• Mature • To Cast Off

[Hart]

"Speaking in Rakahi"
"Speaking in Common"
"Speaking in Common sign"

35th of Saun, 718

It had been some fifteen days of travel and Hart was feeling well. More than well; he was feeling great.

The first few days had been a hardship, trying to get everyone used to the ships and the sea. Hart had the Jovy Akor, but many people had decided to sail along with him from Rynmere, and the Akor hadn't been near large enough to house them all. So, Hart had hired a schooner in addition to the Akor, with two members of crew-- and the schooner, with 16 bunks in total, had proven to be plenty of space for them all.

After the first few trials, when everyone had gotten used to the movement of the sea, the ships had remained quiet. There was the sound of chickens clucking contentedly
--chickens they had brought along for eggs-- and the calls of the crewmen on the schooner ship. Hart sailed the Akor alone, knowing well that while two could sail her, in good weather it needn't be more than a one man job.

Then, after that first handful of uncertain days, the ships had livened up. As Hart sailed or stood at the wheel he often heard the sound of children laughing from the other ship; it never ceased to make him smile.

Kemp and Joshau, two boys from Rynmere whom Hart had recently begun to take care of, were often on his ship with him. Kemp, after an initial bout of seasickness, had quickly found his legs. He bounded around the ship, chattering incessantly about every and all things, and pointing overboard at the dolphins and birds and turtles that occasionally surfaced or flew next to the boat. His perpetual good mood was contagious; Hart, after what had happened in the beginning of the season, had been shaken some, but Kemp had wittingly or not seen him through.

Joshau, thankfully, hadn't seemed to get seasick, which Hart was glad for, being that the lad was already so underweight and ill. He slept, mostly, though sometimes Hart heard Kemp and him talking belowdecks. Most of the time Kemp was the only one who spoke with any animation, but once a few days back Hart had heard, for the first time, Joshau laugh.

This trial, the ships had stopped near land to give the schooner's crew a rest. A longboat had gone out from the schooner to the land, and distantly Hart could see some of the kids running around on the beach, playing and splashing. Aiden, a man a few arcs younger than Hart who was half avriel, could be seen stretching his fantastic wings and flying low along the beach, one of the children laughing and screaming in his arms. Kemp and Joshau had also gone, so that Joshau might get some fresh air. They lounged on the pleasantly hot sands of the beach in the shade.

Hart had opted to stay with the ships in case of passing traffic. Kirei, one of his new companions and a cook's apprentice he had first met in Cylus, had stayed on the ship with him. She was with him on deck, reading while they enjoyed the intense heat of the twin Saun suns and the rather cooler breeze blowing in from the water. Every once and a while the Akor gave a gentle rise on the waves, and a light dusting of surf would come over the ship to speckle them.

Hart watched Kirei and smiled as she tucked a lock of strawberry blonde hair behind one ear. Her brow furrowed as she read and he laughed to himself; she had picked up one of Hart's books from below, inevitably a romance. He imagined, with her soft serious face, that she more usually read books on mathematics and language. He checked the sails to see if there were any areas of the heavy cloth that needed repairs, but there weren't. Hart went over the lines and cleats next. Pleased with their state, he couldn't help but smile over at Kirei again.

"Enjoying the book?" he asked, laughingly. He couldn't tell if she was enjoying it or not, and he was curious. If he remembered correctly, that book was about a knight and her friend. The knight was daring, proud, and foolhardy; her friend even more so, and with a sharp tongue. They had begun as rivals, and became friends and then lovers through strange and silly circumstances. Hart thought it an average romance, though he did like the author's comedic flair.

As he smiled over at Kirei, he peered past her shoulder, towards the sea. There was a ship sailing not so far out, another schooner. It appeared to be passing, and Hart waved. He jumped up to balance on the ship's rail, still peering out, and then looked back at Kirei.

"Would you like to learn to sail?" he asked abruptly, and grinned. "See that person, waving back from the crow's nest?" he asked, and pointed. If she couldn't see, he would pass her his spyglass. "It's an invitation to sail with them a while." Though Hart was supposed to be watching the ships along with one of the schooner's crew, it should be alright to leave for just a bit.

"It's slowing, do you see?" he asked as he watched the second schooner go lazily by. It had turned slightly towards them, to help close the distance. "Biqaj ships commonly participate in friendly competition, to see which ship is faster and more agile." He was already drawing up the anchor. "So, if you don't mind," he said. "I assure you, it's good fun."

[Kirei Qe'Azour]

The trip had been an interesting one so far. Kirei knew nothing about sailing, but she had found ways to earn her passage by taking care of the chickens, and cooking for the crews of both ships. The children seemed to be getting along well with the two boys that Hart had brought with him. Kemp and Joshau seemed like good boys. Kirion liked them, and Kirei could tell that he enjoyed not being the only boy around anymore. Well, the only boy who was old enough to play with him, seeing as how Teril wasn't even an arc old yet.

For now, though, they had stopped for a break near some land. Aiden was playing with the kids, giving the youngest ones rides by flying close to the ground with them in his arms. The kids loved every trill of it. As Kirei watched them, she didn't know who was enjoying it more; Aiden, or the kids. Kirion was hanging out with Maerin, Aerin, and Eris, but every now and then, he would glance over at the other boys. Kirei had the feeling that he wished he was over with them instead.

Kirei herself was reading a book. Romances weren't usually her thing, but this one wasn't as bad as it could have been. There was at least an attempt made at a plot beyond "Boy meets Girl. Boy falls into bed with girl three trills later and proceeds to...well. To do what inevitably happens in any romance novel." When Hart asked her if she was enjoying the book, she looked up at him with a smile.

"It's better than I thought it would be, at least. Parts of it are even funny."

Hart asked her if she wanted to learn how to sail, and Kirei hesitated. She did enjoy learning new things...and sailing was certainly that. Kirei had never once thought about learning how to sail. But the idea did have merit. If there was an emergency of some kind, and they suddenly were in desperate need of another crew member...what then? If Kirei could at least learn some of the basics, then she could help out if need be. If nothing else, she could give Hart a break to spend some time with his boys for a few breaks here and there.

She looked to see where her friend was pointing, and made a mental note of what a crow's nest was. The explanation about the friendly competitions between Biqaj crews was an interesting one. So when he seemed to really want to sail with the other ship, she nodded despite some misgivings. There were a lot of ropes involved in sailing, and it looked hopelessly complicated to Kirei. She just hoped that she was as quick a learner where sailing was concerned as she was in the kitchen. She didn't want to let her friend down.

"Sure, that does sound interesting. I'm game." she said with a smile.

[Hart]

"Speaking in Rakahi"
"Speaking in Common"
"Speaking in Common sign"

extra line here
There was only one trill of hesitation after Hart asked if Kirei would like to sail. She squinted over towards the schooner as if to make out the man waving from the crow's nest; then she answered with a smile and Hart grinned back. With Kirei on board he finished drawing up the anchor and whistled to get the attention of the crewman on their other ship. The man, who had been sunning himself lying in a hammock hung under the ship's boom, looked over. Hart indicated the approaching schooner, and the crewman waved a hand as if to say go. He immediately went back to sunning. Hart turned back to Kirei.

"Let's sail then," he said happily.

"First thing's first," he said, as the schooner in the distance lazily drew nearer. "We find the wind." He made sure the book Kirei had been reading was tucked in a hatch, then stood near the wheel and pointed up at the top of the mast. "See that little flag up there?" Hart said. They didn't fly full colors like a navy ship or like a ship might in harbor, but there was a small strip of cloth, faded red in color, which fluttered in the wind. "It's called a weather vane. It shows which way the wind blows."

"If you look at the way the flag is blowing, the wind is coming in from the rear port side. On a ship, when you stand like this," he stood facing the stern or the front of the ship, "You call the left port, and the right starboard."

"So," he said. "The sails are up." It was poor practice to leave the sails up while anchored, but the wind was light so he hadn't bothered to take them down. "And you might have noticed-- with the anchor up, the ship has started to drift." They were drifting slowly towards land, the ship starting to turn by nature of the wind to face the beach.

"To control the way the ship goes, we use the wheel. Spin it clockwise to go to port, and counterclockwise to go to starboard." He demonstrated. It wasn't intuitive, because a person spun the wheel in the opposite direction of the way they wanted the ship to turn; but the wheel controlled the rudder, and steering became intuitive the more one helmed a ship. It was easy enough to learn.

The sails were a little more difficult. "To control how fast a ship goes, we use sails. On this ship, there are two sails. The mainsail and the headsail." He pointed to each as he spoke. The mainsail was attached to the boom, midships; the headsail was at the very front of the ship. There were different types of headsails and the Akor's was a jib, but he wasn't going to go into that now.

"On this ship, there are two lines --ropes-- on each sail. They control the sails." He showed her as he spoke. "Since the sails are already up, we needn't bother with the first line, the halyard. Sailing today, we'll be concerned with the sheets. There's one per sail. They're called the main sheet and the jib sheet. The main sheet controls the mainsail. The jib sheet controls the headsail."

There he paused. "It's a lot of terminology, I know," he said. Still a ways out, the schooner began to take down some of her sails so that she wouldn't easily outpace the littler sloop as they raced along. Hart saw her working crew, perhaps four in total, running around on deck. "Just remember," he said. Like before, he pointed to each part of the ship as he spoke. "Left is port, right is starboard. Wheel turns towards the port side to go to starboard-- and vice versa. On this ship, there's the mainsail and headsail. And they're controlled by the main sheet and jib sheet."

"You got that?" he asked. Having grown up knowing these terms pretty much before he knew anything else, he wasn't certain how quickly someone who hadn't been around ships would be able to pick them up. So, he waited patiently if Kirei had questions, and searched her expression for hints as to whether or not he had spoken too quickly.

sails

[Kirei Qe'Azour]

It started off sounding simple enough as Kirei learned that the little flag that was flying on top of the big pole in the center of the ship was called a weather vane, and that it was used to tell which way the wind was blowing. She also learned that a metal thing called an anchor was what kept the ship still rather than drifting away with the wind and waves. And she paid close attention as Hart explained that on a ship, right was starboard, and left was port. But it quickly got confusing after that. Because as he continued to explain that when using the wheel to turn the ship, you had to turn it in the opposite direction of the way you wanted to turn. Still, Kirei made a careful mental note of that, and she hoped that if she was ever in the position that she needed to steer the ship that she didn't forget, and turn the wheel the wrong way.

Kirei learned that sails controlled how fast a ship went, and she understood that part. It did seem like it would require a lot of multitasking, though, and she asked if she was right about that. If so, it shared something in common with cooking, and she said as much; the importance of multitasking in cooking was a trick of the trade that she had learned early on. But that thought was soon lost as she tried to concentrate on what she was being told. There were booms and midships and headsails, and mainsails to think about. Which did what? How did you know which sail to use at which time? Her head began to spin as she tried to keep track of the new terms she was learning, as well as figure out what she was supposed to do with them. As she struggled to keep everything straight in her head, she began to feel sick. This wasn't like learning how to make a new recipe, or learning a new language at all. What if she did the wrong thing? Would the ship sink? And if it did, would they be able to survive on that island until they could find a way off of it? What if she made a mistake, and condemned them all to death?

There were ropes that were called lines instead of ropes. But they were also called halyards, and sheets. Or were the sheets supposed to be the sails? They certainly looked more like sheets than the ropes did, and the name of one, the main sheet was kind of like the mainsail...right? But if that were true, then what was the jib sheet? Dread left her breathless with fear as she realized just how little of this she was understanding. That fear transported her back to another time when she had felt such fear.

Come on, Kirei...keep up! You have to do better than this! If you don't learn this stuff, then you'll fail the test, and you know what that means!

Kirei shuddered. Failure was punished harshly indeed. She had seen slaves killed for such a failure to learn. Even some of the ones who were not killed outright died later of the injuries that they had gotten during their punishments.

"I..."

Kirei flinched, cringing back in anticipation of the punishment she had surely earned for daring to use "I" in regards to herself. Slaves weren't people! They had no right to address themselves as such!

"This one apologizes for speaking above itself, and for its failure to understand what is required of it." she murmured softly in Dehasin, eyes glued to the floor. not daring to look up at the man who was no doubt enraged by her failure.

Caught up in the past as she was, it was all too easy to fall back into what was "safe," and one of the first things she had learned as a slave was that responding in anything other than the language of slaves would bring on swift retribution by her Avriel masters. When there was no swift punishment following her words, it trickled into her awareness that the man had been speaking Common, so she apologized again, and repeated her words, this time in Common. As she waited for her well deserved punishment, she berated herself for her failure to learn. It happened so infrequently that she didn't fail tests often, or earn punishments by failing to learn her lessons quickly enough. That she had done so now shook her deeply. She knew that she deserved the pain that was to come even if she felt sick with dread in anticipation of it. She promised herself that the next time this man used his valuable time to try to teach her something, or give her an order, she wouldn't fail to do what was expected of her.

Off Topic

This post covers the following challenges:

Creation Challenges

2. Create a time when your character was seen as weak, or showed signs of weakness in front of another PC. (This can be Memory or Present time).

Growth Challenges

1. Have your character teach a trick of their trade to another person (PC or NPC).

2. Have your character learn a trick of a trade from another person (PC or NPC).

***Learning how to determine which way the wind is blowing by use of a flag on a ship called a weather vane***

[Hart]

"Speaking in Rakahi"
"Speaking in Common"
"Speaking in Common sign"

extra line here
Hart could see that Kirei was confused. He figured he had been speaking too quickly. It was just that he hadn't sailed in so long.

For Hart, there was sailing --as they had been, charting a steady course-- and then there was sailing. Hart hadn't had the opportunity to really sail in arcs.

Sailing like that was one of the only things that made him feel-- unbound.

He was about to apologize despite how eager he was to get going; was about to offer to go over it all again more slowly despite that the schooner would be made to wait, when he realized that Kirei didn't just look confused. She looked upset.

Hart made himself stop thinking about the Akor and the schooner. He put aside the ships and the sails and sun and wind and waves and he focused on Kirei. Except, when she spoke she wasn't looking at him, and she spoke so quietly he didn't catch what she'd said.

"Kirei?" he asked, because she didn't look well. He took a step towards her and reached out as if to touch. But she pulled back and he stopped and held still. That was when she spoke again.

This one, she said.

"This one apologizes for speaking above itself, and for its failure to understand what is required of it."

For a handful of quiet moments Hart did nothing but remain very still.

Then--

What? he asked himself. It was as if he hadn't been able to understand her, though he had heard her. The words, together like that, just didn't make sense to him. He couldn't think what might have prompted them.

This one, he repeated to himself in an effort to put meaning to a sentence that was, to him, totally unexpected and bizarre. This one.

She hadn't called herself I, or even Kirei, he noticed. She'd called herself it.

A brief memory surfaced, a moment of recollection so fleeting it was more of an impression, and Hart realized that while he wasn't certain, he thought that sometime, somewhere, he had heard someone speak in the exact same manner. But the memory wasn't coming to him, and trying to remember at this moment didn't feel right. He refocused instead on Kirei.

He wanted to touch her; it was who he was, it was what he did to make sure someone was alright. But he remembered how she had flinched back and so instead he hunkered down. He leaned over with his hands on his knees and looked up into Kirei's face. She was looking down and so, looking up at her, he tried to meet her eyes. "It's alright that you didn't understand," he said to her. "It's my fault. I sprang it on you. I wanted so badly to sail and I didn't think. I admit that sometimes I have trouble telling how much is too much when it comes to ships."

Without really looking over he waved one of his hands in a wide arc to catch the schooner's attention. He spared a glance and when he saw someone looking, he gave a shake of the head. After a disgruntled pause, one of the schooner's crew waved back. The schooner had fallen almost to stillness on the water with most of its sails pulled in, and its workers gathered at the railing, within shouting distance, though Hart didn't shout and neither did they.

Instead, looking at Kirei, Hart said, "We don't have to sail. How about we do something you want to do? I could get your book instead? Or we could go over to the beach with Aiden and the kids?" He spoke easily, used to doing so when he was uncertain. "Or if you're ill," he said, "We could go down to the bunks." He smiled tentatively as if to coax a smile in return. "I could read to you aloud?" It was customary on his mother's ship, the Andresmarie, to sing to someone who was seasick, but he didn't know if Kirei would want that. He offered anyway. "Or I could sing, if you wanted to try to sleep." He smiled again, hoping that she was okay.

[Kirei Qe'Azour]

Kirei didn't respond to her name. It wasn't that she had forgotten what it was, but slaves didn't have names. They didn't have identities. They were slaves, and they existed only to serve. Her name had no place here, and because of that, her mind refused to acknowledge it.

What she was aware of was movement. Despite not looking at the man directly, she watched his shadow for signs of movement. That would tell her when her well deserved punishment was to begin. Only...it didn't. The man hunched down. That was confusing enough to cause Kirei to risk a brief glance at the man himself, His hands were resting on his on his knees, and she could feel him watching her.

The man spoke, but his words made little sense. It sounded as if he was apologizing to her. Masters didn't apologize to slaves. It simply wasn't done. Masters were always right. They had no need to apologize to anyone, especially not one as unworthy as a slave. And yet...the strangeness of the man's words caused reality to shift ever so slightly. Someone had apologized to her once before. A woman. They had been working in a kitchen together, making a dish for their mentor. The woman had bumped into her accidentally, causing her to spill the flour she had been holding. And she had apologized for bumping into her. The other woman wasn't a slave, but she had apologized...to her. And then she had insisted on helping her clean up the mess that had resulted. It felt like a real memory...but it couldn't be real. Could it?

The man's hand moved. She expected pain to follow...but it didn't. And when she dared to risk a quick glance at him, she saw that he was waving to another ship in the distance. A ship? How was that possible? Could she have been punished already, and be suffering from a head wound? Those could cause hallucinations sometimes. Was she hallucinating?

When the man spoke again, he told her that they didn't have to sail. Didn't have to? But a slave had to do everything they were ordered to do. That was what they existed for. It wasn't until the man began to offer to do things for her that reality shifted back completely. She wasn't in Athart. She was on a ship heading to Scalvoris. She wasn't a slave anymore, and hadn't been for some time now. Just a little over an arc to be precise. And she knew the man who was talking to her...didn't she?

"Hart...?" she questioned softly, still not quite daring to look up at him.

Yes, it was Hart. She recognized his voice. And as she returned to reality fully, she blushed a deep shade of red as she realized what had happened.

"This one...no. I. I'm sorry, Hart. I thought I was doing better now. I really did."

She looked up at Hart. He deserved an explanation for what had just happened. But...how to start?

"When I was twelve, I was sold into slavery. For the next three arcs, I was trained as a slave in Athart. Once I was sold, my masters were very kind to me. They treated me more like a part of their family than like a slave for the most part. And I've been free for a little more than an arc now. But those three arcs left a...lasting impression on me."

Kirei shuddered.

"A slave who is trained in Athart learns their lessons quickly, and they learn them well. If they do not, they will fail the tests they are given...and the punishments for failure are brutal. I saw a lot of slaves die from punishments earned by their failure to learn quickly enough. And more died later as they succumbed to their injuries. With motivation like that...I learned to learn new things quickly. I survived when others did not."

She paused, trying to collect her thoughts.

"Cooking comes easily to me. I learned the basics while I was being trained as a slave, but even then, I had an almost...natural instinct for it. And when you learn a new recipe, it is a matter of gathering the ingredients necessary to make the dish, and following the steps in the right order. Knowing the terms involved helps, too. But...I know nothing of sailing. I did pick up some of what you were trying to teach me. Like port meaning left, and starboard meaning right. And finding the wind by using a weather vane. After that, I got confused, though. I didn't know any of the names for things, and it was too much to keep track of all at once while I was trying to learn what everything was used for at the same time. I couldn't keep up."

Kirei hesitated before continuing, trying to collect her thoughts once more.

"I was worried about not learning everything fast enough to be of any use to you. Then I started worrying about what would happen if I made a mistake. If you mess up when making a new recipe, all that happens is that you ruin the dish, and have to start again from scratch. But sailing is different. What if I made a mistake that sank the ship? Could we survive on that island long enough for someone to find us if I did? Or would it be my fault that we all died? I was overwhelmed, and I started to panic. And when I panic...well...that happens. I find myself trapped in the past when I was being trained as a slave again."

Kirei shook her head.

"This isn't the first time it's happened, but I really did think I was over this by now. I really am sorry, Hart. You seemed to really be looking forward to this. I'd like to say we should try again, but..."

But there was a very real chance that she would panic again if she became overwhelmed again.

"Maybe...maybe we could go slower. I should learn how to sail anyway, in case something happens on the trip. But if I learn it a little at a time, I shouldn't get so overwhelmed. And maybe next time we find someone who wants to race, I won't be so useless. Afterwards, if you want, I could teach you how to cook something? As an apology for failing you in this?" she offered.

[Hart]

"Speaking in Rakahi"
"Speaking in Common"
"Speaking in Common sign"

extra line here
OOC: Warnings for recollections of sexual coercion and dubious consent.

For an awful moment Hart thought she wouldn't respond, and he noticed that when he spoke her name, Kirei didn't seem to react to it. The uncertainty he felt edged closer to worry, and he knew if this went on, he wouldn't know what to do.

But thankfully Kirei seemed to awaken. She woke as one did from a troubled sleep. She said his name as if she didn't know, exactly, where she was. "Hart...?" He realized it was a question.

That she responded at all was good, he thought, but it seemed as if she hadn't recognized him while he had been speaking to her, and that was more than worrying. "Yes, it's me," Hart said. Kirei blushed red as if in embarrassment and apologized and Hart said, still focused on her, "It's alright. No need to be sorry."

"I thought I was doing better now," she admitted, and though he wanted to know what had overcome her, Hart didn't ask. He had a feeling that asking might only hurt her further. It might only cause her to return to that... to that other, frightened state.

Finally Kirei looked up at him and that, too, was good. Hart had the urge to wrap his arms around her but he didn't. She was okay, he thought. If she could look at him then she was okay.

He stayed where he was as she started to speak.

Hart hadn't known Kirei had been a slave, but like before he didn't ask. Athart he knew was a city that belonged to the avriel, a slaver's city, and a place that he had never traveled to. She had been twelve when she had been taken. Younger than Jovy when Jovy had gone to the pirates.

Anger, he told himself, would not help Kirei now.

She explained Athart, explained what had happened, explained how he had confused and upset her when he had spoken so quickly. She spoke about how she worried, and how those worries seemed to overwhelm and tumble until they couldn't be controlled. And how when she panicked she... she went back to being a slave.

He had never heard of anything like it-- of someone, in their mind, going back to the past, forgetting who they were and only remembering who they had been. But from what she said, he figured it was like a wound.

A deep wound.

He felt the anger again.

"Don't be sorry," Hart said when Kirei had finished speaking. She had apologized to him again but it was because of him that she had gone back there. "I'm the one who should apologize. I spoke too quickly. And I'm sorry that-- that you had to go back to Athart because of me. We can try again, more slowly," he agreed.

"But first," he said, "If you don't mind, I'll tell you a little of me."

"When I was almost fifteen my sister died. Her name was Jovy. We were very close and something very bad happened to her. Something very bad," he said. "After she died," he paused as if searching for how to explain it. "I didn't know who I was anymore."

"For a long time I wasn't happy. And then I thought I was happy, and I let myself go on. I was not a-- great person back then. I cared for other people, yes, but mostly I cared for myself. As I became an adult I began to use people. For money, mostly, though for other things. And I thought I was happy. And because it made them happy too, I thought, who am I hurting?"

"Back then I cared about money a lot. About status and finery as well. But I didn't have money. So for a while I became an escort, do you know what that is?" If she didn't he would explain. "Someone who provides comfort to those who are rich. Generally in the form of sex," he said, and he said it offhandedly.

"In exchange, I got money. I lived in big houses, estates like you wouldn't imagine. I was an artist back then, and they gave me fine art supplies, and though I wasn't very good they told me that I was. I thought of myself as a muse. The rich and influential would cater to me, would give me anything I wanted. And all I had to do was make them happy. Any way that they requested."

"After a while I started to gamble. It was never enough, I just, I always wanted more. That was when I met a woman." He took a breath. "Her name was Herys Harlow."

"Harlow was the owner of a gambling den. She met me and she liked me. And so because she liked me, she started letting me borrow from her to gamble. I liked her too, I think, and I gambled a lot on her coin. She started buying me things, expensive things, and I didn't realize until she told me one night that I was very, very deep in debt. To her specifically," he said.

"She didn't want me to return the things she had given me and back then, I don't know if I would have been able to do that. So we struck upon a bargain. I would be her escort, exclusively. For as long as it took to pay off my debt."

"That was okay," he said. "And then Harlow introduced me to the Lounge."

"Harlow's Lounge was a series of rooms in the back of her gambling den where she took the most beautiful people. Others paid, paid a lot of money, to go there. And I became," he said simply, "Hers."

"It was different from escorting because I wasn't allowed to leave. Harlow was a jealous and sometimes violent woman. She liked to have control of people. She had," he said as if it didn't matter, "Odd tastes in pleasure, as did many of the people who frequented the Lounge."

"It was a pleasure house, but the things people did there," he said, "Were as much about doing whatever they wanted to someone who was indebted to them, as it was about pleasure. And I was not the only one who was in Harlow's debt."

"Anyways."

"I loved someone who was too kind to me, and they made it into the Lounge one night and told me that I had to leave or they would. And so I left. And Harlow was angry. And so we ran."

"I left all the precious gifts I had been given, and that, for me, was hard. Even leaving the Lounge was hard. Harlow had given me drugs and I liked to get high, and I liked to drink. More than that I liked the attention. I was very vain and they treated me, even when they did the things they did, as if I was someone special. And so I thought--" He paused. "I don't know what I thought."

"When I left it was the same season I had gone in. But an entire arc had passed. I hadn't realized it had been that long. That was about three arcs back."

He was quiet for a moment, as if in thought. Then he looked at Kirei and said, "You're not alone, is all. Some people take and take and take. And when they take, they do so from others. From people like you, because you were too young to resist."

"Or from people like me, who-- who just didn't know better." Who wanted to be taken, he didn't say.

"I don't go back there, in my mind," he said. "But for a long time after, I lived like I was still at the Lounge. The person I loved told me I couldn't escort, not ever again. Nor could I gamble, or do drugs. Or drink to excess. That last one we bargained on and I won." He smiled. "But I sought out people like Harlow, or just people, normal people, who would fill the void that the Lounge had put in me. And it worked. Until it didn't."

"I got better," he said. "In some ways, I'm still the person I was before. But I'm me, too, you know?"

"There are bad days and bad moments and maybe sometimes you go back there," he said. "But no matter what, Kirei, you are still you."

[Kirei Qe'Azour]

Kirei was very relieved when Hart agreed that they could try again more slowly. Sailing was something that she felt she needed to know the basics of in case something went wrong on their trip and she would be needed to help with. But sailing was something that she very clearly did not have a natural talent for the way she had for cooking. And with so many things to learn, and so many things that could be bad if they went wrong...it was something she would need to learn in small doses so she could process what she was learning, and get a handle on it before moving on to the next lesson. Otherwise, she would likely become overwhelmed to the point of panic again. It was very deeply ingrained in her that she had to learn quickly, and learn well, after all. That meant complete understanding of the subject matter in the lesson by the end of said lesson. Anything less...was too terrifying for her to think about.

Hart wanted to tell her something, and Kirei was happy to listen. He had listened to her, after all. She was interested in listening to what he had to say, but even if she hadn't been, she would be happy to listen to anything he wanted to tell her since he had been so patient with her. She owed him nothing less than that.

Kirei was sorry to hear about the death of Hart's sister, and she said as much. But she didn't question what the "something bad" that had happened to her was. That seemed like far too personal a question to ask, and she didn't want to risk hurting Hart by doing so.

She did not know what an escort was, and when Hart told her, it sounded horrifying to her. In some ways, it was a little like being a pleasure slave. At least it was to Kirei's mind. And that was far worse than anything she had faced as a slave. There had been that one time, but...she liked to think that it never would have happened again. She would never know for certain since Teren had died before it had become an issue. But Kirei didn't think any less of Hart for what he had chosen for himself. It just wasn't a choice she could have made.

"I'm glad that you met someone who was able to help you to escape from all of that. And that you got better. What you described sounds a little like slavery in some ways, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone." she said softly.

She did understand, and she said as much to Hart. She was free now, but the slave she had been was very much still a part of her no matter how deeply she tried to bury her. His words about still being herself even if something did trigger a...return to the past were very encouraging.

"Thank you. I like to think that I am still me even when...that happens. And that some trial I will be strong enough to get past it so that it doesn't happen again."

[Hart]

"Speaking in Rakahi"
"Speaking in Common"
"Speaking in Common sign"

extra line here
Hart wasn't prone to speaking of himself, or of his past. There were very few people who knew about Harlow; there were very few people who knew anything about Hart, really, even those who were close to him and might have wanted or deserved to know more. Ever since his sister had died, Hart had preferred not to talk about certain things. He preferred not dredge up old experiences and thoughts and feelings. It was hard for him, sometimes, to let the past go. So when he was able, he left the past in the past.

But Kirei-- it had felt okay to tell her. After what she had gone through and after what she had told him, it had felt right.

She was his friend.

When Hart had finished speaking, Kirei said that what he had described was like slavery, and though it was Hart's first thought to disagree, he didn't argue. He wasn't sure if Kirei fully understood, but he had done what he had willingly. He hadn't often been requested to do things he didn't want to do.

He had always thought that with Harlow, despite the debt he had been in, that he had been in control. He had wanted the wealth and prestige she had given him, certainly. And he had escorted before. But now, thinking about it and what Kirei had said, well. He tried to equate slavery with who Harlow was and how she operated, and that-- that almost made sense to him.

He put it from his mind.

"So, sailing," Hart said, and smiled at Kirei. "Perhaps it would be best," he offered, "If you could explain what you understood and what you didn't? And we could go from there."

If she didn't feel comfortable with that, however, that was fine too.

Either way, Hart thought, it was best they start with the basics.

So, if Kirei agreed, that was exactly what Hart would do. Rather than breezing through the basics in order to get to the mechanics of how everything worked, he started with vocabulary. He made sure to be clear as he pointed out several parts of the ship, saying their names in both Rakahi and Common, and explaining what they were. The schooner they had flagged down before put its sails back up, and Hart saw some of the crew wave at them as it sailed away. He took a moment and waved back to them, roughly signing, "Next time," in Common sign, and then turned back to Kirei.

"So, the parts of a ship," Hart said, and from the waterproof hatch in the deck he took out his sketchbook and sharpened charcoals. He quickly wrote out the letters of the Rakahi alphabet, as he thought Kirei liked languages. Then he wrote out the parts of the ship he had covered with her in Common and, after a consideration, in Rakahi. Though the biqaj didn't officially have a written language, he had found that a lot of biqaj used a sort of messy script to represent what they said. It was much like Bi'qat in that it was sort of a mix between Rakahi and Common. It had a similar amount of letters, just pronounced somewhat differently.

When he was finished, he tore out the paper for Kirei, careful so as not to damage the binding of the sketchbook.

"There," he said, and smiled at her. "For reference." He handed her the papers and, if she wanted, a sharpened charcoal to add her own notes. If she had questions, Hart would be sure to answer.

He figured that Kirei liked books. With a physical copy of what he had shown her, she might feel like she was able to learn at her own pace. And, if she needed to, Hart would go over what he had taught her multiple times, until she had a good grasp of it.

notes

letters

a એspaceb ૭spacec ડીspaced ઈspacee ઇspacef ઊspaceg ઔ
extra line here
h કspacei ઌspacej ઋspacek ૯spacel ઠspacem પspacen રspaceo શ
extra line here
p ઝspaceq ડspacer ળspaces ૮spacet મspaceu નspacev ૪spacew ૧
extra line here
x વspacey બspacez ૩

vocabulary

sloop ૮ઠશશઝ
a small ship with one mast, rigged fore-and-aft

mast પએ૮મ
a vertical spar which the rigging and sails attach to

spar ૮ઝએળ
a pole

sails ૮એઌઠ૮
material, like canvas, used to catch the wind to propel the ship

rigging ળઌઔઔઌરઔ
lines, chains, and cables which support a ship's masts and sails

lines ઠઌરઇ૮
ropes
the halyard and the sheets

extra line here

halyard કએઠબએળઈ
a line used to raise the sails

sheets ૮કઇઇમ૮
lines used to control the sails when sailing

fore ઊશળઇ
at or towards the front of the ship, the bow

aft એઊમ
at or close to the back of the ship, the stern

fore-and-aft ઊશળઇ-એરઈ-એઊમ
rigging that is set parallel to the length of the keel
rigging that is not perpendicular to the body of the ship

keel ૯ઇઇઠ
the very bottom of the ship

boom ૭શશપ
a horizontal spar along the bottom of one of the sails
on a sloop, to the aft of the mast

bow ૭શ૧
the front of the ship

stern ૮મઇળર
the back of the ship

extra line here

starboard ૮મએળ૭શએળઈ
the right of the ship when facing the ship's bow

port ઝશળમ
the left of the ship when facing the ship's bow

deck ઈઇડી૯
the floor of a ship
can be multiple decks

abovedecks એ૭શ૪ઇઈઇડી૯૮
on deck, on the top-most deck

belowdecks ૭ઇઠશ૧ઈઇડી૯૮
within the hull of the ship, beneath the top-most deck

hull કનઠઠ
the wooden body of the ship

[Pegasus]

This thread has been declared non-canon in connection with the PSF ticket here: viewtopic.php?f=362&t=26202
These events did not happen. If you find any reference to the events described within this thread on behalf of any of the involved parties or any other character, please contact moderators immediately due to breach of continuity.

Hart is awarded 15 xp for a collaborative thread.