Endless Water (Open to All)[finished]

The salty smell of the ocean wafted over the sixteen year old District Four girl stretched out on the deck of her father's small deep sea fishing vessel. Two polls sat transfixed at the back of the boat as well as a harsh fishing net pulling through the waves a dozen or so feet beneath the aquatic surface. Her skin glistened from the splattering sea water crashing over the siding of the ship. With wandering hands she blocked out the overhead rays of sun from impacting against her eyes and just laid back as the warmth overtook her.

Time passed more chaotically now as sweat pooled down her tanned stomach and clung at the back of her neck in a mixture of hair and salt. Her eyes were closed against her fingers but her eyelids were filled with a bright orange glow from the trickle through of sunlight that poured out from overhead. She smiled wordlessly as she tried to place how long she had been laying their. She had to think hard feeling down her side and wiping away the wetness that touched her fingertips. Her neck ached a bit as she leaned back onto her elbows - opening her eyes in the process, very slowly to adjust to the light.

A muted groan befell her lips as she breathed for a few moments looking down at the coloring that had crept into her legs and up her body all the way to her face no doubt. Rolling over onto her belly she balanced herself on her hands and knees and eventually steadied herself onto her feet, gripping the side railing for support. Carefully maneuvering around the side of the vessel Penny came to check upon the two fishing polls that she had been stationed near the rear. The lines were ragged and broken at the ends, left too long for the fish to break free. She sighed and packed up the gear placing it beside the coolers where a few fish from earlier in the day had been caught.

Penny walked to the edge and looked over to make sure the netting was still in place and it was. She would check that when she got closer to home. Reserving herself back into the small hold of the ship she dried off the salt and sweat from her body bathing her head with cold water from a round jug before matting it with the same dirty towel to dry it off. She rummaged around near the small bed and pulled out a pair of cargo shorts and a black tank top and placed them over her bikini. The dark glass covered most of the landscape outside but as she turned and gazed past her own reflections she could clearly make out the appearance of land coming toward her.

Squinting for a moment too long she walked back out onto the deck and saw the sandy beach and the tree covering behind it. Unsure exactly of her exact coordinates Penny climbed the ladder up to the wheel and guided the boat on a course close to the shoreline but one that would allow it to be anchored far enough off the coast as to not risk being stuck. Fidgeting with the overhead she pulled out a map that didn't really have too many distinguishing features on it and spent a good five minutes locating where she had drifted. To her relief it was only a short hour or two trip back to District Four but even that was a little frightening as she had only been to a few other different shorelines and only with her father.

The black haired young woman dropped the anchor and lost balance falling back into a seated position on the bottom deck with a sore rear and bruised ego. Laughing at herself she remained their for a moment gripping her hands around her knees as her oblivious eyes finally picked up the presence of another, a man - slightly older than herself drawing something on the beach with packs all around him. Still not convinced this stretch of land isn't just a broken off Island from the time before Panem she slowly rose to her feet and reluctantly raised her hand over her head and started to shout.

"Hello?! Hello out there! Are you alright - do you need help?"

words; 725
notes; =)!
outfit; outfit here.
credit; credit to CLAIRE BEAR ?! via caution two point oh

The shoreline had crept up on Penny and now here she was squinting over the stern of her father's small vessel looking out at a man waving back at her, his words soft to her ears causing her to struggle for understanding. Her tanned fingers grip the steel railing, her feet shuffling forward forcing her stomach to rest against the metal bars providing relative safety. She tried to understand what he was saying. Had she gone too far from District Four? Yes, but only slightly - surely a few hours would make no difference. She tried to reassure herself as she called back out to the man.

"I am!" She called out from the boat. The large wall of sea water gave her a sense of safety from the words she might say that could even slightly get her into trouble. "Are you shipwrecked?" She countered back - her eyes gazing across the sandy shoreline for any sign of a busted up sea craft - wondering if he would require her assistance in some way. "I could take you back to District Four and they could help you on your way to wherever you were going?" She offered sincerely while her eyes shifted focus from the boy and started to scout the forest for any signs of others.

There was a subtle pause - a pick up of wind blowing across the aqua blue surface of the salty water - her body shivered as if she was being tickled from her neck to her back. She swallowed and rubbed at her throat, thirst calling her back a few steps to a water jug which she picked up instinctively. Unfastening the top she fought the urge to chug it down only allowing herself a few brief sips before replacing the cap and setting it back down.

Penny thought he might have been from a foreign land or a District like 10 who could travel the Oceans from time to time. She had met one once - a few years ago with her father - he was a strange wrinkly fellow by the name of Lemin. He had some sort of raft that looked like it could break apart at the mere touch of it but insisted to them that it had served him well for years and would continue to do so on his way back to 10. Penny frowned for a moment at that thought as she remembered she could see no type of craft from the boy at all, not even broken up pieces that might have drifted out into the small tide line. Yet she was also curious. She had only met the one other man from another District, if you didn't count Capitol citizens and of course the Peacekeepers. Was she now interacting with another?

words; 470
notes; =)!
outfit; outfit here.
credit; credit to CLAIRE BEAR ?! via caution two point oh

Penny leaned up against the railing pushing herself closer to the low voice coming from shore. Her worked hands squeezed the metal supports as she dangled her upper body over the edge of the boat. The man seemed content in his position and was reluctant to answer her in a way that would shine any light on his situation. She frowned a bit at his bombardment of questions, but shrugged them off for a lack of understanding.

"District Four is only a few hours back at most. This vessel utilizes an engine over sails." She responded, turning back toward the ship with one hand still gripping the railing while the other waved across it. She indicated the lack of sails and laughed a bit wondering what District he came from if he hadn't seen much vessels in his time to distinguish between the two.

Smirking, Penny turned side to side for him to see her properly. "It's called tanning, hun. We do it in District Four to make our skin look fuller and more alive instead of... pale." She ended quietly. "I may have, somewhat, lost track of time a bit. Nothing too life threatening I assure. Just a bit of drifting while I relax. The warmth you feel when the sun massages your skin and works your body is Mmmm." She smiled, while making a humming noise and shaking her shoulders.

The little District Four girl was about to ask if he needed any company when their was a loud cracking sound across the other side of the ship. It rocked causing her to loose grip on the railings and brace herself with balance. She didn't acknowledge anything but where the noise had come from. Running to that side of the boat she looked over to see a small dent the size of a fist or two a few feet under the water on the underside of the vessel. Squinting, her head rocked side to side searching for the ocean dwelling creature that had caused it. Nothing was there.

After a few moments she heard the sound again, lighter this side on the other side where she had just came from. Heading back to where she had left the stranger she yelled out. "Do you see anything?" Wondering if he could spot what was causing the ruckus. Not waiting for his response she walked to the weapons locker against the wall and popped it open pulling out a steel hardened trident, looking back toward the boy on the shore for his answer.

words; 428 ahh sorry!
notes; It's a shark!
outfit; outfit here.
credit; credit to CLAIRE BEAR ?! via caution two point oh

((OOC: lol then here! Shortness embodied! Bah! I couldn't stop myself!))

I grappled with the idea of loosing half of my catch for the day as my hands worked the rough rope that secured the netting to the vessel. The ship rocked and my fingers burned across the line as I instinctively held it tight trying to sustain my balance. My back tinged with pain from the stress of my previous injury and my hands bled from the force of the shock-waves from below. Without any other options presenting themselves to me I let go of the lining and reclaimed the Trident from the deck. A knife would have been better but I couldn't risk getting thrown overboard attempting to get back to the weapons locker.

I jabbed at the rope several times before I managed to make contact. The slimey tentacles from before began to waft up over the deck slamming to my left and right. It was all I could do not to change my target to the creature's paws but the man on the shore was right. I needn't anger it anymore than I already have. Slicing through the lining in a lucky lunge the rope drifted down hard into the water and the netting full of fish sunk to the bottom of the sea. I was so enamored by the success that I didn't see the Giant Squid's arm as it came down hard on my shoulder slamming me into the deck, causing me to spin around face first and loose my father's trident into the murky depths of the water below.

Cursing silently under my breath I slowly recovered, rolling out of the way of another hardened assault, and regaining my composure on my feet. I ran to the side of the railing, my shoulder stinging with pain, to see the trident just barely surviving on the top layer of ocean. As it began to sink I looked back once to see four of the sea monster's hands pawing at the other end of the deck. I closed my eyes and took a staunch breath, I couldn't loose my father's prized possession. It was my grandfather's... from the games. I scaled the railing and crossed my arms to grab the hem of my shirt. Five of the wet slimey paws could now be seen pulling and resting on the deck of the ship. I pulled off the soaked top and dropped it on the deck behind me before bending my knees, positioning my hands, and diving head first into the darkening sea.

The water overtook my body, blanketing every inch of skin that it could find with freezing cold moisture. My face felt like it had been splashed with ice water the moment I hit the ocean. The tips of my fingers grasped at the base of the Trident before I even opened my eyes. It was a good thing too because the moment my eyes fought for vision the salt tore at my corneas, basically blinding me from the prize that I clutched for dear life as I kicked my feet back up the surface. My head popped up to the light windy breeze which, now that my entire body was drenched in cold water, bit at my skin chilling me to the core as if I had been flash frozen in place.

I blinked away as much of the salty water from my eyes as I could when I realized I was IN THE FREAKING OCEAN with the Gian Squid. I kicked around, my head turning from side to side looking beneath me, before I started a dead heat back to the boat which had drifted only a few feet away from where I had departed from it. As I reached up, with Trident in hand, touching a metal support at the very bottom of the siding - my only real leverage in getting back onboard - that is when it happened. My head dunked under the ocean, harsh water filling my lunges as I kicked back up to the surface, coughing and choking it out. My leg was entangled with one of the Giant Squid's legs and it was getting ready for another yank. I screamed out - showing true fear - but my voice started to break and all I could do was clutch the Trident and hold my breath as I was dragged back underneath the building waves.

words; 729 words
notes; I tried to do a short one and ended up doing this lol
outfit; outfit here.
credit; credit to CLAIRE BEAR ?! via caution two point oh