Starfall

[Blaze Yamato Spirit]

Candice squeezed back and smiled at Tanake.

'There, now everyone's happy.'

...And then she groped the good Captain!

[SALSAlys]

(OOC: Amusing as this is, this should really wrap up or be phased out soon. We have plot to return to. <.< )

And the good Captain was groped!

Tanake smothered a surprised yelp, nearly stumbling against both Sylavi and Candice before regaining her feet.

NOT the way I was expecting this trip to go, or at least not in this fashion, but not complaining!

"You know, if this is going to continue, this should probably be somewhere private," she said, starting to return the favor. "If nothing else, we're scaring Kyoko, I think."

[ArgusDevilmen]

Kyoko was now back on the solid ground, reading her manga once more. Facing away from the three girls, "No, its quite alright. I have book with this kind of stuff in it anyway, I've seen it all before." She stated this casually, and matter-of-factly. She was willing to go back to the ship at anytime, but she rarely had anytime to read so she didn't mind.

[Dark Xia]

Tanake had appearently also forgotten Sylavi was standing right there, joined in the hug. She was at first puzzled by what the two were talking about, but from their facial reactions, and unable to help herself, peering down at where their hands were, she soon became aware of the situation.

>W-what, so you are.. really.... lovers.<

She began to tremble a little, unsure what to do, she was hugging, had they been trying to trick her? But why, it didn't make sense.. why the deception? Also the goddess of seduction only seduced men.. or women who could be. Her innoncent face flsuhed purple again.

[Blaze Yamato Spirit]

'We aren't.... Yet.' Candice signalled to Sylavi, grinning slightly, her skin flushing a little as Tanake responded to her... er... advance.

[SALSAlys]

Tanake nodded, signing 'yet' in affirmation.

"And Kyoko, I'm not really sure I want to know why you have that."

As Sylavi seemed uncomfortable, she loosened her grip on the Eyallan, though she still held onto Candice.

[Dark Xia]

>But, you... you're hands they're...<

The flustered Eyallan continued to try to figure out the situation.

>Is this some, test phase that hmans have, before, they become lovers, they.. do this? To see if, you are to eachothers liking?<

Feeling Tanake release, Sylavi begin to pull away too, this was all too much for her, or at least that's what she felt.

[JoshuaDurron]

Derrik shook his head in response to Jenni's questions. "I was just joking about the food. I'm sure that it's fine. I just had a weird dream... and now I feel like I've been hooked up to the ship's drive and used to power it for a couple of light years."

[SALSAlys]

"Oh." Jennivere flushed slightly. "Well, get some food, then."

Available so far were a fruit salad of sorts, some boiled grains that looked suspiciously like oatmeal, and what appeared to be the attempt at making a meat hash out of some native wildlife brought in the previous day. Edmund was trying gamely to make toast using leftovers, but was having trouble with the kitchen appliance, which was somewhat wonky from the crash.

Jenni shooed him away from it, so the scout grabbed a slice of bread which was only slightly burned and went outside to do some exercises with Calvin.

"What did you dream about?" Jenni asked, as much to make conversation as out of curiousity.

[Blaze Yamato Spirit]

'No.' Candice signalled. 'I'm just... forward sometimes.'

She snuggled up to Tanake.

'When I see something I really like.' The scout continued.

[SALSAlys]

Tanake chuckled slightly.

'Don't mind,' she signalled, snuggling back.

[JoshuaDurron]

Derrik shrugged, then gave a brief description of the dream, mentioning how the odd woman he had seen had seemed to suck at him, much like a legendary 'vampire' would. He ended the discription by shrugging and saying, "It was all very bizzare. I think I spent to much time listening to the local priestess talk about her religion."

[SALSAlys]

Jenni shrugged slightly.

"Just a dream, then."

Under the nurse's watchful eye, the toast came out much better, and Eduardo took a slice, chewing on it for a bit before speaking.

"Think you'll be trying to get the plasma converted into energy for the stunners?"

[Blaze Yamato Spirit]

Candice suddenly frowned as she recalled that she had wanted to speak to Sylavi after last night.

'Sylavi? I...' The girl grimaced as she realised she didn't know how to do the word "dream" in the sign language. Fortunately she could think of a way around the problem. 'Your water goddess. I thought of her in my sleep last night. She was trying to tell me something.'



Edited by: Blaze Yamato Spirit at: 9/4/03 9:08 pm

[JoshuaDurron]

Derrik nodded. "We can only hope it won't be necessary, but it's still a precaution we should take. Liam and I'll probably get started on it as soon as the old man pulls himself out of bed."

[Dark Xia]

Although certain she had misterperted the actions taking place somehow, well jsut slgihtly maybe, she had recovered enough to be able to interpret the signs about the dream. Sitting down, trying to relax a bit in the water, she looked at the two, still blushing.

>Thought in your sleep? You mean a dream? She tried to tell you something, but you're not sure what?<

She scooped a bunch of water in her hand, and very carefully began to was her feathery antennae. ?Then paused for a moment. Could this have had something to do with their contact with the shrine?

>Though, perhaps we should discuss this at another time? I do not wish to interrupt Tanake's, and your, affections. However, it does sound... worthy of note.<

Edited by: Dark Xia at: 9/4/03 9:11 pm

[SALSAlys]

Tanake reluctantly released Candice, shaking her head.

'Feel free to discuss this if you wish,' she signalled.

[Blaze Yamato Spirit]

'No' Was Candice's signalled response. 'Sylavi is right, this isn't the time.'

She wrapped her arms around Tanake and squeezed.

'We are embarassing Sylavi though', she said aloud. 'Should we go elsewhere?'

[ArgusDevilmen]

Kyoko finally decided to chime in, "You know this isn't really the time or place for any of that stuff Ake-chan." She was now standing up with her hands on her hips. "Are you forgetting we have other things to do besides discuss everyones opinion on you two getting it on?" She said this rather seriously, but with a hint of sarcasm.

[Blaze Yamato Spirit]

'I'd like to know how you figure that, Kyoko.' Candice replied, continuing to snuggle with Tanake. 'It's not as if we're going anywhere in a hurry, and the natives aren't hostile so I don't think there's any real urgency.'

[SALSAlys]

Tanake cuddled back, nodding slightly.

"Yeran won't be coming back for the lessons for a while, and like Candice said... not anything we really need to do at the moment. Although I wouldn't mind 'getting it on'."

[Blaze Yamato Spirit]

Candice smiled and leaned in to kiss Tanake's cheek and then whisper 'Fine by me' in her ear.

[ArgusDevilmen]

Kyoko looked at the two of them once more before shaking her head. "Fine, confuse the poor native even more..." Kyoko then turned away from the two again, sitting down Indian style and opening her Manga, ignoring the two yet again.

[Dark Xia]

>*sigh*< (an audiable mental sigh ^_^!)

Sylavi felt so helpless, not able to understand a thing they were saying, except for the word "no," but that was signed too anyway. She continued to wash herself off, turned away from the two "now-soon-to-probably-be" lovers.

[SALSAlys]

(OOC: Right, MASSIVE timeskip due to the fact that this is already taking longer and more slowly than I expected, and Liam/FDeth is hereby PUNTED. As is Chr_C. Yeesh, now we're only down to Candice, Derrik, Sylavi, and Kyoko as PCs. *rubs hands* Boy, what a drop from 7... at least this should move more quickly, then.)

Eventually, all the girls finished bathing, and Tanake and Candice went onto the ship, becoming more intimate within the privacy of a room.

Alas, the aging engineer never came out to breakfast, and finally, when Eduardo went to check on him impatiently, he was surprised to find that Liam was dead. Checking over, he confirmed that there was some subdual damage, with mild injury that hadn't been readily apparent, causing blood seepage into the man's brain. The engineer was buried and duly mourned.

Even so, Phillipe proved to have enough knowledge that with Derrik, and under Tanake's orders, they were able to get enough plasma converted into energy for the stunners to give an additional charge for every weapon, and the rest of the plasma was given for Kyoko's 'baby', giving her an extra charge as well.

Yeran continued tutoring them in hand signals for a week, although he apologized, saying that the Myrmian instructor was unable to come due to a recently acquired injury.

Even so, the crew grew more facile at the sign language, meaning that communication became much easier with them and Sylavi.

Calvin became more and more withdrawn during this period, which didn't seem surprising, but Jenni also became shyer, especially around him. More and more of her small flower wreaths became evident in odd places— hung on trees, floating down the stream, set about a small patch of stones.

The odd dreams persisted as well, for both Candice and Derrik.

Candice found the shape of Ylliana becoming clearer, but still, the words were hard to make out. She could occasionally catch snippets of sentences, but usually it just bubbled and gurgled, sound without meaning, like the breaking of the waves. Ylliana's urgency just kept increasing, though, and the pieces that could be understood generally consisted of something along the lines of 'hurry... north, north... apologies...' Whenever Candice passed by the cairn of stones now, she couldn't help the image of Ylliana's pleading expression flitting across her mind.

Derrik's dreams became more intimidating, though, but less exhausting, even though he often felt lethargic in the mornings. The women with the bloody fangs continued visiting him, although now she whispered dark promises into his ears which could never be fully recalled by daylight. The erotic undertones increased as well, becoming increasingly graphic in ways that would make even an experienced whore blush to describe. At odd intervals throughout the day— glancing at a bird, seeing a wreath of flowers, working on converting plasma— completely unpredictable and random, he felt as though he could catch a glimpse of the woman in the shadows, out of the corner of his eye, although she was never there.

At the end of the week, though, after finishing the lesson, Yeran looked about the group, face as calm as ever.

>Have you given thought to what you shall do now?< he asked.

[Blaze Yamato Spirit]

'We should travel north.' Candice signalled, and then crossed her arms without explaining. The only ones who would understand her were Tanake and Sylavi, who she had confided in on the matter of the dreams.

Edited by: Blaze Yamato Spirit at: 9/7/03 7:10 pm

[SALSAlys]

Yeran seemed surprised, but somewhat relieved by the ready answer.

>I was about to suggest as such, if you didn't have any definite plans. I am unsure if your 'ship' would be capable of flight again, although the Myrmians live along the coast to the north, and have a great library there that might hold some information for you.<

Nodding easily, Yeran then slipped a private message to Sylavi.

>Would you mind going with them? If they do not find what they seek... perhaps taking them further north, to the mountains believed to be the home of the gods, while they were on our world?<

[ArgusDevilmen]

Kyoko let out a yawn. "I don't really mind going North. As long as I can bring my baby and a few books." She didn't care if she got any strange looks from this, she was bringing those items no matter what. She then paused, 'How long it take to get there?' She signed this to Yeran, who hopefully would be able to give them a set amount of time.

[SALSAlys]

>Two days of swift walking, but with your friend,< Yeran added, indicating Eduardo with his feelers, >Perhaps three, although it may be more if the roads have deteriorated.<

The doctor shrugged slightly, hands folded in his lap as he sat in the wheelchair.

'Guess I'm used to slowing people down,' he commented with a slight, self-deriding chuckle.

[Blaze Yamato Spirit]

The scout shrugged, her arms still crossed.

'It doesn't matter, doc, we're in no rush. Don't worry about it.'

[JoshuaDurron]

Derrik shook himself out of a reverie. "Going north, huh?" He remembered to shift to hand speak. >What kind of books?<

[SALSAlys]

>They contain information about many topics, but I was thinking primarily of how they contain records of where resources that might be beneficial to your ship may be found,< Yeran replied, using telepathy to the group at large as wel las the hand signals.

[JoshuaDurron]

Derrik nodded, signaling as well as speaking, "Sounds good." He sat back and became quiet again, running his hands through a week old beared. He had stopped shaving shortly after his dreams began. He wasn't sure why, but he explained it to the others as just getting used to not being able to shave once his razor wore out.

[Blaze Yamato Spirit]

(Of course, we all know he just wants to look ruggedly handsome on the off chance the woman from his dreams happens to be real and appears somehow. *sage nod*)

Candice's response to this news was a small grimace. She was having too good a time on this planet to think about leaving yet.

[SALSAlys]

(OOC: Again, I am trying to keep this going, so... whooooo! Xia, I'll try handling the conversation between Yeran and Sylavi via AIM once we're both online, although a little bit of board postage would be awright, but I want to keep this flowing so I don't lose momentum or anything. Joshua, sorry about last night, got booted in that chat we were having. Myeaka!)

Yeran nodded slightly.

>We can give you some food for the trip. When shall you be going?<

Tanake shrugged. 'When we're ready,' she signed, glancing about the gathering of the crew. 'Don't think it would take more than a day to do so, though.'

The captain was right, too. Most of their essentials were already out and in use, and wouldn't take too long to pack, unless they were trying to bring along everything on the ship. The only cumbersome things they would probably bring would be Eduardo's chair and Kyoko's plasma cannon.

>It is settled then, I suppose,< Yeran replied, nodding. He stood up gracefully, bowing to each of them before resting a hand on Sylavi's shoulder. While their kind of 'speech' didn't require privacy, he felt it polite to continue the conversation with Sylavi a little apart from the others.

[SALSAlys]

After finishing the conversation, Yeran left the camp, although he mentioned he'd be returning in the morning to see them off, as well as giving them some food for the trip.

That night, Tanake had everyone pack up in preparation, and the next morning, they were ready to go. Yeran came, along with a younger priest, and gave a small pack of some food which would be easily stored during the trip.

>If you require anything else, be sure to inquire at the temples, with Sylavi's aid. We can give you trade credit.<

Looking over the ensemble, Yeran's antenna swayed again, and then he bowed deeply.

>May the gods smile upon you,< he said simply.

* * *

Sylavi helped them take the 'road' to the Myrmian town of Seaside— or more poetically 'town where sea kisses sand'— although it was more of a large, evenly beaten dirt track which Eduardo didn't have much trouble sliding his wheels over, needing minimal help except over a few rough spots, which Jenni attended to. It took only three days, and the dreams of Candice grew clearer. Now, the scout could hear a bit more of the 'apologies'.

'Entangled... conflict never meant to draw you... So sorry...' As before, though, the crashing wave always awoke Candice before any more could be developed.

Derrik's dreams grew more fevered, and now the woman seemed to be continuing her promises, although now she seemed more pleased with him for some reason. After suckling his blood, she drew a bloody glyph across his chest with it before drawing him closer.

It could also be noted that Calvin now paced their camp restlessly at night, and often would wander away when they rested, not returning until after most others had gone to sleep already.

* * *

Once they reached the town, they could see that the name was correct— the buildings glinted in the sun like the sand, and as they drew closer, they could see that they seemed to be formed of hard-packed sand which was somehow held cohesive; likely by magic. Seastars, bright kelp, and shells adorned the walls in patterns and designs to catch the eye, and the town extended into a cliff which apparently had a sizable grotto inside, as they could see blue-skinned figures constantly darting in and out of entrances. This cave also had some exits which were extending into the water, and Myrmians dived in gleefully. Myrmian divers could be seen having their legs shimmer, then meld into a large fish's tail which they used instead of legs in the water, like classical mermaids. Atop the cliff, though, was a pale, sandy building which glistened blue in places, as though gems had been set within the walls. Next to it was a smaller building which lacked much decoration, although a sedate group of Myrmians constantly went in and out of it.

The Myrmians were of a size slightly larger than the Eyallans— though that wasn't saying much. The average height here for men appeared to be 5'7". The Myrmians were green-skinned, like the Eyallans, but with a silvery glint to it, and webbed ears at the sides of their heads. They had no antenna, and while there was noise in the streets— laughter, walking, the general noise made from people walking around— the observant would note that their communication was done via sign language, and thus, they were often looking about constantly. Pale lines caressed the sides of their necks; small gills which were what kept them capable of being aquatic.

Their group got some odd looks, of course, although most of the Myrmians seemed constrained, deliberately keeping themselves from being nosy, although small children would often look their way. Mostly, though, the presence of Sylavi seemed to be what kept them from prying too much, as though the fact that a priestess was with them was a security of sorts.

A large open market was selling seafood, bright coral, kelp treats, cloth, gems, and many other items. The whole area seemed to be designed to be just above the water at high tide.

Edited by: [url=http://pub30.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=salsalys>SALSAlys</A] at: 9/10/03 12:35 pm

[Blaze Yamato Spirit]

Candice had once again confided in Tanake and Sylavi about the dreams getting clearer, though something compelled her to refrain from telling the exact words of the water goddess to Sylavi just yet. Tanake, though, knew the dreams as well as she could without experiencing them herself.

As a direct result of the dreams, Candice had begun to become more withdrawn again, and so it was that she walked alone a little behind the group, silently observing the Myrmian village.

[SALSAlys]

Tanake glanced back at Candice, slowing slightly and walking back to join the scout.

"You all right?" she asked softly, giving a squeeze.

Eduardo, meanwhile, glanced at Sylavi, and signalled 'Where do we go now?'

[Blaze Yamato Spirit]

Candice smiled faintly at Tanake, wrapping an arm around her and squeezing back.

'I'm thinking about the dreams... Even though I know it's stupid to speculate, I can't help it.'

Edited by: Blaze Yamato Spirit at: 9/13/03 11:02 am

[ArgusDevilmen]

Kyoko was busy admiring the many things that were for sale. She had her 'baby' packed away in a bag that was slung over her shoulder. "Woooowwww.....This is all so cool looking! It's almost like its out of a show from back home...." The Pilot wasn't really paying any attention to rest of the group.