She could feel the ferry beneath her feet sway back and forth against the ocean’s current as it putted along. While the ship continued on its course, she occasionally stumbled to the side as she struggled to keep her balance. A soft yet constant spray of ocean water filled her nose with the pungent scent of sea salt. She withdrew her head from the deck’s side railing and turned away from a view of the ocean below. Wobbling, she trotted across the port side deck, stopping to slump down against the leg of a nearby young man.
Venice took notice of her, brushing his auburn hair away when the wind blew it into his face. "You really don’t enjoy water travel, do you?"
The dog let out a low groan. "I can’t keep my balance," Lola complained. "We’ve been on this ferry for two days! I’m going to lose my mind if we don’t reach land soon."
The carpenter reached down to rub the dog’s back. "You’ll be fine," he reassured her. "You survived the ferry from Prithvi to Bumi, and the one from Bumi to Deiqao."
Another groan sounded from the Buhund. "Barely," she miffed.
"You do realize that we’re going to have to take another to get out of Chikyuu?"
Lola let out a much louder groan. As the dog sat whining by his foot, Venice continued rubbing her back, rolling his eyes in vexation.
"Is she still seasick?" someone called from across the deck.
Lola’s eyes turned to catch a glimpse of a young woman approaching. The young lady’s dark hair refracted the sunlight as she came near. "Still seasick and still dramatically vocal about it," he called back.
The young woman knelt down next to Lola. "You should have taken the herbs that the Deiqao Emperor’s Doctor gave you for this," she scolded.
"They smelled like week-old fish," the Buhund replied. "I invite you to try taking them yourself."
Venice sighed. "Considering how badly our cabin stinks now, week-old fish sounds tolerable. Could you at least try taking them?"
"I’ve made myself clear," the dog groaned.
A wave splashed loudly against the side of the ferry below. Lola cried out in frustration in response. "Why does your cabin stink?" Aurora inquired. "Mine’s been fine."
"You’re not sharing a cabin with Wesley and Carter," the carpenter fumed.
"They haven’t bathed since we entered Jigu two weeks ago," Lola elaborated weakly.
"Without some sort of military structure, they’re pretty much unable to manage day-to-day things," Venice continued, frustrated. "Such as feeding and bathing themselves."
Aurora looked up at him, still kneeling beside the dog. "Have you brought it up to them?"
The carpenter let out a heavy sigh. "Numerous times," he mumbled. "I’m afraid dealing with a seasick dog has left me a little too distracted to be forceful with them. Can’t you just take the ruddy herbs?"
The Buhund let out a low growl. "No rotten fish herbs," she seethed.
Rolling his eyes, Venice reached a hand into his velveteen vest, the fabric rustling as he dug around inside of it. "I really hate to play dirty, but you’ve forced my hand," he grunted.
He produced a ragged, stuffed rabbit from inside the vest. The toy’s fabric had long ago turned a dull grey, only one of its button eyes remaining intact. "You remember this?"
Lola’s ears perked up at the sight of the stuffed toy. "Bunny?"
"What is that thing?" Aurora queried.
Venice dangled the toy rabbit over the dog. "It’s an old toy I made for her when she was a puppy," he explained. "I originally thought we lost it when the cottage burned down, but I found it in my bag a few weeks ago."
The Buhund rose to her feet. "Give me the bunny, Venice," she demanded.
He grinned deviously. "No."
"Give me the bunny!" she snarled as she lunged for the toy.
The carpenter held the stuffed rabbit just out of her reach as she continued lunging for it, jumping up and down rapidly on the deck. "Give me the bunny! Give me the bunny! Give methe bunny! Give me the bunny!"
"Venice, just give her the rabbit!" Aurora fumed, annoyed by the display.
He hid the toy behind his back and retrieved a small bundle of circular-shaped leaves out of his pants pocket. "Only if she takes her medicine."
Lola froze in place. "Oh, you’re a cunning one, Mister D’Fiamma."
"It’s your call: take the herbs and get the bunny, or refuse them and remain bunny-less," he explained.
She grimaced and snatched the herbs out of his hand, chewing them up in a slow, pained motion before rigidly swallowing them. "Bunny. Now," she demanded again.
Venice tossed the toy down to her, Lola snapping her jaws around it. She trotted around in a circle twice before lying down to chew on the stuffed rabbit. "I suppose in spite of everything that’s happened, she’s still a dog," Aurora commented.
The young man chuckled. "I never doubted she was. Aside from being able to talk, she’s still the same Buhund I raised from a pup."
Lola continued chewing on the toy noisily. Her attention was briefly drawn from the ragged stuffed animal by a small flurry of sienna feathers. "Rook? Where have you been the past two days?" Venice asked.
She could hear the rooster panting. "I got trapped in the boiler room," he elaborated. "The two pyrepies they have powering the steam engine, they were keeping me prisoner. I only now managed to escape!"
"They’re powering the steam engine with pyrepies?" Aurora questioned. "That actually sounds kind of clever."
The rooster’s feathers ruffled. "I was locked up for two days!" he seethed.
Aurora picked him up off the railing, gently taking him in her arms. "Would a hug make you feel any better?"
"Marginally," Rook wearied.
A pair of old Jiguan women walked by, raising their eyebrows at the display of a young woman cuddling a rooster. Both of them chattered away in their native language to each other.
Lola looked over to them and addressed them in a string of Jiguan, prompting both of them to turn and walk away.
"Since when do you speak Jiguan?" Venice demanded. "What did you even say to them?"
"I told them to go be judgmental elsewhere," Lola replied before continuing to chew on her toy.
"I suppose it’s a side effect of the Powder of Speech. You know the spell isn’t intended to last more than four hours," Rook stated. "After the first few weeks, I started being able to understand almost any language I heard. I figured it was the same for Lola."
Lola huffed. "I could understand the Deiqaoese guard when they were complaining about ’those three smelly Aerthican guys’ coming into the Imperial Palace," she snickered.
"What?" Venice cried. "I’m not an Aerthican!"
"Of course you’re not! An Aerthican can actually hold a sword worth a darn!" Carter’s voice called across the deck.
"I also happen to bathe on a daily basis," the carpenter grumbled under his breath as he turned his attention to the other end of the deck.
The floorboards of the old wooden deck creaked slightly when the retired soldier approached, his sandals flopping loudly as he lifted his feet. A ray of afternoon sun beat down intensely across the man’s shoulders, his sunburned skin exposed by a sleeveless cotton shirt. His normally pale nose and cheeks had been turned a rosy red by the sun’s rays as well.
His companion, another retired soldier dressed in a floral print shirt and a pair of short pants, followed in tow behind. Due to a lack of hygienic care, his brown beard had grown scraggly and unkept.
Lola took notice of a mother and daughter following the two men down the old wooden deck. Their state of dress—Southeastern coast silk gowns—indicated to her that they likely came from the section of Jigu the group had departed from two days prior. As they approached, the girl walked cautiously, her mother following confidently behind her.
Carter turned his glance to the child. "Well, don’t be shy now," he coaxed. "She doesn’t bite. At least not humans."
Lola looked up at the girl, the stuffed toy hanging from her jaws. She gave a quick wag of her tail as the child inched bashfully toward her.
Anxiously toying with her long, black hair, the girl looked down at the Buhund. "Hello, Miss Hikaru," the child greeted, giving a small bow.
Lola grinned, the stuffed rabbit still in her mouth. "Harro," she exclaimed as she stood up, her tail wagging rapidly.
A soft, yet noticeable nudge came from behind her when Venice pushed his ankle into her back leg. "Lola, put down the toy to talk," he advised. "I’m not going to take it away from you again."
She spat the toy onto the deck with an annoyed grunt. "Sorry."
The child giggled softly at the display, and Lola looked back up at her with a smile. Breaking from her amusement the girl loudly cleared her throat, stiffening her posture as she faced the dog. "On behalf of my village, I would like to thank you for what you’ve done," she professed. "It is an honor to meet such a great hero."
She gave another bow as she finished her pronouncement, her dark brown eyes shying away from the dog.
Lola tilted her head, both of her ears at attention as she tried to process the girl’s remark. "You’re welcome?" she responded. "I’m never really sure what to say when someone thanks me for what I did in Prithvi."
Venice knelt down, bringing himself to the same height as the child and the Buhund. "She’s very modest and she means to say she’s grateful that you’re able to enjoy your life as a result of her actions."
"We met her and her mother in the galley. She seemed rather eager to meet Lola," Carter noted. "I figured there was no harm in bringing her and her mother up here to meet you guys."
Lola glanced from Carter to Wesley then back to the mother and child. "You two seriously followed them?" the dog enquired. "Most Prithvians wouldn’t share the company of anyone who stinks like the two of them for five seconds. I’d assume Jiguans would react the same."
The mother’s eyes widened. "I thought all Aerthicans smelled like dead and rotting Yak. It’d be rude to refuse their company for something they couldn’t help," she replied.
Both Carter and Wesley fumed in offense to the woman’s comment.
"No, they just haven’t bathed in over two weeks," Venice elaborated. "I’d assume most people of any nationality would smell like that if they did the same."
"Are you an Aerthican, too, sir?" the child asked.
"That’s actually a good question," Aurora added. "He has the skin tone but he doesn’t have the same accent."
"I’m an orphan, all right? I grew up in Prithvi, but guessing by my surname, my parents were probably Terran refugees," the carpenter divulged.
"Oh, so you’re a Terran?" the child’s mother attempted to confirm.
"Supposedly," Venice groaned, leaning against the deck railing.
Lola looked back at Rook in bewilderment. "Why do they put so much focus on where they’re from?"
The rooster gave a sigh. "In the fifty years I’ve been alive, I’ve wondered that myself. My best guess is that it’s some sort of tribe mentality: humans need a homeland to stand behind to keep themselves sane," he explained, ruffling his feathers.
The ferry’s horn sounded twice in a powerful bellow. "Land-ho!" the captain called from farther up on the deck.
As those words sounded off, the ferry’s crew suddenly appeared on the deck as they began to prep the boat to dock. Several young men and woman, dressed in matching uniforms consisting of blue overalls and flat caps, scurried past their group as they made their way to the starboard side of the ferry’s deck. Their black leather boots clogged loudly against the wooden deck as they moved, swiftly and carelessly.
"It looks like we’re going to be docking at the Southern edge soon," Aurora announced. "Look! You can see the island!"
The group turned their heads to observe the coast in the distance. Several booths and decorations could be seen scattered across the far-off beach. "Look, Mama! You can see the Solstice Festival from here!" the little girl exclaimed.
"Festival? I guess we picked an interesting time to visit," Wesley observed.
A passing crew member knocked Lola’s stuffed rabbit off of the deck as they rushed by. The toy barely made a splash onto the water below shortly before soaking up moisture and sinking into the ocean’s depths. "My bunny!" the Buhund lamented.
"Well, that’s rotten luck!" Venice growled.
The crewman stopped and turned to them. "Very sorry, miss! The ferry company will happily reimburse you for a new one," he offered before turning and running back to his duties.
"I don’t want a new bunny. I want my bunny," Lola whined.
"Lola, calm down! There’s not much we can do about it now," Rook consoled her.
The dog let out a dissatisfied huff. "Nuts to that!"
Without a second thought, the Buhund slipped her body through the deck’s railing and dove over the side of the ferry, Venice and Aurora attempting to reach for her too late.
"Lola, no!" the carpenter called after her.
She hit the water below with a resounding splash, feeling a mild sting as she broke the surface. As she opened her eyes she took notice that the plunge had propelled her several meters below the water. Sunlight from above seeped in through the glimmering surface the aquamarine world she now found her floating in. The sand-covered floor of the ocean was visible quite a ways below.
She caught sight of the toy, still sinking a short distance away. The Buhund kicked eagerly as she dove toward the stuffed rabbit, struggling to hold her breath while she did. As she approached, her eyes caught sight of a shadow zooming by in her peripheral vision. Alarmed and running low on air, the young dog looked around herself to identify what had just zipped past her. When her vision returned to the rabbit, she became aware that she was face-to-face with a very unpleasant looking sea creature.
Coral-red skin covered its somewhat spiny body, while two very devious eyes extended slightly above its bulbous head. The creature appeared to have several long arms, extending from the base of its body. She immediately noticed it had procured her toy in one of its numerous appendages.
Furious, Lola attempted to let out a growl—as well as one could for having very little air in their lungs. The water in front of her face bubbled for a short moment as she bared her fangs, although she heard no sound come from her mouth. She locked her teeth onto the toy’s head, attempting to pry it free from the sea creature’s grip as she kicked against the water. The creature, however, did not want to let go.
Lola found that the harder she tried to pry the toy from the creature’s reach, the harder it held on. She knew that she’d soon have to surface to breathe. Yet, she stubbornly wanted her toy back so badly. She continued kicking against the water in an attempt to give herself some leverage against the creature.
As she did the creature’s arm snapped back, bringing her in close. The odd-looking sea monster wrapped its free arms around her, binding the dog’s movements. It brought her face in close proximity to what Lola could only guess was its face. The creature’s eyes glared fiercely into hers, filled with a mild sense of triumph as it stared into her very soul.
It was then that the creature’s eyes drifted beyond her and suddenly filled terror. As quickly as it had snared her, the sea creature released her and the stuffed rabbit from its clutches. It flared its arms rapidly as it propelled itself away from her at an incredible speed and disappeared into the murky distance.
Relieved and desperate to breathe, Lola grabbed the stuffed rabbit with her teeth. She began paddling for the surface but found herself buffeted by a large and rubbery mass from below. The unidentified object seemed to be pushing her upward at a high speed, and very shortly she broke the surface of the water.
The dog dropped the toy on top of the mass as she began coughing up a small amount of water. She took in a much-savored breath before shimmying some of the seawater out of her fur. Dumbfounded by what had just occurred, she took a moment to examine the object she was sitting on. Jet black skin, with a few marks of white glistened under the sun. It was then that she noticed a large dorsal fin behind her.
"Well, fancy meeting you here!" a voice called from across the water.
Lola turned her head to see a large, wooden raft floating beside her, piloted by a familiar old man. His kind yet wizened eyes regarded her with abundant joy. The man’s parkahund familiar stood next to him, barking a hearty greeting at her. A large set packed with supplies and a small tent were visible on the portion of the raft behind them. "Doug?" the Buhund pondered out loud.
"Who else?" the Sage replied. "I was just on my way to Chikyuu for the Solstice festival. That was until you distracted one of the orcas I hired from pulling my raft."
The whale let out a thundering moan, followed by several clicks. Doug looked to Lola in response. "Now, why were you fighting with an octopus?" he inquired.
"He had my bunny," the Buhund fumed.
The Sage shook his head. "Sharif, get her on the raft and back to pulling, please," Doug instructed the orca.
With a slight heave, the whale swam toward the small sea craft. Tilting forward, it dumped Lola and the toy rabbit off of its forehead before letting out another collection of high-pitched sounds. "Hey! Let’s be civil here," the Sage responded. "I happen to be paying your pod quite well for this. You could stand to act a little more professional."
The whale sprayed a volley of water out of its blowhole directly into Doug’s face before submerging again. "I knew I should’ve hired belugas instead …" he groaned as he dried his face on his shirt sleeve.
Lola shimmied further moisture out of her fur, the sea air seeming colder than she’d recalled before her unscheduled swim. "Orcas use money?"
Doug shook his head. "No, they don’t," he elaborated. "Which is to my advantage because when it comes to gold, my pockets are all but empty. My overall wealth consists of information. They’re assisting me because I happen to know the migration pattern of a very large mackerel school not too far from Chikyuu’s northern coast."
Sam, the Sage’s canine familiar, let out a hoarse bark. Lola looked up at the Sage in response. "Sam says you’re full of—"
Doug lurched down, covering the Buhund’s mouth with his hand, motioning to shush her. "Do you really want to help me paddle this rig the rest of the way to the shore?" he whispered angrily.
Lola shook her head.
"Good. Now keep that one under your collar, if you could please." The Sage removed his hand from over her mouth.
As the old man got back to his feet and proceeded over to the other side of the raft, Lola looked around the watercraft. She took instant notice that the Sage’s other familiars were missing. "Where’s Danny?" she pressed. "Or Sants, or Talikha?"
Doug had retrieved a small tin telescope from his pocket and was using it to observe the nearby shore more closely. "They’re in the tent … either cowering in fright or sleeping, or some combination of the two," he explained. "You don’t think I’d leave any of my familiars behind when I fled from the Prithvian Royal Army, do you? The only one I couldn’t get to go with me was that bloody hippomole, and he went straight underground the moment you let the sun go."
He lowered the telescope, his face washed over with signs of nostalgia and regret. "I find it regrettable I never even got the chance to give him a name," the Sage pondered out loud. "I suppose I should’ve picked up that I was only a meal ticket to the beast. Miscommunication on my part; I speak orca better than I speak hippomole."
Lola nosed her toy toward the center of the raft, slumping down in bewilderment at what she was hearing. "You speak orca, yet you don’t speak dog?"
His glance darted back at her. "Orca isn’t even a fourth as complicated as dog!" he fumed defensively. "All the body language and scents involved … I’m surprised dogs can speak it!"
Sam let out a moan before he unleashed another raspy bark. "Roaron."
Doug’s attention turned to the Parkahund. "What did he just say about me? In dog language, I mean?" the Sage questioned.
Lola tilted her head in confusion. "That wasn’t dog. He’s trying to speak Human Commontongue, although he’s not doing a great job."
The Parkahund let out another frustrated series of barks. "Rugg, roaron. Rourrourrour."
"I can tell from his tone that he’s frustrated with you," Lola offered.
"He’s also calling me a moron, if I’m hearing him right," the Sage miffed.
Sam let out a huff before lying down against the wooden raft. "His inability to communicate with you is probably what led him to say it," Lola explained. "Dogs can’t speak human languages because our mouths aren’t built for it. I’m only able to because of magic. I’ve never seen another dog try so hard to speak it."
The Sage shook his head. "At least now I suppose I know what the odd sounds he’s been making are."
He kicked a nearby wooden rod up from the deck, the object twirling into his hand. "Need to get the old walking staff out, since we’ll be landing at the shore in a tick."
Extending the staff, he poked the Parkahund gently in the back. "Keep the chatter to a minimum when we get in, Samelle. I don’t want you accidentally insulting any of the Spirits," the old man instructed.
Sam growled.
"He says you do that well enough on your own," Lola translated.
Doug rolled his eyes angrily as the Jiguan ferry’s shadow cast itself over the raft. As the large boat passed by, two loud splashes could be heard from the water behind it. The sounds were followed by a cacophony of further splashing and screams for help by two male voices that echoed loudly from the waters around them.
Lola recognized the voices with a sincere lack of enthusiasm. "Oh joy," she droned. "It’s Wesley and Carter."
"Lola, is that you?" Carter’s voice called. "Help us! Neither of us can swim!"
"What’s in it for me?" she answered back across the water.
"We’re going to drown! This isn’t something you should bring negotiations into!" Wesley screamed at her.
The raft slowed down considerably as Lola noticed a large shadow traveling from underneath it. What appeared to be the tail of an orca erupted from the water beneath the two men, flinging them enough distance to land near the edge of the raft. The surrounding waters rocked the raft back and forth violently as they landed. Both of them proceeded to angrily claw their way aboard the flimsy watercraft. "You!" Wesley pointed at the Buhund furiously. "You were going to let us drown!"
Lola lowered her ears. "I wasn’t going to let you drown," she commented. "I was just hoping to extort you two in bathing more often. How did you even fall over the railing, anyhow?"
Carter coughed up a mouthful of water onto the raft’s deck. "Someone pushed us in!" he thundered.
"It was all me!" Venice announced from the above deck of the ferry. "And it’ll keep happening each time we’re on a boat if you two insist on neglecting your hygiene!"
Several people around him on the ferry’s deck could be seen laughing hysterically at what had just transpired—Aurora, the Jiguan child, and her mother included. "D’Fiamma, you horse’s rear!" Carter raged back at him. "I hope you can build yourself a coffin with your carpentry skills, ’cuz you’re gonna need one!"
Doug reached inside the tent and retrieved two dull, beige blankets. "Anger is much more fleeting than you think. So, hold off on the death threats," the Sage advised as he approached the two soaked men. "That and there may be some wisdom to be learned from this experience …" He draped the blankets over Carter and Wesley’s shoulders.
"Yeah, okay, fine." Wesley shivered in irritation. "I suppose we could stand to start taking care of ourselves outside of the military structure that’s served us so well the entirety of our lives."
There was a loud thump from underneath the raft. The mass of bound-together wood began picking up speed. A smaller Parkahund darted out of the tent in a flurry of yelps and whines, latching himself onto Doug’s leg as he stood trembling, his eyes darting from side to side in a paranoid display.
Two cats were peeking out from the tent’s opening, growling in annoyance at the dog’s behavior. "I see we’re off to a great start on the Solstice, aren’t we, Danneverd?" the Sage quipped.
"Aren’t you that Rose guy that Venice and Aurora talked about?" Wesley asked.
Doug bit his lip in annoyance. "If by ’that Rose guy’ you mean Douglas Rose, Sage of Prithvi’s Eastern Coast, then yes," he answered. "You fellas are Aerthican, aren’t you?"
Carter extended a hand to the Sage. "Robert Carter, formerly Captain of the Prithvian Guard to the Royal Family, formerly of the 29th division of the Republic of Aerthica’s armed forces," he imparted, shaking Doug’s hand.
Doug smiled and turned to Wesley. "And you, good sir?"
Wesley grumbled out a string of words from which Lola could only hear the name "Wesley."
"You need to speak up, son," Doug pressured. "I didn’t catch that."
Wesley growled. "Marion Wesley, formerly Lieutenant of the Prithvian Guard to the Royal Family, formerly of the 29th division of the Republic of Aerthica’s armed forces!" he blurted in frustration.
"Your given name is Marion?" Lola inquired.
"Don’t judge me, Hikaru Lola," the former soldier retorted.
"Actually, in the case of most dogs, as is with many animals and some human families in the East, the family name is said before the given name," Doug began explaining. "So in her case, Lola is her given name—"
Wesley shot a glare up at the old Sage.
"Sh-shutting up," he stuttered.
The coast was getting closer by the second. "Oh, thank goodness!" Doug exclaimed. "We’ll be landing in just a minute!"