#loredis

There was a flash like an aurora right at the moment of his hollow, desperate victory against the bear that had haunted and hunted them for so long. There was a flash like an aurora descending to caress the earth, and there was a sun-haze that began to resemble a doorway, and then there was the shade of a familiar woman standing in the middle. She stepped over and knelt beside her old friend, this captain left to die, and oh-so-gently cupped his cheek.

Francis’ chest burned with the agony from the successful strike by the monster. Despite the pain there was a huge relief in seeing it fail to drag in enough air, and eventually fall still. Finally he had found some way to vanquish the creature that had been terrorising them for years, that his men would at least be safe from its hunt from then on. He let go of the chain and let himself lie back to draw in his own desperate breaths.

As the light changed he feared he would not be allowed the chance to rest, as if something new was about to emerge through the doorway to take up the hunt the Tuunbaq had failed. He heaved in a breath and tried to see what was happening, perhaps the strike had been too effective and he was about to glimpse that promise of angels. Once the figure stepped free of the light and was knelt beside him, Francis’ brow furrowed. He knew that face. Something was not right though, she was not on the expedition to the North... or had she been and he was too close to his end to remember?

There was much sounds of consternation amongst the men, cries of alarm and yells of outrage, and it sounded almost like a fight might well be underway. If the Captain should come, however, to investigate, he would find not a battle, but a girl -- a young woman, perilously beautiful, knelt in the centre of a circle of men, a strange bubble of energy around her body, shielding her from their fear --- and thus, their reactions. -- Loredis            

Never one to tolerate discourse on his ship and certainly not planning to allow such a reputation to be ruined, Francis emerged on deck in a flash of his own, looking over to the commotion and forcing his way through those gathered to see exactly what was happening, seeing a circle of men and yelling ferociously in a volume not to be challenged, “Everyone on their knees!” He ordered and in an instant, the crew aboard crouched down and put themselves on the deck.

Francis thought he might have found himself far too caught up in his magnetic observations of his compasses to notice just how far the temperature had dropped. True enough, he suddenly realised that he was very cold indeed, his whole form shivering enough to make his hands shake. With the coat draped over him, he looked over to her concerned.