Washed Up

Writers: AL, Heather
Date Posted: 21st January 2016
Series: Shipwrecked

Characters: Thayde, Zathris
Description: The Lord Holder and Dolphineer find themselves puked up on a remote island.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 3, day 21 of Turn 8

Thayde

Zathris

The pillow beneath his cheek was gritty and rough. That sometimes happened when he didn't get all of the salty ocean water washed off before going to bed after a long day's work in the water. Still, his pillow hadn't been _this_ gritty since he was a child.

Slowly he began to notice other things… like the fact that everything from his waist down was wet…

**Wait a second. Wet?**

In a rush it all came back: the storm, being washed overboard, the ship capsizing, drifting for hours in the dark storm….

Eyes flying open, Thayde squinted against the brilliant sunlight that made the sand beneath his head glow a dazzling white. With a groan he realized that he had washed ashore. Ashore where?

Pushing up he looked around, his eyes still bleary from the salt water and sunlight. The landscape was not one that he recognized and when he turned to look back at the ocean all he could see was crystal blue waters with no other land in sight.

"Zathris?" He croaked the man's name, remembering that they had been sharing some debris to float on.

"Here." Zathris' voice cracked as much as Thayde's did. He had awoken before the other man. After a brief moment of thanking Faranth he was alive, he'd sat up with the intention to stand. Unfortunately, he only got so far as to sitting position, far too disoriented to safely rise higher, at least at that moment. The forced paused had allowed him to take better stock of his surroundings. From what he could tell, Thayde was unconscious, but there were no major physical injuries. Scrapes and cuts had been washed clean by the sea and Zathris knew enough to know that the salt water would actually help fight infection.

He had sustained injury as well. Splinters marred the pads of several fingers and a long, deep gash had been sustained on his left arm and left side. After a few moments of study, at least as best he could do to himself, he ascertained that the side was worse than the arm, and would require attention at some point.

Unable to think clearly beyond the annoyance that stung his fingers, he began to pick at the splinters and had just managed to finagle the last one out when he had heard Thayde's voice. "Careful. You don't look like you've sustained any bad damage, but check yourself. Can you move everything all right?" Zathris wasn't a healer, but all good sailors knew a thing or two. If need be, he could create a splint, and once he had the right tools, he'd have been able to suture the wound closed, albeit clumsily, if he hadn't have the good fortune of having someone more practiced right there.

"I know," Thayde responded as he pushed to his knees, "I studied healing nearly as much as dolphineering." It was how he had become a Master, after all. Sitting back on his heels, the dolphineer tilted his head back, face turned up toward the sun. After the night of cold darkness, the sun felt amazing, and hopeful.

Getting slowly to his feet, Thayde swiped his hair out of his face as he looked more carefully at their surroundings. The ship had gotten so blown around in the storm that he wasn't sure where they might have landed. The only comforting thought that he did have was that Endarin would send rescuers. Not that Thayde was all that important any more, not since giving up his Hallsecond position, but he was with the Amber Hills Lord Holder, an important someone that people would be looking for.

**And there's my silver lining.** He thought before glancing back down at Zathris.

"I'm going to walk the beach a bit and see what else washed up. After that I can look at that side if you want."

"Gonna need stitches." Zathris hadn't studied healing, but he did know that much. "Gonna need to find something to make stitches." His fingers were blooded as he had bit at some of his skin in order to release the wood. Without hesitation, he lowered them to where the waves, now gentle since the storm's passing, could wash over them. They looked worse than they actually were, and the sting of the salt wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. "Any idea how far we got blown off course?" How far had they gone in the boat? After it sank? After they'd managed to find refuge on their clumsy raft?

Thayde sighed, "No clue. The clouds covered up the stars last night." That would have been the easiest way to figure out what direction they had drifted. **Why didn't I bring Ada?** Now the decision to leave his dolphin partner behind haunted him. If Ada was there she would have been able to go back and deliver a message.

"I won't be long." he said. He needed to find whatever supplies he could, stitch up Zathris' side, and then they needed to look around and see what they could use for shelter.

"I don't plan on going anywhere." Zathris managed a weak smile. Neither of them had anywhere to go except wherever they had landed. Where that was, there was no clue, no idea. At the moment, the biggest concern was to take care of the wounds he'd sustained. After that, they were going to have to find food and water, replenish their bodies. Once they did that, they'd be in a better position of figuring out where they stood and what to do about it.

~*~

"All done." Thayde finished the row of neat stitches by dousing them with alcohol, something he knew burned like fire but would help keep the wound from getting infected. "If we hadn't just been shipwrecked on an island I would say you are one lucky man." Thayde's walk up the beach had been a lucky one. Only two crates had washed up on shore, so far. One crate had been packed with basic medical supplies, clearly something the ship's healer would use. The other crate held a few meters of tarp, some rope, and one solitary knife.

The tarp was strung up between a couple of drooping trees, providing them with shelter from the sun. Just behind their small shelter Thayde had fixed a fire. Despite the present heat of the island the fire was essential to survival and Thayde was determined to make sure that it did not go out on them.

Despite the pain he was in, Zathris had barely made a sound save for an occasional grunt, jaw clenched. The alcohol had been just as bad, but knew that for the moment, that was the best that could be done. Once Thayde finished, the Lord Holder briefly examined the work. Had he been the one to attempt the job, the stitching would have been rough at best. Thankfully, Thayde had infinitely more experience. While Zathris would likely have a scar, it would be less prominent than had it been left up to him. "Thanks." Yes, he was lucky.

"No food washed up by chance, did it?" Zathris managed a half smile, but knew the answer. He was lucky, but not that lucky.

Thayde shook his head as he tossed a couple of broken branches on the fire. "No, but later I'm going to go see what kind of clams and crabs this island has to offer." He would also look for a good tree limb to make a fishing spear out of. He'd only ever spear fished for fun, but now it would need to bring them nourishment. "If you know how to make any hand traps we could set some up in the woods, see what kind of rodents live here."

"That's out of my area of knowledge, I fear, but I can help with the fishing." Zathris had some experience with the bow and arrow. While not the best marksman, he might be able to bring down an animal if he got close enough. The problem was, he would have to get close enough. "We should see if there are any plants that are edible as well."

"How long do you think it will be before they realize something went wrong with the ship?" Thayde asked as he looked out at the water, now so beautiful and calm, as if it hadn't just puked them up on land the night before.

"We were supposed to make landfall tomorrow, so when he doesn't arrive, they'll know." Had anyone else survived? What about Carsten? The Seacrafter was resourceful, so if anyone had survived beyond them, it would be him. "It might be prudent to search and see if anyone else managed to make it here."

"I did when I was searching for supplies, but there's still a lot of beach left to cover." Who knew how large this island was? Thayde thought back to the Dolphin Hall. At least he knew that Ada would be taken care of in the event that he didn't make it back.

"How far did you go? We should still check." With a grunt of pain, Zathris rose to his feet. "And we should probably see if anything else has washed up, gather any other supplies that have washed up, get some food, then make a long term plan."

Thayde shook his head, "I just walked a beach, carried back supplies, set up a shelter, created fire, and stitched up your side. I'm taking a break." He sat with his arms propped atop his knees. "I figure there's no rush."

"You've earned it. I'll take a look around." Zathris clapped his hand upon Thayde's shoulder. He needed to get up and do something, preferably something useful. "I"ll let you know if I find anything. Hopefully I'll find something for us to eat."

"Good luck." He said as he watched the Lord Holder take off down the beach. Thayde didn't know how long they would be on the island, but he was preparing himself to be there for a while.

Last updated on the January 26th 2016

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Washed Up