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The next morning arrived too early, though not for the typical reasons.

The slim slants of sunlight, a pale light that barely lit the hull through the few portholes, was rarely a welcome sight for Kali. A deceptive, cozy warmth that alighted on her fur meant she had to crawl out of her bed. Often still sore and tired from scrubbing traps or crabs the day before. While the rest of the sailors curled up and enjoyed sleeping through the morning, all the apprentices had to rise and tend to the ship in their stead.

Today was no different. When Kali cracked open an eye, greeted with the first rays of dawn, she didn't feel like climbing out of bed. Not because she wanted to dodge her rather mundane chores. She simply enjoyed being tangled up in Rinzaan's arms. Entwined together, her nose stayed buried in the short, creamy fur of his neck. The occasional flick of the tip of his tail tickled against hers, half-wrapped together as they were. Steady, synchronized purrs rumbled in both their chests the entire night.

Kali didn't even turn an ear when the sailors returned late that night. She didn't turn one now, either, ignoring all the snores and drowsy mumbles around them. This one time, she wasn't going to care if they found out. She was just another negligible apprentice to most of them. An apprentice tangled up in bed with another apprentice. A less serious offense than Kali originally thought, since apparently that wasn't going to get her thrown off the ship. Recent news she took to heart this morning, since she risked napping in Rinzaan's hammock rather than returning to her own.

As long as she didn't punch Rinzaan, or any of the other apprentices, she was probably safe. So she kept telling herself, on this early morning in particular, because she really didn't want to get up.

Kali stayed in bed far longer than she should have. After all the other slacker Dockie apprentices had hauled their tails out of their hammocks. Half awake, she listened to all their grumbling and complaining that trailed out of the sleeping quarters, echoing in the distant hallway.

She followed them with a single ear, twisting it around and tracking until the voices faded away and only the snoring sailors were left behind. Snoring, and the nagging sensation in her pelt, which stopped her from falling back asleep. Knowledge that these continual seconds she let slip through her claws only meant a worse day ahead. Especially if Masede had anything to say about it, which he certainly would.

Reluctantly, she took her nose from Rinzaan's fur. One arm at a time, she freed herself until she sat upright and stretched her jaws with a wide, toothy yawn.

Rinzaan, of course, disagreed the moment she slipped away. A sleepy, grumpy growl rumbled in his chest rather than the delighted purrs from before. He pawed at her, trying to find her arm so he could drag her back down. When he did, Kali returned his sleepy fumbling with a swat from her own hand. “Don't try it," Kali said, her words half lost with another yawn. “You know we need to get up, eventually."

“Eventually," Rinzaan mumbled. “Doesn't mean now."

“Everyone else is gone." Kali pulled down the edge of the hammock. A quick visual inspection confirmed what she heard before–that the apprentices were indeed gone. “We're already late."

“Then it won't matter. Just come back down here."

“It matters to some of us," Kali answered with a lopsided grin. “Do you want to keep cleaning crabs?"

“Worth it if I get another ten minutes with your fur."

Kali chuckled. She ignored Rinzaan's futile reasoning and started gathering her clothes from around their feet, tossing on her shirt and leaving the sleeves loose. Just something to preserve some modesty, as she climbed down. Though she doubted there would be many wandering eyes.

When the sailors returned to their hammocks earlier, there wasn't much chatter, not like other nights. Usually there were several noisy cats joking and laughing about the day they had as they got into bed. Dumb things sailors did, like tripping on lines and falling on their tails or taking too long to climb a mast or secure a line. Stuff Kali didn't quite understand yet, but she expected she would once she formally joined the Sandstalker's regular crew.

None of that this morning. Just the scraping of claws and creaking ropes as they dropped into their beds.

Since the Mjauzi visited, everyone on board worked harder than usual. Driven by Tulaziya, who told them to move their tails, and by the sense of urgency the Mjauzi's brief visit left behind. They all knew there was only one reason the Mjauzi were ever on the sand, and, for that same reason, they all wanted off. They worked tirelessly, racing across the decks and chasing the turbulent breezes to keep the sails full and the Sandstalker surging ahead at full speed. The looming threat of a shark's teeth motivated them more than any coin ever did.

But, despite the news Darshan and Symas had left them, Kali hadn't heard any alarm bells. No frenzied shouts or paws stormed across the deck. None of the panic she expected, or that she'd heard before, on the sailing years ago when the crew spotted a shark on the horizon. The night stayed relatively quiet.

Which meant Tulaziya was right. Touzimi had likely turned back towards the rapids, and the Mjauzi only visited out of an overabundance of caution.

Their ship and their crew were safe.

Rinzaan seemed to believe that, too. Otherwise, he wouldn't have slept so peacefully through the night. Or this morning, while Kali climbed out of the hammock. Given how his ears, whiskers, and fur all stood on end at the mere mention of a shark, clearly he wasn't worried about it at all.

She swatted his leg in passing, doing so hard enough that he jolted away again. “Get up," she said. “Time to work."

Kali latched her claws onto the post, checking the floor before she dropped and landed. She ignored the bit of sand and dust that floated up and grabbed her bag from where she'd tied it at the bottom of the post. She dug out a fresh pair of pants and underwear, fixing them in place before she switched into a fresh shirt.

From the rustling above her, Rinzaan was doing the same in his hammock. With more of a sense of urgency, now that he was awake, and her fur wasn't there to lull him back to sleep.

Kali left Rinzaan to figure out his own attire, since it was best they stagger their arrivals. Keep up something of a pretense, even if Masede was going to guess, at a glance, why they were the last two apprentices to show up.

She paused at the top of the stairs, to both finish tying her sleeve at her wrist and blink at the harsh, sunny day ahead. The skies were bright and clear, as they always were, and the sandy horizons shimmered all around them. Once her eyes adjusted to that initial blinding sight, she spotted Masede and the other apprentices gathered around the mainmast. Without further delay, she yanked her scarf up over her ears and ran over to join them, with a curt sidelong glance from Masede.

“Alright, then," Masede said slowly. “If you're all here–" He paused, scanning the apprentices, counting each pair of ears until he came up short. Masede growled under his breath. “Now who's missing?"

Kali made a concerted effort to keep her ears pointed forward. Something difficult to do when no one else spoke up, and Masede's sharp stare fixed on her. His question was answered when, after a minute, Rinzaan appeared from the cabin.

All the apprentices watched as he hurried over, stopping halfway when his scarf came loose and almost slipped off his shoulders. All eyes followed him while he wrestled his scarf back into place, except for Masede, who continued to glare at Kali. Not a single doubt between them, why both she and Rinzaan were so late. Kali dropped her nose onto the deck. She had to dip her muzzle and bite her tongue. Otherwise, she was bound to laugh.

“You!" Masede pointed down Rinzaan's nose, stopping him before he joined the lineup. “Galley duty."

Rinzaan pursed his lips, and he answered with a quick nod. Still frozen where he was, he didn't move to leave. His fluffed tail pressed against his locked legs.

He was only half-awake when he stumbled across the deck. It took a solid two minutes for Rinzaan to understand what Masede said. Another awkward nod when he did. Kali barely stifled her laughter.

Masede turned to Kali, and he pointed that same finger at her with an annoyed sneer. “And you," he growled.

Kali's ears cartwheeled backwards, ringing at the terrible prospect of getting banished to the galley again. Her claws ached with an all too fresh recollection. The smell of steaming crab still burned in her nostrils. A fate she swore to avoid. Yet, here it was, pointing straight at her.

But Masede stopped himself. He hesitated, his tail lashing twice, before he huffed and pointed up. “You're on lookout," Masede grumbled. “This time. Next time you're late, you're getting stuck with the crabs."

Kali answered with a swift nod. As afraid to disagree with Masede as Rinzaan was, though for different reasons. She didn't want Masede to change his mind. Anything to save her claws from Bomae and her crabby galley.

“And you." Masede pointed at a random Dockie. “You go up with her. And pay attention to the signs this time. You and you, you're cleaning traps. You three work on untangling those lines over there—"

He went through the rest of the apprentices, sorting through them and assigning their various menial tasks. While he dealt with the other end of the line, Kali risked looking over at Rinzaan, who still didn't seem like he knew quite what to do. Still standing in the same odd place, offset from their haphazard line, and afraid to join them even while Masede's back was turned.

But he smiled at her. Did a little perk of his tail, just for her to see, and a happy trill warbled in Kali's throat. She didn't have a chance to return the gesture. Masede whirled around. “Well?" He asked, throwing a hand up with a dismissive wave. “You've got your orders. Get working! Or I'll add extra sand to your dinner pot!"

Rinzaan didn't wait around this time. He darted back to the cabin. Kali chuckled to herself as his ears vanished down the stairwell. Ears she was bound to miss, though it was best they didn't linger up here. As soon as Masede let them loose, all the Dockies started talking. And there was only one subject of interest right now, and it wasn't about money, pedigree, or fashion. Sharks. That's the only topic they gossiped about, the Dockies all chattering at once excitedly as they headed in different directions. If Rinzaan's brown ears had waited around, his tail would've started its frightful fidgeting again, despite their peaceful night's sleep.

“Kali," Masede said, interrupting her eavesdropping with a solid pat on her shoulder. “I need you up there actually keeping watch. You understand?" Kali's ears turned, showing a renewed apprehension, but Masede shook his head. “We didn't see anything yesterday, but I still want a good pair of eyes up there."

“Do you think–" Kali glanced over at the cabin, making sure Rinzaan hadn't doubled back. “You don't think that–"

“No, I don't." Masede answered. “If a shark was around, especially a shark like that, we would've seen it yesterday. It's just an old sailing superstition. That if you don't keep an eye on the sand, it'll turn on you. I'm sure we're in the clear." He pat Kali on the shoulder again, then turned to the apprentices sorting lines. He snarled and tossed up a hand. “Not those! Those were fine. You three better not have tied them up."

Kali sighed, letting the last of her nerves out on the breeze. Masede wasn't worried, either. He was just treating this with the same caution as Tulaziya did. Sailing superstition. That's all it was.

She turned to the mast, squinting up at the top, when she realized the cat next to her did the same. Her assigned partner, who grimaced at the sky with all her whiskers. So distracted by Rinzaan's half-conscious antics, Kali hadn't paid attention to who her partner today was.

Joyana's muzzle wrinkled when she looked at Kali. The same disgusted snarl curling her lip as when she looked up at the mast. “Who are you looking at, weirdo?"

Kali's mood quickly soured again. Of course, of all the cats there, Masede had figured out who Kali's new nemesis was. And he was punishing both of them for Kali's tardiness. “You didn't even say it right this time." Kali shook her head and peered up at the mast. “You're really not filling Cerinnia's paws."

“Excuse you," Joyana scoffed loudly enough for the apprentices' untangling lines to hear. “I didn't ask you. Why does Masede keep pairing me up with someone like you, anyway?"

Kali ignored the question and the distant giggles that followed. She leaped at the mast, clearing some distance. A needed distance from Joyana, who was already wearing on Kali's nerves, and they weren't even trapped together in the crow's nest yet.

Though maybe her nerves would be spared. While Kali climbed, she noticed Joyana didn't make any move to follow. Instead, she whirled on her tail and stormed over to Masede, who was already busy trying to figure out if the other apprentices had ruined some perfectly good lines.

At least there was some good that came out of this. A few more days of this, and Masede would reach the end of his rope. He would give up on the Dockies and be back to his carefree self, swinging his mitts at Kali like always. He just needed a bit more exasperation to reach that point. Some whining from Joyana was likely to be that final pull he needed.

“Thank 'Mere for Joyana," Kali muttered as she climbed over the crow's nest railing. “She'll get the stick out of his tail."

She grabbed the top of her scarf, holding it in place against the brisk breeze she expected. The same one that kept sweeping her scarf away at every turn since their voyage began. But it didn't happen this time. Her scarf stayed where it was without the slightest tug from the wind.

Kali frowned. She dropped her hands onto the railing and peered down over the edge, looking at the expansive sail below. White fabric that had stretched taut as soon as they'd left the port.

It almost looked sad, hanging limp below her. Half-full with a weak wind that trudged their ship forward at a crawl. Far different from the taut, billowing sails Kali had seen in the past few blustering days.

That was why the sailors were so tired. They wanted a squall that would race them over to the nearest isle. Instead, all they had was the trickling breeze that hardly stirred Kali's whiskers now.

Kali dropped against the mast, settling in for the long, dull day ahead. The sun felt even worse on her ears without any sort of wind to alleviate the desert heat. Her scarf did little to help. Now she rather regretted not getting assigned to galley duty. Masede probably wanted her up there because none of the other apprentices would last. Definitely not Joyana, who didn't want to climb up in the first place.

It was going to be a long, torturous shift under the relentless sun. Kali could only settle in under what little slant of shade. This was her life for the next several hours.

She watched the horizon, as Tulaziya and Mikora had taught her to. For all the usual signs, none of which she saw. The sands were especially placid on this breezeless day. Smooth and calm, glittering under the afternoon sun. Everything as it should be–as it always was.

The sun crept along the sky, clawing its way up to its zenith. Kali watched through squinted eyes. Sometimes shaded by a hand, or by her scarf when she pulled it forward. Not that either made much of a difference. The sand looked the same no matter what she did. Blinding and golden.

After a while, she almost missed Joyana, who still hadn't climbed up to join her. At least the complaining would take Kali's mind off the sand and the sheer boredom she endured. Having someone, anyone, to talk to was better than sitting there in grim silence. With hardly a ripple from the sails to listen to and not a single gull above. Just silence, sand, and more sand.

Until, suddenly, she heard something. Kali's ears turned back at the sound of scrabbling claws. Her tail lifted slightly, now that there was finally something to entertain her. “So you made it up?" Kali asked as she twisted around. Even looking with her bad eye, with a hope that it might bother Joyana enough that she'd say more and keep Kali preoccupied.

But it wasn't Joyana who struggled up into the crow's nest. Kali's ears twisted aside, and she frowned.

Rinzaan struggled on the railing, falling muzzle-first when he climbed over. Breathless and panting from the climb, when he sat upright. “Hey."

“What?" Kali blinked a few times, making sure all her staring at the sand hadn't made her hallucinate. Then she leaned forward, sticking her head between the rails to look down. She spied Masede with the apprentices scrubbing traps. “Why are you here?"

“Joyana wanted to trade," Rinzaan answered. He sat down next to Kali and, with a single toss, wrapped his tail over his lap. “So I said yes."

Kali scrunched her muzzle. She pulled her head back from the rails, grimacing at the slight pull on her whiskers. “Does Masede know?"

Rinzaan shrugged. “Probably not? But he said she could switch if she found someone willing. Technically, she did. I don't really see a problem."

Kali leaned back against the mast, laughing into the simmering air. “He's going to be so mad when he finds out."

“Why? I'm just a Dockie that's tired of shelling crabs. Why would he get mad about that?" Rinzaan said, with an unconvincing mock innocence. An act he dropped a second later with a self-assured smirk. “It's not like he knows anything."

Kali's whiskers twitched. She took a breath, ready to correct him, but decided against it. Knowing Rinzaan, he would only be more clumsy and awkward if he knew that Masede was onto them. “Nevermind." Kali grabbed the edge of Rinzaan's scarf and tugged it farther forward over his ears. “Just know, even if you're here, we can't mess around today. Masede said I need to keep watch."

“Not even for a quickie?" Rinzaan asked, flashing a smile. “We could do it again. Like last time–you remember that, right?"

“I remember you dropping me."

Rinzaan's smile evaporated. “Not, uh, that part. The one before that. Remember that?"

Kali laughed up at the clear sky. A broad smile on her whiskers, when she looked aside at Rinzaan, who fiddled with the ends of his scarf. The same nerves in his tail as it twitched and flicked. “I'll think about it," she said. “But we need to at least pretend we're doing this right. So scoot over."

She waved over towards the other side of the crow's nest. Rinzaan huffed, but he did as told. He moved farther away, pointing his muzzle in the opposite direction. Though he stayed close enough that his tail lay within reach when he flipped it off his lap. An offering left waiting, the brown tip flicking left and right the longer he waited. Kali, with a somewhat exasperated sigh, did the same and tossed her tail over his, if only to smother his fidgeting.

“So, uh, how did this start again?" Rinzaan asked.

“What? We're going to play it out?" Kali smirked as she set her sights back on the horizon. The endless gold dunes in the distance meandered by. She swished her tail, brushing it across Rinzaan's. A giddy trill tightened in her throat. “I think we started it by actually doing our jobs."

“Did we?"

Motion caught Kali's eye. She looked over as Rinzaan flopped backwards, his scarf spilling off his ears onto the floor of the crow's nest. He looked over at her, his slitted gray-blue eyes shining with mischief. “We could try something else this time," Rinzaan said. “I could bend you over the railing."

“Your ears are going to burn."

“They'll burn anyway, when we ditch our clothes. Might as well get them started now."

Kali laughed again, bringing an even brighter smile across Rinzaan's muzzle. He reached over, lazily holding out his hand, doing anything other than watching the surrounding sand. An invitation Kali couldn't turn down even if she tried. She set her hand atop his, and his soft fingers wrapped around hers. A little tug tried to coax her down with him. “Come on," Rinzaan said.

Kali stared down at him. From his uncovered ears, his pale eyes, to the toothy smile on his dark furred muzzle. Everything she loved so much sprawled out beside her, bidding her to do the same–to forget the sand, the heat, and join him.

He still waited for an answer. Another tug on her hand reminded Kali, and she sighed. “Fine." His tail lifted behind him, waving with delight. And Kali's tail perked, too. She couldn't help it. He was simply too charming. She checked over at the sand, the dunes on the horizon, everything the same as always, then she looked down at Rinzaan again. “But we're going to be quick–"

Kali hesitated. A strange ripple of her whiskers, when her smile faltered at the edges. Something felt different–felt off. Though she didn't know what or why.

She looked at the sand one more time. A less fleeting glance, one that wasn't stolen by the charming tom stretched out in front of her. She watched the distant horizon, the dunes that seemed leagues away. Ignored the pestering tugs on her hand, while she kept her eyes trained on them. Something was different from before. The shape of the horizon, the rise and fall of the dunes, something had changed.

Kali studied each sandy peak in turn. One by one, tracking each until she saw it again. Movement.

“What are you doing? Come over here."

“Shh!" Kali pulled her hand away. She leaned forward, her eyes trained on that same dune. The one that moved so slightly before, it moved again.

The sand shifted. Like it took a deep, tall breath before falling with a steady exhale. The dune slid down, collapsing on itself and spreading across the flat sand.

The next one did the same. Pulled forward by an unseen force, it drifted towards the right before falling the same way. One by one, the dunes were shifting.

Kali's breath caught in her chest. It took her a moment to realize it, and another to say it aloud. “The dunes, that's it," Kali managed to say, barely a whisper. “That's a shark."

Rinzaan laughed. It sounded sharp, harsh in her ears. A sound that sliced through the steadily increasing beat of her heart. “Come on, I'm not falling for that," he said. “That's not really a shark."

“No. No-no, that's–" Kali took a quick breath. Her voice was shaking now. Trembling like her hands did, as she raked her claws against the planks and scrambled to her feet. “That's a shark!"

She fumbled with a slim rope tied onto the mast. Her numb fingers struggled to untie the knot. She dug in her quaking claws, pulling and yanking until she finally wrenched the rope free, and she rang the alarm as hard as she could. Her ears flattened against the striking sound of the old brass bell, even though she barely heard it. Her heart throbbed louder in her ears, and louder still when she looked over her shoulder again.

The distant hills sat undisturbed again. The rising and falling peaks dotting the horizon stayed where they were, but the dunes closer by? They moved now.

It was heading towards them.

“Kali, wait," Rinzaan shouted over the bell. “Are you serious?"

Kali slammed the bell three more times. That's all there was time for. Every second she wasted, the shark neared. Closer and closer, the sand rose and fell unnaturally. A clear-cut path straight towards their ship. “We need to go!" Kali grabbed Rinzaan's arm and yanked him up. “We need to go! Now-now-now!"

“You're serious?" Rinzaan asked, now his tail frizzed in alarm.

“I'm serious! Come on!" Kali slung herself over the rail. She hooked her claws onto the mast, waiting only a moment to make sure Rinzaan did the same. And he did, his hands shaking even worse than hers when they latched onto the wood.

Kali looked down. Sailors were on the deck now, running in every direction. A collective panic as half the crew raced to ready the ballistas and chumriders. The rest tried to secure any loose traps or crates on the deck.

Masede waited at the base of the mast, shouting something up at them. Kali couldn't hear him. All she heard was her heart in her ears now. A beating frenzy that drowned out everything else.

She looked behind her. It had moved again. Dragging the dunes faster now, as it raced through the sand. Mountainous hills moved with accelerating speed, the solid surface torn apart when its jagged fins broke the surface. Sharp knives that sliced through the golden painted landscape.

First she saw the fins, then the body emerged. Long and serpentine, with massive scales the color of deep onyx and shimmering blue covering its hide, it looped in and out of the sand in elegant arches. Rising and falling like the distant, shimmering sandy horizon the fearsome scales once blended into. Only seen so clearly now, while it headed straight towards them.

Kali climbed faster. As fast as she could, without letting herself plummet onto the deck. Every step down seemed too sluggish, too slow, compared to the shark's breakneck speed. She couldn't pull her claws free, drop her hand lower, and dig them back in fast enough. Climbing down took longer than climbing up ever did.

Old tales echoed in her ears. Spun by generations of sailors who crossed the sands. See the signs? Sound the alarm. See the scales? Strap to the deck. See the eyes?

Kali looked back one last time. Her claws hooked into the mast, rooted in place, as she twisted around, and she saw it. The shark crested the sand, rising above the dusty spray. The head of the beast, slim and narrowed to a vicious point able to pierce the solid surface of the flats–and any ship it hit. Hollow black pits for eyes, dozens of them lining either side. Eyes in name alone, because they were what the shark used to see.

And she saw the rows upon rows of vicious teeth. As tall as the ship itself, locked together to keep the sand out, but bare for everyone to see. The horrible glory of Touzimi.

There wasn't time. Kali looked down and swore at the distance between her and the deck. She let go.

Kali landed hard on her feet. A sharp pain shot up through her legs, and her knees buckled. An ache so powerful, she thought she might've broken something.

“Kali!" Masede's voice finally reached her. Past her heart in her ears, and the throbbing in her legs, she could hear him when he crouched beside her. “Get below deck!"

Kali's ears lifted. She dug her claws into the deck and tried again. A more successful attempt, as she moved a foot under her. Nothing broken, as she had feared. Only bruised from the fall. Though that wasn't her greatest concern, as she pointed up at the mast. “I can't go! I have to wait–"

Her voice vanished, smothered by a shrill breeze. Drowned out by a piercing cry that shook even the towering sky above them. A reverberating scream, the deafening shark's scream.

Kali slammed her hands over her ears. She forced her jaws to stay open, even though she wanted to clench her teeth until they cracked.

Her ears, her mind, rang with the sound. Echoed from her ears into her chest, vibrating even the planks under her feet. Her vision warbled and wavered, the ship rocking unnaturally until she lost all sense of direction and toppled onto her side. Like other sailors did, several clutching bloodied ears and soundlessly screaming along with.

And then it hit.

Touzimi flew overhead, its shrill scream rattling Kali down to her core. Silenced only when its parted jaws slammed into the mainmast.

Kali was hauled onto her feet. She stumbled, the world still spinning, as she was dragged out from under the spray of splinters and debris. She couldn't hear the crack when the mainmast snapped, or the slam when its remnants fell onto the deck. Her bones still shaking in her pelt, after the scream.

The moment they let go, Kali fell back onto her knees. Still clutching her ears, her breaths a rapid pant. Gradually, the ringing in her ears ebbed away, until it was replaced with the shrieks and screams of sailors instead.

“Kalari! Kali! Kali! Look at me!"

Kali took several ragged breaths, and she steadied enough to follow the voice. Her nose trailed up, weaving and rocking like the ship beneath her. She blinked. Her vision blurred further. An indiscriminate smear of cat and sky. Kali swiped an arm across her eyes, smearing tears on her sleeve. Tulaziya crouched beside her, panting and as wide-eyed as Kali.

Tulaziya grabbed the sides of Kali's face, steadying her world for a moment. Until the swirling and rolling in her head died down. “Are you okay?" Tulaziya shouted.

Kali nodded. She didn't trust her voice to work. It was like Touzimi's scream was still echoing inside her, clenched in her own throat.

“Stay down. Get your bearings, then get below deck," Tulaziya said. Loud and slow, with a plain clarity that even Kali's muddled head could comprehend. “I'll be back."

Tulaziya got up. She ran over to Masede, grabbing his arm and pulling him up onto his wobbling legs. Not offering the same kindness as she did Kali. She didn't let him sit back down. The opposite, as Tulaziya shoved him forward a few stumbling steps. His tail whipped wildly until he had his sea legs steady again. She pointed somewhere, shouted something, and they ran over to the other sailors. One by one, they picked them up and dragged them onto their feet.

Kali looked down at the deck, her hands planted as she tried to steady herself. Then she realized it wasn't just her. The entire ship rocked from side to side. Driven by the shadow racing across her.

Touzimi still soared overhead.

Its body passed by, a blur of scales and fins crossing through the strangely empty air. A tall arch through the unnatural space between the other two masts–where the mainmast stood seconds ago.

She stared up at it, watching until the tail crossed. A sudden end to what seemed like an infinite serpent. Then it vanished beneath the sand after the rest of it, without leaving a ripple in its wake. Seemingly gone as quickly as it had arrived.

Except it wasn't. A shark never attacked once and let a ship go. They never stopped. Not until the hull was shattered and boards and corpses littered the sand.

But that wasn't Kali's first thought as she looked up. As her eyes fell onto the wreckage of the mainmast, which was strewn across the deck. The sails crumpled, yet lightly fluttering where they weren't pinned by debris.

Kali looked at every face, every set of ears, and every tail around. She didn't see Rinzaan. She didn't see him anywhere.

Kali clawed at the deck until her feet were underneath her. Her heart raced in her ears again. A panic, a fear, worse than anything, sank its claws into her chest. She couldn't speak–couldn't breathe. She swiped her sleeve across her eyes again. Tried to take a breath, force a calm that she couldn't feel, when only fear seared in her chest.

Did he fall overboard? Suffocated beneath the sand? Was he crushed underneath the mast? A bloody pulp of shredded fur and shattered bones?

Kali covered her eyes with her hands. Squeezing until she saw stars. She couldn't think like that. Couldn't panic. Not right now. Not yet. She took a breath. Drove her voice out, even if it was locked in her chest. “Rinzaan!" She shouted, using all of her lungs. Her voice ragged and cracked with desperation when she didn't receive an answer. “Rinzaan!"

Kali paused, her ears veering around, listening for any response, anything other than the sailor's shouting across the deck, but all she could hear was the occasional snap of the sail as it rippled before her.

“Rinzaan!"

Kali listened again. Another snap of the sail. Something else underneath that. Somewhere nearby.

She ran over to the mast's wreckage. Forced herself to listen past her own heart, as she tracked a sound with a frantic pivoting of her ears. Until she heard it clearly at her feet, buried beneath a pile of the fallen, white mainmast sail. “Rinzaan!"

She heard something. Rurphy. Murphy. Rarfie. Kali's ears flicked.

It was her name.

Smothered underneath the thick fabric of the sail. Her name. Lost somewhere in folds of fabric, reaching out to her.

Kali grabbed onto the white sail. She didn't know where he was, or how he was, but he was in there. Still alive, if he was able to speak. “Rinzaan?" Kali tugged with her claws and raked them across the sail. She couldn't break the woven threads. They were too solid. She needed a knife. Something. Anything.

Kali forced another slow breath. She twisted around, searching for something sharp. Then she saw a broken board and a jagged nail sticking out of it. “Hold on!" She shouted at the fabric.

She didn't get a response. That seemed bad.

Kali ran and yanked out the nail, frowning at the crooked point. Not the best knife, but it was tougher than her claws. It would work. It had to.

She ran back to the sail, where she heard him before, and pressed with her palm to make sure nothing was under it. But her hands shook so badly, she wasn't certain. Rinzaan could've been beneath her feet, and she wouldn't even know it.

Kali's ears perked. Renewed shouts sounded across the deck. Tulaziya called to the sailors.

“Get on the ballistas!" Tulaziya shouted. “Get the chumriders on the sand! All hands on deck! Move your tails!"

Kali's fur bristled–all the way to the end of her tail. If Tulaziya called everyone to action, that only meant one thing–Touzimi was on their way for a second pass. And this time they might just slam face first into the hull and sink them all.

Kali jabbed the nail in. The sharp edge split the fabric more easily than her claws did. And she worked fast, cutting jagged lines through until she could rip the sail apart with her hands. Her hopes sinking, the farther she tore, finding only broken boards underneath. Until she saw a brown furred hand.

She pulled and tore until she found his muzzle. Then the sail wouldn't break anymore. Her numb hands fumbled, her claws wouldn't dig into the fabric. Her hands shook too badly. Flooded with relief as much as fear. Rinzaan was there. Blue eyes wide, shocked, but open. He took a deep breath, now that the sail didn't smother him. He was alive. In complete shock, but alive nonetheless.

“Can you move?" Kali asked. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Kali took his face in her hands, the same way Tulaziya had held hers, and he squinted up at her. There was no blood on his muzzle. His mouth and nose looked clear. Some on his ear, but that was a given. Halfway up the mast, he couldn't have braced himself for the shark's scream.

“I-I think," he mumbled, still in a daze. “I think so?“

She didn't know which question he was answering. Kali assumed the first, as she grabbed his arms and pulled. Half afraid that he might not budge, that he might be pinned under or on something she couldn't see. But she saw movement under the fabric. He kicked his legs. His tail whipped. Another good sign, and she was able to pull him free.

Somehow, miraculously, he was unharmed. Bruised, most likely, with how he winced and groaned, but he was okay. He was alive.

Rinzaan didn't move much farther than that. She dropped him and set her hands on her knees, panting. “Can you get up?"

“Yeah." Rinzaan started prying himself off the ground, only to wince when he curled his back. “Ow! No! No, I can't."

“Okay, it's fine," Kali said. “Just stay there. Don't try to move."

She kneeled beside him and reached for his hand. Her fingers hardly brushed his, and Rinzaan seized onto her hand along with the rest of her arm, digging his claws into her sleeve and anchoring her beside him. “That was a shark," he murmured. “An actual shark."

“It's fine," Kali said. “Tulaziya's taking care of it. It's fine. We're fine."

She lied through her teeth. They both knew it. From the shouting to the feet pounding on the deck as sailors raced back and forth, nothing was fine.

“S-stay with me."

Kali's ears turned forward again. She looked down at Rinzaan, his desperate eyes, his claws clinging onto her arm. “I'm here," she said. “I'm not going anywhere–"

“Hit the deck!"

Kali tail flared in a panic. She threw herself over Rinzaan and flattened her ears.

Touzimi didn't bellow this time. She saw them soar over their ship again. A higher arc this time, above the remaining masts. The long point of their nose, like a spear, enormous, yellowed teeth locked together, and the rows of holes where eyes would be on any other beast. Black pits twisted around to stare down at them, as it flew over them. Watching Kali the entire time, as its nose struck the sand on the other side.

The ship vaulted, thrown by the vicious shockwave from Touzimi slamming into the sand. Kali grabbed onto the sail, and still she was almost flung off the deck. And Rinzaan clutched onto her, panting rapidly as fresh panic sank in now.

Kali could feel where his frightened claws broke the skin. But as long as he was latched onto her, he was alive. They both were alive. He could tear into her pelt all he wanted, as long as he was safe.

The ship leveled out again. Kali saw someone dart over to the port side, where Touzimi had buried themselves in the sand again. It was Masede.

“They're coming back around!" Masede called. “Captain, they're not taking the chum!"

“Then we need to get moving!" Tulaziya snapped back. “Get the sails into the wind! Masede, go to the helm. Get us turning. I don't care where, just get us into the wind! If we don't move, we're dead." Tulaziya grabbed a sailor that dashed by. She turned them around, shoving them towards the front of the deck. “Get that ballista loaded! Buy us some time. Do something useful."

“Captain!"

It was Bomae this time. She clung to the railing leading up to the quarterdeck, blood streaming from one of her ears. Kali didn't see her arrive, but there she was. Her and all the other chefs, most of which were dragging injured sailors towards the cabin. “We can't move!" She leaned over the rail and pointed straight ahead. “Foremast is down!"

“What do you mean it's down?" Tulaziya snapped.

“It's furled! The line broke."

Tulaziya's muzzle whipped towards the front of the ship. Kali's nose followed, too, drifting over where the foremast stood. Seeming strangely isolated, without the mainmast behind it, and, as Bomae said, the sail had fallen. The halyards securing it dangled in the air. One frayed end drifted higher than the others. The other half snaked across the deck.

“Anyone with claws free," Tulaziya shouted. “Everyone, help me get this sail up! Now!"

A handful of sailors rushed over, grabbing the other flapping lines. Tulaziya ran ahead of them and snatched up a length of fresh rope from one of the traps.

Kali looked at the cats there. She counted them once, then she counted again. Stumbling over simple numbers, as her heart raced again. Touzimi was coming for them. They needed to go. The ship had to move, or Touzimi would drive them all into the sand.

The sail was down, and there weren't enough cats on the lines. Tulaziya tied the broken halyard and jumped down, hauling with all the muscle she had packed in her brown pelt. But it wasn't enough. She was just one cat.

“Rinzaan," Kali said, “I have to go."

“What?" Rinzaan asked, fear leaping into his voice. “No!"

“I have to," Kali said quickly. “If I don't help Tulaziya, we're not going to make it."

“No! You–you can't go. You can't leave me here," Rinzaan said. His voice shook, his hands shook, even as they clutched onto her. He trembled, from the tips of his ears to his tail. “Don't go. Please, please don't go. You can't!"

“I have to go."

“Please! Don't leave me!"

Tears streamed down his face, soaking through the fur on his cheeks. His voice cracked, rapid breaths broken by short, gasped sobs. Kali felt the same panic welling in her chest. She wanted to break down with him. To take him in her arms, to tell him that she would stay with him. Cry together, until neither had a single tear left. Then maybe laugh about it later, when this terrible storm had passed.

Kali took his damp cheek in her hand. She pressed her lips to his. Slowed his frantic breaths for an instant. Then she grabbed his clenched hand. “I have to go."

“Kali, don't leave me!"

Kali flattened her ears. She dug her claws into his hand and tore him off her arm. She didn't care about her shredded sleeve, or the sharp twinges of pain when she yanked her arm away from his desperate claws.

Rinzaan's pleas were muffled on her closed ears. His wails, his begging, his despair–she turned her back on all of it. He needed her, desperately needed her.

But Tulaziya needed her more.

Kali sprinted over, leaping over the remainder of the fallen mast. Eyes set on Tulaziya, the line in her hands, trying not to look at the shark weaving across the sand, looping closer and closer to the ship.

It didn't matter where Touzimi was. Kali couldn't do anything about that, but she could haul a line. That was something she could do.

Kali dove in behind Tulaziya. She grabbed the line, sank in all of her claws, and pulled–pulled like her life depended on it.

Tulaziya paused, startled when she looked over at Kali. A fleeting surprise, as Tulaziya recalled the urgent task in her hands. A quick nod, and Tulaziya turned her attention back to the sail. “Together now!" Tulaziya cried. “Hoist the sail! Pull!"

With all the strength left in her arms and legs, Kali dragged the line out with Tulaziya. Her claws screamed in pain, even with her hardened quicks. The mast groaned. Step by step, they dragged the halyards back, the ropes creaking like they threatened to snap again.

But all their ears were flattened, teeth bared as they fought against time. Nobody listened to the Sandstalker's complaints. The sail rose, bit by bit, lifting higher and higher. Snapping in the wind, as it was hit by the uneven breeze, until it reached the top. The sail opened with one last crack as the full force of the wind hit it. The ship lurched forward again.

“Kali, tie it," Tulaziya said through her teeth. “Tie it down!"

Kali looped the rope around the hook mounted onto the deck. Then she made a mistake. She looked.

She looked over the side of the ship, where the sand parted. Where Touzimi emerged from the depths once again. They weren't fast enough.

“Kali!" Tulaziya dropped the line and threw her arms around Kali. Tulaziya's hands clapped onto Kali's ears, as the Touzimi bellowed again. Screaming as it surged upwards, launched almost vertical from the sand, a long arc up into the sky overhead that blotted out the sun. A shadow cast over the entirety of the ship, as they twisted around mid-air.

Touzimi's spear-like nose pointed directly at her–at their ship. Jaws parted, showing their rows upon rows of jagged teeth. And Kali could only watch, past Tulaziya's shoulder and whiskers, as Touzimi dove towards them.

Then, just when Kali shut her eyes, Touzimi's shrill scream ended with a sharp crack.

Kali's eyes snapped open just in time. She saw Touzimi's head snap aside. Thrown left, off-course, barreling back into the sand beside the ship. Bright blood spattered across the deck, flung across the ship and the sand. Dark red, almost black, darker than any cat's. Touzimi's blood.

Tulaziya lifted her head, too. Her arms loosened around Kali, and she turned towards the opposite side of the ship, where Kali's gaze followed. Towards the two steeds that raced across the sand, flying towards them almost as fast as Touzimi had.

Grynkeel led the charge, with Darshan's bow raised. An arrow nocked and aimed a Touzimi's tail as it floundered in the air, whipping overhead.

Darshan loosed his next arrow, striking the end before it fell on their ship. Another thunderous crack, and Touzimi's tail was thrown clear. It veered out over the sand, where it vanished into the bloody depths, chasing the rest of the serpent below.

And all was quiet again. Until cheers echoed across the deck, lifting every cats' whiskers up to the cloudless sky.

Tulaziya took a shaky breath. She grabbed Kali's shoulders and shook her once. Even then, the haze didn't seem to clear. Kali was too stunned to move. “Are you alright?" Tulaziya asked quickly. She looked down at Kali's hands, alarmed. “Are you bleeding?"

Kali looked at her hands. They didn't shake anymore. Her arms had gone numb. Numb from shock–or maybe from pain. She couldn't even feel anything from her bloody fingertips, where the line had wrenched a couple claws out from the quick.

Tulaziya took Kali's hands. She looked over them, confirming as Kali had, and she nodded to herself. “It'll heal. You're-you're alright. You're alright." Tulaziya said it with more confidence now, more relief. Reassured that Kali was fine, she rose just as Grynkeel leaped onto the deck.

Darshan yanked on the reins, beginning his steed to an abrupt stop. He looked at Kali, then at Tulaziya. “Captain. Your crew?" he asked.

“We're fine," Tulaziya answered. “The ship's fine. We'll manage." She bared her teeth with a vicious snarl and all the anger seething in her chest. “Go get that monster. Send their rotting corpse to 'Mere!"

Darshan nodded, and he let the reins loose. Grynkeel leaped forward, a vicious hiss as they lowered their antlers and charged ahead. Their talons slammed into the deck, as they bounded across and leaped onto the bloody sand on the other side.

Kali looked down at her hands again, which Tulaziya squeezed. “Ziya," she said, her voice strained, almost mewled.

“You're alright," Tulaziya said again. “Go sit over there." She pointed over where a few injured sailors sat on the main deck. “Stay where I can see you. Don't go below deck. Not until we check the hull. You hear me?"

“Y-yeah. I hear."

“Say that again?" Tulaziya asked, a slight growl.

Kali nodded. A bit more confidence restored, when she answered with a more proper, “I hear you, captain."

That seemed to put Tulaziya at ease, too. She let go of Kali's hands, and turned to the foremast again, surveying the damage across the deck. “Leave the sail!" Tulaziya called. “The Mjauzi can deal with the shark. Get the wreckage off the deck. Get the injured over to the medics. We'll sail once we get this sorted. You! You, start getting a headcount. I need to know if anyone went overboard."

Kali wandered across the deck. Which was alive, once again, as sailors rushed to fulfill Tulaziya's orders. Their voices seemed muffled, even though her ears were clear, and the ringing had died down to a faint residual whine. She stumbled, more than once, on loose boards or debris. Maybe stubbing her toes once or twice, though she couldn't feel it.

She took a seat where Tulaziya told her to, near the stairs leading to the quarterdeck. She took one of the few empty spots available, with so many injured around. Broken legs, arms, some splinted and some still bleeding onto the deck. Several cats nursed tears in their pelts, helping each other cover their wounds with whatever cloth they had. Given how badly some were injured, her claws didn't seem so bad.

Kali leaned her back against a wall and pulled her legs up to her chest. She wrapped her tail tight around her legs. Curled up as small as she could, with her bloody hands clutched to her chest. Forced yet more slow breaths, as she tried to tell herself that this wasn't a dream, despite how dream-like it all felt. That she was alive. They were all alive. By a miracle, they survived. Even if she couldn't believe it.

She looked across all the injured, searching until she looked along the wall. Over to where Rinzaan sat a distance away, closer to the cabin's entrance. After a time, he looked up, and he saw her, too. Their eyes met, held for a time. Without a move of either of their tails or ears.

Then he looked away. Down at an indeterminate spot around his feet.

Kali watched him for a while. Then she looked away, too, and turned her muzzle up to the clear rosy sky.

They didn't need to talk right now. She actually preferred if they didn't. Not until her mind cleared, and the foreign, numb sensation in her arms and legs left. Just seeing him was enough. Just knowing that he was okay, that he was alive, that was enough for Kali. They could talk later, once the sails were up and the dust settled.

Because they were alive, somehow. They were alive, and the sky was clear again. Just like it always was.