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31_days2009-07-09 01:10 pm
seta-suzume.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2009-07-09 01:10 pm
[July 9][Original] First Glimpse
Title: First Glimpse
Day/Theme: July 9, 2009 "but I'll come back to haunt you if I drown"
Series: Original
Character/Pairing: Bashir, Ofika, Saselia, etc.
Rating: G
"That's the ocean! The ocean!!" Bashir and Ofika stopped right in the middle of the road to stare first as this glimpse of the turquoise waters, then at each other's awed faces, and, finally, back at the ocean again. Together, the pair formed a stone in the stream of travel, causing other pilgrims, peddlers, and casual wanderers to have to move around them. Fado thought it was sort of cute.
Simcha and Saselia were a little surprised. Sure, plenty of people came to Oxa and saw the ocean for the first time there, but they usually waited until they were a bit closer before being stopped in their tracks by the sight. "Maybe you want to keep on moving and get a better look. C'mon, c'mon," Saselia tugged on Bashir's arm. He shook himself and stumbled along beside her, but Ofika remained rooted to the spot.
"Oh sparkling crests on sun-curled waves,
From white to green to blue,
Come in, come out, each day, each night
And then begin anew," she recited.
An elderly couple clapped politely at her impromptu performance. She curtsied and grinned, "I've read a lot about the ocean, but I never knew if I'd ever see it. I'm not sure if I actually ever even cared before if I saw it or not, but now I'm glad that I did. It's so, so, so big! It's like... I don't know! It's like a jewel made of water!"
"Let's keep walking, dear," Fado suggested, gently placing his hand on the back of her shoulder to push her along.
"You must've seen the ocean a hundred times, Sir Fado, what with all your coming and going from Oxa to the capital to Kierka and Aumxa! Lots of coastline down that way!" she babbled on cheerfully, allowing Fado to nudge her along.
He nodded from time to time in response to her happy ramblings. She was a funny girl and certainly a nice traveling companion. Like Bashir, so many things were new to her. He enjoyed her near-constant excitement.
Simcha led the way off the main road and onto a rough path snaking through the tall pampas grass along a steady incline. "You can see it a bit better from here," he called, waving the others up after him.
"The more time we spend gawking, the longer it's going to take to actually get there," Saselia reminded him. She wasn't in any real hurry, but how long did they want it to take to reach Oxa proper? There had been so many unexpected side trips and distractions along the way that the pilgrimage was taking a good deal longer than Simcha and Fado had originally planned.
Bashir frowned as his original reason for heading to Oxa resurfaced in his sea-blinded mind. He was letting the simple joys of the road wear away his conviction to do his job well. Or maybe not. Had he really had any determination to begin with? Probably not, he concluded. "Do you know how to swim?" he asked Saselia. He would guess that she did.
"Of course. Don't you?"
"Umm, not really. I mean, I've paddled around a bit in a pool at the palace, but I don't know if I could swim in the ocean. Doesn't it sort of have a mind of its own?"
"I can't swim either!" Ofika piped up.
"I can teach ya both!" Simcha promised boastfully. He had reached the highest part of the hill and he waved his hand dismissively toward the ocean before settling it on one of his heavy bags. "I'm a great swimmer! I could teach you just like I was taught. I learned from my Da back when I was just a boy. He threw me and Tevka offa his boat!"
"Not this story again," Saselia groaned. She had a feeling her uncle had probably exaggerated this tale more than a bit. Her father had never spoken of such a traumatic experience in his young life.
"I'm not learning to swim like that," Bashir declared flatly. He wasn't about to even leave any room open for argument with a fishy claim like that.
Ofika nodded vehemently in agreement with Bashir's decision. "We might not live to regret that, Simcha!"
"Mr. Fado'd be a better bet," Saselia added.
"Oh, Fado, would you?" Ofika looked up at him pleadingly.
"Can I honestly say no to you?" he laughed, "Especially when my friend there is the only other option?"
Day/Theme: July 9, 2009 "but I'll come back to haunt you if I drown"
Series: Original
Character/Pairing: Bashir, Ofika, Saselia, etc.
Rating: G
"That's the ocean! The ocean!!" Bashir and Ofika stopped right in the middle of the road to stare first as this glimpse of the turquoise waters, then at each other's awed faces, and, finally, back at the ocean again. Together, the pair formed a stone in the stream of travel, causing other pilgrims, peddlers, and casual wanderers to have to move around them. Fado thought it was sort of cute.
Simcha and Saselia were a little surprised. Sure, plenty of people came to Oxa and saw the ocean for the first time there, but they usually waited until they were a bit closer before being stopped in their tracks by the sight. "Maybe you want to keep on moving and get a better look. C'mon, c'mon," Saselia tugged on Bashir's arm. He shook himself and stumbled along beside her, but Ofika remained rooted to the spot.
"Oh sparkling crests on sun-curled waves,
From white to green to blue,
Come in, come out, each day, each night
And then begin anew," she recited.
An elderly couple clapped politely at her impromptu performance. She curtsied and grinned, "I've read a lot about the ocean, but I never knew if I'd ever see it. I'm not sure if I actually ever even cared before if I saw it or not, but now I'm glad that I did. It's so, so, so big! It's like... I don't know! It's like a jewel made of water!"
"Let's keep walking, dear," Fado suggested, gently placing his hand on the back of her shoulder to push her along.
"You must've seen the ocean a hundred times, Sir Fado, what with all your coming and going from Oxa to the capital to Kierka and Aumxa! Lots of coastline down that way!" she babbled on cheerfully, allowing Fado to nudge her along.
He nodded from time to time in response to her happy ramblings. She was a funny girl and certainly a nice traveling companion. Like Bashir, so many things were new to her. He enjoyed her near-constant excitement.
Simcha led the way off the main road and onto a rough path snaking through the tall pampas grass along a steady incline. "You can see it a bit better from here," he called, waving the others up after him.
"The more time we spend gawking, the longer it's going to take to actually get there," Saselia reminded him. She wasn't in any real hurry, but how long did they want it to take to reach Oxa proper? There had been so many unexpected side trips and distractions along the way that the pilgrimage was taking a good deal longer than Simcha and Fado had originally planned.
Bashir frowned as his original reason for heading to Oxa resurfaced in his sea-blinded mind. He was letting the simple joys of the road wear away his conviction to do his job well. Or maybe not. Had he really had any determination to begin with? Probably not, he concluded. "Do you know how to swim?" he asked Saselia. He would guess that she did.
"Of course. Don't you?"
"Umm, not really. I mean, I've paddled around a bit in a pool at the palace, but I don't know if I could swim in the ocean. Doesn't it sort of have a mind of its own?"
"I can't swim either!" Ofika piped up.
"I can teach ya both!" Simcha promised boastfully. He had reached the highest part of the hill and he waved his hand dismissively toward the ocean before settling it on one of his heavy bags. "I'm a great swimmer! I could teach you just like I was taught. I learned from my Da back when I was just a boy. He threw me and Tevka offa his boat!"
"Not this story again," Saselia groaned. She had a feeling her uncle had probably exaggerated this tale more than a bit. Her father had never spoken of such a traumatic experience in his young life.
"I'm not learning to swim like that," Bashir declared flatly. He wasn't about to even leave any room open for argument with a fishy claim like that.
Ofika nodded vehemently in agreement with Bashir's decision. "We might not live to regret that, Simcha!"
"Mr. Fado'd be a better bet," Saselia added.
"Oh, Fado, would you?" Ofika looked up at him pleadingly.
"Can I honestly say no to you?" he laughed, "Especially when my friend there is the only other option?"