how far ill go (open)

Delta

Is it really surprising to anyone that Delta is out by the islands? Really, is shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

On this day, she wasn't looking for anyone, no. Some days she enjoyed watching the docks and seeing people and would seek it out, but on this day she had other motives in mind. if someone were to appear, she would speak with them most likely, but that wasn't her main goal. No. The shifting of the islands was always an interesting thing and Delta has started to wonder if the shifting of the islands had any impact on the treasures that may be held nearby.

It was after she got this idea that she chose to figure it out for herself. Swimming in decently shallow waters, Delta checked through the sands, occasionally brushing her hand if she saw anything interesting or shiny, checking to see if there was anything interesting to see. Due to how clear the waters were, anyone would be able to easily see the humanoid shape as she slowly traveled through the waters, clearly searching for something.

Ever since Miss Maea had given them the large conch shell to give to Freina, their sister had become fond of seashells. She wanted to visit Torchline, some day. "When I'm not busy." Whenever that would be.

So, since they were back and forth a bit, Quanil decided to get shells for her whenever they could. And today was a nice day, lovely day for shell hunting, they decided.

They wrote some letters for a local fisherman in exchange for a trip out to the isles, where they'd never been and where, they hoped, they could find something to really perk Freina up. And, besides, who knew what adventure lay over there? This was a New Experience, so they were in a cautiously good mood when they stepped onto the sand of the beach and thanked the fisherman for the ride.

They pulled their boots off, stowed them quickly in their pack, and walked along with their staff, letting the ocean lap at their feet. Cool water over hot sand that squished between their toes, and occasionally they'd stop to draw something with the end of their staff that would immediately get washed away.

Their search for a new, pretty shell for their sister was interrupted when they saw a humanoid shape in the water up ahead. Oh, someone's swimming. They jogged up towards the person.

"Hello! Are you having a good day? Do you need help with anything?" Because a Loreseeker should always help those in need. And then, maybe, they could help them find Freina a little treasure of her own.

Delta

It is very fortunate for the humanoid figure that Delta is able to hear voices coming from above her, otherwise she very well wouldn't have noticed them at all seeing as she wasn't exactly looking on the shore. Stopping and adjusting herself so that her body was now facing the surface, Delta lifted her head above the water and looked around until her eyes landed on the figure.

Tilting her head, she inspected them closely. They seemed to have a wooden staff on them. "I am doing fine... why are you out here so far? You don't look like you're from Torchline." It was less about appearances and more about the way they spoke. A torchliner probably wouldn't ask someone if they were having a good day.... or maybe this one was just extremely happy. It didn't even occur to Delta that she hadn't quite answered any of the questions posed to her, mostly due to the fact that she was preoccupied with other thoughts and curiosities, as well she had to make sure that the staff wouldn't be used as a weapon against her.

Quanil was happy to answer questions (that they knew the answer to). "Oh, I'm not. I'm from the Hollowed Ground. But I'm here looking for seashells for my younger sister and just... I dunno. Exploring, I guess? Enjoying seeing somewhere new."

They squatted down, using the staff to help keep them upright. "I'm Quanil, of the Loreseekers' Guild. Nice to meet you." And they smiled because it really was nice to meet someone new and because they weren't sure what else to do.

Delta

This leg walker was quite peculiar to say the least. Tilting her head at the human, Delta was clearly perplexed. They had made no comment about her status as a mermaid nor did they even notice. It wasn't like she absolutely bathed in the glory of having others recognize her, she had merely grown used to being recognized. The comments made by the humans and the shock or surprise on their face. All had shown some sort of sign... except for this one. Their explorations were understandable and Delta nodded. "The best shells wont be directly on the shore, it is best to look partially in the water, but also to be careful as many creatures live within them." It was rude to steal a home from an animal or to just out right take away a crab or something of that sort simply for a pretty shell. The gifts of the gods should be used properly.

The human continued to confuse her, but at the very least Delta now had a name. "Quanil... what is a loreseeker? Is it someone who seeks to learn the lore of other places?" It was quite a blunt name, but then again, Delta didn't exactly have room to talk. "I am Delta. I do not have a title like that, though."

"Oh yes, I wouldn't take a shell that was occupied!" they said quickly. "That would be terrible! I'd love to go explore the waters for a shell, but Miss Maea said I'd have to be a stronger swimmer to go out into these waters. I need more practice yet, I guess." Not that they'd been practicing much.

They nodded and continued smiling pleasantly. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Delta! And yes, we seek to learn the lore and the history of Caido, as well as... well, anything we can learn, really. A curious sort we are, I suppose." They grinned at their pun, quite pleased with themselves for it. I should tell the provost that one.

Delta

This human was quite cheerful, but also didn't seem very young. Once more, they were making their Outsider status very obvious and honestly, Delta kinda feels bad for Quanil. Hopefully at this point, the poor human hasn't been too manipulated or used. Even Delta knows there's a point where constant optimism is too much, that not everyone should be blindly trusted. Still, Delta tries to remain respectful and kind in the face of all this. "Who is this Maea? Is she from Torchline?" Must be, otherwise, how could she be such an expert on their waters. "One does need to eventually learn to swim, as swimming is an important thing. I should know." She flicked her tail slightly, causing the water around it to ripple. "if you cant swim then how did you get out here? The islands are forever shifting and changing." Had the human walked? If so, they probably wouldn't be able to easily get back, not without getting very wet.

The pleasantries were a tad bit too much for Delta and she shook her head. "Just Delta is fine, please. And... what do you do with this knowledge?" She could understand the thirst for knowledge and honestly, she was extremely intrigued by this group. Who were they? And who did they truly benefit? As well, what knowledge did they have already? "Is this your other motivation for visiting so far out? Your group of lore searchers?"

"Oh, Miss Maea was born in the Hollowed Ground, like me. But she spent a lot of time here. And, she's... um, well, she's gone now." They cleared their throat. "But she taught me a lot about Torchline when I first got here."

Quanil gasped when they got a glimpse of the tail. "Oh, I asked a fisherman to take me out here. And I can swim a little. Enough to get out of a pond, anyway. I'm not very good at it. I need to practice, really."

They nodded at her insistence. Another one who didn't want a title used! This was always difficult at first for them. "Well, we gather and store the knowledge so that anyone who wants it can find it easily," they told her. "The most important thing is helping people. And yes, I wanted to explore the islands. Do they really shift and change a lot?"

They gave up squatting and just sat down. So they'd have sand on their pants. No big deal. "Forgive me if it's rude to ask, but... but do you actually have a... a tail? Can I see it? If it's rude to ask, I'm sorry and you don't have to show me, of course. I've just... I've never met... is mermaid really the proper term? That's what they're called in the stories. Or, um, what you'd be called, if you were in a story."

Delta

Oh. So these weren't the Outlanders who came through the portal. They were still non-native to Torchline, which was always super important to learn immediately. The Fae had warned her against such people coming in and destroying the land, so she was now on higher alert than ever before. No, she wasn't going to be rude or scare them off, but she would try her best to keep track of as many of these people as possible so that if she caught one in the act, she could properly identify the perpetrator.

There is a crease in her lips as a small frown forms. "I am sorry for your loss. May her Soul rest with Mort." It was a small wish, a hopeful thought that her soul was safe. Though, she couldn't really say the same about Quanil. They were... well, not exactly cautious. Being able to swim out of a pond didn't sound like a super impressive feat and probably meant that this legwalker was a rather weak swimmer. Practicing by shore was one thing, but getting trapped out here was a completely different conversation.

The mouthbreather most likely wouldn't listen to her concerns, so she carried on. "How do you record such information? Is it by word of mouth?" Because... anyone was a far stretch. It annoyed her that these moutbreathers completely forgot about the merfolk. They knew she existed and yet, the information was probably unattainable to her simply due to the fact that it was written in those silly books. Books were useful legwalkers and were important, yes, but merfolk? It was a completely different story.

"The islands do change, yes. They do not change consistently, from what I've learned. It is hard to predict what they will do and one must be exceptionally careful." It was a warning to the weak swimmer. Hopefully they would be able to find a way back, otherwise she may have to help them swim.... which would be a very new thing indeed.

There is a flicker of amusement in her eyes. Could this mouthbreather truly not see her tail? Adjusting herself, she tried to make it very obvious that she had a tail, flickering the end of it and hoping that it would be clear as day. "It's not rude to ask so do not worry, though, you must ask before touching a tail. It'd be like my grasping and touching your legs without asking first." Legs was such a weird word. Leg. L ey g. "Mermaid is... the proper term for me. You would refer to say, a father, as merman... and then as a whole we are merfolk. Of course, one may choose the title they feel most comfortable with. It's all about asking the Mer in question." There was a nod, like this was a very simple thing to explain. While she had never really had to teach this to another person, it came rather naturally. This human did ask some wise questions, so hopefully the silly ones would be left in the sand and the good ones would continue.

They nodded at her respectful response to Miss Maea's passing. They'd made their lantern, they'd honored her soul as best they knew how. She'd want them to live in the present.

"We officially record them in books, but I personally try to remember as much as possible. I like being able to talk to people," as if that weren't obvious, "sharing information I've learned and learning from them in turn. That's the most fun. But sometimes, when I forget, it's good to have the book to read from."

They nodded at the new information they were gaining, eyes rapt on Miss Delta's tail. "Your tail is lovely! And I won't touch without permission, I promise." Naturally, more questions occurred to them. "I guess merfolk wouldn't use books; the pages would get all soggy and ink would be pointless underwater. Is merfolk culture entirely oral-based then or do you have some other way of recording information?" They paused and then added, "And, uh, I know I ask a lot of questions. Let me know if I overdo it and feel free to ask me all the questions you want, too."

Delta

Talking with people makes... a lot of sense. This human reminds Delta quite a lot of Seren, a very youthful spirit, but still older than her. They are...a bit naive, in a sense, from what Delta can tell and quite interested in learning everything and anything not like she can relate or anything. It's kind of weird being on the other end of things, but she doesn't mind much. "We... do have a way of recording stuff. We can use engraving and stuff to mark things. We also have a special ink... but it's special, right? So your books are destroyed very quickly by the water." It's all very simple to her, but she realizes early on that this answer is a tad bit more complex to explain, leading to a bit of a jumbled up mess of words.

There is still far much more to say, so she continues on. "We do use oral stories too, like telling stories to children and tales. There's tons of things you hear growing up... how to treat the land around you. All things have a lesson, may it be super obvious like don't wake a sleeping animal far larger than you or less obvious. I'm sure it's not much different from how humans do it.' It must not be, since she assumed that all cultures had their own stories to tell to the little fry.

"Asking questions is fine, I will tell you if I cant answer or dont wish to answer a question."

"Special ink?" That definitely piqued their interest. "Special so it doesn't wash away in the water?" Engraving made sense of course, but special ink sounded very intriguing.

And, "Oh, I love listening to the storytellers!" they gushed. "I try to tell stories, too, from the ones I remember hearing or reading. My younger siblings used to love it."

Delta

This one sure does ask a lot of questions... is that what she sounds like? Gods, that's embarrassing. "Well, yes. It's not exactly super common. Plus, only we use it. So all your books? Gone. They turn into this nasty mushy paper and it just separates in the water. Don't even get me started on the outside of your books. It's a shame that so many books are lost," Maybe the humans should find a way to get their own waterproof books, that way they can ya know, be smart and not lose so many.

Ah, that little comment is a very telling one. "How big is your family? And what sorts of stories do you like the most?" She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear a full on story right now, but she was willing to learn more about this strange human. Then again, all humans were strange in their own ways so who was she to judge.

They nodded at the fate of a normal book in the water. A sad, soppy fate that they were determined would not befall any book they knew of.

"I'm the oldest child," they informed Miss Delta. "Then there's my sister, Freina, and our younger brother, Kedran. And we still have both Mom and Dad. Well, biologically." They cleared their throat. "I love all kinds of stories, but I like histories and fantasies the best. Tales of what used to be and tales of wild imagination. I guess maybe they're opposites?" They shrugged.

"Freina liked the more romantic fantasies, except I think she wanted to be the Brave Warrior who saves the Princess." They chuckled. "And Kedran liked anything that could make him laugh. Some histories would grab him, sometimes, but he's so young; for a long time, it was hard to get him to even sit still for a story."