She was short. Taller than Linnie, of course, but short nonetheless. She looked incredibly frail, though it was hard to fully judge. That was because of her complexion.
It was otherworldly, and left much to be imagined. She was purely black, like a shadow. She was just a silhouette. That is, except for her ankle-length hair. It was the most human feature she had—long, white hair. Not silver, not blonde. It was pure, snow white.
No, even purer. Even snow has a hue to it.
"I'm kind of nervous..." Linnie thought. He followed a good distance behind her, leaving the cat to act as a barrier between them.
For some reason, he was a little wary. Not that he was frightened. Actually, it was the exact opposite. He didn't like how calm he felt in her presence. Though he wasn't too experienced in these sorts of deals, he assumed she must've been of the occult realm of things.
"Pssst, cat. What is she?" he whispered.
"What do meou mean? She's a girl, isn't she? Meow."
"This cat isn't gonna be helpful at all..."
"Where are we?"
Linnie looked around. He had originally assumed they were in some underground cave, but he wasn't so sure anymore. Surrounding them as far as the eye could see were sand dunes, small and large, waving up and down in the darkness.
There were no stars in that place. Linnie squinted and swore he could see jagged rocks floating in the sky. Of course, that's because there was no sky. His original assumption was correct.
"An ocean. Meow."
"Haaah... funny," Linnie sarcastically laughed. "I didn't know cats could tell jokes."
"Why weouldn't a cat be able to tell a joke? Meow. And it's not a joke. Weow're in a big underground ocean, meow."
"But it's all sand. I don't see water anywhere."
"It's there. You just can't see it, meow."
"### ## ### ####."
"Weow're here, meow. She says get on the boat. Meow."
They arrived at a small wooden platform in the sand. Tied to it was a small wooden rowboat, sitting in the sand.
"Is this supposed to be a dock? But what's the point if we've been walking in sand all this way...?" Linnie asked, scratching his head.
"Just get on. Neow. Meow."
Linnie climbed inside, slipping Alwyn's hat onto his head. The cat jumped onto the boat, climbing on his lap. The shadow girl grabbed the two oars from the platform and climbed inside, sitting across from Linnie.
She held the oars out for Linnie to grab.
"Me? Uh, okay," he said, grabbing the oars.
He started to row, but the boat didn't move two inches before he was huffing and puffing.
"You're very weak, meow."
"Shut up! It's the sand!"
"#### #### ## ### ####, ### ####."
"What?"
"She says to give her the oars. And that you're a little pathetic."
The shadow girl leaned over and flicked the cat in the forehead, clearly not happy with the translation. She looked up at Linnie and held out her hands for the oars. Linnie, embarrassed and reluctant, handed them to her.
"I'm just a little tired... and I feel kind of sick."
"### ####," she replied, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"She's pitying me, isn't she? Argh! When will this damned body of mine grow! I should be a man already! Raah!"
The shadow girl began to row, and the boat started to move. Quickly, it picked up speed, chugging through the sand and over the dunes.
"Wow, you're very good at this!" Linnie said, looking around at the endless sea of sand. "You're surprisingly strong! I didn't know boats could be used in sand!"
"####..."
"Did she just blush? Idiot, you're just seeing things. How could she blush? She doesn't have skin..."
"So how'd you end up down here, kitty?"
"I feowl deown theow heowl. Meow."
"Now you're overdoing it... you were talking normally just a feow meowments ago! What the heowll... am I becoming a cat?"
"How long have you been down here?"
"I don't kneow. Not too long. She's been here way longer, meow. This is my fourth time helping her with the boat, though. Cats are useful down here, meow. Or so I'm teowld."
"People fall into that hole often, then? That's surprising, it's in the middle of nowhere..."
"Meowbye it attracts people. That's what I think, anyway. Meow."
"And you two are here to help people get out?"
"I don't kneow. I think that's why she's here? I only stay for the warmth during winter. Meow."
"But it's spring."
"Winter wasn't too long ago, meow."
"It's about to be summer..."
"So!? Meow."
"### ### ######## #####, ###."
"Huh? Offering? Why would we need an offering? I thought Bishan allowed cats like me to come and go freely, meow." The cat's ear twitched. "Oh. Meow. He's not a cat. Why do I keep getting that confused? Meow."
"### #####."
"Hey, neow's not the time for name-calling, meow!"
The boat lurched back and forth, and the entire ocean of sand started to move. A deep rumbling filled the cavernous space, and they were nearly launched from the boat. Linnie held on tightly to the wood, and the cat clawed on tightly to Linnie.
"What's happening!?" Linnie asked.
"I forgot the offering, meow! Neow Bishan's angry. She doesn't let anyone cross her sea. Besides cats, of course! Meow!"
"How'd you forget something like that!?"
"# ####, #####?"
"Well meowbye you shouldn't have entrusted something so important to a cat! Meow!"
"I was just thinking the exact same thing...!"
"#### ######! ##### ##########!"
The sand split open into a massive ravine, and a deep bellowing emitted from within. The sound sent shivers down Linnie's spine, and he felt the cat's hairs stand on end in his arms.
With an explosion of sand, a vast, translucent leviathan swam into the air as if it was underwater. Dozens of luminous, ribbon-like fins trailed behind, and it let out a deep and deafening roar from its expansive jaws.
Inside its transparent body, countless human-esque silhouettes swirled and drifted. Most notably, though, was the tumor-like growth on its head in the shape of a very large woman.
"Linnie, look away, meow!"
It was too late, and a sense of nausea washed over him. He doubled over the side of the boat, emptying the entire contents of his stomach. When he looked back at the creature, though, he felt fine.
Well, physically. Mentally, there were all sorts of problems going on.