It was a beautiful morning with the rays of the rising sun streaking across the pale blue sky in hues of violet and pink. Wisps of silvery clouds scattered across the horizon as if the very essence of night was dispersing to make way for the new day. Gleaming ocean water stretched below the skies and a large ship was calmly sailing past, its top deck mostly empty save for the bare minimum amount of crew necessary to keep the vessel and its occupants afloat. Other than the sailors there was one lone figure resting against the edges of the railings, his Matori blue coloring and pale clothing a contrast against the deep brown of the ship's wood. Unlike the rest who had celebrated the new year at sea with plenty of booze and now needed rest to recover, the man was fairly alert and plenty capable of moving around without pain or nausea. It would be unusual for him to be sick like the rest of the crew considering he had not participated in last night’s festivities to celebrate the new year like usual. Instead he had opted to just go to sleep with the rising moon so that he could start this new year with a fresh body and mind.

"Need coffee, Kai?" Called out one of the few that had skipped on the excessive drinking, their very voice making another wince as they scurried along the decks to check on the ship.

"I'm good. Thanks!" Kaimana waved them along with a smile. If anything he knew that pain considering he had been like them last year and the year before that and the year before that one as well along with many others. This voyage though had him feeling more responsible than before and the man had made a new resolution to be more reliable this year. After all he had his twin on the voyage and someone else that he truly wanted to impress….or rather stay alert because of? So while the rest drank and sang the night away, the Matori man had been studying maps and working on his drawings of fauna and flora. Kaimana was determined to stop wasting time drinking until he passed out and to instead hone his abilities. He wanted to become a great artist who earned his keep by helping his employer map the new continents and trade routes for the merchants. Maps were becoming more and more important now that their world was expanding after all. His twin relied on him as did others now so he was resolved to spend this year as a matured man instead of acting like some playful youth. All it would take was more studying the arts and more work. Along with a lot less playing around and doing stupid things wtih the others who always tried to entice him to play dice or cards with them while they were waiting to arrive at the newest destination. A small smile did cross his lips at the thought. We shall see I suppose. Surely it would be ok to still play around a bit here and there, right? Only time would tell he supposed but either way he was determined to do better moving forward into this new year. He could do this! Even if he had to take tiny steps the young man was determined to grow and get better.

“Now where did I place those sketchbooks?” Kaimana sighed as he took one last lingering look across the waters, the temptation to just swim in the ocean almost overwhelming. It would be best to start practicing more while they were at sea and sailing since he was fairly tied to the boat and not able to do much else save for passing time with his twin or the crew. With that in mind the Matori turned away from the upper decks and started making his way down below towards the small cabin that he shared with his twin. At least the captain had been accommodating and while others shared rooms he had some space of his own since he would need time to hone his craft and help record everything they found along the way. Maybe he should also add organizing better to the list of things to learn and practice? Kaimana let out a chuckle as he shifted another bag and continued looking for his blank papers and charcoal pencils. Eventually he would find them or else it would seem that his new years’ resolution may change into gathering new materials instead.

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