Ashsib and the Cat Beast

Chapter Two

Ashsib woke, finding it still too dark to be truly morning. A vague headache behind his eyes told him he hadn't enough sleep yet. Something was wrong, his body told him, the ocean was too still.

"Looks like you didn't listen to my warning."

Jumping upright with no idea where he was, Ashsib realized that the stone under his feet was not the smooth wood of the Mermaid, nor was it his warm cot. The scary woman was the most out of place, simply sitting nearby, those flashing beast's eyes winking in the darkness.

"Oh." Ashsib sighed, "This is just a nightmare."

"Like hell it is!" Calder shouted.

"Calder? Vel?" Ashsib gaped, ears ringing from the close quarters. The room was smaller than his cabin on the Mermaid, quite a feat, and the chill he thought came from fear was half held in the cold stone.

"Notice sooner!" Both men snapped. They shared a bench on one side of the chamber.

The woman laughed good-naturedly at the situation, "You guys make a good team." She sat opposite the pair on another bench.

"I'd take that as a complement, but it's obvious you mean comedy team." Vel crossed his arms and grumbled.

She chuckled again.

Ashsib looked around more earnestly. The idea that the place reminded him of a tomb was not alleviated by the way the four of them were crammed inside it. It was nearly pitch black, making out the others completely was impossible. By years of association Ashsib knew his comrades.

Calder was sitting casually, legs stretched across the narrow width of the room, with his clothes just as causal as his posture. His sharp eyes remained trained on the stranger. The blue of them would shine when something was satisfactory. Women tended to attract his gaze most, but quality goods also got Calder's attention. A son of a trader through and through, he knew at a glance the worth of just about anything. His rounded face was framed by cinnamon hair that was styled just so, even after a kidnapping.

"So, where are we?" Calder was always full of questions.

"A cell." Vel responded dryly. In most ways, he was opposite Calder and the two battled like brothers.

Vel's face was angled handsome, but it was marred by a thick scar that made one side of his mouth droop. His light brown hair was always swept carelessly away from his brow and his body language was tense. A muscular frame confined to a cheap shirt and slacks. His hot blooded nature had driven him out of service in his homeland and onto the sea. His typical on shore sunglasses were missing, making him look more dangerous than usual.

Ashsib looked down at himself, he was the only one in night clothes. He belatedly felt self conscious. The woman was fully dressed in a similar, if not the same, outfit Ashsib had met her in. She wasn't wearing the P.O. uniform, Special Forces had more freedom there, but a long white coat with the P.O. insignia over the chest was visible even in the gloom. The other details were more general, pants, button up shirt, shiny shoes, and a shaggy head of blond hair. She faced the singular light source, if you could call the pitiful dribble of shine in the barred window of the door such, but her hair hid her features.

"Funny." Calder retorted, using that mocking sneer he saved for Vel, "Got any more insights?"

"I'm going to guess the dry caves on the backside of the island." The woman answered instead, "It's the only place to hide on the entirety of Sedlily."

"Caves? There were such things here?" Calder pondered aloud.

"We'll take your word for it." Vel shrugged, "I didn't bother to look at the map."