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

Sorn watched the sway of the grass and leaves in her wake, a twitch in his mouth, still slightly irritated at the monkey-solution, still uncertain whether he'd made the right decision in letting this girl open the box.

He shifted Black Eyes on his shoulder and hiked back into the trees; the forest glowed in the red-gold sunset. More than anything, he was curious to see how she'd pull it off. He grinned a little to himself.

"Them monsters're messin' with the [i]ship[/i], cap'n!"

Captain Howler sat up straight, his slightly crooked eyes locked dangerously on the pointing pirate. A few more shouts rang out among the crew, and one by one they abandoned their mugs and campfires to approach the water's edge, staring with blank incomprehension.

The ship -- anchored in the deep of the placid bay -- swayed and tossed and spun as if caught in a terrible storm. Occasionally, in the last dim glimmer of sunlight, a flash of fins and scales broke the surface and dove deep.

Howler laid an arm across an upturned knee, and he watched with mounting anger while his crew displayed their dumbfounded ignorance by standing still. "WELL?!" he hollered, startling the drunks out of their hypnosis. "[i]Kill them![/i] Before they capsize the ship! Find that hunting party!" he snapped at the nearest pirate, who saluted awkwardly and bounded off.

The same pirate returned only moments later -- while the rest of the crew ran into one another in their hurry to get the boats -- and stood up straight to announce his success: "Black Eyes and Smelly have returned, Sir. They're unconscious, Sir." Sorn had, after all, managed to drag both men all the way back to the beach and dump them behind a log before retreating. None of the hysteric pirates had spotted him.

Captain Howler's eye twitched. "How did they -- [i]nevermind[/i]. Riot and the harpoons!"

"Riot isn't with them, Sir."

"Well. Find. Him." The pirate's face went three shades paler at the deadly hiss in the captain's voice, and he ran off once again. Howler remained sitting where he was, determined that his crew had to be competent enough to get rid of a few sea-serpents -- but his furious attention was focused on his precious ship and the [i]things[/i] that dared touch it.

The little box was still nestled in the left pocket of the jacket he wore; the captain had given it no more thought.

"The things I do," Ort grumbled as he slid down the tree nearest to the human's camp. With quick, bounding strides, he hopped past the outer rim of cloth structures they had erected, leaping from shadow to shadow and careful to stay out of sight. There was some great commotion in the camp, the big smoothskins all running and shouting at something in the water. Ort knew from experience with Slee that his eyes weren't as focused as theirs, yet even so he was dimly able to perceive a flash of scales, and the sudden convulsing of the ship.

The monkey bared his fangs in exultation as the monsters around him screamed in fear and panic at the monsters in the water. [i]Thanks, snakes.[/i]

He had to focus. Slee still needed the box if she was going to get rid of these things for good, which meant he needed to find the big one. That had never been hard before - in the week he'd been watching the camp for Slee, the big furry human had always been the loudest, always at the center of the commotion. It took only a minute or two of creeping around the chaos for Ort to find him sitting on the beach, staring at the ship in the harbor. There was no real risk of him being spotted yet; nobody was looking down, and he was very, very cautious.

Really, he was almost disappointed in how easy it was. He'd expected to have to distract the human or find some way of getting elevation in order to reach the giant's box, but there he was, sitting in the sand, oblivious to the world around him. Orn slipped two nimble paws into the creature's pocket and pulled the box free, then passed it to his tail and sauntered off. He made it halfway to the forest before he heard the monster began to panic, and the little monkey barely suppressed a chuckle as he bounded out of the camp.

Slee was waiting in the treeline as she said she'd be, wringing her hands through her still-wet skirt as she scanned the camp anxiously. She gave a brief start as a familiar weight dropped onto her shoulders, and a dark box was extended into her field of vision.

"As requested," Ort said as she accepted the box from his delicate hands. She turned as he crawled back up into the trees tail-first, still peering down at her. "Good luck."

[color=8dc73f]"You're a hero, Ort," [/color]she replied, and a moment later he was gone. She glanced down to examine the box - it was a small, undecorated thing, almost innocuous for the amount of trouble that had gone into it.

Well, nothing else for it - it was high time these humans left. Slee took a deep breath and opened the box.

The crew, it turned out, was incompetent at basic motor functions.

"The [i]boats[/i] go in the [i]water![/i]" Howler roared at the top of his lungs. He'd been watching the pirates search for nonexistent harpoons and wave fishhooks at each other for long enough. One might begin to think they were afraid of being eaten by whatever was on the verge of splitting their ship in two. "Blast it!" Ort had only barely retreated with the box before the captain was on his feet and striding for the edge of the sand, his musket firm in both hands. "Get me a boat! NOW!"

Howler's example was all the crew had needed. Suddenly they understood. Suddenly their paddleboats made it into the lapping water, and swords and scimitars flashed in the last dregs of sunlight. Howler climbed into one of the boats, and he stood with weapon at the ready while another pirate worked the oars. All along the beach, boats set off, their occupants brandishing rifles and muskets pointed at the monsters in the sea. Just a little closer...

The stars shimmered overhead, and the fiery gleam of sunlight sank finally below the horizon. The shift and churn of the water glinted by the brightness of the moon.

The moment Slee opened the box, a flash of warm light startled her vision. A sensation of freedom would overcome her -- as if she'd suddenly been released of lifelong, heavy shackles.

She could stand up, now. She could stand higher ... and higher. She could take full breaths for the first time, taste the wind like she never had before. She could feel the light of the stars and moon -- hear the breath of the ocean, the heartbeat of the earth.

The island was smaller, now, below her. The pirates on the beach, casting shadows by the light of their campfires, walked backward toward the water with their heads craned to stare up at her. She could see herself, so small down below, standing still, bathed in the light of the little box.

The Senneli abandoned their distraction and dove deep, leaving the ship bobbing and swaying alone.

The pirates in their boats, with their little bright lanterns, looked back to see the Anima that had risen on the island. Everything had gone still.