Castaway

[The Gourmand]

Jan 26th

It was broad daylight when something most unusual occurred. It began as a distant rushing coming from the clear sky above. The sound was almost like a waterfall. The noise escalated, causing the local animals to lift their heads in wonder. Then, from the sky, came a large water spout rushing down toward the ground. The animals began to run as the big jet of water crashed down in one of the watering holes, throwing up a spray of foam and mud. As soon as it came, the mysterious stream from the sky ended.

Carried in along with the salt water was a large blue figure, which tumbled until it came to an ungraceful stop at the edge of the pond flat on its face. It seemed like the sea, which was miles away, was eager to get rid of this creature. The lingering waves died down before the big thing visibly started moving. Purple tendrils where its legs should have been curled as it turned its head from where it’d been pressed in the mud. The creature gasped before quieting itself into stifled breaths. Beady red eyes stared out, clearly dazed. Because most of the animals had run off, all he could hear was the hum of insects and the occasional distant bird.

He tried to move a forearm beneath him to lean up, before stopped short, hissing in pain. Clutching his middle, the sea creature lowered himself back down flat. Mixed in with the water and mud around him was a thick teal liquid. He was bleeding from somewhere but was still too stupefied by being flung to pay that much heed to it.

[Mulan]

  Mulan had only come out this far on a routine patrol. 


  A quick survey of the territory's borders. At least, that was the official reasoning for her being here. She couldn't help but also take personal interest; being so far from home had filled her with an inevitable, almost childlike wonder. Mulan clambered atop the nearest rock formation, an acceptable vantage point for her surroundings, and smiled as she gazed out towards the horizon. The wild, untamed Pride Lands stretched out before her, beautiful and exciting. Of course, being excited didn't leave her without any sense of... well, sense. She had come armored and provisioned, ready to handle anything that come her way.


  Or... so she had thought. In her defense, how should one prepare for a column of water crashing out of the sky? With almost no warning, the water tore into the earth, ripping a new coastline into the unlucky watering hole where it came down. Mulan did what she would feel was the most natural reaction to have in this situation, which was to promptly yelp in surprise and very nearly fall from her perch on the rock.


  Once the roar of water had passed, the wind carried a light spray of mist in her direction. Mulan's brows furrowed as she caught the scent in the air. Salt? It was already strange that a pillar of water had rained all at once, but this was seawater as well. Curiosity tempered her concerns, and she slipped off the rock formation, approaching the now wider pond with equal parts caution and interest. It was there she found a large shape attempting to pull itself from the muck, with little success. Mulan drew closer, until she could make out the being's features.


  "Um..." Mulan began a little unsteady, keeping a hand within easy grabbing distance of her sword. "Are... are you all right?" Even as she asked, Mulan frowned a little in dissatisfaction. The cloudy discoloration of the water made it hard to make out any reasonable details, but it was obvious they were hurt. But she wasn't sure what else to ask in this situation.  'Can you speak?'  Sounded rude.  'Friend or foe?'  They might not be aware enough to answer, due to injury.  As obvious as her choice of questioning was, it would have to do, for the moment.

[The Gourmand]

The water around the creature, which had gone relatively still, stirred as several tendrils slid under the surface. He could not think enough yet to move his limbs anywhere in particular, so the skinny poisonous things lay randomly strewn about, a few extending a fair distance from his body. Crimson eyes flickered back to life as he became aware of something. A voice.

It took the sea monster a moment to register the words and even then, it took a moment longer for him to react. Tentacles began to slide through the mud to move behind him, although he wasn’t thinking to avoid hitting anything as he moved them away. A thick arm emerged from the muck and a pointy-nailed hand dug into the ground. The Gourmand tried to lean up somewhat, revealing more of himself as mud slid off him due to gravity. Feeling a brief burst of strength, he swiped his other hand across his face, revealing some of the blue skin beneath.

Only then did his pupils narrow as he focused on what was in front of him. His brows knit, but his eyes widened, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Appearing uneasy, the Gourmand looked beyond Mulan, eyes shifting back and forth as he let out a breath of air. As he was starting to remove himself from the water, three puncture marks and the thick fluid they leaked were visible on his chest.

All he could manage was a defensive growl as he focused back on Mulan, “Arrghhh…”

[Mulan]

  Her nose wrinkled at watching it-- no, him-- move. She couldn't help it. The motion reminded her of live squid dishes, of which, Mulan wasn't particularly a fan. However, a few things became abundantly clear as the creature began to pull himself from the muck. He was dazed, and his injuries appeared to be from more than just his bizarre trip through the air. Mulan lifted her hands in a passive gesture: "It's all right," she began softly, even as he was growling at her. "I promise, I won't hurt you."

  She still wasn't certain if he could speak the same language as her, but she hoped that at least her gestures could get the message across. She recalled hearing about a similar event hardly ten days ago, of another person falling from the sky near the camp. Mulan's brow furrowed a bit as she reached for her provisions. She hoped this wasn't just an everyday occurrence for Africa. She pulled some basic first aid from her supplies, and chewed on her bottom lip in thought. Mulan was no medic, and there definitely wasn't enough here to get him back on his feet. Er, tentacles. But she hoped she could at least stop the bleeding.

[The Gourmand]

The growl slowly bubbled into silence as he finished his breath. After that, he growled no more, but crimson eyes remained focused on the girl, becoming more and more aware by the moment.

“Land-dweller,” he grumbled, apparently having recovered enough to start speaking.

The Gourmand’s pupils flicked up toward the sun. It was so hot and dry. He settled to lay on his side and brought an arm up to shield his face from the light. Without water to suspend him, he felt very heavy now that he was fully subjected to gravity. The merman was in an extremely vulnerable situation. He knew better than to try and resist Mulan. It wasn’t that he trusted her entirely that she’d actually help him, but she wasn’t showing any hostile movements and he wanted to keep it that way. He kept half of his body held up, exposing the three wounds on his chest to the open air.

“I hope you don’t intend to try and move me,” he commented, a few of his teeth showing in what might have been taken as a smile.

[Mulan]

  Mulan gave a slight start upon hearing him speak. On the one hand, she was relieved to be able to understand him. On the other, she hadn't been prepared, and gave a small jolt of surprise. Giving a pause over her supplies, she allowed herself to stand just the smallest bit closer, in order to hear him better.

“I hope you don’t intend to try and move me.”

  Mulan's lips pursed into a line, her eyes glazing over as she gave a small hum. "I see you have your wits about you, at least." She returned to her supplies, gathering up the necessary materials and preparing to dress his wounds. "Not on my own, no. But I have comrades that could help me." She knelt down beside him, gauze in hand, and a quizzical expression on her face as she looked down at him.


  "Will you let me help you?"

[The Gourmand]

The sea beast’s breathing became more audible. He didn’t appear to have trouble breathing in the air, but something was prompting him to pant; possibly the heat, possibly the stress, probably both. It wasn’t wholly clear if he was even still listening to the Freedom Fighter anymore as he began to turn his head away, looking past the waterline of the pond. The Gourmand was hard-wired to only show weakness in extreme situations. Being thrown into a world he knew nothing about, save any artifacts or technology that sunk to his depths, was extreme enough. As he was staring off, his face loosened into an expression of fear.

He looked back, forcing his rapid panting to slow by closing his mouth. He was still hyperventilating, but was able to think more or less clearly. Red eyes screwed up and he appeared to have just been clearing his throat before he turned his head to the side, spitting out the same teal-colored fluid that was leaking from the Trident wounds. The Gourmand’s eyes turned down to his chest and he shook his head.

“What choice do I have?” he muttered.

The Gourmand’s elbow slid through the mud and he lay more flat in the shallow water, supposedly surrendering to Mulan.

[Mulan]

  Mulan bowed her head, a gesture of both respect and gratitude.


  "Thank you." Without further delay, she began to apply first aid. She was suited for combat, not medicine, but this should, at the very least, keep him from dying. At least she hoped. In any case, she would radio back to camp the moment she felt just a little more confident about his condition.


  "Could you tell me what happened to you?" Mulan asked inquisitively, brows furrowing as she took note of his largest wound. Up close, she could see the distinct punctures across his skin. It didn't look like teethmarks, and it definitely didn't look like an accident. He was attacked. "Can you remember?"

[The Gourmand]

He didn’t seem willing or able to prop himself up again. Though, even in such a compromised state, he resisted showing any weakness. His expression was hardened and his eyes, though they only seemed vaguely focused on the middle distance, remained cold.

After some time, the guttural sound rose up from his throat again. Flat teeth became more visible as a snarl spread across his face. Red eyes briefly appeared luminous as they descended from cold to frigid.

“Triton.”

The water and mud sloshed as tendrils slithered erratically around his body for no immediate discernible reason.

[Mulan]

  Mulan's brows furrowed. It wasn't a name she recognized. But she understood the ice in his eyes. Whoever Triton was, he was an enemy.

  "I'm not sure if you'll consider this good news or bad," Mulan sat back, the bandages now, with some difficulty, staunching his bleeding. "But there's no Triton anywhere near here. You're safe from them now." Now she had another job to do. Wiping off the saltwater and slime as best as she could, she set about fishing for the radio at the bottom of her pack. She almost hadn't taken it with her today, a brief thought telling her that there would have been nothing to worry about. Fortune favors the prepared, however, and it was only instinct that she had tossed it in with her provisions anyway. Thank the ancestors.

  Using the contraption was another matter. Mulan had been taught, thankfully, but it still took a brief minute of fidgeting, as the device was still somewhat foreign to her. But she got it on, and pushed the button to speak into it just as Hikaru had shown her.

  "Hello? This is Mulan, calling base. Mulan to base." The last of her uncertainty melted away as she spoke. There wasn't time to wonder, it was time to act. "I have an injured civilian, twenty minutes south-southwest from camp. Requesting medical attention..." she paused, turning back to give her unfortunate new friend another glance. "...And a few strong bodies to help move him."