Fins and Old Friends
Fins and Old Friends
~*~A Tale of the [[Long_Patrol%25E2%2580%259D|Long Patrol]]~*~
Starring:
- Taye, a Long Patrol Major
- Darklett, a bartender (and retired Long Patrol Colonel)
- Jinora, a Long Patrol fighter
- Desmond, a Long Patrol healer
- Corbeau, a Long Patrol recruit
- Tyree, a Long Patrol Major
Logger's Note: This story is a part of a continuing plotline. For the previous installment, click here. For the first, click here.
Western Sea
Weeks after the presumed deaths of Tyree and Corbeau, the Patrol has done its best to put the past behind, honor the dead, and move towards the future.
It was spotted two days ago: the remnants of a ship, its masts buckled, sails in shambles, yet somehow still afloat. The current and wind have pushed it steadily toward shore, and as it approaches the beach not far from Salamandastron, Major Taye has been tasked with taking several patrollers to investigate. It's possible that some crew might still be aboard. Instead of Sidney's sloop, they've taken the former slaver vessel, now refurbished in service of the Long Patrol. She has a new name, as well, in honor of the dead: 'Corbeau'. Their ship is not even a fourth the size of the wreckage, able to pull in close alongside so the hares can cross the gap from one to the other. There's no immediate sign of anyone on board.
Honestly, Darklett's just glad to be here. He managed to catch the patrol on its way out of the docks and when they told him what they were out doing, well. He couldn't resist but insist that he tag along and he wouldn't have any of their protests. Besides, they're not going out that far! It'll be a good way to get his feet wet - metaphorically - with ocean travel again. He is the one who's shoving the plank over to the shipwreck -- the amount of 'wreck' in that ship allowing their much smaller vessel to board fairly easily. "After you," he offers to the rest of the hares on board, bowing and extending his arm out in the direction of the wreckage.
Jinora received some very helpful advice at the start of her Long Patrol enlistment: If you want to move up, volunteer for everything. She has taken this to heart with overwhelming obsession, and, today, this means that she is checking out wreckage. To be fair, this is one of the more exciting things that she has found herself jumping at, and struggles to keep herself from grinning as they approach the ruined vessel. This is going to be so exciting! What if there are ghosts? What if there are /sharks/?! She shakes the thought from her head. There wouldn't be sharks - she couldn't be so lucky. Her saber hangs, invitingly, at her hip and she has preemptively wrapped her paws in boxing tape for the occasion - something that she has taken to doing, as of late. The doe rests her paws against the railing of the ship as she waits her turn to leap aboard the wreckage - she's never been on a boat before, and the whole experience has put a spring in her step that is making rigid, military professionalism a more and more difficult mask to wear.
How kind of him to allow them to board the wrecky ship of doom first. Taye is at the forefront, because officer, and walks across the slightly giving plank to the deck of the shipwreck. It's kind of a mess. Lots of splintery holes of possible darkness and death opening to the below decks. He steps over one such chasm and turns back, raising his eyebrows to the rest of the folk embarking. It seems /pretty/ quiet. He's not making any moves until they're all aboard.
This thing is the definition of 'ghost ship', if ever there were one. One mast doesn't even exist, broken off near the base, likely floated off somewhere on its own. The other has snapped in the middle, the upper section fallen across the creaking deck. Its tattered sail disguises who knows what kinds of hazards, and creates eerie sounds as the wind moves through.
Darklett takes up the rear, stepping onto the plank and following the hares over. When he gets aboard, his paws immediately rest at his sides, within a paw's distance of his knives. "This thing's a mess. Wonder how it's still floating." He scans the deck of the wrecked vessel for movement. "Think anyone stuck around?"
Following close behind Taye, Jinora steps gingerly across the plank, peeking over the side as she crosses. The place really is a mess, and she runs a paw over a half-collapsed section of railing. "Y'think anyone could've lived through whatevah did this?" She asks in response to Darklett's inquiry. What /did/ do this, anyway? Her nautical knowledge is lacking, so her best guess is: "Pirates?"
Desmond is along in case a medic is needed; he's not the most hands-on when it comes to combat. Even now that they're aboard, it's not clear whether the ship was - is? - a friendly sort or a possible threat. Merchants, corsairs? He finds a rope trailing off the side of the wreck and ties that to the smaller ship, to keep them floating side by side while the larger is thoroughly investigated.
Taye glances down at himself, preemptively flipping up the edge of his jacket to get at his knife, which he withdraws. His bow's not the best weapon in tight quarters. He flips the knife around in his paw, just a nervous habit, and turns to face Darklett, naturally. He'll always be the Ranking, so far as Taye's concerned. Retiring, reshmiring. "Could be they didn't have a choice. S'not like this boat's goin' anywhere in a hurry," he mutters. At Jinora's query, he nods his head towards the broken masts. "'Less they were giant pirates, m'thinkin' storm." He grins, briefly. "Fan out, clear the deck first?" he suggests. "And watch yer footin'. Last thing we need's a broken ankle, Des along or not."
"Aye, pirates!" a lanky rat says as he clambers out of the hold, swinging his cutlass. "This here's our salvage, savvy?" A ferret follows behind, a dagger in both paws, and one in his teeth. "But since you're here, I guess you'll do too." "Stuff 'em in crates," hisses the ferret as the sound of footpads rushing belies more vermin below. "Boil 'eir ears!"
"Listen, I know you want me out of retirement, but you don't have to bait me into vermin-infested ships..." Darklett sighs to the side at Taye and takes out two throwing knives, balancing them carefully. "We're not here for your junk pile of a ship, you idiots. We're here to save you." His eyes cast downwards at the sound of rushing feet below the deck. "Ingrates. The lot of you."
Jinora does as instructed, making her way over and through the ruined woodwork towards the stern of the ship. Maybe they left something in the hol - Oh, yes. They left pirates. The doe leaps back, kicking a chunk of ship behind her with the sudden movement, but she keeps her balance. Her saber is in her paw in an instant, keeping her back to the railing and the sea to avoid being overtaken from behind. This is more than she could have hoped for - Pirates! She gets to stab some pirates! Demonstrating an extraordinary amount of self control (for her, at least) she refrains from rushing them blindly - noting the ferret and his daggers. Her gaze, instead, flicks to Taye - eager as a dog waiting on a 'release' command. C'monn - let 'er at 'em! "Come anywhere near my ears an' Ah'll boil y'arse, instead."
"Well, I mean, I just /thought/..." Taye shakes his head dramatically at Darklett, ever so put-upon. He flips the knife in his paw once more, taking a step to the side to give himself some elbow room. His foot almost goes into a hole in the deck and he snorts out an abrupt, surprised laugh. Oh, geeze. "We weren't 'xactly plannin' on bein' captive, but. Ya know. You c'n give it a shot," he suggests helpfully. Flashes all'a them a grin. It's not his style to strike first, though he does glance at Jinora, who is clearly biting at the bit. "We were just comin' out t'investigate. You want safe passage back t'shore, we c'n bind yer arms in transport you back t'shore."
"Cap'n's dead," the rat answers. "Every beast for hisself. We'll be takin' /your/ boat, I think. Now." He lunges forward at Darklett with a high upward swing, as the ferret coils around him, jumping at Taye with all three daggers at once - he seems to be trying to bite the hare even through the one in his mouth.
Sorry Jin! You probably wanted to be first and all, but when someone takes a swing at Darklett all that goes out the window. "Not /my/ boat," he answers as he ducks to the side and out of the way of the rat, trying to jab those throwing knives both in between the rat's ribs. Close range, gotta get to those daggers somehow. "I'm /retired./ Fates' sake, why can't anybeast respect that?"
What, is she not good enough to attack? Is it because she's a woman?! At the attack, Jinora leaps forward - taking advantage of being the odd one out in their initial attack, rather than pouting. She doesn't rule out the thought of more below, though, and is careful not to turn her back on the opening to hold as she scrambles to slash wildly at the ferret as he passes her in pursuit of Taye, letting out a shout as she attacks. She /totally/ isn't enjoying this.
She is /so/ enjoying this. Actually, they all kind of seem to be enjoying it? Long Patrol breeds a bunch of freaks, clearly. Taye's eyebrows shoot up as he is jumped at with all the daggers against his one. It's fortunate that the swipe to his side from Jinora throws him off - cutting through his shirt and the first few layers of skin as he tries to dodge it on his way towards the buck, because it gives Taye enough time to launch forward, getting up under his stabbings to slam his dagger home up into his chest, in under his ribs. "If you'd stop invitin' yourself along on missions, we /might/... take you a bit more seriously," Taye grunts out.
Somewhere far north in the distance, a little sail stands out like a white beacon against the blackish sea drab gray sky. It seems to be headed in the general direction of the wreckage, but it's too far off to be sure, or for anyone aboard the drifting ship to likely notice - distracted as they are with the fighting.
The rat is dead in moments. The knives sink into his ribs, and, paralyzed by the pain, he goes down with a strangled gasp as his lungs deflate. They're pirates, not soldiers, after all, but the ferret manages to take a few more steps before he goes down, wildly swinging his arms as he does so. The combat is over almost as fast as it started - this round at least.
"Seriously, though," Darklett yanks those knives out and lets the rat fall, stepping to the side to fan out a little from the other two hares as he watches that opening for more pirates to pop up, ready to hurl those blades at the first sight of one. "Was their other ship /worse?/"
Desmond has his sword, but he's mostly watching their backs as they chop up the poor pirates. "Almost like it's not fair," he remarks, leaning in to watch as the rat breathes his last. His eyes turn up to the assembled group. "Everyone okay?" Gotta make sure nobody sprung any leaks.
The rope from the wreckage used to tether the other ship is hardly attached; or rather, hardly intact. In a spot that wouldn't have been immediately apparent, the rope is frayed down to mere strands. As the current pushes the larger wreckage further from its temporary neighbor, pulling the rope taut between them, there's an odd sound - kind of like the strings of some off-key instrument being plucked, as one by one the remaining fibers snap, and then the ends of the severed rope drop into the ever-widening gap of water.
The Patrol is full of lunatics - this much has been established. "Tha' was disappointing." Jinora pouts, toeing aside a shattered plank to try and peer into the dark hole beneath it in the hopes of finding something to stab. She, like the rest, remains oblivious to the sail in the distance as she wipes off the thin line of blood her saber earned from the ferret. "Ah'm fine." She calls back to Desmond, turning to reply - is the ship supposed to be that far away? "Sah!" Jin is pointing to their ship and her unceremonious retreat.
Taye takes a moment to check the blood on his sleeve and shirt to make sure none of it's his, patting himself down a bit with a small grin. He glances Desmond's way, shaking his head. "Jus' fine," he confirms, while his eyes turn to the entrance to the hold. Cautiously, he eases forward - careful of any pitfalls, to peer inward. Those voices and the sounds from below - the fight's not over yet. He's distracted, though, from his investigation by Jin's shout. His head swings around and he blinks, then gapes at the ship as it drifts away. "Des! C'n you swim for it?" There are certainly no sharks in the water.
Darklett hears "Sah!" and immediately turns. Because of course he does. "Oh, that's not good." He starts to take a few steps toward the edge of the boat, but yes! Des, you swim for it. You got this. He turns back toward the hole where vermin are bound to come from. "I could probably take care of the rest of these pirates if you and Jinora wanna make the swim, Maj'," he offers to Taye with a quick glance to the side and a grin. He likes to have fun.
The rest of the pirates, if they even exist, haven't yet emerged. Maybe those footfalls from belowdecks were an echo, or... ghosts? Ghosts would be appropriate. The more immediate problem, that of the drifting boat, grows (literally) larger with each wave that laps against the hull of the wreck, pushing them further apart.
Desmond sheathes his sword at his waist, and snaps a salute to his older brother. "Yes, sir!" He turns and dashes to the side of the ship, and looks to the water, then across to the other boat. It occurs to him then that he should remove his belt and his pack, and perhaps try to save his glasses, but then .. hm. He looks to Taye. "How do I make it come back when I get there?" This might be the downside of not having a sailor swim to it.
The dreary overcast sky, which darkens as the sun dips low, doesn't lend any clarity to the water. It's not exactly murky, just dark. The lurking shape - or is that two shapes? - beneath the water, turning in a slow figure-eight near the belly of the wreckage, isn't apparent until it slips into the space between the two vessels, and a distinct rectangular fin just barely skims above the surface.
The dreary overcast sky, which darkens as the sun dips low, doesn't lend any clarity to the water. It's not exactly murky, just dark. The lurking shape - or is that two shapes? - beneath the water, turning in a slow figure-eight near the belly of the wreckage, isn't apparent until it slips into the space between the two vessels, and a distinct TRIangular fin just barely skims above the surface.
"Ah call pirates!" Jinora puts a finger against her nose. She never was the strongest swimmer, after all. As the ship drifts further away, and they debate about how to get it back, Jinora continues to peek in holes. The fact that the rest of the pirates didn't come pouring out of the hold doesn't sit right with her - they're holding out for the element of surprise, or hoping that the hares will come to them, she's sure. She steps around a stack of ruined crates, picking her way carefully to avoid any visible holes, but she can't quite avoid the plank that crumbles beneath her weight - obviously weakened elsewhere by the collapse. A boot crashes through up to her thigh, sending the clumsy doe sprawling before she can leap upright with all the skill and grace of someone who is /very/ used to falling over in public. She is completely unaware of the danger eagerly lurking beneath them.
"Just-" Taye seems to briefly vibrate with indecision, and then with a grunt he sheaths his knife and strides back across the ship, to Desmond. "... I'll do it." And /ugh/, one of those holes again. He almost loses a foot into one of them as the deck gives a pitch. Stopping beside Des, he starts by tugging his shirt off and kicking off his boots, because if he's going to get wet he's damn sure going to have at least /some/ dry clothing, and is about to jump in to swim from the other ship when- oh. Oh. OH. He actually teeters on the edge of the deck, almost going over, his arms pin-wheeling slightly, when he reaches out to snag his paw on Desmond. "/Bloody hell/," he curses, along with a couple other expletives.
"What. What?" Darklett isn't taking his eyes off the entrance to the hold for very long, no sirree. "What's wrong? It's just the bloody ocean." The former colonel does a quick scan for any more incoming pirate ships such as would indicate an ambush, but they would have already seen them from far away.
Just the bloody ocean? There's a reason that hares stay on land. The ocean is a scary place. Desmond frowns as Taye approaches, for he is perfectly willing to dash with vigor into the water and swim but .. no know how make boat go. "I'm sure I can figure it out," he offers. How hard can it be? But he's startled when Taye grabs him, and he reaches out quickly with both hands to steady him, his eyes casting down for the source of hesitation. Oh. Sharks. "Serious?" he murmurs. "My fear of the unknown's saved me again."
"Hey, uh. Hey, Dark. How does your aim do... in watah?" Taye calls back towards the Colonel, with slightly raised eyebrows. He finally turns his head, his muzzle twisted in a rictus of a grin. "'Cause, um. Shh. /Shh/-" He takes a deep breath, probably to keep from screaming in frustration, and gestures, vaguely pointing towards the water. "Sharks."
On the horizon is another boat - perhaps this is a boat mating ground. Or, judging by the single-mast sail fully unfurled, someone is deliberately steering it towards the wreck. It edges closer, and two distant figures, one tall and one... not so tall stand at the bow. Do they... have their chests puffed out? Well, the taller one certainly does. They're approaching at a fast clip. They're either coming to help, or they're two /more/ scavengers who are here to sift through the wreck's remains. It's like seagulls descending on a dead whale at this point. As they approach, one runs back to seize the rudder and pitch to the left of the wreck (the side where the sharks aren't), the both of them suddenly gesticulating and pointing as 'sharks' suddenly become everyone's biggest concern.
Jinora ears perk way up. "Sharks?!" Despite her ungainly fall which, graciously, went unnoticed, she hurries to scramble to the other rail. "Sharks!" She leans eagerly to look over the edge at the creatures swimming their lazy patterns. "S-So..." She muses, casting her gaze about the wreckage for something, anything, useful when she spies the approaching vessel. "Ah, bloody hell, we've got more company."
"Sharks?" Darklett decides those other vermin are now far too scared to come out. And rightfully so. So he puts away those throwing knives and comes to the side of the boat, looking down. "My knives'll die right when they hit the water. Don't you have your bow?" Oh. More company, huh. He looks where Jinora is looking, and goes to the bow of the wreckage to get a good sight line on the approaching boat. "I... Don't think they're a threat," he calls out over his shoulder.
"It's, um." Taye actually flushes at the question, because despite reaching back reflexively for his shoulder at the mention of it, /no/. He doesn't. "I left it on the ship," he kind of mumbles. He crouches down, snatching his shirt and tugging it on again. He then turns around and scans towards the other ship, his brow furrowing at the sight of the two distant figures. "Maybe they c'n help us," he frowns. Or try to kill them, whatever.
To be fair, the little vessel that approaches looks anything /but/ threatening. It's... tiny. A little dingy-thingy. Hard to tell about the two occupants, however. They give 'unkempt' a whole new meaning. The smaller of the two appears to be some sort of scruffy canine, with pointed ears clearly visible. At this distance, the setting sun obscures any clear details, but she can make out well enough the uniforms and long ears of the little group gathered on the wreckage. "Reckon 'ey's got 'emselves stranded," she gruffs to her taller companion; to the others it likely isn't entire audible. A little bark of gleeful laughter follows, as she points first toward the fin that again slices through the water's surface.
Desmond rubs at his hair, looking at the circling sharks. "This is really something out of a book," he wonders aloud. They probably shouldn't try stabbing any sharks, he reasons. But, he shakes his head and then snaps his eyes to the approaching vessel. Adjusting his glasses, he takes in the two figures on the ship. "At least we've got them outnumbered."
"Should learn a thing or two from /real/ castaways," the little one's companion answers as he steers the little boat alongside the wreck. "Ahoy!" he calls out in a rough voice. "Looks like you blokes 'ave the wrong ship! You need one that /moves,/ you know?" The hare's quite a sight: disheveled, a little dirty, and covered in furs - except for the threadbare jacket hanging off one shoulder. "We'll be comin' aboard shortly. Just..." He's distracted by a particularly /large/ fin that surfaces just alongside their boat, which is followed quickly by the massive angular head of a shark, thinking the small vessel might be something to chew on. It doesn't sink its teeth in, but it gives it a great big bump - just enough to toss the hare overboard right as he's preparing to hop onto the wreck itself.
"I don't know how they're going to help us, unless they... Want to /pull/ the boat toward us?" Darklett regards that entrance to the hold again, shaking his head before turning back to that boat -- and it capsizes. "Or not," he comments, and actually looks poised to jump in. Stand back. He's done this before.
"Ah'm still more concerned abou' what's undah us - sharks aside." Jinora stomps lightly on the deck to indicate the pirates, presumably, lurking beneath their feet. "Th' sharks won't....y'know, come aftah us or anythin' as long as we're not in th'watah...Right? Oh!" And then one of their strange new friends goes crashing overboard. Like Darklett, the doe braces herself against the railing as if she's going to go in after him. But that would be suicide. "Rope?!" She asks, lamely, a degree of panic to her voice. They have...wood? She chucks a hunk of ship at the shark nearest the stranger in the water.
"Don't- don't-" Taye splutters as Jinora just pitches a hunk of wood at the shark. "Don't piss it off!" Taye's really not overly fond of big predators - birds, sharks, they kind of both want to eat him. He stands there rather impotently for a moment, because there's really not much he can do to help the bloke in the water. Except, um. Maybe distract them? Oh. OH. "... Nevah mind, scratch that. Piss 'em off, piss 'em off!" Dropping to his knees at the edge of the water, he grabs a broken off plank of wood and starts smacking the water at it, trying to draw the sharks their way.
The dingy rocks wildly after the buck is dumped off it, then stabilizes as the shark moves past. It turns sharply back around and torpedoes straight toward the vagabond buck in the water, though its course is disrupted as a chunk of wood strikes the surface nearby. Reacting with predatory instinct, the shark jerks to the side and lunges, its huge head - with gaping mouth and rows of jagged teeth - breaking full out of the water, snatching the wood and splintering it.
As the hare-looking guy on the little boat makes a point of striking a pose and explaining his intentions, the dog-looking thing at his side grumbles, "Ain'cha learned yet? Less flappin' y'jaw 'n more-- well, frigg." Point made, see? Because now he's in the water, with a /shark/. On reflex she grabs for the mast, until the heaving side-to-side motions subside. "/Seriously/?!" With a distinctly wolfish growl, she snatches at the tiller of their little craft, jerking it and their boat around to get close to the larger, drifting vessel instead of the wreck. She bounds over onto the deck of the larger, grabs a coil of rope, and fastens it around her waist with a secure knot as she climbs precariously onto the railing. "/Maj'/! Swim like 'ell!"
...Yeah he's not going in. Darklett backs off and grabs his knives again where Taye and Jinora are hurling debris at the sharks, because when one inevitably comes by, he's gonna be ready to end it. He doesn't like sharks, either. His ears perk when the dog looking thing screams "Maj!" and he peers thoughtfully at her.
"Aaaah, ya spoiled it you great big fish!" the hare sputters as he surfaces, probably negating a lot of what Taye was trying to do with his own splashing as he starts to swim like hell as he was told. He's not /that/ far from the boat, but... sharks are fast, you know? He only just makes it to the hull of the derelict, slapping a paw onto its side and trying to clumsily haul himself up. "Give us a paw! Or a rope! Or something!" he calls up to the hares on deck.
Jinora did good? Oh - wow, that's...hella scary. The doe continues her course of action, chucking wood at and near the giant fish - trying to keep it away from the buck. But they have to get him in the ship! Wait - did the dog just call him 'maj'? She can't worry about that now - Jinora doesn't have a rope, but she has herself! The doe scrambles to the other side of the railing, clinging hard to the wreckage and craning over towards the waves, reaching a paw down to the hare in the water. Aaaaaaaalmost theeeere - she stretches for all she's worth. Without the safety of the railing, the reality of the sharks presence becomes harshly clear - this is very scary...Awesome.
Desmond watches the figure in the water, holding his hand to his face. Taye manages to fend off one of the sharks, for Des is pelted with splinters from the exploded plank. But, he sees, the wolf-pup has the right idea. In a moment, Des races to aid her, holding the rope in his hands. Jinora's helping, but the pup is already tied. "Go!" he says. "I'll pull you back up!" I mean, likely he'll need help, but there's plenty of that up here.
Maj? Taye's heads up with a confused blink. He's... why is the dog monster telling him to swim like hell? He almost loses track of what he's doing, letting his plank dip distractedly inro the water when the shark lunges out of the water a few feet ahead of him, and suddenly the plank he holds is yanked roughly out of his paws by a second shark swimming below. He... blinks, and stands back from the edge of the rail, holding up both paws. Nope. Nope. But then he scrambles into action, jumping over to Jinora and grabbing her legs so she doesn't /also/ go over. He peers beyond her, down into the water. At the ragged creature. His brow furrows, his head tilts.
Darklett is distracted long enough by Corbeau's shout that he doesn't even see the plank disappear. Just Taye backing up and looking horrified -- and rushing over to help. They seem to have the reaching and stability covered, so he takes up moral support. He pulls away from the ocean and runs by the railing, leaning over it. "Punch it in the /face/!" he shouts out to the overboard hare. "They don't like it when you punch their face!"
The second, smaller shark lashes around, making quick work of the plank that was just plucked from Taye's grip, then disappears somewhere under the dark water that separates the drifting, intact vessel and the wreckage. The larger circles around and comes toward the wreck, its fin breaking the surface again. It beelines toward the buck in the water as he scrambles to climb out.
The soggy hare slips further, back down into the water. Heavy wet fur coats don't do for swimming. Or climbing. He huffs and puffs as he stretches out to grab Jin's paw, scrunching his face up. "Sure, just... keep shouting. That'll chase 'em away," he mutters as he struggles for a paw hold as the horrible fin draws closer. "'No, Major, we don't have bows or harpoons, that would mean we got ready afore gettin' stranded on this stupid ship with stupid sharks an'-" He rears up, and shouts. "Punch it?! I'm getting eaten an' you're tellin' me to /punch/ the damn thing? Well lemme just see how /that/ works!" And then he /stops/ trying to grab Jin's paw, flips himself over, and lurches /towards/ the shark as it's nearly upon him. He cocks his fist, swings his whole torso, and... punches it right in the face when it gets close enough. "Shove /off,/ ya nail-headed blighter!"
The pup watches from across the wide gap of shark-invested water, dark gaze fixed and intent as her companion reaches the edge of the wreckage. From her vantage, the shark's approach is clear. "/'urry/!" she calls, voice cutting through the commotion. She wavers on the railing, feet braced apart to keep her balance, then jerks back and drops to her feet on the deck as the smaller shark reappears right below her. "Y'dumbarse, butt-ugly, too-big bloody /goldfish/," she snarks, glancing around, and snatches up a pair of fishing spears, which she spots tucked out of the way on the deck of the ship she now solely occupies. With this in hand, she turns back toward the wreck - just in time to see the waterlogged buck deck the massive shark. Right in the nose. "Yeah! /Damn/ righ'!" She releases a loud 'whoop' and a cackling laugh.
The huge shark is... punched? Not that sharks are very emotive creatures, what with the lack of specific facial muscles, but nonetheless the monstrous, carnivorous fish looks downright /bewildered/ as the blow lands, right against the tip of its tapered snout. It jerks aside, head breaking the surface of the water and then plunging under, followed by a lash of its tail that splashes a sheet of water over Taye, Jinora, and the shark-battling vagabond. As if dazed, it retreats away from both ships, turns in a slow, contemplative circle, and then slips out of sight into the depths.
Taye looks a little like he might've checked out. He stands up, now holding onto the back of Jin's uniform, so he can lean over and stare down into the water. His mouth is hanging kind of slack and he's got a completely bewildered look on his face as he watches the buck swim away and... and punch the shark. In the /face/. But that barely seems to register with him, as he mouths something silently. And then he jerks, because. Water in his face.
"There!" Darklett pumps his fist right when the waterlogged vagabond decks the shark, and he laughs. "I told you!" he shouts out as the shark starts to retreat, going over to help in the retrieval efforts himself, reaching out his paw for an extra limb to grab onto if he ends up nearest him. You'll catch your death of pneumonia, Tyree.
"He just punched th' shark." Jinora whispers in hushed awe, hanging uselessly over the edge of the wrecked ship as Taye steadies her. "In...In the face...." No! Now isn't the time to fall in love! The hare adjusts her grip on the railing. "Majah!" She offers Taye her paw so that she can sink low enough to grasp the soggy buck with her other, teetering precariously on the seaward edge of the railing. "Tack m'paw!" She shouts to him as the wriggling shadows circle, the water frothing and rolling about their muscular tails. He punched it in the face - Jinora would propose if she had a ring.
"Oh," Tyree says as the shark wanders off. He stares at the foamy water, and then at his fist, which only just slightly hurts. "Well. Guess they don't make sharks like they used to." He rolls back over and with a final push grabs Jin and Dark's paws, heaving himself over the railing. "Wouldn't make that part of our battle manual though," he says he stands up on deck and wrings out his ears before shouting casually back at the dog-thing still in the dinghy. "'Ey Corb!" he shouts over the side. "Dark's right! Just punch 'em in the face!" He puts a damp paw on Taye's shoulder. "Hi, Taye. Glad you're alive."
Is the big one gone? It might actually be. Unless it takes a page from the Jaws book, in which case, they're probably all doomed. For now it seems that only the smaller shark remains, circling around just underneath the smaller ship, making no effort to snatch at Tyree as the buck - who, let's be honest, resembles some kind of drowned rodent - finally gets hoisted up out of the water. The dog-looking thing that was just, for some inexplicable reason, addressed as 'Corb', is distracted by her own circling death-monster now that her companion is out of danger. Her ears twitch to the sound of his voice, and as she climbs back to the railing, standing poised with a spear in each hand, she calls back, "'d still rather /stab/ th' motherf--" The call of gulls, somewhere nearby, drowns out the rest of her words. A moment later, the shark's fin crests above the water right in front of her, and she /hurls/ the first spear down at it. Her efforts are rewarded with a violent thrashing of red-tinged water at the surface, as the spear is impaled deep into the shark's head, not far from the eye.
Taye's mouth is literally just hanging open at this point. As Tyree - it /is/ Tyree, it /is/ - straightens, and his paw falls to his shoulder, Taye blinks rather dumbly for a moment, and then his head turns slowly towards the dog thing. "... Hi? What." His shoulders heave with a big inhalation of breath, and then settle as as his attention comes back 'round to Tyree. He reaches up, and literally touches him in the face. Touch, touch. He's solid. Kind of... ookey, but. Solid. "Hi, Tyree." And then, quieter. "IsitreallyCorb?"
"...What?" Darklett stares at the hare they just tugged up onboard. "...Oh," he almost breathes more than says. Okay. He goes back to the railing and looks out into the dinghy, squinting. "Corbeau," he mutters to himself, then starts laughing, grinning over at Taye to catch his reaction. "Taye," he calls the major's name, stepping unsteadily around some bits of wrecked ship to get to the hare. "...Let's get everyone on the ship and back to shore." No forgetting that they're on a shipwreck that probably has more pirates onboard somewhere.
Desmond blinks. Wait. Is that Corb, then, who just stabbed a shark? When did she turn into a wolf? Or a little barbarian? He's already disoriented, but only becomes moreso by the appearance of Tyree like /right there/ next to Taye. "Well, hi, dad," he manages, sounding a little dumbfounded.
"Aye," Tyree says, calmly waiting through the touchy-feely part of Taye's shock. "Aye, it's her, Taye. An' me." He reaches up and takes Taye's paw, giving it a firm squeeze. "So stop lookin' so down, a'right?" Tyree glances over the side again, more because he heard Corbeau cursing than because she just attacked a shark of her own volition. "Is she still playing with those damn things?" he wonders quietly. "Wait, dad?" he says, spinning /back/ around to Desmond. "You don't mean me, do you?"
When the squeeze is delivered to his paw, Taye kind of leans back, as it kind of /hits/ him. And he leans around Tyree, flapping a paw at Darklett distractedly. "CORBEAU! CORBEAU, get yer arse up here!" he shouts at her. It's kind of a shocked bark. "Stop /killin'/ things!" And then his eyes come back around to Darklett. He shakes his head, like. Are you kidding me? "They're just... she's just... killin' sharks." Like one does. He reaches up, runs his fingers through his headfur. Scruffs at the back of his head. Mind blown. Was he supposed to be doing something officerly? That's okay, there's another major here, now. Get it, Ty.
"'s righ', whatcha think'a /that/, y'rot-toothed flotsam!" Corb seethes, crouching on the railing with her second spear held ready with her arm drawn tightly back. "Y'limp noodle!" Her little form is one wired knot of muscle, covered in a pelt. The wolf-head turned hood has slumped back to her shoulders, now clearly showing pinned-back ears and the distinctive shock of two-toned hair. "/Today/, m'barnacle-brained frien', 's th' day y'/die/!" As the flailing shark comes in close again, she throws the spear, piercing straight /through/ the eye this time. Death throes ensue, with lots of pinkish foam, and then the shark just kind of bobs there at the surface.
No, not up /here,/ up on the /other/ ship... Taye, why. Darklett steps back away from the major and watches as their slaver-ship-turned-navy-vessel drifts away, one of his ears straight up while the other tilts back. Meanwhile, Corbeau is murdering sharks, and yeah, of course she is. His brain is on that ship. "Okay," he resigns himself to his fate, and tugs off his shirt and kicks off his boots much as Taye had earlier, and he jumps up on the railing and takes a dive in -- well, it's just a regular jump. He doesn't dive all that much. Still, he makes his way swimming through the ocean towards their other ship to go retrieve it, because /someone/ has to.
... and then, hey. Someone's shrieking her name. Shrieking it like some sort of deranged lunatic, but at least it gets her attention. With a broad grin taking over her face, as smug as the day is long, Corbeau slowly straightens from her crouch. Still on the railing, she turns her head to squint toward the wreckage - and the grin just kind of drops away, her eyes on Taye as Darklett takes the initative to swim across. Good thing, too, because she's... not even thinking about directing the smaller ship over to the others.
Desmond watches Tyree spin like the cycle on a washing machine, replying to everyone all in a sequence. It's slightly less silly than what Corby's doing, slaying all the sharks in the ocean. "Yeah, dad." And anticipating the next question, he just adds, "And yes."
Tyree blinks a few times. "Oh," he says, then blinks a few more. He looks over Desmond's shoulder, all the happiness from finally getting back rather overwhelmed by confusion. "... But I'm not your dad," he says finally, in the manner one does when very carefully crushing a child's dream. "That'd... jus' be all /kinds/ of weird, y'know. Opens /several/ cans of worms," he says, deciding to shrug off the strange remark. "I mean, unless I missed somethin' while I was gone. Psh. Hope not."
It seems like jumping in the ocean is the thing to do, today, because Taye strips off /his/ shirt again - his boots are already off - and without further ado or any warning to the others, he steps the couple steps to the edge of the deck and dives in. And his /is/ a dive, 'cause okay, he dives all the time. Whatever. There certainly aren't /anymore/ sharks in the water. He breaks the surface with a loud curse and a gasp, because it's /cold/, and swims for the dingy. His paw slams up onto the edge, and he scrambles at the edge of it. Help. Up. in.
After hauling herself back up over the railing, Jinora has been hanging back, beaming alternatively at the reunion and the death throes of the shark the other doe so mercilessly slays. "Welcome back, sah." She salutes, with a grin. And then Darklett goes overboard - what a brave soul. The Private, in an attempt to make herself useful, sets about to poking about the wreckage once again. The thought of more pirates weigh heavily on her mind, despite the reunions at hand, but there may be something good lying about? It was obviously worth scavenging to begin with.
Whatever monumental, life-changing realization Tyree might be going through, Corbeau is oblivious. She has eyes for nothing but Taye, her features fixed in a strange, far-away look while the rest of her is momentarily paralyzed. Then, unblinking, moving much like a sleepwalker, she steps down from the railing and toward the edge of the boat - as somewhere behind her, Darklett dutifully fills his role as ship-mover. His is the only truly rational mind left among them. Still with the rope bound at her waist, she's lurched from her reverie a few steps short of the edge. Her head shakes, dog-like, and she hastily works open the knot, then reaches the edge of the deck where Taye is trying to climb over at a gap in the rail. She drops to her knees, grabbing his upper arms, Corb /hauls/ the buck out of the water. It sends them both sprawling onto the deck as, with a little keening sound, she wraps her arms around the soaking Major's chest and just... crushes him. Like it might be the tightest, most desperate hug of her entire life.
Desmond just slowly shakes his head at Tyree. "I'll let you find out on your own, I guess. Welcome back." But hey, there's her sister, crushing the life out of Taye. He smiles, but doesn't interrupt Their Moment.
"Right, right. Good t' see you, too," Tyree murmurs, distracted as he leans over the railing, happily watching Corbeau slowly constrict Taye to death. "So how's Deidra?"
Um. Ow. Taye lets out a vague 'hrk' as Corb squeezes the life out of him, but he doesn't even care because he's crushing the life out of her right back. There are really no words that quite cover the reunion, so Taye doesn't bother to speak any at first. Instead, he rolls with her and sits up on his knees, drawing her up as he does so. He presses a firm kiss to her forehead, his paws gripping into her shoulders like she might just. Flip off into the water and disappear again. "/Not/ dead," he gruffs out. Because, she's not. She's... not dead. He stares at her. Jan 13, 2016 at 11:01 p.m.
Desmond won't be goaded into elaborating. No luck there. "Uhm, well," he replies, staring at Tyree's back. How can he put it best? "Terrible." He considers, whether this is enough elaboration. "She may kill you. Since you're already dead, she wouldn't be losing anything."
Corbeau would be entirely satisfied to just let the squeeze-hug go on more or less infinitely. Her muzzle finds its way up into the spot under Taye's chin, and she makes a sated grumbly sound, then finally draws back to peer at the buck's face once he takes the initiative to sit them both upright. Behind her, the doe's scut is wagging, puppy-like, and a slow smile dawns across her face. "N'you, either." He stares at her, she stares back, lapsing back into quiet. Words? Who uses words, anyway? They're not necessary. Her hand comes up, and with her thumb she traces the scar on his forehead - long-healed and marking where he was struck. Meanwhile, Taye's scrutiny shows a doe no taller than she was all that time ago, though she's older, tougher, leaner. Her face has lost the adorable roundness of childhood, replaced with a sharp jawline; her hair could stand to be cut. "... hi."
"Right," Tyree mutters. "I figured as much." He turns to stare at the mountain. "At least she's still there. I had nightmares she'd be gone when I got back." Then his ear twitches and he looks back at Desmond, smirking. "So you /really/ thought we were dead? Huh. I'd like to know the story behind /that./" But not right now, his expression says. For now, he's looking down at his travel wear that makes him look like a barbarian, and suddenly realizing he won't be wearing them anymore, it'll be back to old Patroller dress. For some reason that hits him more than anything else.
Probably in a periphery way, Taye is concerned about the Ty/Dei dynamic, but right now he's too busy writing every inch of Corb to memory, in case she up and dies again. When she traces his scar, it draws an involuntary flinch response from the buck - he's kind of sensitive about it - but he ignores it. "... 'Llo. Um." He leans forward, then, and presses a kiss between her ears, into the too-long headfur. "... You look. Pretty great." If 'pretty great' means 'like a wolf child'. But mostly, just alive? Is pretty great.
"I don't know," Des replies, honestly. "I preferred not to think about it." But Deidra, well. Deidra thought so. Darklett does his job and brings the boats together. With a lurch, and a bump, everyone quickly makes the transfer, including Des.
The press of that his to her hair is followed by a little toss of the head, clearing Corb's bangs from her eyes. Her hazy smile has quickly deepened, shifted to something honest and sweet, in the time they've spent sizing each other up. "Y'look.." She might be about to insert a tease, maybe something along the lines of 'old man', but she's distracted as Desmond steps across. Her ears perk up, and the doe starts to rise - then pauses, to give Taye a sheepish glance. The implication is clear; they're not nearly done. Stands the rest of the way, she trots over to her bespectacled brother, throwing her arms around him. "Des!"
It's okay, Taye needs to put his brain back inside his head. After Corbeau retreats, he follows after her with his gaze briefly, then drags himself up. A shiver runs through him. "... Okay. Need t'go change." Before his fingers fall off. Oof. With that, and one final glance to Corb and Des, with a fond and kind of dazed grin, he heads to do just that.
Desmond's distracted, it seems, by all the activity moving boats. Not that there's a lot of them, but it's such a weird thing. It's like hopping clouds, the way everything still rolls under your feet. So she catches him offguard with the hug, and when he looks to her, he laughs. "Hey Corb. You stink."
Corbeau glances off after Taye, her cheek tucked to the middle of Desmond's chest, then tilts her head up to look at him. She's almost exactly the same height as her mother, which amounts to maybe a grand total of an inch of growth since she and Tyree were captured, but somehow, even with the scruffy appearance, she doesn't really look like a kid anymore. Her hands grip at Desmond's arms as she leans her head back a little, giving him a broad grin. "Yeah? Go on, ask me th' las' time I had a damn /bath/." It's rhetorical, it seems as her ears perk and her eyes light up with excitement. "Gotta fin' /da'/. 'n mum! She have th' baby yet?"
"You don't have to tell me," he replies, anyway. She's even got a fine dusting of sea-salt. On her... garb. "Why are you wearing that?" he questions, dubiously, looking her over. "It's like I lost a sister and gained a barbarian." Des pats her on the back, though, returning the hug, and then lets her release. The question, though, strikes him as funny. Something everyone would know, except her. "She did. Two again."
"Two.. 'gain," Corb echoes, and apparently finds this quite funny, because a laugh follows shortly after. "Th' hell? Tryin'a make up f' /me/ dyin'?" While they talk, the ship is turned away from the wreck and the floating shark corpse, headed toward shore. For a moment Corbeau's gaze lingers on the approaching mountain, and then it comes back to Desmond's face - and down, at his question. She grins. "Killed m'self a wolf. Figured 'e'd make a nice coat. 's /real/ cozy, y'know."
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