"A Joyous Reunion" Log Date: 3/21/2002 Log Cast: Vardeus, Kephissa, Raven (emitted by Tiana), Arnos, Tiana, assorted members of the Windrider crew (emitted by Vardeus) Log Intro: At long last, Vardeus, captain of the destroyed Vraeyan ship Windrider, has made it to the mainland with the help of the Wolfrider Raven, Shay'la of the Underworld, the human woman Coralfire, Quietharm of the Raft Elves, and several others of the Raft Elf tribe. With him has come his young cabin boy Maerro, and the two Vraeyans have been overjoyed to find their crewmates Kephissa and Valnek safe and relatively sound on the beach of this new land. They've met two more humans, too: Shelbor and Xhosa of the tribe of Olbar, both of whom have pledged assistance to find the rest of Vardeus' crew. Vardeus does not waste much time in setting out to search along the beach, and as it happens, he soon discovers that the Raft Elves have brought him and Maerro only a little ways south of the wreckage--and the precious crew--that Vardeus is so desperately seeking.... ---------- Beach on the VastDeep Water The pale sand is full of river-born crystal and gleams with tiny rainbow lights in the early morning light. Wide and inviting, the sands stay warm long after sunset. There are drift logs here, and a large boulder pushes its shoulders above the surface of the sand. You can see footprints, small bare footprints, leading into the water and out. There is dense foliage to the north that follows the coastline closely where it bends to the northwest. The bright tangles of the Waterfall begin to come out as the dimming red light of sunset fills the hot summer skies. Contents: Kephissa Tiana Arnos The Windrider(#1655AJae) Seasong's Tent (#6051JUem) Obvious exits: Along the Beach Forest Up the Shore Water Great River North he'd said, and north he'd meant -- though truth be told, organizing a party of eleven persons, only three of whom are actually under his command, is a bit more of a challenge than Vardeus had anticipated. Especially when he can communicate only awkwardly with the portion of said party possessed of pointed ears and an odd number of fingers. But at last he _has_ managed to get at least some portion of the group moving to the north along the shore of the ocean the Little People call the 'Vastdeep'. It's slow going, especially as the Captain has asked Kephissa and Valnek to scout inland a little ways as well, just to make sure that they don't miss anything a reasonable distance in from the shore as well. Now, as the sun is going down and a new camp has been made, the Captain is still restless. As Valnek and Maerro maintain watch on the campsite, the restless Vardeus has opted to scout on ahead a little further. On this day, as with many previous, he's got far too much restless energy and far too few ways to burn it. Kephissa and the others may well, without his knowing, have observed a man more driven than the one they used to know, who seems intent on exhausting himself each evening... and tonight is no exception. Kephissa has a little restless energy of her own, although she wouldn't exactly have chosen to go scouting as darkness falls. But she's too worried about the Captain, and not about to lose track of him again. So when he says he's headed out scouting, she invites herself along. Not that she really expects to find anything, but maybe the Captain will open up about what's bothering him. More scouting? Of course, Raven can't just let the two humans go wandering off to do more scouting without going along to make sure that they don't loose their way or get into something that might harm them. She's not quite figured out where these particular round ears hail from but, she's pretty certain that they're liable to get themselves hurt if they happen to run across a rogue animal.. or worse.. a patch of strangleweed.. or even.. dear me but the she elf just has to accompany them. Vardeus isn't exactly inclined to company -- but then, he can't exactly tell either Kephissa or Raven to leave him be. He's in a strange land; it _is_ wiser to travel in a group. After leaving word with the others back at the camp that he plans to be gone no more than an hour or two at most, he strikes on ahead up the beach, going by the fading light of sunset as long as he can, and always keeping the roar of the ocean on his left hand. Maybe, he tells himself, he'll get lucky. In the sunset's dwindling glow, the shadowy bulk that rises up into view is not immediately identifiable... and yet, as soon as he sees it, Vardeus Alirreus comes to a jolting, immediate halt. "((Holy blessed Skyfather...))" he can be heard to breathe, eyes going round in his lean tanned face. Without turning his head to mark his crewmate's position following along, he croaks, "((Am I seein' things?))" As the boat is approached, a familiar strain of music grows steadily more apparent. If it is followed to its source, one finds the ship's linguist lounging under a tree, a borrowed instrument in his lap being strummed as he sings lazily. One of the mellow ballads popular in his home. Kephissa manages not to run into Vardeus's back as he stops short, but its close. She peers around him, frowning, before scrambling to stand on top of a nearby boulder to get a better look. ((Maybe its just a big rock, and its just a trick of twilight.)) Oh, but even with that she can't keep the hope from rising, even though she's sure it will be dashed. She squints to try and get a better look. And than straightens suddenly. "((Do you hear that!))" No one else may have heard it but the sharp ears of a Wolfrider certainly catch the barely spoken words of wonder. Though she doesn't understand the words, she does understand the tone and that brings Raven over to Vardeus's side as swiftly as her shorter legs can carry her. She pauses to follow his line of sight and blinks, "That's the thing Chatter saw.." she says in a totally mystified voice as her own eyes go a bit wider. "((Gods above... Arnos -- Kephissa, that's _ARNOS_, he's alive...!))" Excitement rises in Vardeus' voice, and as he turns sharply to Raven, something has kindled behind his eyes as well. "Is... ((crew)), Raven!" he adds to his shorter companion, urgently. "Is Arnos, singing... go! Go back, tell others... tell others, quickly!" And with that, he can't restrain himself any longer. He bolts into a run, heading at top speed over the sand towards the campsite and shelter that the crew have set up around what's left of the ship. "((HO THE CREW!))" he bellows, urgently, at the top of his lungs. "((ARNOS!))" There's no way that with her shorter legs Kephissa can keep up with Vardeus running at top speed. But with a loud squeal she jumps down off the boulder and follows Vardeus at a breakneck pace. She'll let Vardeus do the bellowing, she needs all her air for breathing right now. But she doesn't care about that, or the stitch sure to form in side. Arnos is alive for sure, maybe others. The ship came somewhat safely to ground, although from a distance it doesn't look like it will ever sail again. The Windrider Half dug into the beach sits a very strange manner of beast. It lays, partially on its bowed side, and creeks eerily as the salty sea breeze and unrelenting surge of the ocean pushes at its wounded carcass. The beast, made entirely of wood, has what once were gaping holes in its sides. These once-holes seem to have been healed over, though badly, as if someone took large sections of flat wood and, using spikes, pierced them on, like painful wooden scales. There is a pair of glaring 'eyes' painted at the nose of the creature-thing that seem to stare warningly at any that dare to come near. It has a large horn of sorts, set oddly on the middle of its back, which seems to have ropes here and there some tied, some looped covering the upper portion and some tangled up in the rest. The ragged top of the 'horn' suggests that it was once much longer than it is now. There is a flat wooden floor supporting the hornlike mast and the whole is surrounded by a railing of sorts, as if this 'beast' were meant for others to ride upon it. Unfortunately, the deck is set at such a slant that walking upon it would be a definate challenge, not to mention that beyond the mast, the Vastdeep seems to have claimed its portion of the strange thing. Soon after the melody reaches two pairs of familiar ears, a melodious voice breaks in with words from opposite the linguist. Though she sings with much better pitch than she ever has before on the voyage, the voice is unmistakably Tiana's, "((The sun shines bright in my lady's eyes, Clear and bright as a summer sky..))" and that is about all she gets out before an all too familiar shout breaks the relative peace on the beach. Green eyes go wide as the ship's second turns to seek out the source of that voice and a barely whispered, "((Can it be.. Vardeus?))" tumbles from her lips before she's almost overrun by people running toward the captain's voice. Raven smiles as she hears those words from Vardeus. His ((crew))! He's found them after all. She barely has time to nod that she will go get the others before he's dashed off toward the sound of that odd music. She pauses just long enough to make certain that there are welcoming shouts before she turns and starts back along the beach at the ground eating pace that is yet another gift of the wolfblood in her veins. Arnos breaks off with a rather comical expression of surprise and disbelief. << Now is it really polite to interfere in a fellow's serenading, Captain? >> he questions, grinning, and sets the instrument aside so that he might stand and move to take up Kephissa in his arms, if she'll allow it. << It's good to see you both. You sure are a sight for sore eyes. >> Most of the rest of the crew appears to be napping or eating a ways away, at a camp formed around a crude shelter. Some of the others of what's left of the _Windrider_'s complement have been lounging about Tiana and Arnos, relaxing after another day of scouting and hunting, taking what solace can be taken in the making of music. Several faces gone gaunt with the deprivations all have suffered lift in shock. Eyes go wide. And then several voices start breaking out at once, all babbling in amazement, as sailors start shooting to their feet and running to meet their long-lost captain. Before he knows it, Vardeus is surrounded, slim young Virdi embracing him on one side, old Altis on the other, and what parts of him can't be hugged by the others that have swamped him are getting eagerly and playfully slapped. "((Cap'n! Bedammit all, where ye been?!))" "((SKYFATHER! We thought ye were done for!))" And Vardeus himself, grinning with such force that he is certain and yet somehow utterly unconcerned that he must look a complete idiot, returns every eager hug and tries to get a word in edgewise, though it's a trifle tough to do when his ribs are getting squeezed by every sailor who gets in arm's length. "((Valnek an' Maerro, they're comin' too, they made it... oof, Virdi lad, you grown since th' last time I saw ye? We got others comin', been helpin' us out they have--))" Kephissa will not only let Arnos take her up in his arms, she'll leap into them almost tackling him in her exuberance. Giving the linguist an exuberant kiss, she laughs with the pure joy of seeing so many crewmates alive. "((Seamother be praised, I thought you were all dead!))" And one in particular as she turns her head to take in another green-eyed redhead. "Ty---" Arnos hefts Kephissa up into his arms and spins her about, laughing giddily. << Sure I missed you both terribly. All of us did, I should say. What of the others? Have you seen any of them? >> Settling Kephissa back down on the sand as the crowd around the Captain begins to thin a bit, he holds out a hand for shaking, leaning in to thump Vard's back with a fist. Tiana stands there in the sand, just watching the others hugging the captain with a very soft look on her face, something akin to a mixture of relief and gladness with a certain softness around the edges that just doesn't add up to the way she usually looks at Vardeus. Something within her seems to click and she gives herself a bit of a mental shake, as she hears her cousin's voice and turns to where Arnos is now standing with Kephissa. A broad grin breaks over her face and she runs over to give her cousin a huge hug, "Gods be praised! It's so good to see you again!" Practically giddily -- and when was the last time Vardeus had a giddy expression on his face, anyway? -- the Captain seizes Arnos' hand in both of his, exclaiming, "((Gods man, I've missed ye an' no mistake, tryin' to talk to the Little People's had my head tied in... knots...))" Then, however, he trails off, as he hears Kephissa and Tiana greeting one another, and his attention wanders to his second and stays there. For a few moments he just stares at her and her cousin, his eyes turned strangely liquid, and then he is pushing through the happy circle of crew surrounding him to get to her. "((Tiana,))" he blurts, roughly. Arnos doesn't appear particularly surprised by the strange greetings between Vard and Tiana. He is the one, after all, who comforted Tiana after her nightmares. He knows things. Content to observe and not wishing to interfere, he quiets, fading into the background. None of the reunions so far have moved Keph as much as this one with her cousin. "((Oh, Ty,))" she says, slipping to a childhood nickname. "((I don't think my eyes have ever seen a better sight. Well maybe when I saw the Captain walking up the beach a week ago.))" Kephissa hugs her cousin tightly before releasing her as she sees the Captain approach. After all she hears things too, and found it somewhat odd that the elfs knew enough about Tiana to mistake Keph for her. Instead she turns to great the rest of the crew, handing out hugs and kisses indiscriminately. Tiana grins broadly at Kephissa and noticeably hesitates before she turns toward that rough voice. The smile doesn't leave her face but.. something.. does change about her expression though someone not in the know might not quite be able to put their finger on just what changes about it. She starts to speak but, has to stop and find her voice before giving it a second go, "Var... Captain... We thought you were lost to us.." She pauses and has to swallow a lump before she can get the rest out, "I can't tell you how glad I am that the gods spared you." Vardeus just... stares, for a few moments, gazing down at Tiana oddly, almost as though he has never seen her before. And truth be told, to Vardeus, it's almost as if this is true. Unthinkingly he lifts up a hand, almost as if he might hug his second as he's done the others, but here now there's an unaccustomed shyness lurking somewhere within his eyes. "((I thought I'd lost you--))" he begins huskily, before he too seems to shake himself a little and recollect that he's not alone. "((Ah... all of you.))" And he pulls in a breath, then, mustering a small loose lopsided smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes, there where the shyness is lurking and the shadow that's darkened them for some time now. Formally, he asks, "((Show me the ship...?))" He hasn't dared to look. Kephissa finishes hugging all the members of the crew she can find, keeping one eye on the greeting between Vard and Tiana. Promising, very promising. Her gaze lingers and narrows on Tiana for several seconds before turning at Vardeus's last words to look at the ship she called home for so many years. She gives a deep sad sigh as the initial glance does not look promising. "Gods, how did you all manage to make it to shore." Tiana looks as if she might say something more but at Vardeus's words she turns and looks at the wreckage that was once a proud sailing vessel. She sighs then, "There's not much left of her, I'm afraid, Captain..." She glances over her shoulder at Kephissa and shakes her head with utter mystification, "I'm afraid I don't have the slightest clue to how she stayed together long enough to get us here." That said, she starts moving across the sand, talking all the while, "After that creature finished tossing us about, we did everything we could to get her into shore. Once we landed, we salvaged what we could but, most of the lower deck is under water now." She stops and turns to Vardeus shaking her head, "She's lost her rudder and her mast.. There's a great, gaping hole where the keel used to be and with all of the other damage, I don't think she'll ever sail again.." This last is said with a sadness that suggests she's lost a loved one instead of a thing of wood and sailcloth. As if perhaps seeming to sense that the captain needs a bit of space, the crew backs off, though several of them begin to chatter excitedly amongst one another as to what it may mean, that four more of the crew have returned. Virdi even enthusiastically runs down the beach a little ways, looking for some sign of Valnek and Maerro, if they are indeed on the way. As for Vardeus, he follows Tiana, listening to her explanation intently, though once he actually gets up close to the wreckage of the vessel, he just... stops. And stares up at it, looking distinctly as if he's been kicked in the gut. Kephissa isn't sure she wants to take a closer look, almost better to remember the ship as she was, not as she is now. But morbid curiosity draws her along after Tiana and Vardeus, shaking her head sadly as Tiana reports on the state. "((Almost feel like we should give her a proper burial. But she probably can still be some use to us. Although it would break my heart to tear her apart for salvage.))" She sighs again, "((Poor Windrider, you served us well.))" Tiana really doesn't know what to say as she sees the look on the captain's face. She starts to lift a hand toward him but, ends up tucking a stray wisp of hair behind an ear before she turns to look at the wreckage. For the time being, she remains silent for to say anything right now would probably allow the tears that have been hovering at the edge of her eyes to finally fall and she just can't let that happen.. not now.. not here in front of the entire crew. Well.. what's left of the crew at any rate. Vardeus is silent for a long while, and when he at last turns back again, it's to sweep his gaze over the remaining members of the crew. Those still in range grin at him encouragingly, making him summon up another small grin. It's still the captain's smile, though his face has grown leaner and more gaunt, and still the captain's voice as he waves off the onlookers. "((Off wi' ye now and let me get Tiana's report, aye?))" he asks them. "((I'm sure ye're all havin' hard days. Get your rest, night's comin' on.))" The space he's asked for is given, and with that, then, Vardeus looks at his second once more. "((Ye've done good by 'em,))" he murmurs then, "((it looks like. Kept 'em fed an' sheltered. How many're we down to?))" Still the captain's voice and overall demeanor... and yet, his eyes are different, strained and shadowed. Kephissa turns away too, following after the rest of the crew to sit and catchup with them. And to leave Vardeus and Tiana alone for a while. Time enough later to try and get her cousin alone for a nice little chat. For now its enough just to be with her adopted family of crewmates, to learn what happened to them and to figure out which faces are missing, and will never come back. Tiana smiles a bit but, doesn't turn back to face Vardeus, not just yet. She looks up at the sky, which has fallen dark since the captain's miraculous reappearance, and seems to consider her reply for just a moment. Finally, she lowers her gaze from the sky and turns toward the captain, "((I've done the best I could but, it's glad I am to give you back the mantle of captain,))" she says with a smile that borders on mirroring Vardeus's earlier shyness. She sighs and continues on, "((There are 16 of us here so, with the four of you, that makes 20 of us that have managed to survive.))" He's silent for a moment or two, and then Vardeus asks, simply, hoarsely, his Shalros accent come forward to slur his words far more pronouncedly than usual, "((Ye.... ye're after wantin' me back, then? I was goin' t' say... if they've come t' call ye Captain I'd nae gainsay ye...))" Tiana lets out a sharp burst of sound that's something akin to laughter, "((They've not graced me with that title overmuch and I find that I'm not exactly comfortable with the role of leading /your/ crew alone. So, if you'll kindly take over the wheel, I'll be happy to go back to helping steer, sir.))" Her own accent slips just a bit, slipping to one that's certainly more cultured but, that's the only really noticable difference. Vardeus's expression softens abruptly, in a way he's hardly ever shown before any of the crew at all, including his second. And then he manages another little grin, as he asks, nodding his tousled head off towards the others, "((D'ye... think they'll want me back then? I dinnae ken, Tiana, how much of a Captain I can be, without a ship -- and unless ye tell me ye've found some city or other I've missed wi' a shipwright, I'm thinkin' we're stuck good an' proper.))" He pauses, looking uncomfortable; this is new, this air of uncertainty about the Captain. And so's the hollow look in his eyes as he lowers them, admitting in a guilty undertone, "((And me 'twas Captain on th' voyage that stuck us 'ere.))" Tiana actually does laugh now, "((Are you daft, man? Were you not standing there when they were surrounding you, all of them wanting to touch you in some way just to make certain that you're really back?))" She finally does give in to the urge to touch the captain herself but, instead of being gentle about it, she gives him a bit of a shake, "((Did you not hear everyone one of us address you as captain once more? You never lost the position. I only held things down until you could get back to us.. and now you're back...))" She has to blink her eyes now as she lowers her hands from his upper arms and starts to turn away as she speaks in a voice suddenly gone hoarse, "((.. And it's damned glad of that I am, Captain.))" Tiana might start to turn away, but Vardeus doesn't let her; his hands close on her shoulders, and it's only then, with the truth of the substance of her beneath his palms, that he begins to realize in his bones that he's _found them_. He's found his crew. "((I thought ye were dead,))" he breathes then. "((For the longest time... just Maerro an' me, till the Little People tol' me they'd found Keph an' Valnek... I thought ye were dead.))" Tiana lets herself be stopped but, she does her level best to avoid meeting that blue gaze that she knows burns with the same intensity of emotion as his voice. And yet, she can't seem to stop herself either. Ever so slowly her eyes lift to meet his and the force of her own feelings are there as plain as the double moons lighting the sky above. Unshed tears glitter there in the vermillion depths as she speaks again, though this time in a voice that's barely above a whisper as if she doesn't exactly mean to lend voice to the thought at all, "((I thought /you/ were dead.))" With a gaze like that turned upon him, Vardeus cannot stop himself any longer. He abruptly steps forward, wrapping his arms about his redheaded second and pulling her to him, hard against his chest. "((Ach... Tiana... I'm here... bit banged up, maybe, but I'm here! I'm here...!))" The words burst out of him in a rasping whisper, but despite their relatively soft volume, the force of them is undeniable. So too is the way the Captain's big frame is shaking, ever so slightly. "((Tell me I dinnae hit me head again, thinkin' I heard ye say ye're glad t' see me!))" Tiana certainly didn't expect this to happen and it certainly doesn't help her already tenuous control over her tear ducts. She hesitates for the span of a heartbeat before she shakes her head and hesitantly slips her arms around Vardeus's waist, "((No, you heard me correctly,))" she says before her voice and the dam that's been stemming the tears break. She gives up on words and rests her head on the captain's shoulder as the tears flow and her shoulders begin to shake with near silent sobs. Oh dear. Already bemused by the way the sight of Tiana has affected him, especially after weeks of the elves telling him about what he'd muttered and sometimes even called out in his sleep, bemused further by his second's utter failure to keep the crew she surely has rightfully earned for herself, Vardeus is utterly undone by her beginning to weep in his arms. His hold on her gentles abruptly, as he feels something turn over in his chest; feeling awkward, tongue-tied, and clumsy, he has to struggle for how to comfort. One big hand comes shyly up, patting at fiery hair. "((Dinnae cry,))" he entreats, and entirely without thought he makes an endearment of her name. "((Dinnae cry, Ticha. Shhh...))" Tiana didn't exactly fail to keep the crew, she just didn't want the mantle of captain, not with the way she and the rest of the crew respect the man that kept them all from tearing each other apart through the entire, horrific voyage.. and she certainly didn't want it at the cost of his life, which she's come to realize was much too dear a price (even if she doesn't want to admit it out loud). As his embrace gentles, her own tightens about him as if she is afraid that he'll simply evaporate if she lets go. She gives a little shake of her head and tries to speak with some semblance of coherency, "((I'm not.. sad, Vardeus... I'm happy to.. to see you alive.. and breathing..))" She speaks without thinking, even going so far as to use his given name, instead of his title.. something he's never heard her utter before now, "((Tell me I'm not dreaming... That I won't wake up to find that this was just some figment of my imagination..))" He cannot, in fact, recollect ever hearing his name on his second's lips, and it gives the Captain distinct pause as well as a strange, keen kind of pleasure. "((Ye're nae dreamin',))" he assures softly, as firmly as he can manage even as he marvels that Tiana Pagonis felt his absence so keenly that to see him now brings her tears. Still unsettled by the feel of her weeping against his shoulder, he cradles her against him and murmurs, "(('Tis 'ere I am; 'tis 'ere I'll stay, and it's sorry I am that I dinnae get 'ere sooner.))" Tiana shakes her head against his shoulder, making only the smallest of movements as her tears begin to abate. She sniffs quietly and it's accompanied by a small hiccup of sound. She finds her voice again, and though it is still rough from the tears, some of that cultured accent has returned, "((Don't be sorry.. It doesn't matter how long it took you to find us... What does matter is that you did.. and that you're here now.))" She finally relaxes her arms around his waist and simply leans against him. She closes her eyes allowing herself a moment to enjoy the embrace, to breathe in the scent of him and unwittingly brushes her cheek against his shoulder in something suspiciously close to a nuzzle. The accent doesn't sink in. Not quite yet. To Vardeus Alirreus, it's wondrous enough that this state of accord has arisen between him and his second; he dares not consider it too closely, lest it vanish away like the dream Tiana thought him. Wondrous, too, is the sensation that sweeps through him at her closeness, and Vardeus is afraid to think about _that_. It brings to mind too many uncannily wise looks that Raven and Quietharm have been giving him, and so for now, he very carefully keeps himself in the moment. He squeezes Tiana once, murmuring, "((I'm here... we're back together, or at least a number of us, an' we'll figure out how t' make do. We've got t' talk, ye an' I... th' others'll be comin'. Valnek and Maerro, but th' others, too. Some o' the locals, they've been helpin' me. People like us, an'...))" Now he pauses again, before he blurts with a wonder he's never really been able to entirely abandon, ever since he first laid eyes on the elves, "((Have ye seen th' Little People that dwell here, Tiana?))" Tiana nods to all of the first part and smiles against his shoulder. She's doing an excellent job of forgetting that Vardeus Alirreus is betrothed to someone back home and simply doing the same as he, enjoying this moment. For once, she isn't doing her utmost to ignore the feeling that his very nearness makes her heart do silly flip-flops and her knees go weak. At the last question, she stills and asks, "((You mean the ones that are no bigger than a child, with the pointed ears and very large eyes?))" Her own voice reflects some of that wonder, though there is a languid quality to her words. [The scene was paused and never finished, just as we were getting to a chance for Tiana to tell Vardeus about Wayfound, and Vardeus to share his dealings with Raven, Shay'la, and the Raft Elves! End log.]