"WHOA!!" Alloy pointed.
"What??" Damion asked.
"I CAN SEE THE ISLAND!!"
"Finally!!" Tasue shouted.
"There's a huge forest on that place!! I wanna go there!!" Alloy added.
"That is where we're going, Alloy-san," Kakeha mentioned.The four watched as the ship sailed on the waves right toward Taka island. Yukio got out of the quarters and as close as they were to the island, it was time to slow the ship down.
"Men!! Prepare to land!!" He ordered.
Alloy and her crew watched as the troops bolted into immediate action. One leaped and grabbed hold of the ropes from above the mast to furl the sails, slowing down the effect of the wind on the ship. The other was ready for directions on the tiller, as he began turning the ship in a position that could remain stationery. By this time, they were already on the sandy shores of the island. "LOWER THE ANCHOR!!" He ordered. The third troop was already inside the deck, he didn't do much, just turned a wheel that dropped the anchor straight down. Then, the ship shook slightly before it stood still.
"That was cool!!" Alloy stated.
Yukio smirked. His eyes closed. "Now, we are here, Taka island!! Men!! You will stay back and keep watch!! Alloy-san," he turned to her as he slowly opened his eyes. "You and your crew can begin yo… huh?? WHERE DID SHE GO??!!" He bellowed.
"She already left with Kakeha." Damion said. "It's really annoying. Tasue, let's go."
"Okay!! Aniki!!" She agreed as they both leaped off the bulwark and onto the sandy ground of Taka island. Exactly on the South Eastern end of the island.Yukio's smile turned blank, worse than pale. His troops were still saluting when they saw his face, his hopeless face and they couldn't help but choke on a laugh that should never be heard by him. "THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR!!" He snapped, gaining his color back as he vaulted off the ship.
"ALLOY-SAN!! KAKEHA-SAN!! WHERE DID YOU GO!!" He yelled as he leaped off the ship and chased blindly. The three continued snickering behind him.
Meanwhile, Alloy had dragged Kakeha like a kite to the wind towards the Southern side of the island. Through many dry areas and many stoned houses among other different buildings. Alloy's goal was simple, find food, so she was simply following her instincts on where they led her to believe food was, which, without the help of a scent her nose could follow, wouldn't help her one bit. She ran across three spread out dirt roads when her energy began depleting faster and faster. Her stomach growled as she stopped and fell to her knees.
"Kakeha…" She struggled.
"Ye… yes??" Kakeha struggled as well. Her hair was all over the place since being carried like a ragdoll through a hot town wasn't necessarily the best feeling.
"If you can find islands… with your eyes…" she panted. Catching her breath.
"Yes??"
"Can you also find food… the same way??"
"Alloy-san…" Kakeha turned to her… "you are hilarious!!" She laughed. Such a lighthearted, soft and warm laugh. Alloy didn't get her answer, but her expression gave her a smile, happy that she was happy.
"Damion-san and Tasue-san said they would go to the marketplace to gather foodstuffs and provisions for the ship. Should we have joined them??" She asked.
"Nah, let's look for a food stand first," Alloy pointed at the hilly forest that definitely seemed to overlook the entire island. "I want to explore that forest once I get my energy back!!"
"Okay, captain," Kakeha chuckled. "Let's try this way," she pointed South.
"Okay, let's go." Alloy said.
The entire land of Taka island was quite dry for the rich looking forest Alloy aimed to find adventure in. The island didn't have set towns, it was mostly a dry land that was definitely more of a sparsely populated village than a full-fledged, or even half of a town. The South was dry in terms of the air, however, it held green grass that tended to grow along a massive river that seemed to provide for the villagers well enough. Of course they were a bit in awe as to how Alloy and Kakeha ran around as they stopped. But they seemed like normal folk who adapted to the life there. Soon enough, the two found a couple of people carrying seaweed-made baskets with fish atop them.
"Excuse me…" Alloy began… panting "Whe… dd.. yu…" her energy to talk depleted.
"What are you saying??" The man they stopped began.
"Allow me to ask him," Kakeha stepped in. "Sir, we're looking for food, we've gone quite a while without any on our ship… can you help us??"
"Oh… you're a…" he gazed at her… "pretty young lady…"
"You flatter me… may I inquire about the fish??" She asked.
"Right… you can buy them next to the bridge. The river's current is quite fast so you can't fish easily, the look on your tired faces tells me the fish will take you first and drag you along with it."
"They might…" Alloy sounded defeated as she caught her breath.
"Then your only choice would be to buy some." The man said.
"Oh, alright…" Kakeha thanked the man.
"Let's go… Kakeha."
The two began walking past the man when Kakeha spoke once more.
"Alloy-san,"
"Yeah??"
"Do we have the money to pay for food??"
Alloy just fell down. No warning, nothing, just down.
"What will we do…" her voice muffled on the dirt road.
The man bellowed in laughter. "If you don't have money, head past the bridge and toward the forest. Someone will help you there…"
"That's helpful, thank you!!" Kakeha mentioned as she picked Alloy up from the ground and they began walking toward the bridge.
"But… I don't have the energy for adventure in the forest…" Alloy sulked.
"You may explore all of it once we find you some food."
"Aren't you starving too??" Alloy asked.
"I'm used to it… don't let it bother you." Kakeha answered.
Alloy couldn't help but feel terrible for a moment. "That's not right…" She said.
*****
As the captain and the navigator looked for food, to the Eastern end of Taka island, lay a marketplace with bare essentials for food, a few materials and even tiny ship parts to make visitors' journeys easier and memorable. Damion and Tasue had walked over that way, however, unlike the south, it was full of green. Humid air was quite refreshing as well. It prospered, flowers bloomed and grass grew along the roads and people's homes were refurbished to the maximum… the maximum a village could do, that is.
However, once they found and crossed the bridge to the other side, they felt a chilling breeze that definitely kept them alert. What distracted them, was the marketplace. It was bustling with cheer, traders with all sorts of foods had lined up in rows and rows and rows. It was quite the place for such an island. Damion and Tasue then began their shopping, but not before they found food stands to help them at least gain their energy for the shopping they were meant to do. They could afford it because, well, Tasue somehow always had a bunch of money with her, how?? Damion didn't consider it a primary concern.
The two enjoyed a bunch of street foods and after some time passed, it was time to do what they were sent to do. As they walked and got a few dried foods for the ship, Damion caught a glance at a man who thought he had hidden himself near-perfectly behind certain curtain-like fabrics. He turned instantly when the man immediately bolted. Damion's suspicions led him to instantly follow him, dropping the goods they already bought. He wore a bunch of rugged tunics as he made turns around the market. He moved quickly, but not swiftly. Damion noticed this when he went through a certain piece of fabric and once he got out the same way, he noticed they were back outside. The night wasn't really favoring the chase, but once Tasue arrived by his side, Damion's eyes caught a glimpse of the man and bolted toward him along with Tasue.
"Aniki… who is that man??" She asked.
"That's what I wanna find out." He replied.
"WAIT!!" Damion called out. But the man didn't listen. So they continued their pursuit.
*****
Meanwhile, in the center of the island, next to a bridge where someone sold grilled fish, Yukio bit off a large chunk of meat off of the one he held on his right hand. His foot tapped the ground as he chewed and wondered, "Where the hell did that girl go??"