deercountry | A Merry Jaunt Upon The Sea

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A Merry Jaunt Upon The Sea

Who: Delilah Dirk, Luz, and Varian
What: Charting and exploration using Delilah's flying boat.
When: Early afternoon, start of October.
Where: Darcmouth, Pthumerian Ocean

She spent her nights in her small bunk on her boat. It had all she needed, really. A tiny little kitchen, somewhere to sleep. A few books of poetry, from the old world. Mostly in Greek. In times past, she'd sail her little ship from port to port - the entire Mediterranean Sea had been her playground, and she'd known every inch of it.

This was new territory, and while she missed the sun-kissed days and the bluest waters - there was new adventure to be found here. Though the vast ocean beyond was...different. There were things about it that she couldn't quite put her finger on, couldn't quite put words to. Things were different. It was far more than the different, starry sky she looked up at some nights, when laying back on the deck.

But today, well, today was going to be an adventure. She'd received word she'd be having guests aboard. She hadn't cleaned up - there was little enough on the boat that it hardly made much difference, really - but she had worked on breakfast. Pan-made biscuits, breakfast meat, and some fruit - and juice, of course. Because the Turkish coffee - or the closest ersatz she could make, anyway - she was brewing was...potent.

She would be easy enough to find, and hadn't bothered with directions - after all, how many sailboats tied up at the dock were there? And how many would smell of breakfast?

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"I can throw you overboard, you know."

He won't, it's an empty sibling threat and he knows Luz knows that. The coffee would definitely help Varian be a little more distracted. Heck, it might make him feel less like he's tired enough to sleep on a bed of rocks. He smiles, climbing aboard the boat, grabbing a cup.

"Thanks, if I knew I was getting free food out of this I would have run here."

"Buddy, you'd have a heck of a time keeping me underwater. Ice glyphs, remember?"

Yup Varian, just casually reminding you that magic is awesome. He wouldn't, but still. She might have hated Varian staying up on coffee considering last month, but they WERE on an adventure, probably better that he was alert.

"Perfect, gracias!"

Luz gave him a light elbow but secretly agreed with him.

"Food is an absolute requirement," she rejoined, appearing again with a tray, some very durable plates that had seen many repairs, and a pile of food in the center.

"Adventuring requires proper food, and we're going to be daring the seas today. Best to be properly fortified!"

Thus, the coffee. She, being half English, would prefer tea, but they brew it from mushrooms here and it is all wrong. A blasphemy. She's not sure on what might or might not be holy - but she knows unholy when she sees it.

She plonks down the trays. "Dig in while I cast us off and get us out into the harbour."

"I'd be willing to give it a solid shot."

He wouldn't. No really. Not ever. He snickers at the elbow nudge, having a sip of the coffee, which really is very good. At some point, Varian will have to introduce her to Fern- the benefit of living with a literal plant person is that he can grow just about anything. The Disaster House is fortunate in that, at least.

"Thanks, it looks like a great spread," he'll do just that thank you. "And honestly, it's the first real adventure I've had...in a while. Discounting stuff that happens within the town, anyway."

Yup, she knew this was a lie. She'd taken Varian on the staff, and even that had made him nervous. But she appreciated the sweetness of the lie.

Luz herself has some of the coffee and visibly bristles at the taste. Boy, but that is STRONG! She definitely felt more pumped up though, and was rip roaring ready for an adventure!

Also, yes, please tell Luz about what Fern can grow so she can hatch a plan to get a certain someone her clothes back.

"Varian, you have some more of the food. I'll hold off and help Delilah make preparations for the ship."

Luz was very hungry but wanted to make sure she helped out first and got familiar with their vessel.

For her part, she's already cast off the main mooring lines, and is checking the two furled sails on either side of the boat. She nods to Luz, rather liking the initiative there.

"Make sure there's no obstructions on the ropes," she called out, then pointed back behind Varian.

"Turn the tiller hard over!" she called, gesturing that he should turn them away from the dock. Because she was just about ready to deploy the mainsail.

"I'm not gonna waste away in a matter of minutes, Luz, I'll be fine."

He raises his hand to give a lazy salute to Delilah, moving to turn the tiller, pushing it hard, muscle memory coming back to him after all this time away.

"Got it."

"That you know of."

But Luz was just teasing: she figured that Varian would want to help get involved with helping to set sail too. Luz was already running her hands over the ropes to make sure there are no snags or accidental knots, and a minute later Luz called out to Delilah.

"We're good!"

She nods, reaching for the ropes - and pulls on them to draw the mainsail up to its full extent and it snaps into attention as the wind catches it - and the boat will smoothly accelerate very quickly indeed, turning away from the dock and moving towards open water.

"Steady as she goes!" she calls to Varian, swinging from the front of the boat to the back on a rope with the same ease one might walk a few steps.

She lands gently, sits in the same motion and crosses her leather-booted legs, fluffs out her skirts like a prim lady of old, and picks up her coffee to sip it.

Is it entirely safe to leave a harbor at full speed? Absolutely not. But it's not exactly a busy port, is it?

Varian (very maturely) sticks his tongue at Luz, before going through the busy task of helping get the boat out of the harbour and to the sea. It's definitely not as busy as Corona's port- but taking risks is definitely something they want to avoid in largely unknown waters.

"Looks clear from this end."

"Yeah!"

Luz couldn't help but try to get to the front of the boat and leave her arms open wide, taking in the first rip of breeze against them as the smell of the ocean hit her. The girl let out a laugh and looked back at the two older people.

"It's the best!"

She watches Luz's reaction and smiles. That one has definitely had adventure sink its teeth into her - and it doesn't exactly let go once it has you. For her part, she lets a hand trail in the water over the side, with a sigh.

She nods at Varian.

"Good handling," she says, finally. "Bit of a boatman, then?"

Tough she does reach out to make one small adjustment to the tiller with a single touch, eyeing the waters ahead of them.

"I say, it gets deep awfully fast from the shore."

First unusual thing from the day.

She fished a map out of her outfit, flicking it open.

"They say there's fishing grounds just offshore - you'd think there'd be more boats out."

Oh, Luz. That's adorable. Varian watches her with no small amount of amused fondness, before turning his attention back on Deliliah.

"It's been a while, but I grew up in a coastal kingdom. On the mainland of it, but we used the river a lot to get supplies to the capitol."

He doesn't seem to mind the adjustment, peering over at the map.

"You really would be- and it's strange it gets so deep so fast. Almost like there's a massive drop in the land."

Luz couldn't help it: it had been some time since she'd been on a boat, and now that she was on there and not stealing from pirates, it was actually pretty freeing! That aside, she was still listening to Varian and Delilah, and looking down into the water herself, wondering if she should be alert about any impressions she got from the water.

"A drop? Is there any way that we could actually test out how far out it goes? I don't suppose anyone has any SCUBA gear on them?"

Or even knew what that was, Luz.

She gestures with her hands to explain it to Luz. "Where the land falls away underwater. It's usually more gradual, you see - but with fishing grounds right off-shore like this - which is also a bit strange..."

She gestured with a steeper curve. "We get to deep water more quickly than is usual...this is more like what I've seen with volcanic islands."

She turned to Varian.

"Not any of those around here, are there? Oh, and what's a scuba?"

It's adorable, and he's glad to see Luz having a good time. She's had a rough settling in period too- she should take the opportunity to enjoy being out on the water while she has it.

"Yeah, it's strange it's happening so soon, I really hope this doesn't mean we're actually on a volcanic island," he grimaces. "Because that would be very in-keeping with the general nightmare world we had to live in. Just surprise volcano."

He scrubs his chin.

"I don't have any on me, but I'm sure I could put some together once we're back on land," he smiles at Delilah. "It's a mechanism that lets you breathe underwater- you attach an oxygen tank to your back and put some flippers on your feet and down you go."

"A volcano" Luz said, sighing. "Yes, that really does sound like the kind of luck we'd have. I never even thought of that. Now I kind of wish we had Luca here too, since he'd be able to tell us more accurately what we might be dealing with."

He could, after all, go down farther depths than any of them could.

Luz nodded, and then something occurred to her. "I wonder if there are things in the water to make sure that we don't go any farther than we're meant to. I kind of got that impression with the sky when I was flying one day."

Luz, go back to feeling fancy free. Now you're in Dipper theory mode.

"Ugh, well, that would be terrible," she said, making a face. If anything limits her adventures around here, well. That'd just be wrong.

She pointed at the food.

"Oh, right, load up before it gets cold. It'll fortify you if it rains," she added, finishing her thick coffee in one long sip. She pointed at the tiller. "I'll take over for now, Mr. Varian."

Edited 2021-10-17 02:16 (UTC)

"Oh well, maybe next time. I'd be happier having a better idea of what's out here before sending him into deep water anyway," because Luca isn't allowed to get hurt ever. That's just the Disaster House rule. "And maybe? The Dream definitely had weird stuff in the water."

He smiles, doing as he's told to eat more food- don't have to tell him twice.

"Thanks and...hah, just Varian is fine. You don't have to be fancy. Here's hoping it doesn't rain, I don't like to think what this water is like if the visibility's reduced too much."

"Not by himself, of course! We'd need to have him have a buddy, just in case."

Nope, Varian is definitely going to be back by Luz there. Nothing bad was going to happen to Luca that the two of them could control.

Luz started to sit down and eat herself, a little more slowly, just so she didn't get sick from eating too quickly.

"We could try a spell to repel that, if that managed to happen?" Luz said, her mouth half full of food.

She's quiet for a long moment - strange enough for her - and when she speaks again it's in a curious tone of voice.

"It's like the Atlantic," she said. "Colder, darker. Hope the waves aren't like it out to sea, because it can be...well, let's just say you don't want to be in a small boat on it when it gets angry."

She frowns at the horizon.

"Might not take her out as far as I was planning. Well. On the water."

She stands up, grin coming back. "Brace yourselves, it's going to get a bit bumpy."

And as they talk, she's going to move a bit forward, and pull on the right lever and ropes to make the side sails slap into life - and within a few moments the hull will be barely kissing the wave tops as the boat smoothly rises into the air.

"Oh, of course, that's what we'd use the diving stuff for."

He'll chew his food thoughtfully, looking out at the water. Being on a small boat on angry water is not what any of them want, even if Luz's magic could likely help them out of a jam.

"Not to mention what might be lurking down at the bottom there."

If they came from squids...well, what's to say everything in the city doesn't come from the ocean? Bigger, nastier things. He moves to lean idly on the side, one hand resting on it to keep him steady, planting the prosthetic leg a little more firmly on the ground.

"Okay, let's see what's out here."

"Right! Of course, once we're wearing the diving stuff we have to document what's happening there too, in case anyone else had the idea of trying to go off and have a swim."

Luz is eating with gusto by now though. She had skipped breakfast at the house so she wanted to be ready in case they needed to really get into things.

And then the boat started to rise in the air, causing Luz to hop about a little excitedly.

"Yes! Flying ship, flying ship!"

'The diving stuff' is now, forever, how Delilah will describe scuba gear. But that's neither here nor there as she moves forward, shading her eyes as the boat rises off the waves, smoothly striking for altitude. Her hair and skirt flow behind her and she looks, perhaps strangely, entirely at home. Like this is where she belongs.

"Wind's strong, that's good!"

"It's probably wise. So long as someone has seen it- maybe try and record it on the Omni- people will see it's really not worth diving in there."

Okay, Varian definitely wasn't expecting the flying and this is really impressing him quite a lot. Sorry, ladies, his thoughts about scuba diving are now well out of the window as he coos up at the sails, excited.

"This is amazing! How does she keep airborne? Does she have some sort of power system to fight against gravity? Perhaps something to aid the thrust upwards?"

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