"Plans at Long Last"

Log Date:
	3/8/02

Log Cast:
	Vardeus, Raven

Log Intro:
	There are times when being a man with pride can be a problem. For
all his desperation to get into action and find his missing crewmates, 
Vardeus has overlooked an easy source of help at his disposal: the very
same elves who have taken him and Maerro in in the first place. But the
Captain has been almost loathe to try to ask his little benefactors for any
further help, aware as he is that if what he understands of the way of 
things between his kind and theirs is true, he is lucky to have gotten what
help he has in the first place. Moreover, in a doggedly perverse sort of
way he has been almost obsessed with the need to do something _himself_,
for Vardeus Alirreus is by nature a man of action... and after his long
forced period of inactivity, action is something he craves more than the
very air he breathes, by now.
	Fortunately for the increasingly desperate Captain, he is not 
without his friends on the island of the Raft Elves -- particularly Raven,
who has opened her tent to him and his young shadow Maerro, and who is
quite concerned when her human charge stalks off to the beach after yet
another round of nightmare-ridden sleep....

----------
Raft Beach - Shoreline - Raft Holt(#10028RDJLS)
        Truly magnificent and unique in its beauty, Rafter's beach unfolds 
  before you. The sand is soft yellow, verging on golden, patterns of black 
  sand trickling through the monotone coloring. The soft rushes of the waves 
  playing upon the beach is accompanied by the light breeze which stream 
  through the palm trees further into the cove. There you have it, rising up 
  on either side is majestic cliffs with reefs and rocks underneath. The 
  cliffs rise further, forming a lush green ridge formed as a giant U, which 
  surrounds this secluded area. At the mouth of the U, there is only 
  blue-green ocean to be seen with exception of the tribal gathering raft 
  dipping on the waves. 
        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. It is the dark of night, with little more than the two 
  moons and a sparkling of star to light the way for one and all. 
Awake: Raven  Vardeus 
Obvious exits: Fire  Camp area <N>  East <E>  Swim <S> 

Vardeus' departure from the tent tonight wasn't exactly difficult to miss. For 
  all that he might be graceful of carriage for one of his kind, the big 
  Vraeyan still _is_ big, and a human to boot, unaccustomed to the subtle 
  silence of elfin movement. Even his quietest passing can be caught by elfin 
  ears, especially when it's preceded by the restless dreams that have not 
  stopped haunting him in the middle of the night.
Now, simultaneously weary of body and too keyed up of mind to have a prayer of 
  sleep, Vardeus Alirreus stands with feet planted firmly into the sand near 
  the edge of a small tidal pool, doing his level best to skip rocks out into 
  the incoming wavelets and not to think of anything much at all save the heft 
  of his missiles against his palm, the flick of his wrist, and how many skips 
  he can achieve before the rocks he flings out into the spray finally vanish 
  from his sight. His eyes are wild, his beard-roughened jaw grimly set, his 
  hair still tousled by sleep and the vagaries of the wind.

Indeed, the human's exit of the tent was noted some time ago, and seeing that 
  he has not returned, Raven pads along the beach, following his footprints in 
  the sand with the quiet grace that appears to be inate among her kind. It's 
  not long before she spots him skipping rocks into the water and pauses to 
  watch for a moment before continuing over to his side. Only when she is 
  within touching distance does she break the silence, (("You no sleep, 
  Vardoos?"))

A muscle jumps in the human's cheek as Raven seems to emerge seemingly from 
  out of the night itself, so silent is her arrival... or perhaps, so 
  engrossed is he in whatever inner turmoil has driven him up and out of 
  slumber. He doesn't look down at her, nor does he pause in flinging his next 
  beach stone out into the water. But he does acknowledge gruffly, "((No... I 
  dinnae sleep.))" Only when he's thrown the stone does he glance down to the 
  she-elf, a bit of concern creasing his brow. "((Did I wake the lad?))"

Raven watches the stone skip across the water before descending beneath an 
  incoming wavelet then shakes her head and smiles, (("No.. Mayro sleeps..")), 
  she replies before her gaze finally shifts up to meet Vardeus's. Her head 
  tilts just a bit as she querries, (("What make you no sleep?.. More 
  dreams..?"))

If there's anything that's been easy to learn about this strange human from a 
  place called Vrae, it's that he does not easily admit to vulnerability. Even 
  now, before one of the elves who can put honest claim to the title of 
  'friend' to the five-finger that the Raft Tribe has taken into its care, he 
  seems uncomfortable to have been caught out in a moment of weakness. He does 
  not quite meet Raven's eyes now, and neither does he answer the question, 
  not quite yet. Instead, he cuts straight to the heart of at least one thing 
  that's been tormenting him as he announces, "((I cannae stay here any 
  longer, Raven. Maerro and I must go. Kephissa and Valnek... they've nae 
  come. We must be off to find 'em.))"

Raven seems to understand that her question will not be answered just now. She 
  turns her gaze back to the water and purses her lips in a thoughtful manner. 
  After letting the silence stretch for just a few minutes she moves into the 
  water and glances back over her shoulder, "Can you swim?" she asks.. and 
  uncertain if he's learned the meaning of the word swim, she makes motions 
  with her hands t hat suggest such to him.

"((Aye,))" Vardeus replies without hesitation. One corner of his mouth quirks 
  up into a bit of a smile, though it does not reach his eyes. "I ((sailor)). 
  I swim since little." He straightens up a bit, watching the little maiden 
  stepping into the waves, and his brows crook up over his eyes.

Raven nods her head and grins, "Come with me then.." she says before she moves 
  out til she is just barely keeping her feet then turns back to motion for 
  the human captain to follow here, "Come on, we won't go far.. and Chatter 
  will come with us." she calls out as a wavedancer leaps into the air further 
  out from the shallow water. One might note that the creature lives up to its 
  name in that it seems to keep up a constant chattering of clicks, whistles 
  and squeals through the entirity of its arc through the air.

Vardeus blinks, then promptly hauls off his vest and his sandals and begins to 
  edge out into the surf, something of the tension in his face easing away at 
  the sight of the wavedancer. "Wae--" he begins, and then carefully, 
  reverently, as if anxious to try to pronounce the word properly, he tries 
  again. "Wave-dan-cer. Is... Chatter?"

Raven grins and nods her head, "Yes! Chatter is my bond," she states 
  forgetting for the moment that you most likely have no clue of /what/ a bond 
  is.

Nor does he. Vardeus wades out till the waves lap at his waist, but his brow 
  knits in befuddlement at the new word. "Nae know 'bond'," he notes, all the 
  while straining for another glimpse of the sleek and lovely creature. It 
  must be something good, he supposes, from the shine in your expression, but 
  he doesn't want to try to make a guess; Vardeus has learned from hard 
  experience that it's generally best to let people better with the learning 
  of language than he gamble on the meanings of strange new words.

Raven grins as Chatter swims right over to her and the two greet each other. 
  Raven presses her head against the smooth melon at the front of Chatter's 
  head. All the while, her small hands skim over the slick, gray skin. 
  Greeting over, Raven looks back to Vardeus and speaks again, "We are..." she 
  fishes for some simple way to explain bonding and finally settles on, ".. 
  joined... Here." At that, she points to her head and then Chatter's. She 
  then looks back up at Vardeus hoping that she at least made a little bit of 
  sense there.

The human is a bit shy of approaching this marvelous creature, though 
  fascination gleams in his eyes as he comes a bit closer. Vardeus glances up 
  as the she-elf explains, and then crinkles his brow a bit as he considers. 
  "Is like... head-talk? Send? Raven head-talk Chatter?"

Raven nods vigorously, "Yes!" she replies as she slips an arm over Chatter's 
  back, just in front of the dorsal fin. The 'dancer, apparently taking this 
  as her cue, turns to the human and chatters happily at him. Raven giggles at 
  something and looks up at Vardeus, "She is glad to see you again," the 
  elf-maid says then.

Vardeus blinks several more times, stunned that the creature seems so... 
  animated. Intelligent. _Aware_. He cants his head to the side, features 
  crinkling in further confusion, intermingled with his wonder. "Chatter... 
  see I? When?" he blurts. "I nae see Chatter."

Raven chuckles a bit at that and nods, "You were sleeping when Chatter saw 
  you," she says. She turns her head to the 'dancer, "She and another of their 
  pod brought you here," she adds as her expression fades to all seriousness.

To this, Vardeus cannot help but start in amazement, physically jolting there 
  where he stands in the surf, his eyes going wide in his lean features. 
  "Wha--?! How Raven know? I think before--" For a moment the captain falters, 
  not knowing the proper words, before he fumblingly gestures at his own head 
  and goes on, "I hurt on head, I on beach, Raven find. Raven find before?"

Raven shakes her head, "Chatter and another of her pod found you while they 
  were following the fish," she replies. "I was here."

Vardeus feels his own jaw drop, then snaps his mouth shut before he finally 
  manages to blurt out, "Wha... how... how Raven know Chatter find I?"

Raven giggles at that and shakes her head, "She told me." She taps her head 
  with one finger as if to remind Vardeus of what she just imparted to him 
  about her relationship with the 'dancer.

Apparently, however, the human didn't quite get it. "Chatter... _talk_? 
  Like... huimin talk, elf talk?" Eyes gone as round as a wondering child's 
  now, Vardeus stares at the cheerful creature, stunned as he has been stunned 
  only by four things previous in his life: Tiana being nice to him, the 
  monster that attacked his vessel, the discovery of the elves, and Splash's 
  healing magic.

Chatter takes the opportunity to be vocal once more and spills into a diluge 
  of squeals and squeaks as her bond attempts to explain a little better. She 
  points at Chatter, "That is how Chatter talks to her pod but, she speaks to 
  me, in my head. I can feel her thoughts and she can feel mine." She knows 
  that some of those words are foreign but hopes that the taps to her forehead 
  and the 'dancers, along with the rest of her words make what she's saying 
  understandable.

For a few moments Vardeus just... reels, overwhelmed by the import of what he 
  thinks Raven has imparted to him. And then he abruptly jolts anew, his 
  earlier agitation surging back into his eyes as he suddenly realizes: if 
  this creature Chatter can talk, if she can communicate, if she _remembers 
  bringing him in from the waves_--
Vardeus bursts out then, "Chatter see ((ship))? Chatter see ((Windrider))? 
  Wave-dan-cer bring I, bring Maerro to elfs, more wave-dan-cer take 
  ((crew))?!"
_Did she see my ship go down?_ That last thought slashes across Vardeus' 
  thoughts like a knife, but that last thought, he can't quite bring himself 
  to voice.

Raven's eyes go wide as she watches the play of emotions across Vardeus's face 
  and then she too jumps as if startled as he bursts into movement.. and 
  speech.. again. She glances over at Chatter for just a moment then looks 
  back to Vardeus with a very wide-eyed expression, "She saw... something.." 
  she pauses trying to make sense of the image passed to her from Chatter 
  before continuing on, ".. that night.. but, she does not know where it is 
  now.. or if other wavedancers saved your ((crew))."

Vardeus's throat ripples in the moonlight as he swallows hard, stubbornly 
  trying for a stoic expression yet betrayed by his own anguished eyes. It is 
  the look of a man barely clinging to a shred of hope that he has not in fact 
  lost the dearest thing in the world to him... and it's the voice of such a 
  man as well, with which he finally rasps out, "Say Chatter, Vardeus say... 
  thank you." But his gaze has turned unseeing now, as if the marvelous 
  creature before him in the water isn't even there.

Raven sighs and reaches to place a wet hand on Vardeus's forearm as she 
  speaks, "Vardoos...?" she speaks softly, there is no pity in her voice but 
  there is a deep sympathy therein. She sighs, "Come.. I still have something 
  to show you.." she says as she gives his forearm a bit of a tug.

He blinks as if forcibly emerging from a dream... and then nods, heavily, 
  sucking a deep breath into his lungs. _Pull yourself together, man! You're 
  no good to your crew like this!_ the captain berates himself vehemently. 
  "Raven show," he says then, both acknowledgement and request.

Raven nods as she slips away from Chatter's side and begins swimming away from 
  the beach.
Raven wades into the surfs, then dives into the inviting waves.
Raven has left.

[Vardeus swims in the she-elf's wake... and soon enough...]

Raft Cove - Water - Raft Holt
        This beautiful cove is nicely shaded. The trees from the beach coming 
  right up to the very edge, leaning towards the smooth turquoise surface. The 
  lack of currents here creates a flat surface, mirroring the sky and 
  shoreline. In the very center of the cove is a large rock, jutting up out of 
  the water. Its convoluted surface would make good for climbing, but also 
  makes a perfect dock for rafts - which it is used for. Several rafts are 
  linked together around the rock, making it look like one larger raft that 
  rolls with the movement of the elves, creating a wavy sensation to the whole 
  thing. There is only one way in and out of the cove, around some jutting 
  rocks and reefs. One has to swim to get around, the reefs sharp and 
  dangerous if one is to get caught in one of the currents around there.
        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. Dawn has come, bringing with it the bright array of colors 
  to light up the horizon. 
Awake: Vardeus  Raven 
Asleep: Coralsong 
Other: Brackish's Raft  Surfsinger's Raft <SR>  Redtide's Raft  Crest's Raft  
  Fathom's Raft <FR>  Little Raft  FireStone's Raft 
Obvious exits: Towards the tribal raft <N> 

True to his word, Vardeus is a swimmer and a strong one, now that he's long 
  recovered from his injuries. He even has energy to spare, and he gratefully 
  puts himself to expending it as he cuts powerfully through the waves... 
  perhaps not so gracefully as either elf or dolphin, but not without a grace 
  of his own. As he moves himself along he lets his gaze come up with his 
  natural motion of his head, marking the route that Raven takes.

Raven isn't quite as graceful in the water as Quietharm or Stormgrace might be 
  but she's still and elf and she has lived among the Raft for many turns. She 
  finally slows then stops to tread water at the entrance to a sheltered cove, 
  where a small fleet of masted rafts float gently on the calmer seawater.

The human catches up with his smaller companion, treading water with the 
  natural ease of a sailor born and bred, and flicking his wet hair out of his 
  eyes with a motion of his head entirely due to being _Vardeus_ rather than 
  _sailor_. "Rafts," he observes, only a little surprised... he'd known they 
  existed, of course. And both Raven and Quietharm had spoken of the 
  possibility of use of their rafts, for the finding of his missing crewmates. 
  And yet, Vardeus had been oddly reluctant to ask for such help, bent on 
  trying to build a craft of his own -- and only in the last day or two forced 
  to concede that for all that he may be a sailor born and bred, he is _not_ a 
  shipwright. Or a boatwright, for that matter. Especially not without tools. 
  "Raven show rafts?"

Raven nods then with a grin swims toward one of the small craft. Once there, 
  she pulls herself up over the edge and onto the deck. "This one is mine," 
  she calls out with a wide grin on her face.

Vardeus paddles over, his gaze sweeping all over the small raft as well as the 
  larger ones around it. The biggest ones strike him oddly -- hadn't some of 
  the elves claimed their rafts wouldn't hold him? -- but he dismisses those 
  crafts as irrelevant for the immediate moment. The big rafts have not been 
  offered for his use, and he won't ask. Not unless he absolutely has to... 
  though truth be told, he's almost desperate enough to ask, by now. "Raven 
  make raft?" Vardeus asks instead, at least for the time being.

Raven nods her head, "Redtide and I made it," she replies still grinning. She 
  then pats the roughened logs beside her and hops up to move to the other 
  side of the small craft to maybe offset some of your weight on the raft.

"Raft hold I?" Best to make sure of this, though Vardeus knows your gestures 
  by now. Cautiously he hoists himself up onto the craft, pausing just long 
  enough to judge the effect he has upon it as he climbs aboard. "How make? I 
  try make raft, I not good." To this, he makes a grimace of self-directed 
  annoyance. "Not have right things, make raft."

Raven grins, "Why make one when this one will hold you and Mayro?" she queries 
  as she watches you climb aboard.

He'd been afraid to ask, but now that it's been _offered_, the relief that 
  crashes over Vardeus's expression is as palpable as a wave slamming into the 
  shore. "I," he begins, once he's secure on the raft. He sits there wet and 
  dripping for a moment or two, blinking behind his hair; unconsciously, he 
  shoves a hand up to push the heavy bangs out of his eyes. And then he goes 
  on plaintively, "I... not want ask raft. Elves hilp much, nae want make 
  elves do more." For a moment, Vardeus pauses, and then his gaze goes 
  inevitably out across the waves as he roughly confesses, "I... nae sleep. I 
  work, I make raft, I tired, I sleep." If that makes sense.

Raven crouches on the opposite side of the raft and arches a brow. She shakes 
  her head, "Vardoos, you don't need to make a raft.. we will take you to the 
  big land."

His blue gaze swings back around to the she-elf, then, vivid with barely 
  concealed emotion. "Tomorrow?" Vardeus asks, trying to sound casual, not 
  quite pulling it off.

Raven looks out over the water which is just beginning to sparkle with the 
  dawning of the new day. After a moment's contemplation she nods and turns 
  back to Vardeus, "Tomorrow.." she replies.

"I tell Shay'la, Kyethaerm, Coorelfair," Vardeus explains, animation beginning 
  to enliven him. He _wants_ to set off right this minute, truth be told. But 
  there are others who have asked about coming with him on his search... and 
  naturally, he must get Maerro prepared. What few possessions they've managed 
  to acquire during their stay on the island must be gathered. And... well, 
  though the prospect of approaches her makes him far more nervous than he'd 
  like to admit, he must leave a token of appreciation for Splash as well. 
  "And I... I give something Splash," he says then, shoving his _other_ hand 
  through his hair now. "Splash, uh, heal I. Give something say thank you. 
  Leave by cave, then go on raft."

Raven nods her head in agreement, "We'll need to get everything together..."

The smile the human unfurls is not his best; it still doesn't reach his eyes 
  so that it might drive away the lingering shadow of sleeplessness behind 
  them. But it does light the lower half of his tanned and rugged face, a 
  white flash in the midst of his new beard that hints of how brilliantly his 
  entire countenance might be illumined if that smile were at full strength. 
  "Thank _you_," Vardeus says then, clearly and distinctly. "Thank you, Raven."

Raven smiles and shakes her head, "I have been lost before... You don't need 
  to thank me," she says then with a mischevious grin, she dives into the 
  water and disappears from sight.. but only for a few moments.. soon, she 
  pops out from under the raft on Vardeus's side of the raft. There is 
  mischief shining brightly in her emerald gaze just before she spouts a 
  mouthful of water up at the human.

[End log.]