A/N:
"Where we spill our brains for you to decipher." - Some dumb slogan.
Cactus: Fair warning, this chapter contains the word "Heck", you have been warned.
Shadow:... Well then. Let's get on with it.
"Don't bust down my door," Milo half joked, half meant as he swung the door open revealing an eager ocelot standing on the other side. She was looking up at him with glee.
Caia stifled a laugh, "You mean your piece of plywood?"
Milo groaned as Caia tried extra hard to wiggle her eyebrows trying to amplify her joke. Eventually she stopped and quickly stepped inside.
Milo's place was looking as it always did, slightly greasy. It didn't bother any of them, mostly because they were both going on a long trip far far away from this place. She watched as her feline friend darted about the place double and triple checking that he'd gotten everything, she had to admit it was a bit amusing watching her friend be slightly stressed out.
"I think that's everything," he sighed as he gave the room a final once-over before slinging his backpack onto his back.
"Took you long enough," Caia replied in a playful manner. It didn't really matter how long they took to get to the boat, the only real time they had to keep was the supermarket closing times.
Together they headed out from Milo's humble residence and out into the afternoon sun of zootopia. There was a slight breeze blowing past as small clusters of clouds dotted the otherwise clear skies.
Once they had gotten into Milo's rickety jeep he turned to Caia, "Where to now?"
She stifled a laugh before pretending to be in deep thought, "Hmm, I'd like to not starve to death when we're out at the ocean."
Milo chuckled before putting the car in gear, "The supurrmarket it is then."
000
"Steer left!" Caia shouted as she stood fast in the front of the shopping cart Milo was pushing along.
"It's called port-side! You landlubber!" Milo chuckled as he obliged and went into the cereal aisle.
They had noticed that they were pretty much the only mammals shopping there at the moment, which gave them ample time to goof around without judging looks from everyone and everything.
"Which one should we pick?" Caia asked while looking left and right at the different boxes lining the shelves.
Milo shrugged, "As long as there's no bugs in them i'm up for anything."
"I already know that part," she groaned before snatching a box half her size off the shelf. "What about this one?"
He curiously inspected the box the ocelot had grabbed. "Captain Crunch, cereal is cereal, big deal," He thought.
"Sure," He replied and gave her a smile as she slam-dunked the box into one of the shopping bags.
Crossing off the last thing on their list Milo sighed in relief. He liked his list as much as his discussions about anything under the sun, they kept stuff organized and made it all the harder to forget stuff.
When they got out from the supermarket they only had one last stop, the docks.
000
"Let's hope no one steals it, or worse, the cops tow it away." Milo stated with concern in his voice as they emerged from around the corner of an old warehouse with backpacks and bags.
"I doubt it, no one ever checks there, except us." Caia chuckled as she looked at the slightly-less worried lynx next to her.
Milo managed to form a smile on his lips, "We're like, rusty warehouse-pioneers!"
She made a clicking sound with her mouth, "Bingo."
They made their way past the different docks. They passed boat after boat, each a little different, but still kind of the same. Rusted and well-used they all looked a bit too big for the two of them.
"This is the one!" Caia said excitedly as she pointed towards a small, green and slightly rusted fishing boat. The green paint was chipping at some parts and the white plastic was starting to yellow all over, everything smelled of old fish. This didn't faze either Caia or Milo though.
With high spirits they boarded their dream come true, feeling the boat's floor creak and bob underneath them felt amazing. Their adventure was soon beginning, Milo felt like he did when he was merely a cub and was taken to one of those indoor mega-playgrounds, pure bliss.
"Let's unload everything and get situated then," Milo stated while trying as hard as he could to not sound too excited.
She nodded in agreement before racing down as fast as she could with two bags in each paw and a fully loaded hiker-pack on her back.
When they entered the main control-cabin they were greeted by the smell of 'old', it wasn't as bad as Milo had imagined it to be. In fact, this was quite alright and kinda added to the rustic feel of the boat. In the back of the control cabin was a small hatch/steep stair combo that lead deeper into the ship.
The small stairs led down into a small all-in-one room, with a small kitchen, living room and even smaller beds. It was all lit up by small, yellow light bulbs that had clearly seen better days. They painted the room in a shade of calming yellow. The kitchen consisted of a small gas-stove on hinges, allowing it to stay upright even if the boat was out at sea. A small fridge and freezer that opened on the top, and a paw-pumped sink/tap combo.
'Who's idea was it to put the opening on top?' Milo thought as he discovered the opening to the fridge-box-thingy. 'Do boat-manufacturers just complicate things for the heck of it?'
Caia looked about the room excitedly, she stood there for a moment while watching Milo hit his head on a low-hanging ceiling-support for the third time. The boat wasn't exactly designed to accommodate someone of his size, but they'd make it work somehow. She went about putting away her belongings in some of the lockable shelves that lined the exterior walls of the ship.
The boat was designed for a crew of around four. 'That means double the space for us! It's math or something,' Caia concluded happily after looking around the room.
She glanced over at Milo who was currently busy stocking the shelves with the grace of a buffalo in a china-shop. 'I wonder where i'd be if I hadn't met him,' The thought circled around her for a moment before she shook it away and climbed back up to do some final preparations.
000
Milo had almost finished sorting all the various food-packages, it had taken him a good half an hour to do considering how much they had shopped. To keep himself awake he decided to talk to the mascots on the boxes like any perfectly normal mammal would do.
"Hey mega-bitez," he said with a monotone voice, the box seemed to ignore him, so he continued on.
"No offense, but you kind of look like you eat babies. Well, I guess I'm in no position to judge someone for having giant, pointy teeth but I at least learned to smile with my mouth closed."
After failing to carry out an intelligent conversation with an inanimate object he eventually got up and headed for the stairs, curious as to where Caia had headed off to.
000
Milo emerged outside only to be surprised by an ocelot putting an old waterproof sailor's hat on him. He felt the hat with his paw and gave Caia a look that said "Really?".
She chuckled as she examined her friend's new hat, quickly jumping up she adjusted the hat ever-so slightly before stepping back.
"Perfect!" She exclaimed happily.
Milo gave up and decided to just roll with it, the hat would protect his head from rain after all. Besides, arguing with her at this point would be both unnecessary and fruitless. He watched as she put on her own hat, she looked too goofy to be real in it. Milo decided to try and avoid sailor's fashion from now on.
"That's what you've been doing?" Milo asked.
"I did more stuff if that's what you're asking," she smiled before motioning for Milo to follow. She went to the stern of the ship where she pointed towards an open box.
"I found a bunch of stuff here!" she told him as he peered into the box, among the normal things such as nets, floaty-things and old seaweed she had also found a fishing-vest, a fishing rod and-
"A bottle of rum? Way to follow the sailor stereotype." Milo noted as he moved the bottle around figuring that there was still some left in it.
They looked at each other and then back at the bottle.
"Should we keep it as a decoration?," Milo suggested, he'd never touched a drop in his life so to speak, and even though it was illegal and he was a law-abiding citizen he was a bit curious.
Caia scoffed, "Yeah right, what if the coast-guard comes?"
Milo looked at the bottle before letting it slip out of his hand and land softly in the box again.
"Doubt they'd search us but. It's probably expired anyways," He reasoned.
She gave him a nod before closing the box behind them as they went to undo the ropes that held the ship in place. The rope was actually pretty easy to untie once you knew where to pull, within the span of a few more minutes the ropes lay sprawled out all over the deck, like snakes someone had defeated in one of those bad kung-fu movies.
Milo and Caia hurried up the the controls of the ship. Inserting the key she got from her cousin the ship started to rumble, shaking beneath their feet. The old engine woke up, coughing and shaking it slowly worked itself up to a stable rhythm. The boat seemed to pulse with the engine let out a laugh as she looked over to Milo, "It works!" She regarded the lynx as his smile widened. He turned to look at her, giving her a nod.
"Set sail into the unknown!" He announced before grabbing the throttle and set it to forward.
"We don't have any sails," Caia teased.
"And you should look where you're steering," he shot back.
000
Caia rose up out of bed, rubbing her eyes tiredly she sat up and glanced at her watch. It was almost midnight. She put on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt before she walked up the stairs into the cabin up top. She took a moment to just watch Milo quietly while he was concentrating on steering the ship, he always looked a bit goofy even when he was in full concentration. It was kinda entertaining to watch, tongue stuck out and ears flicking with each large raindrop hitting the windshield. He had even put on the sailor's hat despite telling her it was 'uncomfortable' and 'not stylish', although that last thing must have been a joke.
"Sup sailor," she chuckled, his ears locked onto her voice and he quickly snatched his hat and threw it on the control board before turning around.
"Hey-o captain-o," he chimed back, a tired but warm smile on his face. He was basically half asleep already, sunken eyelids, hunched posture and tired breathing. He had also donned a pair of sweatpants and a tanktop, they didn't plan on going out on deck in the rain. Besides, this was way comfier.
She jumped up onto the chair next to Milo and looked out, the small spotlight mounted on the outside of the cabin lit up the small forward deck as well as the vast ocean. Rain was bombarding their vessel constantly.
"That's a lot of rain," she commented while looking back at him. She had no reason to worry, the ship was built to endure even rougher weather, and fishermammals were out in this weather all the time. She leaned back and gazed lazily at the droplets sliding down the windshield. The plug-in radiator was churning and the cabin was dimly lit, the small amount of light there was came from a few small table lamps used for reading sea charts. It felt pleasant, even though they were probably miles out at sea it didn't bother her.
"Yeah no kidding," he said sighing heavily, he looked towards her, "Think we can handle it?"
She chuckled as she looked back at him, always so doubtful, she thought.
"No one of us have barfed yet so I'd say yes," she answered with a smug smile before gazing back out the window. "I mean, so far it's been nice and easy, let's hope this keeps up right?"
He yawned tiredly before answering her question with a goofy smile, barely able to keep his eyes open. She always had something to say didn't she? He asked himself amusingly. He felt himself getting heavier by the second, sleep edging closer to him with every passing minute.
Milo sat up from his chair, "Try not to crash this thing while I'm gone," he said with a teasing voice as he lumbered down the stairs, careful as to not trip and fall horribly. He used his arms to steady himself as he found his way to his bunk. It consisted of two smaller bunks that they had put a bigger madrass over. Even then it was almost too small for the feline, but beggars can't be choosers he reasoned to himself as he crept under the blankets and fell asleep quicker than he had ever before.
As he went down the stairs she looked out at the dark sea, it wasn't as she pictured it in her mind but then again, most things weren't if you haven't seen them before. She took hold of the wheel and enjoyed the rock of the boat. It wasn't like sitting in a car, the smell of leather in her nose, making her feel nauseated and dizzy. The salty air and the smell of rain accompanied her as well as the sound of waves, wind and raindrops. It was quiet and slightly dark but as a mammal which was more active at night she felt wide awake as she hummed and steered the boat, looking at the map and checking the compass to see if they were going the right direction. Days ago, they had gathered some information on the location of the sea monster and found that it was an island located far from Zootopia and way out there. It was a single small island surrounded by nothing other than the sea and the monster appeared to have been sighted around there. The area was known to be uninhabited and was a great fishing spot, at least for the last six years. She checked the monitors and the control board of the boat, making sure that they were still right on track while her mind had wondered for a second. A loud boom sounded like a large drum from a distance and she looked up, large dark clouds covered the sky. Without her knowledge, she had driven into a storm. Rain started to fall heavily on the boat and she bit her lip slightly. This was going to be a bumpy ride.
A few hours of sleep later, Milo was woken up terribly. The boat had swayed to the side hard enough to toss him off the bed and into a wall. He painfully slid down and slowly was once again on the ground. He rubbed his head to stop the throbbing pain at the back of his head when the boat lurched again. This time, he slid across the floor and hit the other side of the room, bumping in furniture as he went.
"What the heck is going on?" He shouted, confused. He got up the best he could and made his way up, slowly as he tried not to fall as the boat repeatedly lurched and jumped. His eyes widened at the sight of the ocelot, gritting her teeth and steering the boat with a scowl on her face as waves seem to try and consume them one after another. Thunder boomed from the skies and lightning flashed in the distance as rain came down almost like hail.
"Caia! What's going on!" She glanced at him for only a second before furiously turning the wheel again, once again making the boat lurch.
"I may or may not have accidentally steered us into the storm." She shouted at the top of her lungs. Water jumped onto the boat as she steered, her eyes focused straight ahead.
"What?!" He was shocked and tried to keep his balance as a huge wave rocked the boat. "How…. and how long has it been has it been that we've been in this storm?"
"Uh… 5 hours since the storm started to get heavier?" She shouted back at him in reply. Her arms and eyes darting around quickly. He groaned and went up to her, not even caring when rain soaked his clothes, his focus solely on the ocelot and the boat itself at the moment.
"I leave you for a few hours to sleep and something has to happen. Oh fuzzbits." She shrugged as she continued to keep her eyes straightforward, occasionally darting a look at the control board, map and compass.
"Trouble likes to find me often." she commented before her eyes widened and she checked the map quickly. "Oh gumballs. Hold on tight Milo!" She warned before quickly spinning the wheel to the left, making the boat take a sharp left as a wave came in to carry them upwards."
"Wha- Aaaaaaaahhhhh!" Milo's eyes widened as he saw the giant rocks in front of them. "Caia, what are you thinking? I don't wanna die!" She grinned as she saw that the boat was being lifted up.
"We won't!" she shouted and pointed at the rocks. He looked and his eyes bugged as the rocks seemed to move away and formed the shape of tentacles as it parted, a screech piercing their ears as they quickly clamped over them. They cheered but soon, it became dread as more rocks appeared and she cursed. "Ugh, heavens." The ocelot muttered before another wave hit the boat. Both lost their footing and their head collided on the wheel, and control board respectively, knocking them out and their world went dark.
A/N:
Shadow: And troubles start, now! I kid. The next chapter. There will be trouble brewing like we brew coffee (note, I don't drink it but Cactus does.) and we'll be the baristas serving this delicious little cup of coffee. To you, our guests. XD (I'm sorry if I didn't make sense)
Cactus: I'll have a mega-latte-chino with extra espresso something something.
Shadow: Lol, um. Right pfft. Anywho, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. And as usual, much thanks to Cactus who always have written quite a bunch cause I'm also writing two more of my own fics. So, arigato Cactus.
Cactus: No problem, be back in like, two weeks.
Shadow: Lol, he ain't really wrong. We slack a lot. XD But yeah, hopefully you guys will think the wait is worth it! Until next time!