WolfWinter
MiraXXXXXXXXXXXXX
FemaleXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the
pool or you go out into the ocean."
-Christopher ReeveXXXXXXXX
Discovery
Mira watched the ocean from the cliff. She was lost in her own thoughts, and if she hadn't been looking in that direction she would've missed it. A flash of light, brighter than the sun that barely lasted a few seconds before disappearing. She felt blinded, but she heard a sound like roaring thunder. She looked back out to the sea, and saw huge ripples of waves near some far out rocks, an area she knew had a sand bar at low tide. The large waves were already crashing into the shore. Whatever it was was also leaving a trail of smoke.
She decided to wait before checking out the thing that had fallen from the sky. Getting caught in waves as big as those were was dangerous. Mira picked her way back down the cliff, once the waves had settled down to their normal heights. She carefully approached the water, and put one foot in, then another. Before she knew it, she was swimming out to the sand bar. The ocean was still cold, even in the grips of summer. As she came closer to where the thing crashed into the ocean, the water began to warm. She almost stopped swimming towards it entirely. But she pressed on.
She could hear the shouts from her clan on the beach; she wasn't the only one who had noticed the crash, but probably the only one who had seen it. She was lucky to not be blinded. Mira looked back, and that one movement made sure she didn't see what had happened. She felt something pulling her, it wasn't a physical thing, but it pulled her in all the same as if it had living strings pulling her. It felt like forever, but at the same time it felt like no time had passed.
Then suddenly, she felt that she was somewhere... else. The smells were different, the temperature of the water was different, the very ocean was different. She looked over and saw a giant metal thing off in the distance. It looked old, and it made her wary. She looked up, there were creatures flying in the sky, but they weren't birds, at least none she recognized. She dove down.
The water here was crystal clear, and colors swam around her. Strange alien creatures darted or moved lazily. There was an arch near here made of rock. On the top it had some sand, with a few larger rocks nearby. She thought she saw a drop off of some sort, but then she had to go back up for more air. When she dove down again she paid better attention. There were some plants that had glowing seeds, off in the same directions as, yes, the drop off.
She could see it better now, and angled herself so she could look out over it. Off in the distance she saw huge creatures swimming lazily. They reminded her of whales, almost. Fish darted in font of her. She continued to dive down and explore. This place was wonderful! But... there was no dry land that she could see, except for the huge metal thing that made her uneasy. She didn't want to sleep in the water, this place was strange. Who knew what dangers came out at night.
She didn't have to worry about it, though. The warm tugging sensation pulled her back, but this time there was some pain. Decontamination complete spoke a strange voice. Then, it all went dark.
After
The voices of her clanmates roused her. She was in her bed, surrounded by the concerned and wary looks. They told her that she had been gone for over a day when another flash of light appeared. They had kept watch on the cliff since she disappeared, and immediately sent someone to see if she had returned. They found her floating in the water, and hauled her back. They said she smelled funny, but it quickly went away. They also said she appeared to be sick.
Nico, the clan leader, forbade them from going to the ocean again. Mira felt a sense of loss. That place was amazing, if only she could show them... but she couldn't disobey him. Not directly, anyways. She had also been found clutching a strange object. Without quite knowing how, she knew that this object connected her to the ship. Ship? What was that, and how did she know what it was? Exhaustion claimed her once again. She dreamed of alien oceans.
The thing gave her knowledge. It only reacted to her, and her touch. It even reacted to her thoughts. The ship was an old vessel, its inhabitant long gone. The ship had remained in orbit, until at last its fuel had run out. She felt different form her clanmates, other. They seemed to be picking up on her otherness, too. Until one day, Nico called for her. She approached her leader cautiously in the den; the object wrapped many times with twine and tied around her neck. She almost panicked from waiting so long.
He wanted her to be on permanent watch by the ocean. She was forbidden from approaching the thing (Ship, she corrected in her head). She would watch over it, and make sure no one else would be harmed by it. She could choose some to go with her now, or she could choose later. She decided to pick later, knowing that having others with her would not be an option. She resisted the urge to jump for joy, and treated the job with all the graveness it deserved. She spent the next week exploring the alien ocean, and became familiar with the procedure that made sure she didn't spread contaminants from one home to the other.
Nico chose her companions for her, but she didn't mind too much. There was so much to learn, and they soon joined her. After all, the ocean was a vast and mysterious place. Who would notice a few saukkos where they could not be?
by Avisowl » Sun Mar 04, 2018 10:08 am 
