Finally, Solid Ground (Ifrit, Harvast)

[Ifrit]

Time and Date:: 07 February, 5:45pm
Weather:: Chilly, sun is setting
Previous Threads?:: Ice and Foam, Seeking the Caliph


It had been a long day, to be certain. After resting his beloved ship at the port, he found a relatively open campsite away from the town proper. Casting up a small makeshift tent, he started a fire on the outskirts of a forest near a lakeside. Removing a few items from his pack, he brought out a crude fishing pole and baited it with some found worms. Sighing, he cast off his headdress, letting his long black hair fall behind him. It was nice to be on something that was not the pitching, roiling waves, though he did love the ocean so. He cast his line in and sat on a raised nearby rock, waiting patiently.

The chill did not seem to bother him as much as his thinner clothing might suggest. Though he did occasionally keep looking over his shoulder to see if he saw anyone coming or approaching him. Sighing gently to himself, he fished for a while and when he found nothing, reeled in the pole and sat down to some of his reserve food. It was pleasant to be among the tranquil forestline for once, and as night was beginning to fall, he enjoyed the relatively unobscured view of the night sky. The vast expanse had been part of his navigation for years now and it was like a second roof over his head, especially when it was clear enough to see the heavenly bodies.

He took out a small journal from a side pocket and began writing in it, humming to himself. For being armed and a bit paranoid, he seemed slightly relaxed and not in a hurry or rush to do much of anything. Leaning back into his tent, he made sure the fire did not die as he wrote and hummed, occasionally speaking in his native tongue what might have sounded like a prayer, or just a musing.

[Harvast]

And a long day it was shaping up to be.  The young man had decided to head out into the surf on his small water craft, taking the chance to feel the paddle in his hand once more.  Yeah, he forgot how much he hated it.  Muscles pumping, he fought the waves that crashed against the shore and rock faces until he got to a far more gentle section of surf.

The sight of a campfire smoke stack caught his attention.  Steering himself closer, he spotted the strange newcomer, as if he himself wasn't a strange newcomer.  "What ho!" His voice carried over the waves to the small encampment.  A smile on his face appeared as he paddled a little closer, "Permission to enter your camp, friend!"  Seeing that the man was silent and in some form of prayer, he politely shut up and kept himself from being swept into the surf pushing towards the shore.

He wasn't going to be able to keep this up for long, but he wanted to at least be granted entry before he made shore.  After all, it was only polite to do so.  Seeing that he was cooking some food, and pondered for a moment before his eyes went down to the waters beneath him.

[Ifrit]

Ifrit was broken out of his reverie fairly easily with the heralding of the newcomer. The man looked over as he saw and heard the voice of the stranger, his hand reflexively going to a dagger set against his back. He visibly grew less tense as he recognized the man as one of the folk that had greeted him when he brought his ship into port. Standing, he smiled and approached him. "I would think there would be better days for this manner of sport than tonight, North man!" He spoke loudly enough to be heard, jovially and with kindness.

Wading into the surf, he grabbed onto the craft as soon as Harvast got it close enough and pulled. Hoisting it ashore with a fair bit of strength, he motioned to his little campsite. "I do not pretend to carry a great deal, but you are most welcome here and what I have is yours, my friend."

Sitting down back near his tent, he folded his journal and put it away. Over the fire was some salted meat that looked specially prepared and nearby were some crackers and hard cheese. Ifrit set some of the lot on a plate and handed it to Harvast along with a waterskin. "I did not expect company but please help yourself."

[Harvast]

He laughed softly, "Better days, yes, but I must say that its as good a day as any to work out the shoulder.  It tends to get stiff in this weather."  Tossing the man a rope before he hopped out and helped haul the craft far enough onto the shore, he could breath a bit easier.  "Thank you for the warm welcome.  Please, do not worry so much, you have made me guest, and I have come with naught by my harpoon.  Please, let me catch you some fish as payment.  Food to your table that we might share it together."

Beaming as he stepped up alongside the man towards the campsite.  Once the food was handed over, he took a seat beside the fire, "Well, I didn't expect to see a friendly face on my little exercise trip, so in all fairness, I think we're even."  He took the waterskin and drank, though not taking the whole of it.  Once the crackers, cheese and meat were finished, he stood, "That was certainly delicious, I'll have to ask how you made those crackers.  Those would be good for a long trip."

Standing, he rotated his shoulder, "Alright, now for my gift.  Please, one moment and I will be back."  Taking up his harpoon, he stepped away, wrapping the loop of the rope around his other arm as he moved to the rock that Ifrit had been fishing from.  Crouching, he watched and waited for a long while, his eyes searching for a sign beneath the waves.  He bit his lip to keep himself from smiling too wide.  "There," he said as he stood and prepared, the large fish didn't know what hit it when he threw.  Yanking back on the rope, he pulled the polearm from the waves and held up his prize, a large cod, "One more coming up!"

[Ifrit]

Ifrit watched him as he moved, standing there as soon as the craft was safely ashore. He was surprised at his reaction but nodded warmly, just the same. "I accept your generous offer, North man!" He walked over and rekindled his fire as Harvast sat down and ate what he offered. "Ah, they do keep for a long time without going stale. I might share my recipe with you someday." He chuckled softly. Leaning back against the tent, he folded his hands over his chest and watched the man grab his spear and wander to his fishing rock.

It was something to watch the smaller man with his spear and pull up the wriggling fish. Ifrit said a silent thank you in his tongue as he watched the display. "You have done this once or twice before! It is a marvel to behold!" As Harvast prepared to pull up another large fish, Ifrit moved to his belongings.

He pulled out a set of clean knives made of the same razor steel that he carried, as well as a small wooden board and adjusted and prepared the fire to cook fish filets. The man also pulled several bottles, one clearly salt and the other of potent herbs, sealed in vials of their own. "Mmm. I can taste them already! And you kill them reverently." It was impressive to see the young man have the respect for the ocean that the older man did. He smiled once more as he prepared supplies to scale, filet and prepare the fishes.

[Harvast]

Harvast laughed, "Once or twice is an understatement.  In my homeland, I was apart of a fleet of whalers.  If you want to talk about hard catches, they are certainly reigning supreme." He handed off the fish to the darker man and went back to seeking another fish, "With some luck, we might even spot a shark, personally, I find their steaks much more appetizing.  Fish is good and filling, but nothing beats a shark."

He repeated the process a few more times, stringing up the fish and carrying them back towards the encampment, "They are important to our survival, just as any deer or rabbit is." He gave a nod, "There are some who hunt for sport, but when you live alone like myself, every little bit helps.  Keep what you can for later, but never take more than you can properly store."  Sitting down beside the fire, he reached for and took over the filleting process so that Ifrit could cook, "Much like yourself, I am a stranger in a strange land.  The people here are big, burly, and capable of surviving here somehow.  The wonders of nature never cease."

The young man worked skillfully, wasting very little energy in the cleaning of the fish.  Years of practice had allowed him to make not a single wasted cut.  Though there was some other parts that he missed, he placed that on a piece of leather that he pulled out of his pocket.  Once the fish was taken care of, he set about mincing the leftovers, "Make some chum for a shark.  That should be enough for a gift."  A soft chuckle escaped him.

[Ifrit]

The man nodded. "Whalers, I cannot imagine what you have seen in that business. The stories that must rest within you." He chuckled softly and pulled out a second water skin, encouraging Harvast to continue drinking from the first with a wave of his hand. "I have never hunted a shark before nor tasted its meat so I shall take your word for it!"

The man listened to him speak as he began cooking the fish, adding salt and seasonings of different varieties. Some were strong, others were mild. He aimed to give Harvast a taste of his land and see what he favored and what he did not. "It is an admirable philosophy your kin are taught and one that I respect greatly." He looked at him. "The senseless taking and waste of life is something that... I do not have a taste for." The words lingered in the air as if more wanted to be spilled, but the man said nothing more on that.

As he watched Harvast filet the fish and mince the leftovers, he nodded. "If you are aiming to attract a cold water shark, that is an impeccable way to do it. Though it does make me wonder if any of those large wyrms are waterbound and if they might also seek the foodstuffs we offer them." He turned over several of the filets thoughtfully.

[Harvast]

"Tales I do have, friend Ifrit.  Many of them.  My clan is quite the verbal bunch.  We spin tales like few I have ever seen, and we usually get plenty of attention around the fires.  I have seen whales breach the surface of the water and nearly crush a ship beneath their bulks.  Incredible."  He leaned back a little bit and his eyes took on a glassy look, "Sharks steaks are incredible.  I do not know if you have eaten beef or not, but they are much flakier than a beef steak." He pondered for a long moment.  He then gave Ifrit a questioning look, not sure if what he said was something that might have offended the other man.

"In my home," he began, "we believe that the earth, whom we call Gaia, is our mother.  Everything that she gives to us is a present that we should cherish.  It is a different philosophy, but it has made sense to me on many occasions.  Mother earth is breathing, they say."  His eyes turned towards the waters that lapped at the shore, "With every wave that finds ground.  Her eyes, they are the stars in heaven," his gaze turned upwards to the starts that were slowly beginning to poke out, "watching over us all the while.  And her heart resides in my homeland.  Deep within the Emerald Isle.  We cannot afford to take nature lightly," his gaze turned stern, "should we do so, we will forget everything that we have been given.  Perhaps a fate worse than death."

He was silent for a long moment before his brows perked up and his eyes met the man's, "Perhaps, though I have doubts that any would come so close." His hand came up to scratch at his chest, as if something was hidden by his fur cloak.

[Ifrit]

Ifrit listened quietly as the fish cooked, as if he were making a mental note of every word. As he mentioned whale breaching, he nodded slowly as if he'd seen such a thing before but perhaps in passing. As the man looked up, he chuckled and shook his head, letting him know he didn't offend the man in the least. "We have dietary restrictions based on our system of belief, North man, but they do not extend to beef unless certain people choose to follow that path. I myself have sampled it before and found it filling but lacking. I would very much like to try shark someday."

The man listened closely as Harvast went into his religious beliefs. He took out a small black journal and began writing in an ornate script as the man spoke, following every word. "The earth is known as Gaia and she is a living entity... she is seen in the waves, the stars. But this goddess has a physical location as well, in this Emerald Isle..." He did not speak over the man but rather waited until there was a pause in his reflections in order to take his notes. "And she cannot be forgotten..." The man nodded gently to himself as he wrote in the firelight, before pulling the fish off of the fire to rest for a moment while he extracted several metal plates and utensils from his pack.

He looked over at Harvast, as he scratched at his chest, then in his eyes. The man's gaze was kind and he smiled. "I take it that is why your muscles tense at the closeness of the wyrmkin?" He hadn't forgotten the appearance of the drake the other day at the port, nor the effect it had on the young man. Ifrit knew trauma when he saw it. Reflecting on this caused a bit of a sad look to enter the dark-skinned man's brown eyes but that passed quickly.

[Harvast]

His brows rose at the mention of dietary restrictions, "Oh, well, what are some of the things you cannot eat?  Wouldn't wish to disregard your beliefs at this point in time, as you've been more than polite and respectful of mine."  He pointed to the journal as an indication of what he meant.  A smile creased his face, "Well, with any luck, I will be gifted a shark tonight by the fae, hopefully the offerings I will be throwing in will be satisfactory to them."  Fae?

He shrugged and looked around, "The dragons that I am really concerned with are more commonly found in deep, open water.  Thunder drums aren't as frightening or known to come this close to shore, or secluded coves.  To the best of my knowledge they are more prone to rocky outcroppings."  He scratched at his chin and thought about it, a peace was on the young man as he accepted this logic and went about his day, "The only thing I'd be concerned about is a forest dragon coming down at the scent of blood.  I am not keen on either options, really, but I will place my bets on those that live in the ocean.  Morrigan knows I've spent more time on the sea than land."  He finished with a chuckle.

[Ifrit]

Ifrit broke into a warm smile as the man inquired about his dietary preferences. "Well... that is... quite decent of you. Thank you for that." He bowed his head. "In my religion, Islam forbids the consumption of unclean meats. Mostly this consists of animals not ritually killed, milk and offerings from those creatures. Primary among them are products from pigs." He nodded at him. "If you tend to bring things to trade of vegetable make, those are quite acceptable. I am also personally fond of deer and poultry meats."

The man tilted his head towards Harvast and turned a page in his book. "The fae?" He wrote down in his ornate flowing script. "What are fae and why do you present them offerings? Are they gods themselves who will bless you if you present them with favorable presents?" The man seemed quite used, if not gradually accepting that this far north was primarily polytheistic and it didn't appear to bother him in the slightest.

Ifrit nodded at him. "Thunderdrums, I have never heard of but the name alone sounds imposing. I have actually not seen any dragons for any length of time, for that matter, though I wonder what forest types would exist around here." He looked at their campsite while he served the man a hefty bounty of the cooked fish. Listening to him speak, he wrote again as he did so. "Morrigan, is this another Fae you mentioned previously?" Ifrit chuckled as he spoke. "Ah, I know what it is like to live mostly on the water myself."