Day Two, 6 AM (30 Hours Remaining)

Sona was awakened by a steady rocking sensation, as if someone had placed her in a giant cradle. As she sat up, the Maven of the Strings frowned. It was all coming back to her now. She went out to get a drink last night, got kidnapped by a pirate crew, and now they had obviously left Bilgewater's harbor with her onboard their vessel. The rocking was not a comfy cradle, but the boat being shoved along by the ocean waves. Wonderful.

Sona looked around the dark hold, her eyes adjusted to the lack of light. There wasn't much down here of use, except some equipment for cleaning the ship, and some food to her right which looked moldy and completely unfit for consumption after sitting in the hold for so long. Nothing that would help her escape, sadly, especially considering she was likely in the middle of the ocean by now.

Squeak!

Sona's head snapped to her left, where she could see a pair of beady eyes staring at her from the shadows. A tiny nose twitched and a few whiskers waved back and forth in the air.

Sona felt her body relax in silent relief. It was only a mouse. She lifted a hand and cheerfully waved. Maybe this mouse could be her one and only true friend in this prison, like in the old fairy tales she read in the orphanage, where the beautiful princess had all kinds of animal friends.

The mouse squeaked again in fright, withdrawing into the darkness.

Sona, not wanting her new companion to leave so soon, walked over to the barrels of rotten food. The odor from the barrels seemed to become more pungent with every step, until Sona reached the foul food at last. She held her nose and tore off a chunk of soft, mushy bread, quickly flinging it towards the pile of empty crates the mouse was hiding under.

The whiskered nose poked out from the boxes again, sniffing intently. Sona could faintly see a shape creeping out towards the disgusting bread, stopping in front of it. As it sat on its hind paws and ripped off a small piece of gooey crust, however, she realized something seemed off with the mouse. To get its attention, she tossed a second food item: a piece of moldy cheese, and likely the culprit responsible for the barrel's horrible smell. This will determine what is in here, Sona concluded in her thoughts. Mice like cheese. But this one seems bigger... perhaps it has been living off the filth and decay in the hold... Wait a moment.

Sona glanced at the mouse again, and was a little disturbed by the fact that it was staring back. Or maybe it wanted to be friends as she hoped, and it was grateful for the meal? Sona shyly waved again at the creature.

The mouse blinked, then drew closer to Sona, its shape finally becoming clear. Sona's blood ran cold as she saw the ragged fur, unkempt claws and teeth, and mean-looking eyes shuffling closer to her. The creature stopped again, only twitching its long, bare tail. Sona tried to keep calm. It's only a trick of the shadows... Right?... Mister mouse?

The mouse blinked once more, still not moving.

Sona took a deep breath, crouching down to take a closer look, reaching out with her hand to gently pet the mouse's rough, no, no, soft and velvety head.

The mouse's head suddenly thurst forward, razor-sharp incisors rushing towards Sona's hand. There was no mistaking it any longer, and Sona certainly couldn't pretend for the sake of her nerves anymore, withdrawing her hand as quickly as she could to avoid a nasty bite. A searat! Not a mouse! NOT my friend! She backed up against the wall, trying to keep her distance from the rat. She waved a hand frantically, trying to shoo the creature away.

The searat was unperturbed, however, and it continued to advance towards Sona, baring its long teeth menacingly, its tail twitching almost as if in delight at the fear in its prey's eyes.

Sona looked around for some sort of object she could defend herself with. It isn't here yet... I need to buy some time... She finally settled on a nearby mop, striding carefully along the walls of the ship's hold to reach her chosen weapon. Gripping the mop's handle tightly, her mind raced. Think, Sona! Your etwahl isn't here yet, so you need to defend yourself... Try to think of Jax! What would Jax do?

The searat lunged, squeaking what was obviously some kind of shrill rodent curse at his prey, and Sona swung down with the mop with all her strength. Her weapon turned out to have one fatal flaw, however: the end of it was not exactly designed to cause blunt force trauma. Instead, it was soft and absorbent, and the threads of the dilapidated mop only landed on the rat with a soft "pfft", giving the creature the brief appearance of wearing a moth-eaten wig. Oops.

Sona dropped the mop, hoping it would distract the rat as she dashed across the room to find a new weapon. Something solid! Something heavy! Er... like those! Sona spotted a crate of cannonballs not too far from where she stood. Walking over to the crate, she tried to lift a cannonball from the box, but was having no luck. The lead balls were just too heavy to move. Oh no! These would have been perfect, too! I need more time to look!

Sona nervously looked back towards the center of the room, and her mop had already been chewed to splinters. Now she didn't have a giant rat approaching her in a sinister manner. She had a giant, ANGRY rat approaching her in a sinister manner! Sona closed her eyes, waiting for the pain of tiny teeth and claws piercing her skin, when suddenly, a golden light enveloped her, bringing with it a relieving sense of familiarity. Her etwahl had at last found her!

The rat stayed back from the strange source of light, hissing in annoyance. Sona smirked a little, her hands moving to the strings as if the etwahl was simply an extension of her own body. With a single pluck, a furious note sent a wave of musical weaponry towards the searat, who clearly wasn't pleased as it squeaked in discomfort, its hair standing up on end. However, discomfort was not pain, and hunger and desperation kept the rat from fleeing.

Sona found herself baffled. Those notes would have brought a human to its knees in agony! How did it withstand such an attack? Maybe animals, who often hear noises at different frequencies than humans, are affected differently... Oh, gods, I wonder what the Yordles in League matches hear... Never mind, no time! As the rat shook itself off and drew ever closer, Sona glanced around one more time, and her eyes settled once more on the cannonballs. Well... here's something that hurts no matter WHAT you are!

The searat shrieked as it lunged once more, and the Maven of the Strings fired another note, this time at the crate, easily breaking the waterlogged wooden container. The cannonballs tumbled out towards the horrified searat, who could not run from gravity itself. There was a loud thud, and a muffled squishing noise. Sona sighed in relief, leaning back against the wall, hugging her etwahl tightly. Am I ever glad to see you! Now to try and find a way out of here!

Sona stepped away from the wall, however, and heard a splashing noise. Water? That wasn't here before. The floor was certainly slimy, but not wet. Sona looked down to see a pool of water forming at her feet. Oh no. Her gaze drifted towards where the cannonballs had crashed into the floor. Sure enough, water was slowly seeping in through cracks in the wood. Sona's face turned deathly pale.

Oh, what have I done? Gods help us... the ship is sinking!

So while I know you guys are already used to a crummy schedule, I'm sorry to say it's become even crummier. I'll give you the situation in a nutshell. Not long after my last update, there was a SERIOUS medical emergency in my family. Sadly, the emergency had long-term consequences, and I am now a full-time caregiver for the relative in question. She has survived the months-long ordeal, and is recovering, but she is temporarily disabled, and there are certain conditions she now has that will be with her for the rest of her life, and my number of responsibilities has skyrocketed until further notice. As a fellow human being, I plead with you all to make sure to take good care of yourselves; Heart disease and other life-threatening illnesses are no joke.
The past nine months were full of procedures and hospital visits, and have been an adjustment period for the entire family, with depression and lack of motivation taking their toll on us all. Things are now moving in a positive direction, and in other news, I have finally gotten all the approval I need to move to Europe once my caregiver services are no longer as paramount as they currently are. In short, busy busy busy like usual, only this time with lots of medical drama.
Sincerest apologies to all my readers, and this time, I may have a small way to make it up to you all. Clearly, we're LoL fans here. Any readers want to go into a couple matches with me at some point? Please PM me if you are interested, and I will try my very best to make time to do so with you!