she was grateful that her time to go had not come yet.
for sapphique suddenly found itself in grand turmoil. the two young boys had come back wounded. by nothing less than a bear!
she fretted over them, but found that her anxious ways would do no good at the crowded den. so she only stayed there when needed. if @Erzulie or @Rosalyn needed a shift covered.
yet as it stood now, she was on the beach. alone.
the soft lap of the icy ocean reached for her paws. a luring thing — and in that moment she allowed herself to be lulled out to sea. up, up, up until the saltwater kissed her chest. she could feel her toes softly float off the sandy ground beneath.
val had first mistaken the shape in the waves as a seal. trotting along the compacted sand, he scented the air for any sign of easy carrion.
his attempt at fishing in glintwater had gone poorly. he was not so hardy to try open waters, but he wondered if he might find seakill here to bring back to quennell and swordfish. if nothing else, even an interesting piece of driftwood might help the boys stave off den-fever.
trawling the sand, val realized the drifting figure was wolf, not seal. he squinted against the glare, holding a holler between his tongue as he tried to figure out just who was treading the waves in this hour.
It was a strange feeling. Their son had come back wounded, Meerkat's too, but Rosalyn found herself detached from the worry the others seemed to carry. There was a tired acceptance in her now, an understanding that this sort of thing would happen. Things would always be taken, but at least in this instance, nothing permanent.
The calm sometimes felt more like a fog than still water. It was isolating but it was also a shield.
She'd set out to gather more seaweed. They did not need it yet but it gave her an excuse to walk beside the waves and keep to her own thoughts for a time. When she spotted Jorunn she stopped, watching, with a look that softened some.
She would be a mother soon. And she would know that loss too. The pirate hung back, out of the colder waters, and simply observed. She didn't want to interrupt the other woman's peace just yet. Then she spotted Val doing the same, and with a small dip of her head, moved to continue off along the beach.
She hadn't spoken much to him since he returned. No part of her sought to punish him... but that disconnect. It wasn't something she could choose to leave behind. No amount of warmth could entirely disperse it.
her eyes were closed and she did not know that somebody watched her. how could she? it was safe to assume that most everybody rotated the roja den nowadays.
soon she would return too.
but for now her voice rose. a vibrating hum that carefully crescendoed into a soft call. nothing of importance or stress. merely a sound to be sent out to sea. a wave of her own emotions sent out into the saltwater. for none other than her ears alone.
or so she thought.
from the corner of his eye, val caught sight of rosalyn. his heart skipped a beat and then sank — for he every bit deserved what came next.
he might have spoken aloud if he were a stronger person, but val was a boy in a man’s body. his open mouth shut silently as song wove its way above the waves.
the woman in the water was.. singing? val kept an ear to her as he padded dejectedly in the opposite direction. yet, he only took two steps before he turned resolutely and walked slowly after rosalyn.
LOL @ hijacking this thread <3
She expected that Val had come there to speak with Jorunn. She meant to leave them to it and continue her original path, to eventually find seaweed and return to the den with it. Instead she heard Val follow her shortly after.
Jorunn let out a call, also surprising her from her direction. She turned and glanced out at the figure in the water, then directed her attention to her son. He looked as though he had something he wished to say. She was suddenly, unexplainably, weary. And she berated herself for it even while she looked expectantly.
Did you need me?
Jorunn would likely hear, but she didn't mind.
you two hijack this thread please. i do ask for one-on-ones with both of you tho which i will pop up :) so consider jorunn now skippable unless called!
she could not hear over the water lapping at her chest, up against her chin.
she dove. down for a moment to be full submerged. she would paddle and she would come back up.
unknowingly living up as the seal val had thought her to be.
the not-seal in the waves caused rosalyn to turn. val halted as her single gaze fell upon him.
the drone of the sea became high in his ears. a full roar to drown out everything but that arcing glare of a singular eye.
no.
he paused. i mean… yes.
he looked back to the woman in the waves and did a double take, as she was seemingly gone. even looking at the depths caused his stomach to blanch. who was she?
he felt like a little boy again, nipping at his mother’s heels. small little boy on the beach, in his little boy voice. what are you doing? can i help?
He wanted to go with her. Rosalyn could see that he was reaching out for something, though she did not know what she could give that she had not already.
She still had not warmed to Njord, even in all this time. But Val had a benefit that the other man did not; he was her son.
Looking for more seaweed. There is enough for now, but your maman has used a lot treating Quennell and Swordfish.
For a moment she doubted the second name, but resolved that she’d gotten the right one of the two.
If you like, you can help.
She didn’t mind his company, though she was still bemused at his sudden shift. Glancing once more at Jorunn, she chose not to interrupt. There was no reason to inform her they were here if they were off to do other things.
She let him fall in beside her before setting off, but didn’t say anything else. Something told her there was more to this than simply wanting to help, but she wasn’t sure what questions to ask. So she would allow him the quiet to fill.
within val tension had built and it sped away like water downhill when rosalyn did not chase him away. there existed in val a sense of struggle he couldn’t name yet — it wasn’t his own, but Rosalyn’s.
he was not grieving his mother. she was alive and there in front of him — but even he in his fragmentary visits recognized the backsliding, the change. he had no way to articulate this, but resolved he could at minimal just be there. even if his presence did nothing to chase away the wolves that insatiably ate rosalyn’s conscientious bit by neural bit.
what kind of seaweed?
he missed the momentary indecision in rosalyn as she mentioned swordfish, but he at least recognized who she was talking about this time. it’s not in the water, is it?
for now the not-seal that rode the waves was forgotten as they strode further from jorunn’s bobbing figure.
For it to be of use it is.
Rosalyn looked at him directly this time, appraising the way he had said this. She knew of his fear. It had been impossible not to, with the problems caused by the sea foam run in their early days. Who all had competed she could not say, but his absence (and their daughter’s reaction) stood stark.
It is good to fear her. It’s the respect she deserves.
Rosalyn added, now switching to look at the waves. But if your fear keeps you from the things that need to be done, you have to choose what matters more.
val recalled that day very well: he had fled, and with it came a lifetime of shame.
it would not change -- it likely never would. not his mother's love, not her approval, not her disapproval, not even her disdain would change this boy and his fear of the ocean. it was innate to him as blood -- it would die when he died.
he drew a long sigh, avoiding the directness of rosalyn's gaze. there was no use arguing, or even defending himself. he could not defend how a wolf born of the sea could have such a fear. perhaps it was as
erzulie had once thought to herself:
too much salt for the blood .
maybe i can be your mule instead.
he murmured, eyes downcast as he grasped for a way out of having to force his fear.
you can get the seaweed and pack it on my back - we can carry twice the amount home that way.
He looked away. Rosalyn did not understand his fear and judged him for it. But she also loved him regardless, and no judgement would ever overwrite that fact. Her children would need to do much worse than that to ever truly fail in her eyes.
His suggestion was smart. She smiled, a glint of pride lighting behind it. Maybe he feared the water, but he showed the promise of a pirate in avoiding it while still getting the task done.
Finding a way to have both. Clever.
The pride leaked through to her voice. Then she turned to the water and began to skim through, gathering whatever plants she could and bringing them to the sand when she had enough. Here she’d give them to Val in trips so that he could arrange them as needed.
val beamed. a compliment from his maman was rare, and rarer still was it that he could eke an arrangement out that benefited them both at no cost to his overwhelming fear of the sea.
he marveled how easily rosalyn took to the water. what was it about the soul that decided which fear possessed its heart? and why had his selected something so integral and basal to his life?
he worked in silence, amassing a saddle of kelp which sagged down his spine. you make a good harvester, maman.
val joked at one return trip. who do you think the first wolf was to figure out seaweed was edible and useful for herbs? she or he must have been pretty hungry.
Only because I have a perfect carrier.
She replied fondly, shaking water from her coat. The cold salt of it always seemed to clear some of the fog, and she felt more present than most other times in the ocean’s reach. It was too bad it was cold still for extended swims.
I don’t doubt it. Wolves have eaten worse to survive.
Rosalyn herself included, back in the days when she’d wandered. I don’t know how your maman knows what heals and what is just a plant, though. Eating it wouldn’t tell that.
Her look grew fonder, thinking of her wife.
That should be enough for now?
If Val agreed, they could return with it.
val beamed to be so handsomely complimented. he may have had many shortcomings, but if sapphique needed a seaweed mule, there was no better.
just don't ask him to cross saltwater, though.
he noted rosalyn's expression grew softer as she spoke of her wife. val wondered too how erzulie had so much knowledge -- he supposed when he was their age, perhaps he too would have had enough life experience to impress those much younger than him. but who knew, really, where knowledge begun? he supposed some of it must have been handed down for generations.
seems like enough to me.
val nodded, feigning as if the load were too heavy to bear! oh! his poor legs, and back! he stumbled forward for effect with a grin. once we bring this back, i could go for a snack.
Rosalyn smiled when he smiled, gratified to see it, and nipped at his cheek.
I knew a strong wolf like you could carry it. But if you do break, I’ll just have to carry you and all this.
There was no way she could manage such a feat even when she was younger, so there was humor to it. Truth was she wasn’t sure she could even handle what he carried now.
She would see what she could find on the way back, combing the beach for crabs or oysters. Before they returned both a gull and a small crab would be firmly in her grasp, lunch for the two of them to share once they had made their delivery. She would ensure Erzulie had food after; another in the pack had surely provided.
<3 can be last from me
<33 their last thread together :sob:
little did val know this was to be his last expedition with rosalyn. he shouldered the kelp as he felt it sliding, watching as she forged ahead in search of little snacks. he smiled to himself; if this is how life could be for the rest of his living, he would be grateful.
the sun illuminated both of them as they made their way home, arcs of golden light silhouetting their figures. back at the roja den the kelp would be put to good use -- and val would sleep well tonight knowing he'd done a little good for sapphique.