Rivin knew she probably should have looked for a more experienced healer but she had been stubbornly monitoring herself. Her lungs still ached, especially if she ran long distances or fought something with all she had. Her heart, too, sometimes felt like it was beating differently. Rivin cursed her luck. It was wrong, it was all wrong… not only would she be seen as unreliable to the Raiders after her disappearance and her act at the pack, but now she had to worry about not dying after managing a fight? Not to mention there were still times Caedes came out, and returning after she was out always left her gasping for air and feeling like her body was struggling to exist. Something needed to change… But could she change her own nature? Ears pinned to her skull. She wished she knew.

She had come into a strange land, the eerie sky above her almost seeming beautiful. Rivin had liked red since she was little, but considering how much she had looked up to her sire that wasn’t surprising. Then things got complicated. Strained. Life tossed her around and spat her out. She sighed. And… maybe she was a coward for not going to the Raiders. She had to face them at some point. And Jack… what the fuck was she going to tell Jack? Furrowing her brow Rivin lifted her gaze to one of the towering spires. It almost reminded her of a spike… a bleached, weather worn spike…


"Speech," 'Thought.'

Life was strange since Rivin had disappeared and Calico Jack felt like he was barely existing. He yearned to search for the woman who is both his best friend and love but, with no trail to follow, it had been difficult to say the least. That didn’t keep him from wandering away from the Raiders, following his heart and paws in the endless, fruitless search for his other half. For indeed, Rivin was the other half to his soul and her absence had gutted him to the core.

The previous night had been strange, filled with quakes both minor and major and the sky had bled red upon the dawning of the sun. In the distance, tall, sinister spikes jut out of the ground, spearing the calm air and causing foreboding to sit heavily in Jack’s gut like a lead weight. Paws pull him toward the ominous sight, calling him toward the mournful moans of the wind or, perhaps, lost spirits that call from the afterlife.

Just as Calico Jack sets paw underneath the strange spires, a scent that is both familiar and warm tugs at his nose. He stops dead, thinking that perhaps it is a trick of his mind since he has been searching for her so long. Jolting forward, he careens toward the woman, racing around the spires until he spies that wonderful coat. Skidding to a stop near her, Jack searches her, looking for signs of injury as he whispers desperately, “Rivin?” Is this real or some fever dream?


"Calico Jack"

How long did she stand there, staring? Focused upon her breathing, a breath in and out. It still felt wrong, and Rivin knew that she did not have the skills to properly treat what had happened. If she did at all. Her lungs were damaged. There was no changing that, and she would have to live her life with the consequences of going into the ocean alone. If anything, Rivin had determined that water was a risk. A sad sigh passed her lips. She would need to tell Gil and Mod eventually… and… and Jack.

But as fate would have it, she heard him. Her head slowly turned, a saddened green gaze falling on him. His desperate tone betrays his worry, and she closes the distance between them. She reaches out to nuzzle his cheek, her voice a little raspy as she speaks. “I’m sorry, Patchwork…” His nickname fell from her lips as she pulled back, gaze falling to the earth at their paws. “I… The ocean tried to claim me again…” She explained quietly.

“Lark found me on Obsidian Beach… He wasn’t sure if I’d wake up.” Her ears fell. “Have Gil and Mod labeled me as a traitor yet?”

"Speech," 'Thought.'