Mature: Desert Moon

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad hesitated when he looked back and found Tenele falling behind and barely staying up. He swam back to her. "It's okay. I've got you," he said, pulling her into his arms. "You're okay." He reached a sharp claw down and cut loose his pants from the knee down. He'd long since kicked off his shoes. He needed to be as hydrodynamic as possible. "Can you hold on to my shirt," he encouraged, easing sideways in the water. He began a sidestroke, one arm around her back while the other arm and leg thrust them forward a few feet at a time. He winced as something burned into his shoulder. He reached up and yanked off the chain with his wedding ring on it. "Someplace else, he moaned, holding it out for her as he kept paddling.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele grabbed it and held it tight in her hand, afraid to put it in her pocket. It could slip out sink. "My dress," she murmured. The ankle length fabric was wet and tangled all around her legs from swimming, which was another reason the task had been so tiring. "Its too long."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad grimaced at the thought of cutting her skirt off, after all that had happened in the past few days. But she would sink like dead weight if he passed out. He let her loose in the water a moment and dove down. After a few moments' work, the wet fabric from her thighs down dropped down into the sea. Vlad resurfaced with a tight groan and drew her back to him, resuming his stroke toward what he hoped was shore. "You still have it?" he gasped, hoping she wouldn't be too annoyed by his paranoia. It was all he had left of their marriage.

[Emora Deen]

The weight lifted off of Tenele's legs. She could move them freely in the water without restraint. She lifted her hand, and clutched in it was the chain, and dangling from the chain, his ring. "I've got it," she told him confidently. "I won't lose it. I promise." She pressed her head to his shoulder as he swam and tried not to fall a sleep.

[Soran Nightblade]

The night wore on, but thankfully the winds here weren't too cold. Vlad checked the sky every few minutes and kept swimming west. Hours passed, and dawn slowly filled the edge of the horizon. Vlad squinted into the distance and looked for any sign of land. They'd been swimming nine hours. His chest hurt so much that he no longer thought of it as part of his body. As soon as he found a place to move around, he wanted to slice it off of himself. The mad thought proved to him how tired he was.

Finally, he spotted something in the distance. The faint stretch of green became clearer as he got closer. "Tenele, we're nearly there," he rasped to the woman in his arms, unsure if she was asleep at the moment.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele blinked her eyes open, her fingers tightening to make sure the chain was still tangled around her wrist and fingers. She glanced around with a half-closed gaze and let out a relieved sigh. "I can try swimming on my own again," she murmured, pushing away from him gentle. "It will be faster."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad nodded, keeping a close eye on her as they neared shore. The island didn't look too large, maybe a mile in diameter. It had a few trees and light vegetation, mostly rocks and sand.

Vlad was the first to reach sand. He didn't have the energy to stand, so he dragged himself onto the beach. The warm sand worked into his ruined chest. He crawled upright and vomited onto the beach.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele made it as far as where the water crested over the shore. She collapsed there, and let wave after wave crash against her body. The salt water had dried her out, and she wanted water, fresh water, so badly.

Tenele groaned, pushing up on quivering arms. She crawled further onto shore, five yards from where Vlad managed to make it onto shore, and settled into the sand. She clutched his ring to her chest and shut her eyes. She just needed to sleep. If she slept she'd have the energy to move and find water.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad watched the burning sun slowly rising on the horizon. If he passed out now, Tenele could die of exposure. He very gradually made his way to his feet, staggered to Tenele's side, and dragged her waterlogged body up the beach, under a rocky overhang. Vlad sank down into the shade next to her and lay beside her, using his feverish skin to keep her warm until the world heated up again.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele slept for hours, the warm island air drying their clothes. The sand clung to her skin, her silver hair was tangled and dry from ocean water. She was coated in salt. When she finally woke the world was blinding bright. The sun reflected off white sand, and she had to shield her eyes at first.

She turned her attention to the form pressed against her. She rolled Vlad onto his back to investigate the wound, not running her fingers anywhere near it. Then, she turned her eyes back to the ocean. They made it.

They made it!

But, where were they?

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad was completely unconscious, but he responded to the movement with a weak gasp. His fever had passed with time, and when his garnet eyes half-opened to look at her, the was the faintest red glow to them.

It faded as fast as it came, and his eyes went dull again. "I take you...the most romantic.....places...." he wheezed. He reached up and touched her cheek tenderly. "Ring...?"

[Emora Deen]

Tenele glanced down at the chain tangled too-tightly around her wrist and fingers. "I've got it," she whispered tenderly. "Don't worry. I'll keep it safe. I'm going to find us fresh water so we can wash the sand from your wound. Lie still. I'll be back."

Tenele stood up, a little shaking to stand on land after being in the water so long. She pulled the chain from around her hand and slipped it back over her head.

The island had to be about a mile long, and maybe half a mile wide. The trees were a cluster of short mixed with super tall, and between them there were vines and thick brush. She couldn't see from one end of the island to the other from where she was, so she attempted climbing a tree.

The bark was harsh and scraped against her legs as she slid up. She couldn't see a pool or stream from where she was, but that didn't mean it didn't exist. She only hoped that whatever she found wasn't poisoned by the salty ocean.

She shook off a few coconuts while she was there, knowing if they couldn't find water there was at least that for her to drink. Also, she would need something to keep the water in.

She beat the coconut on the rocks for about ten minutes, her arms exhausted to the point of shaking uncontrollably, until she managed to crack it open. She drank like a mad woman. So thirsty, that the taste didn't bother her.

She scraped out one shell and went further into the brush in search of water. Tenele searched for maybe an hour, losing track of time. She searched every nook and cranny, not giving thought that Vlad may grow worried if he woke without her there.

Finally she found it, a large pool of water several feet down in a small cave like structure. The opening was about ten feet wide. Steep drop down into what appeared to be a very fine swimming hole. She'd have to climb down to check and see if it was salt water or not. Tenele sat on the edge of the rock and rubbed her arms, trying to work the tired muscles into having strength enough to hold her own weight.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad lay semi-conscious on the sand, listening to the waves crash against the shore. Being too hurt to move drove him crazy. He couldn't tell how much time passed, because he kept slipping in and out. He finally took charge, determined not to pass out again. He pulled himself to a sitting position and rested against the stone outcrop. "Tenele?" he called out. "Tenele!" He really hoped she knew her own strength right now. Being in the cold water for all those hours was beyond any normal human tolerance.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele sat the coconut shell down and went in search of something to use as a way down. She didn't hear Vlad calling for her from where she was, or maybe she was too focused on concentrating her energy into getting them water. Her limbs moved like they were made of brick, lumbering through the forest. She tugged on vines and trees, pausing to rest against some of them for a second before pushing off to the next one.

Tenele eventually found a dead log with the branches still attached and decided it would make a fine make-shift ladder. She also tugged off some vines to help tie it in place.

She pushed the log to the edge of the hole. Each shove took a strong amount of effort. But, she gave a relieved sigh as the log crested the edge and she tipped it forward down into the hole. Her foot slipped on the edge. She fell forward, trying to catch herself on the broken limbs, on the still falling log. She toppled around it, grappling for what seemed like forever, even if it was seconds.

The log fell, she fell, and they both plummeted the ten foot drop into the hole. The log sank quickly, pinching her into the soft sand below. She wormed and wiggled, paying no mind to conserve the air in her lungs. She managed to pull herself free, but not before dragging a jagged cut into her thigh.

Tenele surfaced, standing disoriented in the three foot water. She ran her tongue over her lips. Scooped it up in her hands. Fresh. Fresh water!

But, that did her no good, she thought desperately as she looked up at the opening. For the next five minutes Tenele worked on trying to lift the log up from the water before it became to saturated and heavy. The loose sand at the bottom didn't help her any.

The moment of triumph came by a loss of footing, about like how her accident happen. But the log was already straight up in the air, and as she fell it caught the lip of the cave and wedged between the rocks, finally creating the ladder she'd sought to make. The trouble being, she was too tired to climb it.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad tried calling for Tenele periodically, watching the sun grow higher in the sky as he waited. Where had she gone? Something about looking for water. That made sense...

He clutched the rock face and climbed to his feet. It hurt, but his legs held him. The wound felt like it was radiating through his spine to all his limbs. He reached down and sliced off his shirt, peeling it from the sticky hole in his chest. Sand was caked against the blistered flesh. He would have to clean it, but the thought was beyond repulsive at the moment. He turned toward that part of the island that was obscured by trees and began making his way through the brush bare-chested. He called for Tenele as he went, focusing to keep his senses alert.