"You can come in," Ulla calls. "Though just barely, at the moment."
There's a narrow strip of gray sand just inside the doorway, mostly taken
up by a waterproof metal trunk and Ulla's transportation devices, with just
a little space for Erik past the threshold. Ulla herself is in the water,
only her head and shoulders visible.
"I have to start this song underwater, because some spells work better that
way. It won't take long, though."
Ulla ducks her head under the surface to sing, and at first he won't hear
anything, the water an effective barrier to sound. But then the water
begins to sink lower, like a tide going out all in one big rush in the
matter of a couple, revealing a steep slope of sand dotted with rocks
leading down to a grotto, previously hidden underwater.
And Ulla, singing a strange, wordless song, bending the space to her will.
The last things revealed are a couple of ride pools she's dug just outside
the grotto, home to brightly colored mantis shrimp, odd glittering crabs
not native to either of their worlds, and plenty of starfish.
"You can come down to the grotto, but everything's wet at the moment," she
tells him, when the only water left is the homes of tiny creatures. "Would
you like a towel to sit on?"
"My trousers will dry," he assures her, stepping into the space and offering her the thermos of tea. "Is that how all magic works where you're from or just for your people?"
"Just my people. And I'm only half sildroher, really. My mother was a human
witch. Her power presumably doesn't work through music." Not that Ulla's
seen her birth mother since infancy, but she did meet her human half
brother, who told her a tiny bit.
Ulla slithers down into the grotto as she continues, "But I was born with a
tail and raised in the sea, and I sang my first spell before I learned to
speak. I'm more sildroher than I am anything else."
The grotto walls are a glittering series of mosaics, painstakingly covered
in pearl and iridescent shell and precious stones. Ocean currents lead into
the shapes of branches, which then lead into the graceful arches of a many
petaled flower. It took Ulla the better part of a month last year.
There are a few ledges around the cavern at appropriate heights to make
good seats, if he'd like to make use of one.
"We once crash landed on an ocean world for a year. When we came back to
the confines of the Barge, I went... a little stir crazy. I had to find a
project or tear the ship apart, and the latter seemed shortsighted." That
being said, "I do like the end result, though. Thank you."
As for the question, she'll gather up her hair and turn her head to show
the gills on the side of her neck. She can breathe underwater just fine,
built for both environments.
"That's beautiful. I knew someone once who could adapt. He actually developed gills if he was underwater for more than a moment. He could adapt to almost any environment or hazard." He smiles. "You seem very adaptable as well."
"More hardy than adaptable, I think," Ulla muses. "I don't survive because
I'm built for any situation, I survive because I'm stubborn and powerful
and fueled by either love or rage, depending on circumstance."
"I'm only half at home here now," Ulla admits. "It took... I met
Warren six months after arriving, and then spent the next year and a half
trying my best not to care about him or fully give in to trusting him. I
spent most of my time equally tempted to trust him or stab him. Frankly
it's a miracle I never did the latter. I love him, but he's a very
infuriating person."
She shakes her head. "Now I miss him so badly it aches. And I still hate
being beached all the time. I miss the sea, too."
Still, she doesn't hate the Barge. Not after what it's given her. "But a
lot of the people here are good. And less inclined to rejection or bigotry
than anyone back home."
Ulla nods. "I couldn't really imagine it either. I spent my whole life
surrounded by rumors that I was half human, ostracized by most of my
people. And then on land, I still didn't fit. My human half brother tried
to convince me to stay with him instead, when we met briefly, but I think I
would still have been too strange. I only ever fit with one person before
the Barge, and it turned out she never deserved me in the first place."
"I miss the water. And I don't need everyone to accept me. I'll have
enough."
She has plans, and people waiting. "My warden, his husband, and the person
whose life my graduation won back for them are all there already. So is
Lark's husband, who was the only one of my temporary wardens who bothered
checking on me after our pairing ended. Lark will be headed there too, of
course. It was his home originally. That's already more than I ever had
before the Barge."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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"You can come in," Ulla calls. "Though just barely, at the moment."
There's a narrow strip of gray sand just inside the doorway, mostly taken up by a waterproof metal trunk and Ulla's transportation devices, with just a little space for Erik past the threshold. Ulla herself is in the water, only her head and shoulders visible.
"I have to start this song underwater, because some spells work better that way. It won't take long, though."
no subject
Spells equals songs. He wonders if legends of the Sirens came from her people.
no subject
Ulla ducks her head under the surface to sing, and at first he won't hear anything, the water an effective barrier to sound. But then the water begins to sink lower, like a tide going out all in one big rush in the matter of a couple, revealing a steep slope of sand dotted with rocks leading down to a grotto, previously hidden underwater.
And Ulla, singing a strange, wordless song, bending the space to her will. The last things revealed are a couple of ride pools she's dug just outside the grotto, home to brightly colored mantis shrimp, odd glittering crabs not native to either of their worlds, and plenty of starfish.
"You can come down to the grotto, but everything's wet at the moment," she tells him, when the only water left is the homes of tiny creatures. "Would you like a towel to sit on?"
no subject
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"Just my people. And I'm only half sildroher, really. My mother was a human witch. Her power presumably doesn't work through music." Not that Ulla's seen her birth mother since infancy, but she did meet her human half brother, who told her a tiny bit.
Ulla slithers down into the grotto as she continues, "But I was born with a tail and raised in the sea, and I sang my first spell before I learned to speak. I'm more sildroher than I am anything else."
The grotto walls are a glittering series of mosaics, painstakingly covered in pearl and iridescent shell and precious stones. Ocean currents lead into the shapes of branches, which then lead into the graceful arches of a many petaled flower. It took Ulla the better part of a month last year.
There are a few ledges around the cavern at appropriate heights to make good seats, if he'd like to make use of one.
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"This is very fine work. Can you breathe underwater as well as out of it?" he asks.
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"We once crash landed on an ocean world for a year. When we came back to the confines of the Barge, I went... a little stir crazy. I had to find a project or tear the ship apart, and the latter seemed shortsighted." That being said, "I do like the end result, though. Thank you."
As for the question, she'll gather up her hair and turn her head to show the gills on the side of her neck. She can breathe underwater just fine, built for both environments.
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"More hardy than adaptable, I think," Ulla muses. "I don't survive because I'm built for any situation, I survive because I'm stubborn and powerful and fueled by either love or rage, depending on circumstance."
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Ulla laughs softly. "I'm more used to people disliking me than the reverse. The Barge has been a new experience, that way."
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"I'm only half at home here now," Ulla admits. "It took... I met Warren six months after arriving, and then spent the next year and a half trying my best not to care about him or fully give in to trusting him. I spent most of my time equally tempted to trust him or stab him. Frankly it's a miracle I never did the latter. I love him, but he's a very infuriating person."
She shakes her head. "Now I miss him so badly it aches. And I still hate being beached all the time. I miss the sea, too."
Still, she doesn't hate the Barge. Not after what it's given her. "But a lot of the people here are good. And less inclined to rejection or bigotry than anyone back home."
no subject
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Ulla nods. "I couldn't really imagine it either. I spent my whole life surrounded by rumors that I was half human, ostracized by most of my people. And then on land, I still didn't fit. My human half brother tried to convince me to stay with him instead, when we met briefly, but I think I would still have been too strange. I only ever fit with one person before the Barge, and it turned out she never deserved me in the first place."
no subject
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"I miss the water. And I don't need everyone to accept me. I'll have enough."
She has plans, and people waiting. "My warden, his husband, and the person whose life my graduation won back for them are all there already. So is Lark's husband, who was the only one of my temporary wardens who bothered checking on me after our pairing ended. Lark will be headed there too, of course. It was his home originally. That's already more than I ever had before the Barge."