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Keera leaned forward over the railing, almost precariously. She grinned as she thought about how many times she'd been yelled at for doing this very thing... but her father wasn't about to come out here and yell at her, now was he? "He's 'too busy not moving to be bothered by little hooligans with adventure deficiencies'" She mocked Jen as she repeated the earlier statement that had sent her scurrying from the cabin. The water was pretty and shiney and clean... very blue. She tucked a strand of almost filfthy blonde hair behind her oversized ear, and glanced up at the island looming in front of her. They had been able to see it all morning, but it was just now coming into a focus.

Everlyse, on the other hand, was thoroughly bored with water. She had seen endless blue for about forever now, and was absolutely sick of it. Oh, yes, it was different kinds of blue--deep blue greens, clear pale sky blues, and occasionally schools of fish or even dolphins to distract her--but it was still water. Worse still, it was water that she was forbidden to go anywhere near. She was restricted to the ship and, while the ship was utterly fascinating, she was absolutely thrilled at the prospect of stepping foot onto solid ground once more. Once land had come into view, it had been impossible to keep the girl still--Dan had long since given up trying and instead lingered in the background, sending the occasional apologetic glance to the crewmen as Everlyse skittered underfoot. The little red-head ran about the deck, peeking over the railings in an attempt to learn as much about the island as the distance separating them would allow.

Jen could hear the footsteps of his daughter on the deck above him, but like dan, he had long since given up trying to stem their enthusiasim. He had been informed by both girls several times that the island was in sight, and that was the first good news he'd heard in a long time. Boats, apparently, did not agree with him. ~~ Keera glanced up at Everlyse and watched her twin sister with a grin, one arm cocked over the ample side railing. "Evy.." She started, casting side glances back to where Dan was watching them. "Can you see that big metal building on the island?" She pointed over at one of the rusted plate metal generator buildings. "you think that's a house?" ~~ Much like Jen, Jim was sitting as still as possible, though he at least was up on the sea level where the fresh air was... it helped.

At her sister's call, Everlyse skittered back to Keera's side and propped her chin on the railing between her two hands. Her eyes searched briefly before picking out the structure Keera was speaking of, and her lips pursed in a thoughtful frown. "I hope not. I duwanna live there. It looks real old."
"maybe there's treasure or something in there" Keera had deemed herself 'good at adventure' after having had a discussion with Brick about books and stories. In fact, Brick had found both children to be useful when it came to telling stories. They both knew quite a few good ones. Ever since that converstaion, Keera had been gearing up for an adventure, no matter what boredoms had been presented. "I bet it's important though, lookit how big it is. And it was probably pretty at one point. " She grinned "Maybe it's the prison!"

"It looks like a prison," Everlyse agreed after considering this proposal for several seconds. "Its an awful big prison. Ya think its full of bad guys? What if they ran out of space?!" The girl seemed torn between fear at the prospect of an island full of criminals and excitement at the adventures that would undoubtedly ensue from such a place. "Or...it's so old, d'you think the bad guys might break out?"

Keera considered this for a moment before she noticed that there were several other large metal buildings on the island, seemingly the same design and level of neglect if not the same size. "Well if must be full already, else why would they make so many more?" She pointed a little finger at the generators that she could see. "And so spaced apart? So they can't help each other if they do escape"

She nodded slowly, now significantly less excited. One big crumbling prison is fine. But there were several more buildings, and it wasn't a very big island to begin with. How full were the prisons? Did they run out of space and just give up? What is the island was overrun with criminals? "What if they already escaped? The buildings are so old... Maybe the bad guys escaped a long time ago and took over the island?"

"Then it will be full of pirates." She nodded slowly as if this were already a common fact. She didn't hear Brick Yellow come up behind her. "They're Gennerators" Brick said, with no real drama. "They power the island, so that the lights can work and the homes are warm and so that the food is kept cold..." He nodded slowly himself, settling an arm on the rail about 10 feet from them to get a better look at the island. "That kind of thing."

Keera, of course, thought this was decidely boring.

Everlyse, unlike her sister, was secretly relieved. Disappointed, sure, a bit, but relieved nonetheless. "Generators," she echoed, glancing over to Brick before reexamining the rusty old buildings. "Oh. Where's the prison, then?"

"underground" He pulled his arm off the banisteras if the thought of the prison made him recoil from the island. "Under the Prime's house and justice chambers." then he turned and walked away. "Don't fall in, we're too close to the island now for me to turn back for any drowners." His words faded as he headed for a lineset on the other side of the ship. Keera rolled her eyes at the comment. "I'm not gonna fall in, I don't wanna swim all that way."

"I -could- swim all that way if I wanted to," Everlyse retorted confidently as she watched him go. Glancing back to her sister, she shrugged. "It can't be very big if it's underground, right? Under a house?"

"Nope." She, of course, hadn't seen houses any bigger than the HQ, and the HQ's basement was only 4 rooms. She released her grip on the railing and bounced down to the deck level, landing somewhat nimbly on her toes. "maybe ten badguys tops." A rolling wave sent the ship up slightly making Keera overbalance and pitch forward onto her hands. "Maybe 11 even, but if it's underground then I bet they can't get out."

Everlyse had a fairly secure hold on the rail; she swayed a bit as the deck rolled, but hardly seemed to notice the change otherwise. the motions of the ship had bothered her about as much as her father and poor Jim for the first few days, but one she had recovered, she'd walked around with the comfortable rolling gait of the sailors --at times, specifically mimicking them. "I guess it's a good place for a prison," she admitted with a disappointed sigh, then brightened up. "If there aren't bad guys on the island, maybe we can go all over by ourselves."

"The captain said that little kids go wherever they want most of the time. He says that he used to go to the teck tile docks, and to some hill with a big tree... but he said that his friend used to swim in the water in the middle of the island." She had already righted herself and was making a game of riding the motion of the waves without touching anything. "We could probably go anywhere. I bet Daddy will try and make us keep an eye on Cole, but I say we don't take him."

Not at first, anyway," she agreed with a nod. Generally, Everlyse was quite fond of her little brother. But Cole was kind of a pain when it came to exploring. You had to hold his hand and walk slowly so that he didn't trip or get lost, and that just wasn't fun when you were aching to adventure at 100 miles per hour. They could show Cole all of the really exciting things after they discovered them first. "Daddy'll be too sick to make us do anything for a while, I'll bet, an' Dad'll be busy helping him and Jim. I'll bet he'll let us do whatever we want just so we don't make Daddy feel worse."

"Yeah" Keera grinned almost maliciously.

"I think you're right," Everlyse quietly agreed, and nodded without taking her eyes from the strange woman. "But why wasn't she on the ship too? Pirates don't like bein' on land."

In her curiosity over Luna's arrival, Everlyse managed to completely ignore the group on the docks, who were nonetheless trying to get her attention. They had been waiting for quite some time; it was never certain how long the ship's voyages would take, but, beginning a few days earlier, Isto had been sending the boys out to the docks to search the horizon for signs of the ship. Isaac and Thomas certainly didn't mind; they spent most of their free time haunting the docks anyway, skittering about underfoot and generally getting into mischief. No one paid them much mind on a normal day. The twins were similar enough in appearance to the rest of the Orai that they were easily ignored.

Today, on the other hand, Isto's presence on the dock meant they were winning strange looks from just about every orai on the docks, some curious, some irritated. Isto stood several inches over even the tallest of Orai, and his facial features--and ears--easily set him apart. Unlike his brother Banda, he had been fairly easily received into the Orai society, largely due to the enthusiastic promotions of one Mickey Geeter, but his presence on the docks still had many of the normal workers quite irritated. Or would have, if he had not so obviously been in a ridiculously good mood.

Once the ship had neared enough that the individual figures on the deck were recognizable, Isto had ushered the twin boys to their feet and coaxed them into jumping up and down and cheering greetings--something that was utterly too easy to do, to be fair. Isto himself was waving in broad sweeps of his metal arm over his head, but the two girls--Tourmaline and her cousin Delia--, in the way of girls their age, were utterly refusing to be enthusiastic. Tourmaline was perched upon one of the elaborately-wrought dock posts, while Delia sat upon a barrel nearby. Neither was celebrating in the manner of the boys, but both, bored with their long wait on the dock, were grinning fit to burst at the change of pace initiated by the ship's arrival.

On the ship, Danton took a quick opportunity to holler a greeting to his twin, then hurried below deck to retrieve his seasick partner and their son after a quick warning to the girls. "Don't leave the deck until I get back--and stay out of the way of the crew!"

Delia finally climbed to her feet as Luna returned to the dock, grinning in response to her friend. Luna's excitement was an infectious as her uncle's. "I caught a glimpse of them before the ship pulled in too close. Looking forward to meeting them both...unless they're anything like Isto's two, in which case we should probably head for the hills." Eyes glittering, she glanced past her friend and up towards the ship. "So he's more dashing than ever, then? I bet he planned it, just for you."

"Up!" Dan greeted as he swept into the cabin. He greeted Jen with a fond smile, then continued over to Jim's bed, giving his shoulder a little shake before turning his attention to the nearest trunk. "The sooner you're up, Jim, the sooner you're off this wretched ship. Leave the luggage to me, Jen.. It'll do you two good to get on solid ground again." He hoisted the trunk onto one shoulder with a grunt, then left the room as quickly as he had come.

Delia rolled her eyes and somewhat reluctantly joined Luna in retrieving a cart; Tourma, on the other hand, tucked up her knees beneath her chin and peered up at the deck for a glimpse of the elusive Brick. Sure, he was old enough to be her father--possibly older--but Delia had the right of it. He was easily one of the more handsome of the island's inhabitants, and the rugged, unshaven look only helped.

Danton was the first on deck of the trio, and made a beeline for the gangplank, heading down just behind his daughter. He had a split second to set the trunk down upon the dock before he was hoisted off his feet by his own twin, a move that clearly surprised him. Nonetheless, he was laughing as Isto set him down and held him at arm's length. "God damn, you're heavy. Remind me not to do that again." Isto looked as though he had stepped back in time, and, indeed, seemed quite at home on the docks. He was dressed simply, loose brown trousers, boots, and a long-sleeved cream shirt; his hair was bound back in a short tail in favor of the old mohawk, and his glasses has been exchanged for much thinner wire frames. It was an altogether unusual look for Isto...and yet he seemed more comfortable, more settled, and easily at his most fit. Clearly, the island suited him. Behind him on the dock, the twin boys had calmed down and, indeed, become somewhat shy in the presence of relatives who they hardly remembered, but both were unmistakably his--and both were dressed in similar garb. "It's good to see you," Isto continued with a grin, then glanced past Danton to call towards Jen. "And you! Not a fan of the ship, Jen?"

"Jim," Isto greeted him with a grin and a nod. "No worries, we'll get you home and you'll be fine after you rest up a bit... Here, I'll have Tourma show you the way so that you don't have to wait up while we unload your things. Oi, Tourmaline!" he called to his daughter, waving her over.

Tourmaline was far from interested in her cousins, finally rewarded in her diligence by a glimpse of Brick--who actually looked back at her! Her heart gave a little leap, and it was only Isto's second, more insistent call that pulled her eyes away--long after Brick had looked away, of course. She frowned darkly over at her father, but obediently slid down from her perch, not without another glance towards the ship. And caught Brick's eye again! There was a bit of a strut in her step as she moved across the dock to join her family, but Isto was either totally oblivious or very good at ignoring it. "Tourma," he greeted, "Could you help Jim get back to our Partment? The ship didn't agree with him, and we'll be a while unloading luggage. Just let him crash in my room for now."

The girl grimaced, and glanced back towards the ship, but didn't argue. Brick would undoubtedly be busy for hours to come, and wouldn't be shipping out again for another day or two. Perhaps she could attract his attention tomorrow. "Sure, come on Jim, it's not far."

Isto gave them a moment, then noticed the twin girl's lingering near the gangplank and waved them over with a smile. "Girls, I bet Isaac and Thomas will show you around the island if you'd like. That is, if it's okay with you," he added, glancing back to Dan, then Jen. "It's safe here, the boys typically go where they please. They'll know what's off-limits to children, and it'll give the girls a chance to stretch their legs."

"Adventure!" Everlyse echoed triumphantly as she raced after her twin. The two boys actually seemed impressed by their cousins' enthusiasm. Everlyse could vaguely remember both of them... Enough to recognize them from previous play dates anyway, but not enough to distinguish one from another. Apparently this went both ways. "C'mon whatsyourname," the one with green hair--Thomas--called with a wave to Keera. "We'll show you all the best spots, we know 'em all!" They would show their cousins most of the best spots, anyway. Some were strictly no-girl zones, even if they were cousins! Thomas hurried off at a run, but Isaac lingered behind for a moment. With a grin that was almost wicked, he saluted the adults. "Don' worry, we'll take good care of 'em!" he assured the group, then hurried after his brother before their father could question him.

Isto, well used to the twins' antics, merely shrugged.

Watching them go, Dan gave his head a small shake, then, sighing, ran a hand through his short violently blue hair and glanced back to Jen with a small smile. "Not many, leave them to me. No, you stay here," he insisted when Isto stepped forward to help. "It's not more than another trip or two, and I'm sure Brick would prefer fewer people to get in the way of his crew." He turned back towards the gangplank, and nearly protested when Delia skipped to his side, but the girl cut him off.

"Let me help with Cole?" she offered brightly, smiling. "That way you'll have your arms free for the luggage. I've been looking forward to meeting him."

"I can see when I'm beat," Danton agreed with a grin, and stepped aside to allow her to precede him up the gangplank before following Delia aboard the ship.

"He'll recover quickly," Isto assured his friend with a smile. "And so will you. I wasn't much better off when we finally arrived here... You'd be amazed at how much of it is psychological." He shrugged, and followed Jen's glance after the younger children. "My boys know the island better than I could ever hope to...and they know better than to leave their cousins on their own right away. Don't worry, Jen. There's no threat to your girls here--at least, not from the Orai. I'll be honest, there are a lot of nooks and crannies to explore, but I've banned Isaac and Thomas from the more hazardous areas...that I know of." He grinned, and gave a somewhat sheepish shrug. "Oh, come on, Jen. Lighten up. There's no way they could get into more trouble than we did at that age, even here on the island."

"The Mutes do take some getting used to..." Isto agreed, with an understanding smile for Jen. "But the jobs offer a sort of consistency to their lives, and they do seem to enjoy the work. Actually, you're more likely than not to just confuse him if you try to take the cart away."

Turning his attention to Luna, he quirked a brow as he listened to her tale, grimacing as she described Gatsby's antics. "I'm inclined to agree with you, Luna... Sooner or later those steam cars will carry old Gats off a bridge, or into a building...or a hiccu, or a Mute. But far be it from me to discourage invention on the island." Here he grinned. "Besides, if I speak against him, they'll just say I'm jealous of the attention he's getting. Truth be told, Mickey's about as excited about the SteamCars as Gatsby is. Though, I doubt poor Mickey will ever work up the nerve to drive one."