Raw Winter

Chapter 33: Thrown

Rawintr felt fear filling her chest as she stared into one of the eyes of the beast, deep blue and tinged with harsh waves of green. The beast had a long and slim snout, but sharp ridges were forming as its lips curled back from long and jagged white fangs. Everything around her became inconsequential for a moment as the terror became nearly overwhelming. She could have been standing on a lone stone jutting up from the sea.

And then it darted forward, mouth gaping wide to swallow her whole. The spell was broken with its movement, and she regained awareness of her surroundings. She heard Whistle breathing raggedly beside her. She could practically smell fear wafting off him as strong as hers, and that revived her to her situation. She wasn't in danger alone. Her second was with her, and her crew and their entire ship were at stake.

She seized Whistle by his shoulder and shoved him along. He cried out as if teeth already closed around him, and his darting eyes filled with dread. She said nothing, just continued to shove him.

She then felt it. Fangs closed sharply and loudly with an audible snap. She hissed, feeling her shoulder tear, licking her teeth as she turned and expected blood to be spraying out. She expected her entire arm to be gone and flexed her fingers to prove to herself they were. They weren't, but much of her shirt and overcoat was, and she considered it miraculous.

The beast shook its head angrily with the wad of clothing in its maw, rising out of the water to grip the ship with taloned claws at the end of powerful arms that made the ship lower deeper into the sea under its weight. She had to grip what remained of her clothes to keep the rest from sliding down. Heavy wrappings underneath were exposed, and she felt a sense of anger bubbling around the fear.

"This is my ship!" She screamed at it as she felt them dip lower, feeling every bone in her body shaking. She recalled speaking of this ship minutes prior about how it was doomed, but right now it angered her something like this could actually destroy it so far from civilization. The serpent gave another heaving shove as it tried to pull itself up again and she gave another scream, primal and shapeless.

"Captain!" Someone called out as the beast snaked its neck forward to bite her. Its head was at least twice her size, if not thrice.

She didn't acknowledge them. She kept her eyes locked on, taking a few steps back before reaching out to grip its snout the moment it slammed into her. She squirmed around its bite, barely keeping her body beyond its teeth as it raised up. She felt as if the entire ocean had soaked her through as its thrashing body against the ship sent wave after wave of water onto the deck. She screamed again, worried some of her crew would be washed away or the ship lost.

There was a lot more screaming from the ship, but it sounded faint and far away compared to what was in front of her as the beast rose higher and higher, snarling and snapping its maw open and shut in its attempt to get at her. Her fingers dug in around the rigid plates, but it felt sharp under her palms, like a blade that could cut through cleanly with the slightest pressure.

She felt at any moment it would throw her off, even as she desperately tried to climb higher to get away from those dangerous and ever closer fangs. Already her entire body ached and dread filled her.

And with one deft flick of its head, it tossed her. She thought, for the briefest moment, if she just needed to hold on tighter, but the motion came to the end of its arc and found her arms and fingers sliding off. She was in the air only long enough to know what a terrible mistake it was she hadn't kept her grip as if it was her choice to let go before she hit the water.

Despite how Tirenen threw her from the cliff side, she had always associated falling into water with a smooth transition comparably inconsequential compared to hitting a solid ground. This was solid in how when she hit the water, she skidded like a skipping stone before her momentum ran out and she sunk under.

The breath was knocked out of her, and she couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe at all due to being submerged. She had no energy to struggle and expected to sink, but there was more air in her than she thought, but was stunned and unaware, the adrenaline knocked out of her. She didn't have a concept of dying, lying face down in the water.

Then everything seemed to explode around her. She was prey, and easier prey than the people or ship in the open water, unable to struggle. It dove on her, jaws as wide open and ready as when she stood on deck, but there was nothing around her now and no way for her to move. They closed around Rawintr. If she had been aware, maybe she would have worried about those sharp and jagged teeth, but they offered no resistance. She slid past them in a rush of water that dragged her in.

Once she was in its mouth, she regained a little sense, if not energy. She tried to struggle, to break free, but it was a pitiful attempt when she could barely pull air in her lungs. The air in this stagnant and closed space was too heavy and thick to breathe properly. Her limbs screamed and ached as she struggled to gain any purchase while being pulled back faster and faster. Her fingers and hands were oozing blood, slipping over the slick tongue.

She couldn't tell if the taste of salt in her mouth was her own blood or just the sea, but she opened her mouth to scream her final defiance, certain that one more heaving tug would drag her down its throat, but something sharp and shook the entire of the beast.

The beast gagged, and it rolled her around as it tried to swallow, but another bone shattering wave crashed through it. Luckily, she was safe from whatever attack that afflicted it. A keen was rising from the back of its throat, but it was trying to keep its mouth shut.

Yet another thunderous wave went through the creature, and this time its jaw parted just a little as it gagged again. Its teeth were like a cage, and she could see through them, but all she could see were slick and silvery scales. These were a lot like the scales of the beast she was in, but appeared lighter and soft, as if there were tufts of fur growing around them.

And then the silvery figure moved in again and blood was rushing all around her. She screamed in pain as the hot blood went from making the surrounding water uncomfortably warm and stinking to as if it were on the verge of boiling. Her skin felt as if it were going to blister, and her struggling became more and more desperate until those teeth parted altogether.

Coming out was a lot more dangerous than going in, and she hissed as she felt her leg catch on one of the sharp teeth she passed and the blade-like fang cut through. She wasn't as lucky as when it tried to bite her and only got a hank of her coat.

And then she was back in the water. It was still painful, but the transition from air to water was smoother this time, and she got out a pained gasp before she plopped under. She tried to move her arms but felt paralyzed. It didn't take long before panic drained off and she watched as the sky above her faded as she drifted lower and lower. She wasn't floating this time, finding it curious while watching the blood swirl all around her.

It felt like arms were around her and her eyes closed. It felt so comfortable. There was no ship, no sea serpent, and no gods of blood.

And then a figure appeared in front of her. Another long and serpentine neck darted forward to reach her. Their eyes were beautiful. If the other serpent had eyes like the dark and dreary ocean, these eyes were like the pure sky on a clear day. The silver nose was coming closer, and she reached out to touch it before everything around her blackened. She vaguely hoped her crystal eye was still in place and she hadn't lost it.

When she woke up, Yulsylus was sitting beside her, his leg rising and falling in a nervous bounce. He had his arms crossed over his chest and appeared breathless. His short, black hair was soaked.

"Are you okay?" Rawintr asked, and he jumped and stared at her wordlessly. She hissed through chapped lips, "I asked you a question, Yulsylus."

"What about you?" He said, getting up and going to her side. "Do you know how close we came to being completely overturned, the entire ship destroyed, and all of us devoured?"

"I'm sure we would have been fine," she answered. She tried to sit up, but he grabbed her shoulder to shove her back down. She growled and snapped at him and he backed off, letting go. This was the first time she had done that to him.

"Sorry," he said, appearing confused.

"No, I am," she said and laid back down.

"Thank you, Yulsylus."