She could still see the sudden bursts of emerald fire, the heavy smoke of the burning hull of her ship still strong in her nostrils. Behind closed lids, she dreamt; horrible nightmares that stank of charred flesh and bone, the cries of her loyal crew, the stars shimmering high above them with nothing more than a glimmer of sorrow. The sea gods did not save them.. no, they damned them. Their enemy a mad man who dared call himself a pirate king over her own.. her lover. Her mate.
The last glimpse of his face still haunted her as she drifted. Her memories tugged and pulled, showing her how they had all been surprised, terror sinking in and drowning them in fear. So sudden, so unexpected. The perfect target for a night raid in the middle of the wide ocean blue. Her muscles twitched as she remembered the taste of wine on her tongue, the feel of her lover's lips grazing hers before the screams started. Ambushed; their beloved crew taken, under siege. The sharp tang of metal on metal as her king clashed with his cutlass, and she with her own rapier. She would not let their rivals overtake them; her blood had sung a war cry that broiled deep in her bones and her heart. Stronger than the call of the ocean itself, her need to protect and defend burning brighter than the green fire that began to eat away at her own ship. The hull exploding in sheets of wood, splintering as the sea began to drown them.
They were ocean-blessed sea fairers that were drowning drowning drowning; in salt and brine and blood.
She shook, silently crying as her mind relentlessly replayed the memory. Her stomach pitched as she recalled falling; her last view of the ship and her beloved's face as he looked at her. The shock that lined his beautiful features, his silver eyes going wide with anger and grief, and rage before he turned back to take on his enemy captain headlong. Then she had smacked the water, sinking deep below and choking for air before she reached the surface, sweet oxygen flooding her lungs like the bliss of tasting sugar. She recalled searching; for her crew, for something to grab hold to.
She did not remember pulling herself onto a large plank of wood before the smoke coating her lungs and her wounds lulled her to sleep.
Where her skin did not touch the water lapping at her sides, and her back legs still halfway plunged beneath the ocean's surface, heat flooded her skin. Shivers of warmth ran the length of her spine, bright sunlight burning the back of her eyelids as she whimpered, her dreams continuing to replay the terrors of the night before. Dawn had risen, the sky streaked in the colors of morning; and the shores of a new land laid close to her. Unconscious, unknowing. The shore encircled her, the waters becoming shallow more and more as she drifted ever closer to the sandy shores.
The sea princess, the Takarian Queen, was asleep and unaware of where she was and how her crew, her ship, and her mate had fared from the horrors before.
I don't care what they're going to say, let the storm rage on the cold never bothered me anyway
The ocean seemed to have come alive at some point throughout the night. The waves quaked with energy brought to life in the wake of a storm. The song it serenaded was a wild story that harmonized with the very beating of the Treader's heart. Everything about the ocean seemed to call Bel back to those familiar depths. And even now, having been on Novus for beyond a year, the aquatic equine still couldn't resist the draw. She'd walked back to the sea to stare out at it: wondering what had encouraged her to return.
Yukime curled around her neck, lean and agile body draped over her dorsal fin and flattening part of it down. The serpent pressed her head up against the mare's neck as the ice at her crown cracked together, 'Aren't we swimming, Below Zero?' The Ice Carver had asked with a distinct eagerness, her long tail slapping gently against Bel's barrel. A fond smile had crossed the Treader's muzzle at the use of her full name - considering it a miracle to have gotten that far with Yukime. The serpent had not been eager to call her by her given name. Now that it was in use, Bel hesitated to try to get her to shorten it to her nickname.
Bel's muzzle lowered, gently bopping the serpent's shoulder, cautious of the sharp icicles at the creature's collar. "Have patience, Yukime. We'll dive later." She assured as her hooves carried her along the beach, gently kicking up sand in her wake. The calmness of the ocean was rivaled only by its natural movements, the tide rolling in with crashing force against some of the rocks. The splattering of saltwater crusted her lower limbs, wetting her fur and slicking it down.
The breeze carried the scent of salt and brine, reinforcing the sights and smells that sung to Bel like a siren song to a sailor. It encouraged her to dive, to explore, to take to the reef, and hunt for a lunch that was more than just grass and amphibians. To taste seaweed and fresh fish on her tongue, and filter the water through her gills, and lose herself in the beauty and bounty beneath the waves.
The distraction was needed to keep her on land, and the lady of the waters was eager to be drawn towards the mass in the distance. First thoughts had been of a fish or shark that had beached itself, or perhaps a carcass of a meal from a predator of the seas. What she wasn't expecting was what she found. The figure was in the shallows, gently being tugged by the waves and pressed closer and closer towards the shoreline. Mane and tail splayed over the waters' surface, and body showing the stress of being at sea for a while - and wounds that seemed fresh.
Bel and Yukime jumped into action. Yukime slid free of her perch atop Bel's back and cutting her way through the water, intent on checking the area for anyone else and keep predators back. Bel herself approached the figure, taking stock of the mare and her condition. Her powerful fluke slipped under the mare's form to pull her further out of the ocean and onto dry land.
Bel looked the figure over, trying to discern her next course of action, keeping her main set of eyes on the mare. At the same time, the smaller second set looked towards the ocean for Yukime. The serpent didn't leave her waiting for long, returning after ten minutes, 'No one else seems to be around. A few sharks were circling, but they got peppered with ice and changed their minds.' Bel grinned faintly, but nodded as she moved towards the washed-ashore figure and gently nudged her to try and rouse her, "Hello?" She kept her tone soft, unassuming and non-threatening, even as the vowels seemed to elongate similar to a whale's song, but lighter on the air. The song was an effect of being so close to the water-rich air above the condensation of the ocean.
Bel's muzzle lowered a second time, this time pressing gently but steadily against the other's shoulder, "Miss, are you alright? Can you hear me?" The Treader asked, pitching her voice just a little higher as Yukime watched on from the shallows.
"Bel" Yukime
@Naida Notes:: Washed ashore. From the Ocean. Sounds like something Bel and Yukime would totally be a part of.
The princess of the Sea, the pirate queen, slept a fitful, fevered slumber adrift the ocean blue. Lukewarm waters lapped at her obsidian sides, shivers of gooseflesh running lengths down her spine and skin, brine coating her lips as her cheek laid on the wood plank that kept her above the surface. She whimpered, helpless against the nightmares crafted from the horrors from the night before; her worst fears come to light. Now, she lay unconscious, murmuring, her orbs flickering behind closed lids as she laid across a shore to a foreign land she knew nothing of.
She did not hear a voice calling out to her; only the screams of her crew as they drowned, and of explosions of splintered wood and crackling fire, and the sharp tangs of metal on metal as her lover clashed with their rival pirate lord. Her ears listened to the soft lapping of waves, lulling her deeper into unconsciousness instead of pulling her up up up and awake. The princess groaned, a rough wave of water crashing over her nostrils, filling her airways with salt and brine and the faraway taste of blood still on her lips. That was what ultimately woke her as the water filled her lungs and she jerked her head up, sand and water flying everywhere.
Her eyes widened as she coughed up the salty water, fear and shock shaking through her body. Where had she ended up? What were these lands? Naida finally laid eyes on the stranger after getting her breathing under control. "I...who are you? Where am I?"
I don't care what they're going to say, let the storm rage on the cold never bothered me anyway
The dual-natured mare felt the concern that ran amock with in her heart increase at the lack of reaction from the figure. She did not look good, and Bel knew well enough the dangers of the ocean when wounded. If a predator didn't manage to find you, there was still the issue of infections, or drowning while unconscious - and anything else that might sneak in to bring you down. There was always a risk with wounds in open waters. Thankfully this mare had made it to shore in one piece, and being draped over the wood should have kept the majority of her wounds free of bacteria. With any luck. Still Bel nudged her, trying to rouse her away, speaking to her steadily and her nudging increasing in pressure with each time it didn't break through the mare's unconscious.
Bel's concern increased at the rate of the time it was taking, until a sudden wave crashed against her limbs - and the mare's own muzzle and her head jerked, sending sand and water as she coughed. Bel's breath left her in a relieved sigh, as the mare coughed up the water and looked around before seeming to look at Bel. The Treader mare tilted her head, offering a kind smile that warmed her cyan eyes, both sets of eyes focusing on the washed-up stranger, "My name is Below Zero, but you can call me Bel. Yukime and I found you floating in the shallows, just towards the edge of the reef, pulled you the rest of the way to shore." Her muzzle nodded towards the icy serpent still watching from the shallows, guarding the mares from any predators that might want to stray too close. Bel's attention returned to the mare in the shallows, adding more information for the stranger, "You're on the beach of Terminus Sea. The Island is Novus. I take it you're not originally from these lands if you didn't recognize the beach?" Her expression shifted to concern, "Can I help you stand? We should really get you out of the water. Not all bacteria in the ocean is good for wounds." Finding her medical attention would need to happen soon. Not for the first time, she wish her pod had more medical knowledge.
"Bel" Yukime
@Naida Notes:: Bel's fairly concerned about her health LOL. Her motherhen tendecy is acting up.
The sea breeze tossed and flirted with the seaweed color of her mane, the sting of ocean water burning her nostrils, her throat, and her lungs. Molten yellow eyes looked on, seeing nothing and everything at once. To the waves of the raging sea, to the edge where the sky touched the ocean blue, and the far away fate of her sunken ship, her crew, and her beloved. All of the things she cared about, everything that the sea princess held most dear in her heart, gone, in explosions of emerald fire and metal and splintered wood.
She does not notice that her muscles are trembling, exhaustion setting in as her body is tired from her drift along the sea for unknown hours.
"Novus?" she inquired, turning the word carefully over as she spoke, her voice accentuating the ov. Her skin shivers as the chill settles into her damp skin like little fingers of ice, each droplet of water soaking her suddenly freezing her down to her very bones. With soft blinks, her teeth chatter, her eyes roving over her new found pale companion hovered near her. A comfort, a shoulder to lean on, she realizes, with a soft smile tugging one side of her lips upwards. Her emotions roil like a hurricane, swirling anger and grief that dare to plunge her into the deep. Dark and depthless, a cage of shadow and murky seawater that would swallow her whole, should she give into the waves that crash against her heart and soul. But she does not allow it an inch, instead standing tall against the frustration and tears that threaten to spill over.
At the mention of her wounds she remembers the stinging sensation of them once more as she glances down at herself. "Thank you for the help..I owe you." She spoke once more as she slowly inched herself up into a standing position. Her legs were shaky and it looked like she might tumble forward again but she somehow managed to stay up. "You are right..I'm not native to these lands. My name is Naida."
![[Image: i-jTNwWx8.png]](https://photos.smugmug.com/BelowZeroNovus/n-X9d9fZ/i-jTNwWx8/1/e09fb6c3/O/i-jTNwWx8.png)
