Why You Shouldn't Fall Asleep in a Rowboat

''Half-sail!'', bellowed the first mate from where he stood next to the helm. The captain issued him the orders and he yelled them to the crew, since she couldn't be bothered to do it. One look at the woman was enough to tell she was not in a mood for dealing with her rag-tag crew. Her fingers were clenched tightly on the helm, eyes narrowed and brows furrowed. When she spoke, it was quick and straight to the point.

Her first mate, Rafael, refrained from questioning her. He was one of the rare perceptive people on the ship and knew not to tread on hostile grounds. He also knew better than to disturb Dulce. Years of honest and diligent servitude or not, she'd probably throw him overboard without a second thought. It just so happened he liked his place on the ship and preferred to avoid such an outcome. Still, the question had been itching him for a while.

''Cap'n Lara, mind tellin' me where we at?''

Without looking at him, she snapped:

''Sera.''

Dulce sighed loudly. Could the damn hijo not see the jungle beginning to stretch out in front of them? They were just entering it, following a sinuous watercourse just wide enough to contain the large span of the Mirage. Granted, this wasn't their planned destination, so there was room for confusion. They were supposed to sail for the open sea after the heist, but things had gone differently. Once she had raided the fine textiles cargo on the coast of Valetudo, she was all set to leave when Ventus ships showed up. How was she to know they were patrolling in the area? They weren't before. Maybe there had been an increase in piracy-related crimes lately. It's not like she cared. The result was the same; to loose the pursuing vessels she had been forced to make a detour through Sera. Where no one would be crazy enough to follow her.

Why crazy? Because it was impossible to maneuver here. Even she couldn't make the Mirage turn around; she had no choice but to continue following this path until it emerged at the end of the continent. That explained why she was cranky, although a gold mine sat in the holds of her ship. The detour meant weeks separating her from reaping from the money of selling the textiles, and it also meant their supplies would dwindle. They would perhaps need to restock on the spot, even. Here, in this forsaken jungle.

Mind you, she didn't dislike Sera, nor its environments. Handling her ship was the only pain. She had no choice but to go into half-sail, to steady the ship and not crash into shore, but that slowed them down considerably. As time passed, however, she looked at her surroundings and started thinking of her endeavour as an adventure. One of her guilty pleasures.

''What can we exploit here...?'', she mumbled to herself.''Rare pelts, maybe a few minerals...''

''Cap'n!!'', Rafael shouted, pulling her from her thoughts.

''What?''

''Ya only just wen' and almost killed a poor sod down thar', cap'n Lara'', threw one of her crewmen.

She looked overboard.

''Stop the ship'', she ordered flatly.

It had been a warm, pleasantly humid day. At least if you asked Leandro - he didn't mind when the air was heavy and damp. It was the perfect time for him to let his boat drift downstream, and close his eyes for a nap. He could have sat for hours and pondered the meaning of all existence, or he could have watched monkeys fighting over figs or mangoes in trees sagging with fruit, but he idly watched the river ahead as he drifted downstream. Perhaps it would be wise not to fall asleep, lest the current grow rough and his boat be tossed around, but as far as he could tell, the river was calm, and quiet.

He tried not to sleep, tried to keep his eyes open, but the heavy air seemed to drag his head down into the boat, and slowly weigh his eyelids down.

It didn't take much for Leandro to fall asleep.

And so the tall Seran began to drift down the river in his canoe, his legs hanging out and over the side lazily, his head back against the frame. Few people seemed to traverse the rivers, and no one saw him. And if someone did, perchance, see him, they didn't shout for him to awaken, but left him to his nap.

He had an idle dream that his boat was rolling on the jungle's canopy, instead of down its river, and he smiled and snorted in his sleep. Then, the trees began to shake, and storm clouds began to roll overhead. He saw lightening, but instead of thunder he heard a man's harsh voice.

"Cap'n!"

Leandro's eyes opened, and he shot upright as he noticed the massive ship looming over him. He frantically began to gather his nets, moving to tie them in just in case. He tried to focus on the water, use it to pull himself away from the far larger ship. The waves on his right grew rough, and he began to turn the ship - "Too much!" he cried as the canoe tipped, his lunch falling out, along with a few of his knives. He took a quick breath and pushed himself out from under his boat. He scrambled to grab a hold of his canoe, as though his body would somehow protect it from the much larger ship.

He grimaced as it dawned on him that he had not tied down his net. He didn't realize that it was stuck to his foot by a thread, bobbing gently in the water. "My net! My boat!" he cried, his hands flying to his head in exasperation. He would far prefer his dream. He blinked - his lunch would be gone too, wouldn't it? But his other nets, and his rod! He couldn't imagine that they would be swept out to sea, but...

He began to roll the water beneath his ship, hoping it would tip again. When the air bubble proved too strong, he took another breath and dived in. He struggled and pushed on the frame until it tipped, and then he glanced up at the cause. That same large ship. "You almost lost me my fishing gear!" he called. "I need dose to catch my dinner! Why are ya even riding such a monstrous boat on a river anyway?"

He did not seem to realize that he was no longer on a river, and that the Mirage was in a strait, directly connected to the ocean. In fact, he had not even seen a boat as large in his lifetime.

Once the Mirage was successfully anchored, the crewmen threw a footbridge over to land. They made way for their captain, who of course had to step out first. Rafael came to stand beside her. ''Stay here'', she stated and walked out with long, confident strides. She searched for the one she had nearly impaled with her ship and saw him gesticulating and yelling about twenty meters away. There was a rowboat floating close to him and he seemed genuinely distressed.

She was dressed comfortably; knee-high boots over dark cargo pants, with just a black denim bolero jacket covering her upper body. Her long hair was tied in a rope braid with a bright red cloth. Therefor, she had no reason to shy away from the water. Not that she would, normally. She entered the river thigh-deep.

What luck!she thought as she went. Ramming--running into a local this far out. She could have him act as her guide. The jungle was a real maze, an unfriendly place for an outsider. If she wanted to explore for valuable resources, she needed someone to help her find her way. She was all for adventure, but she wasn't reckless or stupid enough to venture in a continent-wide forest she had never set foot in before.

She studied the Seran from top to bottom, humming with approval. Toned body, tanned skin, light hair...In other words, her next conquest. She had nothing against a little taste of the wild. In fact, she found the idea quite alluring. On the other hand, the man looked all but preoccupied with her. He was going on about his lost pieces of equipment. She flashed a sheepish smile nonetheless and chimed:

''I'm so sorry...Are you alright, at least? Can I help you?''

She knew Seran well enough to speak properly; she had spent a little down time learning it for herself. She was pleased it came in handy today. She didn't expect to really recover the man's things, the chances were too slim. Unless they'd gotten stuck on something at the bottom, they would've been washed away by now. Still, she didn't mind pretending to be helping. Deceiving was her thing. Hopefully, if all went well, the Seran would agree to help her later.

Leandro barely paid any mind to the woman or her monstrosity of a ship. He was too busy scrambling into his canoe to notice. His large net was in place, tied in firmly, and he glanced to the side and noticed his other net. He reached over with long, gangly arms and shifted it into the hole where most people would put the oars. Leandro had never used the oars, and seeing as they too had been swept under by the river, it appeared he never would. He pursed his lips in discontent, rifling through his belongings to see what remained.

He had a few spare changes of clothes, although they were wet on one half or another. The rod was bent, but usable. He hadn't lost anything too vital for catching fish.

Then there was the matter of being able to eat the fish he caught - he could find not a single knife, nor shard of flint.

"I'm sorry," the woman said. "Are you alright, at least? Can I help you?"

"Yes, yes, yes, I am fine. Boat doesn't have any leaks, net's strapped in..." He spoke more to himself than to the woman. And as he noticed that his inventory was missing several key elements, Leandro said, "Well if you can find my knives and flint, den yes."

His Seran was as thick as his Caristan. He had his father's thick accent and his mother's lack of eloquence, although he supposed Dian got the short end of that stick, being mute and all...Leandro looked at the woman with indifference. It did not occur to him that she was making eyes at him, and it most certainly did not occur to him that she might be manipulating him. He hadn't heard that bit about Seran valuables.

It was feasible for Leandro to climb until he found wood dry enough to start a fire, but he was not as skilled a climber as Surya had been, and he wasn't so sure he wanted to chance a fall like Inacio had taken.

And, of course, Leandro was also lacking in his dinner. He was certain that fish was either swimming away, or dead, and being eaten by a much larger fish. He looked over the woman. Her clothes were outlandish to Leandro, who wore simple, worn pants with a sash to tie his satchel to. Even that was simple - a small bag he used to hold his water skin and any fruit he found.

"You don't look like you're from dese parts," Leandro said, scratching his head. "Unless you're from Seran."

Dulce's lips twitched slightly at the man's obvious lack of interest in her. Now there was something she wasn't used to! First of all, when men spoke to her, they at least looked at her. She wasn't going to pretend they all fell for her at first sight or couldn't manage to take their eyes off her. However, they would always glance twice. The one who's back was currently faced to her at the moment, on the other hand, did not. The most drop-dead gorgeous woman of the Caristian seas is standing before you and you're worried about your damn boat?!

For a woman with a big an ego as the jungle that surrounded them, that much was offensive. Hence, the twitch. As she listened to him ramble on about his equipment, she got to thinking. What did she know? A Seran; maybe he had grown to be attracted to wild animals! But a man was a man and if he didn't know what it was to have a woman please his needs, she'd soon make him find out. Oh, she was a very good teacher. She'd taught many before. Better just play nice for now and find his stuff.

She snapped from her thoughts when he suddenly addressed her, asking a question. A shy start, but let's say it contented her for now. She put her fists on her hips and smiled playfully. ''Caught me. I had to make a detour here; I'm from Unda. My crew and I were following this river until we...well, sailed into you!''

She scanned the water for a bit. The search would most likely be useless, but the intention was what mattered here. Moreover, she had several extra pair of hands. ''I'll go get my men. They'll help us look.''

She left the river and returned to her ship. Stepping in, she declared loud enough for all of them to hear: ''Alright, you grunts, here's how this is going to go. Get down there – she pointed at the water – and find that man's knives and flint. When we're done, I'll have him take us around. I want to do some exploring. Problems?''

''None, cap'n Lara!''they thundered all at once.

''Good'', she smirked. ''Get to it!''

Barrelling out of the ship, the crewmen got into the river and started searching. She joined them; she knew she wouldn't quite impress the object of her attention if she didn't lend a hand as well. Fishing into the water and shifting it now and then, she put in real effort, also knowing pretending wouldn't be enough in this case. ''How important are those tools to you, anyway?''she asked.

"Unda?" Leandro repeated, smiling back. He didn't understand the distinction. The only women he had spoken to for more than a few minutes were his sisters or his mother, and even if, in those brief interactions with the opposite sex, someone had made a move on Leandro, he probably would not have noticed. The man began to tuck away his remaining belongings, still discontented, but recovering. "Dat's a big trip. Quite de river between here and dere," he said, partially joking. He knew it was the sea, and not a particularly long river.

"De jungle's not a ting ya should just 'detour' in." He glanced around, hoping to see a large snake to prove his point, but saw nothing. He was certain that there were all manner of spiders and fire ants to make the journey treacherous, but he could find no examples. Instead, he punctuated each peril, gesturing with his hands the way he would to his youngest sister, or to Dian at times. "Dere are snakes, an' spiders, an' muck so thick it'll swallow you up, an' da river can't carry your boat forever."

Still, the woman seemed intent on helping him, and exploring the jungle. Or at least the river. He raised his hands in alarm as she sent her men into the river to dig through rocks for his lost flint and knives - he shook his hands in exasperation. "No no no, it's not wort' cuttin' yourselves over!"

He climbed out of his boat and waded towards the woman, reaching out to remove her arms from the water. "De flint rocks are lost, an' wit' de knives you might cut yourself. I can't help ya if you do."

That, Leandro thought, was Dian's area of expertise.

The woman asked how important the tools were to Leandro, and he smiled sincerely. This, to anyone who knew Leandro well, meant that he would be presenting a lecture of knowledge all learned by experience. Usually nasty experiences. And it would be interesting, if whoever was listening had been starved for companionship for months.

"Well de tools are for protectin' myself against de bugs in de fish," he began, wading back towards his boat. He reached for his net, and began to sift through the rocks. If he could find just one of his knives, he would be able to make due. "If ya don't cook the fish, de bugs can get into your insides and lay eggs, and ya get sick and need someone who knows their medicine. Sometimes, if ya cut open their stomaches, ya can see dese little worms inside. Dose are da fish ya have to bury, before dey get de ot'er fishies sick."

He looked at the water, hoping to see a glint of metal. If he did, he would raise it out of the water rather than using his net, or reaching in by hand. That way was safer.

"An even if I could start a fire to burn out de worms, an' didn't eat de innards, de guts make good bait for catchin' ot'er fish. If de fish ate earlier, dat makes great bait, because only de fishies really know how de fishies eat..."

Dulce must not have known what she was in for when she asked Leandro about his tools.