Of a Monster and Mouse

Fish, Mice, Birds

The shores of Well Island were particularly stormy that day. Bird, who had spent many months wandering the lands for treasures and tea plants, had made her way to stand on this very point. Forever a wandering creature, it seemed only natural to end up alone here. She set up camp near the forest edge and away from the rough surf. Something drew her here and the thought of what it might be had plagued her ever since she arrived. The Tea Merchant prepared her tea cart to withstand the storm, vowing to not leave until she found what was in her thoughts. A splash was heard.
Bird drew her pistol and fired in the direction of the splash. She had heard stories of monsters on the island and she would not take any chance. The bullet sounded impact and Bird prepared another shot. She moved closer to the water’s edge and was surprised to see large tracks heading into the sea. Bird peered into the ocean, ready to pounce. Only silence and darkness returned her stare.
The next day, Bird prepared a rod and reel. The creature or whatever it was had to be what she was there for and she would not let it escape that easily. It was wounded so finding and catching it would be less time consuming. She unraveled a covered object from the top of her cart, a small wooden boat, and set it on the sand. Once loaded with her fishing gear, Bird set out into the unknown. Hours went by and Bird was no closer to catching her prize. Just when she was about to return to her cart, her boat rocked. The creature was underneath! Bird looked over the edge and saw it, a fish with very long, sail-like fins! The beast was the size of her craft and could easily feed her for many months not to mention that the scales looked like they could catch a pretty penny. Bird cast her bait and almost instantly the fish caught hold.
The fight was long, nearly 2 hours. Bird and her prey both were exhausted when she finally brought the fish up to the boat and shot it in the head. Dragging her catch to her camp, Bird retied her boat to her cart and began work on the fish. As soon as a small piece of the skin was removed for the hide was rough and took a very long time to work with, Bird heard yet another noise behind her though this time it was smaller. A tiny mouse creature, having recently fallen into a portal leading to the island, approached the camp cautiously and sniffed the fish hide that was cut. Smiling, Bird offered it to the mouse which grabbed it and, much to Bird’s surprise, bowed and scurried off before Bird could say anything. With this new haunting in her head, Bird decided to stay for a little while longer, hoping to see this strange creature again.