Anne was sitting down on her knees, at the end of the west pier. Her hands were on the wooden ridge at the edge, and she was leaning over it, to look down. Down below, on a small stone ledge stood a cat, looking up at her and meowing. The poor thing was clearly trapped and Anne dreaded to think what might happen once the tide came in and covered the ledge. Already, waves were beating against the pier harshly. She was well aware of how dangerous the waters around piers were.

That was probably all the more reason to get help, or find a stick or piece of rope to help the cat climb up. But that thought didn't occur to her. She took off her thick woolen shawl and put it down on the ground. She could have used the shawl, damn it. This was why Wards didn't live long. She kept her checked scarf tied around her head, however, because there was a biting cold wind. Then she held on to the wooden ridge and lowered herself to the ledge. 

It was lower than she had thought, she realized with some concern. Her head came to just above the wooden bar on the pier edge. She held on to it and tried to lean down carefully, as far as she could, trying to reach the cat, but suddenly the cat leaped up, clung onto the wooden bar, climbed up, and walked away across the pier. Anne stared at it with open mouth. 

She, on the other hand, could not jump as high as that, and while she had thought that she could easily pull herself back up once she was down here, she now realized that she couldn't. Uh-oh.

He was taking a stroll down the long way to catch some air and take a look at the seaside shops. He'd gone a little too far now, for it had stopped looking scenic and started looking more like fishing harbors than tourist traps.

A cat sprinted past him, slowed, and then circled around to weave in between his legs.

"Hey there, little kitty," Ropati said, crouching with a smile and completely oblivious to the young woman about to drown on behalf of said little kitty.

Anne was peered out across the water, trying to spot a boat that could help her. But all the fisherboats were far away. She looked up again, trying to come up with a way to climb out, when she heard a voice, and standing on her toes, she could just peek over the bar and see it was an older man who looked like he came from far away. "Erm, excuse me..." she tried in a small voice. She wanted him to notice her, but she also kind of didn't for she felt embarrassed.

Was that a person?

"Meow!" the cat said, twirling more about Ropati's legs.

What a cute cat. He reached a hand down to pet the cat, but then the cat pranced out of reach.

"You have so many toes!" he declared, and the cat purred at this entirely necessary compliment.

Spray splashed Anne.

Anne instinctively moved back in disgust.

A mistake.

There was a loud splash. Anne's head popped up above the surface of the water soon enough, for she was able to swim, but the water was freezing cold, and the currents around the pier's end were treacherous. She tried to swim closer to the pier, but felt herself being swept around its corner, before being pulled under for a few seconds and resurfacing.