"Language Lessons" Log Date: 2/7/02 Intro: It's a day or two after Kephissa woke up on this strange shore with even stranger people. Most of them have disappeared, leaving only one to watch the shipwrecked humans. Cast: Kephissa Quietharm Dancer Beach(#1537RAJL) The white gleaming sands reflect the light of the [v(light-[u(timedesc)])]. The bay is shallow and warm, and suitable for wading or swimming. A long ridge parallels the beach along the edge of the dunes and shelters the beach from cool winds off the mountains and from the view of folk who might walk by in the forest. Here and there a gnarled madrona tree or a wind-twisted dwarf pine rears its head above the horizon. Evening at last and the first moon rises setting the beach aglo with the silver light. The soft onshore breeze is warm and the tide is out again. Contents: Quietharm Tern's Raft (#10008Jabes$) Shiver's Tent Rock Spire StormCurrent's Raft Obvious exits: Towards Mainland Beach On the Sea North along the beach(N) Southwest to Strait Inland Trail(E) Quietharm Standing at a lithe 4'7", she has livid, almond shaped eyes of a dark amber. She is fine featured, with elegant eyebrows high above the eyes, and high cheekbones which give off an aire of dignity. A light, translucent webbing goes a little past the first knuckle between her fingers. Her ears are smaller than that of a normal elf, and naturally scalloped. Shiny, mahogany hair is to mid- back and unbound, with a few errant strands of hair falling about her face. Deeply bronzed skin of an almost golden hue marks her ancestory. Abandoning the common dressing style of her sea home, Quietharm has now opted for a rough, tawny outfit made of animal hide. The same pelt is used for a halter style top down to the boots. Quite eclectic, it is form fitting and free of any loose garmet that would hinder movement. A string of blue shells entwines about her neck. Carrying: Knife Having rested the day away, the human female is stirring now. She tends a small fire, over which is roasting a crab like creature she found somewhere. She occasionally sends worried glances to the human male, who does appear that he has been up and about in their time on the beach, but is now sleeping again. Kephissa has tried to clean up a bit, and there are several human tracks down to the water and up to the forest. The tide rolls in and out, a fairly monotonous movement that crashes against the coast. Some seabirds careen capriciously through the air in a haphazard display of aerial acrobatics, their cries ringing along the beach and mingling with the sounds of the waves. Quietharm sits a few feet away from the two humans, watching them with an unwavering gaze. Ever since Tern and Shiver had left with Cadence in tow, she had stayed within the area, on the 'guard' as she was told to. Every now and again her eyes would look to the male with what might be constituted as concern, but she had a prime watch on the female in particular. Kephissa glances occasionally over at the 'guard', and there's no question in her mind that that is in part what the stranger is. But for now she's more worried about surviving, and caring for her crewmate, who is at the moment the only link she has to a far away home. She understands that the language barrier might be a problem she's not feeling enthusiastic enough to initiate any attempts to break through. In fact she's downright morose. Stuck on a beach with an ill friend and strangers. She turns her stick over to roast the other side of the crab. Quietharm blinks once, breaking her prolonged posture to stand. Working her way curiously over to the male human, she reaches out to nudge at his shoulder before glancing up to Kephissa grudgingly. "Volneck Cut?" Her vocabulary in these human's language was extremely limited at this point in time, but she was trying all in her power to find out what ailed them. Her investigation continues further, tugging at the human's ragged clothing here and there, or lifting a lock of hair to study it closely with a strange sense of awe. Kephissa eyes the stranger warily, although the poking and prodding doesn't appear to be anything more than curiosity. She shrugs slightly at the question, how to explain the aftereffects of three months lost at sea, battles with storms and sea monster, being washed overboard, and near-drowning. She nods, "((Yes, Valnek Cut))" Quietharm nods, half imitation of Kephissa and half affirming Valnek's current state. "Yes." Sighing, she backs off, pointing to the crab that Kephissa was preparing. "Kephizza <>?" The last two words were in the elfin language, and the dark complected female regarded the crustacian and human inquisitively. "<>" The minute she spoke, she shook her head. She must rationalize it out to the woman, so that she may understand. Tapping her chin thoughtfully, Quietharm glances furtively around as if searching for something. Kephissa glances down to the crab, Ah its done. Is that what the stranger was trying to say? She peers at Quietharm with a puzzled look. No clue what was just said, although she assume it has something to do with her dinner. She removes the crab from the heat, propping the stick up on a rock, to cool a bit. She's done this before it appears. And then she turns to regard the strange female curiously. Quietharm narrows her eyes speculatively, but smiles, still undeterred. She watches as Kephissa works to cook the crab, and admires the tenacity of the woman that inclined her to survive so well. She points to Kephissa's dinner. "<>" Awaiting a response, she again checks out Valnek, muttering in the human's language, "Volnack Cut, Volnack Cut..." Kephissa raises an eyebrow. We're back to attemptiong communication again? And then she looks down at the crab. "Fod?" She pauses and points at it again. "((Crab. Eat Crab))" And since Quietharm looks well fed, she's not inclined to share. She and Valnek need all the food they can get. Quietharm bites her lower lip with a murky expression, which falls apart as her eyebrows raise with enlightenment. "Kerab. Eat Kerab." Smiling, she nods one. "Yes, Kephizza." Broken words thrown together perhaps, but Quietharm strived to understand them. Mayhap she might find them more substanance, they had to be starved. Removing the dagger at her side, she motions to the woods and holds up one finger as if to say 'wait here.' With that, she sprints off into the brush. Kephissa manages a real smile at Quietharm's actions. Well, they're making some progress, maybe. This particular local seems interested in trying some attempt at language, although having Arnos the ship's linguist here would make it easier. But he's probably dead with the rest of the crew. At that thought, the smile leaves her face and she picks up her cooled crab, breaking the shell and pulling out the meat. Focus, food, shelter, warmth. Get well, get Valnek well, and than see if anybody else washed up on this shore. After some length of time, the slight form of the female elf can be seen returning from the woods, making her way past the brambles and branches that tried to hold her back. When she broke free of the forest and alighted on the sand, Quietharm is holding a dead ravvit slung over her shoulder, bouncing against her back with every step she took. The weapon responsible for the animal's demise is once again sheathed at her side, a bit redder and duller than when it last made an appearance. Cheerful, Quietharm presents the dead creature to the human by laying it at her feet. "Kerab." Kephissa looks down a at the dead animal at her feet in confusion for a moment. That doesn't look like any crab she's ever seen, but then comprehension dawns. Just a little miscommunication here. She shakes her head and points to the remains of the crab she's been eating. "((Crab.))" She says definitely. She points at the furry thing. "((Rabbit.))" Food is a much more abstract concept she really doesn't want to get into right now. Quietharm blinks a little, and then nods, following Kephissa's earlier motions. Gazing at the crab, she repeated the word almost perfectly, a large improvement. "Krab." To the rabbit, she admonishes, "Rabbit." Putting a hand to her temple, she dips her eyebrows and scrunches up her face for a brief second. Her head was spinning a bit with all of these words, and she might just get a headache yet. Shaking her head to clear it, Quietharm reaches for the ravvit and begins to skin it for the human. If she was to look at herself now from turns ago, she would have just been aghast at the audacity that she was helping humans. Yet, these were just no ordinary humans, to be sure... Kephissa is perfectly happy to leave the skinning to the elf. She's much more familiar with the intricacies of preparing sea creatures for cooking than land creatures. Well, she's managed to get across a few concepts to the locals. She glances at Valnek a bit before finishing off the crab. If he wakes up hungry she'll just find something else for him, such as the rabbit. He needs his rest. Quietharm finishes her sloppy work, throwing aside the remnants of fur, viscera, and fat. Grabbing a sharp twig at her side, she impales the meat before setting it up to heat of the fire. The crackling flames dance and bite at the cooking ravvit similar to a hungry wolf, but Quietharm is beyond noticing as she hurries down to the ocean to clean up her hands. When she returns, she kneels near the two again, pointing out to the water. Might as well get some basics down, perhaps explanations might come later. "<>". Now this is something Kephissa knows about. The sea is her life. But is the strange female wanting referring to water in general or salt water, or the name of the body of water. She looks out at the water and points, repeating the word. "Oshan" Than she adds her own word, one of many in her language that could refer to that out there, but a simple one. "((Sea.))" Quietharm nods frantically, feeling she is actually going somewhere with this. "Cee...See...Sea?" With a renewed purpose, she pushes away from the sand to return to the water again, standing ankle deep in the shallows. Bending down to touch the salty waves as they break against her legs, Quietharm raises her voice to say, "Sea? Kephizza <> sea?" Kephissa chuckles, simple concept. There aren't words enough to describe the whole harrowing journey. Should she try. She points at the raft, though its a much simpler vessel than the one she travel on, and tries just the basic words. "Kephissa...Raft...Sea," pointing at each of those things as she says the words. Quietharm giggles, a childlike grin forming on her face. "Kephizza...Raft.." She touches the seaworthy vessel, "Sea?" She looks down at the bobbing water. Walking back to the woman, she watches her with excitement, for any sign that these words were correct. "Yes?" Getting an image of a bunch of humans on a raft, which for all her knowledge was lost to them, Quietharm sobers. That picturesque visual changes to the scenario now before her..castaways without a home. But to believe that they came here on a raft, well, that would mean they were far more advanced than the humans of the local area. Sure, they did look different, and sounded that way too, but to believe they were actually a step above? It was downright amazing! Kephissa nods. "((Yes. Kephissa, and Valnek, Raft, Sea.))" She holds her arms wide. "((Big Raft. Big Sea.)). Hoping to get across some perspective of the difference in the scale of the vessels and of the far distance they covered. The Raft/Ship is lost to them, but their home was lost long before that probably. But without a ship it looks like they're stuck on this shore for a long time. Quietharm draws a deep breath, and arranges the human's language so that she might get across she comprehended this situation to some extent. "<> Kephizza, and Valneck," She taps the male on the shoulder lightly, "<> big raft <> big sea?" Boggling a bit, she then inquires, "Kephizza and Valneck <> big raft?" Not entirely sure what the connecting words are, Kephissa does pick up that Quietharm is asking about the ship. She shakes her head, how to phrase it, she's didn't see the ship go down, so she really doesn't know what happened to it. But she does know it wasn't in good shape when she last saw it. And she's not sure how it could have survived the sea monster. She picks up a piece of drift wood. "((Big raft...Break. Sunk))" She snaps the piece of driftwood over her knee and tosses it into the water with quite a bit of force. She'll miss that ship, she spent all her adult life on it it seems like. Quietharm starts as the driftwood snaps. Widening her eyes a bit, the elf shows a huge interest. "Big Raft Break." Finding her own piece of driftwood, she snaps it in two as well to illustrate that she understood. "Big Raft Break. Sunk <> Big Sea? <> Valneck and Kephizza Cut?" She clasps her hands in her lap, so tight she turns the four knuckles white from the lack of blood. "Yes, Quietharm?" Nevermind that another being might see her speaking in broken fragments, a story was slowly coming together. For only being able to communicate in broken fragments, they've managed to piece together a somewhat pared down story. So Kephissa tries to put it all together in her own language, less fragmented, but with emphasis on the words they've exchanged. "((Yes, Qytarm. The Big Raft Break. And than it Sunk in the Big Sea. And Valnek and Kephissa were Cut when it happened.))" Quietharm's eyes grow as wide as saucers, but she nods mutely. She was fuzzy on the interconnecting words, but a few made sense. The last three words were somewhat past her knowledge of this language, so whatever Kephissa had said to that extreme was lost on her. Placing a hand on her chest, the female elf states plainly, "Valneck, Kephizza..." She places her hand on an empty spot in the sand next to her, as if trying to draw a significance that there might be not just the two humans. "<>" Kephissa frowns, she isn't quite sure what is being asked of her. "((Valnek, Kephissa. What?) She shrugs and shakes her head after the last work to indicate her confusion. And than tries to repeat the elfin words. "Anyon ese?" Quietharm sighs and shakes her head to indicate that wasn't what she was trying to get across. "Kephizza, Valneck... <>" She opens her arms wide, as if seeking the presence of other humans. She repeats herself, still pretending to search, "<> Kephizza, Valneck.." Kephissa makes a guess at what Quietharm is asking. "((Soon. Soon, We Search.)) She puts her hand to her forehead and peers around as if searching. ((Search for others. Like Us.)) She points back and forth between herself and the sleeping human. ((Many others.)) She isn't quite sure how to get that across. So she does the searching sign again. Quietharm nods vigorously. She repeats one of the words Kephissa was using often, linking it to her apparent gesture mimicking someone looking for something. "Search. Search Valneck and Kephissa. Outhers." Placing on hand on her chest, she motions to you both with a sincere expression on her face. "Quietharm Search. Search Others <> Big Raft? Quietharm <>." Kephissa looks earnest, and actually reaches out and grabs Quietharm's arm. "((Others, Did you see Others?))" She points at her eyes with the word 'see', hoping to get across that action. "((Where?))" She looks all set to drag Quietharm to where she thinks the elf saw others of her kind. Quietharm inclines her head to one side, large eyes gazing back in earnest at the sudden indignative outburst from the human woman. Lowering her eyes in slow increments to the large hand encompassing her smaller arm, she nods a bit. "Quietharm see others. Others <>" Shaking her head and pulling back from the woman with sympathy registering in her brown eyes, the elf sighs in frustration. "Quietharm see others. Quietharm search." Kephissa isn't sure whether Quietharm is just repeating her words, or if she really has seen others. It's almost to much to hope, and part of her almost wants to leap up and follow Quietharm to where the others are. But than fatalism takes hold of her and she's pretty sure that the elf hasn't seen anyone. Besides she has to stay here with Valnek. But maybe the stranger can help. She nods. "((Qytarm. Search. Others.))" That will have to be enough for now. Quietharm throws a linger glance at Valnek. She was finding rather quickly that the longer she stayed with these humans, the more she was growing to care for their welfare. Worried, she straightens and stands up, patting Kephissa on the shoulder comfortingly. She would leave the ravvit with them, and return with fresh water and more food. But for now they needed rest, especially the woman, considering her comrade was still out like a light. "Yes. Sleep, Kephizza." With that, Quietharm leaves them there, to return shortly with more provisions.