Even though the game says it's "Porth" Llaffan, I say fuck that. Port all the way!
My laptop keeps having mental breakdowns, so that's why I keep missing updates. I have another chapter in the works, Mel is looking it over right now. Should be done soon.
(*cough*Mel is an asshole *cough*)
The crowd near the pier was the first thing that the group noticed upon entering the small port town. It was only a few hours after noon, which is still working hours for fishermen, and yet there were people of all ages crowding the beach. As they stood near the entrance, staring at the crowd, an old man shambled up towards them.
"Well, well, mooer travvelers, I see? Welcome to Port Llaffan, you young'uns! You four are in for a treat! Hurry up down to the beach now." Alice inwardly snorted at how little sense that statement made, but being the curious cat, she skipped ahead of the others and pushed her way to the front.
Marine didn't even bother to get angry over it, she just slowly made her way to the docks, where there was a clear view of what was going on down at the beach (why didn't the locals think of doing this?), with Sheila and Iris tagging along. All that she saw was a young girl with peach-colored hair in pigtails, probably around Erinn's age, standing at the edge of the water, her feet barely touching the water. The bells of the church chimed noisily, signaling the excited chatter of the crowd to stop as the girl took a step closer to the water.
Alice heard one of the children behind her whisper, "Oooh! She's startin'!"
The girl slowly walked into the water until it reached her hip, and kneeled down with her head bowed in concentration. "O mighty Lleviathan! Please rise up from the depths of the sea and bless us with Youer presence...! Lend us Youer power, and shower the gifts of the mighty oceans upon we, the humble folk of Port Llaffan."
Without warning, the ground began to tremor with extreme vigor, but none of the people around her seemed to register it, so Alice placed this under the 'Weird mortal customs' folder. Stella popped out, looking eagerly at the girl in the water, who remained stern in her concentration.
"Ooh~ what's all this clamor about? Sounds juicy~!"
Marine looked away from Alice for just a moment to glance out at the water to see if the girl was okay, and nearly fell into the water herself. "Holy shit-"
Iris and Sheila followed their companions gaze out into the water, and were shocked as well when they spotted a large creature rise near the surface, but still staying submerged. The eyes of the creature were large and ominous
One of the townsfolk pointed at the creature, and yelled excitedly, "Look! It's Lleviathan!"
Right after stating the obvious, a large tail came to the surface, and smacked the water with tremendous force, sending a shower of water unto the crowd. Alice stood there, soaking wet, as Stella raged beside her. It seemed that water was not all that fell from the sky, because the crowd suddenly pushed to the front, clamoring loudly over what Alice saw was just some fish. Sure, this is a LOT of fish, but it's just fish! And who would willingly stand there for their clothes to get ruined?! Mortals are weird!
The crowd cheered praises for Lleviathan and for the girl, whose name was 'Jona'. They cheered, praised, and jumped around like idiots as a fabulous faerie seethed over this 'cruel treatment'.
"Look at me! I'm fl-fl-flappin' soaked! Why the flap would that old man not give newcomers a word of warning before they're attacked by all the creatures of the ocean?!" Calming down, Stella managed to think rationally. "...So, what in the world was that humongous great big thing anyway? And why does it allow itself to be bossed around by a little girl? I know I'd never allow that! It's degrading!"
Alice watched her rant silently, and managed to only grin in response to that statement. And yet here you are, following around a 'little girl'. Ah... but putting Stella's opinions aside, this does seem rather... fishy.
After people split up the fish, they quickly dispersed, going back to wherever they came from. Nobody even said a word of thanks to Jona, who seemed to be the one causing it. Alice shrugged it off, and waited for her companions to quickly approach the soggy mess that she is.
"Oh, Alice! You're soaking wet!" Sheila frowned, picking her up, watching as a seemingly endless supply of water dripped from her clothes. "We were lucky enough to not be in the 'hit zone', but you could get a cold..."
Marine snorted, "She'll be fine. I doubt Celestrians can even get colds."
"We don't know that for certain though, Marine. You go take her clothes shopping, since we need new armor anyway." Iris silently conveyed her true message: QUICK, GET HER OUT OF THAT ABOMINATION. Luckily, Marine was good at reading Iris's mind from the years of friendship. Marine took Alice captive and ran off before Alice could figure anything out.
Iris watched them get away, and turned to Sheila, opening her mouth to speak, when they were interrupted by the girl from earlier.
"E-Excuse me... youer travelers, aren't you?" Sheila nodded, causing the young girl to light up. "Oh, wonderful! If it wouldn't trouble you, would you and youer companions please come to my house this evenin' for dinner? Um, I live in the little abode to the east of the inn. I'm shooer youell find it, it's not hard to spot. There's... somethin' I'd like to ask for youer opinion on."
Sheila smiled, "Oh, sure! We'll be there around sunset, then!"
Jona gave Sheila and Iris (who had been silent the entire time) a grateful bow, and went off on her merry way. Sheila watched her leave, and turned to Iris when Jona was out of sight.
"So, what were you going to say?" Sheila tilted her head, smiling up at Iris, who merely grimaced.
"...I was going to ask if you wanted to go get something for the four of us to eat. Preferably not fish, though."
"What? Why not?" Sheila frowned slightly.
"...A-Alice didn't seem like she appreciated being covered in that ocean water, so she might have a minor grudge against the fish now."
Sheila grinned, "Oh, that makes sense! Okay, then let's just use a chimera wing to get some food from Erinn! I want some of Auntie's cooking, and Erinn might like to know how Alice is doing, hm?"
Iris sighed, and complied with her younger friend's wishes. So much for getting rid of company.
Marine growled in frustration. Not only did there not seem to be ANY modest clothing for children (children!), but Alice had managed to escape in another stupid dress. For some god-only-knows reason, they had small versions of "dancer's" dresses for children. It had a white torso, with a blazing red skirt that had orange on the rim. Alice had really taken to it, and had put it on and ran off.
At least it didn't have that heart-shaped cut in the chest area... Alice doesn't have anything there... but still. Marine cringed at the thought of what Iris might do to her when she came back Alice-less.
I guess I'll keep looking around...!
Alice snickered at the face Marine had made when she had been adamant about buying the strips of fabric. This thing can't even be called a dress. She snorted at the red and white contraption, and threw it in the trash. Alice had managed to dry her colorful dress by blowing a small flame above it, and had quickly changed into it. Sure, the dress was still a tad bit wet, but it was better than nothing.
Now, however, Alice was hiding out in the church so that Marine wouldn't be able to find her. As she walked down the aisles, her footsteps echoing throughout the building, Alice couldn't help but shudder at how empty it was. There was only her, and the priest that stood at the altar, looking down with his eyes closed. Is he... sleeping?
Alice silently made her way over to the altar, peered up at the face of the priest, and froze. On the cheek of the priest was a faded, sword-shaped tattoo, which managed to send Alice into a fit of shivering.
Are you kidding me- the Arenian tribe's survival is one thing, but these guys are still in existence?! If their ancestors have managed to hand down any of their knowledge... then I am in big, big trouble. Another shudder went down her spine as Alice felt the walls close in on her, confining her into a small box. I-I have to get out of here!
Alice spun around on her heels to escape, only to run right into a loop of rope that had just been left on the ground, effectively capturing Alice by the ankle. In her moment of panic, Alice momentarily considered chewing her leg off to ensure her survival, only to cease that line of thought when she heard a familiar evil laugh.
"Finally! You were hiding here, huh?" Alice felt herself get lifted up by the rope on her ankle, and stared into the ocean blue eyes of Marine, who smirked smugly at her. "Well, at least you're not wearing that hooker outfit anymore. I guess this technicolor mess is better than that... but you're the one who's going to deal with Iris, not me!"
Also, the song "Orange" by 96neko could really be the themesong for this story. If you want a link I can PM it to you.
Quote from when we were exchanging this document:
[3:18:09 PM] Mel Strider: HI KAT
[3:19:33 PM] Mel Strider: why is it porth
[3:22:54 PM] Mel Strider: TADA
[3:23:02 PM] Prince Kat: hi
[3:23:06 PM] *** Mel Strider sent Alice chapter 30 (edit).rtf ***
[3:23:26 PM] Mel Strider: short chapter, but few errors. good job
[3:23:34 PM] Prince Kat: Lol what's porth
[3:23:39 PM] Prince Kat: yess go me
[3:23:56 PM] Mel Strider: nvm
[3:24:11 PM] Mel Strider: I said "Fuck it these people have weird dialog anyway"