Maia skawked a him, hissed like an annoyed cat. She walked in a full circle around the two, her blue eyes glowing. Slowly, sh dropped from the tree and landed quietly on Dianna's shoulder.

---

Hours had passed, and still neither Maia nor Laxmi had returned.

Good, Helbrecht mused. That either meant they had mutiny in mind, or had been killed by worthy enemies, either way, the exploration of the island could only bring glorious bloodshed!

Still, however, just something seemed amiss... the kind of feeling one had before some impending doom, setting not only him, but also all around him at unease.

As Helbrecht went to grasp another plank which seemed suitable to use in the repairs, an outcry was heard.

It came from one of the guards he had set up between the jungle and the ship, the man pointing fearfully at the greenery in front of him, while his companions drew their weapons, scimitars, muskets and the like, while sounds that would best be described as high-pitched hisses were heard from the primeval forest.

Before the guard's eyes, the jungle became alive, uncountable insectoid carapaces visible, hissing, before exiting the greenery, allowing themselves to become visible in their fearsome entirety:



The massive centipedes began to swarm towards the pirates.

---

Ash glared at the bird, and continued to talk and question Diana. Suddenly, a scream sounded from another end of the island.

Taking a glance back at the two, Ash darted with vampiric speed under the branches and shade until he found himself upon the area of which the tall, armored man had been.

When he had seen the commotion, he laughed somewhat. What a huge insect problem.

Chuckling at the dumb joke, he picked up a shard of glass and was about to throw it when he caught his reflection in it's surface. Winking, he smoothed some hair back. "Well, hellooo handsome."

Grinning with pride, Ash finally brought himself to raise the glass and spear a centipede with it.

---

Maia glared back with the same intensity and lifted off of Dianna's shoulder. Soaring throughout the sky. A scream was heard and she perked. Flying quickly, she reached the other end of the island just as a colossal centipede emerged from the forest followed by many others.

She landed and shapeshifted back to human form, she unsheathed Detractorem and charged mercilessly at the centipede. She glanced at the vampire and rolled her eyes vampires. Always lazy, irrogant, and vain. She smirked and jumped n another.

A leg barely missed her, grazng her slightly. It hurt! She winced back kept attacking, what was wrong wit this island? She didn't know but she wanted to find out. Her black braid was flying everywhere, tossed by wind and jumping. Her eyes shone like blue jewels in the night, braced for attacks

The broken ship was surrounded by the large insects

---

Katerina heard a nasty scuttling as they approached, the warnings of the other pirates further alerting her to their presence.

Finding as climbable point as she could Katerina wrapped her tail around a miscellaneous part of the ship and slowly made her way upwards, trying to get out of reach of the disgusting creatures.

She drew a rifle and let off several shots at one of the creatures nearest to her.

The sooner they were gone, the sooner she could relax again.

She looked over their bodies for weak points trying to see the best place to hit them.

---

(Sorry that I've been absent, I had rehearsals all week and my performance last night. The same goes for next week so I wont be on until then, excepting short times during my morning....likely your evening.)

---

((Sorry sorry sorry, I really must post faster. As for you, Gupi, you are always welcome here. If you need a break, then you can always return, we will fill you in on the past occurrences.))

The beasts fell over the forefront-guards, tearing those on the front in half with frighteningly powerfuly mandibles, while the swords of the pirates only barely found purchase into the hardened exo-skeletons of the insects, though muskets worked well, as the shots of the snake-woman Katerina proved.

Already did some of the pirates turn around to run in mindless fear, only to see their captain, Helbrecht, axe held in both hands, spear-heading the rest of his crew, in an all-out attack-

"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!" intoned the massive knight's battle-cry as he ran into the thickest of the battle, axe crashing with unholy strength into the carapace of his first opponent.

Those who were more situated on the side and farther from the battle, like Maia, or Ash, or even Katerina, may have seen a shadowy figure in the jungle, normal-human sized, lithe, watching the battle, centipedes swarming around it as if directed by this figure.

---

[Yes, we all have that problem Traveler. No worries.]

Kairi woke up way earlier than she should have. And all because of a giant centipede that decided to try and make her its lunch.

When her eyes opened, she found she was staring straight into the face of a disgusting, dirty, giant beast. Much like.. An insect.

A familiar, ear shattering scream could be heard as she scrambled to her feet, gasping from the sharp pain in her stomach. This seemed to only anger the centipede as Kairi ran, clutching her stomach.

When the pain was too much, she dropped to her knees and groaned, shakily pulling out her sword. "Back, creature!" Kairi shouted in a strained voice, clearly not ready to be fighting yet, so she just held the sword infront of her, doing the best she could to keep the giant centipede away.

Some might have not noticed she was awake, and quite a distance away from the others, a hungry centipede threatening to eat her.

                                         -----------------------------------------------

Ash scanned the trees, and happened to catch a glimpse of a shadowy figure. Just as he was about to make his way over, though, a centipede bit his arm. It didn't hurt, but it certainly caught his attention.

With a growl, the vampire threw the insect over so it tumbled on it's back and flailed its many legs furiously.

---

Maia squinted. In the distance, she saw a shadowy figure. All the centipedes were leading away from it, as if it was directing them. She fought off some centipedes while jumping and landing on ones flat back. It squished under her feet and crumpled. 

Just as she began to make her way towards it, she saw Kairi, battling a centipede by herself. She was awake. Detractorem extended and speared the centipede straight in the head, leaving it hanging limp from the angle of the deadly broze and silver blade. Maia smiled at Kairi but said nothing. She jumped back int the air as a blue eyed crow, flying to the center of the battle. 

Maia jumped down through the air falling like a rock while shapeshifting back into human form, she glanced at Detractorem, still recharging. Too late. A centipede knocked her off of her feet. At seemed to smile as it plunged down for the death strike, Maia glanced at Detractorem, for once it took forever for the blade to retract and grow shark again, she rolled aside just as the centipede smashed down, barely missing her right arm.

Yes! She used her normal knives this time, she would save Detractorem for later. She threw knives, spearing very centipede in her throwing range that she could see. Nearbye, the ship lay in ruins, the snake-lady's bullet shots rang through the jungle. She happened to glance away. Not many people were fighting in the heart of the battle. 

She rolled her eyes despite the odd situation and fought like there was no tomorrow. She relized she would look like a sight right now. Her black braid had come undone, her hair hanging in wet ratails, grass hung fron her left side of her face. Blood of both hers and centipedes stained her knives and clothes.

 

---

Kairi thanked Maia, running off into the forest to catch her breath. She didn't see the figure, and just took deep ragged breaths. I don't think I should be awake...

Knowing that she couldn't just go back to sleep, the human avoided any insects, trying to give herself more time to heal.

She remembered that Kraken, but nothing else. And then, she saw the ship was broken. It wasn't like that before..

Deeply confused, Kairi wondered how she had even got on this island.

---