[o] bone to pick

- You think that you're the man. I think, therefore, I am. -

Before she went to pick up Maea for the solo-ship-test-run, Thal had the crew float around the Arclight, letting them practice a few drills beforehand. They scurried around the deck as she shouted orders, watching their reactivity and giving Spook a few last-minute pointers. They were a good crew with seasons of sailing under their belts, but the First Mate was still new, and he needed to see how things functioned if he was going to succeed in the coming days. 

It wasn't until midafternoon that the grumbling started - both of stomachs and attitudes. She could feel herself similarly drained, hunger eating away at her patience as she snapped at a man for being too slow to tie the rigging. He flinched, hands fumbling and causing a cascade of rope and canvas to catch in the wind, ripping out of his grasp. Thal had to clench her teeth against the urge to snap his neck, pressing her thumb and forefinger hard between her eyes. Her voice barked loud over the waves, annoyance clear in her tone. "If you don't have it together by the time I get back, I'm canceling the trip and you'll all be swabbing this deck in the rain until I can see my reflection in the wood! Understood?!" The men hopped to attention, an echoing of 'Aye aye, Cap'n!'s ringing out. She didn't wait to see them follow through on her orders, a flick of her tail the only warning before she transformed into a growling lyvern. 

Thal swung out over the ocean, taking a moment to let the salt spray chill the fire threatening to rage. Maybe she needed to eat. It had been a minute since she'd hunted - her last one being interrupted by a near-mythical rose. So, it was a pleasant surprise to see the islands within a few minutes flight, and she was eagerly gliding down to its beach momentarily. 

Shifting with impressive grace to land upon a flat ivory skull, Thal tapped the daggers along her sides to ensure they hadn't been disrupted. Once she was certain they all remained in place, she glanced around, taking in the threatening plants and scattered skeletons. It seemed like the perfect place to find a meal.

Thalassa

- I'm not your friend or anything, damn -

Something stirred in the underbrush. At first glance it appeared to be a rock, almost as tall as the ancient woman's waist. On a closer inspection, the smooth mound was revealed as the shell of a tortoise, a truly giant specimen that lumbered slowly through the jungle. Upon finding a flower or particularly succulent cluster of leaf it stopped to graze, supremely unconcerned about the deadly nature of its surroundings. Its shell was littered by signs of the many ordeals it had survived over countless years, and now there were few, if any, who would even attempt to breach its fortress.

Overhead in the canopy, a chatter of monkeys sounded over the deafening chorus of insects and birds. Whether from a family dispute or because something else had entered their territory was hard to say, but they were climbing up and down the branches, sometimes almost reaching the ground level before shooting back up again.

Their antics disturbed a mongoose in its hunt; a snake slithered hastily out from between its paws and it looked up, blinking peevishly at the woman like it was all her fault, before it too darted off, in hot pursuit of the serpent.

- You think that you're the man. I think, therefore, I am. -

The abundance of life on the deadly island was surprising. Amidst sharp sentient plants that seemed to prey on anything in sight, there were animals of every shape and species going about their lives, as if they weren't surrounded by things that could kill them at any moment. It made for an interesting hunting situation where her prey was almost casual about her presence, like she wasn't even the most dangerous thing they'd encountered that morning. 

Palming her dagger, Thal took a moment to watch as the mongoose departed. It wasn't quite large enough to sate her appetite, and the tortoise didn't appeal to her in the slightest. That just left the pesky monkeys taunting her in the trees, not that she minded. Their chatter was obnoxious, chiming in her ears like a gaggle of giggling girls. It would bring her great pleasure to shut them up. 

Slipping between the trees like a shadow, she singed an overambitious branch that tried to reach for her. It sizzled before curling back into itself to reveal the monkeys above. Thal crouched, watching as they chased each other, her dagger poised as she waited for the right moment to strike.

[FIN]

Thalassa

- I'm not your friend or anything, damn -