Saina's lungs felt like they were about to burst when, in her dimming vision, she could see someone swimming at her from above. It... She couldn't tell who it was, her vision was starting to give. She passed out entirely as she felt the around around her ankle grow colder...

[color=teal][i]A failure as always, aren't we? I refuse to die here.[/i][/color]

~~~~

The chocobo's had already been ankle deep in water and were panicking, Mercury included. Their handler was below deck and panicking just as much but he did his best to calm all the chocobos when the hull was snapped in two and water flooded in. Their handler floated in the water as the ship capsized, all the ice that had been used to hold it together disappearing as the person who had put it there surely must have died or at least passed out. He blinked awake in the water and looked to the chocobos underwater, flailing in fear and some already dead with boat shrapnel lodged into their long necks. 

He swam to their stall and pulled it open with extreme effort, bubbles coming from his mouth as he struggled and took in a lungful of air... and died, just as the stall was opened completely. The chocobos swam out and sped to the surface, their gangly land-made legs struggling to push them above water. Once they made it they cried out in confusion, a mass of 'WAAARRRK!'s and 'Twee-wee!'s as they tried to figure out in vain what was happening. Then they started diving in and out of the water, their fear quickly turning to joy as they learned this new ability. As they dove, thinking it was a game, they picked up the limp bodies of the guardian's crew as they went and finding they floated on the water well enough as a duck might. Some could even run on the water, though this was something they wouldn't learn seeing as they were already swimming in it. 

On his third dive, Mercury spotted the bodies of Saina and Maximus and shook his wet tailfeathers in joy. He dove towards them and unaware if they were awake or not, managed to get both of them onto his spacious back. He made his way to the surface in joy and popped up above the water. Another chocobo approached and they rubbed their large beaks together, this one having Urick and Naisha on its back. When they both started to admire each others new 'decorations' a chocobo further from them let out a distressed cry and they looked towards it. The kraken had gotten hold of one of them and was crushing it to death in its tentacle. Their sense of flight rather than fight initiated and they sped off with the crew on their backs, headed straight for the island in the distance and away from the looming threat of death.

~~~

A farmer in the marketplace on Kilika Island balked at the herd of chocobos that had suddenly appeared at his food cart. They were eating all of his wares, playing with it, throwing it around and generally just having the time of their lives. Chocobo's weren't native to Kilika. Where on earth did these playful creatures come from?

[color=greenyellow]"NOT MY CABBAGES!!!"[/color]

~~~

Sand blew over the face of the dark haired woman, and her mouth was filled with the taste of salt. When she cracked open her glowy blue eyes they felt like they'd been welded shut by the saltwater she'd spend her time in. She felt something cold against her lips and glanced down. A torrent of ice had expelled itself from her mouth and now melted on the white sand, the idea of what had happened to make such a thing happen made her stomach turn. She pressed her gloved hands into the sand and pushed herself up against them, her body slouching against the hot, unstable particles... and she realized that nausea she'd felt wasn't getting better, it was getting worse. Her throat burned and her gut heaved as she found herself expelling the clear fluids of her empty stomach onto the sand beneath her. 

She stayed in that position for a moment, panting. Then her panting turned into a small whimper before she made herself stand. Saina nearly fell over, finding herself incredibly dizzy and disoriented. In fact, she was only able to take a few steps before her knees buckled and she fell to them while staring out at the ocean. She looked down at her hands which trembled deeply, and pressing her gloved hands to her cheeks she could feel that she was warmer than usual. Her teeth grit and she closed her eyes. Of course. Her body was still just a body, she was extremely dehydrated after nearly drowning in the sea and swallowing all that salt water. Would a potion fix such a malady? She'd been lucky enough that her body forced out the water in her lungs as she was passed out. There would be someone to thank for that. A familiar chirrup made her look over.

Mercury played with the ball that had been stored in his saddle and chased it around on the beach. She smiled grimly. At least one of them felt good. Then her eyes turned back to the sea she considered what to do next. She needed to reunite with everyone. Could she face them after she had failed to successfully kill the Kraken? The weight of what had happened bore down on her shoulders and she looked down, gripping the loose sand tightly as she took to heart what had happened. She felt it was her fault. She could have killed that kraken... but she had failed. A pit formed in her stomach beside the nausea.

[i]She had failed again.[/i]

As she realized this her face became stressed and her heart fluttered uneasily. She let out a shuddering breath. Could she really show her face to the rest of the guardians? She was an absolute shame on all of them now. The dread filled her heart as she pressed a hand to her forehead and pushed her floating hair back, absently forgetting to put it back into its ponytail. She didn't even notice the other bodies around her. Though Mercury had, and had stopped playing with his ball to lean down, peering at the body of Maximus. Then, deciding 'Ah yes, this is the best decision ever,' proceeded to jump on top of the warrior monk and snuggle down atop him, wiggling his blue tail feathers all the way as the weight of the chocobo pressed down onto him. He rested his large head in the sand and closed his eyes. His night had been quite eventful after all.