Prompt 113-Newfound Knowledge

What is something you have learned lately?

In her first days of consciousness aboard The Eternity, Kita spent a great deal of time up in the crow’s nest spurning The Captain’s feeble attempts at a truce. Cyril scolded her for climbing with her arm still healing. Even Lucas tried to reprimand her for interfering with the crew, but he wilted under the icy glower she shot down at the three of them.

They were on open water, days from land, and so far north of the normal shipping lanes that the chances of encountering another vessel were slim. A lookout wasn’t strictly necessary at this part of the voyage, and Kita made sure to take full advantage of that fact. She could only lock Leo out of his own cabin for so long.

Cyril’s concerns about her shoulder were valid though, and she hated admitting the climb strained the wound. She grimaced as she braced it against the mast. The muscle ached despite the pain relieving herbs she had taken with breakfast. She leaned her head back against the mast and exhaled slowly. At least she could get down with one arm.

She glanced down to make sure no one was following her up. Once she was satisfied they would leave her alone, she removed her mask and let her red-orange hair fly free in the breeze. The salty sea air was invigorating, the sun, warm on her face.

It took her a while to get used to the swaying so high up. She hadn’t noticed it as much down on the deck, but she remembered that the topmost branches of trees would sway in a breeze more than the branches lower to the ground and assumed it was a similar principle. She had learned to adjust to such movement on land, she could learn to adjust to it at sea too.

Eventually the rocking lulled her into a state halfway between consciousness and sleep. The occasional pitch would jerk her wound and jolt her awake, but otherwise she watched the sea with heavily lidded eyes.

It was so vast. She had known this, theoretically, but seeing it stretched out endlessly before and behind her… There was no land in sight. Even the island she had made a home over the last few years was long behind her.

Kita had mixed feelings about that. She’d left no friends or family behind in Alesana. All the friends she had, or whatever their relationship could be called, were below her on the ship. Her family… Well, she had no family anymore.

She had thought herself better than them, her un-ninja-like ideals lofty and treasonous. She could be both ninja and pirate ally. There was no need for them to fight. Indeed, the pirates had proven fierce allies in battle. True, one of their number had been the one to shoot her, but the traitor had been dealt with. Given that betrayal, Kita hardly considered Rhea a pirate.

The survivors had been grateful to Kita for her part in their victory over the bandits. She had hoped that all the sacrifices she had made for them would help them see she meant every word about wanting to end the eternal war, but she knew they just thought her odd. The newer crew members eyed her warily, despite learning the story of how she had rescued the others from certain death.

Kita sighed. Bridging the divide would take time. One single ninja couldn’t end the ancient struggle overnight. Her wound twinged to remind her just how treacherous her crusade could be.

Notes: When I read a prompt, I try to sum it up in a neat word or two for the post title. Sometimes that helps me figure out the story I’m going to write, too. I could have called this one “Lessons Learned” instead of “Newfound Knowledge.”

When I boiled it down to learning a lesson I thought Kita would be a great character to write from. I got the idea for this scene while reading Mistborn. There was a line Vin said about Mistborn not being invincible and it seemed like Kita’s latest troubles would have proven a similar lesson to her. It turned more into a lesson in patience instead.

I did a quick Google search to make sure I was using “crow’s nest” properly, and learned that it can actually be really disorienting up there due to the sway of the ship and its position away from the ship’s center of gravity. It was difficult even on seasoned sailors and considered a punishment to be sent to work the lookout. So that’s something I learned recently!

What things have you learned? “You learn something new every day,” they say, so what’s some newfound knowledge you wish to share? Don’t forget to jot down your thoughts! You never know when you could use that knowledge in a story!

That does it for me today. I’ve got a fun one for tomorrow! Have a great Wednesday!