"What's going on here?" Nanashi by chance caught them but he was intended to go deeper for others.

It is the red hair girl with horn along with a family of mother and daughter that seems to be one of the people he helped during the storm.

"Y-you stay away, witch!"

In the human world, actions speak louder than words, and it was even tougher for those who were different. Sonia decided to no longer waste any breath dabbling into a senseless contention. So when the woman held a praying pendant and postured it against her with mounting enmity, Sonia waited for her to finish, hoping the solemn prayer would bring her back to her sense. Whoever god she worshiped, surely He wouldn't smite her down for trying to help a desperate woman, right?

But it seemed the wrath of god didn't necessarily have to wait. At the end of her prayer, the deranged woman hurled a handful of sand at their supposed helper, startling Sonia.

"Begone!"

Such a common word for her to hear, yet this time it cut deeper than she had ever imagined. Sonia opened her lips to deny the unwarranted allegations, but every word uttered only echoed in her mind and never get out.

She steeled herself and took a few steps back. Assessing the situation. The woman was kneeling on the sands, with a daughter who was equally terrified by the situation, while she was standing, being higher than them. Not an ideal position to confer, so she kneeled, eyes met in equal height.

"Madam." she started, her expression softening. "I have but a simple question. How you are going to find your husband by your lonesome, in this situation, in an unknown place?"

"Shut it, Demon! Not your business. Begone! Let us be!" despite saying that, the woman clasped the daughter's hand and assured her. "We will find dad, we will walk on the beach looking for him. Just like the holidays we had before. Right sweetie?"
The daughter nodded, letting the mother affectionately nuzzle her forehead.

And seeing that, Sonie knew a decision has to be made. She glanced at Vivian, Ember, and others, fully acknowledging that in order to survive this, she needs people who would listen to her, to work together. And the likes of this mother could potentially be jeoparding their chance.

but she wanted to try one more time.

"Madam, did you not see that your daughter loves you? She trusted you and she wouldn't have survived without you. All I ask is for you to do another right thing and let her rest. Look at her, and see for yourself. Do you think forcing her to go on like this is a responsible thing a mother would do?"

There was a sharp retort accusing a demon like her should know nothing about raising a child. Sonia didn't try to argue and instead pointed at the resting point that now had a campfire lit.

"You might not trust me and I am fine with that. So how about this, take your daughter to rest over there." She paused and look at the other survivors carefully. "Those people were also the passengers of our ill-fated ship. The man with rice hat is a nice fellow. Don't hesitate to ask him if you need something. After you freshen up, you may go your own way. It's up to you. But remember, madam. In this situation, a child doesn't get to choose, it's you who do, but sadly it's her who will also bear the consequence of your decision."

Ember had heard enough. Sonia was trying honey, when what was needed was a bear. There was no reasoning with superstition and fear.

Sucking in his upper lip, he forced an iron composure on himself, then did his best to stride, (rather than stumble and stagger), toward Sonia and the unnamed woman, allowing his countenance to grow frightful and bewitching, working the more subtle of the magics involved in magical persuasion to fall into place around him. His appearance did not change at all, but the perception he was something powerful, eldritch, and otherworldly grew.

In the few moments it took to cross the distance, it had reached about as much strength as he had to muster, and he hoped it would do.

'Madam.' He said sharp and flat, the magic wriggling itself into the spoken words, turning them into a vehicle that drove them past the woman's defenses.

'Listen to the woman, if you know what's good for you-- There's only ONE witch around here, and it's ME.'

Terror gripped the woman like a vice, as pallor bloomed on her overexerted face. She made futile attempts at the talisman around her neck.

'That wont help you much here, madam.' Ember continued, pouring more strength into the invisible aura of terror he was projecting. 'Be careful throwing false accusations of witchcraft, my dear-- you might attract a real one, and they arent always as ... nice... as I.'

He relaxed the aura slightly before continuing.

'Madam. Powerful as even I am, i recognise when my talents are insufficient. The nice lady with the horns and piercing eyes, is just the sort we need--'

Protest and riteous anger welled in the woman's face, threatenting to overpower the magically induced terror trance, so he turned it back up again.

'Disbelieve it all you want, but it is so, Sonia here--Yes, she has a name, dahling-- is not magically inclined. That's MY speciality. No, she's a professional huntress, fur trapper, and monster hunter. The things that strike terror in the night? She dispatches them. It is often said that the divine works in mysterious ways, and that there is nothing that cannot be bent to serve its will. Does it not occur to you, that perhaps your prayer has been answered, and you are sending away your 'miracle'?'

Once more, he relaxed the aura slightly, giving the woman's mind just enough room to move again.

'Isn't curious, that when you washed up on this beach, you would find a person who is not only naturally hard to knock down, resistent to thirst or hunger, and most importantly of all, posessing the very skills needed to provide you with food, water, shelter, and those needed to find your missing gentleman?'

He relaxed the aura just a little more.

'Sure sounds like 'divine providence' to me...'

Then, just a little more.

'But what would I know about omens... i'm just a 'witch'.'

Then he relaxed it even more, now just berely projecting hidden menace.

'This nice woman may well be your ticket off this cursed island. I can guarantee you, life will be most harsh if you reject your 'miracle' dahling. I strongly suggest, that if she tells you to do something, you listen.

He turned to walk away, back up the beach, craneing his head over his shoulder.

'And if you positively MUST be in abject terror of somebody trying to help you, be in terror of the correct one. Terror is a horrid thing, and a powerful weapon, when weilded by those who know how. You would be well served, not to use that word in my presence again. Better served still, to overcome your fear entirely. Now stop endangering all of us with your disharmony, and come have a drink. Sonia found us some coconuts. I shall open one for you....DONT make me compell you again. We shall search for your man later.'

Then he released the aura completely, feeling the exertion of the effort taking its toll, but concealing it, as he once more, fought his body, harder this time, to 'stride' up the beach, and back to the encampment, leaving the woman and child in Sonia's company.

He would apologise to Sonia in private later.

Nanashi start to work again once the commotion is solved. He haven't eaten since as he woke up. Everytime he head back to the shores injured or freshly recovered survivors keep filling up the camp fire. As for those who perished, he putting them all in line and column, laying down in comfortably and peaceful posture on the shore.

He prayed with his belief for those corpses soul to ascend and find peace. Guarding it until people claim their names and bodies.

@Remuri @spiral origin@A5G

Ezekiel helped the other male survivor with organizing what would be used for the fire, now the real question was what they would use to light the flame. Being a necromancer he didn’t know a lot of other schools of magic, he felt quite useless in helping them survive. But there were his cooking and sowing skills so that he could be helpful to the group in that sense. The necromancer watched as more people washed up on shore Most of them were thankfully alive, but some unfortunately did not make it. Ignoring the woman and moving towards the bodies that were being washed up. Most of them were obviously dead, he could tell from the dark aura around their bodies. But he tried his best to resuscitate the ones that did not have the maddening aura. His luck trying to revive them depend on how long they lived after the wreck. But he was also taking a mental count of how many dead bodies there were on shore, the dead would make for good servants to help with his search.

Tending to an old man that was breathing softly, “We are glad you return to the land of the living.” Ezekiel helps the man slowly walk towards the group, “Thank you, young man, does anyone know what happened to the captain and crew? if they are still alive even?” He took a moment to cough some salt water along with some flem. While the old man was speaking to the group, the necromancer turned toward the snake woman. "The woman is obviously manic after such a traumatic event, but we are not affected by such things." Which were true thanks to the many horrible things he has seen in his short life. "But I am going to search for some materials to make fire, would you like to join me?" Of course, he was just making an excuse so he could find the book.

"Pah. Weakling." Verdant scoffed at the woman, who evidently wouldn't survive a week by herself out here. Good riddance, really. There's no place for the weak out in the wild. "Where are you even looking, all these should burn rather well." She gestured vaguely at the bunch of fallen coconut leaves, many already brown and dried. Actually, a fire could be dangerous? It could spread far with the amount of combustible scraps all around.

The snake didn't really like large fire. It messed with her senses a bit too much.

Nanashi finally decided to fill up his stomach after all the stuffs he did on sisland. He sit besides Vivian pick up some food.

"You fine?" Nanashi asked Viviana.

The black-haired man rolled up behind the small woman in the tattered bright orange jumpsuit. "Oh hey, you're the child with concealed weapons. What in the hell are you wearing? Anyway, how are you unscathed? My arm got torn off but it's fine now." He waves his elbow around while leaning forward.

@Pakde @wierdw

The woman narrowed her eyes at Sonia, distrust flagrant. It seemed almost like she was hardly registering the demoness's words and their meaning at face value, interpreting every sentence as having some insidious, manipulative quality. She glanced over at the group before quickly shifting her eyes back to Sonia, clutching her daughter closely at the mention of the girl. Her pendant was still jutted towards Sonia, warding off the supposed witch with firm resolve.

"Don't think you can trick me with your words, witch!" she exacted with conviction. "I'm no fool as to listen to the words of a demon, whose foul magic I just suffered!" It didn't seem like reasoning with her would be fruitful, the unhinged woman's judgment entirely clouded by fearful prejudice and distress.

Her attention spun towards Ember at the mage's approach, initially lashing with suspicion, but soon turning to blatant terror. She hugged her child close, breathing heavily in panic yet unable to take her eyes off the mage whose magically-altered appearance was made even more frightful from the woman's state of paranoia.

"N-No! Please! God help us!" she cried, trying to scurry away but stumbling back in the sand. As Ember continued his threatening 'counsel', the woman seemed unable to help but listen, her mind forced to heed the words, her demeanor teetering towards dread every time Ember flared his aura. She looked towards Sonia, fear and confusion in her eyes, daring not to challenge the mage's statements. She wasn't able to reply with any kind of coherence, and as Ember finished his diatribe, walking away, the woman was left shattered and shell-shocked. Her hostile attention towards Sonia seemed to have mostly dissipated, as she looked too overwhelmed to give much thought to the demoness at the moment.

Ember had definitely claimed the title of 'witch' in a most striking manner to the woman, and she was not likely to forget it any time soon, as she sat there in the sand hugging her daughter, recovering from the ordeal.

"Don't think you can trick me with your words, witch!" she exacted with conviction. "I'm no fool as to listen to the words of a demon, whose foul magic I just suffered!" It didn't seem like reasoning with her would be fruitful, the unhinged woman's judgment entirely clouded by fearful prejudice and distress.

Sonia had grown tired of hearing it to the point of complete numbness. She had given her options and would not force any of them upon them. But to think about it again, it was the child that matters now. She deserved better than... this. And to have Sonia almost turned away from them had been such a sorry state of affair.

Then, came the second voice of reason, delivered with such impact. The slender mage stepped forward.

'Listen to the woman, if you know what's good for you-- There's only ONE witch around here, and it's ME.'

He boomed, and then the air changed, winds howling and the sky darken. He lifted up his hand, and suddenly an arcane aura formed. He stood before the woman seeming now tall beyond measurement, terrible and ethereal. And needless to say, such a display of power replaced the woman's fear and distrust with pure, real terror. And between her pleadings and cries, she shifted to Sonia, asking for it to stop.

Then the mage let his hand fall, and the aura faded. After a few more words, he left, just like a subsiding storm. Sonia was equally stunned by the show but quickly recovered, and now in front of her was the same mother, full of suspicion and bigotry she was, but now terrorized and scared. Sonia couldn't say in which state she would be more reasonable.

With all that was left of her now-dwindling kindness, she smiled at them. "Please help yourself and rest. You are free to join us... or not."

The last part was uttered with clear frustration. On one hand, she was glad there was someone who put his trust in her, in another hand, she felt patronized by him butting up on something she can resolve peacefully. Might as well beat the mother into submission if we are to use fear to control.

Sonia was far from being illusioned by the grim reality they were in right now, and she knew there will be a time when she had to use a similar method to keep people in line. But that was as far as her premature consideration went. If someone expected her to be in charge, she needed people to trust, listen and be willing to work with her. Awfully optimistic and probably would get them so far, but she had to try, and maybe time will weed out those who did not adhere to the same principle.

But once again she thought it all too prematurely. Surely she could not be the only one with a plan. That would be incredibly helpful if someone else would come up with a better solution.

Being a leader had never been her strong suit. She kept reminding herself of that fact.

__________

The smell of grilled seafood was thick in the air and everyone had gathered to have their fill. Looking up to the sky, it was already past noon and certainly, time would not wait. If they wanted for some coordination, now was the time to lay out a plan and find the common ground.

Standing upon a half-buried boulder, Sonia was ready to make an...announcement? Like any other normal person, public speaking was a Yikes for her.

"Everyone, would you be so kind to spare a bit of your time, please? Thank you. My Name is Sonia Al-Hathya, a hunter by trade. As you might have noticed, we are in a very difficult situation now and-"

Stopping mid-sentence, Sonia decided to discard her formal demeanor and be more direct. After all, they are in the wilderness, her hunting ground for goodness' sake!

"We are stranded, to put it simply. On an island somewhere in the equatorial zone. That could possibly mean help will be weeks or even months away. Fortunately, being a tropical island means food will not be a difficult resource to obtain provided that this group conducts a thorough exploration of the interior of this island on a regular basis."

Sonia glanced at the so-called group and mentally assessed their capability. A few mages, a traveler who travels a lot, some cabin crews, and many civilians, mostly upper-class citizens, usually not much of survivalists, but she hoped the men could at least do some physical work. Could be a pain in the neck to deal with all that pompous attitude. A speculative assessment, yes, nevertheless if there was a different view, she wanted to hear it now.

"Now I am sure some of the upstanding gentlemen here already have a better grasp of our situation even before I addressed this matter. Let us not dawdle any further, does anyone have a plan? Let's hear it."

@spiral origin@Grade@A5G@Eviledd1984@wierdw@Zim0cron

"We should mass grave first. Those who were perished. Take their names to their family.

In my experience of expenditures. You guys should be. Prepared when getting to island. We didn't know what and who are dwelling inside the forestry. We lost some weapons the are heavy burden to carry but we should at least make something primitive.

Seems that you introduce yourself as huntress. I m fine that you may take the lead to venture and find some place to build a settlement. We also need some water line that is deep. If want to build the ship again.

When we move. I suggest. Single file, sandwiching those people who can't fight. Those who can fight will tag along with you in line and the other group is on the rare. We can put some on the middle to but it's your choice to decide in overall. Expect for the fight. We might be hostile or prey who. Dwell this island." Nanashi spoke.

@Remuri
Sonia listened patiently, and there was a hint of amusement... or sarcasm in her smile When the man voiced his opinion in such an elaborate manner.

"Mister Traveler, I simply asked for a plan. Your plan, not mine, nor dictate or suggest how should I carry out my plan." Sonia stepped down from her stone podium and sit on a nearby, more elevated boulder. "There is no leader to vote for yet, let alone elected. And I have not disclosed my plan, not yet. But I think I definitely understand where you are coming from."

"As for giving the dead proper burial. I agree with you, but I am not in a position to assign anyone to fulfill anyone's behest." Sonia pointed at the resting sailors who were mostly quiet during her speech, taking their time to enjoy the meal. "But I think the gentlemen over there would be willing to help you as a token of gratitude for the food you have generously prepared. As for the file, formation as you might call it, I think it will be reserved for later."

"Anyone else? Mind sharing your ideas?"

"You again- wait, how did you even find that thing?" One would've expected the wheelchair to sink into the depth alongside the ship, among other things. It's probably not the strangest thing this metal man had been showing, but Verdant didn't quite cared enough to worry about it. "My old clothing got shredded quite thoroughly. Found this floating not far from here."

Why were she even talking to this man anyway? Because he's showing to be difficult to kill? Perhaps. One could never lack of meat shield, but quality ones were difficult to find.

"I see."

The black-haired man on a wheelchair turned towards the loud redhead talking to the young man. Bah, he has no interest in cooperating with people. It's just going to be an annoyance. He expects nothing of this lot.

His head turned to the beach for some kind of distraction. Nothing on there. Any trees nearby that he could climb? Someone has to map out this island and look for notable spots. That redhead's quite tall for a woman. This other woman's orange tattered dress is distracting. He tried to grab the dress but she reflexively reacted, and he whispered "I just want to see what it's made of." Where has he seen this material? It's some kind of linen but it reflects light like silk... Wait a minute.

He snickered. "Hey, kid, I think I know whose dress this is. Oh, she's going to be mad." He scanned the area. "Is she still berating the widow?"

Verdant glared at the impertinent man as if he just claimed that the world is round or something equally ridiculous, slapping the errant hand away with her leftover fish. "Finders keepers." Who cares if the thing was pre-owned? She found it, it's hers now. If the previous owner tried to claim it she didn't mind shanking a bitch.

Eyeing at the mostly eaten carcass, the serpent tossed it off to the nearest bush and wiped her hand on the orange sackcloth. It didn't help much, the garment still too drenched to properly remove the fishy slime, but that can be fixed with a few more wipes.

Probably.

@A5G @Pakde

The Necromancer shook his head at the snake woman, “And we are sure that there is something interesting out there” His finger pointed towards the dense greenery a few feet away from them. It seemed to him that perhaps he would have to venture off alone, this option would not be ideal for him. However, if he had to go alone it would not be too much of a disadvantage. But his adventure through the unknown would have to wait, he could hear his stomach rumbling. Ezekiel sat down with the others, scanning his eyes on the other survivors. Taking a bit of the grilled fish, and pulled up his mask far enough so just his mouth was exposed. Quite chewing on the food that had been prepared. Personally, he thought his food was better, but beggars could not be choosers.

Listening to the demoness’ speech would be a good excuse for him to find the book. “We believe exploring the island for materials for our survival, would highen our chances of living. Also searching for any means to escape would be beneficial as well. So we suggest after eating this meal, we should explore the island immediately.” The masked mage pulled down his mask once he was finished eating. He knew that some of them would be willing to explore the island for any means of escape. Although the talks of burying the dead would make getting the bodies a pain in the butt.

Ember stooped pitifully near the fire, gently poking sticks into it every now and then, thankful for the fact, that for once, it was not something sustained entirely by magic.

He was positively drained, and probably couldn't manage more than a sputtering, and uncontrolled burst of pitiful flames had he been in the position to be trying that. The sticks were a perfectly tractable, and entirely practical, (if undignified) option, and he was very thankful for it being available.

"It sure beats sitting on the beach, in this insufferable sun all day. At least there'd be shade... Maybe we'd get lucky, and find a lake to get the salt off us. I can positively FEEL my skin puckering up like a priest of chastity at a bacchanal. We wont even discuss my hair..."

He turned to the 'very obviously a practitioner of the necromantic arts', appraising his tattered but still very apparent costume, and spoke in a hushed, private tone so that only the recipient would hear.

'I wouldn't dahling-- We have the superstitious types in our number.. The last thing we need, is a coup because somebody's dead husband is shambling around outside mucking out a latrine. If it were just us dahling, I wouldn't mind, but we must think about these things, given our circumstances. ...I'd rather not end up in a fire... Speaking of-- I never made your acquaintance-- I'm ember-- Transfigurist, and illusionist-- I specialize in fashion. ...Despite appearances... I can tell from your attire what your specialty is dahling--- I've designed similar numbers for some of my clients-- but I'm at a disadvantage for your name--"

"Who knows? Could be some man-eating tribal folks on the other side. Or some abomination from ancient times. Or just a huge stretch of nothing but ticks and leeches. Ain't in a hurry to find out." Ooh, free food. Cooked food, how nice. If she'd know she wouldn't have eaten that raw fish, but eh. More nutrient never hurt. Habitually wiping the slime which only served to spread the stain further along the sackcloth, Verdant tottered to snatch one of the grilled fish and blew into it.

Yep, a huge improvement. Now if only they had spice.

"... Ezekiel you say? ... A bit .. 'old-fashioned' isn't it?" mused Ember bemusedly.

"Well, once i've had a chance to rest up a bit, I could see about mending your robes dahling... I take great pride and care in the... care... of.. my work....."

Ember trailed off, completely taken by surprise by what had just darted in front of him. That filthy beggar woman that had been lounging outside his quarters aboard ship had clearly not only survived, but had clearly found one of his missing spring pieces.

Worse still, she was... smearing it with..... FISH GREASE.. like it was some common rag from the gutter. THAT WAS MEANT TO BE ON A HOTTIE'S TIGHT LITTLE BOTTOM, NOT ACCEPTING FILTHLY FISH JUICES!! AND THAT BUNDLE! THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE TIGHTLY WRAPPED AROUND A TASTEFUL SET OF BOSOMS, NOT SOME COLLECTION OF OLD RUBBISH!!

The surge of emotion combined with his weakened constitution, in a momentary darkening of his vision as his blood pressure spiked, and the vagal response kicked in, sending him to the sandy ground on his bottom with a thud.

Dazed, his head swam, and for a single blessed moment, he felt maybe he had just hallucinated it, and that he just needed to rest and drink more coconut water... But he rubbed his eyes, and looked again as his momentary loss of verticality dissipated. It was quite plain-- It was not a mere hallucination. Worse, the vile creature was picking her nose, and rubbing it on the bright orange trousers, along with the greasy fish juice. He felt nauseous, but summoned the power to get to his feet, then staggered toward the abominable visage of the woman...

"If you'll excuse me sir.... I need to take care... of some business...."

The world seemed to move by in a blur, as people she barely knew talked about everything from survival to petty squabbles. Her life had always been mostly easy, mostly safe, mostly guaranteed. With the one notable exception, she had never had to fight for her own survival, for he right to continue to be alive. Now her hopes seemed to lay almost entirely in the hands of strangers who barely got along, and a woman that was just a bit more demonic looking than she would have liked. At least she was not an actual demon, how her people could go about resembling those monsters was beyond Viviana's understanding.

"I can help with making some kind of camp or shelter, or at least I can do my best. I fear I would be of little use scouting or hunting," The small elven girl moved to be closer to Sonia, even with a hint of hesitation as light caught on her horns. "Whatever you say, whatever you need me to do, I am with you,"

Quietly, her hands fell back into their ideation. Tiny flickers of flame and arcs of electricity traced her increasingly alert, and frantic, finger tips.