It's quiet tonight.
That shouldn't come as much of a surprise.
Out here, where the fathomless sea meets the endless sky, silence is common. Granted, such silence comes with well known if ignored ambiance; one that comes in the form of rocking waves and the rush of wind.
On occasion there is another noise that joins the ambiance, the sound of chatter leaving a ship that travels across the great seas.
Tonight such a noise can be heard.
Locked within the confines of a ship that carries the banner of the Wayfarers Company, men and women - Hunters and Travelers and Shiphands alike - take the time to toil the hours away. In doing so they breathe life into an otherwise hollow vessel that makes its way across a calm sea. They give it a sense of warmth and familiarity.
Still, leaving the ship's cantina, a Hunter makes the decision to step out and get some fresh air. In doing so he can't help but acknowledge the sound of music filtering around the deck of the ship. Still, instead of going to search for the source, he chooses to instead lean over the ship's bow and take a breath. Staring outward, he can't help but smile to himself.
"It's a nice night tonight." He admits to himself, making a noise in approval as he trails his gaze upward.
The Sea of Stars rests above him, or at least, that's what everyone likes to call it. The unfathomably vast, dark sky that all beings – regardless of them being man or beast – can't help but stare up at from time to time.
There was no denying that it was beautiful.
Smiling fondly at the sight, Gales just continues looking skyward, before his attention drifts to the side, drawn to the fact that something was pushing against his leg.
At his side was a canyne, one with a striking orange red coat, who looked up at him as if begging for attention. Without a word the Hunter patted their cayne's head, ruffling their fur before looking back towards the night-clad sky. "What do you think buddy?" He asked. "We got clear skies overhead, a thousand constellations and a full moon." He stated before looking back at his feral counterpart. "What do you say, like it?" The canyne didn't say anything, just wagging his tail before nudging the Hunter's hand to get it to rest on his head. "Honestly." Gales obliged his canyne as he went back to rubbing his head, getting his counterpart's leg to kick a bit when he managed to hit the 'good' spot.
As he did his attention turned back heavenward as he started searching the stars for a moment.
"Hey, I can see the Sapphire Star tonight." He asked, raising his hand off his canyne's head as he rested it on the railing of the dragonship, and stared at a particular star.
It was easy to find, given the fact that it was glowing a bright blue in contrast to the radiant white that left all the others.
There was a legend concerning this star. Well there were a few actually, the most infamous being the Tale of the Five, which recounted the origin of the world.
An equally infamous story was shared by sailors, who said it guided them back home on storm nights.
Staring at the star, the Hunter just smiled as he reached out and held his fingers out in a way that made it seem like he was holding it between them. "It looks so tiny." He notes before falling silent, his attention seeming to drift slightly. His gaze was still skyward, but from the looks of it, something else caught his attention, and whatever it was caused the smile on his face to fade, disappearing into a tight line.
"That's an interesting expression." A voice called out as the Hunter turned his head, attention moving to see that a young girl was walking up to a spot nearby. Her gaze seemingly more focused on him than anything else going on out there.
"I'm sorry?" Gales asked as the girl gave him a light smile.
"Not many look at the stars with such a stern expression." She states her gaze looking towards the sky. "Do you not like them?" She asked. "Or is there something else that bothers you?"
"It's something else." The Hunter states as he looks skyward again. "I thought I saw something." He admits. "Hopefully it was just my imagination."
"Ah, so that's it." The woman stated as she kept her gaze on the stars. "What did you think you saw?" She asked after a moment.
"A star." The girl seemed to chuckle lightly.
"Well, I don't think you imagined that." She stated. "The sky is full of stars tonight."
"Yeah, good point." The hunter agreed as he fell silent for a moment.
"Was there something special about this star you thought you saw?"
"It was falling." He admitted as the girl made a noise.
"Ah, I see." The girl mused, looking back at the hunter. "Were you hoping to make a wish?"
"Nah." The Hunter made a noise. "Even if I did see one, I don't got anything to wish for." Gales stated as he looked to his canyne and patted its head. "Already got all I need."
"I see." The girl muttered. "Being at peace with what you already have… there's nothing wrong with that." She admitted smiling. "Still, there must be something your heart yearns for." The youth made a noise.
"Well you aren't wrong."
"I thought so." The woman muttered. "What is it that you want?"
"I want a lot of things." The youth admitted. "But there's a difference between what I want and what I need."
"Oh~" The girl released an amused hum. "Wise words from someone so young." She leaned against the railing of the ship. "I'm curious as to how you know such a thing." This time the hunter chuckled.
"Well, to be fair they're not my words, they're my fathers." He admitted. "It's one of the things he passed them onto me when I was younger."
"I see." The girl nodded. "The knowledge of our elders is something we cannot dismiss." She stated before turning to look out to sea. "Do you hear that?" She asked after a while as the hunter turned his attention towards the sea and seemed to listen out for something.
Honestly? He didn't hear anything. The call of the sea; the bellow of the arluq, the song of the piscine wyverns. He didn't hear anything like that. Just the sound of a quiet sea.
Coincidentally, the sound of the sea, sound of the waves - that was what she was talking about.
"Yeah." The Hunter stated with a smile. "I hear it."
"The waves are getting rough." The girl stated. "We'll be making landfall soon." The hunter just nodded his head as he looked to Garm who seemed to perk up at the thought of reaching land.
"You're gonna be on solid ground soon buddy." The canyne barked in agreement, his tail wagging as the words.
"We all will." The girl added as she looked back at the hunter. "Hunter, If I may, what brings you out here?"
"Hm?" The Hunter looked at his counterpart, a bit of confusion crossing his face as he looked at the girl. "What do you mean?"
"What brings you to this part of the world?" She asked, explaining her question. I'm certain you've heard how most of the Hunters are heading towards Loc Lac or even the frontier, but you're not headed in either of those directions." She stated. "Why are you heading towards the Scry Continent?" The Hunter for his part just scratched his cheek with a finger as he made a noise.
"Honest answer? I'm just going where I'm told." He admitted.
"Oh" The Girl paused. "You too, huh."
"You're not going to Scry because you want to?" The girl just shook her head.
"Duty dictates I come here." The girl admitted. "And I must perform my duty."
"Hm…" Gales fell silent for a moment. "I guess we really are in the same boat."
"Seem's like it." The girl smiled as she knocked on the ship railing. That earned her a small laugh.
"Still…" Gales paused for a moment as he seemed to think. "After your duty is done… will you make that journey home?"
"I sincerely hope so." The girl sounded wistful. "I have… so much to see, so much to learn…" She trailed off for a moment. "When my journey's done, will I even want to go home?" She asked. "Will I even still a place there?"
"You'll always have a place there." The Hunter stated as he drew the girls attention. "Sure, you won't be the same person you were when you started your journey, you'll be changed by your experiences." He stated. "But that won't change the fact that you will always have a place back home."
"More of your fathers wisdom."
"Mother's actually." The two shared a short honest laugh before falling silent as they stared out at sea.
For a while neither said anything, just enjoying the silence. To be honest, it's kinda nice; letting the silence take over. Don't always need to talk and fill the ambient silence.
Having a moment where everything's quiet?
It's not that bad.
Out of nowhere Garm smashes his head against the girl's leg to get her attention. Causing her to stumble for a moment before looking at the canyne.
"Garm~"
"Sorry." The girl giggled. "Were we ignoring you?" Garm barked, seemingly in agreement. "My apologies." She reaches down to rub the Canyne's fur. "Garm, huh." She whispers, a smile on her face. "That's a strong name." She admits. "What about you?" She asked, looking at the Hunter. "I haven't gotten your name."
"Gales." The Hunter stated, introducing himself. "Yours?"
"Aleya." The girl responded, getting to her feet as she did something akin to a curtsy. "It's an honor, Hunter."
"Just Gales is fine." The Hunter admitted as his attention turned to the ocean again as something caught his attention.
The horizon was changing; the night was slowly giving way to the sunrise.
Couldn't have been at a better time too.
Off in the distance he saw that an isle of sorts was peaking beyond the tide.
"Looks like landfall." He noted, pushing himself off the ship's railing. "Well, we better get ready to dock." He stated as Aleya just smiled and nodded her head.
"I guess so." The lady agreed as the young lady walked off, her attention returning to the stairway leading to the cabins. She stopped for a moment, her attention turning back to Gales as she put her hands behind her back. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For speaking with me." Aleya admitted. "You don't know how wonderful something as simple as speaking with people is until you've almost lost it." She stated, looking at the rising sun and smiling. "It looks like it's gonna be a nice day."
The port town of Harribel; that's where the ship choses to dock. From it both men and women alike disembark; taking the time to stretch their legs and take in the sights following their days-long boat ride.
"Looks like we're here buddy." Gales admits as he adjusted his bag and used his free arm to pat his canyne's head. "What do you think, you happy to be on solid land?" He looked at his friend and partner. The canyne made a noise, something along the lines of a bark as it pressed on and Gales chose to follow him. "Someone's impatient." Gales smiled as he started taking in the sights. "Not that I blame you."
Leaving port, the first thing he takes notice of is the fact that there's a Alruq Trawler carrying an alruq.
"So that's what an Alruq looks like out of water." The Hunter muttered as he stared for a moment longer as the workers went about bringing the sea beast in.
The Alrug. He'd heard about them; heard how they were seasonal creatures, typically migrating around the world for the best food supply. He'd heard a few stories concerning them, and he'd heard how Trawlers hunted for their meat and blubber and oil. The latter of which had more than a few uses, like being used as fuel to power the Wycadamy's airships.
Hearing Garm bark to catch his attention, Gales' looked away from the Alruq and started searching for his partner. When he found him, he just barked again, and started to make a few motions that effectively translated to 'come here'.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." The Hunter muttered as he started following after his Canyne and headed into town.
Harribel was an old, sturdy port town, one that had been built on a strip of land that formed a natural moon-like crescent. The port town had countless buildings and shops, with each one made from a combination of hard stone and cementing paste. Roads were still made of dirt though, but they were rather well maintained, forming this almost labyrinthine web that stretched across the feet of the city. And surrounding all of it was this 20ft tall wall that seemed to be a mix of both stone and metal.
"Wonder what they're trying to keep out." Gales muttered, staring at the wall as he continued walking through the city. "Or maybe…" He released this humored smile. "Maybe they're trying to keep people in." He chuckled at his own little joke and just continued walking, asking around to get a few needed directions.
His destination happened to be the local Hunter's Guild. Long as he was in town, he'd need to speak with them anyway, especially if he planned on working.
"We can check out the Hunter's Lodge a little later." Gales muttered as his Canyne looked up at him, responding to the fact it had been called. "What? You want to sleep outside for a few days?" Gram seemed to give him a look before turning away and walking on. "I'll take that as a no." The Hunter chuckled.
The Hunter's Lodge was pretty simple really, it was a place set aside by the guild, to give Hunters a place to rest their heads. It wasn't extravagant, and it wasn't over the top, just a shelter set up for weary Hunters.
In one of the occupied rooms, a hunter couldn't help looking out the window as he stared out at the port city, or rather a particular part of it.
"Took your sweet time, didn't you?" The Hunter muttered staring at the dragonship that was resting in the bay. "Was beginning to wonder if you'd ever get here."
"Were you worried?" A fellow Hunter asked, her feet kicked up in the bed as she smiled. "That the boat wouldn't come in?"
"I wouldn't say worried." His counterpart mutters. "More annoyed that we had to wait so long for the ship to come in.
"We didn't wait that long did we?" The huntress lounging around kicked their feet up and sat up properly. "It's only been a week."
"It's been a month, Luminia." The girl raised an eyebrow.
"Really?" She asked as she disappeared into her thoughts. "It doesn't feel like a month." She noted as she crossed her arms. "So, what do we do now that the ship's in?"
"Nothing." Luminia's counterpart stated as they pulled themself away from the window. "At least, not yet." The figure muttered.
"You sure?" She asked. "What about the girl?"
"Don't worry about her." His counterpart stated. "At least, not yet." They grumble. "I'll send a messenger hawk to the others, let them know she's finally here. Soon as we get a response, we'll know what to do." The figure stated. "Meanwhile, we keep an eye on her - make sure she doesn't leave the town." He stated as his attention turned to the halk that was laying on the floor. "If you please."
"Right, right." Luminia muttered as she looked at her pet wingdrake and rubbed it's head. "You know the scent, go out and seek." Luminia stated. "Watch but do not harm, understood?" The wingdrake made a noise as they walked towards the window, climbed up it and flew outside.
It's really noisy in the Guild Hall.
Honestly, that doesn't come as much of a surprise; it's usually noisy around here.
There's plenty of people here, many of them relaxing.
Paleco were carrying food and drinks to hunters who were making conversation with those they were with, some were exchanging stories and cracking jokes. The Guild Receptionists were sitting at their desk, seeming to take a break from a long day.
Gales glanced at a wall and found the Request Board with half a dozen tasks decorating it. Given that he could make out a few pins without anything attached to them, it seemed that others had been taken care of.
"Next in line, please!" The guild receptionist called out as Gales turned away from the request board and headed towards the receptionist desk. "Hello, what can I do for you?"
"Nothing right now." The Hunter admitted, reaching into his pouch and pulled out his Guild Card. "Just wanted to introduce myself." The Hunter admitted.
"I see." The receptionist kept a professional smile on her face as she took the card and looked it over. "Let's see, your name is." Looking the information over, the receptionist nodded her head. "Gales Ashechild."She stated, that ever friendly smile on her face. "My name is Abigail Vines. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Just Gales is fine." Garm barked to get his Hunter's attention and Gales just smiled. "This is Garm, he's my Hunting Buddy."
"You're quite a handsome canyne, aren't you?" Abigail stated as Garm barked in agreement. "Well, I hope you two enjoy your time with us." She stated, gesturing to the Request Board that was off in the corner. "As you probably know, all of our available contacts are posted up on the Request Board. Please let us know if any of them catch your interest."
"Right." Gales nodded his head as he put his Guild Card away and seemed to think for a moment. "Hey, is it alright if I head out to the wilds for a bit, just to get a lay of the land?"
"Of course." Abigail smiled. "Would you like one of our maps of the region?"
"Not this time."