[Yael] Where The Sea Meets The Shore [Naq | Pruu]

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

Where The Sea Meets The Shore

Naqenni needed to stretch her legs and clear her mind.

While she didn’t currently suspect anything would fully do the trick, at least with regards to the latter desire, the feeling of being encased in the sea and letting her body cut through water had been a source of relaxation for her since her youth. Even in dangerous, choppy water along Yael’s unpredictable shoreline, she found herself at ease, lost in the cold surf such that everything else could fade away and she could focus simply on the push pull of the ocean around and under her.

It didn’t hurt that her long limbs were especially suited to it.

So, after a morning training round with Patience, as the sun edged higher into the sky on one of the last few days before the great trek would begin, she took time out to walk towards the shoreline. She went alone, and unarmed, but for a small blade at her hip—for, though she did not intend to need to fight and bringing her full arsenal would only be a hindrance, it was in her opinion unwise to go anywhere completely armed, particularly Yael’s wild landscape, no matter how much it was ‘home’ to her. She respected its dangers.

As she arrived at the seaside cliffs, the winds were brisk, battering the sea against the rocks in waves, and for a moment, she just watched.  

[Cornetified]

Ever since talk of going to Jauhar had started up, Fassala was a ray of sunshine... and it was driving Pruu insane. It had been a while since her mother had been so animated, but the constant chirping about how wonderful going back would be was giving the Elarian a headache. What better way was there to relax than to take a swim and let the stress wash away?

Walking toward the sea, Pruu swung her way through the trees. Even a simple trip to the ocean could be used as time for training. Apparently, Jauhar was full of trees as well. She wanted to make sure she could navigate them as seamlessly as possible, should the need be called for...

She dropped to the ground at the forest edge and took a deep breath of the sea air. How refreshing... Approaching the sea's edge, she noticed that a sister was not too far away as well. "Naqenni," she called with a wave. "May I join you?"  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

Cornetified

Naqenni…

An antennae coiled at the sound of approach, and her name was enough to peak her attention, turning to look.

May I join you?

Pruu. Looking flushed from some visible exercise, Naq noted passively, and a moment later, she nodded before turning her attention back to the sea. “I welcome the company of a sister…there has been much on my mind. I thought a swim might help to clear my head…as nothing else seems to be helping.”

Pruu, while younger than some of her sisters, was as fiercely dedicated to her training as any, and Naq could remember working with her, too, since her younger years. She was budding into quite the young warrior. Still, for all that they were close enough, she was among those that Naqenni had no idea what to expect of her opinion regarding traveling to the mainland. She would have to fish carefully for information first if she was going to bring it up, as it seemed already to be a topic of great dispute.

As if their tribe needed more reason for internal conflict among its already sparse numbers. More to blame the Matron for, in her own mind. But she kept that to herself for now.  

[Cornetified]

Pruu didn't think it would be hard to guess what it was that was bothering Naq. "I was seeking the clarity of a swim as well," she replied, coming up to stand next to her elder sister. The waves crashing against the rock beneath them were rough and loud, the wind making her activity-heated skin cool rapidly.

Sighing softly, she looked around for a spot to dive from that would provide a decent space for climbing back up, and was a bit closer to the water than where Naq stood. Pruu loved swimming, but the initial dive into the water... she hated the feeling of falling. The beach would have been easier, but Pruu wanted to push herself in order to better clear her head. "Let us swim and clear our minds, then," she offered, beginning to undress.

Giving Naq a small smile, she turned and ran for the ledge, jumping to dive right into the waves. She would rather have the chance to expend the rest of her energy and hopefully get that clarity before discussing their troubles, if anything came up. The water was crisp and welcoming, and she could already feel a little of the mental strain easing away. Not much.. but it was something.  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

Cornetified

It quickly became evident Pruu was not of a mind to discuss things at present, as not only did she not inquire, but rather she actively shifted the topic back to clearing their minds—and began to undress. Naqenni supposed that was just as well. She had come here for that, and it might do her good not to dwell on it just yet, at least to whatever extent she could avoid it. Thus, as Pruu ran to dive, Naqenni’s gaze scanned the rocks, before she moved a touch further up herself.

There were higher cliffs, but they were a more substantial walk from here, and while she did enjoy the rush of making the leap from as high as she could get to, in this case getting to the shoreline and into the water in a timely fashion had been her prerogative. Still, she could at least move to the high point here and overlook the crashing surf below before removing her blade and the thin strip of cloth at her hips, and running to dive herself.

As the wind whipped past her, there was an instant where there was nothing but that: the sailing rush of taking ‘flight’ and having nothing but the air and sea about her, the ocean encroaching rapidly—and then, with a chilly swallow, she was engulfed by its embrace, cutting down into the depths. She pivoted her body through it, attempting to hold as long as she could onto the moment where the physical was all she thought of.

Unfortunately, she did have to eventually break surface, and could feel dissent prickling again at the back of her mind—but instead of allowing it to dominate, she pushed forward again, beginning a brisk, racing pace through the sea, following the shoreline.  

[Cornetified]

There was nothing but the water. It ran along her body as she cut through the surf, giving under her pressure while also supporting at the same time. If only the rest of the world could be so simple.

Having pushed herself already by running through the tree branches, Pruu did not take too much longer to find herself heading back to the shore. Climbing up to dry land, she panted softly and stretched her body out to let the sun and wind dry her. Meanwhile, she watched Naq's swimming. Watching the skilled woman was almost as satisfying as doing it herself..

Her legs dangled over the ledge, letting herself relax from the exertion. She needed to save a little energy for the trip home, seeing as how she intended to take the trees like she had arrived. Away from the village, one could almost forget why she had been so worked up in the first place.

Almost.  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

Cornetified

Naqenni took her time in the sea. It had been what she had come out here for, after all. But there was only so much consolation to be gained from the silent sea, and she did eventually note that Pruu had returned to shore. So, once at least the initial underpinnings of anxious energy had been worked out of her muscles through the current, she made her way back to land.

As she stepped out, the ocean dropping away to bear wet skin to open air, the Yaeli winds were especially brisk. She ignored the prickle of her flesh though, ready to let her skin dry the natural way as she turned her attention to Pruu.

Eventually, it seemed pertinent at least to ask: “Will you be making the trip yourself?”

Naqenni liked to tell herself she hadn’t decided, that it was so foolhardy she ought to refuse outright to make a ‘point.’ But she doubted anyone would see it as such, and in the end, her options came down to remaining with Elzira, or doing what she could to seeing to Nivalis’ safety—and for better or for worse, she knew already that that was not really any choice at all. She couldn’t leave the mystic, and hopefully enough would remain behind to see the mother tree sufficiently guarded.  

[Cornetified]

As Naqenni made her way back, Pruu stretched her arms contently. It was always better after a good exertion... The silence stretched as Pruu wondered how to broach the subject on mind when Naq did it for her. Right. Straight to the point was best.

Leaning her elbows onto her knees, Pruu sighed and looked out across the ocean. "I believe I will be," she replied, though the tension of her reluctance to go was in her voice. "No matter where they go.. even if it is to that filthy land.. or perhaps especially.. I will work to keep my sisters safe." Her head turned slightly to glance at Naqenni. "Will you be going? ..It would be a great boon to security to know you are there as well... but you will also be of great value if you remain to guard Elzira."  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

Cornetified

“Mmm…” Naqenni frowned as her gaze moved out over the open sea. “I do not think I can do anything but remain by the mystic’s side…however foolish or selfish.”

She had begun to at least consider the possibility that her attachment on that front was beyond that of most. Ziauna had begun to impress that upon her. Why is she more important than anything? Because she was the mystic, their mystic—but perhaps, some tiny fragment of her warned, there was more to it than that.

She refused to recognize the possibility realistically.

Nivalis had many options open to her, and it wasn’t Naqenni’s concern who she chose to favor. She was simply loyal to the tribe. That was all. Such promises to herself did little to dispel the uncomfortable itch under her skin.

“I will be going,” she said at last, definitely. She knew it already. There was little point in denying it, and if Pruu was going as well—it couldn’t be the most ridiculous of choices. There would be many young sisters there to keep guarded.

She could only hope that Akeldama and any others who remained would suffice to keep Elzira guarded.  

[Cornetified]

Selfish? Pruu glanced over at Naq curiously. "Is it so selfish to wish to keep our family safe?" she asked. Perhaps, in some sense, it could be seen as selfish, but Pruu could not see selfishness as being any sort of predominant motive for taking on such a trip.

Still, she straightened back up and smiled softly. "It is a great reassurance that you will be there as well. It is no matter how much our cousins try to describe the other land... I will feel better knowing many of us will be able to scout the area together." Going into foreign territory with reliable sisters was indeed a comfort to her.  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

Well, when put that way…

“Not so much,” Naqenni admitted. “Perhaps you are right.” In truth, it wasn’t an enviable mission. All those who embarked including herself might perish at the hands of a trap or even otherwise, before they made it. The lands beyond their familiar shore were not familiar or friendly.

But, knowing her own reasons and the fact that Elzira would be left minimally defended made it feel selfish—to risk everything because she refused to walk a separate path from their mystic. Still, Pruu had a point. Regardless of the full extent of her personal reasons, there were plenty of non selfish reasons to go. She did want to see to her sisters’ safety. That was her reasoning, and to hear that Pruu at least was pleased she would be going—well, it lifted a small weight from her shoulders, in any case. No matter what occurred going forward, she could face it knowing she had given at least one of her sisters peace of mind.

At the mention of scouting together, Naqenni nodded. Though she had been once before to the other shore, she would have been mad to think it was anything but wild, alien land. She knew almost nothing of it despite her time there.

“Maybe we will learn something…”  

[Cornetified]

The agreement brought a small smile to Pruu's lips. Helping to keep an eye on the others was her main reason for going, after all. She would hate to think that it was seen as a selfish move on her part.

Learn something? Pruu looked over to Naq and smiled. "I am certain that there will be much to learn. ..This meeting, I am less certain of; however, it would be foolish to travel all that way and not take some time to study the locations and environments we go through."  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

“The terrain changes as you travel,” Naqenni said. “And all of it that I’ve seen is very different from our island. The land across from ours when the sea is first crossed is drier than any I’ve felt…like all of the life in the air has been pressed from it and shriveled out like a sun baked leaf. The ground is sand, not just at its edges but stretching inward for longer than this island is large…but if you persist up enduringly enough, you may come upon strange forests, where the trees are no like ours in sight or smell, and beyond that…the land itself changes shape.”

She frowned.

“I have only been once off this island, and never to the nesting grounds of our cousins’ sisters…there will be much to take in.”  

[Cornetified]

Pruu's brow knit at the less than pleasant description of the foreign land. Looking out at the ocean before them made the idea of a dry land that much more displeasing. "It sounds like madness to remain in such a desolate sounding place," she murmured. "Considering that you have had experience there before, I am even more relieved to hear that you will be present, Naqenni."