Floundering Around

Eszter

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Jim Jones took a puff of his pipe as he gazed out over the ocean, kicking his feet up onto the side of his boat. The sea was calm, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and just as he finished his puff, his line pulled taut. The grey-bearded man perked up, almost dropping his pipe, and started reeling the line in.

“Come on!” He grunted, jumping to his feet. Whatever it was on the other end of the line, it was heavy enough to threaten to pull Jim in. With any luck, there would be enough meat on it to feed the man for a week! What he reeled in wasn't your average fish, though. Instead, an ungodly, eight foot long amalgamation of squid and human flopped onto his boat, its tentacles writhing about as its arm hoisted it up.

“You! Haro’sha!” The beast demanded as it jabbed a pearl-topped rod of stone at him, it's voice strangely airy and empty. “Where am I?”

Jim stared at the creature for a long moment, dumbfounded. “What?”

“This world! Where. Am. I?”

“Huh? The planet? You're on Opealon, mister.” The fisherman responded, watching fascinated as the creature found its footing and rose up from the ground on its tentacles. Jim’s fishing line was still bound around its arm, which it began to methodically untangle.

“Opealon?” It grunted. “Thoto Nhar… This is certainly not my home. What do they call you, Haro’sha?”

“Hmm?” Jim, mumbled, surprised. “Uh, my name’s Jim, mister. Jim Jones.”

“Well met, Jim. I am Mar’mako.” It said. The creature observed him for a second before narrowing its odd, w-shaped pupils. “I take it that you are not familiar with my kind?”

“No, sir.” The fisherman replied, shuffling his feet nervously. “I can't say I've seen anything quite like you before.”

“I am of the Mako’rei. I am well-acquainted with your kind, Haro’sh- I mean, Jim.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?” The man asked, curious despite himself.

“It means… Hrmm... ‘land crawler’, I believe, in your tongue.” Mar’mako responded, unceremoniously dropping the fishing line to the floor of the boat. “It is our term for your kind.”

“That's not a very flattering term.” Jim said, visibly deflated at the creature’s comment.

“Irrelevant.” The Mako’rei growled. It glanced around, apparently looking for something. “Where is the rest of your kind? Where do you nest? I see no… hrmm… ah, land, around here.”

In response, the fisherman simply pointed upwards and as he followed the gesture Mar’mako’s eyes widened. Islands. Floating above the sea.

“Thoto Nhar…” He said breathlessly. The creature spent a few moments staring into the sky, attempting to comprehend what he was seeing. When he had finally taken the sight in, Mar’mako turned back to the fisherman. “Thank you for your assistance, Jim.”

With that, the Mako’rei tensed his tentacles before hurling himself overboard, leaving the bearded man alone on his boat again. Jim’s shaking hand brought his pipe back to his mouth and he took a deep puff to calm his nerves. To his surprise, there was a loud splash and a large, floundering fish landed on his boat, one that he knew for a fact would be good eating.

“Ah, I believe this was yours.” Mar’mako rasped before disappearing into the water.
 

Eszter

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‘All in all, perhaps this place isn’t so bad.’ Mar’mako thought to himself, currently hiding amongst a tangle of kelp as a vast shadow drifted over him. Gore trailed from the maw of the great shark, to the joy of the countless tiny fish swarming after it. The beast swished it’s tail lazily, sending the scavengers scattering for a few moments before they rushed back in, picking at the remnants of its meal.


“Incredible…” The Mako’rei muttered. Sharks were a source of both awe and fear for his kind, both their fiercest predator and greatest hunting companions. The tamer felt a brief jolt of sadness as he remembered his countless pets that he had left behind. Steeling himself, he pushed the sorrow away. It would do him no good to mourn his loss, he had plans to formulate. Soon enough, the shark, among many others would bow to him. The whole of the seas would.


The diviner cackled to himself as he ducked down into the kelp. Of course, he was careful not to cackle too loud, in case the monster shark heard him. Mar’mako paused for a moment as he gazed skyward, noting the many islands floating above the surface of the sea. Had he the physiology to grin, he certainly would have. Why merely stop at the sea? Those living above the water would come to obey as well.


Peeking out of the kelp to make sure no sea monsters were looming above him, the priest burst from his hiding spot, surging through the water. His mind was racing nearly as fast, attempting to formulate a plan of attack. The Mako’rei knew the ocean, but the land was a mystery to him, the airborne islands even more so. His kind were amphibious creatures, had the land been actually attached to the ground, it would have taken little effort to explore the place. As it was, he was going to have to get creative.



The colossal seabird hovered above the waves, it’s eyes set firmly on the surface of the water, patiently waiting for any sign of movement. Suddenly, a flash of colour beneath the surface. The bird shot into the surf, closing its beak around a handful of colourful stones. If that wasn’t enough of a surprise, eight prehensile limbs closed around its back as it breached the waves, sending the beat into a wild panic.


“Silence, Sera’sha!” Mar’mako demanded, clinging desperately to his first successful mount after a dozen foiled attempts. “Take me up!”


Scrambling up the creature’s back, the diviner hooked his staff around the base of its neck, holding in for dear life as it took off, thrashing and twirling in midair, attempting to dislodge its unwanted passenger.


“Krata!” The Mako’rei cursed as one of his arms slipped loose, scrambling to reestablish his grip. Before he could, another arm slipped, then a tentacle. Moments later, the priest was hurled, cursing and screaming, into the water. “Hrrrgh… next time…”


A few more attempts later, the monstrous tamer was sent flying away, only for his descent to be interrupted with a solid “thump”. Slightly dazed, he glanced around as he did his best to stand upright on his tentacles, supporting himself with his staff. The diviner was surrounded by tall, solid pillars ending in green growths and there was a strange, tiny kelp forest beneath his tentacles. Land.


“Well…” Mar’mako muttered, trying to find his bearings. Maybe he should have left the water after all. The air was terribly dry and provided no support at all, and the sun was unbelievably intense. He raised his rear right arm to help block out some of the harsh light, spotting the edge of the island nearby. Peering over, he evaluated his odds of dropping into the water and surviving. They looked good. After a moment, he evaluated his odds of dropping into the water uninjured. They looked less good… “Looks like this is what I’m doing now…”
 
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