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"What a strange and beautiful world I beheld, but dangerous too, I was certain."

Halen has a plan, trouble goes down on both ships, and HOLY SHIT DARK SOULS REMASTERED JUST GOT ANNOUNCED

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Harimau ran his bucket back up the stairs and on deck once more, cursing the sky for not letting up. He dumped his water, then spotted Petal and Rita stumbling onto the deck. “Hey! Rita, you shouldn’t be up!”
He ran over as Petal dumped a pile of leather garments onto the deck. Rita pushed a hammer into Harimau’s paws as he arrived. “Help-” She said, before promptly toppling over.
Harimau was about to fawn over her but he was grabbed by Petal. “I’ll hold the raincoats, you hammer them in place.”
She scooped some nails out of her pocket and handed some to Harimau. He looked bewildered for a moment, then it clicked in his head. “Are you sure this’ll work?!”
“No!”
And with that, Petal stretched the first coat over the hole. The hole was massive, but so were the coats. The first covered about a sixth of the hole. Harimau hammered a nail through it and into the thick deck, Petal stretching it as tightly as she could. By the seventh coat, the effect was noticeable. With the hole completely covered, the flow of water was lessened significantly. However, it was still not enough. Nevertheless, Harimau and Petal continued hammering diligently as the sky continued to darken, night growing close, pulling a starry blanket over Atriea.

It was so dark, with the combination of storm and night, Pil couldn’t see anything. He sat in the cabin, pointing his spyglass this way and that, trying to see something, anything in the storm. He sighed and let it drop, looking behind him at the creaking ropes that held the wheel in place, for what good it did. He jumped as lightning flashed again, then cursed at himself for missing the opportunity to see something. He raised the spyglass once more and waited.

An hour later, they had run out of coats. The hole was completely covered in leather, nails and desperation, water constantly washing over it. Harimau, Petal and Marten observed their handiwork from below. It leaked, but kept a good portion of the water out. Most of the rowers still bailed, but their weariness and cold was slowing them down. Some were forced to stop, and huddled together under some of the de-insigniad feline uniforms. It was a night all Atrieans thanked their fur. Marten slapped Harimau on the back, wincing slightly. “I wouldn’t believe it if I wasn’t looking at it.”
Harimau grinned. “All thanks to Rita. Where is she, anyway?”
“Sleeping in the corner.”
Marten pointed to the far side of the ship, where a group of exhausted fugitives slept. Bronze and Kathresh were also there. Just looking at them made Harimau sleepy. And that reminded him of his hunger. “Do you know if they have any food on board?”
Petal shook her head. “They always load the food last. They didn’t get a chance to.”
Harimau and Marten looked at her in shock. “You mean…” Harimau began.
“We’re going to starve?” Marten finished.
Harimau looked at Marten with a look of amusement and surprise. “Well, I wouldn’t say that…”
Petal giggled. “I’ll rig something up so we can catch some fish. I used to be great at it. Don’t know if I remember all the techniques, but I’ll do my best.”
Marten looked sheepish. “I’ll help you.”
Harimau watched as they walked off to get an oar to turn into a fishing pole. Harimau decided to take a much deserved rest. But not a long one, for there was still more bailing to do. He set himself down next to Rita, then felt her forehead to make sure she was alright. She swatted his paw away, then grinned at him through half closed eyelids. He grinned back. “Sorry. I know, I can have strong maternal instincts sometimes.”
Rita chuckled, then spoke in a soft voice obviously forced upon her by her injury. “You’d make a great mother. But I’m not your daughter, so could you leave me alone sometimes?”
Harimau threw up his paws. “Alright! I’m simply keeping a promise.”
Rita patted his shoulder. “I’m sure Khol will appreciate it.”
Harimau once again fell silent. He felt a strong urge to speak, but he couldn’t break Rita’s heart. The big hyena admitted to himself long ago that he had feelings for Rita, but knew he couldn’t express them. His role was clear, and it was not romantic. His role was a protector, and protect he would. At least, that’s what he told himself.

Pil still sat in the cabin. He noticed a large improvement in the weather, and was satisfied that they would no longer need to bail. He was about to report this when one last flash of lightning illuminated their path. Through the clearing cloud and rain Pil caught a glimpse of a huge black splotch directly in their path. He sat there for a moment, not sure he saw what he though he saw. He snapped out of his momentary stillness and began to act. If there was indeed a massive island they were about to smash into, he would need to move quickly to avoid it. Running to the massive wheels, he began slicing through the ropes with a knife he found in the cabin. He cursed himself for tying them down despite the fact it was the right thing to do at the time. With a snap the first rope was away, and the second a moment later. As he worked on the third, he yelled out onto the deck. “LAND HO! BRACE FOR IMPACT!”
There was a commotion on deck. Pil was thankful for one thing: the fact that they were no longer propelled by sail. Still, the currents clearly wanted them to crash. He finally cut the last rope and hauled on the wheel as hard as he could. It was too late. First the rumbling could be felt, then scraping could be heard, then there was a crack and Pil went flying across the deck as they rammed into something.

~~~

The feline ship fared no better. Although they did not crash, or were taking on water, they were going deeper into the storm as opposed to away from it. No one was on deck save one soldier sitting miserably as a token guard. Down below, a good portion of the rest of the soldiers were having a worse time. They had to row, all on one side, to try and change their trajectory so that they were at least travelling in a straight line. Tezar sat under a blanket on the other side of the ship, shivering. Zip sat next to her. They were both munching on their portion of the rations that night. Tezar quickly finished hers, but still craved more. The reason kicked a little. Zip looked over at Tezar, seeing her discomfort. He held out the last of his food: a small fish. Tezar glanced at it. “For the little one.” He said.
She took it, devoured it and went to stand. She found she couldn’t, however, as her legs suddenly turned to jelly. She growled and slammed her fist on the ground. “Dammit!”
Zip frowned, then looked around. No one was paying attention to them. “Listen, Tezar-”
“Don’t start. I’ve made my choice.”
Zip rubbed his paws together. “Tez-”
“I said don’t! Go away!”
Zip stood up and left, not wanting to start an incident. He walked off a ways, towards the deck. He walked up the stairs and stood in front of the door, looking out through the tiny window into the night.

Once the spell had passed, Tezar felt bad. She stood up, deciding she needed to apologize. She found Zip standing still in the doorway. “Hey…”
“Hello, Tezar. Need something?”
“I…”
She sighed. “Sorry.”
Zip and Tezar stood in awkward silence for a moment. Zip spoke. “Let’s talk about this somewhere private.”
Tezar nodded. Zip opened the door, and they quickly crossed the deck towards the armory.

The guard on duty sneezed, watching them pass through the rain. He thought nothing of it, and pulled his leather garment closer to his body.

The armory was empty of souls, but full of pointy things. Tezar stayed by the door as Zip sat on a bench. “I don’t think what you’re doing is right, Tezar. I think we should tell the others, and then drop you off at the nearest outpost. You can have the child in safety.”
“Absolutely not.”
Zip furrowed his brow, then made an exasperated hand gesture. “Tezar, you’re not thinking! We’re not just talking about the danger your putting yourself in, but the child! You can’t risk someone else’s life like that.”
Tezar glared daggers at Zip. “I don’t want to get into another argument with you, so just listen to me! It’s my decision to make. It’s my child, and my body. I don’t want them growing up knowing their father was never avenged!”
“Listen to yourself! You’re consumed with this idea of revenge! It’s not worth all this… Honestly, if we weren’t ordered to catch Marten, I’d just let him escape.”
“Even after he’s stolen a boat and freed a hundred slaves?”
“Perhaps.”
Tezar paced the room. “You don’t understand my feelings at all. This is the only thing I have left, Zip. Killing Marten.”
Zip pounded the bench and yelled. “The only thing?! What about the child?!”
Tezar stopped pacing and faced the door. “I wont let them come to harm.”
“You don’t know that, Tezar!”
“I do.”
She headed for the door. Zip stood and sighed. “You leave me no choice. I hereby relieve you of duty until further notice, and confine you to the brig until we make landfall. There you will leave the ship and have your child in peace!”
Tezar was stunned. “What?! You have no right!”
“I have every right! I command you, you will listen to my commands!”
Tezar lost control of herself. She grabbed the nearest object and hurled it directly at Zip’s chest.

~~~

“I don’t know about this…” Troy said.
Halen gave her a small hug as the soldiers approached to collect the slaves. He patted her cheek. “Don’t worry, Troy. No one will know it’s me.”
She nodded, then cast her eyes downward as a soldier took her arm. Everyone went back to their business. Halen did not go back home, instead making a stop at the smithy. He opened a chest in the corner, quickly looked around to see that he was alone, before removing several jars of lamp oil. He then shut the chest, and stalked back to his house, taking the shadows to conceal his movements.

~~~

Tezar fell to the ground beside Zip’s body. She pressed her paws around where the javelin stuck out of him, only to find the wound was flowing fast and heavy. Zip coughed. “Stubborn…”
Tezar placed a paw on his mouth. “Shh! I can fix this, just don’t die on me!”
Zip pawed at the wound. “No good…”
“Shh! I said shut up! Be quiet!”
Zip obeyed. He also ceased to move. Tezar’s shallow breath was the only thing that did for the next few seconds. She slapped Zip’s face lightly. “Hey.”
She slapped him harder. “Hey! I’m sorry, you can speak now! Speak dammit!”
She fell back. “Oh, Laroja…”
She quickly stumbled to her feet and headed for the door. She opened it slowly, and peered out. The guard had his back to her. She stood in the doorway, and let the rainwater wash the deed away. She then went back inside and grabbed onto Zip’s body, dragging it out into the rain as well. She flinched at the bump his head made as it hit the deck from the small rise. She dragged the body to the edge and pushed it off, the splash muffled by the rain and waves. She then returned to the room and grabbed a uniform from the wall. She held it in the rain and quickly wiped up the spilled blood, being very thorough and getting the uniform very bloody. She then disposed of that too. Quickly washing what was left off her paws, she walked back out the door and went to the edge of the ship, then screamed at the top of her lungs. In seconds, Zik, Zif and a host of other felines were there, the guard on duty holding Tezar upright. “Sir! Sir! What’s wrong?!”
“Z… Zip… He…” She began weeping.
Zik grabbed her and flung her around, peering into her eyes. “What are you blubbering about?! Where’s out brother?!”
She pointed over the edge. Zik let go, stumbling to the rail. “No… He-”
Zif shook his head. “It isn’t possible…”
“Look!”
Everyone present followed the finger of the guard. In the water, far off, the body of Zip could just be seen through a few flashes of lightning, and even when the sky was dark. He was not thrashing about, nor was he yelling. “Brother!” Zik yelled.
Zif looked away. Tezar found her words momentarily. “We were talking… There was a wave, and- He fell over…”
“Everyone, inside.” Zif ordered. His voice was hard, and blunt. The hurt was evident in his voice.
Everyone flooded back inside. Zif stopped Tezar and the guard at the door, and nodded to Zik. “In the cabin, both of you.” He said.
Tezar sat on a bench, and so did the guard. Tezar still had a waifish look about her, so Zik began with the guard. “What did you see?”
The guard looked to Tezar, then back to Zik. “I didn’t hear or see anything, sir. I only saw the two walk into the armory. I couldn’t hear on account of the rain and sea, sir.”
Zik nodded, then looked to Tezar. “Pull yourself together, woman. Tell me what happened.”
Tezar took a deep breath. “… Well, sir. Me and Zip were talking-”
“About what?”
Tezar averted her eyes. She was on fire within. “O-Ocara, sir…”
“Go on.”
“He cheered me up, and we went back out on deck. We walked too close to the rail, and when that big wave hit us, he tumbled off the edge! Hit his head on the way down…”
“And you?”
“I caught myself on the rail. Zip has… had trouble with nausea, you see…”
Zik waved his paw. “We know. I do too, and so does Zif.”
Zif leaned forward. “You’re both telling us the truth?”
Both nodded solemnly. Zik and Zif exchanged glances. “Go.” They said.
Tezar stood and walked out the door quietly, followed by the guard. Zif and Zik looked into each other’s eyes. Zik blinked hard. “What will we do now?”
“I do not know.”
In a moment, the guard returned, surprising them both. Zik growled at him. “What is it?”
“I’m sorry, sir… I had to lie to you.”
“What?!”
The guard held up his paws. “Wait! I had to see what Tezar would say. I told you I heard nothing, but I did hear something.”
Zik and Zif exchanged another glance. “Yes?”
“I heard shouting over the rain. Zip and Tezar were fighting, sir.”
Zik stood, his blood boiling. “What were they saying?”
“I didn’t hear the exact words, sir. They were too muffled, but both were in a rage, sir.”
“Tezar lied about this…” Zif said.
“But why?” Zik asked.
Both fixed their eyes on the guard with disturbing synchronization. “If you’re lying about this.”
“You will die.”
“I swear it to be true, sir! What if… In the heat of the argument, Tezar slew Zip, and is trying to cover it up!”
“That is the logical conclusion…” Zif muttered.
Zik stood, drawing his sword. “Let’s get to the bottom of this. Our brother must be-”
Zif stayed his arm. “Be calm, Zik! We don’t have all the facts yet, and we need to take this slowly. We will question her further, and the bloodletting will come later.”

~~~


The next day, Halen whistled as he strolled into work. “Hello, smiths!”
The blacksmiths liked Halen as their leader now, thanks to his status as a ‘hero’. They all greeted him with zeal. He walked to a rack, and all the smiths followed him. He explained the day’s tasks, and sent them all off to work. He worked alongside them the whole day, even taking lunch with them. By and by the day wound down, and the sun disappeared behind the valley. Halen was hammering away at something when one of the blacksmiths tapped his shoulder. “Hello, Devon! What is it?”
Devon pointed behind him at an open chest. “Some of the lamp oil is missing. Did you already restock the lamps?”
Halen frowned and put down his instruments. “No…”
They both crossed the room and peered into the chest. There was only one masonry jar inside. Devon scratched his head. “I stocked this yesterday morning, and the lamps were full that night. I didn’t use a single drop!”
Halen picked up the jar and sloshed it around. “Maybe someone borrowed it? Or stole it…”
“We should tell someone.”
“That we should.”

~~~

Pil peeled his face off the floor and jumped up, running out the door and into the drizzle. He ran across the deck through the dazed bailers and to the edge. There wasn’t much to see, a dark void met his eyes. He saw flutters of movement, but the sky was still clouded over, and not much moonlight was breaking through. Not overly concerned about what they hit, he raced down into the holds to see what the damage was like. He bumped into Marten on his way down. “Ah! Pil! I was looking for you.”
Pil shook him. “Why are you not panicking right now!?”
“Calm down! We aren’t sinking. Come and see!”
Pil followed Marten down into the bowels of the ship, through the rowing section and down a low ceilinged hall. Harimau, Kathresh and Bronze were already there. Crouched near something. Pil felt the angle of the floor get higher as he stepped up. Kathresh poked the rock with her sword. “Got us good. We can’t sail like this.”
Bronze rubbed the back of his head. “Do we have anyone who knows how to fix boats?”
Pil crouched down where the rock had stabbed the ship below the waterline. He was thankful that it was above the water. In fact, he could see sand spilling into the ship under the rock. Harimau held his torch closer. “We’ve made landfall, though. Should we go ashore?”
Bronze yawned. “Nah… I think it would be a good idea to sleep first.”
Pil chimed in. “It’s too dark to go out there now anyway. I say we get a good night’s sleep, then see if we can find food on… wherever we are.”
Bronze nodded, and lumbered off. Kathresh cracked her neck. “I’m going to be sore in the morning.”
Everyone meandered off the find a place to rest their weary eyelids. Pil crouched down beside the rock. He patted it. “Thanks for not sinking us, friend.”
He flopped down and immediately started snoring. Soon soft snoring was all that could be heard floating through the ship was the sound of sleep, as everyone but Arbalest recuperated from the harrowing night.

Arbalest was awake, and he couldn’t explain why. He tried his best, but even with a freed oar slave as a blanket he could not catch a wink. He slipped out from under the man, who had rolled on top of him in the night, and walked on deck. The rain had stopped, and frost was beginning to settle on deck. Arbalest pulled his blanket closer to his body and looked out over the island. The sky had cleared, and Atriea’s moon shone down upon the craggy land. He could see rolling hills and trees in the distance, but other than that the islands looked barren. He half turned to go back inside, when movement in the corner of his eye made him whirl back around. He fixed his eyes on the rocks, but there was nothing. Chalking it up to his tired mind, he returned to his companions.

As soon as he left, a head popped up from behind the rocks. It gazed at the ship once more, and stood, running backwards. It tripped, fell and got back up again in a haste born of the unknown.