Kit Bash Two Prompts: An actual Alternate Universe, with shapeshifters and royalty. I am so so so sorry, okay?
Editing? No. I will burn it first.
All the good things belong to Monolithsoft.
She cursed the shady customer that had sent her into this storm. It was the unspoken threats rather than the payout that had convinced her to attempt the channel crossing even with the weather so dangerous. That the customer didn't mind about her life was obvious, only the speed of delivery. Possible delivery, she thought to herself, pulling harder on the rope and begging the sail to catch enough wind to lift them over the wave.
As it was, her boat was sliding straight along a wall of water that over-topped the sail. She leaned back, heels digging into whatever purchase she could find, trying to throw any weight she could to lift the nose up higher. Maybe they could slice their way up and over, or get high enough to shoot downward and away from the eventual crash. The boat was small, but so was she, so nothing much was changing.
She turned to look at the wave as they raced along. The water was lit with thousands of jellyfish, a steady glow that contrasted against the shattering flashes of lightening above. She should have been grateful for the light in what should have been utter darkness hours before dawn, but it was all so wrong that she didn't have the heart to be glad. It didn't help that the rain and wind were as good as blinding her.
Something was looking back at her. She took an extra second to make sure. A golden form was racing along beside her, lazily drifting above and below her boat, swimming within the wave itself. It was big, bigger than it should have been if it was what she thought it was, turning and sliding with practiced skill, and a rich gold that contrasted with the dots of blue jellies. She turned her attention back to the sail when a gust yanked at her arm. When she looked again, it was gone.
The wave started to break and she pulled and leaned and pulled and swore at everything that had brought her here. Ahead of her boat the golden mass emerged again, beating its tail with something more than ease. She'd never seen a golden seal, not even as dark a gold as that, and never this big. Something flashed white at the tip of its head, something she realized were tusks. It had to be a walrus, but golden and swimming faster than her boat and seemingly following her. One front flipper broke the surface of the wave, sending added spray into her face.
She turned to clear her eyes, looking deep into the wave wall again. This time there was another form, a dull silver deep within the water. She didn't have the time to stare but that's exactly what she did. It had the shape of a shark, but surely not even the most terrifying monster had serrated fins and a tail tipped with knives? It swam close enough for her to see streaks on its iron-grey skin, red like rust. Was this a clockwork shark?
Or maybe it was blood, she told herself. The walrus ahead of her was thrashing to keep out of reach of the shark, and she thought there was something torn along its back. It wasn't her problem, she reassured herself, but something was warning her, screaming an alarm. She wasn't exactly ready for the sudden swerve by the walrus that launched it over the rails and onto the deck, sliding into the very tip of the bow.
"Get off! Get off!" she screamed hopelessly. It couldn't hear her over the storm, and it wouldn't understand anyway. She couldn't leave the rudder or the sails to push it, not like it would notice if she threw her entire body at it. It filled over half of the deck. It was massive and it had dug its tusks into the wood of her boat and now she was in a new world of trouble.
The boat plunged down with the added weight, which meant that when the shark shot forward, they were far below it. She would have liked to say she had her harpoon ready for that attack, but honestly, she'd just grabbed it to poke the walrus in a polite way. As it was, she was perfectly ready to stab the shark as it curved over the deck. The tip skidded harmlessly off the predator's skin. She was surprised by that. True, she used the harpoon more often for docking than as a weapon, and the tip was hardly sharp, but it should have counted for something. The fury at customer and weather and walrus focused on this shark. She stabbed upward, attempting to do some kind of damage, while also trying to keep hold of ropes and rudder and railing for good measure. Best case scenario she'd smash face first into the deck and toss the harpoon, losing it forever. Worst case, she'd toss herself into the endless depths.
Even worse case scenario: the walrus decided to help. It flung itself forward, pushing the boat even lower. The harpoon, with her as its guide, dug into the shark. Something flexed, not her, not the shaft, but something in the fish, and the back hook caught in a fin solidly. Now what, she thought for a second, frozen with a giant fish on a stick hanging over her head and a golden mega-walrus attempting to sink her boat. The scene didn't last. As the shark began its descent, ready to smash her, her boat, and her future, the walrus curled backwards, almost standing on its head, and smacked the shark with its tail.
The shark flew into the storm, along with the harpoon, almost taking her hand in the process. She'd seen that happen once. She felt the skin on her palm sing with pain. The injury was going to be bad, but she couldn't check now. The jellyfish were winking out. The waves around her were still outlined faintly, terrible hidden monsters. The walrus had collapsed in a heap in the center of the deck. She hauled one last time on the sail before collapsing from the pain.
She didn't wake, not exactly. She was a child again, hiding under the covers as a thunderstorm passed outside. It was dark and warm and safe, and she wasn't alone. A great flame was under the covers with her, burning but not consuming, keeping her company. She reached for it and realized that she was also a flame. Her fire leaned towards the other, whispering when they touched, and in an instant she was a woman again, holding and being held by another person. She was safe. All the storms in the world couldn't harm her.
It was light and the storm was gone. She pushed herself out of sleep with all her might, rolling onto her feet. She was standing before her eyes were open, her feet recognizing the wood of the deck and her stomach telling her that the sea was calm. She was bleary and she flailed a bit, grabbing the mast (still whole, she realized with a prayer of gratitude). The pain in her hand should have sent her to her knees, but it was only a minor sting. She flexed it, surprised that it felt normal. Better than normal, considering the beating she'd taken last night even before receiving guests.
The walrus! What had happened? She looked, half expecting to find its bulk still filling her boat, but of course it was long gone. Only a hump of something where she'd been asleep, covered by a massive cloak of sleek golden fur. "Hey!" she croaked, unsure whether to yell or whisper.
The hill sat up, and the cloak slid from her guest's great shoulders. Eyes as dark as the ocean, and a mustache as magnificent as the night before. "Thanks," he said with a strange rolling accent. "I owe you my life."
She goggled. He stood and made a half bow, gathering the cloak like an apron. "I'm the king of the sea, or at least of the waters around these parts, which is good enough for me. That was fine sailing. You wouldn't be part merfolk?"
Lila tossed her comm device to the side, snorting at the obvious and highly ridiculous meet-cute between smuggler and selkie. She was only one chapter in and she was tempted to read ahead to see if it would turn out to be a slow burn or something more incendiary. But she'd made a New Year's resolution to read something slowly before bed, as a way of winding down each night. This might be the wrong book, however. She wasn't sure this was going to help her feel sleepy.
a/n: I AM SO SO SO SORRY, OKAY? But you gotta admit, Vandham would make an excellent walrus.
Whoo hoo we are 31 for 31 for AUgust. It was a very fun ride.
