Flotsam
Flotsam;
Definition: The wreckage of a ship or its cargo found floating on the sea. Legally it belongs to the original owner, though finders may claim salvage.
- - -
/In the case of Zelbess, demi human, mermaiden, a resident of Marbule and therefore entitled to all the rights of a natural-born citizen, we grudgingly acknowledge her valid obligation to the individual in question. He is thus released into her custody and she has the council's permission to do with him what she will. She is forewarned that, as the council is assuming that she will attempt to nurse him back to health, she is expected to return the specimen to his previous people. Afterwards, she is asked to resist contacting him again, out of respect and concern for the well being of Marbule's demi-humans/
/However, it would not infringe upon any laws if she were to do otherwise./
/The council would request of Zelbess's kin to please refrain from adding comment. Furthermore, if at any time Zelbess's procurement desires to depart, she must agree to allow him to do as he wishes, but only after taking steps so that he never discloses the location of Marbule. If he should die from his wounds, she is responsible for disposing of his body in a proper way that does not desecrate any of the demi-human's sacred rites. She is to attend to his needs herself and never pester other demi humans for assistance. We recommend that if she is to keep him here for an extended period of time, she is to keep his presence discreet as not to offend other inhabitants./
/ Mermaiden Zelbess agrees to your terms./
/ The council recognizes mermaiden Zelbess's acceptance of the aforementioned stipulations. Mermaiden Zelbess is dismissed./
/ The Sage desires to ask mermaiden Zelbess a question with her and the council's consent./
/Yes, honorable Sage?/
/Why insist upon such a potentially dangerous idea?/
/ I do not need to insist. He is the will of the waters, and defending the possession of what ocean declared mine is ludicrous./
: : : /They say mermaiden Zelbess has fostered a fondling from the sea. Rumor has it that his vessel was scuttled by the storm and he was washed ashore at her fins./
/A two legs, I have heard. The impudence of that girl to endanger all of us by adopting a barbaric human. . .! If it were anyone else besides that silly halfwit, she would have had the sense to leave him well enough alone and he would have been let back into the tides that pushed him here./
/Beautiful she may be, but Zelbess dreams away her life. I suspect her family was far too indulgent in her upbringing. There is evidence that her family encourages her insane schemes of merging human civilization and that of the demi humans. They cheered her madness on at the trial./
/Some of the wilder tales have a cruel whisper about Zelbess falling in love with this human. I would not be surprised if the dunce favored her human patient over the young mermen of the village. She might even marry him./
/That is a foul and disgusting thing to say about another demi human, my friend! Zelbess probably looks upon the human as a pet. She may be too flighty to listen to reason now, but she knows her place and will mature in time. Be patient. There is hope yet of salvaging that particular soul./
: : :
Fargo groggily lifted his head, wincing at the water weight that seemed to be sloshing around freely within his skull.
His senses were blunted by the trauma of being struck by monsoon driven waves over and over again. All that his weary vision would feed him was a blurry haze of ripples dicing the texture of a rough rock wall, and blobs of yellow sunlight hovering in midair.
He closed his eyes again. He vaguely decided that he had survived the storm that his ship had met headlong and, after drifting on a broken piece of the capsized caravel, found refuge in a cove. The silvery patterns flickering upon the boulders were surely just the reflections of a nearby pool of water.
He fought against his instinct to go back to sleep. He needed to seek out any of his mates that might be nearby. If they had found each other, they would construct a makeshift canoe from local materials and look for a way back home as soon as it was done. With or without him.
Well, perhaps there was a town nearby that they could beg asylum from until reunited with all possible survivors. But generally mild city-dwellers disliked having to deal with rough cutthroats that made a living out of plundering and thieving. If the scenario ever arose, their best bet would be to forge an understanding where they were given enough supplies to get the hell out in exchange for not stealing or maiming during their brief stay.
Fargo coughed.
That rarely worked, for several reasons. One, the word of pirates was hardly ever trusted. Two, vigilantes would probably drive the seafaring racketeers out of the premises with torches and guns.
Another cough.
The life of a pirate was usually a very pleasant one. So long as you didn't have too many scruples, you could make a fortune in hardly any time at all. One might think having to live on a boat (adrift and ready to flee from law enforcement amidst the chaos of a raid) was harrying, but Fargo was fond being nomadic, able to up and go whenever the crew felt like it. You became attached to your fellow seamen, as you did spend all of your time packed together in cramped quarters, even if it wasn't recommended. Mutiny and betrayal were liable to spring up any time. But it was fun, not having to abide by the ridiculous mannerisms that landlubbers demanded. You could be also crude and foul as you wanted to be without being chucked out of the room by any indignant womenfolk. Females were understandably unwilling to stomach the hardships of a sailor's life to accompany them most of the time. And the rare few that did quickly learned to drop proper etiquette if they wanted to fit in.
It was only at moments like these that you regretted your devilish lifestyle of arson and pilfering.
Karma. All sea folk, superstitious and meticulous, believed in it. Except for pirates, who weren't allowed to for obvious reasons.
But at times like these, Fargo damned well did.
There was a rustle of disturbed water. Praying fervently it was just a beached fish, Fargo feigned unconsciousness. In his condition, it wasn't all that hard to do.
A pause. Then a most unwelcome squelching sound, as if the body of a large marine mammal had just heaved itself onto a platform of hard stone.
Stone? Wasn't he lying on soft sand? Sand that had been folded into cloth- like rumples after lurching toward it and collapsing?
Most curiously, instead of the slick swish of wet scales sidling upon the ground, a gentle gurgling whir whizzed near Fargo's ear. A strong aroma of sea salt wafted to his nostrils. Not unusual, when you considered where he was. But it had suddenly become extremely noticeable, blotting out the other present whiffs of kelp and damp.
Fargo pried open his eyelids involuntarily at the strangeness of it all.
All he saw was mauve tendrils pocked with smoky cobalt, fluttering like the extensions of an exotic fish's tail. Something else, probably. Small fish could afford to be flashy and swaddled in swirls of toxic elegance. This body part was rather large . . . and large fish had to stay drab and inconspicuous for survival.
It struck Fargo that the elegantly cut fin was reminiscent of the floppy earflaps of Komodo dragons, which he had hunted along with his friends a few months ago in order to harvest their bedazzling scales for wholesale. So perhaps this was a new sort of marine beast looking for an easy meal.
Fargo sighed and numbly turned his head. It wasn't the worst way to die.
Another old piece, when I could only use my old computer. (Which would REALLY make this old.) It's a 3-part series, anyone interested? Anyways, I've never felt any affection for the Marbule demi-human racism story-but I've always loved mermaids. And for some reason, I've always been fond of Nikki, too. I chose his path when I needed to get into the manor. But I couldn't think of a decent fic to write about him. So onto his parents, who have a pretty darn cool story if you look at the play Nikki and his crew did. (I'm assuming that's Nikki's parents they were talking about.)
Just as a side note, I do believe this is the first Fargo/Zelbess fic on fanfic.net. . . I know, because at one point I went through all of them. Serious addiction a couple years back. This might be the first story with either of them being the main character, too. I'm glad I finished this thing, it was great fun to develop it. Look for the next chapter say, next week, and review!
Flotsam;
Definition: The wreckage of a ship or its cargo found floating on the sea. Legally it belongs to the original owner, though finders may claim salvage.
- - -
/In the case of Zelbess, demi human, mermaiden, a resident of Marbule and therefore entitled to all the rights of a natural-born citizen, we grudgingly acknowledge her valid obligation to the individual in question. He is thus released into her custody and she has the council's permission to do with him what she will. She is forewarned that, as the council is assuming that she will attempt to nurse him back to health, she is expected to return the specimen to his previous people. Afterwards, she is asked to resist contacting him again, out of respect and concern for the well being of Marbule's demi-humans/
/However, it would not infringe upon any laws if she were to do otherwise./
/The council would request of Zelbess's kin to please refrain from adding comment. Furthermore, if at any time Zelbess's procurement desires to depart, she must agree to allow him to do as he wishes, but only after taking steps so that he never discloses the location of Marbule. If he should die from his wounds, she is responsible for disposing of his body in a proper way that does not desecrate any of the demi-human's sacred rites. She is to attend to his needs herself and never pester other demi humans for assistance. We recommend that if she is to keep him here for an extended period of time, she is to keep his presence discreet as not to offend other inhabitants./
/ Mermaiden Zelbess agrees to your terms./
/ The council recognizes mermaiden Zelbess's acceptance of the aforementioned stipulations. Mermaiden Zelbess is dismissed./
/ The Sage desires to ask mermaiden Zelbess a question with her and the council's consent./
/Yes, honorable Sage?/
/Why insist upon such a potentially dangerous idea?/
/ I do not need to insist. He is the will of the waters, and defending the possession of what ocean declared mine is ludicrous./
: : : /They say mermaiden Zelbess has fostered a fondling from the sea. Rumor has it that his vessel was scuttled by the storm and he was washed ashore at her fins./
/A two legs, I have heard. The impudence of that girl to endanger all of us by adopting a barbaric human. . .! If it were anyone else besides that silly halfwit, she would have had the sense to leave him well enough alone and he would have been let back into the tides that pushed him here./
/Beautiful she may be, but Zelbess dreams away her life. I suspect her family was far too indulgent in her upbringing. There is evidence that her family encourages her insane schemes of merging human civilization and that of the demi humans. They cheered her madness on at the trial./
/Some of the wilder tales have a cruel whisper about Zelbess falling in love with this human. I would not be surprised if the dunce favored her human patient over the young mermen of the village. She might even marry him./
/That is a foul and disgusting thing to say about another demi human, my friend! Zelbess probably looks upon the human as a pet. She may be too flighty to listen to reason now, but she knows her place and will mature in time. Be patient. There is hope yet of salvaging that particular soul./
: : :
Fargo groggily lifted his head, wincing at the water weight that seemed to be sloshing around freely within his skull.
His senses were blunted by the trauma of being struck by monsoon driven waves over and over again. All that his weary vision would feed him was a blurry haze of ripples dicing the texture of a rough rock wall, and blobs of yellow sunlight hovering in midair.
He closed his eyes again. He vaguely decided that he had survived the storm that his ship had met headlong and, after drifting on a broken piece of the capsized caravel, found refuge in a cove. The silvery patterns flickering upon the boulders were surely just the reflections of a nearby pool of water.
He fought against his instinct to go back to sleep. He needed to seek out any of his mates that might be nearby. If they had found each other, they would construct a makeshift canoe from local materials and look for a way back home as soon as it was done. With or without him.
Well, perhaps there was a town nearby that they could beg asylum from until reunited with all possible survivors. But generally mild city-dwellers disliked having to deal with rough cutthroats that made a living out of plundering and thieving. If the scenario ever arose, their best bet would be to forge an understanding where they were given enough supplies to get the hell out in exchange for not stealing or maiming during their brief stay.
Fargo coughed.
That rarely worked, for several reasons. One, the word of pirates was hardly ever trusted. Two, vigilantes would probably drive the seafaring racketeers out of the premises with torches and guns.
Another cough.
The life of a pirate was usually a very pleasant one. So long as you didn't have too many scruples, you could make a fortune in hardly any time at all. One might think having to live on a boat (adrift and ready to flee from law enforcement amidst the chaos of a raid) was harrying, but Fargo was fond being nomadic, able to up and go whenever the crew felt like it. You became attached to your fellow seamen, as you did spend all of your time packed together in cramped quarters, even if it wasn't recommended. Mutiny and betrayal were liable to spring up any time. But it was fun, not having to abide by the ridiculous mannerisms that landlubbers demanded. You could be also crude and foul as you wanted to be without being chucked out of the room by any indignant womenfolk. Females were understandably unwilling to stomach the hardships of a sailor's life to accompany them most of the time. And the rare few that did quickly learned to drop proper etiquette if they wanted to fit in.
It was only at moments like these that you regretted your devilish lifestyle of arson and pilfering.
Karma. All sea folk, superstitious and meticulous, believed in it. Except for pirates, who weren't allowed to for obvious reasons.
But at times like these, Fargo damned well did.
There was a rustle of disturbed water. Praying fervently it was just a beached fish, Fargo feigned unconsciousness. In his condition, it wasn't all that hard to do.
A pause. Then a most unwelcome squelching sound, as if the body of a large marine mammal had just heaved itself onto a platform of hard stone.
Stone? Wasn't he lying on soft sand? Sand that had been folded into cloth- like rumples after lurching toward it and collapsing?
Most curiously, instead of the slick swish of wet scales sidling upon the ground, a gentle gurgling whir whizzed near Fargo's ear. A strong aroma of sea salt wafted to his nostrils. Not unusual, when you considered where he was. But it had suddenly become extremely noticeable, blotting out the other present whiffs of kelp and damp.
Fargo pried open his eyelids involuntarily at the strangeness of it all.
All he saw was mauve tendrils pocked with smoky cobalt, fluttering like the extensions of an exotic fish's tail. Something else, probably. Small fish could afford to be flashy and swaddled in swirls of toxic elegance. This body part was rather large . . . and large fish had to stay drab and inconspicuous for survival.
It struck Fargo that the elegantly cut fin was reminiscent of the floppy earflaps of Komodo dragons, which he had hunted along with his friends a few months ago in order to harvest their bedazzling scales for wholesale. So perhaps this was a new sort of marine beast looking for an easy meal.
Fargo sighed and numbly turned his head. It wasn't the worst way to die.
Another old piece, when I could only use my old computer. (Which would REALLY make this old.) It's a 3-part series, anyone interested? Anyways, I've never felt any affection for the Marbule demi-human racism story-but I've always loved mermaids. And for some reason, I've always been fond of Nikki, too. I chose his path when I needed to get into the manor. But I couldn't think of a decent fic to write about him. So onto his parents, who have a pretty darn cool story if you look at the play Nikki and his crew did. (I'm assuming that's Nikki's parents they were talking about.)
Just as a side note, I do believe this is the first Fargo/Zelbess fic on fanfic.net. . . I know, because at one point I went through all of them. Serious addiction a couple years back. This might be the first story with either of them being the main character, too. I'm glad I finished this thing, it was great fun to develop it. Look for the next chapter say, next week, and review!