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Earendil laughed and knelt to pick up Senka. "Come on up here, you," he grinned, lifting her to his shoulder and petting her affectionately. "And how have you been keeping? I know I've been hiding away for most of the time."

He scritched under her chin, smiling warmly at her.

"Come on," Earendil laughed, "it's an enormous ship. Let Senka wander freely. There are five decks, each of them the size of an entire floor at the palace. We're in the middle of an ocean, fresh air is one thing that we've got plenty of. It's not like she can get lost, after all."

He chuckled, watching Whisper, who seemed to have gotten used to the idea of the ship. Even she, the large cat that she was, was skipping around Leyenda and Rhea playfully.

"You could always have Whisper keep an eye on Senka if you're worried," he grinned, stroking Senka contentedly.

Earendil smiled. "She's a smart cat. I'm sure she would know when not to bother people. Besides, she doesn't like most men, I'm sure she would leave them alone and simply play with the people she already knows."

The crew was entirely male, after all. Not because there were no worthy female sailors, but simply because no women had wanted to join them.

Earendil grinned and made sure to stand still so that he wouldn't give Senka a reason to claw at his head for balance. "What about you yourself, Lin?" he asked her. "Have you been below deck anywhere other than the galley, mess hall or your quarters? It would be quite fascinating to explore, I assure you. I'm fairly certain that's where Storm and Starr have been all this time."

The twins hardly appeared above deck on most days, sometimes only coming up for meals.

Earendil chuckled. "I would imagine it could be an adventure of its own," he winked at her. "If only because you would find out so much more about the ship itself."

Suddenly the ship gave a lurch, as if something had hit it from the side, and everyone began running to the starboard side of the ship to see what had happened.

"Let's go see," Earendil urged Lin, grabbing Senka from off his head so that she wouldn't claw him. "Come on!" And, making sure Lin was following, he darted off.

Half the crew was gathered at the side of the ship, but there was no indication of anything in the water other than some ripples.

"Did you see that?" a crewman whispered to Leyenda as she joined everyone there.

Everyone kept looking at the water, but nothing appeared.

"There!" Shiro shouted suddenly, pointing a bit behind them. "A sea dragon!"

Earendil looked sharply in that direction just in time to see a tail slip under the water. It was dark blue, the same colour as the water below them, and once it was under it was invisible.

"I wish," Shiro replied wistfully, his red eyes fixed on the water's surface. "I just barely saw it this time. I want a picture of it, though, so that I can put it into my journal ..."

"I sa-" Rhea began, but she was cut off when the creature suddenly erupted from the water, almost right in front of them. It was enormous, at least one hundred feet long, and its entire body was covered in dark blue scales. It had long, webbed feet, but more impressive were the teeth that were visible as it flashed past them all and dove again into the water.

"Wow," Shiro breathed, his eyes bright with excitement.

"Look!" Leyenda called out suddenly, pointing off into the distance. "There's another one!"

The three dragons kept diving in and out of the water, almost like a dolphin might - at least, that was Shiro's thought as he studied them closely. They didn't seem to be threatening the ship at all ... if anything, the first bump had been an accident, or perhaps they had been trying to ascertain whether the ship was a threat to them or not. At any rate, they seemed to be ignoring it now.