Welcome to Gaia! ::

Oqaia walked gingerly down the long wooden planks- more for the sake of her stomach than her feet. They had been on the DiLong Ferry for three days, and the water that could be seen on all sides of them made her nervous. (That was her euphemism for nauseated. Everyone knew the difference, but were kind enough to the sister of the wagonmother to let her pretend that she didn't disappear ten minutes after every mealtime.)

The DiLong Ferry had been constructed by a number of entrepeneurs from different races- mostly, the people of the Nereid Isle and from locations in the south that had a vested interested in building a large enough seafaring vessel to transport customers and tourists to the sizeable isle. They hadn't intended on ever shipping a wagontrain of gypsies- but when Valelldia and her brothers and sisters had arrived, willing and able to pay for the journey, the gruff captain had no qualms about allowing them passage. There was room enough for all of their wagons on the upper level- and there they currently sat, moored down in a familiar, comforting circle that Oqaia often found herself gravitating to the center of. THey could create no fire in the center for the sake of the great wooden ship, but if she hunkered down and breathed slowly, she could almost pretend she was sitting on the good, solid earth, surrounded by the wagons she knew- and not here, in the midst of the Phyleohn.

Tamlin noticed Caroline having a bit of trouble with the rocking of the ship so she wandered over to comfort her.

"heya hun, the rockin' getting to ya?" she said sprightly and she walked gingerly, completely comfortable on the ocean.

"you care to enjoy the sun and the air with me? why don' we just take a stroll to the center of the ship, the rocking is less there. "

Taniel was engaged in a new activity of his - people watching. He hadn't sung since they'd come aboard, and he had kept oddly quiet. Apparently, he wasn't so sure he should trust everybody on board, as he didn't know them. So he stayed on the second level, watching as people passed. The Fermer twins caught his attention - he'd always loved children, and found twins especially enchanting. Perhaps it was because he would never be able to have children of his own...

Vahe sat on his shoulder, watching the twins, as well. He was more fascinated with their glistening hair. He tilted his head and sung a little at them, trying to draw them closer.

"Urgh. Annathing that might possibly help," agrees Caroline, allowing herself to be led by Tamlin toward the middle of the boat. Keeping her elaborate pink parasol (what had possessed that priestess to give away such an ornate thing?) between her and the midday sun helps as well. She notes a middle-aged gentleman standing alone near the middle of the ferry. "Perhaps some conversation will--ugh--be settlin' my insides." She nods toward the man.

Rojiza smiles and waves back at her friend. Taking out her notepad and pencil, she writes:
We'll be on this ferry for long enough--want to explore? I haven't seen what's down below this level.
She offers it to Anezka.

Baptiste, who had mostly stayed in his wagon lately for some reason, decides that being in a wagon on a ferry is not precisely fun. In contrast to some of the more seasick maidens on this voyage, Baptiste loves the water and boats. He exits his wagon and inhales the refreshing aquatic air. Smiling pleasantly to himself, he decides to look for some people in the wagon he hasn't met yet.
Heading down the stairs to the second level, he comes upon two adolescent girls. They are obviously part of the caravan, defined by their animal features. Both lovely young ladies, but very different from each other. One, who was doubtless a rabbit at some point, is darkly beautiful with smouldering eyes and smoke-colored hair. The other, whose animal form he can't place, seems to have a quiet, natural charm about her.
Baptiste bows to the young ladies. "I don't believe we've met, madamoiselles," he says. "I've only just recently joined your caravan. My name is Baptiste."

Anezka took the pad and read it, nodding her head. "Yes, you're right...Exploring sounds like fun." She smiled and handed the notepad back to Rojiza, then offered up her elbow, "Shall we?"

DeArca sat alone on the deck with a pole in hand, watching the string get pulled within the water, the sheer force making it hard to tell if he had a fish or not at times. He wasn't so sick, he enjoyed the water...it was amazing. He hoped that this boat ride would get them to the Isle soon because he was curious to explore more locations.

"Hehe!" Ash was in a barrel on the ship which rolled around when the ship waved. Ash came out, dizzy and laughing. "Hehe! Weee!" he cheered and crawled out of the barrel and went over to Ash, poking him. "Hehe"

"Hmm, hey Ash? Don't be causing trouble now!" He smiled, patting his head as he put his pole in a lockhole and went over to the barrel, standing it. "Hey! Hey!" Ash jumped, pointing to DeArca's pole and DeArca turned. "I got one!" He said, but watched his pole break and fall into the water as DeArca looked over. "Bye Bye!" Ash said and DeArca sighed. "Darn, it took a while to make that. Oh well, no fish today, Ash" He said

Axel was perched above, looking for other Banyas like himself but saw nobody. He blinked and looked down at his owner and sweatdropped at how silly he and Ash were.

Irina had boarded the ferry a bit perturbed, not quite comfortable on the water. She had never travelled on a ferry before, and it made her stomach knot. She had spent most of the time so far in the wagon, trying to ignore the water around her, hoping the baby wouldn't be fussy and make her ill.

The children, on the other hand, were delighted to be on the boat, and had been dying to go outside and explore. Irina was glad they could each look after each other now, even if they were still young. Soon enough, they would be old enough to explore by themselves, she thought, knowing that they would grow quickly.

"Do you both want to go check out the deck?" she asked Kal and Eerie as they stared out the wagon windows, wanting to be with the others who were enjoying the fresh ocean air.

Kalpana whippped her head around and nodded furiously, managing to get out a "Yesssssssss mama!" before she pressed her face against the window again, more than a little curious about the new scenery outside.

Eerie didn't even turn around, but kept staring out the window, as quiet as ever. "Pa-leeze?" he asked, already knowing his mother would say yes as he stood up and headed for the door on shaky hooves. He had only gotten used to walking a few weeks ago, when he took his first steps alone. Kal had helped him, holding his hands as he threatened to fall over. Her large feet kept her firmly planted though, and Eerie had managed to walk a few steps before plopping down on his bottom.

"All right then," Irina said, unable to say know to their curious faces. "Let's get going." She stood up, one hand holding her round belly as she did so. She headed for the door, pulling Eerie up into her arms and resting him on her hip, while she let Kal open the door and scamper down the steps and into the cool, salty air. "It'd probably be good for us to get some fresh air," she said, making her way down the steps and onto the deck, looking for some of the other caravan members.

Leax made a low pur in his throat, then reached over and gave Lorelei a soft brush on the cheek. He'd become accustomed to seeing her in the blindfold- though it still pained his heart that for every sweet gesture of touch he made when Vanna was around, he had to give her a soft 'warning' beforehand. Otherwise, the start she'd give would make him sad. Several things made him sad, these days. Thankfully, their location was not one of them.

"It's so comforting here. I love the water. It reminds me of my childhood." Other things dwelled on his mind, though, and he ruminated aloud. "Your Banya. The one that gave the fortune earlier. What was its name?"