Astray Tales

[Entry 1; "Washed Ashore"]

The unbridled cries of gulls pulsate along the misty air, whilst the sea's spray hit all in its path of flight. The ocean's briny water rippled against a sandy bank, rushing forward in continuous motions. A dark, calloused foot sank into the pristine white beach, deferring an incoming wave.

"Manon! Get back on shore!" A sonorous and lilting voice ordered, words flowing like the very water Manon was treading through. Despite the clamorous waves stifling the young man's call, the wind evidently carried his sentence to little Manon's ears.

A child just reaching the cusp of adolescence halted his trek into the ocean in search of his miniature fishing spear, having floated away from a moment of inattentiveness. Manon turned towards the mouth of a brook situated yards away, surrounded by the elders of his tribe. He glanced at the man beckoning towards him, standing taut upon the sandy bank with tanned skin that glistened in the morning sun.

Manon jumped in excitement at noticing his favorite older brother seek him out. He waved his arms high above his head in greeting, but that lasted shortly as he realized Brother Iyo looked somewhat angry. Quickly, he waded towards the shore and emerged from the turquoise waters.

A fawn-hued stretch of animal hide wrapped his spindly body. The tunic-like gown dripped with water, leaving a trail of wet sand in his wake. But that didn't stop him from tackling Iyo's larger figure.

"Brother, I've lost the spear my father gifted me. It floated away..."

The boy spoke with the same willowy tongue as the young man, words rapid and abutted. A large, calloused hand propped upon his dark brown locks and swiftly ceased his trepidation over evoking his good brother's exasperation. Manon was secretly glad that his words worked at distracting his brother, as Iyo soon adorned a conflicted expression.

"Which way did it drift?" Iyo stepped forward to survey the dwindling tides, seeking out a smooth stake-like wooden stick that many of the tribe's juveniles possessed to assist in their practice hunts. "I will retrieve it for you. Go back to the others first."

"Thank you, brother!" It wasn't as if Manon couldn't find the spear himself, but that he'd incur less scolding from his father if another sought it on his behalf and saved him from recklessly wandering off. He bounced upon his toes, chubby fingers reaching for the top of Iyo's long, raven locks. He gave a heartfelt tap before running off towards the crowd of his tribesmen nearby, yet lifting mesh nets filled with fish within their bark canoes.

Iyo paid no mind to the boy's antics, accustomed to the odd habit he had formed since a wee toddling. He instead set off westward in line with the water's movement, intuitively certain that the spear had traveled along the shoreline.

With a steady pace, he turned back to the sparsely scattered trees signifying the forest's beginning. The edge of his breechclout fluttered with the wind, as freely as his desire to use a more facile path to the isolated coastal region west of their usual fishing grounds.

The ebbing tides continued their flow with his departure, carrying along with it a certain missing spear. The wooden tool glided along unaffectedly, blending in with the daily driftwood that speckled the sea, if not for its distinctive prong. Throngs of vibrant fish, inhabitants of the coral reef below, avoided the floating harbinger of death, keenly aware of its nature.

The spear went on its way unobstructed, eventually catching against something. It was then that an exception among the waning sea creatures dared to approach the weapon, caught against a torn fabric of sorts.

Long, spindly fingers wrapped around the spear, webbed together by tender blue-tinted flesh. Soft, rounded eyes flickered over the unusually pointed stick, lasting but a millisecond as their attention returned indefinitely to a strange lump of sopping cloth bunched before them. The creature's flat unblemished face flushed with admiration as they fawned over the mysterious body, before which they carelessly threw the spear aside.