World Tree MUSH

    It's not often that something spooks the Zora and they ask that it be looked into. But something... Has spooked the Zora. That's why Rydia, Zelda, and Yumi are on a boat right now. It's a small vessel with a small crew, gearing up to head out into Hyrule's seas to the place of the last sighting.
    The Zora had said they had seen something off the coast of Eastern Hyrule's waters. Something that was never there before. Something... Big.
    Rydia of Mist is dealing with the last of the preparations, tying off the chocobos and horses on land before getting in a fight here or there with a random sailor as the boat gears up to head out onto the waters.

    Needless to say, on hearing that something had the Zora worried, Yumi Tachibana was there in a heartbeat. A ship might not be the best place for her to fight - it limits how she can swing her sword, and her mobility besides - but she'll manage, somehow or other. For now, she's helping to move anything else onto the ship they might need. Her own backpack full of snacks and sundries is already stashed aboard.

  The princess has been keeping a low profile, slinking about like some common sneak-thief, concealed by her robe. The Zora know who she is, and they've been instructed not to make it obvious, just in case anybody on shore might be watching.

  Zelda turns to regard Rydia, probably arguing with another sailor. Even though only the lower half of her face is visible, her expression is still displeased. "Rydia. Enough. Now isn't the time for quarreling. The sooner we can leave, the sooner we can be back."

  She turns, raising a hand to Yumi. "Everything is nearly loaded, yes?"

    It would, noramlly, take anyone a bit of work to extricate the last Summoner from fighting with that sailor. But all it takes Zelda is one good word and the eight year old drops it. Though she does give that sailor the stink eye for quite a while.
    Indeed, everything is loaded, it shouldn't be too long of a trip, just out into the water to see if they can spot anything and back, all in all everyone should be returned by day's end, so without further ado... The boat sets off.
    "Geeze..." Rydia muses. "So what do you think could have been big enough to spook the Zora? ... The Twilight doesn't go that far out to sea does it? ... They aren't like. Horrorterror giant seamonster Twilight Beasts are there?" She asks as the ship unfurls sails and heads out to open ocean.

    "Just about, yeah," Yumi replies to Zelda, brushing her hands off as she approaches the duo. "I think they had a couple last things they wanted to square away themselves, but we're almost ready to get underway." In deference to the cool seaside weather, she's got a rather fluffy winter jacket on, and her hands go into her pockets. As the ship unfurls its sails, she shakes her head with a soft frown. "I think if it were just a normal Twilight Beast, or even an abnormal one, they'd have said something. So whatever it is, it's some kind of unknown monster or phenomenon, and it's dangerous enough that even in the water, the Zora consider it too much to handle on their own. That's a little worrying." To say the least.

  "I would imagine the Twilight has nothing of value so far out to sea. Why would the usurper even bother?" Zelda flicks a gloved hand out to indicate the waves, taking a place closer to the bow of the ship. It may be colder, but it's a better vantage point. "Ordinarily I would assume it to be the work of the Twilight, but the reports made no such mention." Everyone in Hyrule knows what that is, by now, and can correctly identify it from a distance.

  As to what it could be, the princess can only shake her head. "I do not know, and could not even speculate. There are rumours of dragons in the depths, or fantastic beasts many times the size of the largest galleons, but drunken sailors have a way of exaggerating the mundane, especially after a few skins of wine."

  "It isn't encouraging." That the Zora can't handle it on their own. "Under normal circumstances, the Zora cannot be beaten by water. Fighting a naval battle against them is suicide tactics. For them to admit something is beyond their capabilities... worrisome, and very much worth investigating."

    "Mmmmmm I don't like this one bit." Rydia says. "Think it might be something from offworld?" She ventures as the land grows distant in the background. If it's not the Twilight what else could it be?
    Regardless of these questions and more, the ship makes its way out onto the open sea and...
    Out of nowhere it grows cold.
    A dense fog begins to roll in over the water and visibility begins to get worse. With a shiver Rydia huddles intothe folds of her wolfos skin cloak.
    "Is it supposed to get like this the further out to sea you go?" She asks cluelessly
    Very soon the waters grow choppy, the ship begins to rock as clouds roll in, in the beginnings of what looks to be a terrible storm that came from out of nowhere.

    "Offworld is a possibility," Yumi replies to Rydia with a soft nod. "And probably the most concerning one."

    As the weather takes a sudden turn for the worse, Yumi's brow knits with disquiet. "No, no it's not." She watches the waters ahead with increasing tension, eyes sweeping the water for any sign of what might be causing it; but nothing is yet forthcoming.

    But the storm comes on too fast. Way too fast, if even the sailors didn't know it was coming. With the ship's rocking quickly growing more pronounced, the redhead turns to give both Zelda and Rydia a significant look. Then, in the heartbeat it takes for her to turn her eyes back out over the water, the girl transforms, armor and sword appearing in a soft rush of warmth and a modest shimmer of light.

  Zelda doesn't talk much for most of the trip. She stands at the bow with her hands curled over the deck railing, ignoring the Zora sailors going about their business. They're professionals: They don't gawk, they just put their heads down and do their jobs.

  "I have no answers to any of those questions," Zelda points out, caught between amusement and exasperation. "Why do you think we've come all this way? To find the answers for ourselves."

  The Hylian pulls her hood closer, frowning. It's too cold, too fast.

  Her bowstring creaks as she half-draws an arrow. That's her answer, anyway. "Stand ready."

    The storm is... Unnatural. There's no way this storm is anything but unnatural, with how fast and violent it came on. In no time the boat is really rocking, swaying like a toy in a bathtub being churned by an angry toddler but on a much larger scale.
    "--Hard to port!" One of the sailors shouts, hurried and panicked. And only explains why in the same panicked breath just a beat later.
    "WHIRLPOOL!"
    This too came out of nowhere, the boat rapidly turning away from the swirling pit of water that forms as... Something rises from the sea. Something long, sinuous... Something big.
    No, something utterly massive.
    There's only a brief glimpse of it but that's all it takes. That's all it takes for Rydia to halt in her tracks and stare. Stare at the utterly gigantic serpent that crests the water, swirling slow circles around the boat with the greatest of ease. A creature so large and sure in the water that the boat has no chance of simply turning about and escaping. ... Something that Rydia of Mist knows.
    "... Leviathan..." The child breathes, baffled and more than a little scared. "... King of the Eidolons..."

    Yumi's first instinct is to do something. To somehow aid the sailors in their scramble to save the ship. But anything she did would probably just get in the way. She doesn't know how to tie a nautical-grade knot, or haul in sails, or anything. It's a grim thing, having to tamp down the urge to help, but she knows right now it's the best thing she can do.

    Her talent is more suited to thinks like the immense sea serpent that rises up from the depths.

    It's an unsettling echo of a Youma she's faced. And without hesitating, the magical girl heaves her blade around into a ready stance... only to relax, when Rydia speaks with unmistakable recognition. "That's... that's the king of the beings you summon?" Holy crap. That's intimidating. But what's he doing here?

  It's probably a good thing Zelda was standing next to the deck rail. When the ship slews hard to port and starts pitching like an angry mustang, she manages to shove the arrow back in its quiver and sling her bow over her shoulder, seizing the railing.

  Leviathan, King of the Eidolons! Wonderful. That is probably not a bad thing at all.

  Zelda does manage to sweep her hood back and stare up at the primeval serpent in wide-eyed, terrified awe.

  "...Rydia what did you do!?"

  Her voice has gone up about an octave.

    Indeed, the King of the Eidolons has come to pay Hyrule's seas a visit it seems, and judging from the storm... He is not happy. Whirlpools form in the water, practically trapping the boat in place, preventing any avenue of escape as those coils slither and glide through the water in a slow circle around the vessel.
    "ME?" Rydia bleats. "What did I do? I didn't do anything!" The Summoner says belligerently. "The last time I tried calling the Lord of the Water, he refused to come to my aid!" The girl shouts over the splashing waves and churning water that has her teetering too and fro as she struggles to maintain her balance.
    And then... Then Leviathan roars.
    It's a shrill, keening, call, not to dissimilar to whalesong, but far too loud as the great Eidolon king... Rams the boat.
    All things considered, it's a gentle impact. The boat isn't damaged, but it does tip dangerously-- dangerously-- dangerously to one side before it gets hit on that side to right it.
    It's pure luck no one got knocked overboard.
    No one except...
    "KYA!"
    There's a sharp cry as Rydia goes launched, flailing off the side, fingertips just barely catching the railing.

    The roar makes it clear what's going on. This isn't a casual meeting. Yumi drops into a ready stance again, the runes along Prominence lighting up with soft gold-white light. Her footing is solid enough that the ramming only offbalances her just a touch - and she recovers quick enough that she's able to climb up onto the railing and balance there in preparation. But that proves useless when another slam hits the side of the boat; at least this time she's prepared, and a short hop is enough to have her in the air at the moment of impact. She lands and slides back along the sloped deck as it rights-

    "RYDIA!"

    -only to notice the young summoner going over the side. Immediately, Prominence is released and disappears in a curtain of sparkles, and Yumi is reaching out towards the younger girl. "Grab my hand!"

  "Because the Eidolons are your business, not mine!" For the first time in a very long time, Zelda sounds genuinely terrified. The princess' voice cracks. All she can do is clutch the railing and stare. "What did you do, Rydia!?"

  Obviously the King of Eidolons is not pleased. The assumption here is that Rydia did something to piss off Leviathan. It's a reasonable assumption. Rydia is more inclined to ruffle feathers (or scales) than soothe them just by her very nature. Zelda has learned to turn a blind eye toward the abrasive bits, but it isn't hard to imagine Rydia pissing off high-profile beings like Eidolons just by opening her mouth.

  ...That's not a very comforting thought right now. Not when she may lose her life over it. If they sink, they're far enough from shore that getting back safely might be a difficult feat even for the Zora.

  Speaking of Zora, the crew is shouting and slithering all over the deck and trying to exercise a combination of damage control and evasion. It's pandemonium, albeit a highly regimented kind. They're more coordinated than panicked.

  "Rydia! Hold on!" In the space of a breath Zelda shoves her bow and quiver into the hands of a passing Zora crewman and wrestles out of her robe, which he also takes -- "Do not lose these," she snarls -- and lunges across the deck toward the railing Rydia's caught herself on. She seizes the railing nearby. Momentum carries Zelda over the edge, but she wraps an elbow around it and hauls herself upright. All that archery and upper body strength is useful, in a pinch!

  The princess reaches down to the Summoner from her relatively safe place, swinging herself up far enough to wrap a leg around the railing as well. "Take my hand! Rydia--!" With both her and Yumi simultaneously trying to rescue her, maybe Rydia's got a better chance, with more reaching hands to choose from.

  The thought doesn't really occur to Zelda. She can't hear anything but the roar of the waves, the roar of the Eidolon, and the roar of fear pounding in her own ears.

    It all happens so fast. Rydia struggles at the bow of the ship, barely holding on and yet clinging for dear life as she dangles over the side of the ship-- rapidly losing her grip on the slippery rail, scrabbling for purchase with everything she has.
    "HELP!" She bleats, panicked and terrified.
    Yumi is first to reach her, and in that instant Rydia takes her hand. Zelda follows only a fraction of a second later, nearly going over herself but stops herself short and in that instant Rydia's other hand is grasping the princess'. Legs kick, trying to find a foothold, before she manages to kick up-- it looks like everything is going to be okay.
    Until Leviathan SLAMS the boat again.
    In the brief beat of turbulance that follows, all it takes is one slip... And Rydia loses her grasp on both hands she was holding mere seconds before.
    "--Yumi! ZELDA!" She shrieks, all decorum and secret identities flung out the window in a moment of sheer thrilling terror.
    Arms flailing for one last desperate handhold, Rydia drops, screaming into the water, landing with the tiniest of splashes as...
    Leviathan immediately begins ignoring the boat.
    Ignoring the boat... In favor of the last Summoner of Mist, great maw opening wide as it slithers for her in the water, faster than a bolt of lightning, and snapping those immense, monstrous, beaked jaws shut, swallowing the girl whole before... The great King of the Eidolons starts simply slithering away, the boat and its occupants completely forgotten like a child ignoring a no longer favored toy.

    She was a hair too slow.

    Yumi is strong enough she could lift a chocobo one-handed. Next to that, Rydia's weight is nothing. But she's too slow. She's too slow. A split second too slow. And Leviathan slams the boat in that split second, breaking their grip. "RYDIA!!" Immediately, Yumi hops up onto the railing, fully intending to go down into that water. But once again, the King of the Eidolons is too fast. She only has time to watch that single moment where Leviathan whirls around and swallows Rydia whole.

    "N..."

    For just a brief instant more, she's dumbstruck. Sheer disbelief at what she just saw. It feels like an eternity, but it happens so fast.

    "NO!!"

    Perhaps it's the fact she fights huge, powerful beings as a line of work. Perhaps it's in her nature, some trait of whoever she was that carried forward. But when faced with an immense, godlike being like Leviathan that could quite probably end her without hesitating, the young knight feels not the faintest hint of hesitation.

    Yumi Tachibana does not leap off the side of the boat. No, she explodes off the side of the boat.

    There's a bright flare of light and heat as the senshi of the sun erupts into a solar corona and hurls herself into the water with all her might. She's so furiously hot that the sea begins to boil around her, rising up in a great froth of steam and foam. "GIVE HER BACK!" It is... legitimately impressive, how fast she can swim.

    Especially once every kick of her feet is accompanied by a small burst of solar fire.

    "GIVE! HER! BACK!"

  "RYDIA!"

  Zelda doesn't even hesitate. There's no delay to her reaction; no second-guessing. She untangles herself from the deck railing and she leaps, soaring in an arc from the tilted bow of the ship. She leaps without thought, spearing into the water and arcing through it with all the grace of a Zora. The princess is athletic, and a strong swimmer, but there is no contest between a fit Hylian and a being of godlike power.

  Still, the Hylian cuts through the water with impressive speed, and indeed there are several Zora who follow her, and are briefly unable to keep up. It isn't long before the resistance of the waves stops her.

  She doesn't pause. Her lungs must be screaming for air, but she doesn't pull out of her dive. Indeed, when she sees Leviathan's jaws snap shut over the Summoner, she charges forward through the water. It's not fast enough to catch the serpent, though. He slithers away, down and into the crushing deeps.

  Zelda can't even stay to look after him. Lungs burning, she's finally forced to pull out of her dive, straining for the surface. Some of the Zora are still diving, accustomed as they are to the water... but they're not fast enough to catch Leviathan, either.

    But Leviathan will not give her back.
    Yumi and Zelda take to the water, both impressive swimmers, one super human, the other super pissed, both still unable to catch up to the great sea serpent that is the King of the Eidolons as he begins to sink beneath the waves... And vanishes to the depths.
    The storm dies down with his flight, and the seas grow calm once more as the mist and fog and clouds dissipate into bright blue skies and quiet waters as though the sea had never turned violent in the first place...
    The ship can return to the land now. Albeit without the last Summoner of Mist.

    Later, Yumi will probably not remember her return to the boat. It's entirely likely she carried Zelda back, but she won't remember. All she'll remember is furious desperation, swimming for what seems like an eternity, and then... failure. A stillness that felt almost accusatory. And then emotional numbness.

    Eventually, she makes it back to the boat, somehow. And the only thing she'll do or say towards anyone else is to ensure Zelda is alright. Then, she finds herself a corner to huddle up in. She's soaking wet, but she doesn't care.