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~~~~~~[ 1,223 words ] The words sea serpent had been weighted in my mind since they came out of the she-cat's maw. I tried my very best to conceal the distraught look on my face with a glare, hoping it seemed brave or determined. The stone in my stomach made a home there and plagued my mind, poking and prodding all throughout the planning process of my attack. The sea serpent was spotted multiple times by the village's sailors and fishercats. It undulated above and under the surface, circling boats and swallowing nets whole. It plagued the fish populations and wreaked havoc on the reef nurseries. Although the beast had only appeared recently, the cats were already thinning and weakening. Their patron, Buoyar, had been trying his best to discreetly hinder the beast, but he was vague and misleading when asked why he couldn't control it. Something was going on in the heavens with those immortals. Perhaps it was disinterest, or maybe something more.
~~~~~~The village leader, Shining Abalone, refused to let any of her villagers fight the beast again. Too many casualties had already occurred, and the small population dwindled to a dangerously low amount. It wasn't ideal for me, but I trusted Stoic Crescent to have my back. Thankfully, Abalone didn't withhold any weapons or armor from my comrades. We were adorned with light-weight, reflective armor, the same material as the she-cat's jewelry and earrings. She informed me it was abalone, her namesake, and a common crafting material for her cats. It was dainty, yet strong; perfect for sleekly built cats to use in the water. My thick golden-tinged pelt contrasted with the sea greens and blues of the plates. My body had changed from a newly grown tomcat's lithe muscles to a bulkier form, causing me to look underdressed in the minimalistic armor.
~~~~~~Stoic Crescent wore matching plates of armor and hefted a sparkling abalone sword onto his shoulder. (an: pretend this works ;-;) The villagers that came to show us off shuffled a tad, making way for a dazzling tomcat who I knew quite well.
~~~~~~Hatroclus' eyebrows were knitted in blatant worry as he approached me. No words came out of his mouth; he just rested his forehead on mine, closing his eyes. Mine followed suit.
~~~~~~"I'll return safely, my love. I promise. This fight is no different than the others. The beast just has more teeth," I smirked as I opened my eyes to look into his. They were still worried, glossy from previous tears as they flickered from one of my eyes to the other. I squeezed my abdominal muscles to lessen the deep weight of the doubt as I told him this.
~~~~~~"It tears me everytime you go off. Please, just let me go with you. I've learned every tactic from watching you train, I swear it!" I shake my head solemnly. His stomach still looked too fragile, his eyes too innocent, and his legs too weak. I couldn't risk anything happening to him. He was my anchor to the world; the one thing restraining my psyche from leaping off the edge. When I felt nothing, he felt everything.
~~~~~~I turned away, toward our ocean vessel that would take me to the battlefield. Crescent moved to my side, blocking Hatroclus. We boarded the small, two-parted boat. One thin end balanced the thicker body area where we would stand, with the mast sticking out from the flooring. The sailor assigned to escort us to the outer reefs was a creamy-brown tom, accented with abalone earrings and a thin necklace. I nodded to the feline and found a shallow divit at the front of the mast, not wanting to interfere with the steering mechanism in the back. (au: think of these boats as the boats from moana ;-; polynesian style with the two parts to it, one for sitting, the other for stabilizing and whatnot) I didn't dare glance back for fear of catching those golden eyes and changing my mind. Cheers were heard distantly behind me as the stone of doubt sprouted suspicion that flowed to my mind. Something felt off, it told me. Something was going to happen. Something I couldn't control.
~~~~~~I squeezed my eyes shut and lurched as the boat's sail flourished in the wind, driving us forward. I trained my eyes forward, blinking the stars out, and stared at the blank horizon.
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~~~~~~We approached a thin strip of lonely sand about an hour after we set sail onto the sapphire waves. It faded from the deep blue to a pale yellow. The sandbar allowed us to shore our boat and prepare for the coming battle, tightening armor and practicing swinging our swords, and knocking arrows. Stoic Crescent expertly lunged and parried, showing great skill that came with experience. I'd never thought about our age differences before, but it occurred to me that he was much larger and had a certain look in his eyes. He was war-worn.
~~~~~~I silently excused myself, walking the length of the sandbar and sitting down on the warmed sand. Despite my conflicted view of the gods, Morganus seemed to on my side, so I figured asking for a blessing wouldn't hurt.
~~~~~~I closed my eyes, focusing on stilling my heart through my breaths as I formulated a prayer to the deity. Thoughts upon thoughts raced and whirled in my mindscape, until I heard something drop into the water, like a pebble. My folded ears perked as I looked up to find a blue and green cat standing on the water's surface, gazing at me with a lazy look in his eyes.
~~~~~~"Hello Bachilles. I don't think I was the deity you were expecting, but nevertheless, here I am. Morganus struck a deal with me, so now I have to help you help my villagers," said the feline, swishing his seaweed covered tail back and forth. His galactic eyes intimidated me, but I held my ground, shifting my shoulders back. The cat seemed to pause his thoughts, then resume with a darker tone. "As I'm sure you're aware, the gods have been forsaking their duties as guardians. I've never really liked the younger ones, so I mostly kept to myself and didn't answer to anyone. Recently, there's been a...change in management up there," he looked up briefly, "and now I'm being restrained," he rolled his eyes. "This is probably the last time I can safely aid you silly mortals, so I'm going to at least make it worth it." I blinked in confusion at the cat's words. The sound of a bubble popping flowed to my ears and he melted into crystal clear water that fell back into the ocean.
~~~~~~I pursed my lips, got up, and cursed myself for thinking the gods would actually help me. I just had to do it on my own, I supposed.
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~~~~~~Another hour went by without so much as a dolphin sighting. I had paced the entire length of the sandbar several times, and began to tire of the weight of the armor on me. Stoic Crescent had started doodling in the sand, while the sailor made blocks out of the shifting material. A small, darker tower began to form close to the shoreline of the sandbar.
~~~~~~Suddenly, the entirety of the tiny island shifted. The sand vibrated as a shaking force thrust its way through the land mass. Something was coming.