Beached (QD ? - 20)

[Lesu]

Time Reference: Thread begins directly after to "Whatever Happened To - ?" and takes place over the course of a few days, and ends on Quarantine Day 20.

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Lesu gasped as he broke the surface of the water. How he got past that damnable green dragon's claws he'd never know. Probably had something to do with the fight that broke out on the wharf above him. The boy had only heard bits and pieces of it, not enough to truly understand what was happening. However, he figured it had saved his hide from being kidnapped.

As he did his utmost to tread water and not sink, he took a quick look around. The tide pulled him away from the port and into the edges of the open ocean, along the beach. He took a long breath and then went back to swimming. Lesu was fortunate he knew how to swim. He knew how to go side to side and move hie head when he was doing on-the-surface strokes. Still he wasn't the best swimmer, so he swallowed water more than he breathed air. It seemed like miles and miles to land.

Eventually he got to a place where he could stand and as soon as that happened, he put his feet down. He slogged through the waves, struggling to stay going forward. The waves were strong. Lesu was not. Plus, he was tired. Finally, he collapsed, but he was close enough to land that he could crawl the rest of the way on to the rocky shore. He crawled across the sands, felt some of the rocks dig into his clothes, but that didn't matter.

He'd made it somewhere that the dragon and the girl and the man weren't. Somewhere that, for the time being, he wasn't being pursued. He'd figure out why he was being hunted so desperately later. For now, he threw himself on the closest area of the beach that was totally dry and lay in the sand, heaving the great breathes of the exhausted and staring at nothing in particular...

[Keagan]

Farther down the beach in the approximate direction of the Hold came the sound of barking. It was a low and deep bark, but it didn't seem to carry any note of malice.

Over the course of a few minutes, the barking got closer and closer, accompanied by splashing, then abruptly stopped. If Lesu had the energy to turn his head to the right, he would see a giant shaggy gray canine snuffling toward him, huge driftwood stick in his maw. Gritty sand stuck in clumps to the wet, wiry hair of his legs and beard. His tail was wagging slowly, wary but inclined towards friendship.

Behind him, maybe 100 feet or so, there was an outcropping of rock that blocked the view of the farther section of rocky beach. The canine appeared to be alone, but a red woven collar about his neck suggested that he wasn't a stray.

[Lesu]

The barking made him tense and shudder, his awareness of the situation jumped to the high range of alert. Doing his best to shake the fatigue from his salt-drenched head, he rolled to one side in order to discern the source of the barking. Here it came - great shaggy canine looking goofy as a newborn colt with its huge legs and that big stick wedged between its jaws. Lesu chuckled the shaking sound of relief and surprise. "Look at you... you're a mess." Trembling arms pulled the youth into a sitting position and he smoothed his sand speckled hair down.... attempted to smooth his sand speckled hair down. "So am I for that matter."

For a moment, he just stared at the canine. Then, he shook his head slowly and reached a hand out as he said, "C'mere then... you're too far away. I'm too tired to grab that stick from here." He patted the sand with his other hand as he spoke, further encouraging the mutt to close the distance. "Who do you belong to boy? Is your master around here? Hope he's friendly..."

[Lesu]

Lesu's suggestion of the pooch getting closer went unheeded. When he was ignored altogether, the canine simply bounded off to find someone more willing to play with him. That left Lesu alone, for the moment. The master was still too far away to make out details, so Lesu decided that prudence was the best thing at this juncture - especially after the ruckus he'd caused at the pier. He groaned as he pulled himself to a kneeling position, every muscle and jointed ached from his prolonged swim and underwater excursion. The boy staggered, managed to gain his feet, and then, half stumbling, he headed further inland to continue seeking someplace safe...

[Lesu]

Lesu shivered, rubbing his biceps and jumping in place occasionally in an attempt to stave off the worst of the cold. Not that it was cold per se at the moment, save for a light breeze, but with his clothes still severely damp from his swim. Gooseflesh clung to his exposed parts. This urchin (for now that was what he appeared to be) wandered along the coastline, seeking somewhere else to go. Some shelter or even food at this point would be a boon. Still, anymore he was wary of strangers.

[Lesu]

Time Reference: A week and a half later... Q-Day 20 in the southern hemisphere... around the time the new gold rider arrives at Great Cliffs -

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Somehow Lesu remained alive.

Still a fearful wreck from his encounters at Port Hope, Lesu sought a place to hide that no one might find him. At least until he figured out where he was and what to do. It took all the wits of the kid running scared and confused to keep it together long enough to find shelter instead of giving up entirely. With only what clothes the sea spared him, Lesu stumbled along the beach and into the foothills until he found his way to an ancient klah tree wedged next to a cliff face. The good fortune of a nearby freshwater source did not make up for the lack of food. So with only what food he found in the immediate area, Lesu survived as best as he could.

The days came and went and the cold he acquired didn't get any better, only worse because for the last few sevendays the boy had lived in conditions he had little preparedness for nor was accustomed to and it took its toll on Lesu's once well-fed frame. Wracked with fever dreams and delirium, his eyes had upon them a hollowed appearance. He woke up in sweats and he slept for such long periods of time that he lost track of the days.

The days came and went and then, one day, Lesu awoke with suddenness from the dizzying nightmare of shadows and unfamiliar places. As though someone splashed water on him, Lesu opened his eyes and felt a weight lifted from his chest. Above and around him, he found the shelter that he'd somehow crafted from the interwoven strands of the tree's bark while he'd been sick. The cinnamon smell comforted him and simultaneously made him homesick for a place that seemed as much a dream as the last few days. Lesu lay in a pit under the shelter that he'd dug to give himself more cover and room. Still, Lesu had the chills and an internal cold that he couldn't shake.

That was the reason Lesu crawled out of the safety of his bed, to sit in the sun in hopes of warming up. From the outside, his shelter looked weird and lopsided, he noticed that used his belt to lash the construction to the tree itself, but it kept him warm and safe at night and that's what mattered. He sat down in front of his shelter.

Now Lesu sat on the ground in the shade of his klah tree not too far from the beach. He turned toward the ocean and put his back against the tree. Arms wrapped around his shoulders, he began to rub his biceps as he stared out across the rolling waves. In the distance, he saw the boats that went to and fro on their various paths. By now he'd seen some of them multiple times and the boy had an accurate idea of their routes. He wondered idly if any went far enough south that he could hitch a ride to his brother Cl'fey...

[Lesu]

Rukbat continued its ascent into the sky, its upward arc halfway to the zenith when Lesu rubbed his biceps again and sighed. He squinted as the mid-morning bathed him in warm light. Thirst and hunger began to gnaw at his stomach. That was a good sign, he decided because he hadn't been hungry for a long time. But how to get it was the question. No servants here to snap his fingers and give him anything he wanted.

A proper sneak thief despite his heritage, he could risk resorting to it if he had to but handouts worked the best. He had Turns of playing the 'starving, cute child' card. Lesu pushed off the sand and stood up, found himself wobbly and he walked in a circle. No, this wasn't good, he'd been on his back for too long. He walked in a few more circles to steady himself and finally got up a good stride. Hopeful by now the ruckus with the two dragonriders died down and everyone else forgot what happened, the boy descended his hilltop view under the klah tree, slogged his way through the sands and headed toward the hold proper.