Tiger

The Adventures of Caleb Crowsnest

Caleb paced back and forth at the edge of the blanket where Roger worked. "Are you sure that Flower is going to be okay?" He asked for what had to have been the seventh time.

Ever patient Roger just smiled. "This isn't so simple a matter as fresh water poisoning," he pointed out gently. "Edward was an easy fix, just needed some pressed ocean salt. I keep a bit around considering how close we are to the sea. I do still suspect he's got a couple complaints from whatever left him those fresh scars, but that can wait. You mortals tend to focus much more upon pain and injury. The shorter your life, the more you care about being hurt. In the span of a hundred years, what's a month of limping? But if you only live a month, well, a day is a significant amount of time to be injured."

Caleb had never had magical medical matters put so plainly before. "Is that why babies cry if they prick their fingers, but we don't?"

Roger nodded. "just that! For a baby, the pain of a prick seems to be much longer in the span of things than it seems to you. I am surprised this bird can even fly, what with having a wing in this state. There must be something more important than pain happening. I'll have your Flower mended up as best I can here in a moment, and then as soon as the bird is rested, we shall see if we can't retrace the way back to what caused this mess."

Edward nuzzled Caleb gently. "Flower will be okay. Roger did a great job with me!"

Jake nodded his confirmation. "He's always patched up Lala and me! Sometimes even pap-" he choked on the last word and blinked rapidly to prevent the tears from falling. The young child forced a smile back onto his face and straightened his spine. "Roger says that lavender and chamomile can make people feel calmer. Grandma grows some out front! C'mon! Let's go make little bundles for mama and Lala to put under their pillows tonight!"

Caleb was reluctant to leave Flower, but Jake was insistent. The two boys headed around front together in silence. Jake was still trying to maintain his forced smile and Caleb was too worried about Rainbow and Flower to begin conversation. Both boys were so caught up in their own thoughts that, despite the lack of conversation, neither heard the angry conversation until they were nearly upon it.

"What are you doing here?" Sara's arms were crossed and her tone was harsh. The recent tragedy had dulled her patience for unpleasant matters and had sharpened her irritation.

Her son smiled sincerely back at her, his hand on his daughter's head. "Kay wanted to see her grandpa, and I brought gifts for the children. I had noticed that Jake and Skyla are without proper shoes. I thought to pick some up while I purchased some for my child. A man must take care of his family after all."

"We don't want your soiled gifts." Sara spat.

For a second, fury flashed across the man's face before he smoothed it back out. He bent down and kissed his daughter on the top of her head. "Go around back, Kay, my love. Grandma seems to have had a bad day. I'll speak with her. Go take your cousins their shoes. Skyla will love the pair you picked for her. The silver buttons were a good choice." Carefully he nudged Kayden in the direction that Jake and Caleb hid. He watched his daughter disappear around the corner before turning back to his mother.

"I will not allow you to bring around anything you've bought with criminal coins." Sara snarled.

"You will never speak of my activities in front of my daughter." The cold, firm words were enough to quiet even Sara's grief for a moment. "Kayden shall never know of, nor be involved with, anything that I do. And you shall never bring her attention to those matters. She is a good girl who wants to help her less fortunate cousins. Your pride may stop you from doing what it takes to keep them fed and cared for, but mine does not. My pride leads me to do what it takes to care for my family while father is away. I suppose now that he is home, you feel the children will no longer feel the soft fingers of hunger trailing through their dreams? Or do you truly believe he shall never leave us to hard times ever again?"

He scoffed and shook his head. "I am not so foolish, mother. Kayden does not know hunger, nor shall I allow my siblings children to. But she shall also never know how it is that I keep her life as good as it is. She does not need guilt tarnishing her young life." He tipped his head, a smile crossing his handsome features. "And you, you consider yourself too noble to be the one to destroy her dreams, aren't you? To tell a young girl who's mother abandoned her that the parent that cares for her, the one that loves her, is not as perfect as she thinks."

The Adventures of Caleb Crowsnest

Caleb shifted his weight to glance again at the large clock at the end of the room. The adults (Roger) had agreed (told Caleb) that he could wait to tell the tale until both Sara and Mary were here to hear what had happened. The kindly skeleton seemed to recognize that the child had no desire to repeat the information more times than necessary. Caleb, however, had not counted upon how awkward it would be to sit and wait for the woman to arrive.

On the floor by the empty fireplace, Jake did his best to distract his little sister from her tears. She sat clutching a dolly made of rags, the body soaked with tears. Jake gave her his brightest smile. "Come on, Lala, it'll be okay. I can take care of you and mama now. I'll start selling peat moss in the town, and maybe the fletcher will take me as an apprentice. You know I'm good at finding you pretty feathers, I bet I could find some real good ones for his arrows, and he'll teach me all about making them!"

Skyla hiccuped through her tears, refusing to smile. Jake frowned a moment as he mulled over his options. He brightened as a new thought flashed through his mind. "Well what if we sing a song? I'll teach you one my friends and I sing, but you can't tell mama 'bout it 'cause it's a naughty song."

This got both Roger and Skyla's attention. Roger had an expression that looked as if he intended to be arching a long gone eyebrow. "Jake..."

Jake ignored the warning and continued forward anyway, launching into a song that Caleb recognized. "The sunny yellow cat is sitting on the stoop,
The pretty little birdy just escaped the coop,
The silly little monkey is flinging all his,
Poof there goes my coin sack, while I was out with Jack,
We spent it on the lady with the really nice,
Rack your minds for answers all you dear romancers,
So I can safely woo the king's new and pretty,
Dancing makes you oh so merry even if tunes you can not carry,
I know cause my dear wife said so and she is oh so very scary,
I mean I love my wife I've loved her all my life,
Someone get me out of here I think she's got a knife!"

Skyla managed a small watery giggle.

Caleb frowned. "Wait, you got that last verse wrong."

"No I didn't!" Jake protested indignantly.

"Did to!" Caleb sat up, starting the song over again. The last verse he looked pointedly at Jake as he finished it up, "I know cause my mama told me that it was so,
She told me on mountains, she told me high and low,
And now that I have told you, you can't say you don't know!"

Jake frowned. "It doesn't go like that."

"Does to!"

The boys were still arguing when a familiar barking interrupted their conversation. "Ribbon!" Jake and Skyla bolted for the door.

Caleb bolted after them, an eager smile on his face. "Rainbow!" He scrambled into the yard, then froze. An unfamiliar, stern looking woman stood in the front yard, her arms crossed as she surveyed the tear stained children. Caleb's stomach dropped into his stomach hard. One here. One to arrive.

The Adventures of Caleb Crowsnest

Kayden and Ribbon sat in the dirt together, both heads tipped at the same angle as they looked up at Sara. Her stomach sunk slowly as she realized that at some point she would need to break the hearts of all her grandchildren. But why did she need to break Kayden's first? Her husband's favorite, their own little Great Traveler.

"Is Grandpa at home?"

Sara drew in a deep breath as she carefully thought over her options. She smiled. "I haven't seen Grandpa. Ribbon came running up to me out of the crowd."

A frown crossed her son's face and Sara thrilled to see his displeasure. He knew, she was certain that she knew, and now she had the best of him. He couldn't say that her husband was gone now without being the one to broach the subject first. And Sara knew without a doubt he wouldn't do that, not when he wanted her to be the one that everyone associated with the news. But now she could do it on her terms, not his. A triumphant smile worked across the old woman's features, a hint of a smirk directed his way. Once again she had beaten his plan.

Her son raised an eyebrow, then turned back to his own child with an arm extended in invitation. "Come Kayden. We will stop by to see Grandma and Grandpa later. We must finish our shopping before the fish goes bad." Kayden reluctantly disentangled from Ribbon and accepted the outstretched hand. Her son turned once more to face Sara. "Good bye, mother."

The Adventures of Caleb Crowsnest

I fixed it! <3

The Adventures of Caleb Crowsnest

Caleb took a deep breath. He'd try this again, and if it didn't work, he'd ask about just walking into town instead. Eddy seemed much healthier now that they'd had a chance to get some water. Half of his issue earlier had to be that thorn in his foot. Even as Caleb tried to convince himself, he couldn't ignore gut twisting knowledge that he was wrong. Something told him that the longer he had Eddy away from the ocean, and to a lesser extent away from any water at all, the deadlier it would be for him. His time with Edward on land was limited.

"I'll do it this time." Caleb insisted, his jaw tense with determination. "I know I can. I can do it. I've been doing it right, it just hasn't worked, but I'll make it work." The certain young boy closed his eyes to focus harder. His hand swept though the air in exactly the right way, his fingers moved in just the right pattern, he said precisely the right words. He released his magic. Nothing happened. Caleb had never been so frustrated with himself in his life. "Why can't I do this!?"

Hunter watched him with those ever patient eyes, as if they had all the time in the world. "Perhaps," he replied, as if it were the answer to everything, "you are simply not capable of it. Or perhaps, as I said earlier, you are doing it wrong. You are trying too hard, and you are rushing yourself. You will not be learning this spell today, or perhaps ever, if you can not learn to control your thoughts and your emotions more."

~~~~

Ribbon's tail flew at the familiar voice. She spun towards the sound wagging and barking. As the dog eagerly approached Sara's youngest grandchild, the older woman tensed. Her steely eyes scanned the crowds in anticipation. Her caution rewarded her the sight she had dreaded as much as she had expected. Her second born stood not far from where child and dog greeted each other affectionately. If Sara could, she would have no contact at all with the son she held no love for. It was only for the sake of her grandchild that she allowed any contact at all.

"Kayden," the man gave his mother an oily smile as he addressed his ten year old. "We still have much to do. Come along now."

Sara had always loved that name. Both she and her husband had told their children many tales of the Great Traveler. Sara did not doubt at all that her least loved son had picked that name specifically to hurt his mother. They did not like each other, and she suspected they never had.

"But papa," the youth protested, "Ribbon is home! That means Grandpa will be home as well! Won't it?"

Sara could have sworn that the man before her smiled even wider at the thought of his mother's displeasure. "I don't know. Why don't you ask Grandma? It appears Ribbon is with her."

The Adventures of Caleb Crowsnest

Caleb gave a small, awkward laugh. He was entirely uncertain what to make of this situation. He didn't know what this creature was, but he knew better than to mess with guards. And anything with that much muscle and a mouth made of weapons was nothing to sneeze at. "Sorry we disturbed you, sir. Come on, Edward, we should go."

Edward looked back at Caleb and tipped his head. "But I want to make friends." The young one protested in an especially heartbreaking tone of voice.

Caleb shook his head as firmly as he knew how. "We've got to find Rainbow. And get out of this-uh...wherever, or whatever, this is."

Byures gave them a toothy grin. "I suppose I could see you out of the forest district. Especially considering where you've managed to end up." Though his offer seemed kind, Caleb couldn't help but shutter. Something about the giant alligatorman made his every instinct scream for him to run away as fast as he possibly could.

Edward did not seem to have that same instinct. His face lit up and he tossed his mane. "Thank you, Hunter! This is a very interesting place you live in!"

Hunter just smiled that frightful grin of his again. Turning his back on the newcomers, he began to make his way through the trees and forests with an uncanny ease. Caleb drew in a deep breath before he started to follow. "Come on, Flower." The seagull soared back up into the air, though he stayed low enough and close enough that Caleb had no fears that he would become lost. His main concern now was for Rainbow. Would they ever see him again?

As the small triad traversed the dense pathways, Caleb set to formulating a plan. First things first, they would begin to ask around the human part of town for where Ribbon's owner's wife lived. Once they had located her, they would remain close until Rainbow and Ribbon showed up. Caleb was certain they could be reunited there, after all it had been their intended destination. Perhaps they would even arrive to find Rainbow waiting to chastise them for getting themselves lost.

The deeper they trooped into the forest, the easier Caleb found it to be to walk. He was beginning to become use to the natural floor of the forest with. He tripped over unseen roots far less often, and significantly fewer branches smacked him in the face as they snapped back into position in Hunter's wake. Edward, however, seemed to be having a much harder time of things. He stumbled every few steps now, and his breath was short and ragged. The child seemed to have used up all his energy on the maddening dash of before. Occasionally he winced or whimpered. Caleb's eyes flicked to Edward's unshod hooves. Perhaps that was the source of his pain, especially being so unused to land.

"Not much farther now," Byures stated over his shoulder, "and you should be able to see the first buildings emerging. Each little species has created their own take on what they think home should be like. Makes it easier to tell the districts apart, I suppose. I'l leave you at the border, and you can find your own way from there."

Caleb sighed gratefully. He felt like they had been walking for half the day now, and he wanted Edward to find a safe place to rest. "Thank you!"

The Adventures of Caleb Crowsnest

Rainbow lingered in the doorway a little longer before he retreated completely. Ribbon remained inside and helped herself to Caleb's bed. Caleb didn't mind very much. Ribbon was largely unobtrusive, and it was hard to dislike the dog. Currently she had chosen to curl herself up into a little ball in the center of his bed. It was a very obvious ploy to earn herself the entirety of the bed, and he suspected she would be successful in this endeavor in very little time. She was already pressed firmly against his spine.

Caleb thought that he might stay here forever. The safety of his bed and the warmth of Ribbon were convincing arguments for never getting up. The soft rock of the ocean, and the murmur of water against the hull a soothing lullaby. He closed his eyes again. Unfortunately his stomach had other ideas. The low ruble in the pit of his stomach indicated he would have little peace if he tried to sleep now. He'd missed at least one meal, more likely two. But could he venture out without running into Rainbow?

Reluctantly the boy sat up and swung his feet over the edge of the bed. Ribbon "wuff"ed at him, but allowed him to venture off on his own. He was disappointed to find the kitchen as unfriendly as before. Though there was food, Caleb wasn't comfortable cooking anything for himself. He wasn't about to ask Rainbow to help him make anything, so he settled for fetching one of Edward's apples. He had crunched through three bites before Ribbon was by his side.

"No, you can't have apple."

Ribbon stared up at him with large, hopeful eyes.

"I mean it, girl. No apple."

Ribbon shoved her nose into his hip and wagged her tail. Her soft eyes pleaded with him as she whined quietly beside him.

Caleb groaned. "Fine." He pulled his small knife from his pocket and carefully cut her a small chunk of apple. He tossed it towards the floor and the dog scrambled after her treat, her tail flying eagerly. Caleb felt a smile beginning to crest. Content with her reward, Ribbon started for the deck, tail wagging like a joyful banner. The young boy allowed himself to trail after her. Perhaps it was time for him to allow Rainbow to apologize. He didn't have to accept it yet, but he was at least willing to listen to the words.

Caleb stepped into the cool evening. The ocean greeted him by caressing his tear stained cheeks with a friendly breeze. The air tasted saltier outside than in, and the sky glittered as if to reward him for making a step back towards friendship. He wasn't ready to address Rainbow first so instead he turned his attention to their youngest member.

"Edward." He knew more than one set of eyes were turned his way. "I have another story for you."

Edward instantly perked up. "You do? Is this one about Prince Hector and the Eegull too?"

"No, this one's much older." Caleb settled himself on the deck and turned his face up to the familiar sky. His eyes roamed the speckles of light in search of the familiar glow. "There." He pointed up and away, back the way they had come. "Do you see those stars? They form the great sea bird. His name is Sycamore. His beak points north, so that no one shall ever be lost." As he spoke, Cable's finger traced the outline of the bird so that Edward could see it more clearly. The young hippocampus settled into his companion's side, eager for his story.

"Sycamore once traveled the entire world, helping sailors and travelers navigate safely on their journeys. One day he found the great traveler, Kayden, attempting to cross a very dangerous part of the ocean. There were serpents and giant monsters setting traps and attacks to try and stop the great traveler. Sycamore flew high above the waters and guided Kayden's ship safely past every danger.

"The monsters were very angry at Sycamore, and decided they were going to remove his eyes, so he could help no other travelers evade their hunger. The largest serpent went to Aranea to weave a net that would trap Sycamore. Aranea agreed, on the condition that she be given Sycamore's eyes. The serpent saw no reason to deny her, so he agreed. Aranea spent three days and three nights working on the finest net anyone had ever seen. At the end of the third night, the serpent took the net and captured Sycamore."

Edward interrupted, unable to contain his excitement. "Poor Sycamore! How did he not see the net?"

"Aranea is the best weaver in all the world! Her net was so fine, not even Sycamore could see it. She is up in the sky too, I will tell you more about her later. Let me finish one story before we begin a new one."

Edward nodded eagerly. "I'm sorry! You have so many amazing stories!"

Caleb was pleased with the praise and settled back into his story without any fuss. "The serpent took Sycamore's eyes, and ran away, leaving him trapped in the net. Confused and scared, Sycamore freed himself only enough to fly up to the heavens to hide, dragging the net with him. However, the serpent went back on his agreement with Aranea, and decided to keep Sycamore's eyes for himself. Aranea was very displeased with this, and so she spent five days and five nights weaving a net strong enough and fine enough to capture the serpent. That night she took all four of his legs as well as Sycamore's eyes. Thus she became Aranea the Eight Legged, and doomed serpents to slither on their stomachs for all of eternity."

"Kayden heard about Sycamore's plight, and so set about finding a new eye as a thank you for having once guided the traveler across the dangerous ocean. Kayden felt guilty about the situation, you see. The great traveler was able to find several piece of beautiful sea glass, smoothed and rounded until they reflected the world in perfect clarity. So Kayden threw these glass orbs up to Sycamore in the sky."

Caleb sat back and pointed at an especially bright star. "That's one, right there. It's called a traveling star. There are several of them, they're all brighter than the rest of the stars, and they drift across the sky. Sometimes one lines up with Sycamore's eyes, can you see how it is beside his head? It will soon be lined up perfectly. It is said that when a traveling star is lined up with Sycamore's eye, people have the ability to see with extra clarity. I'm hoping that the traveling star will line up just in time so that this skeleton doctor will have no problems seeing what will cure my town."

The Adventures of Caleb Crowsnest

Edward didn't answer. Rainbow frowned at the insubordination. However, Edward was still very young, so he decided to give him another chance. "I said," he raised his voice to make it clear he was expecting an answer, "that I see you're still capable of steady progress." He thought that to be a much more suitable change. A good captain acknowledge his crew when they did good work.

Edward still wasn't answering. In fact, he seemed to be completely ignoring Rainbow. The little creature strained his ears, just in case Edward was speaking too quietly to be heard. Triumphantly he picked up the sound of the hippocampus' voice. Edward was singing.

"-waves in the ocean, will bring you back to me. Swim, swim my darling, and go learn to be free. When you get too tired, that is when you'll see. All the waves in the ocean, will bring you back to me. Swim, swim my darling-"

Rainbow flicked his fingers at the ocean. Ahead of the ship, an arrow shaped patch of water glowed florescent pink, pointing the way back towards the ship. Thankfully Edward wasn't so absentminded that he missed the cue to turn and look at Rainbow. Rainbow crossed his arms over his chest and did his best to look impatient. "Well you were certainly distracted."

Edward beamed down at him. "Yes! I was singing my comfort song!"

Uncertain how to respond to that, Rainbow blinked. "Right."

Edward took that as an opportunity to explain. "My father use to sing it to us when we wanted to do something brave, but were just a little bit afraid. He use to go on lots of adventures, so we were always trying to impress him! He hasn't gone on any since he gave birth to us, though. So now I'm going on one for him, and when I see him again, I'll tell him all about it and let him know that my comfort song helped me do the best job I can!"

Rainbow could not have cared any less. "How long do you think it will be before we reach shore?"

"I don't know," Edward admitted, "I've never been far enough away to go to your land before. Maybe three days?" He suggested. Rainbow got the distinct impression he was making a wild guess. "That seems like a good distance for land to be!"

Rainbow decided he didn't want to talk to Eddy any more. "Go back to guiding the ship then. When will you need to sleep?"

"I'll sleep when the wind gets stronger. Caleb said that your ship will sail better with a good wind." Edward replied happily. Rainbow nodded his approval and turned away. He decided to stroll up and down the deck some while on watch. From up near the front of the ship he could hear Edward start to sing again. Perhaps, with most of the crew asleep, and Edward fully distracted, now was a good time to practice his illusions.

With a snap of his fingers several nearby ropes twisted into thin snakes. Rainbow turned to select his next target. A small crate changed into a lumpy sack. Carefully he studied the deck. There wasn't much by way of clutter up top, so the pickings were slim. He settled on a large barrel and snapped.

The barrel expanded and darkened into a misshapen boulder. Now came the hard part. Rainbow took a deep breath and slowly began to rotate the bolder. Illusions were easier when you just placed them upon things. Managing multiple illusions was more difficult than one. Controlling one without effecting the rest was his newest challenge. He wasn't very good at manipulating them. Not very good at all. So focused on his work was he that Rainbow didn't hear Caleb approaching from behind. Not until his thoughts were interrupted by a loud yell.

"Rainbow, look out!" Caleb's sword sailed through the air. It connected against the mast with a solid thud. The snake illusion broke as their bodies were severed in half.

"What are you doing!?" Rainbow shrieked, his eyes on the ruined mess of ropes. "Those were what controlled our sails!"

The Adventures of Caleb Crowsnest

"Stop! Stop! Stop! STOP!" Rainbow's voice rose in pitch and volume as they hurdled towards the whipping wall of water. His knuckles were white on the helm as he desperately wrenched it from side to side. The ship stayed on course, following the bright golden beacon of rippling mane.

Edward did not stop.

Caleb was starting to wonder if perhaps he had made a bad decision. His stomach lurched and his eyes remained transfixed on the spinning storm before them. As they drew closer still he could barely distinguish that anything existed outside of the storm. Wind and rain lashed his face and his clothes whipped about his body. A loose rope cracked and snapped. The ship groaned. Rainbow was praying to what Caleb would have suspected was a god he had never heard of, had he even heard the prayer.

Edward was looking like he had never been happier. He practically danced upon the ragged sea. "Just the fun part now! And then we'll be able to talk!"

Caleb did not agree with Edward's idea of "fun". The impossible storm became worse. Caleb was blinded by the aggressive gray. The whole world shuttered and howled. His ears rang with the noise of it. He had never heard anything that consumed him so completely. Not even the screaming in his dreams drowned out the world the way this storm did.

For just a moment Caleb loved the terror of it. For just a moment he completely forgot the lives he had taken, the blood he had spilled, the worlds he had ended. His world was ending. He threw back his head and laughed.

The laughter died in his throat. For one thing, the rain had almost instantly tried to drown him. For another, the storm was over. He lowered his face as tears and water coursed down his face. His hair was plastered to his forehead and neck as small waterfalls surged their way down his skin.

Edward popped up beside the battered craft. "Hi!" Caleb waved back weakly. Rainbow retched somewhere nearby. Edward seemed pleased with their current state of affairs. "My friends are ready to meet you!"

"What sort of a godforsaken idea was that?" Rainbow demanded. He had recovered himself well enough to shout at the young hippocampus, his face lime green in rage and possibly seasickness. "You nearly killed us all!" Edward gave no answer except to disappear below the alarmingly calm waters.

"Now that wasn't very kind." A voice from the formerly-Flower-board side of the ship thundered into their consciousness. Caleb felt more than he heard the words.

"You've hurt little Eddy's feelings." Like music in a memory the second voice wove into their minds. Something about it made Caleb feel light enough to walk on water.

"He doesn't often bring us visitors, I would expect better behavior from someone he considers to be a friend." The deafening crash of the words caused Caleb and Rainbow both to clasp their hands about their ears. Caleb felt as if someone was pounding upon it with a mace each time the being spoke.

Caleb turned slowly. Rainbow was already staring at their newest companions. Before he could stop the words Caleb asked, "What are they?"

Rainbow frowned. "A merman and a siren."

"Oh they're mortals! your voice is too much for them." The melodic answer was such a startling contrast that the poor boy nearly wept at the words. The siren ruffled his feathers. He perched on the edge of the ship, his winged arms folded across his chest. The hypnotic quality of his voice was gone, but Caleb still thought it to be the most beautiful voice he had ever head.

"My voice?" Though still powerful, the first speaker was at a comprehensible level now. "You nearly have the poor child diving over on your first syllable." The merman assessed the two people on deck, then sighed. "I will go and get Edward. Valentino, find out about our visitors. Make sure they are worthy of being his friends." Gracefully the merman disappeared below the disorientingly calm sea.

Valentino rolled his eyes and rearranged his wings more comfortably. "My dad's the lord of the ocean, I'm king of the sea. Do what I say, Valentino." Even while mocking his companion he sounded appealing. A fond smile settled on his lips and he shrugged his shoulders. "Can't say I hate him for it. Alright you two, what are you doing with Edward?"

The Adventures of Caleb Crowsnest

Caleb trudged across the deck of the ship in sullen silence. As water traced its way down his face a voice from home echoed through his mind. 'What do you mean 'why do I always sit outside when it rains'? I love the rain. It washes away the bad. It makes me clean and new. That's why, silly.'

It felt like that conversation had been lifetimes ago. He'd thought his friend had been silly for willingly getting wet every storm, but secretly had loved the idea. As the words repeated themselves in the back of his skull Caleb tipped his face up towards the clouds. The rain wasn't washing anything away and it made him hate the weather even more.

A cold sensation on the palm of his hand caused Caleb to jump. Ribbon wagged her tail, seemingly pleased to have startled him. Absently the young boy scratched her ears as they followed their short companion to the captain's wheel. Ribbon whined as Caleb let go so he could untie the spokes and take control once more.

"We should turn the ship about three degrees to the starboard side." Rainbow directed in his most commanding voice. "That's the side with your bird." Caleb had proven to be hopeless at remembering which was starboard and which was port. He could see stars on both sides of the board.

Flower ruffled his feathers indignantly against the wind and tucked his face further under one wing. Caleb dutifully guided the ship a little bit in that direction. "How much longer do you think we will be sailing for?"

"That depends." Rainbow answered lightly. He stared off the side of the ship absently, watching the black waters behind them. "Maybe a few hours, maybe a few years. Not much longer in either case!"

Caleb blinked at Rainbow. He was still convinced there was something not quite right about his companion, but he'd given up on trying to understand his answers. "Alright then."

Rainbow pulled out his spyglass and turned it to the waters. He scanned them casually. Every couple of adjustments his focus would return to the same spot in the water. After several minutes of pointlessly scanning for nothing, Caleb began to grow suspicious. Slowly the small copper eye pointed once more at that same spot in the waters approximately three ship length's behind them.

"Something good?" Caleb asked as casually as he could.

"In this rain it's hard to tell," Rainbow answered before he could remember to be evasive. The small creature winced like he was mentally kicking himself for giving Caleb something new to worry about.

Caleb wasn't about to let up now that he had a foot in the door. "What is it?"

Rainbow sighed in defeat. "I think a hippocampus. Too big a body of water for a kelpie, so I don't think we'll be eaten. Still, it has been following us."