Indiana Mako
The day was unlike any other. Light clouds... fair winds... mild waves... The Maiden's Mercy left port two days ago to restock supplies. The sun was dipping low on the scintillating horizon, briefly turning the dark waters a red and gold hue with its fiery reflection. But, as most of the crew went below deck to rest for the night, Her brother Oliver Mako stayed awake. Indiana found him standing alone at the railing, his brow furrowed with concern as he looked out over the water. He called up to him, was anything out there, did he see anything? Once again, he called out no. Indiana waved him down from the crow’s nest and sent him off, he looked tired and confused, but didn’t turn down the literal *order* to go get some sleep. When Indiana turned to her brother, he had her stand beside him as he pointed out... out... over the railing. Out to sea. Gulls... were circling. Fish attracted gulls... but you would see the fins of sharks and dolphins. Whales, perhaps... but you would see the great gouts of mist as they broke the surface to breathe. They would have seen debris from a shipwreck, so it couldn’t be that. There was nothing, he assured her. They had seen *nothing* and yet those birds were there for a *reason* they had to be... and they couldn’t see it. That... was concerning to Oliver. Oh if only Longclaw aka Rawkmurak were here, he might have had a better idea. Indiana stayed up with him... hours passed... the flock didn’t disperse. Ollie was weary, the lass could tell. He needed rest, just like all the crew did... but he didn’t seem to want to let this go. Some drink to ease his nerves, maybe...? She got his attention and pulled out a flask. He chuckled and took it, drinking deep off it before clapping it back in her hand. Ah, there he was! That was Ollie! She had a drink herself before throwing her arm around him and leading him off to the captain’s quarter. Ah, maybe he did just need some shut eye after all...
Hours had passed... night had fallen. The only light was the faint white glow of the moon and the flickering light of the ship’s own lanterns. The fifth bell chimed and the lookouts traded their shifts. Only... this time something more than that answered... One of the lookouts felt an unpleasant wet *splat* on his head, and looked up to see a loathful seagull. He shook his fist and cursed at it... but then noticed there were more than just that one bird... there were hundreds. Suddenly the ship lurched to the side, the hull groaning from the sudden movement. The air was thick with the sound of flapping wing beats as the gulls fled the masts. The lookouts sounded the alarm, but needless to say the crew were already well awake and rushing to be at the ready. They were hit! ...They were... hit...? Indiana rushed down to the deck only to see... nobody...? There were no ships on the water besides theirs... albeit the blood red sails of the Indomitable were barely visible out in the distance... but Albatross was keeping that distance and already well past the Mercy. Besides... even if he had fired on them, there was no way a ballista bolt would make that kind of distance. ...But something... had *hit* this ship. There was no other explanation... but unfortunately, it was about to hit them again a whole lot harder.
A low moaning sound reverberated through the water, amplified by the hollow hull of the ship and rumbling through each and every nail and board beneath their feet before the ship was slammed again, this time strong enough to send the entire vessel sideways through the water and practically catapulting anyone unfortunate enough to not grab hold of something. But perhaps that would be a better fate than seeing what they were up against. Pale and shiny, like a phantom beneath the water, the silvery skin of a massive beast reflected the moonlight against the black depths, staring blankly... with massive red eyes. The nightmare of the sea...
The Kraken.
Panic broke out on the ship, but above the wounded cracking of the boards, above the laughing of the gulls, the roaring of the ocean, one man’s voice cried out louder than any of them, “GLORY OR DEATH!!” Oliver drew blades and with only those few words whipped his crew into a frenzy. If they didn’t fight this monster, they would die anyway! Fight or die trying!
The monster’s pale tentacles pierced the surface of the water, reaching the top sails in height before crashing down against the deck, wrapping around the masts and taking hold of the ship. The pirates hacked and slashed at the tendrils, but they were easily thicker than tree trunks, and the meat of them were even tougher to cut than the skin. As the timbers shuddered and groaned beneath the crushing pressure, the huge red eyes of the beast watched on unblinking at the carnage it created. ...The eyes. The eyes! Indiana darted across the deck, she had a plan, but there was no time! One of the ballistas was ripped from its socket already, no use, she kept going. The boards began to snap and split apart beneath her hooves as she ran for the next one. The weapon was still mounted but not for long as the tentacle gripping the deck easily crushed the bolt-thrower beneath its weight. There was one, ONE last chance. Indiana clambered over the slimy thing right as the main *Crrr-CRACKED* in half above them all, sending it and the sails plunging into the ocean with a mighty crash. Indiana scrambled her way to the final turret and mounted the bolt. The ship lurched as the Kraken pulled it toward its beaked maw, and right as its huge red eye was in view, she fired at it. The bolt loosed, and an ear-splitting shriek pierced the water and sounded through the open air. The beast’s flinch was visible even above the water as the tentacles tensed and flexed in strange ways that made the pale skin curl and fold like it was wincing. But that was only momentarily... The attack was answered with a low, but deafening ROAR. It was hungry before... but now it was mad. Indiana had no chance to run as a furious tendril lashed where the needle had come from. The sounds of smashing boards filled her ears before she was violently thrown into the air along with the debris and splinters.
Indie didn’t think she would be waking up again after that... but she did... and... in a familiar place, no less. Was she... dead...? Was this death...? A cozy vision of her old home? If it was death, she didn’t think she’d be hurting so BAD. Little did she know it had been two weeks since Gibson Hallewell had delivered her a broken and bloodied mess straight to her father Dalton Mako doorstep... but the injured lass hadn’t exactly ‘been here’ until now... but now that she was, she sort of wished she wasn’t. Her head hurt, her leg hurt, her ribs hurt... and as she looked around the bedroom seeing the keepsakes she and Oliver left behind... even her soul hurt. She was... wrapped in bandages beneath her clothes, but... bandages couldn’t help that.
Dalton and Sherry Mako were sitting together in the living room, enjoying the company of a dear guest. Longclaw... He had come to help them. ...And... in a way... to also mourn. As they were talking however, the observant bird interrupted them with a coo. His long beak pointed toward the hall... where Indiana shambled into view. Before she could even get a word out, her mother and father were already on her, holding their injured daughter close, but not tightly. They were so very relieved... and concerned about her hobbling around and not being in -bed-... but mostly just happy to see her awake... just happy to see her alive... ...Oliver... ...He did not come home like she did...
...Time passed... and that fact never got easier to bear. Her wounds healed... but that one... that one did not. Somehow even with her loving mother and father being there... even their old friend Longclaw making visits... somehow... Indiana still felt... alone. Her brother... her best friend... the person she had been inseparable from, for her entire life... he was just... gone. The sea, which had become her home for most of her life, now felt like it was watching her every move. Hungry. Wanting to claim the one that got away. Corvolas was surrounded by it, the blue horizon only felt like it was waiting to surge forward and pull her back down with the tide. Only when the sea was far from view could she feel safe from the nightmare of it. Only when she was away from the home she’d loved could she be free from the memory of her brother. Not of his life... but of the horrific death scarred into the depths of her mind. Just as fate had played a cruel hand... it would offer her... an opportunity.
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