• PM To Join • Seaside Fishing

[Ricky]

Vhalar 20 717, 7th Break

Location: Port Diablo

It had been a slow morning for Enrick as he'd gotten ready and went out on the town first, Almund kept him busy even in the early Breaks of the day. Mainly he went out looking for particular jobs or bounties on something good, any particular sea creatures that were wanted for whatever reason. He wasn't much of a hunter but fishing was his trade after all, therefore he was bound to be able to make a bit extra off his haul today. Especially if he could manage to drag something good back to Scaloris town for Faith.

No luck though as nobody seemed to find interest in anything genuine, thus he had settled for less and decided to just go with the usual routine totrial. That meant prepping his fishing gear as well making sure that his schooner was ship shape, so he wouldn't have any trouble while out there in the waters alone like he normally went. Enrick returned to the dock where his schooner had been tied to and stepped aboard, quick to head down and strip his vest off before returning up top with the majority of his gear. He'd grabbed the pole as well as gear to set up for it, while his net rested at the hull of the schooner for him to grab later.

He sat near the mast where his sail was and leaned against it with the gear placed within his lap, the line his first step in setting up the fishing pole for the day. Enrick coiled the line around the wheel barrel leisurely as he watched the waters he'd be sailing, and paid mind to the direction of some of the currents from the direction of the waves. Already the port started to come alive with the sound of busy laborers and sailors alike, while those that worked went about their business he just remained lax for the post part.

Until he finally found his barrel filled completely with line, which he then proceeded to trail a line down the bearings of the pole and trace it through the tip. From there he took the took the line and bit at a section with his two front teeth, determined to chew a break in the line so he can then proceed to attach the rest. With that done he then took two small weights for the line and tied them to it, and then finally added the hook at the end with a particular knot to seal it in place. Careful with the amount of times he'd wrapped the line around the end of the hook when he'd looped it, Enrick created another loop with the line and ran the end of the line through it.

With an easy tug and pull the knot locked the hook in place with the weights several inches hanging above. After he finished prepping and cleaning up Enrick then looked to the sky, more or less to determine cloud cover as well as wind direction with the small flag atop the sail. Nice sturdy breezes to the East, if he played it smart enough he could veer somewhat North along the way. "Gonna be an easy Trial t'Trial." He reckoned with a knock on the wood of the mast, he then rose up to step onto the dock his schooner was tied to; and then proceeded to undo the rope that kept his home tied to the port. Pretty soon he'd be set to head out and enjoy yet another Trial of fishing.

[Qit'ria]

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"Speech"

"I ain't takin' you huntin' for sea huskies."

QIt'ria's eyes were wide opened in anger, her nostrils flaring, her face flushing a darker red, "What mean not takin' me? Make deal day past!" Her shout carried over the nearby docks, and the man flinched at the bits of spittle that had flung onto his chest. "It's bad luck to kill 'em. I was drunk las' night. A drunk man's promise is no promise at all." The man was a well known fisherman in the area, but even more known for his drunken claims of being the greatest sailor, fisherman, and ocean adventurer. The truth was much more mundane. He caught mackerel. And more mackerel. And only mackerel. It was why he was called Big Mac.

But his size and scimitar hanging from his hip was all it took to stop the smaller woman from attacking him for his betrayal. She growled loudly and stormed off from him, cursing him heavily in her native tongue. After having seen the Sea Huskies when she'd traveled to Immortal's Tongue, she had that itch. It was always present whenever there was a new creature for her to hunt. She needed to test herself against them, and to taste their flesh. They'd looked delicious.

Moving up the docks, she looked around for a replacement for this man. She sought out the smaller vessels, as she'd been told the bigger ones were not suited for hunting smaller prey. She really wished to try her modified javelin, she'd even practiced the knot for tying it over and over until she felt confident it would hold. Finally she saw one, but the man had just untied his ship. Qit decided to take a risk. She started running for the ship, not bothering to yell for the man to stop. Bare foot thudded across worn wood, and she saw a wooden crate on the dock near the ship.

Running at the crate, she jumped onto it with one foot then pushed up and off it, hopping over the rail of the man's boat. She fell hard, landing on her side, knowing it would bruise her arm but didn't care. She rolled over and thudded into the wall of the cabin, groaning a bit in pain. Then she quickly stood up, grabbed her coin purse, and cast a fierce, demanding gaze at the man. "I pay. You help find sea huskie. I kill huskie." Her chest heaved from the run as she caught her breath, but her look was determined. This woman, standing there on the deck, in nothing more than a loin cloth and simple blouse, described as wild by townies, was desperate. But she refused to show such weakness. Predators that showed weakness died.

Created by Yolande

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[Ricky]

He'd managed to free his schooner from the docks and coiled the rope around his arm so he could throw it over, but before he'd found the opportunity to do so another decided to catapult themselves aboard his own ship. "Te fek?!" He called out with narrowed eyes and furled brows, his eyes had taken to a deep ruby red from the sudden stranger. It had been a woman barely dressed in the limitations of appropriation, her hand held out with something inside the palm when she recovered from her vault.

"What sort o' horse shyte is this?" He asked before she stated her terms, rather plain and simple with her own sharp gaze. The red hues in his eyes dulled and turned to a mixture of both silver and orange, unsure of what sort of proposition this had turned out to be. She'd pay. For what though? Sea huskies? She wanted to go out and hunt one? "Look lass, there's a better way t' pitch a request t' a sailin' fisherman y' know." He crooned with a crane of his head and his eyes still on her form, not once did she seem intent to budge from her spot of course. Still he'd be paid for the services rendered, even if Irrawaddie weren't any real threats or creatures he'd fish for on whim. Surely this woman had her reasons for wanting to find and kill one, Enrick guessed from the look of her clothes and her accent she had to be a foreigner.

"Teh. Tourists..." He'd sighed and turned to look out into the ocean, unsure if the Fates were trying to be funny or legitimately offering a opportunity. "Alright," He finally said just before he looked to her, "here's how it's gonna be t'ough. Oi want compensation fer t'e trip and also t'is hunt yer doin', only fer t'e trip right now as Oi can't guarantee we'll find any out today." He reasoned as he knelt back down and pulled the rope from his shoulder to tie the boat back to the docks. "Ten gold nel fer t'e trip and ten per Irrawaddie y' wanna hunt. Y' can pay me now or later fer t'e trip, roi at this moment t'ough y' best make sure yer prepared t' sail. And Oi mean prepared." He instructed as he redid the knot firmly, and then rose to a full stand with turquoise colored eyes this time.

"In th'e meantime gimme ten Bits t' ask around, Oi'll try t' make sure we have luck findin' a herd in one easy trip. Don't steal me ship, or else y'll regret it." He warned her with a finger raised as he wandered down the dock into the main area of the port, it would be a little bit but Enrick wouldn't waste any time showing up earlier than he originally stated. Confident that he'd learned enough of the creatures from the other local fisherman, he felt better able to try and locate a herd for this passenger's sake.

"Aight lass, be ready t' shove off. We're headin' eastward." He hollered as he, yet again, undid the knot and coiled the rope around his arm. With a quick toss of the rope onto his ship, Enrick climbed aboard and grabbed the wooden pole used to push them away from the dock. After a few good shoves he felt the boat stir more with the incoming waves, the sounds of water splashed against the hull of his ship as he rested the pole down next to the rope. Next he unfurled the jib of the schooner and tied a knot in the rope so it'd remain opened, while the eastern wind caught the sails and pulled them along outside the port.

"Mm'kay," He called out to her as he moved to steer the vessel, "T'e Irrawaddie or sea huskies y' referred t' are a common sight t'ankfully, t'ing is they're herd mammals so findin' a school won't be t'e hard part. If it's yer intention t' actually kill one then we best make sure we're prepared, t'ey don't take kindly t' predators and will swarm us if we're not careful." He looked from the body of water ahead up to the sail overhead, thankful the direction of the wind remained strong towards their bounty. "Since we're gonna be out here a while, might as well introduce ourselves. Name's Enrick but y' can call me Rick if ya prefer. And y'?" He looked from above over to the passenger, wherever she might've stood on his schooner.

[Qit'ria]

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"Common Speech"
"Xanthean Speech"

Qit'ria stared blankly as the man spoke, struggling to understand his Common through his accent. It sounded like gravel sloshing around in a bag of mud. Some words she could make out, but it truly was difficult understanding him. His price seemed fair enough to her, after all, she didn't care as much about coin as most other people did. She only paid for things she absolutely couldn't get herself, and in this case that was a boat, and someone that knew how to use it. She didn't consider this to be a failure on her part, but rather teaming up with a hunter more suited for this environment. And if this went well, she'd let this man hunt with her if he ever so desired.

He told her to get prepared. And that was fine. She'd seen that some of the sailors had a different type of javelin than her, likely specialized for sea hunting. She was glad to buy some of those. Having more hunting gear was always a choice Qit made.

But when he told her not to steal his boat, she squinted her eyes, jaw slightly slack, a small shake of the head at that warning. She offered to pay him. Thieves don't do that, right? Confusing her with some sort of cutpurse was just insulting. She'd never stolen anything in her life. And at least she could speak good Common. What was it about sailors and talking like they have bees trying to escape from their mouths?

Scoffing, she turned to leave to get prepared. And not steal his stupid, rundown, insulting boat. Still fuming, she stomped up to a stall that had many different types of the special sea javelins. The merchant greeted her pleasantly but her mood was a bit soured. "Want sea javelin. Four. How much coins?"

The older man stood up from his stool, grabbed a smaller javelin, and walked around to her. "Hold this, I need to size you. You're small, so a small javelin is best." Despite Qit's mood, she found herself calming a bit at the professionalism of this man. He sized up everything, her height, arm length, hand size. He felt at the muscles of her arm, back and legs, and she allowed him, not concerned. Finally, finished, her grabbed four of the smallest javelins he had, "These should do perfect for ya lass. 20 golds for the lot of them."


Qit nodded and paid him, adding the harpoons to the straps across her back, and moved to turn away. Then she stopped. The boat man told her to be really prepared. And she knew one thing about herself that truly was unfortunate, and that was her sea sickness. Turning back to the kind eyed old man, "Know how not make sea sick?" She gestured with her hands to indicate vomiting. The man smiled, and asked Qit to wait a moment. He disappeared into what she assumed was his house. He came back with a whole leafy plant, seemingly freshly cut, maybe from his garden. "Parsley. Chew on this, when it's gettin' bad. Should help with the worst of it. And drink a lot of water, and don't eat. And if you can, focus on the horizon, not the coast or waves. Five golds."

Qit paid him, and returned back to the boat with a bit to spare. The man was already there, and Qit leaned against the rails, watching him push them out. At the very least, she could learn the true basics about this if she were to find other things to hunt out here. More than just the very tasty looking sea huskies. She didn't know what any of the ship parts were called, but the basics seemed easy enough. Seeing the sail catch the easterly wind, she made a note to constantly pay attention to the winds. It seemed they were the most important part of all this.

Thankfully her mood was much improved as he began talking in that horrendous accent of his. It truly was grating. Why couldn't people just talk like normal folks, like herself? The instruction seemed clear. Sea huskies were like deer, but in the ocean. Which meant the tactics would have to wait until they had eyes on them. Everything was different in hunting with each hunt. Would it be a large or small family? Would they have small ones? Elderly ones? Injured ones?

Qit could already feel that upwelling in her stomach, and she chomped off a bit of the parsley, and chewed on it loudly, and almost immediately she felt it settling. She cast her eyes out to the horizon like the man had said. Her stomach quickly settled. This pleased her immensely. If she got a good haul today, she'd save something for the old man, in thanks.

The boatman introduced himself as Henlick. A very odd name indeed. But wanted to be called Rick? That didn't make sense. She shrugged, Common was an ugly language anyways. Looking up at him, she started to reply, but didn't like a shouting conversation. She moved to the center of the boat, a bit wobbly but managing to hold steady. Ignoring the normally used method to move up and down the ship, she hopped up on top of a crate. With another leap up, she grabbed the rail in front of the boatman, grunting and straining she pulled herself up and over. Leaning against the rail now, she looked him in the eye, making sure to not stand right in his line of sight.

"I call Qit'ria. You sea hunt? Or just..." she tried to think of the word in Common, "Ride boat?"

Receipt

4 Harpoons (Used javelins for pricing). -20 GN
Parsley (whole Plant) -5 GN

Created by Yolande

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[Ricky]

At first he'd paid more attention to the way the waves carried them out rather than the way his new passenger had felt, however after they were well on their way into the bay with the wind in his sails; Enrick could easily determine the nature of this woman's expenditure.

She intended to hunt but she seemed a little docile for a bit, occupied with the motions that rocked the boat among the sway of the waves. Truth be told Enrick could never understand how people found themselves sea sick so easily, he quite enjoyed the liberation found in freely sailing the waters just beyond Scalvoris's shores.

"Kit'reeya eh? How 'bout Oi just refer t' ya as Kit?" He responded with a smirk as he looked from her to the sails above, his arms crossed atop the wheel as he watched the winds direction. Still seemed fair and unchanged in regards to the direction of their destination, but with the speed it would seem they'd take a little while before they reached the place where this school would be found swimming.

"Oi don't just 'ride boat' out here, Oi spend time fishin' til Oi've got a haul. When that's done then Oi go back and sell t' some suppliers, and head on home t' call it a day." He summarized with almost a soft shrug, presumably after he realized Qit's question was in a sense 'hunting' to a degree.

"Nothin' like what y' do t'ough. Someone like yer self's prolly more interested in t'e better game." He reasoned with a light chuckle as he cast a smirk her way. "How're t'e waves treatin' y'? Lass like yer self don't look much like a sailin' type, o'course sailin' isn't fer every soul come t' t'ink o' it." He reasoned as he looked back from her to the water ahead of his schooner, the waves looked to be a little more steep now they were headed into deeper water.

"It'll be a bit a'fore we reach t'e place, lemme know if y' need anythin' or if y' have any questions. Will do me best t' answer t'em accordingly." He offered with a tall stand while his eyes remained forward, his eye color flourished from a pure bright aqua to a mixture of teal within their hues.

[Qit'ria]

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Xanthean Text
Kashehino Text

"Yes. Qit I am."

She heard him say that he fished with his boat. That was a widely useful skill Qit'ria had yet to learn. And she held those who did it in high esteem, along with the other food producers of the world. Hunters, farmers, gatherers, fisherman, and cooks, along with healers, were among the most respectable people in her mind. Being able to provide food not only for yourself, but the lesser people that couldn't was honorable. Self reliance was a most important trait to Qit'ria.

Which unfortunately meant she'd have to learn how to 'boat'. Because there were plenty of beasties to be killed and eaten in the seas, but she couldn't access them. And it was a damned shame too. Most of them she'd tried so far had been delicious. Qit'ria smiled at this man. He did good work, and he was willing to help her out when he didn't have to do so. She could tell he was a hard worker too, his hands were rough on the steering, his muscles were thick from whatever it is he did to fish.

Still smiling, which was a bit awkward for her, because she just stretched her mouth as wide as she could and showed lots of teeth, for she assumed that was the point of smiling at others. To show them how fierce and scary your teeth were, like how canines pull back their lips. "I ent-rested in all game. Mama and me play hide and hunt when little. I better at hide than hunt then."

She took a moment to look back at the port that was distant already. Boats were so fast, it was impressive. There was cawing as some sea birds chased after the ship, possibly looking for scraps of something. "No like selling much. Boat make me," she patted at her thin belly, then mimicked vomiting with her hands, complete with retching noises. "Wrinkled elder teach me how not... tìlang ojúṣe. I not know Common word. Me like swim. Boat is... bleh. This nice though. Wrinkled elder good man."

She relaxed more against the rail, her eyes returning to watch him some more. He told her it would be a bit, and to ask questions if she had any. "Favorite fish eat? Me like the many color one in river. No good at fish catch. They move fast. And spear no stab in water where want stab." She hadn't ever been taught how you have to adjust your strike in water for the refraction of light. That what you saw wasn't where it necessarily was.

"Me want hunt all animal. Water. Air. Ground. All. Eat all. Fish too. Show I am hunter best."

Looking him back in the eyes, "What you want? Big want?"

[Ricky]

It seemed an odd name to pronounce and it didn't particularly help that he had a way of butchering words, but so far it seemed that Qit understood well enough what Enrick meant. He listened closely as she turned the wheel of his sloop a little, the minor adjustment quite noticeably a big change in the main sail's angle. Now they really did have the wind at their backs as the sloop surfed onward across the waters, and a quick glance cast down below revealed the deeper waters just down below. He cracked a smile when Qit brought up the story of her past, about how she used to play games with her mother apparently.

Didn't sound like any sort of children's game though. 'Hide and Hunt' seemed more of a practical way to teach a child survival, which in a sense wasn't all that bad when you considered the benefit. As he felt the wind over his skin the corners of his vest flapped against his torso without end, already driving him mad as he decided it best to just remove the shirt. Naturally this would mean Qit would get to see the muscular structure of his body, but of course Enrick didn't care much as to whether or not that would trouble her. Quite honestly he found it liberating, to be bare chested and feel the salty air sometimes brine against his skin.

He couldn't help but chuckle a little with one eyebrow curved lower than the other, curious as to what sort of meaning Qit intended when she spoke again. "Vomit? Sailin' makes y' vomit." He guessed that to be the gesture anyways, and when she said a word in another language, he had to yet again guess what she meant. "Sail? Oi t'ink ya mean sail lass." He remarked with an elbow propped on the wheel, his teal eyes brightened to a mixture of an aquatic silver in suggesting the term. "Taileng Ohoose y' said?" The fisherman tried to reiterate the term but completely failed in doing so. "What language is that? Doesn't sound entirely familiar." He murmured as he wondered more about it.

Though it didn't ring familiarity within his mind it somehow... felt familiar to him. Maybe perhaps akin to his heritage he knew little about, since he grew up without a mother to teach him anything. "Me?" He inquired in doubt when she'd asked what his favorite seafood had been. "Oh Oi'm big on salmon lass. Lot's o' protein in their meat, dem's as well as buttered crab is a roi treat." He remarked with a hearty grin as he listened to her a little more, his eyes shot from her over past to the front of the sloop's tip. Looked as though they were going to arrive soon, if Enrick had followed the direction well enough to their breeding ground. They still had a bit yet of course, but Enrick felt sure they would arrive soon.

"Aye stabbin' t'ings doesn't always work, s'why learnin' t' use fishin' gear is useful." He remarked with a cross of his arms next as he kept eyes forward, the aquatic coloration more vivid than the silver that resided before. "Huntin' everythin' y' can eh? It's not a bad goal, best way t' do that is t' adapt though. Learn a variety o' ways t' hunt and ye'll be able t' manage." As much as he liked to preach about this insight, he honestly didn't know for sure how sound it truly was. In ways he could relate to the idea because he, like other fishermen, had to adapt and learn how to survive while out at sea. The same could be said for any sort of hunter or huntress in the wilderness, if one didn't learn to adapt then there stood little chance to survive.

However when it came being asked the bigger question... Enrick's smile faded as he looked back down at Qit. It had definitely felt a little too personal to be asking, although she probably didn't meant for it to be so given they were merely having conversation. So what did Enrick want? "Oi'm a simple man lass, live fer t'e simplest o' t'ings." He quickly answered as he thought more about it, about how incomplete he felt deep within his being. This brought upon a sadness he wanted to hide, but regrettably his eyes would easily tell otherwise as the aqua dulled to a deeper blue. "Why want somethin' big when it's easier just t' be." He muttered as a brief silence would occur from him, even if Qit seemed determine to break it.

"Looks like we're just 'bout 'ere." He came to remark finally as the sloop carried them further along across the water. Enrick quickly moved past Qit to furl the mainsail next, so that the wind wouldn't put them anywhere off course from their destination. "Should be 'round 'ere the Irrawaddie do t'eir matin' business, if we watch below we should see a school swimmin' below somewhere..." He looked over the bow as he said this to peer down into the water, the word "hopefully" muttered under his breath as he moved to the front of the boat to grab his anchor. With a few grunts he managed to hoist it overboard and let it plummet into the sea, another look cast to Qit as he briefly panted a few times from straining with the lift.

"Shall we?" He inquired as a means of etiquette, since it was best to allow ladies first after all. If she jumped in before him then he would follow in suit, and be right behind her once they were in the water. However if she seemed to hesitate or prefer to wait, he would just laugh and hop overboard. With the sea there to greet his skin he felt a chill within the vast waters, his eyes first closed but opened shortly after he'd submerged into water. This was the best part of being a fisherman to Enrick, because it was moments like this he felt akin to his own home.

[Qit'ria]

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Xanthean Text
Kashehino Text

Qit watched as Enrick peeled off his shirt. It was hot out, and she made no attempt to hide her eyes that flowed over his hairy, muscular form. She watched his chest rise and fall with his breaths, seeing the curly hairs there ripple in the wind. She had to resist the urge to reach out and run her fingers over it.

Qit smirked, eyes moving up from his chest to his own, now a different color, "Tìlang ojúṣe mean vo-mit. Is Xanthean. Me Sev'ryn. Desnind... home, at bottom of world. All speak Xanthean."

She moved in a bit closer, more of a natural response than by conscious choice, "I know salmon. Red-white. Much tasty. What is butt crab?"

She listened to his musings, but noticed he seemed to lose the wind in his sails when he spoke of a simpler life. She could certainly appreciate the sentiment. Simplicity was most certainly her cup of tea, complicated things tended to infuriate her. But he moved past it, and she let sleeping frogs lie as the saying went. They were there, it seemed. It was about time.

Qit'ria did not wait a trill. She moved over to the rail, peeled off her blouse and loin cloth, tossing them onto the deck, staring out over the ocean in nothing but her skin and the leather straps she used to hold her javelins to her back. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes a moment. When they reopened, a vicious smile accompanied it. It was time to hunt something new. She stepped upon the rail, and with a feline snarl, she jumped in, not bothering to attempt a dive, as the last one had left a sore spot on her tits and stomach from landing flatly.

She plunged beneath the calm water, letting her momentum drag her downward. And once she crested, three or four meters down, she opened her eyes and looked about her. She paddled small circles with both hands, one holding a harpoon, as she looked beneath her. Complete darkness. She couldn't see the bottom of the ocean. It was terrifying and exciting. Anything could be down there. Perhaps an entire flock of whales, or a single giant monster no one had ever seen. She'd find out one day. She'd find a way to swim to those depths. And kill whatever was there.

She kicked her way gently back up to the surface taking in a big gasp of air. She did her frog style of swimming, making her way around the front of the boat, when she saw something breaking the water way out ahead, maybe a hundred meters or so.

She pointed her harpoon at the creatures, "Enlick!"

And then she began to swim toward the pod, ready to stab one or five.

[Ricky]

To hear the Xanthean language was unusual to Enrick and yet somehow... akin to familiarity in such a way he didn't suspect possible. Had he heard it somewhere before? Deep within his dreams perhaps? It led him to believe that he needed to learn more of his Sev'ryn heritage, that somehow he needed to investigate that part of him enshrouded in such mystery. Why? Probably because it'd explain not only what but who he was better.

Desnind? According to Qit it was at the bottom of the world, and Enrick could only wonder if that was in reference to the map. He'd never seen nor heard of Desnind, but considering it was where a vast majority of the Sev'ryn came from it would be a start. Plausibly at least. Stories of his mother were always vague when it came to his father, and truth be told that man never really knew much of the Sev'ryn ways either. Yet hearing Qit speak the native tongue she easily vocalized, made Enrick appreciate the language itself as it sounded beautiful in a sense.

She knew what salmon was easily enough but when she inquired about "buttered crab" he couldn't help but laugh, clearly she hadn't experienced the finer cuisines of fisherman like Enrick had. When you were a fisherman though sometimes you had to be creative, lest the fishy taste overwhelm you into disliking sea food. "Buttered crab lass," He clarified with a wide grin as he kept watch on their position, "Ye break te shells an' fry t'eir meat in salted butter, throw a lil' bit o' seasonin' inside an' yer golden." All this talk of food already started to make him feel hungry, hopefully this expenditure wouldn't take too long so he could grab a bite to eat later.

Come the stop and moment where he dived in Enrick felt the water greet his skin all over, the rush of bubbles in the cold tickled his sides and torso as he opened his eyes under water. Below was nothing but pitch black as the anchor he'd dropped seem somewhere down below, all he could see was the chain link that connected it to the sloop that Qit easily jumped off after him. Was she naked? He could see her form under the water and when he did, Enrick's eyebrows rose high with the coloration of his eye color a mixture of green and magenta. Qit had very slender and well muscular form to work with really, a body he could easily appreciate once his eyes took in every detail about her.

He noticed the tattoo of a tree on her torso and wondered if that had anything to do with her heritage, but more importantly watched her petite form as she surfaced for air. Air. Oh shit! Enrick needed air come to think of it! He felt his lungs tighten some as he looked further to the surface, his feet used to pedal himself up for the thing his body desired most. Sweet delicious air. When he nearly broke the surface he closed his eyes, and felt the rush of water drain from his face as he exhaled heavily. By the Seven it felt so good to breathe! It was easy to forget he needed air half the time, since Enrick loved the sea that much anyways. He chuckled with his eyebrows furrowed some, his vision on Qit as she seemed to look ahead of the sloop at something.

Their quarry?

Qit already seemed eager to hunt a few of these sea huskies as she pointed one of her harpoon's towards it, an bit of butchery done to his name as he heard her declare "Enlick" instead. He merely chuckled at that and with eyes forward on the sea creatures, he found himself focused as they turned into a turquoise color which practically reflected the ocean water. "Well git 'em t'en!" He encouraged her as he propelled himself forward with a wide spread of his arms, Enrick then decided to inhale yet another deep breathe as he dipped back down into the water. From there he could see everything a little better, and what he saw was something quite impressive compared to the usual sights he came across.

A whole pod of Irrawaddie were swimming about in a circular pattern, some of them encircling one another in pairs as if they were courting. Mating season? Perhaps. While Enrick couldn't deny he had inclinations with Qit, she was far too invested in her soon to be hunt now. Besides this would be interesting to see, since he would get to see a hunter in her prime while having a nice swim. Luck would have it that she wound up actually bagging and tagging a few of these, maybe their meat would earn a good price at Cally's later when he delivered another shipment. With his lips curled into a intrigued smile, he swam forward in the water to tail Qit as she propelled herself towards the flock of sea huskies nearby.

[Qit'ria]

Common Text
Xanthean Text
Kashehino Text

Qit'ria bobbed up and down as she frog swam toward the irrawaddie. Once closer, she dipped all the way down under water to better view the pod. It was a small family, seven in total, none of them babies. And they'd already spotted her. She could tell because they were swimming toward her, but not aggressively, strangely enough. They didn't perceive her as a threat. It was a bit insulting to the huntress, in all honesty.

One swam right up to her, nosing right into her face gently. Qit'ria stopped, treading underwater. She hadn't realized just how big they were. And there were so many of them. Each five meters or longer, and she was in their element. If she attacked now, the entire pod would be far too much to handle. She was a halfway decent swimmer, but she had no doubts this big creatures could easily drown her en masse if so desired. As much as she wanted to indulge her desire to kill it right now, to do so would be extremely reckless even by her own standards.

She reached out with her free hand and pat the sea huskie on the head. It was very friendly, which in her mind meant it was dumb. Dumb and friendly, and probably delicious. Qit'ria fluttered her feet, kicking her upwards as she took in another deep breath. The irrawaddie followed, nudging at her playfully. A few more came around her, and some swam for Enrick to garner his attention. Qit'ria even smiled a bit as she 'pet' the creature. As the first moved past her, she reached out and grabbed a hold of the small fin on its back.

It didn't seem to mind, and began to swim forward faster than she could ever manage on her own. Qit'ria held on tight with her one arm, as the beast dashed forward, just beneath the surface of the water. She held her spear up as the pair passed by Enrick and if she weren't underwater, she'd have howled. This was surprisingly fun for the huntress. The beast surfaced, seeming to know that she was an air breather. She took in several deep gulps before the creature dove.

It wasn't too difficult to keep a slack length grip on the fin, but Qit'ria wanted a better view. She flexed her arm and shoulder muscles, drawing them taut, letting the motion straighten her up as the beast dove toward the darkness. It didn't seem so dark once they entered it, just barely at the top, but a glance upwards caused Qit's eyes to widen. If they went much deeper, she'd drown before she reached the surface. And she could feel the weight of water squeezing down on her. Her chest was beginning to hurt, and panic was beginning to set in.

Qit'ria raised her harpoon, to stab the creature in the spine, and make a dash for the surface, in hopes to not drown before she did. But the playful beast arced upward, and began the race for the surface. Qit let exhaled as they did, her bubbles racing behind her, having to force herself to not breathe in right after it. It relieved some of the pressure building within her chest, and the panic abated a bit. When they finally breached, the creature stopped, letting her catch her breath, gasping several times. She climbed over top of it like a piece of flotsam. She looked around, realizing she was right next to the ship. That was good.

Her eyes looked around for Enrick. She saw a few surfacing irrawaddie in the distance, fifty meters or so. They were isolated. This was the perfect time for her to strike. She raised her harpoon, ready to slam it down just behind the creature's skull, when she stopped. Enrick was still out there. If she set off the pod, she could probably escape to the ship in time, but he'd be a dead man. And she didn't know how to sail a boat. She'd be stranded. That would be no good.

Once more she lowered her harpoon, a bit annoyed. She needed to find her partner in this venture so that she could ensure their safety so she could finally kill this beast. And she was getting hungry.