Open The Soggy Side of Success

[Ruffano Quickwhistle]

The sunset glimmered across Bouillabaisse Harbor, a molten trail of gold and violet rippling through the masts and rigging of ships of all shapes and sizes. Gulls wheeled overhead, laughing like gossipmongers while the breeze carried the scent of tar, salt, and wet wood.

Padding down the dock with all the swagger of a beast who’d just bested fate itself came Ruffano Quickwhistle, tail high, whiskers proud, humming an upbeat sea shanty that rose and fell with the creak of the waves. Each paw swung a bulging satchel of personal effects, straps creaking under the weight of whatever clutter the ferret had deemed indispensable.

He was in excellent spirits. His plan had worked flawlessly. Not only was Griblo out of his fur for a while, but the scoundrel was earning his own honest keep for a change. After the fox's life fell apart, Ruffano had offered his long time ferrety friend a room in his upscale apartment. After all, he did need the help keeping the mortgage paid, so Ruffano could continue his “career sabbatical” and plot his grand return to the spotlight. Now thanks to his "connections" to Jeshal the Ironclaw, he had a guaranteed payday coming, barring the ferret dying on the voyage. He relished the thought of being that less anxious when the collections beasts showed up.

He even came up with a new verse to the tune he was humming as he walked, improvising with every swaggering step:

“Two bags o’ burden, one fox unbent,
The ferret’s gone workin’, the rent’s still spent!”

As the Blackship came into view, its dark hull catching the last blush of daylight, Ruffano spotted a familiar shape slumped beside a dock piling. There, hunched like a stormcloud with fur, was Griblo Jankweed. His arms were folded, ears flat, and his face was twisted into the sort of expression only total indignity could forge.

Ruffano’s grin broadened.

He slowed his stride, savoring the sight like a fine wine. Every beat of that sour little silhouette seemed to applaud his triumph. Reaching the ferret’s side, he let both bags thud softly against the boards, one landing firm, the other rolling just slightly on its uneven bottom before settling precariously close to the dock’s edge.

Ruffano clasped his paws behind his back, leaned forward just enough to catch the full view of that miserable mug, and let the words drip from his tongue like honey laced with vinegar.

"Oh deary me… And here I thought you'd be showin’ off that sparkling toothy smile. Did’ja get booted out on your tail and are tryin’ to fill the harbor with your tears?"

 

[Griblo Jankweed]

Griblo sprang upright with a snarl, fur bristling and tail lashing.
"Oi! Took ye long ‘nuff! Been sittin’ ‘ere for goin’ on an hour!"

A soft kerplunk sounded somewhere beneath them. Small, innocent, and wholly ignored as the evening waves swallowed it up.

"Oi gots de job roightly ‘nuff... Keep yer tail on."

"Well then act like it! You look like a sour toad what sat on a thistle! Where’s my thank you?"

"Piss off! Ye ‘ave no notion o’ de horrors ye’ve put me through! Dere’s this sick-in-de-‘ead, giant rabbit what assaulted me! ‘E inspected me all o’er loike a fine cut o’ meat! ‘E’s seen things meant fer me an’ Vulpuz’s eyes alone!"

"You’re sour about a physical!? ’Tis naught but a formality, ferret-face! And here I thought ye were made a swabbie or sommat!"

"Dat was no physical, Ruff! I swears t’ye! I ‘aven’t ever felt more violated! Ye expect me t' sail wit' dis monster!?"

"Psshaw... Leave the dramatics to me, Grib. They suit me better. I’m sure your mama’s done worse to ye..."

"Don’ bring me mum into dis, ye washed-up lout! Where’s me stuff?"

Ruffano waved both paws grandly, gesturing to the dock beneath them, tone smooth as butter.
"Relax, relax! It’s all right here, see?"
He pointed toward the single satchel between them, grin confident as ever.

"Right ’ere?" Griblo’s eyes went wide. "Dere were two bags, ye ninny! Two!"

Ruffano blinked, his smugness faltering. He looked down. Sure enough... only one bag sat on the dock. The other had vanished as completely as his dignity in polite society.

"Well..." he began, far too casually, "two bags is what I brought! Can’t say where the one’s run off to in such a hurry!"

That did it.

"OI!" Griblo’s voice cracked across the harbor like a cannon, directed at the nearest beast in his vicinity. "THIEF! THIEF!!! Gimme back me stuff!!!"

The few dockside beasts within earshot froze mid-stride as the ferret’s shrill accusation echoed off the timbers. Meanwhile, somewhere beneath the pier, the tide lapped innocently against a sinking satchel...

 

[HuckleTheCartoonist]

Huckle was in his own little world, keeping his eyes down with a Small and Soft smile on his face as he Swept and Cleaned the deck of any Dirt and Grime the caught his wide-eyed attention, Nearly sweeping to the point the deck's boards became a lighter Brown — now that's some real dedication to work! All was well for the young badger... Until the sound of Grilbo's unholy shriek shot him out his trance, his head shooting up to look in the Ferret's direction, his brow furring as he starred daggers at him

" Has he lost his mind? ..."

He softly whispered to himself

 

[Izakis]

(Not part of the crew, but this is still in BH so she is here as a guest!)

Izakis was closing the day by wandering the docks. She had to spent a pretty penny to get a quick tail prosthetics. Even if it was growing back, she needed that tail for looking as immaculate as ever to do her work. Though...

She now had two jobs in fact. She was formally signed with Smudgies. Did so the same day the Opera disaster had happened. But as she awaited for her training to start, she still had to live. As such, back to the old career it was. Deep inside Izakis knew she would never fully stop it, but she was now at least having a new, much more fulfilling goal in life.

Still, today was a good one, she had managed to earn enough for the day and for her savings as well as she had a gig tonight that would give her a place to... sleep among very fine silks and warm bodies.

Thus she was now just taking her evening walking by, enjoying the last rays of warm sun.

Until two bests she was passing by suddenly got agitated, with one of them screaming something about thieves.

She wasn't yet a fully fledged Smudgie, but she sure felt like one. Thus she sashayed over to the two and put on very warm and conciliatory smile.

"Good evening boys... I hear you are throwing harsh words over one another. Mind if I step in and help you ssssmooth it out? I am ssssure whatever it is you two are quarrelling over... it can be reasonably managed." She spoke in velvety tone, keeping adequate, if close distance to both males. Making sure that her pose would be as alluring as possible.

 

[Griblo Jankweed]

Griblo spun in a full circle, eyes wild and fur on end, every whisker standing at attention like he’d just licked a live wire. His claws jabbed the air in every direction.

"Don’t jus’ stand there gawkin’ Ruff! somebody’s nicked me bag!"

A flash of movement caught his eye. A young badger standing up on the Blackship's deck above, broom in paw, was staring like he’d just witnessed a murder.

"Oi! Quit yer gawkin’, stripey!" Griblo barked, marching a step closer. "Ye seen who done it, or are ye jus’ starin’ like a stunned mullet waitin’ fer the tide?"

Ruffano’s voice chimed in somewhere behind him, full of that infuriating calm that only made things worse.
"For Vulpuz’s sake, Grib, stop frightenin’ the dockhands. It’s just a..."

"A what, Ruff? A bag full o’ socks?!" Griblo snapped back, cutting him off. "Ye ‘aven’t the faintest clue what’s in dere! Important stuff! Priceless! Sentimental!" He wasn’t even sure which of those was true, but it sounded convincing enough shouted loud.

He turned again. From the corner of his eye, a sleek, scaled figure approached, moving with practiced grace and a voice smooth enough to oil a winch. Griblo’s jaw dropped, then snapped shut with a click.

"Ohhh, I see now!" he bellowed, pointing a claw straight at her snout. "Slithered in all quiet-loike, did ye? Thought ye could nick me bag an’ charm yer way past it, eh?"

He stalked a half-step closer, eyes narrowed, voice dripping with indignant triumph. "Aye, I knows yer type! All scales an’ smiles, thinkin’ ye can dazzle honest beasts outta their possessions! Well not this ferret, ye tail-swappin’ sneak!"

He jabbed the air again, tail lashing hard enough to make the dockboards creak. "Now ye hand it over afore I ‘ave every beast on dis dock turn ye upside-down till it rolls out yer tail scales!"

 

[Ruffano Quickwhistle]

Ruffano pressed his paws to his temples and sighed as though the weight of the world... or at least one shrieking ferret... rested squarely on his shoulders. The echo of Griblo’s accusation was still bouncing off the rigging when he muttered under his breath,

Ye’d think he’d lost a crown jewel instead o’ a sack full o’ moth-eaten socks.

He risked a glance up. The dockhands were frozen mid-stride; a gull on a piling looked personally offended. And then he set eyes on the blue skink approaching with intent. In an instant, Ruffano’s whole demeanor changed. His ears perked, tail lifted, and his grin returned like sunshine after a storm. He doffed an imaginary hat and bowed with theatrical grace.

"Ahh, an angel amid all this chaos. Please forgive the noise, m’lady... My associate’s lungs are as overworked as his imagination."

He stepped closer, slipping between Griblo and the newcomer with a fluid, practiced ease that could’ve been choreographed.

"Pay him no mind my dear! He’s newly employed and still learnin’ that panic isn’t in the guidelines." His smile sharpened just enough to glint in the fading light.

He extended a paw toward her, voice softening to a silken purr.
"Now… how might we smooth this all out, as ye so sweetly offered?"

 

[Korya]

Korya sighed, the bubbles blowing out of her mouth tickling her whiskers. No peace and quiet anywhere, even clinging to a rock several feet beneath the water! All she wanted to do was practice her breath-holding... And just let the salty water brush her fur back and forth with the current. A simple moment of peace, away from nagging superiors and sleep-mumbling bunkmates and every other rude creature who bumbled their way around the ship and then yelled at her for it. No, she would not watch where she was going, thank you very much! Maybe you lot with the working eyeballs should! Grrr...

Griblo's screeching was loud enough to scatter fish, so it was definitely loud enough to make her lose her place in her mental recital of the best Northland drinking songs. How many kegs of ale had been spilled down the mountain? She'd have to start over.

The last of the bubbles left her, and she pushed off, kicking back to the surface...

Bonk.

Too soft to be the dock itself... What was this... still falling past her...

She grabbed the satchel, feeling all about. Some kind of... ah, a bag... Not... not HER bag, surely? She'd stowed her clothes and things somewhere nobeast should be kicking it around... unless they'd tossed it down as a cruel joke...

Clinging to the satchel, she surfaced at last, with little more than a splish and a steady, calm inhalation of fresh - okay, Bully Harbor, stale - air. Her ears flicked as she tread water, listening to the commotion above... Meanwhile, her paws busied themselves in opening the bag to rummage around inside it, trying to guess what each item was.

 

[Izakis]

Izakis took on the spiteful and aggressive posturing of the ferret with warm smile, yet showing that she seriously listened. His gripe was after all valid. To trash out once you've lost something in this city, suspecting any beast to be a culprit, was normal after all. She still felt a pang of pain to be seen only as a pretty charmer, but after a lifetime of it, she didn't care as much. She was after all raised to be a slave and fulfil desires of the master she escaped from. Even if she had a goal in life now, that was still who she was.

"Ah, I ssssee. Unfortunately, I doubt that sssshredding me apart would ssssolve your issue ssssweetheart. Besides, where" Izakis pointed at her sparse clothing "do you think I could hide it? Unless you want to sssshred me in a different way to manage with sssstress that is~ Fuhuhuhu!"

Then she had turned to the dashing todd, one that she could easily see as an artistic type, with his moves practised and graceful and psyche that was flexible... he seemed to be an actor. Izakis dealt with those quite often and did enjoy them as long as they weren't full of themselves as was often the case. She smiled and pulled her hands and tail closer to her striking a bolder and more inviting pose.

"As for you mister... While there are many fun ways I could consider to help you two, I actually am with Unsmudgables. So, allow me to ask what the two of you did before the bag went missing? And please, sssshare as much as you can, the ssssooner we are done with the work, the ssssooner we can get to the fun after all~" Izakis ran her long tongue over her scaly muzzle, observing carefully the reaction of the two.

 

[Griblo Jankweed]

Griblo’s snarl faltered at the skink’s pointed gesture toward her very limited clothing. He blinked, jaw working, caught between indignation and the faint, begrudging realization that she truly had nowhere to hide a whole satchel.

"W...well I dunno!" he blurted, puffing up again even as his ears twitched sideways. "Oi’ve seen beasts magic away all sorts o’ t’ings int’a hidin’! Don’t need pockets fer trickery!"

Behind him, Ruffano groaned like he was being tortured.

"In performance, Grib. There are no trap doors and mirrors out here in this filth."

"Oi shut it!" Griblo snapped back without missing a beat. "So maybe she didn’t nab it... but a conspirator might’ve! Ain’t nobody above suspicion when me bag’s gone missin’!"

He spun sharply, boots scuffing the dock as he scanned the shadows, the deckhands, the rigging, the ropes, even Huckle on the deck above. Every one were suspects in the court of His Ferret Majesty’s Delusions.

A wet splash suddenly sounded below. Griblo froze. His head snapped toward the narrow water gap between dock and ship.

"Oi!" he barked, scrambling to the edge so fast he nearly toppled in. "Like dat! D’ere’s somebeast in de water!"

He stomped both footpaws hard enough to rattle the planks, tail bristling like a bottle brush.

"Don’t jus’ stand dere gawkin’! Me bag’s bein’ nicked in real time!"

Whirling back around, he jabbed a desperate claw at Izakis.

"Ye said yer one o’ dem Unsmudgies! Do sommat!"

He flailed a paw at her dramatically, then at the water, then back to her, as though this alone should spark some miraculous intervention. His glare then shot sideways at Ruffano next, sharp as a harpoon.

"An’ you, stop starin’ at her loike she’s yer next payday an’ help me find me bleedin’ bag!"

He leaned over the edge again, squinting angrily at the dark water. He was completely unaware that the bag was, at this very moment, being rifled through by quite a strange beast indeed...

 

[Ruffano Quickwhistle]

Ruffano watched Griblo’s tantrum with the same expression one might use for a tantruming dibbun, the fondness long since replaced by weary tolerance. As the ferret stamped and shrieked and pointed wildly at shadows and water alike, the fox let out a long, soulful sigh.

"What has happened, my dear," he began smoothly, turning his attention entirely to Izakis with a warm, appreciative smile, "is a complete misunderstanding."

He made a lazy, circling gesture toward Griblo, as though presenting a stage prop rather than a living creature.

"Griblo insisted on having his bags stuffed with tobacco, rum, an’ all manner of ‘spirited tradables’ to keep the voyage exciting for his fellow crewmates. Quite thoughtful of him, really… though it made the thing an easy mark for any enterprising thief with half an eye."

He didn’t even bother lowering his voice.
Or turning toward the water again.
Or acknowledging Griblo’s growing frenzy.

"It is, tragically," he added with great sympathy and absolutely none of the sincerity, "no beast’s fault but his own."

Griblo’s strangled sputtering behind him only made Ruffano’s smile widen.

Ruffano pivoted toward Izakis fully, shoulders angled, tail lifting in a suave arc, and every line of his posture shifting into polished elegance. Gone was the exasperation; in its place, the fox practically shimmered.

"Now then, my dear…" he purred, stepping close enough for the harbor breeze to dance between them, "I have no qualms with getting to the fun now and leaving ol’ Grib to progress through the stages of grief in peace."

He tilted his head, amber eyes warm with interest.

"Tell me… have we met before?"
"I couldn’t possibly forget a face of such beauty and refinement."

With a practiced sweep of grace, Ruffano sidled up beside her, bowed deeply at the waist, and extended his paw in offering with his palm upturned, and fingers relaxed.

A fox expecting, of course, that her delicate scaled hand would settle neatly into his so he could place a kiss upon it as the sun dipped behind the masts.

 

[Korya]

Korya froze under the pier. Stolen bag? Was she the thief? Couldn't be, it had bonked her not the other way around...

She held still and kept listening. She knew one of the voices, Griblo. They bunked near enough on the ship, ran into each other sometimes during training. So this... might be his stuff... she could get into his graces if she could find a way to get it to him without being accused of stealing it. At the moment it sure sounded like he wouldn't believe any other story... Hm.

Tobacco, rum... she could definitely feel some rum. Hopefully nothing ruined by the water... She carefully closed the satchel, her feet still gently kicking to keep her head above the surface, and then dropped it, letting the water take it down.

She let out a soft groan and paddled around a bit until she found a post, and dug her claws in, climbing out of the water and flopping onto the pier, making a big show of coughing up water. When her mouth was empty, she clutched at her head and whimpered.

"Oof... what's going on... something fell on my head, almost knocked me out and drowned me..."

 

[Izakis]

The skink clearly observed two things for now.

The ferret was incredibly irred, whatever was in this bag was truly of great value for him. Even if they were rude, they really were afraid of losing this bag. Though of course, Izakis was still stung on the inside that such accusations were thrown against her.

Also the todd was a narcissist. Easy enough to handle.

Grasping his paw delicately with hers for a kiss he indicated, humouring his advances, Izakis decided to play this game in a way she was familiar with. Nudging this beast into assistance by simply showing that is what she wants, making him cooperate by simply leading him towards the prize. That being herself. She had done it enough to know the game after all.

"Maybe... I am often invited to balls, great parties and other events, both private and public. Yet also I am sssspending my days prowling the city. Though I am assured we have not talked before... you may have sssseen me before."

Just after the kiss however she took her paw back with a sly smile full of promise.

"However... let's not leave with your friend being so upset. I wouldn't be in right mindset after not helping a beast in need you ssssee." Then she turned to the ferret that still was mad and gracefully walked over to him, looking over the pier into the water. Indeed there was some movement there. While she wasn't too fond of getting into the cold waters of the sea, she was possibly the most amphibious beast from the group. Thus with no hesitation, she started dropping her silks to jump into the water unburdened.

But before letting go of the final piece, remembering also that it was the last barrier from getting potentially arrested for public indecency (not the first time), she hesitated for just long enough to witness as a small feline emerged from the water. Then climbed the pier. Izakis quickly reacted and got to help the kitten out of the water. Once on the pier, and after assuring that they were not drowning and getting air normally, Izakis passed her over to the todd. Their words made her act before thinking. Surely what fell into water must've been the bag in search right?

"Warm her please and keep her ssssafe, also please do look after my bearings darling..."

Then slipping free, she jumped into the water. She wasn't as great of a swimmer as some other reptiles, but she had good amount of adaptations. Just enough to move quickly and see well. The matter of cold water put her on the timer, as she was searching for what she assumed must've been a bag that fell into the water.

 

[Ruffano Quickwhistle]

Ruffano kissed the skink’s hand with all the soft devotion of a stage prince. When she slipped it from his grasp a heartbeat later, he inhaled sharply, a tiny, wounded gasp, as though robbed of a final encore.

"But my dear! Griblo is merely experiencing delusion!" he insisted, paw pressed lightly to his chest. "However… if calming the ferret is what keeps you in such radiant spirits, then by all means soothe my musteline companion."

He flashed her a smile full of promise and mischief…
…and then she began undressing.

The fox froze.

Silks slipped from her shoulders and pooled into his paws, and he stared at her as though witnessing an eclipse made just for him.

"M…my gods!" he breathed. "Does helping beasts truly embolden you this much? If that is the case, I know plenty o’ beasts requirin’ immediate assistance! M’self included!"

He gathered her silks with reverence, holding them as though spun from heirloom moonlight...
...then promptly choked as something wet and bedraggled was shoved toward him.

A soggy little feline was thrust into his arms. His jaw dropped, ears flattening dramatically as his soul quietly fled his body.

"Oh-oh Vulpuz preserve me...must I…?"

But Izakis was already turning back toward the water, ready to dive, and the fox’s priorities snapped instantly back into place.

With a dramatic groan, Ruffano shrugged off his vest, every movement dripping with exaggerated suffering. He draped it around the shivering kitten with the care of a beast handling a venomous snake. Then he knelt beside her, stiff and awkwardly, heroically resisting the urge to recoil.

"There now… warmed. Protected. Cherished... Do please avoid touchin’ too much o’ me."

He shifted his knees, trying desperately to avoid contact with the expanding puddle beneath her.

Then Izakis leapt like a flash of elegance, disappearing beneath the dark water. Ruffano’s eyes widened.

"She dives like a goddess…" he whispered in awe.

And then, with a flick of his ear toward Griblo’s shrieking silhouette:

"Grib, if she freezes her scales off for your ratbag o’ filth, I swear I’ll toss you in after her."

 

[Griblo Jankweed]

While Ruffano fluttered and fawned over the skink like some lovesick stage peacock, the ferret stomped hard enough to rattle the dock.

"Wells get on wit’ it, den!" he barked, tail bristling like a bottlebrush. "M’ bag is prolly ‘alfway cross Bully by now ‘cause o’ yer condition, Ruff!"

But then Izakis began to undress.

Griblo’s shriek could have stripped barnacles off the hull.

"HELLS GATES! ‘AVE YE TWO NO SHAME!? Dis is a rescue, not a romance novel!"

He clutched his head as though physically assaulted by the sight... and then, as Korya was hauled from the water and shoved into Ruffano’s arms, his horror snapped straight into accusation.

"Don’t coddle it!" he howled, pointing with both paws as though casting a curse. "Dat’s the thief!! I knows it!"

He gestured wildly at the dripping kitten.

"String it upside-down an’ wring it out till m’ bag falls out!"

He made a furious twisting motion like wringing out a sponge, nearly losing balance and pitching into the harbor himself.

He whipped back toward the water where Izakis had disappeared below the surface.

"OI!! DOCKLIZARD!" he bellowed down into the waves, voice cracking violently. "Don’t nick anythin’ from it if’n ye finds it! Dat bag’s MINE, d’ye hear!? MINE!!"

He turned on Ruffano again, jabbing a trembling claw at him.

"An’ you! Stop cuddlin’ dat waterlogged pickpocket an’ HELP!"

He leaned dangerously over the edge, squinting at the rippling black water, ready to explode anew at the slightest movement.

 

[Korya]

Korya flailed about as her plan to be the hero unravelled. It was the shock that kept her still so long - the shock of being beastpawdled like a porcelain doll again, passed from beast to beast like a dibbun. The dangers of being tiny...

"For goodness sakes, stop picking me up, I'm not some rag!" The attack, delayed by the mental struggle of accepting the atrocities that had happened, came too late. She hissed, spat, clawed at the air, punched and kicked, and hit nothing but the dock beneath her (and her own tail. And, in a surprising show of dexterity, one of her own ears.)

With a growl, the naked feline leapt to her feet, stumbled forward into Ruffano, bit his arm, and turned and dove back into the water.

Thunk.

She stood up again, rubbing her bleeding nose, wobbled a little, then carefully knelt and pawed her way to the edge of the pier. Then she stood up and dove into the water.

It was a magnificient dive, worthy of a dolphin. Barely a ripple left in her wake as her still-soaked tail slipped beneath the surface. When the water began to slow the descent from the weight of her body itself, she began to kick, listening to any sounds that might indicate the other bag-rescuer's location.

First, she had to get to the bottom. Being manoeuvred around above hadn't been part of the plan. She no longer knew her location relative to where she'd been before, where she'd let the bag sink. If she could find a post to orient herself, it could be any of six that she'd dropped it near.

Well, it was a good breath-holding practice... Hopefully, if she lost this race, the ferret's booming voice would let her know to give up the hunt.

She kicked and pointed her paws forward, diving deeper, fangs bared against the salt water. The bag wouldn't be the only thing she'd hunt...

 

[Izakis]

Gracefully wriggling her body in fluid motions, Izakis did her best to calm her own body down. The adrenaline kept her going, but the water was cold indeed, ripping away the warmth of her body at impressive speed. Still, she could go deep and hold breath for a long time and wish to help somebeast was really really strong motivator. She did have to promise herself though that at the point where her movements would slow down, she would instantly start emerging, getting stuck in this water spelt death for any reptilian.

Thanks to having double lidded eyes, she could see as far as the mud allowed her to. She couldn't see the bag for a long while, getting deeper and deeper, using a wooden pole as a guide to not get too far away from the place she was at.

And soon she could spot a bag, one that couldn't be anybeast else, considering it was very freshly put into the water, still unstained with mud, algae and other things that quickly built-up upon items left in the sea. She was ready to dash towards it, but instead a sudden splash made her turn her head.

It was that feline she just helped out of the water. Diving blindly and kicking with, arguably, impressive finesse. Izakis knew some cats liked water, but this one was on another level. The issue? They seemingly were racing to the bottom at blind...

While she was at first hoping just that the ferret in the fit of anger didn't just throw the kitten into the water, she now realised that instead this kitten indeed could be just a one who took the bag, now diving to hide the evidence.

The issue was? that kitten was going in a wrong direction. And with the intensity they were working their limbs? They definitely risked getting themselves lost in the water and potentially unable to save enough air to get to the surface.

Izakis didn't have enough time to get both. The choice was however simple to her. Even if that was a thief, her life was more precious than any bag. Especially one that was already located. It was heavy enough to sit on the mud firmly so Izakis could just get it later. She twirled in the water, retargetting herself straight at the kitten. Her hips, legs and tail working in unison in movement natural to the aquatic species.

Soon she found herself by the kitten again. She grasped it firmly, coiling her tail around it. Then she made a dash to the bottom, despite the kitten fighting it. She pushed the prosthetic at the end of her tail into this feline's mouth, making sure they would bite at someplace the skink wouldn't feel the pain at.

And she hoped for the best, even as she now felt how much the cold slowed her thinking and feeling. She just had to get to the surface.

Please. Don't fight me. She moved her jaws, forming the words. Knowing however they wouldn't be heard.

 

[Griblo Jankweed]

Griblo’s eyes bulged as the entire scene unfolded faster than his brain could catalog the disasters.

First the kitten bit Ruffano.
Then she smacked into the dock like a stunned gull.
Then -oh Vulpis help him- she launched into the harbor again, a streak of wet fury, with the skink diving in right behind her.

"OI! She’s gettin’ away! After her!!!" he shrieked, scrambling to the edge of the pier as though shouting alone could arrest the chaos.

Shapes twisted under the surface, one sleek and serpentine, the other flailing like a sack of angry weasels. His heart shot into his throat.

"DAT KITTEN’S DROWNIN’ THE LIZARD!" he bellowed. "Hell’s teeth, Ruff! DO SOMMAT!"

Griblo spun, wild-eyed, at the dockhands gawking far too comfortably for his liking.

"Find a rope! SOMEBEAST FIND A BLOODY ROPE! I didn’t want nobeast dyin’ over dis!"

He whipped back to the water. Every bubble seemed a portent of doom.

"STOP WRASSLIN’ AN’ SURFACE BEFORE YE BOTH CROAK!"

He leaned further.
And further.
And...

...Forgetting how close is was to the edge, his own footpaw stepped out into the abyss and suddenly the world tilted.

"SODDING...!"

SPLASH.

The water swallowed him whole. Cold slammed into his bones. Griblo erupted back to the surface in a frenzy splashes and profanity.

"I’M DROWNIN’!" he howled, despite very clearly treading water. "THIS IS BLOODY MURDER!"

A wave slapped him in the face, and he came up sputtering, claws flailing toward the dock.

"RUFF! THROW ME A LINE! A ROPE! A STICK! SOMMAT!"

But even as he screamed, something under the surface caught his eye. The two forms were still entangled in the depths. Izakis dragging the kitten upward. Korya limp for a heartbeat, then kicking again. For one strangled moment, genuine fear hit him square in the chest.

"F...faster! Don’t let de little menace sink!"

He smashed the moment away with another splash of bravado and sucked in a breath.

"Ruff! Ye get that blasted rope steady! Help d'ose two! I’ll get de bag!"

Before his common sense could object, Griblo sucked in the biggest breath his lungs could hold and ducked under, diving toward the muddy bottom where his precious satchel had vanished.

Cold darkness swallowed him, but he kicked downward anyway, paws reaching, teeth grit tight, chasing the faint silhouette of his sunken livelihood. Because if Izakis was hauling the kitten up alive, then someone had to haul up the rest, and the ferret would be damned before he let that bag die alone at the bottom of Bouillabaisse Harbor.

 

[Ruffano Quickwhistle]

Ruffano’s flippant mood snapped like a violin string the instant tiny needle-teeth sank into his arm.

"YOUCH! Oh you feral little cur!"

He jerked back, clutching the offended limb dramatically to his chest as though the kitten had the jaws of a great white shark

"Hells Gates! Oh Vulpis please tell me she’s not rabid..."

He staggered a half-step after her, ready to launch into a tirade as she stumbled her way back into the water… only to stop cold as the drop off and murky water beneath yawned out in front of him.

Ruffano steadied himself, giving a sharp head shake.

“Nope,” he breathed to himself. “I'm absolutely not taking a bath in the harbor, thank you...”

His eyes flicked down to the bundle of Izakis’ silks still in his paws. With a soft gasp of realization, he hurried toward a nearby crate brimming with fruit and gently eased the garments inside, tucking them in like fragile treasures. His own sodden vest lay forgotten where the kitten had dribbled all over it.

That was when Griblo’s shriek split the sky. Ruffano spun just in time to watch Griblo slip, pinwheel, and vanish with an awkward SPLASH.

Ruffano’s ears flattened hard against his head.

"Hells Teeth! Why did I agree to performing this drop myself!?" he cried to the heavens. "I should be out on the town with a vixen on one arm and a tod on the other, not fishing for vermin!"

Still grumbling, he spotted a coil of rope hanging loosely around a mooring bollard. He scrambled toward it and snatched the coil free, dropping to his knees at the pier’s edge. He looped the rope with hurried, fumbling precision into a street performer’s knot born from years of tying props backstage. Satisfied, he swung the lassoed end out over the water toward the thrashing forms of the skink and tiny kitten.

"Hold on, love! Take this! Come on now!"

His free paw braced against the pier. Muscles tensed. He leaned dangerously far forward, reaching down toward the churning dark below, eyes locked on the faint outline of Izakis struggling upward with the tiny menace in tow.

A splash echoed to his left as Griblo dove after the cursed bag himself.

Ruffano didn’t even look.

"You daft fool! Is every beast tryin’ to drown themselves today?!"

But his attention still remained wholly on the reptile beneath the bitter cold waves. The panic on his face was unadorned now. This was no performance, this was suddenly a true rescue mission.

"Come on! Reach! Reach for the rope! I’ve got you, darling, just a little more!"

He dug in his footpaws, body angled low, ready to haul her up the moment she caught hold. Everything else faded behind the singular focus of getting the skink pulled from the oily black water.

He held the rope tight.
He leaned into the cold spray.
And he waited with his breath held.

 

[Korya]

So the rumors were true.

Korya took a moment to process.

BY THE RED BLOODIED FANGS OF SAMPETRA THE SEA GODDESS, THE HARROWING TALES OF DIABOLICAL KRAKENS IN BOUILLABAISSE HARBOR HAD COME TO LIFE TO SNUFF HERS IN HER PRIME!

The tentacle wrapped about her, pulling her in fates knew what direction - the old sea rat's peg-leg shoved in her mouth, the remnants of the previous victim - all because of her bloodied nose, still stinging from the dock collision, stinging again from the salt! She wormed an arm free and began punching wildly at the scaly menace constricting her, her kicks focused on angling her body to try and reach further down the tentacle's trunk.

Air? Who needed air! She was good for a few more minutes... although this was definitely not a meditative moment, no heart slowing, no concentration - just sheer, unbridled, unrestrained survival instinct.

Realizing she had an arm free, she pried the wooden prosthetic from her mouth, twisted around, and bit.

Bubbles flew from her mouth. That was her tail.

She twisted the other way, grabbing the tentacle first, and then bit.

She was Korya Preykova, Daughter of the Northlands! Creator of the World's Spiciest Noodles! The Purr-maid of the Whitecap Mountains! The Future Underground Boxing Sensation, Name-Yet-To-Be-Determined! And if the sea said "Fight the legendary kraken to prove yourself" then by gum, she would pulverize that two-bit little octopus-crocodile wannabe!

Claws, fangs, fists, feet - even her tail thwapped away at her captor, with no sign of relenting.

 

[Izakis]

It was a good thing that the cold water was numbing her senses more and more. With full focus on holding the feline and swimming, dissipating energy was becoming a serious issue, though it also made her scales stiff. Korya’s bite still hurt a lot, but not enough to distract the skink from doing what was right.

The issue of course was in the fact that Izakis was not very strong. She could do wonders with her body true, but unlike most beasts, she actively avoided putting on more muscle. Her slim, lean build being perfect for her job. And while she had plenty of endurance and stamina, it meant little in water that drained her energy like a leech. Korya’s fighting did also the situation to be more difficult. Izakis could’ve just waited till the kitten tires out, but she didn’t want for them to drown… nor for herself to freeze, which was more probable.

And while she couldn’t really hear apart Gribblo entering the water, due to the amount of noise Korya was making, at the periphery of her vision, she had spotted one slowly falling rope. It came from above. In semi-desperate attempt, she let her arms go off the cat, holding her only with the bleeding tail, though doing so firmly, and thighs, quickly swimming over to grasp the rope and attempt to pull herself up.