[Quest] the storm that took weeks to fall

[Random Events]

it is more than sadness that hides deep in the surf 

The ocean loves its children. She watched as they played amongst each other and listened to the laughter of the young. She admired the dolphins as they swam together as one family and jumped high above the waves for fun. Of course there was the circle of life as a whale ate krill or an orca ate a seal. Life was not always happy, but all in all, the ocean still loves its children dearly and never forgets anyone. Especially not the kelpies.

There is a family of them deep within the twilight zone- so far in the depths of the ocean that even she cannot find them sometimes. One was special and sought out to save her family by going onto land. It was no easy feat, but the young kelpie made it and the ocean was proud. The sea watched her go with something like pride and something a little like heartbreak. 

Days passed and still the ocean felt that strange mix or sorrow and sadness. The waves grew thick and full of froth for all the days that passed. 

A week passes--
Two weeks--
And then--

The sky suddenly becomes gray with thick clouds full of rainwater blocking out the sun. Then the rain pours down, soaking the earth below and making the water rise and rise and rise. Birds on the shore fly into hiding and a snake slithers away to higher ground. The entire shoreline seems to still underneath the onslaught of the storm. 

The storm rolls through until the ocean has finished its weeping and moves on to reveal the sun again. Besides the damp earth, the storm has left behind a brilliant rainbow reaching down from the clouds and disappearing into the sea.

The ocean no longer feels sad as it had found a way to protect its missing child. The waves smooth out to glassy blue. Floating above the water is an orb similar to a water droplet. It hovers for a moment above the water as if hesitating, but a light sea breeze nudges it forward. When it reaches the shoreline, it begins to bounce forward, almost hopping like a young child. It searches for the missing ocean child and hopes to remind them of where they came from.

---

@Anandi might find herself drawn back to the sea, even just for a moment. She might be brave enough to weather the storm, or maybe she waits until it passes to go to the damp shore. When she arrives, she will notice the floating orb and feel a connection to the ocean she knows and loves.


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This quest was written by the lovely @layla.

Enjoy!

[Anandi]

The storm doesn't feel like a message at all. It feels like a storm. For days it builds heavy grey and pensive, almost mournful. And when it hits, it hits hard. Rain whipped sideways, trees bent pious to the force of nature that wails like a banshee; "on. your. knees."

The storm doesn't feel like a message at all, yet when the rain begins to fall something calls to her. There are so many memories unleashed by the feel of water on her skin and the churn of the storm. The torrent is the closest thing she's felt to home since leaving and--

She's ashamed, suddenly, of how long it's been. How far, body and mind, she's been from the sea. The dirt turns to mud on her shoulders. It rolls down her side and leaves in its wake streaks of fresh, silky grey skin kissed by water. And the shame bends her like the wind does the trees– look how dirty you’ve become. filthy. no better than a land walker.

Anandi does not know to escape the storm in the shelter of the forest or the safety of the court walls. But she knows the ocean, as fearsome and angry as it may get, will always be a refuge for her. And home will always be home. So she turns to the sea, whipped white-grey and angry as you'd think. Not a mirror, not today, but a beast, crashing against the rocky shore to ring her daughter home.

So home she goes. Up to her knees in salt water and the change begins, violent and unholy, legs fusing and stretching like taffy. Skin growing soft and sleek as a seal's. Quicker than a blink and she's out of sight, tossed into the fitful water. The storm was far more peaceful beneath the water, where the kelpie could find a dark cave to wait out the angry tides and raging sky. And for a few sweet hours the ocean was happy to have her daughter close once again.

-- Several hours later and the ocean is still as it ever could be. Anandi rises to the surface and smiles to feel the warmth of the sun on her face. The air in her lungs is full of that fresh-rain smell, all new beginnings and peace. She rides a small wave to shore, and just as she rises to her legs,

Anandi feels what could most accurately be compared to a tug on the back of her neck. When she turns there is a blob of water, bouncing gaily through the air. She laughs, girlish and vulnerable with no witness-- the only time she can ever really be these things-- and dances on still-unfamiliar legs towards the floating sphere of water. "Hello," she greets Anouk. "I'm Anandi." But these sea creatures with salt in their hearts, they know each other, they've always known each other. Anouk bursts into a thousand small droplets that hover like a galaxy around the princess' face. And then it rushes to the skin of her neck, where the drops coalesce in a small, dark stain that whispers-- "Hello Anandi. I'm Anouk."

A  N  A  N  D  I
the sea was never blue

-cringe-
@Random Events