lifeaftr | July Event: Riding the Wave

Entry tags:

July Event: Riding the Wave

JULY EVENT: RIDING THE WAVE

Who: Everyone!
What: The Jormun reappear to allow some transformative fun...and potentially some underwater exploration as well
When: July 10th and onward
Where: Ensō and the ocean floor around it
Warnings: Potential (and fully optional) body/transformation horror may arise when undergoing shifts from land-based to sea-based shapes, and vice versa. Otherwise, tag as you go!

I'll See You on the Other Side
The Jormun resurfaced to greet their old allies on July 8th, bringing with them the offer to explore the ocean floor alongside them. They're not the only old friend that's made a return, however. The kaleidoshells, placid, rainbow-tinted creatures reminiscent of sea turtles, have also made their way to Ensō's shores for their nesting season. For much of the month of July, you'll have to tread carefully around mounds of sand hiding delicate heaps of kaleidoshell eggs.

Those of you uninterested in sea exploration can remain on the surface, if you like - the kaleidoshells can make for a stunning sight if you're glimpsing them for the first time as their shells throw off vibrant rainbow swirls of light reflected into the ocean waters.

Predators are always keen to feast on easy prey, and kaleidoshell eggs are no exception. If you feel like protecting them from any hungry slypers or pterax, you'll find that some of the Jormun are happy to stick on the surface with you and assist. They'll even lend you a schlacknorkcvic, which is the Jormun equivalent of a simple driftwood training staff, to help keep any thieving creatures away from the nests of kaleidoshell eggs - though they recommend that you do so peacefully, if possible.

Get Carried Away
Or you can brave the sea waters with the Jormun, instead. With the help of the sne'akleriad pendant, your new, aquatic shape will allow you to navigate the waters just as easily as they. Whether you intend to make use of this new skill to go roaming about and explore some of Ensō's uncharted ocean squares, take a look at that underwater structure that's been sighted before, or just have a joyous time beneath the waves with your new scaly, tentacled, flippered, or be-gilled form, the choice is yours.

In the meantime, the following links may prove handy:

[ ♆ ] OOC Event Info and Plotting Post
[ ♆ ] Underwater City Exploration Page
[ ♆ ] Jormun NPC Information
[ ♆ ] Ensō's Locations Page

Event Timeline

[ ♆ ] July 8th: The Jormun and the kaleidoshells return to Ensō's shores
[ ♆ ] July 10th: Underwater exploration begins
[ ♆ ] July 17th: Part Two of our second year anniversary Test Drive Meme goes up
[ ♆ ] July 20th: Monthly Storytelling occurs
[ ♆ ] July 22nd: The final island in this voting round appears
[ ♆ ] July 25th: The Jormun return to their home beneath the waves

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

_{[Here comes more nature! A grey shape slinks along the surf, trying to hide among the rocks and creep closer to the sand pipers that race to and fro as the waves wash in and out. She crouches, she springs!]

[She misses, and to add a little insult to failure, the surf comes bubbling in and soaks her legs and belly. Yellowfang spits a hiss at the soft waves and comes stumping up the beach, pausing every few steps and shaking off a paw.]

[She catches sight of Kravitz and remembers him--the clever Twolegs who stayed his hand.]}

You understand that was only a practice pounce.

[Listen, he's very happy about this type of nature. It is delightful to watch Yellowfang pounce through the sand, even if he bites his lip to suppress a coo as she gets wet from the surf. Oh, but good kitty, she takes it like a champion. He's so proud of her.

Right, she can talk. He straightens up, getting his face in check instead of just excitedly squealing at the cuteness happening in front of him.]

Oh-- oh, of course. The sea is a hard thing to master, after all.

[Would it be insulting to give her tips? Probably. He doesn't know.]

You do not need to hunt if you don't wish, though. The Denny often has enough food, or-- well, you likely need meat, don't you?

_{[She shake her lil foot out as she approaches Kravitz. There's something about him that doesn't make her fur prickle like other Twolegs.the journal in his hands gets her attention and she zeroes in on that.]}

The Denny provides well enough--lizards and mice of all kinds where you all settle. Tell me, is that... _[Squint.] writing that you are doing?

[Well, at the very least he hasn't tried to hug her yet, which is probably enough to get him in her good graces, even if he totally wants to. Her words surprise him though, and he looks up from where his eyes had drifted back downwards to the notebook.]

Oh, well-- sort of. It's partially writing, but I was attempting to draw those turtle creatures. I'm not much of an artist though, I... find myself a much better scribe, personally, but someone has to do it.

[He's just coming to realize that no one records anything around here, so damnit, now he has to do everything. That's how it works, right? What is asking for help?]

_{[The cat listens quietly as Kravitz explains. She sits and wraps her tail around her front paws. These Twolegs seem to be doing the art a lot. Art and write. Yellowfang is sure that StarClan would be yowling and pulling out their own whiskers if they knew what she was about to ask of this Twolegs--this enemy of all Clan cats.]}

I would like to learn that. To make the words that stay. It seems useful--a way of scent marking that even those without a keen nose can follow.

[Thankfully, Kravitz has no idea of the political implications of this question. He strives to be helpful and uphold the balance of the world-- so mostly her question is just curious, making him tilt his head her direction.]

Oh, to-- to write? Did your home not have a type of written language? If you want to learn writing, you would also need to learn to read. Or is it more a matter of, uhm...

[How does he say "how can you hold a pen with little cat feets". He does not say this.]

Uh, more that the implements of writing are not well suited to you?

Cats have never needed such a thing before...but I feel it may benefit others.

_{[If she can write all her herb wisdom down, it will save her having to repeat herself. And maybe as a failsafe in her increasing age. But she's not going to think about that right now.]}

I understand it is delicate. I have tried my paw at art. I feel it serves a similar purpose.

_{[And to show him she steps back and slowly traces her paw through the sand, eventually creating a lumpy square.]}

Ah, there we are. A Twoleg nest.

_{[It doesn't even have doors or windows.]}

[He very, very quickly swallows the little laugh that bubbles up in his throat as he tries to hold it the fuck together. Oh my god. This might be the best day of his life. Thankfully, he is deeply good at holding it together.]

Well, I can see you have the basic concept down.

[Kravitz exhales as he tries to compose himself, before leaning down a bit so she can see the page better.]

The good thing about writing is that you do not have to be there, when it is done. You can write something down and then send it far and wide, and someone who does not even know you can share your knowledge. It's how we've been leaning about this place, as well, from the words of people we have never met.

_{[Yellowfang nods.]}

Yes. The more I think about it, the more valuable it seems. We cats tend not to speak to other Clans any more than they have to--all my knowealge of herbs was passed to me by Sagewhisker and she learned it from her mentor. It has been passed down as long as there have been Clans.

_{[She looks up at Kravitz with determination in her rheumy eyes.]}

Where should I start?

[Man, this is not what he expected to be doing today, but it's one of the only things he's gotten to do in months that was interesting without risking his life. It's... nice? Sure. It's nice.]

Well, I suppose first we will need to find a way for you to be able to make your mark. I don't... can you hold things in your paws? Usually a pen requires thumbs.

[He's trying to think of what they could use otherwise, and while they're not materials he has, he knows how to get them.]

Perhaps you could also dip one of your toes in ink. Then you would be able to write easier. Does that sound amenable? If so, I can show you the basic alphabet now and practice on the sand.

Ink...

_{[She lets the word hang in the air. A Twoleg thing. She understands it well enough from the clues and what she had seen the little girl with the drawings do.]}

That should work well enough. If these paws can heal as well as they kill, I suppose they can create as well.

_{[Yellowfang looks up at Kravitz again. She's trying to keep her swelling curiosity at bay so she can look properly stoic.]}

I should like that. Show me.

[He's never been much of a teacher, but he sure does like to talk, so this experience is a bit exciting for him. Kravitz smiles approvingly, glad to have worked out his major snag in the issue, and shuts his book momentarily.]

Alright. Well, where to start here... you already know how to speak, so it's a matter of putting the visuals of the letters to the sounds. How about we...

[He tucks away his book and pen, leaning down to the sand.]

Did I get your name the first time we met? This seems like as good a place to start as any.

_{[She freezes up a little. Oh! She sure did forget that. Embarassing. Yellowfang shakes her head at herself. Look at her, getting all excited over something new like a kit.]}

It is Yellowfang. If we are going to be seeing much of each other, I should have yours as well.

_{[Not that there's a big chance she'll use it. Kravitz was well on his way to earning a warrior name of his own.]}

[He gives her a reassuring little smile, hoping it doesn't look patronizing.]

It's no matter, I'm not certain I introduced myself either. I'm Kravitz.

[And to get on with the lesson, he gets down onto his knees in the sand, and uses his finger to trace out Yellowfang.]

I assume this is how your name is spelled, though you ultimately are allowed to decide what that spelling is. So we'll go along and sound it out, start getting used to the letters. So this is a y, it's pronounced like yuh...

[He'll take her through the different letters, making sure she can replicate at least her own name first. The rest of the alphabet can come later. Always best she can recognize the things around her, at least.]

_{[As Kravitz finishes writing her name, Yellowfang wiggles out of her backpack and lays it next to the letters in the sand. Sure enough, the embroidery on her pack matches! So this is the language of the Twolegs. Very well.]

[She mimics him studiously as he takes her through the sounds the letters make. Amazing! Each mark made a sound...so that was it. That was the secret. If she could master that, it seemed easy enough.]

[Scents for the eyes.]

[If only she knew what a bastard of a language English was.]}

Yu el lul o fuh ayn guh.

_{[She sounds it out slowly as she traces her own name with a paw. Her letters are large and clumsy and her round letters are little holes in the sand rather than proper circles. Still though, her old eyes glitter from learning something new. There is a reason she is a medicine cat--there is always, always more to learn.]}

How you Twolegs make it so small I will never know.

[Yeeeeeah, he's pointedly not thinking about grammar right now. That's just Too Damn Much. He watches her draw with attentiveness, sounding out letters with her to show where each one starts and ends in the topography of her name, and smiling as she tries it herself.]

I believe it has to do with the thinness of the lines with our appendages. Have you thought about using a claw, perhaps? Most humans draw with only one finger.

[He holds up his pointer finger as if to demonstrate.]

_{[Yellowfang watches Kravitz's clever fingers and something like jealousy sparkles deep in her old eyes. Imagine that, jealous of a Twolegs! Perhaps she would! Perhaps she just would be good at writing with a single digit.]

[SHe looks back down at the sand and awkwardly tries to trace another big Y with a flexed toebean. She cannot hold a single toe out to draw with but she can splay her paw out and tilt it just so.]

[Again she traces her name, making the O diamond shaped, making the A a fat triangle. The line is thinner this time but the lines are much more wobbly.]}

Hmf.

[He gives her a reassuring smile, tilting his head as he observes the letters.]

If it makes you feel better, we aren't born knowing how to do this. It often takes children years of practice. You're at an advantage already knowing how to speak the language, of course, but it is a skill. It's alright if you aren't perfect off the bat.

[He clears off the sand from where he'd been writing, moving to give her a little more space.]

Here. May I guide your hand? Perhaps we can get the muscle memory working.

[he wanna touch,,,, the Beans.........]

I suppose it would, wouldn't it. I hear Twolegs live much longer than cats.

_{[Kravitz's offer goes unanswered for a long moment. Yellowfang wrinkles up her already smushed face at the thought of being touched...but this was not a skill she had instincts for. This wasn't fighting or grooming or hunting.]

[If she wants to understand, she reasons with herself, she must allow herself to be a little vulnerable. If she ended up not liking it she could just bite the shit out of him. What was there to loose?]

[Yellowfang extends a dainty paw. Her paw pads are rough and the claws overgrown.]}

Very well.

[He is personally hopeful not to get the shit bitten out of him, but it would all be worth it for what's coming next. She obliges, and he can't help the little smile as he moves himself just behind, reaches out to take it with his thumb and forefinger.

(He does one little bean squish. Just one. Those beans...!)

But once that's done, he guides the side of her paw to the sand, and moves it to spell out her name in the sand.]

So as we know, this is a y, then an e...

[HE GOT TO TOUCH THE BEANS!!!!]

_{[Yellowfang is (mostly) content to continue their lesson in this way. She pays attention to how her whole foreleg moves, not just the shapes she makes in the sand. If she could remember this...the wisdom of the Clans would be saved.]

[Name after name, her writing grew closer and closer to Kravitz's own handwriting. Those round letters would always be a struggle and a little too skinny, but she was making progress. If she were not good at learning, she would not have made such a good medicine cat.]}

You are a patient teacher. I appreciate that.

[He gives her a gentle smile, releasing her paw after another repetition so she can practice.]

I have had quite a long time to live and learn it. Though I hardly have the pause with more dangerous issues, it is nice to... be afforded the time to do something correctly, instead of simply finishing it. Does that make sense? I am enjoying having the time gifted to do something... gently. Without stressors.

_{[If she made faces like a Twolegs, a bitter little smile would have wrinkled her muzzle. Their down time was precious, wasn't it? It was hard to tell what kind of strange and dangerous weather of magic was coming.]}

I have heard that, that Twolegs live much longer than cats.

[That makes his gaze turn a bit outward, towards the water.]

I... find myself with more than most, as it stands. Most humans will live somewhere in the realm of fifty to a hundred years. It has been far longer than that, for my experience. But that is not typical.

[He looks back to her, to the writing in the sand.]

We have time here, though. More than I would have suspected. Perhaps that can mean something more, if we choose to let it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

July Event: Riding the Wave

i

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject