Pana: Flight from the Past

Visions

"Jumpers! Jumpers off the port bow!"

"All hands! All hands! Wait, wouldn't we want the whole person? Why are we just asking for their hands? That seems a bit silly, don't you think?"

The deck was a blur of action as everyone moved into their positions. Pana jumped up from where they had been napping and rubbed their eyes to try to wake up a little bit. They grabbed the box next to them and ran towards the bow, dodging kids who were making their way to the railing and parents who were following closely behind. They ducked beneath a man who tugged on a rope as thick as his muscular arms, making the sail flop loosely in the wind. The boat plowed into the water ahead of them and lurched to, not a stop exactly, but a slower speed. Water splashed up all around them, coating everything on the deck with a globular mist. Pana felt the force of the sudden change in momentum push them forward, and they just barely managed to catch themself before falling onto the deck. They weren't sure how much more trauma their broken, yet healing, shoulder could take. Probably not much.

At the bow, a small crowd of sailors had gathered and was looking out at the water.

"There's about thirty jumpers out there," said Tallie, pointing out towards the horizon. "See? Right over there. I can't believe how much they seem to like that moldy fish. The mold must really smell good. At least, to them that is."

"It stinks to high heaven. Just make sure you keep your distance from those water monsters. Don't want them going after us like they did the other day. Absolutely terrifying that was." said Bob, shivering slightly as he remembered the ordeal.

Laiyk nodded. "No worries, me Matey! This time they won't make their way onboard. We'll stay just long enough for Pana to do what they need to do and then get out of here. MC, are we still heading due east?"

"Aye aye captain."

"Yo ho! See? I told you talking like a sailor would be fun. It really gets you in the sailing mood, the perfect kind of mood you need to be in to sail. It's a very important mood."

"Oh. Sure...

"Pana, you ready?"

Pana had to stop themself from also responding with a hearty "aye aye." They affirmed that they were ready, placing the box on the ground and sitting next to it. From the box, they pulled out their notebook and some charcoal pencils, and began to sketch the jumpers. The creatures were long and smooth. They weren't as fast as the doflas, but they came really close. Not only that, but they seemed to prefer leaping on top of their prey, using their giant horizontally oriented fins to catch the air and push them far into the sky. When they landed on unsuspecting prey, they shredded their poor victim with razor-sharp teeth. With such a small snout Pana wondered how many teeth the creature could have, and then wished they could forget after they saw a jumper lunge at the boat, mouth wide open. After their encounter with the creatures yesterday, the sight of a jumper's three dorsal fins cutting through the surface was enough to frighten most of the crew. Pana would have to finish the sketch of the creatures quickly before the ship made its getaway.

"Remember, as long as we don't provoke them, we should be okay," said Laiyk, taking on an air of seriousness that she lacked in less stressful situations. The jumpers seemed to hear her, for at that moment they poked their heads above the water and began cackling at the boat. Water spouted into their air from their blowholes along with a sound that Pana thought was rather rude.

The jumpers seemed to be enjoying themselves when, all of a sudden, their mouths fell open, and they paused in their antics. They glanced at their companions, and then ducked into the water.