Landfall

"Land ho!"

"The fuck you'd just call me?!"

"Ah, shut the hells up, Calla! Just 'caus yer up and about doesn't mean that ye can run yer mouth again!" A boisterous laugh escaped the heavily bandaged Beast-kin as she scampered down the main mast and back to the deck of the Wavecutter. She had been told by the ship's sawbones to stay in her hammock until they reached Ikara, not that anyone on board actually believed that she would follow instructions. And to absolutely nobody's surprise, the erstwhile feline sailor was on deck within hours of waking. 

The Wavecutter was in terrible shape in the aftermath of the attack by the abyssal greatwyrm; despite the best efforts of the remnants of the crew, it was all they could do to keep the once-proud ship afloat. Even the inexperienced Lucius knew that ships weren't supposed to be leaning this much. Lucius himself was below decks, largely staying out of the way of the scurrying crew. He turned his head to the side to peer out over the edge of his hammock, watching the lump of blue and orange in the next hammock as it snored contently.   

He silently regarded Hana's slumbering form, trying to convince himself that everything that had transpired on their voyage really did happen. He wasn't entirely sure how she had managed to chase away the abyssal greatwyrm, and judging by her reaction afterwards, neither did she. But the result was what mattered, and the pair had been hailed as heroes. Lucius recalled their conversation that evening, where he had tried to pawn Hana off onto someone else. It was the first time he had genuinely seen her hurt, the image of which caused him to shake his head to try and remove those pained eyes from his mind. Mostly succeeding in the task, he swung himself over the edge and quietly made his way topside, careful to not disturb Hana too much. 

Emerging into bright sunlight, Lucius breathed deep of the cool ocean breeze, which had thankfully been cooperating with the injured vessel. He looked back towards the stern to see two familiar figures standing by the wheel. The smaller of the two raised a hand in greeting, which Lucius responded to in kind before making his way in their direction. Upon making his way to the steps that led up to the aft deck, he addressed them, 

"Captain, Blacktern. I take it the two of you are well?" 
Astora smiled in her characteristically charismatic manner, "Aye, that we are. 'Course, we're only alive thanks ta you an' that fox-lady down below. I - well - we, owe ya both our lives. An' not just us, but the whole crew as well. None o' us will ever forget ya, ever." 

Blacktern, though silent, conveyed her gratitude through a simple bow, which Lucius felt carried with it tremendous weight. Though he had no intention of refusing their gratitude, such sentiment carried with it a fair amount of concern,

"About that, Captain. I don't suppose it'd be too much to ask if you could keep Hana's, uh, unique characteristics under wraps? We're trying to keep a low profile, you know?"

Astora dipped her head in understanding, "Well, I suppose I can try ta keep her mum, though I won't promise much. Ya do understand how tough it is ta keep a sailor's mouth shut once he's had a few down the hatch!"

Lucius sighed in defeat. He had expected such an answer to his rather unreasonable request. Still, at least Astora seemed to sympathize with his intentions, so hopefully they could get some time without being revealed. Turning about to look into the horizon, Lucius could see the growing shape of land emerging from the endless blue, 

"How long until we reach port?"

Astora took a quick look around the ship, "Not long, even in our poor condition. Few hours at best, but it'll be likely that they'll send a ship out to meet us, seeing as we don't got no colors." 

Lucius tensed, "Would they attack us?" The captain chuckled at his anxiety, "Nah, not unless we shoot 'em. 'Sides, most folk in Ikara know this ship, so we got nothin' ta worry about. You just keep yer pretty head down an' we'll be back on dry land in no time."

Inclining his head in appreciation, Lucius left the elevated platform and slowly wandered across the main deck, keeping as best out of the way as possible. Everyone he passed acknowledged him with gratitude clear in their voices, which rolled over him like the waves across the bow, nice to look at but uncomfortable to be in. Having never been on the receiving end of so many compliments before, he could only muster awkward responses to the accolades. 

Resting against the port-side rail near the bow, Lucius watched as the blur of land grow in size and definition. Very soon, he would be back in civilization, and safely out of the reach of any real consequence for his escapades back in Atin. The real problem was what to do once they got there, not that he had given it any kind of thought. Grimacing at the prospect of the unknown and the fact that he was going to have to deal with it somehow, a particularly pathetic sigh escaped his lips. 

"Hmm? What's got you all miserable?" 

A familiar, albeit sleepy voice, drifted over the sound of flapping canvas and lapping waves. Looking back over his shoulder, the clouds within were instantly dispelled upon seeing Hana stumble his way. A strong breeze blew across the deck, picking up strands from her unbrushed hair and dancing them about as if flames from a torch. She had forgone wearing her heavy hood, allowing her fluffed, pointed ears to rotate about freely. Lucius knew that this made sense, given that the whole ship knew her secret, though it was strange to see her walk about exposed so freely. Dim eyes of unfathomable emerald greedily drank in the light of day, chasing away the last remnants of sleep.

Acting as natural as he could, Lucius turned back to stare out towards land, "Nah, I'm not miserable, just been thinking a bit." She walked up next to him and leaned her back against the railing, her chin tilted up towards the brilliant sky,

"Thinking, hmm? Is that going well for you? Not straining yourself too much?"

Lucius rolled his eyes at the jab, but decided to take the bait, "That's rich coming from the woman who's been sleeping the whole day away."

"I needed to get my rest! I expended lot's of energy saving the day, so it's only right that a hero like myself be allowed to laze about as much as she wants."

"Uh-huh, didn't know that heroes snore that loud." Hana gasped audibly, "I do not snore!" "Do too. I could hear it from up here." 

A punch to the shoulder was his reward for his snark, along with an indignant huff from his companion. Smiling broadly, he glanced over to make sure that she wasn't too affected by the comment. Their eyes meeting for a brief moment, she stuck out her tongue at him and pointedly looked away. Everything was as it should be.

"How's that brush been working out for you? Has it been helping?"

"It has, thank you. It's been very useful in keeping my fur neat and clean, though it's no substitution for a good bath. Will there be a bath place where we are going? Also, where exactly are we going?"

Lucius looked out to see the beginnings of defined structures; a rugged coastline that had given way to mortal wills long ago to be tamed to their needs, which now served the purposes of the current rulers. He pointed off towards where they could just make out small squares of white canvas,

"It's a city called Ikara, and it's outside the Empire's domain, so we'll be safe there. Besides the basics, which I kind of just said, I don't know much of anything about it. I would guess they have baths there, as it's a major city, but beyond that I couldn't tell you."

"Ah, is that so?" Judging by her tone, she didn't appear to be all that excited about his lack of answer. There wasn't much he could do but shrug apologetically, "There's not much we can do besides figure it out when we land, which should be soon, apparently."

No sooner had the words left his mouth did a call come out from the crows nest,

"Captain! Ship headin' our way from starboard! She's flyin' Alliance colors!"

Hana shot him a questioning look, a fleeting hint of worry in her eyes bade him to assure her quickly,

"No need to worry, Astora was expecting this. Probably some kind of inspection, if I had to guess. We should probably get below and get ready to leave. Probably isn't a good idea to draw any attention to ourselves when it isn't necessary." 

Nodding her assent, she rose to make her way back into the darkness of the ship, pausing only briefly as she focused on the oncoming vessel, 

"I'm going to need to wear my hood again, aren't I?"

The flat resignation in her voice jarred him back to reality, as did the slight drooping in the tips of her ears. Filing the questions within for later, he could only respond with a simple, "Yes."

With nothing more to say, the pair went below and made themselves ready to disembark. Lucius guessed around fifteen minutes had passed when he heard a general commotion from the crew, and judging by the tone he surmised that the other vessel had made contact. Curiosity overcame sense as he heard Astora's distinct timbre resound over the groans of the ship.  Excusing himself from Hana, he maneuvered himself through the low light, placing himself at the bottom of the stairs that led to the main deck so that he could listen in to the conversation. Of course, he didn't really need to stoop to such methods, he was aware of this much. But as he was already committed to the bit, he figured that he might as well follow through.

A new voice joined Astora's, lighter than Astora's own, the new voice rose and fell quickly in a stiff, official manner. Whoever the voice belonged to was a fast talker, or so it seemed to Lucius the eavesdropper. He couldn't make sense of much, but the general tone seemed to be cordial enough, so it was unlikely that anything was going to go wrong. Right when he was about to head back down to where Hana was waiting, a pair of shadows suddenly blocked out the sun's light.

Astora stood at the top of the stairs, seemingly unbothered at Lucius' position. Rather, the large and knowing grin she wore spoke volumes to how much this amused her. The second shadow belonged to a man, presumably the new voice Lucius had heard. He was about half a head shorter than Astora with a slightly thinner build, though he seemed to be perfectly comfortable in Astora's presence. The man wore a yellow overcoat and deep blue trousers, his graying hair reflected spots of light in the midday sun. He gestured in Lucius' direction,

"And who might this be, Captain? Don't tell me you're recruiting children now."

Astora laughed aloud, "Don't be fooled by his young looks, Inspector! This lad's the reason why we're still afloat!" The man in yellow looked Lucius up and down with an appraising eye, though he wasn't sure that the older man fully believed Astora. But at the very least he had no obvious reason to press, so he simply shrugged,

"Well, if you say so, Astora. Have you already managed to snap this one up?" She chuckled aloud, "Nope, no chance ta get the mark on him yet. But you can bet yer ass I'm gonna try!"

"Hmm, you always do have a way with words, don't you, Astora? Well, I won't keep you long, just a quick look at the hold and we'll be set. And no, you needn't show me, I know the way."

Lucius shrank back into the wall as the uniformed man walked by, barely sparing him a glance as he did so. Lucius' eyes watered from the strong garlic odor that chased after the retreating figure, which thankfully did not linger for long. A strong presence emanated from the deck, pressuring him to finally turn and face the grinning captain. With a single motion of her finger, Lucius was compelled to follow her back into the sun to face the music for eavesdropping. 

To his surprise, such a tongue-lashing never occurred. Astora wandered along the ship's rail, occasionally addressing a sailor here and there, but otherwise staying silent, which Lucius found to be slightly unnerving. Attached to the Wavecutter's starboard with long, solid looking planks was a long, sleek ship whose sails barely came up to the halfway point on the Wavecutter's rigging. With his poor angle, Lucius could only hear accented voices drifting from the second ship, reminding him that he was quite far from home.

Astora pointed out over the water, "There it is, kid. Ikara, your new home away from home." 

After many hours of near drifting, Lucius could finally take a good look at the destined city, at last within his reach. A sprawling tangle of buildings spread out from the city's point of contact with the sea, creating a terrible mess of colors that clashed with each other. A few spires of what likely indicated cathedrals pushed through the chaos, allowing for some landmarks for the eye to follow. Most notable for any person approaching the city was the large building complex situated at the top of a large cliff that overlooked the city and the sea. Sporting a gilded dome and what seemed to be fortifications all its own, Lucius could guess that whoever lived in there was both powerful and important. 

As much as he wanted to step back onto dry land, Lucius felt that this was a good time to ply the captain for useful information, so naturally he started with the important questions,

"Hey, Captain? Who was that guy?"

Astora shot a look towards the hold where the figure in question had gone, "Ah, ya mean Old Garlic back there? His real name's Inspector Morrison, though we just call 'im as we see 'im. I wouldn't worry 'bout him too much, just a low-ranking pencil-pusher who lost out on a gamble years ago an' never recovered." 

"Well, I was just wondering because he seemed to know you. Also, what'd you mean when you said 'take the mark?" Seemingly pleased with this new question, Astora turned her full attention his way,

"We do go a ways back, but that ain't important. A mark 'sactly what it sounds like. Here, I'll show ya mine." Without waiting for any kind of agreement from Lucius, she unbuttoned the top buttons on her jacket, quickly followed by those on her blouse underneath. The movement was so sudden that he had barely time to become extremely interested in the woodgrain of the railing, much less form a coherent protest. Astora gave a light laugh at seeing his predicament,

"What is it, boy? Don't tell me that yer embarrassed by a bit o' flesh?"

There was certainly a point to her jab, Lucius quietly admitted to himself. He certainly wasn't used to seeing someone voluntarily expose themselves in such a public setting, which only made his face burn the more he thought about it. A light hint of fear had also begun to creep into his mind, though he wasn't entirely sure why.

"C'mon, lad, take a look. Won't be able ta make my point until ya do." Having been goaded on, Lucius carefully brought his gaze back around to her ample chest, which thankfully was only about half exposed. Astora pointed with her free hand to a colored tattoo that sat squarely atop her left breast: a stylized spear point in the motion of splitting an ocean wave. Lucius was no expert on tattoos, but even so it was obvious that this piece of body art was done by a professional. 

"Alright now, that's enough starin'. Too much an' you'll give some folk here the wrong idea." Her eyes flicked up towards the nearest mast as she covered herself, a wry smile playing across her lips. Following her gaze, Lucius realized why he had felt a tremor of fear as he locked eyes with none other than Blacktern, who was balanced high above on a beam. Astora seemed unfazed, even flashing an oddly coquettish smile and blowing a kiss towards her lover. Apparently accepting the offering, Blacktern turned her back and scampered off through the rigging. Finally free to explain, Astora tapped the spot where the tattoo now lay hidden,

"A mark's got a few uses. One, it'll help folk identify bodies that go overboard. Lots of nasties in the water that'll nibble a corpse, so it helps us inform kin."

He shuddered as he recalled the destructive fury of the greatwyrm, though if something like that came across a corpse, there likely wouldn't be anything left to identify, mark or not. Astora seemed to pick up on his thoughts,

"Really, though, it's all about keepin' together. It lets other crews know who's sailed with who. 'Course, that means a lot to us sailors." Lucius rested his elbows on the rail and stared out towards the slowly approaching city, "Sounds like what the military does, using standards and emblems to keep organized."

"Ha! We sailin' folk aren't nearly that put together. We ain't tied down much either, seein' as we follow the wind an' all. One of my crew shows their mark, an' everyone knows that they work fer me. It also means that they represent me, so they best be on their best behavior!"

"Does every captain have their own mark?" An approving nod returned his question, "Aye, most established ones at least. If a captain's mark is respected, then a sailor can get work easier. Not all these lads here'll stay with me, 'specially seein' as my poor ship'll be in drydock fer weeks."

Lucius was impressed, the system was more complex than he had first given it credit for. By taking on a captain's personal mark, a sailor could gain access to that captain's reputation and use it for their own purposes. The more they uphold their captain's honor and qualities, the easier it is for them to find work outside their home ship. But if they acted poorly, it reflects poorly on their captain and home crew.  The fact that a group as disparate and disorganized as sailors could create such a system was doubly impressive.

Two more vessels broke free of the tangle of ships milling about at the entrance to the harbor and began to sail in their direction. Their small and squat construction, coupled with the rows of oars that dipped in rhythmic strokes, indicated them to be support craft. Catching his interest, Astora pointed to guide his eyes,

"Those little guys'll help tow us in. We'll be docked in less than twenty minutes. Once we're ashore, I'll introduce ya to someone who'll help ya out." 

"We appreciate the help, Captain. But I still want to know why you'd offer something like that mark to us. We've only just met, seems like its something that's hard to earn."

She laughed aloud, "Nonsense! It's optional, o'course. But I got a good feelin' about you two, and ma gut's never steered me wrong yet. 'Sides, nobody here'll refuse either o' ya, seein' at what ya did fer everyone. Just think it over, not like I'm goin' anywhere fer some time." 

He was left to ponder the offer as Astora walked off to meet up with Inspector Garlic, as Lucius decided to remember the thin, yellow-clad man as from now on. The two spoke on logistics and docking fees, none of which really interested Lucius. Instead he watched with increasingly anxious excitement as the city crept into arms reach. The smaller ships attached lines on either side of the Wavecutter's prow and skillfully guided the beleaguered craft through the shallower waters of the harbor.

Ships of all makes and sizes passed them by, their masts alive with fluttering colors from every corner of the civilized world. All at once the smells and sounds of a bustling port rolled over Lucius all at once, one that he was thankfully familiar with by this point. People could be seen scurrying along the docks, carrying out the various tasks needed to maintain such chaos. Lucius smiled at the familiarity of the activity, mostly because it meant that his time at sea was about to end. As useful as it was, he was unconvinced that a life at sea was for him.

With all the grace that a half-sunk ship could muster, the Wavecutter made port at last. A great shudder went up through the ship's timbers, as if the vessel had let out a great sigh of relief at achieving safety at last. Lucius tapped the side of the rail he was leaning against, an unconscious gesture he sometimes used with horses to show appreciation for a job well done. Suddenly very self-aware, he casually strolled away from the side and back towards the hold. Hana was surely wondering where he had gotten off to, and once they made landfall, it was time to take their next steps. 

Whatever those were supposed to be.