Welcome to Gaia! ::

The ocean waves rolled beneath the hull of the great ship. The sky was thankfully clear, a brilliant day for docking in harbor. Already Kaimana could see the pearly white sands of Matori just over the horizon. Home sweet home. He couldn't help grinning and leaning over the upper railing so that he could get a closer look. Honestly if they were close enough the man would be tempted to just jump off into the sea, a rather dangerous instinct but one that he maaaay have followed a few times before. It was okay as long as he didn't tell his sister about his reckless behavior. He didn't even want to imagine how she would react to that!

Workers were scurrying across the deck preparing for their arrival at the harbor. The closer they got to the shore the more Kaimana could see the earthlings gathered there waiting on the ship to dock. Was Devi here? Grinning, the Matori man tried to glance about the shore while waving like a madman towards where he hoped his sister could see him, "Deviiiii!" His voice rang over the waves as they got even closer to the shore. The breeze whipped his aqua hair around his face as he finally spotted his sister.

He was so happy to see her and actually kinda nervous at the same time. How would she take to his stories from Yael? Kaimana had gone there to meet up with an old friend who he had traveled with before. They had heard of this new place and wanted to make plans to travel there soon. He just hoped Devika would actually consider his idea. Grinning, Kaimana pushed away from the edge of the railing so that he could run through the crowd and quickly disembark the ship.

Ah, there she was! Kaimana grinned brightly as he saw his sister rushing towards him. Thankfully years of experience had him covered and the young man was already bracing himself to grab Devika. A playful, "Oof!" left his lips as he hugged his sister and then proceeded to twirl with her clinging to him, "Thanks!" His gaze softened as he stopped moving so that he could squeeze his sister once more, "I'm glad to be back."

"How have you been, Devi?" Kaimana glanced down at his attachment warmly, "It's been a bit, right? Are you hungry?" More like was he hungry? Something that his grumbling stomach attested to. A light flush decorated Kaimana's cheeks as he waited for his sister's response.

"That's good." Kaimana joked lightly, "Would be startled if you hadn't survived and yet here I am talking to you." He shivered and winked at his sister, "You're already haunting me?" But all teasing aside the young Matori was glad that his sister was doing well. He tried not to show it often but Kaimana did think of his sister and worry about her well being. It was why he would prefer it if she stayed closed sometimes instead of across the sea.

"I suppose he's brought you back and forth from Sulburi again." Kaimana crinkled his nose, "Your mentor is smart to take up residence in Matori for a bit. I don't even know how people can survive in that crowded desert city." It was too hot, too dry and too bleh. Kaimana loved adventures but the Oban city was a jungle in itself. Being out here along the shores, spending time with his sister despite having to buy the meal was much more preferable.

"Deal." Kaimana chuckled, "I'll have better luck with foreigners at this rate unless you start coming along with me. You know a new land has been discovered, right?" As they walked away from the docks and towards the bustling harbor village of Baun, Kaimana couldn't help but to smile. A few years ago, or a bit more you know, when they were children this place was almost empty but now that peace had come back and slavery was long dismantled it had become more of a merchant town. So much so that a small tavern now took shop near the docks. Kaimana could already smell the fresh bread, the scent drifting towards them from the open windows, and his stomach gurgled again.He would honestly be happy with the bread, it smelled so good. The Matori almost wiggled in anticipation as they approached the open tavern doors and found a seat.

"Fresh bread and drinks please! Plus some stew!" He called out loudly before grinning back towards Devika, "Anything in particular you want? We'll have to enjoy our time because I wanna tell you all about this new place they found."

Kaimana let out a soft laugh. At least they have the sand. He could only shake his head at the thought. He preferred wilderness to cities and it was still strange that he had spent several months across the ocean in Belrea, one of the most city filled places he had ever seen. At least it wasn't scorching hot there like it was in the Oban desert. He was thankful that his sister's mentor was keeping her in Matori more often than Oba. Despite everything that had happened the past decade or more, Kaimana still remembered his grandmother's stories about the Oban war and life before it.

No need to stress about it. He told himself as they settled down in their usual spot, "Of course, of course. One day we'll have to change it up a bit and try to eat something new." Kaimana's words were teasing if not a bit of a hint about his actual reason for sitting with his sister. So much had already changed so why not try to convince her now?

Darting a hand out to claim the second and third piece of bread, Kaimana started talking, "Well it's apparently a really friendly place. Pretty much wilderness on land." He started out while dipping a piece of bread into the steaming stew, his own mouth watering at the smell, "As it is I'm still surprised the Yaeli found that map, but then again my friend is an explorer so it doesn't surprise me if he discovered it for them. He's always going off into those deep caverns and what not. It's why we went to Belrea in the first place those few years back." He plopped a piece of the soaked bread into his mouth and chewed happily before continuing, "Some of the Yaeli are still super shy around the rest of us and the superstitions are amazing. Like I have my beliefs and such, but they will literally make a curse out of anything." Kai pursed his lips before taking a swig of his drink, "Did you know that the new lands have people who can actually breathe underwater? They were apparently right under the waters when the first explorers arrived. That's why they thought the place was deserted originally! Pretty cool, right? I would love to be able to swim for hours without worrying...." His voice trailed off as he glanced towards Devika, a light flush decorating his face, "Anyways some of the older and more superstitious Yaeli think of them as spirits and worry that they'll drag people into the sea after beguiling them with music or something. Silly, right?"

He tore at another piece of bread while he spoke before daring to study his sister for her reaction, "But if that were true the original explorers would have not returned to tell us about the new races. Instead it seems they're keen on sharing information so that we can learn from each other. I hear they have really talented artisans and are great at crafting from natural materials. Someone showed me a beautiful necklace from there that was made out of rare shells and pearls." It was fairly obvious that he found he new lands fascinating. If anything he was a bit envious of the water dwellers who didn't have to worry about drowning in the ocean....a thought which made him look at his sister with concern. Would she even ever consider a place with so much water?

Kaimana chewed on his piece of bread nervously. How would she take to the description of a whole underwater race? While he was envious and even wanted to go exploring the waters across the ocean, he worried about his sister's fear of water. Kaimana had agonized a bit, perhaps a little dramatically, about bringing up his idea to his sister because he didn't want to upset her. The childhood trauma of almost drowning had stayed with both of them for so long, her in being afraid of water and in his desire to protect his sister while proving that he could face any danger. His daredevil behavior had emerged as a child due to his desire to appear strong for his family. Who knew it would stick so well with Kaimana?

Still, he forced himself to continue. No risk meant no rewards, right? Kaimana grinned towards Devika, "It is interesting to see how the Yaeli are so superstitious. I'm still surprised Kieran is an adventurer considering how most of his race are. I even mentioned it to him once and he simply stated that you should never let fear hold you back. Fear will only keep you from expanding your horizons...or something like that." His amber gaze studied his sister before he took another swig of his drink. He hoped that she could one day leave her fear behind and explore. This new land was a perfect opportunity for that, right?

"Still though just because they can survive underwater doesn't mean they would want to drown us and steal our children." Joked Kaimana lightly, "Wouldn't that just pollute their home waters? If anything maybe they should be worried about these strange earthlings coming in to walk over all their lands. Do you think they've even seen all of their landmass since they're usually underwater?" What if there were things that the underwater dwellers didn't know about right in their own backyards? His expression did shift at the mention of the Oban crown and the boy nodded his head. Hopefully those wars were over and these new water dwellers wouldn't have to worry about any tyranny in their life. Or evil bugs...or well anything that had plagued Tendaji in the last couple of decades.

"Still though what if there are some rare plants or something on their lands? Could you imagine being the first to discover them?" Kaimana leaned towards his sister with eagerness, "As a healer wouldn't that be so cool to find some sort of medical herb that changes the whole game? Or even some sort of treasure to flaunt about? I would be happy with that. We could buy a manor of our own then!"

Kaimana pursed his lips in protest, "Do you really think so?" He asked quietly as he twisted a final piece of bread in his hands and prepared to dunk it into the stew. The Matori had a great habit of devouring a few rounds of food while speaking and already his bread was gone from the plate while his stew bowl was nearly empty, "From what I've heard we're just as strange to them so it was a surprise for everyone." It would be interesting to see how the higher ranking officials for every country would cope with the new discovery. Kaimana was just eager to explore as always so he really hoped they didn't start a war with the new races.

As the question finally cleared the air, Kaimana leaned back and rested his hands on top of each other on the table, "I doooo." He started slowly, "But I would like for it to be more than just me. My Yaeli friend is already looking into passage to Belrea. That's by airship mind you so no water involved....it would just be after Belrea when we took to a ship that was on water." Kaimana bit his bottom lip sheepishly, "I think it would be really cool to explore this new land together with you too, Devi."

While his heart sank at his sister's words, Kaimana couldn't help offering a smile of encouragement. He knew it would be a scary request for Devika. Who would expect her to be super excited about going to a place full of water with underwater dwellers? It could require swimming and if not that then it would at least require Devika to get on a ship and cross the ocean. Strange to think that its the ocean journey which scares her more than the flying through the skies. Still he could completely understand his sister's fears. He had been there that day when they were children. Ever since that day Kaimana had been super close and protective of his sister.

"You have time." Kaimana replied as he reached across to grab Devika's hands comfortingly, "I know it's a big decision so take the time you need to mull it over, okay? But it would be a great relief to have a healer on board. I would love to explore the new lands with you, Devi." Kaimana squeezed her hands one last time, "For now let's just enjoy our day and stroll the beach some? I've missed home so much!" Grinning he tossed some coin on the table and gestured for his sister to join him.

They could enjoy the next few weeks before making a decision. Kaimana just really hoped that Devika would consider joining him on this new adventure. It definitely would be fun and a relief to have her traveling with him. But he would never push her if she didn't want to do it. All he could do was quietly hope that she would change her mind.