0I Waterlogged [OPEN]

[chosenbytheocean]

WHO: Moana
WHERE: Fountain/Docks/Around
WHEN: December 27th
OPEN TO: ALL ARE WELCOME!
WARNINGS: Mentions of almost drowning…
STATUS: Closed

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Prompt i – le mea e te

The waves crashed hard against her torso as the horizon spun and tumbled away. Something grabbed onto her foot and a violent pull jolted through her as another wave trapped her below the surface of the water. Her lungs burned while her fingers blindly groped the lagoon floor. Needles prickled against her senses and her vision began to falter and fade.

This is what she got for trying to pass the barrier reef.

Cold fire filled her lungs and her eyes snapped opened to find a large blackness surrounding her. This water was calmer and colder than what she'd experienced a moment before. She felt fabric constrict across her shoulders and then something new tethered around her feet. She didn’t have time to stop and consider these changes. She kicked at the water moving towards the light above her and the promise of air. She gasped as she broke the surface of the fountain, her fingers clawing at the cement rim before pulling herself up, over and onto the hard cold ground. She pulled off her scrub, the pack, her boots and her socks; feeling their weight press uncomfortably against her. She coughed and gasped, her dark brown eyes blinking away the stars and tears that filled her vision.

Her sight blurred and it took Moana a moment to focus on what was around her. The air was frigid, biting and gnawing uncomfortably at her wet skin. Her boots, pack and navy blue over shirt were tossed messily to her right side. She wasn't on her island anymore and the more she asked herself how she got here the more she drew a defined blank.

"Pua? Pua are you here? Are you okay?" Her voice was frantic as she looked around the base of the fountain. Her pet pig had been in the boat with her and she'd hoped that he'd somehow made it back to shore.

She was in so much trouble.

Prompt ii – Iloa mamao atu

She'd pushed the extra clothes and shoes into the pack. She wasn't used to wearing shoes and despite the fact that the ground was freezing she felt more comfortable without them on. Moana shrugged the pack over her shoulders before ringing out her thick black hair. Water pooled onto the sidewalk as she began to make her way through the small town. She had gotten general information from those she's spoken too but it was hard to believe. The gods wouldn't punish her like this, would they? Is this what happened when people tried to leave the reef? All of her questions felt very silly.

"What do I do now?" She asked no one in particular, her dark eyes moving over the small town. Wandering around helped her a bit but it felt too directionless.

She paused after passing a few buildings and looked up towards the sky in amazement. The snow on the ground had melted away and yet small little white fluffs were falling from the overcast above her. Moana held out her hand and then shivered as the cold ice melted on her skin.

"What is this?" Moana had been born on a tropical island; she'd never seen snow before.

Prompt iii – Na i le punou vaitafe

She had been told there wasn't an ocean and yet she couldn't really believe that. The ocean connected everything; she had to be able to find it. She ended up at the boathouse, her gaze peering around the building and the boats lined up on the docks.

"All rivers go to the ocean right?" Moana began to talk to herself, keeping her tone calm and yet curious. "I've never seen a canoe like this." She paused looking at the small boat that floated next to the dock. She knew how the village canoes were designed and built but she had no idea how something like these boats were built.

"Hello?"

She called, this time louder, wondering if someone might hear her. There was a feeling inside of her, something tugging her towards the rolling currents of the river.

Comments

ii

[oncewasroman]

He'd only arrived a few days ago, but Rory was starting to get the hang of things around here. It wasn't like it was hard, since very little seemed to happen. Apparently he'd missed a big gift delivery a few days prior to his arrival, but other than that the village was quiet most of the time. That was something he could easily get used to, though hard to accept given his past.

It hadn't taken him long to decide to find his own home and start trying, once again, to make a living somewhere unfamiliar to him. Amy had yet to appear, though that didn't exactly mean anything to him since they had waited and chased after each other before and he knew she'd come for him just as he'd come for her time and time again. With that in mind, he'd picked one of the houses near what was supposedly a hospital and also colored blue. He figured Amy would like the color and he liked the location. There was plenty of room for just him though and he was standing in the kitchen taking stock of what supplies hadn't been taken yet when he noticed movement outside. Rory turned his full attention to the window and noticed a young woman staring up at the snow in awe. He normally would have let it slide, but he noticed something about her that gave him pause.

"Oh for Pete's sake," he muttered, and turned away from the window. He snagged the peacoat from the living room and shoved his feet into the boots before heading outside. In the time it had taken him to get his boots on he didn't see her outside of his house any more. He scanned the area and spotted a figure heading to the east, "H-hey! Wait up!" Rory jogged after her.

ii

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana was walking with her palm stretched out towards the sky. Snow was such a curious thing. Each time she tried to inspect it, it would melt in her hand before she was given the chance.

At first, she didn't notice that someone was calling out to her. She didn't know anyone here so it would stand to reason that no one would need her for anything but as she walked she realized that the sound of someone shouting was following behidn her. She turned, her dark hair falling over her shoulder as her pace slowed to a stop. She took a quick glance around and saw no one else. "Me?" She pointed to her chest with a curious tilt of her head.

Moana wasn't sure if she'd done something wrong but she waited until he was closer. "Can I help you?"

[oncewasroman]

Rory was thankfully not out of breath, otherwise he might have felt a little self conscious. To be fair, it wasn't far to run, so that was probably to his advantage.

"Yes," he said, as soon as he was caught up to her. He looked down at her feet and at the snow around them. He then looked back up, trying to figure out why someone would be running around with no shoes in the snow. "Sorry, I'm just...a little concerned about your lack of shoes...in the snow," Rory explained. He frowned, "That's not exactly a good idea."

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana watched Rory before her gaze was redirected down at her feet. She was very awake of the prickling sensation that was brought on by the cold hard ground but she was trying not to be bothered by it. All of her was a little damp and she was slowly getting used to it.

She lifted her foot but the bottom didn't look any different from the rest of her. "Is that strange? I'm not used to wearing shoes." Ever.

Moana had grown up on a tropical island, shoes weren't very practical. She had the boots in her pack but she felt like she'd trip over her feet if she wore them.

[oncewasroman]

"It's not so much that it's strange it's just...," he trailed off, not quite sure how to explain this. It was clear she was from somewhere that shoes weren't necessarily expected or required. That wasn't odd, he imagined there were lots of places like that. Her fascination with the snow probably also meant she wasn't used to colder weather. It seemed he was just going to have to be straight forward about all of this.

"Look. Snow is cold and prolonged exposure to it on your bare skin could result in frost bite," he crossed his arms, feeling cold just thinking about it. He looked over his shoulder, "And we don't exactly have the equipment to treat serious cases of that." Rory looked back down at the young woman, "So...it's sort of important to actually wear shoes now. You can always go barefoot inside or if it ever warms up around here."

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana listened as his voice trailed off. She looked down at her toes and wiggled them as he tried to sort out what it was that he was going to say. She liked being barefoot. It felt more natural. She was pretty sure that shoes would make her trip and fall and hurt herself.

Her first reaction to his reasoning was wondering if frost could bite and then she realized he was talking about an illness and began to take his words a little more to heart. He was looking out for her and he didn't have too.

"Oh... I guess you're right. I should just..." She shrugged of the pack she'd been given and pulled out the boots that she'd shoved in their before. She slipped them on and didn't bother to tie them. "This... feel strange." Wearing pants felt strange too. She missed her clothes.

[oncewasroman]

Rory felt oddly guilty about talking her into putting on shoes. It was true, she hadn't seemed too bothered by it at the moment, but it wasn't like that was going to last. What would have been worse is that it probably wouldn't have even occurred to her right away that there was anything wrong with her feet. Frostbite could be sneaky like that and if she wasn't even familiar with the term, let alone the symptoms, well then it was very likely she wouldn't have noticed at all until it was far too late.

No, there was no need to feel guilty. As he'd said, she could go without her shoes another time. "Trust me...it will be better than losing a toe or two. You get used to them after awhile," he said trying to be reassuring. He looked down at her feet and then shook his head, "It might help if you tie them up. Here." He dropped down to a knee and picked up at the laces, "They can come off otherwise. Also they might be a little more comfortable with socks -- but I guess one step at a time, right?" He looked back up to see if she was watching and then demonstrated how to tie the lace with her boot, "You just twist the laces like this, go over and under, and voila."

He straightened up, "Think you can handle the other one then?"

i

[womanofvalue]

"Who's Pua?"

Peggy hadn't wanted to encroach on the young woman, a touch wary of crowding her. She's still cleaning up and getting ready for her party, but she's needed a few trips to the inn to fetch some of the boxes with her name on them, getting ready for the event. When she'd passed the fountain, she's not sure that she's surprised anymore to find someone new there, and yet...

She feels terrible for the poor girl and Peggy knows that she can be late for her party if it means she can at least guide the girl to somewhere warm. "Is Pua a person? Someone you were with?"

i

[chosenbytheocean]

"Oh," Moana turned pushing her thick wet hair over her shoulder. She hadn't realized that Peggy was there and she was quickly scrambling to get to her feet.

"Pau is my pet. He's a pig, I don't know if you've seen him? He was just with me." She didn't want to think that one of her best friends had drowned because of her stupidity. Her father had been right; she should have never gone out on the ocean.

Moana felt a shiver run down her spine but for now she ignored it. Pau was far more important than where she was or why it was so cold.

[womanofvalue]

If there's one thing that Peggy can say with absolute certainty, it's that she hasn't seen a pig running around the fountain, which is probably for the best. Given how long it's been since she's had any form of pork or bacon (properly), her eyes might have listened to her stomach and taken action. So then, it's a good thing that she can honestly say, "No, I haven't seen a pig around here," she says.

"You must be freezing," she says. "Come back to mine. I've got plenty of food and warmth, a little wine even if you need a bit of a boost," she says, eyeing her wet hair with the most worry of all.

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana exhaled a slow breath while her fingers dancing nervously at her sides. "Really? Do you think he's okay? I don't know how I got here but if Pau at least made it back to the island." She didn't know if there was a way to check. Everything felt secondary compared to making sure that her friend was safe.

The reminder of the cold made Moana shiver and look down at her current state of dress. She was dripping but she was used to being wet, it was something that happened when you grew up on an island. What she wasn't used to was the cold. The air felt like daggers against her skin as if the chill refused to leave her be. Even the chilly ocean winds weren't as sharp as this.

"Is it always cold like this?" She'd taken off her shoes to get more comfortable but her toes were starting to get stiff from the cold. Moana looked up at Peggy with a thankful expression pulling at her lips. "Some place warm sounds amazing." She was finding that she didn't like the cold.

[womanofvalue]

"I don't know if he's here, to be honest. When we arrive here, it's usually without any of the things that we have back home," Peggy says, though she does peek over the edge of the fountain just in case there's a pig swimming around down there. Luckily for everyone, there's not, so there's no bacon n the horizon.

"It's quite cold at the moment, but it's winter," she says. "When I arrived, it was summer, though not exactly quite as warm as one might be used to. Still, warmer than this." She gives the girl an encouraging smile, gesturing to her bag. "There's a coat in there. It might help."

[chosenbytheocean]

Knowing that she most likely showed up alone was a small comfort. Pau didn't know how to swim and wouldn't do very well in a fountain. Moana nodded her head, "Thank you. I have never had anything like this happen before. Showing somewhere..." She looked around but nothing looked very familiar. "New." She finished without much enthusiasm.

"Winter? I grew up on an island. It's always warm." Moana took the pack and began to dig through it. She tossed the shoes to the side before pulling out the thick jacket. "This? It feels so heavy."

It didn't look comfortable but she slipped on the coat anyway.

ii

[powerunleashed]

Jean had gotten used to the snow. Granted, she knew about snow because she lived in a place where they got a heck of a lot of it but the constant snow and no plows had gotten old from day one; she was now a few weeks in and more than sick of the piles and piles of snow.

The only good thing about the snow in the village was that it was clean and it wasn't dirty like snow tended to get where people walked around and trampled it. There were no vehicles here to pollute the air or put oil in the ground and that, at least, made winter white instead of a dingy gray. Still, Jean was sick of winter.

"You've never seen snow before?" The other girl seemed to be genuinely shocked by it and maybe she was from a place where it didn't blanket the ground every winter in a useless heap until the spring came and melted it off. Lucky her.

ii

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana's attention had been fixed on the floating balls of fluff that drifted carelessly from the sky. Even after hearing Jean she didn't look away just yet. She watched the ice fleck land in her palm and then melt from the warmth of her hand.

"I haven't. My island has rain but it never got cold enough for it to snow." She knew of snow, just like she knew of ash and lava. There was a god of snow though Moana didn't remember the legend. Her favorite had always been about Maui and Paka. It was also her grandmothers favorite legend.

Her head turned and she looked over at Jean with a curious gaze. "Are you used to having snow and now ocean?" It was all very weird.

Re: ii

[powerunleashed]

"Well, there's the ocean where I'm from but it's kind of far away. You'd have to go down to Rockaway or something or into the city. Where I am? There's not any ocean," Jean said. She looked at the snow, though, and tried to imagine what it would be like to see it for the first time.

Did she even have a memory of that? She had always lived where it got cold in winter and with memories of winter came memories of the snow. Hmm.

"Lots of snow in the winter, though. Does it just not get cold at all where you're from? Some island. Must be nice."

ii

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana looked a little confused at her word choice but shook it off. "So there really is no ocean here." Even saying it out loud sounded to weird to be true. The ocean connected everything. It was hard to imagine a place without one.

"It doesn't get cold on Motunui." Her expression lighted a bit and she smiled. "My island is great. It's always warm but there is a rainy season and sometimes the winds can be rough but we're able to fish about the reef and we grow coconuts and..." She missed her island. It hasn't even been a full day and she wanted to go home; to make sure Pau and her family were alright. This wasn't the adventure she'd wanted. She wanted to be on the ocean and sail across the seas to find out just what was beyond the horizon.

"Is there always a lot of snow here? And cold? Is it Poliahu?"

Re: ii

[powerunleashed]

"I don't know the name of this place," Jean admitted. It wasn't something that anyone had ever told her and most people, including herself, just referred to it as the village. Now that she mentioned it, it was strange there was no name but Jean shrugged helplessly.

"No, this place doesn't have a name. We just call it the village. I'm sorry it's not what you were looking for, though. I don't think anyone wanted to end up here. I certainly didn't."

ii

[chosenbytheocean]

It was a little strange, being in a place and it not having a name. Moana wondered if anyone has asked or if it had a name that no one knew. "No one has thought to come up with a name either?" Naming things made things real and solid. It made them a little less scary, even if you didn’t know what something was.

"Village might be its name." Moana was probably thinking too hard about this but it was something to focus on, a problem that she could solve.

She was pulled out of her musings as Jean continued. "If there was a way home then someone would have probably found it by now." At least she thought so. "What is it that you do here?"

Prompt 3

[seekingvinland]

Thorfinn had been walking back from the forest, an axe over his shoulder while wearing a long winter cloak made by Kate. The hood hid his face but the long blonde locks hung free from under the hood so it and his beard were all that was visible besides the fur and his clothes. Hearing the yell he lifted his head abit. He had not expected a voice much less to see a woman standing on the docks as she was. No one ever really went there. There were days he sat there and moped when no one was about but never had he seen someone standing there yelling.

He made his way quietly. The axehead rested to the ground once he stood on the dock, both hands on the handle like it was a cane.

"The water is nearly frozen, it is to cold for the fish to answer." he spoke in his heavy accent. He had learned English here but it still came out so heavy and thick when he spoke.

Prompt 3

[chosenbytheocean]

There was a pause before Moana turned towards Thorfinn. He was taller than her though it didn't mean much since most people were. She spotted the very blond hair beneath his cloak and stared for a second. It was a stark contrast to Moana's dark hair and she found it odd. She wondered if his hair had been kissed by the sun or touched by one of the gods. Everyone on her island had dark hair and dark skin. It was just one more new thing she found herself considering.

"Oh?" Moana considered his words and then turned back towards the water. She peered down into it feeling the pull that she always felt when she stared at the currents of the ocean. "Not the fish but what about the water? Do you think it can still answer while frozen? If I was cold, I'd want to be loud about." Consider that she wasn't wearing any shoes and had taken off the navy blue scrub she was cold but she didn't care.

Moana was debating how much she liked the cold.

[seekingvinland]

He had more of a tan than he had in his youth, which came from the years on the farm, working under the hot sun. But, he was still paler than her. He reached up pushing his hood back as he left the axe sitting, the maul head was big enough that it would keep itself up until he returned. The bottom of the cloak drug the ground as he walked over to her, the wind catching his hair a little more as he came to kneel looking down at the ice covered water. This place made him homesick.

"Ægir might answer, but I doubt this place has the gods... beside's Thor." He added with a shrug. Taking a seat with his feet danging off the edge as he looked back up to her, unclasping his cloak. Holding it up with a hand once he pulled it free. "It is a little wet, but you look cold. Cold doesn't bother me." It did but not as much as most people here.

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana was barefoot, wearing the white tank top she'd been given and the dark navy blue scrub pants. She didn't like her given clothing, she missed her dress which she was slowly forming plans to remake once this cold goes away and she could grow or find the proper materials. Her dark eyes watched him move, her stare curious and open. She hadn't heard anyone else talk of the gods and she's a little relieved when she hears him mention two. She didn't know them but they were still gods and their stories taught children lessons about the world.

"Thank you."

She took the cloak and pulled it around her shoulders before taking a seat next to him. Most of the cloak fanned around her since she was an inch or so shorter than Thorfinn. Her bare feet dangled over the edge and for a moment she was reminded of home and of her dream. "The ocean is a friend of mine." She replied with a smile looking from the water up to Thorfinn. "The water is here and the sky and the earth. It means the gods are too, even if they don't want to say so." A lot of Moana's legends were of the gods and demi-gods of her time.

"My island is a lot warmer than this but I always wanted to sail and see what was on the horizon; to explore and find new islands." Her tone sounded wistful and yet as she continued it grew in strength. "I was trying to sail away when I swam out of the fountain." She was open by her very nature and the words flowed easily from her lips. "I didn't expect to find a place like this." It was all so strange to her but her dream was to become a master Wayfinder and yet she didn't know how to sail. Yes, she'd been trying but she couldn't even get past the reef and she endangered Pau in the process.

[seekingvinland]

The cloak drug when he walked with it so she'd be able to fully wrap herself in it. It had toggles down to the waist even if he never fastened them below his neck. The gods were important to him even if sometimes he wondered if maybe the christian's had it right. Was Valhalla really a dream worth chasing?

"I love the ocean... but there is no ocean here, I have been looking for months." He spoke in his heavy accent. "But there is a waterfall and a spring beside's this river." The dock was up high enough that their feet didn't touch the ice, his feet were covered in the boots. He offered a soft smile. "I like the way that sounds. Tell me of your gods if you would." He asked with a faint smile.

"I understand that, the desire to sail the seas is a strong desire I have as well. I have many times in my life." He replied easily. "Though, my island is cold nearly year round. It is called Iceland." It was nice to talk about these things.

[chosenbytheocean]

"It sounds like it's properly named." Moana turned to look at him with a smile, her fingers curling around his cloak as she pulled it tightly around her shoulders. She didn't fasten it because she had every intention of returning it before he left.

"There is water and water finds it's way to the ocean, even if we can't see the path. The ocean connects everything." Her voice sounded wistful but light and affection. Moana truly loved the ocean. There were conflicts inside of herself, the thread that pulled her towards the sea and her family who insisted that she be happy where she was; safe on her island.

She wasn't on her island anymore.

"My favorite is about the goddess Te Fiti. She was able to grant life to the islands of the world. Her heart was stolen by the demigod Maui. Who was known as a shape shift, master of earth and sky, and also very devious. As Maui made his escape, he was attacked by the lava demon Te Kā, causing the heart to become lost in the ocean. No one has seen Maui or the heart since." Moana pulled her knees to her chest, curling her toes over the edge of the dock. She looked down at the water as she continued. "My grandmother told me that when the heart was stolen, darkness covered the land and it was slowly stealing life from the surrounding islands. That the darkness is still coming. She said that someone will find the heart of Te Fiti, find Maui and make him return what he'd stolen."