Citizen 902 Verdant

The waves rocked Gulliver’s ship gently as a furred rexal in various green colors shuffled shipments and boxes around the deck, trying to take his mind off the last few arduous months he’d been away from The Dome, the one place he’d known as his home for his entire life.

“Only about half an hour until we reach the port, Verdant!” The green rexal was startled from his task by another, an armored rexal who’s colors and patterns were reminiscent of the tropical oceans surrounding the islands. That was Gulliver himself, the owner of the ship Verdant found himself traveling on for months on end recently.

Verdant’s upbringing had been a busy one, learning early how to handle tools and craft things, gather materials, and generally create a life for himself at a young age. Now that he was old enough to embark on his own, his last trial of sorts was to learn how to handle himself out on the open seas, visiting the various rexal settlements outside The Dome, and learning how to adapt to new challenges. Gulliver had been the one to offer him a place on his ship, one used for traveling long distances and transporting supplies, food, and other rexals across the known world they lived in. It was also decently equipped to fend off pirates, but wasn’t explicitly a pirate hunting ship. Due to this, it was often trailed by an actual hunting ship, but on this particular occasion, no partnering ship could be seen nearby.

“Half an hour? I forgot how fast this thing can go.” Verdant muttered to himself. Typically sail-powered ships are seen as slow-moving and dependent on the wind. While Gulliver’s ship was sail-powered, it was built to be streamlined and relatively speedy. It was also a newer build, so the creation process had been streamlined quite a bit before this ship was built.

Verdant continued moving things around the deck, checking to ensure everything was accounted for and secured. Gulliver made his way down from the upper deck and began getting the ship ready to dock at the port for one of the many Posian Islands.

Verdant found himself fiddling with the same fastenings over and over again, telling himself it was merely what had to be done. Deep down, he knew he was anxious. Anxious to return to the familiarity of The Dome after being out at sea with Gulliver for months on end, with only the Posian Island settlements and mostly his small cabin on the ship to call his home. He’d wake up every morning at the crack of dawn, dragging himself out of his uncomfortable bed, and start his day with Gulliver overseeing his actions.

Being an apprentice was stressful enough, but an apprenticeship far from home, on the open ocean full of dangers and peril, with only one other rex to really depend on and confide in? Now that was stressful. Verdant had spent many a night either suffering from restless sleep filled with nightmares and headaches, or sitting up into the early hours of the morning simply contemplating existence. Neither were ideal, and they certainly had taken a toll on him, but he kept telling himself he would come out the other side of this apprenticeship stronger than ever.

Verdant’s time as an apprentice hadn’t been all smooth sailing, literally and metaphorically. They’d had times where the waves were so rough they lost small parcels and supplies to the churning waters below, and sometimes the storms were so intense they couldn’t do anything but strap down the cargo and cower in their cabins, hoping the ship survived through it. They’d even encountered an enemy ship once, full of malicious pirates wanting to raid their shipments and take what they desired. Gulliver was successfully able to fend them off and steer the ship away, but Verdant hadn’t been much help in that situation, simply frozen in place as the pirates attempted to board their ship. He’d gotten an earful from Gulliver about that.

After a while Verdant began to hear the sound of chatter off in the distance. They must be real close to port now. He hadn’t realized he’d been lost in thought, talons still touching the fastener he’d been messing with in an attempt to appear busy. Standing up tall, Verdant could see the settlement in the near distance.

Once their ship was close enough to port Gulliver supervised as the dock workers helped dock the ship, ensuring they didn’t damage his vessel but also making sure it was securely docked.

Taking a look around, Verdant could see that the entire port was alive with activity, the smell of delicious food wafting into his nostrils. Was there something going on today, some kind of occasion, that Verdant wasn’t aware of?

As the import crew boarded Gulliver’s ship to unpack the shipment that had been brought in, Gulliver directed Verdant off the ship so that the crew could effectively get their job done without Verdant mindlessly wandering looking for something to busy himself with.

“Why don’t you go partake in the celebrations? Might be a good way to have a nice hot meal.” Gulliver suggested, to which Verdant looked back, puzzled.

“What celebrations?” Verdant asked, earning a shocked expression from Gulliver.

“You haven’t heard? The Admiral has called the entire Posian Naval Fleet to port.” Gulliver explained, Verdant shaking his head. If anyone was going to have told him about the Admiral’s decision, it would’ve been Gulliver. Verdant was pretty sure his mentor had forgotten to let him know about the occasion.

“Here, go have some fun, I have to help unload the ship. I’ll join you in a few hours after things are taken care of here.” Gulliver motioned for Verdant to open his hand, outstretching his own and placing a handful of coins into Verdant’s palm. “Some funds to get yourself something to eat at least.”

Verdant nodded, taking the coins and watching as Gulliver hurried over to a pair of rexals struggling to carry one of the larger containers in the shipment.

Verdant made his way into the settlement, which was thickly packed with other rexes celebrating the occasion as well. Many of the seaside shops were vending their products and selling food to the public, and Verdant was pretty sure he could hear live music somewhere in the area.

As he was mindlessly wandering, taking in the festivities, he wasn’t watching where he was going, too focused on the sensations bombarding his senses all at once. Being on a ship for such long periods of time really changes a rexal’s familiarity with things.

Verdant came to an abrupt impactful stop, toppling backwards as the coins in his hand went flying in all directions. He’d bumped into a rather large rex, one who looked back at him with a glare. She had been carrying a plate of dolmades, which were now splattered on the ground at her feet. Verdant immediately felt shame wash over himself, disregarding his lost funds and attempting to get up and apologize.

“I’m so sorry, I–” Verdant was abruptly cut off before he was even standing up fully.

“Maybe watch where you’re going? You haven’t even bought any food, you have no business being in the dining section anyway. Others are trying to enjoy the celebrations.” The larger, lighter colored rexal’s voice was silky but harsh. Her underside was a very light cream color, while her backside was a more toasted brown and covered in tabby-like markings. She was beautiful, but now wasn’t the time to admire.

“I’m really sorry, I wasn’t aware this was a dining area.” Verdant explained, earning an unamused stare from the other. She pointed to a large sign that read “dining area; bring food here!” in big red painted letters. Verdant had nothing to say at this point, knowing full well he was in the wrong.

“Tsk.” The other rexal turned to clean up the mess beneath her, tossing her now ruined food into the disposal area nearby and leaving. Verdant felt incredibly bad, he hadn’t intended to ruin her meal. He suddenly remembered his scattered coins. He scrambled to pick up as many as he could find, and although he didn’t have nearly as much as he’d started with, he had enough for a meal.

Verdant approached the stand nearby that was selling something to eat, tail drooped, and ordered a numbered item at random. He didn’t have the energy to decide for himself right now, so he just picked an option from the numbered list of foods available and hoped for the best. He handed over his coins and sat in the dining area to wait for his food to be ready. While sulkily staring off into the distance, he spotted the rex he’d bumped into sitting by herself at the edge of a dock, lazily letting the gentle waves wash over her feet dipped into the water. She didn’t look too happy…

“Number thirteen! Number thirteen, your order is ready!” Verdant was snapped from his thoughts as his order was called. He got up and carefully made his way over to retrieve his food, surprised to find a plate of dolmades presented to him.

“Thank you.” Verdant thanked the chef as he took his food and sat down, suddenly having very little appetite. He wasn’t going to just throw the food away, but he certainly couldn’t stomach more than a couple bites because of his mood. He spotted the other rexal off in the distance again and had an idea.

He quickly stood up, carrying his plate out of the dining area and over to the saddened rex on the dock’s edge. As he approached, she didn’t turn to face him.

“Hey, uh, I’m really sorry about bumping into you. I didn’t mean to make you drop your food, I wasn’t paying enough attention.” Verdant apologized again, tilting his head to try and see her face.

“If you want my forgiveness you may as well go away. That was the last of my funds I had from my parents to spend at the celebration, and you wasted it.” The other rexal snapped, her voice indicating she was on the verge of tears.

“...I got you a new plate.” Verdant said. That got her attention. She turned around to face him, eyes focusing on the plate outstretched to her. She hesitantly took it, gently moving the plate to her lap. She tucked into her replacement meal quickly, Verdant standing awkwardly behind her as she chowed down. She suddenly looked back at him and patted the dock beside her, telling Verdant to sit. Verdant hesitated but obeyed, taking a seat beside her.

“What’s your name?” The lighter rexal asked, catching Verdant off guard.

“Uh, Verdant. Yours?”

“Mine’s Athena.” She chuckled gently. The two sat in silence briefly until Athena spoke.

“Thank you, by the way.” Athena said sheepishly, placing her now-empty plate down.

“Oh, it’s no problem. Figured it was the least I could do.” Verdant replied. He could still hear the faint sounds of the celebration off in the distance, but he paid no mind to it.

“Verdant! There you are!”

Both sitting rexals were startled by the sudden voice behind them. Verdant whipped around to see Gulliver, who’d come running to find him.

“What’s going on? Is everything alright?” Verdant began to feel panicked at Gulliver’s urgent tone.

“No, I just wasn’t sure where you’d gone is all, you seemingly disappeared from the festivities I told you to check out.” Gulliver jabbed lightheartedly. Verdant winced but knew he wasn’t serious.

“They’re all done unloading the cargo, so I was free to go. I was wondering if you’d like to watch the naval ships come into the harbor? They’re so interesting to watch.” Gulliver asked excitedly.

Verdant paused, looking over at Athena, who nodded as if in confirmation.

“Alright, let’s go.” Verdant stood up and walked over to Gulliver, turning and saying his goodbyes to Athena.

“I’m sorry again, but I’m glad I could make it up to you, Athena. Will I see you around?” Verdant asked hopefully.

“No clue. No one knows where they’ll end up in life.” Athena simply shrugged. Verdant took that as a maybe at best. He waved his goodbyes as Gulliver headed back towards the ships docked at the harbor, marveling at the naval ships that could be seen over the horizon. Verdant wasn’t sure if he’d ever see Athena again, considering he’d be returning to The Dome in a few weeks, but he sure hoped he would.

Author: 6ftDemon