Akah had just gotten off his shift, working as a greeter for any clients or patients coming in. Normally Akah would swiftly go and check his video games before going out to get some food, but something today distracted him. From the window in his room, he spotted Tahvra and Talok trying to build something, and Tanos was trying to help them. So, instead of following his normal routine, Akah decided to go and have a look.
As Akah headed down to where the little ones were playing, he decided to grab drinks for his little friends. He then made his way down the more shallow, beach-y area of the lake. Tanos was the first to spot Akah, and he waved and beckoned Akah over properly.
“Hello, friends, what are you doing?” Akah asked.
“Those two want to make a boat so we can sail across the lake!” Tanos exclaimed. “And I want to help them by providing wind for their sails. But it definitely turns out that making a wooden boat is hard.”
“Oh, I see. Where did you get the wood from?”
Tahvra and Talok both spotted Akah and jumped up and down with joy. “Best friend Akah! Hello! Missy Phovos made wood for us!”
Talok pointed at a pile of wood and metal, another pile of fabric and plastic sheets, and next to that, there were some tools and a box of nails and screws. “Friends Kal said we could take some metal too!”
Akah smiled, but he inspected the attempt of a boat that the little ones had made, and he knew just by looking that it would sink instantly. And from where Akah was standing, he could see two other boats that had sunk.
“Do you all want some help?” Akah asked. “Because I don’t think your boat is going to work very well.”
“Yeah, basically…” Tanos frowned. “I came over to help them and I haven’t been of much use.”
“It’s all fine, yes yes?” Talok and Tahvra were not at all bothered. “We have fun!”
“But we can’t make a boat.”
Akah turned back to the pile of materials then thought for a moment. He suddenly had an interesting idea.
“I see your idea!” Talok giggled. “Pie crate! Like a food pie, yes yes?”
“No, not like a food pie. I’m thinking of pykrete. It’s a material made from ice and a lot of pulped up wood. It’s apparently very strong but I haven’t really made it myself. This would be a good chance to.”
“Won’t the ice part of this material melt?” Tanos didn’t get it. And the two Vohra hadn’t quite worked it out either.
“Weirdly, no. Because of all the wood, the melting point of the ice is better. But also it’s kinda clean and easy to make. All we need is a bucket or something to make the mixture in.”
Tanos shrugged, then teleported away. He returned with an empty barrel that was due to be thrown away. “So, we fill this with water and wood chippings and then you freeze it?”
“Basically, yes. And we’ll need something to place the mulch on.”
Talok and Tahvra both glanced at each other, then grabbed a massive tree trunk and pulled it over. Tahvra placed a plastic sheet over it, and the tree trunk became a mould for the new pykrete boat. In the mean time, Tanos decided to turn himself into a gigantic woodpecker, so he could start turning wood into wood pulp. Akah and the Vohra both helped, moving the wood pulp into the barrel, which Akah had filled with water.
Once the wood pulp was properly saturated with water, Talok placed a plastic sheet over the massive tree trunk, and Tahvra started covering the trunk in the freshly made pykrete, which was strangely mouldable. They also somewhat managed to cover up the ends.
Eventually, the basic hull of the boat had been moulded. Akah then placed his hand on the hull and froze it with his ice powers. Then, with Akah on one side and Tanos (now shapeshifted back to normal), they lifted the rather heavy hull off the log. Well, they tried to. Tanos had to shapeshift into something taller, but on the second attempt, the hull lifted off the log, and they awkwardly flipped the boat base over.
“Yes! It’s a boat!” Tahvra beamed. “But how do we do a sail?”
That question stumped Akah. “Uh… I’m not sure. This is technically the first time I’ve made a boat. In the past, I just made small rafts and just floated until someone found me.”
“What do you mean by that?” Tanos asked.
“There were a few times where I’d managed to escape from a slave camp and needed something to get me over a body of water. It never really worked out. One time, I… somewhat died from dehydration, would form an icy cocoon and revert to being a teen, only for me to die of dehydration again a few days later. That whole ordeal lasted for about a month, and, when I was eventually found, I was sent to a different slave camp halfway across the planet.”
Tanok and Tahvra both gasped, and Tanos was pretty damn shocked too.
“That’s absolutely fucking horrible!”
Akah shrugged, “It was. But it’s in the past now.”
“Are you okay, friend Akah?” Talok whispered. “That is all very bad.”
“It was, but I’m okay now. The Anexartitai are now completely extinct, and, apparently, in your universe, the Lanex are a completely free species with their own society. That does make me feel better.”
“Oh. Okay. Good…” Talok paused. “Oh. Can we do the boat now? I don’t know how to do boat things.”
Tanos though seemed to sigh. “I could shapeshift into something aquatic and push, but then I can’t be on the boat.”
“That’s not a problem!” Akah smiled. “I can just push the boat around.”
“How?”
“I can freeze the water beneath my feet, so I technically can walk on water. Would have been better to have known that when I was a slave, but oh well. You three, put a layer of fabric in the boat so it’s not too cold, and I’ll push you.”
Talok and Tahvra jumped for joy. Tanos helped the two of them into the weird boat, then turned to Akah.
“Are you sure you’re alright with this?”
Akah nodded. “I am perfectly fine with this.”
“Alright, just checking!” Tanos smiled back, then climbed into the boat.
Once everyone was settled, Akah pushed the boat into the water, and was surprised at how buoyant it was. Then, as promised, Akah started nudging the boat, walking on the now frozen water beneath his feet.
“Yay! This is fun!” Tahvra and Talok both cheered.
“Yeah, it is pretty fun, actually!” Akah beamed. “This was a good idea…”