A Single Thread

[Culaki]

Culaki simply rested his head on the ground, yawning lithely as he stretched, and stood on all fours, walking around the ship. He sniffed curiously at some of the others aboard the ship, moving to lay next to Feynya after her amusing run in with the box-bot, Wall-E. He gave a small growl of contentment as he snuggled next to her, licking her paws and chewing on an ear affectionately before settling down with a rumbling purr.

[Vivi]

(using mom's phone)

It was some time before Vivi and Masheck would be seen roaming the Red Rose again, and strangely enough, they had bumped into one another on their way down to the cargo bay, where most of the strange new comrades felt they needed to stay. The Oz-born sorcerer scooped up Wall-E briefly to inform him silently of his presence, setting him back down an instant later.

The Black Mage at his side, however, shifted before the others uncomfortably, fooling around with his hat while scuffing the floor with his boot.

Masheck, after a moment of silence, turned to Culaki and the automaton.

"The Master Vivi says that your friend from that strange land is on our tail right now, and he plans on assisting with repairs once we have made land-fall. Also, something about lifting all claims to the 'shattered lands' in favor of the 'cat'. It appears he's given up ruining your world."

"Yes, yes," said Vivi, chiming in, "and Captain Ellis asks that whomever will be venturing inland once we get to Beatrix and the others to get yourselves ready and clear the bay. The soldiers will be needing all the room they can get during repairs."

[Secondary Characters]

Wall-E let out a soft sound demonstrating that he was sorry for making the girl sad. He drove a little closer, his little metal hands resting on her knees as he tried to look into her face. He didn't want to see her so upset, even though they were barely even strangers, really. He had introduced himself back at the Jidoor Opera House (he introduced himself to everyone there), but that didn't mean that they were familiar enough to really have more than a passing respect for one another.

Trying his hardest to make her feel better, Wall-E reached up and hit the little button on his chest to play the song that he recorded from Sarah. The violin was slow at first, but built into a happy melody. He bobbed a little, waving his hands to try and inspire the vampire with his jaunty little jigg. Whether or not this was successful, he'd drive around and hoist himself onto the bed with her.

Sure, he might be making a bit of a mess of the sheets, but now he was eye-level with the girl, where he reached up and patted her back. He then squeaked out one word, trying to sum up everything he wanted to say to the woman.

"Speeeecialll..." Wall-E whirred, pointing to her with his free hand. He was trying to let her know that she still had so much to offer, that she was something priceless. Even if she felt bad now, there were a lot of friends that wanted her around, that even relied on her. She might be shaky now, but that didn't take away from what she's done and what she can do. She was still needed. All this, from such a simple word as "special."

Wall-E then "sat" as best as he could at the end of the bed next to her, his treads sticking over the edge like large feet. He looked off, then back to her, and tried once more to cheer her up by manipulating his binocular eyes to do a little "face dance". "Tadahhh...." he said, seeing if that cheered her up even a little.

[The Alexandrian Army]

Not long after Beatrix' declaration about the arrival of the Rose, it would make its way through the weak barrier holding the world containing Sherwood Forest together, its whole body looking about ready to come undone as it moved in for a shaky, rickety landing.

It took some time but in the end managed to dig its base between the edges of a large, open river, where it slumped down and tilted sideways.

No sooner had it come, however, when another craft somewhat smaller came down following its same path, this one landing swiftly and gracefully on the banks closest to the stern, where the cargo bay's doors would snatch and the soldiers would march out.

From high on the bridge a soldier leaned out over the Captain's railing and blew into a horn, signalling for the general and company, informing them that help had arrived at last.

Within the darkness it would be challenging, but because the fox Robin guided them, it took far less time than Beatrix had guessed it would. She was grateful to see Alexandrians marching about the sides of the Rose by the time they made it.

***CONTINUED IN "GATHERING FORCES" in SHERWOOD FOREST***