Misfortune|Second Hope, Firegem Isles

[Kender Bard]

Teneth shook his head a bit, smiling to himself. He liked storms, generally, though if one came up then it would mean Scarlet couldn't go back home until it was over. He rubbed his chin at the thought. "Maybe a storm," he ventured. "Why don't you go ahead inside? I'll go make sure the boat's secured in case it is."

---

Syato grimaced as their boat was tossed upon the waves. He searched about, frowning, hoping to see sign of the sore. Instead, he spotted something just as good. "Looks like a little island, that way!" he shouted above the wind, pointing the spit of land out.

[Devon]

Bradley nodded and tried his best to control the ship, steering it towards that island. He gritted his teeth and ignored the water mercilessly slapping against his face. Shaking his head to clear his eyes he drove on, hoping this job wasn't going to be more trouble than it was worth.

[Darastrix]

"All right," Scarlet said, brushing her bangs out of her face. "I'll tell the kids you'll be in in a bit. Try not to fall in," she added as she turned and started to head into the little house.

[Kender Bard]

Teneth headed down to where the boat was kept and double checked the knots as well as started to secure an extra holding line. He glanced up when nearly done and noticed... something on the waves. Bad time to be stuck at sea, he thought. By now the wind had grown stronger and the skies darker; the temperature had dropped and he could see drops of rain showing up on the beach here and there. It was definitely a storm. I wonder if they see the island.

But he didn't like that. It might have been petty, sadistic, or uncharitable, but he didn't want any strange boats mooring at his island. Heh, listen to me. MY island.

Another strong wave carried the boat away, though, and he relaxed. Turning, he sprinted inside just as the rain broke loose in full.

---

"There!" Syato shouted. "An island!" He pointed it out. In the darkness, he wasn't sure, but he thought he might have seen someone moving on the ground. It was difficult to discern. "Try to land there if you can!"

[Devon]

Saying nothing, Bradley concentrated on getting the boat to the land that Syato had pointed out to him. He was wet, sore, and tired, if this guy they were chasing proved to be too much trouble Bradley would be in a sour mood for weeks.

[Kender Bard]

Teneth entered the house again, soaking wet.

"Teneth, you're going to catch a death of a cold," Victoria scolded. "Come dry out by the fire."

"All right," Teneth agreed, looking preoccupied. "Kids, go make sure the windows are all shuttered... and the door is latched."

Sunder gave him an odd look but began to round up the kids to do as told.

---

Once they'd reached land, Syato hopped out of the boat. They'd gotten off the water, which was good, but they still needed shelter. In the distance, he could see lights. "Must be a farm or something here," he told his companion. "Let's go on up and see if they have a barn or beds worth taking."

[Devon]

"Aye," Bradley murmured, as he finished tying the boat to shore. Shaking some water off of himself he looked to Syato, "Lead on man," he said.

[Darastrix]

Latch the door? Well, it was possible that latching could help it from blowing open if the wind got up too much, but still....

Scarlet walked over to Teneth, saying, "From the sound of things, I guess it wouldn't have mattered if you had fallen in." When she was beside him, she asked, much more quietly, "Something wrong?"

[Kender Bard]

"There was a boat out there," he admitted quietly. The kids had scattered to their jobs. "It didn't feel right to me. They got blown away from the island but... still. It felt all too familiar."

The children quickly finished their jobs and scrambled over to the table, waiting to be fed. Teneth rubbed the back of his head and sighed as he went to serve dinner. He would have liked another moment or two alone with Scarlet but the kids were fast and there wasn't much he could do about it.

---

"Here we go," Syato murmured as he got up to the house. The lights had started going out at their approach and he figured now it had been the shutters being closed. The house was sealed up tight, to his irritation, until he found one shutter flapping free. Either they'd missed it or done a poor job securing it. He gestured to Bradley and opened the shutters, then crawled in through the window.

[Devon]

Bradley followed Syato into the window. He was glad to find shelter and he hoped for whoever lived here's sake that they didn't resist to him barging into their home. He didn't feel much like smacking someone around for not being a gracious host.

[Darastrix]

Scarlet sat down with the kids, listening to the storm blowing outside. "I wonder how long this one's going to last," she said. It could be a while before she could leave with that going on. At least there wasn't anything she needed to do on the mainland for the rest of the day.

[Kender Bard]

"Dunno," Teneth murmured. "Could be a while. Um, do you mind... staying overnight? You can have my bed. I'll find somewhere else to sleep."

"Teneth and Scarlet," Sunder snickered and made kissy faces until Victoria smacked him.

---

Syato glanced at Bradley. "Do you think we ought to stay on the quiet side here or go see if they have any food we can help ourselves to? There's voices out there so nobody's asleep."

[Devon]

"Let's just stay quiet until they settle in for the night, then we can rummage around through their food," Bradley answered in a low voice.

[Darastrix]

Scarlet rolled her eyes at Sunder. "You're lucky I like you," she warned with an exaggerated scowl, shaking a finger at him before turning to Teneth. "I don't mind staying, but I'd hate to kick you out of your bed."

[Kender Bard]

"Maybe you should share it," Sunder snickered. Victoria kicked him under the table, blushing, and the younger kids didn't seem to catch on.

Teneth scowled at Sunder as well before smiling at Scarlet. "I don't mind at all."

---

"All right," Syato agreed and looked around in the low light and grunted in annoyance. "Crowded." The room was filled with a few beds and cots taking up almost every bit of free space. "Looks like a bedroom."