Blue Seas, Dark Skies

Conflict

A/N: So I'm not sure I'll be able to keep a weekly update schedule, seeing how busy I am. I also don't want to promise anything and then disappoint. So I'll be trying for biweekly, but updates are definitely going to be a bit more sporadic! I apologize in advance. Aside from that, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and if you do, please leave a comment!! They make me very happy.

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Lucina clambered down from the crow's nest as quickly as she dared. The light was fading fast, and the oncoming darkness was far from ideal for a fight. Not only that, but the darker the sky got, the worse Lucina's depth perception became. Severa had sent her down the ratlines after aggressively ringing the warning bell on the top of the mast, and had pulled out a bow and quiver of arrows from gods knew where. Lucina hoped that Severa could see better than her in the dim light. Shooting her own crewmembers on accident wouldn't exactly be helpful. The crew was gathering on deck, Kjelle shouting orders and clanking about in the enormous suit of armor Lucina had seen on the floor of her quarters. Owain was standing to attention, face serious and hand gripping the hilt of his sword. Nah, Inigo, Yarne and Cynthia were standing nearby, and Noire brushed her shoulder against Lucina's as she strode past her towards the mast, a bow slung over her shoulders.

"There you are, newbie," Kjelle growled. "Come stand over here." She gestured to a space between Owain and Cynthia, and Lucina slipped into line. Cynthia was running her hands over the cover of a thick and violently yellow tome, a look of giddy excitement on her face.

"What's happening?" She whispered to Owain and Cynthia.

"Well, my dear friend, you're about to see what exactly we're dealing with here." Owain said, grimly.

"Yarne! Are the ports below deck locked shut?" Kjelle barked. Yarne nodded stiffly, whiskers quivering and eyes wide. "Good. Alright, you know your positions. Get to it, and don't let any of them onboard, got it?" The crew scrambled to follow orders, Gerome and Laurent going aft to the rudder, Cynthia breaking off to join Inigo amidships on the port side, and Nah going starboard. Owain made to the starboard side as well, and Lucina followed him. Kjelle alone clanked her way to the bow in her giant suit of armor. Glancing up to the masts, Lucina barely made out the figures of Noire and Severa against the sky. Both had drawn their bows, and had an arrow notched on the string. The ship went silent, every member of the crew holding their breath... waiting. The only sounds to be heard were small waves slapping the sides of the ship, and the gentle clang of the warning bell as the clapper grazed the lip with each sway of the boat. Lucina glanced over the bulwark, into the swirling depths. The water looked pitch black, no longer inviting and pulling at her sense of adventure. Instead, it seemed treacherous, a mire of foreboding and danger.

"Owain, please tell me what it is we're expecting to fight," Lucina whispered. "You've dodged the question ever since you convinced me to come."

"That's because you wouldn't have believed me without seeing it for yourself." He murmured back. Lucina gulped. That was not a reassuring answer.

"Heeeeeere they come!" Cynthia shrieked, delighted.

"Hold steady, long ranged fighters be ready to strike first!" Kjelle shouted from the bow. Lucina gripped Falchion tightly as the black surface of the water began to roil. Her grip on Falchion faltered and her eyes went wide as a hand slowly rose from the water. It was followed by a second hand, then a head and a body. A corpse was standing on the surface of the water, staring at Lucina with eerie, glowing red eyes.

The teeth were rotting from its head, gray flesh rent apart and hanging loose off the its frame, clammy and bloodless. Algae and seaweed draped over the molding rags that must have once served as clothes, and a sailor's cap was still perched on its head.