....she definitely didn’t have the foresight or the knowledge to have knowingly prepared a suitable offering for the Storm Mother she was about to meet. After she’d made her own peace, Lux saw fit to keep quiet as the others spoke. Offering up a few quiet, polite words of gratitude toward the shark spirit as he(?) handed her a necklace made of seashells she couldn’t identify, Lux kept her gaze averted from the spirits, doing her best to maintain a sense of sang-froid She would not allow herself to be cowed by anything she encountered today, it wasn’t something she could afford. Everyone else had their own way of handling the spirits—the best course of action for herself was likely to be conversationally selective. Extremely...selective. There was no controlling how the others acted, she could only control herself.

Astrid had already dove off into the waters below as Artisan said something about herself and Ashen making the necklaces seem fitting...? A strange compliment and one Lux wouldn’t have known how to respond to in ANY situation, anyway.

Lux stared at the evidently enchanted shell talisman in her hand, ignoring the squawking raven at her side. At least...having the thing stuck to her somehow turned out to be of benefit, either some deity of luck decided to smile upon her for once, or something was going to have one Hell of a laugh at her later over it. Assumedly, the talisman would also protect the raven from drowning as well as herself...Lux did not relish the thought of diving into the deep, dark ocean, whether offered protection from drowning or not. She never was fond of open water—maybe it had something to do with her Spark being that of Fire.

Sighing, Lux brought the enchanted necklace up and fastened it around her neck as she turned on her heel and headed back into the ship to her quarters to fetch her cloak. Perhaps it would be smarter to leave it, as it may end up heavy with seawater.... But she felt the need to have it with her, regardless. ….she also felt the need to discreetly tuck away her switch blade into one of her boots. Just…in case. Indeed, she had the Lantern with her already and was not about to leave it behind, but it was not a reliable means of defense if things went sideways.

Swallowing back the anxiety that came with the thought of diving freely into the open ocean, Lux took in a deep breath to calm herself as she headed back up to the deck. She heard the sarcastic comment made by Nimin about it being a beautiful day for swimming...at least he could joke about the situation.

“So beautiful indeed, that I could just throw up....” she quipped back at the Solar as she shut her eyes and gathered her composure, shoving down her anxiety and her rationale as it fought with her over what she was about to do. Even if she knew she was protected from drowning, her sense still argued with her over what she was about to do. Lux knew well enough that if let herself think about this anymore, it’d almost be too hard to...so, without letting another thought flit through her mind, the Fire Aspect took to a dead sprint, and leapt up over the handrail of the deck, preforming an uncharacteristically graceful dive into the dark waters below, joining Astrid.

While Lux had otherwise managed to regain her poise, after she’d snipped back at Artisan for his embittered comment, this was fleeting. Quickly enough, she noticed that the prior shenanigans had been silly enough to force three of Fakharu’s handmaidens into suppressing fits of laughter. Their hands were overtop their mouths, while their shoulders shook...she’s also fairly sure she heard one of them fail to subdue a quiet snort.... Lux sighed, and shifted between her feet uncomfortably, she’d done her best to make amends for her uncouth mannerisms, and that was all that could be done, now. She blamed no one for laughing at her expense, it was deserved.

“My, my, well, I am most certainly flattered by your compliments, Lady Lux, as Sir Ashen said, it is quite bold of you. And worry not, we take no offense.” Nāgasāni spoke, her voice possessing the slightest edge of amusement.

At Nāgasāni’s comment, Lux lightly cleared her throat, and felt her cheeks flush a touch once more. Mortified as she felt, having all this occur, at least the handmaidens were not irked with her inappropriate staring, or by her complimenting them. Their beauty had blindsided her—while she’d expected grand and splendid sights, the quintet of handmaidens had just struck her, in all honesty, the same thing oft occurred whenever she happened upon some wondrous work of art or architecture. And, while it was perfectly acceptable to look over inanimate objects, it was not to do the same with people. It was rude, uncouth, and inappropriate...Lux knew this, and while she had been attempting to cease gawking at people, it was an issue that always seemed to reemerge, regardless of her efforts.

Whilst Lux had been lost in her musings, Nāgasāni had started to guide the group along, beckoning them to follow her and the other handmaidens into the palace. Upon realizing that everyone else was on the move, Lux snapped from her thoughts and caught up with the lot of them, taking up the rear. For a majority of the trek, the air was quiet, save for the sounds of nature. As they approached the spire, Lux craned her neck in every which direction, trying to take everything in while she could. As she had stated upon the boat, Fakharu, or his designers, had a grandiose sense of aesthetics. Lux would not deny that everything was beautiful, in its own way, though. Sculptures, carvings, murals and reliefs—everything was dazzling in one manner or another.

Everything had a certain...atmosphere to it. Though the gold, the silver, and the gemstones were all unnecessary, there was still something about all of it that just...worked, overall. Lux was lost in everything, having gone from looking in every conceivable direction to actually turning on her heels as she walked, going in circles as she became even more enthralled by the sights around her. The flush that had come to her face earlier from Nāgasāni’s comment had all but faded, while her green eyes glimmered in fascination and excitement, a large smile having come across her face once more.

Along the way, Ashen stopped, and spoke about how apparently peculiar Fakharu’s aesthetics were, with one of the maidens factually responding to him. They continued walking, and Lux kept gazing at her surroundings, taking it all in while she had the chance. Certainly, she likely looked like a fool again, but at least this time she wasn’t doing anything rude. Eventually, they reach an extremely large set of double-doors, which were adorned with elaborate décor as everything else had. Thankfully, while Lux was still mystified and utterly enthralled by her surroundings, she was still aware enough to avoid another faux pas, such as walking into someone. She did still turn herself about, eyes wandering while it was Nāgasāni spoke, “Beyond this door is where the Lord holds his court. Since it is already in sessions, we ask that you wait here a moment whilst I announce your arrival.” Lux heard the sounds of a door opening before it shut again, rather quietly.

Then, they had a moment before they were to be introduced to Fakharu proper. “So,” she heard Ashen start, “Do any of you have much experience with courtly manners? I can fake it in a pinch, if needed.”

Lux didn’t bother to yet respond to this inquiry, still too engrossed by her surrounded, as she continued to wander about in a seemingly aimless manner. “While mmy country may have many reasons for starding wars, we also have cause for ending them. I have acted as ambassador in the past for my mother and father.” While Calliope was rather quick to respond, her words passed overtop Lux’s head as she finally allowed herself to look directly above, her mouth agape as she took in the intricate mural that was both painted and carved into the domed ceiling.

....it was magnificent, but the domed ceiling made it somewhat awkward to look at. Lux began to gingerly take a few steps backward, not minding her surroundings as she was thoroughly only interested in seeing every complexity of the mural—she gave absolutely no thought to anything otherwise, til it was that her foot suddenly met air where she thought there’d be floor, and she lost her balance with a yelp, snapping fully back into reality. Lux hadn’t noticed that around the edges of the halls, and the large, circular waiting area before the double-doors, the middle of the floor was higher, while it was indented near the walls, as water flowed through them, and around the bases of poles and the statues adorning the palace.

Though Lux gave it her best effort, she wasn’t able to keep herself upright this time around and ended up stumbling into a statue...which, thankfully did not topple over. But, when it was that Lux noticed the...theme of the statue, a couple engaged in, well.... The young woman’s face was set ablaze, yet again, and she jumped away from it as quickly as she could, only to not have proper footing to achieve such a feat, which only resulted in Lux falling backwards into the thin stream of water that ran between the elevated floors and wall, effectively soaking her backside.... This was just not her day, was it?

“....no one say a word, please. I swear that I am merely experiencing a rather off day.”

She remained rather quiet throughout breakfast, mostly getting her fill from the available stock of dried fruits. While she did very much appreciate the effort Ashen had put into cooking rice, the fact that it was even slightly burnt was enough to turn her stomach...perhaps there was a bit of irony in that, given her status as a Fire Aspect.... It was something that couldn’t be helped; it wasn’t a matter of her being fussy if it actually made her nauseated. The issue was something with which she’d always dealt. Vered used to say she was being childish or immature, even rude, whenever she would refuse to eat something that had even a little char. The bit about it outright refusal of food being rude had always stuck with her, enough so that she always did her best to be discreet about it.

Things were as peaceful as they could be upon the sea for a while, and Lux continued to nibble upon various and unidentifiable fruits, just content that they still at least carried their natural sweetness with them.... Lux’s mindless peace was interrupted, however, when a vicious rumble of thunder echoed out, causing her to violently flinch, dropping her half-eaten fruit.

....she didn’t need to know much of anything about Spirits to know that probably meant...something important, and it probably had something to do with the apparently appropriately titled “Storm Mother,” Sikunare.

Recovering herself, Lux took note of Ashen’s comments, which otherwise confirmed her suspicions—indeed the Storm Mother was making them aware that she was aware. And that she was not letting them enter her territory without first asserting herself. While Lux had not known Ashen but for a day, the fact that he was definitely nervous about this was something that struck her as atypical for him. That Sikunare had sent a welcoming party for them...it had the Lunar worried. Probably understandable. Though matters regarding Spirits were far beyond Lux’s understanding, she was still intelligent enough to know that this situation was one to treat gingerly. After the fiasco that was yesterday, Lux reminded herself that she needed to keep it together today—Fakharu was definitely tolerant of the various shenanigans that occurred within his spire only because he was asking the group she was a part of for help. She’d more than made a fool of herself yesterday in his presence...and out of it.

The little Dragon-Blooded knew that such informality before a being that bore the title of “Storm Mother” would indeed not be abided. Lux needed to keep it together as best she could and not lose herself in any sort of hullabaloo today.

Ashen made an off-handed comment in Riverspeak that she caught as he made his way out of the galley to head to the deck, something about if anyone’d brought an offering...what sort of offering would be appropriate to this situation anyway? Lux DEFINITELY had no idea, and without knowing, the best thing that could be done was to be as respectful to Sikunare’s people as possible and hope for the best.

Saying nothing, the Fire Aspect rose to her feet, the Lantern coming to rest against her hip. She followed behind Ashen, a pensive expression upon her face as she ran her fingers through her still rather mussed hair. However, the hallway between the interior of the ship and its exterior was a tad…dark. And Lux’s eyes had yet to adjust, so before she could make it to the stairs she...tripped. It’d felt like something had wrapped around her ankle and purposefully made her lose balance! Naturally, Lux yelped and did her best to catch herself before on...something before fell over entirely. Not that her efforts did anything to help. If anything, her trying to do something only made the situation worse as her hand came to rest on an unsteady something-or-other, and when she fell, the something-or-other came tumbling down with her, and on top of her.

It was something metallic, and from within it was something squawking and panicking...a bird? The noises coming from the creature were what brought Lux back to cognizance so quickly. “For the love of Creation, just when I’m trying to make an effort to not make an idiot of myself....” she grumbled, flustered and hurrying to stand as she untangled herself from the various things that’d fallen upon her during her tumble. “And why is there a live bird just sitting in a dark hallway on a ship anyway...?”

Continuing to quietly kvetch to herself, Lux mostly managed to free herself and get back to her feet...save for one thing. The bird cage. The damnable thing had gotten ensnared on her belt loop, the one opposite her Lantern’s. Inside the cage, the bird was still calling, angry and as irritated as she probably was. Try as she might, Lux was unable to get the thing off her belt loop without being able to see. She did NOT have time for this right now! After about ten more second of senseless fiddling, Lux just groaned and gave up on the matter for the time being. Even if she looked the part of a fool again, it was better she be present when greeting those sent by Sikunare than not.

Continuing to grumble silently within her own head, Lux made her way up the stairs and onto the deck to be greeted by the sight of...humanoid shark...spirits? She’d missed their emergence from the waters below, but she had not missed the “welcome” from the one who she assumed was the leader of the bunch. He(?) greeted all on deck with a graceful bow, “Greeting honored Exalts, we recognize your ship as of Fakharu’s make. Lady Sikunare bids you welcome to her domain and has sent you to guide you to her court.”

The shark spirit raised up his (and Lux was only assuming his gender due to the voice that emanated from him at this point) head, and smiled at the lot of them, his mouth full of knife-like teeth. The mere sight of them was enough to make Lux nearly cringe, but she kept her composure. Though, perhaps that was the intent. He revealed his predatory teeth to intimidate, make himself even more frightening than his large stature already did. Indeed, he was...imposing. Perhaps this introduction was something of a test; a way to see who was cowardly and weak-willed among them...? Spirits were fickle, and their ways so strange that they were unknowable in every sense. That Sikunare would decide to see who could be easily disheartened and daunted upon entering her territory would be sensical...by the logic of a being such as herself...probably.

Lux took in a breath, gathering herself as best she could—Ashen hadn’t responded to the spirit, and...someone had to, right? Ignoring the still twittering bird that was caged and stuck to her side, Lux returned the gesture, bowing to the trio of spirits. Creation, hopefully she didn’t do something stupid and anger them.... “It is most gracious of Lady Sikunare to extend to us a personal welcome and guides to her court.” she stood back to her full height, a calm and serious expression upon her face as she made eye contact with whom she assumed was the leader of the spiritual trio. “The gestures are very much appreciated.” Not wanting to speak for anyone but herself, she did her best to keep her words neutral and polite, considering she probably looked like enough of a fool as is since she had a bird cage at one of her hips with a very irritated big in it....