Within thirty minutes, Melina's ship was safely on shore. It was filthy, but completely intact as she had guessed. Her proud smile was evident on her classically beautiful features.
She stood at the edge of the swamp with the other women while Zotom laid lazily against a tree and simply watched. She wore a green and purple outfit like he'd never seen before. It had a corset below and a vest on top, both laced up intricately. The skirt she had on once looked as if it would have been poofy if not for being weighed down by tons of mud and gunk. The belt around her waist had tiny pouches all around it. Though most would probably assume she was uncomfortable, something told him that she was prepared for nearly any situation.
When it was secure on land, she pulled herself up on one of the outer rungs of the ship, swung her leg over the side of something that he didn't even realize was a door, and dropped inside in one swift motion. He heard some banging from within the craft, a bit of words he was sure her father would not approve of, and then saw her head pop out again.
"I'm afraid I will need a few things to fix this damage, but it shouldn't take me very long at all. Is there somewhere I can trade for things?"
"Trade?"
"Yes, I have food, clothing, goods. I just need a few bits of copper and other small things. I'll know it when I see it," Melina nodded.
"We have a workshop at our house where Audire does most of her art and things. I'm sure we have a few scraps of random stuff there if you would like to check it out. And whatever she doesn't have, we can go to town and get for you, if we must," Saber answered quickly. "You need to get cleaned up and if you're hungry, maybe even a meal with us as well," she added.
"Oh, thank you. That would be lovely," Melina responded, sounding shocked.
"Come down from that contraption and let's head over to the house. We are just a few minutes away," Rozar spoke this time.
She descended quickly and effortlessly as if she had done it a million times before. She landed her heavily-booted feet on the ground and Audire nodded. "She's quite cat-like. I can see why you would worry she is our family," she said to Zotom.
"See? Told ya."
"Cat like?" Melina asked. "As in a feline? Are you calling me graceful?"
"Something like that, yes," Audire responded with a smile. "Come, let's get over there before we lose the light."
"We also have many supplies at our camp," Zotom offered. "If there are things she needs that you don't have, I would be happy to take her there so she can check me out, I mean us. I mean our stuff. The supplies." He stumbled over his words until he blushed, put his head down, and kept walking.
"That is very nice of you. Thank you, sir," Melina said with a giggle.
"He's never like that. I don't know what his deal is," Rozar whispered to Melina.
"Perhaps he's worried I'll cause harm to you," Melina supplied.
"No, it appears you are doing harm to him," Audire chuckled.
Melina stopped quickly and turned to Zotom, "Have I? Oh sir, I apologize. What have I done to harm you? I shall fix it immediately."
"Sweetie, we don't do that these days. Men and women are equal and you did nothing to that cretin. You don't have to apologize because he finds you attractive," Audire added.
"Oh. Oh my," Melina blushed to match Zotom's expression and turned quickly to begin walking again. "I apologize for my abrupt stop," she whispered to Rozar.
Rozar simply smiled and said, "Nothing to be sorry about. This amuses me so much more than you know."