Bright. Very bright lights. And noise. Gently pounding waves mingling with people's murmurs punctuated with ship horns. Gradually, I was able to pick out what people were saying.
"Do you think she'll ever wake up?"
"Hey, Gumbie! Help me with this shipment!"
"She doesn't belong with us!"
"Five, six, seven, eight, and hold!"
"Where's Casey when you need him?"
I slowly sat up and looked around. I had been placed in a courtyard with a girl sitting next to me. She had ruddy brown hair cut in a longish pixie cut covered by a scarlet red beanie. Her eyes were a chocolate brown, reminiscent of someone else's eyes I couldn't quite remember. A black crop top and brown leggings hugged her frame. She had to be some sort of dancer or runner or something because holy smokes, she was ripped. She smiled at me and said, "Hi. You're up finally. I'm Athena."
"Hi," I managed. "where am I?"
Athena giggled. "Silly. You're in Silvermoon Bay, but almost everyone calls it the Shipyard." She unfolded her legs and stood. I followed her example, except much less gracefully. She handed me my beanie and motioned for me to follow her.
"You're going to love it here," she bubbled. I think that's the best way to describe her voice. Bubbly, and musical, like if a stream could sing. She pulled me along as she pointed to various interesting things. But what really caught my attention was how everyone was wearing some sort of thing on their head. Beanies and berets and big floppy hats and baseball hats, and I thought I saw something akin to a cowboy hat on two guys leaping off each other and flipping. Athena noticed my glances toward them. "That's Ares and Dimitri. They're brothers, and the best acrobats you'll find anywhere," she sighed happily. I nodded and tried to wrap my head around the Shipyard.
It was, in a word, enormous. Boats were docked to piers and some held the look of being houseboats. Others were underneath giant cranes being loaded or unloaded. Empty shipping crates formed precarious piles, and in the nooks and crannies, one could see somebody dozing or keeping a lookout. Some shipping crates were decorated to resemble houses and living spaces. What impressed me most was the number of people going about their daily lives. And now that I knew where to look, I could see hidden tails in about 50% of the people working.
I looked at the sky and realized that Athena had been showing me the Shipyard for at least two hours, maybe more. The sun was setting, and people were leaving, probably heading home for the night. Athena squealed. "C'mon! They're going to light the lanterns!" She quickly climbed to the top of a pile. How? I don't know, but I was left scrambling in her wake. When we reached the top, I could see the entire Shipyard below us. As the sky darkened to a deep purple, small specks of light popped up. I could almost seem to hear chimes that corresponded with the lights. I gently started to hum the tune, closing my eyes and focusing on my melody. Even though I couldn't see the lights popping up, I somehow knew when to change pitches. It was just me and the music.
Suddenly, Athena shouted to get away from the edge. The spell broke, and I was teetering on the edge of the pile. Even though I tried to regain my footing and Athena tried to grab me, I lost my balance and fell. A scream tore from my throat as I frantically tried to save myself. I passed through something cold. Suddenly, I landed in someone's arms and I instinctually grabbed on to them. I risked a glance at my rescuer.
He seemed slightly taller than me, with emerald green eyes and black hair and ears. He wore a white collared shirt under a black waistcoat. The white shirt was cut off at the shoulders, giving the impression of a diamond in the rough. His black tail softly swayed side-to-side. He gently set me down and spun me around. He dipped me and whispered in my ear, "You should learn to be more careful mon ange."
YOU ARE READING
Alagoran Melodies
Fantasía"Leaning against Moon, I finally got a good look at Serge. He was tall and had white and black blotchy hair. He held a black and white baseball hat in his hands. But the weirdest thing was a pair of white and black cat ears that perched on his head...
