57th of Spring, 514
Laviku's Wrath
Laviku's Wrath
They were strange, these Lavikus. One of them was downright scary, having gotten all bent out of shape over a barrel of foul smelling, urine colored drink. The day that she had first encountered these Lavikus, the day that she had been accidentally kidnapped from Riverfall, he had brandished an eating knife at her and his skinny, hairless squirrel companion. His face had turned various shades of red, but it was his eyes that had scared her the most. They had bored into her soul like a predator stared at its prey. Yet, the other Laviku was equally strange, just on the other side of the spectrum. He had laughed with such joy at the other's anguish - maybe they weren't that different after all. He had had a calming effect on her, one that was almost magical in her opinion. Yet, that did not make any sense because magic did not exist. It couldn't. That would simply be too much for her small mind. Ultimately, she concluded that he was simply charming.
The personalities - even though they were on opposite sides of the spectrum - were too much for her. She had to get off this blasted island and away from the tyrannical Laviku before he skinned her of her her spotty pelt. Not that it would be worth much in its condition, but it did sort of keep her warm at night. All day she had sat up in the crow's nest, pondering what to do next. About midday, shore had come into sight. Two ore three bells later, it was closer. Cricket longed for land, to scurry up a tree with branches and leaves and know it would not sway back and forth beneath her Yet, she was stuck in the middle of the ocean, on and island with a maniac and his hairless squirrel. The other island floated nearby with a more amicable Laviku, but she was unwilling to jump into the water and he had been unwilling to take her with him. It was from that moment that she had to figure out another way of getting off this floating island from Hai.
By the time set, she had not made it any farther in her plans than before. No matter what she came up with, somehow she always imagined her pelt hanging from the maniac's door frame. It was as the first start began to twinkle that she came up with her greatest idea. While hanging over the crow's nest, inspecting the deck, it dawned on her. There, on the island, lay an empty wooden bucket. Conveniently, the bucket was attacked to a rope and pulley system that allowed the maniac to lower the bucket into the ocean and haul up water for the island. It would make for the perfect boat to get her to shore with the perfect system to launch it from the Laviku's Wrath.
She had waited for the man and his pet to go to sleep before scurrying down her naked tree. In a flash of light, which had set off the man before, she transformed into her human form. It would give her a moment to get things together and prepare to launch. Setting the bucket up and pulling the rope close so her squirrel paws could reach it, she smiled. Cricket was a little proud of herself for this idea. Looking over the side of the island, she was thankful that the only disturbance on the water was coming from the front of the island. Beyond that, it looked relatively calm for a squirrel to make her way to land. Now, she needed something to steer with.
Looking around the island, the glint of an empty shell caught her eye. Perfect. It was half of one of those weird nuts the man's pet had been nibbling on. Picking it up in her hands, she tossed it in the bucket. Sadness suddenly gripped her as she realized she would not be able to take her belongings with her. Not that she knew where they were since the men had taken her pack from her. Again a swirling light enveloped her. A tick later, the squirrel found herself climbing into her make-shift boat. Even though she had not been given a lot of food while 'sailing' with them, she had enough to build up her strength a little bit. Gripping the rope in her paws, she pulled little by little until the bucket bumped the lip of the wall. One more decent yank and Cricket found herself looking over the side of the island into the dark waters below. With a quiet prayer to the rising moon, she took a few bites out of the rope. Soon, the bucket was falling into the abyss that was the sea.
The personalities - even though they were on opposite sides of the spectrum - were too much for her. She had to get off this blasted island and away from the tyrannical Laviku before he skinned her of her her spotty pelt. Not that it would be worth much in its condition, but it did sort of keep her warm at night. All day she had sat up in the crow's nest, pondering what to do next. About midday, shore had come into sight. Two ore three bells later, it was closer. Cricket longed for land, to scurry up a tree with branches and leaves and know it would not sway back and forth beneath her Yet, she was stuck in the middle of the ocean, on and island with a maniac and his hairless squirrel. The other island floated nearby with a more amicable Laviku, but she was unwilling to jump into the water and he had been unwilling to take her with him. It was from that moment that she had to figure out another way of getting off this floating island from Hai.
By the time set, she had not made it any farther in her plans than before. No matter what she came up with, somehow she always imagined her pelt hanging from the maniac's door frame. It was as the first start began to twinkle that she came up with her greatest idea. While hanging over the crow's nest, inspecting the deck, it dawned on her. There, on the island, lay an empty wooden bucket. Conveniently, the bucket was attacked to a rope and pulley system that allowed the maniac to lower the bucket into the ocean and haul up water for the island. It would make for the perfect boat to get her to shore with the perfect system to launch it from the Laviku's Wrath.
She had waited for the man and his pet to go to sleep before scurrying down her naked tree. In a flash of light, which had set off the man before, she transformed into her human form. It would give her a moment to get things together and prepare to launch. Setting the bucket up and pulling the rope close so her squirrel paws could reach it, she smiled. Cricket was a little proud of herself for this idea. Looking over the side of the island, she was thankful that the only disturbance on the water was coming from the front of the island. Beyond that, it looked relatively calm for a squirrel to make her way to land. Now, she needed something to steer with.
Looking around the island, the glint of an empty shell caught her eye. Perfect. It was half of one of those weird nuts the man's pet had been nibbling on. Picking it up in her hands, she tossed it in the bucket. Sadness suddenly gripped her as she realized she would not be able to take her belongings with her. Not that she knew where they were since the men had taken her pack from her. Again a swirling light enveloped her. A tick later, the squirrel found herself climbing into her make-shift boat. Even though she had not been given a lot of food while 'sailing' with them, she had enough to build up her strength a little bit. Gripping the rope in her paws, she pulled little by little until the bucket bumped the lip of the wall. One more decent yank and Cricket found herself looking over the side of the island into the dark waters below. With a quiet prayer to the rising moon, she took a few bites out of the rope. Soon, the bucket was falling into the abyss that was the sea.
