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Since the curfew for rifters had been lifted, Kirkwall has been free to be explored in the later hours that bleed into the small, something Araceli does with abandon. She knows how to keep herself tucked into the shadows, and people aren't accustomed to looking up here even if the buildings in Hightown would be better for it.
Right now, with things still tipped closer to precarious, she's not going to push it.
But it feels good, better than good, and right, to be there in the dark of night or the very small hours scrambling up a wall or on the rooftops where she can be caught to speak or to demonstrate if you've arranged the lessons. (Hopefully you bothered to sleep first, took the advice offered that yes, this is the hour we're doing this outside of the Gallows.)
Or you weren't up for braving all the rest of Kirkwall where the architecture isn't as stable. So it's evening. The Gallows. And that is a leg going up past your window, or fingers curled for the edge of a moment. Maybe you're up there too Araceli doubts she's far from the only one who enjoys her time on walls or rooftops, it's a good time to switch the brain off beyond the few steps ahead.
Right now, with things still tipped closer to precarious, she's not going to push it.
But it feels good, better than good, and right, to be there in the dark of night or the very small hours scrambling up a wall or on the rooftops where she can be caught to speak or to demonstrate if you've arranged the lessons. (Hopefully you bothered to sleep first, took the advice offered that yes, this is the hour we're doing this outside of the Gallows.)
Or you weren't up for braving all the rest of Kirkwall where the architecture isn't as stable. So it's evening. The Gallows. And that is a leg going up past your window, or fingers curled for the edge of a moment. Maybe you're up there too Araceli doubts she's far from the only one who enjoys her time on walls or rooftops, it's a good time to switch the brain off beyond the few steps ahead.
If the recent frantic scramble to Minrathous cast a light on anything it was this: swimming lessons.
Kirkwall is bounded by water all along one side of it, sailing off to places no longer an optional experience but mandatory if where they're going to is easier to get to by ship, so the idea of people not knowing is senseless. The flyers take a little time after getting back, might not be the first, but she'd rather get started now. Build on what Charles began then see if the rest of Naval Presence can be gathered together.
(Who knows, perhaps the Inquisition will field a swim team by the time all is said and done.)
Beginners lessons are by the docks with strict instructions on not to wear that essentially boil down to being sensible: no robes for the mages, nothing heavy so not your armour, and nothing you're scared you'll lose. (She's watched a very rich girl visiting home sobbing hysterically over a lost earring once, of all the things.)
"We'll go between piers first," she says to whoever shows up, simple trousers that cut off below the knee, antaam-saar top since what's the point in wearing much. "If you've swum before, let me know, I'll get in and you can show me how you swim." Frantic doggy paddle throwing up great arcs of white water or anything more co-ordinated, if they even know how. She can start with just about anything.
For the more confident, it's out by the Wounded Coast where there current tugs stronger, where kelps grow in long strands to brush the feet or fish dart past. All the worst fears for the unwary who might know a river, but not waters that open up and out to greater things, where everything is a horror ready to bite the foot off at the ankle. "See the skerry? It's only to the skerry. It's not far. Then we haul ourselves up and stop and decide where we want to go next."
In either case, she's got her cloak. In case someone starts struggling. Hopefully it won't be needed.
Kirkwall is bounded by water all along one side of it, sailing off to places no longer an optional experience but mandatory if where they're going to is easier to get to by ship, so the idea of people not knowing is senseless. The flyers take a little time after getting back, might not be the first, but she'd rather get started now. Build on what Charles began then see if the rest of Naval Presence can be gathered together.
(Who knows, perhaps the Inquisition will field a swim team by the time all is said and done.)
Beginners lessons are by the docks with strict instructions on not to wear that essentially boil down to being sensible: no robes for the mages, nothing heavy so not your armour, and nothing you're scared you'll lose. (She's watched a very rich girl visiting home sobbing hysterically over a lost earring once, of all the things.)
"We'll go between piers first," she says to whoever shows up, simple trousers that cut off below the knee, antaam-saar top since what's the point in wearing much. "If you've swum before, let me know, I'll get in and you can show me how you swim." Frantic doggy paddle throwing up great arcs of white water or anything more co-ordinated, if they even know how. She can start with just about anything.
For the more confident, it's out by the Wounded Coast where there current tugs stronger, where kelps grow in long strands to brush the feet or fish dart past. All the worst fears for the unwary who might know a river, but not waters that open up and out to greater things, where everything is a horror ready to bite the foot off at the ankle. "See the skerry? It's only to the skerry. It's not far. Then we haul ourselves up and stop and decide where we want to go next."
In either case, she's got her cloak. In case someone starts struggling. Hopefully it won't be needed.
Where Araceli comes from, ships are returned to be taken apart for what might be salvaged. Their figureheads housed in great halls with their carved eyes staring out to sea no more at last until skeletons remain in the graveyard for the sea to reclaim same as all lives in the end. Thedas hasn't those traditions, and the wrecks dotted along the Wounded Coast have always interested her even if she imagines them picked clean by now.
This is where raiders and pirates have stalked, bandits too, but she still wraps herself tight in her cloak as she slips out to them, silent as a seal when she dives beneath the surface.
Last time anyone patrolled out here there were bandits to be dealt with, today Araceli's hoping for nothing like that as she navigates her way through a great tear in the hull where the ship foundered on the rocks earlier along this passage where she would've taken on water. She rises up, bobbing in the water as she takes a breath blinking and orienting herself in the ruin of one of the decks.
"Right, let's see if you've any secrets left then."
This is where raiders and pirates have stalked, bandits too, but she still wraps herself tight in her cloak as she slips out to them, silent as a seal when she dives beneath the surface.
Last time anyone patrolled out here there were bandits to be dealt with, today Araceli's hoping for nothing like that as she navigates her way through a great tear in the hull where the ship foundered on the rocks earlier along this passage where she would've taken on water. She rises up, bobbing in the water as she takes a breath blinking and orienting herself in the ruin of one of the decks.
"Right, let's see if you've any secrets left then."
While she may not be looking to pick a fight, Korrin knows that one can find them anyway whatever the circumstances. Perhaps there's nothing in the shipwrecks to salvage but trade goods and interesting trinkets. It would be nice if a day turned more or less the way they'd planned for once, right? But she also knows that it never hurts to be prepared and that there are safety in numbers.
Plus, it may still count as work, but that doesn't mean time with her kadan won't be savored. Why can't business and pleasure mix?
Thanks to her ring, the Vashoth woman is able to follow with ease. Araceli is faster, more graceful but Korrin's stamina is more than enough to allow her to keep pace. She tries to keep track of the time upon surfacing, but by her measure the ring's magic will be enough to for their plans. Pulling herself up, she extends a hand for Araceli if she needs it. "Let me know if you need more light, kadan. Between my staff and a glow stone, we should have enough."
Plus, it may still count as work, but that doesn't mean time with her kadan won't be savored. Why can't business and pleasure mix?
Thanks to her ring, the Vashoth woman is able to follow with ease. Araceli is faster, more graceful but Korrin's stamina is more than enough to allow her to keep pace. She tries to keep track of the time upon surfacing, but by her measure the ring's magic will be enough to for their plans. Pulling herself up, she extends a hand for Araceli if she needs it. "Let me know if you need more light, kadan. Between my staff and a glow stone, we should have enough."
After Minrathous, this is all that Araceli wants: space away from Kirkwall and anyone who might want her (it takes time even with mounts to get back), in calm waters, with someone she loves. Taking Korrin's offered hand, she pushes up with the other, almost relishing the scrape beneath her palm that's not enough to break the skin but enough to surprise her as she starts to orient herself. Somewhere in the lower decks, they'd come in above ballast, if she had to make the guess, it's probably partly why it sank.
The wood beneath her feet once she's up is hopelessly warped, thick crusts of barnacles and clusters of limpets, a shock of green dead man's fingers beyond marking where the tide must reach.
"I think I'm good for now, my eyes'll adjust but we'll need it when we get further in, see up there--" she points upward with a wet slap from the cloak, leathery fabric clinging tight, "one of the masts came down somewhere, splintered through but it's given us some light, I wonder if there's a sail...Hoping we'll find anything exciting?"
Is there this sort of thing here? There probably isn't much left, Araceli's just out for a fun day for herself swimming and sliding through a broken ship as she goes with her sailor's gait, a glance back at Korrin as she goes, water slopping over her boots.
The wood beneath her feet once she's up is hopelessly warped, thick crusts of barnacles and clusters of limpets, a shock of green dead man's fingers beyond marking where the tide must reach.
"I think I'm good for now, my eyes'll adjust but we'll need it when we get further in, see up there--" she points upward with a wet slap from the cloak, leathery fabric clinging tight, "one of the masts came down somewhere, splintered through but it's given us some light, I wonder if there's a sail...Hoping we'll find anything exciting?"
Is there this sort of thing here? There probably isn't much left, Araceli's just out for a fun day for herself swimming and sliding through a broken ship as she goes with her sailor's gait, a glance back at Korrin as she goes, water slopping over her boots.
"Always." Korrin flashes a grin after peering where Araceli gestures, eager to see what they can discover about the wreck and what went down with it. She takes careful note of their surroundings, both out of curiosity and for safety reasons. Any point in their path that doesn't look safe to step causes her to pause and energize debris, creating a more walkable route.
"You never know, we might find something that was overlooked. Hidden treasures are always the most interesting." Even if they don't, satisfying their curiosity is never a bad way to spend the day. But Korrin has a good feeling about this one; they won't depart empty-handed.
"You never know, we might find something that was overlooked. Hidden treasures are always the most interesting." Even if they don't, satisfying their curiosity is never a bad way to spend the day. But Korrin has a good feeling about this one; they won't depart empty-handed.
"I haven't seen you do that much since we came to Kirkwall," Araceli says with a little nod to what might have been part of the mizzenmast come crashing down and through all the decks once it's safely out of their way. More than a year now, all the manual labour to make spaces liveable put to bed at least when it came to the Inquisition. She touches a small lantern hanging on the wall but the glass is shattered, the metal warped and rusted.
The floor beneath them angles down sharply as she turns her head upwards, the hood tipped back to stop it from limiting her sight. "We don't have wrecks at all, a ship like this we'd tow back home to take apart. But...I think if we go down here we'll be in the hold, or we can try going up, it should be fine. Anyone with sense would go to the hold first for the goods but sailors stash all sorts in their cabins, even from their own crew. Especially from their own crew."
Which is what makes up her mind as she turns on her heel (sharp because she can, in the water, on a deck, she's at her most confident, her body knows it too well to let her fall) and pulls herself up to where the wreckage of the ladder lived. It holds. Just about. "Put your weight on your hands and pull yourself up, feet are going to go straight through here."
The floor beneath them angles down sharply as she turns her head upwards, the hood tipped back to stop it from limiting her sight. "We don't have wrecks at all, a ship like this we'd tow back home to take apart. But...I think if we go down here we'll be in the hold, or we can try going up, it should be fine. Anyone with sense would go to the hold first for the goods but sailors stash all sorts in their cabins, even from their own crew. Especially from their own crew."
Which is what makes up her mind as she turns on her heel (sharp because she can, in the water, on a deck, she's at her most confident, her body knows it too well to let her fall) and pulls herself up to where the wreckage of the ladder lived. It holds. Just about. "Put your weight on your hands and pull yourself up, feet are going to go straight through here."
Church is only more confident (and maybe he should not be) after swimming lessons done up for a bit of a 'mission', which also ended up in an argument with the leader of the forces about basic life-saving medical procedures. He still has no idea how Coupe got the idea of blood magic being involved in CPR, but whatever.
He raises a hand. "Question: what's a skerry?"
Listen...he does not sea talk. Someone tells him to get on a boat, he gets on a boat. That's mostly it.
He raises a hand. "Question: what's a skerry?"
Listen...he does not sea talk. Someone tells him to get on a boat, he gets on a boat. That's mostly it.
"Eh, Kirkwall hasn't need it nearly as much as Skyhold." There might be a slight note of fondness at mention of Skyhold; certainly not for all the snow and cold, but Korrin would be lying if she said she never thought about their old room. They put a lot of work into making it suit them, and now? Well, someone else has probably changed it. That's the way of things.
There's a small smile on her lips as she notes Araceli's confident stride, happy to see her love in her element. It's brief, though, knowing she has to focus. Strapping her staff to her back again for now, the Vashoth woman nods. "Will do. Good thing I have strong arms as well as legs, then, isn't it? Not to worry, kadan. I'm no parkour champion, but I think I can manage this."
It's too bad the ambient light isn't great as Korrin loves nothing as much as showing off her physique for Araceli's benefit. But actively showing off will have to wait, as her attention is kept on doing as Araceli says. Tempering that eagerness with just a little caution, she relies on that firm to see her through more than her feet...which is good, since she nearly slips up and places weight on her feet instead. Fortunately, she stops herself just in time and with a grunt finishes hauling herself up.
There's a small smile on her lips as she notes Araceli's confident stride, happy to see her love in her element. It's brief, though, knowing she has to focus. Strapping her staff to her back again for now, the Vashoth woman nods. "Will do. Good thing I have strong arms as well as legs, then, isn't it? Not to worry, kadan. I'm no parkour champion, but I think I can manage this."
It's too bad the ambient light isn't great as Korrin loves nothing as much as showing off her physique for Araceli's benefit. But actively showing off will have to wait, as her attention is kept on doing as Araceli says. Tempering that eagerness with just a little caution, she relies on that firm to see her through more than her feet...which is good, since she nearly slips up and places weight on her feet instead. Fortunately, she stops herself just in time and with a grunt finishes hauling herself up.
Treading water with her the hood of her cape pushed back, Araceli hesitates. There's always that moment when a word is there on the tip of her tongue, looking between Church and it and back again when she doesn't know another name for it at first, if the translation is right. It always was what it was. That out there my girl? Oh that's the skerry, same as that one, and that one, and if you squint you can see another collection curving past until they go out of sight.
But she tries. Mouth pursing around it. "See that very small island there? The tiny one? Almost a reef?" Her hand raises up out of the water, a sheet of water sluicing down the arm of the cape where she points; glossy black cormorants have settled on it, their wings held out at their sides to dry, shining blue-green in the light. "That's a skerry, I think...maybe you call it sea stacks other places? It was always the skerry. Too little to live on for us, good to just rest on. No seals hauled out today."
If there had been seals, she'd have revised plans, maybe taken out a lifeboat to moor it there or picked a different spot, she's not in the habit of disturbing seals but the birds won't bother them if they don't bother the birds.
But she tries. Mouth pursing around it. "See that very small island there? The tiny one? Almost a reef?" Her hand raises up out of the water, a sheet of water sluicing down the arm of the cape where she points; glossy black cormorants have settled on it, their wings held out at their sides to dry, shining blue-green in the light. "That's a skerry, I think...maybe you call it sea stacks other places? It was always the skerry. Too little to live on for us, good to just rest on. No seals hauled out today."
If there had been seals, she'd have revised plans, maybe taken out a lifeboat to moor it there or picked a different spot, she's not in the habit of disturbing seals but the birds won't bother them if they don't bother the birds.
Someone has changed it. The door is blue now and that's about it. Araceli did have a little time to go looking when negotiations wound down because people did have to sleep only she couldn't so what else was there to do. These days Araceli enjoys what they have because it's theirs, because it's their life that they've had to build that wasn't given to them because there was nowhere else. Everything in it is something chosen to be part of that life down to the part of the building itself, which isn't the easiest thing she could put into words so she doesn't try. "We might, one day, if we have another winter like last year."
May they never have another winter like last year, Araceli isn't built for that sort of cold, and now they have a kraken to keep from freezing in his bowl.
"You know there's not a curfew now, if learning where Skyhold was crumbling apart about us," said on the edge of a long-suffering sigh, Araceli could still probably pick out every spot where Skyhold has holes in the roof, walls in need of doing up, "or about the Gallows with that much of an audience there's the whole of Kirkwall that isn't Hightown. We'd be able to dive into the water if it's the fall that has you more squeamish."
(Easy, to share this part of her life too. The part she taught the others. Korrin's bigger, taller, but it could be done if she wanted it but she hasn't pushed before, isn't pushing now. The offer just. There.)
One arm shoots out instinctually to try to do what she can if she needs to-- "All right there?" And then she gives a doorway up ahead a speculative look. The lock is intact if rusted but the door itself is bloated enough to be warped in the frame. "I'll need your expertise."
May they never have another winter like last year, Araceli isn't built for that sort of cold, and now they have a kraken to keep from freezing in his bowl.
"You know there's not a curfew now, if learning where Skyhold was crumbling apart about us," said on the edge of a long-suffering sigh, Araceli could still probably pick out every spot where Skyhold has holes in the roof, walls in need of doing up, "or about the Gallows with that much of an audience there's the whole of Kirkwall that isn't Hightown. We'd be able to dive into the water if it's the fall that has you more squeamish."
(Easy, to share this part of her life too. The part she taught the others. Korrin's bigger, taller, but it could be done if she wanted it but she hasn't pushed before, isn't pushing now. The offer just. There.)
One arm shoots out instinctually to try to do what she can if she needs to-- "All right there?" And then she gives a doorway up ahead a speculative look. The lock is intact if rusted but the door itself is bloated enough to be warped in the frame. "I'll need your expertise."
Listen. It's a fair question. "Oh! Right. You know, I...did not know those things had names? I always thought of...just...rocks. That rock out there. Rocks out in the ocean. Reef works. I think reef is a--I mean I always think of reefs being under the water--"
And that's about the point where he decides he should really pay more attention to his body in the water than talking words, because it's rougher, here, and sea water in the mouth is gross, and also maybe don't! get pulled away! by the water! Thank you! He splashes a little, rights himself, back on track.
"Okay! I'm okay."
And that's about the point where he decides he should really pay more attention to his body in the water than talking words, because it's rougher, here, and sea water in the mouth is gross, and also maybe don't! get pulled away! by the water! Thank you! He splashes a little, rights himself, back on track.
"Okay! I'm okay."
"Everything has a name, the sea is older than all things." She kicks her legs to get herself onto her back to take a few lazier strokes, buoyant and comfortable, better able to see. "Some of them are as old as the ones that bubble up with lava from undersea volcanoes and vents, I just don't know if Thedas has those or if it's a thing people have time to care about between all their wars."
That's the benefit of having only the one: time for so much more, all that effort poured into everything else you might possibly imagine as she rolls back into her front, dipping beneath the surface and back up.
"Do you need a hand?" Christine wouldn't be happy to have a half-sized Church returned at the end of the day.
That's the benefit of having only the one: time for so much more, all that effort poured into everything else you might possibly imagine as she rolls back into her front, dipping beneath the surface and back up.
"Do you need a hand?" Christine wouldn't be happy to have a half-sized Church returned at the end of the day.
Korrin just wrinkles her nose at mention of last winter; she had tried not to complain too much to anyone else, not wanting to shed her tough-as-nails mercenary image, but her kin weren't meant for the harsh cold of the south and neither was she. If they didn't have a purpose, a life built around that, she would have insisted on retreating to the warm sands and waters of the north.
"I'm fine, promise--" Loathe to accept that hand for fear of yanking Araceli down with her, she hauls herself up and tries not to think about how that could have ended just a moment ago.
Banishing that thought for now, she considers the offer seriously for the first time in a while. The curfew made parkour a subject she was loathe to mention, not wanting to poke any sore spots, but its being lifted has opened her back up to those possibilities. As she unhooks her staff once more, Korrin's eyes take on an eager glint as she looks over to her love. "As though I would ever miss an opportunity to dive into water with you? Share with me what you will, kadan. Well, once we're done here."
Turning her attention to the door, she studies it for a moment. "Picking that won't help if the door itself is too big to budge. I can blast a whole in it and energize the rest away."
"I'm fine, promise--" Loathe to accept that hand for fear of yanking Araceli down with her, she hauls herself up and tries not to think about how that could have ended just a moment ago.
Banishing that thought for now, she considers the offer seriously for the first time in a while. The curfew made parkour a subject she was loathe to mention, not wanting to poke any sore spots, but its being lifted has opened her back up to those possibilities. As she unhooks her staff once more, Korrin's eyes take on an eager glint as she looks over to her love. "As though I would ever miss an opportunity to dive into water with you? Share with me what you will, kadan. Well, once we're done here."
Turning her attention to the door, she studies it for a moment. "Picking that won't help if the door itself is too big to budge. I can blast a whole in it and energize the rest away."
"I'm fine, I'm good, just...got distracted, that's all." His movements are nowhere near as smooth as hers, as someone whose life has revolved around the sea since birth. He's had a couple of lessons and a couple of dips to go with them. There was never much reason to learn in Skyhold. Has anyone taken the idea of lifejackets under further consideration? Because they really should.
"You ever consider writing? Like, poetry. That's gotta have a big market in Thedas, sea poetry."
"You ever consider writing? Like, poetry. That's gotta have a big market in Thedas, sea poetry."
"At least you didn't come in armour, I thought some people might." You know how some people are Church, practically stitched into it (it's a disturbing little road to go down in her thoughts but on the surface, funny) although it does beg the question: "I mean I thought someone might try then just sink to the bottom, and it's not as if they have diving helmets at all here, they wouldn't even be any use down there. They'd be nipples on a breastplate."
Now if they did have diving helmets (and the suits) then they could just go strolling along the bottom of the seabed how do you do fellow armoured life how is the coral today? Any red lyrium to report? It almost has her gulping down water herself.
"Poetry? Oh no I'd--" She laughs, shaking her head, water flying everywhere, caught offguard by it. "I don't have the-- no, we should leave that to the professionals shouldn't we? Gwenaëlle for instance would be far more accomplished in that regard."
Now if they did have diving helmets (and the suits) then they could just go strolling along the bottom of the seabed how do you do fellow armoured life how is the coral today? Any red lyrium to report? It almost has her gulping down water herself.
"Poetry? Oh no I'd--" She laughs, shaking her head, water flying everywhere, caught offguard by it. "I don't have the-- no, we should leave that to the professionals shouldn't we? Gwenaëlle for instance would be far more accomplished in that regard."
One day there will be a ship. There will be a ship, Araceli may or may not be down one arm from above the fucking elbow if so required to get her there but there will be a ship, Araceli, Korrin, they will sail warm places, they will perhaps start to encroach on the edges of the map. This is part of that. This is planning and making ready, this whole fighting the fight and winning the war, this making a future here in Thedas for them. (If she exists, and she is increasingly sure that sometimes you have to be willing to cut and run in the end, so she might just have to do that when the time comes because Araceli Bonaventura y Castell is not suffering another plague of sweating and her mind melting, being bound into existence, nor is she going to risk capture again if it comes. There are myriad ways sailors and duellists lose arms that are so unremarkable no one would bat an eye.)
Giving a nod, Araceli gestures to the door in question as she tucks herself out of the way. The wood might not splinter but she wouldn't bet on it being past that point when magic's brought into the equation either. "It wouldn't be the same as teaching you from falling into hay, it hurts more if you do it wrong, it always hurts more to fall into the water because it has tension. It's the same if you go to dive but don't make it, and sometimes you won't be able to dive but it's still good practice. I know how you feel about the Gallows, I wouldn't make you have an audience for anything."
Qunari mages climbing buildings then falling off them in a controlled manner would bring out the gawpers no matter the hour.
Giving a nod, Araceli gestures to the door in question as she tucks herself out of the way. The wood might not splinter but she wouldn't bet on it being past that point when magic's brought into the equation either. "It wouldn't be the same as teaching you from falling into hay, it hurts more if you do it wrong, it always hurts more to fall into the water because it has tension. It's the same if you go to dive but don't make it, and sometimes you won't be able to dive but it's still good practice. I know how you feel about the Gallows, I wouldn't make you have an audience for anything."
Qunari mages climbing buildings then falling off them in a controlled manner would bring out the gawpers no matter the hour.
Vane had made the promise to some that he'd teach them to swim on the first post he made on the crystals, and he's a man of his word, so here he is, playing swim coach. If Jack or Anne saw him, they'd likely laugh their asses off, though he could care less what Flint or Silver think of it. Today, he works with Araceli to train the beginners. It's a larger group than they'd had before the mission (apparently they aren't the only ones who realized the need), so it's good to have the two of them.
As Araceli leads them, Vane paces along the pier (in his typical pants sans the shirt and belt and all that would drag), watching them from above, as it might be hard for Araceli to keep an eye out. When one starts to fall behind, he lingers, making sure they catch back up, or don't burn themselves out or panic. For the first few exercises, they seem fine enough. It's when things get a little more complicated that some start to struggle.
One of the elven girls, who'd been bright eyed and eager, starts to fatigue, then starts to get anxious the more she's having to catch up. Vane watches closely, not wanting to interfere until it's clear they need it, but when the girl's head goes under longer than it should, he dives off the pier, streamlining over to her. The elven girl doesn't weigh much, and though her arms flail some, once he has a hold over her and brings them both back up to the surface, she calms. Making his way back to the side of the pier, he lets out a sharp whistle to grab Araceli's attention.
"A few may need a rest." He calls out to her, while helping the girl get up onto the dock. "I'll fetch water."
As Araceli leads them, Vane paces along the pier (in his typical pants sans the shirt and belt and all that would drag), watching them from above, as it might be hard for Araceli to keep an eye out. When one starts to fall behind, he lingers, making sure they catch back up, or don't burn themselves out or panic. For the first few exercises, they seem fine enough. It's when things get a little more complicated that some start to struggle.
One of the elven girls, who'd been bright eyed and eager, starts to fatigue, then starts to get anxious the more she's having to catch up. Vane watches closely, not wanting to interfere until it's clear they need it, but when the girl's head goes under longer than it should, he dives off the pier, streamlining over to her. The elven girl doesn't weigh much, and though her arms flail some, once he has a hold over her and brings them both back up to the surface, she calms. Making his way back to the side of the pier, he lets out a sharp whistle to grab Araceli's attention.
"A few may need a rest." He calls out to her, while helping the girl get up onto the dock. "I'll fetch water."
"I'd say if I'm going to be gawked at, I might as well earn it...but that would likely earn all sorts of shit we just don't need." It almost makes her miss the days of not having to answer to anyone but herself and her company, but those days didn't have Araceli in them. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? I'll be careful, but there's no need to be gentle with me. I can take some roughhousing."
She winks, then settles into a stance and levels her staff at the door. A moment later, a blast of lightning erupts from the tip and slams into the door, provoking a loud crack and the scent of charred wood. Waving away the smoke, she eyes the door again. "...nah, not enough. One more time." After a pair of blasts, the wood splinters enough to make the door that much easier to deal with. Energizing what she can, Korrin places the warped plans out of the way.
"Finally...let's see that first door was hiding from us."
She winks, then settles into a stance and levels her staff at the door. A moment later, a blast of lightning erupts from the tip and slams into the door, provoking a loud crack and the scent of charred wood. Waving away the smoke, she eyes the door again. "...nah, not enough. One more time." After a pair of blasts, the wood splinters enough to make the door that much easier to deal with. Energizing what she can, Korrin places the warped plans out of the way.
"Finally...let's see that first door was hiding from us."
"...Did you know you're a genius? Okay. Two things. First, you know sea shanties and talk poetically about the ocean, I think you can manage writing some of it down and making a few silver for the efforts." Speaking of efforts, the water here does drag more than in Kirkwall's harbor proper. He has to stop himself speaking just to concentrate on keeping on past the pull. It helps, he thinks, to be as fit as he is from working out and carrying shit and marching around and swinging swords and generally narrowly avoiding death. The medieval workout. Not dying.
"Right, and, and second, diving helmets. You could make diving helmets. You could be the one to, like, help start these people on exploring the sea! Under the sea! Think of all the shipwrecks and lost treasure!"
"Right, and, and second, diving helmets. You could make diving helmets. You could be the one to, like, help start these people on exploring the sea! Under the sea! Think of all the shipwrecks and lost treasure!"
"These days I don't know if I could persuade Madame de Cedoux to flip out a window onto a horse. We might have won some battles but there's enough any could use to still poke us back into corners with when people aren't careful. Wait until you need it for a mission then you can be blasé as you like about it. 'Oh this? You can't do it? How tragic' or something like that." Araceli's voice veers into Orlesian for the impression which actually ends up not too unlike Gwenaëlle's to the untrained ear but Korrin probably doesn't know her friend well enough to pick that one up. She snorts, almost going to give Korrin a shove but she doesn't want to throw off her focus. "Should I have you duel with me? Hit you over the knuckles with the flat of my rapier the way Marjani would when I made mistakes?"
Marjani how I miss you, you'd whip this place into shape in no time.
The thought passes, the parts of the cape cut same as the lobes either side of a manta ray's mouth pulled tight about her face to help shield herself from the smoke and potential splinters that might come flying her way. It's bright enough in the gloom that her eyes are watering by the time Korrin's done, fanning the smoke away from her face with the lobes, fabric slapping as she peeks through then steps in.
"Gracias. Now for these." Her earrings are off, a slender lockpick in each hand as what were beds and are now breeding ground for crabs when the time is right, the straw of the mattresses putrid green slime spilling outwards into the rest of the room, the small frame collapsed into the footlockers. The lockers look intact. Mostly. Or the locks are as she kneels down to start picking away at the first, careful, so damned careful.
(The smell is pretty bloody awful. Ripe comes to mind. Better to breathe through the mouth.)
Marjani how I miss you, you'd whip this place into shape in no time.
The thought passes, the parts of the cape cut same as the lobes either side of a manta ray's mouth pulled tight about her face to help shield herself from the smoke and potential splinters that might come flying her way. It's bright enough in the gloom that her eyes are watering by the time Korrin's done, fanning the smoke away from her face with the lobes, fabric slapping as she peeks through then steps in.
"Gracias. Now for these." Her earrings are off, a slender lockpick in each hand as what were beds and are now breeding ground for crabs when the time is right, the straw of the mattresses putrid green slime spilling outwards into the rest of the room, the small frame collapsed into the footlockers. The lockers look intact. Mostly. Or the locks are as she kneels down to start picking away at the first, careful, so damned careful.
(The smell is pretty bloody awful. Ripe comes to mind. Better to breathe through the mouth.)
Eventually the mages are going to show up. Or the mages in Research if Thranduil makes good on what was said on the way to the rescue mission, so a larger group is good practice for what could well be some sort of nightmare. Mages, Araceli imagines, aren't ever going to be inclined towards the water beyond poetic longings so it balances out really though this large a group is probably going to still go down a far sight more graceful than mages.
Having someone up top makes it easier because the problem with someone drowning or someone who thinks they might be drowning is always that moment of panic where they're as much of a danger to anyone around them including the person trying to help them as they are to themselves.
(We swim before we ever walk beats in her heart alongside a mermaid sundered herself from the sea to make the moon to make the waves to make the tides; even now she is her mother's daughter, her father's daughter. The sea guides us to where we're meant to go is still the truest sentiment so close to three years here despite knowing the truth of all that she is here.
She isn't a flesh and blood thing that the sea made and yet-- And yet--)
With a glance up to Vane, Araceli nods, whistling sharp enough to get the attention of the swimmers around her. "You've done well! The water's cold, you're not used to it. Take time to get out, have something to drink, get the blood flowing again." She's the last one out after, just in case there's a slip, anyone floundering, hauling herself up and out as the water sluices down the cloak she sheds easy as a second skin, wringing her hair out as she goes to sit by the girl until he's back.
"It's progress," or Araceli sounding perhaps the happiest and most like herself he'd have heard her, no tight edges tucked into her smiles. "Do you have to train many swimmers before you train up sailors?"
Having someone up top makes it easier because the problem with someone drowning or someone who thinks they might be drowning is always that moment of panic where they're as much of a danger to anyone around them including the person trying to help them as they are to themselves.
(We swim before we ever walk beats in her heart alongside a mermaid sundered herself from the sea to make the moon to make the waves to make the tides; even now she is her mother's daughter, her father's daughter. The sea guides us to where we're meant to go is still the truest sentiment so close to three years here despite knowing the truth of all that she is here.
She isn't a flesh and blood thing that the sea made and yet-- And yet--)
With a glance up to Vane, Araceli nods, whistling sharp enough to get the attention of the swimmers around her. "You've done well! The water's cold, you're not used to it. Take time to get out, have something to drink, get the blood flowing again." She's the last one out after, just in case there's a slip, anyone floundering, hauling herself up and out as the water sluices down the cloak she sheds easy as a second skin, wringing her hair out as she goes to sit by the girl until he's back.
"It's progress," or Araceli sounding perhaps the happiest and most like herself he'd have heard her, no tight edges tucked into her smiles. "Do you have to train many swimmers before you train up sailors?"
Fortunately, having to keep swimming as something small and silver and faster than her blades carefully hidden back on the shore with Lux and the Walrus to guard them darts beneath her legs means Araceli can't turn back to stare at Church. She might if they'd been on land, but they wouldn't be having this conversation then.
"Singing the songs I've known since I was in the cradle older than my grandparents or even their grandparents is a whole other world from writing it. Poetry is-- I lived in a building before. And it was full of artists. Painters, writers, musicians, sculptors, poets, usually none of them with patrons or none who had steady or very wealthy patrons, but it was their passion, it was their life, there was something in them that was poetry. The sea is my blood same as theirs, it comes out a different way. It's easy to talk of a thing you love, another thing to show it that way." Another thing entirely to do it properly other than to live as she lives, as the sea wills it, which isn't a thing Araceli will ever be putting into words outside the select few souls it might be entrusted to as she kicks her legs harder, a prickling of sensation as the blood rushes through her against the cold of the water warming her.
That's life, she could say, but that might brand her a poet again and well she's a bard. A pirate. (Queensguard to those few who know it.)
The skerry is close, if she lengthened her strokes she could reach it but she turns back, a lazy kicking and minimal arms to keep an eye on Church since the water flow is interrupted about it. "I know duels. I know the lute. I know gambling, sailing, swimming, climbing and falling. I know my way around lockpicks. But my instruction in smithing - actually that might go beyond smithing I think, there was fabric involved but not a seamstress - is lacking past sharpening blades. Or knowing 'oh that's a pretty knife, I like that knife'. Besides I can hold my breath a long time and I came to possess this cape."
The cape is very much not just for show though it could be, it's a statement of a cape being as it is some strange leather and cut in the shape of a manta ray even with the lobes where the ray's mouth would be.
"Singing the songs I've known since I was in the cradle older than my grandparents or even their grandparents is a whole other world from writing it. Poetry is-- I lived in a building before. And it was full of artists. Painters, writers, musicians, sculptors, poets, usually none of them with patrons or none who had steady or very wealthy patrons, but it was their passion, it was their life, there was something in them that was poetry. The sea is my blood same as theirs, it comes out a different way. It's easy to talk of a thing you love, another thing to show it that way." Another thing entirely to do it properly other than to live as she lives, as the sea wills it, which isn't a thing Araceli will ever be putting into words outside the select few souls it might be entrusted to as she kicks her legs harder, a prickling of sensation as the blood rushes through her against the cold of the water warming her.
That's life, she could say, but that might brand her a poet again and well she's a bard. A pirate. (Queensguard to those few who know it.)
The skerry is close, if she lengthened her strokes she could reach it but she turns back, a lazy kicking and minimal arms to keep an eye on Church since the water flow is interrupted about it. "I know duels. I know the lute. I know gambling, sailing, swimming, climbing and falling. I know my way around lockpicks. But my instruction in smithing - actually that might go beyond smithing I think, there was fabric involved but not a seamstress - is lacking past sharpening blades. Or knowing 'oh that's a pretty knife, I like that knife'. Besides I can hold my breath a long time and I came to possess this cape."
The cape is very much not just for show though it could be, it's a statement of a cape being as it is some strange leather and cut in the shape of a manta ray even with the lobes where the ray's mouth would be.
Mention of that infamous window-flip prompts a snicker from Korrin; had she seen it herself, she wouldn't shut up about it, either. As it is, she never stops bragging about Araceli's own prowess to anyone who will listen. It's a good thing she has patient friends. As for the idea of such dueling, she grins with no hesitation. "If that's what it takes, I'm willing to take knuckle-wraps if I've earned them."
Following her kadan, Korrin gags as the stench hits her nose. "If that's not the worst scent ever, it's definitely up there. Maker's balls...." Time to breathe through her mouth as well, before nausea causes her to lose her last meal. She'll stand guard while Araceli gets the footlockers open, as her own efforts would likely damage whatever was within.
Following her kadan, Korrin gags as the stench hits her nose. "If that's not the worst scent ever, it's definitely up there. Maker's balls...." Time to breathe through her mouth as well, before nausea causes her to lose her last meal. She'll stand guard while Araceli gets the footlockers open, as her own efforts would likely damage whatever was within.
"You know she knew how to do it without breaking the skin or bruising but it still hurt as much as standing on a stonefish." Too late Araceli realises that she has no way of knowing even now if those exist here. "It fucking hurts standing on those, it's worse than pretty much any jellyfish and the fix isn't piss or vinegar."
With a laugh from behind her cape, Araceli continues working the lock, knee deep in it. "It'll all come out in the wash, we'll be swimming back so you'll be fine. I'd say breathe through your mouth but you might taste it. Oh for the love of--" Years of rust have built up in the lock, forcing Araceli to bend closer to it, wrist twisted at an alarming angle to not jam the pick in it but it gives.
Grinning because it's a rush in and of itself every time, she rocks back on her heels, she gestures for Korrin to get in on the action even as her fingers itch towards the hinges.
"Come on, do the honours!"
With a laugh from behind her cape, Araceli continues working the lock, knee deep in it. "It'll all come out in the wash, we'll be swimming back so you'll be fine. I'd say breathe through your mouth but you might taste it. Oh for the love of--" Years of rust have built up in the lock, forcing Araceli to bend closer to it, wrist twisted at an alarming angle to not jam the pick in it but it gives.
Grinning because it's a rush in and of itself every time, she rocks back on her heels, she gestures for Korrin to get in on the action even as her fingers itch towards the hinges.
"Come on, do the honours!"
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