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WC - 1113



The gentle sway of the ship rocked the male matorian lightly on his feet as he stood leaned up against the rail. Gael held a small knife and a block of wood in his hands as he listened to the soft slap of dwindling waves hit the side of the ship below. They were docked at port so he couldn’t listen to the powerful sprays as they passed through the waters but this sound was just as relaxing. He lifted his orange eyes from the block in his hand to the expanse of ocean over the side of the large boat he stood on.

He was home. No longer out on the vast open waters. He could go see his little girl and tell her all about his trip. Of course Gael just had to wait for protocols to be taken care of before he was allowed to leave the ship. While he was one of the crew he was not in charge of cargo, thankfully. So he’d not be helping with the loading and unloading of wares. What he was waiting on was the all clear. As it stood there was another ship in front of theirs that was taking up all the space on the dock so no one could get in or out as they shuffled about their own goods.

So that left him idle for the time being. Not a bad thing but definitely something that left him wanting to move. To do something. It always had. So today he stood with the bulk of his weight leaned against the rail as he carved into the wood he held. He was no artist, Gael would never claim that, but he could at least carve a few sea creatures here and there for his daughter. Today he was making a whale. Already he’d made a dolphin and a shark, Brexxa had those at home to play with. So this would be his addition.

A shout from the crew of the other ship brought his attention up and he turned his head to look at what was going on. Nothing major, just someone misunderstanding some orders. Gael gave the poor man a cringe as he understood all too well what it was like to be them. When he’d first started out on the ship he’d made a few mistakes.

Ah, how long had it been? Years. Many years. It made him think back to when he first started. A small snort left him and he turned back around to look out at the water. Gael had been lucky enough that his captain didn’t keep them out at sea for more than a few weeks at a time. Said family was too precious to miss out on. And he’d agreed. It had only been a short time after he’d started working as a deckhand that he realized he wanted a family. Without a special someone that possibility had been almost out of reach. Of course Gael had found the orphanage and within it he’d found his little Brexxa. Adorable thing that she was. All matted hair and shy.

A soft chuckle escaped him at the memory. It really had been years ago but to him the memory was fresh, like it had just happened only a few short hours ago. As his hands worked to shave off more and more of the unneeded wood the blocky shape of a whale started to emerge. Bringing it up he blew a quick huff of air to get rid of some dust. As it flew into the air and even coated his hand he watched it. The slight change in his color, even temporary, made him think of the strange people he’d seen since he started working. Most of them were from the mainland.

Of course he knew the others existed but seeing them was something else. Then there were the hybrids that sprang up from relations between the races. All thanks to open borders. Gael was no stranger to hybrids, after all there had always been a healthy number of water and fire mixes. Though they came about for a variety of different reasons. There had been no war, no conflict, for a while though and so he had hope that these hybrids were the result of loving pairs. And he couldn’t discount the strange Yaeli natives. First time he’d seen them he’d been.. Well, wary. Maybe even afraid. They were fundamentally different from the rest of the world he knew but as his work took him continuously close to them he got used to seeing them. Eventually they became as normal to him as an Oban did.

Of course he’d heard about the Elaria. Not that he’d seen one yet. Then there were the Belreans. While the thought of sailing to their land had been brought up their captain had, as of yet, to head that way. Instead they got their fill of seeing the residents of that new continent in other ways. It seemed they were just as eager to see the mainlanders and so book their own passage across the seas. They sailed a different way though. Through the air! That thought made him grin.

Gael couldn’t imagine being in the air like that. The waters he knew. He could read the waves. He could see them react and grow. How did one read the air? A small shake of his head and he went back to his carving. No, he’d keep to the waters.

Rumors had of course hit about another piece of land being discovered. Even more interesting than the last because of the description the inhabitants had. Fish people. Gael had always thought the matorian’s had kept that title but it appeared that these new people were far superior in their fish ways and looks. Something he truly had a curiosity about. Not that he had any plans to head that way as yet. He had a daughter to raise. Maybe when she was grown and able to care for herself he’d think about that trip. Or if he was lucky by that time those people would deem it worthy to come to the mainland.

A shout from behind him told him that it was his ship’s turn to unload. That meant he was free to walk down to the docks and into town. He could head home. His knife was placed in its sheathe at his side and the wooden creature, still unfinished, tucked away into a pocket. He grabbed the bag at his feet and slung it over his shoulder. A wave to the crew and he was off. He had a little girl to surprise.