---

The high screeching cackle of a seagull in his ear jolted Sorn back to the present. He winced; he was still tied tight to the piling where his traitorous shipmates had left him, rope and wood digging in where he'd rather it wouldn't. The damn bird stood proud atop the piling with webbed feet and a dumb stare, to announce his humiliation in a series of squeals and shrieks that echoed in the still gray morning.

He was almost glad to see the local guards march up the dock with their feathered hats and manicured mustaches. He met them with a fangy, thirsty grin.

"Captain Howler Swailes left me for your gallows," he told them through his teeth, and he watched the guards' faces slowly shift at the mention of the infamous pirate whose billion-stone bounty could feed the island for years. "But I've got something better: where to find him, how to catch him, how to kill him. Easy. I'll help you, I don't even want a cut -- all I want is revenge."

They were even dumber than they looked.

The moment the ropes slackened Sorn threw himself into the water, much to the shock of the mustachioed guardsmen. They screeched and they shrieked and they stabbed at the water with their spears. They splashed into the water after him, waving bludgeons, their soaked feathers sagging -- but he dove deep, and they never saw him resurface.

Sorn held his breath long enough to make it into the shadow of a huge tree whose roots twisted out into the water. Among the branches of the tree -- soaked and shivering, his stomach snarling -- he waited until nightfall.

The sun rose higher, dried his clothes and lulled him to sleep. Afternoon waned wearily. Crickets announced the twilight; stars peeked between the moving leaves. Sorn crept down to the grass, hidden by the night, and stiffly hobbled along the shore.

It was relatively easy to find an unattended fishing boat beached alongside a little house there, where two bright children chased fairy-sparks in the yard.

The kids stopped when he approached, and they ran when they saw the teeth in his grin. He picked up the half-eaten apple they'd dropped, secured it greedily in his mouth, and put his shoulder to the stranded boat.

By the time the fisherman came running, the boat was on the water with Sorn at the oars, an apple in his teeth, the stars shimmering in his wake -- and round white eyes watching from deep below.

The waves crashed against the rocks of the cove as Slee fumbled with the hard-shelled fruit in front of her, still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She'd overslept again - the sun was already high in the sky by the time she has rolled out of her thatch tent, and she knew she had plenty to do today even without the late start. She'd need to go on another gathering expedition at the nut groves on the other side of the island, one of the rainwater collectors had a hole that needed to be patched, she'd need to make a new skirt before the one she'd been wearing fell apart entirely, the feral cats on the mountain were having another turf war she'd have to mediate, she'd need to look presentable for her family's next visit...

And of course, there was that business with the newcomers. The tall, pale, hairless ones that had left their "ship" just floating in the bay to the south, that barked orders at each other and hunted and set fires and dug their massive holes. The things that looked like her. She frowned slightly as she cracked the fruit on the rock in front of her, juice spilling out onto the white sand. She was very curious about those things.

"Heya, Slee," a raspy voice called out to her. Slee looked up to see a small, furry shape padding towards her across the sand, looking at her intently with beady black eyes. The monkey bared his fangs in greeting as he approached, sitting down on the other side of her makeshift table.

"Ort," she answered with a mouthful of fruit. "You got something for me?"

The monkey scratched his ear. "Yeah, there's been a development or two."

Slee swallowed sharply and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "What is it? Did they do something? Does it look like they're leaving?" she blurted, her voice betraying her excitement.

"Ah, ah, ah, you know how this works. The stuff first."

Slee sighed and rummaged in her thatched bag a moment. She produced a small bundle made of leaves and twigs and tossed it over to the monkey, who snatched it up from the sand with quick fingers and immediately ripped it open to reveal the five red berries inside. The rockberries were considered a delicacy among the monkeys of the island - unfortunately, they only grew on the mountain, at elevations the creatures insisted were too cold for them. The situation worked for Slee, though; she had an infinite source of bargaining power with the little guys.

Ort popped a berry into his mouth and chewed it messily, smacking his lips and baring his teeth again. "Ah! That's the stuff."

"Now tell me what you saw," Slee said, folding her arms and peering down at him.

"Right, right. So, it was business as usual this morning, yeah? Big pink things all walking around, making noise and hooting at each other in weird hairless-speak. I'm watching from the trees, when suddenly, one of them starts yelling at the big one - you know, the one with the fur on his face - and then the big one takes this thing out, and they all go real quiet."

Slee furrowed her brow. "Thing, what thing?"

Ort popped another berry into his mouth. "Looked like that thing you keep around you," he said, gesturing to the crude stone and wood spear she kept for protection from the island's more carnivorous inhabitants. "But shiny, right? Shiniest thing I ever saw, all long and sharp. And he held it up to the other one's neck and he said something real quiet, and next thing I know they're all back to business, faster and quieter than I ever saw."

Slee scratched the back of her head, shaking sand loose from her matted red curls. "There's something going on with them," she murmured, "And I'm gonna get to the bottom of it."

"Sure you're not just curious cus they look like you?" the monkey asked, and she swatted at him in irritation. "Hey, easy, I get it. You're the only you-thing you know about, suddenly a bunch more you-things show up, you get curious. But if you ask me, I think your 'family' has it right. Whatever those things are, they're dangerous."

Slee glared at him. "Go back and keep looking. Tell me if you see anything new."

Ort shrugged, dragging the satchel of berries on the sand behind him as he rose and walked off. "You're the boss."

Slee took a deep breath and turned away. Behind her the beach gave way to the sea, still pounding on the rocks as it did night and day. She walked to the water's edge and peered down into the shallows - the water had a way of comforting her, reminding her who she was, where she was from, what she belonged to.

But this time she caught a glimpse of her own reflection, rippling in the waves. She saw her red hair, tangled about her neck, blue eyes that stared back up at her like the sea itself. She saw her arms, her legs, her smooth, pale skin - her face, the likes of which she had never seen elsewhere.

Until now.

---

"There's no food, Cap'n Howler, Sir."

A raggedy, tattered pirate stood with a rifle over his shoulder and a petrified look in his round eyes. Behind him the others made camp: cutting trees, clearing brush, setting fires and building shelters out of long fronds and branches. One of the last casks of booze had been cracked for the occasion -- solid ground, for a couple days at least! -- and already there was raucous laughter while blades flashed in the forest, searching for signs of gold or gems or something to hunt.

The cove was perfect for their purposes: sheltered and remote from the common trade routes, full of high rocks and surrounded by crystal-blue water. It was pristine, untouched, undiscovered until they'd first marred the smooth sand with their boots.

There was a certain undeniable pleasure in the destruction of perfection.

The captain raised his bearded head, his eyes piercing and his ringed rough hands clenched. "What d'ya mean, no food?"

The smaller pirate quaked. "Well -- there're some fruits that look all right to eat, but other than that just little birds and monkeys." He took in a shaking breath. "The men were p-p-promised meat, Sir --"

Captain Howler sneered, showing his browned and gold-marked teeth. "Did you search the shores? Seals and the greater waterfowl will do just as well."

"Nothing, Sir -- except." The pirate shifted in the sand. "There was a sighting of -- some kind of snake. In the water. It was enormous."

"Well." Howler squinted daggers at him. "Why are you here and not hunting it?"

"W-well, s-sir, um, it seemed they might be ... intelligent."

The cruel grin reappeared on the captain's face. "Do these intelligent snakes have guns?"

"What? N-no --"

"Do they have sabers and spears?"

"Uh ..."

"Survival of the fittest," Howler hissed. "Take Riot and Smelly and bring back enough meat for the crew." The captain watched his subordinate rush off in a terrified flurry. Howler was proud of his intimidating appearance: broad shoulders, a scraggled reddish beard, layers of fine clothes stolen from dead men and a small arsenal of blades and firearms at his ready access. He patted a small box in his coat pocket -- to ensure it was still there and safe -- and he set off to shout at the lookout for his laziness. They couldn't afford to be discovered, now that they had pulled off a heist that promised to make all of them kings of fortune.

Sorn watched from between the rocks. He shifted his view as the captain strode across the sand, shouting orders at the scurrying pirates. Good -- it seemed the box was still in Howler's left pocket. Maybe in the night, Sorn would have his chance.

For now he retreated, returned to the fishing boat he'd brought ashore and finished concealing it under long fronds and vines. His stomach rumbled. A few found fruits sated his hunger before, with a sharpened stick as a weapon, he leaped into the wilderness to explore this new island. One never knew what assets one could find just by looking.

He dodged the sight of the dispatched hunting party -- Black Eyes, Riot and Smelly, once Sorn's own best comrades -- and ducked through the thick bright forest, quiet and barefoot. He was looking for potential weapons or distractions, maybe a frightening rodent to take the captain's attention away from the little pocket-box -- but instead, a voice caught his ear.

For a moment Sorn stood listening; this was a voice he was very sure he'd never heard before, speaking in a language that sounded like nothing he'd ever heard, but that he could understand nonetheless. Slowly, carefully, he crept toward the edge of the trees -- and with his pointed stick he pushed aside the leaves to see someone leaning over a still pool of clear water. A girl?

BOOM-CRACK!

A musket-shot whizzed by his ear and tore a gash into a tree just behind Slee, showering her with splinters.

"It's Sorn!" yelled Smelly, his musket smoking. "Come out you rat!"

Sorn pressed his back against the tree and froze, his sharp teeth bared.

Black Eyes wrenched the musket out of Smelly's hands. "You idiot, he's not here! He's swingin' from the gallows!"

"I saw 'im, it was him!"

"We got meat to catch," Riot hollered over them both; he was the strongest of the three, carrying a small boat over his head. "Black Eyes, where'd you see that lizard-thing?"

Black Eyes growled, but he motioned a direction and resumed hiking toward the beach. "You got the harpoons?"

"Plenty," Riot agreed, clanking with each step.

Smelly stayed behind, peering into the forest -- waiting for movement.

Slee vanished into the undergrowth an instant after the tree exploded next to her with a crack like thunder. Above her, the trees were filled with the panic cries of monkeys and birds, fleeing from the horrid noise just as she was doing, chattering amongst themselves as to what it could have been.

She leaned against the back of a tree and took a deep breath, clutching her hand to her chest. She had seen storms before, of course - many times in her life she had sat on the beach and watched distant lightning illuminate the horizon, splitting the world with noise and fire. The Senneli told her that lightning storms were the arguments of sky-gods, scattered weapons dropped from their home amongst the clouds. Once, they had even shown her a tree on her island that had been struck by lightning long ago - she saw how it was split down the middle, warped and black, almost more like a stone than a living thing.

One of those creatures had thunder in a tube.

Slee brushed a few splinters off her shoulder idly, biting her lip. Through the trees, she heard a shout, harsh and guttural - one of the thunderer-voices. She crouched down to all fours and began crawling through the undergrowth towards the noise, slow and certain, like a cat. Her heart was pounding in her chest, but her curiosity had once again gotten the better of her, and besides; she could move quietly when she needed to.

Peering through the bushes, she caught a glimpse of the three thunderers. They were big and hairy, like all of them were, dressed in some ragged material and burned from exposure to the sun. The one with the thunder-tube was still waving it around, peering into the forest like he was looking for something else to annihilate. Another one had some wooden thing carried on his shoulders, like an enormous basket, and on his shoulders were slung several long, shiny spears with a wicked, barbed tip. Slee swallowed sharply at the sight of it - it looked just like the tool she had made herself that even now was slung on her back in just the same way, and the comparison was not a comfortable one.

"We got meat to catch," the one with the basket grumbled. "Black Eyes, where'd you see that lizard-thing?"

"You got the harpoons?" asked the third one as he stalked off into the woods. Slee wasn't close enough to tell if his eyes really were black, but that seemed to be his name. The first one followed him, and Slee realized with a jolt of panic that they were headed for her cove - her home. She had never seen them this far in the island before... were they looking for her? She didn't feel like a lizard-thing, but then, she had no idea how these things thought.

The last one, the one with the thunder-tube, just stayed in place, still peering into the jungle. Whatever these things are, they're dangerous. Whatever happened, she couldn't let them find her home - the Senneli would be there soon, and she doubted even they could stand up to creatures that had bottled the fury of sky-gods. Slee backed away, still crawling on all fours. If she could distract them, lead them away... it just had to be for a little while. Her family would know what to do.

She was so occupied with trying to come up with a plan that she almost ran into the fourth one. Tall, scarred, with teeth like a shark, he had his back pressed to a tree - hiding from the thunderer. Immediately, she sprang back, rising to her feet and pulling the crude spear off her back, leveling it at him with shaking hands. "This place isn't yours!" she screamed lamely, hoping her voice hadn't cracked too much to be intimidating.

Sorn had been far too distracted by the twitchy guy with the musket to be much concerned about anything else -- until a screamy girl on the other end of a very pointy spear startled him into raising his hands in surrender. The first thing he noticed was the uncertain shake in her grip. The second was the tremble in her voice. This girl had obviously never been in a real fight in her life. He wondered, in the back of his mind, when she'd last seen another person.

It took him half a second to comprehend what she'd just said. How was she speaking two languages at once?

"Hah?" His face twisted, confused. His posture relaxed slowly, certain now that she wasn't about to take any initiative to draw blood. His mouth curled in a sneer. "Who'd want it --?" The quiet click-hiss of Smelly's musket sounded from a distance. Before thinking, Sorn twisted forward, grabbed the girl's hands and the spear together and flung her with her weapon to the ground --

BOOM-CRACK!

-- just as the tree behind her exploded in a shower of splinters.

"I know you're there, Sorn!" Smelly called with a slightly manic lilt in his voice, as he stuffed more ammunition in his hot musket. "Come out and get yer head blown off like a good sharky-boy!"

"They'll kill you easy," Sorn snarled down at the girl, "and eat or burn everything before they leave." He peered at her, and his mouth stretched in a knowing smirk. "But I'll distract him, if you've really got the nerve to use that thing." He gestured to her spear, watching her steadily while he stepped away from the tree -- into sight of the musket.

"I got you now, Sorn!" the pirate howled.

in collaboration with @Sisyphus

Slee cried out as the shark-tooth grabbed her by the wrist and tossed her to the forest floor. There was another crack of thunder, another annihilated tree, and instinctively she covered her face to keep the shower of splinters out of it, dragging the spear along the ground as she did so. When she moved her arms away, she saw the shark-tooth snarling down at her.

"They'll kill you easy, and eat or burn everything before they leave." He bared his teeth at her, and Slee gaped at him in confusion. They? Was he not like them? Were they looking for - hunting - him? "But I'll distract him, if you've really got the nerve to use that thing."

The sharktooth stepped away from the tree, where the thunderer could see him. "I got you now, Sorn!" the creature shouted, leveling his deadly tube at his quarry. Slee didn't know if the sharktooth could be trusted; but that thing definitely couldn't. She scrabbled up to all fours and crept forward again.

"Never killed a dead man before," the thunderer said with a grin. "Any last - "

He was interrupted by a feral scream from the underbrush, as Slee bounded out from the underbrush to his flank and tackled him. It would have been so easy to run the crude spear through his chest just then, but truth be told, she had never been a killer. The thunderer flailed at her with a cry of surprise, but before he could bring his greater weight to bear, Slee slammed the blunt end of the spear hard into the side of his head, and the light went out of his eyes.

Slee rose warily, kicking the unconscious man away from her and leveling the spear at the sharktooth again. "What... are you?" What am I?

A slow, satisfied grin grew on Sorn's face to see his new wild friend take quick advantage of Smelly's narrow focus. He barked a triumphant laugh at the final blow; if there was one thing that would make Smelly furious, it was being bested in a fight by a girl. He was very glad he hadn't overestimated her.

Sorn dropped his hands in his pockets and gave the girl a lazy, jagged smile. "I'm human, I guess. Like you. But it's complicated. Like you, right?" He shifted his weight, slowly making his way closer to the fallen pirate, but stopped just before the tip of the spear could touch his chest. His eyes never left her face, if only to see how steadily she could hold her ground.

"The better question is, who are you? I'm Sorn. I'm nothing like those other humans -- mostly." His grin flashed a gleaming fang. "What say we take what we can get from Smelly here before he wakes up?" He gestured to the would-be hunter, twisted comically in the dirt.

Human. Like her.

Slee shifted her stance as he advanced on her, but stood her ground, her teeth bared. 'Sorn' was looking at her, and though he was tall, and scarred, and jagged toothed, she felt for all the world like she were looking in a clear pool, at her reflection. She lowered the spear and stepped off the unconscious human. "My name is Slee. This is my island. You can take what you want from him." The thunder-tube was lying in the mud where the human had dropped it - no doubt it was a useful tool when turned to noble purpose, but Slee was still hesitant to touch it.

She stepped towards Sorn and grabbed his face in one hand, the spear still pointed in the mud. His skin was rougher than hers, but as hairless as it looked. She sniffed and found that he smelled of sweat and saltwater; it made sense, considering he had come from the sea. She pulled back his lip with one finger, peering at his jagged maw intently. "Your teeth," she observed, "They're not like mine. Where did you come from, Sorn?"

At the lowered spear, Sorn's grin turned triumphant; he stepped forward, taking his eyes off her to wonder greedily whether Smelly's boots would fit him -- but was stopped by a hand gripping his face.

His immediate reaction was a snarl and a small backward jerk, not at all pleased by surprises or by being touched -- but he stiffened and put up with her probing and sniffing; he watched her with a hateful glare. He needed allies if he was going to do what he needed to do. He needed trust ... as much as he hated to admit it to himself.

"An eyelah," he managed to say while his lip was being pulled. He wrenched his face away from her, working his jaw to recover use of his own mouth. "An island far away you won't know about," he said dismissively. "The teeth have nothing to do with it. This was a thing that happened that I'm not talking about now. Humans have teeth like you." To prove it he kicked Smelly over and yanked up the pirate's lip to expose crooked, half-rotted, but very human teeth. His point thus made -- and still slightly bothered by her question -- Sorn proceeded to yank the boots off the pirate's feet.

"I'll help you if you help me." He pressed the sole of the boot against his foot. Close enough. He jammed them on and rummaged in Smelly's pockets, taking the belt and the blades too. "The big guy's got a box in his pocket that I want. Once I've got it, I'll help you get those humans all back on their ship and sailing away."

"You're not... talking about it?" Slee furrowed her brow at the concept. It seemed like this was a subject that Sorn didn't want her to know about, but she couldn't fathom why that might be. Maybe humans were like sea turtles, she reckoned; there was so much they wouldn't say, and Slee always found talking to them somehow upsetting. She resolved to drop the subject for now.

Slee watched intently as Sorn stripped the other human, taking his foot-coverings and the shiny blades he wore around his waist. "It sounds like there's a lot of humans where you come from. Is that why they came here? Did you chase them here for the... box?" Finally, something about the situation was starting to make sense. Ever since the ship arrived, she had wondered why they had come; it never occurred to her that they might be running from something. She'd spoken to prey animals enough to know that sometimes fleeing beasts found themselves in strange places.

Then, something occured to her, and a broad grin spread across Slee's face. "I can help you get your box. Or at least, I know someone who can." She'd first met Ort when the small monkey was stealing berries out of her pouch - she'd never encountered another creature more adept at the art of pilfering than him. She knew he'd probably be looking for her in the cove - she'd told him to come find her if he saw anything, and she was prepared to bet that all this commotion counted. Slee slung the spear over her shoulder and motioned for Sorn to follow her through the brush. "We'll go home and find him, and while we're there we'll talk to my family and see if they think you can be trusted. Then, we'll get your box back, and you and all the other humans will leave, and never come back. And take your thunder and your sharp things with you."

Sorn only grinned, but didn't answer Slee's first question. It was just fine that she went on believing that this shipful of bloodthirsty pirates had fled to the safety of a remote island just because they were pursued by him. The very thought stroked his smug self-importance, so that his posture was far more relaxed as he stood and secured the musket to his back. His grin only broadened -- if a bit savagely -- at the idea that his box would soon be within reach. He hurried after Slee, traversing the wilderness with a nimble confidence that echoed his own familiarity with untamed forests.

"Family, huh?" he said the word with a lilt of amusement. She'd made it perfectly clear that she'd never seen another human, which meant this family of hers was going to be hilarious. He began running through the possibilities. Monkeys? Turtles? Definitely a bunch of turtles that she talked to every day as if they could --

A puzzling thought resurfaced, and his grin faded while he watched her leap and dart ahead through the thick underbrush. "If you've never seen humans," he began cautiously, "where'd you learn to talk?"

When the leaves and the vines cleared, they would see the deep muddled footprints leading out across the white sand ahead of them -- and a small boat floating silently in the cove.

Riot stood in the bow, a harpoon held at ready over his head, peering down into the clear water. Black Eyes held the paddles still. In the bottom of the boat were already a few big fish and a little shark, all dead and bleeding -- but Riot's attention was for bigger game.

in collaboration with @Mokley

Slee was surprised at the grace Sorn displayed in weaving through the forest - the other humans she had seen had been nothing but clumsy as they stumbled through the trees. It made sense, of course, if he was from an island too. While they walked, she snuck a few glances back at him to examine his clothing - she'd been too perplexed at his face to wonder at what he wore when first she saw him, but she was just now noticing their strangeness, as well. They looked dark and sturdy, made out of some material she had never seen before - she wondered what strange trees they had on his island, to make such things.

Slee had learned the value of clothing for warmth and protection long ago. When she was younger, her efforts at dressing herself had been very poor; the Senneli had no use for clothes, and so in that endeavor they were not much help. Making things was just something you got better at the longer you did it - and so it seemed that on Sorn's island, they had been making things for a very long time. "I like your clothes," she said absentmindedly. "Will you teach me how to make them?"

His own question registered in her brain, and Slee furrowed her brow. "What do you mean? Everything talks, not just humans." Comprehension dawned on her face, and she giggled in spite of herself. "Ohhhh. You mean, where did I learn to talk so you can understand? My family taught me. They speak the oldest language. Everything in the world can - "

The forest gave way to the beach, and Slee froze in horror. The two humans from before were floating in the basket, their spears red with blood. "No..." she murmured as the realization struck her. They hadn't come to that beach to hunt her. There was something else that came to that cove.

"No! No, no, no!" Slee screamed, leaving Sorn behind as she bolted down the beach, wading into to the water until she was nearly hip deep. "Hey! Over here!" she shouted, waving her arms, desperate to get the attention of the boat, to distract them from their awful purpose.

"Make wha?" Sorn's attention was on the bright birds and deep shadows, swaying grasses and jagged stones; this paradise was too perfect for his comfort. There was always something watching -- something with claws and an unsated hunger, or a quiet horror that walked between the dappled lights. He'd seen enough to know nothing was ever what it appeared -- except Slee, of course. The wild girl definitely seemed to be everything she at first appeared to be ...

Until she mentioned that she spoke the 'oldest language.'

By degrees recognition dawned on him -- but before he could remember where he'd heard the reference before, he nearly walked into Slee from behind.

She was petrified, but all Sorn saw were Black Eyes and Riot in a fishing boat, floating calmly in the deeper end of the cove. Slee was right to be wary of humans, but these ones weren't even looking in her direction. Sorn raised a hand to direct Slee toward a different route, out of their sight -- when she was suddenly gone, hurtling across the beach in a screeching fury.

The pirates both stood up in the boat to stare across the water at her, their jaws slackened in shock to find a girl yelling at them from the beach.

"What's she saying?" Riot muttered to Black Eyes, who shrugged and shook his head -- then looked down with a sudden shiver of cold.

"Uhh ... Riot?" Black Eyes' terrified stare was locked on the writhing thing that moved just beneath the surface of the water. He reached out a hand and grasped blindly for Riot's attention.

Riot hadn't noticed. "I think she wants help. She's not bad looking, eith--" The boat tilted violently to one side in a surge of water; the pirates ducked into the bottom of the boat, hanging on for dear life while it churned and bucked among undulating, snakelike attackers.

Sorn broke out of the forest to see the boat being tossed in rough water. He saw Black eyes clinging, sobbing, to the boat. He saw Riot climb heroically up to his feet, somehow maintaining his balance while -- rigid with rage and survival instinct -- he flung a harpoon with all his might into the moving water.

Whatever was beneath the surface gave a tremendous reactive jerk that sent pink-dyed waves crashing into the beach. With a surge and a flash of fins, eyes and teeth, the water crashed down upon the little boat and drove it down beneath.

Black Eyes immediately struggled for shore -- but Riot, with a dagger in each hand and a wild fury in his eyes, had different plans.

Slee screamed as the spear crashed through the waves. From this distance, she couldn't tell which of the Senneli had been hit - probably Pelloc, or maybe Hetch, judging by size alone. The water broiled with serpent blood and Slee struggled forward through the water, kicking off from the shore and swimming into the churning mass as the boat went under.

"Slee!" Hetch's voice boomed out as the serpent reared its head above the water. "Stay back!" One of the other Senneli screamed in pain as it thrashed - that was definitely Pelloc. Tears slipped from Slee's eyes as she swam, salt mingling with the salt water.

Hands grasped at her from the churning water, and Slee kicked back hard. The human that had panicked was clutching at her, desperation in his eyes, believing in some addled state that she had come to save him from the 'monsters'. "Get off me!" she cried, balling her fist and crashing it into the man's nose, causing more blood to spurt into the water. He fell backwards, churning water with one panicked hand as the other went up to clutch at his face reflexively.

Suddenly, Slee felt a scaly and familiar touch from below, and she relaxed automatically. Hetch lifted her up out of the water, straddling his great head as she had many times before. From her perch atop his head, she peered down at the two humans thrashing in the water, one bleeding, one still slicing frantically at the water with his short blades.

"Hang on tight," Hetch grumbled to her, and shot his head down towards the blade-wielder like a snake, jaws open wide.

Sorn was rooted where he stood on the beach, the thrashing waves foaming around his newly stolen boots; his eyes were fixed on the serpents and the shattered boat and the comparable insignificance of the two pirates floundering against the surge.

There was something ... spectacular about it. Sorn's teeth bared in a grin, and he barked a laugh at the sudden whimpering sound of Black Eyes' terror.

Riot was too busy ripping at the foam and the churning water beneath him. He heard a cry from Black Eyes, but he thought he saw a passing snakelike body, and jabbed at it with a manic howl.

When a shadow fell upon him, he looked up -- to see nothing but teeth and a dark throat. For the first (and last) time, Riot's eyes widened in horror.

The crash of Hetch's impact sent a thunder of waves rushing to shore. Sorn braced himself against the torrent of water, which brought with it the splintered refuse of the destroyed boat -- as well as Black Eyes, who choked and coughed and scrambled like a fish in the wet sand.

Once the foam had seethed away, Sorn squelched closer to the waterlogged pirate, who was dragging himself as far away from the water as possible. "Hey Blacky."

The pirate froze, and he looked up with blurry confusion to see Sorn's sharp teeth grinning cruelly down at him -- before the butt of Sorn's musket struck swiftly. Black Eyes would be out for the count for awhile.

Sorn poked Black Eyes with a boot, just to be sure there would be no more movement -- then he approached the water again, to see what had happened to those impressive monsters and his new wild-girl friend. Riot, he knew, had already become lunch. He grinned at the thought.

Hetch snapped up the human's lifeless body with a crunch as Slee slid down his back. Pelloc was still thrashing in the water, the spear embedded in his side. Slee grabbed the weapon in both hands and planted her feet on the wounded serpent's back, pulling it free with a cry.

"Oh, that hurts! That hurts very much!" Pelloc shrieked. Slee pressed her hands against the wound fumblingly, as though trying to force it closed through sheer will alone. She felt a prodding on her shoulder as Hetch's nose nudged her aside.

"Will he be okay?" she asked, peering up at the serpent.

"Most likely," Hetch grumbled. "I will need to take him home, below the waves, if he is to recover. Stay in the cove until we return. Do not do anything rash."

"I'm absolutely going to do something rash."

Hetch hissed in a way that what somewhat analagous to a roll of the eyes, and bent his head down towards Pelloc. "Foolish girl. I don't know where you get it from. Just don't die, alright?"

"I promise, big guy," Slee answered, rubbing a hand on his scaly nose. Without another word, Hetch closed his jaw gingerly around Pelloc's side, and the two of them disappeared beneath the waves.

Slee kicked her way back to the beach and stepped onto the shore with clenched fists, where Sorn was waiting for her. "It's time for them to leave. All of them."

They ... could talk? With a thoughtful glare Sorn watched the serpent's mouth make sounds that didn't match his understanding of the words -- he watched its gentle movements, too serene after just devouring a man whole. He grinned sharply; it seemed this family was far more familiar with humanity than their own human 'daughter.' He very carefully remained still, drawing no attention to himself, until the two beasts slipped beneath the splintered wreckage.

He was sure there wouldn't be much time before war broke out; when a crewmate was injured by the enemy, the ship didn't stand idle.

Slee was back again, dripping and shaking with anger -- there was a familiar sort of fire in her eyes. Sorn, in return, offered a dangerous grin. "Said like a true snake-monster." He clenched a fist in Black Eyes' shirt and dragged the pirate with him up to drier sand. "We'll need that box first. Where's your friend?"

As if on cue a monkey on a branch began to chitter and screech. It leaped to the sand, and with a hopping gait it rushed to Slee's feet, clicking and squeaking.

"Thunder!" Ort squealed in terror, having witnessed none of the horrors that Slee had just faced. "They have thunder in hollow sticks!"

Meanwhile, the pirates had finished their slipshod tents and laughed and drank around the warmth of a crappy campfire. They'd found a few crabs and oysters to eat -- their shells littered the sand -- but they all waited hopefully for the big game that the captain had promised them.

Captain Howler sat on an expensive rug, against pillows brought down from the ship. His arms were folded behind his head while he watched the glowing sunset. His precious pocket-box remained at his side.

In the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something moving in the water near the ship. A trick of the light, he assumed.

Slee patted Ort's head gently as the panicking monkey scrambled up her arm onto your shoulder. "I know, I know. It's okay, it's okay, we're going to get rid of them, okay? No more thunder tubes."

Ort took a deep breath and snapped his eyes over to Sorn, peering at him as though noticing him for the first time. "Slee," he chittered, "One of them's right there. And he's got weird teeth."

"I know, but he's a friendly one. His name is Sorn and he's going to help us make them all go away." Slee cocked her head at the monkey on her shoulder and grinned. "But we need your help to do it."

Ort leaned back, hanging onto her hair with a tiny hand. "What part of thunder in a stick did you not understand?"

"Look, it's really simple. You just need to sneak over to the big hairy one, and take something he has in his pocket. Bring it to Sorn, and he'll make them all go away. I'll give you all the snowberries I got this week, okay?"

"No way." Ort crossed his arms in a distinct gesture he had picked up from Slee and glared at her with black, beady eyes.

Slee fluttered her eyelids and pouted. "Pretty please?"

"... Alright, but you owe me a favor. What is this thing I'm getting, and how will it help?"

Slee kissed the monkey on the side of the head, provoking a perturbed squeal, and looked back over to Sorn. "He'll help us. What does this box look like, and how's it going to get them out of here?"

bad idea -- but then Slee was looking up at him with a sort of sure confidence that deflated his doom-ideas just a little.

With a sneer and an angry glare -- he still hadn't even quite realized that she'd been having a conversation with the monkey in question -- he opened his sharp mouth to protest.

He didn't have a better idea.

He closed his mouth, but not without a small growl of discontent. "If he drops it or opens it," he warned in a low hiss, "The whole deal's off." He watched her carefully to be sure she understood -- shot a glare at the monkey for good measure -- and took a resigned step back.

"It's this big," he curled his fingers, "it's made of smooth dark wood." He narrowed his eyes at Slee, considering his options. "Have him bring it to you. You open it. Then scare them all off your island. You'll know what to do when you open it."

He hefted Black Eyes up over one shoulder. "I'll make sure this one and the one you left in the woods go with them."

Slee grinned in spite of herself at Sorn's obvious frustration at her proposed solution. She could already tell that this was one used to getting his way, and it brought her an immature kind of satisfaction to see him brought around to her way of doing things. Definitely like a sea turtle.

The suggestion that she would know what to do with it, however, was one that was very interesting and more than a little uncomfortable to her. Was this a part of being human, some tool or device that he thought she would just know the purpose of? She couldn't hazard a guess.

"Alright," she said to Ort, "I'll be waiting in the forest outside their camp. It's a tiny box of smooth dark wood that the big one keeps in his pocket. You bring it to me, and I'll do the rest."

"Steal the box, bring it to you, run away," the monkey chittered. "Got it. If I die, I'll never let you forget it."

"Well, don't die then." Slee watched Ort hop off her shoulder and scamper into the trees until he passed out of sight, then turned to Sorn. "I guess I'll see you when it's done."

Without waiting for a reply, she bounded after the monkey and vanished a moment later into the undergrowth.

in collaboration with @Sisyphus

Sorn watched the sway of the grass and leaves in her wake, a twitch in his mouth, still slightly irritated at the monkey-solution, still uncertain whether he'd made the right decision in letting this girl open the box.

He shifted Black Eyes on his shoulder and hiked back into the trees; the forest glowed in the red-gold sunset. More than anything, he was curious to see how she'd pull it off. He grinned a little to himself.

"Them monsters're messin' with the ship, cap'n!"

Captain Howler sat up straight, his slightly crooked eyes locked dangerously on the pointing pirate. A few more shouts rang out among the crew, and one by one they abandoned their mugs and campfires to approach the water's edge, staring with blank incomprehension.

The ship -- anchored in the deep of the placid bay -- swayed and tossed and spun as if caught in a terrible storm. Occasionally, in the last dim glimmer of sunlight, a flash of fins and scales broke the surface and dove deep.

Howler laid an arm across an upturned knee, and he watched with mounting anger while his crew displayed their dumbfounded ignorance by standing still. "WELL?!" he hollered, startling the drunks out of their hypnosis. "Kill them! Before they capsize the ship! Find that hunting party!" he snapped at the nearest pirate, who saluted awkwardly and bounded off.

The same pirate returned only moments later -- while the rest of the crew ran into one another in their hurry to get the boats -- and stood up straight to announce his success: "Black Eyes and Smelly have returned, Sir. They're unconscious, Sir." Sorn had, after all, managed to drag both men all the way back to the beach and dump them behind a log before retreating. None of the hysteric pirates had spotted him.

Captain Howler's eye twitched. "How did they -- nevermind. Riot and the harpoons!"

"Riot isn't with them, Sir."

"Well. Find. Him." The pirate's face went three shades paler at the deadly hiss in the captain's voice, and he ran off once again. Howler remained sitting where he was, determined that his crew had to be competent enough to get rid of a few sea-serpents -- but his furious attention was focused on his precious ship and the things that dared touch it.

The little box was still nestled in the left pocket of the jacket he wore; the captain had given it no more thought.

"The things I do," Ort grumbled as he slid down the tree nearest to the human's camp. With quick, bounding strides, he hopped past the outer rim of cloth structures they had erected, leaping from shadow to shadow and careful to stay out of sight. There was some great commotion in the camp, the big smoothskins all running and shouting at something in the water. Ort knew from experience with Slee that his eyes weren't as focused as theirs, yet even so he was dimly able to perceive a flash of scales, and the sudden convulsing of the ship.

The monkey bared his fangs in exultation as the monsters around him screamed in fear and panic at the monsters in the water. Thanks, snakes.

He had to focus. Slee still needed the box if she was going to get rid of these things for good, which meant he needed to find the big one. That had never been hard before - in the week he'd been watching the camp for Slee, the big furry human had always been the loudest, always at the center of the commotion. It took only a minute or two of creeping around the chaos for Ort to find him sitting on the beach, staring at the ship in the harbor. There was no real risk of him being spotted yet; nobody was looking down, and he was very, very cautious.

Really, he was almost disappointed in how easy it was. He'd expected to have to distract the human or find some way of getting elevation in order to reach the giant's box, but there he was, sitting in the sand, oblivious to the world around him. Orn slipped two nimble paws into the creature's pocket and pulled the box free, then passed it to his tail and sauntered off. He made it halfway to the forest before he heard the monster began to panic, and the little monkey barely suppressed a chuckle as he bounded out of the camp.

Slee was waiting in the treeline as she said she'd be, wringing her hands through her still-wet skirt as she scanned the camp anxiously. She gave a brief start as a familiar weight dropped onto her shoulders, and a dark box was extended into her field of vision.

"As requested," Ort said as she accepted the box from his delicate hands. She turned as he crawled back up into the trees tail-first, still peering down at her. "Good luck."

"You're a hero, Ort," she replied, and a moment later he was gone. She glanced down to examine the box - it was a small, undecorated thing, almost innocuous for the amount of trouble that had gone into it.

Well, nothing else for it - it was high time these humans left. Slee took a deep breath and opened the box.

The crew, it turned out, was incompetent at basic motor functions.

"The boats go in the water!" Howler roared at the top of his lungs. He'd been watching the pirates search for nonexistent harpoons and wave fishhooks at each other for long enough. One might begin to think they were afraid of being eaten by whatever was on the verge of splitting their ship in two. "Blast it!" Ort had only barely retreated with the box before the captain was on his feet and striding for the edge of the sand, his musket firm in both hands. "Get me a boat! NOW!"

Howler's example was all the crew had needed. Suddenly they understood. Suddenly their paddleboats made it into the lapping water, and swords and scimitars flashed in the last dregs of sunlight. Howler climbed into one of the boats, and he stood with weapon at the ready while another pirate worked the oars. All along the beach, boats set off, their occupants brandishing rifles and muskets pointed at the monsters in the sea. Just a little closer...

The stars shimmered overhead, and the fiery gleam of sunlight sank finally below the horizon. The shift and churn of the water glinted by the brightness of the moon.

The moment Slee opened the box, a flash of warm light startled her vision. A sensation of freedom would overcome her -- as if she'd suddenly been released of lifelong, heavy shackles.

She could stand up, now. She could stand higher ... and higher. She could take full breaths for the first time, taste the wind like she never had before. She could feel the light of the stars and moon -- hear the breath of the ocean, the heartbeat of the earth.

The island was smaller, now, below her. The pirates on the beach, casting shadows by the light of their campfires, walked backward toward the water with their heads craned to stare up at her. She could see herself, so small down below, standing still, bathed in the light of the little box.

The Senneli abandoned their distraction and dove deep, leaving the ship bobbing and swaying alone.

The pirates in their boats, with their little bright lanterns, looked back to see the Anima that had risen on the island. Everything had gone still.

---

In collaboration with @Rekaigan

It was a lovely late afternoon. The sun was going down, and the skies were painted in a beautiful red and orange. The tavern bustled with noise as patrons ordered drinks and food, and the bards singing their ballads. A certain Uron sat at the counter, eating a warm stew from a wooden bowl provided by the barkeep. A much larger man sat next to the salamander, ordering a big tankard of ale. He looked down at the diminutive figure and let out a sharp bark of laughter. "Aren't you a funny lookin' lizardman, eh?! I've never seen one so small!" He bellowed, as if he wanted to embarrass the poor creature. The Uron looked up at the man, her eyes staring blankly at him.

"And I have never seen a human with such a big wobbling head." She retorted, giving the human a shrug. The man stood up from his stool, picking up the 2ft creature by the scruff of the neck, lifting her up. "What'd you say to me? Huh, pipsqueak?! It sounded like you wanted to be my new belt!" He shouted in anger. At this point the barkeep intervened.

"Hey now, don't you start a fight in my tavern. Especially against someone a third of your size." He growled. The aggressor looked at the barkeep for a moment before dropping the salamander, her body making a small 'thud' as it hit the floor. Getting up from the floor, the Uron made no further statements as she placed a few coins on the counter. However, after further inspection, the barkeep noticed that it wasn't any kind of currency he'd seen before.

"Now you're just messing with me. Get out of my tavern, you gods damned lizard!!" He bellowed as you grabbed an empty tankard, furiously throwing it at the creature, however she was already out the door by the time the tankard hit the floor.

---

After making a fair distance away from the tavern, the Uron slowed down to catch her breath. She wasn't used to running around so much, and she felt like kicking herself for forgetting to bring human currency.. Although after giving it some thought she wouldn't know how she would've gotten any in the first place. She wandered the streets for a little while, looking at the various buildings. It was interesting for her to see how empty the street was compared to the morning. The buildings were tall. Much taller than the ones at home, naturally. But these ones had triangular roofs.. How strange. Perhaps they needed to factor in the falling sky?

Since his arrival by fishing-boat to the sleepy merchant-island of Blue Sails, Sorn had uncovered what he was looking for and in the process had lost track of Slee. A part of him was glad she'd become confident enough in human company to make her own friends -- but of course, the loss of his first recruit was a blow to his ego, especially now when he actually needed her.

He was in that tavern -- nursing a hot mug of ale while he brooded over his own dim luck, dressed in layers of fine and oversized clothes the pirates had left behind on Slee's beach -- when an uproar broke out over the equally dismal day that small gecko-y person was apparently having. While the two-faced barkeep sent the gecko scrambling with a shout and a heavy projectile, Sorn's mind had only begun to turn its gears, fuzzily distracted by the wailing bard and the buzz of the ale.

By the time realization had dawned on him -- and he'd dropped a few coins for the muttering barkeep and rushed out into the sunset-orange street -- the little gecko-person was gone.

With a snarl and a quick decision, he picked a direction and started running through the twisting cobbled streets.

By an unexpected stroke of luck, within minutes of searching he turned a corner to find the small shape of that same cloaked gecko, shuffling and gawking at the houses, probably lost. Sorn stopped for a moment, hunched with his hands on his knees, to catch his breath -- then, with a sharp fangy grin he jogged forward to catch the little person's attention.

"If it's money you need," he called without bothering an introduction, "I could use help with a job. Could pay well." His voice echoed dimly on the quiet street, and he stood in his oversized gray coat and salt-weathered boots, grinning with shark-sharp teeth. "I can promise it's legal, if you care about that."

As the Uron walked amongst the buildings, she felt the something approaching her. Perhaps it was the barkeep looking for his money? Or.. Another human. She turned immediately as the man approached her, letting him speak before responding. He was trying to recruit her for something? "Ah yes. I would not mind some of your human currency. It will be useful for future endeavors." She began in a blank tone, her bulging eyes fixated upon the man. She wasn't too worried about what this man could possibly want with someone like her. If he wanted to kill her, she couldn't figure out why he'd go through such a roundabout way.

"I find it interesting that humans must reassure one another of a job's legality. It's as if you cannot trust one another." She thought aloud, scribbling notes into her notebook before realizing that the human was still standing in front of her. "My apologies, human. Pleasantries are in order. I am Zeku, an Uron from Isaimel. It is good to meet you." she says, taking a formal bow. His grin was a little off-putting for the Uron, however she had come to accept the fact that humans look very different from each other, and some potentially can look like another. Whether or not their appearance correlated with their personality was unknown to the salamander.

"Eh." Sorn waited with a patient twitch in his expression while the ... Uron? ... scribbled and articulated and bowed. He half wondered if she was mechanical in some way, but opted not to check. "Sure. Right then, this way." With his hands in his pockets, he gestured with his head and led the way down the darkening street.

Streetlights along the cobbled road flickered to life, illuminated by glass boxes full of green-glowing capsules. Sorn chose a streetlight and quickly clambered up the post; at the top he forced the box-lantern open and stole two of the green capsules before he slid down again. He handed one of them to Zeku: it was a glass ball about the size of her palm, swirling inside with a gelatinous liquid that seemed to swirl and undulate on its own accord. It cast an eerie hue on her surroundings, but made the night far easier to see in.

They passed the road to the tavern, where the brighter firelight flickered on spilled beer in the street, and where a few drunks were belching and laughing raucously -- and Sorn led Zeku onward into a darker part of town, lit only by the pale blue moon, and through the gates of the city cemetery.

Sorn hadn't slowed his pace and hadn't looked to be sure she was following. He continued on between the tombstones, some of which were dated centuries ago or were too weathered by age to be read.

Ahead rose a modest little mausoleum made of a gray-brown stone, ill maintained and very old, cloaked in snaking trails of vines. For the first time Sorn looked back and waited for Zeku to catch up, holding up his own glowing glass capsule. "There's just something in here that I need," he assured her with a smirk. "Walk where I walk, don't get lost."

With that he pushed open the groaning door and held it for her. Inside was a small room of stacked stone coffins, each given a brass nameplate. One coffin was off to the side, with no plate and no name. The cover had already been pushed aside -- and inside were stone-carved stairs that led down into complete darkness.

Zeku noticed that the man didn't respond with his name in return, as the custom implies. This confused the young Uron as she continued to try to the understand Human customs. In the end she went along with it. Perhaps he'll tell her his name at a later time. She hurried to follow her employer as his steps were much larger than hers, but she showed no real sign of tiring.

The man's movements further confused Zeku. Was it normal to climb up streetlamps like a monkey and steal the lights within? Perhaps it was just this human's way of rebelling against his people. A criminal as they called them. However, the human reassured her that this job wasn't illegal. There were many mixed messages bouncing around the Uron's mind as she stared blankly at the small green orb in her hand. She pocketed it as she lowered her lantern to eye level. Turning a dial to the left lowered a small stone into the liquid in the lantern, causing it to glow vividly. Perhaps she'll find a different use for the lamp sphere.

Zeku wordlessly followed the man, curious as to what he had in store for her. The cemetery was a very strange place for a job, but again, she had been assured that this was legal. She didn't not fully know the laws of humans, because according to some; there are unwritten laws. Why there would be such a thing, she did not know.

The Uron merely nodded in response to the human's instructions. Perhaps this place was full of traps? In which case, that would mean that they are not welcome. Walking through the door, she noticed the stairs that led downward. She decided to say something now.

"If the stairs were hidden, doesn't that mean we are not welcome? I believe you stated that this job was legal. Human law states that we cannot enter another's property without consent, yes?" She asked in a blank tone.

Sorn flashed her a sharp grin that glinted in the light of her lantern -- he'd only been waiting for an objection or evidence of uncertainty so he had an excuse to argue.

"But this isn't anyone else's property," he told her in a factual tone. "The last Tumlorain died a century ago," he held his little glowing ball up to a small plaque that showed the old birth and death years of Annabelle Tumlorain, now long gone. "This is their tomb. Since they're dead, it doesn't belong to anyone now -- therefore, we're not trespassing."

With a knowing smirk, he climbed into the bottomless coffin and began his way down the stairs. "The Tumlorain family goes back to the beginning of history," he explained, his voice echoing on the dry walls. "They were tasked with keeping watch over the dead -- to make sure they didn't rise again. They built and maintained these tunnels so that if any corpses did wake up, they'd never find their way to the surface. It's a labyrinth not many people know about. Perfect for hiding treasure."

He led the way by his meager little light, casting a haunting glow on the cracked walls -- but even as he turned down narrow hallways and entered doorways that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, he didn't stop to see if Zeku was keeping up, nor did he look back.

"There's something in here that belongs to me," he continued, though he might well be talking to himself. "But it's in a place I can't reach anymore."

He passed by other hallways and passages: one was illuminated in the distance by what looked like sunlight, though outside it was certainly nighttime. Another passage was filled with pulsing little lights like bluish fireflies -- and another seemed to be full of thick green foliage and a warm misty musk, like a small jungle growing in the dark underground. Another doorway seemed to lead into complete darkness -- but were those eyes blinking within?

Sorn gave no heed and no explanation, and turned another corner through the silent old catacomb.