The elemental’s eyes looked up at the blue sky, it was a nice warm day with a soft breeze. A perfect day to sail to Parvpora island. It had been months since Katerina had been to the other island of Revalirr. Pushing through the crowded dock, she finally made her way to the ship that would take her to her destination. Stepping on the deck of the ship, her eyes glanced at the few people around her. There was on one side of the ship, their hands entwined and smiles lit up their faces. Another gentlemen was leaning against the railing beside the stairs leading up to the top back deck.  A few other younger teens giggled on the other side of the ship. There wasn’t many here that day. The last time she was there, there were too many people. She just about had a heart attack with the screaming children.

The voyage would only take about half a day or so. A great time to catch up on some sleep. Sleep deprivation was not good for her. Soft snowflakes were starting to fall from her fingertips without her noticing.  Hearing a yell, she looked up to the Captain at the back of the ship, commanding his men, “Cast off!!” He yelled over the voices and everyone went silent, watching the crewmen get to work. Sails were dropped, ropes were tired, then they were off.  Crystal blue eyes looked around the ship. ‘Good, no rowdy kids this time.’ She thought with a small smile. It wasn’t that she didn’t like children, she just wanted a peaceful day. No distractions, no loud yelling. Especially the yelling, she couldn’t stand that right now.

Feeling the ship move, she decided it was time to get some well needed rest while she could. The young wolf started to walk towards the back of the ship, her boots clicking softly against the wood. Before reaching her destination, she was stopped in her tracks. “Hey Lady, how are you today?” A young man stepped in front of her blocking her path to the stairs. “How about you and I get to know each-other? Sure is a long way to the next island.” He said with a wink. “You do look rather lonely. “ He said in a seductive way stepping up close to her. His breath smelt of whiskey, and the bottle in his other had was proof he had been drinking. With a glare, she stared up at him for a moment before he was suddenly up against the side of the doorway. A spike of ice pinning his collar to the wooden wall. A gasp left his lips and he reached to free himself. “Hey I’m sor—“ He started to say and another shard of ice shot from Katerina’s hand and into the other side of his collar. He stood frozen, knowing he shouldn’t say another word. Averting his eyes from her as she walked by him into the doorway. A soft gulp was all she heard when she walked by him.

A small smirk tugged on the side of Katerina’s lips as she walked down the darken depths of the ship. Shutting the door behind her, she wanted to make sure she was left alone. Soft sunlight lit up the darkness around her from the small round windows. Seeing a few cots and a hammock, she chose the hammock, it looked the most comfortable. Making her way towards the hammock, she took off her cloak and laid it over the hammock. Her white long sleeve shirt was sticking slightly to her skin, for the winter season, it was sure hot out today. With a sigh, Katerina laid down, pulling her cloak over her as a blanket.

The soft sound of the waves crashing along the side soon made her drift off to sleep.  The darkness soon turned into dreams. More like nightmare’s. She was alone in the stone courtyard. The only sound was the soft raindrops that hit the ground. Her parents stood before her, staring down at her with dead eyes. Blood started to flow from their eyes as their tears. “MOM! DAD!” Katerina yelled as she ran towards her parents, but the closer she got, the more they moved farther away. Yelling for them again, she slowed her pace. Her parents slowly turned around and walked away from her. “NO! MOM! DAD!!! WAIT DON’T GO!.” She yelled and yelled for them but they didn’t respond. Soon they disappeared into the darkness.

A loud crash woke her from her sleep, or it was her nightmare, she didn’t know which. All she knew was that there were screams from above her. Standing up quickly, she ran to the stairs and up to the door. It was locked, she shook it and slammed her shoulder into it, but nothing. The feel of wetness made her eyes go down to her feet. Water was trickling down from under the door and onto her feet. “OH SHIT!” She yelled and slammed her shoulder into the door again. Nothing. ‘There must be something wedged against it.’ She thought as she stepped away. Turning around, Katerina ran down the stairs, she had to find an exit. It wasn’t long before the water was up to her knees. She had to find a way out fast or she was going to down. “No…No… this cannot be happening.” She whispered walking down one side of the ship, then the other. She started to shake, the water was up to her waist now. “Calm down..” She whispered to herself. Looking on the final side of the ship, she finally saw an opening above. The small window was barred. Reaching up, she had to stand on her tippy toes to reach it, her fingers barely calm out from the other side. Shaking it slightly, she her a clinking sound of the other side. “NO!!” She yelled as the water rose to her chest then to her neck. “DON’T BE LOCKED.” She yelled and shook it again. She couldn’t see were the lock was located.

The water was soon lifting her from the floor below and her head was against the bars. “HELP!!!” She yelled before the water engulfed her. She continued to shake the bars with all her might, but they wouldn’t budge.  A bright light shown before her, then slowly images of her mother and father appeared. ‘Mom…Dad…’ She smiled just a bit and closed her eyes. The water going into her lunges and taking her last breath away…

While the seas between Canelux and Parvpora were safer to travel given recent, technological advances, the Nyella Ocean was still far from a merciful mistress. Much of its depths – and even parts of its surface – remained unexplored, and pirates were an uncomfortably common sight. Smaller ships, like the one Katerina had boarded, relied on their size and speed to evade these plunderers of the high seas; but even they, sometimes, could not fully escape danger.
 
Katerina's captain was most unlucky in this respect. Half a day into the two and a half week journey, they were ambushed by a pirate galleon. The ram on the bow of the hostile ship slammed into the boat's starboard side, allowing the privateers a bridge between vessels while the passengers and deck hands were thrown off balance. It was a slaver ship, unfortunately, filled with a crew accustomed to quick "smash and grabs." With barely even time to fight back, the captain and crew of Katerina's transport were overwhelmed. The passengers above deck were brutally hustled over to the other ship, and the subject of the raid was left to sink from the giant gash in her hull.
 
Meanwhile, safely tucked beneath the main deck, the elemental awoke from her feverish nightmares. The slavers were already well on their way from fleeing their mark, and the lower deck had been inadvertently blocked off by debris. There was still cargo beneath the surface that could have been salvaged, true, but doing so would have violated the number one rule of slave hunters on the Nyella Ocean. That was, "Take what you can as fast as you can."
 
Exploring the lower holds would have taken longer than necessary for a good haul, and would have opened the pirates to counterattack from any passing warships in the area, or worse, from competition. It was more efficient just to take those passengers who were already out in the open, and rely on sinking the ship to scare out any stragglers. With that in mind, they left Katerina to a watery grave, assuming that no one was left alive or free on the passenger ship.
 
Had Natsumi not been lurking nearby when the attackers hit, it is very likely that her old acquaintance would have died. The druid was running a salvage operation in the area, and spotted the sinking ship after the pirates were already speeding off into the horizon. She had no way of knowing if there was anyone left aboard. In fact, the amount of dead bodies floating in the waters around the wreckage suggested, to her, that the entire crew was dead. This total destruction they had endured made their cargo hold prime pickings for an opportunistic scavenger, and, considering that that was exactly what the woman had become in recent years, she helped herself.
 
While in the form of a giant sea serpent, the Ice Queen lurked beneath the surface of the salty brine. She slithered her way over to the damaged vessel as it continued to sink, and then, using her knowledge of boat design, slammed her head through the weakest portion of the hull. With mouth open, she snaked through the interior of the ship from that entry point and into the cargo hold, grabbing up any materials she could before sealing her maw. With the salvage safely secured, she retreated from the wreck, and swam toward the nearest island that had been her staging area for the duration of her operation.
 
Ironically, Natsumi wasn't even aware she had picked up an extra passenger during that morally gray raid. Water was being slowly purged from the inside of her jaws as she travelled further north, revealing an unconscious Katerina tucked beneath the waves. She hadn't been underwater long enough to drown, and would survive: provided, of course, she didn't go into shock from waking up inside a serpent's mouth.
 
 

OOC: Gmod permission was given for previous post and this one as well.

Katerina almost felt peace knowing her time had come. She didn’t like the fact that it would be drowning that would kill her. Her eyes started to flutter closed upon seeing her parents. A small smile appeared on her lips as a few air bubbles left her mouth. She would finally see them. She would finally be with them. She missed her mother’s fingers running through her hair. She couldn’t wait to feel it again. A cough left her as she swallowed down more water. As darkness started to take over her vision. The elemental heard her parent’s voices. “Katerina… Katerina….” Her mother whispered. “Find your brother…” Katerina eyes fluttered open to look at her mother. ‘I don’t have a brother….’  She thought to herself as her eyes started to close again. “We made a mistake…. You must fix it. Find Wilhelm…Find your bother.” Her father’s voice echoed, seeming to get farther away.  The darkness taking her site as she fell unconscious or was she dying.

The time that past was unknown to her. All Katerina felt was a slam in her chest and the water that was trapped in her lungs, escaped. Coughing up the last bit of water, she pushed the wooden box off her chest. “Damnit..” Katerina coughed out as she tried to sit up, but instead bumped her head on something warm and moist. “What the h—“ Before she could finish her sentence, the elemental looked around and her voice was caught in her thought. She couldn’t believe what she was looking at. Teeth, gums… She was in a mouth! “WHAT THE HELL!?!?!?!” She screamed.  Feeling the tongue move under her, she scooted back against the side of the mouth against the teeth. Her eyes widened as she looked around her. Wooden boxes and other object lined the mouth, then her eyes laid on the water. The water that was moving to the back of the mouth. “No…No…” She whispered as she tried to move back more but was stopped by teeth. “DON’T YOU F**CKING EAT ME!!!” She yelled at the top of her longs. She would not die like this. ‘Oh hell no..’ She thought, her eyes spotting a broken piece of wood. “Hell F**CKING… no.” She said as she grabbed the wood and with all her might stabbed the gum next to her. Blood spraying over her face and wet clothing.

It wasn’t long before the creature decided it didn’t want her in its mouth anymore. The mouth opened but instead of crawling out or jumping out like she planned. Her arm’s seem to go numb, then her legs. She couldn’t move.  She had just pissed off the creature. “OH Sh*T!” She yelled trying to move but failed. The tongue started to move beneath her, her head looked from side to side, her eyes wide. The tongue started to circle her body. The saliva dripping onto her face. “Yuck…” She said and shut her mouth tight. If this was how she was going to die, she didn’t want the creature’s saliva in her mouth. All of a sudden, Katerina was launched out of the creature’s mouth. The creature decided it was best to spit her out like she was nothing but a seed stuck in its mouth.

Landing in the water, just below the sandy beach. The wolf demon sat up in the water, coughing up more water…again. The creature’s saliva was a thick mess that drenched her. “So. Gross..” She said as she wiped the saliva from her face and flung it into the water. This day was just a dream, it must be. Because it was somehow turning into the worse day ever.

“I am going to kill you.” She said, thinking even if it did technically save her life, it was going to die. She thought looking up to see if the creature was still there. “Holy….hell..” She said her eyes widening. The giant serpent stood larger than her. She had never seen a creature such as this. Not in a thousand years. “Well. Shit..” She said falling back into the water. “Just eat me and get it done with.”

Travelling to the home island that Natsumi had established from the caravel wreckage was smooth sailing, for the most part. The trip wasn't that long in the first place, and it was only during the latter part that some of the cargo awoke the woman's unknown guest. The ruckus that followed, while obviously loud, wasn't even enough to disrupt the current tranquility, largely due to the fact that Natsumi had grown accustomed to hearing echoes from within her mouth thanks to previous salvage raids. Not even the movement on her tongue was foreign at this point, though the horrible taste of Katerina's shoes did make her suspicious.
 
That aloof attitude, of course, changed when the wolf demon decided to use Natsumi's gums as a practice dummy. The most unwelcome, painful sensation that resulted from this action got the woman's attention right quick, and, unfortunately for the violent perpetrator, also did the same for Natsumi's "salvage guard."
 
"Hostile entity detected in salvage," said Kino, the aforementioned guard, as soon as the blood sprayed onto Katerina's face. The modified hibernation spells that followed this observation were a predictable outcome, as was the animate object spell that removed the wounding stake. Katerina, like others before her, had tripped the security system with her wanton destruction, and, as a result, had her limbs anaesthetized for easier expulsion. "Initiating emergency purge sequence."
 
Guiding Natsumi's tongue to the proper position, the duo proceeded on with the nominal sequence. The ice queen wrapped the fleshy organ around the intruder, slightly opened her jaws, and then spat both her and her impromptu weapon out into the sea as one would expel watermelon seeds. It just so happened that they were close enough to the island for the wolf demon to land near a shore, but that had never been Natsumi's intention, given how rudely she was assaulted.
 
The moments that followed this spit ball exercise were laughable, at best. Katerina, having no concept of manners or gratitude, threatened to kill Natsumi before she even turned around to see the size of her inadvertent rescuer. She didn't even know who she was threatening, a fact that reminded the druid all too well of their first meeting years prior. This time around, however, there was an oddly satisfying role reversal in attendance. That first instant of startled realization from Katerina was an absolutely delectable change of pace from the past: one that Natsumi adored.
 
"She won't eat you unless you're mean to the animals and plants," a nearby Saya said as the wolf demon told the sea serpent to just go ahead and eat her. The little girl stood a few yards behind Katerina, clothed in a white, flower print dress and swishing her tail in the sea breeze while her bare feet soaked up the sand's heat. She was looking directly up at Natsumi as she spoke, smiling and waving at her despite the obvious, sea serpent form.
 
This greeting by her daughter was a bitter sweet surprise for Natsumi. She was glad that Saya was coming out of her shell more without prior coaxing, but was less than thrilled that her disobedience of the island rules had positioned her so close to such an ill-tempered wolf demon. The child was trained in defensive magic, true, but a mother's concern for her daughter tended to override a teacher's confidence in her student for situations like the current one.
 
Still, despite her reservations, Natsumi did not move to scold her daughter for disobeying the rule to stay away from the shore. Rather, she quickly emptied her maw of cargo onto a dry patch of land, and then shrunk back into her tunic and pants clad, natural form. Saya's embrace was quick to follow this transformation, finding the woman just as she came back ashore in bare-footed stride.
 
"Welcome back, okaasan!" her daughter shouted with laughter that the druid could only assume was genuine. It seemed that getting out of the forest once in a while was proving to be a healthy influence on the girl's emotional well-being, but that was something to celebrate later. For now, Natsumi simply picked up Saya in her arms, and then turned to deal with the unexpected guest.
 
"Long time no see, Katerina Silverstein. I apologize for the spit, but then you did jab me in the gum line with an ill-mannered toothpick first. Not to mention I also had to taste you and whatever your boots stepped in aboard that ship just to remove you. Do you have any idea what touches the decks of caravels throughout their lifetimes these days or how persistent the residues left behind can be? I don't think you want to know."

Katerina laid there in the water, her eyes staring up at the sky above her. The waves washed over her, taking what saliva it could. She waited for the creature to take her to a dark place where she wouldn’t see the light of day again. Her mind started to think about the possible outcomes of fighting this creature. All ending in her termination. There was really no point in fighting this creature. She was too weak from almost drowning. There were stories of these creatures, they were large and powerful. In one chomp, she would be dead. There was no chance in her making out of a fight alive and all limbs intact. Maybe if she played dead it would go away? Maybe it would just loose interest in her cause she didn’t want to fight back? She hoped she would live or at least, die quickly.

A voice came from behind forcing her to sit up and turn to see its source. It was a little girl wearing a flower printed dress. She was young, very young. Not even in her teens yet. ‘Sweet girl.’ She thought to herself, but what was she doing here. Hearing movement behind her, the elemental turned towards the sea creature.

There was no longer a sea creature there but a young woman. Her skin fair and her hair white. The scent coming from the women made Katerina sit up and inhale. “Nat…Natsumi?” She asked turning towards the two reuniting. The word Okaasan leaving her lips as she was greeted by the white woman.  It couldn’t be, Natsumi was too young to be a mother and she didn’t look like snow white but scent never lied. Her scent was the only one that smelled that way. Now she knew why. ‘Damn girl is a Sea Serpent and a cat.’ Katerina thought as she tried to stand but failed. Falling back into the water, she sighed, she needed her rest.

Hearing the woman talk, that confirmed that it was Natsumi. She was the only one she met to talk the way she did. So formal but a bit of insult still laid in her words. A smirk lined her lips, thinking, ‘Well that’s what you get for trying to eat me.’ Leaning back on her hands, the wolf elemental shook her boots side to side in the water. “You probably tasted the horse shit I stepped in before I got on the ship.” She joked.

The elemental sighed, she was tired of being in the water and with the rest of the saliva being washed from her clothes, the woman tried to stand again. Her chest ached and her legs were too weak. She wanted out of the water and onto the dry sand. Her eyes slowly looked over to the woman. This was going to hurt her pride. “Can…” She paused for a moment before trying to stand again, sharp pains shooting through her chest. “Can I please have some help?” She asked almost biting her lip, she hated having to ask for help.

[OOC: Gmode permission was given for my post.]


Bedazzlement and confusion were the emotions of the stunned Katerina as she lay on the shore. The way she enunciated Natsumi's name made that abundantly clear, as did the expressions on her tired face. Both made the situation infinitely more amusing for the Ice Queen, especially when her old acquaintance tried to disgust her with a joke about stepping in horse feces.
 
"I know what horse shit tastes like, and that definitely wasn't it." Natsumi said while calling Katerina on her lie. She was, at the same time, trying not to recall the meal that involved such an unfortunate flavor, even if the sailor vomit on the elemental's shoes hadn't been much better. Neither one of those was the most pleasant topic of discussion. "Don't ask."
 
The weakness in the wolf-demon's body became apparent to the druid following this remark. She knew, full well, that Katerina would not be able to rise despite her tongue's perpetual vigor, even before she admitted it. Natsumi's assumption had been that the woman's pride was more important to her than getting washed away by the rising tide, completely understandable even if incorrect. Truthfully, knowing how little she did of the wolf-demon's personality, a request for help was the last thing the Ice Queen expected of Katerina.
 
Despite this surprise, Natsumi was willing to assist, if only because watching someone drown was not entertaining to her in the slightest. To that end, she set Saya back down on the sand and addressed her on bent knee.
 
"Saya," she said in a calm, but firm, voice, "please head back to camp and get the fire going again. It looks like we're going to be here a bit longer while I help our guest recover."
 
"Alright!" Doing as she was told, the little fox-girl ran off into the trees of the mysterious island, making a beeline toward the camp in question. Meanwhile, Natsumi walked over to her wolf acquaintance on the beach's lowest point, and nimbly threw her over her shoulder like one would sling a bag. Subconsciously, her hand found and groped Katerina's buttocks during this transition, and her eyes lewdly glanced at the woman's voluptuous bosom.
 
"Just so you know," Natsumi explained while not realizing how perverted she was being at the moment, "I wasn't trying to eat you. I was salvaging the cargo from an abandoned ship with plans to sell it. Getting you inside my mouth was not my intent, especially since I didn't even know there was someone left alive on that ship."

Asking for help was the last thing Katerina wanted to do. It was the most embarrassing thing she ever had to do. Being weak and helpless in front of Natsumi of all people was the last thing she wanted to happened to her. The elemental was never one to ask for help, not since her parents were put to death. Sitting there on the ground, Katerina’s eyes went to the sea, she couldn’t see Natsumi’s face when she asked. It wasn’t like she couldn’t ask for help; she just didn’t like to.

Natsumi voice made her turn and look, she had put down her child and asked her to daughter to start a fire. Katerina’s eyes went from Natsumi to Saya. The two seemed to care much about one another. She missed that; loving someone. She hadn’t loved anyone besides her parents. Yes, there was men in her life, but never one she had fallen in love with. She tried not to care for anyone she met. She couldn’t risk the chance to care for someone just to have them ripped from her life. Pain gripped the elemental’s heart as her parents appeared in her mind. Her parents love for one another was unforgettable and their love for her was something she would cherish for her whole life.

Katerina’s thoughts were pushed away when the cat-serpent headed towards her. Rolling her eyes, she crossed her arms and looked up at Natsumi. As the cat girl picked her up, her arm’s circled her neck to get a better grip. “You didn’t—“ Before she was about to finish, she felt a hand on her ass and saw the eyes of the cat move to her breast. The cat demon began to talk as if nothing had happened, like her hand wasn’t still planted on her ass. “NATSUMI!” She yelled as she pushed away from the girl and slapped her, right after forcefully moving the cat’s hand to her waist. “Next time your hand decides to grab my ass; I will hurt you with every bit strength I have left.” The wolf promised then looked ahead of them. This is why she usually kept her distance from people. Some were just perverts. And the most unlikely of people, Natsumi was one of them.

“How long until we get to this campsite of yours?” She asked hopping it was close and that Natsumi didn’t try to touch her again. She was very vulnerable at the moment. She hated being as weak as she was in that moment. But she knew in in less than a day she would be alright again, hopefully. She had only almost drowned once before. It was never a good experience. It took her awhile to recuperate before and she was guessing it was going to take the same amount of time as before.

Weakness was more a part of Katerina's personality than she might have realized or been willing to admit. She'd been running away for a long time now, something that even Natsumi could spot during their brief interaction 3 years prior. Even now, the weakened wolf-demon's insecurities were laid bare by the waves: ancient knife wounds that anyone with an intent enough gaze could see. It was a tragedy that she, herself, could not observe the beauty that the Ice Queen did, but then it is often easier for people to measure the worth of others than of themselves. Katerina was just one of many with that predicament.
 
Her slap was expected, as was her shout. The strike stung against the druid's left cheek, causing her pale skin to show a visible, hand imprint. Her hand was swiftly removed from the cushion below Katerina's waist as the inflammation manifested, but her attitude remained undeterred. Gaze still on Katerina's bosom, she made a cheeky remark meant to elicit another slap.
 
"Alas, for it was cushiony." Natsumi said with sly intent. "By the way, my eyes can see straight through your clothing, and I must say your body is exceptional." Exactly according to plan, this comment generated another slap from the wolf-demon, but the Ice Queen made certain it hit her on the opposite cheek. With that connection, she was finally symmetrical, and the slap marks merely appeared as oddly shaped blushes. "Much better. Now I'm even."
 
A lull in excitement followed that heated interaction. The melody of waves interceded as comedy subsided, and sincerity, at last, returned to answer Katerina.
 
"Compliments and bitch slapping aside," the Ice Queen began while still carrying her guest, "the camp is not far from here. We'll get you healed up in a non-compromising fashion as soon as possible, but there is a problem with what comes after." Pausing, the obviously strong woman turned to walk toward her camp.  "A few years back – when I didn't have Saya to take care of – I would have been more than willing to transport you back to shore free of charge. That is no longer reality. I have a small child that depends on me being able to take care of her at a moment's notice now, and an actual need for silver to provide for her. My being here in the ocean is completely related to that goal, and I won't neglect it just to expedite someone's return to shore without monetary compensation. So here's the deal, if you want to go back to shore, you'll either have to pay me or you'll have to work for me for the duration of my salvage operation in this area; and, seeing as you don't have any coin on you, I'm going to assume the latter is your only option."
 
Having finished her explanation, Natsumi finally came into sight of the camp she had told Katerina about. It was a rustic abode located in a grove beyond the tree line of the local forest, well-hidden from passing ships and small enough to be moved at a moment's notice. Saya was already stoking the fire pit at the center, using the tinder box just as Natsumi had taught her to. Nearby was a tent where the little girl and her mother slept, along with a reed bench where the Ice Queen finally set Katerina down. She planned to begin a proper examination soon, but would wait for the wolf-demon to settle down first.

It wasn't like Katerina didn't like compliment, she just didn't know how to take them. Most compliments towards her were vulgar and ended up with a slap on her butt. Then she would end up
right fist in their face and them on the ground. Unfortunately, she was too weak. The wolf demon wanted to punch Natsumi but not having her strength made only a blemish appear on the cats face after Katerina's slap, instead of on the ground.

Hearing the cat's words, the elemental didn't even gasp this time, only to slap Natsumi again then cover her breasts. “You are a pervert.” She stated, calmly to as she looked away from the woman. She never have been complimented that many times in a long while, especially by a woman. This was not the girl she met in the woods a few years back. She was older and outspoken. It wasn't like she wasn't outspoken before, she was just, more outspoken.

As Natsumi started to speak again, Katerina kept her eyes ahead of her. “Yeah, cause this isn't helping me heal…” She mumbled as she laid her hands on the woman's shoulders instead of around her neck. Continuing to listen to the cat, she relaxed a bit as her eyes moved towards her. The way she talked about taking care of her child, made Katerina smile a bit. This girl had grown up into a fine responsible woman. Not the crazy one, wanting to get herself killed, girl. Realizing something within herself, she looked away. She had never had a child, not in a thousand years. She never had that type of love to lead to a child. She would always push them away, or run. What kind of child would want a mother like her, with a past filled with death?

Katerina's eyes went wide hearing what Natsumi had said about her coin purse. Looking down to her damp white shirt, her eyes closed on the location on her hip where she usually attached her purse to her belt. “You're F**king kidding me..” She said aloud, mostly to herself. “Out of everything your took, you couldn't have taken my coin purse?!” The wolf demon said, frustratingly. Becoming quiet again, she had to think about the woman's offer. Either stay on this island and probably starve or help her out.

Not answering Natsumi, she stayed quiet until she was sat down on the ground. Her eyes moved towards Natsumi's daughter. “I'll do it.” She said with a nod. Natsumi needed her, needed money for her daughter. How could she say no. “What are we doing then? Stealing from some ships? Easy.” She said as she leaned back on her hands. A sharp pain went through her side, which made her side. She had probably broken a rib. The only pain normal in her body was in her lower stomach. It was probably almost time for her womanly time.

Glancing around the camp, she didn't spot the odd pair of animals, Natsumi had. Especially the mole doctor. He would be great help right now. He might be a mole, but he was smart. "Where is that doctor? Would be great if he could help me out right now." She asked as her eyes made it back to Natsumi. "Also, where is that bear and bird? I could use some entertainment right now." She said with a smile, knowing those two were odd made her laugh a bit in the past.

Although it was a very accurate assessment given current habits, Natsumi did not view herself as the pervert Katerina accused her of being. A little overly friendly, perhaps; but a pervert? No, absolutely not.
 
'How dare she use such a crude term,' Natsumi thought? Surely, she needed a correction; a more elegant way of expressing the obvious. After all, the descriptor was more painful to the Ice Queen than the wolf-demon's hand. It couldn't be left to stand.
 
 "I prefer, 'sommelier,'" the fox tailed woman elaborated with this goal in mind. "My eyes are my mouth, and lovely visions, such as you, are the wine." Sadly, such words did not appease Kino, who took it upon herself to correct the correction.
 
"I believe that's the definition of a voyeur, ma'am."
 
"Shut up, Kino," Natsumi responded with a frown, her defense instantly shattered by a single sentence. Events played out as normal beyond that point, the artifact's owner silently fuming at her betrayal. Only the soon to come outburst from the captive served to retrieve her from that abyss: for a coin purse lost at sea always produced the most boisterous kind of reactions. "You probably left it on your nightstand, and I went nowhere near the cabins," she explained. It was the most likely scenario, and one she assumed would suffice for the time being. The camp swiftly was already coming into view at that point, and so the Ice Queen needed to prepare for preliminary evaluations. She set the wolf-demon down on the reed table to that effect, and addressed her concerns in a calm tone.
 
"Nothing as mundane as piracy," she said while motioning for her patient to lie down. "But before we get to that, I'll be doing the medical examination. Gaston doesn't like the sea air, so he's back on the mainland. However, I'm much better at medicine now than I used to be, more so than he is. You'll be fine with me, so long as you lie down and don't try to fight me." Katerina, being surprisingly obedient at the moment, lay down as she was told. Natsumi could use her optics to freely examine Katerina in that position; and she took the opportunity to do so, making mental notes of every aberration in physiology she found while maintaining verbal contact. "As for Li and Rauru, Li eats too much for this island to sustain him, so he's back in Canelux as well. Rauru is around here somewhere. He's probably hunting fish in the ocean."
 
Rauru was, indeed, on the hunt in the nearby brine. He was the lookout for the island, but even he needed to take a break once in a while.  Saya knew this and was supposed to tell Natsumi if she returned in his absence, but she couldn't do it before the end of Katerina's medical examination. The mother's eyes were focused intently on Katerina's abdomen at that point, and she was already motioning for Saya to go check on the fishing lines for a bit. It was the sign she always gave when she wanted to talk to a guest alone: one the little girl had learned to recognize immediately.
 
"It's unfortunate that I always seem to be the bearer of bad news with you," Natsumi said with a sigh just after her daughter was out of earshot. She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes, trying to carefully craft the rest of her diagnosis as she went. No small task, considering how touchy the subject she had to address was. "Good news is your physical injuries can be healed in less than an hour. Bad news is you were pregnant up until recently. My preliminary examinations show evidence of a spontaneous miscarriage, so it wasn't just a delayed period."
 
Had it been herself that received this news, the Ice Queen would have been jumping for joy in that moment. The diagnosis would have been nothing but good news for her; but Katerina was not guaranteed to be the same. There was a very real possibility that the woman had been trying to get pregnant, and far be it from Natsumi to disparage such a wish. It was actually a very uncomfortable situation that she didn't know how to deal with, and so she tried to distract all present by continuing to talk without pause.
 
"Tell me," she quickly interrupted in order to cut off any potential response from her patient. "Have you ever heard of Rystal: the mythical city hidden beneath the waves? Many think it merely a legend, but it's very real. It's near here, somewhere; likely filled with valuable artifacts. The goal of my entire operation revolves around cracking it open and finding whatever I can to sell off. I suspect, however, that there will be some guards to prevent my opportunistic scavenging, and that's where you come in."