Kaija often joked about how the sailor's booze was swill, but she actually found it refreshing in its own way. She was partial to liquor--either whiskey, or the pale blue concoction that Mejor was known for, [I]jumi.[/I] Jumi was made from many ingredients, including imported juniper, lemon peel, and a little periwinkle colored flower that gave jumi it's signature color. Despite its sweet, floral flavors, jumi packed a punch. Kaija--or rather, Iasha, had packed some of her own, but she was saving that for later. For now, the pale wine would do just fine. 

Kaija was letting the liquid sit on her tongue as she thought with great anticipation about what lay ahead, when Jalen sat down in the seat across from her. Jalen was young and had been sent to be an assistant to her, to train under the renowned Iasha. He was elated to finally meet her (or what he thought was her) and hadn't left Kaija alone since. She didn't hate him, though his tendency to ask a lot of questions unnerved her. If anyone could call her bluff, it'd be him. But she had the feeling she could manage that well enough. She had to be cordial though, because if she was going to figure out how to be a biologist, it was going to be through watching him. Ironically, he was not the student in this situation. And anyway, she was going to be stuck with him for as long as she was around base camp, so she might as well attempt to make friends. 

"Evenin' Iasha. I can't believe we're almost there! I don't know about you, but I'm SICK of this old tub..." 
Kaija smiled at him, pulsing a friendly blue. She felt more like pulsing a more uncomfortable yellow, but Kaija developed a unique skill. Most Mejori could not self-regulate the colors they pulsed in their stripes, and thus their thoughts and emotions could be easily read by all who spoke Mejori colorspeak. If one wanted to remain inscrutable, they could keep dark. Kaija, however, could [I]lie.[/I] Not just with her tongue, but with her colors. It was rare, so few ever questioned the sincerity of the colors she displayed. But it was hard to do, and it required concentration and mental discipline. "I never did like being confined to so small a place for so long. Can't wait to walk some solid ground again." 
"Mm," he grunted in agreement. "Listen, I don't want to bother you, but I thought I'd mention the other two delegates are on deck at the moment. I know you haven't seen much of them, and we're almost ashore, so I thought maybe--"
"Maybe I should make nice, eh?" Kaija chuckled, pulsing blue. "Yeah," she sighed, "You're probably right. Might as well make an appearance and let them know I'm not a ghost. We're all gonna get real cozy pretty soon so...might as well. Make sure your shit's all packed up, Jalen, y'hear?"
Jalen inclined his chin and his headspines flicked up to their full height, pulsing a polite white. "Yes, Iasha." 

Kaija, taking the wine with her, made her way to the top deck and looked around. In dimmer lighting, her teal eyes would flash a lurid green whenever they reflected some spot of bright light, like a torch or lamp. It didn't take her long to sort out which two men were the other emissaries, as they were not dressed like sailors and didn't have pitch on their hands. Both looked considerably more regal than the other sailors, and heck, even her. She did not wear any armor, and instead had cropped black trousers, short, sturdy boots, and a short, sleeveless garment that wrapped around her upper torso in a loose x shape, cut from a cool, sage-green fabric. A black undergarment wrapped tightly around her chest underneath it, but both left her lower torso exposed. This made the two large knives strapped to a belt at her lower back clearly visible and, more importantly, accessible. Her clothing suggested practicality and ease of movement, not status. The only sign she was not just any commoner was the assortment of gold accessories she wore. A gold ring in the middle of her nose, a tapered, swaying gold spike that dangled from each earlobe, a thin band of tight fitting gold on once bicep, and a rather thick band of gold clasping the end of her long black braid. Her scalp was freshly shaved down the sides, exposing the patterned bioluminescent stripes that ran along her skull and down her neck and spine. 

Kaija approached the two without much ceremony and flashed a cordial white. "Ah, you must be Haelion and Sendor," she said to each in turn. Vahl had some limited information on the two that he'd given her, but it was not extensive by any means. "Nice to finally meet you. I'm Iasha Rhenuvi of Mejor. I...apologize for not meeting you sooner. The Mejori do not walk under the sun much and the adjustment to a day schedule is...difficult." That much was true, though Kaija had sort of milked that excuse for all that she could in order to keep largely to herself. Her colors melted to an amicable blue. "But I've managed just in time, it seems. Our target is just on the horizon! Anyone wanna take bets on whether or not it's inhabited?" Though no one had any real reason to be surprised by Kaija's generally straightforward and sometimes crass demeanor, somehow everyone she met seemed to have the impression that Iasha was more...refined. They always let it go--after all, they'd never met her and likely judged her all wrong. But this version of Iasha was evidently not the one most people expected.