OOM All Skate Skellig Dream Magic Weirdness -Part Nine

[brave_kreyu]

Kreyu has gathered plenty of henna and even woad, a blue dye, for some experiments with designs on Skellig's skin.

"The blue would look lovely on you, I think," she remarks. "Your fairer skin would show it off quite well. Though I am far more experienced in applying henna."

She's gathered bits and pieces of designs to look at for inspiration. Celtic style knots, viking style abstract patterns and stylized beasts, the mandala and floral type designs he's admired on her, and more.

Comments

[brave_kreyu]

"I am certain of your judgement, my love."

"You will do as my husband asks, if you are wise," she says, staring down at the Captain. "Or else I may grow impatient and devour you instead."

The Captain pales, clearly terrified.

[27_53]

Pale and terrified is a good thing - that means that they are likely to achieve their goals!

"Have your crew adjust course," he says, glancing back at the...mess...left on the deck from the earlier scuffle. "We would not object if you first wish to tend to your lost, but we would not like to linger."

In other words: tend to your dead, then get a move on.

As the Captain nods and the remaining crew begins to move, Skellig beckons for Kreyu to join him, walking along the edge of the ship away from the other men, to speak to her in private.

[brave_kreyu]

Kreyu flexes her talons one final time to make a POINT before she moves to join Skellig.

She speaks far too low for the men to hear. "You wished to speak to me, love?" She's keeping an eye on the Captain and crew, on the lookout for trouble.

Her chest looks like a plucked, burnt, chicken, but it could be worse. She reeks of burnt feathers, and there are second and perhaps some small third degree burns in that area of her chest. The pain is only really beginning to be bothersome NOW, thanks to the adrenaline fading.

[27_53]

Skellig is also keeping an eye on those tasked with sailing the vessel, but his focus he finally allows to shift greater to her and her injuries, placing a hand on her (non-wounded) wing to allow himself contact. It is still a little strange, when she is in this shape of her soul, but she is familiar all the same...

"Now that we have a moment, I wanted to get a look at you," he says, voice equally hushed as he studies the burns on her chest, the scent of burnt feathers filling his nose. "I would heal you if you'd allow it, but I do not think I can replace the feathers..."

[brave_kreyu]

"A healing would be most welcome, my love." She chuckles. "The missing feathers will wound only my pride, and that I can deal with well enough."

[27_53]

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to keep the wounds until we had returned to the shoreline."

While the burns will take some effort, Skellig is full of Light at the moment (even as upset as he was just moments ago) and has plenty of energy to spare; he carefully allows his hand to settle on some of the bare skin where she has yanked her feathers out, but doesn't touch the burns outright.

The way their bodies are positioned, it does not matter if any of the crew are sneaking and stealing glances their direction; they will not be able to see that it is him doing the healing (not that there are any outward signs of it anyway) to her skin. He takes the pain away first, then sets on getting rid of the tissue damage.

[brave_kreyu]

"Better to be at full strength, just in case."

Her body language eases as the pain goes, as his Light heals her. She presses her beak against the side of his head in a 'nuzzle'.

[27_53]

Skellig sighs as she 'nuzzles' at him (and he can hear one of the crew who is busy hauling their dead 'friend' towards the railing of the ship comment about the fact that he calls this eagle his 'wife') and turns his head to press his lips against her feathers, not minding that some are crispy and burnt.

(Well, he minds. But doesn't let it stop him from kissing her.)

"They would be fools to try anything else, but you are right, my love." Once he is 'finished', he leans back slightly to inspect his 'work', nodding gently. "Are you wanting to stay on the ship for the full course to the mainland?" The unspoken: where are we headed and what is your plan?

[brave_kreyu]

Some of the sailors are definitely making comments under their breath because they think Skellig can't hear them. (An EAGLE, really? You hear stories about sailors who've been at sea too long...experimenting with alternate methods of relief, but a GIANT BIRD?)

"There's a dock where we going, though it might not be in the best shape," she explains. "Make it easy for them to unload those held below. Supplies too, for those that might need it."

"I fear they and their ship will only carry more lives away, if we let them go."

[27_53]

"I understand."

There is a heavier undertone to his words, for he knows what she isn't saying. Which pains him somewhat, as they discussed earlier before they left for this trip - and while all those on the crew are indeed part of the crew, earning shares of the cut from the sale of the slaves they transport to market...he can't help but wonder if any of them are also simply captives of fate, circumstance. Would they have chosen a different path, had they another opportunity? It is something that is clashing around in his chest, his mind, loud and angry.

Skellig nods, the motion slight as he sets his jaw.

"Will there be someplace for those we free to go, once we make landfall?"

He hears a splash! as a body is tossed over the railing behind him.

[brave_kreyu]

"We can try, with the crew," she says softly. "Once those below are free, you may be able to speak to them, try and see if they might make better choices.

"There is a village not too far away, they will find hospitality there, at the very least. Perhaps even a home, as a sickness came through that area some years ago."

[27_53]

"I can hear all that they are saying," he adds, his voice still quiet where only she can hear his words. He shifts his gaze skyward - squinting slightly against the sun - glancing to the sails as they begin to raise, fill with the wind as the ship shifts direction. "I will listen as we travel. See what I can learn of each of them."

He looks back to Kreyu. "I do not think we should tell the captives of our plan. I would not want it to be known by many, yet. As much as it pains me to keep them in the dark."

[brave_kreyu]

"I agree, though it pains me as well. Better that no one other than the two of us know the truth."

She glances up as well. "We will make it up to them, later."

For now, they have listening and watching to do.

[27_53]

This journey - however short it may be, in terms of 'average seafaring travels' - is going to be the longest time that Skellig has ever spent aboard a ship. It is a good thing that he is not easily squeamish, and that the weather is fair - though he will be taking frequent moments to pause along the railing of the vessel and focus his gaze on the horizon, steady his vision (and his nerves) as he listens and watches.

At first, the crew remains mostly quiet (shock, probably) about their actual intentions for what they would plan to do after they make port and get their cut of the profits from this sale, and the discussion lingers on Skellig and Kreyu themselves - a man with WINGS, and a GIANT EAGLE still seem to be quite the hot topic among the sailors as they go about their work.

One is washing the deck boards where blood was spilled, scrubbing hastily with a lye-based soapy solution, they will never rid the wood of all the stains - but if the majority of the blood is removed, it will lessen any chance for flies, and the sun will take care of the rest of it in time, bleach it away with exposure. His energy is different than most of the others, and Skellig takes note of that...this one might be one he can convince to change his ways...

[brave_kreyu]

The one who was washing the deck is the youngest on board, only barely fully grown. He's what later ages might call a cabin boy, gets all the jobs none of the other experienced sailors want.

One of the other sailors, older, his energy darker, looms too close to the young man as he scrubs, deliberately invading his personal space. "Not what you were expecting when you signed on to pay off your old man's debts, eh? Better get used to blood, boy, there will be more of it before we're done with this trip, can feel it in my water."

[27_53]

The energy from the older sailor sets Skellig a little on edge, and he has to purposefully make a point to avoid focusing on him to too long, as it causes his feathers to bristle and his hair to stand up on his neck.

That one, he 'thinks out loud' with a nudge in Kreyu's direction. We will not be able to convince.

And then Skellig looks towards a piece of rigging nearby the older sailor's head, and gives it a firm 'push', causing a rope that was bound tightly to uncoil and start to flap in the breeze. Clearly that needs dealt with, now the younger man can be left to cleaning without being loomed over!

[brave_kreyu]

The older sailor curses the incompetence of his compatriots, storms off to climb up and deal with the problem because CLEARLY no one else can find their ass with both hands!

Kreyu nods in agreement, the motion subtle enough to pass unnoticed by most.

The young man murmurs a prayer of thanks that the older man is gone, gets back to work with extra haste.

There are a few others like that older sailor, but not as many as one might expect. Most are somewhere in between him and the young in terms of their energy. It's just a job, for most of them, this ship happened to have an opening when they needed the work. And, well, much safer to stick with a crew and a captain you KNOW.

[27_53]

Skellig is internalizing many of his thoughts and feelings on the matter at hand, simply because it is easier to keep a neutral outward expression and demeanor if he pushes the rest of things aside to deal with later.

(It may not be the healthiest way of doing things, but in this scenario and situation, it is what needs to be done.)

As the sun nears the low point on the horizon, the few faint clouds begin to shift, changing to pinks and purples; Skellig finds himself near the stern of the ship, studying the clouds (he is still listening, always listening; the discussion has shifted to dinner for the crew, and the young man from earlier is also tasked with feeding the slaves below deck their rations for the night) and the winds aloft as they catch the sails. He is tired, from having to do so much work with his mind and ears, but he will not let his guard down - which is why he hears her as she approaches him from where she has been perched most recently.

[brave_kreyu]

"I can keep watch, if you would rest," she offers, loud enough for only Skellig to hear. She can tell that he is tired, and she worries!

[27_53]

His initial instinct is to protest - he would not dare try to rest when there are this many men with weapons around (maybe they should have better disarmed them; though the Captain and his crew seem more interested in getting paid, and there is no sense in killing the buyers with the prospect of a simple, straightforward sale) but his logic also realizes that if he is worn out and exhausted, he will be of little use to her.

Skellig nods once, glances around and spots a stack of crates set back from the edge of the ship; he moves to it and tucks his wings in close behind him as he sits down on the deck, leaning back against the wood as if it were a wall or a dark corner, folding his arms across his chest.

(This is familiar, in a sense...almost comfortable?)

"If any of them so much as look at you sideways," he mutters lowly. "I will rise at once."

[brave_kreyu]

Kreyu follows him to the crates, perches on the rail right next to him, his guardian eagle.

"Of course," Kreyu replies, voice low. "And if any of them come anywhere near you with hostility in their hearts I will tear them asunder." Partners watch one another's backs!

[27_53]

"I know."

Skellig shifts a little to get settled, his motions slightly awkward (he's unsure why, but it is because if he were wearing more than a kilt and his boots, he would draw his knees up and dig his soles into the concrete or asphalt and curl inward on himself) until he manages to find a position that works for him.

And he does rest, though it is not the most productive; very close to the epitome of 'sleeping with one eye open'.

[brave_kreyu]

When it is getting close to dawn, Skellig wakes naturally. Kreyu takes her own rest, perched on the rail, knowing his eyes and ears are very sharp.

The ship is starting to become busier, but as the sun rises no one has dared come anywhere near either of them.

[27_53]

Skellig does move from his sitting position, unfolding himself silently from where he has made himself 'comfortable' once the sun rises to stretch his wings and flare them out, flex all of his muscles in his arms and legs, each of his fingers and toes to ensure that everything is in working order. They will need it today, even though he is unsure of how long it will be before they reach the port.

(This was a vital detail that perhaps would have been beneficial to get from her before she took her rest? But it does not matter, for the time being.)

He will not wander far from her as he moves across the deck, but he is interested in seeing if they can spot any land on the horizon - or if he can spot any, given his eyes are likely better than those of the crew, except perhaps if one is on watch with a glass of some sort?

[brave_kreyu]

He will spot the land before they do, a green and gray smudge on the horizon.

In another hour of travel he will just be able to make out the dock. It seems at their present pace he should wake her when the sun is at its height, which will give them a little time before the ship lands if they need it.

The young man from earlier is at work again, making oakum to caulk the ship. It's slow work, unpleasant and wearing on the hands, picking apart old pieces of tarred, worn out rope to reduce them to fiber. He's dared to sit closer to the two of them than anyone else, which isn't all THAT close, but still! He keeps sneaking glances at them, curious and wary.