12 Building A Boat~! [OPEN MINGLE]

[chosenbytheocean]

WHO: Moana
WHERE: 7i Beach Area [Also around the 7i Boat House & Town looking for stuff]
WHEN: Month of September
OPEN TO: EVERYONE [Feel free to make top posts if you'd like as well. Moana will hit everyone up but this is open to whatever people want.]
WARNINGS: None

---

Throughout the month, Moana was at the beachfront assembling different parts of a boat. She had the design sketched on few pieces of paper though the sketches were not very good.

She had spoken to a lot of people about building a boat and will accept everyone's help with its construction. They needed pieces of wood, someone to build the hull, stronger materials for the sail, which meant that Moana was back to collecting reeds and stalks that wouldn't absorb the water as it sprayed up from the ocean. She really needed a better drawing of the boat and its design, even if she was bad at trying to explain what she wanted to build. The hull needed to be shaped from a single piece of wood to avoid leaks. As well as the side-canoe that would help keep the craft balanced on rocky waves.

Everything had to be collected from the new parts of the island since it would take too much effort and time to try to carry all the pieces through the now small breach between the canyon walls. When Moana wasn't working the boat she'd watch others work and encourage those around her to join. It was something like an event. If there were enough people come night fall Moana would start a large bone fire and cook fish. She would welcome others to lend a hand in any part of any process. Much like her home, she wanted to build a community of people working together and helping.

She could be spotted around the 7i boathouse looking for any useful materials, as well as rummaging through the other houses on the way back to the beach. She also brought a handful of tools from the inn, including a grappling hook that she had found in the inn's storage closet. Moana wasn't sure how anyone might use it but it looked useful enough to take with her.


Image References: Moana's Boat, Boat One, Boat Two, Drawing One, Drawing Two, Drawing Three, Drawing Four.

Comments

Itiiti [OPEN!]

[chosenbytheocean]

The familiar looking pig has grown from the small light colored piglet that used to follow Moana around to a much larger spotted pig. He wasn't very big compared to pig standards, that weighed anywhere between 300-400lbs, but he now weight about 120lbs and was slowly gaining heft. Itiiti would spend a lot of time basking on the beach though he would soon get bored with the task and find people to bother. He would approach anyone who was working with Moana, or even around where Moana was, wiggling his nose at them.

A few times, he tried to nudge someone to follow him and would attempt to uncover mushrooms, roots or low hanging berries.

When that didn't work Itiiti would play fetch. If asked for any of the tools that Moana had brought he'd grab it and bring it over. They might be the wrong tool but he was trying, and would be able to guess the right tool if anyone spent enough time describing it. Sometimes he didn't even wait to be asked and would bring hatchets, screwdrivers or small knifes to those who looked incredibly frustrated at their tasks.

He was a helpful pig.

End of Month

[super_seal]

Since arriving, Steve had spent most of his time on his own. Initially he met a few people, finding some answers with those he encountered, but afterwards he had headed out into the woods. He'd scouted out the woods and the cliffs, attempting multiple times to climb up and escape but none had been successful with the tools he'd been able to make. He'd need proper climbing gear in order to climb the canyon walls successfully.

It was close to the end of the month when he managed to get around to near where Moana was building the boat. He was far enough away in his scouting that he hadn't yet heard the commotion, but when he comes across the pig that all changes. He'd sharpened the end of an inch thick branch with a stone to use as a spear not long after he arrived and once he heard the telltale noises of an animal, Steve went on the hunt. Really a 120lbs pig was too large for him to eat on his own, but he hoped that in following the pig, he may encounter something smaller.

Any ideas that the pig was purposely leading him somewhere weren't entertained by Steve. He was familiar with all the Hawaiian beliefs when it came to animals and their spirit guides, and while he respected them, he didn't personally believe them. Still that it appeared to be 'lead' him somewhere specific was a feeling that was hard to shake. Breaking from the trees to see the ocean before him was enough however to make Steve stop and stare. That there were people and boats at first went mostly unnoticed as he took in the vast amount of water. He'd been able to smell the salt water in the air but hadn't allowed himself to hope for something of this magnitude.

Getting his feet moving again, he walked up to the person closest to him, not really noticing who they were or what they were doing with his eyes still fixated on the water. The spear still in his hand and he was covered in mud and grime, his voice rough from disuse. "I thought we were surrounded by the canyon...?"

tl;dr <3

[chosenbytheocean]

Pigs are naturally intelligent creatures and Itiiti, for a pig, was very smart. He was aware of the limited space of his home, the relative placement and situation of the villages, and the tension of the villagers who had found themselves here. He knew that the fountain was where new people arrived, smelling different compared to the surrounding area, and he knew that the new village was older. All based off scent and his explorations with Moana around the new area.

Itiiti wasn't able to share this information with those who had found themselves here but he could help in other ways. One of those ways was bringing people together. They weren't very far from the beach. Itiiti with his heightened dog-like senses could tell exactly where the beach was and so when Steve wandered into his area, he decided to lead the man towards Moana and the others working on the boat.

When they broke through the trees Itiiti bee-lined for Moana who was standing and looking at her recently completed work. In front of her was a hand woven grass sail that she had spent most of the month working on. It was heavier than the cotton sheets and fabrics at the inn but it was waterproof and able to handle whatever rough weather she might encounter when she finally pushed off.

Itiiti pulled her from her inspection by running head first into the back of her ankle. Moana was used to it but given Itiiti's size, she almost fell face first into the sand. "Itiiti!" She cried out as he snorted and wiggled his nose at her. Moana pouted at the pig before her attention was drawn to Steve.

"Oh." She wasn't happy with Itiiti but she understood what the pig had been trying to say. "Hello." As she spoke, she stepped towards Steve. Her mouth curved into a smile while her long curly hair was tussled by the salty wind. Moana loved the ocean and had been spending a lot of time along the shores; it was one of the few locations that was similar to her island.

"What are you doing out this far?"

She hadn't seen Steve around though that wasn't very strange since Moana had been spending a great deal of time on her boat project. Like many of the others who were here for several months, Moana wasn't wearing scrubs. She had on the island dress that she had made for herself. Her feet were bear with two layers of grass skirts around her waist; the top skirt had woven threads while the bottom had loose grass stalks like a hula skirt. Keeping her skirts together was a navy blue piece of her scrubs that tied like a belt around her waist. Her top was soft, exposing her stomach, with black designs of fish sewn into the sturdy fabric. Out of all of the pieces of her attire, the most eye catching was her grandmother's necklace. The reflective blue shell hung around her throat with pearls weaved into the chain of the necklace.

[super_seal]

"I was looking for a way out of here," Steve says, eyes still more on the water in front of him then on her. The size of the body of water in front of them looks promising though to him. More promising than anything else he's encountered so far anyway.

"Any idea how large it is, what surrounds it or what might be in it?" Being relatively new and self-removed from the group he has no idea that this area has just recently opened up. His eyes are drawn to the boat, taking in the sails and the details of the design of the vessel and the craftsmanship present. His eyes then turn to her, where he notes her attire, lingering on her necklace a moment longer before coming up to meet hers.

There is a familiarity in her boat design and clothing. Having been born and raised on Hawaii, Steve had made good friends with the locals, particularly a man named Mamo who enriched his life as a young boy with stories of his ancestors, including their customs and traditions. Her clothing is similar to what Steve had imagined out of those stories. Mamo also was a craftsman who produced handmade surfboards, done the 'old fashioned' way and not with fiberglass. The boat in front of him was far more than a surfboard but it reminded him of Mamo's work.

He smiles at Moana before looking back at the boat. "You designed this?"

[chosenbytheocean]

It was natural to look for a way home when you were randomly kidnapped and brought to a new world.

Moana, however, had it on good authority that there wasn't a simple way out of the canyon or off of this beach. She had tried many times, using many different methods, to go home but nothing had worked. That was how she came up with this crazy plan.

At his question, Moana shook her head from left to right. "No, from what I've been told. The beach stretches on endlessly and the ocean might do the same thing. I wouldn't call it magic but I don't know what it is. I won't know until I go out there." There were so many ifs and buts to Moana's plan. It didn't stop her from going but it did make her cautious when telling people the full extent of what she had in mind. It wasn't safe. She knew that and, while she prepared for the worst, she knew that there were some things that she couldn't prepare for.

"I did but Owen, Killian and a few others helped me get it together in time." She wanted to ship out before it started to snow. "I've tried a lot of different ways of getting out of here. Climbing the canyon wall or wandering through the forest. Nothing has worked." It felt like this was her last chance. If she couldn't make her way across the ocean then there was no getting away from here. Not until the seers were done with them.

Her head turned towards the small boat, an affectionate smile pulling over her features. "This boat is designed like the canoes from my home." She was very proud of it.

Early in Sept, before foxes

[chirrutsluck]

Baze had promised Moana he'd at least investigate 7I's ocean. And then he got sick, and hardly left the inn for a couple weeks once he gave in and realized he was too sick to do his usual things. Exploring was right out.

Finally, he's feeling good enough to actually move around, and he's heard Moana is over there, so he's coming to visit. He trudges wearily across the mirror-image town, pausing to catch his breath once or twice since he's really not all the way recovered, before reaching the beach... and eying the bits of wood scattered about. "What is going on here?"

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana was attempted to redraw a bit of her design when she heard the familiar voice rasp behind her. She dropped the paper and pencil to the sand, standing to meet Baze with a bright smile spreading across her mouth.

"I'm building a boat. AH, wait, here." She turned quickly, her grass skirts shifting as she picked up the piece of paper that she had just dropped. The lines weren't straight but the design was legible and clear. Moana was building a small canoe that would take her across the ocean.

"These parts here are going to be this grid. I haven't found anything for the main hulls yet." At least nothing she could carry herself.

[chirrutsluck]

Baze tilts his head to squint at the paper. "It is a good idea," he allows. "But you should not go alone. Will there be room for two people on your boat?" He's not exactly offering himself-- Baze isn't entirely sure he knows how to swim, it's been so long since he's had to try-- but who knows what kind of barrier the Observers (or whomever) would put in her path? She would need help.

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana stubbornly shook her head. "I know how to sail and having more people means that I'll need more food and weight. I'm going to scout and then come back." It wouldn't be that reckless. Moana planned to go in a straight line for a week and if she found nothing then she'd turn around and come back.

She'll go alone, even if that means sneaking off when no one is looking.

OTA - September, any time

[underpinnings]

Now that he has a better understanding of what Moana means to build, and they've chopped down a sizable number of young trees, Owen can be found most days on the beach. He's had enough run-ins with the foxes to have his journals stashed on the other side of the wall, and he packs his food and tools to carry with him when he leaves the house, following the strange example of someone he's noticed to be wandering the area: before he sets to work shaping the trunks dragged to the shore, he wades out into the lake and secures his pack to a pair of poles planted in the lakebed.

As long as the foxes don't learn to swim or fly out to it, his meager belongings might be safe.

That solved, he sets to work in the thinnest long-sleeved shirt he can find, wishing even this side of the canyon promised enough solitude to roll his sleeves up. He washes the shirt every night, sleeps with it under his mattress, and puts it on damp and wrinkled the next day. The thermal layer is dingy with use, but he keeps it on, sleeves down, pantlegs rolled up, as he saws and hacks his way at the thickest of the logs.

Moana has her design, her memories of boats from her home--but this isn't an island in the Pacific. The trees are harder, denser wood than she might be used to, and he fears they won't float without some help.

In the early days he ties narrow frames out of cut saplings, splitting several until they bend and twine for his hands. With the help of those passing through, he sets the trunk into the frame, and over the days that follow, he sets to it with the multi-purpose tools he's taken on: cutting along the sides with the hacksaw, stripping bark with the head of the ax.

In the evenings he fetches a flat stone and a belt from his bag in the water, eats the last of his day's rations, and sits in the slanting light, sharpening his tools as best he can for the days ahead.

[Find Owen doing any of these activities (even wading out to hang his pack), any time of the month. He's carving a more traditional canoe from a full-size tree trunk, having some worries about boat designs and Moana setting off alone.]

September 10th ish

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana was dressed in her usual island dress which worked well for the work and heat. There were moments during their work where she'd walk pass Owen and standing in the water, feeling the pleasant chill of the waves as they rolled onto the beach. The water was chilly and after a few minutes she'd feel goosebumps prickle against her skin, calling her back to work.

Most of her time working on the boat was spent running around, organizing things or trying to find materials that people needed. She didn't even think about the foxes and if she noticed them, she didn't say anything.

One thing that Moana was very skilled at was making sure that everyone, including Owen, ate. After a few hours of work, she walked up to Owen with a bowl of peaches and a small plate of grilled fish. It was the easiest two things to find and it wasn't a problem if any went missing.

"Hey. Time to eat something." She flashed him a smile and hoped that he'd take a break. "Do you need water?"

[underpinnings]

"Always," he says, wiping an arm across his damp brow. By now the canoe is mostly stripped of bark, a basic outer shape revealed. It's been slow and steady work, learning the tools and the wood, being careful of his hands. There's really nowhere he'd like losing a finger, but home ranks a lot higher than out in the woods.

Soon he'll start hollowing out the center: he should really leave the outside alone until then, and maybe he will on the next one--but there's some hesitance to start. Should he hack his way in with the ax? Should he be looking for a tool he can bend into a kind of scoop? Maybe he'll take his time on an outline and go from there, trying a few things until something seems to stick.

"Once I've got this done," he says, indicating the log, now roughly shaped like a child's crude toy, "we'll have an easy time getting you a hull. We'll want to get you off before it gets much colder."

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana's eyes followed the curve of the wooden structure. The more she saw Owen work, the more she saw the boat that was hidden inside of the long piece of wood. It was exciting and it reminded Moana a little bit of home. They will probably have to test its buoyancy and make sure that it will not only float but also hold the weight of the sail, trimmings and another person.

She nodded her head in agreement before stepping closer and holding the plate of grilled fish and peaches in front of him. "You still need to take a break and eat." She would fetch him water too, even if he didn't drink it, he'd at least have it available to him.

Moana had been digging holes in the sand to keep things cold. It wasn't a perfect solution but the chilly underside and the wetness from the water was enough to stop the sun from warming and spoiling all the fresh water that she had collected from the river a few days before.

Mid-September

[enterprisingheart]

For all that his truest love will likely always be starships, Jean-Luc can't deny that there's something appealing about sailing ships as well. Why he can't quite say, but the sight of someone putting together what certainly looks like it might end up being a seafaring vessel is enough to catch his attention. Enough so that he makes his way over without so much as a second thought.

"Would you care for a hand?"

Admittedly, it might not be the sort of thing that he might have expected to end up doing. But it's something that will keep him busy at least for a little while, and far be it for him to discourage someone from exploring.

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana looked up at the man who was asking to help. She didn't know what he could do at first but she was determined to let everyone help.

"Could you help me break all the branches off this tree?" She pointed to the small tree that she'd been working with. It was 3 inches in diameter with a few long sticks growing off of it. "I am trying to get it as smooth as I can." Though it would be part of the grid that connects the two canoes so it didn't have to be perfect.

"Do you think you can do that?" She didn't know this man well, besides seeing him around the village and she didn't know what he could do.

[enterprisingheart]

"Certainly."

There's a nod to go with the words, too, and he settles in to work without so much as a second thought. Stripping branches off a small tree might not be anything that he does often, but it's clear enough that he's more than capable of managing. True, some of the branches do need a bit more work than others, but that's mostly due to the varying thicknesses of the branches themselves than anything else.

He works at it in silence for a moment or three, before speaking up again.

"Have you been working on this for long?"

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana was thankful when he decided to lend her a hand. She watched for a moment, making sure that he didn't need help or an ax or anything else that might help him work. When she was sure that he had everything handled she began to work down the other side of the long branch, using the ax on any twig that was over a half inch in diameter.

"I started last month." She spoke as she worked, keeping her focus on her task. "I am weaving the sail out of stalks I found in the woods. It won't absorb water like fabric and will be more useful on the ocean but it takes time. So I started with that."

Moana paused to look back at him.

"Have you built a boat before?"

ota - mid September

[seekingcrocodile]

He knows how to sail boats. He does not know how to build them. He does, at least, know how to make basic repairs when necessary, to help keep a ship afloat. What he knows the most is the rigging, so he is busy working on that part. He rounded up some rope, and if he needs more, he's had a lot of practice at making rope from vines, and knows right where to find some vines that will work (even if he has to go back to the other side of the village to get them).

He also has a tall, straight, thin tree that he got someone to cut down to use as a mast. He'd have done it himself, but he can't use an ax with only one hand. So far the branches have been removed, and now he's working on stripping the bark off with a tool he found in the boat house. It's not perfect, but it will do, and that's what really matters in a situation like this. Once he has the bark removed and the mast as straight as he can get it, he'll work on rigging the rope to it based on the drawing Moana made, and his own knowledge of how sails and rigging work.

On the beach, with the smell of the ocean nearby, working on a sailing-related task, it's almost like being back in the Enchanted Forest again, with his crew and the knowledge that soon he'll be back on the waves where he belongs. The ache of losing Emma, which he knows will never fully go away, has abated somewhat, and as he scrapes away at the wood, the rhythmic nature of the work has him starting to hum a sea shanty from his sailing days.

[chosenbytheocean]

"How is it coming?" Moana asked as she walked up to Killian. So far, he was the only person who hadn't tried to talk her out of her stupid idea of setting out alone but then, Moana wasn't sure if she told him that part yet. It had been a point of contention with everyone else. Given that Killian had been teaching her how to navigate, he had more ammunition to stop her than most.

She pause so that she was out of his way, her bare feet sinking into the sand as she watched him work. Between Owen building the hull and Killian building the mast, the boat would be completed by the end of the month.

"I have some water if you need it." She had collected spring water from the river and then buried the buckets in the wet sand so they wouldn’t be warmed by the sun.

[seekingcrocodile]

If he knew she planned on going by herself, he would try to talk her out of it. Not out of going at all. Just out of going alone. It's not like he's got anything keeping him here in this village anymore.

"Some water would be good." When did he decide to drink water? Rum is usually his default, but he doesn't want to waste it here, where there's a limited amount of it. How his habits have changed since being here.

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana nodded her head before running off to fetch water. She wasn't gone long and when she returned she was holding a decent sized cup filled with a nice cool liquid. "Here." She spoke as she passed it over to him.

"I've been working on the sail for the last few weeks. It's over half done now." She could have used the fabric from a snuggie or a blank at the inn but Moana didn't want anything that would become to heavy while out at sea.

[lefthandfree]

He’s done his own share of making use of the new area, but, needless to say, none of it is quite at the scale that Moana seems to be attempting. Though it had started out quite contained, when her little projects starts spilling across the beach and looking more like a big project that she shouldn’t be attempting without a little backup, Bucky chooses to make a proper appearance.

“Hey, Momo.” New name. Short and cute, like Moana herself. He thinks it’s rather fitting. “What’s all this?”

...not that he can’t tell that she’s obviously trying to construct something for sailing, but he way as well get the long of it instead of just the short of it.

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana looked up at Bucky when he spoke, her lips tugging into a smile at the nickname. Her mother had always had a nickname for her and now that she thought about it, Maui usually had one too, but she liked Bucky's nickname significantly better than Maui's.

"Hi." She waved a hand despite the fact that he was already standing within easy talking distance.

"I'm making a boat."

[lefthandfree]

“Yeah,” he laughs, obviously knowing that part. “What for though?”

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana's smile dropped and reformed into a nervous grin.

"I want to sail across the ocean. See if I can find anything out there." Her foot hooked behind her ankle as she looked up at Bucky.

She looked very guilty.