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

"I'm from Westchester," Jean said, laughing a little. "It's in New York. I'm guessing that...probably doesn't mean anything to you?" She didn't figure someone with a name like Moana knew anything about where she came from but it was worth a try, anyway.

"It's good to meet you. As far as doing something...I would recommend doing something inside. It's warmer there."

Both the names Westchester and New York mean very little to Moana. She shook her head no, her dark hair motionless from the weight of the water that has yet to dry. "No, I'm sorry but I'd love to hear about it. I've always wanted to travel to places outside my island." Even listening to stories was fun though her grandmother had been a very avid and animated story teller.

"Inside sounds good. I'm really not use to the cold." It wasn't something that Moana ever saw herself getting used to. "I'm not sure where...inside to go."

"I can take you to the inn," Jean said. That was the easiest place to take someone new, after all, and there was a good chance there was food in the kitchen and a fire going in the common room. Both of those things seemed like things that Moana sorely needed.

"Come on, I'll show you the way. We'll get you warmed up and get you something to eat, okay? And then I can tell you about where I come from."

Moana's expression brightened when Jean mentioned both food and warmth. "Yes, that sounds amazing." Her whole body was chilled, her hair still damp from the fountain and her feet almost frozen. She adjusts the clunky pack across her back and quickly falls in step with Jean as they head towards the inn.

"Your home sounds very different from mine." She'll be happy to tell Jean about her island and it's legends too. Who knows, maybe knowing where they're from will help. "I wonder if they're legends about this place or how long people have been here?"

Her eyes looked over the buildings around them. "I've never seen buildings like this before." Moana found herself falling into a strange form of shock where curiosity and confusion clashed and fight for control of her senses.

"If there's legends about this place, it's probably just about how awful it is," Jean said, giving Moana a half smile. Her enthusiasm was a little catching, though, and Jean couldn't be too dour about the place when someone was so happy beside her.

"I'm sorry it's not a better place, honestly, but I guess attitude can make it better. I've been here for a few weeks so the novelty of the snowfall has long since worn off."

Moana looked at the snow as they walked towards their destination. "I don't think I like the cold." She wasn't sure if there was any novelty it in for her. This place was different and new but it wasn't the ocean, it wasn't the adventure she had wanted. She'd try to make the best of it, to be strong, but she didn't know if she really liked it. Doubt and uncertainty gnawed at her thoughts but she didn't want to let that win. She'd do her part and one day, she'd find her way home.

Moana had hope.

"Even if they're awful. Legends teach us about the past and what mistakes were made so that we don't make them again." There had to be a reason. "Do they not have anything like that here?"

Jean shook her head. "The only legends here are the ones that people brought with them. There's people like you, who have the legacy of the place they came from. I have stories too, though I probably wouldn't call them legends, necessarily."

Was Raven a legend? Was Erik? Jean thought so, in her way, but she didn't think Mutant revolutionaries were the same as what Moana was referring to. Then again, her culture was a new one. Maybe it was the same. Maybe it would be the same - eventually.

"This place doesn't seem to have a culture or identity of its own. Just what people brought with them."

Moana wasn't sure she completely understood. A place with no history of it's own except what was brought here. She was sure that there was something, even if they didn't know what that something was.

"How did all this get here then? Does anyone know?" She gestured to the homes, the buildings and then the fountain behind her. She didn't think that something like that just appeared out of thin air. Moana didn't want to accept that there was nothing to it. The stubborn child in her didn't want to accept that.

"Or maybe our histories and legends are why we're here?"

"I don't think anyone knows how this place got here. We all just kind of show up periodically," Jean admitted, shrugging again. This place was full of more questions than answers and this conversation was only reminding Jean of how little she knew about the prison she'd been thrown into.

"Sorry, I feel like I'm just making it worse by not having any more answers than what you started out with. It's not what I mean to do, I promise."

Moana shook her head forcefully. "No, it isn’t your fault. Thank you for talking to me." It was probably uncomfortable, being assaulted with question after question when you didn’t have the answers yourself. If they did have them then it’d probably be more readily available.

"You said there was an inn, right? Where it’s warmer?" She was starting to shiver. Moana had never had problems with her hair being wet but it was so cold that the water refused to dry and only froze to her scalp. Her arms wrapped around her stomach but she found that it didn’t really keep in the warmth. This was what she got for not wearing shoes.

"Maybe we can find out more when it’s warmer."

"There's an inn just ahead," Jean promised. True to her word, there was an inn though it wasn't really anything to write home about - it was still small, still with no power and still in this place. That being said, there would be a fire and probably something to eat and Moana probably needed both of those things.

Jean opened the door for her, holding it so that Moana could go through. "Get inside and get warm. I'll find you something to eat, okay?"

Moana was thankful when she saw the building rise into view. It looked warm but then, everything looked warm right now. She didn’t have electricity on her island so it wasn’t something she missed. However, she did miss her islands heat and comfort.

When she stepped inside she continued to feel the chill through her skin. Her eyes locked on the fire, giving the flames an affectionate stare before turning back to Jean. "Yes, thank you. I’ll be over there…" She pointed close to the fireplace. She knew that she should help the girl but nothing felt as important and urgent as returning the feeling back to her limbs.

Her feet were still bare and the heat made her toes sting as she sat next to the inn’s source of warmth. She wondered if they kept the fire going constantly, just to keep the cold outside the thin wooden walls. There was a lot that she was learning and a lot that she didn’t know.

"I'll make you something warm to drink." There was a little tea now in the village since the presents had come and Jean had managed to get some of it for herself. She set the kettle to boil and steeped it; there wasn't sugar, really, but at least the tea was nice and warm. She brought a mug of it to Moana before settling in with her own.

"There, drink that. It should warm you up, okay?"

Moana had her toes directed at the fire when Jean returned. She wrapped her fingers around the mug and smiled thankfully. "That feels amazing." Her smile was bright and warm; it was amazing to find that a little bit of heat was was worth someone's happiness.

Her chin tilted up and she beamed at Jean. "Thank you. Please sit with me. I don't need to eat anything just yet." She honestly didn't want to eat their food. It was something precious.

"You're going to need to eat something eventually," Jean said, giving her a look. Granted, Moana looked about her age so maybe she shouldn't be mothering her but she couldn't really help it; it was a role she fell into sometimes at the school with the younger students and, apparently, she was falling into it here.

"But for right now, maybe just focus on warming up. It's really cold out there, especially when you're wet from that fountain."

"It is and I really did eat recently. I don't want to waste anything." Her body was going through shock and it was only sitting next to the heat of the fire that Moana was beginning to notice how cold she really was. Her arms began to shiver violently and she had to set the drink down to stop herself from spilling any of it. She hugged herself and waited for the feeling to pass before speaking again.

"I'm sorry. I was a lot colder than I thought." She forced her lips into a smile. "Thank you again for bringing me her." Moana had a feeling that she'd have gotten in trouble if she continued to wander around outside.

When it felt like her limbs were steady she reached for her cup once more and took a small sip of tea. The warmth pushed through her and she felt it reaching out towards her limbs.

"It's not a waste if you're hungry," Jean insisted. She hadn't lived the sort of life where rationing had ever occurred to her and it certainly wasn't occurring to her right at the moment. Not when someone had just come in from the freezing cold.

"There's enough food for everyone to eat, I promise. You aren't taking away from anyone."

Moana shook her head, she was overly stubborn when she'd made up her mind. "Later. Right now I really just want to get warm and then maybe sleep." It'd been a long day for her and it was nearing night when she'd left her home.

"Can you tell me about your home some more?" She'd love to hear it and it'd give her something new to think about.

"Well, most of the time I'm at school," Jean explained. As she did, a little grin came to her face because honestly, school was the best part of her life; she felt so much happier at school than she'd ever felt at home with her parents.

"It's a boarding school and I live there year round. There's a whole city worth of people my age, in a way, and I don't think you really get that anywhere else in life."

Moana's smiled widened. "That sounds amazing. We had classes and lessons but nothing like a school. What do they teach you there? Is it fun being around people your own age?" She was comfortable around all ages but that was simply because of her role as the future chief. She had to be.

There were a lot of things she had to be.

"Sometimes. Sometimes it's hard because everyone is all in there together and so drama happens but for the most part, it's nice to be around people like me."

Other mutants, she meant, but that wasn't something she was going to just volunteer.

"What's it like where you're from? Other than warm?"

"Like this." Moana smiled. "It's a small village and we all look out for each other."

She curled a little bit closer to the fire, her drink held firmly in her hand. She didn't ask what Jean meant. Everyone had secrets and if she wanted to share then Moana would listen.

"What sort of drama is there usually?" She knew a little bit about that though it was usually her who started fighting with her father and the whole island knew about their arguments. It was hard to keep secrets between the chief and his daughter.

"Well, whenever you have a bunch of teenagers together, people date or gossip about one another and it just becomes a mess. I think you end up growing out of it eventually but when you have a couple hundred people who are all the same age? It's basically a recipe for some kind of drama," Jean admitted.

"I tried to stay out of it as much as I could but sometimes it just...finds you."

"I guess I can understand that. I've never had that many people around my age before. It sounds like it could be fun though." Moana didn't really understand the full extent of the drama that Jean was talking about. She'd been considered an adult in her village and when you were working all day there wasn't very much time for gossip.

"Do you miss it?"

"I miss it, yeah," Jean said, giving her a little smile. "I miss being home. That's the worst thing about this place. You have all the time in the world to think and dwell about where you came from but you can't ever get back there."

Jean hadn't realized exactly how homesick she was until she explained it and now that she had, it hit her like a ton of bricks.

0I Waterlogged [OPEN]

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