up to her face and bury her cheek and nose in it. Then she offers a strange but graceful, sort of salutory, gesture to Daina, another to Slavina, and a kiss on Kelly's cheek, before running to the side of the deck opposite the fish, slipping her skin over her shoulders just before she dives over the edge.

Slavina

I would like to try and influence her into staying a little bit, but I don't want to hold us up. Can I note that as a plan of action for next session?

Fate

Sure!