Absentmindedness and the Disasters That Follow
Pau emerged from his home, bare paws padding on the white sand. Walking a few yards down the shoreline, he tilted his head back to momentarily bask in Veniccio's morning sun. Salty ocean breeze filtered through his golden fur, grown thin from living on the warm coast. Pau exhaled, briefly willing his mind to let go of today's troubles. Then, a thin, reedy wail called from inside the cave. That would be the source of today's troubles. The rabbit let out a sigh of long suffering and turned his back to the ocean, to find out what was wrong with the young Shigura now.
Yesterday
Pau and Shingala sat in the rabbit's home, both of them slumped over, bored out of their minds. Ordinarily, the pair would be out and about, Pau looking for food, and Shingala frolicking in the waves. However, the clouds today seemed to have it in for them, deciding to dump a seemingly endless shower of water from the heavens and effectively keep them trapped inside all day. This had been the third time in the past two weeks that the two had been confined to the cave due to the weather. This year so far had proven to be unusually stormy, the weather tossing storm after storm upon the shores, long after the rainy season had ended.
At first Pau had begun repairing one of the frayed cloths that draped from the ceiling along the walls and other housekeeping chores, but quickly grew bored of the monotonous tasks. Restless, he had then begun to move about his home, straightening the rug, adjusting the drapes, and so on. Eventually he had started to sort through the various baskets and containers lying around, when he had found (much to his delight) one of those crunchy orange treats that he so loved, and (much to Shingala's delight) a few strips of dried fish, cloaked in an aroma of exotic spices, that Pau vaguely recalled receiving from a band of nomads that he had traded with some months ago. After Pau stored away the precious orange treasure for later, the pair had made a game of throwing the pieces of fish into the air, Pau tossing them high and Shingala snapping it into his mouth and gulping them down. Sadly, their supply of dried treats was not infinite, and once they ran out of throwable dried fish, they were conquered by the inescapable clutches of supreme boredom, bringing them to their current predicament.
Shingala let out a low whine from his current place in the middle of the floor. Pau shifted his gaze over to his charge, giving him a sympathetic look and murmuring, "I know, I know. You're bored too aren't you?"
The sea dragon sat up and crawled over to where Pau was sitting on one of the bench-like ledges sticking out of the base of the walls. He bumped at the rabbit's torso with his head, demanding either entertainment or attention, Pau could never be quite sure what he wanted. Sighing, Pau patted Shingala's head, running his hand over smooth cerulean scales. After a while, Shingala grew bored with the repetitive stroking, and moved away, nearly smacking Pau in the face with the spikes on the sea dragon's head. Pau sighed, mentally cursing the weather, and the misfortune to be sharing it with a young, restless shigura.
He jolted awake as Shingala roughly prodded his shoulder with his head. Pau yelped indignantly when he fell to the floor from a second nudge from his charge. Scowling, and rubbing his backside, which had taken the brunt of the fall, Pau looked up at the sea dragon. Shingala returned his gaze, head cocked to the side expectantly.
"What's with you?" Pau grumbled, irritated from the rude awakening. Noticing the Shigura's hopeful expression, the rabbit walked over to the far wall of the cave. "Are you hungry? I think there's still some fish from yesterday."
Instead of following him, as Pau had expected, (Shingala was like a dog begging for scraps when it came to food) Shingala moved to the mouth of the cave, letting out a low whine. Confused, Pau turned around to see where Shingala was going. Shingala whined again, pointing his head out towards the beach. The rabbit shuffled over to where the other was standing and poked his head out of the cave. Oh. The rain had stopped, and the sun was now visible hanging orange in the late afternoon sky.
Understanding what Shingala wanted, and being eager to stretch his short bunny legs as well, Pau darted back inside to fetch his shoes. Hastily, the blonde bunny darted about his home, throwing a few lettuce leaves and a portion of fish into a basket. It'd be nice to have their meal outside, after being holed up for the better part of the day. Pau tossed a blanket into the basket, then donned his shoes and sped outside to where his companion was waiting.
Spirits soaring and in an infinitely better mood, Pau skipped down the shore, Shingala at his side. In companionable quiet, the two made their way to their destination. They headed for their usual cliff, where they had begun to spend a few moments every day, on the lookout for any traces of the sea dragon's tribe. Pau paused, looking towards the sea and reminiscing.
"Do you know where your family is?" the sea dragon shook his head sadly, "How about your tribe?" another nonverbal negative, "Hmm. Well, do you know where they're heading?" the calf tilted his head to the side, thinking (at least to Pau it seemed like he was thinking), the shook his head again. "Hmm. Well, that could be a problem." The sea dragon crooned softly in agreement. Stymied, the blond bunny turned to face the ocean, pondering the Shigura's predicament.
Gazing out upon the waves, the two sat for a while, one longing for his kin, and the other racking his brain for a way to reunite them. Pau didn't know how much about the Shigura, and certainly not enough to care for a calf. The sea dragon had to return to his own kind, but his tribe could be just about anywhere, drifting along among the waves. Frowning, the rabbit's gaze wandered towards the cliffs, still deep in thought. The cliffs. His eyes widened, shining with the light of a new idea.
The Shigura calf couldn't have gotten separated from his tribe too long ago. Perhaps they could still be seen from the clifftops. Turning to his larger companion, Pau tapped on a pale blue scale, "Hey, I'm going to go up to the cliff, see if I can't find any trace of your tribe." The blue creature tilted his head quizzically. Not noticing the dragon's puzzled look, Pau darted away, heading up the trail that lead up to the top of the cliffs. The Shigura turned awkwardly to follow.
Once the two reached to top, Pau turned to face the sea dragon. "You gotta be careful while you're up here, okay? Don't want you falling off after all the time it took to get up here. That and you'd probably get hurt pretty bad too." The pale blue calf shifted impatiently. Shigura were not exactly skilled climbers, and the young sea dragon, having only a vague understanding of what the rabbit was saying before, was now completely confused by his actions now. Nodding to himself, Pau turned and headed toward the edge, being careful not to stray too close, and looked out over the sea.
Nothing. Nothing but the endless waves, sandy shore, and setting sun, as far as they eye could see. And Pau had pretty good eyesight. It had been a slim chance to begin with, as Pau had no idea whether the shigura had already passed this area or not, but he still felt a twinge of disappointment. The baby sea dragon shuffled to rest beside him, turning his gaze to the ocean. He rested his head on the ground, letting out a soft whine as the beautiful sight of the sea brought a renewed longing for his family. "I'm sorry. It looks like they aren't around. Maybe we can come back another time, see if we can't spot them tomorrow?" The Shigura raised his head, looking at Pau hopefully. "Yeah, we'll come back tomorrow. For tonight, why don't you stay with me?"
Since then, the two had routinely gone up to the cliff, looking for the lost Shigura's tribe. However, they had yet to see any trace of Shingala's kin. Pau surmised that the tribe may have been delayed by the frequent storms, which had likely slowed their journey. It was either that, or they had already moved on, but Pau hoped it was the former. Cut off from his tribe, the Shigura calf would have little chance at survival. Mentally shaking himself out of his reverie, he turned to follow after his friend.
Even before reaching the top, Pau could hear Shingala. The Shigura yelped repeatedly, though not sounding particularly distressed. He was excited about something, Pau supposed. Probably found some sort of critter. He chuckled to himself, recalling the time when the sea dragon had encountered a small beach rat while nosing about during a previous visit to the cliff. Heh. Hopefully, he won't try to eat whatever he's caught this time. However, upon reaching the top, Shingala's attention was directed not at what was around him, but out past the cliffs.
Intrigued, Pau walked up next to the sea dragon, turning his head to look out over the surrounding area. Following Shingala's gaze he quickly saw what had caught the young Shigura's eye. A group of Shigura, glided across the waves in the distance, heading north. "Hey…Do you think…..?" Shingala yelped again, eyes glowing as the followed the figures swimming across the sunlit ocean. Pau grinned, excitement beginning to buzz through his veins, when a foreboding cracking sound pierced the air.
Puzzled, Pau looked around for the source of the noise. Seeing nothing, he began to dismiss it as his imagination, when the ground shifted ominously. He looked down, and upon seeing the cracks spiderwebbing along the ground, realized their predicament. They, Shingala in particular, were far too close to the edge of the cliff. In his elation, he hadn't realized how close Shingala was to the edge.
The rain. The heavy downpours must have weakened the rock, and Shingala's added weight had served as the breaking point. Sensing the danger, but unable to locate the source, the sea dragon looked at Pau, whimpering quietly. Cautiously, Pau took a soft step away from the edge of the cliff, keeping an eye on the rock beneath his feet. Then, he looked up, to his blue-scaled friend.
"It's okay Shingala. Just stay still. I'm gonna get you out of here."
Admittedly, Pau had no idea how, but hopefully he could reassure the Shigura, and keep him from panicking.
"Don't worry buddy. We'll be alright. Just stay calm, okay?"
Praying to whatever deity watched over beach-dwelling bunnies and baby sea dragons, Pau murmured instructions to Shingala, "Okay…come a little closer to me, Shingala, away from the edge of the cliff. Slowly now, be careful."
Cautiously, Shingala, took a small step in Pau's direction. The two held their breath. The rock held. Slowly, the pair simultaneously let out a shared exhale. Laughing shakily, Pau said, "Alright. There's one step. Now take another one. We'll be outta here soon." Shingala took another step. Then the ground gave way beneath him.
The next ten seconds happened in the span of a small eternity.
Shingala's eyes widened in shock, mouth opening in a panicked screech as he plummeted downward, claws scrabbling uselessly for purchase upon the gravity stricken rock. Pau lunged forward, calling his friend's name. In the back of his mind, he knew it was of no use to do much of anything at this point, but emotional response won out over rational thought. His powerful hind legs, further gifted with strength born from panic, propelled him forward in a desperate leap. His arms closed around Shingala's neck, and the two fell together. They hit the ground and the world gave way to darkness.
….Owwwww…..Pau opened his eyes, and the world slowly came back into focus. That didn't help much, as it now appeared to be, judging by the sight of the moon high in the sky, well past sunset. Sunset. What was I…! He sat up, and promptly regretted it, bright blotches of light momentarily imprinted upon his eyeballs. Gritting his teeth, Pau shut his eyes, willing the spots to fade, as well as the headache that had just now decided to make itself known as well. Cracking his eyelids open a bit, his mind began to replay the past few hours.
After a moment, Pau was hit with the full gravity of what had happened. "Shingala!?" Looking around, Pau could see no trace of his large, blue friend. He began to panic, if he hadn't already, and began to call frantically for Shingala. Not long after, the calf responded.
A low whine issued from behind him. Pau turned, hoping fervently for his friend's safety. He very nearly smacked face-first into the spikes on Shingala's head. His spirits dared to rise a bit, knowing the sea dragon was alive. Hopefully, he was uninjured as well.
The Shigura let out another cry, sounding more irritated than anything else. He made a matching face as well, giving Pau a very grumpy look. Frowning, Pau's gaze trailed down from Shingala's head, searching for whatever injury was causing his discomfort. His gaze stopped at the base of his neck, as Pau realized that he was, in fact, sitting upon the Shigura's side.
"Oh. Sorry Shingala"
He slid off of the calf, landing a bit unsteadily, then looked himself over, checking for injuries. Finding nothing major, surprisingly enough, Pau turned back to Shingala. The baby sea dragon had rolled over onto his feet after his fuzzy bunny burden had decided to hop off of his side. Sluggishly, he shuffled over next to Pau. Said bunny flopped down onto the sand with a loud sigh. Looking over at Shingala, he chuckled in a soft and tired voice. Slowly, the rabbit sat back up murmuring to his friend, "C'mon. Let's go home.
Oooh. That really didn't look good. Pau grimaced, applying a bit more of the medicine with another dab of the cloth in his hand. He had promptly collapsed into his bed upon returning home, not realizing the extent of Shingala's injuries, having not seen them properly under the low moonlight. The gash on his shoulder wasn't wide, but it seemed deep, and was causing the sea dragon considerable pain. Temporarily putting the group of Shigura out of his mind, he attempted to tend to Shingala.
Adding to his considerable list of things he didn't know about the shigura, was their anatomy, and more importantly, how to treat any injuries to their body. After some digging around, Pau had found a bottle of medicine, but was soon disappointed upon seeing that it was human medicine. Doubtful, he tried it anyways, but it seemed to do little, if anything, to heal his wound. Still, it was all he had, so he continued to apply it, hoping it could at least ease Shingala's pain.
Shingala's jerky movements brought him out of his thoughts, as the shigura's head stretched up, body quivering and recoiling from Pau's hand. He let out a plaintive cry.
"You mustn't move it. I said not to move it!" Pau chided.
Another whine. Then his head dropped to the floor, eyes slipping shut seemingly in defeat. Pau moved to give Shingala a pat on the head, then noticed the two strangers standing near by the entrance.
Irritation bled into his voice, "What do you want? I'm a bit tied up right now."
They really were an odd looking couple. The red-haired girl spoke, "That's a Shigura, isn't it? He's still a child."
Relief took the place of annoyance, "Ah, so you know about them, do you? I gave him a name. I call him Shingala."
The two walked over, stopping a few feet from Shingala's head.
Turning back to the sea dragon to dab more medicine onto the wound, Pau began to talk, explaining about his and Shingala's current predicament, "He turned up here lost about a month ago. Every year at about this time, the Shigura come from the south and live on these shores for a while. This one must have got split up from the tribe. Oh, and I'm Pau, by the way."
The two introduced themselves. The boy, Max, inquired, "Is Shingala injured?"
In a half-embarrassed tone, Pau replied, "Yeah. He slipped from the cliff yesterday…And took me with him."
He looked down at the jar of useless remedy, scowling. Half to himself he muttered, "I didn't think human medicine would be any good."
Struck with a burst of resentment, he flung the bottle away, uttering a choice expletive. Looking back over at the pair, an idea came to him. Hurriedly he darted about his home talking to them as he did, "Sorry about this, but I need to ask a favor…Can you watch Shingala while I go and look for some medicine? Outside the cave there's a place where some Shigura are gathered. I think if I go there I might be able to find some medicine that'll help."
"Watch him?" The boy repeated, "What do we do?"
Vaguely, Pau replied, "Just…Watch him."
Completely oblivious to the disbelieving looks on the strangers' faces he rummaged around for a suitable basket. Once finished gathering up a few supplies, Pau ran past them calling over his shoulder, "I'll be as quick as I can. Thanks."
I'll be back soon Shingala. Hang in there.
Pau doesn't strike me as the type to think things through. He also seems fairly oblivious. When I was re-watching the scene in order to get the gist of the dialogue, he doesn't seem to have any problems leaving an injured baby sea dragon with two people he just met, whom he didn't really give a choice in the matter anyway. Regardless, constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!
