sixthiterationlogs | 0I Waterlogged [OPEN]

Entry tags:

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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.

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.

"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."

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.

"I promise, with the temperature in the air, once the shock wears off, you'll want to be wearing something warm," Peggy assures, though she's got a fire going in the makeshift little fireplace that she'd made back at hers. "I'm used to much milder winters myself, this is a bit of a shock," she confesses.

"Where did you grow up, that it was so warm?" she asks genially. "Which island?" she prods, trying to keep the girl's mind off of the cold and the situation she's been thrown into, at least until she can get her something to drink.

With the jack on Moana felt stiff. She tried to move her arms but found that the fabric would bunch uncomfortably if she reached to far. She didn't like it but it was warm, and even against her damp sink it was welcomed. She awkwardly tugged her long hair out of her jacket, feeling the water drip uncomfortably down her back.

"I am from the island of Motunui." Moana didn't know if anyone here would know the name of her island but she knew she had to get back home somehow or at least try too. She didn't know how to sail and she proved that she couldn't get past the reef.

"Is the ocean near here? Does it come up through there?" She pointed to the fountain, while she continued to try and wrap her mind around things.

Peggy had never heard of such an island before, shaking her head, though she wouldn't have minded a tropical island rather than the intensely frigid boundaries that have trapped them in their icy grasp. "As far as we know, there's no ocean anywhere near here," she confesses, though it's hardly like she's an expert. "There's a freshwater river with some fish, but that mostly means there's a source somewhere."

"The air doesn't even smell like the sea," she says. "I don't know that we're anywhere near to one, truth be told."

A frown tugs at Moana’s lips and for a moment or two she’s silent; thoughtful. "Freshwater usually spills into the ocean and can be used as drinking water. It has another source… maybe if we follow the stream we can find the ocean." She looked over at Peggy curiously. "Do you know if anyone has tried?"

Moana wasn’t sure how she got here and she wanted as much information as she could gather before she tried a monumentally stupid plan again. She didn’t know how to sail, there would be no way for her to navigate alone but she refused to endanger others’ lives again. She was still worried about Pau but for now she pushed that worry away and focused on what she needed to do.

She was good at ignoring one thing to focus on another. Her mind would always turn back to the things she tried to avoid but for now she was grounded and focused.

"I think a lot of people have tried," she says, and though she counts herself among them, it's the experts like Killian that she really trusts and knows that if he's not able to find anything, then the chances of any of them truly finding a way out of here via an ocean portal is slim to nil. "Here," she says, opening the door to her house, where there's lights from various sources, including the fire (in a fireplace that she's created, through a great deal of chopping).

"I've got some warm things to drink, but I don't know how old you are," she admits. "And whether it's legal to give any to you."

Her expression lights up when she sees the fire. A chill has settled into her bones, part of it has to do with not wanting to wear shoes but she knew a fire would chase all of that away. "Legal?" That was new to her but then Moana had never tried alcohol before. There was never a reason to drink or distill liquor.

Her chin tilted up towards Peggy curiously. "I'm 19 but I haven't yet taken the roll as chief. What makes something legal?" Here, she didn't know. Her village had it's laws but they were set for their survival and so no one broke them. Except for the one time that Moana tried to go past the reef.

her expression fell at the memory. "Don't worry about it. A fire is enough. You've been more than kind. I'm not sure what I'd have done if you hadn't found me."

Legal enough for Peggy, who just wanted to make sure she wasn't about to serve something highly alcoholic to someone who wasn't even sixteen yet. The girl looked young, but Peggy supposes that could be due to any number of factors, including good care and lucky genetics. She rifles through the bottles that have been set up on the table for the guests, thinking it rather fitting that someone has arrived on the very day of her party. It's as if this village is trying to make sure they don't forget the strange nature of everyone's arrivals. She reaches into one of the gift boxes and hauls out the heavy blanket she'd been gifted, gesturing for the girl to sit. "I'm Peggy Carter," she says. "I'm not usually this organized and my home isn't usually so nice, but I'm about to have an event."

"You're invited, of course, if you're feeling up to it!" She returns with just a finger of sherry in a glass, offering it out to the girl. "I'm sure someone else would have come along. There's roughly fifty of us here, and many people regularly come by the fountain, just in case of a new arrival."

Living so close to the beach and the ocean has done wonders for Moana's skin. Most of those in her village looked a little younger than they were, except for her grandmother who was the self proclaimed village crazy lady.

"I'm Moana." Did she already say that? Everything was blurring together. "Ah, thank you." She took the blanket and took a seat where she was directed. Her toes curled against the floor while small droplets of water pooled beneath her. "I hope I don't make a mess." This house was a lot nicer than what she was used to. It didn't have dirt floor or thatched roof, it looked like it was build with wood with squares instead of clay. "Fifty?" That sounded like a lot but then Moana's base of comparison was her home which didn't have that many people on it.

"What event?" There weren't many holidays on her island.

"Don't worry, I've never minded a warped floor," Peggy says, given that she's hardly a homemaker or keeper of a fine home, seeing as she's barely managed to keep herself at the Griffith and Miriam Fry had maintained their flats with her ordered, pristine hand. "As to the event, it's a bit selfish. We received a great number of gifts all of a sudden last week, so I suppose it's a sort of Christmas, but at the same time, it's a good excuse for me to get rid of some of the alcohol and to wear a lovely dress."

If she happened to get a chance to dance to the record she'd received, well, then, more the better for her. "Fifty, I think. It could be more or less, I don't think we really do roll call each morning."

Moana had so many questions and comments running through her head. She quieted them, doing as her father taught her and handling one thing at a time. She exhaled and then took a small sip of the liquid that Peggy handed her. It caught her by surprise and she coughed before regaining her composure. She sat with her back straight and her head up, another trait that she'd learned from her father.

"That tastes interesting." Definitely the first time she's tried that but as the alcohol seeps into her stomach she feels her body begin to warm from the inside out. She took another small sip, this time being careful and nodded. "I bet you'd look lovely in a dress. I miss my dress." She'd always had one.

"I'm also not sure what Chris-t-mas is." The word sounded awkward when she said it but she was trying. She knew about parties though the ones that she knew were usually outside, with the whole village gathered around a large fire. There were drums and dancing and it was always a lot of fun. Plus it was then that she could usually sneak away to the ocean.

Peggy doesn't mean to, but she has to hide her smile behind her hand at the girl's reaction to the sherry. It's not a particularly offensive alcohol, but neither is it the sort that you have in any other situation. Right now, with her cold and probably needing to be pulled away from a touch of shock, it's probably the best choice, if not the mildest going down. "Thank you," she says calmly, "I've only the one and I've yet to try it on, so I'll have to hope that I look good in it, otherwise I've thrown a whole party and I'll have to look like a slob during it."

"Christmas is a holiday in late December, commemorating the birth of the Christian saviour. At least, that's supposedly what it is, but truthfully, people have adapted it with their own traditions so they can have meals and a tree in the home and presents for everyone. "It's a holiday, really. It gives people a reason to come together."

Moana continued to sip the drink, it wasn't something that she could drink quickly but given she hadn't eaten lunch before arriving here it was going a bit to her head. She felt the numbness and warmth spread through her and found out that she had absolutely no alcohol tolerance at all.

"If it is to big I can bring it in for you. Assuming this place has needles and thread." There were so many weird things here that Moana really didn't know what they had.

Moana nodded at her explanation. "That makes sense, more so if it's always cold around this holiday. I think everyone would need to be cheered up." She really did not like the cold and while she was warm now, she knew that she'd eventually have to go back out into the cold.

"I think someone might have them available," Peggy admits, though it wouldn't be her. While she can do a quick stitch job, she's no Ana Jarvis when it comes to mending items, and she's ready to admit such weaknesses, knowing that she spent her time getting dirty and rough, more so than most of the other children she knew.

"Hopefully, my little party will help to do the trick," she says, glancing at the area around her. "It's a big house for just me. I think this will be the last hurrah, really."

Moana looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding her head. "If we find something I can help." She wasn't as skilled as others on her island but Moana had helped everyone with pretty much everything and that included sewing. Her father had wanted her to understand every aspect of their lives on the island. It was nice to know it did her some good now.

"Do you live here alone?" It did seem big. "If you do why not have people over more often? Then it wouldn't feel so big."

Moana took another sip of her drink before finishing the small sniffer and placing it on a table to the side. She felt as if she should do something but the fire here was warm and she felt it thawing her feet and drying her thick dark hair.

"I didn't used to live here alone," Peggy replies, settling down in the chair opposite Moana. She'll need to start getting dressed at some point soon, but it won't take her very long, not now that her hair is already done. "The man that was here, my friend, he vanished. He's come back, but not with the same memories and it would impose far too much to ask him to live here."

"I think, maybe, I'll move to the inn. There's quite a few people there," she says encouragingly. "It will be nice to have people around again, but the privacy will be something I miss," she does confess.

Moana watched Peggy as she took the seat opposite her. She was listening intently though her toes began to wiggle as they began to thaw. It felt nice to warm through and Moana slowly began to feel more like herself. She knew that she'd have to get used to the cold while she was here but she was silently hoping that it wasn't that long.

"That sounds complicated." She was honest, a thoughtful frown tugging at her lips. "I'm not used to having to much privacy. My island didn't have walls, ceilings or floors like these." Moana would probably stay at the inn too. "If not the man that used to live here, why not someone else? Only if you want to stay of course." She added the last sentence quickly. "I'm sure you have a lot of friends here and everyone has to stick together, right?"

Even if it was a hard choice for Peggy. Moana thought that the woman should do what made her feel the most comfortable and the happiest.

"It's a complicated situation," Peggy says, but perhaps she ought to be thinking about living with someone who isn't part of her past or her future. "Your island, it sounds different from anywhere else I've ever heard about, perhaps you'd like to tell me more." She rises to refill the girl's glass, but only with a slight splash of liquid again, not wanting to offer too much.

"I think most things that get called situations are complicated." She offered Peggy a smile that she hoped looked confident. Moana had always tried to appear confident around others.

"Oh thank you and yes, I'd love to tell you more about it. I love my island." Peggy will notice that the more Moana talked about her island the more animated and happy she looked. "It's never this cold but we do have storms that come in from the ocean. There are coconut grooves, and the village is only two handfuls of buildings or so but they're all sturdy and made out of clay while the ceilings are made from wrapped palm branches. It keeps out the rain water when the wind doesn't accidentally shift them. We have farm animals too and I have two pets. Pau was one of them and Heihei is the other. I had a lot to learn from my father about the island so I know all the parts. My favorite was the ocean. I could always see it beyond the reef..." Her smile falters slightly.

"-but I don't know how to sail." She didn't know properly and it upset her more than she wanted to admit. Her father would be upset to know she'd tried to cross the reef and now she couldn't even see him or her island. "I wish I could show you. It really is an amazing place."

It sounds a little like those tropical islands that had been so pristine and untouched in the days before the war in the Pacific. Peggy had been lucky enough to have never been deployed to the Pacific, instead her assignment had kept her in the European theatre, far away from that disaster. "It sounds lovely," she shares. "I've never sailed myself, is it hard to learn?"

"And besides, I feel as if you've begun to tell me about it just with your description," Peggy promises, given that she knows the power of words at times, with their ability to paint a picture and be so vivid in their description.

Moana shook her head. "I don't know since I've never tried but I think I'll be able to get it." She messed up before she had arrived here but that didn't mean that Moana was ready to give up, nope, she was just going to try harder than last time. She'll keep trying until she gets it though she had no idea what her father's reaction would be. She only knew that he hated the idea of her running off to the ocean.

A smile touched her lips while her fingers reached out towards her drink. She took a small sip before nodding her head. "My grandmother was very good at telling stories and legends. I must have gotten that from her."

Peggy feels bad that there's no ocean around and that the only sailing that anyone will really be able to do is likely in a little paper boat on the river. "I've never really had anyone in my family that was a big talker. We were very big of long, comfortable silences." The sort that always faded into being more uncomfortable than anything else.

"When I arrived here, it was warmer. Not the sort of warm that you think of when you think of the tropics, but still a shade better than this. Perhaps you'll get to try ice skating?"

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject