"Lessons at the Waterfall"

Log Date:
	3/2/02

Log Cast:
	Vardeus, Coralfire

Log Intro:
	The patience of Vardeus is growing thinner and thinner; more days have
passed on the Raft Elves' island, and still there has been no sign of the
awaited arrival of his crewmates Valnek and Kephissa. But there has been one
saving grace, one welcome distraction as he does his best to wait until either
his crewmates arrive or he can gain permission to leave: Coralfire, a woman
of his own kind, who is eager to help him improve his awkward command of the
elfin language and just as eager to gain what little command of Vraeyan that
the stranded Captain can give her....

----------
Waterfall Pool - Surface - Raft holt
        Cool, fresh water envelops you. Pristine blue and clear, the waters 
  are a refreshing changes from the testy waves of the Vast Deep. The bottom 
  of the pool lays far below, the exact floor shrouded in shadows. The deep 
  waters make it perfect for diving, making every elf have to constant look 
  overhead for daredevil divers falling from the top of the cliff. The pool is 
  naturally formed, shaped into an oval. Water cascades down the side of the 
  cliff, forming an elegant waterfall that rains down into the pool, causing 
  an ever-present mist to surround you. A stream leads away from the pool, 
  recycling the waters into the ocean. The pool is ringed in greenery, the 
  lush carpet of the forest coming right up to the water's edge. A scattering 
  of rocks and boulders wrap about the pool, providing perfect seating for 
  those who wish to watch and not swim.
        The beginning of spring has arrived to this tropical land. Those 
  northern birds that have taken refuge here for the winter have begun to 
  leave, only here and there can a dull feather still be found amongst the 
  brighter plumage. Dusk has arrived and with it, the purples and golds that 
  light the sky in a warm embrace. The daystar is near to falling out of 
  sight. 
Awake: Vardeus 
Asleep: Dreamberry 
Obvious exits: Climb out <O> 

Vardeus(#108PXc2)
        Given his round ears and his five-fingered hands, this is clearly a 
  human man... but a distinctly strange-looking one. He stands taller than 
  many human warriors, with broad shoulders and well-muscled arms in 
  proportion to his sturdy frame, and although his face and form are heavily 
  bronzed by the Daystar, he is paler in shade than many of his kind. His eyes 
  are clear and blue as the Vastdeep Water beneath a summer sky. His hair, a 
  warm golden brown bleached yellow on top by the sun, is most often tied into 
  a small tail at the base of his neck; his beard goes with his hair, a short 
  scattering of whiskers that's just enough to soften the strong line of his 
  jaw. He speaks with a rich husky baritone, and in a rolling accent that 
  marks him as not of any known nearby land.
        At the moment, he is clad in nothing but a well-worn, thin leather 
  breechclout, slung low along his hips -- no other clothes, at any rate. He 
  still also wears his inevitable armband of gold shining on his left bicep, 
  and the earring that glints against his right ear.

On land, Coralfire slips into the cool water of the pool.
On land, Coralfire has left.
Coralfire slips into the pool from shore.
Coralfire has arrived.

Even if he doesn't happen to have his ship anywhere handy, you can't keep a 
  sailor out of the water for very long... though Vardeus has taken to doing 
  his swimming at the waterfall as of late, not entirely certain he's 
  comfortable with being mostly naked and wet in front of most of the elves. 
  The Vraeyan's at the pool tonight as the sun goes down, taking in the last 
  of the sun's warmth on the water and alternating between doing laps along 
  the pool and simply standing under the pouring shower of the water, letting 
  it play down the length of his frame.

Sometimes it's not an elf that watches, but the only other human adult around 
  this place. Coralfire was headed to swim, half in the water before she 
  realized there was someone under the falls. "Calm tides," she shouts out, 
  though there's not so much hope that she'll be heard, really. It's just the 
  way things go. Loud water, voice carries, but does it carry enough?

Vardeus does hear _something_ at any rate, enough that he turns his head and 
  squints out through the spray to try to get a look at what might have made 
  what he _thought_ he'd heard. "((Who's there?))" he bellows unthinkingly, 
  before it occurs to him that Vraeyan _still_ isn't exactly a language in 
  much use around here. He turns then and dives out into the water, swimming 
  out several strokes before pausing to tread water and look around again.

Coralfire is easily seen, as she's just made the rest of the way into the 
  water. Like the elves, she didn't worry about clothing, not even knowing if 
  it might disturb the Vraeyan like it does the Olbar. "((Haillo.))" she says, 
  as she sees that big form. don't much matter if she sees anything else. 
  there isn't anyone else quite like that around here, now is there. She ducks 
  under the water to wet her hair, and then surfaces, finding a rock to hold 
  onto for a moment. "Vardeuz swim good?"

Ah! "Taydes, Coorelfair... ((hello.))" Vardeus flings his head back for a 
  moment, trying to get loose shaggy strands of hair out of his eyes, and once 
  he does he proffers forth a loose crooked grin. Not entirely sure of the 
  specific context of that question -- he'd like to _hope_ he swims well, 
  since he's swum since almost before he was old enough to walk -- he dryly 
  adds, "I swim good now, ((aye)). You come swim?"

Coralfire hasn't been watching you swim, so she was just checking! "I like 
  swimming," she replies, as she makes her way out to the middle of the pool. 
  That braid of hair gets shoved over a shoulder, and Coralfire just glares at 
  it as it floats back over. Sigh. "Elves teach - taught me to swim." Is the 
  language knowledge that good? Or no? Well, there's one way to find out.

"Elfs show swim?" comes Vardeus' guess at that, and he then mouths the 
  unfamiliar words to himself, brows winging down thoughtfully over his 
  ocean-colored eyes. 'Elves'. 'Taught'. He keeps comfortably treading water, 
  big hands making lazy strokes against the surface of the pool. "I little, I 
  swim. I walk, I swim more, I get big, swim more."

Coralfire laughs and nods. "I little, I here. Elfs swim here." She gestures as 
  she talks, pushing her braid over a shoulder regularly. "Moonfall show swim. 
  Teach swim." She shrugs. No, she's not so good as the elves or the sailors, 
  but she swims quite well. Enough that she doesn't have to worry about 
  drowning. "Moonfall teach swim. Coralfire learn swim."

Comprehension dawns, and Vardeus's rugged features lighten in satisfaction: 
  new words! "Kyethaerm _teach_ elf words. I _learn_ elf words. I little... 
  ((mother)) teach swim. ((Father) teach..." Er. How to say 'fishing'? "... 
  get fish."

Coralfire nods with satisfaction. Hey look, she just taught something. That 
  brings a smile to her face. "get fish. Say fishing." she says, and then. 
  "((Mozzer? fazzer?)) Moonfall (( Mozzer))?" she tries, after a few 
  heartbeats. Well, that fits the same pattern anyway.

Vardeus makes a small amused coughing noise in the back of his throat, and 
  then laughs, low and husky. "Nae, nae... uh, ((mother))..." Didn't he 
  explain this already to Quietharm? What the hells had he said, to explain 
  it? "I ((man)), Coorelfair ((woman)). ((Woman)) have baby, ((woman)) 
  ((mother))."

Coralfire blinks. Now see, she did get that right. She chuckles though. 
  "Moonfall ((mother)) to Coralfire. Coralfire little, Moonfall find. Moonfall 
  feed, dress, care for Coralfire." See, that makes her Mom, doesn't it? 
  "Coralfire not know human mother (( mozzer ))." Now see if that makes any 
  sense to this Vraeyan.

To this, Vardeus blinks in return. Oh. _Oh_. Slowly, thoughtfully, the man 
  nods his understanding, then gruffly murmurs, "Elfs... elves good, teach 
  huimin baby, not hurt huimin baby." It seems to sit well with him. "Muinfell 
  ((mother, aye.))"

Coralfire smiles and nods. Okay, there's that concept gotten across. "Elves 
  good, ((aye.))" Now, what about the other words. She tries repeating them, 
  just to see. "Coralfire ((woman)). Vardeus ((man))? Maerro is ((baby?))" 
  Hey, bet he'd love that one, right?

Vardeus laughs out loud, grinning broadly for once, vigorously shaking his 
  head. "Nae, nae! Maerro ((boy)). Maerro little, baby much little." The 
  Vraeyan then nods, confirming, "I ((man)), Coorelfair ((woman)). Little 
  ((man)), ((boy)). Little ((woman)), ((girl))."

Coralfire nods her head, swimming back a bit, as she concentrates on that. 
  "((baby)) much little." She demonstrates with her hands, infant sized, yes? 
  "Maerro ((boy)) is boy. Corelfire is ((woman.))" And she wonders about just 
  how to translate that? The human have woman, but the elves? Maiden? Female? 
  Which would be the same as this new word she's just learned. She sets the 
  words to her memory, or tries to anyway. "Maerro no like Coralfire call 
  baby?"

"Baby _much_ little," Vardeus affirms, then he grins again, not quite so 
  broadly, and it's at odds with that haunted look that comes across his eyes. 
  "No call Maerro baby, no. Maerro..." How to say this? "Maerro ((man)) soon. 
  Maerro big, I make Maerro ((crew))."

Coralfire shakes her head. Wait, if ((crew)) is tribe, then why make Maerro 
  part of the ... oh, this can't be quite the right meaning. It's more like 
  when someone joins the adult part of the tribe, instead of being a pip. Or 
  maybe it's both? Her confusion no doubt shows, as she leans her arms against 
  a rock and rests her chin on her hands. "No baby in ((crew))? Elves have 
  baby in tribe." See, it's something that's a little bit different, isn't it?

Swimming over to join the woman at the rock, Vardeus clambers out of the water 
  to perch up there and dangle his bare feet into the pool. As he does, he 
  shoves his wet hair out of his face again and nods steadily. "No baby in 
  ((crew))." Not usually, at any rate; if his crew is going to be stranded 
  _here_ in this strange new land, though, there may be some exceptions 
  happening to this rule. "((Crew)) on ((ship)). Baby much little, no hilp 
  ((sail)) on ship."

Coralfire thinks on that one for a bit. She stretches out, kicking her feet 
  lazily. "((Ship?)) she asks. "((sail?)) Coralfire confused." Well, there's 
  perhaps a new word for you, but it's true. "What did you say, Vardeuz?"

Ach, right. He needs to clarify that, doesn't he? "((Ship)) is big raft," 
  Vardeus explains. "Go on ((ship)), ((_sail_)) ship. I, ((sailor)). ((Crew)) 
  is ((sailors)), on ((ship))."

Coralfire ohs. As that at least makes some sense to the poor woman. "(( Ship. 
  sail. Sail ship. Crew sail ship. Siylos sail ship?)) " she tries putting 
  words together. "((Vardeuz sailor? )) Coralfire not ((sailor.)) Coralfire 
  hunter."

"((Aye!))" Another vigorous, relieved nod. "((Sailors sail ship.)) Elves 
  ((sail)) raft. I... ((captain)), I have ((ship)), have ((crew))--" Then 
  Vardeus stops. He frowns. And he adds plaintively, huskily, "Nae have 
  ((ship)) now."

Aww, that's just heartbreakingly sad, you know. Coralfire pauses in her 
  kicking and she gives you a blue eyed sympathetic look. Her next words are 
  soft. "((Captain)) chief of ((ship? Crew?)) Find ((crew)). Coralfire help." 
  She's working on this, but now she just starts to get to the frustration 
  phase, where nothing quite is as easy to say as she would like.

"((Aye,))" Vardeus answers gruffly, "((captain)) chief of ((crew, ship.))" 
  When he _has_ a ship. When it hasn't been attacked by a creature out of 
  nightmare--
_Stop it, man!_ That way lies despair--
--And yet, he hears himself finishing in hoarse tones, "((Ship))... break. 
  ((Monster)) come, break ((ship)). ((Crew))... hurt, killed. Many ((crew)). 
  Kyethaerm say, see Kephissa, Kephissa say ((ship)) gone. I nae see. Maerro 
  in water, I get Maerro, I... hurt."

And yes, you were hurt when Coralfire first got here. "I saw Kephizza too. 
  She looking for someone. something." Something broke the ship? That's not 
  such a good thing, is it. She narrows in on that new word. "((monszer?)) Is 
  big? many arms?" She just guesses what it might be, since she's heard about 
  the manyarms that was terrorizing Briarholt and the Raft not so long ago.

"((Monster))," murmurs Vardeus, staring down unseeingly at the pool now. "Big. 
  ((Ship)) big. ((Monster)) also big. Much big. Many arms. Hit ship, break 
  ship. ((Crew)) fall in water. ((Crew)) die." Short words, awkwardly 
  accented, limited by Vardeus' own fractured understanding of the elfin 
  tongue... and yet, with that morose tone to carry them and the look of a man 
  who's had his very heart cut out of him lurking within his eyes, the words 
  are more than enough to convey the weight of guilt and anguish still 
  haunting Vardeus Alirreus even now, many weeks after the loss of the ship he 
  held dear.

Coralfire moves at this point. She can't help it. It's times like this that 
  contact might mean more than any broken words. So she sees if she can hug 
  the fellow, just briefly. "((monszter)). Vardeuz not stop. Coralfire not 
  stop. is ((monszter.)) Not any elf human to stop." How else to say it's not 
  your fault, just the whim of the High Ones?

The sailor blinks down at the young woman as her arms go round him, blue eyes 
  to blue, his murky of gaze behind the thick wet strands of golden brown that 
  have inevitably dropped across his brow once again. "((Thank you,))" he 
  mutters then, stark and rough, though not without gratitude. "Coorelfair... 
  say good words." Of course, there may well be a question about whether he 
  _believes_ them. The shadow doesn't leave his gaze, even as he acknowledges 
  the intent behind the attempted comfort.

Coralfire sighs. See, nobody ever believes her. She's just not good at this 
  comfort thing. Well, that's enough to embarrass her a little, so she pulls 
  back, dropping into the water once more. "Is true words," she insists, but 
  she's not entirely sure just what else to say on that note. She ducks under 
  the water, and then glances over at the falls. It would be nice to stand 
  under that water, wouldn't it? "Vardeuz ((crew)) say same."

He smiles, but only just a little, half-heartedly, one corner of his mouth 
  quirking vaguely upward. His crew might say the same if they're _alive_; 
  that's the rub, is it not? "Find ((crew)), ((crew)) can say," Vardeus rasps.

Coralfire knows Kephizza is alive though. She's with two of Coralfire's tribe, 
  last she saw them. Well, her human tribe that is. "We will find them." she 
  says, stoutly. "But after we swim." She heads for the falls now, scrambling 
  up and glad that the sea cloth is so good in water. She stands under the 
  drenching torrent and laughs out loud.

He should, he supposes, take a bit of heart in the faith of the others here; 
  Vardeus is having quite some problem summoning enough faith for himself. As 
  Coralfire moves over to the falls, he calls over, "Coorelfair know where go, 
  on big land? Where look, find Kephissa, find Valnek, find ((crew))?"

Coralfire spends a couple moments under the water, but she catches that 
  question. "((Aye.))" is her response. "I know where to start. Kephizza with 
  Shelbor and Xhosa, last I saw. I track Shelbor and Xhosa, find Kephizza. And 
  elves help find others." It will all work, really it will. "Wolves help too."

_Wolves_? Vardeus straightens up on his perch, open bafflement his expression 
  now. "How woolfs.... woolves hilp find ((crew))?" This is going to be 
  another one of those elf oddities, isn't it?

Coralfire chuckles, at that, as she splashdives into the middle of the pool. 
  "Wolves hunt. Can find." is what she says. Hey, those noses gotta be good 
  for something, yes? And Coralfire isn't an elf, but even so, it's an elf 
  oddity. "Wolves find strangers. Find not-tribe."

"Wolves not hurt huim-- er _why_ wolves not hurt huimins?" Vardeus asks 
  blankly. He's seen the wolves on the island, of course. He knows they seem 
  to live with the elves, and has even been pounced by the friendliest of the 
  wolves. Still, it doesn't exactly make sense. Very little has managed to 
  make sense to him, about the elves.

Coralfire pauses at that one, and then she has to think. Okay, this is going 
  to hurt her head, right? "Wolves not hurt Vardeus." she points out, 
  perfectly logically. "Or Coralfire." And they certainly don't hurt their 
  wolf friends. "Not all wolves help. But some." There, is that better, 
  perhaps? Wolves friends."

Yes, it's another elf thing. Vardeus half-nods, rolling the notion over in his 
  mind, adding 'friends with wolves' to the list of bizarrities he has 
  observed about the Little People to date. And then he asks, suddenly 
  wondering whether this particular human woman might well be in a position to 
  answer this question for him: "Coorelfair... _what_ elves?"

A blank stare help you out? Coralfire isn't sure how to answer, not with your 
  limited knowledge of the language. Though truly, you are getting much 
  better. "What are elves?" High ones, you don't ask the easy ones, do you? 
  It's her turn to crawl up on a rock while she thinks. Absently, she works at 
  unbraiding her hair so she can finger comb it. "Elves like humans, only from 
  far away. Elves ... just are." It probably wouldn't help to know that the 
  Olbar call them demons or little spirits, would it? Cause you know, she's 
  not entirely sure how to explain that.

"Elves nae like huimins," Vardeus protests, uneasily, unconsciously rubbing a 
  palm against his bare rib cage, still remembering what the elf called Splash 
  had done to him. "Elves eat, elves sleep, like huimins, swim, talk--" But. 
  "Huimins nae talk in head. Nae shape rock, shape metal. Nae--" His hand rubs 
  again against his ribs. "Touch hurt, fix hurt."

Coralfire nods her head. That's all true. "Humans no like elves." she says 
  softly. And you haven't met the human witches over here. "I don't know, 
  Vardeus. Elves have talents, still elves." She really doesn't know more than 
  that. They just are. "Elves talk wolves too, some."

"'I don't know'," Vardeus echoes, his mind still trying to pluck meaning out 
  of the unfamiliar words he hears in Coralfire's speech. "'I don't know,' nae 
  'I not know'. I see..." And he laughs a little, shaken, rubbing his brow 
  now. "I think, hit head, sleep. ((Dream)) elves, ((dream monster))..."

Coralfire chuckles a bit, understanding that perhaps too well. "Vardeus sleep 
  in water, not good." she says, with an impish gleam to her smile. "elves 
  real. humans real. ((Monster?)) I don't know." Grammar improves, vocabulary 
  improves - must be getting there, Vardeus. Fingers finish up, and Coral 
  rebraids her hair efficiently. "((Dream.)) sleep story?" she asks, seeing if 
  she has it right.

He starts, blinking, as if snapping out of reverie, and peers over at the 
  other human before putting forth another half-hearted smile. "((Aye,)) 
  sleep, see in sleep, hear in sleep... is ((dream))."

Coralfire nods. "Dream," she translates. Well, that's a pretty easy one, at 
  least sort of. "((Dream.))" She has the strangest little vocabulary of 
  Vraeyan words though. Can't imagine what the others will think. "I go sleep 
  soon, I think," she says, enjoying the company, but there's only so many new 
  words she can learn at one time before her brain shuts down.

It _is_ getting dark, and for all that it's quite temperate on this island, 
  it's getting cooler as well. Quietly, Vardeus nods. "Dream," he answers, to 
  try to impress that word into his memory. And he adds, "Coorelfair sleep 
  good."

Coralfire pauses on her way out of the water, to reach a hand out 
  comfortingly. "Dream well," she says, stopping once out to dry off a little 
  and put on a few more items of clothing. "And thank you. Good night."

Vardeus can't quite manage anything resembling a smile at the benediction. 
  "I... sleep," he acknowledges, and that's as much as he'll expect. Gruffly, 
  feeling a trifle clumsy, he eyes the hand held out to him and lifts his own, 
  just long enough to take the other and clasp it. "Good night, Coorelfair."

[End log.]