Misadventures - Part Four

Kasatka stared at the shadows that had seemed to absorb the strange, cloaked woman. Sandro’s very low groaning snapped her back to attention and she knelt by his side. It was strange, seeing her own body shaking on the ground, and she suddenly realized just how very small she was – he had curled in on himself, trying to hide his head. Giving herself a shake, though, Kasatka focused on Sandro.
“You need to get the pendant. You have to!”
Sandro could barely hear her voice despite his senses steadily sharpening. He could feel Kasatka’s presence beside him, hear the clattering of feet and hooves hardly a block away. It was all faint at first, but grew louder and more acute. Slowly, Sandro forced himself to flex his hands, having left crescents in the tough flesh of Kasatka’s hand. For a moment, Kas thought he had passed out and she considered going to the ship and finding help but, finally, he moved. Coughing harshly, he twisted onto his side, sending an ache through the bones of Kasatka’s body. That pain was a reminder that, for the time being at least, he was alive, and to live meant going through pain. But beyond the pain was an excruciating hunger, as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks. It was as if his stomach was eating itself.
“Please, Sandro, you need to at least hold it.” Kasatka urged with unveiled alarm. She sounded quite harsh even to her own ears. To lose herself was one thing – the blame would entirely be her own and she could live with that. But for Sandro to lose control in her body, the terror he would go through and the lives he would undoubtedly bring to an end… No. He had to get the pendant, had to just touch it. That would be enough – she hoped.
Confusion made Sandro’s head swim. Distantly, he could hear his own voice and it took a while to remember that it was his own voice, yes, but it was Kasatka speaking to him, urging him to do…something. The fact that she was almost serving as his voice of reason was such an odd idea that he wondered about it for a good time, to the point he would have laughed. Then he remembered the actual gravity of the situation, heard what Kasatka was telling him to do. Focusing on the voice that kept him from giving in, he stretched out a hand, inching his fingers nearer to the necklace.
There was a tense moment of silence as Sandro’s finger brushed the face of the pendant, its face glowing ever so slightly at the contact. Sandro felt that hunger retreating slightly and something urged him to pull the chain around his neck, to let the pendant fall against his chest. Trembling, he dragged his arms back, bringing the necklace up and over his head, finally letting it fall against his shirt.
Across from him, Kasatka nearly fell back against the wall, practically fading out of sight with relief. With the pendant, Sandro had far fewer chances of running off and hurting anybody. For that, she was immensely relieved. Still, she needed to get him back to the ship, where others could keep him in check if he couldn’t keep a grip on her hunger. He wouldn’t be able to move for some time, though, and she knew it.
Sandro pushed up until he was sitting with his head bowed low. His breath came quite heavily and it took a lot just to ease the pounding in his skull. Wiping a hand down his – Kasatka’s – face and let out a long sigh. He glanced up at last and caught sight of the edge of his red coat, flickering weakly in the dim light. “This is why you’re always so quiet, eh?” For a moment, Sandro tried to play it all off, trying to believe that what he had experienced didn’t absolutely terrify him. His expression, however, betrayed him. The hunger that had nearly overwhelmed all his senses… Even with the strange pendant, it was still there, still picking at his senses.
Kasatka grew a bit clearer as she shook her head. “That’s not it. When they…” She turned away, looking as upset as he had ever seen her. “Speaking was prohibited.” Her tone was clipped and cold, and she did not look at Sandro when she explained.
Looking away, Sandro made a mental note to not bring up anything that might remind the shapeshifter of her clearly troublesome past. A memory that was not his own came to mind – he sat in a corner, his arms over his head and his knees pulled to his chest, a tall and dark figure standing intimidatingly across from him. He wondered if that memory was a hallucination or something from Kasatka’s past. Sandro pushed those thoughts from his mind and, ignoring the angry protests from his tired joints, forced himself to stand. The bones in his back and knees cracked angrily as he straightened, and he reached to rub the back of his head.
Kasatka eased beside him. “We should return. You will need to rest.”
Sandro nodded in agreement, feeling a crippling exhaustion tugging him down. He began forward, struggling to balance his gait as they travelled back to the ship. The last thing he wanted to do was draw attention to them. All he wanted was to get back to the ship and find a quiet place to lie down – something, he realized, Kasatka did very often herself. “Be careful not to move anything unwillingly, alright?” The warning came without much thought, but he realized he should warn her anyway. He glanced over when his warning was met with a quiet laugh, hardly more than an exhalation. She looked to him with an expression that clearly said she wouldn’t have been able to even if she wanted. She was just as exhausted as he was.
Without speaking, the two pirates began to think nearly the same thoughts. What would they do the coming days while Nadheera worked to find a way to switch them back? Sandro planned to do his own research, something that would be a bit easier with a pair of solid hands. One thought came to mind that nearly had him pause in his steps. “Tell me something. How do you rest when you aren’t…in your dog shape?” He had only ever seen her sleeping as some form of dog.
Kas glanced over at him, shrugging. “Just…lay down and sleep.”
Sandro nodded, his expression giving off his disappointment. “I’ll…go rest in front of my television. You should find some entertainment.” Kasatka met his suggestion with a confused stare. “There are some perks of being a ghost.” He offered a smile as they finally boarded the ship.
Aboard the ship, both pirates immediately felt more at ease, safer among their friends. Even if anybody could get aboard, they’d be met with a dozen angry crewmembers ready to protect their own. Still, Sandro sighed – he didn’t want to think about their predicament or the woman who had caused it, let alone if she might come back to toy with them some more.
With a passing comment that she’d be resting in the cargo hold, Kasatka vanished through the hatch that led below deck, leaving Sandro to his thoughts. Once she was gone, he slowed a bit, muttering to himself. It took a moment before he noticed the crow that alighted on the railing beside him. When he finally did see it, he paused. The crow flitted over to the latch that Kasatka had gone down and pecked at it. Curious, Sandro went over and lifted the latch. With a caw, the bird flew down and landed beneath the steps. Curious, Sandro followed the bird who hopped and flew ahead, turning back every now and then to make sure he was following.
After a few minutes, he stopped following it, waiting to see what it was up to. It hopped and cawed at him for a while before realizing he wouldn’t follow. With a noise like a sigh, it took flight and vanished out of a porthole in one of the nearby rooms. Sandro gave a smirk and went to the other end of the ship.


In the cargo hold, Kasatka reclined in her favorite sleeping spot, a nest of blankets far in the corner. Her thoughts all played around the same thought – what could they do if Nadheera couldn’t solve the problem? Would they be stuck in the other person’s body?
She jerked a bit when a crow lighted down before her, having appeared from somewhere deeper in the ship. It cawed at her almost angrily until she followed, letting the bird lead her up into the small library-like cabin, where she found Sandro. He glanced up as she entered but, before he could say anything, a familiar and unwelcome voice reached out to them. “You two certainly have proved to be at least somewhat entertaining.”
Both pirates looked to the crow that stood between them, its black eyes twinkling. “Don’t you have anything better to do?” Sandro questioned in annoyance.
The crow tilted its head slightly before a dark mist overtook its body, growing larger until a woman stood before the two pirates. It was the woman from the market, looking between them with amused eyes. "You would be honestly surprised how boring things can get when you live forever. You need to find your own amusement." She replied. The mist swarmed around her again and, when it dissipated, they were looking across at Daemara, her eyes glittering manically.
"Of course." Kasatka muttered with no small degree of frustration.
Sandro watched on silently, a frown taking over his expression when she took on the shape that made Kasatka visibly bristle. She was the only one to know details about Daemara and the danger she threatened. Still, he was annoyed at her constantly manipulating. "Believe me, I know that feeling. But that doesn't mean I keep messing with people's lives," he paused, then added in a whisper, "Well, not like this."
Ah," She said dismissively with a wave of her hand. "You've not lived long enough, then. I assure you, it gets quite entertaining, toying with others." She laughed.
Kasatka bared her teeth - such an odd look on Sandro's face. "Put us back." She growled.
"But what is the fun in that?" Daemara questioned, putting her hand to her cheek. "You put on a rather entertaining show in the market." She mused.
"We are nobody's entertainment." Kas growled.
Daemara's eyes flashed. "Why should I do that?"
Sandro felt nearly out of breath with the tension that filled the tiny cabin. He hated the feeling and hated Daemara for making him feel as if he had to constantly fight to stay alive in Kasatka’s body. It almost felt that she predicted that they were going in a mission together, practically two strangers in two different stages of life that wouldn't want to know how to deal in the other's shape. What a terrible plan! “Didn’t you hear her? We aren't your toys, regardless of how interesting we are."
Daemara turned angry eyes to Sandro, as if trying to pin him in place. "I shall play with that which I wish, no matter what it is." She didn't even bother to hide the threat in her voice. "However... I suppose I could return the two of you to your original forms, in exchange for something in return." She mused.
"We've got nothing to offer you." Kasatka growled.
"On the contrary, my little shapeshifter, there is something of yours I am quite interested in." She replied, a grin slipping across her lips, full of ill-intentions. "I desire that pendant of yours.”
"Not happening. We aren't exchanging this necklace at any circumstance."  Sandro interjected in a tone that shouldn’t have been up for discussion.
Kas took a step forward, putting her hand out in front of Sandro. "You will change us back?" She clarified, her eyes darkening slightly.
Daemara grinned. "But of course! What kind of a demon would I be if I didn't keep my word?"
Sandro frowned at the ghost. "You aren’t actually thinking on giving the pendant to her, Kasatka, are you?" He hissed. "It's obvious that it's another of her traps--"
Kas looked back at him. "I cannot risk it being taken from you again.”
Sandro stared at her for a moment before nodding, knowing she was right. She knew how to handle her hunger – he didn’t. He only hoped that Daemara would keep her end of the bargain and then leave them be.
"Well then, little ghost, I'll be taking that pendant." Daemara smirked, enjoying the ultimatum she'd given the two pirates.
His anger building, Sandro reached up and removed the necklace, holding it firmly in his hand before reaching out for Daemara to take it.
Daemara took a step forward and took the pendant from it. Also attached to the chain was another pendant that she removed and tossed back at Kas, the purple stone rattling across the floor the demon laughed. "I perhaps should have clarified. I am actually a very dishonest demon - as most of us are. So, do have fun, little pirates. I'll be taking my leave now." Without another word, she vanished, her cackling still echoing in the cabin.