Settling In (open)

[HG]

(A sevenday after a dark and stormy night)

Stagnant and calm the ocean seemed to be a completely different place than it had been a sevenday ago. Nevarre sat on deck, watching the sailors whisper amongst themselves. These duldrums were bad, apparently but his stomach was quite glad of the reprieve of rocking. He had been able to eat a good sized breakfast. This journey had already made him lose weight. His high cheekbones had made this even more a palpable difference in his face. Sallow cheeks were not attractive.

Nevarre imagined he might die on this ship. Death at sea was worthy of at least a Harper's song, he imagined. His father would not know about his death for some time. He was being melodramatic but the fact of the matter was, he did not belong at sea. The Captain who had only recently left the helm to enter his private cabin came out holding a large map. Nevarre could not help his curiosity and walked over with a much steadier walk than he had had since boarding.

"What seems to be the trouble sir?" He asked the Captain who, without really caring whom was speaking replied. "Well as you can see we aren't going anywhere. This ship runs on wind power and now we are sitting ducks until a sufficient breeze catches our sails. In other words we are not going to arrive on time to the Southern Continent. Starving to death is not the concern of course. Its running out of fresh water...with the sun blazing down on us." Suddenly Nevarre did feel sick again. Of all the fools errands he had to be sent on this one!

The Holder's son was not used to such harsh conditions. He was most decidedly spoiled. The circles under his eyes from lack of sleep told everyone plenty about him. Nevarre couldn't sleep on the cots that the others found fine. He was bumped and bruised from sleeping on them. Dying of dehydration was an awful thought to him. People should stay below as much as possible during the day to escape the sun. Not that they would listen to him. After all it worked so well last time.

[kaemi]

It was beautiful outside, Essabellona thought as she came up onto the deck. The heat was a little much, yes, but nothing unbearable as long as they didn't stay outside for too long. Shrugging, and licking her dry lips, the girl looked around at the people working. She had no idea about the workings of a ship, so there wasn't much she could do to help... but still. After a few moments of debate, however, she still walked up to a person who looked like they knew what they were doing. "Can I do anything to help?" Essa asked.

"Do you know how -" the man rattled off a list of things that went right over the girl's head. She looked up at him, bewildered. "I guess that's a no. Then no, you can't really help." His voice wasn't cruel, just a little sharp in his frustration. The sweat was dripping down his face, making Essabellona work a small frown onto her face. She nodded, walking away and heading to sit down somewhere, where she wouldn't be in anyone's way. She had finished her work in the Galley, and she was useless out here... so she might as well get out of the way of the people who were actually doing something.

Essa didn't like being useless. It wasn't a comfortable position for her, her who enjoyed keeping busy, moving her hands and making herself helpful. She would talk to a few of the older women, the ones she'd seen moving around and directing others. Maybe they could assign her a schedule, to clean and chop at regular intervals. Shells, it was hot out here. Twirling her hair up in the bun she usually put it in for cooking and cleaning, Essabellona wiped the wet heat from off of her neck. And then the heat, as well as the waves that rocked the ship, made queasy for a few seconds. She would not vomit, she would not vomit.

Sitting down hard on the deck, Essabellona put her knees up and her head between them. It took her a few minutes, but the urge to vomit finally dissipated, and her head rose. After her hand was almost stepped on, she stood and leaned her entire body (instead of just her back) against the side of the ship. Not too far away was a guy, seemingly around her age... wait, wasn't that Nevarre? One of the ones who was supposed to run this mission? "Hey," she called, a smile forming on her face. It'd be interesting to see what he was thinking about the dragonriders, especially since he was running the show.

"I'm Essabellona... Essa." It was smart to offer a quick alternative to 'Essabellona', she had found: an alternative she would accept without protest. "Aren't you Nevarre?"

[Marnark]

Rolgar was one of the ones not a sailor that stayed a bit more busy than he liked. Being a healer on a shipful of land people was certainly going to keep him busy. Thankfully, despite being a land ape himself, he didn't suffer from the same affliction that bemoaned quite a few of the others. If it had ... they would have been in some serious trouble then! But as it was, even as still and steady as it was, Rolgar was busy. Sometimes wandering in and out of the galley unbidden, tinkering with things and tending his fellow shipmates.

They weren't puking now, small consolation that that was. But they still weren't very healthy. Some impression the lot of them were going to make, if they ever did find anyone sentient on the Southern Continent. Psh. They looked like the walking dead, half of them. So it was that Ragule was making the rounds again, this time with a bowl of food instead of a bowl of medicinal teas and washrags.

Without any preamble at all, Ragule walked right over to where Nevarre and the Captain were talking, to stuff a half crust of bread stuffed with salted meat into the Holder's hand, followed by a stack of crackers. "Eat." He said, with as much authority as the Lord Holder's son had ever tried to wield.

People listened to Healers, after all.

When a lass in pretty much the same condition as Nevarre walked up, Rolgar repeated the proceedure, handing her a crust of bread with salt meat, and crackers. It was not the most appetizing meal they could dream up, but Rolgar was going to make sure the poor seasick-prone people were going to get something in their systems before the rocking and heaving started again.

Of course, he was also well aware of the water shortage problem, and exactly what would happen as people thirsted to death. Inhuman things would happen before they were all dead. Including the murdering of each other and the drinking of blood. Or the drinking of seawater which would lead to an even faster death. People got funny in the head when they were dying, after all.

As such, he was not at all surprised to find that the topic of converse. "We can soak sheets in the ocean and close them into glass jars." Ragule suggested, as if he was conversing on the weather. "The heat off Rukbat will cause them to evaporate and collect on the lids, and we can drain that off to supplement the water supply." Evaporated seawater wouldn't have anything but water in it, the salt and such would stay in the cloths, which could then be washed out in the ocean itself again, before being repeated. "Granted, it won't help a lot, and certainly won't generate enough water to support everyone indefinitely. But it could stretch the length of time we have before things get ... desperate."

[HG]

Sliding a hand through his dark brown hair, he thought about the mission thus far. If the sea did not kill them they still had to survive the wilds of the Southern Continent. He thought of the jungles of Nerat and wondered if the jungles of the South were the same. What were the dangers? How would they find them out? It was not going to be as easy as he had thought when they set out.

After Rolgar pretty much forced food into his hand he began to eat as told. Albeit rather slowly as his stomach was only just feeling good enough to be actually hungry. As he finished a cracker, Nevarre looked up to see a young woman talking with one of the sailors. Oh good grief! Women around here couldn't just sit and wait like they were supposed to!He waited for the sailor to brush her off, which eventually did happen. Instead of going back inside to confide in one of the other girls she came over to where he was sitting. Just great.

Nevarre took a deep breath and steeled himself for the worst. Essabellona was quite possibly the longest name he had ever heard. "Essabellona, well met." He said with a sort of half smiled. Someone really had a sense of humor when they named her. "Would you prefer I called you Essa? He asked for a couple of reasons, one being that some people had nicknames because other people found them easier. The other was because he got the feeling she thought her name was to hard to say or remember correctly. He would have no trouble remembering her name or saying it so the usage of either was entirely up to her.

Rolgar seemed quite sure of this plan and so Nevarre wondered how much the Healer knew about life and death situations. Ones that they were sure to face on the Southern Continent. What if even the plant life was completely different? How would he heal them if the common medicinal plants were not easy to come by? He did not really like the word easy in this moment in time. It seemed almost paradoxical. Nevarre got the feeling that nothing was ever going to be easy for him again. "Do you think we should try to stay below deck during the day until we are safely on our way?" He was thinking that remaining in the shade would be better than standing in the sun but a Healer would know if it made much of a difference.

[kaemi]

It was obvious, when the bread, crackers, and meat was put in her hand, that Essabellona was not given the choice on whether or not to eat it. She began to, nodding her appreciation towards the man that gave it to her. Making quick work of it, she felt considerably more stable when it was gone; whether that was thanks to the food (although such a title was debatable) or the time it took her to gather herself again was still up in the air. Done, Essa looked back up at Nevarre. “I don't mind either way, as long as you don't come up with something else off of the top of your head,” she said with a shrug.

The conversation between Nevarre and the man who gave her the cracker were talking about... something to do with water. It went over her head, mainly, but when she finally got the gist of what the conversation was about, Essa's eyebrows knitted together. Water: that was the issue that had been buzzing around the ship for a few days, now- since the second day they'd been here, even. Apparently, they were running out faster than expected... especially considering they weren't moving, and it was so hot.

“We're collecting the rainwater, already, right?” she asked. Essabellona would assume that, with the recent storms, they'd already be collecting it, but you never know. “If we have other storms, which is likely, set up containers and the like to catch the water. Then they can be poured into the water skins later.” It all depended on the storms, though: one may always depend on Rukbat for evaporation, but no one could predict the rainfall.

She wasn't sure if it would be helpful, but at least it was her two cents. Essa wasn't the brain of any operation, but she wasn't dumb... most of the time. So maybe she could help a little.

[magic]

Lyunne had been forced to rest for two whole days after the near drowning incident. She hated it. She hated being forced to do anything and being in bed for that amount of time drove her crazy. She glared at anyone who approached her and as for that sharding Healer, well he was as bad as Koldyn and Nevarre. Lyunne wasnt usually this snipy or bad tempered, infact she was usually a very mild mannered young woman, but something about this situation was really getting to her, making her bad tempered and grumpy. No one really spoke to her and she had no real inclination to speak to them. So she didnt, she kept herself to herself.

At least the weather was calm and she was able to escape from the confines of below decks. Infact she was perched in the crows nest chatting to Malin, one of the sailors. She actually preferred their company to the group she was part of. There was an amazing view from up here and she could keep an eye on those below. She was watching Nevarre now, wishing she had something she could drop on him. He really annoyed her, there was definitely no love lost between the two. The sailor looked at her, then down at the deck.

“You dont like him?” he asked, and Lyunne shrugged.

“He thinks he's better than us just because he's a Lord Holders Son” she told him.

“He has taken on the responsibility for you all.” Malin replied.

“I didnt ask him too” she snapped, then looked appologetic, “sorry, he just annoys me so much.” She told him, always thinks he knows it all.” She watched as three sea birds squawked and flew over the deck, one of the lifted its tail and left a message on Nevarre. Lyunne watched, her laughed ringing out from on high, “Oh good shot bird” she called, sticking her tongue out at Nevarre, knowing he would probably tell her off. But that would be nothing new....

OOC: Hope thats alright

[shinachan23]

After the near death experience hauling out the drwoning sailor a sevenday ago, Senyrae was more upset than before. Nevarre had forced her into staying in her bunk for the next two days along with Lyunne, and she was none too happy about staying in one spot for a extended amount of time. She hated it! She gave Nevarre a sharding good piece of her mind at his decision, which now left her having to "swab the decks", as the sailors had called it. Well, it was better than nothing, at least she had something to do. She liked to be helpful, and if this was a way to do so, so be it. But this heat was starting to drive her absolutely crazy!

And here was Mr. High and Mighty now, she noted as he arrived on the scene and began chatting it up with one of the sailors. By the look on his face, whatever he was told was obviously not good. She didn't want to barge in, though. Better to stay and do as she was told than having to go below deck again. But from the look of things, she could already tell this journey was going to become harder for them all. A lot harder.

A little surprise soon landed on Nevarre, one Senyrae wanted for him to find out for himself. Placing her hand on her mouth to stifle her giggles, she mopped up the last of the deck. Sighing and immensely pleased with her handiwork, her ears perked up at the sound of laughter from up high. Looking up, she was surprised to see Lyunne in the crow's nest with one of the sailors. Apparently she had witnessed the little escapade with Nevarre and the seabird as well.

Smirking, she cupped her hands around her mouth to call up to the pair, "Hey! Do you two mind if I join you?" She didn't care at the moment if Nevarre saw and/or heard her. She just wanted to not have to look at his pompous face or listen to his arrogant attitude as much as the next guy, and the notion of crow's nest seemed like a pretty good idea.

[Marnark]

Ragule nodded after a thoughtful moment. "Staying below decks is probably a good idea. For everyone, even the sailors. Throw the hatches open, though, to keep the airflow moving. Being out of the sun will keep everyone from sweating so excessively, thus needing less to drink. But with the hatches closed, it can get nearly as hot down there." Ragule suggested.

Water water everywhere, and not a drop to drink. That was just sad. "Catching rain is a good idea, but if it were raining, we wouldn't be in this predicament." He told the girl that had joined them. "With rain comes wind, with wind we'd be moving and not sitting here on a ticking grave."

Again he paused for a moment, looking out to sea for a moment. "Has anyone seen any shipfish lately?"

[HG]

The eventuality of it all was that if the wind did not pick up they would die. No matter what precautions they took or how well they planned. They were at the mercy of the sea. Somehow he doubted the sea would be at all merciful to him. Much less the people aboard. No matter what they all thought he had not appointed himself leader. He had been appointed by the older folks who sent them here.

Maybe the people on board did not realize why they had been sent yet but he did. They were dispensable and Nevarre wanted to prove the opposite. He was worth more than a death at sea. Staring straight ahead he felt the poop from the sea bird land on his tunic. "Great." He said with a grimace and heard the laughing girls. Let them laugh. He would see how they fared with the felines famed to be on the Southern Continent.

Nevarre may not be at home on the sea but on land he was just fine and plenty capable. He did not bother to look at the spot where the bird had pooped on him, instead he stood up, "Pardon me Essabellona." He said politely as he removed his shirt. No use wearing it anyway. He'd be going below deck soon enough. He sat back down this time returning to his conversation with Rolgar. "We could stay down and keep the doors open. There is no breeze above deck anyway...we should stand a better chance in the shade. " He said, feeling the heat of the sun beating on his pale chest.

Acknowledging that Essa had a point. "I do believe the sailors have been doing that. However during the storm it was hard to get rainwater without getting seawater too. The waves were crashing on this boat as if it were merely a piece of dead wood. " The world was a bigger and scarier place than he had imagined. Nevarre nodded to Rolgar. "The seriousness of this situation well I don't think the others have realized it yet. If this ship does not move, we die. Of course we may well die traversing the Southern Continent too. Thats why we were chosen to go. We are dispensable." He was a youngest son and it was nothing to his father if Nevarre was lost for his cause.

The truth was really hard for him to fully grasp. He had always seen value in himself. Now though it was increasingly difficult to keep his head held high. People on board hated him and even the people who pretended to be nice were just waiting for him to make a mistake. He barely slept, barely ate, continuously felt nauseated and had begun to have dreams. Not his normal daydreams which were often quite cheerful. The dreams he was having were dark and dangerous and had begun to remind him of his real life now. The unknown lay before them perhaps even death and yet they could go no other way but forward.

[kaemi]

Restraining her laughter, Essabellona merely smiled brightly at Nevarre when their brave and fortified leader began wearing the bird droppings. It was the kind of sight that instilled courage and hope in his followers, she was sure. Rolling her eyes at his reaction, she continued to grin at him despite his sour attitude. It was amusing, and she would not cow in the face of... whatever that look was on his face.

And then the boy- he was around her age, and if she considered herself a girl, then he was most definitely a boy- had the gall to apologize for taking his shirt off. Again, she rolled her eyes, although she didn't say anything. Nevarre was unaware that she had grown up with a brother and his myriad of friends. None of whom stayed very proper when around her, especially when her parents weren't around, and she made it clear that she didn't give a care. Leaning back on the deck, her former queasiness gone now, she kept listening to the conversation going on between the man and the boy.

Valid points, all of them. “Even with the hatches open, it can still get rather hot down there, especially when everyone's in there. Most pointedly the Galley, with a full staff.” Yes, of course they needed water and wind to get to the Southern Continent, but the ship didn't really allow for much discretion to where it got hot, even below deck. In the Galley, the sheer body heat from the staff made everyone leave drenched.

She barely even noticed the people that were gathered above them, instead trying to keep up with the conversation. After all, she wasn't exactly known for her intelligence, despite not being utterly stupid. She wasn't the brains of any operation, but Essa was working to keep up-- especially with their fearless, and more importantly, shirtless leader right in front of them. But... she was trying?

[Marnark]

Rolgar listened to what Nevarre said, and then heaved a slow sigh as his gaze wandered off of the lad and out across the ocean. So there was more to it than the actual physical problems they were having. If their leader was cracking down and losing his morale that badly, the whole expedition was utterly doomed. Regardless what actually happened. He was no mind healer, but he was the healer. And it was definitely something he was going to have to tackle. More with common sense than anything else.

"Nevarre." He said, returning his gaze to Nevarre's face. "If you don't mind my saying so, stop that crack right now, and don't you ever utter it again. You'll single handedly destroy this whole thing if you keep that up. As for the whole lot of us being expendable? You're wrong. They sent us because we were the ones that had half a shot of making this work. Not only because we were young enough to be able to wander off and not get noticed too much, but also because we were old enough to handle the task. Well trained enough to get the job done. We have their hopes invested in us. Do not throw that away so lightly as to say such things. Because it's wrong. So get your head straight before I knock it straight for you." Rolgar told him, rather firmly. He wasn't taking any shit, and it showed in his tone. "You are the leader, you were appointed leader for a reason. So start acting like it!"

He never once raised his voice, but the inflections were there heavily enough that he didn't have to. That and the sudden change in stature from being merely the easy going Healer to suddenly appearing as the rather tall and thick man that he was, Rolgar appeared to suddenly shift into a whole new person for the time it took him to state all that was rather obvious.