On an island in the sun.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

"Very well, madam," Cambridge said. "At first light then? Or would another time be more convienent for you?" One of his men stepped up to him. "Are you sure that's wise, sir? It could be an ambush." Cambridge held up a hand to silence the other man. "We'll discuss it later. But I don't think the fear is a charade."

-

Shailee shrugged. "Yes. I don't mind. My tail's off limits though." Some of the kids in town would pull her tail, and it had happened often enough that she was extremely wary of anyone being near it. She wouldn't even allow her sister to brush out the tangles.

@ catharsis.

She looked over at the man once more before starting to shrink back into the background,"First light will be fine." With that, Lyra turned to go back towards her house hoping that she hadn't just dug her own grave. The last thing she needed to do was get herself into more trouble. Although, maybe she did deserve it if she had led them here in the first place. She went back inside of the house to see the unamused look on her father's face. That damage had been done.

--

He gave a small nod before his hand connected with the fur on her ear. They were definitely as real as they looked. Soft, silky fur. "That's pretty amazing," He stated in fascination as he lightly ran the tips of his fingers across her ears. Johnathan took great caution as to not to hurt the girl. "Does it hurt or something if people touch your tail?"

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

Cambridge turned and nodded to his men, then led them back to the shore. There, they met up with the other two parties, who hadn't found much of interest. He explained the plan to the men, and they, with some protest, agreed to stay on the ship and keep watch for anything suspicious. They then set up a small camp on the sore, and cooked dinner with a few rabbits the second party had found.

-

Shailee smiled and blushed at Johnathan's compliment, but it faded when he asked about her tail. "I just don't like it all that much," she lied. Better than going on and on about how the villiage people didn't care for her.

@ catharsis.

Settling back inside of her house, Lyra prepared to face the man tomorrow morning. There couldn't be much that he had to ask of them, but she would still have to be careful. One little slip of the tongue would just make matters worse. Lyra felt that responsibility looming over her as she went to sleep that night consumed with worry. With the beginning of sunrise, she left the house to meet with the lieutenant.

--

Johnathan felt like it would be unwise to pursue the topic even further, so he simply dropped it. Removing his hand from her ears, he dropped it back down to his side with a small smile,"Thank you for letting me touch your ears." At least he knew that she somewhat trusted him.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX
((I am so sorry, I just started a new job and I was in for training for a week. It should be calmed down now.))

At sunrise, Cambridge sent his men away, and they returned to the ship, but stayed in the boats, just in case. They were far enough away that an ambush was impossible, but close enough to help, should he need it. He stretched in the sun, then turned in the direction of the village and waited.

--

"Welcome," Shailee said, then turned and continued walking. After a few minutes, she emerged from the jungle into a small clearing. There were a few houses scattered about, and some had small gardens in front of them. A few chickens and dogs wandered around, some chased by small children. She headed toward one of the bigger houses, which had a small shed to the side of it. She opened the door and called out to her sister, who emerged from a back room with an apron on. "Mari, I found him on the shore, so I brought him home. He said there was a shipwreck and his friends are missing. His name is..." she paused. "I don't think you told me your name."

@ catharsis.

(It's alright! Good luck at the new job!)

Lyra walked towards the shore, feeling her heart beating against her chest. Going through the leaves of the trees and various bushes, she came out onto the beach where the ship was stationed. They were definitely the men from the sea that she had accidentally ran into. "I am looking for a Lieutenant Cambridge." She announced in an authoritative tone not wanting to show any type of fear.

--

Johnathan looked around the village while admiring how quaint it was. Since he lived inside of the city, it was never quiet like it was in this village, because everyone was either yelling at each other or blasting music to annoy his neighbor. The island seemed to be like the complete opposite of how the city was; it felt like a small community. He followed Shailee into the house, hoping that he wouldn't be imposing on the family too much."Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Johnathan, but feel free to call me John or Nathan. My friends call me either." He told her feeling a bit embarrassed that he had actually forgotten.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX
(Sorry about the delay x-x)

Cambridge smiled and bowed deeply in the girl's direction. "Lieutenant Cambridge Lee at your service, madam." He straightened and held him self at a relaxed version of attention, not wanting to scare her with military sharpness. "Are you the only one who's come for a talk?"

--

"It's okay," Shailee said with a smile. "I'm Shailee, this is my sister, Mari, and her husband, Jacobe will be here soon."

Mari was a tall, slender woman with light skin like Shailee. They definitely looked like sisters, both in facial structure and their hair that went through the same gradient although Mari's was pulled up in a topknot. She was vaguely pregnant, only three or four months along. She stepped forward and dipped her head at Johnathan. "Are you hurt anywhere? Or just hungry?" she asked.

@ catharsis.

(it's alright >.<)

Lyra gave a small nod but was confused as it why the Lieutenant had bowed during his greeting. Was that a custom of his nation then? "Um, yes. I spoke to you before but.. I hope I do not offend you when I say that my people are scared of yours, so I come alone." She explained before glancing over her shoulder in the direction of her village. It was a little unnerving to be all alone on the shore without anyone watching over her.

--

Johnathan nodded in Shailee's direction before offering a small smile to Mari who he could tell was pregnant. "My right arm hurts a little bit, but I am hoping that it's just a few scrapes. Although, I am a bit hungry, too." He admitted with a laugh since he was relying heavily on her family already. "I really want to thank you guys for doing this." Johnathan said once more so that she would see his appreciation.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

"Alright. So you are ambassador to your people? Consider me ambassador to my people. I have been sent on a mission to map as much of the sea that I can, and I've ended up here, at your island. What can you tell me about it?" Cambridge asked. He dared not to move closer to the girl, as she looked like she could bolt at any second.

--

"Can I look at your arm?" Mari said, concerned for the boy Shailee had brought home. Though he was a stranger, she still had to treat him with the utmost kindness. It was her nature, after all. "And I don't mind, you are our guest after all, and you've gone through so much already."

@ catharsis.

Lyra gave a small nod because she could consider that she would be the fill-in ambassador for her people. It wasn't like anyone else would have liked to talk to him. "Um, well. There is a lot wildlife that we have around here so you will find a lot of mountains and waterfalls. It's really beautiful." She explained with a small smile because she was proud of their small island.

--

"Of course." Johnathan nodded as he stepped closer towards Mari so that she could check his arm. It didn't feel broken or anything like that, but it still stung a little when he moved it around. "Thank you, again." He said once more since they could have left him to rot.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

Cambridge smiled at the girl's information. It wasn't exactly what he wanted, but it would do. "What do you call it?" he asked, fiddling in his jacket for a pen and paper.

--

"It's no trouble. Do you know when your ship wrecked? If it was recently, I'm sure my husband would know of it, he works as a fisherman on the coast. He hears of everything that happens out on the sea," Mari said. Shailee stayed quiet, letting Mari lead the conversation because she was always better at talking to people than Shailee ever was. It wasn't fair; she was prettier, kinder, smarter, overall better than Shailee, but she still loved her sister dearly.

@ catharsis.

"This island?" She asked to clarify. Looking around for a moment, Lyra was tried to decide whether or not to share that valuable information. It was something that was sort of sacred to her people. No one knew this place existed.. along with the rest of its secrets. "We.. We don't really have a name for the island." She settled on with a small, tight smile.

--

Johnathan shook his head since all he could remember was the moments before the crash actually occurred. Nothing about what the date was or even what had actually caused it. He just remembered being in the lounge while playing cards.. then it all went black. "No, sorry, I don't really remember much. The only thing that I really would like to know is if my friends are alright. I couldn't find any of them after I came to." He explained, running his good arm through his hair. "Luckily, Shailee was there. I would probably be wondering around by the shore still."

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

"Really? Well, I guess that makes sense..." Cambridge trailed off. "What about for your village, or your people? Are there names for either of those?" He noticed that she looked uncomfortable, but he had to bring something concrete back.

--

"We can ask my husband if he's heard of anything when he gets home. And Shailee has a kind heart, I'm happy you've noticed that." She returned back to the small kitchen, to continue preparing the meal. Shailee played with the hem of her shirt, suddenly embarrassed by the praise she'd received.

@ catharsis.

Lyra knew the name for their type of people and knew that she couldn't give that information out either. If only she were a better liar.. "No, we don't.. I think we've been so far from civilization that we never thought of needing a name for the village or its people." She explained to him with a small shrug like it was no big deal.

--

Johnathan nodded since he had to be blind to not notice her kindness. "Of course. If there's anything that I can help with, please let me know." He told Mari before moving over to Shailee with a smile. "It seems like your whole family is really nice. I'm glad that you found me."

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

"Alright then..." Cambridge said with a frown. This wasn't going at all like he planned. "Is there anything at all you can tell me?" He wasn't expecting much of an answer for that either, but it was worth a shot. He had to get something out of this village.

--

"Me too, I mean, you could have been wandering around for a very long time," Shailee answered. "And we're the best people to have found you, in my opinion anyway." She gestured toward the table in the next room. "Sit, rest, and I'll get you some water. You're probably dehydrated!" She went into the kitchen to pour two glasses of water and brought them back to Johnathan, then sat by him.

@ catharsis.

Lyra could see that he was less than pleased with her answer and offered a small smile of apology. "We don't get that many visitors since we are so far away from civilization. To be honest, we like to keep it that way.. we're happy being alone." She tried to pass off the hint in a polite way.

--

He knew just how lucky he had been.. maybe his friends had struck with the same luck. Sitting down at the table, he practically chugged down the water in one gulp and exhaled with a sigh. That hit just the right spot. "I hadn't even notice but I was pretty thirsty." He admitted with a small laugh.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

Cambridge held back a scowl. She had just shattered all the hopes he had of finding anything from the village. He reckoned that they had something important to hide, and if he couldn't get it from her, he'd have to stay and do some research. "Okay," he said. "Then are there any other people on this island we could talk to? It's a large enough island, surely there's more than just you."

--

"I don't blame you, after everything..." Shailee jumped slightly as the front door opened and the screen door slammed shut. Jacobe walked in, nearly having to duck through the doorway into the dining room. He was tall, muscular, and tanned, the portrait of a fisherman. He glanced at the table, then stopped and stared at Johnathan. "Where'd you come from?" he asked, confused.

@ catharsis.

As far as she knew, they were the only people on the island except for the wildlife, which was something that they wanted to keep. "I believe that we are the only people that inhabited this island. Like I said, we didn't want to keep in contact with.. other people, so I am sure that, unless some other village had the same idea, we are the only people." Lyra could tell that he was a little frustrated with her answers but this is what she had to do to protect her tribe, especially with her mistake.

--

Johnathan jumped at the sudden entrance and offered the man a smile. He was probably Jacobe since Shailee's sister had mentioned that he would be home soon. "Sorry for the intrusion. I was on a cruise with one of my friends and... something happened. When I came to, I was on the shore.." He explained quickly, placing a hand behind his head. "My name is Johnathan, if I remember correctly anyway."

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

"Very well," Cambridge said, stuffing the notebook back into his jacket. "I suppose we're done then, seeing as there's nothing you know, or can tell me." He signaled his crew to pick him up. "They're coming back for me, but we're going to look around the island a bit more tomorrow -- Don't worry, we'll stay well out of your way," he said.

--

"Oh! Don't apologize, you've been through so much already, I didn't know. I think I heard something about a shipwreck..." Jacobe scowled. "Must've just been from a passing fisherman yesterday, I think. I can check it out for you when I go back tomorrow. Surely someone would know. I'm a fisherman," Jacobe explained, "For the whole village. We don't get many other people around here, but there are the occasional ones from other villages. And my name is Jacobe!" He wasn't the best at people skills, but he was kind and earned the respect of the village. " Though I'm sure Shailee and my wife have told you all about me by now anyway."

@ catharsis.

Even though his wording in particular irritated her, Lyra simply nodded while glancing behind the Lieutenant to see the ship coming back towards the shore. She wished that she could just make him never come back, but that didn't seem to be possible; her people would just have be extremely careful for the next few days. "Of course, but I don't think you'll find anything of interest here on the island. We don't exactly have gold or anything that many people come looking for." Lyra warned with a small shrug, accidentally slipping that she knew of their objective.

--

Johnathan nodded since even the smallest bit of information was enough for him. "Please, if you get the chance.. I really just want to know if anyone else survived that except for me.." Placing a hand behind his head, he wondered if it would be possible to take a shower. All he could smell was the salt of the sea on his body. "Thank you, Jacobe. They have mentioned your name but it's finally nice to meet the man himself." He offered a grin.