Clear, vibrant blue stretched out on all sides, and below, the vibrant splashes of color spread across the coral reefs, dotted here and there with fish whose scales shimmered brighty whenever a beam of sunlight from the world above shot through the water and touched them. The Blessed swam about in predictable patterns, always moving to a rhythm and pulse that Uana Li couldn’t quite understand. When she swam, she moved through the water haphazardly, no patterns, no interest in the monotony and rhythm of the other sea creatures. She craved change, excitement, the quest, the find.

And boy did she have a lot to find. Uana Li ran through the list in her head, the number of crates, various goods tossed overboard during a storm and left abandoned to save the life of a ship’s crew. And now the crates sat somewhere at the bottom of the sea, lost to the creatures of the upper world, but not lost to her, oh no, never to her. There was nothing Uana Li couldn’t find. If it was out there and not eaten by some shark with a questionable appetite, she’d find it.

An itch at her shoulder alerted Uana Li to her octopus pet’s insistence to be dropped. He always did that when he needed to relieve himself, and she’d learned to be quick about freeing him or risk having him do his business all over her back. As soon as the octopus was left on the sandy sea floor, Uana Li shot up to the surface, straining her muscles until she shot out of the water into the bright sunlight. The dolphin let out a thrilled series of squeaks and then dove back down into the ocean.

For a moment she hung there, staring about her at the reefs and the bright blue see. Then she noticed a dark shadow, a huge shape that moved slowly but with surety through the water. Curious, Uana Li dipped down to pick up Omu and then made her way closing to the huge figure.

It was a blue whale, she saw, one of the largest creatures that existed to her knowledge. Uana Li swam towards the whale and wondered what she looked for, as she seemed to be looking about her with interest, not swimming with the aimless purpose of the everyday-the-same, routine-oriented fish below.

“Ahoy, friend, what’s it you’re searching for? Perhaps I can be of assistance. I’m good at finding things,” Uana Li said, unable to hide her enthusiasm at the idea of having another item to find in the endless oceans spread out before her. It didn’t matter how many jobs she took on, she always finished them all. There wasn’t a single thing she hadn’t found, not anything, she would never give up until she’d tracked down whatever it was any creature wanted her to find. Maybe this whale needed something found, too.

@abyss

Word count: 489

The blue whale, whether by nature or design, moved very slowly as she turned to regard Uana Li. Many dolphins and other sea creatures might’ve been daunted by the creature’s size, but Uana Li didn’t care about things like that. She knew that blue whales didn’t eat curious dolphins, and besides, this one had a kindly sort of face.

Her words confused Uana Li at first - not looking for something, but hoping to find it? Or maybe she was looking for some general? The dolphin remained silent and waited for the whale to elaborate, and she did, thankfully.

“Ah, a fellow good samaritan, then,” Uana Li chirped. The dolphin swam in a loop, her pace easy going, though Omu seemed to be annoyed with her movements as the octopuses’ tentacles tightened their grip. “There was a ship wrestling with these waters that dropped some cargo. I’m trying to find it. But the ship itself survived the storm. I haven’t come across anyone currently in peril.” The dolphin looked the whale up and down, curious. Was it a lucrative trade, rescuing those lost at sea? She supposed it must be. Creatures did tend to be generous when they owed a life debt. Gods, they were generous enough just paying for lost goods, potentially lost lives must be all the more precious. Uana Li didn’t think she’d like that sort of search, though. There wasn’t a guarantee that something was out there to be found, after all. Could be that across the oceans and seas of Paradiastole there wasn’t a single creature in need of help. That sort of search wouldn’t be as rewarding, the dolphin thought.

“I’m Uana Li, by the way. Ua for short. Life’s short. I’ve got lots of things to find in that time.” The dolphin let out a squeak of laughter. She began swimming away, satisfied that the large whale didn’t have anything that needed finding.

@abyss OOC: I’m surprised by my own character’s short attention span right now lol.

Uana Li had already begun her search again when the whale’s voice beckoned her to return. The dolphin flipped around in the water, moving with ease and grace, though she winced a bit as Omu’s tentacles gripped her almost painfully tight as she whirled around and swam back in Wisteria’s direction.

“Aye, just cargo,” the dolphin replied, speaking rather quickly. She felt the undeniable itch to be off searching and didn’t have much patience for questions. “The captain didn’t report any lives lost, and the storm was nearly a week ago. He requested a track down his cargo, if possible, but it’s likely to be buried by ocean sands by now. Makes the hunt all the sweeter.” The dolphin felt Omu shift. The mimic octopus’ skin turned a fiery red, as if he were agreeing with Uana Li’s words.

“Don’t know about anyone who needs help, as I said, and I’ve got to find that cargo,” the dolphin added, speaking quickly, her movements fidgety. She always got twitchy when in the midst of a search. Every moment she wasn’t looking weighed on her mind until she couldn’t stop moving, couldn’t think about anything but finding whatever it was she was looking for. At this moment, her mind was already leagues away, trying to guess where the cargo would be based on the star charts the captain had recited, but those didn’t take into account the currents, how much sand could cover the crates in a week, would any of it be salvageable in the end…?

@abyss OOC: She’s obsessed to put it mildly lol.
Word Count: 261

Was it good? Uana Li supposed so. She did not really think much about the sailors, if the captain had mentioned one falling overboard during the storm, she probably would not have remembered. Unless the captain had asked her to find his bones at the bottom of the sea. Then she might have cause to recall.

“Certainly you may help, if you wish,” Ua replied. “I am sure you are much used to finding small things in large spaces, helping with shipwrecks and drowning sailors,” the dolphin added with a mild squeak of amusement. She did not think overmuch about the fate of said sailors. Her mind remained on the search, her entire focus directed towards the cargo she must find.

“There are seven crates in all, though some may have been damaged. The captain was transporting weapons and armor to Parthaan, as I understand it, so if any fell out they’d at least cause a bit of a glimmer, I should think. Depends on how far they sank.” The dolphin’s words were a flurry, her mind racing as she gazed about her at the ocean. Omu, the octopus attached to her back like a rucksack, began toying with the straps of her leather harness. She didn’t mind. Uana Li knew the octopus wouldn’t open the pouches on the harness or undo the buckles unless she directed him to. He was better trained than that.

@abyss OOC: It’s all good. I feel like Uana’s are limited to being kind of rude and too focused on her work lol.
Word Count: 241

Uana Li gave a squeak of approval when the whale began to move, and in a dash, Ua followed and began swimming towards the reefs, her eyes looking out for any odd shapes or glimmers in the water that might give away the location of any of the lost cargo. It never occurred to her to wonder whether or not leaving armor and weapons at the bottom of the sea may be a better thing, rather than let them be sold in Parthaan to be put into the hands of soldiers fighting some great civil war in the land above. Such thoughts didn’t occur to the dolphin. All she cared about was that someone had lost something, and she was going to find it.

A glimmer of silver drew the dolphin’s attention. She darted towards it, Omu clinging all the way, and then Ua swooped down and peered closely. Bits of crate remained buried in the sand, but a few swords betrayed the location of the buried cargo.

“Found something at last!” Uana Li squeaked happily. She frowned. “But I suppose it might be buried deep. That does mean some digging for us, doesn’t it, Omu?” The dolphin sighed. She didn’t like digging. She didn’t like it at all.

@abyss OOC: Randomly looking around for stuff. Fun lol.
Word Count: 213

Looking up as the whale swam closer, Uana Li let out an eager squeak. “Yes, yes! Weapons. It seems as though the first of the crates dropped here. Don’t know how far down the crates could be buried, but usually means a few hours’ diggin’ for me and Omu here.”

After a brief pause, the dolphin began to look Wisteria up and down with an expression that could only be described as calculating. “I don’t suppose you’re any good at digging with that big nose of yours?” Ua asked finally, her blunt way of speaking making quite an impact paired with her frank, open expression. The dolphin swam in little circles around the cache of weapons she’d discovered, her movements fluid but quick, her impatience clear in every gesture. Omu waved one of his tentacles about comically, his color shifting around from red to green to black as he clung onto Uana Li in an effort not to fall off.

@abyss OOC: No worries, it’s been busy here, too. We’ve all gots the things haha.
Word Count: 164

Buried ships must be fun to dig up, Ua thought. She’d certainly searched her fair share of wrecks for lost items, but it was beyond the dolphin’s power to pull the wreckage itself up to the surface, unless she were to do so one plank at a time. It must be wondrous to be so large and so strong. Wondrous, but probably ineffective in Uana Li’s line of work, considering the blue whale’s very words that she may have difficulty with items of this particular size.

Uana Li gave a shrill chirp of approval nonetheless, slowing her movements as she saw the whale’s eyes dart try and mostly fail to follow her about. She didn’t want to disorient the larger creature, so she remained mostly still, however hard it was for her to do so. “If you would be so kind as to simply shove this mound of sand to the side, I can scour it for the smaller pieces. So long as I can make sure nothing is buried too deep, we should be good.”

@abyss OOC: All the digging lol

Word Count: 178