Eon continued to chew on his half of the coconut, eventually, he had eaten all he could get off the hard fruit and pushed it to the side towards the incoming tide. It rolled across the sand, eventually getting lapped up by the water itself and swallowed by the sea. Eon watched for a moment as it disappeared beneath the water, only to bobble back up to the surface and ride the waves farther from the beach and closer to the horizon. Then Reed began to speak. He looked back in her direction with interest, ears perking slightly as he listened. Had he seen any pirates? Well… that was a definite no.
Eon hadn’t bumped into anyone else here yet except for Enya and Reed herself. That might be some disappointing news for Reed to hear, but he didn’t see a reason to give up hope. There was always a chance her crew was still out there, somewhere… it was just a matter of looking in the right spot. “No, I’m afraid I Haven’t”he regrettably told the pirate. “ I only just washed ashore here yesterday so I haven’t had the chance to get to know these lands or its inhabitants yet… but I’d like to! Maybe I can help ya look?” He glanced back up at Reed, hoping she would take his offer. He would really like a buddy to start exploring this place with.
Eon hated being alone. With everything that had happened, it seemed the least of his worries, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized the solitude was starting to get to him little by little - eating away at any sanity he felt he had left. He was too much in his own thoughts, which he didn’t want to be right now. At least being with Reed had calmed it slightly, and getting to know her more by exploring the nearby area seemed like a good opportunity for the both of them.
Much to Reed's dismay, Eon hadn't ran into any other pirates. She knew it was a longshot, but at least she had the tuff to ask the hard questions. And yet, as he continued on and explained that he'd only washed up as of yesterday, she felt hope swell within her once more. That meant he hadn't been around the beaches for very long at all, and so it was very likely that he'd simply missed the rest of her crew. When he offered to help her look, her nub of a tail and rump wiggled harder back and forth, her beads making noise as they rattled and against one another. "Oh yes please!" she exclaimed with eager excitement. She did a little bounce, her cutlass and dagger jiggling against her sides. "That would be excellent! Do you think we can start maybe back near the shipwreck? It's not far from here at all. Maybe I missed something."
Reed stepped forward with extra energy in her step, standing proudly at the edge of the rocks. "I'm going to find out what happened. she said with confidence. "No matter what." She tossed her head and looked back at Eon with a contagious smile on her face. "Well, let's get going then!" Reed then leapt off of the shallow rock and landed down on the sands beneath. "The ship is this-a-way" she motioned with her head before prancing forward with excited leaps - much like a pup who was excited to go on a big adventure. "But if you see anything suspicious along the way, don't hesitate to stop me. There's no tellin' where they might have ended up at."
Eon was slightly nervous to hear Reeds’ reply. He wasn’t sure if she would be happy he offered to help or be disappointed that he hadn’t seen her crew. Perhaps she’d even decline his offer for whatever reason. As it turned out though, he was only overthinking, as usual. Reed seemed delighted by the offer, he let his own trio tails wag in excitement as Reed mentioned starting at the shipwreck. “Yes, just lead the way!” he’d reply, though it seemed Reed already had every intention of doing so as she jumped off the rock and mentioned the direction of the shipwreck.
“I believe you will find out too!” he noticed Reed’s optimism. It was quite inspiring to him. Her uplifting spirit and overflowing energy reminded him of himself. At least how he used to be... At first, it warmed his heart, but then, the sorrow began to kick in. What had changed? He glanced down at his silver paws as he pulled himself through the sandy shore. He was still disgusted by the sand that clung between his claws. Why couldn’t he be upbeat like he had been all his life? He had always had his ups and downs, but he could always shine a light through the darkness… Why was it so different now? Why was it so much harder? It didn’t matter. He’d figure it all out later. He wasn’t about to let the sorrow consume him now, he was here to help Reed and that was just what he was going to do. He’d look back up, watching the bounce in her step and he decided to mimic it himself - fake it til you make it, he supposed.
He’d follow her down the shoreline towards the direction of the wreckage. The wind swept through his fur, knotting it - he would definitely have to groom himself later when he was in a better place to do so. The wind, however, carried with it a strange sound. At first, Eon wasn’t sure what it was, but as he listened closer, he realized it was strangely familiar. He’d stop in his tracks. “Wait” he’d shout out to Reed. The wind stopped allowing the screeching sound to become more distinct. He’d look in the direction it was coming from, a small group of palm trees in the distance. “You can go on ahead, I’ll catch up.” he’d call out. “I’m just going to check something out real quick.”
At Eon's command, Reed halted in her excited jaunt down the beach, turning to see him looking off into a patch of palm trees. She turned and moved to catch up with him, not wanting to leave him alone to explore on his own. "I'm going with you!" she informed him sternly, yet friendly. She hadn't heard the noise he had. Or, if she had, she hadn't thought it to be out of the ordinary.
As they moved into the shade of the canopy above, she turned towards Eon as she followed his lead. "What is it? Did you see something over here? Hear something? Smell something?" She reached back and pulled out her cutlass from her side, wielding it bravely and tilting it so the rays of light could glisten off of the clean blade. It was a very heroic pose she took up as she stood there. "I'll face down any monster that comes our way." She slashed her cutlass carefully away from Eon to emphasize her point. Then with a flourish, she sheathed it once more. "Hopefully it's not a monster, though. I rather dislike monsters." she declared, side-jumping back to Eon's side from her flourish of animation. She tossed her head to throw her dreads back from her eyes once more.
Eon half-expected Reed to follow him, not that he cared either way. He’d simply nod and lead the way over to the trees. The sound he had heard had since stopped, and there was an eerie silence all around them. His ears perked above his head, listening, but there was nothing but the ambiance of crashing waves from the shore. Eon attempted to keep quiet so he could listen for the sound - but it seemed Reed had other plans.
His head shot in Reed's direction. “Shhh” he’d reply to her, watching as he put her sword away. Eon didn’t entirely understand why she had taken it out in the first place, but to each their own, he supposed.
Suddenly, sounding from above them was that familiar screech. His eyes shot up to the canopy to find his old companion jumping from tree branch to tree branch. Once their eyes met, the aye-aye stopped in its tracks - and the two shared a moment, simply looking at each other.
“Not a monster” Eon would assure Reed. The aye-aye then lept down from its branch, landing swiftly on top of Eon's back. Though it was almost as big as he was, the primate had always liked to hitch rides on him, and Eon had since grown used to it. “But a friend” he’d finish his sentence. “He looks a little scary… but I assure you, he’s friendly.”
The aye-aye, still perched on Eon's, back would stand to his hind legs, stretching out to smell Reed, an unfamiliar wolf as far as he was concerned. After a moment of sniffing, he settled back down onto Eon's back, though his bright piercing yellow eyes stayed glued on Reed.
Reed, with all of her excitement and entheuiasm, had been shushed by the small canid and at such an action, she fell silent. Oh. Maybe it was something really dangerous and this had suddenly turned into a stealth mission! At his signal, she hushed herself and lowered herself down into a crouched sneak. Her green eyes remained on Eon, yet were also moving around quickly to glance the area and make sure they weren't snuck up on.
Suddenly there was a loud screech and her head twisted to look upwards. Above them was a strange looking creature with large round eyes, rounded ears, and creepily long fingers (or were they claws?) Reed froze in place as the creature stared downwards at them (specifically Eon). There she waited holding her breath, not even daring to breathe in the creature's presence. "Not a monster" Eon ensured her as the creature suddenly leapt downwards from the branch above to land atop the canid. She watched at the way the creature's toes (seriously, are they toes or claws???) curled around his body and she shuddered at the thought of how it might feel. She exhaled as he said "but a friend".
She stood up from her crouch to stare at the strange creature. Had she ever seen one before? If she had, she'd never given it much of a thought, and she'd certainly never seen it up close like this, at least not that she could remember. As it reached out to sniff at her, she leaned forward to also sniff at it, not daring to get too close despite Eon's assurance. The way it sat upon Eon's back, the way they had stared at one another before, something itched inside her mind. The more she thought about it, the more it itched. "What's it called?" she asked Eon to try and distract herself from the itch that pestered her. "I mean, uh, what is it and does it have a name?" She sniffed at it again once more, "Strange creature to call a friend."
Eon was not surprised that Reed seemed a bit unsure about the creature. When Eon had first found the aye-aye all those seasons ago, he had felt rather uncomfortable around it too. Its huge eyes, ragged fur, and long fingers gave it a nightmarish appearance. At first, Eon had tried to avoid the strange primate, but it kept following him around until the canid had grown used to it. Soon, he’d even find a way to communicate with it mentally. Though the aye-aye could not speak out loud, the two could hear each other inside their heads, and communicate via thoughts. Over time, it became apparent they had some special connection, one that was simply indescribable. Eon would not even be able to explain it if he wanted to. Yet, this was one face from his past he was not upset about seeing - even if that face was a rather strange one. He had even grown to find the once ugly and nightmarish face rather cute, actually.
Reed asked what it was and if it had a name, and Eon would give a nod in response. “It's an aye-aye, a kind of monkey” Right then, as in on queue, the primate would jump back back off Eons back and start climbing a nearby tree, escalating the trunk until it was once again above them in the branches. It continued to observe the pair of canines from its perch above.
“I call him Phobia, felt it fitting because when I first found him he gave me the creeps.” He’d begin to recall the shivers that had gone down his spine the first time those yellow eyes pierced through him. It was definitely strange how their relationship had changed completely because now, he found the monkey's gaze quite a comforting one. “His looks are deceiving, though. I’ve gotten to know him, and he’s quite a big help. He used to help me gather herbs when I needed them.”
