Diving near Nilanza has started at Outside Arx - Nilanza - A Rocky Reef.

A few hours after dawn and you all end up on being escorted from Malespero Castle down to the docks where a fishing boat called Serenity awaits your presence. It sets off soon afterwards, under control of its remarkably young looking pearl diving crew, and heads out to a spot of ocean which the captain swears is just above the Widdershins Reef. Its a pleasant day, with excellent visibility, and whilst the air is crisp there are no signs that the temperature will drop further. "Here we are." Says a cheerful girl sailor who seems no more than twelve as she drapes the boarding nets over the side. "Try not to drown."

And here comes Thea. Dressed in a very white, and very white dress. Because obviously she didn't think the color through. OOPS! She more about keeping cool and soaking in as much sun as humanly possible. Looking behind her, she beckons quite loudly, flask in hand, medical supplies at her hip,"Let's go!"

Finn trots along with his owner, quite excited to be around people and people, and--oh bird! Thea trails after the girl child, lifting her eyebrow, Thea asks"Everyone knows how to swim, yes? No one sinking like rocks,"climbing onto the ship.

Neilda, who has been a helpful sort until she was harassed away from messing with any further ropes, turned her attention to /aggressively lazing/. "Uh," she says, intelligently. "We're human people," she supplies. "Nilanza is - it's land, there's a castle." Her hands form the shape of a castle, very roughly. Very /very/ roughly. She may have roughly indicated the shape of Pasquale's guard Louis, actually.

Even in the crisp air, Medeia seems perfectly comfortable in her barely there wisp of a dress as she greets everyone in the morning. Before boarding the boat she seems a little antsy and keeps looking over her shoulder, inspecting corners. The boat... also causes some hesitance, but she climbs aboard with the others and finds a spot to lean and look out over the water. Whenever Finn comes to her for pets, she obliges happily. Otherwise, she's doing her best "beauty on a boat" impression while joining the conversation. Whatever the convertion is that makes more sense than what Neilda is going on about.

Haakon's blue eyes are narrowed more than usual while taking in the sunny and (to his eye) entirely too bright surroundings. He'd left arms and armor far behind, apart from a flensing knife and the harpoon he'd boarded with. Barefoot on the deck, as they reach their destination, he looks over the side before sniffing in sharp humor, "Does the Lyceum know it's supposed to be winter?" A wry look about at the others and he sheds a woolen tunic, wearing only scars and intricate spiralling Shav'arvani tattoos in three places.

Valerius comes up from below decks, catching low morning sun and stretches a bit before making the final step out from the sterns quarters. "Hello all," he offers to the guests of the ship. "I hope everyone is ready for some fun in our waters?" He has a bottle of peach wine in his hand and is seeking a steward for a goblet.

Thea looks over at Haakon and snorts,"I forgot, you tend to melt." Making her way over to Neilda, the Malvici asks her friend with a grin,"Are you SURE all of us are human,"teasing her as she eyes her closer. "Hey Deia, are you alright over there,"Thea calls over, making her way to make sure she doesn't die on this ship. Not that she doesn't TRUST you know, but still---trust. Looking over to Valerius, Thea smiles a moment, nodding,"Hello Marquis, thank you for having us..."

The youngest sailor steps back from the neatly anchored boarding net. "The Lord said that if anyone complained about the cold I was to say that 'Everything is planned for'" She looks and sounds as if this is some grand adventure. "We even have a special tub for the octopus. You only have an hour before it gets too cold." She makes shooing motions towards the ropes. "So you better get started." Whilst she's talking one of the other sailors slips Neilda a note.

"It's /never/ suppose to be winter," Neilda tells Haakon, turning to him and - oh. Her head tips, and she stares rather openly for about... five, four, three, two - ah! Her attention snaps over to Valerius. "Oh!," she says. "Are we swimming? That's GREAT." Enthusiasm is her middle name. She had progressively shed layers, too, the further south they got, and now she peers over the side into the water to see -- blink. "The..." she says, and turns to look /accusingly/ at Thea. She takes the note, unfolds it, reads.

"Hah!" Haakon's question has Medeia looking around. "Haakon, this /is/ winter for the Lyceum." She's grinning. "Isn't it great?" She leans down to untie her sandals as Thea asks how she's doing. "I'm fine! Really." She's pushing the sandals off to the side as she nods to Valerius. "Marquis, thank you." Her tone is polite. She moves to look down the nets and turns back to Thea. "I think we still managed to overdress."

"Ah. Yes. A morning swim before drinking sounds even better." turning to the steward, "Octopus, you say? How big is our tank?"

"What cold?" Haakon prompts of the young sailor, legitimately looking puzzled. The arrival of a Marquis- specifically others calling Valerius a Marquis- pull his eye and Val is given a mute little dip of the head and shoulders. There. Decorum. "Oh, get fucked," he sniffs with a wry curl of his lip to Neilda at her 'never winter' quip. Or maybe that was to Thea. Maybe both. In an easy good humor, he eyes Medeia. "It's something, to be sure." He keeps the flensing knife. And without further ado, rather than make use of the climbing net, the Prodigal plants a foot on the rail and leaps over the side in an unnecessarily large splash.

WELL. There have been times that Neilda has attempted a thing called 'acting', and she has failed at every single one. Never has she ever ever ever, however, attempted to 'play it cool', and she's not going to START when there's an OCTOPUS on the line. She was down to sensible tunic and boots and leather pants, and those are going to last about as long as she was staring at Haakon, because LAST ONE IN DOESN'T GET AN OCTOPUS. (Someone, see, may have got an unsigned note shoved into her hands, THEA.) She is gonna leap straight in the water.

"Big enough to hold a few m'Lord." The stewards tells Valerius. "With proper tanks waiting back home."

Underneath the boat its possible to see the rocky stretch of the reef tracing along the edge of a sea-cliff that drops far enough down that the water turns a navy colour. Nothing interesting seems to be down there except for the pale shapes of a couple of slowly circling sharks. The reef itself is mostly rock riddled with holes, ridges, nooks and crevices along with a number of caves ranging in size from that of a finger to something that an entire person could fit into. There are some corals but they are mostly of the stubbly lichen like variety and none of them are brightly coloured. Sadly there are no octopii sitting out in the open with grab me signs tied to their tentacles. You will have to look.

Medeia laughs softly and watches as Haakon splashes in. "Mm, that's the right idea." She pulls herself free of the dress-like garment as Neilda gets her shit together and leaps in alongside her sister.

Valerius sheds his tunic then folds it neatly and hands it to a steward, then slips out of his shoes, and removes his breeches and folds them as well. He looks to the steward who he has been handing his clothing to and nods to the bottle of peach wine. "I have decided that I would like a sip of that first." As he is standing on deck in his muscularly toned skin, he sips directly from the bottle. Then hands it back to the steward. Clapping his hands together, he steps up to the top of the railing and jumps into the waters below.

Thea checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 88 higher. Thea rolled a critical!

There's a shrug of Thea's shoulders as Medeia mentions over dressed. "This can come off as we go diving." Obviously she has no problem stripping when necessary. Or even not. But this is a requirment. Thea looks over at Neilda and innocently smiles at her bff. "Yes Neilda. Did you want to SAY something?" Though she too is practically bouncing on her toes, hiding it better of course. Malvici resting CRANKY face. Though her gold-flecked eyes fail, lit up with mischief. That being said, Thea strips from her dress, and follows the others over the rail. Making a pretty expert looking dive.

Neilda checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 0 higher.

Haakon checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 34 higher. Haakon rolled a critical!

Valerius checked perception + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 9 higher.

Once in the water, Neilda... swims. Capably. But can she, can she, can she find her chill? Chill adequate, say, to actually dive under the water and go parlay with an eight-tentacled friendo, say.

Medeia checked perception + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 18 higher.

Valerius is laying on his back floating in the warmth of the rising sun mixed with a bit of chill from the early morning ocean waters. He occasionally rolls over and dips down under the surf, though keeps coming back up with a brief disappointed look, then rolls back over on his back and floats some more.

Everyone ends up seperating a little as they search amongst the rocky outcrops for telltale signs of octopus, and other prey. Haakon is the first one to find signs of something interesting, finding a strange ball of shells, shellfish (yep, that included an oyster or two), rocks and seagreass near an outcrop. A small shark about the size of Haakon's forearm darts away when he nears the area.
Neilda doesn't find an octopus but she does find a cave she could squeeze into with a bit of effort.
Medeia finds a much smaller cave and ducks down to peek inside only to have an octopus dart out, squirting ink behind it. Valerius ducks down just in time to see the creature dart off.
And finally Thea spies an octopus squeezing into a rediculously small ledge. You know its there but how are you going to get it out?

A... cave. An underwater cave. That she could squeeze into. With a little effort. Implying that she would probably also have to exert a little effort to get back out.

Underwater.

Well, why not. Probably an octopus in there! Neilda exerts a little effort.

The small cave seems empty to Medeia, until is very much isn't as an Octopus goes darting out, and then probably is again now the octopus has gone. The ink cloud is not great though, and she quickly tries to swim away from it, preferably in the same direction as the octopus.

Haakon bends sharply at the waist, backside briefly into the air before diving under to swim along as near to the surface as he can. While his eye wanders to take in the light (and other swimmers) shining through the water, the Prodigal *does* put in a real effort to be productive. And luck is with him! Teeth bared in a smile that tastes the sea, he draws his large, sickle shaped knife and looks for ways to pry it loose for recovery...

Haakon checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 25, rolling 10 higher.

Valerius spots the octopus's ink trail and pops back up to the surface, to take a deep breath, then dives back down to the small cave to see where it leads to.

Neilda checked perception + dodge at difficulty 25, rolling 6 higher.

Medeia checked stamina + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 31 higher.

Thea checked dexterity + small wpn at difficulty 30, rolling 20 higher.

Valerius checked dexterity + small wpn at difficulty 30, rolling 5 lower.

Thea spies the octupus and grins. Swimming closer to the crevice the damn thing squeezed into, she starts swearing, but basically all you see are BUBBLES! Reaching to her naked thigh, she takes her dagger and starts poking at the hole, trying to get the damn thing to wiggle out. "Here lil squirmy fellow,"Thea mentally thinks. In bubbles. Her hair floating everywhere, having come undone from it's leather strips.

Valerius checked stamina + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 23 higher.

Medeia gets out of the ink cloud and keeps after that octopus, kicking her feet hard to pursue him. She's not out of breath, yet, and she's spurred on by a sudden rush of adrenaline. Her hand stretches out trying to grab ahold of a tentacle... even if those suckers are gonna leave some marks.

Octopus are /fast/. Medeia barely manages to stay on the creatures trail as it darts off in bursts through the water and its still out of reach when she starts to desperately need another breath. Luckily its at this point that Valerius comes in and you can pursue it, by coordinating efforts, until it finally darts into a small cave and tries to hide. An irritated looking fish with a nasty looking row of spines running down its back tries to escape right by Valerius.

Thea digs at the stone around the octopus, forcing it into a tighter and tighter space, until she thinks she has a good chance of grabbing it.

Neilda, lured by the mystery of a curious cave, tries to get inside. She gains more than a few scrapes, bruises and cuts in the process but finally manages to squeeze into the interior. A gap in the roof lets the light filter in in a way thats really rather beautiful and there are some shiny shells underfoot but before she can do anything more a large eel shoots out of a nearby crevice and tries to take a bite out of her hand!

As Haakon reaches out for the strange bundle of shells it unfolds into an octopus and darts towards the nearby rocks. He snatches at it, earning himself a face full of ink and a grip on one of its tentacles.

Neilda... has some good lungs on her. QUITE good lungs. Scrapes and scratches and bumps and bruises do not put her off. Eels, on the other hand, are both rude and tasty. After darting backward from becoming a tast/ing/, she gropes around for a rock. There's gotta be a good, craggy, ouchy rock, right? She will BEAN that beautiful dinner snake in its bitey face.

OH, YOU SNEAKY FUCK. Is what Haakon would shout if he weren't underwater. Instead, he gets more ink AND a grip on the clever little not-rock. Back up to the surface he kicks, pushing off the sea floor toward the surface with an angry octopus enveloping one hand. "HA," he crows upon breaking the surface. "Got you, you spineless little fuck!"

Thea checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 25, rolling 3 higher.

Neilda checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 30, rolling 3 lower.

Medeia checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 30, rolling 7 lower.

Medeia checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 25, rolling 2 lower.

With a burst of air expelling from her lungs, Medeia tries to grab that octopus, but she can feel her lungs burning and gives up, angrily kicking back to the surface to gasp in a few breathes of air.

Stymied by an eel that is rudely hiding from its own murder, Neilda re-navigates the gauntlet-o-scrapitude, squirming her way out of the little cave so that she can surface for a breath. With... a craggy rock. Is anyone up top? "There's an EEL that tried to BITE me in that cave," she tells whoever it is, breathing for a minute as she takes to her back to regain equilibrium. She'll dive again in a moment.

Thea is busy scraping her knuckles, her dagger digging into stone and things to get out--whatever she's going to name it. Or not her. Her lungs are ready to blow, she can feel it. Just when she feels she's got enough room to DO something with, Thea starts to open her satchel, preparing it for the sea monster. Bob the second.

Octopus or nilanzan spikefish... Valerius is torn. Help find the octopus for the Saiks or... nilanzan spikefish. He believes that to be a good host it is to find the rare and hazardous fish that grills so nicely with the other sea faring creatures. The meal comes first. Be a good host. Valerius keeps an eye on the spikefish and chases after it.

Haakon grins as he sees others surfacing, treading toward the waiting boat. Neilda's sheer indignance provokes a sharp sniff of humor. "Other than that, nice swim, aye?"

Thea's trick to create a trap works well though as the creature mistakes it as a new place to hide and flees straight inside.

Valerius starts chasing a spikefish as it dips in and out of the reef in an attempt to lose him.

Haakon is on the surface trying to work out how to get a frightened octopus to let go of his hand.

Neilda knows exactly where an eel that tried to bite her is hiding but its a difficult spot to get into - unless you happen to be small.

And finally there is a single octopus that was chased into a cave by medeia and valerius which hasn't yet moved.

Valerius checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 25, rolling 5 higher.

Kicking her long legs, Thea makes her way to the surface, octopus in--satchel! Reaching the surface, she takes a large gulp of air and swims back to the ship, climbing back on. "Gods, That was--,"her eyes laughing. Looking for someone, the Malvici asks,"So-where do I put him? You're not eating him, right,"her gaze turning hard.

Medeia checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 25, rolling 14 higher.

Haakon treads water toward the boat, coming around to the netted side, and using his free hand and feet to climb up the net and onto the deck, holding his new mollusk limb out to one side until he can ask, "Where's the fucking tank?"

The crew are quick to produce a large lidded wooden tub for Haakon to scrape his octopus into. A similar one is provided to Thea and Medeia when the time comes.

Medeia looks at Haakon, then Neilda, then Thea. Haakon and THea's success sets a hard look in her eyes. "I'm gonna get you a fucking octopus," she mutters in Neilda's direction before taking a deep breath and diving back down to that cave. Peering in, she spots it and grins, reaching in and wrapping her fingers tight around a tentacle, dragging it out. She quickly puts her other hand on it and kicks back up to the surgace, triumphant. "HAH!"

"It's a great swim," Neilda says, because she is a stubborn sort, even if she does look a little like she tried to seduce a cheese grater. Successfully. "Ooh, is that an octopus? That's so much better than an eel."

Thea shouts over the rail,"Fuck it, Deia! I'm going to put a bow on this one and give it to her as a birthday gift." A bow on each tentacle. Hurrying over, she sticks him in the tank, watching him slither about. I mean, no use being dead. That's a bad birthday present!

Valerius surfaces with the spikefish on the skewer. Climbing up onto the boat and handing the spikefish over to the stewards as they give his clothes back. He points at the wine, and takes a swig first. "Steward, before we head into shore, please drop some traps for prawns and lobster, they will go nicely with the spikefish on the grill. And if anyone catches a squid, I'll double their salary! I've got a perfect wine to go with kalamari." He finishes some more wine off before taking his clothes back. "Aha! Good on you Haakon," noting that the warrior caught an octopus on his own.

Medeia hauls herself and her octo-hand up the ropes and rolls onto the deck on her back, octopus held aloft in victory. "Someone get this thing off my hand."

Haakon prods and scrapes at his catch to get it off his damn arm. FINALLY doing so, he brandishes a fist overhead as Medeia and Thea surface, echoing, "HA." Valerius arrives and.. speaks. Words. "...Aye," he nods, thinking to add a moment later, "...Marquis. Fuck, which house are you head of, again? I were trying to wait for someone else to say it, but no one did, and I'm done with not knowing."

Neilda takes a few more breaths, then dives. ONE. MORE. TIME. But only for an extra octopus. She too wants a sentient boxing glove. If only for a moment.

Neilda checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 37 higher.

Thea checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 57 higher.

"Malespero. More specifically, Count of the March of Nilanza. Don't worry too much about it Haakon. Unless your raising and training won't let you drop it. Valerius is fine." Valerius offers to the warrior, trying to show that he can be a friend, and would be interested in sharing a meal, if not some sparing later.

The water is noticeably colder when Neilda, Medeia and Thea return for Neilda's very own and the ropes to the traps sent in by Valerius' orders provide a handy way to haul yourself down to the bottom. Its not to long before you find signs of octopus now that you've learned what to look for. Neilda finds one in a cave that would require digging to get the creature out but Thea finds one in a cave that you can easily get a hand into. Now its just a question of working out how to get it out.


**********************************************************************
It has been months since the Battle of Sungreet. A diplomatic mission to House Helianthus in the Mourning Isles resulted in a devastating battle that killed thousands, with losses most keenly felt among the templars of the Faith of the Pantheon. Duke Ivan Helianthus fled his own holding that rose up in revolt among his thralls, while two thirds of the Eurusi fleet departed towards the Saffron Chain, and it has taken time for the aftershocks of the battle to be fully felt.

The hammer of the Skal'dajan fleet was expected to fall upon the Saffron Chain, attacking the holdings of House Pravus who had destroyed their slaving operations and freed their slaves in the Saffron. The expected attack has not yet come, lending some to wonder what the Eurusi have been waiting for, and many in the Assembly of Peers fear that means reinforcements from Eurus and the rest of the Dune Kingdoms before they seek battle. There have been a handful of sightings of the Skal'dajan fleet in the Mourning Isles, but its exact location is currently unknown, creating a dangerous atmosphere of fear in the capital as some worry that the Skal'dajans are planning to raid the Arvani coast or turn from the Saffron. Scouting operations are in much demand.

Duke Ivan Helianthus, the former Duke of Sungreet, is presumed alive and hidden away in some stronghold in the Mourning Isles, and the situation among the Thrax domains continues to deteriorate. After he declared that king's father, King Alaric III, is alive in the Dune Kingdoms of Eurus and intends to return to claim his throne, the Mourning Isles have badly fractured. At least a third of the houses of the Mourning Islands have publicly supported Ivan and declared that they are with him, with a plurality of the Islander Houses at least sympathetic to his cause, and no more than a fifth of the Houses of the Mourning Islands have issued any public statements of support for Prince Victus Thrax. Even the declaration of Ivan as an apostate, and presumed exile from Arvum, has not caused his support to collapse, and most in the Mourning Isles fully expect a civil war. Piracy has skyrocketed throughout the Mourning Isles, with more progressive peers finding their shipping extensively attacked, and most domains sympathetic towards Ivan Helianthus have declared that they are enacting an embargo against any houses that refuse to 'recognize the injustice towards Ivan Helianthus, and protect the traditions of the Mourning Isles'. Trade in some parts of the Mourning Isles borders on total collapse, with shockwaves felt throughout the Compact.
**********************************************************************


Haakon checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 13 higher.

Well, she /found/ this one that needs some digging. Neilda gestures animatedly (though - water, slow-motion) at Thea and Medeia, including a little wiggly-fingered thing that suggests she has in fact found an octopus this time, and not an angry eel/cheese grater. She considers, then makes like her hand is a crab, walks it in along, oh so tantalizing. Will it be a tasty snack for the octopus? Will it be fooled by the novelty of a person-hand crab-walking? She knows nothing about animals, does she.

Haakon vaults back over the rail and into the more appropriately winter-feeling water (ahh, that's better) in search of a few more prizes to put the figurative pearl on the crown of a fine day on the water.

Thea swims closer to the cave, beckoning Medeia and Neilda with her free hand. There's a grin on her lips, as she actually looks excited. This one is so much easier. SHE TRIES to use bubble speak to them, getting them closer to her .

Valerius checked strength + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 19 higher.

Medeia swims to Thea, seeing her option looks easier and sending a partial shrug to Neild'as antics. She nods at Thea, as if to say "you grab it" and hopes Thea brought her bag, because she's taking the bag and readying it to capture the octopus.

Haakon checked luck at difficulty 15, rolling 11 higher.

When Neilda moves her hand before the octopus it shrinks further into its cave. Perhaps with enough time it would work but right now its just too scared.

Haakon gathers up seven oysters of promising size, before his head tilts to a curious at the sight of the three girls gathered around a small cave gesturing at each other and seeking to outwit and defeat a mollusk. Air, he needs air. If he starts laughing now, he'll never make it..

Neilda checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 25, rolling 3 lower.


**********************************************************************
Waves of Eurusi refugees have settled throughout the Compact. Their numbers are most significant in Arx, but notables of the Compact have aided the Eurusi in settling in each of the regions of Arvum. In this, there is significant danger. Ivan Helianthus has taken a stance of defending the Compact's traditions, and denouncing the changes to the Faith of the Pantheon, to King Alaric IV's marriage to what is called a shav tribe, to the elevation of neo-nobles and prodigals, and most importantly to the Mourning Isles, the attack on thralldom. On the last point, he has few allies throughout the rest of the Compact, but the Eurusi refugees have provided an opening. The shav'arvani of Arvum share a language and usually have the same religious and culturally traditions of the rest of the Compact, making acclimation as prodigals often relatively painless. Their differences, based on the tribe of their origin, are often the sources of friction, but most prodigals cannot be identified as such easily, allowing bigotry to pass relatively unnoticed. This is not the case for the Eurusi.

Most of the Eurusi refugees cannot speak Arvani, and are reliant on translators. Worse, the different religions of the Dune Kingdoms often do not even have superficial similarities to the Faith of the Pantheon, and at least the shamanism of the Northlands is a known quantity. The inevitable tension has combined with the very real fear of the unresolved Skal'dajan invasion to create some truly ugly incidents, and has resulted in quite a few domains of the Compact forbidding entry to any Eurusi for any reason. More than a few Peers of the Realm have shown hostility towards the refugees, and have shifted towards Helianthus' traditionalists, with some suggesting that perhaps King Alaric III, with his apparent recent experience with the Eurusi, might have a solution to returning these foreigners if he takes the crown again.
**********************************************************************


Thea checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 25, rolling 33 higher.

Neilda gets a hold of ... a very slimy octopus, which darts directly out of her grip. How the hell did the others manage this? She withdraws her hand, turns underwater in a swirl of hair, and watches Medeia and Thea. She might be taking notes for a REMATCH. Underwater. Not literally. In her head.

Medeia checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 25, rolling 6 higher.


**********************************************************************
The reaction to Ivan Helianthus' announcement that the king's father is alive and intends to reclaim his crown is met by intense skepticism and incredulity all over the Compact. An overwhelming majority of peers simply believe that Ivan is lying, and it's a desperate ploy by a desperate man. A minority opinion is that the kind hearted, wise, and much beloved monarch possibly did survive, and that he might return triumphantly and help put the troubles of the past few years to right. Most peers are deeply confused by some notables of Arx's decision to treat Ivan's ploy as not only true, but to roundly reject Alaric III's right to return, spreading some far fetched rumors that he's now some type of abyssal tyrant. Really, to them it's as preposterous as the notion that King Alaric IV married an elf, and just another sad sign that some nobles simply do not take their obligations seriously. Maybe Ivan has a point after all about these trying times, however foolish his claims. Still, it would be remarkable to a great many if by some act of bizarre luck Alaric III was alive, and the king and his father were reunited. Such a lovely sentiment, however awkward the subject of rule might be.
**********************************************************************


Thea watches Neilda with a smirk. She is laughing, the bubbles coming from her lips. As Neidla lets the ocotpus slip out, Thea hurries before it gets away. It pays to be skinny with quick hands! And SUCCESS! The slimy eight armed George is in her hand and quickly being shoved in her satchel.

A pair of tentacles escape the bag just before the flap is closed on it. This one, it seems, is going to be an escape artist once its settled.

Medeia clutches that bag to her chest and kicks off again, bursting back to the surface, gasping for air again. She kicks over to the nets and makes her way up, spilling herself onto the deck and hoping a servant grabs the satchel.

Well then. That's settled: she needed a BAG. Or... to be good at catching the things. Neilda, satisfied, wiggles fingers in the mud the other octopus has buried itself in, like to say goodbye before she goes. Just because she's bad at it doesn't mean her love is any less. Then she swims back up to the surface, climbs her drenched behind back up on the ship. "Ooooh, it got /cold/. Where are my /clothes/." Hmm hmm.

Thea is hurrying back to the surface. Must.have.Air! Swimming back to the nets, she climbs back on the deck of the ship and lays down for a moment. What are clothes again? "You got your octopus, Neilda. Happy fucking birthday!" Thea is now cold, her skin breaking out in goosebumps. "I don't know. Probably where mine are.."

As Haakon shucks his oysters he mostly comes up empty handed (unless you count the oyster itself as a prize). Two of the oysters do however have a single, unremarkable but pretty, pearl in them though.

On the deck the crew have lit up a brazier to help the divers dry off without gathering a chill. At some point a grill has been placed atop the coals. Just in case Valerius feels like cooking his fish.

Oh, well, that changes the priorities. Instead of drying off and finding her clothes, Neilda whirls and gives Thea a VERY SOGGY HUG, kisses her cheek, and pronouces her: "BEST. FRIEND. EVER." A grin, and then she ducks past Thea to go help Medeia to her feet. "You're a pretty great sister, too," she says. "Ooh. What are we naming them?" She peers at the satchel... that is wandering off with a deckhand, tentacles akimbo.

Haakon looks up at the ladies pile back onto the ship, with the ghost of a smile. "No clothes until you're dry, or you'll freeze on the way back, aye?" The oysters are added for roasting, less his two pretty prizes, and gradually his knife is cleaned and sheathed, and the Prodigal gets dressed.

Valerius has his trousers back on and the tunic is on, but open showing his upper torso. Shoes? what shoes! They're over there somewhere. He is trying to explain to the stewards how to gut the spikefish without having a sore hand, as if they don't already know. And Of Course, he is drinking wine at the same time.

With a grin, Medeia accepts Neilda's help standing and stands with her back to the brazier, undoing the cord from her braid so her hair can dry faster, tossing a grin in Haakon's direction. "Aye," she assures him, eyebrows quirking up teasingly. Once she's dry, she'll finagle that dress that does nothing to ward off cold and her sandals back on.


**********************************************************************
Overall, the mood in the Compact is a dangerous one. There's fear of the Skal'dajans invading Arvum proper, with many peers wanting to see the Eurusi hunted down and crushed, however realistic that desire might be or no. Some confrontations between Helianthus' supporters and other peers in Arx have gotten violent, with traditionalists even outside the Mourning Isles being sympathetic to all the points save the one about thralldom, while others view the backers of Helianthus as traitors who should be hanged. An expanding Compact with claims in the Saffron Chain was broadly popular in Arx, particularly in that the gains came at the expense of slavers, though ambitions are generally taking a backseat to fear among most Peers of the Realm, with hundreds of different opinions upon just what to do being raised at the Assembly of Peers, and some loud Helianthus backers pushing 'sue for peace with the Skal'dajans, make Ivan highlord of the Mourning Isles, and welcome back Alaric III' resulting in no less than a dozen honor duels over the suggestion.

It's a chaotic time, and whether it's war with the Skal'dajans, or with all of the Dune Kingdoms, or with Mourning Isles separatists, or all of the above is an open question.
**********************************************************************