Alexandria stayed up most of the night writing down everything she could about her shifts. The entry about her arm shifting into the vulture wing was most important at the moment. She wanted to try something like that when her body was well rested. Doing that shift after all the action of the day wasn't the best idea. Dipping her quill pen into the inkwell jotting down a few more things. She looked up to see the sun coming back up from the horizon. Her eyes went wide sitting up as she looked around. Lyric had kept true to her word getting the chest loaded onto the ship. Again Lyric was nowhere to be found. A shriek made her jump as she turned around to see the vulture behind her perched on the stone where the fire used to be.
"Why do you always have to do that? It is bad enough I am starting to enjoy having you around. Don't do that so early in the morning." The vulture tilted its head at her, giving a small shriek in response. She waved the bird off, putting her journal, pen, and inkwell away. Jumping to her feet, wrinkling her nose and smelling the air. Since everything was packed up once she found Lyric they needed to leave.
Looking around for a moment she wanted to make sure Lyric wasn't going to pop out again. Even though that was good training it wasn't helpful right now when she was still sore. After not seeing her close by she was going to try calling out for her. Cupping her hands around her mouth getting ready to yell when Lyric came out from the forest waving her hand in the air. Alexandria was glad to see nothing had happened to her. Also that she wasn't going to get slammed on the ground again.
Lyric ran up to her letting out that giggle she always did. "I am guessing you noticed it is morning now. You didn't sleep at all did you? That is fine. We need to get moving anyway. I saw another island north of here. Do you want to go there first?" Alexandria was glad to see Lyric was doing a bit of work even when she didn't have too.
"No, I didn't sleep. If I don't get the thoughts out quickly they can be lost. I kept writing and lost track of time. How far away is that island you saw and if you're all ready we can go at any time." Alexandria rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck. She needed to sleep soon since she wouldn't be able to practice her shifting without proper rest.
There was also the matter of updating the map inside with this island and the areas to avoid that contained walled cities. She started walking towards the ship motioning for Lyric to follow her. Lyric walked in step with her. "Well hopefully you can get some shuteye on the ship. The island isn't that far away. We couldn't see it before because this one was blocking it. I would say an hour or so and we will be there. It is a bit bigger and from what I can tell there is more rock on it than trees."
They waded through the shallow water and climbed aboard the ship. Lyric had placed most of the supplies near the cabin door so they could sort through the easier. Alexandria heard the beating of wings above them as the vulture flew up to its perch on the crows nest. "Alright can you get us ready to go while I go update the map or do you need my help again?" Alexandria asked moving towards the cabin door.
Lyric let out a soft giggled as she looked around at the weather. "I think I can take it from here. Go fill up the map and we will be on our way in a few moments." Alexandria nodded walking into the cabin while Lyric went to take care of getting the ship underway. Walking inside the cabin seeing what Lyric must have laid out last night or this morning before going to bed.
The table was all set up with both maps sitting there spread out and ready. All she needed to do was pull out her quill pen and inkwell to start writing. Running to the chair she sat down with excitement radiating off her face. Pulling up the chair she took out her stuff setting it just so on the table. The larger map was underneath while the smaller map was set on top so she could mark it correctly. The first thing to do was name the island they were about to leave.
She had marked the island with a V before when they first arrived. That might be good for the moment since the more important markers would be the walled cities to avoid. Of course the settlements were something Alexandria wanted to have marked so she could check them out. Looking down at the smaller map and comparing it to the larger one she started to draw. The map they retrieved from the cave had a total of seven walled cities and about ten scattered settlements. They didn't seem to be very large aside from a few of them. There were even estimated numbers of how many people lived there. Right now finding a male outside of a wall cities was very rare. The virus was still around but most people already had it in them.
Most children were created in labs and then birthed through surrogate mothers who were paid for their time. Alexandria shook her head not really wanting to go over things she overheard in the facility right now. This was a great moment since it marked the beginning of her exploration. Getting more maps would be very important to that cause as well. She really didn't want to go hunting for those hunters. That wasn't something she enjoyed doing. The one yesterday was in order to save Lyric. Of course she would have been able to protect herself. The captain was the one that needed to protect their crew and that is what she did.
Her thoughts were being very helpful at the moment as her quill pen danced across the larger map doing her best to make it readable. Writing a journal was something she did for her entire life. The penmanship was on point however the drawings were a bit crood since the walled cities would hopefully be destroyed. The settlements however would be fun to turn into getaways. There had to be something they wanted that she could provide.
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Sticking her tongue out as she continued to mark the places on the map. The ship began to move a bit. She heard the sail flap and snap into place with the flow of the wind. The light rocking of the ship was a breath of fresh air. It was interesting that she never had a problem with sea sickness as the books she read called it. The rocking of the ship, the spray of the ocean, the wind in the sails all the things she believed were more home than anything she ever experienced in her life. She added on to the legend at the bottom corner with population for each settlement. The walled cities didn't have numbers since they never wanted to give away their strength.
There were only a few things left to do and she would be able to go back out on the deck. The map creation was fun but there was also the excitement of watching the journey unfold. Yesterday's encounter told her they really needed someone to strike from long range. Her first attempt to kill that hunter would have killed her in the process. It was only due to the fact Lyric was seen that she was able to deliver a strike closer to home. Stopping what she was doing and remembering the other creature that helped her before making that mistake. That was the other thing she meant to do. Thankfully she was finished with the map for now. All that was really left to do was name the island.
She put her quill pen away and capped the inkwell. She got up moving to the deck so see if that creature was maybe following the ship. Lyric was on the deck leaning over the side enjoying the cool breeze. It blew her hair everywhere and that annoying giggle escaped her lips. Alexandria ran up to join her peering over the side into the water. It was still a light blue but it was slowly growing darker. She scanned the area for that silhouette hoping that the creature would follow them. There was something about it that made her feel safe. Plus she wanted to study the creature, maybe even try to shift into it. Of course it would have to stay still long enough for her to do so.
"Do you see that creature that looks like a shadow in the water?" Alexandria asked Lyric as she continued to scan the darking water. Lyric brushed the hair from her face turning away from the wind. She was trying to remember the creature Alexandria was talking about. There were so many around her yesterday that remembering one would take some effort on her part.
Lyric was about to speak when Alexandria pointed at the water. "There it is right there!" Her excitement was over the top. Lyric almost laughed herself off the ship from that reaction. The creature gilded right under the surface of the water keeping in motion with the ship. The vulture shrieked above them watching the sea creature as well.
Alexandria turned around shouting at the bird. "That is not food dammit. So don't even think about it. I will get you some bones later if you keep the shrieking to a minimum!" The vulture cocked its head to the side, settling into the crows nest. She was caught off guard for a moment at how well the vulture listened to her. Maybe it was time to name it soon. There was no way she was going to keep yelling vulture every single time it did something she didn't like. Her head shot up and a smile crept across her face.
"V since you are listening now I will have bones ready for you at meal time." She turned back to the creature in the water which she could clearly see now. Lyric was trying to stop a giggle covering her mouth with her hand. "What the hell is so funny Lyric? Do you have something to add to the conversation?"
Lyric couldn't hold it in any longer as she spoke between giggles. "You finally named the vulture just because it listened to you. That bird has done nothing but follow you around this whole time. It is also funny your talking to it like it is a person." She took in a deep breath in order to quell her laughter. It seemed to work for a moment.
Alexandria waved off Lyric's comment looking down at the creature again. From the looks of it and what she could remember from her books this was called a manta ray or was it a stingray? She would need to check her journal in order to confirm. It was a gorgeous creature and everything in her wanted to reach out and touch it. However she was still a bit tired from the shift from yesterday. Add on to the fact she had not slept, which is a dangerous combination since in human form she still couldn't swim.
Looking up towards the next island which was coming up faster than the last one. She now noticed they had picked up speed. That was why the wind was kissing her face and blowing Lyric's hair all over the place. There was a pause in the action for a moment. Everything seemed to slow almost to a halt. A faint sound ripped through the air at high speeds. A small projectile whizzed above their heads barely missing V in the crows nest. Both Lyric and Alexandria almost fell out of the ship.
"What the fuck was that?" Alexandria asked, looking around trying to figure out who could be shooting at them. She knew it was a bullet since the guards carried guns at the facility. However there were no ships nearby. The only thing that was close was the island in front of them. They also knew there was no one on the island behind them.
Lyric scrambled up the mast making it to the crows nest in record time. V moved a bit on her perch as Lyric grabbed the spyglass hanging from a peg in the wood. Extending it out and peering through it towards the island. She focused on the large mountain in the center trying to see anything. Of course the spy glasses range was that good. Letting out an exasperated sigh she shook her head and looked through again. Catching a glimpse of a sparkle coming from the top of the mountain. She looked down to Alexandria as she yelled. "Someone or something is on the mountain top!"
Right as she finished her sentence another sound ripped through the air. Another projectile flew this time going straight through the spyglass that shattered in Lyric's hands. The bullet cut the side of her face along with a few strains of her hair. Letting out a scream, grabbing her face and dropping what was left of the spyglass in the crows nest.
"What the hell is going on up there?!" Alexandria yelled as the silence fell over the ship. Only the waves butting against the ship were heard. They needed to get to that island now. It was also time to take cover since another threat was waiting for them just ahead.