The tiger demon was groggy at best when he finally began to stir. His head was pounding and the sun was beating down just as relentlessly on his prone form. Only through effort of will, he started to pick himself up, blinking blurry eyes to try and clear the view around him.
A beach? Odd...he didn't remember falling asleep on a beach. He went to sleep on the ship, in his room--
Then, some of the events began returning from scattered memories. A loud noise in the middle of the night had awakened him instantly, senses on alert for immediate danger. By the time he'd realized that the problem was with the ship, it had been too late. The whole thing was breaking up, falling apart and dropping Pae'il into the sea. He remembered hitting the cold water abruptly, starting to come up to the surface, then a sharp pain at the back of his head and darkness.
Cursing, he dragged himself to the shallow water, hissing when he tried to bend over and his head throbbed again. He managed to toss some water upwards instead into his hair, then watched as it dripped to the sands. No blood. Good. Probably just got knocked out then; didn't seem to be any permanent damage, just an annoying headache. He knew better than to shake the water from his hair, just letting it drip. The sun would dry it soon enough at this rate. He needed to take stock of where he was.
He'd joked the night before about the 'picnic' being over for the Pae'il being pampered, and how he could take care of himself. This hadn't been what he'd been expecting though. The situation had sure excalated quickly. He noted a few objects out of place on the sands and quickly recognized them as items from his room. Well, at least his stuff had found him. He gathered the few things from the sands, wrapping the necklaces around his wrist, then gathered the net and oysters in one hand, the bottle and knife in the other. He trudged up the beach towards the shade beneath a tall palm tree before sitting down again. Eying the bottle, he figured maybe it'd help his head stop hurting quite so much, wrenched the cork from it, and took a swig.
Alright, now what? Was this it? He was just...stranded here in the middle of nowhere by himself? Wonderful.
((Rolled a 2 for Water.))
DaemonGabrielle
Kane's Items:
Half-bottle of Wine Ceramic Knife Kelp Fishing Net A Few Oysters 2 Necklaces
DaemonGabrielle generated a random number between
1 and 2 ...
1!
Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 8:32 am
Opal groaned. Last night had been hell. Not only had the ship suddenly exploded, but she couldn't remember anything after landing in the water. She must have been knocked unconscience by something. Looking up at the sky, she grumbled unhappily. "I thought we were supposed to be relaxing! Not dying on a desert island!!"
Meandering forward, she was in search of other living beings. So far, since she had awoken, she had been alone. Unless you counted her bottle of wine and her ceramic knife. Which had magically been stranded on this hellish island with her. So far, the only thing she had discovered was that the beach seemed to go on forever. The waters wouldn't let her get further than a few feet from shore, and the greenery on the island was sparse and unforgiving. That last thought was given with a consoling rub to her behind. She had ran into a batch of brairs this morning that had definitely left their mark.
Grumbling to herself, picked up a rock and threw it out into the water. This officially was the worst vacation ever.
Kane had bundled his things tightly in the netting, making it easier to carry while on the move. After taking one more drink from the bottle, he corked it and added it to the make-shift bag as well. He knew the alcohol was going to end up only making him thirsty in the long run, but just a few sips had helped to dull the throbbing in his head so that he could think. That's all he needed right now. He could try to enjoy the rest later when he set up somewhere to stay a bit more permanently. Standing, he stretched and cracked a few stiff joints before picking up the net bag and swinging it over his shoulder.
It wasn't the prospect of being alone that bothered him, not hardly. The peace and quiet was quite nice really. In a way, it'd be almost relaxing; and wasn't that supposed to be the point of this vacation he'd been sent on? To relax and recover, letting his newest wounds heal while he regained his strength. Course, it'd be nice to do that without the head injuries and potential of dehydrating. He was sure he could find food, but fresh water? That could be a bit more troubling, surrounded only by sea water...
He sighed, closing his eyes briefly. He was a survivor. He'd manage somehow. He always did. Still, his thoughts had strayed somewhat from worries about his own survival. Even if he hadn't known most of the Pae'il on that ship, he certainly hadn't wished misfortune like this on them; even if they were a bit spoiled from the sound of it. Besides, he had a brother of sorts on that damn boat. Hopefully, Melek had made it to safety...somehow. He was worried less about his own chances now, and more about the others'. He'd find some way out of this...some way back to Telrunya. Eventually. "Vika is gonna' kill me when I get home," he muttered quietly, the only expression of his wandering concerns.
The waves had been providing a constant, background noise as he shuffled through the sands. It almost masked the noise, but not quite. The demon's ear twitched slightly, focusing on a foreign sound that didn't belong.
PLU-UNK
It wasn't an unknown sound; he just needed a moment to place it, as it didn't seem to fit with where he was at the moment. But maybe, on the shore of a different body of water, like...the lake...
Someone chucking rocks?
Squinting through the glare caused by the sun hanging high in the sky, he fixated on a single figure, brilliant white, with shimmering colors, but a shock of deep, rosy pink hair.
Greaaat... He was torn between being pleased to have some sign that he wasn't the only one to survive the crash, and somewhat regretting the loss of his sudden solitude.
DaemonGabrielle
Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 1:54 pm
He briefly considered turning around and going back the other way. She hadn't seen him yet, distracted as she was by her efforts to injure the ocean with pebbles, apparently. He could keep to the 'quiet solitude' plan of survival, take care of himself, as he always had. Besides, she was a fish, right? He was pretty sure she could just...swim away if she wanted, right?
He stared at her frustrated posture, wondering if she intended to glare the ocean into submission if the rocks didn't work.
With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, he hefted his net back onto his shoulder and started trudging over the sands towards the Naiad.
He offered no greeting, no sign of recognition as he neared Opal. He just walked over as if it were any other day on Telrunya, dropped his net and followed it down to the sands. Then, sitting there, he started pulling the oysters from the net and prying them open with the knife. Might as well eat them...they wouldn't last long out of the water and in this heat. On a whim, he smirked to himself and quipped, "Well...this is a fine kettle of fish we've gotten into."
Kane had found both good and bad points in the situation. Sure, they were trapped here and couldn't leave...but some exploring had changed the idea that this would be some sort of slow, excruciating death trap into a mere prison. Better, right? Further inland, where the trees provided shade as well as material to build a proper shelter, Kane had also found a small, shallow freshwater stream. Nothing more than a trickle, to be honest, but if he was careful, perhaps it would be enough. He didn't need much by way of shelter either, simply some shade from the sun, as well as the rain. And rain would be welcome with his limited water supply.
Of course, the plentiful salt water had other uses, if one was smart. The shallows at least seemed safe for swimming and keeping oneself cool, though any attempts to move further into deeper waters were met with powerful swirling currents that attempted to smash anyone caught in them on the rocky shoals. Seems like even his Naiad companion was stuck. He wasn't sure what her plan was, and he didn't really ask. In the end, he gave her her space as long as he had his. It wasn't as if they actively avoided one another, just...did their own thing. Not that he'd have refused her his help if she'd asked for it or anything.
At least the shallow waters allowed him the opportunity to fish. Anything that ventured into the shallows was fair game.
Once he'd gotten himself somewhat settled with a simple shelter, as well as drinking water and a supply of fish...well, Kane had little left to complain about. As long as those needs were covered, he also had peace and quiet for the most part...what could be more relaxing? And that was supposed to be the point of this trip after all, for him to rest and relax and let his injuries heal. Both new and old, he supposed now.
As the days passed though, his thoughts turned to home more often as he had fewer worries with which to preoccupy himself. Lying beneath the stars one night, staring up at a shell necklace tangled and dangling from his fingers, he realized that the 'vacation' had come to an end. He had to find a way to get back home.
Planning and effort shifted from mere survival to a means of escape. He wasn't stupid. Even if the treacherous currents weren't a concern, swimming wasn't an option. This stretch of sand had to be too far from anything else for him to just swim away. He'd exhaust himself and drown most likely. Attempts to fly away from here would likely have the same result, even IF he'd been in peak condition.
That left the idea of some sort of boat or raft. He'd still have to escape the shoals, but after that...well, as long as he had adequate provisions, maybe he could make it back to Telrunya proper from...wherever he was now.
A wedge of rough stone, some fallen branches, and a little vine work provided him with a workable hatchet. Rough, but workable. Better than nothing at least. The next part was still no picnic. It took a few days, working in the cooler portions of the morning, then resting during the heat of the day, then working again some before the sun sank below the horizon, before he'd felled what seemed to be a satisfactory number of palm trees for his craft.
As preparations continued, he realized he had no idea what his fellow survivor was planning to do, if anything. Well...he supposed, if nothing else, if this raft idea worked, maybe he could let her tag along for a ride over the shoals...she oughta' be able to swim home or...wherever she wanted after that. Right?
The logs were lashed together with vines, then sealed with some sap from the trunks. It wasn't the strongest hold, but hopefully the knots would provide most of the strength, and this was just insurance. Kane had taken care to gather more food than usual for provisioning, setting aside a number of green young coconuts as well as drying some fish. He wasn't normally one for non-meat meals, but the fruits had proven both plentiful and dual purpose, providing him with coconut milk as well as flesh to eat. And apparently paired well with fish, as he'd discovered.
He'd let Opal know of his plans, just in case she was interested of course, then began final preparations. On the day he planned to set out, he'd loaded up the raft, then big farewell to his temporary home-away-from-home. The currents in the shallows seemed weaker than usual...it gave him hope that perhaps the attempt to cross the rocky shoals away from shore might prove easier than he'd thought. Best take advantage of the opportunity. With a final glance back at the island, he tossed the net laden with coconuts aboard and prepped to push off.
