Expedition Private Post Urk: When the Dog Bites

[FinnianBrightfur]

The Hide rocked gently that night, the weary timbers letting out muted shudders as they rubbed against each other. A heavy fog had rolled in that afternoon, and lingered on well into the night. On the upper decks, it made the lanternlight visible, warm streaks of light radiating out into the night -- but the lower decks were pitch black, and blanketed in mist.

Finn swayed listlessly in his hammock, afflicted by troubled dreams. Sometimes it was an abstract fear -- but tonight it was far more concrete. He was back on the cold tundra of Urk, watching as the shrew behemoths ravaged his ship mates. There he was, with his small knife, paralyzed with fear. Unable to run, unable to fight. One shrew turned on him, it's head low and covered in shadow. With frightening speed it set upon him, and just as Finn felt it's claws tear into him, he saw the cold dead eyes of the idol. It's stone jaws opened wide, and clamped down on his elbow.

With a gasp, Finn sat up in his hammock. Instantly, a cold ache started up in his arm, and his paw clutched at the bandage wrapped around his elbow. The kit tumbled out of his hammock onto the floor. Pushing himself to his feet, he fumbled forward in the dark, fur bristling with fear. The darkness was stifling -- and the warm patch of light by the ladder to the upper deck seemed so far away. Groping his way forward in the dark, Finn bumped into something warm, and let out a startled cry.

 

[Morgan Liu]

Morgan wasn't supposed to be up out of her bed in the infirmary, but she'd gotten tired of laying there day in and day out. Besides, walking wasn't that painful. It was an injury to her chest, after all, and as long as she didn't jostle where her arm was kept in a sling (both to avoid hitting the drain tube in her chest and to avoid aggravating the injury further), she wasn't at risk of doing herself an injustice.

A fox kit bumping into her in the dark as she quietly strolled the crew quarters, though, might risk it. Morgan gasped as the kit inadvertently bumped her drain tube, sending a jolt of pain through the muscles around the metal tube and making a brief uncomfortable gurgling noise result. Her paws went out, grabbing the fox's shoulders to steady herself as she briefly felt dazed by the pain. "Finn?" she managed to ask as the ambient moonlight coming down through the hatch gave her enough illumination to see who had bumped her. She considered kneeling to hug him, then winced and reconsidered it as her wound and its treatment both smarted. Instead she patted his shoulder, trying to be comforting. "What's wrong, buddy?" she asked, her voice still a hoarse whisper. Breathing in or out too heavily was still painful, even if not forbidden by the doctor's orders, plus she didn't want to wake the crew. "Reckon ya shoul' be sleepin', righ'?"

 

[FinnianBrightfur]

It was just a dream. It was just a dream.

Finn fumbled in the dark as the shadowy figure occluded the light from the upper decks. The kit huffed in a panic, paws setting up on the other beast's torso to brace against them. Deep down, Finn knew it was just a crewmate... but he was spooked, and reason was playing second fiddle. Just as Morgan spoke, he recognized her scent in the dark. Things had been so busy with rescuing Talinn that he hadn't even had time to see her yet -- and a wave of joyful relief washed over him.

"M-morgan!?" he hissed in surprise, doing his best to not wake the sleeping crew. "I gotta... c-can we go on the upper deck?" he asked, quivering slightly under her paw. He felt much braver now that she was near... ...and yet. Finn leaned around the ferret, and spied the ladder. "C'mon!" he beckoned, leading her hastily by the paw.

 

[Morgan Liu]

Morgan winced as Finn inadvertently put pressure on a tender area of her torso, though she managed to avoid making an audible response. He was spooked, she could tell; in the moonlight his tail was poofed to nearly outsize his body. He clearly needed a friend in this moment, or a sister for that matter.

Ladders, though.

She knew enough about climbing to realize how badly that would aggravate her injury. Walking was one thing; hauling herself up that ladder would be an entirely different matter. Still, if she could reach the actual stairs... "Tell ya what," she offered, running her paw over his shoulder in an attempt to calm him, "why don' ya climb up, an' I'll take th' stairs an' join ya, okay?"

Being responsible sucks.

 

[FinnianBrightfur]

Finn was a little ball of tension, but just feeling Morgan's paw rest on his shoulder drew out a substantial portion of it. Still, there was an undeniable quiver in his voice, and he shuddered lightly. "Aye, th-that works!" he whispered, just quietly enough to keep from disturbing the weary crew.

Slipping past the ferret, he trotted stealthily towards the ladder, and scurried up it. There he waited for her on the top deck.

He had a slightly different countenance when Morgan saw him in the light. He looked older in some ways, as if he'd grown an inch merely setting foot on Urk. A little sturdier perhaps -- and miles more confident aboard the Hide. It was home, and he didn't feel so out of place.

At the same time, his eyes looked a touch sunken. He'd seen some things on Urk. His right elbow was wrapped in a snug gauze bandage, and he guarded it closely with his left.

As he caught sight of Morgan though, that changed. His face brightened, and a massive grin split his muzzle in two as he trotted over to gingerly wrap his arms around her. "Gates, it's good to see you again Morgan!"

 

[Morgan Liu]

It took time for Morgan to climb the stairs; even lifting her legs to ascend one at a time used muscles in her abdomen affected by her injuries. She managed to make it up in part by leaning side to side, reducing the amount she had to lift her footpaw to reach the same step (there was no way she was doing more than one step at a time). It was arduous, but still, when she reached the top, she put on an effort to smile and mask the pain at the sight of Finn.

Whatever she'd gone through on this voyage, it was nothing compared to what the rest of the crew had experienced. She'd seen that weasel Jill Piper struggling to move, her legs unresponsive, and the other injuries scattered among the crew as they cycled through the infirmary. Worse than that was the look in their eyes, that haunted expression. They'd been through hell on Urk, and only time could heal those injuries of the mind.

Morgan accepted Finn's hug, returning it with similar tenderness and care for both their injuries. "I missed ya too Finny," she whispered, one paw going up to stroke the back of his head. "I was worried abou' cha. Alla ya. I'm glad yer alrigh'. Or, well," she amended, "alive." She peered down at him, inquisitive concern in her eyes. "Ya wanna sit an' talk a bit?"

 

[FinnianBrightfur]

Finn could tell Morgan was in rough shape still -- and yet, apparently not in enough pain to stop her from climbing the stairs. He held on as tightly as he dared, and tipped his chin upwards like a happy little fox-barnacle. "I keep forgettin' yer still recovering... Mr. Barrett says injuries take longer to heal when you get old!" he said informatively -- before a brief look of horror crossed his face. "Ooollld-er. I didn't mean... What I meant to say was... you look really good for your age!" he quickly added with all sincerity*. Letting the jill go, he drew over to a crate and barrel sitting on deck, and reckoning that the crate was better suited for Morgan, perched himself up on the barrel.

"Yeah... I mean... ...it wasn't thaat scary? But... I just didn't... ...get near any of the really bad stuff? Though. The shrews fired a whole barrage of arrows at me, and one split my toothbrush in two when it was right in my muzz!" he exclaimed, swishing the paw on his good arm downward for effect. The nightmare forgotten, Finn cheerfully recounted the hilight reel of the battle on Urk.

"Mr. Barrett gave me a satchel of bandages and stuff and sent me out in the field, but... well... I couldn't really help anyone, because Mr. Tultow sent me away from the ramparts, and... OH MORGAN! I killed a shrew! He was this big ol' beast that was taller'n anyone on the Hide! And this uh... this feline lady came out of nowhere to fight with us, and his back was on fire with skulls, and I stabbed him in th'neck with my knife!"

Once the foxkit had started, stopping him was nearly impossible. "And Silvie was... well, he sorta had to take charge, and he kiiinda told off Mr. Barrett. And let me tell you, I've never seen Mr. Barrett speechless like that, he just sat there with his mouth open! You shoulda seen it! But then Silvie tried to send me an' Swift back to the boats... ...but he was in a dress, so Swift and I were gonna head back into battle, and that's when the prisoners showed up with the idol."

* Professions Finn was unqualified for: the age guesser at the carnival.

 

[Morgan Liu]

Morgan let the age comment slide; she well recalled being Finn's age and looking at older teenagers as ancient titans, not kids grown into adult-sized clothes. Soon enough he'd be in the same position as her, though hopefully with fewer holes in places where there shouldn't be any. She listened to the narrative of the expedition, trying to follow as best she could through the frenetic storytelling. It was all a bit rosy, but still enough to confirm that the hollow look she'd seen on so many faces was indeed the shock of their experiences catching up to them.

"Sounds like quite the adventure," Morgan remarked, shifting about on the crate as best she could to try to find a position that put less stress on her wounds. She was yet to find a solution. "Sorry I missed it- though maybe I got lucky. Sounds like more than a few didn't make it back." Her face fell as she asked, "No one's told me who we lost. I know Vim made it out, I heard Tultow and that sniper gal, whatsername, were in a bad way but would survive, but..." She shrugged. "I dunno. It's weird, 'cuz I don't really know anyone enough to miss 'em. 'Cept for you, Vim, Swiftie, Silvie, Greenie..." She rattled off names, checking them off on her pawfinger. "Okay, a good number," she admitted. "I'm just glad you're alright, Finn. I dunno what I'd do without ya. Probably chase ya into the Dark Forest an' fight whatever deity there is to get ya back."

 

[FinnianBrightfur]

Finn's cheerful exuberance waned slightly as Morgan asked of the lost. Exciting as the battle had been, for all it's thrills -- the foxkit knew there had been terrible losses as well. His young mind struggled to process the risks he'd been through. Though he'd participated in combat, it felt as if he'd just been an observer, watching a play. The actors on stage faced all the risk -- but they'd all still go home at night, wouldn't they? Internally, Finn knew this not to be the case, but...

"Honeytail didn't make it..." he said carefully, his eyes turning to Morgan to gauge her reaction. "Was an ambush. A lot of the marines that went with the cap'n and Gyles didn't make it either. Died in combat." Finn's ears lowered a little bit, and he studied Morgan carefully.

"...is... is it bad that I'm not sad about Honeytail?" he asked quietly, before blurting out "N-no! No, not like that! Like... ...like I'm really sad he died, he was a good beast, but I just... it was weird. Mr. Barrett sewed 'im up in his hammock, and I just... went and practiced sword fighting with Mr. Tultow. Just like it never happened," he said, voice quivering a little.

 

[Morgan Liu]

Morgan felt her spirits sink at the news of the dead, a grief and guilt creeping in that she couldn't name until Finn spoke. "Nah," she rushed to console him, "it ain't weird at all. I mean, I didn't really know any of 'em, ya know? It's like, I'm sad fer them, but I ain't sad fer me." She pondered a moment before assessing, "I reckon it has to be normal. I mean, if we were sad over every bad thing happening to every beast we barely knew, we'd never get outta bed, right? Only way we can keep going is ta have a moment of silence fer the dead, then get back to it."

 

[FinnianBrightfur]

Finn's tail swished, and he rested his chin on his paw with mild resignation. "I guess that makes sense..." he huffed, tail swaying listlessly behind him. True as Morgan's words were, they weren't satisfying. "Still dun' feel right, though. We're a crew, aren't we?" he asked -- but before Morgan could reply, the ship's bell rang out the hour. Finn drew his knees up to his chest to keep warm.

"D'you have bad dreams about it? When y'went under the boat to save Silv'?"

 

[Morgan Liu]

Morgan didn't have an answer to the 'crew' comment. Truth be told, she didn't know half the beasts on the ship, and she hadn't really known the dead either. It was hard to properly mourn for a beast whose name and life she hadn't even known.

A chill went down her spine at the question about the near-drowning. She hadn't had many sleeps since that incident, but those few had been troubled, to say the least. "Aye," she admitted, shifting to put her arm around Finn and draw him nearer for warmth. "I dream abou' it. Nigh'mares, really. Like I'm in the dark, drownin', lookin' fer air an' can't find it. Or I'm gaspin' fer air, bu' can't get a breath." She knew that the events of that day - all of it, the bloody, the brutal, the bitter - would live in her nightmares for weeks, maybe months or years, to come. She focused on Finn, trying to hug away the cold that had suddenly overtaken her, like that cold in her chest that had lodged there when the water came sweeping in. "Bu' then I wake up," she noted, "an' that don' mean everythin's better, jus'... better than it was, ya know? Like, sure, this ain' much fun," she poked at the tube in her side, "bu' I'm glad fer it, b'cause it means I'm alive, I'm healin', an' one day soon I won' need it no more. An' sure, I'll probably always feel the wound a bit, an' I sure won' ever forget it - but one day it'll jus' be somethin' that happened, ya know? It won' be what defines me anymore."

 

[FinnianBrightfur]

Finn didn't mind terribly when Morgan reached out to him. The foxkit slipped off the barrel like a coiled rope, and slouched between the jill and the barrel as he leaned against her side and listened to her dreams.

Morgan's words were deeper than his mind could process, and he puzzled quietly at them. One day, Urk would just be... something that happened? Would that be the way he thought about the Ambleside? His mother? "Yeah well... I don't want that. You, 'n Silv... Swift, Kaii, Darr... ...Heck, even Mr. Barrett. I don't want you to just become a thing..."

An old tune came to the kit's mind, one he'd heard the sailors singing near the docks. Holding onto Morgan's arm with his good paw, he sang a few bars into the night.

"Long we've tossed on the rolling main,
Now we're safe ashore, Jack!
Don't forget yer old shipmate,
Faldee raldee raldee raldee rye-eye-doe!"