Board Thread:Off-Topic/@comment-5354667-20140906151433/@comment-25370207-20140910144208

The sun was already up when Marceline awoke. A ray of light hit her eyes and finally convinced her to get up. She slept relatively late last night, due to the book she had discovered. She found herself on her sister's bed, and as she crawled over to hers, heard screaming and cannon shots from outside the castle.

The sound seemed to come from down below.

She took the spyglass from her table and began to investigate. What she saw were three ships, led by a bigger one. All four fired at each other. That must be why they're panicking, she thought. Then, an explosion occurs. The sound was different from that of a cannon, and she knew that someone had been bombing them from the inside. If I'm not mistaken, there's only one person I know who could do that...

A spark of excitement filled her head, but she was still unsure. Knowing that person, she knew he would be coming from underwater; she began looking around the now sinking ships.

Almost everyone has jumped into the water and went for the other island's shore, since that was nearer. The ships were almost completely gone, except for the sails, which she just noticed had a red insignia painted on them. Recognizing the red insignia, she remembered the men who took her sister. She felt a blood rush, and wanted to kill every one of them; but she wasn't ready. She was alone.

She still waited for that one person to come out of the water, not knowing that he was already on the shore.

Now, the man she expects knocks on the castle gate. He wore a leather vest and had a pipe to breathe from, along with a slightly translucent, deep blue fabric that resembled the ocean surface. He had brought a dear friend with him, along with a trusty companion.

Marceline hears this, and readies her spear. She walks towards the gate and accidentally trips on a rock.

"Careful, miss."

Hearing that, she knew it was him. He opened the gate and gave him a big embrace.

"Calm down now, I know you missed me," he said as she pats her back.

"Don't get too cocky," she replies wih a jokey smile. "Who's that?"

"Oh, him? He's my friend. A native from the Okaras of Thunderdome."

"He sure looks like it," she says as she looks at the native from head to toe. She notices the tribal markings on his face and back, and by the look on his face, she knew he was loyal, humble, and trustworthy.

"Oh, and I also brought this guy," he says as he raises his hand.

"Who? I--"

A lynx leaps to her and takes her down. She looks at the face of the large cat and was confused for a second; then, after seeing the mithril amulet on the lynx's neck, realized that is was someone she had grown up with. She embraces him, and the cat rubs its head on hers.

"Aleckin!"

"That's his name? I just called him the Lynx."

"It doesn't really matter. Where'd you find him?"

"Running wild in some island in Nara. He has a--"

"I know."

She motions her hand to the scar at Aleckin's back, near his shoulder blade.

"What's he doing there, by the way, if you're here?"

She bows her head as silence fills the air.

"And where's Belle?"

"Look," she says as she stands up and dusts herself off, "let's get inside first."

David calls his friend and walks in with Marceline.

As they got inside, they went on with the conversation.

"A few weeks ago, two, I think, we went to Nara to gather some resources and hopefully bring home a Crysos. When we got there, we noticed a few people looking suspiciously at us. We were friendly to them and offered some food, and they kindly refused. At first we thought they were naturally like that, but no; they were expecting something. Or, rather, someone. Of course, we didn't know, so we just went on with our business."

The native walks up to them holding an object which seems to confuse him.

"This... what?"

"Oh. That's a spyglass. You can see far away using it. Be careful with it."

"Yes."

"Okay, back to the story," she continued, and sitting back next to the table. "We went on to some island I can't remember to get something she said she needed. I had no idea what it is, she didn't tell me. We didn't get there anyway..."

She paused for a moment.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Three tribesmen surprised us by hiding behind some rocks. They seem to be skilled warriors, and they had stealth done right. My sister and I fought them, and she was the first to fall down. They tied her, and of course I tried to stop that, but that was the last thing I remembered. Aleckin fought them too, but he was hit by a spear that he barely dodged, and that's the scar."

She points to Aleckin's back and rubs him.

"She woke me up inside the lower deck of some ship. It was big, and had a lot of gunpowder barrels inside. I didn't see anyone else there, just the two of us. She told me that she loved me, and that if anything happens, she always will. I did, too, believing that somehow this would have been the end of both of us."

"What happened then?"

"A man. Rough, black cape. He wore thick armor and his left arm was embedded with steel, which I assume was there because his face had been blown up many times. On his shoulder, he had some sort of insignia; that which I only recalled when I saw the ship you came from. It was the same as on the sails."

"Yeah. About that guy... I'll tell my story next. Carry on."

"Okay. He pointed at her and asked what she had. She said nothing besides me. I said the same when I was asked. They've taken all our tools, weapons, and I'm assuming our ship too. He left us there and bid us goodbye. Both of us knew it was the end now."

She paused again for a moment before continuing.

"A cannonball went through in front of us. With holes on both sides, water gushed in quickly. Then, a bomb exploded somewhere above us, which I assumed was the front deck. It split the ship apart, knocking both of us over. She hit her head to a wall and dropped unconscious to the ship's floor. I saw all of it. My piece of the ship drifted away from hers, and I couldn't do anything about it. I saw the man take her. I didn't mind anyone else but her; she was all that I had left. I was screaming. I was crying. I was powerless."

A tear rolled down her face.

"I just laid down there and left myself to the mercy of the ocean."

"How did you get here then..?"

"Luck. I drifted near Equinox. The Magma tribe leader, who was a close friend of my... father... recognized me and saved me. Then I went back here and started training harder. I believe that she is still alive, and I'll do anything to get her back."

She threw a knife to the door. Her fists were shaking with anger.

"Calm down," he says as he lays his hands on her shoulder. "I'm with you on this one."

The sun was already up high. They got ready for lunch.