~Basic Sailing~ (Eilithyia)

[Minerva]

On the appointed brightening, at the appointed time, room 5A of the Universitas' complex was to be inhabited by the form of one very restless tutor. Not completely accustomed to the vagaries of teaching since she had spent so long away from it, the woman felt incredibly uneasy standing here in this room today. Then again, that had always been the same, and she had always felt most comfortable when out at sea, in preference to being holed up on the mainland. There was a freedom out there, a sense of contentment which could not be explained in mere words. The feel of the wind's caress against your face, the sweet smell of salty sea air...She could only hope that her apparent student would feel the same way.

Netanya, as it was, was not the stereotypical kind of sailor one might have expected to see. A short, slightly built woman, she had thrown aside all notions of donning pretty dresses, all lace and frills, in favour of garbing herself in more practical brands of attire. Breeches of a nondescript white were belted at the waist, their ends stuffed into shiny leather boots of a tan brown. A figure hugging blouse of dark red complimented the fiery hues of the woman's hair, as well as the sprightly nature of her personality. A half-elf, Netanya's Silrosian blood showed through only in the slight points of her ears, and the subtle tilts of her azure blue eyes. A pretty enough woman, Netanya's inherent beauty was marred by the presence of a long scar running along the length of her left cheek, down to the base of her chin.

Now, she stood quite solidly, her pose rigid and restless at the same time ass she stared at the door to the room, waiting. Regardless of who her student turned out to be, Netanya wasted little effort in deeming it best that they took to sea as quickly as possible. This place, after all, was to serve as nothing more than a meeting place, a rendezvous point for student and teacher to become better acquainted with each other. Netanya herself held no obligations to remain here, and would be only too happy to get her ward out and on a boat as quickly as possible. There was no better way of learning than hands-on experience, after all, and besides, she could not bear the thought of dawdling around on dry land for much longer.

Tilting her head thoughtfully to one side as she continued to stand in her place, the woman awaited the prerequisite knocking with a slight frown on her face, a marginal display of her growing impatience.

[Eilithyia Pareto]

Eilithyia was in high spirits as she made her way down the halls of the Institute. This being her first official class in sailing, her eyes were bright with a mixture of anticipation and excitement, wondering what lay in store. Her eyes dimmed as she considered the possibility that they’d spend this first lesson seated in some stuffy classroom, poring over books or nautical diagrams. She supposed it would be useful to have some book knowledge on the subject, but she’d always considered sailing a more hands-on effort. Anyway, hadn’t the clerk said they’d be spending most of their time on the docks?

In any case, she was dressed more suitably for the outdoors, with simple brown trousers and a faded blue shirt, both hand-me-downs from her father that had been altered slightly. It certainly wouldn’t win her any fashion awards, but it was functional enough. Eilithyia made a note to buy some clothes of her own… well, when she got some income. A frown creasing her brow, she decided to look into some possible employment after today’s lesson.

She turned her concentration on the room numbers on either side of her, counting them down until she reached her destination. 5a! Taking a deep breath outside the door, Eilithyia paused to straighten out her clothing. Tugging on the braid over her shoulder, she swallowed and knocked on the door loudly. Eagerness got the best of her, however, and instead of waiting for any assent like she normally would, Eilithyia pushed open the door to step inside.

The 100-watt smile she had prepared tuned down a bit when she saw the faint scowl on her instructor’s face, but remained firmly plastered on her face. “Uh… so sorry if I’m late,” Eilithyia began, rushing her words a bit in nervousness. “I mean… being new around here, I just sort of… got a bit lost, I suppose.” That wasn’t entirely true, since she’d actually dawdled a bit on her way to the Institute, doing some sightseeing. Still, she didn’t think it prudent to admit this to her teacher. “In any case… It’s good to meet you, Mistress...” Her mind deserted her for a moment. “Netanya! My name is Eilithyia… Eilithyia Pareto,” she introduced herself, bowing briefly.

Eilithyia took advantage of the brief pause after she introduced herself to study her teacher more closely. She was actually rather pretty, the girl realized, even with that wicked-looking scar. Still, from her stance and the expression on her face, she didn’t seem like the type of woman who would appreciate flowery compliments. Petite as she was, she certainly didn’t look like a pushover – in fact, she was quite intimidating, with that fiery hair and all. Eilithyia wondered if she could ever pull off the same effect, being short, dark-haired and wide-eyed. Probably not, she concluded sadly.

[Minerva]

The intensity of the woman's smile, whilst muted a little, did not fail in bringing some measure of warmth to the Netanya's heart. For all that her student might have been a little late, there was no denying the fact that she seemed like a cheery enough sort. Such a prospecty was promising, to say the least; the sailor would glean a lot more in the way of joy from an agreeable student, rather than an emphatic one. Offering Eilithyia a broad smile as she looked her up and down, the half elf almost grinned at the fact that her student seemed to have come prepared, dressed in suitable clothes for the work she was likely to be doing later on in the brightening. Nodding abruptly as the human introduced herself, the teacher then made to speak, her voice strong yet gentle at the same time, used to giving commands, evidently, but not too pressuring.

“Eilithyia? Well, that's a bit of a mouthful, isn't it? Got a nickname? How about 'Eilie'? Only if you're happy with it, mind; I won't force it on you.”

Grinning then, the woman's eyes glistened with relative mirth as she tried to gouge her pupil's reaction to that. She really would not mind whether or not Eilithyia chose to accept the name that had been given her; such a trifling matter would not have much of an effect on their lessons as a whole, after all. Drawing herself up in her standing position so as to make her look a little taller than she already was, the woman placed her hands gently on her hips as she made to address her student once more.

“You should call me 'Captain,' though, none of that 'Mistress' nonsense that the people here seem to be so obsessed with. You'll probably be glad to know that we'll be spending our lessons out at sea, on my boat. You'll be the first mate, of sorts.”

Another grin, followed by a brusque chortle of a laugh, and the woman had calmed down, just about managing to speak in level tones once again as she addressed Eilithyia further.

“T'would be the best way to learn, after all. Before we go, though, are there any questions that you'd like to ask me?”

If there weren't any questions, then Netanya would begin to head for the door, in a bid to lead her new student to the docks...

[Eilithyia Pareto]

Relieved at the wide smile on her instructor’s face, Eilithyia’s mood lifted. She stood still while Netanya inspected her attire, thankful that her father had thought to give her some practical clothing as well. Certainly a woman wearing a dress with a full skirt and billowing sleeves looked poetic on a boat, but no doubt the excess fabric would catch onto something, be it rope or splinters. In addition, with a strong wind… well, it was almost akin to wearing a sail. Eilithyia grinned to herself, remembering a certain incident regarding a female visitor, who had insisted on taking a boat tour in her voluminous gown. Not only had the wind wreaked havoc on her elaborately done-up hair, it had ended up tipping her over the railing of the small craft. Eilithyia doubted that the seawater, as pretty and clear as it was, did much for her temper or her gown.

At the sound of Netanya’s voice, Eilithyia automatically snapped to attention. She didn’t know why, it was just something about her tone that seemed to command respect. Her mouth quirked in a lopsided grin as the half-elven woman commented on her name. It wasn’t the first time that she’d had to deal with the rather… difficult name she’d been bestowed. Supposedly, it was her great-great-great-grandmother’s… but Eilithyia chalked it up to her father’s bizarre imagination.

“Well, I’ve no shortage of nicknames… Eilie was one of them,” she grinned, nodding slightly in acknowledgement. “Also Eila, Lithyia… Liffy,” she continued, ticking them off on her fingers. “Sometimes it’s even been shortened to Lia! But, whichever you choose will be fine...” Eilithyia decided not to list some of the more unflattering nicknames that her older cousins had given her, ones that made her smile in embarrassed remembrance.

Her asymmetrical grin grew wider as Netanya continued. Captain Netanya? First Mate Eilithyia! Sounds pretty snappy, if I do say so myself… Her spirits gained another boost when the “cap’n” announced that they were to proceed directly to the boat. Judging from the Netanya’s attitude, it was clear that she was someone more comfortable on the water than on land. She could certainly sympathize with that.

Feeling quite in tune with her instructor, she shook her head in response to the last question. “No, Captain! I’m ready to set sail when you are! Or, er… learn how to set sail!” Eilithyia corrected herself with a slight smile, prepared to follow behind Netanya.

[Minerva]

The fiery-haired woman’s smile broadened tremendously at Eilie’s acceptance of the nickname. Then again, ‘acceptance’ was probably the wrong word to use, seeing as the other female had been gifted with it long before attending this lesson with her now. Even if the other shortenings of the name had been charming in their own rights, this was the one that Netanya had come up with without any prompting on Eilithyia’s part, and so it was the one that would be used. Allowing her smile to transcend the boundaries of its being and evolve into a grin for the scantest of moments, the woman then made her thoughts known as she addressed Eilithyia once more, her tones concurrently cordial and spirited in manifestation.

“Then Eilie it is. First Mate Eilie! I’ll teach you as best I can whilst you’re here.”

Nodding to herself as if to verify that fact, the woman’s grin returned to grace her countenance once more as Eilithyia stated that she was ready to set sail, or rather, to learn how. Enthusiasm was a good thing, and would ensure that they both enjoyed their lesson this brightening, and indeed on the brightenings still to come.

Leading her student outside of the classroom, and subsequently the Universitas proper, the two women would have quite the distance to walk in order to reach the proximity of the docks, even if Demios was only a small town in its own right. The grounds of the Universitas were, after all, at the southernmost point of the settlement, whilst the docks lay to the north. Not that having to walk any distance was really such an unpleasant thing, especially on a brightening like this. The air outside was warm, but not to the point of being uncomfortably so, soothing on the skin as the two made their way onwards through the town itself. A light breeze blew, idly sojourning its way through the various nooks and crannies that the streets and buildings that Demios provided, its relative coolness concealing the promise of a hot summer to come.

Once they had reached the ‘docks’, more a disorganised mass of boats and small ships tethered to the beams provided than what would have been considered a proper and more functional arrangement, Netanya led the way to one boat in particular. Quite a tiny thing when compared with those nestled around it, the vessel was quite a typical specimen of its class, its exterior painted in nondescript off-white, with one mast rising from its centre in order to point upwards to the heavens. Pausing for just a moment before hopping onto the deck of her boat in a manner that could easily have been taken as rushed, Netanya then waited for her first mate to board, before giving her a few moments to look around.

There really wasn’t so much to see, and everything required to maintain a good working vessel was present. Tiller, mast sails…A few superfluous coils of rope lying neatly to one side of the boat; everything was as it should be, and ready for the two women to make use of, once their lesson started in earnest. Towards the front of the boat, a door led down into what was presumably Netanya’s room, and it was before this door that the Captain stood now.

“This is my ship…She’s only a small sailing boat, yes, but good enough to handle the waters around these parts. Now, before we start, have you had any experience in sailing prior to now? Do you know anything about it, anything at all? I just don’t want to bore you silly by going over stuff you already now, you see.”

Instructing her student on matters already known would be a pointless endeavour in itself, after all, as well as wasting time that could be better spent learning about something more valuable. Arms folded lightly across her chest in a casual fashion, the woman awaited some kind of response from her first mate, one brow lofted in idle curiosity as she inwardly anticipated how Eilithyia would respond.