Felis
Meow?
It took Marguerite, drowsy as she was from dozing off, only the fraction of a second to place the sheets of icy cold water that woke her. With a hoarse scream, she jumped to her feet, only to stumble and fall back on her knees when another wave rocked the ship. Not a thunderstorm, not now, not when she was outside, oh please... Oh god, they were out on the water, weren't they, the worst place to be right now...!
The pelting rain, the bursting of wood, the flashes of lightning, the moving shadows and the howling of the wind all blurred in Marguerite's mind and she found herself frozen in place. If she had thought their encounter with the mercenaries earlier was a nightmare, then what was this? Another wave struck the ship, and when it tilted, Marguerite felt herself tumbling towards the railing, then over it and into the ocean.
She sunk, resurfaced, only to swallow sea water when the next wave broke over her, lost her shoes when she started to tread water but somehow stayed strapped to her bag - at least until it caught on something, or something had begun to pull on it. Marguerite flailed, trying to both get away and wrest her bag free, and the strap had ripped. Against better reason (anything that would weigh her down was something to not hold onto, objectively speaking), she had grasped for the broken strap, but it slipped from her grasp. Marguerite quickly forgot about her bag, however, when she noticed a shadowy form close to her in the water, moving towards her.
With a scream that turned into a cough, she started kicking frantically, but it was virtually impossible to swim in any direction but the one dictated by the waves. So when the sea pulled her under once more, instead of fighting against it, Marguerite allowed herself to be carried away by the current. Even if she didn't come up again, it had to be better than facing that ominous shape. The next flash of lightning, however, allowed her to find 'up' again, and a little later, Marguerite resurfaced, eyes stinging from the salt. She couldn't spot the shadow, but that didn't mean anything, of course. There was a piece of wood floating close by, however.
Still more splashing around in a panic than swimming in a purposeful manner, Marguerite reached the broken plank and wrapped her arms around it. Another wave picked her up and carried her farther away from the remainders of the ship.
After what seemed like an eternity to Marguerite, the sky began to clear up and the sea calmed. Now that her field of vision extended farther than to the next wave peak, she could make out the shore in the distance. At least the current hadn't taken her out to the open sea. Her limbs numb from the cold, she began paddling weakly, speeding up her drifting towards the beach a little.
Marguerite didn't dare to let go of the wood supporting her until the water didn't reach higher than her knees. From there, she dragged herself to the dry sand and collapsed. Everything gone just like that. The ship, her belongings- How ironic that she'd lose her Aeneid in a shipwreck, and book one at that. Storm and Refuge. And her student ID, sunken to the bottom of the ocean in a foreign world. It was unreal.
Finally Marguerite remembered that she wasn't the only person she was supposed to worry about. If Morinia or Calista couldn't swim... She pushed the thought away and struggled to stand. If the current had carried them to the same beach they couldn't be far, at least. She shivered in her wet clothes. Even though the wind wasn't strong now, it chilled her to the bone.
"Mori-" she croaked, then coughed. "Morinia? Calista? Anyone?" Did she even want to look whether anything other than debris had washed up? If either of them hadn't made it... Marguerite had had more than enough of corpses for a day.
The pelting rain, the bursting of wood, the flashes of lightning, the moving shadows and the howling of the wind all blurred in Marguerite's mind and she found herself frozen in place. If she had thought their encounter with the mercenaries earlier was a nightmare, then what was this? Another wave struck the ship, and when it tilted, Marguerite felt herself tumbling towards the railing, then over it and into the ocean.
She sunk, resurfaced, only to swallow sea water when the next wave broke over her, lost her shoes when she started to tread water but somehow stayed strapped to her bag - at least until it caught on something, or something had begun to pull on it. Marguerite flailed, trying to both get away and wrest her bag free, and the strap had ripped. Against better reason (anything that would weigh her down was something to not hold onto, objectively speaking), she had grasped for the broken strap, but it slipped from her grasp. Marguerite quickly forgot about her bag, however, when she noticed a shadowy form close to her in the water, moving towards her.
With a scream that turned into a cough, she started kicking frantically, but it was virtually impossible to swim in any direction but the one dictated by the waves. So when the sea pulled her under once more, instead of fighting against it, Marguerite allowed herself to be carried away by the current. Even if she didn't come up again, it had to be better than facing that ominous shape. The next flash of lightning, however, allowed her to find 'up' again, and a little later, Marguerite resurfaced, eyes stinging from the salt. She couldn't spot the shadow, but that didn't mean anything, of course. There was a piece of wood floating close by, however.
Still more splashing around in a panic than swimming in a purposeful manner, Marguerite reached the broken plank and wrapped her arms around it. Another wave picked her up and carried her farther away from the remainders of the ship.
After what seemed like an eternity to Marguerite, the sky began to clear up and the sea calmed. Now that her field of vision extended farther than to the next wave peak, she could make out the shore in the distance. At least the current hadn't taken her out to the open sea. Her limbs numb from the cold, she began paddling weakly, speeding up her drifting towards the beach a little.
Marguerite didn't dare to let go of the wood supporting her until the water didn't reach higher than her knees. From there, she dragged herself to the dry sand and collapsed. Everything gone just like that. The ship, her belongings- How ironic that she'd lose her Aeneid in a shipwreck, and book one at that. Storm and Refuge. And her student ID, sunken to the bottom of the ocean in a foreign world. It was unreal.
Finally Marguerite remembered that she wasn't the only person she was supposed to worry about. If Morinia or Calista couldn't swim... She pushed the thought away and struggled to stand. If the current had carried them to the same beach they couldn't be far, at least. She shivered in her wet clothes. Even though the wind wasn't strong now, it chilled her to the bone.
"Mori-" she croaked, then coughed. "Morinia? Calista? Anyone?" Did she even want to look whether anything other than debris had washed up? If either of them hadn't made it... Marguerite had had more than enough of corpses for a day.