A Routine Fishing Trip...
Characters:
Lutea, the Taggerung
Spot, spoofed by Rioko
Fisher-beasts
Setting:
Endless Sea (J9)
The sea is beautiful. It captures your eyes and holds them as it spans onwards towards the horizon. You have a strange floating sensation as the sea seems to holds you up, and against the back of your neck you feel a sprinkle of cold ocean spray. Looking on in awe at the wonderous bounties of the sea you feel so tiny compared to it all. A seagull close overhead squawks loudly, making you jump, and drawing you out of your trance-like contemplation of the sea. The waves make watery sounds as they flop up and down, and in all directions nothing but sea and sky is visible.
---
It took a lot less haggling than Lutea thought it would to get her aboard one of Halyard's larger fishing vessels. As the waters warm up, so do the fisherbeasts - and while the otter worked through the winter, plucking shellfish from the shorelines, there was little profit to be had for something that was so labor intensive. At least /this/ way, she'll find herself with a small salary, atop whatever she hauls in - it's not a bad deal. The crew is certainly a rag tag bunch, mostly beasts off the docks, like her, though a few permanent members of the party shout orders back and forth across the deck as the ship pushes into deeper waters, a salty curtain of sea-water sprayed haphazardly in her wake. Unfortunately, even though she did manage to /land/ the position onboard, it doesn't mean that she is being very openly accepted - those Juska tattoos cause troubles with beasts of both woodlander and vermin descent (both of whom consider her a traitor for different reasons), and the captain - a thick-set sea otter, red in the face from drink and shouting, orders her to lash herself to the side of the ship to maintain the nets. It's one of the worst jobs, but the otter doesn't complain.
The weasel lashing herself to the side of the ship as well doesn't complain...much more than the otter. "Blasted drunkard of a sea serpent." The weasel glances at the otter as if about to greet her then shakes her head. In the end she doesn't need to know the other fisher beasts name, she has plenty of otter based insults to make it clear who she is angry with if Lutea messes up.
Waves of the see crash about the fishing vessel as they do. The water is so clear today that the reef under it can be seen, if vaugely as well as the occasional school of fish.
"Suppose somebeast 'as t'do it." The otter shrugs in reply, flashing the weasel a grin. She doesn't share the same misgivings about socializing - especially when they're going to be hanging off the side of a ship together for who knows /how/ long. "Name's Lutea. Y'got one?" As the ruckus on board increases, the order is given to pull up and drop anchor. The nets crash between the otter and weasel, revealing the general damage that they sustained on the last trip. However, some of the rips and gaps in the netting are far too elaborate to /not/ be deliberate - which is why they're there. Fishing gets competitive. The net is lowered slowly, so that it can be fixed as it descends. The otter sets to without hesitation, pulling the line from her belt and stitching the gaps together, letting it fall further and further into the sea as each section passes inspection. She kicks off the side of the ship and swings further towards the stern, pulling and adjusting its position as she goes. "All clear, stern side!" She shouts up.
The weasel follows suit. She is a portly creature, but not overly so. She wears cloth wraps about her chest and something akin to a kilt / sash about her waist. "Spot." The weasel replies after a fashion.
After that it's only a matter of patience and waiting. Patience and waiting...
It is unearthly dull. Blowing a lock of fur out of her eyes Spot says to the otter, "So...Tattoo's look...nice. I heard some of the beasts call you a Jus-ka? That some kind of tribe or...an insult I never heard before?"
"Pleasure, Spot. I'd offer a paw, but...Well." Lutea shrugs, giving a good-natured laugh as she holds her paws up. Now that the nets are in, it's a matter of waiting. A few adjustments are needed, here and there, of course - but they've mostly served their purpose. "Juska is a tribe. Not a nice one - I got tricked in't joinin' up 'bout a season back. Snuck out when I figured ou' wha' was wha'." She hasn't yet learned that she should be careful with who she shares that information with - that is probably going to be a lesson that she learns the hard way. "Causes a bit of a commotion, wherever I go, now." She laughs, rubbing at the back of her neck.
The weasel laughs. "I can imagine. They look pretty if that's any consolation." The weasel swings in her harness, pushing off of the hull with her foot paw. "Why...do we have to be /here/ again? I don't see the logic of it. And how long do we have to wait before-"
CRAAAAAAAAAAAASH!
The ship lurches, violently to one side, nearly throwing spot into the water as something brushes against the hull. A moment later the slack in the net tightens and it begins to push away from the ship, dragging the vessel sideways across the water.
"What th' /bloody hell/?!" Lutea shouts, a call which is echoed across the deck. The otter swings, crazily, as the ship tilts and lurches, losing her grip on the side of the ship. She spins, wildly, out over the water, and smacks, hard, against the side once the inertia carries her back. A mouse, who was standing near the railing for the impact, screams as he falls overboard - a shout which is cut short as the otter snatches him from the air, clinging to his forearm. "Y'okay, Spot?" She clings to the mouse, her other paw grasping the rope of the net to keep from flying out again as the ship is dragged. They are in the /worst/ possible spot for this.
The weasel hangs onto her harness for dear life. "Worry about yerself!" The weasel swings to the ship and latches her feet onto the hull. "You ok?"
Uptop the net simply snaps from the ship as it is dragged under the sea. The ship comes to a stop bobbing up and down in the water. "What we hit? A reef or..."
There comes a shout from the watchman up top, and yet more frenzied shouts as something splits the water into a V shape. Slowly a tall grey fin begins to emerge from the water as it heads strait for the boat.
"HAUL US UP!" Lutea shouts, desperately, struggling to keep her grip on the mouse as they are sprayed with ocean water. "BRING US UP F'THE LOVE OF-" The mouse, spying the new arrival, lets out a high-pitched, frantic scream, and starts trying to /climb/ his savior. The otter, still clinging to the rope, casts wide eyes towards Spot - who still has her paws free. "Y'should start climbin'." She advises - since they seem to have been forgotten, otherwise.
Such a lovely crew this is. They don't even bother pulling the beasts up.
Closer and closer the fin comes, swerving back and forth in the water before colliding with the ship. The ship rocks back and forth, nearly toppling it over. It rocks back and forth, nearly dipping the beasts on the side into the water. "Lutea!" Spot calls out, clutching onto her harness with one paw.
Someone up top begins to pull Lutea's rope up, and then Spots.
The help cannot come at a better time - as the otter /nearly/ loses her grip on the mouse as the beast smashes into the ship. She has to let go of the net in order to clasp his paws with both of her own, sending the two spinning away from the ship and over the massive, grey shadow of /death/ beneath the waves. The mouse loses it completely, tears streaming down his face as he screams, clinging to the otter. Even as they are dragged up onto the ship, he continues trying to wrap around her. She doesn't waste any time peeling him off and scrambling across deck to help haul the weasel up as soon as her paws touch solid deck. "Y'alrigh', mate?" The otter offers a paw out, careful to cling to the railing and brace for further impact.
Several of the beasts aboard are arming themselves with spears, waiting for the creature to draw close once again. "It's coming around for another pass!"
The beasts ready themselves. The fish turns around, coming closer to the ship with uncanny speed. At the last moment it's fin sinks deep into the water and dissapears.
Spot reaches out, inches away from grabbing the otter's paw.
Then the unthinkable happens. The water bubbles forth and explodes under the ship as a terrible gaping /maw/ shoots up out of the water. A pointed nose and souless dark eyes.
It erupts right under the opposite end of the ship, catching Poor spot by the waist as it continues to rise out of the water, "NOOOOOOOOOO!" The weasel continues to reach for the otter even after she is snatched away from the ship. There is a terrible CHOMP and the weasel is simply gone.
And then the sea monster falls towards the fishing vessel...
"Almost there!" Lutea encourages, straining forward to grab onto the weasel - and then she is ripped away from her grasp. In a violent flash of red, her one friend on board the ship disappears. "SPOT!" The otter screams, still reaching for her, even as the shark tears her up and away. The panic on board the ship reaches a fever pitch, and the otter is knocked back and away from the railing, and slides across the deck as beasts rush to escape the oncoming behemoth. Her eyes are still wide with shock, and even as she sits, splayed across the wooden floorboards - her paw is still reaching outwards; grasping, uselessly, for the life she couldn't save. Help for the traumatized riverdog comes form an unlikely source - as small paws grab her by the shoulders and shove her upright. "Move, move!" The squeaky, teary-eyed mouse from earlier ushers her towards the stern and away from the falling fish, throwing his weight against the stockier ottermaid to shuttle her out of the way.
The fish is a massive creature, filled with scars running down its sides. There are...spears in it's back. They look weathered and old.
For those at least who are not in panic over seeing a fish crash into the deck. Planks of wood go flying as the shark crashes through the ship, leaving a terrible gash in the side and very nearly capsizing it.
As the impact sends the ship rocking every which way, beasts scramble and grasp for purchase. About a dozen find themselves pitched, screaming, over the railings. Lutea, in a stroke of luck, is jammed up against a crate, and, again, grapples onto the mouse to keep him from flying into the cold waters, as well. The Captain struggles to gain control of the ship, screeching orders for whoever will actually listen. "HAUL IN THE ANCHOR, TURN US ABOUT, GET US OUT OF HERE!" The otter doesn't waste time waiting for the terrifying creature to return - she leaps from the crates and helps an older buck yank the anchor aboard. "Go, go, go, go, go..." he is muttering to himself, more than her. The chaos is overwhelming, and only grows as the missing hunk of ship starts to bring in water. The otter finds herself running towards the lifeboats, shouting after the Captain. "Let it 'ave th'ship!" She screams. "Get into th'boats!"
The shark spares the ship if only for the moment, only to chomp down on it's over board crew. It swims towards them with neither pity, nor malace. Just HUNGER.
"The monster will get the life boats for sure!" Shouts a near by rat.
"The monster will get us for sure if we stay! Captain! The ship is lost!" Says a black furred fox as he struggles to get the life boat down.
"Send it out t'sea!" Lutea suggests, desperate. "Let it chase th'ship!" She isn't going to stay here and find out what terrible fate it has in store for them, and struggles to keep her breakfast in her stomach as the screams from the water reach her ears...The Captain, faced with no other real choice, gives a frustrated and guttural shout of anger. "GET T'THE LIFE BOATS!" There is a flood of movement towards them, and Lutea ducks through the crowd to locate the mouse. He's broken down, completely overwhelmed, and lays - clinging to the mast. Not even bothering with a peptalk, the otter grabs him and drags him over her shoulder before taking off for the lifeboats. She leaps aboard, just as the line is released, and grips the side one-pawed as they drop towards the sea with sickening speed...
"Someone! Save meeeee-!" Cries a fox in the water before the sharks terrible jaws crash down around him. Tired of the appitizers the shark get's greedy and moves for the main course, swiming almost lazily towards the boat. When it get's closer, it lunges. Striking it's wounded hull...
The beasts left on board screech and tumble. Some fall into the water below, one [incredibly lucky] hedgehog falls /into/ a lifeboat, and others still find themselves tossed from one end of the deck to the other. The lifeboats in the water, including Lutea's, are rowing frantically back the way they came. The otter drops the mouse to the bottom of the boat and takes up an oar - nobeast is bothering her about her appearance, now that they are all in the same danger. The little boats speed towards the shore - a thin sliver of golden hope in the distance - and their time is improved by the sheer desperation of the beasts manning them. The hull of the ship splinters away, coming apart in great chunks of wood and cargo as the last of the lifeboats hits the water, less packed than it could have been. The rest, still on board, are left to suffer the awful fate.
While the life boat is tempting, the score of tasty animals falling hither and tither into the water is much more appealing, and filling. Even more than the sharks stomach can hold.
The shark retreats into the depths, leaving a wake of red in the water surrounding the ship as it sinks to the bottom of the ocean.
The survivors, scattered among the life boats, don't have much to say to one another. They stare, in open-mouthed silence, at the empty space where a sizeable ship once existed. The otter, dead-eyed, glances from boat to boat and notes that the Captain is nowhere to be seen; a drunkard he may have been, but there is something to be said for the dedication of the man to his vessel. She is brought out of her traumatized reverie by the mouse; heaving soft sobs from the floor of the lifeboat, he clings to the Taggerung's shins, burying his face against her legs. She lays a paw atop his head, and watches the shore grow closer.
The black furred fox watches the ship go down, bowing his head in somber respect. He turns to the otter and raises an eyebrow. Ears flattening out he reaches out, placing a paw on her shoulder with hearty pat. He doesn't say anything, nor does he really need to. If nothing else, her compasion has not gone unoticed and even garnered a little respect among at least a few of the beasts here.
It only took a shark attack to do so but still...
