Rise and fall, rise and fall, the water rolled over his body. Mahir's eyes opened, lashes crusty with salt and fur uncomfortably matted. Sand beneath him sank with each passing wave, his legs half buried. He rose to consciousness, body aching. Others lay scattered; friends, families, sailors. His feline ears rose, swiveling for any sounds.
Isadora? Where was Isadora? He moved to his feet, dug his claws into the sand. His tail undulated slightly behind him as he turned to stare at the hull of the ship. Beyond it, a great expanse of beach curled around in a crescent. Turquoise water glimmered in the sun. "Isadora?"
He stumbled forward and nearly tripped over another, but caught himself as a soft moan came from beneath him. Mahir took a step back, he blinked down at the limp body of Ashlyn. He crouched to get a better look at her. Still breathing, clothing was in tatters, lost, her breasts exposed. He ignored the instinctive tingle between his legs and stroked the healer''cheek to wake her. "Ashy?"
Slowly her eyes fluttered open, the sound of her name having drawn her back from the state of shock. "Keru?" But Keru didn't call her 'Ashy'. "Where... what happened?" Her brain didn't seem to want to process the beach scattered with broken beams and bodies.
"Mahir," he told her, "We've crashed." His eyes turned back toward the many unconscious. "I'm the first awake." He looked back to her, "Are you..." He touched her head then drew back to show her the blood. "You might have a concussion. How many Mahirs am I?"
"Just one," she smiled wryly at him. "I'll heal myself and then help." She sat up.
They parted to gather the survivors. Keru was still inside the ship, waterlogged but breathing. Ashlyn clung to him, pressing kisses against his face and throat. He was limping but could walk, and the pair moved to help a small girl pinned to the sand with a large piece of wood.
A soldier babbled nearby, "Oh god, where's the Captain? Oh god, the ship! It's, it's--" Mahir let out a loud snarl, so loud that all the survivors nearby looked to him and fell still. Even the babbling sailor.
"Shut up. Wherever he is, it doesn't matter. We need to survive. Now go with him," he pointed to Keru, "And start gathering wood. We need to make a fire, or we'll all die tonight from the cold."
Keru moved immediately to begin gathering wood, and left the newly freed child to his wife to comfort. "Come on," he gestured to the frightened sailor, and another one nearby. "Now."
As the night came, the survivors gathered around a fire together. No one sat on the sand, as Mahir knew what a hassle that'd be, and now they had a bed of leaves that spanned enough room for them all. Stones and logs were gathered as seats. The smell of cooking seafood filled the air as the netted crabs and fish cooked on flat stones. Everyone was distracted with each other. Speaking. Finding meaning. Mahir, though, sat alone and gazed into the fire.
Ashlyn moved away from her husband, who cradled the sleeping Yayshah they'd found earlier, and to Mahir. She sat in the leaves beside him and nuzzled into his shoulder. "Isadora is strong, Mahir. She's probably leading another group towards us right now."
He didn't look away from the fire. "Maybe so. Or..." He started to say the obvious, but shook his head. "I'm glad you're here, at least. And Keru. Yayshah, poor Yayshah."
"She'll be all right, I've taken the worst of her wounds," Ashlyn tried to reassure her brother in law about his daughter.. despite the fact that the girl's worst wounds weren't to her physical form.
Mahir's moved his eyes to Ashlyn, "She needs her mother. Until then, though. Would you...?"
"Of course, of course." The healer brushed her hand over his chest, "I'll take care of her."
The alpha smiled and his arms moved around her, and he drew Ashlyn into a close embrace, her breasts against his chest. He pressed his nose into her neck and drew in a breath, "Thank you, Ashy." Still, he didn't draw away. After a moment, he said, "You got big boobies." She could feel the silly grin in his voice.
It made her giggle, and she nuzzled his mane. "We'll be all right." Her arms circled his waist and she rested her head on his collarbone.
Mahir just held her for a time and listened to the sound of her breath, the waves, his heart beating in his ears. Out the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Keru. He realized, "Keru's watching us. He looks sort of jealous." The man's arms tightened around her to draw her a bit closer. One of his hands lowered, maybe for better leverage, to press at the side of her thigh.
"You're awful," she laughed softly, but played along since she knew Keru would be that much more attentive to her when she returned. Sometimes, she felt he hadn't paid much attention to her since the loss of their infant son.
"Said the Princess of Darkness," he teased, and then surprising them both, pressed a kiss to her neck. Mahir's tail flicked, then came to rest on Ashlyn's, gently brushing her fur. He realized, "You want to make him jealous, though, don't you?"
"A husband needs a reminder to be attentive every once in a while," she grinned at him.
Mahir's hand lowered more to brush at her ass, as his teeth closed against her throat. The man squeezed her flesh, felt her in his hand.
