I See London… Wait, What’s London? (CATastrophe Part 2: End)

I See London… Wait, What’s London?

            I woke up to the sound of banging and yelling on the door that was soon followed by the door being pushed open with the various objects that were pressed against the door flying away in a single burst as a large, ursine-eared man rushed in. “Are you alri-….” His question paused for some odd reason… I do not know why. I was simply laying in my bed, which I had moved away from the door before laying down and thinking of England. My legs were customarily spread open and, while I was still fully clothed, he seemed quite confused by my position.

            After everything was sorted out and it was explained to me… in rather excruciating detail… as to how one is supposed to sleep for whatever possible reason… I grabbed breakfast, as they called it, from the cafeteria before being sent on my way on what was apparently my boat. From there… I learned to fish.

            I sailed the seas... I fished, learned to fish, caught an assortment of fish, cephalopods, mollusks, and other creatures of note… and, after many years of only fishing… I learned one simple thing from the entire venture. Active patience. I knew of waiting in the dark for an untold amount of time… of silence, of simply waiting for something… anything… to happen. Here there was sound, there was the slow movement of the waves beneath the boat, the occasional sensation of hunger, of the hot sun, and of the gentle… or occasionally fierce… tug of the line. It was… relaxing.

            Now to see where I may move onto next… Hopefully it isn’t England. I still don’t know where England is located, but I don’t like the sound of it.

A New Light And... What Do You Mean I Have To Eat? (CATastrophe Part 1)

Race: Kumami (Bears.) – Strong, great cardiovascular endurance and muscular strength, along with a good sense of smell and general focus.

Identity: Drop-In (0cp). Age 21.

Location: Boat – Started on a boat.

Perks---------------- 1000cp

Spliced (Free) – An improvement to strength, speed, health, durability, and my senses. It also makes it easier to retain my physique and my lifespan is now twice the human norm… as if I had to worry about such things to begin with. Diseases are rare and non-life threatening, usually only being as bad as the sniffles… What are “the sniffles”

Wanderer (50cpD) – Always able to find a place to stay for the night in relative comfort with a warm meal in my stomach.

Bear’s Might (Free) – A largely increased willpower, easily capable of lifting my own weight without too much strain. Brute force is not particularly my style, but it is a worthwhile weapon in its own right.

Salty Dog (300cpD) – I am now capable of manning boats… very well.

Snorkel Mask (Free) – Goggles and a plastic pipe… Hmm.

Bigger Boat! (150cp) – A moderately sized houseboat. One floor, two bed, one bath, a kitchenette, and even a living room. Radio and sonar included with a large fuel tank. Holds 20, houses 6. Comes with one of those bed-couches.

Super Rod (150cp) – A very well-made rod that can bend without snapping. Hand-crank or automated reeling with a line to weather the greatest of storms. That and a heat-seeking lure… Which I do not think would work in warm waters.

Grappling Hook (50cp) – A small grappling hook with a 750 foot range with automatic reeling and extending of the line… Can also support three times my weight for whatever reason.

Arc Rifle (300cp) – A cobbled weapon that shoots a powerful bolt of lightning at a maximum range of 300 feet. May arc and, if it does, can be quite dangerous to the user. Ammo is of no issue, considering my personal abilities.

A New Light and… What Do You Mean I Must Eat?

            The sun was gleaming off the metal of the ship, the glittering waters that the massive construct gently floated across with a much smaller boat being tugged along behind it. After having been fished out of the calm, still waters by these people with animal ears and tails… and mouths and noses… not to mention actual eyes, something I had only seen upon Jumpchan’s visage, as well as my own to a degree.

            The ship’s captain, a dog-eared man who was kind enough to provide me with a room inside of the ship to stay until the next settlement that he had already been heading toward, had stated that he found me after a sea-bound storm had crossed through the area with the houseboat floating nearby.

However, after having been pulled up out of the water, I felt a hint… different… besides the variety of color that this world seemed to possess, I felt a much more solid. I was unable to adjust my form at will, though, I did feel as if there was an internal switch to make it so that I could… I was warm, felt as if I had hair, and I could move some small ball at the base of my spine.

In private, I tested my abilities… I was still capable of summoning my weapons, my clothing remained wrapped around every inch of my being… though, it was still soaked and chilly after having been pulled out of the water. I had politely declined the offer of a new set of clothes to replace the ones that I currently possessed. My curiosity slowly peaked, but my answer was given by the mirror in the bathroom. I was one of them… However, my ears were small and the tail I possessed was a small ball of fur. However, despite my original, natural form, my eyes were oddly brown, my hair short and trimmed down in a random, wild fashion that lift it rather… unkempt. Lightly tanned skin, a strong frame...

It was utterly disgusting. No flexibility, too many colors, this constant gnawing in my gut that was accompanied by a growl every now and then that brought only weakness and agitation. Who would choose to be so… fleshy? I would, but only to remain hidden within the population. They found my attire strange for a fisherman… As they called me such a thing… but, it was better than them seeing me as a monster that was not one of them.

It did not matter where I was at this moment in time… What was important was that I recover, figure out what is different with my anatomy, and go my own way for the next ten years. They say that I was a fisherman… Then that is what I shall become for these ten years.

I waited through the night, my stomach growling the entire evening while my eyes slowly became heavy… It was as if a pair of sandbags were stapled to my eyelids, attempting to drag them down while I worked on troubling those that were still awake to find out whatever I could about the world, its inhabitants, and where I might find some more information and being the fisherman that they claimed that I was. The people I bothered asked why I needed to know, so I responded with something akin to “I would like to learn more about my trade” whenever I had to answer them. At least these people seemed to be more polite than those that I had interacted with in the world of my origin… They had weapons, but not at all times, nor did they seem hostile to anything that possessed a shred of independent thought.

Come morning, the sun burning my poor, exhausted eyes while my gut wrenched with every motion of the boat. It wasn’t until I was directed down into the mess hall and the scent of what could only be food got my attention. That seemed to perk me up a hint and, just to test my hypothesis, I went on to get a few things for what they claimed to be breakfast. It was delicious and, despite the how they stared at me when I began to swallow the food without chewing… up until I began choking and someone had to remind me that I needed to breathe… and to chew my food… it sated the turning in my gut for the moment. However, I was still quite tired. Yes… Tired. That was a good word for it.

            Once they saw the shadows around my eyes, one of the fox-eared people directed me back to my room and asked me to go to sleep… I took them up on their request once they had left and all of the furniture, including the bed, was stacked up against the door for the purpose of safety. Despite their calm, pleasant exteriors, for all I knew they might still attack me in the middle of the night. At least I would be free to sleep… Now… How does one sleep?