Darklett Odyssey - Do Hares Have Nine Lives?

Major Darklett Fletchpaw is not doing so great. The seas have been none too kind to him, and his makeshift raft has all but fallen apart. Luckily no more storms hit him after the one that left him out, floating at sea with splintered wood bound by shirt fabric as his vessel. It's been a couple days since he's had nourishment, and the lax body could easily be mistaken for a corpse sent adrift. When a fish... A dead fish surfaces to the water, though, Darklett suddenly straightens up, ears perked. He squints his eyes, staring at the spot where he saw it, waiting for the waves to break just right, making sure it's actually there. It is. The major immediately dives off of his makeshift raft and starts swimming with all reserve energy he has towards the dead fish.

Perhaps Darklett's state has allowed him to miss the ship behind him. The one with the great big sails billowing in the wind? Yes. That one. It's still a fair distance off but there's someone in the crow's nest, and they're pointing Darklett's way.

Fish... Where'd the fish go? Darklett treads water, eyes scanning the surface of the water for the shine of scales in the sun. Where'd it go? He spins around and... Sees the ship. "...Hey...!" He barely gets it past his throat it's so weak and tired. His paw waves up in the air. "Help... Help!"

There's a return wave, fortunately for Darklett. And the ship's course changes, coming Darklett's way. It's slow but steady.

"...Help!" Darklett calls out again, continuing to wave his arm. Don't lose me. I'm right here. He treads water, using his three other limbs to keep his head above the waves.

Two beasts dive off the ship, ropes around their waist. Unlike Darklett's tired treading, they slip through the water with ease. Sea otters. Heading for him.

Darklett somehow manages to keep himself up as he waits for the otters, and as they reach him he's still waving, just... Making sure.

Poor bloke. When they reach him, one catches him around the waist while the other unties his rope and loops it around Darklett himself, up under the arms. And then with a tug on the rope and a wave of their paws, the pull-in slash swim back begins! "Gonna be okay, mate! Gonna be okay!"

"Thank you..." Darklett is glad to give up any effort, but he'll be dead before he lets go of the harpoon he's held for the last couple days, almost with a death grip. As he glides through the water with the aid of the sea otters and the rope, he allows himself to relax.

"What's with the harpoon?" one of the pair whispers to the others, as they swim ahead of Darklett, pulling him along. "Shaddup," the other mutters. And that is the end of that conversation.

Darklett's got little else to do but wait to be tossed onboard the ship. He chances a glance towards the otters... Neither of them look like pirates, so that's good.

It's not too long before they reach said ship and are being lifted upward and then pulled onto deck and into a circle of waiting beasts. With dry blankets, no less! Which Darklett is promptly bundled in. "'Ey mate, what's a hare doin' out for a swim way out here?" one of them inquires.

Darklett isn't tossed onboard? He's lowered? This is already better. The major looks like he could collapse at any given second, and he even leans against the railing. "Long story... Need water, please." His voice, when not shouting, is rasped.

Water comes in a dipper passed from beast to beast to beast, having originated from a bucket somewhere along the line. This is held out to Dark, though if assistance is needed it will be given.

Darklett takes the dipper, raising it to his lips and drinking down the water greedily, gulping and letting none drip free. When the dipper's drained, he lets out all of his breath, holding it for a moment then breathing in. "Thank you... Please, can any of you tell me how far we are from Mossflower?"

"Ah, mate..." One of the sea otters that swam in is the bearer of this bad news. "Hate t' tell ya this, but... you ain't no where /near/ that place." And then someone else pipes up, in disbelief. "Ya mean t'tell us ya been floatin' on that itty bitty thing alla way from Mossflower?"

"No, no, I got tossed out to sea by an osprey." Darklett shakes his head, eyes closed for a moment before opening again. "And then got picked up by a ship. Pretty sure it was a pirate ship, but we went through a few storms and then a shark attack and... The crew tossed me over for being bad luck. That was a couple days ago, and I was drifting on that itty bitty thing until just now." He glances across the faces of the otters, trying to discern which is in charge. "I owe you my life, so if there's anything I can do to repay you, just let me know. I just need some way to get back to Mossflower."

"Well... we're not goin' /there/, but maybe someone where we're goin' will be?" This is the beast who pulled him out, again. He looks too young to be in /charge/, but he seems to take command of the situation, anyway. "Ah, well, you c'n talk to Da' about it. Come on below, eh?" And Darlett gets a clap on the shoulder as he is directed onward.

Darklett nods, pushing himself away from the railing on the side of the ship, following the sea otter towards the entry to the ship. Of note is that he hasn't let go of the harpoon yet. He finds some way to shove it into a belt loops in his pants as a sort of temporary place for it.

"He's the Cap'n, see, so he'll know what..." And down below they go, with the otter talking amiably to the half-drowned hare as they go.