"No. No way. Absolutely not!"
"Come on-"
"No. Fucking. Way! I've had it up to here with your antics." Kiara raises a flat hand high above her height, making sure to bring that annoyed scowl of hers right in your face.
"Kiwawa…" Pomu, who stands behind her, frowns.
"Stay out of this, Pomu!" Kiara snaps, not taking those blazing violet orbs of hers off you for even a microsecond. "You've been roped into this moron's plans enough for one week. I'm not letting you out of my sight until this ridiculous war of his is over with. And you!" She raises a stern finger between your eyes. "You're out of your mind if you think I'm letting you take Pomu on another crazy mission on that island. Those feathered whores want to gut her where she flies because of what you pulled last night. I'm not about to give them another chance."
You swat the orange haired woman's digit away. From the second you found the girls below deck and relayed your plan, Kiara looked like she was about to erupt like a volcano. Where the hell does she get off trying to say what Pomu can and can't do anyway? As much as you'd love to tell her off, you simply don't have the patience right now. Besides, this is Pomu's own battle to fight.
"Oh stop it!" Pomu huffs, causing Kiara to actually tear her vindictive glare away from you, and look upon the forest fairy in slight surprise. "Kiara…I can take care of myself now. You even saw me fight earlier, I'm fine-"
"Those birds almost had you for breakfast." The sun warrior retorts. "If I didn't step in-"
"You stepped up because I needed your help, and now Anon needs my help." Pomu fires back with such precision that it makes the shrill woman flinch. "Haven't I proved to you yet that I'm one tough cookie? What do I need to do to show you that I can handle danger just like you can?"
"That…That's not the point." Kiara gets defensive, and shirks from looking the fairy directly in the eye. "You're exhausted, girl…what if something happens? What if you run into more of those harpies?"
"We won't." Pomu says matter of factly. "This is a sneaking mission. That's why Anon chose me specifically to come help. With me scouting ahead, we'll never get caught."
"Pomu…" The part-time warrior utters again, looking at her friend who stands proudly and with assuredness. Kiara then shakes her head in defeat. "Gah! Fine."
"Thanks Kiwawa." Pomu says, sweet like honey as she gives her friend a tight hug, who can only giggle at the sudden skinship.
"Just be extra careful, okay?" Kiara then breaks the embrace to ask, to which Pomu replies with a rapid fire nod of her head. "Good, and you" she then turns to face you, her darkening expression makes a stone fall within your chest. "You better make sure she comes back in one piece, or not even Undine will be able to keep you from getting deep fried. Understand?"
You gulp and nod in response to the woman's very real threat. It's not exactly fair that you have to endure her intimidation, but you just don't have it in you right now to start another argument, so you'll just silently concede for now. Kiara lets out a long, drawn out sigh at your acceptance of her terms and her shoulders considerably loosen.
"I'm going to need a vacation after this." Kiara sighs again as she brushes past you, and Pomu lets out a light giggle as she follows after her, but not before promising to meet you above deck whenever you're ready to ship out.
With that slight hurdle bypassed, you can now focus on your second task; patching yourself up. You take a seat in the open space along the narrow bench that rests against the already cramped room. The living space that feels like an overstuffed matchbox doesn't actually bother you in the slightest, considering who helps fill it to capacity. Beside you Watame and Undine smile at your presence, but quickly wear concerned frowns when they notice you examining your arms that more than show the tribulations of the battle so far.
"Summoner, I have been practicing the healing spell you created and-" Undine starts, already motioning to bring her hands over your arm, but you give her a firm shake of your head to halt her.
"I appreciate it, Undine, but you should save your mana for now. You've been working harder than most of us so far. Even you have your limits." You do your best to put things gently without sounding too commanding. "I think I'll settle for a little old fashioned first aid. These cuts aren't too bad anyway. A couple of bandages and I'll be ready to return to the fray."
"That sounds like a job for your combat sheep!" Watame beams, holding her flexed bicep with her opposite hand from her seat next to you. The fluffy sheep, tired and disheveled, but still radiating like the brightest stars, begins to treat your minor wounds. You let yourself relax as you let her gentle hands remove your shirt from over your head, and patch you up as needed. Across from you sits Flare, Polka, and Nene, all with their own showing of white bandages secured over various parts of their bodies. The fennec slumps a little more than the rest, likely trying to regain all the strength she can for the upcoming mission. You wish you could have given her more time, but she really is the best fox for this job, and she was thankfully quite understanding of that as well. Plus, you could see how her eyes shimmered with relief after you mentioned that you would need to take her with you on this coming excursion.
"All done!" Watame chirps, giving your one arm a light pat. "How do you feel, Anon?"
Now there was a question. The various cuts and bruises along your arms, legs, torso, are definitely feeling a little better after some minor treatment, but it's another story for the parts of you that bandages and medicinal mixtures can't reach. Mentally, you are almost ready to see this battle with Blackfin through, but you still can't shake some of the uncertainty that chains itself around your heart. What sort of evil invention did Koyori make for these pirates? Does it really matter? Even if you don't fully know what you're up against, you can't turn back now.
"Like I'm ready to give that whale a surprise he'll never forget. Thanks, Watame!" You flex both your wrapped biceps to test their binds. Your sheep smiles through weary cheeks and stands up with you to get situated with your clothing and weapons. "How about you guys? Are you all okay?"
"We're alright." Flare is the first to answer, giving you a confident smile that is meant more to ease your worries than it is to boost her own ego. "The fight against the pirates trying to board Marine's ships was probably the easiest one so far. That captain you rescued can really fight. I expected her to just be all talk."
"Fight was easy because Nene was here." Nene feels the need to correct the half-elf. "Nene has beaten seventy-six pirates now."
"S-Seventy-six?" You swallow, by your count you only have fifty-three….Nene is truly a powerhouse.
"Enjoy the lead while you can. I'm at sixty-nine. You're not outdoing me today, Nene." Flare retorts, her eyes now shine with a playful eagerness. "Besides, I've also defeated a captain. I think that should be worth more points."
"Then I get more points too. Polka and I cleaned the floor with that crocodile commander before he tried to crash us all into the dirt." You quickly add your own accomplishment to the pot, not wanting to be left in the dust.
"Nene has too. Wolfy captain was weak." Nene clicks, somewhat disappointed in the lot she drew in opponents. "Horned stone men also got away…"
"Forget about them for now, Nenechi." Polka kicks herself forward to rise up from her seat. "We at least taught those jerks a lesson they won't live down for a while. Since Anon and I are heading out next, we should think about where the rest of you should be."
"Good idea." You collaborate with Polka's desire to drop the subject matter of the pirate assassins who seem to have it out for kitsunes specifically. "It's pretty much up to you guys at this point."
"I'm going with the rest of my pack." Watame says without hesitation. "We're going to bust up the pirate base they built over their home."
"Nene will help smash more pirates that way." Nene nods at the idea.
"I'll stay aboard the ship and give Marine some backup." Flare announces, and then her expression droops a little in exasperation. "Kiara will likely stay aboard too, so we have her as well…I guess."
"I know she can come off as very…uhh…prickly?" You fight to find the correct words for the abrasive servant of the sun spirit. "But she's definitely a good person deep down. You saw how battered up she got protecting the port. I bet once this is all over, she will be in a much better mood."
"You are absolutely right, summoner." Undine chimes in. "I remember Aska as being similar in times of great intensity."
"And she definitely always thought she was the boss of everything." Sylph's voice comes in your mind.
"But like Aska, I believe Kiara will become less of a sweltering force once the battle is over." Undine continues aloud.
"And the small fortune she pinned on you to pay her will probably help out too!"
"Sweltering is putting it lightly." Flare sighs, not at all privy to the additional input from the wind spirit. "Well, as long as she puts that expert sword arm of hers to use, I can't complain too much. Girl really is a pro."
"Yup. The ship is in good hands with you and her on the deck." You give your body one last good stretch, making a few joints resound with tension relieving cracks. "Polka, Undine, we should go see if the others are ready. Every second-" your words are then rudely interrupted by your stomach making its grievances known by everyone in the room.
"Ready to give Blackfin a surprise he'll never forget huh?" Flare smirks, her cheeks fully curved to form that cocky, patronizing, smug expression that both exasperates and enchants you. "He sure will be surprised when the threat to his entire operation shows up and keels over from hunger. You'll really show him~"
Your brow furrows as you try to come up with a quick retort to the half-elf, but your lucky stars shine when a soft, dainty grumble rings out from the girl's own midsection, turning your annoyance into pure vindication. Flare's cheeks redden as she quickly holds a hand over herself, and the glare she gives you threatens you to choose your next words very carefully. Having already achieved a minor victory over the half-elf, you simply smile and swallow whatever witty remarks you had. "Right, well, I guess I should find something to eat really quick. If I had to guess, wherever I can find Botan and the pack, I'll find food. Anyone else need a small refuel?"
"Well since you're offering, I guess I'll come along with you. Gods know if I leave you in a kitchen unattended you'll end up cooking enough for the entire ship, and then you'll miss your boat." Flare shrugs, strutting past you in an effort to preserve her own pride.
You chuff at the compliment hidden under the light teasing, which isn't entirely unfounded either. You could really go for a seared slab of meat. The odds of something so luxurious being aboard Marine's ship right now are slim to none, but even a moldy piece of bread might have the same appeal to you right now. Polka and Watame then exit the room after Flare, and then you, Nene, and Undine follow suit.
Flare leads you all down the narrow hallways to a simple swing-open door. The clackering of silverware being manhandled by clumsy and feral hands can be heard, and your nose catches a waft of something roasting…meat! Protein stuffed, chewy, revitalizing meat! Your pace quickens without your express knowledge, shuffling you in front of Flare so that you can be the first in line. You slam open the wooden door and find the rest of your pack stuffed within a simple kitchen; equipped with a wooden long table that can be used as a culinary workstation or dining board, a washstation, cupboards to hold all manner of foodstuffs, and finally what looks to be a small brick oven fashioned into the side wall.
In front of the lit cooking fire, stands Korla, her attention directed at whatever is roasting within the brick housing. Bransha, Bree, and Botan all crowd the thicker lioness, all with eyes that shine with hunger, and mouths that leak without much care. You walk over and try to peer to see what is making the strange, but enticing aroma. There within the mouth of the brick oven, sits a fat tailpiece whose dark green scales are lightly charred.
"Korla…" You begin to speak, your mind desperately trying to win a battle over your empty stomach. "Where did you get that? What is it?"
"Croc tail." She answers plainly, giving you only the briefest of looks from the corner of her eye before returning her attention to the meal she prepares.
"And you found that…" You follow up, unsure if you should even ask. A part of you knows exactly where this appendage was likely farmed from. A part of you also doesn't seem to care, which might worry you slightly more.
"Off the backside of one of those pirates we clawed through. Where else?" Korla shrugs. "Even when we were fighting back on the beach, you looked hungry, so I made sure to get you a piece."
"If you don't want it, I'll have it." Botan says, smacking her own moistened lips together at the idea.
"No fair, Botan!" Bransha whines. "You can't just claim the food meant for the packleader."
"Yeah, you're not even his prime." Bree joins in, and with an insult that you know by now is scalding among these women.
"Hey, Watame." Botan calls back towards the other side of the room, where the sheep munches on some bread along with the other members of your group. "If Anon doesn't want this tail, can I have it?"
"Sure, Botan!" Watame chirps, and the alpha lioness smiles in victory over her smaller packmates, who let out low growls in response.
"Who said I wasn't going to eat it?" You ask, somewhat annoyed that others assumed you were not up to the challenge of eating a little bit of tail meat.
"You seemed hesitant is all." Botan waves off. "Humans probably aren't used to eating tails."
"It's more about what it was attached to." Flare sighs as she takes a sip of water from the wooden mug she holds between both her hands.
"Well it would be a waste not to at least try it now." You decide to state your claim. "Besides, we aren't exactly in a position to be picky."
"Exactly. You should never waste food. Especially when there are battles that need to be fought and won." Korla commends your attitude as she removes the seared delicacy from the oven using a metal poker. The scaled meat looks to have cooked rather nicely, and the inner ring of fat you can see from where the tail was severed from its owner sports a wonderfully medium-well brown tinge to it. The blond lioness then blows lightly along its surface, and you can feel your anticipation grow along with your gut's longing for the grilled sustenance. She sees your eyes almost begging for it, and a wide smile paints her face.
You are handed the food spike and are met with Korla's expective, but considerate gaze. A few conflicting thoughts swirl through your mind as you slowly bring the fire kissed morsel closer to your mouth. Is it really okay to eat the body part of what was or still is a sentient person? What actually separates a beastkin from something like a wild boar? Does the fact that it can walk, talk, and think like you do, somehow bar it from the cycle of nature? Your stomach then demands a cease to these questions. Add to the pile of things to unpack later. You have work to do. It's already cooked and smells great! It tells you. Then, you find your teeth sinking into the chewy exterior of what was once a pirate's tail. The outer skin is tough, but the speckled texture of scales that have been evenly singed tickles and delights your tongue. Your taste buds are then bombarded with a tantalizing flavor. As you chew, you try to put it into words what the zing of crocodile meat is like. The best description you can have it; chicken.
It comes as a relief that crocodile meat has an enjoyable taste, but you can't help but feel a little let down that it is not entirely unique. You temper your unmet expectations with the fact that the welcome sustenance will go a long way towards refueling you for the battle to come, and leave it at that. Your appetite then takes over, imploring you to tear off meat by the mouthful. You make it about one quarter of the way through the thick tail piece before offering a bite to Korla, it seems only fair after all.
"You're the packleader, it's yours." The more motherly lioness states, taken slightly aback by the sudden generosity.
"It's rightfully your kill though." You argue in a way that might speak more to a group of born hunters. "We can at least share it. Can't we?"
"But you need your strength-" She starts, but you'll have no more arguments.
"We all need our strength." You correct her. "Today was the first time you all really started using your mana too, you need to keep yourselves fed. And don't try to play it down either. I've been there. Magic can be really taxing when you first start out. Especially healing magic. Now share this with me. That goes for you guys as well." You direct the end of your command towards the rest of the pack, ears perk up, and tails swish at the idea.
Korla then gives in and takes the metal sticker that still holds a considerable amount of tail on it. Her gentle and full cheeks flush slightly at the gesture, but her gratitude is immediately overtaken by her feral hunger, and she takes a couple hearty chomps of the crocodile's tail. After swallowing with immense satisfaction, she readies herself for another bite, only stopping halfway as her eye spots Botan patiently waiting her turn. Korla then forces her food upon Botan before she has a chance to change her mind.
Each lioness takes their own turn with the shared morsel, savoring its flavor and richness while they wash it down with water. It lifts your spirits to see them properly sharing with one another. You can already see more life sprout from those worn, but resilient faces of theirs. You're all going to need to be as close to one hundred percent as you can get if you're going to survive what comes next. With the pack then settling into an autonomous routine of rest while scarfing down what bread and vegetables had been stowed on the ship, you take the chance to join your other companions, and lift yourself up to sit on the middle work table.
Polka looks at you while trying to keep a straight face, but the faintest of snickers keep escaping her lungs, which causes Flare to start too. You look over to Watame and Nene to try and find a clue as to what is so funny, but your sheep only looks back at you with those mesmerizing eyes and smile of hers, while Nene is focused entirely on stuffing whatever she can find down her throat. Undine tries to stifle a laugh next, which makes your eyebrow arc.
"Alright, what is so funny?" You ask.
"Oh nothing." Flare teases, all too happy to indulge in keeping secrets from you.
"Nothing that a packleader who's already attached to his cats has to worry about." Polka adds. "Hey Flare, didn't we get so gung ho to help Botan and them out so they could get their home back and Anon wouldn't have to watch them anymore?"
"I think we did." The half-elf nods along. "But look at him now. Making sure they're all fed, keeping them out of fights with one another. It's hard not to notice his smile when they're all getting along and behaving either. What did you tell them the night you brought them back to our camp? That you weren't cut out to be a packleader? You're cute, Anon."
"Oh knock it off…" You scoff, crossing your arms close to your chest while you try to avoid eye contact with the half-elf, lest you give away how you actually relish the compliment. "Watame is the one who actually managed to bring them in line. They've been following her more than me so far."
"Even though she's a sheep, Watame seems to be able to really speak their language." Polka gives her friend a firm thumbs up, which she returns with beaming pride.
"The rest will be counting on you, Watame." You say directly to your sheep, and your unconditional trust shines through both your smiles that harden more with the resolve you both share. "I guess we should find Pomu so we can get going." You let yourself slide off the table and your feet bounce against the wooden floorboards. "Botan, Nula. Time to leave."
Your retrieval team follows you back above deck where you find its final member conversing with your captain. The forest fairy notices your arrival and waves you over to her. A small lifeboat that should just manage to seat the six of you hangs beside the ship's railing. Marine greets you with a firm nod, her composure is rock solid, and her heart already prepared for an uphill battle. Still, even within despite that, the unmistakable glint of faith shines in her one eye.
"All ready to go?" She asks you, her voice carries a tinge of apprehension, like she would welcome almost any excuse you have to postpone your mission.
"As ready as I think we'll ever be." You say truthfully. "Besides, the sooner the better, right?"
"Just because time isn't on our side, doesn't mean you should get sloppy or go in unprepared." The Houshou captain scolds. "You don't get any do-overs. If you rush things at the wrong time, an entire plan can come crashing down. Just keep that in mind."
"I will, Marine. Thanks."
"Oh, and one last thing." The woman says as she pulls out something small from her jacket's outer pocket; a small bronze pin in the shape of the Houshou's emblem, and a simple garnet handkerchief . She steps forward and pins the badge just above your left breast. You look down with both confusion and appreciation for the small broach, and while you do that, Marine ties the bandana around your right bicep, making sure that its knot is tight and stable. "There. Now anyone you meet from here on will know that you're a proud member of the Houshou Pirates."
"Are you really sure? I know you said I'd be part of your crew until this was all over, but is it really okay to look the part? I'm probably not anything close to what a real pirate is." You run your thumb and index finger around the heart shape of your newest accessory, not at all opposed to the symbolic meaning of it. In fact, you are actually a little flattered that Marine seems to want you to wear the colors of her crew, who bear a name that was once infamous.
"Anon, being a pirate isn't just about finding treasure or sinking ships." Marine says with a light giggle as she puts her hand on your shoulder. "I've seen a lot of different pirates in my life, and even more types of people. Wealth, power, fame, those things alone don't make up what a pirate truly is. Something more important makes us fit for a life along the seas, and you got that special something for days. Believe your Senchou when she tells you, 'you're a real pirate.'"
"And what exactly is this special something that makes you so sure?" You chuckle.
"Make sure you survive today, and I'll tell you." Marine grins. "You still owe me that drink after all."
You give your captain a firm nod and let her words add some extra motivation to see this battle through, as if you needed any more. This somewhat stoic moment is then interrupted by Pomu skipping over next to you both; the forest fairy frantically pointing to her own strapped satchel that now bears its own pin of the Houshou Pirates.
"Check it out, Anon! I'm a Houshou Pirate too!" She squeals. "We're actually real life pirates! The good guy kind too! This is so cool. Thank you Senchou!"
"You two sprung me free and even fought alongside me when I had no one else. Of course you're both welcome in my crew. And now let's make history and knock the KillerWhale Pirates off their throne."
With a joint cheer you rally with the other three members of the Houshou Pirates. Roxy then breaks from the circle to scramble to her duties to prepare the ship for the oncoming confrontations. You bid a quick silent farewell to Marine and prepare to board the hanging lifeboat. Botan, Nula, and Polka all climb in first, while you get to watch Kiara part from her winged friend with no shortage of reluctance on her fair face.
"Now promise me, you'll be extra extra, EXTRA careful. Okay?" She pleads with Pomu, who can only smile and give the sun warrior a quick nod. Kiara then lets out a heavy sigh and lets go of her friend. "I guess that's all I can ask for. As soon as you get a chance, come back to this ship and find me. We'll finish this fight together."
"You got it, Kiwawa. You be careful too." Pomu chirps, and then her wings flutter to bring her just high enough to hover over to the lifeboat to take her own spot next to Polka.
You look at your side to Undine, and then notice a trio of shapes walking up to you.
Watame immediately wraps her arms around you and gives you a big fluffy hug. "Go get 'em, Anon." She says softly. "If you need me, I'll always come running."
"Likewise." You return the hug and grip your beloved tightly. "Let's kick those bastards off the pack's island." You give your sheep a small, tender kiss on her cheek that makes her coo in your arms. You part and she makes way for the next person to see you off; Nene.
"Anon and Nene will make pirates sorry for hurting Mama's people. No mercy." She proudly states, offering you her closed fist for you to meet knuckles with. You then open your hand to grab the girl's own, to pull her into you for a quick hug.
"This will be our best victory yet." You squeeze her one more before letting her go. Nene nods with fire in her eyes, and steps aside so you can receive one more goodbye.
Flare's footsteps are stiff, her one hand brushes up and down her opposite arm, and her eyes trail to the side. You are considerably perplexed by the sudden timid behavior. It was not like Flare to be so nervous before a battle. This was something you've both been through quite a few times already, and with arguably worse circumstances to boot. The way she moves is as if she is trying to keep something in, or rather, she wants to open up, but she is internally fighting with herself on if she should. You take a half-step forward, and then are suddenly enraptured by Flare's own arms that wrap you in a hug that binds you like her life depended on it.
"Don't die out there." She whispers, her breath shaking along with her trembling arms. "We still have a very long time to spend together. Okay?"
You can't begin to fathom what brought this on so suddenly, but you can feel how Flare's heart aches with the thought of a future without you. Your first thought is to tease her, to go on about how your own fighting prowess thanks to her training will make you invincible, but the thought is snuffed out by something much more foreboding. Your own soul shudders at the notion of what Flare seems to fear most, but it also yearns to assure your half-elf that such a future is not in the destiny you'll forge for yourself. For not only her sake, but your own, you steel your resolve and hug Flare as tight as you can.
"Then it's a promise. I won't let anything stop us from continuing our journey together. We're in this together for as long as it takes. You got my word on this. There's a lot we still need to see and do, and I plan to enjoy it all with you." You whisper back, letting your heart speak as it wants.
Flare says nothing, but you can feel her nod in your shoulder. She sighs, and then inhales enough through her clogged nose to clear her sinuses. The half-elf brings her head back up to meet your gaze, those amber orbs that can make your heart skip a beat with how they sparkle bring your thoughts to another world. A world where you and Flare are sharing your much awaited time alone, where you'll tell her how much she truly means to you. Should you even wait? You are about to be separated again, and if all goes according to plan, you'll be face to face with a lunatic demi-human who will not hesitate to kill you to save his own skin.
"Flare, I-"
"Anon…I"
You both clam up, not wanting to get in the way of the other. During your forced silence, it's as if both of you have an entire conversation in the span of seconds. Both of you come to a revelation, and then speak again.
"Tell me after we win." You both say together with somber smiles.
A vow made by your own hearts, an ironclad reason to survive, and the courage to see your choices through. You may have just given each other the extra push you both didn't know you needed. You exchange another hug with Flare, this time in bright confidence. She squeezes you back with gusto, forcing a small breath of air from your lungs, and then lets you go.
"See you soon, Anon." Flare tells you, her voice returned to its normal showing of confidence.
You give your half-elf a purposeful nod in response, and prepare yourself to be on your way. Undine is giving a brief goodbye of her own to Watame; the sheep nods with unbridled enthusiasm at whatever the water spirit had just said to her. A hug, like a child bidding farewell to her mother. The motherly love Undine has for your sheep swells in your heart. You try to distract yourself from the source of the overflowing emotion you feel by scanning the rest of the busy ship; Shallahan people of all ages work together to prepare Marine's vessel for battle, knowing full well it could be the last thing they do. Even so, they work with clear purpose, one that is carried by the slightest of chances that their families and loved ones can have a future devoid of bondage or poverty.
You straighten your stance, roll your shoulders, pick your head up, and give some of the familiar faces that glance your way an unwavering smile. There may be a lot you're unsure of when it comes to Blackfin and what he has up his sleeve, but you keep that burden under the surface. The people around you, the people who look to you for hope and light, you will only show them the brightest of stars. Before the day is done, this country will be freed. That, you refuse to compromise on.
"Anon, time to go." Botan directs you with a thumb as she is second to last to board the small lifeboat.
You give one last strong wave to your friends and onlookers before boarding the small ocean raft, taking a seat on the far side next to Polka. Marine gives the order to have your craft lowered down to the sea. The trip down is soothing, the boat rocks gently back and forth in the air, inviting you to sway along with it. You find yourself getting lost in how you slowly drift downward with the gentle roll of the sea playing in your eardrums. Relaxation ripples through your body, and you find a comfortable recess upon Polka's cushioned hair. The fennec sighs with minor content at your touch and further leans herself into you.
After the boat touches down on the water's surface, Undine dips the head of her trident under the azure layer. With a gentle prod for her own magic, the head of her polearm begins to glow, and a steady force begins to push your vessel forward. The clouds above have thickened since your brief reprieve began, and you can feel the coming of rain from inside your very bones. Summoner's intuition? An omen of what's to come? Maybe both. You can't help but feel some unrest from within Undine's soul. While the water spirit is perfectly focused and expedites your trip towards the island, you notice that a small part of her is somewhere else, as if she were trying to feel her way through a pitch black room. Your first thought is that she is trying to devise a way for her to battle alongside you against who will most likely be your final opponent in this battle; an orca demi-human who may very well be able to neutralize your water based abilities on a level that surpasses even Chloe. That notion is immediately tossed overboard when it is simply not like the calm and steady water spirit to worry about such obstacles. She fought with you against similar odds before, and will never back down from doing so again. No. What troubles her might lie somewhere…deeper.
"Ummm…Anon?" Nula's soft request for your attention jolts you out of your silent investigation, which in turn stirs the fennec next to you who was half asleep. The smaller lioness then becomes guilt ridden in an instant upon seeing you try to regain your bearings. "S-Sorry! I-I-I didn't mean to disturb you! It's just-"
"It's fine, Nula, really." You straighten yourself and put on a strong smile. "I was just…strategizing. Gotta think of what in my magical arsenal might be worth using first, and what kinda stuff might be best kept for a sticky situation."
"Really?" Pomu leans forward to look at you from beyond Polka. "I thought you just like to fly by the seat of your pants. I didn't know you planned your spells out in advance."
"Anon is more of an improviser than a planner." Polka covers her mouth as she yawns. "Don't let him fool you."
"Anyway." You ignore how your white lie was completely torn through and focus your attention back on the lioness sitting across from you. "What's up, Nula?"
"I just wanted to say…" she starts as she fidgets with her hands, trying to somehow weave the courage she needs to speak from her movements. Her gray eyes then become entrapped by yours, and she continues. "Thank you. Thank you for giving us a chance to see our home one more time."
"And it's not the last time you'll get to see it either." You immediately follow up, hoping your certainty will become infectious. "Don't forget, I owe you all a chance to play tour guide for me. I can't wait for you to show me around personally."
"T-That's right!" The lioness resounds with joy, her tail revealing more of her brightened spirits by pointing up and swaying behind her. "I love my island, and I think you're really going to love it too. Won't he, Botan?"
"There's a lot to like." Botan smirks down at her packmate. "Let's just hope he didn't spoil himself on some of the surprises the first time he was there."
"Yeah, I imagine you got quite the tour already." Polka nudges you with her elbow. "What did you think of what you saw?"
"Honestly" you begin, completely straight faced, while you share an instantaneous glance with Pomu that causes both your lips to curve upward. "I wasn't a fan of some of the changes the pirates made to the place, so I decided to do some light renovations."
"Yeah. You and Lady Sylph blowing that one building to rubble was so cool." Pomu giggles, replaying the chaos you all sewed together over and over in her head.
"Which by the way! Summoner!" Sylph's voice comes blowing through your mind like a sudden gale. "Am I really not going to get a chance to come out and play again? Big Sis Undine has been out the entire battle!"
"What kind of renovations? What did they do to our home?" Botan asks, her visage managing to show some concern for once.
"Well…" You struggle to find the best way to break the bad news to the two lions, while being able to focus enough on speaking the words aloud and not respond to the conversation that is currently going on inside your head. A harder task than you would have first thought.
"Sister…you and our summoner had quite a bit of fun last night." Undine's voice comes into your next head, stern and collected. "While we share in our summoner's mana during our resonance, battling with that bond takes a heavy toll on ourselves. Stay in your realm and rest!"
"There's no easy way to say it." You sigh, buying yourself a few precious seconds to respond to your other listener. Undine is right though, Sylph. Besides, the last leg of our battle will probably be done on the water. I might not have the mana to spare to do a swap for a while. I'm sorry. I'll be able to summon you both out at the same time someday, just be a little more patient with me.
"Fine. Fine." The wind fairy seems to accept yours and her sister's arguments. "It has been a really fun show to watch so far. Next time though! Make sure you let me in on the finale, okay?"
"Those pirates…" You breathe out, relieved that you can fully focus on one singular exchange again. "They messed up the land pretty bad. A lot of unnecessary taking without giving anything back. That seems to be what they do best." Your hand unconsciously finds its way on top of Polka's that was resting on her knee. She rotates to bring you palm to palm, offering you your support as always. "It's nothing that can't be fixed, but it'll take time."
"We started to see what they were doing before we were forced to leave." Botan says bitterly, her brow hardens at the recollection. "I can only imagine it's only gotten worse since then, but you're right. We can fix it, and the first step is chasing those punks out." The alpha looks up and squints her eyes to pierce the thickening haze. "There." She points outward. "Steer us towards that beach."
Undine nods and directs the subtle current she creates behind the boat to take you towards the small shore that becomes more visible through the inclement weather as you approach. Not much of the island's landscape can be seen through the growing darkness, but even with overcast skies, you can still make out the tip of not only the royal spire that marks the landmass, but the tips of the trees that still stand tall. Botan and Nula are stunned, barely even letting their own breaths be heard.
After wedging your lifeboat along the sandy ground, you disembark. Botan and Nula are quick to approach the thickening woods that lie ahead. They both begin to walk forward, but you stop them with a quick grasp of their wrists. They turn around, their eyes wide as if they were just snapped out of a trance. You shake your head, and once you feel their bodies loosen, you let them go and put a finger to your lips.
Quietly, you lead your group a few yards into the woods, and once you find a conspicuous enough spot, it is time to let Pomu do her thing. The forest fairy gives you a firm salute, and she shrinks down into her mini form. The shrunken girl buzzes ahead through the air, quickly vanishing from your sight, leaving you to wait. From the tree you lean against, you watch Botan and Nula try to devote all of their senses to the surrounding area; ears twitch, noses flair, and eyes dart and squint in all directions. More than once does their focus linger to where paths are carved unnaturally through the trees. When they come across you looking at them with mild concern, they visibly shake off the negative feelings they struggle to work through.
Pomu returns and makes her presence known by giving your cheek a couple hard tugs. You don't give the fae any sort of reaction, lest you give her a reason to repeat the gesture in the future. When you acknowledge the tiny girl with only the smallest of glances, she takes that as her cue to speak up. She reports that the area ahead is clear of patrols or sentries, and that she found a path you can use to sneak deeper into the island.
While the miniaturized fairy flutters ahead to further scout, you and Polka take the lead of your expedition. The fennec's sharp eyes always make you feel safe knowing that nothing will be able to surprise you with her on the lookout. Still, you keep a hand close to your sword handle, just in case. As you slog through the softening soil, a few trickles of rain begin to ding off your head. On the one hand, you're thankful for the rain, their cover will make it easier to traverse the island unseen, while also covering your tracks. On the other…
"Hey, you still good to be that size?" You ask Pomu upon returning from her latest reconnaissance.
"Don't you worry about your Big Boss." Pomu hovers in front of your face with bold assuredness. "A small drizzle like this won't be enough to bring this fairy down to earth. Now follow me. I found a shortcut."
Following the fae, you are soon brought to the familiar camp where you set the first batch of prisoners free. The place is completely abandoned, but the signs of your battle here remain; a harpy shaped indent still scars the earth from where Sylph had blown the avian to her defeat. Botan then steps ahead and takes Pomu gently by the scruff of her blouse. "Thanks for getting us this far, I'll lead on from here." The lioness then places the fae on your shoulder, and pats her head with a finger. "My place isn't far off from the mountain. C'mon."
You all begin to follow Botan's swift pace, that only seems to slow when you pass the mouth of the earthen spire. Both she and Nula look to survey it, the smaller lioness looks almost longingly at its entrance. It looks like your hunch from when you first set eyes on this monolith of nature was correct; this place holds some special meaning to your pack. That however doesn't quite solve the mystery of what makes it so special to Blackfin's operation.
"Is there anything really worth mining here?" You ask aloud, still noticing some of the empty wheeled carts and digging equipment left laying around near the stone entrance.
"Who knows." Botan shrugs. "We never dug and found out."
"The mountain…is kinda a sacred place to our pack." Nula begins to explain. "If the weather gets bad, we can always go there. There's light deep inside too."
"Light?" Polka repeats, and her inner circus wheels begin to turn. She takes her hand off her chin and snaps in sharp revelation. "I bet the place is loaded with mana stones! Some even tend to be a natural form of light."
"Mana stones?" You take your turn to repeat, then your own cogs begin to rotate. "This is where they've been getting them to sell to creeps like Rahdenl?!"
"They've been pillaging our island for things to sell?" Botan snaps, her fury was beginning to simmer, and the garden of stumps you now walk through was certainly not making things any cooler. Her fists lock at her sides, and she picks up her pace. You share a similar disgust for the pirates who willingly went along with this. Selling contraband and other dangerous items to crazed, power hungry lunatics was bad enough, but acquiring them from the natural resources of land that didn't even rightfully belong to them? Just another reason Blackfin is on your ultimate shit-list. Your own desire to bring that orca to justice fuels your own steps as you keep time with Botan. The rest of the walk is made in silence, with only the sound of sparse raindrops filling the void. The land begins to dip, and Botan nods to her followers.
The lioness jumps down a natural ledge of sand and dirt to land on a sloped path that winds and bends with the sway of palm trees overlooking its edges. The closer you get to the rumbling shore, the more dense the foliage becomes. When the land levels out, Botan turns around the next bend, and quickens her pace further. You all begin to jog to keep up. Botan leads you through muddying soil, and over a small rocky stream, then, she suddenly stops.
A natural stairway of molded earth whose borders are lined with healthy green grass lead up to a small wooden abode. The rain pitters against the dried stalks that tie together to form the home's triangular rooftop, feeding the grassy wildlife that slowly tries to lay claim to the abandoned dwelling. Botan's feet meet the pathway upward with tender familiarity, carrying her faster and faster to her sanctuary. She clears the small wooden step ramp in a single bound, bringing her to her own front door; its hinges jitter from the brush of the wind, and the bottom half of its frame has been scuffed by a firm toed boot. Botan raises a cautious hand for the handle, but you cut in, one hand on the simple bar, the other at the ready to draw your sword. You give the lioness a silent request with your eyes.
Botan searches you for a second, her body is tense with impatience. Her hand moves under yours, taking whatever is left of the door handle for herself, and you give her a light nod. It's clear that someone or something had found the alpha's lodgings since her departure, and you won't let her face the brunt of whatever she may find alone, be it a home that had been vandalized, or trespassers. In a joint breath, you both push the door open in time with your legs charging you both in. The door slams against the wall, and you both barge in on full alert.
You stand in the middle of an empty living space, wooden furniture built for one lay broken along the hardwood floor. Simple utensils; forks, bowls, a spear, and other essential tools for living in solitude are scattered in broken pieces like seasoning upon a fresh slab of beef. Your hunch had been correct, but you are starting to wish that it wasn't. When your overdriven senses conclude that the home is indeed devoid of any other living souls besides your own, you and Botan come down from high alert.
Botan's eyes rest heavy upon the disorder before her. No one is sure what to say to her. For the brief time you've known her, this woman has seemed to master having a stone face. Nothing seemed to faze her, but now, that veil has been lifted, revealing the vulnerable girl that struggles to let herself be known. Something then catches your eye among the wreckage, a stone tablet. You kneel down and take the slab in your hand so you can better read what had been painted upon it with a deep black dye. A rough, but clear depiction of three lion demi-humans, a female, a male, and one whose hair bears a striking resemblance to Botan's. A singular word is written under each neckline, but you don't recognize the language.
Rishho
Kulandu
Lo'encha
Unable to decipher anything beside that this is obviously something personal of Botan's you hand the lioness the slab. She takes it slowly, as if trying to register what it is, and then a somber smile lightens the weight of her face.
"At least it looks like that wasn't broken." You break the silence, and your eyes stay glued to the foreign scripture. "What is it anyway?"
"Just a keepsake." Botan says plainly, but the way she looks at the simple drawing like it was a fire within a damp cave, tells you all that you need. Nobody else tries to interrupt the alpha's moment of remembrance.
"What do the words on it mean?" You can't keep yourself from asking, and the lioness gives you an appreciative smile.
"It's an old saying in the language of our ancestors. Basically it means 'A King's True Wealth'. Something my parents always believed in."
As a bittersweet memory flows through her, she notices something surprising about the shape of the painting she holds. "Hmm? Did part of it break off? I remember the back being more rounded." Sure enough, it looked like a layer of the stone had been broken off, rather cleanly in fact, like a freshly peeled sheet. Polka then begins to frantically comb the room, and like a true hunter indicative of her lineage, she comes across her prize.
"I think this is it, Botan." She says as she hands the lioness a much thinner slab. "It must have broken clean off when it hit the ground. Pretty lucky the front side didn't crack or anything."
"Thanks, Polka." Botan says with no shortage of gratitude, and she moves to connect the two pieces back together, if only for some sense of closure, but then her eyes are caught again by something she was not expecting. She stands in stunned silence, but her eyes trace line after line along the stone canvas, growing wider and more moist as its meaning becomes clear to her.
"Hey. You alright?" You ask when you notice Botan's gaze move away from both tablets she holds.
"Yeah." She sniffs. "I'm good. Pretty good, actually."
"There was more writing on that other piece, wasn't there?" Polka asks pensively. "From your folks I'm guessing?"
"Mhmm. I never knew about this extra piece. For me to find it now, like this, is like…." Botan tries to find the words to express the weight this small keepsake has for her. She then looks at you, and suddenly her indecision is blown away like the wind. "Is like them telling me exactly what I needed to hear. I'm reminded that they watch me, us, from the stars. Want to know what it says?"
"After a sell like that, how could we not?" Polka chirps, beaming at how your friend is brought back to brighter spirits.
"Too bad~" Botan grins and pokes out her tongue, taking you all off guard. Then without another word, she struts off deeper into her home.
"Awwwww, c'mon!" Polka whines.
"You can't just leave us hanging like that!" Pomu joins in. "I bet it was really inspirational! This fairy could use some pep talks too."
"Botan's parents were mighty in their own rights as well….I bet it was a powerful message…" Nula's ears droop, having already accepted that she should leave the matter at that.
"That's enough, you three." You scold. "Whatever is written in there is clearly just for Botan, and she doesn't have to share it if she doesn't want to."
"Yup! It's private." Botan snickers from beside a distant door frame.. "Now c'mon, we haven't found what we came here for yet."
"Really? The place has been ransacked though." You lightly argue. "Anything that even remotely resembles a weapon was probably snagged."
"They couldn't have found everything." Botan argues back with unchallenged confidence, and then disappears into the next room.
With no better plan than to follow the alpha's faith, you shrug and fan out to further search the pillaged dwelling. You decide to search the room opposite the one Botan entered; a small narrow kitchen where all its drawers and cabinets have been opened and emptied. Those bastards didn't even leave a single kitchen knife. Through your frustration, you try to form a backup plan. With no payload to cripple Blackfin's ship, you just might have to charge in and hope you can keep his crew from setting sail.
"Anon! Everyone! Get in here!" Botan calls, giving you a burst of hope that you are more than willing to accept at the moment.
You're the first to rush into what is apparently Botan's bedroom, or what's left of it. The guts of a mattress;feathers, wool, hay, are all spilled out onto the floor while the rectangular sleeping mat lays with its center completely caved in. Wicker baskets have been upturned and tossed aside like garbage, and most of Botan's more personal belongings; brush, clothing, and other necessities, litter the floor. The scene seems to not bother the alpha lioness, not like the sight of her familiar living area did just moments ago. She now stands with a smug fanged smile against the bare wall that faces the front side of the house. Once the rest of her audience arrives, she prepares her presentation.
"Behold" she announces, and with a knock against a precise spot along the wooden partition, the hollow drumming is followed by the sound of something…turning?
The wall next to Botan unfolds, revealing an entire closet's worth of some of the strangest weaponry you have ever seen. Like some of the lioness' creations you've seen so far, they are all coated with a black metallic material, and range from sizes small enough to handle in one hand, to ones that would need two strong arms and possibly a shoulder as well to handle properly. Their sleekness, their intricacies, they feel like they could put any flintlock you've seen so far to shame. You stand completely awestruck by the arsenal hung up before you.
"My stuff!" Botan flourishes an arm, eager to show off her pride and joy.
"Soooo COOOOOL!" Pomu squeals, hovering in front of the top most rack. "There's stuff that I imagined to look just like this in one of my favorite stories!"
"You really made all this stuff, Botan?" Polka asks, leaning forward to squint at the heavy firearms that sit nicely upon their own individual hook racks.
"Yup. I worked really hard on these ones, so they shouldn't fall apart after just a few rounds." Botan answers, and a question of her own begins to worm its way through her mind and finds its way to freedom. "Does the stuff you create break too?"
"Not exactly. It'll disappear once it does its job or I run out of mana, but they're pretty simple when you get down to it." The fennec remarks, having to think to herself if the occurrence had ever happened in her recent memory.
"Like all magic, the more you practice, the better you get. If you keep training, I'm sure you can make things that will never break someday, Botan." You offer some bright optimism, that the lioness smiles in appreciation toward. That brings her attention back to the stash at hand, calculating the best way to explain just what you have here.
"The five rifles along the middle racks are a lot like a blunderbuss, you know how those work, right?" She asks, and you give a small nod. "Well mine can have a lot more precision and shoot much smaller rounds. Great for taking out a lot of things cleanly. The two on the sides with the thinner, longer barrels are meant for hitting a target from a long range. You can even be far away enough that they won't even be able to see you."
"But how can you tell where to aim from that far away?" You ask as you inspect the leaner rifles, and your eyes are brought to the cylindrical lens that sits along the top of its frame.
"The scope will help with that. Here. See for yourself." Botan offers you one of her sniper rifles, which you take in your hands with a great degree of care.
On the surface, it feels a lot like a crossbow; a sturdy stock that is meant to rest against your shoulder, an easy to operate trigger, and the general sensation of power that comes with the notion of "just point at what you want dead, and shoot." Where you would find the ridges of your sightline however, sits what Botan called the scope; the eyeglass that is soundly attached to the top of the weapon. You raise the rifle upright, and peer through the eye lens, and you are immediately disoriented by the blurred image of what must be the innermost workings of the wood that makes up the wall of Botan's home. You recoil and shake off the pain done to your irises, and Botan stifles a laugh whose girlish pitch makes you both embarrassed at yourself but also thankful that such an adorable sound graced your ears.
"Try looking at something a little farther away." She points to the paneless window sill at the far end of her room.
Following her suggestion, you walk over and take aim. You can hardly believe your eye when you are shown just how much is within your full focus. The scope reveals even the smallest details that mark each individual leaf upon the tree you peer at. You're amazed to see that you are even able to detect the droplets of water that fall on them from the sky above. Even if this wasn't tied to a weapon, the sheer clairvoyance of Botan's creation is unparalleled. A target could be miles away and you would be able to pin them all the way down to their sock color. You begin to turn your gaze, quickly getting swept away in the joy of seeing what else you can find. Your picture is then suddenly usurped by something…pink? And slimy? It moves slightly back and you can see a blown up and warped version of Pomu's face, which startles you out of your own exploration.
"Wah!" You yelp, almost throwing the rifle into the air. As you gain control of yourself, the fae is still in the middle of her own laughing fit, rolling around in midair, fighting to keep enough air in her lungs to fuel her hysterics.
"Pomu! Don't do that!" You snap.
"You should have seen your face!" Pomu points at you. "Did it look like the giant monster fairy was going to eat you? Pee Pi Po Phum. I smell the blood of a summoner."
"As if, you asshole!" You snarl, and in one quick swipe, you snatch the fae by her tiny body and bring her up to your face. Even when she is trapped within your grasp, Pomu still snickers and chortles at her own joke. "Is this really the time for your pranks!? What if I just stuff you in my pocket for a while? Does that sound like a funny joke? Huh!?"
"Do it. I dare ya!" Pomu guffaws, giving you a smug raise of her middle finger as your rage begins to shake the hand that holds her.
"Big talk for someone who's only three and a half inches tall." You bark.
"Tough talk for someone who has to pick on someone not even a quarter his size." Pomu grins.
The two of you begin hurling childish insults at each other at full speed, and Polka sighs with exasperation at the display.
"Now, I at least know how to stop Anon when he and Flare get into one of these spats, but this…this is new. I don't think I can defuse this the same way." Polka remarks with her hand pressed to her forehead.
Botan says nothing, instead she picks up a small gated crate off the floor, walks right behind you, and leans the wooden box into your view. "Do you both want to see the rest of the cool stuff I got? I think you'll really like what's in here, Anon."
The idea crashes through your ears like a tree falling to the earth. Both you and Pomu shut your lips and look down at the gift the lioness brought you both; an entire collection of the gray gridded objects like the one you saw Botan throw at the beach, the kind that can create a powerful explosion from such a small package. Your eyes continue to search through the container, and you find even more varieties of charges in the shapes of sticks, discs, and even balls. Pomu's mouth is watering at the sight of the destructive weaponry, no doubt recalling scenes of explosions and hellfire that she's read. You absently let the fae go and she flutters closer to the enticing weaponry.
"We should be able to do quite a bit of damage to that big ship with these." Botan states, and once she has your combined attention once more, she invites you back to her armory and directs you to another large crate. "And these" she kneels down, her smile becoming devious. "These little guys will really make it shake." She reaches in and pulls out a round animal-like object that you immediately recognize as the self-moving bomb that Botan used to surprise you during your first encounter.
"You got a whole army of those little guys?" You gasp, your hopes for your plan's success beginning to soar ever higher.
"I wouldn't call it an army, just ten or fifteen I think. Still more than enough to cause some problems for our enemies though." Botan tempers your enthusiasm a little before reaching into the first box and taking out one of the flat discs, along with a second, smaller circular object that is marked with a big red button. "These I'm especially proud of too. We can leave these wherever we want, and all I have to do is press the button I have here, and boom."
"Ooooo." Polka hums. "I bet if we can place them on the side of that ship, it'll punch a hole right into it, so the whole thing will sink!"
"If this warship is as giant as people are making it sound, these might not be enough for a job that big." Botan laments, but doesn't seem to lose her enthusiasm. "But we can easily reduce any artillery it has to bits. If we do that, it'll be a sitting duck for Marine."
"Not a bad idea." The fennec comments, but her face scrunches in quick internal debate. "But how are we going to get inside? I know I can hide some of this stuff in my hat, but getting close enough to the ship's cannons is another problem." She then looks specifically at you before continuing. "Anon? You put this team together. What's your plan?"
"Nula is." You respond, making the timid lioness tense and let out a small meep. You lock eyes and she shakes her head, begging you to reconsider. "Your illusion magic can already make some incredible things, Nula. I bet it can be used to hide us too. That should be possible, right Pomu?"
"Of course it is. My illusions are more of the variety that wants to be seen, but a big part of that kind of magic is what your brain decides to make of it." The forest fairy answers, her mind hard at work on how to best explain it to the untrained. "Illusions can be used to make someone see something that isn't there, but also to hide what is actually there." Her face then lights up with an idea. "Got it! With how the weather is right now, no one would think twice if we were, let's say, a little cloud of mist just strolling through. Yup! That's the one. All Nula has to do is give us a nice little misting."
"I think our little lioness is more than capable of that." Undine agrees, more than smitten with the idea.
"I-I-I can't!" Nula protests, hands waving in front of her. "I-I only just managed to make a real spell…I don't even know how I would cast a spell over you."
"Yes you can, Nula." You say after you walk up to the lioness who is about two thoughts away from a self-induced panic attack. You grip her one shoulder, she jolts, but her body begins to slow down along with her mind. "I saw what you made today. That all came from you, and it was awesome. You can definitely cast the kind of spell we need to make this plan work. Undine and I will help you figure it out. We're in this together, right?"
Nula looks up at you, and beyond the uncertainty in her eyes, you can see the spark of courage begin to ignite. She places a hand over yours, finding grounding in the connection. A low "Mhmm" hums from her in response to you, and you can already see the budding queen of beasts that's somewhere deep inside her. You know from first hand experience how much someone can offer when they are simply given the chance to rise to the occasion, and a few friends to believe in them never hurt either.
"That's what I like to hear. While Undine and I help get you started, Polka, pack everything Botan isn't using herself and-"
"And Me!" Pomu interjects, flying frantically to one of the handing pistols. "I wanna use this one! Can I, Botan? Pleasssseeee?"
"Sure." Botan shrugs. "But I should probably explain how they work. It's not exactly like a regular firearm. The ammo is special-made for them too. It'll only work if you use your mana. The bullet's casing then absorbs that power, and sends it along with your shot. It's pretty cool. It took me forever to get it working right too."
"In that case, take it with you if you really have to." You begin to suggest. "But don't get trigger happy with it. You might need your mana for some proper wind spells."
"Anon has a good point." Botan agrees, much to your gratitude. "It took me a lot of practice to shoot one of these with just the right amount of mana. Too little and it will barely be more than a prick to whatever you're trying to hit, too much and it could explode in your hands. You guys seem like you have pretty good control over your mana though, so you might be fine."
"So I'm going to stuff enough explosives to level a small building into my hat?" Polka asks skeptically, but you can see in an instant how it's all for show. An elated, and somewhat concerning smile stretches across her face. "SOUNDS GREAT! This is going to be our flashiest entrance yet!"
While Polka fills her hat with a small shop's worth of bombs, you and Undine take Nula into the living room to try and instill her with whatever knowledge she might need to bridge the mental gap between illusion and water magic. The three of you sit cross legged in a triangle, and you explain to the lioness the more mysterious nature of water. While water is so many things to you already; a source of life, an unstoppable force that will always complete its journey, a body that connects lives and lands together, you are always learning new things about the magnificent element that Undine had created. Water can conceal many a thing under its shimmering veil, it can be a soft haze that shields would-be prey from its enemies, or even a chorus against the trees to mask the sounds of one's movements.
Nula closes her eyes and reflects on what you told her. Her round ears wiggle as they take in the light rain pittering against the top of Botan's home. She lets her innermost instincts begin to speak with her mana. Nula is a huntress. A lion stalks, unheard, unseen, using the very elements of the land to its full advantage. "A shimmering veil to conceal…" She speaks to herself, and she brings her hands up in front of her. Her mana begins to pulse, and in a moment of pure serenity, a domain of gray mist forms between her palms. She opens one eye after a moment and looks down in shock at her creation. Slowly, she slides one of her hands behind the veil, and her eyes widen at how her own palm is almost completely obscured to her. You and Undine give the lioness a soft applause, and her cheeks become a radiant pink.
A sharp whistle from Polka's pursed lips alerts the younger lioness, breaking her concentration and causing her illusionary display to evaporate.
"Not bad at all!" Polka says with cheer, fastening her hat over her ear. "Only thing left to do is make that big enough to cover us, and we'll be sneaking in style. Who knew Anon was such a good teacher?"
"What can I say? I have good role models." You return the compliment in kind and force yourself to your feet. You offer a hand to both Undine and Nula to help them up next, which they graciously accept. "Alright. Who's ready to sabotage a warship?"
"I'm ready for some real fireworks. Just make sure nothing bonks this head of mine, or else we might be the ones going sky high." Polka chuckles.
"This is gonna be so cool! It's like I'm a real secret agent!" Pomu begins to gush, flying around the room unrestrained.
"I'm ready whenever you are, packleader." Botan beams, her entire person now armed to the teeth. Slung over one shoulder is one of her sniper rifles, the other one of the rifles meant for shorter distances. A pistol is strapped to both her thighs, and you can only guess what she might have hidden within her thick jacket. Finally, a strange larger weapon she called a "Bazooka" hangs behind her back thanks to a thick strap that wraps over her torso.
"Alright, we'll keep moving like we have been so far. Pomu, scout ahead as we go and help us steer clear of any prying eyes. When we get close enough to the shipyard, Nula will make us invisible and we'll sneak aboard Blackfin's monstrosity. We might be on borrowed time now as it is, so let's get moving."
With resounding acknowledgement, your team follows you out of Botan's battered home, and back into the damp outdoors. The dark clouds above travel with greater haste, and the rainfall begins to increase. Before you turn the next bend, Botan looks over her shoulder towards her home and smiles. She brought her friends here to find the weapons they would need to ensure victory in this war, but she would have never guessed that she would have found something that would grant her a fire stronger than anything gunpowder or even magic could muster. She turns her gaze back to the front, seeing your strong back as you lead the way. The brush of her tail sways behind her as she reflects on what she found.
"Botan,
Our greatest treasure, our pride. No matter where or when this message finds you, know that we are always with you. The second you were welcomed into this world, we knew you were destined for great things. As you grew that became even more clear. You were strong, accurate, level headed, and most important of all; considerate and kind. We know you never cared for fame or glory among our people, and you even hid your true name from them so they wouldn't come to expect anything more from you. Although you may try to hide from it, a glorious destiny will come to find you someday, and you will undoubtedly rise to the challenge. There will be times when things seem impossible, but in those uncertain moments, you need only look to the stars and you will find the support and guidance you need. What you will do, and who you will find, will give you the wealth of a king, just like you were for us. Follow it, Botan. Protect it. Cherish it. Always step forward with pride, and be the radiant king we know you will become.
Love,
Papa and Mama.
Watame rears her head low to bring her mighty horns right into the blubbery midsection of a pirate who thought a fluffy girl carrying a worn violin would be easy pickings. Lifting the man off his feet, she continues to charge until his back is pressed against the wall of the building they fight within. A harsh gasp is forced out of his lungs, the wooden paneling cracks and falls apart, shattering under the force of this blond battering ram. The gruff and only halfway-sober pirate falls onto the solid dirt with a loud groan, and shows no signs of wanting to rise again. Watame hops out of the self-made exit and straightens herself with immense focus, her ears twitch with the sounds of battle ringing all across the headquarters of the pirate fleet. Her eyes magnetize to their target; a wolven demi-human on his way to claw Riki from behind. Watame nestles her instrument's tailpiece under her chin and draws her bow. Her fiery desires are already manifesting themselves within the mana that will grant her music the power to ring out with a song of retribution.
From the second she stepped off Marine's ship and onto the rickety dock that gives coming vessels a spot to anchor, she could see the mistreatment this island had endured. Anger began to swell within her like the dark clouds that loomed overhead. A girl who had only known the darkness of a dungeon most of her life, knew how precious and wonderful the natural splendor of the world could be. What this group of seafaring thugs have done to this peaceful and once prosperous island was unforgivable. Not only did they scar the home of a group of friends Watame feels very close to already, but the damage no doubt hurt the soul of someone even more important to her.
Knowing that man's connection and empathy for nature, Watame could feel how much pain the sight of this once proud land being cut down by pure greed caused him, and that fueled her magic and body ever onward. She is Anon's combat sheep, and she will give all that she has to support him, and kick the asses of anyone who would make him sad.
She runs the bowstring along her stick against the worn out wires of her violin, the faintest pitch vibrates through the air. Then, she focuses on her target, and the note she needs to play before sawing twice in quick succession, sending two sharp notes given physical form at her enemy. At the speed of sound, both tones strike the lupine demi from behind, painting two clean scars across his back. The sudden slicing of his skin sends him face first into the ground before he can pounce upon the lioness who grapples with her own opponent; a large crocodile beastkin. Watame plays another tune, this time molding her sound to be that of support rather than violence. The soft composition flies forward, showing each note Watame plays along its scale. Its rainbow light ribbons itself around Riki's body, and as the melody enters the lioness' eardrums, she grins with the newfound burst of strength she had just received.
Riki tightens her grip around the scaled palms of her opponent, bending his digits back inch by inch. Bone begins to crack, and the croc panics to try and make sense of how this smaller predator was suddenly able to overpower him. Before he can be allowed to think further, Riki forces the reptile down to one knee, and with a swift blow from her knee, knocks the beastkin's jaw to the sky. To complete her assault, the lioness delivers a sharp jab to the beast's turned up throat, making him gag and go limp. She spots the sheep that gave her the edge she needed from the corner of her eye, and raises her thumb high in gratitude.
Watame nods in response and grins with smug pride. The results of her own training were showing in full bloom. While her own unique style of magic has always been the perfect way to support her friends, it always had a rather glaring weakness; the fact that her enemies could benefit from her songs as well. As Watame worked to gain better control of her mana, she also worked out a way to offset that disadvantage. Those familiar with her magic can more quickly respond to the increase in strength or agility, using it in a decisive singular moment. Then, once the tides have been turned, Watame can cease the enchantment before her enemies can realize how to make use of it. Her newest instrument allows her to do this with even more control than her harp. The way she can cut the tether to her notes with a simple scrape against its strings, gives her a new level of command over her magic. She will help her partner protect this world that they want to share together.
Two more foes charge the sheep, she turns to face them and eyes the long harpoons they hold. Her arms drop low, and her stance stiffens, all her combat training with a dear friend in another land comes back to her. Watame lifts her legs just enough to hover her heels above the dirt, then a thrust of one harpoon comes for her midsection, she pivots her body around its path, just escaping becoming a lamb shish kabob. The second man makes his own stab for the sheep, aiming his jagged point at her neck, the sight of the implement coming for her jugular shakes her slightly, but her brow furrows as the orders of a knight captain echo in her thoughts.
"Use those sheep legs to your full advantage! They can bring you down and up in half the time it would take a normal person. Now give me fifty more squats!"
Watame folds, falling like a stone to leave the fishing barb with nothing to pierce but the air. She sees the intersection of men who practically collide with one another in front of her and she flexes her leg muscles once more for her next movement.
"After dodging, punish your opponents! Someone who isn't well trained will waste time trying to think of how to catch you after they miss. You're going to be faster than them. You're going to annihilate them before their feet can catch up to their heads. Now get back up. This time you're going to dodge my attacks while wearing some extra weight. We aren't going to stop until you land thirty counterattacks on me."
And punish them she will. Watame springs forward, bringing the string side of her violin bow against the exposed shin of the first pirate, cutting a clean slit that drips red with her passing and making the man collapse to a kneel in an instant. She then rockets upward, bringing her headfirst under the jaw of the second with such force that he's lifted off the ground. With her first opponent now near waist level, Watame takes one hop forward, and kicks back her opposite foot with enough power to remove more than a few teeth from the first man's mouth. As both bodies flop to the ground, Watame breathes out and revels in the pride.
"I know this is hard, Watame. You're just an adorable sheep after all, but I need to be tough on you if I'm going to have any chance of feeling okay with the idea of you and Flare being out there without me to help protect you both. You and Anon fight well together…really well if I'm being honest, and Flare is no pushover either, but we just don't know what's out there waiting for you. Hell, we barely know what's going on in the elven kingdom at all…I need you to be the strongest sheep you can be. So you can help keep Flare safe for me, kay?"
"Flare, Anon, Undine…everyone. I'll help keep them all safe." Watame tells herself as she catches her breath. Even though the sheep fights against mounting odds, she looks around and sees that she doesn't fight alone. At the front door of the BlackWhale Pirates' mansion suite, Frala, Bransha, and Bree brawl with the mob of pirates from all the fleet's crews, but a group of hungover and halfway sober combatants are no match for their primal fury. Any that don't match the fire haired lioness' height or mass are plucked off the ground like weeds and tossed through any square inch of the building's front that already didn't have a humanoid shaped hole stamped in it. Nene and Korla emerge hastily from one of the other headlining households, both of them bruised, but triumphant. No one follows them out, and the pair sets their own respective sights in different directions in search of new prey.
Watame then takes a step towards the base center, subconsciously deciding to join with Riki who flings shards of frozen winter at a worn down woman pirate to send her back pedaling from the frigid pain. The sheep's next step is met with an unexpected reverberation, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. A low rumble hums through the air, and it draws the attention of everyone to cease the current conflict across the battlefield. Frala's ears twitch upon her head as she tosses a scrawny, and very sorry pirate aside, so she can step towards where her senses tell her the new disturbance is coming from. Watame follows the buff lioness' gaze towards the outer perimeter of the settlement, and the sounds of booming footsteps and steam puffing to relieve pressure grow ever closer.
At the north side of the camp, from the beaten pathway an imposing and metallic figure stomps forward. The steel plated monstrosity is unlike anything Watame has ever laid eyes on; a squared chassis, bolted together at its joints with rivets the size of a person's head, imposing steel legs whose wide feet make indents deep into the sogged earth, and arms that sport appendages of pure menace and destruction. The three taloned metal claw clangs from one arm, and the buzz of a saw sings from the other, making the sheep freeze. The whine of metal forced into motion accompanies its steps, and the sharp hiss of steam escaping its back exhausts act as an intimidating growl. The lionesses however, were not deterred, they stepped forward, unwilling to yield to ANY opponent upon their own lands. Seeing her pack march onward snaps Watame out of an instinctual need to flee. She focuses her eyes, trying to find the face of this creature, only to find a glass dome that covers its brain, its controller, someone…small and green?
"Somebody order a wrecking crew!?" A high pitched, and shrewd voice broadcasts with a layer of distortion from the piloted shredder. To then complete her entrance, the goblin shaped figure from within the dome pushes one of the two long levers in front of her forward, commanding her outer body to bend forward and swipe its saw bladed hand through the dirt, kicking up the earth and halting the pack's advance as they shield their eyes from the splattering debris. Satisfied with her entrance, the automaton straightens out, and the clear shielding of its head begins to recede into its chassis, revealing its orchestrator as the battle is put on an immediate halt.
A goblin woman stands up within the small cockpit, the seemingly endless strands of gold jewelry around her neck, arms, waist, and even her hat, shine with immense contrast to the overcast skies. A simple frilled tube top covers her bust, and brightly polished stones of topaz and amber are sewed into the bottom hem. She pulls up her loosely fitted forest green britches up by the solid gold buckle that is engraved with the Founders Fortune Pirates emblem. Her lips curl to show her serrated teeth, sharp with the prospect of opportunity.
"Three, four, five lion demi-humans" she counts, her golden eyes darting from one body to the other, her grin growing wider. "A sheep and a girl who might even be part bear…Oh ho ho!" She clasps her palms together. "I may not have found that slippery human that Blackfin wants so bad, but maybe this could be quite the lucrative opportunity for me. If you lot want to surrender now and spill where the human boy is hiding, I'd be all ears. I'll even help ya out a bit and make sure youz get upgraded to V.I.P. accommodations. So why don't we help each other out here? Time is money after all."
"Help? You?" Frala snarls, stomping one leg forward, her biceps fight against their white wrappings, slowly tearing the seams. "I recognize that weird thing you ride in, you slimy coward. Why would we ever help the person who's been destroying our home!?"
"Cuz the only reason yer still yappin' is cuz I'm feelin' generous enough to negotiate. So cool yer jets for a second." The goblin plants a foot upon her machine's edge, resting her chin in her hand. "If you want to refuse…I, the charitable Captain Plink Wizzlequick, founder and president of the Founders Fortune Pirates, will have no choice but to implement more…forceful methods of making ye talk."
"You sniveling little snake colored rat!" Bransha growls, claws raised as she begins to charge.
"Bransha! Stop!" Watame orders, but the shorter lioness is overpowered by her rage, and leaps at the mechanical deforester, but its pilot flashes a dangerous grin at the sudden assault. Plink kicks one of the levers behind her, and the metal body's upper half turns freely, and the forearm of one of its arms swats Bransha away like she were an oversized gnat.
The lioness' body skips twice along the ground before coming to a stop. Bree races to her sister to help her up to her feet, and they glare definitely at their newest challenge. The upper body of her shredder eases to a stop, bringing Captain Plink face to face with her adversaries once more. The goblin crosses her arms in preemptive triumph, likely savoring the view from her destructive pedestal.
"Bransha…are you alright?" Watame kneels down next to the pair of lionesses, her eyes becoming ensnared by the darkened and swollen skin around her friend's one arm.
"I'll be fine…" Bransha breathes, covering her shame with her hand. "Just didn't think that thing could turn like that is all. Won't happen again."
"Let me offer youz some free advice." Plink takes back the attention of her audience. "This here is a piece of goblin ingenuity designed, financed, and built by yours truly. Full three hundred and sixty degree rotation, quad barrel exhaust, one state of the art saw blade, a tri taloned claw that can snap a tree in half. All made with state of the art steel smelted with a special blend. Can't disclose what that is though. Contractual obligations and such. All ya gotta know is, ain't no mangy cat claws on this earth sharp enough to make a dent in this baby. So! Back to negotiations-"
Frala leaps forward, her anger igniting her mana and her vengeful spirit creates an armor of rock around her knuckles that she fires into the steel chassis. The impact from her blow makes the robotic body's legs stagger backwards, shaking its owner back and forth from within her own cockpit. The goblin captain lets out a frustrated grunt and jumps down to the main console. Grabbing the two long levers, she jerks one of them hard to restabilize her mech, and it plants its stance firm into the dirt. With another turn of the controls, its saw arm sweeps across its body to force Frala to jump back before she can land a follow up strike. The glass shielding then reappears, and Plink's face contorts to a harsh scowl from within.
"You and your men, that horrid machine…tore through our lands, stripped them of their life and pride, and you expect us to NEGOTIATE!?" Frala roars, the earth around her fist reforms in rhythm with her thundering heart.
"You bastards could try to give us the world, but we would NEVER sell out our packleader to the likes of you." Bransha wipes her mouth with her wrist and stands tall with her sister's aid.
"The fucking nerve." Korla shakes with rage and steps in front of the pack. "You and your band of thieves invaded my ancestral grounds, killed my kin, sold off others, and for what? Just to flaunt your own power? You were able to drive us away before, but never again! Today we take everything back!"
"Alright ya flea bitten floor rugs. I tried to be charitable. I tried to be nice. But ya just HAD to do things the hard way. Don't think you stand a chance against me just because one of ye can do a little magic. Everyone! We're gonna skin these mangy cats and then find the boy!"
The surrounding pirates rally to the high ranking captain's command, regaining vigor and removing their prior fear of the demi-humans they fought against. The flames of battle are rekindled, and Watame's body stiffens as she tries to assess the multiple threats coming for her and her companions. In front of her, the lion pack readies themselves to attack the metal monster, and behind her, Nene lets out a low growl as her magic crackles around her paws. The momentary hesitation Watame felt in the face of this new enemy was squashed and pushed down below. It didn't matter what kind of opponent she faced. She was with friends, strong ones, ones who don't fear anything. She will do the same, and help guide them all to victory, like Anon always had done for her.
"Bransha, Bree, Riki." Watame lists off, gathering her courage and letting her acquired battle instinct take over. "Start knocking down all those small fry." The three lionesses flash a look of slight disapproval, but nod at the orders of their superior and turn their attention to the surrounding gang. "Nene, that weird metal body the goblin rides in. She used it to hurt this island. Show her how it feels."
With only an enthusiastic grunt as her response, Nene dashes into the fray, using her primal powered speed to bring herself within striking range of Plink in the blink of an eye. Her charged fist crashes into the glass head of her machine, but its surface does not shatter like she expected. The goblin stares back at the Champion of Ursol with smug glee, but her crooked smile upturns itself when her eyes spot a small hairline crack begin to form at the center of where Nene's pawed fist pressures the windshield. The pirate captain tugs at her controls, causing her vehicle to jerk violently to one side to try and shake off the primal warrior, but Nene sinks the nails of her other paw into the see-through surface to keep her stuck to her target.
Growing more frustrated and counting the costs of each centimeter of cracked glass that Nene inflicts upon her pride and joy, Plink makes a swift swivel of her right side joystick. Before Nene can finish cocking back her raised fist for another strike, metal pincers snatch her by the back of her dress. Another flick of her wrist and Nene is flung clear across the battlefield, and straight through one of the already busted windows belonging to one of the defeated pirated crews.
"I don't wanna see that one's face again! Anyone who keeps that bear-eared freak away from my precious baby will get a raise!" Plink shrieks through the intercom of her machine, ordering many of the oncoming pirates to do an immediate about face and head towards the Champion of Ursol's direction.
Watame forced herself to stand firm. She reminded herself that a little aerial trip like that would never keep Nene down. She drew the bow of her instrument and played a quick melody of strength, intended for the two bigger lionesses in front of her. Their ears wiggle pleasantly at the enhancing melody and rush the metal body in front of them. Korla dives, taking the forearm of the mech in her arms and puts all her strength into forcing it outward. With its center now exposed and unprotected, Frala propels her earth encrusted fists into the steel chassis. One, two, three harsh jabs is all she manages before the buzz saw of the other arm comes to attempt to mangle her.
A sudden shift, the legs of the bi-pedal demolition machine buckle when met with the force of Watame's mighty horns, the force makes the goblin pilot miss her original target, by mere inches. The blades dig into the soft earth, upheaving it within mere seconds and splattering the area with mud and muck. Plink is quick to recover from the slight forced malfunction, making her metal exoskeleton dig its plated foot to regain its own footing, and then with movements like a practiced combatant, it spins its top half in a fast circle, flinging Korla off its arm and making the remaining sheep and lioness fall backward.
Pumping her legs forward, Frala makes a swift recovery and grabs Watame by the scruff of her cape to bring her up with her. Plink is already turned towards Korla, the metal limbs of her machine jostle with each step she makes toward the lioness who backs away as fast as her legs will carry her.
Frala grunts, giving her rock encrusted arms another dose of her mana before charging forward. The fiery lioness leaps, her cragged fists ready to bust through the glass shielding the goblin hides behind. Her fangs flash at the idea of wringing the defiler of her lands by her scrawny neck. Frala's stomach then drops when the back view of the shredder is replaced by its front; Plink had somehow been able to pinpoint where she was coming from despite her attention being on Korla. The whirling fury of its saw comes straight for Frala, who can only raise her arms up to keep the blades from severing her head from her neck. Metal teeth rip through solid rock, penetrating Frala's defenses and just razing her skin as she is knocked away as if she were a mere cub trying to wrestle a full grown beast.
Seeing the blood splatter through the air, Korla's instincts drive her past her monstrous opponent and to the side of her injured packmate. Frala's forearms are drenched in her own blood, a red river of torn flesh runs down them both as she writhes from the anguish. Korla tenses at the sight, but she kneels down and holds her hands over the hot wounds. The light of her mana sparks, and the healing spell she pleads to help her comrade begins to slowly work away at the torn flesh.
Watame steps in front of her friends when Plink maneuvers her demolition machine back towards them, but the sheep is unsure what exactly she can do to stop its advance. Even so, she runs her bow along the strings of her violin, sending a flurry of bright notes at the shredder that bounce harmlessly off its chassis and domed windshield. The goblin cackles at the meager resistance being thrown at her, and moves her machine forward one step at a time, certain in her own hold over the battle, and Watame cannot find much of an argument to prove her wrong. She looks over her shoulder, Frala is well on her way to recovery, but she might still need a good minute to get back on her feet. Bransha, Riki, and Bree are handling the other pirates, although their movements are getting a little more sluggish by the second, and Nene is still trying to claw her way through her own sets of obstacles. It's up to her to find a way, though her body is heavy and her hair falls in messy strands over her face, to gain the upper hand against this malicious machine.
What am I going to do? I've never had to fight something that wasn't alive before. That thing she moves around…it doesn't breathe, it doesn't show its movements like we do. I can't even get a read on how it'll attack next…and it's so fast. It was able to catch Frala all the way from behind. I'll be a chopped up sheep if I get too close to it. Still, what choice do I have? My own magic can't hurt it, and the others can't help. Anon….what would you do? I bet you and Undine would work together and splash that big scary metal monster until it rusted! Your water magic is so…magical.
A heavy stomp against the ground shakes the earth under Watame's feet, jolting her to full alert again. "One more chance ya glorified blanket." Plink rings out, making her ride point its sharp talons forward. "Tell me where the boy is, and I won't slice ya to pieces."
"Not on your life, you big meanie!" Watame shoots a glare of defiance that burns hotter than lava. Whatever the odds, or whatever the challenge, her and Anon always found the strength they needed to protect one another. The sheep's heart becomes full with memories of how Anon would find new ways to use water magic to turn the tide. Water, the word causes a strange sensation to sprout from somewhere deep in her belly. Her journey, her life was only able to begin thanks to the magic of water, wielded by two loving hearts.
Water. Its natural sway brings life to new beginnings. It brings lives together. It connects everything in the world. To her, she has come to rely on its beauty for inspiration, and its fury for protection. Water is comfort, strength, hope.
A power both unfamiliar to her own body, but known by her heart begins to swell. A calm blue light begins to glow within Watame's chest as she inhales. She focuses on shaping her mana, unsure what type of spell she will create, but her faith is steadfast. Faith in water, faith in the ones she loves that continue to inspire her, faith in herself. She remembers how Anon and Flare instructed the lionesses on casting elemental magic and puts those lessons into practice. She needs something to stop this metal monster in its tracks. She urges herself to weave something that will save her friends.
Water and music intertwine within her lungs, demanding to be set free and raise its clear new voice to the world. Watame purses her lips together and blows, sending a gush of bubbles toward the approaching mechanical. Plink raises an arm to defend her cockpit as the onslaught of suds washes over it. The sudden form her spell takes is a surprise to everyone, but Plink continues to step her mech closer. Watame does not let up, she puts more mana into her breath, thickening the bubbles she spews, making them more slick, more in number, and quicker. Within seconds the shredder is covered from neck to toe in slippery suds.
Plink looks out from her seat in anger and pushes two of her levers forward to their limits, kicking one leg up before dropping it to the earth to try and complete its advance. When the metal plated foot makes fresh contact with the ground, it loses all traction and topples flat onto its back with a loud crash. Watame then lets the last of her breath sputter out of her lungs, sending one last wave of surf to cover the top of her opponent. She gasps a much needed supply of oxygen, and feels her body cry out from the magical exertion she just underwent. Her vision then focuses, and shows her that her efforts were well rewarded; the goblin's machine flails on the slippery ground in an attempt to get back up. This is their chance.
"Girls! It's now or never! Give it everything you got!" Watame roars, and the pack rallies to her with vicious battle cries.
Thunder crashes through the pirate mob that had been fighting to keep Nene at bay. Ursol's champion uses her second wind to tear through the opposition, rampaging like a mad beast, stealing the prey from the smaller lioness trio.
"Help Watame beat grabby metal man!" She snarls as she slams a bulked pirate down into the dirt by his head. A fellow hunter's message was received loud and clear. Bransha, Bree, and Riki all dart to join their pack in what is hopefully their final assault.
Watame raises her bow and plays one more tune, a melody of impending victory. The lionesses are invigorated by the sheep's determination and song. Bransha and Bree are up first, sending a joint deluge to further pin down the shredder that rises to a half stand. A sharp note from the violin gives the signal for Riki to work her own magic. A sharp blow of icy air from her lips solidifies the lingering puddle and pockets of liquid that cover the machine, freezing the gears and joints that give this monster life.
When her machine no longer responds to her controls, Plink begins to panic, pounding her fist into the console. Metal screeches in protest, and steam chokes from the multiple throats that expel power from the mechanical body. Another uplifting melody travels from Watame's instrument to Frala's ears, stirring her still shaking body to action. She flexes her freshly mended arms once, winching at the lingering pain, but bites through it. Knocking her knuckles together, the lioness ignites her magic, giving her hands the earthen reinforcement she desires to crush her prey with. With unbridled fury she attacks, mounting the front of the goblin's machine and pounding its front body with all she has. The tempered steel begins to cave with each strike from the lioness' fists, and the small green captain inside is tossed around her own cockpit like a marble rattling in a jar.
"That wicked machine of yours tore down our lands in mere months!" Korla cries, filled with fury, she runs to the limping arm that carries the menacing saw that deforested her beloved home. With arms shining with bright pink mana, she wraps her mighty biceps around the machine's middle joint and begins to rip it from its sockets. "Lets see….how you…." she pulls harder, putting all her body weight into her stride, tugging with more force with every strike her comrade lands that shakes the entire metal structure from top to bottom. "Like it!" Metal howls as it forcibly separated, the bending of gears, the hissing of wires torn asunder ring out as Korla barrels forward now that the tether had been severed. With heavy breaths, she turns the saw end of her new instrument of vengeance towards her prey. She lets out a heart stopping roar, and charges.
When the spinning teeth of the saw begin to bite into the bottom of the chassis, Frala makes one last hard punch into its center and jumps off, eager to watch the sparks and carnage fly. Korla plows forward, metal is torn apart with ease and the edge of her weapon quickly reaches the base of the cockpit. Now wrought with panic and fear, Plink stares at the spinning whirl blade and slams a large button on the one side of her console. The protective dome recedes back into the steel body and the second its screen is out of the line of fire, the goblin flies out of the cockpit, launched by the chair she once sat in. Korla does not stop her path of destruction, she presses onward until the shredder is sawed in half by its own weapon. Sparks and metal shards fly, oil and water spill onto the earth. To complete her triumph, Korla stabs the cutting implement into one of the halves, but she knows the battle isn't over yet. Even with labored breaths, she forces herself to be ready to fight on.
Before celebrating their own group victory, the pack's eyes follow where the goblin had landed. On their six, Plink rises with fierce anger, she wasn't going to back down, height disadvantages be damned. The shrewd captain still has one more weapon in her arsenal; a heavy box made of bronze and copper lays strapped behind her shoulders, sporting six arms that brandish drills, blades, saws, and claws. Each individual limb seems to flex and respond to the two handles she grips tightly near her waist. Her crooked smile returns to show her confidence.
"I'm gonna skin you cats alive for what you did to my baby." The goblin hisses with an unhinged glint in her eyes as she waves down a dozen men to join her flanks. "Yer on yer last legs, and I ain't gonna be caught by your magic again. Time to pay the piper. Let's cash in boys."
The pack tenses, ready to force their bodies to respond however they'll need to, but before their enemies can advance, something catches them from behind first.
Nene appears like a flash of lightning, pawing one pirate's head into another, making the entire line follow over like dominoes. She jumps and uses one's head as a springboard to vault over Plink and descend upon her second guard with twirling claws and legs. Another set of defeated cries makes the goblin stop dead in her tracks, she can only stare in harrowed astonishment as a girl in pleasant oranges and browns demolishes lowlifes in an instant. Nene turns, the crackle of her mana dances along her claws, adding to the intimidating visage of her unforgiving gaze. She was bruised, bloody, and taking steady, controlled breaths, but the soul of a beast surged within her. Nene takes a single step towards the Finders Fortune captain, making the goblin go white with fear. Still, with no other recourse, she points her weapons at the Champion of Ursol, ready to engage and call the girl on her supposed bluff.
A drilled arm extends forward, spiraling to rupture the girl's soft face, only to be stopped dead by a powerful paw wrapped around its hinges. A quick flex shatters the metal and separates the bit from its body. Plink commands another arm to try and maim the primal warrior, but Nene's reflexes ensure that it meets the same end. When her enemy is stricken by hesitation, Nene takes her turn, bringing her mighty claws down to swipe the remaining appendages away from both sides, leaving the pirate captain defenseless.
"N-Now, let's not get t-too hasty." Plink tries to shrink away, unstrapping the dead weight from her back. "I can see yer a very smart…errr…bear? Girl? I'm sure we can work something out. Ya like gold? I got tons of it!"
Nene steps closer again, and Plink's panic rises, her eyes dart around, for something to help her, but all she would find is the unconscious bodies of the crew she sicked on the girl to keep her at bay.
"I-I-I never wanted anything to do with this!" She pleads with her hands waving. "It was all Blackfin's bright idea! Honest!"
"More cowards." Nene snarls, and she reaches forward to snag the goblin by the neck. She lifts the shorter green woman just above eye level, her own emerald pools piercing the desperate golds of her prey. She squeezes a harsh choke from her victim that dangles her legs in vein. "Nene know what you truly are. You take, you hurt, you make the world ugly, just because you think you can. You try to use words, blame others. You can't fool Nene. You can't fool Ursol."
Plink chokes out a few more gargled words in her defense, but Nene has already stopped listening. Her grip tightens around the goblin's neck, and she cocks her other paw back. Plink feels her body soar through the air, just before everything goes black. The goblin falls to the ground on her back with a loud thud, moaning slightly out of reflex as her mangled nose leaks with blood, and the skin around her eye puffs and darkens.
With their highest ranking superior defeated and unconscious, whatever pirates still standing begin to back away slowly. One throws his saber to the ground and turns tail to retreat towards the bare woods. The few dozen men and women that remained follow the first man's example and turn their backs to the pack of demi-humans in a hasty escape. Nene let out an annoyed chuff and started to motion her pursuit, but Watame's hand on her shoulder made her reconsider. The sheep shakes her head with a smile, and the rage begins to melt from Nene's worn face.
"They learned their lesson. We don't need to chase after them." Watame adds.
"Yeah! Look at 'em run!" Bransha cheers, jumping up and down despite how her legs protest her excitement.
"And don't come back you little pricks!" Bree calls after them, and when the last of the retreating bodies is out of sight, she skips over to her sister and the two of them share their joy over their victory.
"Watame right…" Nene exhales, and her body returns to normal. With the powerful energies of a primal god not on full alert, she falls more into Watame's support. "We need to be ready to help Anon. He probably at big pirate ship soon."
"That's right! We'll have Anon's back when he needs us!" Watame chirps, and both girls exchange bright flashes of their teeth.
"And we'll have your back too, sheep." Frala remarks, her steps have a considerable weight to them as she makes her way over and clasps one of Watame's shoulders. "Thanks for pulling through for us back there. You fight like no sheep I've ever seen."
"That goes double for me." Riki joins in. "At first I thought all you had over the rest of us was time, but it's pretty clear why Anon has you as his prime. You step up when it counts, so you can count on us to do the same for you."
"No kidding!" Bransha exclaims, her and her sister both help support Korla under each arm to help the exhausted lioness stay on her feet. "You didn't tell us you could do water magic! You were holding out on us."
"I-I didn't really know I could…before just now." Watame scratches her cheek to divert her nerves.
"Man, we worked our asses off just to get a decent spray to come out of our hands, and you manage a cool thing like bubbles on the fly!?" Bree complains, albeit sarcastically. "You gotta share the secret with us."
"I didn't even know what elemental magic could feel like…and then I thought about what Anon would do, and then I got thinking about him doing water magic, and then it just kinda…happened." The sheep tries to explain, but the lionesses who were praising her stare with intent suspicion. "Wh-What?! I didn't do anything wrong!"
"Do you think?" Bransha passes a thought along to her sister, traveling through Korla's ears first, who looks on with mild fascination.
"It's possible." Bree replies.
"We'll have to just try it and see for ourselves." Riki shrugs. "That was always my plan anyway, and if I get the bonus of water magic to go with it, I'm more than fine with that."
"Nene is starting to get confused." Nene tilts her head, uninterested in the theories these lionesses are crafting. "Watame has special connection with Anon and Undine, so she has special connection with water. Simple."
"It is simple." Korla chuckles and jostles herself from her packmates to stand upright on her own. "Watame is as much of a fighter as anyone, and could hunt with the best of 'em. She's strong like our packleader, but also has his tenacity. They are true mates."
"You also seem to really care about us…like Anon does…" Frala rubs the back of her neck, no doubt working through her internal struggle with the idea that a sheep would want to care for a lion. Her apprehension evaporates as quickly as it came, replaced with a sharp toothed smile. "And that feels pretty great. It feels a little weird to be following a human and a sheep still, but you both kick ass. I'm proud to follow you into battle."
"Us too!" Bransha and Bree chorus, and the more endowed of the sisters takes the cue to speak for them both. "And not just cause Anon put you in charge, or because of what you promised us yesterday. We're in this together, as a pack."
The compliments from the predatory species makes Watame's cheek flush a little, but the smile she wears couldn't be more appreciative. The feeling of admiration she feels from these lion girls is almost overwhelming. Once their prey, then an unwelcome figure of authority, and finally, their friend. Her earnest desire to help this group of strays reclaim their home has earned their respect, and after fighting alongside them she has come to respect them in turn for their proud nature and loyalty.
It is a wondrous and new sensation for Watame; to be accepted and revered like this. Earning that acceptance with her own two hands makes her feel like a brand new sheep. The certainty in her convictions shines like a star. It's time to really show everyone what this sheep and her friends can do when they put their minds to it, and a sheep's mind can work to its fullest on a full stomach. Time to see what snacks these pirates are hiding in their storerooms and feed the pack.
"Yeah! Let's do it!" Watame nods. "But we should take a quick break before we go. I bet the pirates had some yummy food we could use to refuel. Then when we're ready, Korla, can you lead us to where the big ship yard might be?"
"No problem. They may have tried to destroy our home, but I still know it like the back of my hand." Korla replies with eager confidence.
"Nene likes that idea…her arms are a little tired…smashing ninety-eight bad guys in one day is harder than Nene first thought."
With her friends slumped arms hooked around her own, and their next course of action set, the sheep leads her comrades back towards the pirate headquarter's main housing, with the promise of food and a slight reprieve for them to rest their bodies and patch their wounds. It is impossible to know what challenges await Anon and Marine's group, but no matter what may come their way, Watame will be ready to support them. That is what she vows to herself. The sheep's soul also twinges with a pure giddiness, she cannot wait to tell her beloved and the water spirit about what she just accomplished. She already feels closer to them both.
The thoughts of the water and the ocean then trigger another bright remembrance within the wandering bard. A song that can ride along the waves…she knows a song like that already, doesn't she?
