sixthiterationlogs | 0I Waterlogged [OPEN]

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0I Waterlogged [OPEN]

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

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.

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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.

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?"

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."

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.

"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."

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.

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?"

Moana rolled her ankle to get the feeling of the boots and there restrictions. It was weird but it was warmer and she supposed it was better than having cold feet. Maybe she can make something that's similar but a little less constricting. She was used to making her own clothing anyway and it would be an interesting project, except that it looked like everything was dead here, the trees and the ground were to cold to grow anything. She had no idea where she might get materials.

She was a little lost in thought when she watched Rory lean down to tie her shoe. She knew about knots but she didn't know that there was a specific way to tie shoes. Her head bent over as she watched him and then moved quickly out of his way when he stood back up. "Socks?" She'll get those later.

Moana knelt and mimicked Rory's knot, creating a lopsided bow on the other boot. "Like this?" At least that part wasn't so hard. Moana rose and rolled her ankles again. It still felt weird but the boots were on now. She looked back up at Rory with a small smile. "Thank you." She thinks. "Is that why you stopped me? You were worried about my feet?"

Rory wasn't sure how to explain socks so he rolled up the leg of the pants and pulled at the fabric that was a little tucked into his own pair of boots. "Socks. There should probably be some in that pack of yours as well. I think all the packs have been the same anyway," Rory explained. It wasn't like he'd actually been here very long, but that was something he'd picked up on fairly quickly. He rolled his scrub pants back down to their original length and studied Moana's shoelace before nodding. She'd picked up on that fast, not that it was necessarily hard.

"No problem," he said, in response to her thanks. He thought about it and then nodded, "Yeah, I guess that was about it. Sounds a bit weird when you say it like that. But I'm a nurse so it wouldn't look very good of me if I let someone get frostbite if I could prevent it."

"Got it. Socks." She pointed down at his with a smile. She’d deal with socks later or just pray for the summer to come quickly.

"A nurse… like a healer?" Moana had very different words for things but she was able to pick up most of what people were talking about from context. Nurse was obviously another word for a medicine man if he was worried about her losing her toes. "That’s really nice of you. I probably wouldn’t have known." Until someone else told her to put her shoes back on.

They still felt weird.

"Where did you see me from?" She hadn’t been paying much attention to the houses and she didn’t know where he had spotted her. Moana had no long term plans to stay though she’d most likely end up at the Inn.

If only they were that lucky. Rory hadn't been here long, but he'd gathered from some of the others that they were in the heart of winter. And considering this was an alien environment to the lot of them there was no telling if it would last longer or shorter than Earth's winters. Heck, even winter on Earth lasted different times depending on where you were. At least he was reassured that they HAD experienced a summer before he'd arrived.

"Close enough," he agreed, figuring if that was what she called them where she was from it would be the easiest way to go with it.

Rory looked back over his shoulder, he could still mostly see his house from here, "I just happened to be at my window and it caught my attention. It was by chance, really." He didn't want to come across as too weird. A minute or so of different timing and they probably wouldn't even be having this conversation. He turned back to look at her, "Did you just get here?"

It wasn't weird, in this situation Moana considered herself lucky. She didn't want to hurt herself, given she didn't know anyone or exactly where she was. The cold and snow were new but she knew how important it was to take care of herself. If she was going to help, she couldn't risk getting sick. Often times, getting sick meant you didn't always get better; sickness was rare on her island.

She nodded her head, a bit of a smile moving across her lips. "Yes. I swam out of the... fountain." She pointed in the general direction of the fountain and then frowned.

"I've never seen houses like these before." She hadn't been sure if they were houses or something else. "On Motunui the buildings were made mostly of clay. Some were made out of wood but those were just frames." This place was very different from her home.

"That's how most people arrive apparently." He'd only arrived recently himself after all.

He wasn't familiar with anywhere by that name, but honestly that didn't mean anything. There were billions of planets out there and billions more countries, cities, you name it. Rory glanced around at the houses, "Houses like this are fairly standard where I come from." He frowned slightly, "Though maybe a little dated. Unfortunately, most of them are empty...or that might be a good thing actually since you can get out of the cold that way."

"Oh." She turned her head back towards the fountain but she couldn't actually see it; she had wandered to far away.

"Who would build houses and then leave them like this?" Moana paused feeling an uncomfortable itch crawl over her skin. "Did something happen to the people here before us?" She moved to take a step towards one of the closer houses but she misjudged her step now that she was wearing boots. Her toe caught on the ground and Moana went tumbling forward in a rather theatrical fall.

Rory considered her question but couldn't really answer it. Instead he shook his head, "I don't know really. I only got here recently myself and apparently these houses were already here before that because some of the people here have been living in them for months -- but they weren't responsible for building them either as I understand." It was a little ominous to consider.

"If something did happen, there isn't a --," he trailed off as Moana went falling forward. He didn't have quite the reaction time to catch her and could only watch as she tumbled into the snow. He winced and offered his hand, "You really aren't used to shoes, are you?" He wondered if there was a way to make her something a little less bulky and cumbersome but that would still retain warmth. "Are you all right?"

Moana was listening before the fall. Now she was pushing the snow out of her face and off her shirt. She didn't want it to melt on her, she already saw how cold that was and it wasn't the sort of thing she wanted to repeated.

Her head turned up to see Rory's hand and she smiled. "Thank you. I'm fine." She grabbed hold of his hand and steadied herself before speaking again. "They're just so strange. I never needed to wear shoes before and they're so big." She lifted her foot, looking down at the shoe with a frown. This was going to take more effort than she thought. She needed to practice.

"How do you walk in these?" Moana looked over at him and then down at his feet.

"It's not this cold where I'm originally from...but it can get pretty cold. We grow up wearing things similar to this," Rory explained. He figured he'd seen enough small kids trip over their shoes to understand that walking in shoes would definitely take some getting used to. He studied Moana for a moment and then shook his head, "I imagine it's not made any easier by the fact there is snow everywhere. It's hard enough to walk in snow when you are used to shoes if you want me to be honest."

His boots had actually fit fine, but maybe they were too big for her, "If you wear multiple socks that might help with them being too big. The socks will add some padding and make for a snugger fit."

"I can try it."

Moana wrinkled her nose at the idea of wearing maybe layers of socks. She didn’t know what they were but she was able to understand simply from his context, a fabric to slip over your feet to cushion from the cold. It’d protect them and in the boots she felt significantly warmer but she didn’t really like it.

"There are clear paths." Which was like looking on the bright side, Moana will probably have to wait for spring to really explore the area. "Did you or the people here clear it away?" As little as she knew about snow, she knew that nothing fell from the sky in perfectly patchy areas with walkways. "It must have been difficult. Walking through it probably isn’t harder." It was her way of saying that she’d be fine and figure it out. Those here have clearly had a hard time and while Moana was obviously not used to it, she was stubborn.

Rory looked around at the cleared paths, he hadn't really given it much thought honestly. But, well, it stood to reason that someone was clearing the paths with new snowfall.

"I imagine there are people around that have been doing it. I just got here too though, a few days anyway, and I certainly haven't been doing it," he said, although now he wondered if that was something he could contribute to. After all, he doubted they had snow plows.

"It would be a lot of work...though if people walk the paths regularly that probably helps keep the snow clear to some extent."

Moana nodded her head in agreement, her chin tilted up as the soft drifting puffs of snow fluttered down from the sky. They appeared to be drifting at such a lazy pace; she couldn’t imagine the amount of snow that’s on the ground now. How long had it taken to fall? She lifted her palm up, catching a wayward snowflake that then immediately melted in her palm.

"It’s so strange. Does it snow here all the time?" He didn’t know the answer and she knew that but the question popped out anyway. "Sorry. Can we go inside? Is there a place to stay?" She didn’t remember what he’d mentioned. She’d been rather enamored by the snow and upset about her shoes.

As much as she didn’t want to admit it, Moana was getting cold.

He didn't know, but he could make his best guess based on what he'd seen. "There's a lot on the ground for something that only happens rarely -- so I would guess it snows quite a bit. But I don't think it is all the time -- apparently there is spring and summer weather as well here, we just happened to get here while it was at its coldest," Rory explained.

"Well if you want to go inside for a bit, the house I snagged is back that way," he gestured with a tilt of his head, "But if you're looking for somewhere to stay more permanently I heard that there were a few rooms available in the inn or you could pick your own house. Not all of them are occupied." He wouldn't mind having Moana for a neighbor, she seemed like someone who could handle herself -- though at the moment she was very much out of her element. "I can show you either if you want." It wasn't like he had any other plans for the day.

Moana nodded, she understood enough to form a full picture in her mind. Her island didn’t have that many seasons but there was a part of the year where they got a lot of rainstorms so she tried to equate what Rory had said to that. "Okay." She hoped that it would warm up soon. She could already tell that she didn’t like wearing shoes and she’d have to find a way to make her dress again. The cotton she had on felt tighter than she was used too.

"Does the inn have a fire?" She might grab a house at some point but she didn’t know enough to think that was a good idea starting off. She didn’t know where food was and she knew nothing about the plants or the state of this village, not to mention that the houses were oddly built. "I think I want to go there first."

It was all so unfamiliar to her.

Edited (woops) 2017-02-04 23:22 (UTC)

"A nice big one, actually," Rory answered. He'd taken to eating some of his meals near that fire place so he was very familiar with that spot in the inn. It was really rather nice, all things considered.

He smiled pleasantly at her request. Something he could help with at least. "Sounds good. Let's go this way then," he said as he turned to lead her in that direction.

Moana's smile widened at the promise of fire and heat. "That sounds perfect." She would be able to take off some of her layers and the shoes. Walking there was going to be an adventure in and of itself.

She padded after him very slowly, picking up her feet almost awkwardly as she walked across the snowy sidewalk.

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0I Waterlogged [OPEN]

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idk if you want to wrap this sooner or later.

Yeah we can wrap this up soon and do new stuff!