Welcome to Gaia! ::

Etana had been spending her time watching the earthlings and how they managed their ship. It was such a strange thing. She had never seen an earthling before and now she felt like she was surrounded by them. They weren’t the only kahikinans on the journey to Tendaji, but they were quite outnumbered.

These land dwellers were strange. But they knew their way around a ship in a sense that Etana would never understand. The weather hadn’t been kind to them and the ship pitched and rocked with the swelling of the waves. It didn’t seem to bother Etana as much as it did Pello and as she emerged out on deck she found him sitting on the ground looking absolutely green.

”Are you alright?” She asked him. He very obviously wasn’t as far as she could see.

She closed the gap between them and stooped over with a puzzled look on her face as Pello explained the idea of sea legs to her. ”Well that’s just ridiculous. They obviously don’t have any sort of legs suited for the ocean.” She furrowed her brow and cocked her head to the side. ”These earthlings are so strange.”

She took a seat next to Pello and stetched her legs along the deck. ”How long was this ship supposed to take until it docks?” She hoped that it wouldn’t be much longer for Pello’s sake. She didn’t feel quite right to her stomach, but nothing close to what Pello had to be feeling. ”I can get you something for your stomach if you want.” She offered. There was food below deck, but she didn’t know if that would help or hurt her friend.

[ Etana 3 ]

Etana saw him holding his wrist and couldn’t help but look puzzled. She left it alone for now though, if he felt like it was helping him then why bother him about it?

She put a hand on his arm when he leaned against her and tried to offer a comforting touch. “I’m actually pretty alright. Not exactly enjoying the ride, but not too terrible either.” Not like Pello. She didn’t want to say the last part outloud but she felt a little awful that he was having such a hard time with it. ”I think the waves should break soon and we’ll be able to stretch our ‘sea legs’.“ She tried to joke with Pello and be optimistic.

Etana laughed out at Pello’s comment. Maybe he was right, maybe Pello and living with the Hapuna was rubbing off on Etana. Jokes weren’t normally her style, but with Pello things felt easier and lighter. He seemed to always be in a good mood, even now he was smiling while sick.

She felt herself staring at Pello, taking in everything about him. He had been her friend since early childhood, they had been together through thick and thin, and living with him was an important step in her becoming who she was and maturing as a person. He had grown in that time too. He wasn’t a little boy anymore.

She broke her gaze and settled her head back onto Pello’s hair. “Well, while we wait for the sea to calm, did you want to plan where we go from here? After the ship docks?”

Etana nodded her head slowly listening to Pello talk about plans. It helped her too to focus on what it was they were going to be doing. She might not have had the sea sickness that Pello was feeling but she did have the jitters of being in someplace completely foreign.

"I think a guide would be very helpful. Someone from Tendaji so they know where they're going. I think that would be an interesting addition to our travels," Etana thought out loud to Pello. She wondered what they kind of person would be like. There were plenty of Tendajians on the ship they were on, but they had mostly kept to themselves, she wasn't friends with anyone on board.

"I think I just want to also explore, just see what's out there. I want to see the differences in people. Kahikinan are so bright and colorful, are all the people of Tendaji so muted and dull?" She asked her rhetorical question out loud.

Etana waved her hands and shook her head, thinking of what would happen if they were to ask a question so blatantly. "No, I think they would think it was rude." She whispered to Pello, hoping they hadn't been talking loud enough for anyone to hear. "Who knows what would be an insult, right?" She imagined calling someone from Haukea dull looking and couldn't imagine them taking it in a positive way.

"I think I would rather just see for myself." She put an hand resting on Pello, trying to be a comforting friend. "So which dock is this ship taking us to again?" She asked Pello. From what she had learned there were... three Tendaji docks from Kahikina. She wasn't familiar with their names yet, she would have a lot of learning to do on their travels.

[Etana 7]

Pello helped Etana to her feet and with a scuffle of her heels she steadied herself on the swaying deck. The yaeli were too serious. "Though they might find themselves at home more with the moakai, don't you think?" She joked to Pello.

"Matori... I just don't see how anything in Tendaji will be similar to home, but we'll see." Etana had major doubts about Tendaji. The people were altogether too foreign. But... if it was as similar to home as Tendaji could get, at least it would be a step into the unknown rather than a leap. The thought put a smile on her face though. They might look back at this trip overseas some day and laugh at all of the misconceptions they had, or over what they had been incredibly right about.