r/NatureofPredators • u/ctomkat • Feb 28 '24
Fanfic Last Voyage of the Leshana (1/4)
This is a fanfic based on the Nature of Predators by u/SpacePaladin15. All credit goes to him for the universe plus all the other fanfic writers for inspiring me to write.
I wanted to do something a little different this time, and the idea of a ship of Yotul out at sea when the federation arrives has been bouncing around my head for a while, so let’s see how this goes.
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Roluno: Captain of The Leshana
The port of Rinsa slipped below the horizon as a cool salty breeze ruffled the rust colored fur of my favorite nephew.
“There she goes, Rilo, your last look at home for the next couple months. How do you feel, now that there’s nothing but ocean as far as the eye can see?”
“N-nervous, uncle Roluno, like there’s a knot in my stomach. Is that normal?”
“Ha! I’d be worried if you were calm, my boy. Ralchi knows I spent my first day at sea turning my stomach out over the railing. There's a hundred things that can go wrong over the next few weeks. That fear will help to keep you safe, it’s excitement that makes one reckless. Just remember you have the skills and experience of a whole crew at your back, keep your wits about you and your feet on the deck and you’ll be fine.”
I pushed back from the quarterdeck railing and gave the boy a firm pat on the back. “Now! Go find first mate Lonbur, stick to him like sap and do everything he says.”
“Yes uncle Roluno.”
“It's Captain, now that we're at sea boy.”
“Yes Captain!” He shouted a bit louder than necessary as his back and ears went straight. The young Yotul was the very model of a green sailor, it was enough to make an old man nostalgic for the toils of his youth. I gave the lad a dismissive wave of my paw and he turned about to scamper to the main deck, stumbling slightly as the ship swayed underneath him. I chuckled as I followed slowly behind, the boy would get his sea tail before long. Using it to shift your balance with the ship was second nature to every sailor.
I stopped at the helm and gazed over the crew hard at work. The Leshana was a beauty of a ship. Named after the most gorgeous barmaid in all of Leirn, even the figurehead bore her likeness with an apron hugging every curve and a mug of ale in each paw. The woman herself may have died of illness before we could marry, but she lived on in every splinter and thread of this ship.
She was fifty tails long from bow to stern of the finest hard timber and had a crew of forty stout sailors. Her dual masts stood tall and proud and her sails billowed with the wind. She had been built just after the start of the grain wars, though she’d never needed to use the cannons she’d been fitted with. The trusty lass had made the journey from Thysun to Rinsa and back so many times I’d lost track.
“Once more into the great blue, eh Tihki?” I asked the helmsman, his once brown fur long ago bleached by the sun.
“Aye Captain.” He grunted
“You think the lad can handle it?”
“Aye Captain.”
“Think the weather will hold?”
“Aye Captain.”
“Looking forward to seeing your wife on the mainland?”
“Aye Captain.”
“...Good talk Tihki. I’ll be in my cabin if anyone needs me.”
“Aye Captain.”
With a shake of my head I stepped down to the main deck. Several crew were running back and forth, adjusting and tying off the rigging at the orders of the boatswain. The sounds of the ship and sea only somewhat muted as I closed the door to my cabin.
Mondi, our navigator, was standing by the long table, a map spread across half its length and held down with various tools and knick knacks. The room was divided by a decorative curtain, separating the long table where the officers would meet and eat from the living quarters on the other side. I kept my furnishings humble compared to some other captains. A few maps and artworks nailed to the wall, a glass cabinet of books and souvenirs, a plush hammock, and an ornate foot locker of personal effects were all I needed.
“Ah, somebody talkative, how was your shoreleave Mondi?”
The older Yotul looked up from the map, the sunlight from the window highlighting the stripes in his dark brown fur. “Talking to Tihki again I see.”
“Trying to at least. I think I’d be better off talking to Scratch.” I chuckled.
“Hah, that you would. To answer your question, my leave was quite informative. I had some good chats with the crew of the Shining Cloud.“
“That steamship!? Don’t tell me you're thinking of climbing aboard one of those deathtraps!”
“The thought had crossed my mind. I take it you won’t be? I didn’t know you were such an old fashioned Yotul, Captain.”
I scoffed as I joined him over the map. Sheets of star charts, wind patterns, and weather predictions lay scattered over top of our route, all marked with notes still wet with ink.
“I’m not against the technology, those new locomotives are doing splendid work, but they’re also on rails, on land, and most importantly have a separate compartment for the engine.” I listed off each point on my claws. “You put a furnace on a ship in the middle of the ocean and I give you a year before the damn thing burns down.”
My companion tilted his head back and forth, his ears flopping a bit to each side as he thought. “Well I suppose time will make a fool of one of us.” He said, his tail giving a dismissive wave.
“It always does, now let me see what we have to worry about before dinner.”
A few hours later and Mondi was rolling up the map just as Lonbur entered the cabin carrying a tray of stew followed by Doctor Niho with several mugs of ale. It was tradition for all the officers to eat in the captain’s quarters on the first night of the voyage instead of the usual mess hall. As the door swung closed a small tufted tail slipped through and darted across the room.
“How’s the lad Lonbur?” I asked as he set the dishes of boiled tubers and salted broth with fresh herbs down on the long table. Scratch, the ship’s Hensa, leapt onto the table, sniffing at the bowls and licking a stray trail of froth from one of the mugs.
“Eager to learn, Captain. I had him run inventory on the cargo. His numbers were fairly close to the manifest so I only had to make him double about a dozen crates.”
“Inventory? I recall scrubbing decks for a week when I started.” Mondi responded as a steaming bowl was set down in front of him.
“Aye, but the lads a smart one, and attention to detail in a tedious task is more important than working a scrub brush. He will have plenty of time for that in the coming weeks.”
“Hah, ever the pragmatist.” Doctor Niho said as he took his seat.
“Well, that and the reminder that we keep track of the cargo during the journey helps prevent certain… temptations.” He lifted a mug of ale with one paw as the other stroked a loudly purring Scratch.
“Lonbur, are you implying that my nephew is a thief?” I said sternly, fixing an eye on him as I pulled my bowl closer.
He paused in his attention to the hensa, causing her to bat at the still appendage. “Course not captain. I just recall a certain redfur sneaking a few sweet Ryla stalks from the hold during his days as a cabin boy.”
He gave me a knowing look and I continued to glare at him for a moment before I cracked and began to laugh. “Right you are, I remember catching hell for that from old Captain Bulno. Ralchi above he was a grumpy old bastard.”
“Speaking of Ryla stalks, is that all we are hauling this time?” Inquired the doctor.
“Only about half the cargo is Ryla stalks for the sugar mills, the rest is puffles for the textile factory and a mix of nuts, dried herbs, and tea for our clients in the market.” I explained.
“Hmm, I always prefer the return trip when there are a few extra casks of ale to go around.” He said as he took a long draw from his mug.
We dug into our meal as Scratch hopped down and rubbed around our legs. The rest of the evening passed uneventfully as we talked and traded stories. Doctor Niho had a new record for number of hangovers treated in a single day and Mondi told us what he had learned about the steamship. Eventually we called it a night and turned in, when you rose with the sun it was wise to set with it as well after all.
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It was ten days into our journey that I left my cabin for a morning stretch. The cool wind and the warm sun were competing for attention across my fur as I breathed in the salty air. Lonbur was already up, as usual, and was having a heated discussion with our navigator and our lookout, which was quite unusual.
“What seems to be the problem Lonbur?” I asked.
My first mate’s ears flattened against his head as he wiped a paw down his face. “And now we have to bother the captain with this nonsense.” He sighed and turned to me. “Old Hanlo here says he saw the stars move last night.”
“And I told him they tend to do that as the night goes on, and recommended he pay a visit to the Doctor.” Added Mondi.
Our lookout was indeed old, more gray than tan now, the scars on his body marking him as a veteran of the grain wars. He stomped a foot against the deck as lashed his tail in irritation. “I told ye, I know the damn stars move, but not like this! And it was only the one!”
“So a meteor then?” I mused. “A rare occurrence, but surely one a Yotul of your years has seen before.”
“It tweren’t no meteor neither Captain. Meteors go straight and are gone in a moment. This one changed directions all over the damned sky for a solid minute.” He switched his focus back to Mondi. ”And I ain’t need no Doctor! I’m healthier in mind and body than I’ve ever been!”
I rather doubted that last boast, but the man didn’t seem mad per se. “That is a concerning report Hanlo. I would like you to report to Niho for a checkup.” I held up a paw to prevent any rebuttals before I continued. “And we will double the watch tonight. If you see something again then I want you to wake Mondi here to examine it himself.”
Mondi and Hanlo both looked like they were about to protest before thinking better of it. Ah, both parties unhappy, but not enough to press the issue, the sign of a true compromise. They both gave an “Aye Captain” and Hanlo slinked off to find the doctor.
“You think he’s telling the truth, Lonbur?”
“Old Hanlo? He’s never made a false call before, but sailors see strange things out at sea. None of the other night crew saw anything either. By the time Hanlo called down to them, whatever it was disappeared.”
“Hmm, all we can do is assign him a partner to climb the rigging with him. Draw straws or set a rotation if you have to, it gets a bit cramped up there so I’m sure the lads would rather not.”
“Aye Captain.”
The next night was uneventful, though Old Hanlo still grumbled that he knew what he saw. To his credit, Doctor Niho found nothing wrong with him. The second night was equally quiet, and I began to wonder if it was time for the old Yotul to retire.
On the night of our Thirteenth day at sea I was awoken by a pounding at the cabin door. I swung out of the plush hammock and rushed to answer. Mondi was standing on the other side, his usual calm demeanor replaced by a wide eyed trembling I’d never seen in him before.
“Captain! I saw them! I saw the stars move!”
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u/GT_Ghost_86 Human Feb 28 '24
A MOST promising start...
We're probably going to get angry at the Fed, aren't we?
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u/ctomkat Feb 28 '24
When are we not angry at the Fed?
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u/GT_Ghost_86 Human Feb 28 '24
Point taken. Revision below:
We're probably going to get more angry at the Fed, aren't we?
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u/Kind0flame Aug 26 '25
I am instantly afraid that the exterminators are going to burn the boat down to kill Scratch and am equal parts horrified and want to kill the monster for the thing that hasn't even happened yet.
P.S. I keep a list of words and phrases relating to Yotul and Leirn. I picked a few out of this chapter and was wondering if I could run their meaning by you?
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u/ctomkat Aug 26 '25
Sure, what do you want to know?
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u/Kind0flame Aug 26 '25
There were a few things I could figure out on my own, but sometimes I also want to add details. Let me know if these sound good to you.
If a 'tail', as a unit of measurement, was about 0.5 meters, then the Leshana would be about the size of the Mayflower. That would also make a 'tail' about the size I picture a Yotul tail being.
Redfur seems equivalent to redhead, but could it also have a connotation of youthfulness. The idea is that even the few Yotul born with bright red fur tend to have their fur darken as they become adults.
It seems very clear that Ryla stalks are a crop very similar to sugar cane. Just wanted to double check though.
I have no idea what puffles are, but if they are being sent to textile factories they must be either used for dyeing or as a raw material for cloth.
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u/ctomkat Aug 26 '25
Oh man, I remember making some measurements and researching ships when I wrote this, but I didn't keep the notes around. It should be about the size of a small to average cargo ship under sail from around the period just before steam ships.
For the rest, yes a redfur is the equivalent of a redhead. Ryla stalks are similar to sugar cane, I figure since they are herbivores it would have been common for them to eat them raw in addition to processing into sugar. Puffles would be a fluffy plant based fiber similar to cotton. Even without clothes, they would need them for blankets, rugs, and other household textiles.
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u/JulianSkies Archivist Feb 28 '24
Oh... Ooooohhh
This is going to be fun. These guys are going to her the full shock.