Trapped on a Raft

↑ (AAHHH!! Austin you sweet handsome man! He gone fulfill her fantasy!)

The princess sat there quietly in the small raft with Austin. She said not a single word to him. She didn't even look him in the eye. Every time she saw those beautiful blue eyes she would tear a bit. Knowing they could never be... She wasn't even sure if his feelings were mutual. She knew she can be a stupid woman falling too hard and making up stories in her head.

There had been many people she met since sneaking out of her village. But Austin was the one that she would never forget. That hot summer of their first encounter, their first kiss... The taste of his delicious apple, and his lips. Then there was the second encounter... She remembered him saying it wasn't a great idea to get too friendly. However she did recall enjoying the food of his people. Some sort of baked pastry that was filled with sweets. Something the humans called pie. She reminisce and sighed heavily.

It took her all the courage in the world to shift her eyes to meet his charming gaze. Her heart pounding heavily, her stomach fluttering. They were alone again... Together... In a small raft... With no where to go... There Cheetah Princess goes again with her wild imaginations. Could this be it? A second kiss? Or is he going to be the one that got away. 

Cheetah Princess was on a raft with a tiny girl. She was so cute, talking about a lot of things. Her bright outlook on this matter was a refreshing. The princess really appreciated her company. The elf looked at her direction. "No my dear." As she gave the teenager a weak smile. "Please keep talking. It's so good to just be with someone. It can be so lonely out here at sea...." She was so happy the little girl kept her spirits up. Zinnia's perky personality was also keeping the princess's spirits up as well!

She never expected this to happen, and yet here she was. Zinnia stared at the tall elf in awe, attempting to figure out what to say. She has never seen an elf before, let alone learned what exactly an elf was. The meek teenager maintained her blank stare at her before letting out a whisper.

"Hey...eh, it's pretty quiet out here, right? Quiet is good. Anyways, uhm... I'm... I'm Zinnia. You can call me Zee if you really want to. Anyways, heh heh, how'd we even get into this mess?" The teenager turned to the water, distracting herself with it. Every wave, every time the small raft bounced along somehow made her feel tranquil.

"Heh, I wish that my boyfriend was here. He'd either blurt out his most cheesiest pick up line or he would...Hey, am I bothering you? Sorry, I'll shut up. Let's just... I honestly don't know what to do. I'm sorry, ma'am."

Bubbling on the surface of water, a shadow of something came closer to the raft. The bubble came up the more it got close, suddenly an aquatic mammal came out from under the water, grabbing onto the raft and catches some breathe. It dragged itself up onto the raft and get the grasp of air before noticing someone is also on the raft.

"O-oh, I'm sorry, did I interupted you..?" The creature talked in hoarshly voice, clearly exhausted. After learnt that Zinnia was stranded on this raft, he felt like it was his responsibility to help her. Only one problem though... "sigh I could have helped you as soon as I spot you...but I guess we will be stucking here for a while. Some sharks attacked me, my fins were damaged. I can't swim right now, let alone pushing this raft to land." Prisma looked down, feel bad that he can't help her. "B-but hey! I will be here with you, alright? I will have to heal my fins, too. Until then, we will survive together." He smiled for Zinnia, even though saying that he was attacked by sharks and telling her that it's safe isn't going in the same direction at all.

"Oh yeah, I gathered some seaweeds before getting chased by those sharks. Do you want some?" Prisma offered some of his seaweeds for Zinnia, most of them actually. He smiled, mostly trying not to look like he's being her burden.

Johnson took one look at the creature laying beside him on the raft and recoiled at the beast's marine features. The fins, the lure... The fluffy tail that seemed to contrast against what he expected of a marine animal... Let alone a marine mammal... The first thing that he had in mind was how this thing could get so fluffy in the first place, considering that the water would drench it and render thermoregulation virtually impossible, but... What was more egregious was that this fellow really thought that staying on a raft with someone like Johnson was a remotely good idea.

"This is redundant, and you know it," the man growled as he shifted himself away from the other party, "You could easily just free yourself by jumping off this raft and swimming to freedom. You have the appearance suited for it anyways." Then he chuckled and laid himself out ever so slightly, so that he appeared to be reclining against a nice comforter on the beach and wasn't... You know... Stranded in the middle of the ocean. "I honestly wouldn't blame you one bit if you abandoned me. I'd do the same thing if I were you," grunted Johnson with a roll of his eyes. He wasn't wrong, but the remark was still uncalled for in this situation.

"Besides, that's just how animals work. As soon as the food supply gets a little too low for your liking, you'll get out of here and not look back until the bounty comes back. Not that I'd expect you to stay here, unless you have a taste for human flesh." What the fuck?

Even then, the fact that the creature didn't seem to move did stir Johnson's emotions ever so slightly. He remembered his friend recalling a similar experience with a dinosaur a while back, though he was quick to dismiss that as irrelevant to his current situation; the man then recounted that animals in general, while less sapient, did ultimately appeal to him a little bit more than people. It was definitely because they were easier to control, huh? Yet in this moment, he was forced to regard the creature as an equal, and the aristocrat had absolutely no idea what to feel about that.

He sat himself up before putting up one knee and leaning his weight onto it. This was a precarious position, as one rough wave could send him to the wooden ground - or worse, the ocean below. Now that was a problem. Johnson couldn't swim for shit, and if he was sent adrift, the poor man would drown faster than someone could say "cowabunga." (Not that it'd be a problem, but... Alas...) Because of this, antagonizing the marine fellow no longer seemed like a good idea, and his eyes drifted to the other party once more as the latter basked on the raft.

Maintaining his usual dry tone even in the middle of a potential life-or-death situation, Johnson opined curtly, "You know, I think it'd be a benefit for both of us if you got me to land as soon as possible. Obviously my life would depend upon it, but you don't seem too amoral either. Which is a real shame, but I digress; the real issue is that if I died under your care, the burden of it would be so much that you'd sink like a boulder. Imagine letting a fellow like myself die!" Then he hissed as he craned his neck towards the other party's ear, "Want to prevent that from happening? How about you use those fins of yours and help this raft go to land? I promise to give you something that may be of value to you if you cooperate..."

Johnson fucking dies inside, part two. featuring Wren, who has every right to torment his bitch ass.

here is thy follow-up.

Noel's horse got to have the raft ride of her life, and now it was his turn.

The elderly man sat as far from Wren as possible, his dark eyes gazing upon the amber sunset on the horizon, searching for any sign of land, though right now it seemed hopeless to him. He hadn't been out on the water in ages, and never at sea, and he forgot how uneasy it made him feel. Even looking upon the ocean was enough to make him feel nauseous, but to spend time on it, and atop a raft that seemed flimsy to him..? He was having a goddamn nightmare right now, surely...

So, Noel being Noel, decided that the best way to cope in this situation was to be as much of an asshole as possible, so the younger man onboard would have to deal with this hulking brute chewing him out for very little reason.

Fidgeting with his shirt collar, Noel spoke coldly to Wren. "I don't want to hear another word out of your mouth." He warned, quickly deciding to lay down the rules of this land. "It's the biggest and the strongest who survive, not sleazy little men such as yourself. Which means..." His stare fluttered away from the horizon and at the stash of food between them both. He hauled himself to his feet and approached the heap, intentionally bobbing and swaying the raft beneath his weight. He knelt by the stash, picking up a can of beans and examining it. "We'll ration."

As if he would ever be so generous...

"But, I'm telling you now, too." he drawled, "If you have a problem with how I run things here, the gods are going to meet you and ask why I decided to chuck you over this fucking boat, and you're going to tell them you annoyed the piss out of me."

Then again, he thought, That would be a waste of good, lean meat, wouldn't it?

sits down. here's a follow-up.

Being lost in a forest, stuck in a desert, or even in a crashing plane were all things Tiberius would be able to deal with. Being stuck on a raft with a stranger in the middle of the ocean was not something he had ever been briefed on back when he had joined up to be an operative for the GST. Sure, he could swim well and hold his breathe for longer than normal, but that was about as much as he had for the whole... water thing. Leave the ocean warfare to the Navy SEALs, he'd much rather be sweating his ass off somewhere in South America where he had spent his time dreaming about air conditioning and the simple and non-poisonous and venomous animals back home in Chicago.

But there he was, stuck on a raft with an angry looking man who reminded him of an older operative who had always given him a hard time due to being almost fully blind in his right eye. Tiberius had already done a once over on himself, and on the other man, keeping Noel centered in front of him to keep a close eye on him. He knew people would do anything to survive, and he was sure Noel was no different than him in that aspect.

There was a smaller piled of food set in the middle they were able to scavenge from the debris of the ship, as well as a few other miscellaneous items like rope and cloth. Tiberius had a knife on him, as well as a lighter he had grabbed before the ship went down. It might still work, and perhaps they could use it to make a signal flare at some point. But for now, Ty was silent, thinking as he glanced around, water in all directions. They had come from the South, about two hours out by boat. If they started paddling now, in shifts perhaps, they might be able to make it back before they completely ran out of food and motivation. 

"We came from that way." He pointed, looking back at Noel as he began to speak, "It's against the wind, but it's our best shot at getting back to land." He added in, the wind and current taking them further and further away from land. "We can do it in shifts, and if we're lucky, the wind will change." Tiberius was not one to sit still and do nothing, if he had a shot to make it home, he was certainly going to take it.

Taffy had, honestly, no clue how she could've ended up in this situation. Living harborside, water was an almost omnipresent feature of her life, but she'd never amassed the courage to go anywhere near it. Swimming was more of her host's thing, and even with the knowledge that it was something she was capable of doing, quite literally built to be doing, her own anxious personality got the better of her and kept her on dry land. Dry land didn't have the danger of accidentally drowning, the benefit of unimpeded movement, no voracious ocean predators more capable in their own element than you could ever hope to be- the choice seemed clear, so she didn't bother to linger on it for too long.

Even ignoring the fact that she was stuck in the middle of nowhere, wine-dark water on all sides, being stuck in the middle of nowhere with another person was a whole 'nother issue she wasn't willing to confront at present. Stocky and intimidating, talking wasn't something she got the opportunity to do often, especially with new people- and the fact that Tiberius seemed to know what he was doing far more than she did both eased her nerves and set them on edge at the same time. His expression and his posture both seemed so composed given the nature of just what they'd found themselves in. She wasn't going to die anytime soon- hopefully- but, at the same time, she didn't want to make a fool of herself. She'd never seen this man in her life, didn't know how they'd ended up together or how he'd react to her assessment of the situation (or anything else she might've suggested, for that matter), so she bit her tongue. The low sounds of her own breathing and the gurgling of the sea were all she could focus on. Anything else, and she just might lose it.

It got grating after a while. Taffy coughed into a balled fist, soaked sweater clinging to her arms like flimsy paper towel, and gave Tiberius an aside glance (as well as what she'd hoped was a presentable smile.)
"It, uh... It looks like we might be here a while!" The anxiety in her voice was obvious under the saccharine lilt, punctuated with a nervous chuckle and another cough. "I mean, I don't know about you, but... This isn't exactly my, uh, field of expertise? But! If you have any- any ideas, or anything, just, uh... Speak up! I'll be at your beck and call. Not like I have much else to do."

The only thing that was on Dolores's mind at the moment was how her dog was doing, as she paced around the raft. The wooden craft sagged ever so slightly under her weight, and it continued to bob like that after every step. In other words, it made sitting down on the raft immensely uncomfortable, and it was only a wonder that neither party lost their balance and fell into the ocean beneath.

Speaking of the other party... The older woman looked over to the small red fellow sitting near the edge of the raft. A frown formed on her face as she eyed him, then... Took a few steps in his direction. Her steps had a certain uncertainty to them, as if she knew what she might be getting herself into but also didn't exactly know any better.

Once she was close enough, she crouched down so that she could see him better, before mumbling gently, "You know... Sir... I think you shouldn't try splashing water onto the wood like that. It'll only speed up the corrosion of the material, as well as-" She trailed off once she realized that an edge of her coat was damp, and she took a step back. It wasn't like she thought that the fellow was splashing her; she actually believed that her sitting on the raft for a bit contributed to this.

"- Well, the fact that neither of us is free of water at the moment, and that could be a problem once the sun goes down. Night is particularly unfriendly in that regard, you know..."

Dolores's eyes soon trailed over to the bow the other party wore, and immediately, she thought of her dog back at home. Obviously, her dog wouldn't wear a bow, but... She was tempted to buy one if- When she returned back to her dainty little cottage up in the mountains. Still crouched down, the older woman reached out towards the demon's ribbon and started to gently adjust it, almost like she was checking the shoelaces of a child's sneakers. You know, because if Dolores can't be a mom friend back at home, she might as well be one here.

"This seems relatively dry," she cooed like a brooding hen, "but you know... I should probably try tying it differently so it stays that way for longer... Don't you think?" The elder giggled as she said this, her eyes gently shining as she focused on babying this entity whom she likely saw as a child - or even grandchild - regardless of his actual age. "It makes you look like a handsome young fellow, yes? It'll boost your confidence and make the entire raft affair easier... I hope, at the very least, dear..."

hell yea..... .refined people solidarity.... also, I'd low-key die for a friendship between these two fdghvjsrfdv- u_u

*rolls in* time for a follow-up...

   - same.... friendships in forum game dynamics are my weakness..... :"))))

(^ >:)! I'm always up for ocs being friends)

Gibbous hummed curiously at the moving waves as they lapped at the wooden raft he had found himself on. Ever since he and Solstice fell from Sunset City, very little had been on the moon's mind other than getting home and keeping the kings from destroying everything up there. But, afloat in the ocean, separated from his one chance at fixing things...that wasn't exactly possible right now. His shoulders tensed slightly, sitting back with a deep sigh as the butler made eye contact with the other being on the raft.

A human woman. Gibbous didn't know much about humans, nor did he trust what The Moon King had said about them. Nor what The Sun King had said. To Moon, the humans were angels, lifebringers, city builders, world creators. To Sun they were demons. Terrible. Destructive. He knew better than to see it so black and white, as the kings often saw things. They had to be like those in the cloud city. Individuals.

"Hm," Gibbous half mumbled at first, "Sorry dear. I know I have just been sitting here awhile."

A half hearted chuckle, "When you're so far from home, with a lot of trouble back there, it's hard not to think about it all."

Hand extended, the butler tried to fix his first impression, "I'm Gibbous! Well Gibbous the Second, named after my great grandfather. I'm the butler of The Moon King."

"...This is the ocean isn't it? I've never seen it up close before."

At first, there was no Dudley on the raft! It was only Gibbous... and a potted plant. A pink potted plant. A pink aloe vera, to be exact. Then, it melted, and reformed into a young man dressed in pinks and reds. He stretched his arms over his shoulders and yawned, "That was a good nap!" Rubbing one still sleepy eye, he looked around before gaping. "Whoa! What's going on? The sea?" He looked out of the edge of the raft to stare at his reflection. gawking at it before poking it. He seemed to be mesmerized by the water's ripples.
Dudley sat back up and finally noticed the person besides him. He blinked. What a strange head! He'd never seen a human like this before! He changed his head to match Gibbous, only to change it back when the butler introduced himself. "So you're NOT human!" Dudley deduced, scratching his chin. "I see, I get it! Well, I'm Dudley! I'm a butler too! I work for the Frog King, though," he beamed. He looked around once more before smiling at his companion. "Boy, it's a good thing we're surrounded by all this water, huh? We'll never go thirsty!"

Rowdy woke up, looked around, and immediately saw he was on a raft in the middle of a giant expanse of water. Thing was, Rowdy couldn’t swim very well at all, in water at least. In blood, he could swim completely fine, like back at the lakes in the blood tundra. Looking beside him, he saw... a plant? No, wait, a human? Did that plant just become a human? Rowdy tilted back, away from this sudden human, taken aback. Not only was he on a raft surrounded by water, but the only source of hydration for him, of blood, was a shapeshifter, something that he could not predict, nor possibly take down too easily, especially since they could just become a fish, whilst he would just drown.

Rowdy swiftly compressed his exoskeleton to look and feel like usual smooth skin, the black flesh exposed between the joints of his limbs no longer showing. “Why, hello friend!” Rowdy commented in the voice of someone vaguely familiar, but not really, like the voice of someone met as a stranger in the streets one time. “Gee, sure is a predicament we landed in here... water water, everywhere... but not a drop to drink! Say, I sure am thirsty! And hungry! Got any food?” Rowdy asked, wondering if maybe, just maybe, this shapeshifter also ate sentient meat and had some lying around, to stave off the possibility of starvation during his time on this raft.

For a second, Walker thought she had to squint. Not only was a horse on a raft with her, but... A horse with wings? She had never seen that type of creature before in her life, and calling the older woman naive with animals was definitely a logical stretch. She scratched her temples for a few seconds before suddenly... Freezing. Oh. Oh my. Her skin paled as she further examined the equine, if only because she was becoming more and more familiar.

And that was when it hit her.

"I... I heard my mother dealt with you, all those years ago," mused the middle-aged aristocrat out loud, her voice barely above a stunned whisper as she finally broke eye contact with the pegasus. Walker bit down on her lip and focused her gaze onto the waves beneath both parties. "She... She was real aggressive, was she not? Probably gave you some fighting words or two..." She wanted to ask whether the fight went anywhere, whether Brown's bravado led to her downfall, but- Yea, cut that thought right there.

After a moment, Walker stood herself up before grunting with a raised brow, "You know, as a horse with wings, you should be able to get off this raft with ease, or at least scan those surroundings as some sort of scout. You should be able to tell us whether we are far from land or not." She looked back over at the other party, attempting to give her a small smile but the only manifestation of that was the slightest twitch of her lower lip. Still...

An enemy of my enemy is my friend.

That principle seemed to apply for now as Walker rubbed her hands and walked to the other side of the raft, if only to distance herself from the potentially hot-headed pony. She was - admittedly - still the slightest bit worried that if she stepped on the wrong eggshell, the entire craft would catch aflame, and... Walker froze again, her throat running dry as she imagined... That feeling. The feeling of being burnt, the feeling of smelling all that smoke...

For once, she was truly horrified, because - now - she could understand why her son was so terrified of fire. Walker looked over her shoulder once more to check on the pegasus, but... Nothing more was said. Enough was enough.

oh shit. oh fuck. a semi-quick follow-up.