The beating drums of the unveiling skies woke against the heat, breezes no longer dusting off the warmth of spring. Muckface rose from his den, opening his wide eyes as he breathed in a bundle of water. He blew it from his nose like he was smoking dandelion. The buck leaned off his hammock and floated in the middle of his den, sluggishly searching for a new pair of braided tops to wear. The feathered green one? No. It wasn't too much of an occasion, not that he knew of. His long sleeved top, braided thinly, with all sorts of materials? Useful for every bellchime, it had pockets, loops for belts, ropes, and blade tassles...
Muckface nosed his way into his clothing, his fair skin glistening in the soft light of the morning sun. He peered up at the glass that sat comfortably in a circle shaped hole. The sun was hot, it was blaring. The oyewas were looking down upon their little shoal with all the hope they could give them. And one day, they were going to conquer the Sand once more, and give humankind hell. He snorted and then blew out again, a rough pain in the Lungfish's gills alerted him to his health. Had he ignored it for this long? He sneered, and quickly dressed himself in his necklaces, and decorated his golden locs with two long grass ribbons.
The lake water around his mouth seeped from his chin as he arose, lifting himself onto the spring terrain with a shudder. From cold to warm, he flicks his large tail of water and began to walk through the Shoal of Sand and Grass. It had been two cycles since rogue gunfire shot into their shoal, and almost ended the life of one of their young. The buck furrowed his brows as he remembered, seeing Riverfin as angry as he was, fleeing with an immense fear in his tail. Now, through the living breaths of the shoal, they wake early and report to Bracktooth for hunting, see Riffle and Ripple for hope, and find joy in accompanying their trainers for advice. All of them, even the younger ones, dance to the beat of the blazing sun and the tune of the calming moon. They find life at another chance, hopeful. Because they know that getting stronger is all they can do, and if they even fail a step, they will be killed by a bullet seeking flesh.
Muckface feels his pelt of scales raise as he hears a coo from another merfish, far from his sight, and as he squinted his eyes, a smile came to his face.
"Gembelly," He said, nodding his head towards her as she neared, "What's the news?"
The maid nodded her head, and took hold of his palms, both of their long fingers touching their wrists. "Rainfall is feeling a bit discouraged. She is ready for you, but I am surprised it has taken her so long to complete."
The brightest of stars rose in his head as he chuckled, his throat flexing, "Oh how long it has been since I went on sea for a Glider Exam!"
Gembelly laughed nervously, conscious to how loud they were, and then quieted him down while trying not to look too wary, "Oh shut up will you," She grabbed onto his top and pulled him closer, "Be gentle with her, she's still... afraid."
"I see," The lungfish clears his gills, "Are you sure you can't handle this? She's in the age range that you need her to be for the exam... You aren't telling me she's..."
Quietly, Gembelly speaks, "Afraid of the sea." She gives a pleading look to the secondtail, still holding onto him with care. She fears, if she lets go, she would lose all hope. The maid leans the top of her head into his chest, sighing out. "I am the teacher, I am supposed to be good at this stuff, but I can't get her to no longer fear the ocean, our waters. She barely even sleeps in the lake."
"It's worse than I thought. Riverfin told me she was getting jitters about the exam but he had not informed me of her fears. If I had known sooner..."
"Do not blame it all upon your scales, I am to be shamed as well. I should of told you. It would have made this easier," Gembelly huffs and then looks up at the buck, they pause for a moment, eye to eye. Her arms slides, leaving his palm around her side. But she quickly pulls back and she nervously laughs, "Anywho! I think.. hah.. I think Bracktooth is calling for me."
As soon as she came, she left. The maid dipped her head and walked off, keeping her tail low and her palms curled into fists. She had a fluster of red heat fill her pale face just before she stepped out of his path. And he wonders something dangerous, something alluring to his heart. But the buck furrows his brows still, and turns away. To place his mind elsewhere while the next generation he has to foster is sitting out there, waiting, beyond the trees into the training grounds of the shoal. Where the river passes through into the ocean, and there the docked boats sit... he moves his right, then his left, and he trugs through the clearing with his teeth biting his lip.
He was going to enjoy his bellchime, and make up for the years that he had lost fighting a war he never asked to live through. He will teach this generation, he will build their land, he will raise his mother's children, and grow alongside them like a guardian does. It is more than simply being there, he has to be active there.
He approached the training grounds, stepping from the forest just right beside the shore, and he smiled once he saw it.
The Grand Jade, the beauty she was as a ship and as a vessel for their craft, a boathouse created so many years ago he could date it back to when his grandparents were young. Here, these merfolk never grew up on land, they stationed on it. Their true homes, boats and the castles of the sea- sail ships. The Grand Jade was more than just a family history emblem, it was all the merfolk had if they wanted to escape without drowning in saltwater. The legend says that no sand or grass fish lets their ship sink. It's been true for thousands of years, and now Muckface is standing before the hidden gem, stored away in the dense forest, now opening her sails for him once more.. he smiles widely as he pranced closer, rubbing the hull with a chuckle.
"It has been far too long, Jade." He says to himself, and then hears a quieted sniffle, which makes him swivel his head towards a young maid.
She sits on the rocks of the mixing salt and freshwater, drying out her tears with a bundle of moss. She rubbed her face on the rock, hoping the pain would stop her from feeling the rushing emotions of sorrow. But she only grit her fangs and clenched her jaws as she felt her body worsen. There was no use. She was not going to pass, let alone move on from what happened. She still remembers. She still hears his screams before the gunfire shot right through him. What if human ships find them while she's on her trip? What if Pondface never sees her again? What if he never confesses because she's gone?
"Rainfall." The deepness of the voice wakes her, and she quickly rears back onto her hind legs, hissing a bit before realizing who it was. She dropped her stance and then felt her gut stab itself.
"I'm sorry, please don't punish me, secondtail Muckface sire.." She says, with her tail now covering her body.
"Don't stoop to that level in public, Rainfall. I heard you crying, is all. Do you need privacy?" He crouched, and ran his hand between his threads of hair, trying to keep her eyes on him. He saw it in her red eyes, she was upset. At herself, at how stupid humankind has been, how foolish her shoal has been at aiding in those they loved. She was angry, and he knew just the remedy.
Rainfall gulped, and then shook her head, uncurling her tail. She was wearing a long top like a one peice swimsuit, that filled in around her chest, hips, and thighs. She wore it like the young buck's did, but she added a few of her own things like the bones of the first baby rabbit she snapped like a twig, a few finch feathers, and pendants of seashells. She breathed in, and then out. "Muckface, I'm scared."
"Scared of what?" He asked, not bringing up what Gembelly had already confessed. It is bad enough Rainfall had pushed back her graduation single-handedly, but it's worse when she knows that it is her own fear that she can't seem to shake.
The white catfish hesitates, and then looks at Muckface with and quivering lip, "I can't go on that ship, I think I'm broken," She pauses to look down at her feet, the water passing through her toes as she stares, "I can't even go onto sea like the rest of the merfolk."
Muckface lifts her head, and nods, "I see. Well, what can I do?"
"I don't know, I guess I can just be a land mermaid," She sniffles again, and then cries, "I don't like being a land mermaid..."
Muckface holds onto her while her fists dig into her eyes. He mews softer, "What are you so afraid about when it comes to the sea?"
"Humans... saltwater..." She runs her arm under her nose, and then inhales, exhales. Her fists were still balled, earfins laying flat, scales clenched to her skin and her eyes slits.
"Death." Muckface coos, and then wipes her tears. He turns to look at the Grand Jade, a bright smile on his face as he looked back at Rainfall. They both glanced at the vast ocean, watching the many waves roll over each other with whistling breeze following. The two waited to speak for a while, until Muckface noticed the skies drifting with dry clouds, like the clouds of the ocean. He grins.
"Death is scary, Rainfall. I think about death all the time." He says, now standing with her hand in his, he lifted her out of the rocky river and onto the warmth of the shore. Together, they moved towards the docked ship while Muckface mewed on. "If you worry too much about death.. well, do you see the clouds beginning to call for middlebell? You waste time, you waste time that should be spent with your family, your friends.. with Pondface."
She looked towards her secondtail, and frowned a bit. "Wasting time..? On thinking about death? I should be thinking about Pondface?"
"Yes. He would want you to try to be on the sea, he would want you even in death, so why not live for him? Why not give the Grand Jade your trust?" Muckface looked far beyond the ship, and at the shore the humans had stolen from them. He glared.
He could not follow his own advice. He was to mourn the loss of the Muddy Dock for years as every inch of merfolk land is stolen or raided. And he is to ponder the innerworkings of death for the rest of his life, he was to live for no one but his land. And he will only give it up when it is pulled and ripped from his cold corpse. He struggles to look away from the dock, until Rainfall tugged his thumb. She was walking towards the ship's staircase, smiling. And soon, he too smilied.
"Okay, okay! Let me get the materials first and another bopper, just stay on the deck." He nodded, and quickly dashed off towards the shoal with a bright laugh on his tongue. He was to be on sea again! After the heat of spring woke him to the bees, the twirling birds, the chill ocean, the smell of thick new crops and fruits - he was to smell the salts again and help another soon-to-be glider pass the exam! He giggled all the way there, and all the way back.
When the buck returned, he was waddling with a longbow and a few other materials like snacks, rope, a storage bag, herbs, tools and medicines - oh and Bait. She was dragged along with her head down and her lip shaking. She was wearing protective clothes, and was the only one out of all of them on the ship with it. If Rainfall knew that protective floaty braces were a thing, she'd request some. Muckface had to at least pick one merfish with a similar infliction, sea-sickness.
Bait boareded alongside Muckface, becoming a grouch in the main cabin of the ship with a frown on her face. She pouted while Muckface placed the materials down, yanked the rope to set the ship free, and then pushed it off-shore. He scaled the wet hull like it was nothing, and climbed over the railing with a huff. His body was getting more and more sore, and he was getting older and older.
While Muckface prepared them for the course, Bait looked off at the moving sea, she shut her eyes and took a deep sigh.
"What does the exam really mean? Gembelly kept telling me that if I never did it, I might be an eggie forever..." Rainfall mewed, kicking her legs on the edge of the cushioned seats.
Bait drew a breath, "She is correct," The maid then looked at the wooden floors, "If you fail, you will be an eggie until next season's Glider Exam. And you will be behind the other gliders when you do pass. You have been studying, right?"
Rainfall gulps.
Muckface pulls his arms back down after searching the tall shelves, "Don't chew her tail, Bait. Just because you failed twice, doesn't mean you get to bark at her." He mocked, sticking his tongue out while walking out and onto the main area, tail brushing the deck while he wagged it. Bait furrowed her brows and raced after him, which Rainfall followed and gigged.
"Don't go telling every tail you see, Muck-face." She snorted and raised her top lip, nose scrunching up. She caught up with him while he moved to steer the ship in the right direction.
"Don't make me have to take you off the advanced seer training program that your father put you on, or else you will have to venture with the swimmers in the waters." Muckface laughed.
Rainfall sat on the deck, pulling her protective suit on and watching the others do the same as the ship wavered into the right path. It was going to be a long set of bellchimes ahead of them, from the grass of their shoal to the doorstep of their recent enemy, the wyverns. Muckface packed extra for this. This buck wasn't afraid to snipe down a few wyverns if it means protecting the future of the shoal. Maybe he shouldn't approach the island, but if he doesn't do this right, the oyewas will reject Rainfall for what she is. And he will not let that happen.
The soon-to-be glider folded her legs on the deck, trying to maintain a still pose as she trained her body, if she could stay still, she could stop her shaking. Just as Bait is doing. She glanced up to Bait, who was holding her arms on the seating and her feet directly on the ground, her eyes wide as she watched Muckface climb a pole, pulling the merfolk flags upward and into the skies, unveiling the sails as he felt the air brush behind his scales. The buck was ready. He had a great smile along his face, one of a million sea faring merfolk before him, and after him. Rainfall watched too, eyes widening as he slid down the rope, not even tending to his rope burn.
Bait gulped, Rainfall blinked twice. We're on a ship with a monster!
The realization settled in for both of them, specifically Bait when she remembered his own Glider Exam. He was going to get them killed with how confident he was. Bait slowly stood, legs wobbly as she slowly approached the buck on his seat, feeling her stomach clench until she grabbed the back of the chair and huffed.
"Muckface, don't kill us..." She croaked. Her words startled him for a moment, breaking him out of his trance. He finally notices the pain along his palm and stretches his hand.
"Oh," He frowns a bit, "Did I break Jade?" He worries about the ship, now looking over at Bait, and beyond her, to Rainfall.
Bait sighs, glancing up towards the sky that had already started to turn dark. Caramel clouds, strawberry air, and everything in between was of a world they barely saw... at least a world she barely saw. The shelter of the trees in the clearing meant something for her. Preferring the land, the forestry, the magnificent hunt... she envied Muckface for his lack of fear. When he turns away, she looks at his expression, trying so hard to read his eyes and his movement. A slight grumble from him told her that the conversation was over. And Bait slowly raised her head to gaze towards the skies again, walking away from him.
She met with Rainfall, who was still trying to hold onto the floor in fear. The maid felt her scales prickle the moment Bait came near, quickly waking her from her trance. The catfish felt her whiskers rise.
"What are you doing?" Bait asked. The lake trout had her hands on her hips, still gripping the braided knots along her top to make the feeling of fear ease. Her black hair was pulled back into a thick bun, leaving two strands of braids out on her temples. The maid's pale skin glowed with red blush, for the heat of spring was catching up with her, even as the wind blew between her scales.
Rainfall did not let up, but answered, "Killing my fear of the ocean. If I stay still like you do... maybe I won't fear it."
Bait furrowed her brows, "You won't get anywhere with that. I hate being on boats, I do not fear the ocean. If I fell into the ocean, I'd feel more comfortable there than on this OLD thing." When she said 'old', she turned her head in Muckface's direction so he heard her.
"So why get on? Gembelly would have been just fine, she would have helped me..." The young maid pouted, taking her hands off the floor and slowly standing. She did not turn to face the ocean, or look at the ship's deck. She refused to acknowledge her surroundings.
"Hey, ilik'maid," Bait hid her curling fist, "No one was there to help me with my fear, and you know what I said? It's better than dying." She quickly points to the saltwater over the ledge, holding her teeth together and swallowing so she doesn't feel her throat stab itself with acid.
Rainfall slowly walked to the edge, eyes wide as she saw the hull dip and rise from the ocean, waves passing them by. They were still in the bay, but she could no longer see her birthplace when she looked back. There was a heavy fog ahead, coming to swallow them up, the dense clouds settling onto land. And Muckface was going to lose visibility soon. Rainfall felt her gut clench with dread. What if we never get out the fog? What if we never reach the island..?
Bait did not dare to face the edge, only coming close so Rainfall does not stumble into the saltwater. She gripped the ledge, and then pulled Rainfall away, "Do you see now? If you trip into that water, you are dead. Your full body suit only does so much to protect you, and once you rip it or damage it, your skin will burn and will take you with it in an itchy hell," The maid held onto Rainfall as they retreated to Muckface's side, "Being on a ship is better than dying, and I'm not in the mood to lay down my life." Leaving her with Muckface, Bait wobbled away to one of the cabins, presumably to slumber as the skies darkened above and ahead.
It smelled like sea mist across their journey, and each brush of passing waves on the hull proved to be no match for Jade's sharp point. She had gotten them outside the shoal grounds, Merfolk Bay, and out of the calm blue territory. The wind had picked up again. The bellchimes after Bait's conversation with Rainfall, Muckface had only sat awake or asleep near the wheel. His head dipped as he snored himself into reality, opening his eyes as he grabbed a hold and checked the surrounding area and map. They were off course. His gut felt bottomless, and as he sprang into action, he made sure that he was going the right way from the beginning. To the oyewas, he could have gotten them killed. His ears pushed back as he heard the calls of breaching whales, thrashing in the ocean around the Jade. After her repositioned himself and fixed the sails, the buck took out a scope and leaned over in the tower. His smile quickly fluttered into his heart as he saw what they were.
Guardians!
Muckface laughed out, jumping and calling out with a trill and bark. Lightbell had just rung. And he was seeing the first sign of greatness, the Guardians. Legendary beings chosen from birth to inherit the gemstones of his folk. Whether the runt, the brute, brains, looks - a guardian is any species following under the rule of a royal in the ocean. And if these Guardians are still as old as they were, they were from the last royal in the sea. No... here... a new addition. He could spot a calf just beside a mother, raised from the ocean but quickly dipped back into the surface. The parents must know what the Grand Jade is, they look so... content in being alongside the vessel.
The buck chuckled to himself. That calf may or may not be gemed, either way, the birth of one indicates the new royal has awakened underwater.. somewhere beyond his reach. The buck grinned, then dropped down to the deck, tail whiping to the side as he strutted towards the wheel. Watching from his seat the skies that cleared to reveal the tip of an island. He was sure that it was Moon Island. The mimics here fly, and attract feral seagulls to the outer edges of the island, with how many there are, the Glider Exam tradition would last for millenia.. that being if they don't eat them all.
It was going to take aroung 6 tail shadows to get to the barrier strip, arriving a little bit late into morningbell, but Rainfall can eat her meal and ready herself. The seagulls know the routine, but they don't know when and where the merfolk will strike. They know that it's a risk, but the wyverns need the seagulls. It is a fear they will have to live with forever, as will the merfolk once they reach the beginning of the strip.
Muckface spit over the edge of the ship, and then turned away. Towards the cabin, he pushes the door open and barks, "Open your eyes! It is time to prepare."
Bait sat up, rubbing her face as she grumbles in a bit of uneasiness. She flips herself off the hammock with a furrow at the buck, passing him on her way out. Rainfall was no where to be seen, and Muckface felt his face flush. The buck climbed the tower, facing every direction with worry filling his gills.
"Rainfall! We need to prepare!" He shouts, but only the wind hears him, overtaking his voice. The buck felt his joints wobble, and he slid down the ropes, chucking himself into the cabin and searching.
Between the seats, under the clothing, in the chest... Downwards, in the storage rooms, underneath the cabinents, around the food buckets... Upwards, at his seat? No, not under the sheets of fabric... In.. In the sea? Muckface looked over the edge, gripping the green paint with a grit in his jaw. The buck saw nothing, obviously. If she had still been holding on.. then it would have been a miracle. Was she swept away already? If that was true, the wind would have taken her and the saltwater would have her dead in it's clutches. Muckface turned, holding his back to the railing, a hand over his mouth as he breathed heavily.
Bait had gotten dressed by then, slowly approaching the buck. His face was forcing the shock away, his body still shaking. The maid took his hand off of his lips, and leaned inwards, "She's at the back, Muckface." Her whisper made his ears perk with a pain. Blood rushed to his head, and he quickly dashed off, not even feeling the ship rock them to the side. He leaped on air, sliding on the wood that smoothed out on his heels. The buck huffed, strands of hair falling from his neat hair as he saw the young maid in th small nook. It had adjustable railing, and a perfect place to fall asleep. Located in the wall of the cabin Bait slept in... Muckface would have the right mind to look there normally.
He came near and poked the bear, hoping she wasn't as unpleasant as Bait. The white catifish opened her eyes, seeing Muckface a bit far from her. Sitting up, hearing the croaks of seagulls getting louder as they got closer, the wind passing along messages.
"It's time," Muckface mewed, holding his shaking fist behind his back, "It is time to go."
Rainfall could hear something off in his tone. Was he upset at her? Her scales prickled, and her whiskers curled, yet still complying with his demand. Afterall, it was time. This was what she fought for, studied for, asked for, wished for.. her dreams of being an excellent hunter for the shoal started her. So why was she so shaky?
The two returned from the back, Rainfall with her body suit on and Muckface limp wristed over his sheathed sword that sat in the hip knot of his braided top. He glanced at Bait, who was already far from the two, puking up her dinner over the edge of the railing. He sighed. There wasn't a better team who could go missing for 8 bellchimes, he tried to reason with the others.
"Okay, Rainfall. You know what a bow is. But you haven't used this kind before. It is just as Gembelly told you." Muckface handed her the bow.
Rainfall clutched it, her ears thickening with anticipation, reading the sigils and carvings written into the wood. It was a glider bow, for sure. Worry burned her throat as she turned to Muckface and Bait. Bait had walked over, feeling a bit better with the side her hand over her forehead. Rainfall could see the maid's face of worry as well.
They were so close to enemy territory. She had never seen a wyvern up close before. What if she is taken by one of them and dropped into the ocean? Her heart began to pound as she looked to the two adults for help.
"You're going to be great, Rainfall. Just stick to your mark," Bait mewed, looking at Muckface, "That is what he did."
Muckface chuckled a bit, "I was only doing what I was told. Back then, I was still trying to bite off every finger I could," He rubbed the back of his head. They had time for a story, it wouldn't be another few hours until they reached the barrier, so why the hell not? The skies were drifting across, and a memory from Muckface's mind grew into a dreamy landscape they could picture in their heads. He mewed again, "I would come running across the platform of the ship saying..."
"Daddy, Daddy look!" A young buck ran across the deck with his new bow, waving it around until a slim buck walked out the cabin, his glasses tipped and his lips bit. He smiled a bit at Muckface, who couldn't have been more than 8 cycles young.
"Mucky," He chuckled, grabbing his son in his arms, watching out for the bow, "Did she give you one or did you take it?"
"Yah Yah! She gave me the bow, she gave me the bow!" He wriggled in his father's arms until he was set down, smiling all the way. He ran off towards the supposed 'she', not being able to hold his excitement in as the ceremony was about to start. He could feel the chill of the wind across his spine, and the heat of his joy in his nostrils.
The maid they spoke of turned, and looked downwards with a grand smile. She was the sun of his day, and the moon of his night. Ever since his mother fell ill and passed, she made due for him in every step of the way. And here she was, being the whole of his world. She was loved, and maybe she knew that. Maybe.. she didn't.
"Muckface, be careful where you wave that thing, you might hurt yourself!" She giggled alongside him, taking the bow away so she could position it in his hands correctly. Then she sighed and looked at him. "Do you have everything? Your suit, your knife, your braces?"
"Mhm mhm! Daddy fixed me up," He held the bow right, looking up to her with such a sweet allure.
"Okay. That means you're ready, Muckface," She stood straight, looking over at the buck that stood still, "Your father will help you on the top of the pit's roof, and that it where you will shoot. We are not far from the island shore, so please use grace."
The young buck nodded. He was excited, he was always dreaming of this moment, he loved ships, he repaired them with his father all the time, he loved the boathouse with his entire soul. He knew too that the skies would allow him this shot, and the winds would accept the arrow into the chest of a seagull for the main feast. He was going to feed the entire shoal with it, and once he stood on the platform, he felt his hips hit the railing keeping him from falling. He had ran towards it with an aim on a plump gull. The white feathers bloomed upwards, gray down its neck, with an eye so large it would turn you to stone the moment you stared back.
But Muckface stared, and smirked with his hooked peice larger than his finger. The arrow straightened in his palm and when he positioned himself, the buck felt his scales thin with a focus of a stalking predator. The maid on the deck watched him, folding her arms with a slight smile on her face. The buck she watched over for seasons was finally making his way to the top. But his placement was a bit off, and if he misses once, he'd have to retake the test.
Muckface's father leaned down, moving the buck's arms to the right point. And once everything was right, the silence that followed was killing each one of them. The boat rattled, pushing him to the side, but Muckface kept his strong stance. Anticipation felt strong, and the skin along his face tingled with sweat. Muckface tasted the current's air underneath them, waves becoming calm when it passed. The young buck pulled back and lifted a bit, finding where the air would blow next, and turning slightly.
The bow shook when the arrow screamed. It broke the mist the arrow travelled in, splitting it in two halves, tasting dew on its way out as it rose from the skies. The thin cord left in place of the arrow ran across the buck's fingers, feeling the rope burn cut his fingertips, but Muckface furrowed his brows, throwing the pain away to watch his arrow stalk and kill. He could feel his whiskers lift when the arrow caught something.
"Reel, Muckface!" The maid bellowed out, looking over the edge with her scope to see if it caught something. Through the thickness of the mist, she saw it.
The cord had stop extending, and when he felt a tug, Muckface shook the line and began to reel back. He could feel the boat creak under his pulling, as the gull on the other side tugged away. The hook that struck it right in it's belly went through, and latched onto their meal with a heavy hand. It would not let go, it could not let go. It would never set the gull free.
The maid howled against the battering winds, watching the other seagulls depart with gurgled caws. She felt her heart skip a beat as the boat moved in and opened the pathway, now seeing their catch on the last breath of their life. And with one swift yank from Muckface's father, the captured gull was in the water, bobbing up and down as blood began to mix into the white of the feathers. Each pull, the beast once living became drenched in saltwater, filling a soft spot in Muckkface's heart for this. This! This enjoyment, this life, this ride!
He had been wanting to taste what it was like to kill. To destory. To take a life. And now that it's in his head, he wanted more. To be out on sea and to taste the wind in his hair, the wind that breezed past him, and the sea mist painting his light skin with greatness. Oh how he longed for it!
The feast rose from the hull, to the deck, and Muckface finally dropped his bow as the maid began to steer the ship around. He huffed and puffed, feeling his cold breath along his wet skin. Droplets of water punctured his hair as he leaned down to the almost corpse, eyes wide with joy. His father patted Muckface on the back, and he knew that he had done good. The gull was feral, it was plump, and he was hungry.
His eyes were full of a golden happiness that Muckface's father could gaze into forever, and so when Muckface opened his mouth again, he finally felt the reality trickle back in and his eyes settle behind eyeglasses and a bright smirk.
"I caught the best by just being me, and doing as what the wind told me. As the wind guides your arrow, it gives it power. You decide where it lands, the wind will guide you." The lungfish patted Rainfall's back as he pushed her closer to the pit in the deck, helping her up to the roof with railing.
Bait felt the need to sit in the cushioned pit, no longer feeling stable enough to stand and watch.
Rainfall looked at Muckface, her eyes wet with tears, just of fear and loss. What if she misses? She'll surely miss... I hate being weak, I hate being this stupid and useless! She grips the bow and grits her teeth as a tear falls.
Muckface could only watch. They were at their destination now, and he anchored them still. Set the sails low, and watched. But his smile outplayed her tears. The buck came closer, holding the wall of the pit and getting on his tip toes.
"Kill your fears with the arrow, shoot them down, and don't stop until the rope stops," He whispers again, "Let the wind direct your anger."
Rainfall gulped. And then she nodded. They were here, and she needed to take the shot. Her earfins laid back as she pulled the bow up and readied, feeling the arrow tip before she pulled back.
It was sharp. It was lethal. It was made to kill, to hunt, to brandish anyone lucky enough with a mark that pulled muscle and white meat.
The young maid breathed in, tasting the wind that had just calmed, feeling every inch of mist that fell down her spine. You can do this, this is not a fear. They will feel fear from my strength. I will shoot them down. And my fears will die right here, right now. They will speak of me when I am gone, they will go to me like I go to Gembelly. They will see me as a hunter.
Rainfall sharpened her eye, and aimed at the fattest one there, licking her lips as she got into stance. No longer did she fear the rocking of the ship, or the bloodied waters of the sea. She only felt the copper blood in veins boil with a hate so strong it could burn the world into a desert. Her last breath clutched her, and the maid dug her heel into the ground.
The arrow leapt. And it yowled like a death whistle, still screaming as the mist followed it on it's way out of the clouds, the rope folding between Rainfall's fingers, burning between each layer of skin she had. But she, furrowed her brows, hoping that the pain would die with every fear she leaves behind. Her fingers blister and bleed, but when she hears the sound of cackling thunder, her mouth widens and Rainfall wraps the rope around her wrist, completely dropping the bow and sliding against the red railing. The boat trembles and Muckface could see now, the face of the beast that was tangled in her line. It lightens, the mist, and he cheerfully bellows out a howl of excitement.
In both of their ears, Bait and Rainfall, they hear the cheer of a joyous buck with bloog pumping in his tail scales. He is happy. He sees it again, the blood, the grand hunt. Not even Riverfin would get this happy over it, this is his personal joy.
Muckface leaned down and kissed the railing of the Grand Jade, then ran up to where the rope was running, pulling it alongside Rainfall until there was a plop in the water and he could see the thick line rumble with something. The arrow went through, and the skies were cleared of gulls. Each pull was heavier, and as the beast crawled onto the deck, Muckface had his eyes widened with an emotion he never felt before.
It was silent. It was something different. It filled his cheeks, and his blood with still vigor. To move on, to fight, to still live. To no longer worry of the death that humankind was threatening them with. He smiled, pausing to see Rainfall hop down and pull out her sea glass blade, cutting the arrow and rope, then stabbing the eyes of the seagull.
He backed up, holding his heart. It kept beating, he couldn't even hear the sounds of Rainfall's joy. He gasped for water, but his gill bags were empty, so he bumped into the railing and held on. What is this? He felt it sting him, and maybe he was just being dramatic... but it hurt. It hurt. He genuinely could feel the prickles of whatever it was.. stab him. Maybe it was death. Maybe it was joy. Maybe he pulled something. But he could feel it again, and he knew the name of his killer.
Hope.
He was staring it down, looking at her, staring at the kill they caught. This was a hope forever. He was to bring it home. He was to bring this hope home. And he was to build a world where he expanded his shoal. Where... where the beach was his.