Full Sail [Closed] - Printable Version
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RE: Full Sail [Closed] - megs - 10-22-2016
“You would do well not to mock me, Commander,” she replied, returning his stare when her gaze left the wave of his hand. She had forgone using his title since she’d decided she wasn’t going to do so, but at current it felt appropriate for the tone of the conversation. She scoffed as his attempted to correct her, but did not contradict him. Julianna wouldn’t see her people suffer, even in the slightest, so the Covenant could take a shortcut to whatever war they planned on profiting from.
Her brow furrowed, the corners of her mouth turning downwards as she frowned at him. Fingers curled tightly around the shells she had been holding, and she pulled her knees towards her chest. This new position looked as if she was attempting to distance herself from him and the weight of the opposition. “Is that a threat?” she asked, calmly when he mentioned Laine. It wasn’t unusual for the northernmost island to be the subject of a potential quarrel. It’s frosted ground contained not only oil, but natural gases and precious metals. It was easily the most wealthy island in the archipelago. He was right, she was interested in safeguarding it, as she would have been for all of her lands. Owen seemed to be able to read her very easily, and for a moment she regretted getting so close to him so quickly.
Julianna ‘tsked’ and looked away from him, surrendering in more ways than one. She dropped the shells that had made the cut into a pile on the sand she shifted to lift herself from the sand. She stood, gathering some of the fabric of her dress in one hand to keep it from dragging on the ground.
“I will re-address the High Council with your new proposition. They will want to speak to you at length about what you supposedly know, and they won’t be interested in vague ultimatums.” She unfolded her sunglasses and pushed them back onto her face, and they only accentuated her deep frown. “I will propose a counteroffer to the C.A.F and it will very much be non-negotiable.” Julianna walked away from Owen then, giving him time to stew in the finality of her decision. Though she didn’t go far, she took her time approaching a cart that was selling ice pops.
A few minutes passed as she conversed with the vendor as he handed her two popsicles, one red and one green. She returned to where she had left Owen and dropped back into the sand with a huff, the green popsicle already dangling from her mouth. In a gesture of supposed peace, she held the red one out for him to take.
RE: Full Sail [Closed] - saronym - 10-23-2016
Owen felt his resolve wavering when she pulled her legs away as if recoiling from him. He knew he deserved it for the way he spoke to her, but he felt it had been necessary to get his way. What she didn’t know was that Owen had become more emotionally invested in the Isles in the past week than he’d planned to. More invested than he should have let himself become in light of the intelligence he had on the Covenant’s positions regarding the islands. The Isles were tools to be used in one way or another. If the C.A.F. couldn’t benefit from an alliance well then a war was a close second for their opportunism. They would find a way to get something they wanted no matter the outcome. The Covenant did not see the nation as something worth preserving for the sake of sovereignty or cultural preservation or any high minded ideals such as that. They were a nation with a coveted tactical position and plentiful resources, no more. It was Owen left in the middle negotiating between what was expected of him as the Naval Fleet Commander on official military business and a man who’d come to appreciate the Veridian Isles and their people. The people in general, but in particular one person.
When Julianna moved to stand, so did he. A habit he’d come to employ in his social training as gentleman. He nodded with a grave expression set on his face. “Very well, Julianna.” He agreed to the plan but refused to match her formal address. He didn’t do it to demean her but to show that he cared about the issue on a personal level. “I’ll inform the leadership that the negotiations will move forward.”
Owen policed the urge to reach for her. To stop her and apologize for his behavior and his haughty tone which she hadn’t deserved. Her back was to him and she was already out of arm's’ length. He sat back down and worked at constructing a hasty base, walls, and ramparts of the castle while she retrieved whatever she went for. All that was left was for her to clean up his work with some sculpting and apply her decoration to the structure.
A cautious smile spread across his face when she returned to offer him a Popsicle. Owen took the peace offering and titled his head to let his sunglasses fall back on his nose. He lounged on the sand on his elbow and side and worked at the cold dessert while watching her from behind his dark glasses. She seemed angry or at least frustrated with him.
“What are your plans for this evening?” He asked to change the subject as his mind worked out a plan to make up for his bad behavior if she would let him. He phrased the question with the assumption that she had arrangements for her night to give her an out if the thought of spending more time with him didn’t sound appealing.
RE: Full Sail [Closed] - megs - 10-23-2016
Julianna considered the castle he had built in her brief absence. Pulling the popsicle from her mouth she ran her tongue up the sides of it to keep it from dripping over onto her fingers. A mostly useless gesture, given the rate at which it was melting. Holding it between her teeth again, she pushed herself onto her knees, lifting her skirts to bunch them around tanned thighs so they didn’t tangle around her feet. She leaned over the sandcastle, adding finer details with the hand she wasn’t using to manage her popsicle. Melting lime juice ran over her fingers, dripping into the sand. She was less mad at him, and more frustrated with the situation in general. Didn’t like that she had had to argue with him, didn’t like the idea of being pushed by the C.A.F. Julianna was able to separate Owen as the messenger for her problems and not the cause of them and didn’t hold him at any sort of fault.
As she was adding shells to the border of the castle he attempted conversation. She looked up at him, only apparent by the way she had to physically lift her head. Ears swiveled forward before she looked back down and selected another shell to continue her work, humming thoughtfully as she did so.
Julianna left him hanging onto her silence as she added the last of her shells to the sandy masterpiece. Once finished, she pulled the remains of the popsicle from the stick with her teeth and moved closer to where he lounged in the sand. Licking juice that was quickly turning sticky from her fingers she sat in front of his legs. She was close but not quite touching, her tail curled close to her back. “I was hoping you would take me out on the Lanoria,” she explained when the treat had finally dissolved on her tongue, leaving a citric bitterness behind. “If you want that is. Obviously you don’t have too. It's a new moon tonight, better to see stars.”
RE: Full Sail [Closed] - saronym - 10-24-2016
In the face of her silent treatment Owen was left eating his popsicle and watching Julianna. Not that he minded. She made quite a sight managing the skirt of her dress, the melting treat, and the castle’s decoration. Glad for the sunglasses that hid his gaze when she pulled up her skirts. Suddenly it felt much hotter. If he weren't sober he might have asked to help her lick her fingers. She's a queen. She has many important things to do. Meetings. Servants. The Court. She's a queen. The mantra played in his head to remind himself that this woman was likely not interested in the horny machinations of some sex starved navy man. He tried to hide a bemused smirk behind his efforts to clean up his own melting treat.Owen leaned forward to straighten shells that didn’t quite stick into the sand just for something to do with his hands. He turned his head away to watch the ocean and swimmers.
She finally broke the quiet to invite herself aboard his sailboat. “Sure.” He answered quickly. Perhaps too quickly. A cautious grin broke out on his face. “Let me treat you for once.”
Eager to be done with the popsicle so he could talk without worrying about melting, Owen pulled the rest of the frozen treat into his mouth and chewed. His face scrunched up as a stabbing pain behind the eyes signaled he’d eaten something too cold too fast. In a moment the sensation was gone and Owen was using the stick to scratch arrowslits on the face of the castle.
Indeed he had planned on taking the Lanoria out later that evening. Owen had considered and ruled out inviting Julianna lest she find the proposition inappropriate. They hadn’t spent too much time alone together since his first day in the Isles and that had ended with a near kiss and her essentially running away from him. He had concluded that his affection was unwanted and thus had embarrassed her. Some measure of comfort was found in the prospect that she wouldn’t mind spending some alone time with an foreign sailor on the sea at night.
“It's going to be a clear night.” He agreed. “Which is good because I need to work on the astrological charts.” As if he’d get any work done with a beautiful queen aboard his ship. He leaned over her legs to reach the other side of the castle so that his work would be symmetric on the front.
“You’ll laugh at the embarrassing state of our charts.” He chuckled to himself and moved back to lounging on his side once the work was done. “They are based on the original charts done one-hundred and fifty years ago. Some thirty years back, some old alcoholic sailor tried to update them. Unfortunately, he wasn’t a stickler for accuracy. I’m supposed to fix them while I’m here. An excuse for me to stay longer.”
Once the political talk was over, Owen settled back into his natural state. That same grin beset his face as he jabbered on about Covenant charts to her like they were old friends.
RE: Full Sail [Closed] - megs - 10-25-2016
Julianna openly laughed as she witnessed his brush with brainfreeze. It was cute the way his face contorted like that. In all fairness she thought Owen was cute all the time, but she had been working at not making it so obvious. After her misinterpretation the first night, she focused very hard on reminding herself that their acquaintance was friendly. Though, at times, she assumed he was friendly because he wanted something from her.It wasn't as if he he could like her or anything. Like her. The thought sounded childish even in her own head. She knew she wasn't an idea, and that he probably had wildly attractive women waiting for him back on Eskra. That did not mean she would not take advantage of their ever growing friendly closeness. As if asking a man who wanted to spend time with her to spend time with her was taking advantage.
Leaning back on her palms, Julianna continued to grin. “Charts?” she parroted, cocking her head. She hummed, lifting her gaze to the gentle horizon. Surfers dotted the water, enjoying the swell of the waves. The breeze swept her hair away from her face. “Did you know that the Verdant Lynxes navigate stars differently than most western methods?” Her ears twitched as he leaned across her legs. Once again, thankful for the sun that left her cheeks permanently ruddy.
“We have different constellations, too, I hear. I could...teach you. If you want me too.” She was pleased that they’d moved past the tense conversation. It wouldn’t have to come up again until she addressed the courts, and if it were up to her she would put that on the back burner for as long as she could. Julianna wasn’t interested in letting the High Court or the C.A.F stop her from being friends with the handsome foreigner that had sailed into her harbor.
Their castle was looking pretty impressive with the effort of their teamwork, but the tide was getting higher with wave. Cerulean surf threatened not only their castle but the spot on the beach in which they’d claimed.
RE: Full Sail [Closed] - saronym - 10-27-2016
Owen’s eyes followed the flight of her dark hair in the wind. He nodded thoughtfully to her question. He punctured the packed sand near his legs with the cleaned popsicle stick into the shape of the big dipper. The staple he used for locating himself. “Vaguely yes. Different pointer stars, if I’m not mistaken.” He poked hard at the last two stars on the dip in the sand. “I’ve only read about it in books. I know the theories somewhat. In practice, well, you know how that turned out with having to rescue a starved sailor and all.” A large grin cracked the pensive expression that had taken his face as he thought about astrological charting. Owen tapped his chin and stared out at the ocean again, calculating something in his mind. He held his arm out in front of him at a small acute angle. “I think I was off by about 15 degrees of latitude.” He dropped his arm and shrugged. “You’ll just have to teach me. Or I’ll never be able to find my way home again. And you'll be stuck with a needy Covenant navy man on your island forever.” A sly smile suggested that this wasn't necessarily a bad idea to him.
Foamy water lapped at his toes as he spoke. Owen wiggled the wetted digits and then wiped away his design in the sand.
He stood suddenly and dusted the sand off of his side and legs downwind of Julianna so the grains wouldn’t rain down on her as they flew off his body. Once satisfied, he held out his hand to her, offering to help her up.
“Do you want to take a walk? I don’t have the heart to watch the destruction of our castle.” He joked dramatically as if so attached to the structure they had built. Really it was just an excuse to walk with her. Maybe ‘escort’ her a little.
RE: Full Sail [Closed] - megs - 10-27-2016
Julianna watched him carve his design in the sand, recognizing it as the asterism the Big Dipper. It was predominantly popular in the northern hemisphere, which would explain most of his problem. She debated on telling him now or saving it for later as he emphasized the pointer stars as he spoke of them. “This is certainly the most pleasant rescue mission I’ve ever been a part of.”Smiling, she moved to kneel closer to him. She leaned forward, her chest pressing against his back, to close her hand around his. She used his hand and popsicle stick to draw in the sand. She traced out what appeared to be a mirror of the image he’d drawn, but she added two more stars below the tail of it. She pulled away, leaving him to figure out the new configuration on his own.
“Don’t tempt me,” she joked pleasantly. The hem of her dress was suffering in the wrath of the rising tide. The light colored fabric becoming clinging and transparent. “Or I’ll be forced to teach you the wrong way just to keep you here.” It wasn’t necessarily a terrible prospect for her either.
With her hand in his he easily pulled her from the ground, and she didn’t reclaim her hand immediately. She looked down at their structure, she was admittedly impressed in a childish sort of way. “It would be too sad to see it go,” she replied, agreeing to both his statement and the offer of taking a walk. She pushed fingers through windswept bangs, expectant of him to lead the way. Nearly the entire island was theirs to meander after all. And as she had seen nearly all of those parts, she wanted him to choose where to go next, even if it were as simple as strolling further down the purple sanded beaches.
RE: Full Sail [Closed] - saronym - 10-28-2016
Muscles went taut with nervous tension when Julianna pressed against him. His hand relaxed naturally and easily at her touch to allow her to manipulate it. The feeling of her against him immersed every cell in his body as if in warm water. He almost drowned in the flood of sensation. Thin fabric and the impressions of soft breasts against tight muscles in his back. For a moment all of his mental faculties were bent on shooing away images of pink nipples that floated in his mind. Owen cocked his head at the configuration Julianna had drawn when the name of the constellation stubbornly refused to come to his preoccupied mind. “You’ve stumped me.” He was flustered and laughed the nervousness away. “I suppose I am at your mercy.” He admitted shrugging his shoulders and recovering himself after that brief contact.
He threaded himself through his shirt covering tanned skin with white fabric again. His skin had seen enough sun for the day. Owen decidedly moved north along the shore. As they walked along the water line, he watched the sand as it passed under feet. A crab darted from them as they approach. It scurried apprehensively into a tiny dugout it had made in packed sand. Owen took the occasion to slip his arm around Julianna’s waist to steer her clear of the crab’s home. His hand remained against the skin of her side feeling both fine grains of sand and smooth skin beneath his fingers. His thumb brushed against ruched fabric.
“I tried to describe that jewelry you wear on your ankle to my mother and sisters.” He said to make conversation, gesturing with his free hand towards her feet. “They were fascinated and demanded that I send them some with my next package. Eskran women don’t wear bracelets on their ankles or go barefoot for that matter. It's too cold most of the year for that.”
He said ‘bracelets’ for the ankles knowing no other terminology for the jewelry.
RE: Full Sail [Closed] - megs - 10-30-2016
“I will just have to show you later,” she suggested, and her murmured tone against the shell of his ear unintentionally made it suggestive. She was oblivious to the affect her closeness was having on him. Chuckles reverberated from her chest against his back. They employed a leisurely pace as they wandered further down the beach. The sun was warm on her shoulders and back, and the breeze carried the scent of grilled meats, and sweet fruits, and sea salt. The waves crashed against the shore. It was a perfect day on the island, and Julianna was pleased to be sharing it with Owen.
Stepping around the crab’s home put her closer to him and Julianna felt a thrill at the contact of his hand on the exposed skin of her side. Even though she had been leaning against him not moments before, the feeling was different when he chose to touch her. The casual brush of his thumb against her dress sometimes ran over onto her waist and left a trail of electricity in its wake.
She held out her ankle further on her next step, to look at the jewelry as he gestured to it. “Oh, anklets,” she corrected, or informed since it wasn't that much of a correction. She had added more to her outfit today, chains and bangles of silver and rose gold mingled against tanned skin. Some of them were decorated with charms and beads and slivers of gemstones.
“We call them leralo,” she continued. “I don't know the exact translation, but they have a sort of cultural significance. The combination of metals and decorations can represent something about a person.” She paused their walking to hold out her ankle again. “The silver chain decorated with the emeralds that look like crowns? That one has been passed down to all the queens in my family. It's one of a kind.” She switched ankles. “The rose gold one with the star charm means I'm single. Very trendy right now.” She laughed, dropping her foot and continuing their walk.
“I can take you to my favorite jeweler,” she offered. “Help you find some things for your family?”
RE: Full Sail [Closed] - saronym - 10-30-2016
Owen shrugged his shoulder involuntarily against the feeling of her breath and lips on his ear. The ‘st’ and ‘ts’ in her words registered sensations of little volts down his body which seemed for some reason to stop in his belly button. He tried to clear his throat to very poorly suppress a giggle that escaped him, lest she learn how ticklish he was. Owen did his best to quell a rising arousal during the entire encounter. Cue a walk to clear his head. He examined shining metals against shaded skin and was overly encouraged to learn about this ‘single-ness’ of hers. Though he tried to remind himself she was probably ‘officially single’ in that nobody was actively courting her --never mind that he was sort of actively courting her and she was sort of letting him. But she probably had her share of dates and favors of all kinds by handsome islanders whenever she wanted them.
“Provocative jewelry with underlying significance, I like it.” He nodded approvingly before realizing his word choice. “I don't mean that in a bad way. Just provocative to me, since I’ve never seen anything like it before. It sort of catches the eye.”
Owen’s hand tightened against her side in agreement with the plan to see her jeweler. “Yes, we’ll have to get one like the star there for my sister Victoria. She’s the only single woman left in my family.” He frowned as if considering something. “Come to think of it. I’m the only single man left in the family. Well excepting of course the upcoming generation, who don’t count really.” He hoped he hadn't offended her. He'd sort of admitted in a meandering way that he found the jewelry rather sexy.
An unexpected laugh took him, “My mother is furious with us. She is desperate for us to get married. But Victoria and I hold out. Last bastions of unattached Hart siblings.” He joked about his marital status this way despite being rather bitter about it himself. He merely liked teasing his mother that she’d never have grandchildren out of him because women simply didn’t want him for anything but sex. He liked to say he was cursed with good looks but without staying power. Hence his pledge of celibacy -which at times went better than other times.
RE: Full Sail [Closed] - megs - 10-31-2016
His reaction left Julianna with the sneaking suspicion that he might be ticklish. She was intrigued and amused, but not nearly brave enough to test her theory. Though it was tempting to lean close and murmur other words in his ear, or to lazily draw her fingers down his rib cage. Would he dissolved into laughter and desperately push her away? He was he the type tp flail and get a bit annoyed. She smirked behind his back and tucked the information away for safekeeping. Ears perked at the word ‘provocative.’ It did not occur to her that he would think of herself of her jewelry in any sort of way. Mostly, because she did not imagine he spent very much time thinking about her, and secondly because it had no crossed her mind that the women of Eskra dressed differently. More time wrapped in sweaters and boots to stay comfortable against the mist and the chill. Though, his hand on her waist did not suggest that he was put off by her. Maybe her appearance was a bit of a novelty.
“What you must think of me then,” she joked, despite having previously resigned to assuming he did not think of her. “Barefoot and half-dressed, comparatively. How scandalous,” she continued with a delighted shrug of freckled shoulders. As if the potential for scandal entertained her.
She moved closer when his hand tightened, as if the gesture had been specifically intended to draw her nearer to him. She was at a loss of what to do with her own hands, so she laced them in front of her. “You and your sister are both single?” she inquired dubiously, though secretly pleased with the idea that he was unattached. She did not immediately assume that she had a chance at being the one to snatch him up, but she could daydream about it at the very least. As it were, they were both officially established as single. “Are you sure you don’t have a woman in every port, Commander?”
Julianna smiled as he laughed. When he spoke of his mother she was reminded of the invitation to join him in Eskra to see the country and meet his family. “You will have to tell me all about the women in your family,” she said. “Choosing leralo as a gift is a very big responsibility. We wouldn’t want to be sending the wrong messages.”
RE: Full Sail [Closed] - saronym - 11-01-2016
Owen laughed and smacked himself in the forehead dramatically. “That’s not how I meant it. I am not scandalized in the least by skin.” What he meant by that was left for interpretation. Had the young Commander seen his fair share of skin? Was he disinterested in expanses of her freckled skin, tanned legs, and bare feet? She might never know. She settled nicely in the opening of his arm and side. He kept the firm touch against her ribs to keep her there against him. “Yep. Both of us. We’re the youngest so that’s our excuse. Just haven’t had enough time.” Being the youngest children of Eskran parents did not say much for estimating a person’s age. Owen was considered quite young. Very young at the age of 'not even forty' as his family constantly referred to him as. In truth, he hadn't yet met the mid point of his thirties yet.
Owen lowered his sunglasses a touch on the bridge of his nose to give Julianna a hard stare as if scandalized by her suggestion of his debaucherous ways. “I am not so popular with the ladies as you might think!” He was. “And if I am, I am not so promiscuous as to have a woman in every port. Give me some credit.” But perhaps promiscuous enough to have some women in some ports. Owen’s hand tightened playfully against her ribs in time with the emphases in his words. He pushed the sunglasses back up to hide the amused gleam in his eyes. Was she threatened by the idea that he might have other women waiting for him?
“Let’s get one for my sister Victoria that says she is a celibate nun.” He snickered at the thought. It was an inside joke. Victoria teased him mercilessly about his own practice of celibacy so he could pay her back with a charm that spelled ‘unavailable’ in loud letters. Of course Julianna would never allow it. “My mother gets one for overwhelmingly embarrassing.”
RE: Full Sail [Closed] - megs - 11-01-2016
Brows appeared from behind her sunglasses and simultaneously disappeared behind her bangs. An impish smile curled one corner of her mouth as he did little to redeem himself against her words. The idea that he was not interested in the skin she showed came as second nature. Her personage was not the vessel of lingering stares or appraising eyes. Therefore, she was left to assume that he was embarrassed by her assessment of his virtue. Briefly, at the mention of it, Julianna wondered as to his age, but didn’t bother to ask. She knew that Eskrans, like Verdant Lynxes were eternally youthful. So his appearance said as much for his age as Julianna’s did of hers. Being the youngest of what sounded like a large family, did give her some idea, though it was hard to be concrete. He could have as easily been the youngest at twenty-five, as he could have been at five-hundred. She wondered what he would think of her almost being two-hundred.
She continued to gaze up at him innocently as his glasses dropped. Or at least one was left to assume it was innocent, since her own eyes remained hidden. That mischievous smile remained on her mouth, so it was hard to know for sure. If hairs were to be split, she was likely looking up at him with more affection than was warranted in their short acquaintance. “So some women in some ports,” she corrected herself, immediately picking up the bait he had offered. Relentless, even with his attempt to upright her teasing. “Only the good ports.” She pressed her lips together to muffle a giggle of her own as his finger played tighter still on her side, not so ticklish as she was imagining him to be, but still sensitive to his touch.
Julianna laughed. He was very good at making her laugh, and she found she enjoyed his uncanny ability. “Well, unfortunately they are not so specific,” she informed. She was still mostly at a loss of what to do with her hands. He’d pulled her close enough, now, that she was able to comfortably wrap an arm around his waist. So, deciding to take a bit of a risk, she did just that. One arm slinked across his back, hand resting against the hip opposite of her, while her free hand dropped to sway lightly at her own side. She tried to ignore that her heart was sort of racing at the casual contact. “And if she’s like you I doubt your sister needs something so strict.” That grin was becoming a permanent fixture on her features. “As for your mother we will pick out something nice. What does she do?”
RE: Full Sail [Closed] - saronym - 11-01-2016
“Yes, the good ports.” He agreed nodding slowly as if considering which were the good ones. “Berdea may become a good port. You’ll be the first to know.” A flash of the handsome smile again and he turned his head away to watch a surfer eat a wave. She was left to figure out what he meant by the comment. He meant it as suggestive as it sounded. She would know because his hands would be on her. Well, more than they already had been. Apparently Owen had some plans for the starlit sailing venture. He was growing emboldened by her smiling manner and the way she yielded under his touch. The earlier doubts about her faded some in the wake of their flirting.
Julianna moved closer against him and even dared to link her arm around his back. He ensured his gait matched hers so her hips wouldn’t bump into him and vice versa. By his design, their bodies moved in synchrony together. On an impulse he dropped his hand somewhat lower than her ribs, the tips of his fingers creeping just under the ruched fabric but not towards any private place. He wanted to feel the rhythmic contraction and relaxation of the muscles in her side as she walked in time with him.
She wasn’t the only one laughing. Again teasing him about his so-called promiscuity. “Victoria and I have similar luck when it comes to love and sex, yes.” He admitted. It wasn’t untrue. Julianna hadn’t bought into the nun joke having convinced herself that both he and Victoria got around as it were.
Owen stopped suddenly and bent to dig a half exposed shell from the sand. It was a pure white cone shape with pink and purple speckles and one blue ring in the middle. Owen examined it turning it over in his finger tips. Half of it was broken off at the bottom so he tossed it back into the sand in rejection. There were plenty of perfect shells to be found and sent to the gaggle of nieces and nephews he had back home. They wanted one of each kind. He had yet to find a perfect spiral shell for them. They were likely picked over by other tourists.
In his brief detour, Owen had let his hand fall away from Julianna and pulled away from the one she had curled around him. He straightened again and took her hand pulling it back around his back to settle on his hip again. His hand returned to the spot it had previously occupied. A gentle pressure indicated that they should continue walking.
“My mother and sisters all sort of work together actually.” He started, thought that hadn’t been the specific question. He would answer the matter of what they all did together. “Ishara, my mom, is a healer. Traditional Eskran, that is. Victoria is as well. But her practice is sort of ...mmm… more new age experimental stuff, I suppose. Aldora, my other sister, is a botanist slash florist. She supplies the local healers with medicinal herbs. Her florist business is more interesting, I think, because she only works with edibles.You can eat every arrangement she makes. And they are delicious. Although one time residue from a powerful hallucinogenic got mixed in and I ended up tripping for three days. My dad had to cut me out of this fishing net I had wrapped myself in. Apparently, I felt the need to catch myself. I inisted that I was a rare sea creature or something. Anyway, to this day I swear she did it on purpose because I used to throw all her dolls into the sea when I was a kid. Never eat revenge floral arrangements from Aldora is the lesson there. Heck or do eat them, if you are keen on hallucinating for seventy-two hours straight.”
A talkative man, Owen was content to ramble on about his family. Obviously, they were a source of a lot of pride and he spoke of them with apparent love and affection. Mid-ramble Owen realized what he was doing and finished his story to apologize and turn the conversation over to Julianna. “Oh sorry. I think I got off topic there. You have to stop me when I get on a tangent.”
He apologized remembering a woman who had scolded him for going on too long about things that were uninteresting to her. Suddenly he felt it was rude to have subjected this queen to his little side-trip down memory lane.
RE: Full Sail [Closed] - megs - 11-02-2016
“How lucky for Berdea,” she mused, pleasantly. She tilted her head to watch the same surfer as he did. The waves were a bit wilder on Eryra than they were on Macrilan, or even Dakannore. It was an entertaining sight, though some of the thrill seekers certainly fared better than others. Julianna returned her sights to Owen. “You probably won’t have to tell me,” she teased. “I’ll know by all the women tripping themselves to get to you first.”His hand moved lower still and she was very aware of it. Just as she was aware of the way their bodies fit together as they walked. She was pleasantly surprised, almost expecting it to have been awkward with how much taller he was than she. Fingertips against her skin. Her heart was still racing and her face was still red, but thankfully he didn’t seem to notice.
Owen pulled away to inspect a shell, and Jules’ briefly pressed a hand to her cheek. She honestly couldn’t tell if the warmth she felt was from the sun or the flush that seemed to be permanently stationed upon her features. Her eyes followed the piece’s path of rejection, and she made a small ‘oh’ noise of surprise when he took her hand and returned her to his side. “Macrilan is much better for shells,” she commented, fingers drumming against his shirt. “The water is a bit warmer, so you can find all sorts of things. Sand dollars, starfish, you name it.”
She listened to him speak with unabashed interest. Laughing heartily at his recounting of the accidental hallucinogens. At some point, they had turned around to head back to the side of the beach they had started from. The sun was setting, casting pink across the puffy clouds. Time passed easily, and much too quickly when she was with him. “You don’t have to apologize,” she replied, one ear falling lopsided. She was confused as to why he would feel the need to do so. “Your family sounds wonderful, and talented. We have a few remaining apothecaries here, but there’s also been a push for more modern practices. My brother is a big part of that movement, he heads the hospital in Macrilan.”
She pushed her sunglasses into her hair as the light of day dimmed with their steps. “I’m looking forward to meeting your family,” she said, briefly leaning against him. Though she quickly realized the error of her presumption. His invitation to escort her to Eskra had been much earlier in the week, and she did not know if it still held true. “Someday. Maybe. You know…” That honestly did very little to fix her mistake, she pressed her lips together to smother any words that tried to escape.
The sun sunk further into the sea as they approached the docks. Julianna was secretly giddy with how much closer the prospect of her ride on the Lanoria was getting. She felt like a child, eager for a gift they knew they were about to receive. She pushed the thoughts of what being alone on a sailboat with a handsome sailor at night could possibly lead to. Since those would be lofty thoughts on her part, anyway. He’d spoken of charts, and she was invited along to help him work. It wasn’t anything more than that.
“You were right,” she said, peering up at the sky. Clouds dissipated with the absence of the sun. “A clear night.”