Haze;

Nothing else.

Then came the coax of water, pushing her through cushioned sleep.

For a moment there, all she wanted to do was give in to the soft, dizzying embrace.

She slumbered soundly in currents deep and mellow, in waves chiming and gentle, in dreams curling in delusions truly soft.

Then -

Brine choked her throat and stabbed her nostrils.

Lujing rose with a startling snap. Foam clung to the ends of her wet fur, whipped astray and cold by uncaring morning winds. The coastline she once remembered to be a long expanse of sand had given itself a green blanket. She could see nothing more, not until she cleared the salty water from her eyes - and when she did, everything around her seemed foreign.

A single thought flowed through her mind: this is not home.

The seawolf darted out of the water in a sudden jolt and found what sand she could, before stopping only to stare upon the sea in the confusion and horrified wonder.

[he had not yet sought out cloud lash, for the seal hunter had begun to amass more gifts on foray to the sea. chakliux wished to make a proper presentation for whatever ceremony she might mean to take place among the wetu-homes, and with his own lodge half-finished, he did not mind the frequent travel. long greenery hung here, and in the rich loam beneath he found grubs which he snapped eagerly from the earth. from here the shoreline was not far; chakliux kept his quick pace and slid down moss-grown boulders to move beside the sea. many things were leant by the sand, and today it seemed that oil father had spat someone from the brine. chakliux watched as a waterlogged woman lunged from the shallows to the beach, seemingly dazed; he hailed her with a low whoop and waved his tail, though he did not approach closer lest she believe him a threat. are you all right? called the seal-man, berrybright eyes shielded against the sun with one paw.]

he had not yet sought out cloud lash, for the seal hunter had begun to amass more gifts on foray to the sea. chakliux wished to make a proper presentation for whatever ceremony she might mean to take place among the wetu-homes, and with his own lodge half-finished, he did not mind the frequent travel.
long greenery hung here, and in the rich loam beneath he found grubs which he snapped eagerly from the earth.
from here the shoreline was not far; chakliux kept his quick pace and slid down moss-grown boulders to move beside the sea.
many things were leant by the sand, and today it seemed that oil father had spat someone from the brine. chakliux watched as a waterlogged woman lunged from the shallows to the beach, seemingly dazed; he hailed her with a low whoop and waved his tail, though he did not approach closer lest she believe him a threat.
are you all right? called the seal-man, berrybright eyes shielded against the sun with one paw.

---

thank you for joining! <3

A call rose over distant breeze; Lujing whirled around at the unknown voice.

It took her eyes half a moment to set her sight upon the standing frame. Once the brilliant sunrise rays no longer kept her blind, she took in the form, expecting confusion to subside, but was only greeted with more questions. She was met with unfamiliar eyes, a wolf of shadowdappled snow keeping at length from her. Instinct drove her to run, but she rooted herself in the sand.

There stood a man she did not know; there stood danger, but what else did she have, here in a place she knew nothing of?

I - alright? Her surprise choked past the brine that still burned in her throat. The question was strange to her. She did not know if she was alright; she did not know of the dangers that lurked about, nor of any corners of safety. She did not know if she had landed in some frontier of death or a thriving haven. His question, she could not answer.

But she might as well find out if he had any knowledge of this place, or if he was as dazed as she was.

I cannot say if I am alright, she replied. Kind man, what do you know of this foreign place?

[chakliux had learned some portion of commontongue while in the sharadoii valley. a wide host of tongues were now there represented, and it was impossible to move through those hills without some sort of lesson learned. her voice seemed the same, and her confusion carried the words which the seal hunter did not know. you all right, he sought first, coming some few steps closer but still maintaining a distance. is good land. safe. his chin jutted toward the sea, and he glanced at the waters once before looking toward the stranger again. you come from —? gesturing to the interminable stretch of dark water which scintillated close to shore now, sunglossed and pretty. the seal hunter hoped she had not suffered a great loss, or worse, some unforgiving tragedy. he knew the sharadoii would give succor, but did not want to insist yet that the stranger leave this sand.]

---

no problem! <33

chakliux had learned some portion of commontongue while in the sharadoii valley. a wide host of tongues were now there represented, and it was impossible to move through those hills without some sort of lesson learned. her voice seemed the same, and her confusion carried the words which the seal hunter did not know. you all right, he sought first, coming some few steps closer but still maintaining a distance. is good land. safe.
his chin jutted toward the sea, and he glanced at the waters once before looking toward the stranger again. you come from —? gesturing to the interminable stretch of dark water which scintillated close to shore now, sunglossed and pretty.
the seal hunter hoped she had not suffered a great loss, or worse, some unforgiving tragedy. he knew the sharadoii would give succor, but did not want to insist yet that the stranger leave this sand.

She believed she had spoken well enough to be understood by any other person who knew the tongue of common, but the more she listened, the more confused she became, and she began to doubt her own ability to speak. She believed they shared a tongue - even understood a few words in the beginning, perhaps? - but the short sentences very quickly rolled far into unfamiliarity.

Lujing backed away two cautious steps, hoping for her feet to find water should she need to flee. But the kind man - kind? - did not hold violent intent anywhere on him. She decided she could attempt to answer his questions, though given the lack of understanding, it would be a unique difficulty.

Lujing read his words out in her mind, and all she understood was “safe”. For a moment she felt some trickle of fear turn into a wash of relief. But his next question, accompanied by a turn of the head to the water, left her again in confusion. She assumed she was being asked about where she had come from, but could not be sure; perhaps he was asking where she intended to go?

Safe? Good. Suddenly she felt what confidence she had in her words shrink into oblivion. Still, she tried to make her sentences comprehensible, at least to some extent - or what she believed to be comprehensible. She no longer knew if she spoke sense at all. A great land, somewhere - beyond the sea, maybe. I come from there. I have nowhere to go.

A pause. She acknowledged the crunch of wet sand beneath her paws.

And you?

The seagirl stepped forward again, tilting her head to observe him, carefully taking note of the man. He did not look like a man of her home, that was sure. Still, it would not hurt just to see if he knew her better tongue. 你能听懂我吗? (Do you understand me?)

[when she retreated, chakliux halted jerkily, and there he stood as the saltwisp assessed him with seafoam eyes. at the string of syllables which came next, his eyes briefly lit in surprise, but reflected a regret to shake his head. he had not heard her words before. quickly, to quell any further consternation, he hoped, the berry-eyed man put paw to his chest. chakliux he said, repeating it twice and waiting until it seemed he was understood. she had come from the sea. not the sea. she had come from some place marked by salt, that was clear. he did not need to question more. you have eating? food? he asked, though this time he did not wait for an answer nor look her way. the seawolf paced off and started to set his claws against the sand, digging where shellfish were most likely to wait for the tide. if she knew the ocean, then she would understand its bounty, and chakliux did not speak again as he gathered two or three, wondering at her accent and ordeal. brine clung to her bedraggled fur. she had been swimming, perhaps? there were no fresh prints in the sand here, save for those of her and himself, and he assumed she had found herself here alone. her tracks had already been swallowed by the ocean's lap; maybe she had sprung from its surface all the same. he half expected to find her disappeared when he looked up again.]

when she retreated, chakliux halted jerkily, and there he stood as the saltwisp assessed him with seafoam eyes. at the string of syllables which came next, his eyes briefly lit in surprise, but reflected a regret to shake his head. he had not heard her words before.
quickly, to quell any further consternation, he hoped, the berry-eyed man put paw to his chest. chakliux he said, repeating it twice and waiting until it seemed he was understood. she had come from the sea. not the sea. she had come from some place marked by salt, that was clear. he did not need to question more. you have eating? food? he asked, though this time he did not wait for an answer nor look her way.
the seawolf paced off and started to set his claws against the sand, digging where shellfish were most likely to wait for the tide. if she knew the ocean, then she would understand its bounty, and chakliux did not speak again as he gathered two or three, wondering at her accent and ordeal.
brine clung to her bedraggled fur. she had been swimming, perhaps? there were no fresh prints in the sand here, save for those of her and himself, and he assumed she had found herself here alone. her tracks had already been swallowed by the ocean's lap; maybe she had sprung from its surface all the same.
he half expected to find her disappeared when he looked up again.

No, the man was not a speaker of her tongue. A pity.

She observed, caution lessening, as he put his paw to his chest and laid out his name for her - once, twice. Chak-liux...? She did what she could to match the sound in slow, stumbling mutter.Cha...Cha-ke-li-uh-kese? That last sound was rough to her tongue, and she did not know if she was capable of ending that name on such a strange, rigid, hiss-like noise. Another thing of this land she knew not of.

Before Lujing could give her his name in return, the seawolf asked of her something about food, then turned away before waiting for an answer or even elaborating at all. Upon the wet sand, the man searched for little moving bits hidden in the safety of the ground. She followed him briskly, muting her steps so as to maintain the silence he might need for whatever he searching for.

Ah. Clams, lobster, mussels, perhaps. He, too, knew of the luxuries the sea offered - but he, apparently, knew much more of the shore here than she did. Home had carried similar treasures, but never would the ocean’s reaches be identical.

When he looked up at her once more with his bright flowery eyes, Lujing pointed one paw at the assortment of seaside harvest. These sand-things… have a name in common or no? She leaned down, still at a mild distance, and tried to catch a wisp of the smell but could make little out of it. Nothing deviated too much from what she was used to at home. They are safe to eat, ah? They look good.

Lujing lifted herself again in half-considerate surveillance of the beach, then returned her gaze back to the man. It was only fair that she give her name to him, as he did to her. Mimicking the man’s earlier introduction, she placed a paw on her chest and tried to carefully enunciate, Lu…jing. The absence of confidence in her pronunciation was strange even to her, almost as if she had forgotten her own name, so she repeated it again with greater vigor. Lujing.

[lu-jing. not at all a name chakliux recognized, though had he been slightly older he might have been privy to the far-traders who once visited his village and carried similar names as these. but in the seal hunter's memory this recollection had no root. and so he only listened. she had accompanied him across the beige grains and now he began to crack the shells one by one, setting them open in a row at her forepaws. food, yes, he answered, though did not know to say more than that. chakliux flashed her a friendly, charming smile and swung his tail once, pointing away from the sea and back through the willowbranches. there. dark claws raked three lines into the sand, one for each day of travel back to the valley, which was etched by a V marking. sharadoii, chakliux murmured, then tapped his own chest again. seal hunter. he would take her there, a point of his chin communicated, for now her scent did proclaim itself truly: she was alone, and he thought she would prefer to be in the company of women. cloud lash was an amenable host, and he must return to kukik besides. another shell cracked open, and this time he took a portion of the meat and savored its briny flavor. glancing away from lujing, chakliux flicked his eyes over the sea once more, then to the sky, watchful for one of the fierce storms that often arrived with no warning.]

lu-jing. not at all a name chakliux recognized, though had he been slightly older he might have been privy to the far-traders who once visited his village and carried similar names as these. but in the seal hunter's memory this recollection had no root. and so he only listened. she had accompanied him across the beige grains and now he began to crack the shells one by one, setting them open in a row at her forepaws.
food, yes, he answered, though did not know to say more than that. chakliux flashed her a friendly, charming smile and swung his tail once, pointing away from the sea and back through the willowbranches. there. dark claws raked three lines into the sand, one for each day of travel back to the valley, which was etched by a V marking. sharadoii, chakliux murmured, then tapped his own chest again. seal hunter.
he would take her there, a point of his chin communicated, for now her scent did proclaim itself truly: she was alone, and he thought she would prefer to be in the company of women. cloud lash was an amenable host, and he must return to kukik besides.
another shell cracked open, and this time he took a portion of the meat and savored its briny flavor. glancing away from lujing, chakliux flicked his eyes over the sea once more, then to the sky, watchful for one of the fierce storms that often arrived with no warning.

The man named Chakliux kindly opened for her his harvest. Lujing felt compelled to swallow the shells whole in spite of her better judgment, now that the salty bewilderment had faded and left her with hollow hunger. But she stilled herself out of cautious respect, waiting for Chakliux to take the first bite. Food was food; she decided not to bother herself with the name of the bounty. The traders of the sand had once arrived at the salt empire and taught her a little common, perhaps the name of the food, too - but it no longer sat in the daze of her memories.

She watched with careful observation that slowly became confusion as Chakliux etched symbols into the sand. Three lines. An odd shape that dipped down, then up again. The man spoke of it as if it were a location of sorts - perhaps this was his best attempt at illustrating a place of importance. A home, even. He murmured something she could not quite catch, but then he declared himself a "seal hunter", and some of the sense began to reach her reasoning.

Lujing did not fully understand his pointing towards the inland, but knew his intent to go to that place he had drawn for her. For a moment she lingered in thought, asking herself the difficult question - could she leave the sea? But again, where else would welcome her in this foreign land? Who else was there to trust? The sea, she could find later; if leaving meant uncertainty, then so did staying.

At last the man ate a sliver of the shell meat, and she had to hold some primal part of herself back in order to not devour everything in a savage bite or two. Instead, she took one shell and savored it slowly, as he did, appreciating the nourishment this stranger had labored to give to her. When she finished half the shell, she gestured vaguely to the shape Chakliux had drawn. Your home? ... Safe? Is that place safe?

[safe. the word again, the one which implied lujing was afraid. chakliux could sense the ravening hunger she held back, and nodded slowly. safe. sharadoii — safe place. lashes slanted over berrybright eyes as he looked at his drawings in the sand. he thought of those faces of which he had become fond; he thought of kukik and smiled. home. this place beside the salt, it was her home as well. but there was no one here. chakliux glanced up the beach, down the strand, and back to her seafoam eyes. some — not safe? follow lujing? you? broken was his common; clear was the message. if she was followed, if someone had otherwise abandoned her here, then the brineside would not be safe. surreptitiously he cracked another shell, laying it out and settling back to indicate that the rest was her own. he had not yet learned the words for 'valley' or 'days.' small words. ones he should have known, but he knew too many other languages not to find himself fluent otherwise. lujing confused him in more ways than one, the least of which was not because it seemed she had risen from the sea itself. chakliux moved to its flank, swishing his paw to wash the worst sand from his claws. again he glanced toward lujing, but did not stare. ah, with sharadoii, have — oh. had he not even learned the word for woman? like — lujing. not chakliux. fantastic. confusing. the seal hunter sighed at himself. this experience, this meeting; it was a new reason to travel farther. always there were tongues to learn. crouched beside the water, he waited for the saltwisp to make her choice, for this beach to him had grown eerie with the threat signalled by her nerves.]

safe. the word again, the one which implied lujing was afraid. chakliux could sense the ravening hunger she held back, and nodded slowly. safe. sharadoii — safe place. lashes slanted over berrybright eyes as he looked at his drawings in the sand. he thought of those faces of which he had become fond; he thought of kukik and smiled. home.
this place beside the salt, it was her home as well. but there was no one here. chakliux glanced up the beach, down the strand, and back to her seafoam eyes. some — not safe? follow lujing? you? broken was his common; clear was the message. if she was followed, if someone had otherwise abandoned her here, then the brineside would not be safe. surreptitiously he cracked another shell, laying it out and settling back to indicate that the rest was her own.
he had not yet learned the words for 'valley' or 'days.' small words. ones he should have known, but he knew too many other languages not to find himself fluent otherwise. lujing confused him in more ways than one, the least of which was not because it seemed she had risen from the sea itself.
chakliux moved to its flank, swishing his paw to wash the worst sand from his claws. again he glanced toward lujing, but did not stare. ah, with sharadoii, have — oh. had he not even learned the word for woman? like — lujing. not chakliux.
fantastic. confusing.
the seal hunter sighed at himself. this experience, this meeting; it was a new reason to travel farther. always there were tongues to learn.
crouched beside the water, he waited for the saltwisp to make her choice, for this beach to him had grown eerie with the threat signalled by her nerves.