Seaveil : The Tide Rises -- Part Two

Seaveil moaned; his head throbbed and he rubbed it briefly before cursing and lying back down again. Around him, he could only see small, amber flakes. They were parched and rocky, but what more did he expect?

     He opened his eyes for a moment, but immediately shut it again. The bright sun blazed ahead of him -- it was more than blinding. Before he opened his eyes again, Seaveil turned and peeked through his squinted eyelids. He could see a colourful dot follow his vision.

     "Gluuurg..." said a familiar voice. Seaveil turned to see Deague flopping around. The Nuranna looked at him, "Don't curse, Seaveil. Improper manners."

     "Yeah, well," Seaveil snapped back, "you're not in any condition to lecture me. Where are we? Is this the beach?"

     Deague rolled his eyes. "Firstly, I'm fine. And secondly, no, we most definitely are not at a beach! In fact, I wish we were. This is almost the opposite!" he groaned and flapped his fin into the sand (to improvise for his lack of legs, which refrain him from kicking). "It's a stupid, idiotic desert."

     They were silent for a moment. Deague looked around, Seaveil staring blankly at him. It took several minutes for Deague to realize why he was quiet, for Seaveil said bluntly, "What's a desert?"

     "For Fyora's sake, Seaveil!" Deague cried out into the vast, desolate land.

     "Hey! You know I haven't learnt all of these terms," Seaveil retorted, "but I guess I do sorta know what it is. This is a desert, right, Deague? And what's in it?"

     The Nuranna shivered. He mumbled something that sounded like 'crowbars' and turned his back against Seaveil. Deague scouted about, looking for refuge in the solemn place.

     Minutes passed, and Seaveil could feel his throat becoming as dry as the sand beneath his feet. He frowned and furrowed his brows in spite. Deague was still looking around, yawning every so often when a soft breeze blew by. Around them, there could be nothing seen but the hazy, ceaseless desert.

     After what felt like days, Deague exclaimed, "I think I just saw something!"

     It rang hard in Seaveil's ears, because he was adjusted to the seemingly abided silence. He jumped in surprise, but didn't mind nonetheless. In fact, he responded with an unquestionably exasperated and exceedingly loud, "Really? What is it? What did you find?"

     "A palm tree, or something of the like."

     "A tree. You tell me after I've been waiting for hours that there's a stupid tree out here? What's so significant about that?" Seaveil couldn't help but to yell in anguish.

     Deague frowned crossly. "For one, it was not just you who waited. I was the one doing the searching, and I think I deserve some credit than to actually do something while we're here! Secondly, trees mean life or water. Life or water means good," Deague snapped irritably. "I know you're tired, but once we get to the tree, we'll find shade and possibly civilization."

     Seaveil sighed, "Fine." Then he added a sarcastic, "Thank you so much, Deague!"

     "You're very welcome," Deague said redundantly, smiling. He began to journey to the tree, which stretched kilometers ahead. Seaveil followed after him.

     They trekked for a long time, the fiery sun fixed onto the coral sky. Seaveil could hear nothing but their own, strangely annoying but soft crunching of their footsteps upon the sand. Few gusts came by to blow across the parched land, and they could both feel the sweat building up on their heated faces.

     When the mere halfway point was reached, Seaveil could take it no longer. He belonged in the sea, and this was the exact opposite. No water and everything was calm. Worst of all, they were getting nowhere. He tugged off his vest and used it to shade himself and Deague from the sun and trudged on, feeling as though he were to explode at any minute.

     "Are we there yet?" Seaveil panted in a hushed voice, which he had to struggle to do. His throat was dry, nearly as dry as the vast amount untouched sand covering the voluminous desert.

     "Can you lean against the tree?" snapped Deague in a sarcastic tone. "No, we are not." Seaveil didn't know how Deague still had the energy to speak. The Nuranna was practically limping across the sweltering desert.

     It seemed as if days, or even months, passed as they lugged themselves over the sand, panting and wiping the sweat off their foreheads. Seaveil's legs were tired and he felt his feet ache beneath him. He felt as if each step could mean the end of the existence of his legs. He didn't know how Deague felt, nor did he really care. All he wanted was to sit down and be flooded in cold, refreshing water.

     Seaveil didn't want to show he was getting tired, thus he asked, "How long have we been traveling?" as though he didn't want to pause for a rest. Deague took is as a sign of tire anyway, and turned to him.

     "I don't know, but quit complaining; we're almost there."

     The Shoyru kept his mouth shut from then on. It would save them both a lot of energy, as he could feel all of the water from his throat leave him when he talked. Besides, talking to Deague was definitely not worthwhile.

     The two saw the tree come closer and closer, finally feeling as if they weren't chasing an unreachable object. They could see it was large and towered well above them, but it was not high enough for Seaveil to not jump and touch one of its moist leaves.

     And that was exactly what he did when they reached the palm tree, with its branches and leaves sheltering the sun from them. He leaped off the ground with his last ounce of strength and tugged playfully at a leaf. It was soft and wet, as if it was recently watered. He looked at Deague.

     Deague was busy examining the tree closely, touching the ragged bark. He turned back at Seaveil.

     "What?"

     "It feels so nice."

     "What did you expect?" Deague replied, in his usual sarcastic tone. He turned back and looked above him, while Seaveil busied himself with leaping again.

     A light blue fruit fell from the tree. It was swirled with yellow and it had a dark green stem sprouting from its top. The two glanced at each other and grinned widely. There was food, at last.

     Both Deague and Seaveil lunged for the fruit, and Deague won the battle. He was looking at the fruit curiously, and suddenly exclaimed, "Tchea fruit!"

     "Tchea fruit?" Seaveil asked, perplexed.

     "Yes, a tchea fruit. I heard they were from the desert, which is currently where we reside, and that they tasted like bananas and blueberries."

     "Hey! You're not supposed to give that away! It was supposed to be a surprise!" Seaveil snatched the fruit from Deague and sliced it in half with ease. He passed half of it to Deague and devoured the fruit.

     Soon, he and Deague were feasting on the fruits, but Deague whacked him after he ate his fifth Tchea fruit and was going for more.

     "You have to reserve some, stupid. Besides, you can't be that selfish and eat five while I only ate three," Deague lectured him disapprovingly.

     Seaveil rolled his eyes and came down from his position. He leaned up against the tree's trunk and was wafted by the gentle breeze. The sun still blared at his eyes, and he quickly squinted them shut. Before he knew it, Seaveil was drifting off into a deep sleep.

     The Shoyru woke up, surprised. It was dark, and the sky contained no stars, unlike the skies of the sea. He sighed and came up from his position, sweeping the sand off his clothes. The sand beneath him was hard and packed like dirt. It felt strange. His surroundings seemed to change, and he couldn't see Deague anywhere.

     "Hey, Deague?" Seaveil called.

     No answer.

     "Deague?"

     Seaveil wandered around, panicking slightly. Then a thought came over him, and he said, "This isn't funny, Deague. This is a really lame prank you're trying to pull off." But there was no answer, and no Deague.

     He continued to venture around him, looking around as he walked. Before he realized it, he was far from the tree and the place slept. Seaveil had a sense that it wasn't any prank. He would have heard Deague's laughter by now.

     It was dark and eerie, and the air was cold. It was nothing like the desert he had just walked in moments ago. He wondered what was going on, rubbing his eyes furiously. As he did so, he heard a low hiss.

     "Luke..."

     Seaveil turned.

     "Luke, come..."

     Seaveil glanced around him, trying to find where the voice was coming from. He turned and heard the quiet hiss, and a blue figure beckoning him. But all he could remember were those eerie, frightening eyes staring straight at him. Penetrating him.

To be continued...