Fate - First Reply A Morning Strait

[Lamirose]

Lami let Rook lead her to a little alcove, and she sank down onto the bench, her legs shaking. She had been walking just fine earlier, and she chided herself as slowly the world stopped spinning. She had thought these flashes were supposed to be gone by now, but what did she know of it? Not much, as her dear mother loved to remind her.

"It's not complicated," she said when her senses returned to her. "They leave the ocean and shift with full intentions to find a male to mate with. There are not many male Kivren." Lami could tell Rook felt a little awkward. "We do not... mate for any other reason than to reproduce," she paused, "Usually," she added.

Despite the awkwardness of the topic, Lami was beginning to feel a sense of calm. Perhaps talking about it would make it easier for to come to terms with.

Rook

 

[Rook]

As he listened Rook began to understand more about the divide kivren and humans had from each other. For her kind the acts of eating and coupling were more so just natural processes related to survival. Little pleasures seemed to be taken out of it by some, but for a whole these acts had little connection with carnal desire. Humans meanwhile deeply linked both acts to nearly everything. Emotion. Desires, both instinctive and carnal. Status. Relationships. Religion even.

"And you? Already don't eat people so what about the mating? Not interested in it like the no eating thing?"

Rook had to admit it would be a bit of a shame for a pretty girl to have no interest in such things. He had no delusion to think he would ever have a chance with someone as pretty as her, but it did sour the mood at the thought of placing a person with no desire for such an act into it in a fantasy they would never be aware of.

Lamirose

 

[Lamirose]

And here it was. It seemed she could never get away from it, but maybe she needed to face it head on if she wanted to move on. "I... I mated for something like love once. It brought me nothing but pain." She wrapped her arms around her stomach, unable to meet Rook's gaze.

He was different, she told herself, but she was still stupid and naive. Already she could feel herself letting go of her resolutions, just for a handsome face and a kind disposition.

But she hadn't really answered his question, had she? Was she still interested in mating? Earlier, it would have been a hard no, but as her senses slipped away she wasn't so sure anymore.

Rook

 

[Rook]

The way Lami responded reminded Rook of many women who worked in the Shallows. Victims of heart crushed by another. They became hard and jaded as time past as the wound healed over and they held the scab up as a shield. It must have just been the nature of life to get hurt. The dead couldn't, or at least not in the same way. Life could regrow and recover. Change themselves. The dead could not. A wound to the dead was permanent. As permanent as the end that freed them from their forms.

Rook placed a hand on her knee to try and offer some form of comfort. If she didn't like it he would remove his hand, but he still made the gesture. Touch was as important as hearing and sight when it came to comfort.

"I think it is good to feel pain. It is a reminder we are alive and if we are alive we can make things better. Might be a struggle and feel impossible, but given some time it will happen."

He motioned about the city. "Look at Alliria. Think it was always like this? Someone had to gather rocks and chop trees to build all of this. Sure she catches fire some times or a big wave crashes through, but we just use the rubble to build it back better than before. Just keep what is worth holding onto and toss out what isn't."

Goddess he was rambling. He felt like one of those old men down at the dock spouting their wisdom to all the sailors and workers. He was still young... right? He hoped he was. Life hadn't aged him through all the good years yet.... He hoped....

Lamirose

 

[Lamirose]

Lami looked up at him when his hand met her knee. She nodded as he spoke. He wasn't wrong. There was still hope for her. She suddenly felt the urge to tell him more. "I loved him, I think. He gave me a baby but then he left and the baby wasn't born right. And now I'm alone again," she said, her voice getting quieter as she went on. The pregnant woman from earlier on the docks resurfaced to Lami's mind.

"I don't know what is worth holding onto anymore," she added. "But I want to learn more about the landers, maybe I can understand landers better and not hurt myself with my stupidity,"

This conversation had turned quite depressing rather quickly but there was a weight that seemed to be lifting from Lami's shoulders. She had recieved nothing but judgment and pain for her mistakes, from both Kivren and landers; never understanding.

Rook

 

[Rook]

The young man frowned as he listened. A lover that she had a baby with leaving her only to lose the baby too. That was a rough thing to go through. Too common of a story no matter where you went or who you were it seemed. He didn't know what that must have been like. Never had a kid and if he did he certainly would never leave them of his own free will. Heck he couldn't abandoned or leave who he was living with now and none of them were his kid.

"I'd say remember to love and let go of the guy. Not much of a man if he left a pregnant woman alone like that."

Rook mulled over what he should say next. That earlier statement was too normal and bland. Everyone said such things. Some of them said it then immediately did it the next day it was so common a thing to say. What would help her specifically though?

After a moment he sort of blurted out not considering what it might imply again, "Well landers mate for a lot of reasons. For love. To reproduce. For fun. Relax. Maybe you should see if it helps you move on? Find someone you don't hate and just see what happens.... Never know till you try something."

And he realized yet again after speaking what his words might imply. He removed his hand from her knee and stood up. He began to stretch and just did his best to avoid looking at her as his face turned red.

"Could help you find someone if you want. Wouldn't be hard as pretty as you are."

He needed to stop digging this hole he trapped himself in any deeper. Already couldn't see the top and even a dwarf would be terrified to dig a little deeper.

Lamirose

 

[Lamirose]

Lami looked up, raising an eyebrow. Was he suggesting she mate with him? She was definitely naive but she'd like to think she wasn't completely without her senses.

Not that she was opposed to it, necessarily. But that was for a different day. She had only just met Rook, and if what had happened before taught her nothing else she knew she ought to get to know the guy a bit more before she laid with him.

"Really? Someone like you, then?" she replied, in part indignant and other parts sarcastic.

At least he had the audacity to look embarrassed, but his mouth seemed to function separately from his brain.

Rook

 

[Rook]

Lami's response sent Rook into a spiral. He already felt bad but now it was worse. Clearly she didn't appreciate even an unintentional suggestion for them to do something together. This caused him to get redder and he felt a powerful need to try and clear the air or set things straight in some way.

"Not like me. Unless you like someone like me.... What I mean is just someone you like. Don't know what you like. Could be blondes. Purple eyes. Green skin. I don't know.... Just offering to support whatever you want to do. If it is to bake a cake I'll throw on an apron and make a massive mess like I do at home trying to cook."

Rook frowned a bit and said to himself, "Why Giibi kicks me out of the kitchen...."

After the little detour and pause he got back on track. "Anyways, whatever it is you are looking for or like I'll do what I can.... Is all I was saying...."

Praise Alliria, what had he done to deserve her blessing him such misfortune?

Lamirose

 

[Lamirose]

Lami stood up as Rook began to ramble again. She could not help the smile that twitched at the corners of her mouth. She didn't know what cake was, but it sounded like something that Rook couldn't make very well.

When he finally stopped talking, Lami took a step forward. "Could we get a small boat and leave here for a little while?" she asked. They both needed a distraction, and Lami wanted to swim, but hopefully not in these swampy waters anymore than she had to.

She turned her gaze out to the ocean. The sun was making pretty light patterns on the water on the distant horizon, and for a minute the commotion of the wakening town behind her faded away.

Rook

 

[Rook]

While Rook had been digging that hole ever deeper like the most obsessed of moles, Lami had been getting buckets of water. Ones she began pouring into it with her suggestion of getting a boat. His panic picked up a bit from it. Did she intend to drown him after all?

He had no fear of death. Most who did it was because of the unknown of it or the finality it brought to mind. For him neither existed. He would never claim to know fully what would happen, but he knew it was no end. More of a transition that sometimes took longer when people lingered behind. Those that lingered were the ones he saw often.

What did scare him was leaving others behind. Without him, how would they get enough food to survive and keep the weather at bay keeping the house fixed up enough? Who would help get them enough clothes to stay dry and warm? Who would get between them and those who wanted to hurt them?

Rook already knew the answer: no one.

That was what Rook feared and the thought of going out onto a boat with a kivren brought it right up to the fore.

But Lami seemed different than the tales. Certainly everything to this point supported it for him. Probably the worse thing that would happen would be he got wet falling out the boat and her laughing at him. If that was all she wanted was for them to hang out at her place (metaphorically speaking), then it would be insulting and hurtful to refuse out of fear. A thought he didn't particularly like either.

Rook took the time she was turned to make up his mind. After he finally did he got up and joined her.

"So expecting me to swim with you? Can but not the best. More an expert at floating than swimming."

Rook already had an idea of where he could steal them a rowboat for a bit before returning it.... Owner shouldn't be too mad when he did. Not enough to call the guards... maybe.

Lamirose

 

[Lamirose]

Lami gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "I don't expect anything. If you do, I won't let you drown. I've got no reason to kill you, you've done nothing to me. Yet," she added teasingly, eyeing him from the corner of her eyes.

She linked her arm through his once more. "Shall we get a boat, then?" she asked. She did feel lighter and more at ease after their conversation, but privately she thought his advice would not work for her. However silly it may be, she still wanted it to be meaningful, especially after the last time.

So despite whatever Rook said, she was not going to sleep around to get over Xavion.

Rook

 

[Rook]

Rook soon had his arm claimed and teased in a not nearly joking enough way for his poor heart right now. But he did his best to smile like it was. A promise at the very least so she would be a promise breaker if she did end up eating him out there. Not that it had any real consequences and no one but them would know.

He guided them down towards the dock once more. There was a small section used by the locals for ferrying themselves about. This particular spot was a bit out of the way so had less people. He scanned the area for a moment till he saw someone he knew well enough would accept an apology leaving their rowboat. He took them down to it and helped her into the boat. Then like some kind of ragamuffin, he untied the boat before getting in and rowing them out towards the water.

An angry yell made mostly of cursing drifted off out with them as steady as his rowing pace.

Rook took her out to a place he knew no one else tended to go. Not because of any dangers more just because of a lack of need given where the trade lanes were. Once there he pulled in the oars and dropped anchor.

"Good enough?"

He probably should have answered first. If she said no he was going to have to pull that damn anchor all the way back up now....

Lamirose

 

[Lamirose]

Lami walked with Rook back to the docks, laughing as they climbed into their new boat quickly as the owner rushed back to it, too slow as they rowed away. She was about to suggest she help when he took the oars and rowed them out a ways. He dropped anchor in a secluded area, then asked if it would be good enough.

Lami said nothing, but gave him a look almost of mischief. She leaned towards the edge of the boat and placed both her hands in the water, summoning the anchor from below. It came surging upwards with a splash and landed in the boat once more.

Then, before Rook would have time to do anything else, she moved to the back of the boat and put her fingers in the water, which was still too swampy for Lami's taste. Suddenly the boat surged forward and they were gliding across the water, further out to sea, and away from the trading ships. She pulled her fingers from the water and the little rowboat abruptly stopped, causing Lami to stumble backwards and sit down hard in Rook's lap.

 

[Rook]

By Alliria!

Rook was not ready for what Lami did in response to his question. First she somehow willed the anchor to come erupting up out of the water like a jumping fish and then the boat began to move on its own! His hands instantly gripping whatever there was vaguely stable around him for dear life. Water spraying all over his face as he did his best not to think about what exactly was going on.

Their sudden jerking stop jostled him around enough he lost his grip then found a Lami in his lap. His heart was racing so much right now that he didn't have any mind to enjoy the fact a pretty woman was in his lap. Instead he just found his arms around her embracing her like a buoy.

After a moment to calm himself, he said, "That was.... That was new...."

He wasn't calm but calmer. And not able to enjoy the blessing that was a pretty woman in his lap with his arms around her. Alliria truly was toying with him today.

Lamirose

 

[Lamirose]

Lami let Rook wrap his arms around her to steady himself and took a moment to savor the feeling of human contact. She turned to look at him, their faces quite close together. Lami had only to tilt her chin upward for their lips to meet. Maybe Rook really was right...

But then Lami stood up, pulling away from Rook. She pushed her wild, wind-blown hair out of her eyes, giving Rook one last glance before diving over the side of the boat. She did not want him to see her change, it could be quite disturbing.

The water enveloped her and the only evidence of her shift was bubbles rising to the surface of the water. After a moment of agony followed by intense relief, Lami swam back up the surface, her tail slicing the water with ease. It was much better out here, without the slimy swamp water reaching for her with grimy fingers.

She pulled herself up out of the water, the edge of the boat digging under her arms. Her torso was out of the water, her tail moving back and forth beneath the boat. She looked at Rook, waiting for his reaction.

 

[Rook]

Things went from one kind of heart thumping for Rook to another. First the magic that made the boat move so fast had happened and before he could recover he had Lami in his lap. His arms clung to her and right around the time he realized the position he was in she spun around on him with their lips so close together....

Splash!

And she threw herself overboard.

Rook blinked completely lost on what all was going on right now. Too much too soon all at once for his poor head to follow. Dad always told him his head was full of nothing but wood blocks and rubble rocks. Might have been right given how he had been around women lately.

When she returned, he had calmed down enough to take a look at her. She looked so different yet so the same all at once. Skin was a different color and with scales it seemed now. There was her beautiful tail too. But beneath it all she was still the Lami he had been spending time with until now. Outside what had happened with her legs, it was more like she had just changed the color of her skin and that was it.

Rook was starting to understand why sailors always got seduced by kivren women.

"You look pretty Lami. A little different but the same as before. No less pretty just in a different way."

His eyes trailed down to her tail and he watched in awe how it moved back and forth. What must it be like to have a tail instead of legs? Lami knew.

Lamirose

 

[Lamirose]

Lami smiled a little at him as he looked at her tail in awe, rather than fear. Fear was an expression she had seen one too many times. "Thank you," she said. "I'm going to swim. Join me if you want," And with that, she sunk back beneath the surface.

The water was soothing, especially after having to swim through the thick swampy waters earlier this morning. She did not know what hour it was but it didn't matter to her. The sun cast beams of dusty light in the water, creating patches of light on the silty ocean floor beneath her. She dove to the bottom, her tail stirring up the sand as she dragged her fingers along the bottom.

She rolled over, looking up at the surface of the water. She could see the bottom of the little rowboat and the wavy outline of Rook's figure leaning over the side to look down into the water.

Her brown dress from earlier drifted along the ocean floor nearby, and Lami made a mental note to not forget it when she shifted back. That would certainly be interesting.

 

[Rook]

Oh good. She made sense of whatever had rambled out of Rook's mouth. The offer to join her for a swim gave him pause though. Ignoring the fact she was kivren, he knew how to swim but wasn't that great at it. More like he was good enough to keep his head afloat and slowly get somewhere. A skill one needed to work the docks and the only reason he had it. They were pretty far out now and that thought held a bit of fear in him.

But if he wanted to swim then now would be a good time. His gloves and socks were the ones that wouldn't bother him to swim in. Wouldn't soak up water and weigh him down wool or leather might. He would need to remove some clothes but not those most important for him. It gave him no real excuse not to swim with her.

While he thought things over, he had watched her disappear again and gotten to the edge of the boat to look out. Couldn't make her out, but that was hardly surprising. His eyes weren't built to see through those depths the way her own were. His head would likely need to be under for him to perhaps see her.

A sigh finally left him as he made up his mind. He was here and she was there so he might as well just suck it up and join her. So he started stripping down to his undercloth, thankful it was not white. Once down to his gloves, socks, and undergarment he fell backwards out of the boat with a splash. Then as his head came up he started to float there expertly like a buoy. A sort of nervous and anxious buoy.

Lamirose

 

[Lamirose]

Lami swam back up to the surface as Rook got in hesitantly. He floated on the the water rather stiffly, and she smiled. "Why are you still wearing your gloves and socks?" she asked. He looked silly, with his arms and legs bare.

She swam around him as she waited for a response, keeping an eye on the boat to make sure it didn't drift too far away. Already she was in a much better mood, their depressing conversation from earlier almost forgotten. Almost.

Lami glanced up as a ship from off in the distance passed in front of the sun. Perhaps a trading ship, but they were too far off for her to tell. They were sailing in the direction of Kiva, or in that general area. Lami sent a prayer after them that they were smart enough to steer clear of Kiva where she knew her sisters and mother lie in wait.

Rook

 

[Rook]

Rook just drifted about. The cool waters actually felt nice. Something about flowing water over the skin was so soothing and relaxing. That part of being in it was worth it. The part he didn't like was the idea of not being able to breath if his head went under and didn't come up. Not really an issue when he could touch floor easily and either keep his head above the surface or get it there quickly. No it was this deep kind that saw an unknown lengths of his body between floor and surface that made him anxious even if not phobic.

The first question from Lami when she rejoined him was about his gloves and socks. Of course. Was always the first question people had. Couldn't blame them. It was weird of him to do. Not the weirdest by far but definitely the most obvious and blatant weird thing.

"I've got sensitive hands and feet. Really sensitive hands and feet actually. Gloves and socks keeps me from feeling too much.... Kind of go into a panic when I do...."

Having to admit that made him feel weak or lesser in some way. Always did since the sensations started. So many times he was left curled up in a ball of pure anxiety and terror when he was younger before his dad forced him to start keeping them covered. The thought of chopping them off too present too many times. The urge to actually do it too strong too often.

No. He needed them on. The water would be fine. The water was the only thing that would be fine touching.

Lamirose

 

[Lamirose]

Sensitive hands and feet? Lami thought maybe that wasn't the entire truth but she didn't push it, sensing that it was a sensitive topic for him. She could see the embarrassment on his face. She tried to think of a way to ease his embarrassment and settled for making his swim a little easier. She spread her webbed fingers under the water and the water lifted him up to a sitting position, supporting him from below.

"I've got sensitive skin," she added. "Too long without salt water, and my skin dries out." She hoped it would make him feel better.

She glanced back at the boat, and it was now a smaller dot on the horizon. The ocean really was quite large, and Lami had heard stories of how the landers couldn't comprehend the size of it, and how little they knew about it, and how dangerous the waters could be. She knew first hand.

Rook

 

[Rook]

Kivren's skin could dry out without salt water. Something he had never heard before. He was no scholar and never specifically went looking for tales about her kind, so it made sense he wouldn't know that. All he heard was the tales of beauty, singing, feasting, and drowning. Was sharing this with him her way of being nice? Hopefully. Otherwise she might be telling him she wasn't going back to shore and he was just floating like a log out in the waves.

By Alliria! She was dong it again! Rook felt as if he was sitting when she did that thing where she made water do the stuff. It unnerved him. Sitting, while comfortable, felt wrong out here without there being a heavy chair involved. Even with the chair it would feel wrong in some way. You didn't sit on the water. You sat in the water.

Rook needed a moment to calm down after that surprise. But he got there and turned to her as best he could.

"Thanks.... Maybe warn me next time? Not use to any of this."

He tried to smile but it didn't hide how he was feeling very well.

"So Lami, you mentioned your kind needing to go to land to mate. Is that a requirement or a preference? Is it just impossible to do when you have a tail or is it possible actually? Also what about male kivren? You mentioned them. Do they need to go to land to mate too? Or is this just specifically about mating with landers as you call us?"

Lamirose

 

[Lamirose]

Lami was glad for the change of topic. Except when it came back to mating. Was he really so clueless?

"A requirement," she replied to his question. "You can't do it with a tail. Organs are still there, but not the right body parts. And some female Kivren mate with Kivren males, but when we mate with landers, we're more likely to have daughters, and the daughters are the ones doing the singing and killing and protecting the rest of the pod."

It was hard to describe it in a way he would understand. She was beginning to realize she had just accepted her way of life and never tried to explain it or think it through, besides deciding she wasn't going to eat landers.

Rook

 

[Rook]

So did kivren lay eggs like fish in the sand or between rocks?

Rook didn't know how to feel about the thought of there being these big eggs just randomly hidden around the ocean wherever you found her kind. It would be like stepping on a baby and crushing them. Kivren were just like humans as far as being smart and able to talk. Hard to view their eggs as different then a baby wrapped up in a sticky, gooey blanket.

"That is so different from humans. It is all the same for us. Maybe different if our partners were from a particularly different race, but mostly the same. Half boys. Half girls. Or near enough I guess."

An idle thought hit his head and as he did it popped out of his mouth before he even really knew what he was saying.

"Wait so if we did that and had kids, would they only be girls or is it possible for a boy to be born? All daughters sounds like it would be rough."

Lamirose

 

[Lamirose]

"Its not so different from humans," she said, her voice softer. "Kiva blessed us with the ability to shift so we could reproduce and birth easier. We give birth like humans, but we have adapted differently in order to survive."

And then something else came out of Rook's mouth that sounded as if he hadn't thought about it first. "It is most likely we would have girls. I suppose boys are not impossible but girls are more common." In an attempt to change the subject, Lami went on: "Why would all daughters be rough? I would think boys would be even worse to handle. My baby was a girl," she added.

Lami continued to swim around Rook, always moving. Her nerves were much eased, from earlier and from the clear, soothing water, so when the conversation inevitably came back around to mating and children, Lami felt a little more comfortable talking about it. Now she knew she only missed her daughter. She would never get to see her grow up.

Rook