The little chain of islands was called The Snag and wise sailors steered clear of it. At first glance, it was innocent enough. Sandy, overgrown with swaying palm trees on every shore, and crowned dead center with a dark and long dead volcano.
But it was what lay in the shallows that people feared. Jagged lava rock and gnarly reef spread at the very least a mile in all directions. If the hidden formations didn't catch and flip your ship, they would rip the bottom clean out and plunge hapless seamen straight down.
Maurice was not a wise sailor. He only had a few years' worth of ocean under his hooves before the gale caught the Hurricane and hurled it against the rocks like a playful cat. The ship was raked back and forth and the mast was the first thing to snap.
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[The centaur heaves himself against the door of the little fishing shack he only managed to find because the lightning was merciful enough to reveal it to him. The shack is far older than him and the door gives easily, dumping him into the darkness and out of the rain. Ugly red gashes cover his white sides and it's impossible to tell where the mud from the shore ended and his pinto spots began.]
[Envy doesn't know what happened to the ship, or to any of the others. He can't find them when he hauls himself ashore, strength all but spent from fighting the waves to reach it. He hurts everywhere, he doesn't want to pay attention to how badly. He can deal with that once he finds shelter.]
[The rest of the crew, he can look for once the storm passes. If they're even here. He pointedly doesn't think about the fact that he barely made it and he's a kelpie.]
[He shifts into his human form when he finds the shack, just to get through the door easier, and stumbles in.]
Hello?
[Just in case one of the others found it first. He can't see a damn thing.]
[Maurice nearly trips over himself in the darkness. He's been carefully, oh so carefully, picking his way around the old weathered furniture trying to find a space big enough for his ass to lay down.]
I just washed up here. So I guess we have that in common.
[In the darkness, Maurice can make out only the vaugest shapes of Envy moving around. If he were a ghost he would be glowing and moaning about treasure so the Sagittarian allows himself to calm down for the moment.]
[Envy thinks he heard hooves on the floor when he'd first come in the little shack, but he can't be sure in the dark. He decides not to mention it for now.]
And it's just you? I got knocked overboard, I don't know if anyone else in my crew might have been too.
[He doubts it, but he has to at least ask. He finds what seems to be a wooden crate, and sits down on it carefully. The wood holds, even if it creaks.]
[His ears tilt backward suspiciously. This stranger doesn't sound dangerous. But if he finds out he's alone...he could attack him! Sell his organs on the market because he was a Fantastic Beast!]
[But. As he listened, carefully turning his fuzzy ears, this fellow(?) doesn't sound too big. He can stop him.]
Just me.
[Thunder rolls overhead and makes him jump but he doesn't fall or sit. His knees lock up and he grits his teeth.]
[The thunder makes Envy twitch, but he manages not to actually jump. He tries not to be too disappointed that the answer is no, but...it's also good for him if whoever this is doesn't have any friends of his own around to potentially overpower Envy.]
Oh...we were on our way to Jamaica, to drop off a shipment.
[Of STOLEN PIRATE BOOTY.]
I don't know if the others got through the storm or not, I went over and wound up here. What about you?
[That's...a weird sound. It sounds like a horse's tail...is this guy carrying a broom?]
[The idea that he might, in fact, be another horse seems farfetched. What would be the odds of that? He lets out a little, sort of amused snort.]
I don't think I swam that far.
I haven't been stranded this badly before either, but I DID once spend a week on a deserted island while we waited for the people we were supposed to meet there to show up. THAT was interesting.
Of course they didn't. Oh, they had a mile long list of excuses, but not one of them was any good. We would've left THEM on that island and taken their ship with us if they hadn't paid so well.
There were so many centipedes on that island, you wouldn't believe. On EVERYTHING.
[It's been a long and hard day's work of gathering and planning and more gathering. Maurice is feeling pretty good about his fellow castaway--at least for the time being. There's still the possibility that he'll use his labor to create the perfect craft and then shank him at the last possible moment. But that was something for Future Maurice to worry about.]
[For now, he's just going to enjoy the fact that he isn't alone and hasn't had to carve a face into a coconut for company. When Envy left to create the fire, the Sagittarian made his way into the bush using what foraging skills he'd learned as a colt. He eventually returns with several large red fruits bundled in his shirt.]
Supper's ready. We had some of these growing on the coast.
[He knows he can get by eating grass and leaves but he doubts his human friend can. Maurice goes through the slow process of flopping down onto the sand without dropping the fruit. He's going to be so sore tomorrow.]
They're pretty ripe but I already tried one and I think they'll do.
[Envy, likewise, has gotten a little more comfortable around and a lot less wary of his shipwreck-mate. Not that they've had a whole lot of chance for conversation, aside from snatches while they worked. And by the end of the day, they're both so tired that they fall right asleep. That, and Envy's been focusing on not revealing that he's a whole lot stronger than any human.]
[He was actually just about to lift a beam that would have taken multiple people to even start lifting when Maurice comes back and he almost jumps. But he hadn't actually lifted yet, he's safe for the moment. And there's food! Good news all around, so he turns with a grin, wiping at his forehead.]
Haven't seen that kind before, but if you haven't keeled over dead from trying one, how bad could they be?
[He goes over to sit heavily down in the sand next to Maurice, almost as gingerly as the centaur had. No matter how strong he is, he still gets tired too, and he isn't used to this sort of heavy labor. He holds out a hand to take a fruit, sniffing at it before taking a bite. What could it hurt?]
[Color Maurice impressed! Envy looks to be at least as old as he is. That's still plenty of years at sea. He gives his tail a hearty flop, sending sand into the fire and making it jump.]
[Maurice gives a self-important nod. His word is law! He's the captain on the island here. He saves the stem and leaves of his fruit for last. It was a horse thing.]
Well there's the rest of the herd. But she's the one I'm closest to. She didn't really want me to go to sea. She says if we were meant for this kind of life, we would have been born with fins, but I just had to get outta that town and I couldn't really go inland. So...
[He makes a sweeping gesture to the beach.]
Gosh. I thought these fruits were overripe but it looks like we washed up here just in time. I think they're better than I've ever had them.
[Envy polishes off his first fruit while he listens to Maurices' story, and reaches immediately for another. These were good, and he really must have needed some good food in him because he's already feeling in much better spirits than he has since he washed up on this island.]
Ha, well at least we've gotten lucky with something!
[He pauses, half of the second fruit disappearing quickly. He leeeans back on one hand, waving the fruit up as though he's making a toast.]
And hooves aren't half bad for the sea, who needs fins?
[Maurice's tail gives another whorl, slinging around still more sand. The fruit squashes slightly in his hand as he shifts in place so that he can face his new friend.]
My ship was great! It had special hoofholds carved right into the deck! All the ramps you could want!
[Because Maurice and stairs just...no.]
You just watch. We're gonna build the best damn boat th' navy's ever seen!
[Fruit in one hand, he grabs up a twig that's popped out of the ire and starts drawing in the sand. It's...sort of a boat. It looks more like a banana with trees growing out of it.]
I saw a couple 'a guys do this in a picture once! With color and everything!
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theattic2016-01-04 07:09 pm
One Stormy Night
But it was what lay in the shallows that people feared. Jagged lava rock and gnarly reef spread at the very least a mile in all directions. If the hidden formations didn't catch and flip your ship, they would rip the bottom clean out and plunge hapless seamen straight down.
Maurice was not a wise sailor. He only had a few years' worth of ocean under his hooves before the gale caught the Hurricane and hurled it against the rocks like a playful cat. The ship was raked back and forth and the mast was the first thing to snap.
-----------------------------------
[The centaur heaves himself against the door of the little fishing shack he only managed to find because the lightning was merciful enough to reveal it to him. The shack is far older than him and the door gives easily, dumping him into the darkness and out of the rain. Ugly red gashes cover his white sides and it's impossible to tell where the mud from the shore ended and his pinto spots began.]
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[The rest of the crew, he can look for once the storm passes. If they're even here. He pointedly doesn't think about the fact that he barely made it and he's a kelpie.]
[He shifts into his human form when he finds the shack, just to get through the door easier, and stumbles in.]
Hello?
[Just in case one of the others found it first. He can't see a damn thing.]
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[BUT THEN THE BOOGERMAN SHOWS UP.]
[Or not.]
Is this your house?
[He asks the darkness.]
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[But at least it doesn't sound like a threatening one. At all. Envy makes his way further inside, trying to find a place to sit.]
No, I just washed up here. I'm guessing it's not your house, either.
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[In the darkness, Maurice can make out only the vaugest shapes of Envy moving around. If he were a ghost he would be glowing and moaning about treasure so the Sagittarian allows himself to calm down for the moment.]
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[Envy thinks he heard hooves on the floor when he'd first come in the little shack, but he can't be sure in the dark. He decides not to mention it for now.]
And it's just you? I got knocked overboard, I don't know if anyone else in my crew might have been too.
[He doubts it, but he has to at least ask. He finds what seems to be a wooden crate, and sits down on it carefully. The wood holds, even if it creaks.]
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[But. As he listened, carefully turning his fuzzy ears, this fellow(?) doesn't sound too big. He can stop him.]
Just me.
[Thunder rolls overhead and makes him jump but he doesn't fall or sit. His knees lock up and he grits his teeth.]
Where were you going?
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Oh...we were on our way to Jamaica, to drop off a shipment.
[Of STOLEN PIRATE BOOTY.]
I don't know if the others got through the storm or not, I went over and wound up here. What about you?
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A wave threw me onto the reef and it gutted my ship.
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You're lucky to be alive, after that.
[...]
Well, maybe. Depending on where exactly this is and what's here to survive with. Ever been stranded before?
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Never like this...but we may not even be really stranded. This could be the edge of the mainland.
[He sounds more like he's trying to convince himself than Envy.]
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[The idea that he might, in fact, be another horse seems farfetched. What would be the odds of that? He lets out a little, sort of amused snort.]
I don't think I swam that far.
I haven't been stranded this badly before either, but I DID once spend a week on a deserted island while we waited for the people we were supposed to meet there to show up. THAT was interesting.
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Hah, that sounds fun. They have a good excuse for takin' so long?
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[Although now, Envy can get into his story.]
Of course they didn't. Oh, they had a mile long list of excuses, but not one of them was any good. We would've left THEM on that island and taken their ship with us if they hadn't paid so well.
There were so many centipedes on that island, you wouldn't believe. On EVERYTHING.
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Eugh! How did ya'll survive? Dont' tell me you ate them!
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We ate them.
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Fermented Friendship
[For now, he's just going to enjoy the fact that he isn't alone and hasn't had to carve a face into a coconut for company. When Envy left to create the fire, the Sagittarian made his way into the bush using what foraging skills he'd learned as a colt. He eventually returns with several large red fruits bundled in his shirt.]
Supper's ready. We had some of these growing on the coast.
[He knows he can get by eating grass and leaves but he doubts his human friend can. Maurice goes through the slow process of flopping down onto the sand without dropping the fruit. He's going to be so sore tomorrow.]
They're pretty ripe but I already tried one and I think they'll do.
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[He was actually just about to lift a beam that would have taken multiple people to even start lifting when Maurice comes back and he almost jumps. But he hadn't actually lifted yet, he's safe for the moment. And there's food! Good news all around, so he turns with a grin, wiping at his forehead.]
Haven't seen that kind before, but if you haven't keeled over dead from trying one, how bad could they be?
[He goes over to sit heavily down in the sand next to Maurice, almost as gingerly as the centaur had. No matter how strong he is, he still gets tired too, and he isn't used to this sort of heavy labor. He holds out a hand to take a fruit, sniffing at it before taking a bite. What could it hurt?]
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[He places the pile between them and helps himself to another, eyes focused ahead on the fire.]
Wonder what she's doin' now...you got anybody on land?
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No, not on land. I've been on the sea as long as I can remember, and my crew is the closest thing to having people I've ever needed.
[He just really hopes that they didn't sink in that storm, but he doesn't want to even say the possibility out loud.]
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[Color Maurice impressed! Envy looks to be at least as old as he is. That's still plenty of years at sea. He gives his tail a hearty flop, sending sand into the fire and making it jump.]
You'll see 'em again. I got Captain's intuition!
[He brings a thumb to his forehead.]
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Oh, yeah? Well, can't argue with a Captain.
And what about you, got anyone out there besides your mom?
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[Maurice gives a self-important nod. His word is law! He's the captain on the island here. He saves the stem and leaves of his fruit for last. It was a horse thing.]
Well there's the rest of the herd. But she's the one I'm closest to. She didn't really want me to go to sea. She says if we were meant for this kind of life, we would have been born with fins, but I just had to get outta that town and I couldn't really go inland. So...
[He makes a sweeping gesture to the beach.]
Gosh. I thought these fruits were overripe but it looks like we washed up here just in time. I think they're better than I've ever had them.
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Ha, well at least we've gotten lucky with something!
[He pauses, half of the second fruit disappearing quickly. He leeeans back on one hand, waving the fruit up as though he's making a toast.]
And hooves aren't half bad for the sea, who needs fins?
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[Maurice's tail gives another whorl, slinging around still more sand. The fruit squashes slightly in his hand as he shifts in place so that he can face his new friend.]
My ship was great! It had special hoofholds carved right into the deck! All the ramps you could want!
[Because Maurice and stairs just...no.]
You just watch. We're gonna build the best damn boat th' navy's ever seen!
[Fruit in one hand, he grabs up a twig that's popped out of the ire and starts drawing in the sand. It's...sort of a boat. It looks more like a banana with trees growing out of it.]
I saw a couple 'a guys do this in a picture once! With color and everything!