Kappa swam and swam, she didn't look back, not even once.
She'd just managed to somehow create her own body and seperate her soul that had been trapped inside Dagiel as he himself nearly died.
How it had happened didn't exactly make sense, one moment she had been trying to use Dagiel's abilities to heal himself as he nearly died, the next thing she knew there was a blinding light and she was somehow standing over him. Dagiel had paled to such a colour that his blue skin was almost a pale pastel whitish-blue, from the waist down he was covered in blood that had previously been gushing from his legs before Kappa managed to stem the flow with Dagiel's healing ability.
Kappa couldn't understand how this had happened, she had begun to fret that maybe Dagiel was going to die and the only reason she'd been able to separate herself was because he was rapidly declining as she’d been able to tap into his energy to access his powers. Because of the worrisome thought that Dag might actually die after everything he’d already been though Kappa had decided on waiting for Dagiel to wake up. She told herself it was so she wouldn’t feel guilty if she ever ran into Kat or anyone else they knew, she’d be able to look them in the eye and say the last time she saw him he was alive. While Dag slept fitfully over the coming days, she kept watch over him and changed the dressings on his legs to keep them clean. She was rather glad he'd thought to stock up on some medical supplies on a trip back to land to get things he needed to survive in this damned cave system he’d found.
The days drifted by eventlessly as the colour returned to Dagiel's skin and his breathing became less ragged. When Dagiel finally stirred and woke up, Kappa had wanted to stay calm and talk to him but she'd lost her cool with him in mere moments. She was incredibly frustrated that he'd been so foolish, why would he behave this way? Seclude himself and cut off his friends and family? Cut himself off from the world for what? To make Kappa talk to him again? She wasn’t sure she really cared about hearing his excuses anyway, he heard his thoughts enough while she was inside his head. Kappa didn’t want Dagiel to feel dependent on her for company, she’d hoped he’d be able to make new friends or something but since her demand to separate he went all weird and it felt possessive. All she'd wanted was freedom to live her life, her way.
Since that day when Dagiel and Kappa had met Sade, Kappa had the urge to explore the whole world of Tretera. Then when they stumbled across that group that went up to the dragon city, Kappa was reminded of why she had escaped the city in the first place. She never wanted to be tied down and stuck anywhere again, yet there she was, stuck inside a whole 'nother living being with absolutely no autonomy. It was infuriating. As much as she felt the urge to protect Dagiel, she wanted her freedom too… And in that moment when Dagiel woke up, all of Kappa's frustrations boiled over and overflowed until she stormed out on him. Leaving Dagiel completely alone and injured in an underwater cave system.
Kappa felt a tinge of regret for her behaviour and actions, but she still didn't turn around or stop. She'd turned into her water dragon form moments after hitting the water and then kept swimming in a random direction until she reached shallow waters that gave a promise of solid land. Kappa's sense of direction told her she was coming to a beach but didn't know exactly where she was as she'd swam for some distance.
She left the waters and walked up onto a beach, at the moment there wasn't anything much around beyond the sandy shore and shrubs, Kappa took a few moments to rest on the beach, she looked around her and saw nothing that worried her immediately, there didn't appear to be any other presence around beyond the chirping of birds and various animal noises. Some time passed before she stood and brushed the sand from herself, looking down she finally took herself in. Her skin a shade similar to ivory she marveled at her hands, turning them this way and that as she admired her fingers. Her own hands. How she'd missed being just herself!
She moved her eyes to look down at herself, the bits she could see anyway. She was in some amazing looking clothes that she’d missed wearing. She marveled at her purple and black striped long socks and boots, before pinching the fabric of her skirt between two fingers, a grin burst across her lips; oh how she’d missed her own clothes!
She searched her pockets hoping to find something but they were all empty save of a small diary. She sighed looking around again, then picking a random direction, started walking. It felt like a couple hours had passed before the shrubs opened into a small clearing, there was a house with some clothes hanging out to dry on a line.
Kappa approached the house cautiously, listening for noises if anyone was around. On a closer inspection, probably a better word for it would be a small bungalow, she hadn’t heard any noises as she crept close enough to peer through a window. She could see everything inside from the window, the little home was exactly that, little, she could see a bed, a small kitchen, some clothes drawers and a table and chairs and even better it appeared no one was home…
She moved around till she reached the front door and pulled at it, the door swung open easily. Whoever lived here obviously didn't expect random visitors. Kappa crept into the house searching for food, anything would do if she was incredibly hungry. She found fruit in a bowl and snagged an apple from it, as she did so she heard a soft metallic clicking sound. Peering into the bowl Kappa realised there was a pouch tucked under the fruit, she carefully poked at it and it made that clinking sound again. Almost on cue her heart started hammering in her chest, was she about to steal from some random?
Yes.
Yes she was.
Hands shaking, Kappa opened the pouch and selected a small amount of coins before closing it and placing the apple she'd picked up back on top. It wouldn't do to have someone chasing after her straight away if they noticed things had been tampered with. She didn't linger any longer, she slipped out the door, closing it quietly behind herself. Then holding tightly to the coins she'd taken from the purse she took off into the bushes.
She ran until she was sure the small home was far behind her and her legs began to feel like jelly, then slowing to a walk as she feared getting a stitch if she stopped, she continued on slowly for some time until the edges of what looked like a port side town came into view. She paused to tidy herself up, to at least look a little less ragged, then picked up her pace feeling eager to reach civilization, thinking of the potential shops just up ahead, food!
As she neared the town she could see beings moving around to and fro and from shop to shop, meandering along walkways... All appeared to be human, not a single strange skin colour or winged being was in sight, almost instantly setting Kappa's nerves on edge.
She cautiously started towards a food vender who was selling street foods, the smells from his stall almost overwhelming her entirely empty stomach. Kappa felt uneasy about approaching the stall vendor at first, but a glint from a nearby window caught her attention as it shined in her eyes. She moved to stop the glare shining into her eyes and caught sight of her reflection, she tried not to gape as she realised she actually looked human!
Kap exhaled, she’d been holding her breath for some reason and was feeling her head get a little dizzy as she clutched tighter the coins in her hand. She knew she didn’t have a lot and she’d have to use them carefully to get her some food and supplies that might last…
The smells of fresh food again caught her attention as she inhaled again, checking his prices she purchased the second cheapest thing on his list, it had some exotic sounding name and came two at a time on a skewer with rice. It looked a little odd and yet smelled great. After paying for it she counted the small amount of coins she had left and went to sit on a bench thinking. How could she make this work? What did she need? Where did she want to go anyway? What was she even doing right now?!
It was then just before she bit into her first morsel of food; the unnamed meat on a stick that strangely smelled tantalising and tasted, that night with Dagiel and that stranger called Sade…*Crunch* “Oh wow!” She exclaimed as the juices dribbled down her chin. It was sooo good! She spent the next few minutes trying to stop herself from ravenously eating the portion of food she’d purchased and forcing herself to take her time. Reminding herself she only had limited funds and she needed to be careful. After she’d finished the first stick and half the rice she paused and pulled out the book she’d felt earlier. It had a pen clipped neatly to the side of it.
Flicking it open she felt as if she knew this little book, as if it has always been with her. She didn’t question it further, instead crossing her legs and balancing her food on her knee, she picked up the pen and started writing.
Quote:
Sade spoke of another continent, he said it was hard to get to.
~Is Haven a reason it’s hard to reach?
~Do the dragonkind have stories about it? #FRAN
~Can I get there by swimming?
~LEVIATHAN - How to get past you?
I want to explore the world, I want to see what is out there.
What do I need?
~ Waterproof bag that I can tie to myself with a strong elastic.
~ Food that won't perish fast
~ Water bottle
~ Blankets
~ First aid kit
~Map
~Current finances: low
She tapped her pen on the side of the book for a few moments, feeling satisfied that she’d managed to get this far. Then scooped back up her food and took her time to enjoy what was left, pondering how she was going to reach her goal. Finishing her food she closed her book and gently pressed the pen back onto it and stood up to find a bin to dispose of her rubbish. Then she found a public restroom and tried to give herself a sink bath to freshen up while others who came in gave her horrified looks and hurriedly left. Kappa knew she wouldn’t have long before someone would report a ‘homeless person bathing in public’ and she’d probably get thrown out of the city so winding up the idea of feeling completely fresh Kappa left heading out to see what her measly amount of coins could buy her supply wise.
It was a kind of luck that brought her to the edge of the town, furthest from the coast line as she dodged the city guards who seemed to be looking for a homeless degenerate similar to her description only a lot more ragged and unclean sounding. There she discovered a small shop, like an old trinkets and second hand items shop that had been pushed to the very edges of the city and seemed to be barely hanging on in the out of sight position. It was such an odd sight but a wonderful find for Kappa who had slipped into the shop to avoid being noticed by passing guards and found herself face to face with a older man whose eyesight seemed to have faded as he squinted at her with opaque eyes and a sly grin, he greeted her.
“Welcome to our town, is there anything I can help you with?”
Kappa eyed him cautiously, “How did you know I was new?”
The old man's smile widened revealing an almost toothless grin, “You smell different.” He said, sounding slightly amused, then moved to point a knobbled finger towards his second hand wares, “Feel free to have a look around.” And with that he fell silent and seemed to stare ahead at the wall just above her head.
Kappa blinked, looking a little stunned at the older man before she turned her attention to the assorted items in the shop. There were all sorts of knick-knacks, various clothing items and random items that she didn’t even know what they might be. Some things looked incredibly old and seemed to have lived in the shop for so long just by the look of a thick layer of dust. Maybe even as old as the man who ran the shop, she thought to herself. She quietly moved around, trying to be careful not to stir up too much of the dust that had settled about the space.
Her gaze fell on a selection of bags, she rummaged through them feeling each one's fabrics and durability. If she could find something she could fix up… Unfortunately not… She sighed, turning away from the pile of bags, and that's when she spotted a section of racks that looked promising.
It was full of camping gear and random old scuba things. She found a blanket that looked warm and thick enough and didn't smell too musty, along with a waterproof packet of old open matches, a length of elastic and what looked like an old thick raincoat that she thought might work well to fashion a waterproof sack…. Hopefully.. She just hoped she had enough to pay for it all.
She approached the counter with her small haul, and placed them on the table in front of the man. "How much please, Sir." She asked clearly, he reached out and touched the items on the table top and muttered to himself, then gave her a price that was actually more than reasonable and thankfully within her measly budget. She handed over her coins and he caught her hand with a surprisingly strong grasp and then pressed something into the palm of her hand and quickly closed her fingers around it. "It'll bring you luck." He then released her hand, Kappa's face was stunned as she stared at her wrist. His grip had surprised her, she slowly pulled her hand back after he let go then opened it curious to see what he'd gifted her.
It was a small wingless dragon charm attached to a leather strap, and Kappa smiled at it, "Thank you." She said looking up, "It's lovely." She collected the things she'd just bought and eyed the tiny amount of change she had left. It should be just enough to get another round of that delicious street food she'd gotten on the way into the town, but this time on her way out. She shrugged on the rain coat, it was a little big which was definitely a good thing if she was going to try fashioning a bag out of it. Then she tucked the rest of the items into the pockets and paused for a moment to strap the leather cord around her wrist.
The man had remained silent the rest of the time that Kappa remained in the shop until she was convinced it was safe enough for her to leave. She hurried back towards the street vendor and caught him about to close as the day was getting late.
"Please Sir, I'll buy anything you have left." She said hurrying up to him.
The vendor eyed her for a moment, "What coins do you have?" He asked her, sounding dubious.
Kappa produced the small amount of coins she had left, it was barely enough to cover the one meal originally. He grumbled, "Finne if you like it that much.. 'M closing anyway.." He took her coins and set about bagging her a take away bowl. "'Eeer, now get out here. It won't take them long to figure it out." He said frowning at her hair and then nodding towards the port guards that were walking around on their rounds.
Kappa smiled gratefully while taking the bagged goods, "Thank you for your kindness." She made to quickly exit the port side town and managed to slip out seemingly unnoticed. Once more she was left wandering up the side of the coast, at least this time a lot less hurriedly. She was thinking as she walked along..
Should she head back to Kat's? Maybe she is in contact with Fran…. Or should she just try swimming to see how fat she could swim? That idea made her feel uneasy, it wasn't exactly safe out there either. She pondered what she should do as she looked for a safe place to set up a camp for the night.
-To be continued-
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