[color=gray]in collaboration with [@Sisyphus][/color]

Slee cried out as the shark-tooth grabbed her by the wrist and tossed her to the forest floor. There was another crack of thunder, another annihilated tree, and instinctively she covered her face to keep the shower of splinters out of it, dragging the spear along the ground as she did so. When she moved her arms away, she saw the shark-tooth snarling down at her.

[color=lightgray]"They'll kill you easy, and eat or burn [i]everything[/i] before they leave."[/color] He bared his teeth at her, and Slee gaped at him in confusion. They? Was he not like them? Were they looking for - hunting - [i]him?[/i] [color=lightgray]"But I'll distract him, if you've really got the nerve to use that thing."[/color] 

The sharktooth stepped away from the tree, where the thunderer could see him. "I got you now, Sorn!" the creature shouted, leveling his deadly tube at his quarry. Slee didn't know if the sharktooth could be trusted; but that [i]thing[/i] definitely couldn't. She scrabbled up to all fours and crept forward again.

"Never killed a dead man before," the thunderer said with a grin. "Any last - "

He was interrupted by a feral scream from the underbrush, as Slee bounded out from the underbrush to his flank and tackled him. It would have been so easy to run the crude spear through his chest just then, but truth be told, she had never been a killer. The thunderer flailed at her with a cry of surprise, but before he could bring his greater weight to bear, Slee slammed the blunt end of the spear hard into the side of his head, and the light went out of his eyes.

Slee rose warily, kicking the unconscious man away from her and leveling the spear at the sharktooth again. [color=8dc73f]"What... are you?"[/color] [i]What am I?[/i]

A slow, satisfied grin grew on Sorn's face to see his new wild friend take quick advantage of Smelly's narrow focus. He barked a triumphant laugh at the final blow; if there was one thing that would make Smelly furious, it was being bested in a fight by a [i]girl[/i]. He was very glad he hadn't overestimated her.

Sorn dropped his hands in his pockets and gave the girl a lazy, jagged smile. [color=lightgray]"I'm human, I guess. Like you. But it's complicated. Like you, right?"[/color] He shifted his weight, slowly making his way closer to the fallen pirate, but stopped just before the tip of the spear could touch his chest. His eyes never left her face, if only to see how steadily she could hold her ground.

[color=lightgray]"The [i]better[/i] question is, [i]who are you?[/i] I'm Sorn. I'm nothing like those other humans -- mostly."[/color] His grin flashed a gleaming fang. [color=lightgray]"What say we take what we can get from Smelly here before he wakes up?"[/color] He gestured to the would-be hunter, twisted comically in the dirt.

Human. Like her.

Slee shifted her stance as he advanced on her, but stood her ground, her teeth bared. 'Sorn' was looking at her, and though he was tall, and scarred, and jagged toothed, she felt for all the world like she were looking in a clear pool, at her reflection. She lowered the spear and stepped off the unconscious human. [color=8dc73f]"My name is Slee. This is my island. You can take what you want from him."[/color] The thunder-tube was lying in the mud where the human had dropped it - no doubt it was a useful tool when turned to noble purpose, but Slee was still hesitant to touch it.

She stepped towards Sorn and grabbed his face in one hand, the spear still pointed in the mud. His skin was rougher than hers, but as hairless as it looked. She sniffed and found that he smelled of sweat and saltwater; it made sense, considering he had come from the sea. She pulled back his lip with one finger, peering at his jagged maw intently. "[color=8dc73f]Your teeth,"[/color] she observed, [color=8dc73f]"They're not like mine. Where did you come from, Sorn?"[/color]

At the lowered spear, Sorn's grin turned triumphant; he stepped forward, taking his eyes off her to wonder greedily whether Smelly's boots would fit him -- but was stopped by a hand gripping his face.

His immediate reaction was a snarl and a small backward jerk, not at all pleased by surprises or by being touched -- but he stiffened and put up with her probing and sniffing; he watched her with a hateful glare. He needed allies if he was going to do what he needed to do. He needed trust ... as much as he hated to admit it to himself.

[color=lightgray]"An eyelah,"[/color] he managed to say while his lip was being pulled. He wrenched his face away from her, working his jaw to recover use of his own mouth. [color=lightgray]"An island far away you won't know about,"[/color] he said dismissively. [color=lightgray]"The teeth have nothing to do with it. This was a thing that happened that I'm not talking about now. Humans have teeth like you."[/color] To prove it he kicked Smelly over and yanked up the pirate's lip to expose crooked, half-rotted, but very human teeth. His point thus made -- and still slightly bothered by her question -- Sorn proceeded to yank the boots off the pirate's feet.

[color=lightgray]"I'll help you if you help me."[/color] He pressed the sole of the boot against his foot. Close enough. He jammed them on and rummaged in Smelly's pockets, taking the belt and the blades too. [color=lightgray]"The big guy's got a box in his pocket that I want. Once I've got it, I'll help you get those humans all back on their ship and sailing away."[/color]

[color=8dc73f]"You're not... talking about it?"[/color] Slee furrowed her brow at the concept. It seemed like this was a subject that Sorn didn't want her to know about, but she couldn't fathom why that might be. Maybe humans were like sea turtles, she reckoned; there was so much they wouldn't say, and Slee always found talking to them somehow upsetting. She resolved to drop the subject for now.

Slee watched intently as Sorn stripped the other human, taking his foot-coverings and the shiny blades he wore around his waist. [color=8dc73f]"It sounds like there's a lot of humans where you come from. Is that why they came here? Did you chase them here for the... box?"[/color] Finally, something about the situation was starting to make sense. Ever since the ship arrived, she had wondered why they had come; it never occurred to her that they might be running from something. She'd spoken to prey animals enough to know that sometimes fleeing beasts found themselves in strange places.

Then, something occured to her, and a broad grin spread across Slee's face. [color=8dc73f]"I can help you get your box. Or at least, I know someone who can." [/color]She'd first met Ort when the small monkey was stealing berries out of her pouch - she'd never encountered another creature more adept at the art of pilfering than him. She knew he'd probably be looking for her in the cove - she'd told him to come find her if he saw anything, and she was prepared to bet that all this commotion counted. Slee slung the spear over her shoulder and motioned for Sorn to follow her through the brush. [color=8dc73f]"We'll go home and find him, and while we're there we'll talk to my family and see if they think you can be trusted. Then, we'll get your box back, and you and all the other humans will leave, and never come back. And take your thunder and your sharp things with you."[/color]

Sorn only grinned, but didn't answer Slee's first question. It was just fine that she went on believing that this shipful of bloodthirsty pirates had fled to the safety of a remote island just because they were pursued by [i]him[/i]. The very thought stroked his smug self-importance, so that his posture was far more relaxed as he stood and secured the musket to his back. His grin only broadened -- if a bit savagely -- at the idea that his box would soon be within reach. He hurried after Slee, traversing the wilderness with a nimble confidence that echoed his own familiarity with untamed forests.

[color=lightgray]"[i]Family,[/i] huh?"[/color] he said the word with a lilt of amusement. She'd made it perfectly clear that she'd never seen another human, which meant this [i]family[/i] of hers was going to be hilarious. He began running through the possibilities. Monkeys? Turtles? Definitely a bunch of turtles that she talked to every day as if they could --

A puzzling thought resurfaced, and his grin faded while he watched her leap and dart ahead through the thick underbrush. [color=lightgray]"If you've never seen humans,"[/color] he began cautiously, [color=lightgray]"where'd you learn to [i]talk?[/i]"[/color]

When the leaves and the vines cleared, they would see the deep muddled footprints leading out across the white sand ahead of them -- and a small boat floating silently in the cove.

Riot stood in the bow, a harpoon held at ready over his head, peering down into the clear water. Black Eyes held the paddles still. In the bottom of the boat were already a few big fish and a little shark, all dead and bleeding -- but Riot's attention was for bigger game.