Closed [Emberfall] Drunk on a Boat

[Luke]

Spring 14, 125

Luke found himself inexplicably on a boat. He had no reason to be on a boat, which was probably why he felt so confused when he looked out at the water and the vague outline of Emberfall through the mist. He saw the dragon he had met yesterday sitting a ways away, watching him amusedly. It was at that moment that the fulgari noticed that he was in a fight.

Luke couldn't even remember how the fight had started. He only knew the taste of sake in his mouth and a distaste for the person standing before him. Had he insulted the man? Or was it the other way around? Oh who cared anyways? Something about the shaggy haired man just pissed him off. The way he held himself, the way he smelled… it was a bit much. But for Luke to be this drunk… he must have drank soooo much.

The galsterei held up his hands like the master hand to hand fighter that he was. He would never be too drunk to be able to throw a few punches. It was good to be so drunk that he didn't think he could feel pain anymore. He stepped forward and threw a jab at the man's face, then his left shoulder then right shoulder, and finally his chest. They were relatively weak punches, all things considered. There was only so much one could do when the goal was to strike fast.

"How about some kicks?" he asked rhetorically as he leaned back on his left leg and kicked at the man's feet, knees, hips, and then chest in a blur. He felt his balance almost leave him for a moment, but he managed to keep himself upright before bringing his leg back down. Surprisingly, he hadn't impressed his opponent enough to make him stand down. His memory was going in and out so it was hard to tell if his strikes had even hit or not.

Luke's body went into autopilot mode as his mind went nearly completely blank. He stepped forward again and this time his legs were a blur again. He was spinning too, trying to kick another handful of times in quick succession. One spinning kick led into the next and so on.

At some point Luke found himself resting on one knee with his other leg stretched out behind him. Had he slipped? No, he didn't think he did, else he probably would have got his face pounded in by now. He gritted his teeth and looked at the man still alive, still looking totally fine.

His vision blurred and the next thing he knew he was flipping through the air. A front flip, really? That didn't seem much like him. But he had indeed managed to throw himself into the air and he landed roughly behind his opponent. He turned, stumbled, then started throwing punch after punch at his back. He must have punched at least ten times as he wailed into the man as hard as he could. Luke could have sworn he saw blood coming off his fists. Hopefully his opponent's blood, but at this point he wasn't sure who's it was. He had a vague memory of hurting his hand before this fight had started.

"Oh please let it end," Luke said as he found himself stumbling again, but the fight still wasn't over yet. He managed to stabilize himself and hold up his hands again, protecting his face and then weaving in another four jabs at his opponent's face in between bobbing and weaving.

Luke's memory faded completely to black until he realized he was sitting next to the dragon and eating some kind of meat on a stick.

"That was one hell of a fight," Galvatorix told him.

"Fight? What fight?" Luke asked as he tried to search his memories. He vaguely remembered punching someone a lot. "Oh that one. Who was that? And what the hell have I been drinking?"

"Something that you probably shouldn't have," Galvatorix told him with a chuckle.

"Ugh… and where are we going?"

Galvatorix sighed and said, "I've told you about ten times now and I've no way of knowing if you'll remember this time or not. Just rest, little one. We are not going far."

713 WC

 

[Raya]

Raya drank the sake but much less of it. She had not been goaded into drinking more and more like men usually were. She had tagged along despite the awkwardness of what had happened yesterday with the sudden death. She knew she had killed that man but could not prove it. She had tried to activate her ability again but it had not worked on anyone else she touched. It was like she was drained and slowly recovering.

She enjoyed the fight but not enough to root for either side. Boys will be boys.

"We are acting as security for this shipment. It is going to the war," She recited. She was not excited because this was just another day. She knew they would be okay. The boat was boring which is why people started drinking and fighting for fun.

"Does anything exciting ever happen on one of these shipments?" She asked Galvatorix.

"Sometimes. Not usually if they see security."

 

[Luke]

The silence underwater was never the same as that on the surface. They could hear the currents, the agitation of the algae and rocks pushed by the waves, or the sounds of fish and marine mammals. But on the surface, these noises did not exist. they were replaced by the wind, the squawking of gulls or seagulls, the waves crashing on the rock or against themselves most of the time.

On the surface of the blue immensity, Ashe kept her eyes closed. Her skin dried where the water didn't touch her, and she enjoyed the sensation of feeling her skin warm. Nothing compared to the magic of living underwater, not even a little. She heard her heart beating in her head, her hair tossed in the morning waves. The fabric of her tunic floated around her. It was made of algae that was a deep and supernatural blue.

The cor'norai swam, lazing near the shore whose name she did not know but which she knew the Jianese called home. Fingers spread, palms facing the sky, she fully enjoyed this gentle warmth offered by the surface. Many times she had thought of going to one of those beaches that she could sometimes see from afar during her swims, to take the dry sand in her hands. She wanted to experience the life of a human.

Fear was, for the moment, stronger than any form of curiosity. But that did not prevent her from asking herself questions and wondering why the trees on the surface never resembled coral, wanting to know the taste of their fruits and vegetables. She had so many questions and so few teachers.

A sound brought her out of her reverie, and she straightened up, looking around for the origin. She saw one of the surfacers's ships. It was like a stain in a perfect landscape, making its way despite the sea's protest. Fighting against the wind, the oars tried to bring the ship to port while they worked on pulling the sail to prevent it from tearing. Going upwind seemed to be a real test and required very specific knowledge and techniques. The waves that seemed insignificant to her were not so for the poor rowers who, under the considerable effort of facing the currents of air and water, chanted songs that she began to hear as she approached.

Her mission had been to see if any humans were shipwrecked, but no one had ever told her not to stick her head out of the water. No one had formally forbidden her from enjoying the beautiful morning with the sky filled with racing clouds, even if jianese were incredibly bloodthirsty. The men roared until they lost their voices to the wet sounds of the waves against the hull and the splashing of the oars. Fortunately, there was no storm on the horizon. These poor fellows would never have survived.

Mockingly, the corl'norai got close enough to be able to discern the sailors' faces, burned by the sun and marked by age and experience at sea. The man behind the large wooden wheel seemed to be the oldest, judging by his face, mostly covered by his gray beard. His muscular arms were covered with bulging veins.

She heard a voice coming from the boat and met the gaze of someone hanging from the mast. The blood drained from her face, and she dove before seeing anyone else look at her. Their words would probably have made more sense if she had really tried to listen. But fear took over.

The dark water was difficult to navigate, and the use of her special cor'norai eyes were necessary to look around, especially at night. Though at times, navigating was as easy as trying to aim darts with her back turned. Ashe, however eager for fast travel, waited so as not to outdistance her friend that had been trying to catch up to her.

She had already crossed the surface to look at those marvelous boats, and those humans with large muscles who cast their nets into the water to catch fish. Their skin was weathered by salt, whipped by the wind, and burned by the merciless sun. She had not found the courage to approach any of them. She had heard so many stories, but her mom kept her secluded down below in a rural community beneath the ocean. Her father had been a human, a bad man as it turned out and her mother never got over that grudge.

But sometimes she forgot her worries or rather those of her mother, her friends, her aunts and found herself wanting to exchange shells with some of the fishermen. She wanted to decorate the hair of travelers with colored algae or even simply race with some younger and slender sailors.

she ran her fingers over the soft algae. The slightly green and yellow tint of her luxiite powered lantern and pressed against her torso gave her an otherworldly appearance.

His strong muscles were absurdly chiseled by the glow of the light of the early morning, giving him a much more threatening appearance than usual.

It was at this point that a ship passed by and a man was thrown from it. It was the man that Luke had just beaten in a fight. Apparently he'd hit him hard enough to send him overboard. Luke had no recollection of this, but the man landed right next to the cor'norai who were swimming by.

"What the…" one said before he realized that it was a human being.

"You're alright, you're alright," he reassured the man as he held him tightly and lifted him above the surface of the water.

"Oh thank you," the man said, gasping for air.

"Let's get you back on your boat."

Ashe had never been this close to a human before and she was both scared and excited at the same time. Was she really about to go on a boat?

Luke had just heard Abraia responding to his question and had inclined his head when he saw the Cor'Norai climbing over the side of the boat and dropping the man back onto the deck.

1705

 

[Raya]

Raya laughed when the cornorai showed up because she thought the drunkard who had gotten thrown overboard would have to swim to shore. He had been the one who had started the fight because he didn't approve of a ronin coming on a mission like this. The problem was Luke and Raya were protected by the dragon who had egged Luke on to fight without using magic.

"It seems we have new visitors" Raya said.

The underwater dwellers drug the man to the middle of the deck. They were greeted with cautious looks but there was nothing extraordinary about seeing cornorai. They lived under the water so encountering them weas not unheard of.

"Do try to keep your people out of the water if they can barely swim" He said.

The drunkard got to his feet and cursed at everyone on the boat that he could see ~~ especially Luke.

"Be careful or you might get thrown overboard again" Raya teased.

 

[Luke]

Luke got up and walked over to the drunkard and held out his hand. "I don't remember why we started fighting, but let's put an end to it."

The man smacked his hand aside but he didn't seem to want to fight anymore either. He grumbled and went off to go hang out with his buddies that were snickering on the other side of the ship.

The cor'norai sized up Luke before turning their gaze to the other passengers. The male stood protectively in front of the female. He had a spear in his hand, but it wasn't held aggressively.

"As it so happens, we are on a scouting mission. My small tribe holds allegiance to the Huo clan so we are happy to be of assistance, despite how secluded we are. Should war ever fall upon these waters we will be the first to answer the call."

The shy one behind him, Ashe, poked her head out from behind him to get a good look at everyone. She looked pale – a mix of fear and excitement coalescing in her expression.

"Can we stay a while longer?" she whispered. The older cor'norai nodded.

"We will catch a ride with you for a while, if that is agreeable," he said to the crew who nodded and shrugged. They were all on the same side, what did a few extra passengers matter?

1935

 

[Raya]

Raya got up to meet the male named Theo but he had other things on his mind.

Not knowing which direction to take and not being able to let Theo take the lead even if her life depended on it, Ashe waited for Theo to lead her with a smile.

"Theo, can I talk to the dragon?"

Theo kept a hand on the knife locked in its sheath hanging from his belt.

"I don't see why not. Be respectful."

Theo walked to one of the military men and told him something about the waters to the north bend of the river being under patrolled. By the time their scouts returned, the capricious currents would have carried away the finds or threats discovered. So Theo was wary.

Something said between them made his eyebrows furrow. He wasn't angry, just grumbling about postponing his expected plans. But a return to the water was always better than enduring the surface's anxieties for a moment longer.