Cześć. As apologies for the slightly long absence and the terrible previous chapter that has been fixed here's another one for you. Have fun.
Passage Eleven: One Misfortune After Another
It's dark.
I can't breath.
It's cold.
Am I dying?
With a loud gasp, Kirsi quickly sat up and coughed out the water from her lungs. Her breathing were in raspy pants and her body ached. What...happened? She should have drowned in the ocean, but here she was on the beach. She looked around, expecting to see footsteps yet there was a singular drag mark from her. It was just her on the beach. No one else. No Merry. Calm waters. Mostly sunny skies. And an intense pain in her leg.
She glanced down, noticing a huge gash on her right calf. It was deep and still bleeding. There were many other small cuts and bruises. How long had I been out? She laid back in the sand, staring up at the slow moving clouds. Where had everyone else gone? Did they get thrown of the ship too? Where is this? She had so many questions and no answers. The biggest one though was how she ended up on the beach with no footsteps.
With a pained grunt, she rolled over and stood up, her legs a lot weaker than she expected. It shouldn't take long for the pain to pass though. As she waited, she took in her surroundings. The beach seemed to go on for miles. There were small dunes scattered about and behind the endless sands was a meadow. A forest of tall, massive trunked trees rose towards the sky like emerald fingers. The cries of gulls echoed above. Kirsi noticed there weren't any signs of civilization.
Then she saw it. A blot of pink tangled with washed up seaweed. She hobbled over to it and kneeled down, brushing the strands of mushy brown aside. It was Chopper's hat. She quickly grabbed it and stood again, scanning around and calling out the reindeer's name. She was having difficulty picking up his scent thanks to the variety of new smells around her. The blonde climbed up some rocks, still calling out Chopper's name.
It took her several minutes of stumbling in the sand before she came across the soggy light brown lump of Chopper. She hurried the best she could to him, checking to see if he was still breathing. They were faint puffs so she started CPR. It wasn't long before he sat up sputtering and hacking.
"I thought I died!" he exclaimed with tears in his eyes. "Ah Kirsi! Where are we? What happened? Where's everyone else?!"
"I don't know to all three," she replied as she handed him his hat which he happily put back on. "I came to not long ago. Do you know how you got here?"
Chopper looked at her confused then looked around. Seconds of silence ticked by before he let out an anguished cry and jumped up, running around like a chicken with its head cut off. His panic cries were incoherent, but Kirsi got the gist of it. The blue nose reindeer kept running rampant and it took Kirsi multiple attempts to calm him down. She explain to him what she knew once he did.
"But...w-we should have sunk. How did we end up here?!"
"Like I said I don't know. It looked like I was dragged from the ocean. But there weren't any footprints. I was pretty far from the water so I don't think the waves brought me in." She paused, looking out towards the sea. "Quite the mystery isn't it?"
"Waaaah you're bleeding!"
She was waiting for that. "It's fine, it's fine. Doesn't hurt anymore."
"We should patch it up!" He reached behind him unconsciously only to grab empty air. "My bag's gone!"
"It's probably back on the ship. I got this."
She used the ripped side of her capris to tear it into strips, using them as emergency gauze. It'll have to do for now. Next was their plan of action. Finding the others along with the Merry was at the top of the list. Yet that was going to take awhile. Kirsi would like to find fresh water to wash off and drink. And some food would be nice too. She told Chopper what she had planned and he agreed.
Before making their way into the woods, she pulled off her jacket and pants to make a simple backpack for her boots. She zipped up the jacket and did her best to tie the ends together. Then she used her pants as a strap and tied it around her waist. It was a shoddy job, but it'll have to work. She probably can find something in the forest to make it better. Once she finished, she shifted to dog form.
"Ready Chopper?"
He changed form as well to a deer. "I'm ready."
She nodded at him and left for the forest. Her nose was going crazy. Hidden under the saltiness of the ocean, she could smell the untouched musk of the woods. The scent of grass on the wind. Smells that were completely different from similar objects from her home. It was going to be difficult to pick up the traces of the crew. She could tell Chopper was having the same problem.
"Don't worry we'll find them," Kirsi assured him. "It'll take time, but we'll find them."
"Yeah we'll find them."
"One step at a time."
Crossing the foreign meadow felt odd under her paws. It was just grass, but grass on a new island. She stopped for a moment and took in a deep breath. It smelled sweeter. Her ears twitched when she heard chittering coming from her left. She glanced over, seeing what looked like purple colored groundhogs. Four of them standing straight up, staring at her with their little noses quivering. The staring contest lasted for a few seconds before Kirsi got a slightly mean idea. She jumped towards them with a loud growl, making them squeak and vanish into their burrows. She smiled a toothy grin. There was more chittering and a couple more groundhogs appeared on her right. She did the same thing again, giggling when they scurried underneath.
"What are you doing?"
Kirsi looked at Chopper with a toothy grin. "Scaring groundhogs."
"Ground...hogs?" Chopper looked down, finally noticing the small holes. "There's so many! It kind of reminds me of Miss Merry Christmas and Mr. Four..."
"Those are weird names. Who were they?"
"Really weird people that were a part of a group that wanted to hurt our friend Vivi. One could turn into a mole and the other had a gun that could turn into a gun and swung around a huge bat! There were scary! But Usopp and I beat them!"
Kirsi blinked a few times at the reindeer reliving memories. "I don't understand what you said, but it sounds like a lot. You should tell me more some day. Probably should stop playing and get going."
She growled one last time at another group of four that were staring at her. They didn't hide until she did something. It was most likely their first time seeing something like her just as it was her first time seeing something like them. Purple groundhogs. She's never seen a purple animal before. She really hopes her overly excited brain remembers all she's sees here.
When the two reached the edge of the forest, they paused and looked up. The trees were much taller up close and looked like redwoods. Moss covered the exposed roots and colorful butterflies fluttered away from the vibrant flowers growing from the squishy green blanket. The damp scent of the foliage filled her nose. The forest must be happy with the recent rain.
"We'll find them in here right Kirsi?"
She could hear doubt in his voice. "We definitely will. Let's go."
Into the mysterious woods they went. It had gotten dark from the canopy above. Light filtered through like angelical wings. It was a surreal sight, but Kirsi and Chopper couldn't stay long to admire it. They kept their pace to a slow jog, eager enough to find the others and slow enough to conserve their stamina. First thing first was fresh water. Both to clean and replenish.
Kirsi noticed different species a trees the further in they went. There were oak and birch mixed in with the redwoods. Bushes with dark berries were dotted around. Patches of flowers that looked like tiny white stars swayed with the rustling leaves. Chirps of songbirds serenaded among the high branches. It was almost like a wooded paradise.
Well it was like a paradise until a loud roar pierced through the trees. Kirsi and Chopper came to a sudden stop, both looking around to see what it was. Kirsi's ears told her it was a bear or something similar to it. There were bears on Carbona, but they were rather small and stayed away from humans as much as possible. Another roar rang out, coming from their left and they whipped their attention towards it. There it was. A massive beast of an ursid standing on it's hind legs. Ten feet at least. This was a problem. Kirsi may be an elkhound, but she has no experience in fighting off ten foot bears whatsoever.
"K-Kirsi...we should r-run."
"Uh yup."
The bear roared again and went on all fours, charging towards them. The two didn't waste any time and booked it. Kirsi made sure to keep the reindeer in front of her for a just in case worst scenario. When she looked over her shoulder, the bear was barreling towards them at full speed, ignoring bushes and saplings in its way. Fighting wasn't an option. Running wouldn't get them anywhere. Judging by it's size, it probably has trouble climbing tall trees without low hanging branches. So up a tree they go.
"Chopper! Go small again and hang onto me!"
Without question he did was she asked and she went into her anthro form. Chopper held onto her tightly as she launched herself up the closest redwood tree, digging her claws into the bark. As she suspected, the bear followed. Chopper screamed loudly in her ear as he saw the beast still after them. Kirsi hurried up the tree as fast as she could, ignoring her aching muscles and the splinters piercing her skin.
Once the closest branch was in reach, she let Chopper up first as she changed to human and joined him. The bear was struggling to climb. It was too heavy to hold it's own weight and the branch was too high up. It kept trying for several minutes before giving up, but stuck around for a while longer and circled around the tree with heavy huffs. The reindeer had a death grip on her arm as he watched the bear below. The slow seconds turned into agonizing minutes. With a snort the bear finally left. Kirsi let out the breath she had been holding and Chopper let her have her arm back.
"That was so scary! Wait...I thought bears could climb trees!"
"They can. But only for food or if they are running around from something bigger. And a bear that sized wouldn't be able to climb this far up," she told the terrified doctor. "Cubs can climb trees much better than the adults. Sure they have claws and a powerful grip. But not one of that size would be able to climb far."
"So w-we're safe?" Chopper mumbled through tears.
"Yeah we're safe."
Oh so she thought. It wasn't until it had gotten quiet when she heard the buzzing. Just above them was a huge nest of hornets. And they were too close for comfort. If they managed to carefully and quietly climb down they'll be fine. As long as they don't suddenly disturb them, they'll be fine. Kirsi got Chopper's attention and put a finger to her mouth as she pointed up. He covered his own mouth when he saw and tried his hardest not to cause a scene. This should be easy.
Haaaaa nope.
Something hard slammed into her head. Followed by another and another. Chopper got hit too, but it bounced of his hat and didn't do much. Kirsi turned her attention to the branches above, seeing several squirrels among the needles. If even one of those hit the nest...
And of course one did. Kirsi quickly grabbed Chopper and jumped down, going into her anthro form to help soften the fall. If she had landed on harder ground, it would have broken something but she was thankful for the softness of the moss and fallen leaves. Both had been stung several times when they reached the forest floor. Fighting them off would be a pointless endeavor so Kirsi switched to dog form and Chopper to deer and the two ran again as fast as they could.
It was only when the two of them ran out of steam that they stopped. Kirsi listen carefully for the angry buzzing. She was welcomed by the sounds of song birds and leaves dancing in the breeze. Once she knew they were safe, she flopped down breathing had from what felt like running several marathons.
"No...more," Chopper huffed out, collapsing nearby. "This place...is...scary!"
"Agreed."
Kirsi was enjoying this. A lot. The new sense of danger was exciting. Once her heart beat and breathing returned to normal, Kirsi looked around her. She noticed they had stopped before a large stone statue that was mostly covered in green growth in the middle of a small clearing. She untied her makeshift backpack and placed it next to Chopper before circling around the odd structure. It was manmade, that much she could tell. Some of it had eroded away from the years of wind and rain. The more she studied it, the more she noticed it looked like a statue of a person. The lines weren't as defined anymore, yet she could make out faint facial features and that it looked to be wearing a cloak. An homage to a deity? It looked forgotten.
"Something wrong Kirsi?"
"I think there were people here?"
"What do you mean 'were'?"
"This statue is very old and overgrown. I think it may have been of something important and if it was the people would have taken care of it."
"You sound like Robin."
Kirsi chuckled. "It's just a hypothesis. Could just have been forgotten because the people become lazy. But this does tell us one thing."
"There's a town?" Chopper's eyes gleamed with hope.
"Yeah quite possibly. We should clean our selves up a bit first."
Both were covered in grime and bits of dried blood from the stings and running into low branches. Chopper nodded in agreement and Kirsi gathered her belongs then the two left together. The blonde took one last glance at the statue. It looked so lonely. She doesn't want to ruin Chopper's hopes, but she believes there aren't anymore people here. With a shake of her head, she shifted to her dog form and trotted next to Chopper, keeping her ears open for the sounds of running water.
"Do you have dog abilities?" Chopper suddenly asked, curious.
"Abilities? Oh you mean like better sense of smell and all that."
The reindeer nodded.
"I do yes. My hearing is better than average human and my sense a smell is much stronger. Since I'm an elkhound, tracking is my specialty. Honestly though, with all the new scents, it's hard to pick up our crew mates smells."
"I haven't been able to pick up their scents either! I miss them!"
"I'm sure they're all fine. Wait a minute...do you hear that?"
They too stopped and Kirsi's ear swiveled around. They were close to running water. Both were ecstatic for something go right and the hurried towards the sound. It was a stream gently cutting through the trees. Kirsi could see glittering fish under the surface. Chopper practically threw his face in the water to drink, but greatly regretted it and nearly drowned himself. Back as a human, Kirsi undid her clothing backpack and carefully washed her boots, jacket and pants, ridding them of sea salt and grime. She found a nearby tree to hand her garments before taking her turn.
The water was cool and refreshing. It was just shallow enough for her to sit in and not have too much trouble. Chopper joined her and she helped wash him as well as making sure none of his injuries were bad. The worst Kirsi had was the one on her calf from the tumble in the ocean, but it wasn't bothering her as much now. She was too engrossed with how the stream felt and how nice it was to not be caked in seawater and dirt.
It wasn't until she finished washing when she noticed the small statues along the bank on the other side. They looked like smaller versions of the one in the clearing and just as worn. It almost looked like they were leading somewhere. Trail markers?
Loud rustling of leaves made Kirsi jump to her feet and swirl around towards the sound. Chopper immediately hid behind her, not wanting to deal with anymore wild confrontations. There was a scent Kirsi recognize yet couldn't quite place. The scent of iron and seawater with a touch of booze. A weird combination this far into the forest. Her aching muscles tensed as she stood ready to fight. It wasn't' the bear, that much she knew. When whatever stepped out from the bushes, the biggest sigh of relief left Kirsi's lungs.
She didn't know she would be so happy to see the grumpy green headed swordsman.
Thanks for taking the time to read and again sorry for the previous chapter. Have a weebtastic day you lovely snowflakes owo/
