This will be in oneshot format. I'm simpl too lazy to write it all out like I'm doing with my other Tris-centric story. This is more widely based, focusing around all of the four, showing their thoughts ect. ect and not simply limited to one character. Yay.
It is a Tortall/Emelan crossover, in case you were wondering. I figure that if they follow the northern costline west, they'll past Capchen, and then they'll find themselves in the Great Inland Sea. In my mind, I'm just sticking the maps together, with Tortall on the left and Emelan on the right. It works for me and my crossover.
Anyway, Glaki/Tris bonding, yay!
Daja looked up in dismay at the slackened sails. They fluttered weakly, like great white birds with broken wings. The air was dead and it felt almost like a thick liquid; Daja could feel it settling on her neck and shoulders. The decks of the small ship thrummed with the heat of the sun, throbbing in time with her heartbeat and breath.
"It's hot." Glaki said, her voice small as she sat in the pitiful shade the mast allowed. She'd doffed her little shift, wearing only a small breastband and loincloth. Sweat soaked her dark head of curly hair, plastering it to her head and her naturally bronzed shoulders were bronzed and peeling.
"Yes it is." Daja agreed, rolling her own shoulders. Her own attire mirrored Glaki's, with the exception of a pair of knee length, cotton, drawstring pants to protect her skin as she shimmied up and down the lines that tethered the mast.
Glaki squinted as she looked up into Daja's face, shielding her eyes with a small hand. "Is Mater going to be alright?"
Briar spoke up from where he'd been staring down over the side. "She's still retching, if that's what you're asking." He peered over his shoulder. "Her fever hasn't broken yet- and the heat isn't helping any."
"She'll be alright, right?" Glaki asked, her eyes wide, dark, and afraid. Briar turned back to look out to sea, frowning as he did so. If he tried to speak with Tris through their link, all he received in return was a barrage of images splintered and distorted by fever and disorientation. Coppercurls as in a bad way.
And that was Very Bad. The sea in this part of the Endless was as flat as glass, with hardly a ripple to suggest their passing vessel. They were stuck in these becalmed waters unless Tris could get well enough to summon a strong headwind. Daja set her mouth in a grim line. She knew what happened to crews stuck in dead water. Madness, sickness, murder… none of the tales ended well, that's for sure.
"Right?" Glaki asked again, her voice squeaking slightly. She was panicked now, her breath coming in harshly as she tensed. She leapt to her feet, her feet pounding the ground as she dashed to the open hatch that led to the belly of the ship.
It was barely cooler below decks than above and it was dim. Moisture beaded on the chinks between boards and everything smelled of brine and damp. Glaki picked her way to the pallet set up in the stern of the hull. It was set on top of a few trunks, raising Tris above the unclean floor. Sandry sat by her side, applying clothes damp with seawater from the pail at the floor onto Tris's sweating forehead.
"How is she?" Glaki's voice is loud in the relative silence underneath the ship, echoing off of the sloping walls and overpowering the creaking of timber.
Sandry jumped, water slopping from the bucket into her shoes. She turned around, her surprise morphing into tired acceptance when she saw Glaki's suddenly timid face. She beckoned the ten-year old forward, placing a weary hand on Glaki's shoulder as they both looked down on the anguished face of their weather mage.
"She's hanging in there." Sandry said quietly, reaching out with her remaining hand to smooth her foster-sister's hair out of her face. Tris's eyebrow's contracted at the contact, but she was too caught up in the fever to respond in any other way.
"Mater…" Glaki muttered, taking Tris's pale, sweaty hand in her own. She turned to Sandry. "I can't lose her too." She whispered. "It's why I didn't want to go with Lark and Rosethorn. I know you're probably not going to be able to come back to Emelan and if I didn't come, I'd never be able to see Mater again."
"What does that mean?" Glaki asked adding another cold towel to replace the one already dried on Tris's face. "Mater?"
Glaki fidgeted. "Mother." She said quietly. "It means mother."
Sandry blinked, then looked down on Tris's twisted face. Sweat was beading on her temples again, and Sandry absently wiped it away. You better wake up, Sandry thought. You have someone who'd be very crushed if you never came back.
Daja worried her lip as she stared out over the expanse of sea, towards the hazy line on the horizon. She knew by her bearings that they were thousands of leagues west of Capchen. They had passed out of the Pebbled Sea, into somewhat questionable waters. She'd certainly never traveled this far out of the main shipping lines- she had nothing but the charts thoughtfully provided by Niko on their journey.
Speaking of which… she looked down at the incredibly detailed map in her hands. The currents, reefs, tides and seafaring information was all neatly outlines, as well as the major bodies of land. She could see where the western edge of Capchen ran up against the impregnable mountains some called the Roof of the World that ran north to curl around Namorn like the tail of some beast. They had past those sometime ago and were now going through the narrowest part of their journey; something the cartographer had penned the Maren Strait.
"Is that land?" Tris asked, clutching the rail as her knees wobbled. She wasn't seasick (was it even possible for a weather witch to be seasick?) but whatever fever she'd contracted when she'd been wandering the streets of Summersea had eventually burned itself out. Tris finally had the strength to stand, and feed herself- but not much else. Glaki seemed perfectly happy doting on her Mater as it was.
"Yes." Daja answered, looking out again at the hazy line. "It's the coast of Maren and over there," she pointed to identical line opposite. "is Carthak."
"Traffic has picked up." Briar noted, staring out at a passing fishing vessel with a collapsible spyglass he'd insisted made him look rakish and handsome. He snapped it shut. "Pity that, I was getting to like the peace and quiet."
Sandry snorted from where she was repairing a sail that had begun to fray. The thick, heavy fabric was being stubborn and twisted her fingers sharply to get the threads to behave. "Briar, you can't stand not having other people around."
"He can't stand not having other women around." Tris corrected with a shaky smile on her face. She was still quite pale.
"At least not ones he's related to." Daja added dryly, smirking at the indignant look on her foster-brother's face.
"I resent that." He said snootily, ignoring Glaki's giggles.
"How long can our food and water last?" Daja turned to Tris, who had a more level head for figures than any of her siblings.
"We want to get as far west as possible, correct?" Tris asked, leaning over Daja's map. Briar followed suit, and Sandry contented herself with listening in. Glaki entertained herself at the rail.
Briar nodded. "Preferably."
"We have another three weeks of hardtack and salt beef." Tris calculated, ignoring Briar's slight noise of distaste. "But only about a week and a half of water, and it's not going to rain any time soon." She looked up at Daja. "How fast can this boat go?"
"Ship." Daja corrected a little testily. It was a ship, not a boat. "And about 8 knots, at full speed."
"Could we make it to Port Caynn?" Briar asked, pointing to the flowery name squashed beside a city written by a city designated with a star. Presumably the capital of the country it was inscribed within; Tortall. At his sibling's questioning look, he shrugged. "It looks like a port city- not many care to notice who comes and goes."
Tris look a careful look at the scale, and the distance. "It's about 1,200 miles to get into the Emerald Ocean, and another 400 to get to Corus." She pointed to the body of water that took up the far western half of the map. "If our top speed is 8 knots, we can make about 216 miles a day- and we only have 9 days, 10 tops, to get there."
"We have about a day of water left over." Sandry called from her spot in the shade. The sail was finished and folded neatly beside her.
"Well." Briar said. "We better get moving, shall we?"
I'm going to use this as an excuse to write a shitload of romance. I usually can't fit this stuff into my normal stories because they're either 1) to young, or 2) stuck in the friendzone like me. Anyway, I'm going to integrate as realistic an amount of romance into this, as well as the awesomeness of Emelanese trying to integrate into Tortallan society.
Here are my thoughts.
Tris/Wolset; I kinda like it. I feel like he's not shipped with anyone, and he needs some lovin'. I'm pretty sure he wasn't the one who died... -_-'l
Daja/Kel; If you read my other Tortal/Emelan crossover, you know that I kinda like this pairing. Pierce always made it pretty clear that Kel wasn't biased in any way against anyone who loved someone of the same gender. Yay for that Yamani upbringing.
Briar/Lalasa; I know. You're all thinking- Tim! But Lalaa is scared of dudes! I know, that's why I think it'll be fun to write. Briar'll have to show his soft side, for once.
Sandry/Liam of Conte or Jasson II of Conte; Either one, really, because they're pretty much OC's with canon names. I just need some help finding out their ages. I place Sandry at about 23-24 here, as are the rest of the Circle. I think I want someone close to her own age.
Glaki/Tobe; Okay, now don't freak out. These kids are 10 and 12. I'm not into that kind of crap. But it'd be adorable- best buddies growing up, then as they get older, say 17 and 15, BAM! Instant adorableness and general tomfoolery. I have no doubt that Glaki will grow up to look like one of the those Thracian *cough*Mediterranean*cough* girls that are so hot.
Those are my thoughts. Review me if you have any ideas or suggestions for continuing this story, or any snapshots you'd like me to write. This is also a Tortallan story too, so if there are any pairings or oneshot ideas that you have, let me know. I'll definitely think about it and get back to you.
Adios,
Tim