[center][img]https://i.gyazo.com/2ec4f080babb056dbbf090eeac0b6c3d.png[/img][/center]
Elsewhere... [url=https://i.gyazo.com/f042f869810a6edd036f6161e658ccfd.png]NORTHEAST[/url] of Portea, along the windy shore of the Crystal Sea.

	A frantic [url=https://i.gyazo.com/42318bec71ab8ab9663735423909e436.png]FELINE[/url] with reddish brown fur paced back and forth, her little paws leaving tiny tracks in the wet sand.  Under the overcast weather, the reed cat's sharp greenish eyes tracked something adrift in the water and no matter how violently the waves ebbed and flowed, she dared not turn her gaze away, at least not for too long.  The raw threat of predators captivated her attention, especially given what had just happened to her and her cohort.  Regardless, she occasionally yowled out to [i]him[/i] in hopes of rousing his ire.  It had always worked before, but she couldn't understand why he wasn't responding.  A few times she bravely attempted to traverse the salty water, but it was far too cold for her liking, and being out of her element went against every survival instinct in her bones.

[i]Snap.[/i]  The reed cat froze in mid stride, her black-tipped ears arching up as she stared a few yards to her right at the source of the unnerving noise, some dark foliage further inland.  A minute passed before she felt free to glance around, but then she turned once again towards the Crystal Sea.  Fortunately, her cohort continued bobbing up and down in her sight, drifting ever closer to the shore.  The reed cat followed along as the wind ushered him gently, the sand and dust also rising up and around her long legs.  He gradually reached the entrance of a shallow pond that connected the mainland to the sea.  As he came to a stop upon the sand, she knew that this was her chance.

With a running leap that was all too natural for her kind, the reed cat landed upon her cohort's hulking mass, being careful not to touch the multitude of spikes on his backside.  He was covered in seaweed, which she sniffed curiously as she made her way towards the back of his large, bulging neck.  Her moist nose poked his eye gently as she let out a soft mew, as though pleading.  She had succeeded in her mission:  She had reconnected with her Dracodile and booped him to let him know that she was there and that everything would be alright.

	Black and white images flashed through Gossk Quor-dek's mind: [i]He'd captured a large fish[/i].  He groaned as something rubbed up against his left eyelid.  [i]He tore into it hungrily as he floated in the Crystal Sea.[/i]  Softly growling with a wince, he opened his eyes, the world of color raking over his irises.  [i]Blood surrounded him in the water, and a shadow grew towards him.[/i]  He blinked, feeling an odd weight on his neck.  [i]Jaws... that was all he saw before something took hold of him, shaking him like a rag doll.[/i]  A pair of green eyes loomed into view, causing him to focus on it.

[color=39b54a]'Licks...?'[/color] Gossk thought, realizing that he and his pet were alive. [i]He fought for his life, clawing, biting, cursing Illorask...[/i].  Suddenly, everything that had happened replayed in his mind in a rapid, accurate sequence.  He had heard tales of monsters that his Rasskarr elders called 'razor mouth', but humans called them sharks.  At the very thought of it, fear startled Gossk and he mustered every bit of strength he had left and looked behind him, at the Crystal Sea.  He croaked a defiant growl, though it was more like a shudder, as he crawled away as fast as he could.  The pond was only a yard away, yet it seemed like miles to the Dracodile.

Upon touching the pond's surface with an outstretched claw, Licks immediately found it necessary to leap off of him and sniff his hand.  He watched her, somewhat annoyed.  He didn't have food for her, not yet.  The mission had been a failure and he made a mental note to never enter the Crystal Sea again, at least not without learning how to utterly destroy any and all sharks.  

As he tried to relax, the adrenaline began to wear off and the pain that he wasn't feeling before overwhelmed his senses, causing him to squirm and choke in between panted breaths.  He wasn't sure where he was hurting, but it felt like everything was intact.  His large satchel, unbeknownst to him, had washed up about 10 yards away, and it had been the first clue that Licks found to know that her cohort was nearby.

	Licks watched him expectantly.  [color=39b54a]"Go...hunt,"[/color] Gossk rasped to her, his weakened voice sounding watery.  The reed cat folded her ears, feeling somewhat disappointed.  If she knew that she was going to have to hunt for her dinner that day, she would have already done so before saving him.  But she butted her head on her cohort's jaw anyway.  She then jumped over a bush, leaving him to the safety of the shallow pond.

	Relieved that she had obeyed, Gossk knew that he just wanted to rest.  He was certainly hurting, but his belly was full.  As long as Licks got her fill, he knew everything would turn out alright.  He wasn't about to give up just because a shark almost ate him.  Who does that?