On the deck of The Beauty
58 Spring 218
Ethan stared, focusing on the curves and points before him. His mind concentrated, isolating each element. His mouth moved almost soundlessly as he worked through the spell, only the faintest whispers of the exotic sounds passing through his lips.
“Kuh…” he started. “Aye…”
The task was difficult, almost impossible, the elements and their meaning sliding in and out of focus. But he was determined. This would work…
“Aye… Tah.”
The pieces rolled around in his mind even as each part slipped from his tongue. He was close now, closer than ever before. Like some ancient ancestor discovering fire - the sparks of flint striking rock, the embers of knowledge igniting comprehension, bearing witness to the dawning of a new age.
The characters were almost identified. Each would require tweaks and changes but he wouldn’t know how (or in what way) until they were brought together. Only then could the fragments be massaged into place.
“Kuh-Ayyyye-Tah…” He whispered.
Almost there. So close now. The composition coming into focus…
Ethan could not know, but it was not dissimilar to the wonderous thrill Sav experienced as she unlocked the mysteries allowing her to weave an effect on The Stuff for the first time. That gentle weight of resistance in the air as a substance, always present but never before felt, was coaxed and arranged into a power, into something new.
He repeated it again, more quickly. “Kuh-A-te… K-Ate…”
At last it appeared.
“Cat!” he shouted.
Flipping to the second page containing the elementary drawings associated with each word Astarael had written in simple, clear font, he discovered the word was indeed, “cat.”
Esther, mop in hand, paused his steady progress across the deck, looking for a feline (either mundane and adorable on the ship or giant and threatening, looming from out of the waters). Seeing none, he cocked a brow at Ethan who merely pointed at the page and repeated himself.
“Cat…” he said, smiling proudly.
Understanding spread across the pirate’s face. Locking eyes, he gave Ethan a somber, profound nod of respect before returning to his duties.
“Well done,” Bishop said, encouragingly.
Ethan agreed. Flipping back to the first page, he moved on to the next word.
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Poker Night, Round 2
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