13 Voyage [CLOSED]

[chosenbytheocean]

WHO: Moana
WHERE: 7i Ocean
WHEN: October 1st
OPEN TO: Bucky Barnes
WARNINGS: N/A

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The sun had not yet risen over the peak of the canyon walls when Moana made her way down to the shore. She had a bag of food and supplies slung over one shoulder while an oar occupied her other hand. She had left Itiiti behind, in the care of Owen, as she headed towards what might be her own demise. She was stubborn and she hadn't heeded any of her friends warnings.

She was quick to pack the boat with supplies, readying the craft to set out. As her preparations went underway a soft white flurry began to drift from the sky.

"No. No no no no." Moana was still wearing her island dress and shoeless. She knew that the snow might cause some complications but she had already come this far. She wasn't going to turn back down. She exhaled a soft huff as she turned to look back at the village behind her.

A soft whisper of a sound reached her ear and she turned sharply on her heel. The darkness of the early morning was a little hard for the island princess to see through.

"Who's there?"

Comments

[lefthandfree]

He had his suspicions and knew better than to let his guard down. When he was certain enough Moana had every intention to embark on her own, he decided in an instant that he would not let her, no matter the cost. Even strong and independent in her own right, it was far too risky an endeavor for him to let her endure it on her own.

Waking early had never been a difficult task, his general lack of sleep was often enough as it was, and so it was that he began taking to the docks before the sun had risen to keep watch, knowing it would eventually pay off.

Though he had watched for several moments, he knew he couldn’t let her slip away when he was right there. He approached, as silently as he could, but not knowing how to present himself, he kept himself concealed to the shadows. Only when she noticed did he decide on how to make his appearance.

“Y’know, I thought something was fishy, but I didn’t think you’d all out bail on me, Momo.” His tone was light-hearted, soft rather than chastising. He understood why she likely had every intention to continue on her own, but a part of Bucky simply did not agree with the notion.

[chosenbytheocean]

For those who knew her, Moana wasn't the best liar. She wore her emotions out for the world to see. There were times where she tried to lie to herself but the truth always found it's way out. The best she could do was escape before anyone noticed she was gone.

She released a soft huff of air as she relaxed and turned back towards the boat. She was almost ready to embark. "I'm not bailing. I'll be back." She should have expected someone to try to stop her but she had hoped to make a clean escape.

Dark eyes looked up at Buck hoping that he might leave. "Why are you here?"

Moana didn't realize how predictable her actions had made her. She spent a lot of time by the beach while the boat was being built and bit by bit began to bring her personal belongings with her. She felt more comfortable sleeping by the ocean.

[lefthandfree]

He smiled as sheepishly as he was willing to muster, not wanting to get into an argument with Moana of all people. He didn’t want to disrespect her preferences and wishes either, but he knew he would regret it if he didn’t stop her from continuing alone.

“Figured you could use company.” He paused, cocking his head slightly to the side. “Y’know. For the trip you’re clearly about to head off on.”

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana's jaw opened and then snapped shut. She turned to look at the boat which was already stocked with food and blankets for the trip. Her original plan was to slip away undetected and it clearly hadn't worked.

"I wasn't planning to take anyone with me." She admitted with a sheepish shrug. "I'll need more food and... do you know how to swim?" If not they were going to have a lot more problems later down the road.

[lefthandfree]

He chuckled at her defensiveness, knowing better than to let himself seem like an extra weight.

“Collected provisions for myself already. And yes, I do. With just the one arm.”

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana was hoping that he didn't know how to swim or that he'd walk away to collect food and she could leave while he was gone. Neither of those plans had worked and she was left trying to form a back up plan.

After a few seconds of silence she exhaled a soft breath. "I don't understand why you want to come with? You could die." She was comfortable with herself dying but she didn't want that to happen to anyone else.

[lefthandfree]

“So could you. Die, I mean.” The notion was quite hypocritical, but he didn’t really blame her for not considering that aspect. If she was allowed to decide that for herself though, he could do the same.

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana closed her eyes, counted to ten, and then opened them again. "Yes but I knew that before I decided to head out there. It's okay. I'm ready and I'm not going down easily." She'd face waves like mountains and warriors who wore coconut armor. Moana was fairly confident in her abilities to face whatever this ocean dished out at her.

"I've sailed on the ocean before." Only once before.

[lefthandfree]

“And I haven't, but that doesn’t mean any less. If I go at all, the risk is the same regardless. Better to do than to fear, don’t you think?” He took a step forward, indicating his resolve physically.

“Besides, it’s not like I didn’t know all that either, Momo. And I don’t go down easy either. I mean, look at me, I’m built like a tank, even if I’m short an arm. But that doesn't stop me from fighting when I need to.”

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana looked nervously between Bucky and the boat. It could fit him, she knew that, but she was still very uncertain about this. She looked up at him, squaring her shoulders and firmly setting her gaze. "Fine but I have one condition." She held up a finger as she spoke, hoping to make it clear that this condition was not to be broken.

"I'm the captain. You have to listen to me or we won't be going anywhere." Moana was going to have to teach Bucky how to sail the boat.

[lefthandfree]

Raising a brow, he cocked his head to the side. There wasn’t any way he would have had it any other way, logically. He didn’t know how to sail, so direction had to come from Moana of course.

Rather than articulate any of this though, he just smiled. “Aye, aye, captain.”

[chosenbytheocean]

"Good." She lowered her hand to her side before looking back at the boat. "Put your previsions in the middle compartment there. If it doesn't all fit then take one of the cloaks out." They were going to be blankets but she didn't really need more than one.

"Once you do that we're setting off. I'll need you in the boat." Hopefully she can push it into the water with him already on it.

[lefthandfree]

“Will do.” He slipped back into the darkness briefly to retrieve his pack, neat and ready with everything he needed (he was a light packer, what could he say?) before climbing over the side of the boat to add it to their cargo. There were a few seconds of items being shuffled about, repositioned to account for the new inclusion, but it all went in quite nicely, to his great pleasure. He wouldn’t have wanted to make things complicated by taking up too much space.

Only after he closed the compartment did he pause to think about hanging around and letting her cast them off though. Maybe if he had been any other person it would have been fine, but Moana probably didn’t realize the several extra pounds of metal hidden inside Bucky’s body to help reinforce his ability to even maneuver Hydra’s fist without breaking his shoulders every swing. Not that it really mattered so much anymore without the arm even being there anymore, but it made a different with this at least..

“Maybe I should help push too... Or I can push... I’m, uh, not...that light. Compared to any other guy that’s normally my size, I mean.”

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana stared at Bucky like he had suddenly grown a second arm.

She knew that Bucky was missing an arm, it was hard not to notice, but she's seen him in action and it's never slowed him down. It was part of who he was. She never imaged that there might be more to his arm loss. She had never asked about it.

"I'll be fine." She didn't want to have to try and pull him into the boat. She knew that she was flexible and fast enough to jump in after she had it into the water. The tide was falling, it was now or never. Moana didn't wait for a response. She dug her heels into the sand and lifted the boat while pushing forward. It was WAY heavier than it should be and after budging a fraction of an inch she set it down.

"How are you so heavy?!" She sounded exasperated. Moana really shouldn't have trouble with this.

[lefthandfree]

Chuckling, he stood again and hopped off the boat calmly. Despite the ease with which he did so, the soft thud that came as well as the noticeable indent in the wet sand he made likely aided in hinting toward why she’d had so much difficulty.

“Hundreds of extra pounds of metal. In here, I mean,” he answered, patting his chest lightly. “You can’t see it, but it’s there and definitely very heavy.”

[chosenbytheocean]

The boat lurched forward when Bucky jumped off, sending Moana face first into the sand. She pushed herself up, scrambling to make sure that the boat didn't take off without them.

"Metal? Like the tools at the inn?" She looked over at Bucky, her palms flat on the boat to keep it steady as the waves rolled beneath it. "How?" Moana didn't know how metal worked or how it could be inside of him.