Nenari of the Seven Seas (KaleXOC) [Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas]

4

Nenari's POV~
    I winced, glancing down at the wound in my left calf, it was duel claw marks that ran on a diagonal across the back of my calf. It stung, and it hurt to move, but these pirates that have made anchor here. . . they needed to be investigated. My grip tightened on my spear, I felt the wood in my hand, and my eyes narrowed. I glanced around the undergrowth, taking everything in. I'd been here for so long . . . I know this place better than I know myself.
    Ember froze up, her black fur gleaming against the morning light, her pointed ears perked up as she growled lowly. I froze mid-stride, and white-knuckled my spear, my teeth grit as ma eyes flashed around, taking in every detail in a matter of seconds, my old, tattered brown boots made soft thuds as I walked on. Ember trotted along side me, her muzzle to the ground as she began sniffing, her head moving from left to right, her bushy tail hovering just inches above the ground. I reached out with my free hand and touched Ember between her shoulder blades,
    "Easy." I told her, in a hushed tone. The free strands of my hair fell before my eyes, I could feel the sweat build up on my brow.
    "The tracks lead this way!" A female's voice called from up ahead.
    "Oh, no . . ." I grabbed Ember by her rope collar and pulled her into a patch of giant ferns, I knelt down and hissed to her, "Down."
    Ember eased herself down on her belly, her head resting on the soft soil.
    I pulled a frawn back and watched with widened eyes, a woman came into the small clearing, she had choppy brown hair and she wore a blue top and black bottoms, her face was well-kept and soft-skinned. I peaked a brow, seeing a mastiff accompany her, now this dog was a slobbering mess. I let out a small scoff, seeing the dopy looking dog plod along beside the woman.
    Following her were two men, the first was lean, light-skinned, with brown hair and a brown goatee, his cloths were black with red highlights and he had a permanent smirk on his lips, he had two blades, one on his back the other on his hip. The other man . . . I had to do a double take, this man was dark-skinned, and bare-chested, he wore yellow brithces that were held up by a large blue sash, he had two white hoop earrings, and a tattoo on his bicep. He was bald, but that didn't deter from his sharp eyes, and strong build. This man was built like a Titian! His facial hair was a small goatee that touches either side of his mouth and a small tuff right below his lower lip. His eyes were sharp as he observed the environment around them.
    I glanced at Ember then jabbed a thumb to the taller man with raised brows. Ember let out a slightly annoyed chuff before resting her head on her paws once more.

~~~
Kale, Spike, Sinbad and Marina all made their way though the jungle, following the tracks of the dog, and the drag mark from the bag. The sun made it's way though the thick canopy, lighting the trail with speckles of sunlight.
    "How long is this trail?" Sinbad groaned.
    Kale folded his arms, "Oh, stop," he said, ducking a branch, "the more you complain, the longer this hike will seem."
    Sinbad looked to his first mate, "Did I ever tell you that you sound like my mother?" he asked, peaking a brow.
    Kale huffed pulling ahead, "Yes," he called back, "many times!"
    Suddenly, a twig snapped up ahead of them, making everyone freeze. Kale's body tensed as he heard the faint sound of panting and huffing, he reached for his duel knives and pulled them out. "We aren't alone here. . . ." he said warningly.
    Sinbad pulled Marina behind him,  "Stay behind me," he told her, as he unsheathed one of his blades.
    Marina grabbed the nearest thing, which was a stick, then held it ready as the bracken began to stir. There was a deep growl, before an animal trudged out into the open. It was huge, with brown fur, pointed ears and dagger-like teeth.
    "a Big Cat." Sinbad sighed, "Fantastic . . ."
    Yes, it was a cougar, it's fangs gleaming as it yowled threateningly. It's tail wagged as it hunkered down on it's fore paws, it licked it's chops before lunging.
    "Whoa, move!" Sinbad yelled, backing up.
    Then, out of the blue, something tackled the cougar, and rolled on the ground with it. It was a woman, a tall, black-haired woman dressed in rags. She wrapped her muscular arms around the Cougar's neck and grunted as she began to choke out. The big cat yowled, thrashing, and yanking its neck, the cougar's claws came around and cut the female across the face.
    "Ah!" she held her cheek as she rolled away.
    The cougar once again stood up, and hissed menacingly. The woman pulled her hand away revealing three claw marks down her cheek--bleeding claw marks. She bared her own teeth and mimicked it's behavior, before whistling sharply. A wolf-like dog sprang from the cover of ferns and latched onto the big cat. The cougar romped and flung its's body about trying to shake the dog.
    "Ember!" The woman barked in an accented voice, "Release! Now!"
    The black dog let go and was flung into Sinbad, who broke the poor canine's fall, Sinbad let out an audible grunt of pain. The woman backed up to Marina, and noticed the stick in her hand, the black-haired woman smirked then snatched the stick from her.
    "May I?" she asked.
    All Marina could do was nod, the other woman smiled then ran at the cougar, and brought the stick around and smacked the big cat across the muzzle. The cougar fell to the earth, yowling in pain, before it collected itself and slunk off.

Nenari's POV~
I dropped the stick then turned to the others, Ember trotted up to me, my spear in her jaws. I took the spear from her then scratched her between the ears,
    "Thanks girl." I whispered. I then stood up, and addressed the three strangers, "I suggest you get back to your ship," I told them, "That big cat is coming back."
    The dark-skinned Titian man spoke, "Wait, who are you?" he was bewildered.
    I sighed, and brushed some blood from my cheek, "My name is Nenari," I then gestured to my dog, "This is Ember."
    The other man walked up to me, "Well, hello there!" he exclaimed a little too loudly for my liking, "I'm Sinbad, probably heard of me,"
    I peaked a brow, "You mean the notorious thief, player, mocker . . ." I looked him in the eye, "Need I go on?"
    Sinbad stuttered before storming off grumbling, with his arms folded. The other man, the dark-skinned one held a hand to his chest,
    "I'm Kale." he introduced himself, "The first mate of the Chimera."
    I nodded once in greeting before turning to the other woman, "And you?" I asked, putting a hand on my hip.
    "I am Marina, this is Spike," she patted the mastiff on the head.
    I nodded again before shifting my spear so it sat nicely over my shoulder, "Glad to meet you all, but I must be on--Ahh !" I hissed in pain, falling to one knee.
    "You ok?" Sinbad asked, peaking a brow.
    I lifted my tattered skirt, and examined my old claw wound on my calf. All the rolling around with the cougar had made it re-open and blood ran down my leg. I cursed under my breath before placing pressure on the wound.
    "What happened?" Marina inquired, kneeling down, her small hands touching my leg. I grit my teeth as another wave of pain shot up my limb,
     "I got into a fight with another big-cat a few days ago, I thought the wound was on the mend but . . ." I inhaled sharply, "I guess I was wrong."
    Marina touched the cuts on my cheek, "You can also add these too," she sighed, "You should come back to the ship with us, that way we can help you."
    I turned my head to her with wide eyes, "Help me?" I questioned, "Why?"
    "Well, you saved us from that big cat," Marina replied, "It's the least we can do in return." she turned to Kale, "Kale, can you give her a hand?"
    "Of course." Kale walked up to me, then slid an arm around my waist, I rested my arm around his shoulders and used my spear as a cane, I gave a whistle, "Ember, come."
    Ember walked beside me as we began the trek to the shore, Sinbad running to Catch up,
"Oh yeah! Don't bother asking the captain!" he called sarcastically, "No problem, we can bring a total stranger abroad our ship!"
    I glanced at Kale, "Is he always like this?" I asked in a hushed tone,
    Kale shrugged, "No," he smirked, "He's usually worse."
I rolled my eyes, this was going to be a long day.