[SNEAK PEEK] A Beast Aboard
Captain Zender's ship is attacked by an unstoppable foe.
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**A Beast Aboard
By Limewah
Subscriber Reward for BluKodi (March 2024)**
Featuring Zender’s character
SNEAK PEEK
“CAPTAIN!”
The shout from above decks only gave Captain Zender, renowned sky pirate, a second to react before something heavy collided with the side of the sky ship and sent him reeling away from his desk. The blue furred rabbit only just had time to cover his face and curl up into a foetal ball, shielding himself to avoid cracking a rib against the wall of his cabin. He didn’t go uninjured, though - his ornamental gold astrolabe connected with his forehead with a resounding clang before scattering with the rest of his furniture.
He was lucky, though, his enchanted cutlass was buried in the wall like an axe, dangerously close to one of his lop ears.
“Ah, hell and blast it all,” the blue-furred hare muttered. He got to his feet, hunkered down and braced himself for the next crash. The acoustics, the force of it, and the speed at which it had come upon them… it was definitely not a bounty-ship. It was something else. Something big.
Another impact, this time from above, made him lift off the floor for a moment. Some form of sky-beast…
The screams and yells of his crew were dying out quite rapidly, too, which… did not bode well. There were no screams of pain or injury, only fear. He couldn’t hear the sounds of scuffling, either… maybe they were taking cover, and they needed their captain to galvanise them.
The boat rocked and pitched slightly, straining under what appeared to be a rather heavy weight… was the beast still abord? Why was it so quiet…?
He threw on his dark captain’s coat and snapped his fingers, upon which his blade vanished from its home in the wall and appeared at his hip. He sighed as he noticed the new slitted blemish in the pristine wallpaper…
Whatever beast was attacking would fetch a pretty penny once it was dealt with and carved up; then he could replace and re-appoint his quarters properly.
The screams and shouts grew fewer and further between as he finally rushed from his quarters out onto the deck.
He arrived just in time to see the jaws of the great black beast snap shut.
The beast lounged on the deck of the ship, splayed out like a well fed cat and leaning against the sky-mast. It was ten times Zender’s size, with flaming eyes that were as big as the rabbit’s torso at least. It was somewhere between a shark and a dragon in shape, deceptively wingless, but there was no doubt of its ability to soar through the sky. There were plenty such creatures like that in this region above the clouds…
It had fur the colour of charcoal, and a rotund stomach the colour of ash. Its legs were spread wide, its long tail swishing lazily back and forth. It had sharp, sapphire blue fins on the tips of its tail, and just over each of its eyes, which gleamed like twin torches in the blue night sky.
Zender glanced up at the ship’s propellers. They were still spinning, but there was no telling how long it’d last. He tried to push the fear and awe down his throat, and struck a brave, defiant pose.
“Men?!” Zender shouted. “Never fear! I’ve arrived!”
No response came. The only sound was the deep-throated chuckle of the creature.
“A little too late, I’m afraid,” the creature said with a baritone purr. Its stomach pulsed. Its stifled belch still made the ship rock. “I’m already very well acquainted with your pirate crew.”
“Damn…” Zender’s hand was at his cutlass, and it vibrated with heat, like charged air the moment before a lightning strike. Had they been devoured? There didn’t seem to have been any struggle… “We mean you no harm!”
“I find that difficult to believe,” the creature said. “No one ventures into Blugia’s sacred skies with a ship this size unless they plan to steal my secrets…”
…Drat. Was that where they were? Had they ended up in the domains of Blugia, the ancient hoarding scourge of the skies? Krathe had plotted the course incorrectly again. He’d have words with him once they were out of this little scrape…
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