WHO: Araceli Bonaventura; open WHAT: Kirkwall adventures WHEN: Kingsway WHERE: Kirkwall + Wounded Coast NOTES: Hit me up on plurk/discord for a closed starter or put something up and I'll roll with it, starters in the comments
"We found her here, on a ship, at sea, a half-sunken ship. What do you think people would say to that? That it was meant to be? The sea guides us where we are meant to go, that's how it is for my people. To the places we must be, takes us to the people we must meet." Words Araceli has said before (Rivain, the ocean, naked as the day she came into the world on the day she celebrated it) but today she has the edge of a smirk even as her mouth is attempting to settle itself into a firm line.
A line abruptly crumpled into nothingness when that same helpless noise comes out of her again with the nudge from Korrin, a not-so-neat sidestep, turning herself out of the way, out of range of a sensitive spot. "Rude."
Korrin chuckles now, snapped out of her unease by such a reaction. She waggles her fingers, a smirk on her lips. Araceli is swift, true, but Korrin has a good reach when she needs it. She hasn't decided if she does, however.
"No ruder than you, love. In the words of children everywhere, you started it. And I'll stop it when that thing is guided to the depths of the Waking Sea. That must've been what we were guided here for, right?" You know, exploration and actual treasure aside.
"I'll tell The Outsider." Which is an empty threat when he isn't here and what would he have done anyway, made some comment, tipped his head, blinked with his liquid black eyes? It's even emptier for Araceli breaking into a squeak when Korrin manages to catch her again, forcing a jumping over an old crate gone to barnacle and limpet breeding ground.
"This is an escape from the city, c'mon more ship to explore we'll leave Claudina in the doorway." Araceli can't resist poking Korrin then moving to snag the doll on her way to the door, brandishing it as she would a shield on the way to the door. "Next cabin or further below? Where do you think the sea is guiding me sirena?"
That squeak prompts a laugh from Korrin, but she eases up afterward, lowing her hand. This probably isn't the place to get too distracted, even without immediate threats. Her smirk lingers at noting the creepy doll serving as a shield, but turns her attention to the question at hand.
"I have no idea what the sea says to you, but my gut tells me the more interesting stuff is usually below. Probably with better locks, too, not that it'll stop us in the end. Besides, we can always circle back and take a look at the next cabin afterward if I'm wrong."
The next move would've been out of the duelist's playbook with her cape hurled in a flourish to catch Korrin even if the cloak is heavy, still damp, not the light things worn for the panache. Heading out, Claudina is propped up to serve as a guard by the door with her sightless eyes staring into nothing.
"Be a good girl, we'll be back later and you're out of that box so stretch out, breathe the free air." Turning to Korrin, she nods at her staff because this isn't something they've discussed as she leads the way back to where they came in, taking a seat to slip in.
"Can you cast underwater? I'm used to swimming down there in the dark but it'll be dark. If you can't and think you're getting lost, tug the cape or my foot."
Then she slides in, under. Easiest way in instead of navigating possibly shattered floor when only one of them is used to that.
Good, Claudina and her creepy dead eyes can be out of her range for a while. Araceli's question has Korrin shaking her head, not too concerned. "I've no magic underwater than what I can wear or wield, but it should be enough. We'll find out, won't we?"
After Araceli goes under, the Vashoth woman follows. As confident as she seems, she nonetheless does her best to keep close and alert to her surroundings as well as sense of time. The last thing she wants is the magic of her ring to run out right afterward.
Castileans are good swimmers. They're better than good swimmers which as Araceli has said before comes of swimming before you walk, and sailors should know how to swim too, same as they know the shape of a ship whole or in pieces, but to an outsider perhaps there's something that has a shade of the unnatural to it.
Or most people wouldn't spend enough time in the water or so close to ships because there's not a call for it so they'd never be able to tell.
Her lungs aren't burning though she swims closer to the surface where it'd be easy to find pockets of air of they have to, the cloak tight about her body, warmer than she knows she should be this deep until there's the shape of a jagged crack that she squints at--
It's a tight fit to slide through, bubbles streaming out her nose but she disappears through it after looking back for Korrin; it's darker down here but they'll be in and up, though not for the first time she wishes for diving bells or suits.
It's darker, yes, and Korrin's mentally cursing the dim light shed only by her staff. The temptation to pull out a glow stone is mounting, but she prefers keeping a hand free in case its needed to fend off whatever might be in the water with them. Which by what she can tell is nothing, but Korrin hasn't been alive this long by being completely reckless.
The tight fit is no doubt going to be tighter for the muscular Vashoth woman than it is for a small human, and she winces beforehand at the thought. She follows enough to see past it, hoping to spot Araceli far enough away before raising her staff. If she can't fit through the opening, she can make it a bit wider. A controlled burst, carefully pinpointed, and it could be just enough...or it could make everything worse.
Dammit. Bubbles escape her from a rush as she sighs, weighing her options. In the end, she'll try to slip in on her own first just to test things.
If an octopus goes for your face you're usually not going to be as fucked as you think you might be, they generally just want to say hello and they're not on the seabed where they'd be making little shell houses or in any reefs where they'd be living. Maybe one or two might lurk about but it's not prime octopus real estate. Honestly the Thedas waters are bereft.
After taking a deep enough breath to clear out the dead air in her lungs, Araceli waits, counts, then slips back down to circle back to Korrin to guide her through when it's taking long enough that she's worried, hand tugging just enough to urge her along to where she'd disappeared through.
Yes it'll be a squeeze but it'll be worth it.
And there's possibly blasting through if need be on the way back when they've got some ground to work with.
Taking hold of Araceli's hand, Korrin grimaces as she squeezes through just barely enough to avoid getting stuck. Once free, no time is wasted in pushing herself to the surface as quickly as possible. She wasn't struggling for air, thanks to the ring, but takes a deep sigh of relief anyway. Once Araceli is surfaced as well, she flashes her love a smile.
"Thanks, kadan. That was tighter than I expected. I better not have torn anything, trying to squeeze past." Her dragonhide armor is a point of pride, and all her care isn't going to go to waste on a sunken ship, dammit. She looks it over in concern just to be sure, though with what light is available, anything short of major damage is difficult to spot.
"What have I said about the sea reclaiming?" What a struggle it is to keep her face from curling into a smirk but Araceli has always been a professional when it comes to ruling her face, only brought into a different focus in Thedas so she manages. Turning away instead to pull her mouth into a ridiculous downward sob boohoo over dragonhide. It'd only give the excuse to go fight another.
Weren't a group of them just off doing that for a Qunari audience no less?
"Right, time to see what they might've been up to, if they were only carrying dull goods or perishables after that or if we've been thoroughly beaten to the punch I'll be disappointed. And wish to go to Llomerryn again. Or Nascere - have you heard much of Nascere?" Perhaps no, no one seems to know a great deal beyond their new friends but given the plans slowly forming she'll start hedging bets. "I'd love to be able to go there though the current situation…"
And of course the footing is treacherous, there are crabs scuttling, something flopping and swimming by turns that perhaps might be a lobster up here for whatever reason (lost are you old man?) as she gets her bearings for where the ropes would've been to lash it all in place. Any barrels. Any crates. Anything really. Probably in need of illumination.
Korrin just shakes her head, muttering. "Yeah, well, all the more reason to donate Claudina. Then maybe it will lay off...." Because she'll be damned if she's letting it claim her armor when there are creepy dolls to appease it. She huffs, but relaxes as a quick run-over yields no significant years, and the way it moves with her when she steps away doesn't seem off. That's encouraging.
Moving on, then. "Nascere...no, can't say that I have." And now that Araceli brings it up, that fact bothers her a little. "We'll fix that at some point, promise."
For now, though, she keeps focus on their surroundings. One wrong step could have her stuck just as she feared moments ago, not to mention crabs and Maker knows what else. Lifting her staff a little, she takes out one of the glow stones as well, to shed more light. "Hm, some crates over there...and they're stamped with something. You're closer, what do they say?"
"Our poor daughter." Cast adrift, never having lived, shut all those endless years in a box in a sinking rotting ship in the dark, all about her dead and gone, no child to love or be terrified of her sightless glass eyes. (Felix never brought his daughter back a doll, plenty of nobles and rich folk must have had others do it though, shelves in some homes were lined with them.) "And if my mother or father ever heard you say that Korrin Ataash they would be appalled, the lecture you'd be on the receiving end of would have you begging for a tongue lashing from the oldest, strictest Chantry mother with her pointing finger embedding itself in your sternum."
Araceli Bonaventura y Castell is after all the daughter of a holy man and holy woman. Easy to forget.
"You should speak to some of our new pirates about it, especially Charles or John Silver. It's occupied. Venatori. And they've a rift there." Just-- well maybe just sounding out someone who's likely to be as on-board as the pirates would be for going there but it helps to have allies to hand before you start, to go to any negotiations as strong as possible.
Squinting at the suddenness of the light down here, Araceli slides closer to avoid lifting her feet which might strain the boards more than she has a care to at the moment. "Supplies...supplies-- oh this one's Orlesian, too much of it's gone to make it out, maybe wine or some sort of goods?" Time to get it open and reveal the horrors that await them, will they be sending Claudina off with wine gone to vinegar, time to spin the wheel!
The idea of getting a lecture from parents gets a chuckle out of Korrin, who can't help herself. Her own very permissive parents never held much of anything sacred or bothered with lectures (that weren't about personal safety, when she was too young to know better), not after hearing them all their lives. A tongue-lashing to the extent of what Araceli describes would be a surreal experience, but if there's anyone who could get away with it, it would be the parents of the woman she loves.
But news of Nascere sinks in and she scowls. "...well, fuck. That's all the more reason to seek it out, sooner than later. The longer there's a Venatori infestation, the worse it'll get. I'll definitely want whatever info our new buddies can share." Charles and John, adding to her mental to-do list. She needs to better know her fellow project members, at least the newer ones.
Approaching one of the crates, she looks it over before nodding to herself. "It's rotten enough where I can energize it apart, at least this one. Stand back, and let's see what we have." She braces herself for some thing gross and raises her forearms, wreathed in that green glow, and the crate peels away, bit by bit. The scent of tobacco quickly reaches them, in various forms; cigars, filling for pipes and so on.
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no subject
A line abruptly crumpled into nothingness when that same helpless noise comes out of her again with the nudge from Korrin, a not-so-neat sidestep, turning herself out of the way, out of range of a sensitive spot. "Rude."
Her hands are very much out in readiness.
no subject
"No ruder than you, love. In the words of children everywhere, you started it. And I'll stop it when that thing is guided to the depths of the Waking Sea. That must've been what we were guided here for, right?" You know, exploration and actual treasure aside.
no subject
"This is an escape from the city, c'mon more ship to explore we'll leave Claudina in the doorway." Araceli can't resist poking Korrin then moving to snag the doll on her way to the door, brandishing it as she would a shield on the way to the door. "Next cabin or further below? Where do you think the sea is guiding me sirena?"
no subject
"I have no idea what the sea says to you, but my gut tells me the more interesting stuff is usually below. Probably with better locks, too, not that it'll stop us in the end. Besides, we can always circle back and take a look at the next cabin afterward if I'm wrong."
no subject
"Be a good girl, we'll be back later and you're out of that box so stretch out, breathe the free air." Turning to Korrin, she nods at her staff because this isn't something they've discussed as she leads the way back to where they came in, taking a seat to slip in.
"Can you cast underwater? I'm used to swimming down there in the dark but it'll be dark. If you can't and think you're getting lost, tug the cape or my foot."
Then she slides in, under. Easiest way in instead of navigating possibly shattered floor when only one of them is used to that.
no subject
After Araceli goes under, the Vashoth woman follows. As confident as she seems, she nonetheless does her best to keep close and alert to her surroundings as well as sense of time. The last thing she wants is the magic of her ring to run out right afterward.
no subject
Or most people wouldn't spend enough time in the water or so close to ships because there's not a call for it so they'd never be able to tell.
Her lungs aren't burning though she swims closer to the surface where it'd be easy to find pockets of air of they have to, the cloak tight about her body, warmer than she knows she should be this deep until there's the shape of a jagged crack that she squints at--
It's a tight fit to slide through, bubbles streaming out her nose but she disappears through it after looking back for Korrin; it's darker down here but they'll be in and up, though not for the first time she wishes for diving bells or suits.
no subject
The tight fit is no doubt going to be tighter for the muscular Vashoth woman than it is for a small human, and she winces beforehand at the thought. She follows enough to see past it, hoping to spot Araceli far enough away before raising her staff. If she can't fit through the opening, she can make it a bit wider. A controlled burst, carefully pinpointed, and it could be just enough...or it could make everything worse.
Dammit. Bubbles escape her from a rush as she sighs, weighing her options. In the end, she'll try to slip in on her own first just to test things.
no subject
After taking a deep enough breath to clear out the dead air in her lungs, Araceli waits, counts, then slips back down to circle back to Korrin to guide her through when it's taking long enough that she's worried, hand tugging just enough to urge her along to where she'd disappeared through.
Yes it'll be a squeeze but it'll be worth it.
And there's possibly blasting through if need be on the way back when they've got some ground to work with.
no subject
"Thanks, kadan. That was tighter than I expected. I better not have torn anything, trying to squeeze past." Her dragonhide armor is a point of pride, and all her care isn't going to go to waste on a sunken ship, dammit. She looks it over in concern just to be sure, though with what light is available, anything short of major damage is difficult to spot.
no subject
Weren't a group of them just off doing that for a Qunari audience no less?
"Right, time to see what they might've been up to, if they were only carrying dull goods or perishables after that or if we've been thoroughly beaten to the punch I'll be disappointed. And wish to go to Llomerryn again. Or Nascere - have you heard much of Nascere?" Perhaps no, no one seems to know a great deal beyond their new friends but given the plans slowly forming she'll start hedging bets. "I'd love to be able to go there though the current situation…"
And of course the footing is treacherous, there are crabs scuttling, something flopping and swimming by turns that perhaps might be a lobster up here for whatever reason (lost are you old man?) as she gets her bearings for where the ropes would've been to lash it all in place. Any barrels. Any crates. Anything really. Probably in need of illumination.
no subject
Moving on, then. "Nascere...no, can't say that I have." And now that Araceli brings it up, that fact bothers her a little. "We'll fix that at some point, promise."
For now, though, she keeps focus on their surroundings. One wrong step could have her stuck just as she feared moments ago, not to mention crabs and Maker knows what else. Lifting her staff a little, she takes out one of the glow stones as well, to shed more light. "Hm, some crates over there...and they're stamped with something. You're closer, what do they say?"
no subject
Araceli Bonaventura y Castell is after all the daughter of a holy man and holy woman. Easy to forget.
"You should speak to some of our new pirates about it, especially Charles or John Silver. It's occupied. Venatori. And they've a rift there." Just-- well maybe just sounding out someone who's likely to be as on-board as the pirates would be for going there but it helps to have allies to hand before you start, to go to any negotiations as strong as possible.
Squinting at the suddenness of the light down here, Araceli slides closer to avoid lifting her feet which might strain the boards more than she has a care to at the moment. "Supplies...supplies-- oh this one's Orlesian, too much of it's gone to make it out, maybe wine or some sort of goods?" Time to get it open and reveal the horrors that await them, will they be sending Claudina off with wine gone to vinegar, time to spin the wheel!
no subject
But news of Nascere sinks in and she scowls. "...well, fuck. That's all the more reason to seek it out, sooner than later. The longer there's a Venatori infestation, the worse it'll get. I'll definitely want whatever info our new buddies can share." Charles and John, adding to her mental to-do list. She needs to better know her fellow project members, at least the newer ones.
Approaching one of the crates, she looks it over before nodding to herself. "It's rotten enough where I can energize it apart, at least this one. Stand back, and let's see what we have." She braces herself for some thing gross and raises her forearms, wreathed in that green glow, and the crate peels away, bit by bit. The scent of tobacco quickly reaches them, in various forms; cigars, filling for pipes and so on.