Part 11

Island

She should have swum after Gentoe from the start, she should have tried, and now she was alone and frighten. Kisley had spent the entire day swimming amidst the ocean, looking for any signs left by her family. Since the storm passed and daylight had came, she went through island to island, searching for them. When she gotten hungry from searching, she hunted for shellfish along the bottom floor, as it seem she can't swim fast enough to catch the fish passing her by in the ocean.

Oh how she wished she could use magic like Moko could. Even Link was far better at it than she was. If she could, she would have enhanced her strength though her tail muscle's and swim with more vigor and speed. She had not managed to grasp the ability yet, as it seemed she couldn't focus enough to meditate in practice and find the energies within herself. How could she, with all that was needed to be learned of their world and universe? She was glad now that such knowledge was helping her for once, then just being collecting in her head as useless rubble.

She knew the many dangers of life out here, as well things she know she could use, and eat of course. Still though, she wanted to be back in her mother presents. She wouldn't mind a good licking by Mieka now, like Link had a while ago to soothe his uneasiness. She was so nervous out here, unprotected and alone, all she could do was to keep going till she found one of the others. With that small motivation, she kept along the same direction that the blasted hurricane went. Then the day ended, and she found herself on another nameless island, sleeping, and a stomach full of shellfish. At least she didn't go hungry for the night.

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When the next day arrived, she started off swimming westward again. She spent hours, searching for any signs of her family. She didn't follow westward all the time though, as she swam around a larger area in her immediate area. That idea was quickly trashed, after she stumbled by a small pack of medium size sharks hunting along the bottom, which so happen stance spotter her, and was curious to know what she was. She had to swim hard and fast to get away from them. She didn't chanced that their curiosity was due to wanting to know if she was tasty or not.

Now she just kept the course going west, and after a few more hours of swimming the bottom started rising up. Interested, she headed to the surface and found a large island right in front of her, lust green with tropical life and flocks of birds scaling the canopy above, which climbed upward to the extinct volcano in the sky. Its cone cover with trees, and barely noticeable anymore due to the years. A lot of the sides of this island were rocky and impassable. One small area however, guarded by two large and tall rock's cropping which the sea waves crashed against the front and sides with sprays of white wash, was a cove that leads to a large white sandy beach. The soft, bright sand laid there undisturbed neither by the

ocean forces nor outside intrusion, and it leads inland.

With glee in her eyes by such beauty, she swam though the rocky towers. Below her, as she swam ashore, the sea turned green, as thousands of fish and marine life called the local reef home. She stares in amazement while swimming passing over the sights. She would have to check out thearea around the island in another time she knew, but for now after being out in open water for such a long time, she was glad to have her feet's on soiled land again. She felt like resting right there and then on the beach, as she shake the extra water off her body. But there was too much to see

and explore to relax now, so she headed into the jungle.

Beside marina life, she was also quite adapted with knowledge of land life and their elements too. She had study everything about Araqurin ecosystem from all the regions the planet has, to plant and animal life including insects and critters native here, right down to a thing called microbiology with bacteria and bugs of the like. Hopefully that was enough; today she was going to be tested on this, and it could depend if she would live or not. Some things the planet has can be quite fatal if mistaken.

One of which came right to her along the path as she travel inland. A small brush, which has very tiny, long and thin leaves, had bushels of yellow berries growing deep inside the brush itself. The plant was only just about haft her size. It berries are poisons to Water Dragons, but it leaves can be crush and is a great skin ointment which is used in a lot of products manufactured on planet that used it for creams and locations. She would have to try some of it later on herself. Her skin dose felt chaffy along her feet's. Later though, she was more interested by the sound of

running water.

She walked further inland over to its origin, and came across a large stream of fresh water running down a shallow rocky bed. The stream travels all the way back down, ending at a water fall that runs over the side and crashes back into the sea below. Kisley went upward of the stream and followed it all the way back to its source, which the water seemed to come straight out of the ground from an underwater cave system. Matter of fact, she did spotted a few open caves while climbing up here, some of which could make a great place for sheltering. But she was glad they got fresh water here. Darjeets can get some water back into their bodies from using their gills, which can filter out all the salt and

minerals, allowing some of the clean water to be transfer into their blood stream.

However the amount is so minuscule, they still need a fresh source of water to drink from time to time. The Water Dragons had that same issue too. Now that she found that this island provides one of the critical elements for survival, that"s was one thing check out of the list. She continued along the island, exploring more of it. A lot of the top of the landscape was rocky and not easy traveling, but as long she stays just below that, the land was just like running alongside a hill. There were a few places with flat open ground and wide areas from the forest it's self.

One of which, when she stumble into, had a small cropping of thick, rounded fruit. The top of the fruit had tough, waxy leave's, and it sides were lumpy and hard skinned, but she knew what it was.

"Pineapple!" She said with excitement. It was her favorite tropical fruit. The fruit isn't native to the planet, which the two legs have brought it here from another world. However because of this planet climate, it thrives here, and there was dozens of farms all around the northern islands and the edge of the single continent that just grows this one fruit. She went over and quickly picked out a well ripe fruit. Despite having a hard time getting into it, which at the end requiring her to bash it against a rock till it broke in haft, she was awarded with a sweet, and tardy flavor as she dig into it.

The fruit was so fresh, and flavors strong and wonderful, she just about ate it all. Now full of the stuff, her nose just then caught a whiff of smoke. Even after the tasty treat, her mood soured. She looked up to see a small trail of gray smoke, rising from where she first came onto the island. She have been up here for hours now, and she knew she was alone here. Not knowing what it was about, she quickly, but quietly walked back through the jungle to near the shore. Hiding under the bushes at the edge just before the clearing by the beach started, she crept forward, till she could see the area again, and gape by what she saw.

"But I was just here not too long ago." She thought, but apparently someone, or something else was here now. Along the edge of the beach, under the canopy of palm tree's, a small makeshift shelter was constructed hastily, although it seemed more work was needed for it, but what really caught her eyes was the fire pit. It was blazing, with flames rising high from fresh timber stack high and wide. There was also a whole assortment of fruits lying nearby in a pile, all of which she knew was edible. There was even fish, line up in a row on top of palm leaves, some skewer with a small branch. They were going to be cooked; She never had cook fish before. Even with a belly full of pineapple, her mouth water from the thought.

And after finding this island, filled with things they needed to survive out here, and knowing that she could make it out in the real world, nothing compare to what came back out from the jungle with more timber, being pulled by his teeth with large palm leaves dragging along on the sand.

"MINK!" Kisley scream out of joy, and leaped out from cover. Mink jumped by fright, dropping the branch he was dragging, but a smile quickly replaced it. He too became happy when a familiar face appeared. He braced himself just in time as his big sister crashed into him, picking him up for the biggest hug of her life. It was enough to suffocate him.

"I'm,. . .glad to see you. . . TOO!" He choked red faced. Kisley let him go as he caught his breath.

"What happen, how you find this place?" Kisley asked. Mink lead her over to the fire where they would be more comfortable at. The heat coming off the fire as it finally quieted down felt just right, as Mink started putting the fish along the top of the ring of rock's to cook.

"I pretty much swam all day and night. I only stop a few times to find food." He said as he started on a coconut next to him. That fruit also isn't native, yet again dose well for a planet like this. Mink had taken a pointed rock, and grasping in his right claw hand, he started stabbing the husk off.

"I'm so tired too, but I kept on, hoping to find one of you guys, and guess it paid off. I'm still in shock over it. I really didn't believe the chances."

"Don't you ever stop believing Mink, we will find the others, I'm sure of it. We just need to keep looking." She said, looking back at the fish hungrily. "Besides, if we made it, they could too. If they are nearby, the smoke of your fire will bring them here." Then she brink. How did he

make the fire? She saw no fire bow, nor another means of making it, and he did say he was exhausted, so he wouldn't have the physical energy for the task, so she asked and was surprised.

"I used magic." He replied as he finally got the hulk off, and started to split the fruit open. "Water isn't the only thing we can do with it. It so happen I learn by chance how to heat an small area with the power till it can catch fire if it's burnable some time ago. That's how I started this. Handy little skill hun?" Mink said, as he cracked the shell open.

"Yea, we can be warm at night, and cook our own food!" Again her mouth water by the thought. Oh how she so desire the fish now that the smells enticed her.

"They will be ready in a few minutes, so how about some milk?" He said, handing one part of the fruit over to her.

"No thanks, I actually don't like coconut. And besides, milk is bad for reptiles like us."

"Oh no, not that kind of milk. It's just the water inside the coconut. It's white in color, that's why the two legs called it milk."

"Oh, but still no thank you. Still filled up on Pineapple."

"They have that here?" Mink blinked in surprise.

"Yea, a small wild outcropping is just up there on the island. I know its wild, it isn't a farm." She replied to reinsure him. Kisley then had taken a look at his fruit pile. It was piled with other fruits she didn't bother to look for here. There was a couple each of rounded, brown fleshy fruits, more coconuts, fruits shape like stars, and a single long and rounded orange fruit.

"This placed is stocked; we are able to live here decently if we decide to stay here. Once I get the shelter up. . ." He said, grinding his teeth through the coconut insides to pull out some of the fruit pulp.

"Oh don't worry about that. Your tired and beside, there caves here, we can just sleep there for now."

"Really now? I haven't got a chance to look yet."

"After your rested we will go together. For now, I will just have to tell you what I seen so far.” Mink was about to argue that, then his notice his leg's felt wobbly. He, like his brother Link, didn't know how to use his tail yet, so he had dogpaddle all the way here. Now thinking about it, he was just too tired to do anything else, and was relaying on his magical supplies to keep him going, and now he was low on that too.

"All right, that can wait. Let's just eat and talk I guess." He said as he lay down. Man he WAS tired.

"Good, and I'll do your cooking." She said as she checked on the fish. She did say she was going too, but the temptation was just too strong, and they can always get more fish later. She eye one that was nearly cooked thoroughly. A quick bite wouldn't hurt, now would it? Before she could though, a faint rumble sound echoed off the walls of the rock cropping walls. Mink brought his head back up.

"You heard that?" Kisley asked, putting the fish back down aside the fire.

"Yea. . . it sounded like a boat. . . one that I heard before." He added as he got back to his feet.

"Go back down, and get your rest." Kisley said, but Mink shook his head.

"It's not just a regular boat Kisley. It sounds like the one from the Aquarium. We heard it on occasions. They used something called Gravity Plates that allow them to just float above the water, which allowed them to speed though the oceans. The Aquarium has one of these boats." Kisley looked nervous now, as they both look back out to sea. Sure enough, a small black dot was out there, and heading right towards then.

"It can't be them, how could they find us?" She asked shaking from fright.

"Chips. They put tracking chips in us when we went to our first clinic visit as pups. They found us using that." Mink said darkly. Then he became urgent.

"We got to make a run for it."

“What?!" Kisley said in panic. Mink started to kick sand over the fire, which also in turn ruined the cooked fish. She frowned by that, but that's for crying over later.

"No time, they will be here in seconds."

"Yea, no time." Mink responded as they turned to each other.

"We go to the jungle and split up. They will have a harder time coming for us both."

"And what if they have our family on board?" She didn't want to say it, but it was a possibility.

"Then I guess we give it up. I would rather be back together then alone out here. Let's go." Mink said as she followed him into the jungle. However they both just stop short of the tree line. . .

Something was coming out of the ocean ahead of the boat.