FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Two large round moons slowly sailed across the dark sea of stars. I was see the full moons clearly and the thousand stars accompanying them in the sky because I was lying on the ground off of the road leading from Arktiline to Sirmiq.

My eyes were growing heavy so I rolled onto my side. The full moons provided enough light that I could see the small campfire still having a wisp of smoke rising from the ashes. Around that fire were several adults already sleeping, one of which was Alec.

The others I did not know. They looked at me with a disdain look but it wasn't like the normal glares that I received as an orphan. No, this time they were looking at me with a cold stare that was a result of my reputation surrounding the incident with the two reptilians that were killed outside of Arktiline. Since we had left the city, the glares had stopped but the adults remained cold toward me.

I didn't understand why the adults had to all talk about me. It seemed everyone knew about that incident and everyone knew that it was me that witnessed it. I think I preferred it when no one know who I was because now my life seemed to be in the paws of others rather than my own.

Life was simpler when Midnight and I only had to worry about finding food for the day. We would have been fine if that assassin never attacked us; our life would have been simpler. We were surviving and we even managed to do a job and got paid for it.

Midnight was excited for days after that.

"We can keep doing jobs like that and become travelers," Midnight had told me the day after we were paid for the first job we did. "It's not hard like I thought it was, we just have to find someone who wants us to deliver something. We can say we did it before now so they will trust us. We'll be like that Velox fox and Bran marten, staying in taverns and traveling all over; except just you and me, Snowy."

I remember that I was first annoyed by Midnight's constant chatter but now that he has been gone for a while, I could not remember why. Compared to the adults, even Alec, Midnight had a very soft and pleasant voice. It was the voice I first heard when I was in that alley freshly beaten by that cart worker when Midnight had showed me an act of kindness by sharing the bread.

I now missed hearing Midnight telling me one of his stories or fantasies almost as much as I missed having him nearby.

"Snowy."

It was not his voice this time.

"Wake up Snowy." It was impatient, and nowhere near that soft tone of Midnight's.

I hadn't realized it but I had fallen asleep thinking back on the short time Midnight and I known each other. Through my dreams I had remembered how much I missed the black wolf and his stories but now I was brought awake by a soft nudge.

Being pulled out of a heavy haze, my eyes found it difficult to open. My vision was blurred but I could see that the sky had brightened up even more than what the full moons have offered. It must have been dawn already. A dark figure was leaning over me.

Blinking my eyes a few times to clear my vision, I saw that it was Alec waking me up for another day of hard walking. He saw my eyes open as I slowly woke up, and found it sufficient that he turned away.

I pushed myself to sit up but I hated being woken up so early on someone else's schedule. That was another thing I missed about the streets of Sirmiq: waking up according to my own schedule. Midnight wouldn't wake me up unless it was to offer me food, and even then he would allow me to stay sleeping as I wished.

Alec turned back toward me holding a small plate with some stale bread on it and a bit of sizzling meat. I suppose I could forgive him for waking me up if he was giving me food, but it still was not the same as it was with Midnight.

"We're going soon so eat up quick," Alec told me. He set the plate down on my lap while he stood up again and gathered some breakfast from the renewed fire for himself.

Slowly eating my breakfast as my bod woke up, I was careful to not drop it on the solitary blanket that had covered me for the night. It was the same blanket that Midnight and I had slept on in Sirmiq. Lexandra had washed it for me before we had left Arktiline, and it was the last thing that I had left from a more simple life. I did my best to make sure it wouldn't become damaged or lost.

The party had started to pack up the camp, and soon after I had finished my breakfast we continued with our hike. The sun still had not risen but the sky had brightened enough that we could see the road clearly.

Throughout the trip we had been on the same road that I had taken with the other refugees of Sirmiq toward Arktiline. I recognized some of the landmarks on our way back, and it was enough to know that we were really close to reaching the city once again. We had passed the bridge that I was terrified before, and passed the town where Alec had found Midnight and us that first rest stop.

Being well rested we were able to keep a decent pace, except it quickly tired me out like the other few days. Being a lot shorter than the other adults meant that my stride was not as long and I had to keep up a faster pace than what the adults would have to keep up with.

I knew they would not slow for me so I had no choice but to keep up with taking more strides than they did. Sunrise arrived not long after we had started our journey which seemed to allow a lot of the wildlife to wake up as well as the noise of the forest transitioned from the nocturnal animals to the more subtle day life.

I stayed aware of the sun's position in the sky to keep track of the time. I knew that the sun was at its highest point in the sky the party tended to stop for a rest and for a small bite. We wouldn't stop to rest for the night until the sun had sunk well below the horizon though. At this point in the journey though, I was wondering how far away was Sirmiq. It seemed to take no more than two days when we had fled from Sirmiq and we were on the road for our fourth day now.

Midnight's plan to become travelers would have required this but at least we would have gone our own place rather than me having to keep up with the adults. I was getting used to the long hikes but I was sore now, and when the sun started to reach its highest peak in the sky, we were going up a steep hill. I started to fall behind the others.

Alec took notice though. Being behind me, he placed paw on my back and helped support me while we pushed our way up the hill. The pace was a little quicker than I expected but with Alec's persistence, the crest of the hill was soon in sight.

"Almost there Snowy," the wolf said in an attempt to encourage me. Each step seemed to drain my stamina, and at the pace we were going there was no way for me to recover any of it. I might have been feeling sore earlier but now my muscles started to ache in pain at this pace.

All this was made worse with the knowledge that going downhill is about as difficult, or more difficult. Not to mention that according to every other day we have been on the road, we would not stop until for over half a day.

The crest of hill seemed to be an illusion since the distance never closed. It took almost an hour of straight hiking before I reached the top of the hill, gasping for breath and feeling my legs shaking beneath me. I did not know why but the adults had stopped at the top of the hill, allowing my knees to buckle. I knelt on the ground and tried to use this brief respite to rest.

"The river washed away the entire district," I overheard one of the adults say.

Curious, I looked up and saw that all the adults were looking down the other side of the hill. Through them, I could see a somewhat familiar setting; an ocean. I stood up on my shaky legs and walked closer to the adults. Going around them, I could see that it was the ocean and bordering it was the city I had lived in for most of my life.

Sirmiq bordered the ocean with its docks, and it's walls marking its position in the land. Through it ran the river, but I had remembered a lot of buildings bordering close to the river. Now, even at this distance, I could see the river and all around it looked like all the buildings had disappeared.

"Let's keep moving Snowy," Alec said after they had stared out over the harbor for a few moments. "We can't be late otherwise the ship will leave without you."

Alec started the descent, and I had no choice but to follow him even without a sufficient rest. The other adults thought it to be a good idea to keep moving too and they began the descent as well.

I noticed that the ash seemed to be deeper on this side of the hill compared to the other side. Not only that but there was an unusual large amount of rocks that I could feel underneath the soft blanket of it.

Heading down the other side of the hill, I risked sliding on the ash but Alec kept close. Every now and then if I flinched or slipped, Alec would grab my paw so that I wouldn't slide down.

Nearly at the bottom the hill, I slid once more but this time the ash moved away from one particularly large rock. A jagged and sharp edge slid across my paw pad, cutting it deeply and eliciting a loud yelp from me. Alec had grabbed me again but it did not prevent me from falling to the ground and reaching for my hind paw.

"What'd you step on?" asked Alec. He knelt down next to me and gently grabbed hold on my hind paw. He tried to examine it but I flinched every time he moved my hind paw. "Don't move. This might sting a bit." With that he gently blew the ash off of my hind paw, and sure enough causing the cut to flare.

I screamed but Alec ignored it while he tried to get a better look. "It's a bit deep but your pads are thick. It'll sting a bit but you're fine."

I didn't understand why he would say I am fine when it obviously still hurts. He had said that about the sword cut I got on my back before he killed the reptilian assassin. I was obviously not fine about that either.

Regardless, Alec tried to get me to stand back up and urged for me to continue. He allowed for me to grab on to him for support, but back on my hind paws each step made the fresh cut sting more. It only started to dull as more ash started to cover my hind paw once again.

Now that we had reached the bottom of the hill, the wall of the city was not too far ahead. I started to feel a bit of excitement to return to the city but I also felt a stronger sense of longing. Midnight was not here, and my life before Midnight was not any better than what it was at this point. Not only that but I knew Alec did not intend for me to stay in Sirmiq. I also started to feel worry at what would be happening once we got to the docks.

Focusing on reaching the gate, we steadily drew closer but I started to notice some other damages done to the city. The wall itself looked damaged, and with an excess amount of volcanic rocks laying at the base of the wall, I could only conclude that the first gravel storm that Midnight and I suffered through was not the last. Some of the rocks were even large than the one that had just cut my paw pad. Those large rocks looked like they caused for portions of the wall to collapse, and even cause for fracture lines to run through its surface.

At the gate house there were a few guards there waiting for our party to approach. The city gate was less than ten meters away from us when a guard from the gate approached us.

"What is your business in Sirmiq?" asked the guard. He glanced at me briefly before returning his stare to Alec.

The adult wolf, with me still clutching to his side, pulled out a parchment and gave it over to the guard. The guard opened it and read over whatever was written on it quickly.

"Orders from Lord Naali," the guard said, rolling up the parchment and giving it back to Alec. "Go straight on in. Hurry to the docks. The Mika ships will be leaving today, and the tide will be taking them out to sea in a few hours."

"Thank you," said Alec. The guard ignored us and went behind us to approach the other adults in the party while Alec led me straight through the gate.

Either the pain of the cut started to fade or that my interest in returning to the city outweighed the pain, I soon found myself able to walk on my own without the support of Alec again.

I could vaguely recognize the interior of the gatehouse, where Midnight and I had picked up the package for the fox merchant in the tavern. The damage caused by the eruption obscured most of what I remember in damage, dust and those rocks that rained down from the sky.

Several buildings had cracks and gaping wounds in them while others appeared to have collapsed completely under the weight of the barrage. I started to realize how hard the city was hit and it made me wonder what would have happened if Midnight and I stayed in the city.

We were going to stay because we had no idea what was going on, but the assassin forced us to leave the only home we have ever known. Maybe in some strange way it was a good thing that the assassin attacked us then because I didn't know if our rooftop would have been safe when these larger rocks landed over the city.

All around there were others, many of which were working on rebuilding their homes or shops but most were back on the wall trying to rebuild and reinforce it. We were on the main road to the docks though and there were plenty of others who were pulling along carts full of supplies to and from the docks.

This road was one that I remembered as the same one that I used to break the wheel of some cart puller. Up ahead, I could see the same area that he caught me when I was trying to steal some food. He chased me down an alley where he beat me for a few minutes. I did not like to remember that, but it was only a few moments after that beat that I was able to meet Midnight.

Passing the alleyway, I slowed and changed my course to look down it. I couldn't quite remember if it was the one because I didn't get a good look at it that night but I was curious to see the place where I met Midnight again.

Alec took notice in my distraction though. "Snowy!" I glanced back at Alec, thinking if I should push my luck to explore the alleyway but the expression Alec wore told me to hurry back to him, so I did. "Come on, we can't be wasting any time."

Alec didn't seem so curious about returning to his home since he continued pushing forward toward the docks. My life may have been short but I remembered a lot about this city, and I had certainly missed it.

I could see the route to the pathetic little alleyway that I used to sleep in, and in the other direction toward the keep on the cliff was the pathway to the rooftop that Midnight and I shared. The market wasn't far from here where I'd normally steal food from, and the house where Midnight and I stole dried fruits and meats from was just further beyond that. Ahead were the docks, and those were not good memories since that was where the reptilian originally tried to drown both Midnight and me.

The closer we got to the docks, the thicker the crowd became. I had to stay close to Alec to avoid getting lost in the crowd now. I could see several ships docked, and at least half of them had their sailors on them. Either they were working to depart or just hauling cargo on and off the ship.

Alec steered us toward one ship in particular. From here I could see an otter tying some knots around the main sail. I had seen very few otters before, but I could easily detect the figure high above me as one. When we walked on to the ship's boardwalk, I could see more otters working on the sides of the hull as well. It seemed to be a whole ship with otter sailors.

A plank had been set up from the dock to the ship's deck, and standing at the base of it was one large otter.

"No unauthorized crew so state your business with the Lutra Dusk," stated the otter abruptly when Alec approached him.

"Here on Lord Naali's orders," Alec said, retrieving the same parchment he had shown the guard at the gatehouse. The otter took it and read it as well.

"We've been expecting you," said the otter. He glanced down at me briefly. "Glad you could make it. We're preparing to depart now and will be on the sea by tonight. Seek our the first mate, Neith. She will get the pup to where he needs to go."

The otter guard allowed for Alec and I to past, but while we were walking up the plank, it started to dawn on me that this was the final part of the trip that Alec would be accompanying me. He had told me about it before but I had no wanted to listen to it and I had ignored it until now because I didn't want to think about it. Alec was going to leave me on this ship, this one full of otters that I did not know at all. He was going to abandon me here.

I didn't even realize when we walked onto the deck. My thoughts were distracted and I was following Alec without my conscious aware of it.

Anxiety started to swell and weigh heavy on my chest. I only felt comfortable around a few others before in my entire life, Midnight being the first one and Alec being the second but now I'd be left without either one of them. Left alone. Not only would I be alone like I was before I met Midnight but I was among all these strangers that I could not hide from. I would be on a ship! I have never been on a ship before.

My anxiety started to accelerate as a felt a burning sensation flooding through my neck. It made my head feel dizzy with the anxiety alone. It was beginning to overwhelm me.

Why was he going to leave me? I don't know if I did something to make him angry, but it couldn't have been that hard for him to just come with me. He took away Midnight and now he was going to leave me? How mean could he possibly be!

The burning sensation that made the fur on my neck bristle started to sting my eyes too. My vision was blurred with tears forming from the stinging.

Alec hadn't taken notice to me though and had already started conversing with a specific otter on the deck.

I didn't know who she was, I didn't want to stay with her. I didn't want to be on this ship. "I don't want to go."

Even though I had not meant to say it and it was soft, Alec's ears picked up what I said. He turned to look at me, and I looked up at him pleadingly. "Please don't go," I begged. "I don't want to go. I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Snowy," Alec said sympathetically. He knelt down on one knee to and looked down at me. "Stop crying. This is the safest thing for you. You have to go, it's not safe here anymore. Especially for you."

"No," I said stubbornly. I shook my head trying to clear my vision from the tears in my eyes. "It's safe. I'm always safe when I'm with you. Bring back Midnight and we will help you with anything! Anything!"

Sobs started to cause my body to flinch even though Alec placed his large paws on my shoulders in an attempt to stabilize me.

"Enough Snowy," Alec said sternly. Even though he spoke firm, his eyes betrayed his empathy. "The assassins that attacked you are coming back and I cannot protect you anymore. The enemy thinks that you are some sort of demon because of what happened with the 'shadows' so they will be coming back to find you and they won't let us protect you any longer."

"N-No," I sputtered. My body was wracked with sobs that I could no longer speak straight. "Y-You took Mi-Midnight away! You can't leave m-me alone!" Anger had destabilized my voice even further. Alec was surprised by the outburst that he didn't react which left me room to continue speaking. Albeit more softly this time. "I don't know what is going on. I don't know how to do this and I don't like it. I just want to stop having everything change." I looked up at Alec. "Please don't leave me. I don't want to go."

Alec stared at me for a moment before he let out a reluctant sigh. "Snowy," he said softly. Even though it was still loud and busy around us, I could hear Alec sufficiently. "You're handling everything better than older pups. You're younger than my pups and yet show extraordinary maturity. I know all this is hard but we all have really tough times coming. You'll have an easy job for you here on this ship, so just focus on that and keep your best friend in mind. Midnight will be waiting for you."

I understood what Alec was saying but I was still concerned about being left alone. I've had food stolen from me, I've had adults watch me starve so I had no idea what to expect from these sailors.

"Why can't you come with me?" I asked. Alec's attempt to encourage me made me calm down but I was still terrified of being left without anyone I knew; especially because I was being left with other adults that would no doubt have expectations of me.

"You know I cannot leave my family," Alec said. "They need my protection more than ever." The adult wolf sighed and looked around. The otter that he was speaking to had wandered off back when I first started to cry, which had allowed for Alec and me to speak a little more privately. "I don't know if we will ever see each other again Snowy. There are a lot of changes coming and I am scared too. All we can do is to make ourselves safe, and that is what we're going to do with you."

What I really started to understand from Alec is that no body is happy with what is going on. I was not being singled out here, everyone was suffering. For me, I'd just have to put up with it. Like Alec told me to, I focused on the hope that I'd be able to see Midnight again and that we could continue living our lives away from this hateful world of adults.

Sooner than expected the otter returned and there was another otter accompanying her now. The second otter was shorter than Alec and had grey fur like a few of the other sailors working around the ship.

"This is the kit, Nori," said the first otter with brown fur. "Lord Naali of the North is entrusting you to take care of him during our voyage."

Alec stood up only to be replaced by the grey furred otter, who knelt down down in front of me.

"You don't need to worry pup," she said with a friendly tone. "I'm not so bad. You'll be helping me with the cooking during the voyage. Imagine that, you get to eat anything you want. The best food the Lutra Dusk has to offer; but only if you stop your crying. You can't eat food if you're crying."

My sobs had already weakened but I was a bit surprised by the otter's tone. I had not expected that.

"Go on, wipe away those tears," she said with her strange accent. With the back of my paw, I swiped across the damp fur around my eyes. "Good pup. My name is Nori, the best chef these otters have ever seen travel across the dark blue waters. What is your name, pup?"

"Sno-Snowy," I muttered, staring at the grey otter. I wasn't sure what to think of her, if she was just being nice for me right now or if she was really this nice. Even Alec didn't appear this friendly at first, and Alec was the nicest adult I knew.

"A cold name for a cold land," chuckled the grey otter. "You might realize that us otters are the most friendly you'll find in the land. Neith may have learned some tricks from the cold predators of the North but old Nori here is still as warm as her homeland. Now are you cold?"

I shook my head.

"Well, of course you're not!" laughed the otter. "But I am. I have the crew's meal warming up downstairs so how about you and me go down and make sure it's good enough for these rowdy otters. I warn you though, they sure like to make a lot of noise over my cooking."

"Okay," I said hesitantly. She held out a paw for me to take, but before I took it turned to look at Alec. He gave a weak smile for encouragement. Turning back to the grey otter, she was still holding out a paw. I hesitantly reached for it but she was patient so I placed my paw on hers.

"Lutra Dusk may not be the best or biggest ship but she can hold her own," explained Nori. She gripped my paw softly and pulled me along. Following her, I could not help but to turn back to look at Alec one more time. He stood his ground and I got the sinking feeling that I was finally being left to the care of these complete strangers to me. It was the last time I'd ever see the wolf that saved Midnight and me from that reptilian assassin.

"Have you ever done a lot of cooking?" asked the otter while she led me across the deck.

"No," I admitted. I was not sure to think on this otter even though she was nice.

"That's all right, Snowy pup," she said. She led me toward and down a set of stairs that was off to the side of the deck. "The food is real easy to make. You'd think that the crew would not complain so much when I make good simple food. It's better than making bad complicated food. And don't you worry, I'll have you do something easy to start out and then I'll show you how to do the harder stuff. You'll be a cook like me soon enough pup."

The sunlight was soon blocked as we went into the lower decks. Inside the ship there were lanterns lighting our way but it was still dark and musky. There were other otters tying cargo down and working around the interior of the ship but they all ignored me and focused on their task. In many ways, it was nice to not receive such disdainful glares.

"Here we are," said the otter. I was still looking around the ship when she stopped so that I didn't notice that there was actually a small fire burning within this wooden ship. It was what was making the inside so smoky even though a flap was open to let out the smoke on the side of the ship. "Good old home of Nori the otter."

Near the fire was a large counter, barrels stacked up against the wall and several more barrels all around the room. There was a lot of food scattered around the counter as well, and it seemed that all the barrels were full of food. I had never seen so much food in my life before. Across from the counter I could see a large hammock hanging over a smaller hammock.

"We had received news of your arrival a day after we made dock so we were able to get a small hammock for you in here," Nori explained. "You'll have a place to sleep and plenty of food to eat. Let me show what I'll have to do so you know what is expected of you before we finished the tour of Lutra Dusk."

"Okay," I weakly muttered. She pulled out a crate and set it in the middle of the floor. Then she led me over to one of the barrels and pulled out a strange looking item of food.

"Now these have to peeled before I can cook them, and we have a lot of barrels of them," she explained the vegetable-like food in her paw. She set it down on the crate she set in the middle of the floor and grabbed a knife from the counter. "All you have to do is cut off the outer skin like this." Nori sliced of the skin in small parts, going around the entire vegetable before its softer interior was revealed. "And then put it in bucket so that I can use them to cook with. Now you try."

She handed the knife over to me while she fished out another strange vegetable. Setting it down in front of me she gestured at it.

It really was not that difficult so I held the vegetable down with a paw and tried to cut it. It was tougher than I thought so I applied a bit more force until the knife slice through it and hit the wooden crate with a thud.

"Careful you don't cut yourself," Nori warned, watching me carefully. I tried to cut it again, but still had difficulties cutting it.

I have only used my dagger before and it seemed much better than this knife she gave me. "Can I use my own?" I dared to ask.

"You have a knife?" she asked, looking up at me in the eyes before giving me a slight shrug. "Now you just remember to be careful. You can use any tool you want as long as you are careful, pup."

I reached under my garments and unsheathed my dagger. I tried to cut the vegetable again, and this time the blade easily sliced through the tougher skin.

"Whoa, that is a sharp knife pup," said the otter. "Mind if I look at it?" I knew that the dagger was valuable to adults so I was more than a little hesitant to surrender it to the otter. "Don't you worry, pup. I won't take it. There's no where I can go on the Lutra Dusk. You'll find me easy if I try to run from you."

I was starting to trust this otter so I allowed for her to take the knife.

"A Velox blade?" she exclaimed, staring with wide eyes at the blade. "The Mika pups all have blades forged by the Velox master, sold to them by the Velox pup. He's the only one that sells these blades. How'd you get it?"

I was a bit surprised that she knew what the blade was too. So many adults seemed to know about the fox that I delivered a parcel to in Sirmiq.

"A fox gave it to me when I brought him some medicine," I answered a bit uncertain.

"I heard that he was supposed to come back up here for something but he and Young Lord Otur Mika went traveling together somewhere instead," Nori stated, still seeming a bit shocked. She gave the small dagger back to me. "Use that dagger whenever you want pup. Don't let the crew know that you have that there though. Some of them like shiny objects, and a Velox dagger is one of the shiniest."

With the dagger in my paws again, I started cutting the vegetable once more until I had the whole thing peeled.

"Good job," Nori said encouragingly. "All you have to do is peel these vegetables. There's no specific way on how to do it so whatever you find easiest. The only rule is to not cut yourself. Now let me go show you the rest of the beautiful Lutra Dusk."

Nori brought me back up to the deck, and I had noticed that Alec was already gone. I was a bit disheartened by that but Nori's tour was very kind and very helpful. She knew that I had never been on a ship before so she explained the basics to me, and told me about the rules: Do no bother anyone, and make sure my work is done before taking a break. The first rule was easy, since I had lived my whole life by avoiding gaining the attention of adults.

The final point she emphasized on was to not risk falling over the edge of the ship at all cost. If I ever had to worry about it, she told me to strictly stay below decks.

After the tour, Nori and I were both back in our small kitchen. I held one of the strange vegetables in my hand and used my dagger to chip away at the tougher skin. I had already done a few dozen of them so I had already found a faster way to peel them. I set another down in the bucket next to me and while I was reaching for another, I felt the ship lurch suddenly.

I was nearly thrown off the crate I was sitting on, but Nori was not concerned about my reaction as she chuckled. "That is the anchor being pulled up," she explained. "Lutra Dusk is being pulled out to the ocean now so you will be feeling some movement from now on, pup."

After the initial lurch, the ship did not settle as it swayed gently back and forth. I had never been on a ship before but I did not think it would move so much. At least it was gentle unlike the earthquakes that led up to the volcano eruption. Regardless of the swaying, I tried to go back to work on peeling the vegetables but I could not compensate for the swaying. I had to set the vegetable back down on the crate to keep it steady so that I could peel it.

"You best get used to the sea, pup," Nori said from across her counter. "If there's a storm then the ride will become a lot rougher."

The constant movement was unfamiliar to me but I quickly adjusted and was able to find a way to balance myself. I could still hear the other otters around the ship but the sounds of the dockyard started to fade. I knew we had finally set out, and that just like with Alec, it may be the last time I see the city I once knew. All I had to hope on was that I would find Midnight once again.

The sound of the waves breaking on the ship's hull soon drowned out the fading noises of the harbor of Sirmiq. I could only conclude that we were picking up speed, and that was actually smoothing out the ride. After that, being on the ship was not very eventful; all I did was peel the vegetables even when the sailors came below decks to eat. Nori served them all. She laughed with some and barked at others if they commented on the food. I stayed in the back and ate there. Not much seemed to happen on the ship, but at least I found out that I didn't have to be so worried about what they'd expect of me. Peeling vegetables had been easier than packing crates back at Arktiline.

Late that evening after the crew had ate, Nori returned to our small kitchen.

"Stop peeling those vegetables," Nori said not unkindly. "You've done enough work pup. I won't be able to cook through all those for days. Take a rest, pup."

She knelt down next to me and wiped the blade of my dagger off with a cloth and gathered up the vegetables that I had already peeled.

"This is all I have to do?" I asked. I was thinking that the job was too easy; would an adult really allow me to do nothing but peel vegetables to earn my keep?

"Yes, that is it," said Nori, standing up and walking back to her cooking counter. "You saved me a lot of time by doing all that peeling. Take a break."

"Okay," I hesitantly responded. I still couldn't believe that there were no other expectations of me. Had I missed something that I should be doing other than peeling vegetables? If so, then I was confident that Nori would let me know but she didn't say anything other than for me to take a break. After my eyes stinging from the smoke all day, some fresh air did sound pleasant. "Can I go upstairs?"

"Sure," Nori answered as she put away the peeled vegetables in one of the buckets. "Remember, don't be too close to the edge and don't bother anyone."

"Okay," I confirmed and wandered out of the small kitchen area. Below deck the other otters were all keeping themselves busy because it seemed that they did not have much to do themselves either. A few were gathered around playing some sort of game, others read and the rest kept themselves busy one way or another.

Two of the otters glanced at me while I was walking by but they only seemed curious to my activities sense they went back to their own activities. Walking up the stairs, I got my first breath of fresh air since the tour.

The sun had sunk below the horizon but only just. The sky was still well lit, with even the clouds catching and reflecting the sunlight in bright, warm colors.

I already knew that I was too short to really see over the edge of the railing on the deck, but there were plenty of small openings in that railing that I could peak through. Sitting against a large pile of rope, I was able to do just that. I couldn't see much through the opening but I saw the surface of the ocean for as far as I could see. There was no sign of any land anywhere nearby.

No point of reference was out on the ocean, but from the wind pressure and the sound of the waves I could get a sense of how fast the ship was travelling. I have never moved so fast in my life, and I was surprised how fast these ships could go. It dawned on me that it was the obvious reason of why ships were so popular.

They sky rapidly grew darker. The clouds lost their bright warm colors and started to dull into the night. I didn't know what I was really doing on the deck but I stayed there even as the temperature started to drop. It was better than breathing the smoke of the fire below decks.

Staring out over the ocean, I found myself thinking back to the days when Midnight and I survived in the streets of Sirmiq. Would we have been able to stay that way forever, or would have this happened eventually? I don't see very many orphans older than a certain age because they all seemed to find jobs. Midnight was already excited about finding a job so that we both could make our lives easier but I doubt even he knew how complicated this world of adults was.

"Seeing any fish?" a voice said behind me. I was startled a bit but the voice was not threatening. Turning around I saw an otter, around the same age as the Velox fox, standing behind me. "You be the arctic fox from Sirmiq Harbor huh? I heard about you."

I nodded to answer. The otter walked to the edge of the railing next to me and leaned against it with his arms folded across it.

"It's cold at night but I imagine you are used to it," stated the otter. "We Mika otters are river otters from the south. We have cold winters but I never did like them all that much."

"What did you hear about me?" I asked softly, staring up at this other otter. He turned and smiled down at me.

"That you have a special pass to ride with us until we dock at Kietan," replied the otter. "Nirvelli is my name."

"I'm Snowy," I introduced myself. I stood up so that I didn't have to look up so much to look at this otter.

"Besides myself you are the youngest passenger that we have had on Lutra Dusk," the otter claimed. He turned his gaze back over the dark waters. The moons were starting to rise and showing themselves as bright and full as the night before. "I was born on this ship actually so I doubt there will ever be anyone younger than I was."

"You must have travelled a lot then," I observed. If this otter was born on the ship, and was still on the ship then he must have been on it his whole life.

"You got that right," boasted Nirvelli. "Traveling with my mother, I've seen all sorts of cities and different lands. I don't think I could ever trade the life on the sea to stay settled on land."

The sky was nearly completely dark now that even the stars were coming out. The otter and I could still see each other just fine though because of the bright moonlight.

The otter was even friendlier than Nori, and I remembered her saying something about them naturally being friendlier than the cold predators of the North. Were all the otters like this where they came from? Maybe they were just happy to be leaving the cold city of Sirmiq? Whatever it was, it was a relief from the harshness of the adults in Sirmiq.

The moons were floating high in the sky with Nirvelli and I still talking when we were both suddenly thrown off our hind paws. The entire ship lurched and the ship's momentum drastically slowed.

"We ran aground?" Nirvelli muttered to himself. He picked himself up and looked over the edge. He immediately jumped away from the edge.

"What is it Nirvelli?" called down a distant voice. It was coming from the top of the mast; I had not even known there was an otter up there.

"Pirates!" Nirvelli shouted. His voice rang out over the water in a way I wouldn't have had thought possible considering how softly he had spoken to me. Regardless, with the otter backing up from the railing, I knew it would be a good idea for me to do the same.

A bell rang out from above, and a large commotion quickly started. From the stairs ran up several otters, now holding weapons in their paws. I continued to back away from the railing as the otters armed with spears and swords approached it steadily.

From behind me, a pair of doors opened and a brown otter stepped out from the room with her armor on and a belt being strapped around her waist.

What Nirvelli had seen was reason enough to cause for alarm. This was not supposed to happen; Alec had told me that this trip would be easy. Nori told me that this trip would be easy. What was going on to cause such alarm?

"Nirvelli, what's going on?" she asked the otter who I had been speaking to.

"We're being boarded," he responded. Before he could finish the sentence, the sound of a scuffle sounded near the railing.

I watched, to my horror, as a dressed reptilian hopped over the railing and immediately attacked the nearest otter. That reptilian was not the last either because several more immediately jumped over the railing to attack the otters as well.

"Enes fools!" growled and cursed Neith as she saw the hostile invaders. She finished buckling her belt and immediately unsheathed her sword. "Fools to attack a Mika vessel. Show them what it means to attack Lutra Dusk!"

I backed myself against the wall that led into the quarters where Neith had just emerged from, trying to stay back while I witnessed wide-eyed at the violence around me. I had seen violence, I had seen Alec kill the assassin and had been a victim to the violent attacks from that assassin; but I had never seen violence like this. So many were trying to kill one another, the reptilians would wound an otter and move on to wound another. The otters were actively trying to push the reptilians back over the edge.

An otter fell from a stab wound but the reptilian immediately attacked another otter that was occupied by one of the other attackers. Neith intercepted him and managed to slice across the arm of the attack before she moved to kick the reptilian hard enough that he tripped over the edge of the railing and fell back toward the ocean.

It was nothing but chaos, but the otters were gaining an advantage as a few more reptilians went over the edge. A few of the otters even dived in after them to continue the fight, but the first mate, Neith knelt down to one of the bleeding out reptilians. She did not care to give it mercy in anyway and instead grabbed it by the tunic and lifted it up so she could better examine it.

"Banner of the Enes fleet," I could hear her say. "They're not pirates. It's a raiding party. They risked open war!" As she stood up and turned back toward me to head back to her quarters, she suddenly inhaled sharply.

She wavered on her hind paws and reached for her back but before she could move any further, a reptilian pulled itself up on the railing and pushed her aside. A blood-covered sword was in its claws.

Neith tripped back, and fell over the railing.

"Mother!" screamed Nivelli; he immediately ran across the deck and dived in after her. It dawned on me what had just happened and fear started to grip me once again.

From the splash of the two otters going over the railing, a strange sound wave hit the ship. I could barely hear it even with my large ears since the sound only travelled through the water. It spread far though, and the sheer volume of the noise was the only reason why I was able to detect it.

The reptilian did not seem to notice though, as I saw him lock his eyes directly on me. He did not hesitate to push toward me.

That was why they attacked us? To kill me? Why were they so determined to kill me? My eyes opened wide as I watched the blood dripping sword steadily approach me. I pushed myself back but was met with the firm resistance of the wooden wall. Unable to take my eyes away from the advancing reptilian, I could not manage to turn to flee. I only pushed myself further up against the wall, whimpering as I saw the reptilian aiming to quickly end my life.

From the shadows rose one of the creatures though, and that immediately stopped the reptilian in its tracks. The shadow wolf stood between the reptilian and me, baring its black fangs at the enemy.

Now with the support of the shadow creature, I reached for my dagger hoping that it'd be enough to defend me if the shadow creature could not stop the reptilian. The wolf did attack and lunged at the reptilian but this time the reptilian was not so surprised by the existence of the creature that he dodged it. It didn't move to defend itself from the shadow creature, but instead dove straight at me sacrificing everything kill me even if the shadow creature would kill it immediately after.

Too afraid to move, I only watched the reptilian dive after me. I could not defend myself against such violence and illogical hatred. The shadow wolf was not in position to defend me anymore either. I could not defend myself.

The ship lurched underneath us causing for the reptilian to trip and fall towards me. It fell practically right on top of me, his whole body weight falling on mine with the sword missing me by only a few centimeters. I expected him to push himself off and finish the job, but he only hissed angrily at something.

The reptilian pushed itself up slowly, and seemingly with his strength being drained from him. He was on his knees and claws over me, staring down at me. I saw those large unfamiliar eyes glare at me with such hatred that I could not explain. We stared at each other for a moment, before I noticed my fur becoming soaked in a warm and thick liquid.

Looking down, I hadn't realized it but I still held my dagger out in front of me. When the reptilian had fallen on me, the dagger plunged straight into the chest of the hostile creature. From its chest, a constant stream of blood spilled from the wound and dripped onto my soaked clothes. Looking back at its eyes, I could see its life and hatred be drained from the reptilian before he collapsed on top of me once again, unmoving this time.

I lied there under the heavy weight of the reptilian, with its blood soaking my fur and my paws shaking. It was heavy but that was not what was crushing me, it was the blood soaking my fur. I had killed the reptilian. Shock overtook my body and all I could do was think to get the reptilian off of me.

With a sudden burst of adrenaline, I struggled to roll the dead reptilian off of me. Once it was rolled off, I tried to stand but my hindpaws wouldn't allow it and I fell back to the ground. My fur was heavy with the blood and I wanted to get it off immediately. My paws, forearms and entire torso were soaked. It was so much blood.

A loud explosion took me out of my shock along with the sudden lurching of the ship once again. This time, it felt far worse as the ship violently lurched and started to tilt. The explosion and lurching repeated once before another sound pierced over the waters. It was a extremely high-pitched screech coming from across the water.

Glancing over the railing, which I could now see over due to the ship tilting, I could see the flashes outlining the silhouette of another large ship far out in the water. On that ship was several serpent like creatures attacking the small figures on it.

"Pup!" shouted a voice I had only become to know today. "We have to get off the ship! Come on." Nori grabbed me and hurried me toward the edge of the railing where the other otters were jumping off the ship. I had not noticed it until now but the deck was tilted at a strange angle because the ship was sinking into the ocean.

Nori dragged me over to a smaller boat, and tossed me in. She then cut the ropes that was holding the boat in place which caused for it to tilt but with the water rising fast, it soon leveled out. Nori dove in the water, and pulled the boat away from the sinking ship. Looking around me I saw that several otters were already in the water, or jumping off of the ship as well. There were only two other small lifeboats out on the water but most otters were staying in the water.

"Is that a hyrda?" I overhead one of the nearby otters. That otter referenced toward the other boat and the creature that was attacking it. The other boat was still firing its cannons but they no longer seemed aimed at the Lutra Dusk and at the creature itself. The enemy ship seemed to have taken enough damage that it was starting to sink as well.

One of the otters in the water resurfaced next to the boat I was sitting in. He pulled himself on board and had a disturbed expression. I recognized him as Nirvelli.

"Nirvelle," said Nori, having noticed the shift in weight on the boat she was towing. "Where's your mother?"

He did not answer right away and turned his disturbed expression toward Nori. "She's gone," was all that he would say. He turned to look at the other ship in the distance being attacked, and I could hear a soft growl rumble from his chest.

From behind us on the sinking Lutra Dusk, a loud howl was heard. It could have only come from the shadow wolf and considering the reaction of the other otters, I was not the only one to hear it.

Since the start of the attack, I still had not fully comprehended what had happened. From the strange creatures, the shadow wolf's call and Neith's acknowledging the reptilians, I had a feeling that what happened here was only a small part of what was happening to this world.