1x1 with .celestential.

[.celestential.]

Eleanora nodded when Kai asked if she was alright. She was no worse off than she had been before, she’d only made a dumb decision. “Yeah I’m alright,” she said. She gratefully clung to the arm he offered her to balance, she wouldn’t be able to make it very far on her own without his help. She found to her surprise that she was enjoying being in his company, he wasn’t nearly as obnoxious as he had been before, and she wondered if it had anything to do with the situation they were stuck in together. As she clumsily made her way toward the trees with Kai’s help, Eleanora hated the fact that she most likely looked entirely unprincess-like. “Where do you think the rest of the crew would be if they’re here?” she asked as they got closer to the forest.

[Wondering Soul]

Kai slowly starting walking towards the tree line, looking down at her footsteps for a moment. “I can honestly say I have no idea.” He bit into his lip, thinking what the Captain might have done. “My guess is that they went to explore the island, to see what’s out there.” He lifted his shoulders in a shrug as he continued, “who knows how big this place even is. They probably wanted to see what resources are here, or you know, what threats.” As they drew further away from the shore the sandy terrain began to give way to a thick dry grass that crept out from the dense tree line that was now just a little ways off. “We might be able to pick up a trail.” It was something far from his usual skill set, and he did not have much experience in the way of tracking, but he figured with the thick underbrush of what did indeed appear to be a forest, it wouldn’t be too terribly difficult to find footfalls that had cleared a path of what was most likely otherwise an undisturbed forest floor.

[.celestential.]

Eleanora didn’t say much as they made their way towards the trees, focusing more on her footsteps so she wouldn’t trip anymore than she already had. “Well, let’s just walk into the trees and hope we find someone?” she suggested. The truth was she really had no idea what they should do next, but she was getting desperate to find other people, because other people meant they would be closer to being able to leave the island. “I’m even starting to miss Captain Hall,” she joked with a smirk.

[Wondering Soul]

Kai was never certain where he would end up in life, but trekking through a forest with a princess that had a twisted ankle while looking for the rest of the crew after being shipwrecked on an island wasn’t high on his list of possibilities. Sure, the shipwrecked part was feasible. He had been sailing as a pirate for long enough, and had enough past close calls with the ship, that he knew by now it was always a possibility. But as he helped Eleanora through the underbrush of the forest, keeping an eye out for any twigs or stones she could snag her foot on, he found himself thinking of the events that led him to be here. How he actually cared if she snagged her foot. He supposed it was really that thought that confused him.
His eyes went to her when she spoke, and couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him. “Those are words you probably thought you’d never say.” He gave a half sided smile, “and neither did I. But I think I just might miss the sound of that oh-so calm voice giving orders.”
Kicking a branch out of her path, he tried to refocus on the task at hand. Snapped branches in the path, cleared leaves, anything that indicated someone else already being here. Of a trail they could follow.
Kai slowed speed when his ears caught the soft sound of babbling water through the trees, and he looked around trying to find the source. “Do you hear that?”

[.celestential.]

Eleanora just smiled slightly at Kai’s response, saying nothing in response. She walked silently for some time, just taking in the scenery. There was so much green all around her, and the closest she’d ever come to anything like it was in the palace gardens, but even that was nothing compared to this. She could hear birds chirping all around, and the wind rustling through the leaves. She took notice of the care Kai was taking to make sure there was nothing in her path, and to her surprise, she found it sort of sweet. She’d never thought she would appreciate a pirate, but in that moment she was glad for Kai. She pulled her thoughts back to the forest when Kai asked if she heard something. She listened intently, and realized there was the sound of water coming from somewhere nearby. “It sounds like there’s a stream somewhere,” she replied, listening again. “I can’t tell which direction it is though.”

[Wondering Soul]

Kai took several moments to just listen, and after a while he gave a nod. Pointing off to the right of them he said, “I think it’s coming from that direction.” He bit into his lip, thinking. “We should go towards it. Even though we have water reserves on the ship, if it’s fresh water they might have gone towards it. And following a stream might give us a better heading than walking a little aimlessly in a forest.” He looked down towards her ankle for a moment, “And it might be a good place to take a rest.” From past observations he knew people tended to gather around fresh sources of water, and even if they didn’t find the rest of the crew, he figured it could also lead them to seeing if this island was indeed inhabited or not.

[.celestential.]

Eleanora made a face when Kai implied that she needed to rest. He was right, walking on one foot was tiring her out fairly quickly, but she didn’t want him to think she couldn’t handle herself. “I don’t need to rest, I’m doing just fine,” she protested. “But if you think the rest of the crew might be there then it’s worth it to go look. Plus, I don’t need to rest, but you’ve been sort of half carrying me this whole time, you could probably use a break.” She didn’t want to admit it, but she was a little impressed with how easily he had picked out what direction the water was coming from. “Lead the way, Pirate Kai,” she smirked.

[Wondering Soul]

Kai couldn’t help the small smile that appeared on his lips. “How very kind of you to think of my wellbeing,” he put his free hand to his chest and dipped his head, “I’m honored, Princess, but I think I’ll be fine.” He looked up at her, his hint of a smile turning into a half-sided smirk. “But I do think there’s a chance they could have gone there.” His voice dipped into a bit of a more serious tone as he shifted to walk in the direction were he heard the sound of water.
It was a bit further than Kai had expected, and he found it amazed he heard the sound at all as they approached the clearing of a narrow river. The winding waters were like crystal, and as he got closer he could even see the smooth surface of the shiny stones on the riverbed. Leaving Eleanora’s side, making sure she was stable before walking too far off, he went to crouch down next to the river’s edge. Cupping his hands together, he scooped some of the gentle moving water in his hands. He took a sniff of it before taking a tentative sip, “Well, its fresh.” He wiped his wet hands on his pants. “And freezing.”



((I was thinking this might be a good place they run into one or two of the priestesses/priests?))

[.celestential.]

Eleanora crouched carefully by the stream where Kai left her, looking into the clear waters. She stuck her hand in the stream, letting the water flow through her fingers. She gasped as she felt something brush her hand, and she looked down to see a small fish making its way down stream, and she smiled delightedly. Her smile dropped when she heard something pushing through the bushes behind her. She stood back up wobbily, looking around, but she didn’t see anything. “Kai?” she called tentatively. “I think I heard something. Or someone.”

[Wondering Soul]

Kai stood from where he was crouched down by the stream, drawing the knife that was hidden in his boot. His eyes went to were Eleanora was looking, taking slow steps towards the bushes, and positioned himself in front of Eleanora as he walked. The overgrown bushes made it impossible to see beyond them, and a snapping of a branch made his feet halt. He lifted the small blade in his hand higher, and he was about to call out when the bushes parted and a figure emerged.
It was a woman that appeared in her latter years, clad in deep blue robes that fell past her feet. Her black hair was pulled back, and she carried in her hands what looked to be a bucket. The women’s hands were free of any jewelry, Kai noted, but her ears were adorned with pearls. She appeared very frightened by the sight of him, her nervous eyes darting to him and the knife in his hands.
Kai lowered the meager weapon, “Um, hello.” He offered in way of greeting.
The woman’s shoulders seemed to relax just a bit as he lowered the blade. Her eyes swept to Eleanora, and she seemed more surprised to see her than Kai. “Are you both a part of the shipwrecked crew that washed ashore here yesterday evening?” She had a strange and unfamiliar accent Kai had never heard before.
He looked over at Eleanora as he replied, “We are.” His voice was hesitant, and he wasn’t sure if he should trust this woman as he looked back at her. “We were separated from the rest of the crew.” He placed the knife back in his boot as a show of good faith. He offered the woman a small smile, “Forgive me, we’re a little on edge. We were just beginning to think we were the only ones here.” His tone had an uncharastic warmth to it as he dipped his head towards her and said, “My name is Kai Morgan.”