Homecoming - a CW Plot

Lutea · 2019-01-19 07:17:53 PM

How Soon... And to What?
The Sun Sail
Ft. Invar, Jarvis, Lutea

The mood aboard the Sun Sail was generally mixed. Certainly otters were happy to be free and on their way home and there had been bouts of random song on the boat in past days but in most the mental scars were almost as obvious as the psychical ones. As restless nights lead on to quiet mornings though Invar is leaving the otters to get whatever sleep they can and is already up on deck, sat up by the wheel to watch the sunrise. Sketching in his book he's about as far from the roaring monster he acted like while they were actually fighting to free the slaves.

Jarvis is in a corner of the ship, just watching the waves , ever so often he seems to glare at the water as if its an enemy.

Lutea wasn't a captive of the Northerners - in fact, in the last couple seasons, she's been all over the world and even gotten engaged, with nary a sniff of the Juska that had hounded her trail for seasons. It's harder for the boisterous ottermaid to truly give in to the melancholy of trauma and mixed feelings that have settled over the ship like a thick fog... As it is, she's currently setting a net. The tattooed, pierced, fierce looking otter hangs off the back of the ship, looping the net lines around the hooks set into the Sun Sail for trawling. "I wouldn't recommend fightin' th'sea, mate." She points out to Jarvis, popping back up over the railings with a wave to Invar. "I can tell ye from experience, tha's a battle you'll lose."

Invar typically spends half his mornings sketching and the other half ensuring there's enough food to feed a badger. It's a routine that hasn't really changed since he got involved with this little adventure but task one done he closes his book and leaves it behind in his bag to deal as the activity on the deck catches his eye "Mornin'" he says as he hauls himself up and the deck creeks in protest to his movement. Lutea's words direct his attention to Jarvis "Alright there?"

Jarvis at first dosesn't speak and when he does his voice is a bit messed up, sort of cracks every so often and very rough sounding " I...don't swim, unless I be needin' ta lass, not anymore."Ya think....mamy still be round?At Camp?" He glaces at the badger"We be...no where really seems....but on de way home just how soon and ta what?"

"Oh, jus' peachy, me." The otter grins at Invar before realizing that he was speaking to Jarvis, not her. "Ah." She taps the side of her muzzle with a claw and, with one paw still anchored to the railing, leans back to fuss at the knot she's tied, keeping the net secured to the ship. "Breakfast soon." She promises both of them, hauling herself back over the rail and landing with a 'thunk' on the deck. She studies Jarvis, wincing slightly. "I can't tell ye fer sure, mate." She sighs. "Camp took it bad, last I saw it, tha' big ol' Red Abbey was steppin' in an' 'elpin 'em rebuild. I ain't seen th'place since you lot got taken - bu'... Time's passed. It'll look more like it did before it all 'appened, trus' me."

Invar very quickly gives Lutea his best exaggerated smile when she says breakfast's soon. He approves of this information. There's barely a board on the ship which doesn't creak when Invar walks over it and picks himself a nearby bit of railing to lean on "There'll be some t'see y'home. Tha' is wha' it is. It's not wha' anyone wants it t'be but it'll still be home an' it'll be there somehow. As for when? We get there when we get there. Before winter hits proper is m'ope though"

Jarvis frowns, "Yeah..time."He spreads out his fingers and looks at them and then just drops his paw.He shouldn't be able to spread out his fingers as far as he does but with the webbing cut, he can and seems to have gotten use to it."They likely will be glad ta see us..I expect, may think we all died"

"Oh, aye." The ottermaid, no stranger to sailing, does a short lap around the deck, sidestepping liberally around the bulky badger, tugging on ropes, adjusting tension, the like. "Wind's bein' a wee bit of a trickster, eh? Bu' we'll get there. Time t'stretch y'legs, taste th'salt - y'know." The Taggerung pauses to jut a paw out at Jarvis'. "Dunno if we've met proper, by th'by. Lutea of th'Saltmoon Tribe."

Invar smiles a little "Best surprise y'er ever goin' t'give 'em mate" He makes no attempt to help Lutea with the ship. If she wants something he's sure she'll tell him what to do, otherwise he'll just continue trying not to accidentally break anything. He's picked up a few things on the journey but don't touch the ropes if you don't know what you're doing was his main lesson. He doesn't introduce himself because anyone would have to be blind and deaf not to have learnt of the stripy boulder of the group already. He seems content to just stick his head towards the wind and enjoy the breeze "Cause f'a party when we get there I imagine. They do feasts at y'camp? Like a good party"

Jarvis nods and speaks in his rough voice "Jarvis Streamheart....I..don't think any family be waiting on me at camp...me sister April was...among us slaves, she died before ya lot showed up..then alot of us slaves died" He sighs "Friends may still be at camp though." He manages a small smile "A feast sounds nice friend and some music and fun"

"Nobeast is sayin' yer life is goin' t'go back t'normal... Ain't a normal left, really..." The Northern vermin make sure of that - she knows. "Bu' th'only way t'go is forward - so... Go forward, make th'best of it ye can, aye?" She was never the best at comforting beasts - but the Taggerung means well. "For now? Yer on a ship'a th'Sol Tribe. Ye know 'ow many outsiders 'ave 'ad tha' honor?" She waves a paw around the ship. "'Owever many are on board!" She pats the light-colored railing with a grin. "Yer sailin' seas ain't many a Mossflower otter sailed, seein' places twixt 'ere an' there tha' ye'll be able t'tell yer friends. Dibbuns. Granddibbuns... Yer movin' forward." She looks over to the massive badger and crosses the deck to him in two bounds. "Can't say I fought beside a badger afore this. Dunno 'ow anybeast does without now, really."

Invar nods once "Well met Jarvis...Only wish we could of got there sooner. It's a 'ard life sometimes bit it gettin' better again" he chuckles at Lutea "Y'er makin' 'em sound like the most inhospitable otter camp. I'm sure they're 'appy t'elp outsiders!...Provided we don't break their nice little boat" He smirks, looking down at Lutea as she bounds over "Ah y'know, inconvenient t'transport but oh so handy at knockin' stuff down"

Jarvis smiles a little more, his mood slowly improoveing"Everyone should have a badger as a friend right? He looks over the waves of the sea again" Geeting home finally will be so...so great, I've missed home, being home again... tis something I had thought never would happen again. Maybe after a few days I will...even see how that abbey is doin'"

"Oh, can't speak ill of me family now!" The otter raises her paws with a laugh. "Th'Saltmoon an' Sol tribes ain't never been joined afore now, wouldn't dream'a speakin' out 'gainst th'sunnies." Lutea lets out another boisterous laugh. "Jus' outta th'way, them Sol. Lad, I guarantee ye th'best food when we land - Abbey an' Camp Willow alike'll be celebratin' till th'moon shouts at ye t'stuff it."

Invar grins and nods at Jarvis "Definitely. We make fine friends. Y'ever need t'move we'll shift the whole house f'a good meal" he chuckles again "I'm sure the abbey is as it ever is. This time f'year they'll be makin' sure they've got their supplies ready f'the winter" he knows nothing of their recent trouble but like most of Mossflower he can't imagine a world without the abbey. Back to Lutea again and another grin "Till the moon shouts?...Tha' sounds like a challenge t'me"

Jarvis says, "Well once de abbey finds out..we have returned that is." He still watches the waves"Yeah winter not too far away now..."

"S'bloomin' cold, bu' it'll feel like nothin' to ye after th'North." True to her lineage, the Northern otter wears only a vest against the chilly sea air. Lutea turns a grin on Invar with another bark of a laugh. "Oh, ye bet yer wide rear issa challenge, stripedog!"

"Oh ho ho! Stripedog now is it!" Invar continues to grin as he folders his arms and straightens up only to lower his head back down to Lutea's level a moment later "Y'might 'ave fought by a badger but y'ain't survived a jig with one yet"

Jarvis looks over and even takes a step back looking between the two"This..is intresting as fer de cold..most likely gonna have beasts think I am freezeing ta death, but ya have point..us that surrived also got very use to extreme cold"

"I be' I could jig an' drink ye under th'table - a very /big/ table, my friend." Lutea grins, the ring through her septum flashing as her muzzle twists and catches the light. "Think everybeast 'ere could use a good drink 'r twelve... Should be comin' up on an island... Soon. Umbra? Sampetra? One'a them Northward ones." She waves a paw and then levels it at Jarvis. "Ye survived, aye. Ye survived, yer movin' on, and Camp Willow will be better an' stronger fer havin' ye back."

Dance fight! Invar just laughs "Y'ever find y'oversized table y'let me know and I'll take y'up on tha' bet" he straightens up again to look out to the sea in search of islands "Sampetra's a vermin place far as I know, probably be Umbra. I'll go check where we're up t'" he heads back towards the wheel, going to clap a big paw on Jarvis' shoulder on the way past as a friendly gesture "'ome might feel like a summer paradise compared t'tha' freezin' pile stone"

Jarvis grins, "So...maybe...how far yet from Camp Willow? Sounds close...then guess we get closer day by day huh" He smiles "And yeah did surrive, surrived a lot more than some likely know"
"Oh, I never been good with maps an' such." Mostly because Lutea cannot read. "I jus' say we get there when we get there, bu' we're workin' t'getcha there as fast as ol' Sun Sail can take ye. We'll get you lot dropped off at Camp Willow real lickity, don'tcher worry yer 'ead on it, mate." She laughs as Invar lumbers pas, throwing her head back in a guffaw. "Oh, well now it's a matter o'me pride. Best be prepared, mate." She winks. "I'm goin' t'see 'ow Juniper is farin' below. If ye'll excuse me!"

Last edited by Lutea (2019-01-21 05:03:23 PM)

Lutea · 2019-01-21 05:03:45 PM

Never Again
The Sun Sail
Ft. Rionach, Aqua

There is precious little for a carpenter to do aboard a ship these days. Rionach, though, continues to make herself as useful as possible - if anything, because it is in the moments of quiet and unoccupied solitude that her brain starts to whirr. She is keen to keep her head as quiet as possible; so, the ottermaid busies herself with some minor repairs to their fishing nets. She sits against the side of the hull on the deck of the Sun Sail, drenched in sunlight, with a mass of the fibrous material in her lap, webbed paws working to loosen some of the knots in it. A bit of spare material is held in her teeth, ready to work in where tears exist.

Aqua had been asleep, thats had been as she had another nightmare and woke up with a yelp...then a muttered sorry to the sleeping otter beside her and so she walks up to the deck and sighs as she looks over the miles and miles of sea as she rubs some sleep from her eyes.

Rionach had become more the 'strong and silent type' since "leaving" Camp Willow, but she still does look up as Aqua joins her on deck. "Hoi." She greets, gruffly, and nods at the sleepless look the other maid has about her. "You too, eh? Cin 'elp me here if sleeps not in th'cards."

Aqua looks over and frowns "I..I just had a bad dream..gain' " But she will help as fixing nets is a skill she has learned while on the ship."I wonder how close we be to..home"She frowns "There is a home ta get back to...right?"

"They say it's there." Rionach shrugs, her gaze returning to the net in her lap. "Guess they could be lyin' t'make us feel better, bu' tha' otter with all th'Juska tats don't seem smart 'nuff t'keep up a lie that long." Her fingers work through another section. "Won't be th'same though, that's fer sure. Built me cabin with me own paws." There is no change of expression as she continues to work the net. "Saw it burnin'. Startin' over, no mat' what."

Aqua frowns as she sits down to help "Maybe..something surrived. And we will..will have happy faces when we get back and place some hope in thier lives again even if it's just a little bit"

"I don' doubt it." Rionach sighs, never looking up as she threads a new section of netting into a large gash. She is silent for a long time before she adds: "seems silly, thinkin' we cin just return t'how things were."

Aqua shrugs "I...yeah"She fixes a small tear thats near the end of the net. " But..we rebuild...we help the camp get as close to the way it were as possible, we..we haf ta..we can't let Camp willow disappear into nothing...and once it's spring things can only get better right?"

There was elation at their rescue, once Rionach had finally let go of disbelief, but now... Well, it's been difficult to feel optimistic, even now that they're free. Too much happened. She saw too much. "It'll give us somethin' t'do, least." She decides. "Thinkin' of joinin' the guard, once m'shop is back up. Yer a healin beast, aye?" Her one-eyed gaze flicks away from her work for a moment to study the other otter.

Aqua nods "Yeah..I am a healer, not sure I be good at guardin'...I mean I can help with something as well as healer, maybe sewing things...gardening.that will be needed ta get back or as close to normal as possible"

"Since Ayita..." Rionach's gaze falls back to her work and she lapses into a moment of silence. "I mean, healers'r in short supply." Her voice is rougher when she finally returns to the thought, and the ottermaid tugs too hard on a strip of netting, closing the holes a bit too tight.

She starts working backwards to widen them again. "Don't sell yerself short. Plenty to be done. Even if this lot /is/ lyin' to us, an' the camp is gone, there'll be a place or ya."

Aqua nods slowly, she wipes away a few tears "It..it will still be home..no matter what it will still be home"

"Anything is better than where we've been." Rionach grunts by way of agreement. She doesn't acknowledge the other beast's tears, if she notices them at all. It's been a long time since she can remember crying; maybe that's a positive thing to have come from it all.

Aqua says, "That's..true, never want to..to"She closes her eyes and shivers, taking a couple deep breaths before opening her eyes again, the past is something she rather not ever repeat again."

The ottermaid simply nods. Never again. A paw drifts to the eyepatch - it's new, something one of the other beasts aboard the ship made for her once they had boarded. It covers the worst of the scarring and, more importantly, the warped, ugly emptiness that has closed over what was once her left eye. "Aye." Rionach agrees. "Never again."

Lutea · 2019-01-21 05:09:13 PM

The Storm
The Sun Sail
Ft. Lutea, Jarvis, Invar, Aqua, Rionach

"Is 'at tied down?!" Lutea hollers above the din of activity onboard the Sun Sail, pointing from a wide-eyed otter to a barrel. "Tie i'down! I need these sails drawn in!" The Taggerung hangs high above deck, paws clutching the rigging, where she hollers orders and fusses with one of the ties for the sail. The sky above them is dark, and growing darker, as the wind whips thick, black clouds ever closer to the ship. The seas beneath the approaching storm can be seen in the distance, pitching hard in every direction, a sickly gray color. Aboard the ship, it's getting rougher and windier - and now, as Lutea works to secure the sail, barking orders, the rain begins to fall. The storm hurls it sideways at the ship: they could not outrun the storm.

Jarvis snorts, he disliked storms but he is still on deck trying to help best he can with what ever is needed. He looks at the sky and the rolling sea below and sighs, "Well couldn't have sunny skies all de time suppose"

All ready wet and squinting against the rain and sea spray Invar is not a happy badger. He's down on deck, shifting crates under nets for the others to tie down as everything tries to skid around the soaked deck. Every so often he skids a bit with them when the ship lurches but so far he's stayed on his feet.

Aqua is helping tend to an otter that fell agaist one of the walls and most likly sprang a wrist, so she bandages it and blinks when the ship moves again and sighs, "Stay below"She says quietly and decides to see just how bad it is up above on deck, and quickly decides that was a bad idea after one look at those clouds.

"No, we could not." Rionach, the carpenter, grumbles in response to Jarvis. There's a huff of ironic laughter, somewhere, but it doesn't breach the stony-faced jill's disposition. She catches a length of rope between her teeth as Invar holds the cargo down, and she makes it fast to the deck.

As the first true swells of the storm catch their little ship, the Sun Sail rises from the sea, her prow stabbing into a deep gray sky. "HOLD ON!" Lutea can barely be heard above the din of wind and crashing waves, thunder echoing all around them as forks of lightning stab into the ocean. "Anybeast no' seaworthy, ge' below wi' June an' the others!" She yells at those remaining on the deck, and a handfull of otters oblige, scrambling on unsteady paws towards the hold. Lutea had weathered many a storm beside Juniper on their journeys North and South, but this time is different; the Priestess would stay below with the others, as the Camp Willow otters would need her there more than the Taggerung needs her mate above deck. The ship rises, high, on the crest of a massive wave and slams down into the sea. Lutea is almost shook loose from the rigging, but holds on.

Jarvis decides to stay on deck, besides it's better to hold on to something that try and get all the way across the deck to get below anyways. He coughs as some sea mist gets into his lungs and looks once more at the dark sky"This..could get really bad, really fast"

Crates tied down Invar looks away to check for anything else loose and practically jumps out of his skin when he sees the lightning strike, the thunder booming around "Hell above!" he shouts out of surprise, his fur practically on end but he doesn't have to dwell as the next lurch of the ship has him falling on to the crates they'd just tied down. He's quick to scramble back up "How the hell do y'sail through somethin' like this?" he yells but it's barely making it over the sound of everything else.

Aqua decides she rather be below deck, she is not use to the sea and disliked it when she was forced on it when the slavers came.She quickly goes back below deck.She screams once as she slips and falls, she slides and crashes into a barrel that is beside the hatch to below deck so crawls to the trap door and is quickly below deck, and she remembers to close the trap door behind her.

Lutea, the strange beast that she is, seems to be enjoying herself. Her open vest whips in the winds as she hangs from the rigging, a savage grin pointed towards an uncaring, brutal swell of clouds above. With a roar of thunder, a wave smashes into the broad side of the ship. To Jarvis, Rionach turns and says: "you said it, ma-" but before she can finish her thought, the Sun Sail pitches hard to starboard, sending anybeast not secured rolling across the deck to slam into the side, Rionach among them. The Taggerung, still clinging to the rigging in her usual foolhardy fashion, is safe for now. Belowdeck, the rolling and sporadic motions of the ship make it difficult to keep upright. Many beasts scramble for their hammocks and any other handholds they can find.

Jarvis gulps as he sees the wave and grabs what ever is close to him, which saddly is some netting that he hangs onto for dear life as the wave washes over him and then with a gasp he is washed towards the other end of the deck where he grabs a hold of the railing and just barely avoids falling into the deadly sea, he pants as he pulls himself back to the deck and shivers a little, ok that was a little too close.

Invar is barely on his feet and then he's off them again as the next wave hits and he goes rolling with the rest, partically swept clear across the deck by the water. They tied down the cargo, no one tried to tie down the badger who is larger and heavier than half of it. He scrambles and adds several claw marks to the deck as he comes to a halt against the railings. He pants heavily and waits, his claws still dug in to the deck for several seconds before he makes a hurried dash to grab one of the masts and cling on to that.

Aqua is below deck and frowns when a couple things fall from a shelf, luckly it's nothing breakable as she frowns "I am so so glad I am not above, it's likely worse up thar"

Aqua is correct. Above deeck, there is no reprieve from the elements as beasts thrown askew by the wave struggle to regain their footing. Speeding headlong through an ocean made deadly by the roiling, mountaneous waves, the Sun Sail is caught in a massive swell. Time seems to halt as they continue to rise, the ship riding the wave ever higher... There is no escaping the reality of their danger as the nose of their ship finally begins to lower, awarding those on board a view of the dizzying drop, just before they begin to make their crazed way downward. The Sun Sail gains momentum as a sickening rate before it connects with the sea again with a deafening 'CRUNCH', and Lutea is thrown loose from the rigging upon impact. She hits the ground with a yelp, but stands quickly. "Where's th'carpenter?" She demands, and finds Rionach. "Ge' below! Patch us if we need it!" Obliging, the jill rushes to join Aqua and the others belowdeck.

Belowdeck, the crazed motions of the ship have thrown several beasts against the hull and into each other. One otter holds a paw against his head, blood showing between his fingers. "Bloody 'ell." Rionach mutters, clutching to the railing. There is some seawater collecting on the ground.

Jarvis eyes widen as he gets ahold of the railing and manages to hold on, but as they crash he is slamed into a barrel of dried fish causeing the barrel to come lose of the netting and roll overboard into the sea, the otter meanwhile groans as he is a little dazed right now.

Invar feels he has a choice. Die above deck where everything is terrifying or die below deck trapped in a tiny corridor...There's really no choice, getting below deck would mean letting go of the mast and he may never do that again. His eyes were already wild but they spread wider as he can see the giant drop coming. He can feel himself start to shake slightly before he hides his head behind the mast and closes his eyes tight. Even with his tight grip he still nearly looses it when the ship hits the sea again but he quickly clings ever tighter to the mast and never reopens his eyes. He's barely been scared in his life, now he's terrified.

Aqua frowns as she looks around.She decides to go into healer mode and tend to any injuries, best she can in the chaos, "Ok any injuried please..come over here and I will do my best to help you....and if there is anyone else that knwos some healing please also help" She looks at the gathering water and decides, for now, to ignore it or she might panic and she can't panic right now as she is a healer and needs to focus on that, least best she can focus.

A streak of lightning sets the world aflame, and in the seconds that it makes its deadly, beautiful arc through the sky, all that those onboard know is electricity and fire. It strikes the sea near the ship, too close for comfort, illuminating the sea in reds and blues before plunging them into a darkness that seems more complete than before. The thunder doesn't wait to scream its fury, and the sound is deafening. Paws are thrown over ears as the 'boom' reverberates through the bones of the ship and those on it. A splintered bit of railing slams into the mast, heavily fraying one of the ropes keeping the sail tied down... And with a wild fluttering, it snaps and comes loose. "Invar! Jarvis! Gimme a paw wi' this!" Lutea shouts, unable to grab ahold of the end of the ruined rope as it swings crazily in the wind. She helplessly watches the barrel go flying overboard.

Below, Rionach struggles to remain upright as she searches for the breach in their hull. An otter crawls to Aqua with a disjointed groan; even in the dark, it is easy to see that his pupils are unevenly dilated, a sure sign of a concussion. There is blood smeared across a cut on his forehead. The sea doesn't care what those beasts aboard the Sun Sail have been through; it doesn't distinguish between good and evil, the sea simply exists. There is no fear deep enough to move the immobile; the sea will persist long after those she's battered have turned to dust.
Jarvis nods as he takes a deep breath and quickly, sliping once, and back on his footpaws goes to help Lutera get the rope that is wildly blowing in the end.He snorts and tries a couple times to get his paws on the rope, the wind and water making it hard to do and the darkness doesn't help either!

Even though his eyes are closed Invar can still see the lightning as it flashes bright enough and the deafening boom is unmistakable. He tries to bury his head in to the mast but all of a sudden the bit of railing hits it, it barely misses Invar but the sudden spray of splinters in to his arm is enough to shock the badger off the mast and he quickly backs up, eyes wide again and frantically looking around. He can't help, he's panicking.

Aqua checks on the cut and frowns as a flash of light helps her better see the eyes, "Hold..still and try not to move too much." She has herbs in her pouch luckly and she spent time making some pastes of healing herbs in case they were needed quickly. She carefully spreads a thin layer of the herbs onto the wound after checking to see just how bad it's bleeding. There is some bandages in her pouch, others are in a supply box, biut for now she is fine with what she has.

With a length of rope held between her teeth, Lutea knots it to one end of the severed fastening, that side which is still connected to the mast. The end that whips, frenzied, in the wind from the loosed section of sail presents more of a challenge, especially in the darkness. As another rolling wave slams into the ships side, Lutea is thrown from her post at the mast and slides across the deck, only catching herself on the netting that Invar and Rionach had tied down earlier... The otter maid laughs uproariously. "NO' TODAY, BONNIE!" She shouts to the storm. "Yer 'ungry fer th'Saltmoon otters an' ye will no'swallow one today!" Across the deck, she spies Invar and, struggling against the motions and spray that batter at her, the otter labors her way across the deck to him. "STRIPEDOG!" She hollers, catching a hold of the mast with one paw while her other reaches out in an attempt to gather a fistful of his clothes. "Wha' warrior backs down from a fight, eh?!" A flash of lightning illuminates the crazed look in her eyes, adrenaline spiking her into something akin to bloodlust in the throes of the storm.

Below, Rionach has found a split in the hull, and she tirelessly works to mend it; the seawater is about ankledeep for those riding out the storm in the ship's belly. As Aqua tends to the cut, the concussed otter's breathing slows, his eyes shutting as consciousness begins to slip away.

Jarvis somehow by some luck or miricle grabs the rope and it connects with his paw.He grips it tightly and goes to pull it to where it's needed to be tied down and tied down tightly as he can get it.He snorts and grins, "I got it down!!" He yells as he also holds on to something as the waves get a bit worse.

Invar is up and down and all over the place as he desperately tries to stay somewhere near the middle of the ship so he doesn't have to go near the railings with the watery death behind them. He's scrambling back to his feet for the third time when Lutea takes him completely by surprise by grabbing him as he barely registered she was there until that second. It's a second where he's just shaking wild eyed before he even understands the words and can summon the brain power to say anything "This is not a fight! Y'can't fight this!" he yells back but it's snapped him out of pure fight or flight mode at least but he still suddenly grabs the nearest set of crates the moment the ship lurches again.

Aqua frowns "No no try and stay awake, we have made it this far and will soon be home" Will they be home soon though? She is not sure, maybe this storm will somehow make the trip shorter..or longer...right now she just wants the rocking of the ship to stop before what ever she had at her last meal, stays down. Her focus on helping is still good, for now it is as she is afriad but tries her best to not show fear as she focuses on helping her fellow otter.

"I's a /battle/, Invar!" Lutea shouts to be heard above the din of the storm. "The sea 'ungers fer ya, an' yer not t'let 'er 'ave ya!" She is still grinning that disconcerting grin as another lurch sends her tumbling forward. Above their heads, the wind and the rain yank the loosened section of sail in every direction, and a tear is rent through it. Thankfully, Jarvis is able to re-secure it before further damage is caused. As another wave washes violently over the deck, Lutea is unable to avoid it and is roughly thrown over the opposite railing, only catching herself at the last moment. She clings to the side of the ship, her legs waving dangerously over the maw of a wave below, and another torrent of sea water slams into them, rocking them starboard.

Below, the concussed otter that Aqua tends to flutters his eyes open, his gaze unfocused. "H-ome." He manages to slur out; the mixture that the healer used to tend to him seems to be easing the swelling of his brain slightly, but if he falls asleep all could be lost. "M'just... So... Tired..." Rionach rushes to stuff a rag into another small hole in the hull, her fur soaked all the way through.

Jarvis gasps as the wave hits him and makes him lose his grip and he is washed towards the railing, he grabs ahold of a barrel and breaths in and out as that was close. BUT...his relaxing was short lived as the 2nd wave hits and a muttered cuss word is heard as he is washed off deck, his paw brushes onto the railing, he just barely missed a hold on it as his eyes widen and he falls into the rageing sea.He panics as he starts to sink and manages to resurface..he is in the water now just beside the ship!

Invar always knew Lutea was crazy so he shouldn't be that surprised that she's enjoying this. It's difficult to argue though when the sea keeps interrupting and the next wave hits. Lutea goes tumbling but Invar just gets wet as the wave washes past him but he just manages to resist the water's strength and stay put "Lutea?" he yells after her before can blink enough water from his eyes to see she's fine, just before he sees Jarivs go over "Jarvis!" all attempts to stay near the middle of the ship forgotten he hurries to the railing, sped along by another wave "Otter overboard!" He yells as he leans over the edge to squint down in to the darkness and try to spot to otter.

Aqua manages to just barely keep her fellow otter awake as she speaks "Yes..home, think of home and Mossflower...not this storm.."She blinks as the wave hits, then the 2nd and about loses her footing and frowns, she mutters a prayer in hopes the storm slows soon.

Lutea watches Jarvis go down, even as she herself barely keeps a grip on the railing. "Spit onna stick!" She swears, managing to drag herself back onto the deck. She rushes to a coil of rope made fast to the mast and clumsily ties it around her own waist - the Taggerung rushes to Invar's side at the railing and pushes some rope towards his paws. "PULL US UP!" She shouts, and without another moment of hesitation, she clamors over the railing and dives into the dark, rolling sea.

Thanks to Aqua's quick care, the otter is stabalizing. He will need to be carefully monitored, but he is not succumbing to the dark forest over something so small as a bump on the noggin! Still, as the ship rocks and wavers, the water only rises belowdeck. A jill clutching her wrist gently reaches for Aqua, tears in her eyes. "I think it's broken." She mutters.

Jarvis surfaces and then sinks again as the darkness seems to laugh at him, no..NO..he won't die like this, he is an otter and drowning would just make his kind look bad! He stuggles agasit the waves and agaist him self as his paws and legs kick and he manages to surface just in time for Lutera to grab a hold of him as he coughs and exspells a lot of water with a groan.

Invar isn't about to do any diving in after anyone, that's best left to the otters but he quickly grabs the rope from Lutea the moment pushes it at him. He doesn't start pulling right away and keeps better track of Lutea in the water as he sees where she goes in and it's not long before he sees two dark otters shapes together and starts pulling them in fast. Jan 21, 2019 at 8:02 p.m.
Aqua checks on the otter's wrist, carefully and frowns "It..may well be.."She frowns when she sees the water and gulps a little..ok ok focus, focus on something else.

"Gotcher, mate!" Lutea sputters, managing to keep a tight, fast hold to Jarvis as the waves crash and jerk them every which way. The wind is jerked from her lungs as she is thrown, back first, against the hull of the Sun Sail. "In-INVAR!" She hollers before another wave batters salt into her lungs, but the badger is on his game. Lutea holds tight to Jarvis as the two are hauled up by their friend. "H-Helps keepin' a badger 'round, don't it?" She manages to cough out with a laugh as they are pulled back onto the deck.

The otter with the broken wrist whimpers as Aqua tends to her, squeezing her eyes shut as the ship rocks and rolls crazily. Below, shouts of 'Otter overboard!' are heard, and the jill buries her face into her good paw.

Jarvis groans and coughs roughly as he is pulled onto the deck and blinks a few times as he shivers, not cause of the cold but just the fact he could of easyly drowned "T..Thanks...for de ...save"

Invar very quickly has a number of otters rush to help to get the pair back on deck even as he's practically dragging them over the railing already. He's not gentle about it but he's fast to get them out and back on deck "This is a bad time t'take a swim!" he jokingly yells back at Jarvis over the sound of the waves. Nothing like a crisis to bring back his sense of humour.

Aqua frowns, being overboard in this is not good at all, "Let's hope who ever is overboard gets back onto the ship safely."She looks to see if there is a way to get the water out from below deck, or least that no more is coming into the ship....they can always get out water, if it's ok, after this storm eases up enough for them to.

The storm is relentless, but it does not last forever. The Sun Sail, battered and tossed like a dibbun's toy in the tub, rides the furious sea with all the pride of Southern craftsmanship. Time seems meaningless in the depths of the wild waves and rolling explosions of thunder, so there is disorientation when the winds finally slow and the waves finally calm. Have hours passed? Have days? The first hint of sunlight peers through the gray sky, breaking apart the ominous overcast and speckling welcome warmth onto a deck thrown into disarray. The ship finally still, the door to the hold opens and Rionach pokes her head out, whiskers damp and eye patch askew. "That it, then?" She asks gruffly, hauling herself onto the deck. More otters follow her, some patched back together by Aqua, all with fur wet and exhausted eyes, wide and shell-shocked.

Lutea lays sprawled on the deck, eyes shut and a small smile teased across her muzzle, as she basks in the returning sunlight. "May no' be a fight we won, stripeydog!" She calls to the badger. "Bu' sure as 'ellsteeth is one we survived." Squinting one eye open, she rolls her gaze to peer at Jarvis. "No' many a beast what's been thrown into th'swells cin say the same. Ye've go' salt in yer veins, alla ya." Her smile grows as the Taggerung lets out a laugh. The sea, now still and innocent, radiates a shimmering peace that would have seemed impossible a mere hour ago. To the East, the distinct shape of an island rises from the horizon. "Alla ya." The otter repeats, her eyes shutting again as she lays, bathed in sunlight, on the deck of a ship crewed by the Free.

By the time the sea finally gives up it's onslaught Invar has a rope tied round his middle with the other end tied to the mast and he's just sat on the deck, leaning against the mast. As the waves died down to the point they stopped bowling him over he'd got fed up with bracing against them and spent a long time sat there stubbornly getting wet but refusing to move not matter how the storm tried. Eventually he ended leaned against the mast, exhausted and nearly dozing off "Got salt everywhere else an' all...seaweed too" he yells back at Lutea, forgetting he can speak at a normal volume now.

Aqua holds her paws over her ears as the badger speaks loudly, she looks around and smiles at the sunshine, "The sun....it's good to see it.."She smiles more...well seems there is a rainbow in the sky as well as she sits down and smiles, they are on thier way home, that's all that matters...home.

Last edited by Lutea (2019-01-21 05:10:14 PM)

Lutea · 2019-02-24 09:22:42 PM

A Spark
Ft. Rionach, Aqua
Setting: The Sun Sail

The sea is in an easy mood today; not so quiet that there is no wind left to fill the Sun Sail's sail, but not so violent and choppy that the journey becomes unbearable. Rionach, the carpenter, finds herself in a rare moment with nothing to do, and has settled against the prow. Pulling her cape a little tighter around herself, the otter squints her one eye down into the waves as the ship cuts through them. Every once in awhile, she can see the glitter of some fish or other creature, but they are gone before the otter can get a better look.

Aqua walks onto the main area of the ship and looks..water everywhere as she frowns"How close are we to land, any land..hopefully...hone?"

Rionach snorts. "Read th'room." She grunts to the question, turning to squint her eye at Aqua. "'Least we're otters, waters our home. Can't imagine how seasick tha' badger must be by now." There's a small snort before she turns her gaze away from the other otter and back out towards the sea. Freedom has settled in in bits and pieces, and from the tattered remnants of a torn psyche, the ship has come to represent it. The open sea has become a thing of appreciation for the freebeast.

Aqua nods "I am..not afriad of the waters, even cold ones now, just miss home"She chuckles something she hasnt done the whole trip "Well he might have his sea legs by now or will be kissing the ground once we finally land, that be intresting ta see"

"Poor dear, t'weren't born to be on th'water. Badgers're too heavy t'make proper seabeasts, but..." The carpenter straightens and stretches her arms above her head. "I'm impressed 'ow he's done, all things considered." At Aqua's mention of home, Rionach's frown only deepens - some part of her... Dreads it? Dreads the thought of starting over again and trying to forge some new normal that she knows will never again exist. At least now there is only the journey to worry about - but she doesn't voice this. "Aye. Home. Yer a healer, issat right?"
Aqua nods "Yes, I am"She frowns "Maybe tis one reason the..slavers kept me alive, I had to tend to thier wounds and one time they beat me when a child died, it was not my fault..he was boen early and not strong enough to surrive, and cause of it he got ill..I am unsure why as no one else was ill."

"After Ayita..." Rionach's frown deepens and she turns back to sea, her expression and thoughts dark. "They weren't easy on th'healers, I dinnae envy you." A paw drifts to the eyepatch that hides the deep gouge. They all had their struggles there. "Bu' you'll have plenty t'do when we get back, I imagine. Takes awhile t'train healers, s'good t'have you ready an' available when we get back." Her paws curl at the railing, digging blunt claws into the wood for a moment, with a spasm of anger, a flash of pain and rage - and then it passes. She's used to it - likely, they all are.

Aqua nods "Yeah, still old wounds to tend to..emtions, though can't always fix emotions...hopefully no new injuries to deal with, and things are...calm in Mossflower I hopeas I never want to ever see evil again"

"Wish I had yer optimism." Rionach grumbles. "Only thing sure 'as th'sun risin' an' settin' is that there'll always be somebeast tryin' t'take advantage an' be..." She sucks in a breath, holds it a moment, and then releases it in a sigh. "I wish I had yer optimism." She repeats instead of finishing. "Guess there'll be plenty for me t'rebuild. When we get back."

Aqua smiles a little "I..try to see the good in each day, if I can. I try to keep my hopes alive even if its just a spark of hope...a spark can also become a wildfire if one lets it but yeah at the same time a spark can easyly be stomped out as well"

"Admirable words." Rionach keeps her hard, cold gaze on the sea below them, gripping and swaying naturally as the ship rolls over the larger waves. "I guess I still got hope - not bein' kept there anymore, that's gotta be an improvement. Dunno what I 'ave t'go back to. M'mate an'..." She sighs, shutting her remaining eye. "Don' let me change yer attitude, marm. Ye hold onto tha'."

Aqua nods"I have hope..something is left at Camp Willow for us, something has to be and..if not we do our best to bring it back to life, we have to"

Rionach snorts. "Dinnae think I 'aven't spent every night thinkin' of bringin' the past back t'life, but th'past is dead. It's time t'find new life." She pushes away from the railing and strolls past Aqua, towards the stern and the cabin. "Best we cin do is try, mate." She grumbles before disappearing into the hold.

Lutea · 2019-03-04 09:20:52 AM

Redwall MUCK Forum

Redwall MUCK is an interactive, multiplayer text game set in Brian Jacques' Redwall universe.

Visit RWMUCK.ORG for more info!

#1 2019-01-19 07:17:53 PM

Homecoming - a CW Plot

#2 2019-01-21 05:03:45 PM

Re: Homecoming - a CW Plot

#3 2019-01-21 05:09:13 PM

Re: Homecoming - a CW Plot

#4 2019-02-24 09:22:42 PM

Re: Homecoming - a CW Plot

#5 2019-03-04 09:20:52 AM

Re: Homecoming - a CW Plot

This log occurred aboard the Sun Sail as part of both the Black Horizons TP and the Homecoming TP.

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