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"They better be," she answered as she stirred the sugar and yeast into the water. "Zaria should be up there, she's always real good about being up there as soon as I tell her to take her shift. My concern is Zulo, though. I know he's awake, but he might decide to roll over and go back to sleep. Then Zaria would have to come back below deck to find him and take him topside. And who knows what could happen in that time? You know how much I dislike leaving the ship unwatched like that." She melted some butter and stirred it in, along with some flour, then set the mixture aside to rise. She and Felix often had conversations like this. He was a good listener so she found it easy to let her worries out. She could talk to Corin about them too, but he always seemed so carefree, she didn't want to burden him. Felix, on the other hand, had been through a good deal, even if she didn't know exactly what that was, so he could not only listen to her fears, but offer suggests as how to alleviate them, even when they petty nuisances.
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Phillipians 4:13 - I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
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Felix listened thoughtfully while he slightly assisted her in small things about the cooking of the rolls. As she explained her discomfort over leaving the ship unguarded, he nodded. He did know how much she hated it. "Don't worry about them, I'm sure Zaria would much rather yell at Zulo from above deck than leave her post to come get him." He watched the resting bowl thoughtfully. "I do believe our bigger worry should be the fact that she might wake the entire crew."Comment
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Tyra laughed as she stirred the cinnamon mixture, using butter Felix had melted. "That's true. That bird has some lungs, doesn't she." She tasted her mixture, then frowned thoughtfully. "Not enough cinnamon, I think." She corrected it, then set it aside for until after the dough was done. "What do you think of the new guy? Deann? He any goo in the galley?" She doubted Felix would like it, but she did want him to train the new kid in the secrets ways of creating culinary delights.Phillipians 4:13 - I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Character Tracker, where you can find out about all the characters.
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When Zulo was shaken awake, he had no idea what was going on. He couldn't even figure out where he was until he heard Tyra's voice. He felt a little grumpy inside at being woke up, but Tyra made him feel a little better. Her smile almost felt motherly, besides the fact that he had only met her the night before. Nonetheless, he knew she wasn't your stereotypical sailor captain.
He hadn't heard the term "topside" before, but it was obvious what it meant. Zulo forced himself out of his bunk and climbed down, making his way down the ship and above deck. His footwork was even messier than earlier that night, and he had some difficulty prying his eyes open, but kept going. He knew it would tick the crew off if he fell back asleep.
Finally, Zulo emerged into the salty ocean air. He greeted his fellow Rito and once again she began teaching him new pieces of the ship's routine.Comment
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Zaria stretched on deck before she led Zulo to the ship's wheel. "One of the most important things you've gotta learn, is how to tie a knot. Square knots, simple bunny ear knots, monkey's fist knots, sailor's knots, and more importantly, how tight to tie them." She counted off the names of knots on her fingers. I assume Capin' also wants me to show you how to navigate at night. You know about any of those knots or anything about navigation, Boy?" If he didn't, she planned on showing him the basics; how to tie the tiller back tight, how to do the sails, et cetera. If he did, that was one less thing she had to worry about.Old Age of War stuff here:
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"No, I don't think so," Zulo answered when he was asked about knots. "All I know is what you've taught me already." He let out a yawn, not feeling any more awake than before. It was bad enough that he had to get up for second watch, but he was also going to have to learn. He hoped it would go by quickly.Comment
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"Mmm, I'll show you with the rope on the tiller first then, we're going to need a bit more light than the moon and predawn for anything else though." She studied the stars that were growing dimmer with the coming sunrise. "We need to shift more to the southeast." Zaria said more to herself than Zulo. Looking back, she tugged at the bow of the knot that kept the tiller from spinning too much while Tyra came to get the Rito. "Pull this part of the rope here, and that will untie it. Then I can show you how to reset the course and lock the wheel again.Old Age of War stuff here:
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Zulo did as Zaria said and gave the rope a little tug. Simply enough, the tiller was set free. He then stood by Zaria at the tiller to continue shifting the White Wolf's course.Comment
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When she'd shifted the boat back onto course, Zaria took up the rope that Zulo had pulled loose. "Wrap it around the pole, and then..." She tied the knot slowly, muttering "do this, then that," between each step. "Clove hitch knot." She tugged it loose again, and held both ends to the other Rito. "Tie it."
((I used this as a reference for the first part of the knot at least.))Old Age of War stuff here:
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Zulo could barely focus as Zaria tied what she called a clove hitch knot. He should have been expecting it, but she took him off guard when she undid the knot asked him to retie it himself. The first steps of the knot were easy for him to remember, but towards the end it got more difficult. He wasn't sure if he was doing it correctly, but he finished tying the knot in a way that seemed right, and to his surprise, his knot looked identical to how Zaria had tied it. "How's that?" he confidently asked the older Rito as he yanked it tight.Comment
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"Decent, you'll get better with practice." She tugged at the edges, and called it good. "Whenever Tyra wants you to lash the tiller, that's what you're going to have to do." she explained, looking out over the water. Zaria thought she could smell something sweet coming from downstairs, but she passed it off as the smell of the sea. She'd grown to find it comforting and sickly-sweet, especially in the morning. The sun was starting to peek over the water, and Logata was definitely out of sight. "After breakfast I'll show you knots on the sails, until then we watch for other ships." She took a seat on the deck, and focused on the horizon, starting to zone out.Old Age of War stuff here:
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Zulo was relieved that his knot was good enough. It was a good thing he learned it so quickly, being an essential part of his job. It seemed like they hadn't been out for very long, yet the morning was near. Perhaps Tyra had stayed on watch for extra long for some reason. Zulo plopped down next to Zaria, watching as a sliver of the orange sun crept above the horizon. Sometimes back at Clearcliff, his father had taken him out to see the sunrise. They had watched them right there, from atop the valley. His father would tell him stories about himself, or old Rito legends. Zulo did miss his father and the Ritos. It was a bad idea to have come out to the ocean, and he knew his family would be worried sick. And he didn't realize why they discouraged his exploration so much until now.
The only comfort Zulo could find was the presence of another Rito, despite the fact that he had never seen her in Clearcliff. He longed to be back atop the high cliffs of his home, listening to a sunrise story from his father like old times. He wondered if Zaria knew any stories he hadn't heard before. For now, they sat in silence admiring the majestic sunrise.Last edited by Peeps; 02-05-2014, 04:16 PM.Comment
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Zaria watched the sun creep over the horizon, and squinted at it. She looked at the Rito at her side, and then back out at the water. "Ever heard of Ubajow?"
When Zulo said he hadn't heard the story before, she nodded. “Corwin sang me a song about him, and the story in it went a bit like this. There was once a crusty old sailor who tried to catch a mermaid he fell in love with. You know what mermaids look like, right? ‘Course you do. Well, Crusty Sailor Man failed, ticked off Pretty Mermaid Girl, and she cursed his soul to the body of a fish. That fish grew huge and butt-ugly, and it ate everything it possibly could. Legend has it, Ubajow will go into any depth of water to get to what he wants to snack on.” Well, maybe the last part of the story was a bit edited, but he didn’t need to know that.Old Age of War stuff here:
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Zulo listened in on Zaria's story about the Ubajow creature. He was excited that she happened to tell him a little tale, but it wasn't the most settling type of story. It was more of a horror tale, and Ubajow sounded like a terrible sea-monster. Being a rather gullible child, Zulo got nervous when he heard splashes around the ship, but told himself they were only the waves he had been listening to since the night he arrived. However, there was something irregular about the noises. In nearby waters, Zulo saw a fin quickly bob above the surface and dip back down. He figured it was a common sea creature, but it was an unsettling sight nonetheless. He had heard about Gyorgs, big and fast ocean predators with razor-sharp teeth. He had heard of them jumping out of the water to snatch sailors off their boats.
"Do you believe in the story of Ubajow?" Zulo asked, like a scared child. "Do you think he's swimming around today?"Comment
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Zaria laughed. "Of course you've gotta heed any warning from a sailor story when you make your living on the water, but so far he's just been a legend to me." She didn't really believe in the legend, but it made for a decent song, and she loved to hear Corin play the melody. Mermaids, to her knowledge, were more than the failed offspring of a Zora and Terminan. Maybe failed wasn't the right word, but they didn't exactly fit into either category.Old Age of War stuff here:
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