LSS: Voyage of the Starry Seas

Aquarius huffed and puffed as she pulled the mobile freezer along. She'd wanted to really make a grand entrance with all the ice cream, maybe stand on top of it and make a whole speech about being the savior of the land for providing this great expedition with a source of comfort and motivation but she was beginning to think she had seriously miscalculated how difficult pulling this along by herself was. She should've taken up on that offer to help push it.

Well it was too late now. The docks were in site, they'd probably spotted her approaching by now. If she gave up and ran back to get more help, she was going to be a laughing stock, or worse, they'd think that was the delivery and get it loaded on the ship before she could even come back with said help. Neither of those outcomes could possibly be allowed to happen.

Spotting Pisces, looking...wet? for some reason, Aquarius waved.

"Yo, seaweed brain! How's it going?"

Pisces sighed. "Charming as always, Aquarius,"

Aquarius bowed low. "I'm the most charming of the zodiacs of course!" She proceeded to put on her shades. "And the coolest!"

"Why are you here? I thought you had no one to volunteer."

"Wow. You wound me! Why is the sun here? Why are the waves here?"

"Because we're on Earth. In the ocean."

"Exactlyy! There's a big partyy! A very important occassionn! An Aquarius must always be present!" She let out a final grunt and hauled the ice cream fully on to the dock before clambering right on top of it. "AND LET THERE BE ICE CREAM!"

Pisces sighed, shaking his head. "You actually brough ice cream?"

Aquarius gasped loudly. "You doubted me! I knew the seaweed was getting to your brain Pisces, but surely you were doing better than this?"

"I was just hoping you'd realize that ice cream doesn't really do well on an expedition."

"Pisces. Pisces. Pisces. Do you really think Aquarius was going to provide ice cream that would do badly? Did you actually doubt that I, the master of parties, would not have dedicated our resources to making ice cream shelf stable and preservable while in fact, only improving the taste," Aquarius went into terms and conditions mode. "OratleastgopouttoCapricornuntiltheydidit but that's clearly unimportant."

Pisces snorted. "Alright. Thanks, Aquarius. I'll have someone bring it up."

Aquarius managed another grand laugh. She was getting good at those. Sag's advice to practice in front of the mirror was really paying off big time. She needed to get Sag one of those chocolate cake treats she likes so much.

"Good, good. Everyone must be given the gift of icy cream. Truly the best invention ever made by the human race. The one thing that can never be lost to time."

"I heard Cancer gave us a ship cleaner. I'll ask for them. Probably their job." Pisces went up on deck, presumably to find the captain and said cleaner.

Someone emerged from the wheelhouse, Aquarius quickly recognized her as the captain everyone had been suggesting. She definitely looked like the type to enjoy a good ice cream. Beside her... was a dirty child. Greasy blonde hair, boney body.

Sefarina walked right up to Aquarius offering a high five. "Hii! I'm Sefarina, but I'm sure you already new that! Just call me Rina!"

Aquarius immediately went for the high five, grinning. See this. Now this was a captain. "Hi Rinaa! I'm Aquariusss althoughh my friends calll me Aqua!" She grinned widely. "I'd say any fan of ice cream is my friend!"

"Aqua it is then," Rina said, with a little giggle. "I'm afraid you've exposed me."

Aquarius giggled. "I know an ice cream lover when I see one. The biggest clue is not having that weird oh my god the world is about to fall on me look that seaweed brain over there has!"

Rina giggled again. "I'm not sure Pisces loves that nickname but I do know a lot of people would agree with you."

Aquarius grinned. "Oh they're just afraid of his grumpiness. Really he's just a big softie."

Rina nodded. "Agreed! Well say hello to the wonderful Idris who'll help us transport that ice cream in!"

Idris stared at the box of ice cream like it was about to burst open and have thousands of deadly spiders in it.

Aquarius walked up a little closely. "How bad was the mess you were handling there Idris? Smells like death went and died."

Idris blushed, hanging her head.

"Oh no matter!! We have to clean up messes all the timee. This one time I had to do some inspections under our ship and accidentally stumbled into the part where they dumped sewage." Aquarius gagged at just the thought. "It was like a squid farted inside of a whale's butt."

Idris seemed to relax a little at that.

A guy with black hair and grey eyes strolled around the corner. "The ship told me there's ice cream? Hopefully the squid fart and whale butt weren't in reference to that." A streak of grease decorated his forehead, but his face was open and friendly as he glanced at the others. "Hi! I'm Will."

"Willl!" Aquarius offered another high five. "It was nott. I'm simply bringing us the gift of perfectly shelf stable ice creamm! That was an unrelated joke!"

"Wonderful! What flavors?" Will glanced at Idris. "And who's this?"

Rina raised Idris up like that one old movie the lion ring. "This is Idris, our wonderful cleaner you asked about."

Idris only seemed minorly confused by her new position, blinking at Sefarina.

"Ah! The ship just squealed in excitement," Will said. "Idris, prepare to have a new worshipper."

Aquarius was mildly offended by the "What flavors?" question. "Will, you wound me. Of course there's all the flavors!"

Will grinned. "Of course. My bad. Clearly you are the master of variety and would never neglect to bring the full range of flavors of ice cream."

Aquarius beamed. She liked Will. Man she should've gotten in with this crew. Way better than seaweed brain and duel boy. "Exactlyyy. Are you here to aid in the noble endeavor of getting this most prestigious cream of ice on board good sir?"

Will saluted. "Yes ma'am! Just let me know where you need me." He surveyed the mobile freezer. "Quite an excellent work of engineering, that is."

"Thank you thank youu. It was mostly Capricorn but the color palette was totally my idea!"

"Good work to both of you. Do I pull it up here?" Will asked.

"Yes that would be lovely thank you!" Rina also joined in, pulling it up to the big ramp. Idris helped pull it up too.

"We'll get this up there!" Rina grinned. "Thank you for getting it this far!"

Aquarius bowed. "Of course!"

"Anything else, Aquarius?" Pisces brushed his hair out of his eyes.

Aquarius shook her head. "Just here to provide the divine gift of ice cream to all. And urghh I want to join this ship now, but we can ignore that for the moment."

Rina grinned. "I wouldn't say no to be completely honest with you."

Aquarius raised her eyebrows. The ice cream was being slowly hauled in by the ship boi, Idris and Rina. The enthusiasm on show was absolutely palpable and she was loving it. If they were going to say yes. Well. She had an emergency bag ready to go at all times, she'd just need to wait for her carriage to come the rest of the way. This wasn't the worst plan she'd thought of. That honor went to the aforementioned sewage incident.

Idris shrugged. Well, she tried to. Most of her energy was going to hauling the crate up. The crate made it up onto the actual deck, the wheels locking in properly at that. It was slowly being turned towards what Aquarius assumed was the kitchen.

"You really mean that?"

"Yeah. I mean, what's the harm! Anyone else object?"

Idris shook her head.

"No objections! How could I, when you've provided the divine gift of ice cream?" Will grinned. He helped pull the crate into the kitchen, then stepped back to give the others more space.

With a final push, Sefarina and Aquarius deposited it carefully in the corner by the freezer section.

A man, presumably the ship's chef glared at the group of people in the kitchen. "What are you guys doing in my kitchen? What is that?"

"Ice cream!" Aquarius announced proudly. "A gift for the happiness and betterment of this ship, this society and the world you will explore. Its greatt. Shelf stablee anddd. All flavors are includedd. So you all will love ittt."

"All flavors?" The man raised his eyebrow, still scowling somehow.

Idris was visibly sweating. She was wheezing like she had ran a marathon. Yet, that scowl seemed to make her cower behind Rina. Rina held her close.

Aquarius nodded proudly. "All. The. Flavors."

The man nodded then sighed. "Fine. You can keep the ice cream here. However, it is in my kitchen, so it is my property. Clear?"

Aquarius nodded. "Of course good sir. You are the chef. You are the ruler of the ice cream!" She bowed. "I trust you to be fair and just!"

"As a citizen of Libra, I'd hope I'm just." The man chuckled, showing Aquarius his mini law book.

Idris made a noise somewhere between a squeak and a gasp, stumbling backwards.

Rina scooped her up and gently edged toward the doorway where Will was waiting. Aquarius nodded, stepping forward excitedly towards the law book.

"Ooooh that's very cooolll!" She promptly found a footstool and climbed on it before placing a hand gently on Gray's head. "I now pronounce you master of ice cream. You have official command of it all, none may now disturb you lest they be smitten by the law of Aquarius the Icy Com..I have not come up with that yet but you get the gist." She made a bit of a wiggling motion with her fingers.

The chef chuckled, and smiled. "You've been adopted now. You are my child. Understood?"

Aquarius grinned. "Sounds like an excellent plan. We'll get out of your hair now then. Me literally the rest figuratively." Aquarius proceeded to do precisely that backing off with the rest of the crew towards the exit.

"Rina. Is that Idris?" He paused. "The convicted felon who committed a brutal murder and was in prison while I was still a warden?"

Idris quickly shook her head.

Rina wrapped around her tightly. "Well, legally, yes. But she was justified in her killing. That was proven, which is why she's allowed to be here for community service to be fully free."

The man quickly snapped back. "It's not the fact it was justified, murder is murder. It's not something you can just brush off."

Idris chose that point to burst into tears, covering her face as she loudly sobbed, coughing and wheezing as she wailed. Rina cradled her.

"She served a long sentence under conditions so horrible Juniper and I still haven't fully tracked down the extent of her injuries."

"You think I don't know the conditions of those prisons?" He put his hand to his temple as he shook his head.

"I'm sure you do. So imagine a thirteen-year-old child in that. I think she paid her due." Aquarius stumbled fully outside. This was not a problem that could be solved with ice cream. Unless? No. No. She wanted to get on the ship, not get thrown overboard before they even set sail.

"It's not the morals that matter, it's the fact that she is very capable of killing us."

"I don't believe she is personally from what I have seen but I have assigned her the cabin next to mine. I take full responsibility. I believe you'll come to see as well that she is no longer the person she was while thirteen. But thank you for your valid concerns."

He sighed, shooing the others out of the kitchen. "I am not the one to blame if something bad happens."

"That I can guarantee."

Aquarius stumbled a foot back into the kitchen as Sefarina and Idris were inching out. "And I think that is settledd! Maybe ice cream for everyone. For the setting off meeting. While we cool Idris off."

Idris was still sobbing, now hiding in Rina's neck. Rina softly stroked her hair. "Well Gray, anything else you want to share?"

"Get out of my kitchen." He grumbled, seeming to have somewhat settled down.

They all stumbled out, the door automatically closing behind them. Aquarius giggled nervously. "So head back out and say bye to Pisces? I've gotta get a few changes of clothes and I heard Sag wanting to come too, something about documents documents.'

Rina's eyes raised. "Documents you say. We definitely should get out on deck."

Idris finally seemed to be calming down, raising her head at the mention of documents.

:All good there Idris?"

She nodded.

"You seem a little bit concerned?"

Idris shrugged.

"These are likely the little things that Sag wanted to try and acquire, plus probably a few things to do with all that tech that Juniper wanted but Juniper's going to need to be the one to verify if all that is actually what she ordered."

Idris nodded slowly.

"Alright then everyone, I think we can disperse a little again, Idris and I are going to specifically address what Sag has to offer beyond of course just wanting to wish us well."

Idris seemed to pale a bit at that.

"Is that okay Idris?" Aquarius kept a little bit of a wide berth from that. That sounded interesting but also at the same time like one of those mysteries the grown ups got up to solving that got more and more boring the deeper it went.

Idris nodded, staring off into space.

They made their way back to the front of the ship, leaving Gray behind with his kitchen, Will slowly returning to whatever he'd been doing before until it was just the three of them that emerged out on deck again.

Idris was scanning the docks, eyes squinting in the sun.

Sagittarius was waiting for them standing calmly off to the side. She gestured specifically to Sefarina.

Sefarina quickly made her way over to where Sagittarius stood at attention, watching out over the water like a hawk. Idris started to step out of Sefarina's arms.

:Where are you going honey?"

Idris pointed to Sagittarius and shook her head.

"Why is that?"

Idris looked and Sefarina incredulously.

"Sag isn't going to try and do anything to you and I'm sure Sag wont pass out yet again."

Idris looked down and shrugged.

"If you're really concerned you can stay back of course."

Idris didn't respond.

"Idris?"

She shrugged.

"You're not sure?"

She nodded. Sefarina nodded and made her way down to where Sag was standing. Sag saluted them as they filled in, Sefarina returning the salute immediately. Idris shakily followed along, her body quacking. It was hard to tell if it was because of holding in a cough or from fear.

Sag's mouth twisted into a mostly friendly smile. "Well what do we have here? Never mind. Regardless, I have looked in far as I am able to our little conundrum that we were have in the little time I was given. I hope I've turned up something satisfactory here."

Idris glanced at the papers in Sag's hand and winced.

"Its not too bad,' Sag tried to reassure here but even Sefarina had to admit the lack of documents on a prison sentence this long and with a prisoner this sicky was startling. Sefarina stepped up to grab the first of them as Sag handed them over.

"This will be incredible thank you."

Sag saluted her. "It was my pleasure. I can't stand a miscarriage of justice to a degree this high."

She turned to Idris. "I would much prefer you have a bath perhaps two and a change of clothes but looking over these documents I can't fault you for not wanting to have one. Rest assured you'll never go back to prison again and those who are guilty of negligence and" Sag' face soured tremendously. "assault will be getting their due. I have dispatched a special team of my own investigators to handle that side. I hope the ship healer and the rest of you can make headway on the side of the disease."

Idris seemed to pale at that comment, but didn't give any other sign that she had heard it.

Rina nodded. "We will be doing our very best."

Idris nodded shyly.

Sag saluted Idris again. "I apologize humbly on behalf of Libra for the horrible suffering you had to go through."

Idris shook her head, blushing slightly.

"Why do you shake your head Ms. Peaks?"

Idris frowned.

Rina patted her back. "I think Sag thought you were disagreeing Idris. Were you just acknowledging the apology or trying to say Sag didn't have to apologize? If its the second one boop my forehead."

Idris very hesitantly poked Sefarina's forehead.

"Oh absolutely not. You deserve and apologize and LIbra himself will apologize when all is said and done."

Idris shook her head again.

"No he must Idris. He could've launched an investigation and gotten you fair compensation and helped you reintegrate. He chose the coward's route of only letting you off on this expedition no less where people will forget quickly and simply covering up the past mistakes of the former Libra."

She looked at the floor, hugging herself.

Rina hugged her closer. "Thank you Sag for doing so much on such short notice."

"Oh please I'd already begun the second I heard the contents of that letter."

Idris fished through the pockets of her trousers and pulled out an origami bear. She held it out towards Sag.

Sag took the offering with both hands. "Thank you kindly. I will have this on my desk proudly."

Idris smiled softly. Sag returned her smile.

Sag produced a small case. "I was told your mask is to prevent you from infecting others as much as it is for your dust problem when cleaning, yes?"

Idris nodded.

Sag opened it to reveal a much more advanced looking mask, the filtration system on it looked to be an actual system, not just a cloth, and the most striking feature yet, it was fully transparent, meaning Idris would be able to actually smile or frown at people through it.

Idris blinked. She looked between the mask and Sag.

"Would you like it? It will make you feel much better amidst dust, prevent your disease from worsening and you can smile at someone if you so wish."

Idris nodded.

"Then it is yours."

Idris blushed. Sag offered it up to her hands. She gently took it, taking off her current mask. The skin it covered was much cleaner than the rest of her face. She slowly put on the new mask.

"Ahh beautiful!" Sag saluted her. "Much better now."

Idris smiled softly.

Sag stepped back, finally offering Sefarina all of the documents. "Give these a read and get your healer over here perhaps. I think I can answer any questions she'd know to ask and of course I have the other package for her as well with the tools that she requested, plus any others that Pisces said you were not supplied with already."

Idris seemed to lean away from the documents.

"Thank you kindly." Sefarina opened up the first of many.

Inmate Name: Peaks, Idris A.
DOB: 07/25/2768
Admission: 12/11/2781
Discharge: TBD

Upon initial evaluation:
BP: 90/40 mmHg
HR: Irregular or significantly slow.
RR: Labored breathing, 30bpm
Temp: Elevated, 102 degrees F
Consciousness: Altered level of consciousness, Coma scale score of: 8
Skin: Cyanosis
OS: Low levels, below 85%-- requiring supplemental oxygen

Medical Notes:
Patient came in with several contusions along the forearms, back, and chest. Minor lacerations scattered across the same areas. Patients appears dehydrated but struggles keeping down water. Will continue to monitor.

Lab results:
Electrolytes: hyponatremia
Renal: Elevated creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels indicating possible kidney failure
Liver: Elevated bilirubin, AST, and ALT levels somewhat indicating liver dysfunction.
Complete Blood Count: Anemia, hints of thrombocytopenia
Blood Gases: Abnormal pH, low partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2), high partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2)

Final Notes:
Pain: numeric scale 8/10
Nutritional status: Significant weight loss over a short amount of time (cachexia)
Fluid Balance: Positive balance indicating fluid overload, though could also be signs of dehydration
Medical Interventions: Documentation of palliative measures, do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders, and withdrawal of life sustaining treatments.

Rina paled slightly at it. "This is not looking good at all."

"June!" She called out in the direction of the door leading down, hoping it was loud enough for her to hear.

Sefarina heard rustling and the loud bang of a door shutting before she heard Juniper's footsteps rush up the stairs. The medic slowly peeked over the edge of the ship, popping her head out, "Please tell me you have the medical charts."

Sefarina handed them through to her. "And all the equipment you need. Sag managed to get a few extras on top of what you asked for."

Juniper glanced around before flipping through the notes, eventually landing back on the first page. Her eyes widened as she read, "Oh, Rina. This is bad."

Idris winced, looking at the floor.

Juniper murmured to herself, eyes working hard to make sense of what she was reading, "Idris was in a severely altered state when she arrived at the prison. Almost like... a deep sleep or coma-- her skin was this blueish color, which means she wasn't receiving enough oxygen..." she continued, scrunching her brows, "matter of fact, her oxygen levels were extremely low. They had to give her extra oxygen to help her breathe. Low sodium levels... kidneys not working properly...low red platelet blood counts...which means she was anemic. Her blood wasn't clotting well. Her blood actually showed that she wasn't getting enough oxygen too, and too much carbon dioxide, hence the breathing problems. Though, somethings off. They didn't diagnose her-- they only gave notes. As if someone refused to diagnose her. I have a feeling she was hyperventilating at the time, which could be the cause for the breathing problems; though after seeing her myself, I can't be too sure."

Idris shrugged.

She glanced up at Idris, "What happened before these notes, Idris? Do you mind writing it down for me, or if you feel like speaking you could do that, too. Did something happen to you?"

Idris mimed writing something. Juniper dug deep in her dress pocket and found a blue pen. She flipped the notes over and held them to the wooden plank wall closest to them, "You can write on the back of these."

Idris took a deep breath, her mouth twisting into a deep frown. Her hand shook as she wrote, "My parents. I ran away. Tried to. They found me. Kept me still for three days. I" She froze, staring at the paper like it was yelling at her.

Juniper shook her head and took the pen gently, "It's okay. That's all I needed to know. Thank you for being so brave..." she rubbed Idris' shoulder, "sounds like you were on the verge of death, little warrior. You are lucky to be with us today. Don't worry, we'll get you all back and healthy. Soon, you'll be strong so nobody can hurt you like that again."

I killed them. I killed them. An image of a bloody shovel passed through Rina's mind. Rina flinched for a moment. What was that?

Juniper paused, eyes widening, "W-what did you say? I could barely hear you."

Idris furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"You just... you just said something. Something about... killing them?" Juniper tilted her head.

"You heard it too?"

Idris' eyes blew wide and shook her head widely.

Juniper looked to Rina, "We need to start her treatment. Something's going on here. Unless we're both crazy, that should not have been in our heads."

Idris looked between the two of them, mouth pressed tightly in fear.

Rina giggled nervously. "That would be something. I do hope we're not going crazy because that was a rather desperate voice. You're going to convince me its a ghost next."

Juniper glanced back towards Idris, "Do you feel comfortable starting today, instead, Sweet Pea?"

She nodded.

"Great," Juniper folded the records in half and shoved them into the same pocket with the pen, "Three hours, meet me back in the med bay. I need time to prepare and make more sense of all this."

Sag spoke up then. "Before we all leave, I think you'll want to take a look at all of this." She presented an extra travelling case, almost as large as the ones had carried in. "This has all that gear that was requested plus more I figure could be useful once I found out the limit of what Pisces had included. You have my full support to deal with the medical side of this issue. I'm personally cracking down on the legal side."

Juniper carefully took the papers, "I will review these within that time; I really appreciate it. Any information helps."

"Wonderful! Is there any information you feel is missing? This is all that could be located. Anything else was either destroyed or reports were simply not made and we're trying to identity how many may have been subjected to that fate."

Idris shook her head.

"Even if something is missing, I think it'll be fine," Juniper nodded, "The only thing I really need are the medical records from the prison, and I have them. There's only one obscurity in those, and I don't think it's that important-- at least for me; in regards to her treatments that I'll provide."

Idris mimed writing.

Juniper pulled the pen back out of her pocket and flipped over the papers Sag just handed to her, "You want to write something else?"

Idris went back to writing. "I didn't exist for three years to the prison. I was there. By myself. No records."

"Okay. Do you think when we start, if I ask, you'll tell me what happened before they started recording things?" Juniper asked.

"It was my last three years. I can share some. It all blurs together."

"I understand. Thank you for being transparent, here, Idris. This is all very important information," Juniper smiled.

She smiled shyly and nodded.

Rina patted her back gently. "You're doing very well." She turned and saluted Sag.

"And thank you so much Sag for all the work on such short notice. Yes. I'm doing it again. Thanking you."

Sag let out a very undignified huff. "I'm going to state one last time for the record. I was already doing this and very much want to do this. You can hardly thank me now. Thank me once the proper people have been punished.

Idris shook her head and handed the pen back to Juniper.

Sag nodded and held out a hand to Idris. She hesitated, looking at Sag's hand. Sag didn't budge.

"I'm not going to bite I promise."

Idris slowly brushed Sag's hands. Sag gently took it and shook it. It was awkward but a firm gesture. Idris didn't seem to know what to do with herself. Sag let go after a little bit and saluted at them.

"Anything else Ms. Wren?"

"Nope," June smiled, "I got everything I need. Thank you for the equipment."

Sag nodded and offered a hand again, this time to June.

Juniper took it, shaking it firmly. Sag smiled in approval and then patted Rina on the back.

"You've got a good crew there. I believe you'll be very successful in this endeavor. Good Luck all the same and come back safely. With everyone."

Rina nodded. "Of course."

Sag nodded once, looking a bit more emotional than Sag had in any other meeting before. "I'll take my leave then. Good Luck to all of you."

Idris waved goodbye. Sefarina joined in as Sag saluted one last time and walked off.

Darvi sighed and rubbed their temples. Being in such a small space was comforting, really. Less places to look. Less places for people to hide. But it did come with the unfortunate side effect of being incredibly loud.

"Princess Sidney? Are you still on the ship and alive?" They opened the door. Princess Sidney wasn't there, but that was fine. A dozen people were in every crevice of the ship to talk to. As xe turned to leave, their foot crumpled a slip of paper on the floor. They bent down and picked it up.

This is not a hypothetical situation. This is real. This is going to happen whether you like it or not, and I'm not sure if there's anything we can do to stop it. I'm sorry.

Sidney will get dragged away from us. She will end up dead, she'll be skinned alive and killed by these... things. I don't know what to call them. They're people, like us, but not. And they smile. All the time, they smile. And they lead her away to this place, I couldn't get a clear picture. I watched them cut her skin, as if they were predators, and watched her get peeled apart like an orange. She was nothing but muscle and bone by the time they were done with her.

She didn't react, she just... smiled with them.

As for when this will happen, I'm not sure. All I know is that it's soon. And I don't know how you will prepare for it, but it's coming. It's coming faster than we all can comprehend. It's not an 'if' it's a 'when'. I am not addressing this letter because it is me who is also terrified, and I'm afraid that if I don't say something-- it might end horribly for all of us.

There are creatures out there. Humanity might not be lost, after all. But weirdly enough, they seemed less human. Less dense. Less... alive. They wanted her. For what, I'm not sure. But their means are diabolical and gut wrenching. Believe me or don't, Sidney's destiny will end on this expedition.

From,
Don't say I didn't warn you.

Darvi dropped the letter. What? What?

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!"

Darvi yelled, kicking the door.

His job was to keep Sidney safe. That was their entire purpose on this ship. Keep Sidney safe from harm. And this person was... threatening them? Prophesying Darvi's failure? Was Darvi so useless a guard that someone foretold his imminent failure?

"No. No. This can't be happening. This can't be real. No."

Darvi started pacing, picking at their cuticles. "Is someone here trying to kill Sidney? Is there an assassin on board?" They froze. "Sidney. Sidney could already be dead. We're not even off the ship and Sidney could already be dead! SIDNEY!"

Rune was taking a nap when he heard the screams. They hadn't even left port yet, and there was already trouble, apparently. His eyes forced themselves open, and his vision blurred as he wiped his eyes. Janus was curled up in a spiral at his feet, eyes closed still. He forced himself out of his room and fast-walked to where the sound came from. He found himself standing in front of Sidney and Darvi's cabin, but he didn't even think to knock. He just tried the handle and the door pushed open on its own.

He saw Darvi standing there, piece of paper in hand, with a hysterical look on his face. Rune's eyes darted to the letter, then back to Darvi, before he walked towards him, "What's wrong?!" he asked, "What happened??"

Darvi looked up, eyes wide. "Sidney." They reached forward and grabbed his lapels. "Have you seen Sidney?"

"Last I saw, she was on the dock. Why? What is that letter?" Rune's eyes widened with Darvi's, "Did something happen?"

Darvi shoved the letter in his hand and started pacing. Chewing on their cuticles.

Rune took a minute to scan the letter, "What the fuck?" He rubbed the back of his head, "Okay. Okay. Deep breaths. I'm sure Sidney is fine. Go and find her, she's on the ship somewhere. I'll pass this letter along to Rina and we'll see what the hell this is about. It could be a threat or... I don't know, but she'd know what to think of this. Okay?"

Darvi shook their head. "Sidney can't... she can't... I can't..."

Rune turned to Darvi and held him by his shoulders, "Hey, listen. We can't afford to have everyone falling into pieces already. We haven't left yet," he followed Darvi's eyes, "Look at me. Relax. Go find Sidney, and we'll find you guys in a few minutes. I'm sure she's fine. We'll figure out how to avoid this if it is true."

Darvi shoved Rune off of them. "Don't touch me! This isn't a joke! This is... this is..." Darvi sank to his knees. "I can't fail. I can't fail." He stood up and sprinted out of the room.

Rune's blood started to boil, and he had to take a deep breath to calm himself. He'd never had someone push him, or even come at him aggressively-- especially when he was trying to help. Most people wouldn't try that with him. He ran a hand up his face in frustration and groaned, pacing a bit before exiting the room. He didn't realize he was gripping the letter so hard that holes started to form in the paper-- his fists were glued shut as if he couldn't control it.

He made his way up the stairs, boots clanking, before finding Sefarina on the dock. He simply placed the paper in her hand and crossed his arms, looking away. His jaw locked.

Rina frowned. "What's this now?"

Rune didn't say a word. His teeth clenched, and he sighed heavily.

Rina read through it. "Threat? Prank? Legitimate warning?"

"I don't fucking know. I don't know," Rune turned his back to her and paced, "Rina, this whole thing is absolutely fucked. With a capital 'F'. Fucked. And guess who found it, of all people?"

"Darvi? I heard screams of Sidney. I assumed."

"Yep. I tried to calm him, but..." Rune groaned again, "They're going to find Sidney, now. Thought I should run this by you first before we take any immediate actions. Any thoughts?"

"He'll tire himself out. That one doesn't take well to calming. But yes. This. Urghhh. We haven't even set sail yet. What do you think this is? Its pretty clear Darvi think its a threat practically."

"Honestly? I don't even know what to think," Rune threw his hands up, "I knew it was a bad fucking idea for that princess to join us on this damn ship. It's no place for a damn liability. I knew some shit like this would happen. It was bound to. Now, we're stuck dealing with her bullshit before we even set sail. I don't know what it could be. It doesn't seem like a threat, but more so a... dramatic warning."

"Hmm I'm going to assume its a warning for now too personally. The lack of a signature or even someone its addressed to rules out threat for me. If its a prank, it'll pass we were extra vigilant, no harm done, if its a warning well we'll be glad we took this seriously."

"Rina, all due respect, but how would we know if this is a prank?" Rune raised his voice, just slightly, "Nobody will admit to it, and if they do, I'm removing them. I can't have people playing pranks on this ship. How old are we, twelve? These are supposed to be the best of the best sailors. We already fucked up with Sidney, now we have a prankster? No way. It's fucking real, and it's a warning."

"Well pranksters have a way of claiming their prank once enough chaos has been caused. So if it is that we'll know. In due time."

Rune groaned, once again, and ran another hand over his face, "Okay. Okay. You're right. We should probably find Darvi, see what the hell is going on with Sidney, and take it from there."

"Yup that'll be the best way to contain this. We probably don't want Darvi to start interrogating everyone or start causing a panic among everyone. A few of us on board are probably not super resistant to being panicked by something like this so the faster we deal with that the better. Especially while we're literally about to set sail. Pisces just called for the bridge to be lowered."

"Are you sure we should leave before we figure out who wrote this and what for?" Rune asked.

"I mean no. I just don't think we could find who wrote this before we leave to be frank here. At least not without some sort of public announcement and panicking everyone including Pisces. We want this a little quieter methinks. What'd you say?"

Rune took a deep breath and calmed himself slightly, "Yes. Okay. But seriously, we need to figure this out eventually. I won't be able to sleep at night knowing we could possibly lose a crewmember. It can't be another... Glyph. I won't let it happen, Sefarina. We cannot lose anyone this time."

Rina pulled him into a hug. "It won't be Rune. I promise you that. If it is a genuine threat, Darvi for as excitable as they are will protect Sidney, I'm sure of it, and if its a prank we'll weed it out and deal with it accordingly. I'd love some practice throwing people overboard."

Rune stayed there in the hug and slowly wrapped his arms back around Rina. At that moment, his rapid heartbeat seemed to slow down even more. He was so grateful for Rina, he was grateful to have someone that he could lean on and trust.

"Okay," he huffed, and pulled back, "Do you know where Sidney is? That's probably where we'll find Darvi."

"Uhh well not precisely, but I can hazard a guess."

"Lead the way, then, Captain."

Rina nodded and headed the back of the ship, towards the engines.

"Sidney seemed interested in how our engines functioned. I think she may be there if she wasn't already with Darvi cause Darvi forbade her from going in there."

"Well, when I found Darvi, Sidney was not with them," Rune responded, following her.

"I think our guess is good then. I'm sure we'll see a hysterical Darvi hauling Sidney out the engine room any second now."

They reached the engine, and just as Sefarina said, there was Darvi and Sidney.

Darvi was trying to pull away Sidney from the railing. "YOU'RE GOING TO FALL OFF. I SAW YOU TRYING TO TOUCH THE FLOOR."

"Darvi? What seems to be the problem?"

"This girl is trying to speed run a HEAD INJURY!" Darvi tugged back, causing them to both fall.

Rune rushed over and helped Sidney up, before hesitating to offer a hand to Darvi, "Are you both okay?"

Darvi didn't take his hand, brushing himself off. "I am now that Princess Bad Decisions isn't having a staring contest with death." He shook his head, wiping off his bleeding fingernails. She looked to Rune. "And... sorry about earlier... Rune."

Rune nodded at her, "It's okay. I won't touch you again, was just trying to help-- but it seems like we were both too hysterical to think clearly. Now that... we're all calmed down, we need to talk about this. Does Sidney know?"

Darvi shook their head. "Know what? There's nothing to know.." She shook her head even faster,

Rune raised an eyebrow and simply looked to Sefarina.

"Hmm, knowledge is a powerful thing. I think its good to only reveal it once you know about it fully. Never tell someone if you don't know the full details of somehing." Sefarina grinned. "Sorry, got a little poetic there. I've read too much Arizztotle.

"Okay then," Rune looked to Darvi, "Stay by her at all times, please. I'm sure you're gonna do that anyways, but... things happen. Stay on your guards. All of us need to."

Sidney huffed. "Like you have to tell Guard Fussius Maximum over here to stay with me any more than she does."

Darvi nodded. "All times."

"Sounds good," Rune started to turn away, but hesitated. He glanced at Darvi, "Rina, would you mind if Darvi and I had a quick word? Can you keep an eye on the princess for them?"

Darvi held themselves a little taller.

"Go ahead. I've got Sidney."

Rune gestured with his chin towards the stairs that lead down to the cabins. He started to walk in that direction, hoping Darvi was following behind him. If he could trust the footsteps behind him, they were.

He turned at the top of the stairs to face Darvi, and sighed awkwardly, "I, uh... you were out of line back there. I can appreciate that, though. I would've done the same, given the situation. I just want to make sure there's no ill blood between us. I really do think you're a great addition to this crew, Esther."

Darvi's eyes seemed to sparkle. "I... I'm sorry. It's not you. I have no ill will towards you. But being the finest Zodiac Guard comes with skills that are hard to turn off. I hope I didn't hurt you."

"Oh, no," Rune smiled, dusting himself off sarcastically, "You didn't hurt me at all. Honestly, I'm impressed by your strength. I'm 6'5" and pretty big; you managed to move my whole body. If I may... Why weren't you placed in Sag's ship?"

"I... don't know. I was told I was top of my class. But when it came for Zodiac Sagittarius to pick his six gradates that would move on to be his personal guards... I didn't make the cut. No explanation. I ended up going to my Zodiac because... I didn't know where else to go."

Rune contemplated, "Well... I think you'd be a great fit in Sag. When this is all over and done, I'll put in a good word for you. You belong with us, a talent like yours shouldn't go unnoticed."

Darvi's eyes blew wide. "Oh. We'll see."

Rune sensed uncertainty in Darvi's voice, "Do you doubt yourself? Or do you doubt me?"

Darvi made a strange choking noise. "I... all I'm saying is that Zodiac Sagittarius wants the best. She had a chance to consider me one among them and she didn't."

"She also didn't know you, Esther," Rune crossed his arms, "But, believe me... if you keep confident, she will change her mind..." he changed the subject, "I have a proposition for you. Have a drink or two with me some time. I want to get to know you, as do I want to get to know all the crewmates."

Darvi blinked. "Yeah. Sure."

"You like bourbon?" Rune asked with a smirk.

He hesitated before nodding. "My favorite beverage."

"I have a nice bottle in my cabin. I'll find you sometime. Thanks for talking with me," he went to brush his hand against Darvi's shoulder but paused and dropped his arm, "Sorry. Have a good rest of your day, Esther."

Darvi nodded. "You too."

Rune turned and walked down the stairs, sighing before locking himself in his room. He took out a bottle of bourbon and took one large sip, glancing at Janus who was now up and slithering around his desk. He allowed a small smile to creep along his cheeks.

Darvi Esther was a force to be reckoned with.

Sefarina looked out across the ocean. It was a calm, mildly windy day. They were sailing off right as the sun came up, almost everyone peacefully asleep in their assigned cabins, the ship quiet. It was the perfect time to set sail, right as the sun was slowly on its way up. The ocean was lively enough to help them but not so far as to slow them down, the light was just perfect, steadily getting brighter as they would sail further away and into the unknown.

Sefarina glanced through the few charts she'd marked up for the occasion and the directions that Pisces had given. They knew exactly where the package as it were had been picked up. Pisces had advised going in that general direction and then exploring outward, away from the zodiac isles. Sefarina had agreed quickly. It seemed to the most sensible way to go. North East specifically, the direction they actually had the least amount of data on, not even a single battle training simulation for the navy had gone in that direction.

She took her place behind the wheel as she released the anchor. The bridge leading upto the ship had been retracted a while ago, all other ties already being cut. The anchor was the final thing currently tethering them to the doc. With it free, the ship let loose a groan that sounded almost happy. She'd have to consult Will about that. The Mint Tea Potato SwordSpear gently turned north east as she angled the wheel ever so slightly, the ship skimming the water beautifully as it headed for the exit from the little harbor.

She was fast, the engines hardly above idle at the moment as they powered out of the harbor. She waved goodbye to the final set of signals at the end as they took gracefully to the open waters. She took in a long deep breath, the fresh breeze of the ocean waking her up and filling her with that wonderful feeling of home in the way that only it could. She carefully programmed in the current position of the rudder, the engines getting the slightest boost of power to match the current windspeed. With that all set, she leaned back and sat down in the little chair. They were underway. Out into the vast unknown, searching for something none of them knew about yet.

Someone approached her from behind, taking a deep breath. Sefarina whirled around, not expecting anyone else to be awake at this hour.

Darvi stood there, arms folded behind his back in a soldier ready position.

"Oh Darvi. All good there?'

"Hmm? Oh, yes. Of course."

"Glad to hear it! What brings you here?"

"I've never been on a small ship like this before. I wanted to see what taking sail was like.

"Ahh. Well, its not the biggest show in the world, but its a peaceful little moment. And when you have a sky that looks like that, one of the more beautiful moments too."

Darvi nodded. "Yes, it is."

Sefarina smiled. "I hope you find it peaceful too."

"I think I do."

"Well I'm glad to hear it. Well off we go into the unknown. Are you excited or just wary of what we might be headed toward?"

Darvi hummed. "Leaning more towards the latter."

"Fair enough. Do you have any ideas on what we might encounter in the days to come? Any research that you did you want to tell me about?"

"I've heard many tales of long ago fights between us and mutant sea life. Mutated creatures could still be out there. Humans mutated beyond comprehension could be out there."

"Hmmm those are certainly quite the tales, I've heard a few things too, to be honest. I looked in here and there mostly old report from other captains that sailed out this far. I have to say I wasn't able to track down a whole lot, at least nothing besides what a strong imagination, a lonely ship, and a bottle of rum for company can create.

Darvi sighed. "Well, I suppose that means things will be fairly uneventful until we hit land. Hopefully Belinda's retellings will seem less the musings of a drunken and bored sailor."

"Uhh most likely. I don't suspect there are too many sea monsters out and about. The planet's hardly supporting life as it is with how things went down. Big things would need a wee bit longer to evolve although, who knows? Maybe it has finally been long enough."

"It's been hundreds of years with no human intervention."

"It has. It has. I'd give the ecosystem a couple of hundred years to heal at the very least but then it has been long enough since even that point I suppose."

"I mean, if there are other humans, we don't know what they've been doing."

"True. I mean they could've killed a whole other ecosystem by now. You never know with humans. They're so good at creating but they much prefer destroying. Often because they want to prove how much cooler they are than the other humans."

Darvi nodded. "Seems so."

"Well I suppose we'll find out then! For now. Onward we go!"

"Onward we go."

This ship had a lot of shiny things. The engines, the sun glinting off the railings, the other crew members' jewelry... Naim liked looking at shiny things. They never stole them, though. They had some morals. Of course, those morals didn't include anything against eavesdropping.

Now, as Naim sat in the meeting room, they could recognize each crew member by the sound of their voice. Darvi was the strict one, Will was the ship talker, Juniper was the medic, Rina was the captain, Gray was the good chef and apparently their father now... It was interesting to finally place faces with all the names and voices. Naim hadn't heard Idris speak, but they figured she was the sick-looking one sitting on the floor in the corner.

Gray was leaned against the food table in the back, grumbling, as always. He was smacking away Sidney's hands as he said something along the lines of: "This is for after the meeting."

Darvi glared at her from his spot next to her, silently telling her to behave.

Sefarina naturally stood at the head of the table, waiting for everyone to settle down into their seats and start paying at least some attention to her.

Laughter could be heard from the outside of the room, and soon enough Juniper and Belinda came in giggling to each other. Once inside, Juniper seemed to purse her lips, trying to keep herself from laughing even more.

"Ooh. Why so serious?" Juniper scoffed, making her way to the front near Rune and Sefarina.

Belinda giggled harder as she took a seat next to Juniper. A skeleton cat, presumably Belinda's favorite topic, Jasper, hopped on top of the table and sprawled out on his side. He purred loudly, his tail swishing.

The ship shooty things person, Nicky, probably she'd introduced herself as was setting closer to Sefarina and Rune, looking intently at some notes and excitedly stealing glances at them, then at Will, and then at a random spot in the wall. Naim looked at the spot curiously, but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary there.

A small, curly-haired blonde girl snuck through the doors, her face reddening as everyone stared at her. She coughed once out of awkwardness and just stayed by the door, looking at the floor. She seemed rather embarassed to even be on the ship. Her fingers played nervously with each other, as if she was contemplating what was to come of this meeting.

Sefarina cleared her throat gently. "I think everyone is here! Are we missing anyone, Rune?"

Rune counted silently, his eyes moving to each head. "Uh, I don't think so. Seems about right."

"RIght so that's everyone, except for you JACK!" She did a full one 180 and pointed at the door. Nothing happened. "Okay I think we're probably not haunted. We can get started." Naim smiled. She was funny.

"Actually, we are," Willow inturrupted, but then slowly shrunk down once everyone looked at her again. "Sorry."

Belinda nodded happily. "Very haunted! But everyone seems mostly friendly." She hummed thoughtfully. "Except for Gregory down in the engines. He's grumpy."

"You met Gregory, too?" Willow perked up a bit, "He's not a nice man, right? It's creepy."

Belinda shrugged. "I think it's mostly him always feeling like he's on fire. Linda from the kitchen mentioned he died in an engine explosion. I think that would make anyone grumpy. He could be a bit nicer, though."

Willow shivered.

Belinda shrugged. "Maybe he'll get nicer as we talk to him, though!"

"He better," Will agreed. "I don't want a grumpy ghost interfering with my work on the engines. Like, can you imagine trying to fix a delicate piece of machinery and then getting a prickly feeling on your spine as if a grumpy ghost just cursed at you? Assuming I'd notice anything at all..." He trailed off in thought as he pondered that.

Rune jumped in. "Okay..." he ran a hand over his face, "Let's get back on topic. Sefarina, what were you going to say"

"No hold on, Greg sounds interesting..." she caught the look on Rune's face, "I mean plans. Plots. Navigation. The sea. Productiveness. All words I want you all to write down today. Good to remember." She flashed Rune a thumbs up.

Rune just blankly stared at her, "Riiiight. All that good stuff."

"Exactlyy. So moving on from naval vocabulary. Does everyone know each other's names by now. I find that's the most important thing to start with. It won't do to be in an emergency and shout go get Rune and then one person's like is that the one with the edgy plants or the one with the edgy snake."

Willow nodded, "I-I have a vague idea of who's who. But all may not know me, so my name is Willow."

Rune nodded, "Welcome, Willow. I haven't seen you before, did you just get on the ship?"

Willow shook her head, "N-no. I've been here. For a while, actually."

Rune raised an eyebrow, "Huh? Where?"

Willow rubbed her hands together again and didn't respond, looking back down at her fingers.

"I think she got on sometime before Will. He mentioned her." Rina smiled gently. "Are you settling in alright? You look like the bedsheets came alive and tried to strangle you to death?"

"I haven't gotten much rest," is all Willow responded with. She glanced at Sidney but soon looked away.

Will looked at her in concern.

Darvi narrowed his eyes at her, but didn't say anything.

"I do hope you get some rest soon Willow. Our charts don't expect land for a day or two at the least so you can get your rest. Let me know if you need anything of course!" Rina walked over to give her a gentle pat on the back.

Willow just nodded, flinching a bit at Rina's touch, "O-okay. Thanks."

Will nodded and said, "And let me know if you need any more stories. Hopefully less depressing than that last one."

Willow blushed and smiled, looking back down at her lap, "T-Thank you. I would love that."

Rina backed off, going back to her spot at the head of the table. "Sorry about that. So anyone else want to speak up. Especially if you don't recognize someone here."

Naim sat quietly, listening to everyone. They'd prefer not to be as visible, but apparently people freaked out whenever they hovered up to the ceiling and stayed there curled into a ball, curious eyes peeking out of their dark clothing. So they resigned themself to curling up in their seat.

Rune cleared his throat, awkwardly shifting his footing, "Hello, everyone. I'm sure you know me by now, but if not, here's your introduction. My name's Rune, I'm the First Mate on this vessel. I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you in due time."

Willow nodded, and Juniper smiled at him.

Nicky clapped. "Woo! Um. I should probably introduce myself too, I kind of snuck onto the ship when no one was looking. Mostly because Pie boy was looking a litle grumpy for some reason and I didn't feel like he was in the mood to meet someone who would talk about shooting things in the face."

Belinda was intently writing something down, tongue sticking out in concentration.

"Welcome on board, Nicky!" Juniper clapped, "Although, shooting things in the face seems a bit wild. But we love wild on this ship. And Pie Boy is a cool nickname. Hm... I wonder what my nickname would be. Maybe... I don't know. I'll have to think on that."

Rune rolled his eyes at Juniper but looked to Nicky, "It's a pleasure having you, Nicky. I hope you find everything to your liking, so far."

"Oh its been great. This has some very good spots to set up and Will was very helpful making sure the ship was fully comfortable with all the places I was picking. There's some wonderful machine guns on here. So light too these days with all the advancements in anti recoil technology."

Will grinned. "I'm Will. And yes, the ship and weaponry are wonderful."

"Nice to hear that," Rune concluded, leaning against the wall behind Rina.

Rina's smiled turned into a slight frown. She walked over and scooped up what looked to be a small scruffy orphan. "Idris, what are you doing on the floor?"

Willow's eyes seemed to bulge out of her head. Her face went completely pale, and she started picking at her fingernails even more. "Uh, what the hell is going on?" she glanced at everyone, "Does anyone else see the ghost? And Rina, you can see ghosts? I didn't... what is she doing here?"

Belinda cleared her throat. "And why does she smell like plant fertilizer?"

"How rude," Juniper stood, making her way to the girl Rina just picked up, "Leave her alone. Okay? She's not dead. What the hell, Willow?"

Idris blinked slowly, looking more like a cornered animal under the attention. The clear medical mask certainly wasn't helping with her strange appearance.

"She's literally dead," Willow pointed at her, "her. She's dead."

Will blinked.

Gray coughed. "She's dead inside. She's literally a criminal."

Darvi whirled around. "A criminal? Charged with what? Stealing bread?"

He rolled his eyes. "Murder. Not some petty bread thief."

"Guys, are you not understanding what I'm saying?" Willow seemed hysterical at this point, "That girl is dead. She's not really here. I swear to it. I know she's not. I saw it myself."

Idris started hyperventilating, her breath fogging up the mask. Her eyes darted around the room as she shook her head.

"What do you mean you saw it?" Rune narrowed his eyes at Willow.

Rina pulled her a little closer, wrapping around her protectively. "Yeah an explanation would be greatly appreciated please and thank you."

"I saw her... " Willow stopped herself, stuttering, "I-I-I-I"

"You saw what? How?" Rune crossed his arms, "What are you saying, Willow?"

"N-nothing."

"No, continue," Rune's voice became stern as if it was a demand, "You saw what?"

"I said nothing!" Willow defended herself, her hands now raw and bloody from the picking, "Nothing! I saw nothing!"

Will got out a handkerchief from a pocket somewhere and held it out to Willow. He looked at Idris curiously, as if wondering what her story was. Willow hesitantly took it and placed it on her hands.

"You're lying." Rune looked to Sefarina, "It was her."

Darvi looked between Willow and Idris. "Can someone explain what's going on here? Why do we have a dead, dirty murderer on the ship?"

"Excuse me that's alive and mildly dishevelled pardoned felon on community service to you."

"She's a prophet. She can see people's deaths before they actually happen. That's what's going on," Rune enlightened Darvi, "It was her."

Darvi's head snapped towards Willow. "You. What was that letter about?"

Rina's gears also seemed to click at that moment. "So it was not a prank. Time for celebration! No wait that means Sidney's actually going to die. False alarm guys. Celebration later."

"I-I--" Willow took her head in her hands, "I didn't write anything!"

Rune moved towards her, slamming a hand on the table, "Listen. We need to know what the hell you meant by the letter. I don't care if you say you didn't write it, because we all know you did. Now spill." Naim tried not to flinch at the hand-slamming noise. Darvi and Idrs weren't so successful.

"I don't think yelling at her will solve anything." Belinda hesitantly peered over the journal she was writing.

Willow started sobbing. She became a mess in a matter of seconds, "I don't know, okay?! It's not like I can control it. Would you have rather I said nothing? I explained everything in the letter. Everything. T-that's all I know."

How had everything gotten so chaotic so fast? Naim scrunched up into a tighter ball.

Rune backed off, sighing loudly, "What a shitshow."

Will glared at Rune. "I'm sure Willow was trying to help. It's not her fault if the vision's unhelpful."

"If you saw the creatures again, would you recognize them? If we find them, can you tell us what they are?" Darvi leaned towards Willow.

A small blonde missile emerged from the doorway and dived on top of the table. "ITS TIME FOR ICE CREAM!"

Naim stared at the person in shock. They were not the most socially adept, but even they knew this was not the right time. Or was it? Perhaps ice cream could solve everything?

Willow screamed, and Rune cursed under his breath loudly. Juniper seemed to be enjoying the whole thing, "Ice cream?!"

Willow finally responded to Darvi, "I would recognize them, yes. But I am not leading you to them. I did not sign up for that!"

"You don't have to lead us to them. But if they start showing up, we need to know! We need to have a chance to fight them. You told us for a reason, right?" Darvi picked at their cuticles.

"For all of our safeties, yes," Willow sniffled, "But I'm afraid I won't be much use after that. I-I'm sorry. I didn't.... I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Willow." Will smiled at her. "You did your best. We can work off of that."

"You told us something vital. Now we can start preparing. Incomplete information is better than no information." Darvi sighed. "And now I know that wasn't a veiled threat, I appreciate your letter."

Rina cleared her throat gently. "Okay we can stop grilling the pillow, I mean our dear Willow. Thank you for sharing. Maybe umm put your name on it next time. Just so that we don't all have small panic attacks trying to figure out if its a prank or not. Just for future reference. Its lovely that you spoke and I'm sure normally you want to distance your name from your predictions, but on board we're a little too tightly knit to be doing that okay?"

Rune finally realized who was now in the room with them, "Why is Aquarius here, Sefarina?" his voice projected through the whole room, silencing everyone.

Idris flinched again and stared at Rune.

Aquarius managed to get to her feet and promptly spread her arms wide. "Ice Cream. I bring the gift of ice cream." She walked up to Rune and promptly booped his nose. "You look like you really need some."

Rune inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. He shot one last look at Sefarina before just simply leaving the room. Naim was tempted to follow him and leave this noisy place, but their curiosity got the better of them and they kept listening.

Juniper raised her eyebrows, "Ooooh. This is getting gooood."

"Just like my adventure novels!" Belinda scribbled something down in her journal.

Sidney raised her hand excitedly. "I'd love some ice cream!"

Will smiled tentatively. "Yeah, I think some ice cream would help us all relax."

Aquarius grinned. "Yess! That's the spirit, although I entrusted it all to our esteemed chef so you may have to wait for him to start handing them out at the end of this meeting unfortunately."

"On the topic of food, which one of you scoundrels has been stealing food from my pantry?" asked said chef.

"Do you have a security issue?" Darvi looked to Gray. "I can help."

"I don't know of anyone that would be stealing food." Nicky frowned. "I spent a decent amount of time near the kitchen and no one really went in that direction at all."

"Idris, was it you?" He said, pointing at her.

Idris flinched, shaking her head wildly.

Gray scoffed, not believing her.

"Okay but like, she's dead, seriously," Willow was still staring at Idris. Naim looked at Idris. Idris didn't look dead to them, but what did they know? They could observe well, but they couldn't speak to ghosts.

Idris patted her chest and shook her head.

Belinda stood up. "Okay. Okay. I've heard plenty of stories of ghosts who don't realize they're dead. So, let's see! I have the perfect test to see if she's dead!" She bounded up to Rina and Idris and held a hand over Idris' head. She stared off into space until her eyes started glowing the faintest blue. She held that pose for a couple of seconds, the light getting fainter and fainter, until she suddenly stumbled back, gasping for breath. "Nope! Nearest Dead Boy energy comes from Kevin and Kyle, the morphine accident twins."

Idris shivered, her face a little paler.

"But she is close. Like..." She laughed nervously. "Close enough for Dead Boy residue."

"Shh," Juniper waved her hand, "I got her covered. She'll be fine."

Rina patted her chest gently. "She's going to be absolutely fine."

Willow went even paler. She went quiet, whispering to herself, "H-how did you escape death? You changed fate. How?"

Idris looked to Juniper and mimed writing something.

Juniper hurried and stood up, looking at Belinda for a scrap of her paper, "May I?"

"Oh, sure!" Belinda tore a scrap of paper and handed it over. "This is so exciting. What a cast of characters! The Supposed to be Dead Felon, the Unwilling Prophet, the Buttface Guard--"

"Hey!" Darvi crossed their arms.

Belinda didn't seem to hear them. "This is so exciting!" Naim thought that that was sarcasm.

Juniper took a pen out of her dress pocket and rushed over to Idris, handing everything over, "Here, hun. Take your time."

Idris hunched over the table, letting out a brief but loud dry cough. She slipped the note to Willow. "How did I die?"

Willow read it, teary eyed again, "You... two adults. You were... it was them."

Juniper froze, "You saw that?"

"A long time ago," Willow shook her head and pushed the paper back to Idris, "A long... long time ago. I was a child."

Idris took back the paper, her hands shaking. A tear of her own spilled down her cheek, cutting through the thin layer of engine soot on it. Even still, she barely managed to write out a response and slipped it back to Willow. Naim leaned forwards to peek at the paper.

"I killed them first."

Willow read it and sighed heavily leaning back against the wall, "So... we can stop these things from happening. I always thought... I thought they were gonna happen whether we liked it or not."

Idris nodded, eyes still watery.

Juniper clapped her hands, "Yay! We're all not gonna die!"

Sidney grinned. "I love it when people don't die."

Aquarius found a seat next to her. "Yes I, Zodiac Aquarius, approve of this message."

"I mean, if Sidney dies, it's not a big deal." Belinda looked up from her journal.

Sidney screeched. "Wait what?"

Rina groaned. "Sidney is not going to die. Also it would be a big deal, Belinda, unless you'd like to be the one who claims responsibility so Cancer can put you in one of her big cages probably with a few genetically modified spiders."

Belinda squeaked. "You... you guys realize what my constellation is, right?"

"Belinda, last I checked you were not wearing a badge that stated your constellation and power so unfortunately no." Nicky pointed out.

"Belinda can actually revive people," Juniper said proudly, "It's pretty cool, if you ask me."

"Where do you guys think I got Jasper?" Belinda scooped him up and showed him up. "They don't come like this. Have you guys never seen a cat before?" She scratched his ears. "You don't mind coming back as a skeleton, do you, Sidney? I can try giving you flesh, but I've never tried it before." Naim goggled at Belinda.

Aquarius promptly leaped over to pet the cat. "Oh wow. I did not see this cute guy before. Hello there Jasper! You look like someone who would appreciate ice cream unlike grumpy edgelord."

Jasper purred, slumping into her hand.

"I can make human flesh using stem cell regeneration!" Juniper giggled, "Though, for your eyes, I may need a goat."

Sidney grinned. "Ooooh I could be Skeleton Door Girl. That'll be sooo coool! Someone kill meee!"

"No ONE KILL HER!" Darvi leaned over her. "Belinda, we are not letting you turn Princess Sidney into a SKELETON."

The door pushed open again, and Rune stood there, frozen, "What happened now?"

Belinda smiled as Jasper soaked in his pets. "Oh, we were just talking about whether or not I should bring Sidney back as a skeleton."

"The vote's pretty fifty fifty on whether we should kill Sidney or not." Rina added. "You want to weigh in?"

Rune walked back to stand next to Sefarina, avoiding any eye contact with her, "That sounds pleasant. I vote we avoid that, being as we are not losing any more-- I mean, any, crewmates on this ship. That's final."

"I can bring her back!" Belinda sighed. "I am seriously worried about how everyone assumed Jasper was alive."

"Yeah, back without any INTESTINES!" Darvi groaned and rubbed her temples. "We are going to find a way to avoid this.

"No more having to remember to eat foodd! I see this as a win!" Sidney added, probably not helpfully.

"Cheating death brings bad luck to both parties involved," Rune elaborated, "In order to bring something back, the stars will take something in return. Do we want to risk all of us dying, just because we want to see a skeleton? No, I don't think so."

Naim considered that. What had the stars taken from Idris, then? They stared at Idris.

"Jasper didn't cost me anything!" Belinda stroked his head.

"He's an animal," Rune looked at her, "Not a human with constellation given gifts."

"I'm sure we could figure it out! Besides, this is a last case scenario. Darvi fails miserably at their job scenario. And you know Darvi. The only thing they care about is their job!"

Rune looked puzzled at that statement, "Aren't you Darvi's twin? Darvi doesn't deserve to be talked about by their own blood, especially about the one thing he cares about. I would never talk about my brother that way."

Darvi grumled. "You get used to it."

Belinda reached over and patted his shoulder. "I do it because I love you."

"That's better," Rune flashed a small smile, "appreciate what you have, now. Before it's gone."

"Precisely!" Juniper agreed, "though, skeletons are cool. I've always wanted to see a moving, working one. That way I can test things out on it."

"Skeletons are cool! I never understood why people found them scary. It's the muscles without skin that look scary." Belinda shuddered. "I'm sorry, Sidney. But if you come back like that, I'm taking your life back."

"That is, indeed, terrifying. I know first hand." Willow chirped in.

Sidney huffed. "Very temperamental."

Rina made herself heard again. "Well good for the two of you then! I'm sorry the rest of us are a tiny bit scarred from the skeletons we've seen. I'm sure you've seen the skeleton of your close friends and cracked a few jokes. But anyway, I think we've established that Sidney not dying is the bet way forward."

Belinda squeaked and looked down, squirming in her seat.

Juniper looked at her sympathetically, "It's okay. We'll have fun other ways. Remember the garden? Think about that!"

She nodded. "The garden!"

Rune asked, "What garden?"

"Oh, we're just planting a garden and some flowers around the ship. It'll help with all the depressing energy. And, it's fun!" Juniper smiled.

"Hmm," Will said. "The ship isn't opposed to the idea."

"Stars save us," Rune brought a hand to the bridge of his nose, "I need some coffee."

"A garden sounds like fun."

"You all could help!" Juniper clapped her hands together.

Willow blurted, "Uh, what kind of flowers? I'm allergic to lots of them."

"Non-allergenic, of course! Magic is an amazing thing," Juniper winked at her.

"It won't take away from our misson of finding humans. But, it will make the humans we find think we're less uptight!"

"Are any of them edible?" Gray quipped, still glaring at Sidney for trying to take the food.

"We can plant herbs!"

"Ooh herbs are cool!"

"Can we get back on track, please?" Rune asked.

"Please!" Darvi sank their head on the table.

"Ah it's a lively crew," Rina smirked. "Oh come on Rune. You want a repeat of what happened on board the Falcon. The entire crew was eying each other shyly waiting for the other person to speak until we literally ran into an iceberg. And they still didn't talk. Despite literally breaking the ice."

Rune didn't respond or acknowledge Rina, simply crossing his arms and sighing.

"That does sound miserable." Belinda nodded.

Will winced. "And painful. Shipwrecks are awful."

"Very. Okay, so. Hold on. Quick recap here. We think Sidney shouldn't die. Idris isn't dead. And everyone introduced themselves to everyone else. Did I miss anything there? Rune?"

Rune just gave her a thumbs up, "Nope."

Rina nodded with a smile. "Coolio. Anything else anyone wants to bring up about ghosts or ice cream or sentient flying pancakes or anything else?"

Will raised a hand. "The ship would love to get to know Idris, but beyond that, nope. Oh, I am curious about the sentient flying pancakes, though."

"Unfortunately I mostly threw that in there just in case. I also saw that in a dream last night. But that's not a topic of discussion for todayy. So no one else got any big revelations?"

Will laughed. Idris shook her head.

"Okay wonderful, now there's two more things, hold on three more things on the agenda. You definitely need to remember one thing above all the rest, so I'll start with the easiest thing. Now do you all know what you need to be doing aboard the ship?"

Everyone nodded.

"Wonderful, now those are of course the roles you were picked for, some are obvious, some are very vital and you need to be doing them 24/7, I'm looking at you Gray, Will and Juniper especially. Nicky too. You guys need to focus on keeping your area of the ship, or the ship itself in Will's case running smoothly. I won't disturb either of you because you guys are the ones on standby at all times. Obviously get your sleep, don't let me catch any of you pulling any all nighters, but do be ready to get woken up in the middle of the night if we run into the appropriate emergency. Can I get a yes from everyone?"

Juniper smiled, "Yes, sounds good!"

"I'll do whatever it takes to do my job." Darvi nodded.

"I'm already doing mine!" Belinda grinned and held up her journal.

Darvi grumbled. "So am I..."

"Yes," Willow said quietly.

Nicky flashed a thumbs up. "If you need something to be dead, just point me in the direction."

"Of course," Will said. "To the doing my role, not necessarily pointing Nicky to things to kill..."

Idris nodded shyly.

"Thank you everyone!" Sefarina smiled. "Glad to have you all cooperating. Idris thank you to you as well. You'll be the one behind the scenes making sure its all going to run smoothly. I'm personally going to be in the wheelhouse making sure the ship is staying on course or sleeping in my cabin at the back or in the chair there, it varies. Okay it'll mostly be the chair, but we're going to ignore that."

"I can stand guard over you if you wish, Captain." Darvi leaned forward.

Belinda snorted.

"I'll keep that in mind if I ever feel like I need it, thank you Darvi. Actually I'd like you to come visit me later tonight on that chair. Keep that in mind."

Darvi's eyes lit up. "Of course, Captain."

"Thank you." Sefarina beamed again. "Well now that we've touched on it, Darvi is our expert on all things security, currently not a major concern but they will be conducting every important briefing before we go on any sort of land or in the event of an emergency on board. If something goes wrong or you feel unsafe, you report to xem, not to me."

Belinda muttered something, but nodded.

"What was that Belinda? I didn't quite catch that."

"Nothing, Rina!" She grinned. "Just taking notes! This will be quite the saga."

"Hmmm," Rina didn't return her grin. "I think it will be. Alright, then of course Rune, who already introduced himself. He's practically the captain in all but name, whatever orders he gives, you can feel free to follow and he'll do much more of the day to day ordering than me. I'll be focusing mostly on navigating and keeping the ship clear of any dangers, so remember always go to him first and then to me, preferably along with him if the situation demands more attention."

Rune saluted to them.

"Wonderful. Now who did I miss?"

Sidney raised her hand. "What's my jobb?"

"Try very hard not to die!"

She did a half salute of sorts. "You got it captain!"

"Please don't die." Darvi looked up.

"I'm sure she won't," Rina flashed a reassuring smile at the both of them. "And that brings me to Willow. Yes, you have quite an important job, entertainment, but not all the time, so feel free to get that rest you need until the time comes when we need that in good amounts. And finally." She turned straight to them.

"Mx. Sinaloae I believe, you've been awfully quiet this entire time. You've got a fairly important job too there. You can take up your watch as soon as you're available. I don't expect us to run into anything for a day or two of sailing but you can always keep watch."

Naim froze. They should've expected someone would notice them eventually, but it didn't mean they had to like it... They nodded silently. In the crow's nest, at least they could notice without being noticed. It was the perfect job for them.

"And with that I think that's it for that particular topic of discussion. Has everyone understood their roles up to now?"

"Wait hold on!" Aquarius jumped back into the fray. "What do I do?"

"You can also be part of the entertainment and maybe come help me with navigation a little bit. Your skills could be useful."

"And eat ice cream?"

"You can also have ice cream!"

Aquarius cheered."That's a dream job right there!"

"Anything else, Captain?" Darvi glanced at the door.

"Two more things! Hold your horses! Although I think we might be down to one thing perhaps. The next annoncement was that Zodiac Aquarius or as she prefers to be called, Aqua I believe?, asked to join us on rather short notice yesterday and so umm....here she is." Sefarina did a weak little flourish.

Aquarius cheered loudly.

"And now you know that and her role. I think that's pretty much about all we need to mention on that topic but go on ahead if any of you have questions?"

Everyone shook ther heads.

"Alrightt! Wonderful! Now for the final thing on our agenda, and this is the part I really need all of you to keep in mind okay?"

She took a deep breath and began to pace around the room. "All of you were chosen because you belong here, and here is a very, very important mission for the Zodiac Isle and the future of humanity itself. I don't care if Zodiac Pisces brough you here himself for being the world's best healer, or if Zodiac Cancer bought your way onto this with her wealth, or if a court order made you come here or heck if one of you is just a stowaway. You're all here now. For better or for worse. The stars saw fit to make it so that we would be on this journey so we're a crew now. We're all equals here. And everyone must be treated as such."

She paused for a moment to let that sink in.

"Now what we're doing is not only important but also very dangerous, so everyone listen to your captain, to Rune, to Darvi and to everyone else who will give out advice. There will be no heroes on this ship, saving the day alone. We're a crew. We live together. We win together. We lose together and we'll sail right into Davy Jones's locker together."

Belinda clapped. "Well said! I'm going to write that down word for word."

Juniper followed and clapped along with Belinda, smiling bright.

"I know we're all new to each other. We're from vastly different walks of life. It will be hard to let our guards down, hard to trust others, but I implore you all to try within reason, because the sooner we can all believe each other and do things together, the sooner we'll be ready to deal with any threat that heads our way. Can I have that promise?"

"Aye captain,'" echoed Nicky and Aquarius. Sidney proceeded to clap along to that one too.

"Yep!" Juniper yelled, clapping louder. Will grinned and clapped as well.

"You're all going to be my bestest friends!" Belinda giggled. "Woo!"

Naim stared at Sefarina, then nodded hesitantly. Sefarina could give inspiring speeches, apparently.

Rina grinned. "Glad to hear it. And then that's it. Trust each other. Listen to each other. Remember we're all part of a crew and then just maybe we'll all come out the other end in one piece and just maybe if luck is in our hands we'll find a civilization and solve Zodiac Pisces's mystery to boot." She hollered and let out a quick cheer.

"Alright ladies, gentlemen, cats, plants, Darvi, Greg the ghost and everything else in between, yes including you Zodiac Pisces from the listening device you definitely placed somewhere on here, have a good voyage, be safe, come to me if you need anything and this meeting is adjourned. Let's get some food and then some sleep!"

Rina left her station making for where the food was. Sidney was practically leaping in that direction as was Aquarius. Nicky, on the other hand, looked more concerned about getting back to what was in her notes.

Darvi jogged to catch up to Sidney, grumbling.

Belinda looked to Juniper, holding out her hand. "Shall we?"

Naim left before they could hear the response. They slunk along the ship's corridors, then scrambled up the rigging to get to the crow's nest. Once perched on the railing, they let out a deep breath and relaxed for the first time since the meeting had started. This. Yes. This was where they belonged, up high with a bird's-eye view and a big-picture perspective.

Naim spotted a few others walking across the deck. Thankfully, no one looked up, so they turned their attention to the sea. The waves rose and fell in a mesmerizing pattern that stretched to the horizon. Behind the ship, a line of black indicated the port they had left, although it was becoming fainter every minute.

A caw interrupted their thoughts, and they turned to see a medium-sized black crow flapping up to perch beside Naim. Well, someone was feeling friendly today. They took out some nuts they'd packed before the voyage and fed them to the crow, whom they'd named Crown upon finding them a few weeks ago. Yes, Naim had such an original mind for names.

Crown looked up at them with beady black eyes. Naim smiled. Since Crown was perched so close by, they could use their abilities... But they saw no need for those for now. In this moment, Naim was content to sit and watch and let their thoughts drift to the upcoming voyage.

The meeting was much longer than Juniper expected. Not only did she stare at Belinda (almost the whole time), but she couldn't stop thinking about plants. She dreamed of their leaves, the way they had a dewy shine from the mist she sprayed on them each night, and she could almost taste the sweet honeysuckle berries that she grew back at Virgo's. Her mother always enjoyed Juniper's creations, she always wondered if maybe one day she'd be a medic for every zodiac, not just her mother.

Juniper grew up spoiled rotten. She didn't let that affect her vivid personality or the way she viewed others, though. From a young age, she was always playing around with pots and plants and fertilizer, she even smears it on her face at night in hope it'd make her look more youthful. As she grew older, she realized that beauty was not given, it was earned. She almost heard Virgo's voice in her head as her shoes clanked against the wooden creaky floor:

June, there's more to life than just being pretty. Us, as royalty, need to take care of ourselves. The stars will bless us in due time. Immortality is earned, it's a gift that keeps giving. And when you become of age, maybe the stars will bless you, too. For now, let's focus on the present. Master your gifts. You'll get what you strive for later in life-- when the stars deem you ready.

Trust me, Darling, immortality is not as grand as you think it is. I live everyday missing my family, missing... I live everyday trying to grasp what remains of their souls in the cosmos. But we can only live, here and now, in the present. That's why I believe in you, because I raised you to be better than the rest-- you are powerful, Juniper. Don't worry about the future. It will come. It will all come.

Juniper swallowed loudly, leading Belinda down the spiral staircase. They were now walking through the kitchen, when another memory hit even harder:

Juniper sat at her mother's dining table, the servants surrounding her with a freshly roasted turkey, complimented with red wine and fresh berries picked from Juniper's garden. Virgo sat at the head, slicing her meat elegantly, while reading documents intensely.

"Mom?" Juniper's voice echoed through the dining hall, and all the servants stopped dressing the table with accents of flowers and fine China, "Why can't I go to school?"

"You don't need it," Virgo mumbled, still stuck in her daze.

Juniper leaned forward a bit in attempt to grab her mother's undivided attention, "But why? Why don't I need it?"

"You're special, June, to keep it simple." Her mother glanced up, glasses tilted to lean on her perfectly sculptured nose, "I can teach you things, if that's what you're worried about. Are you curious?"

Juniper sighed and glanced away reluctantly, "No, not curious. I just want to make friends. I want to be like all the other kids."

"And what happens when they find out your my child, baby?" Virgo's green eyes turned sympathetic, "they'll treat you differently."

"All due respect, mama, I don't think so," Juniper looked at her lap, playing with her silk handkerchief, "I don't even look like you."

"Let me tell you something, darling. I think it's about time."

Juniper's face turned into a puzzled look of dismay.

"You... we are not related, darling. You are not of my blood. But you are still my daughter, all in the same. I found you on my doorstep when you were just a baby-- wrapped in a silk blanket. I still have it hidden somewhere in your room. Your name was not Juniper. You came with a note, someone couldn't take care of you at that point in their life. I could never have children, so I saw you as a gift from the stars. I took you back to my chambers-- bathed you, pampered you. You are my gift."

Juniper sat there, shocked. Her body tingled. She wanted to scream. So everything was a lie? She wasn't actually related to royalty... she was a nobody. Just a baby who was given sympathy by someone else. Who was her real mother, then?

"Mama--"

"June, listen to me," Virgo's face became stern, "This doesn't make you any less a daughter of a Zodiac. You will always be powerful, my love. You have that fire in your heart, something I saw since the day I found you on my doorstep. Don't think my love for you is any less fake, because I'd give up my immortality for you to live forever if I could. You are still my child."

Juniper stayed silent, trying her hardest not to cry. She wiped the bottom of of her lash line. She just continued dinner as usual, and finally started cutting her turkey with a shaky hand.

Belinda walked beside her, the wind blowing in her salted hair. The breeze seemed to be affecting them already, being as Juniper already smelled like the seas essence. She didn't mind it though. As they walked back to the med bay, Juniper tried not to stare at Belinda's walk-- so confident and preppy; something Juniper admired about her. She admired many things about Belinda so far; the fact she likes to write, has an infatuation with theatre, and appreciates the little things in life. To be honest, she didn't even expect Belinda to accept her invitation to pot flowers with her.

Juniper didn't hesitate to open the door for Belinda, and smiled when Belinda shot her one back. They slowly entered, and Juniper pulled the chain to the light-- revealing her beloved children. They jolted upwards as if they'd been asleep, snapping at the two girls while also putting on their infamous "puppy-dog eyes', as Juniper called it.

Mr. Flytrap and Mrs. Mugwort sat next to each other, leaning on empty pots that Juniper had yet to use. They looked at the duo with curious eyes, as if to say: you kids are home late.

"It's okay if you don't want to start today," Juniper said shyly, sitting down on the med chair, "that meeting itself was pretty tiring, so I don't expect you to be full of energy and ready to get your hands dirty. I'd understand."

"Tiring is exactly what makes me want to get my hands dirty!" Belinda gave a little wave to call the plants, clicking at Jasper when he was about to knock over a pot. "I'm so used to touching old books and dead cats--no offense Jasper--that sometimes you just want to touch something living."

Juniper smiled wider at Jasper, patting the space next to her. Whether that invitation was for Jasper or Belinda-- she wasn't entirely sure. She was fine with either one, but she'd prefer the beautiful angel that stood so elegantly Infront of her, "That seems fun, though! It's like... having secret friends. You should introduce me to them sometime, even if I can't personally see them. It seems like they'd have a lot of advice, even if it's just... dead cats. And as for books...what do you like to read? I'm not the best reader, but I'd like to learn. That wasn't high up on my mother's value list."

"I'd love to introduce you to them! Willow thinks they're scary, but they're mostly lonely and they miss home." She sighed. "And I read everything, really! Except horror. But I love adventures the most."

"Willow seems like a lost soul, unfortunately. Maybe you could help her change her perspective on her gift? You could show her the beautiful things about it and maybe even make a new friend in the process. And ooh! Adventures! What a lovely genre. I'll have to steal something from your collection one time. With permission, of course." Juniper giggled.

"I hope I can help her. And feel free to take anything not on my nightstand! Or in my bag."

Juniper nodded, "I'll think about it. Gotta read the back of each one, pick my favorite..." she glanced to the right, eyes landing on the empty pots. She gestured to them, "Pick your favorite color. I have green, of course, purple, blue... uh. I also think I have a gold one somewhere, but it may have gotten lost while I unpacked."

"Oh, I love any pastel color. Baby blue, blush pink, lavender."

"I think I have a lavender one somewhere..." Juniper stood and picked through the pots, finally triumphantly pulling out a light purple pot, dressed with intricate patterns and swirls, "This one is clay. I made it a while ago, but now it's all yours!"

Belinda gasped. "It's beautiful! You made this?"

"I did," Juniper blushed, "My mother was avid in me learning pottery. It's come in handy in some circumstances. I'm glad you like it!"

"You're so talented! I've never had the patience needed to learn a skill from scratch. That's amazing, Juniper!"

"Oh, stop," Juniper blushed even harder, "You're just as talented. I could never read a whole novel in one sitting, and I bet you could. We all have our strengths."

Juniper stood and moved next to her accidently brushing her arm against Belinda's. They both paused for a moment and made eye contact before Juniper broke it reluctantly. She lifted some of the pots to reveal her favorite one: a sage green wooden pot, with paintings of multiple types of flowers-- ranging from lilies to hydrangeas, to sunflowers, "This one is special. I made this one from the remnants of my favorite toy horse as a toddler. I'm thinking this one will stay outside the med bay-- a reflection of how far I've come. What do you think?"

Belinda nodded, eyes wide and mouth agape. "It's... perfect."

You're perfect.

Juniper smiled and handed it to her, "Would you do me the pleasure of picking the first flower that'll go in this? Anything you want. I'll make it happen."

Belinda took it gently, looking down at the pot like it was made of fragile precious gems. "Oh. Random, unrelated question. But what's your favorite flower?" Belinda's eyes fluttered as she looked back up at Juniper.

You.

"Uh.... I'd say all of them, of course. But if I had to pick a favorite, it'd be roses. They're romantic and symbolize the soul. Specifically red ones, of course," Juniper chuckled, "I know, not very original of me."

Belinda giggled. "It's fine. As long as it's not yellow roses. They're bad luck. Symbols of deciet, infedility, and jealousy."

Juniper raised her eyebrows, honestly surprised, "Wow. You know about symbolicism in flowers, too? I didn't think you could get any more unique than you already are, Ms. Belinda Esther!"

Belinda giggled harder. "You flatter me! My library has many books. One of them is this old book all the way from the 1800s about the language of flowers. Did you know that young lovers would use bouquets as a form of code? The flowers, the colors, the style of ribbon all played into the bouquets meaning."

Juniper's skin got literal goosebumps. She'd never met anyone remotely like Belinda, she now was even more interested in the girl than she originally was. Of course, she was infacuated, but now she felt like she had to have her.

"Oh my gosh. No, I didn't know that and... that's the cutest thing I've ever heard!" Juniper clapped excitedly, "You gotta teach me about the specifics. I'd love to read that, if you'd let me! Sounds right up my alley!"

"Hmm, I'm pretty sure I brought it! Just in case someone used a language of flowers, so we could compare."

"Perfect," Juniper strode happily over to the numerous bags of soil near the door, holding her hand out for one of Belinda's two pots, "May I fill these for you? I know you said you don't want your hands dirty, but... I'm kind of a freak when it comes to measurements," she giggled.

"Go ahead! I'm much more of a 'fill a whole flowerbed and hope it goes well' gal." Belinda grinned and handed back the two pots.

"And that's perfectly fine, in certain situations," Juniper picked up the soil with her hands and filled every pot to the exact measurements perfect for enchanting. She made sure not to pass the line, carefully smoothing them both out when she was all done. She passed them back to Belinda carefully before picking up her own. She reached for the red one, and did the same exact thing, "Are you ready to get to the fun part?"

"Oh, yes! I can't wait! Flowers!"

Juniper nodded and took out some prepotted flowers, and a whole basket full of seeds, "Which one's for you?"

"The red roses and morning glories! Our two favorite flowers together."

"Amazing!" Juniper handed her a prepotted bushel of morning glories, "I'm guessing you know how to pot, or would you rather me help you?"

"I mean. You're the expert. Can you show me how you do it? You probably do it better."

Juniper nodded lightly, "Take the flowers out of that pot, but be careful not to mess up the roots."

Belinda nodded and gently did so, sending a cascade of dirt as she gently cradled the now exposed roots.

Juniper dug her a little hole and watched as Belinda placed the plant inside. Juniper paused and hesitated before reaching for Belinda's hands.

When they touched, Juniper's heart started racing a million times a minute. She could've sworn she was going to go into cardiac arrest. Juniper guided her hands to the soil, "Feel the soil. Become one with it," she whispered as she slowly moved Belinda's hands over the soil, "Now cover it with intention. Tell it how much you love it, what do you want to enchant this plant with?"

Belinda's breathing was shallow. Her hands seemed to shake sightly, but the rest of her held perfectly still. "I love you." Her breath was a small whisper.

Juniper's heart dropped, as if she was on a rollercoaster, and she was now also breathing scarcely, "I... I'm sure it loves you too," Juniper smiled lightly, "Now tell it how amazing it is. Tell it what you want it to do."

"You're amazing..." Belinda's voice wavered. "And... I want you to be happy. Whether I am near or far. Whether you remember me forever or forget me tomorrow. I want you to find happiness."

The pot seemed to vibrate slightly, but Juniper wasn't sure if that was magic or the movement of both their hands trembling, "Now seal it."

Belinda seemed slightly choked up. "H-How?"

"Intention," Juniper's voice grew even lighter, "Become one with it. However you feel that happens, is up to you."

Belinda slowly took Juniper's left hand and kissed it. "Be happy."

Juniper froze completely. She was now a statue. Frozen in time-- made of stone, like Medusa's victims. She stuttered, "W-What..." the flowers seemed to brighten, and next thing they knew a burst of light beamed from the petals, reflecting vivid colors like a mural onto the walls, "I-It worked. And look how... beautiful it is," Juniper didn't take her eyes of Belinda once, lost in what seemed like a deep trance.

Belinda smiled shyly. "Good. Let it remind you of the spell I put on you. It's beautiful, just like you... r heart. It's vibrant and colorful like your soul. And it's full of life like your eyes." She handed the plant to Juniper. "Be happy."

Juniper took the plant gently, "I... I'm sorry, but I think your mistaking me for yourself. I'm only feeling you out... helping you. You be happy. As long as you are, I will be."

"I'm the one who did the enchantment, right?"

"Yes," Juniper couldn't take her eyes of her, "all you."

"So I decide who it impacts, correct?" Belinda leaned closer, fluttering her eyes.

"Mmmm," Juniper's lip quivered slightly, "uh... I.... yes..."

"So if I say it affects you, then it affects you?" Belinda smirked.

"Mhm," Juniper's eyes narrowed on her, she felt her legs getting weak, "yes."

"So. It affects you." Belinda gigged, their faces so close their breath mixed. "All you~"

Juniper didn't even think when she leaned in. Their lips touched, and the mural around them flickered and dimmed as if it was per her request. Juniper lost thought and moved a hand to Belinda's cheek, cupping her chin in her hands. Everything felt perfect in that moment. Juniper felt alive for the first time in her life. She pulled away after a few seconds and blushed, removing her hand slowly, "Belinda Esther, you are something special, you know that?"

Belinda looked a little dopey, a wide grin. She let out a drunken giggle. "Oh, Juniper Wren, you are a gift." She then immediately leaned in for a second kiss.

Darvi's hands were sweating. Which was stupid. It was just their Captain. She wasn't going to do anything. Probably. But being around her made Darvi... fluttery. Some mix of nerves and expectation.

All of which Darvi needed to put away for this meeting. This very professional meeting where Captain would lay out expectations and safety plans.

Darvi didn't know why that made them so disappointed.

He buttoned up his best solider coat, all crisp from a fresh iron and the finest royal blue, he walked to the wheel house. Their hair was a mess, and no amount of fidgeting with it fixed it. Hopefully Captain didn't think he was neglecting his hygiene.

She knocked on the door. "Captain?"

"Darvi? Would that be you?"

"Yes, my Captain."

The door opened to reveal Captain Sefarina. She was not in her typical uniform, dressed in a loose top that had the top three buttons undone and a pair of baggy pyjama pants. She was holding a key. She looked suprisingly awake for this particular hour, although her hair was in tangles, a little knotted up like she'd taken a nap beforehand.

"Darvi! You came!"

Darvi suddenly felt quite self-conscious over xer choice of dress. It was clear the Captain had a different idea of dress code. "I had to. You called me here."

"Aww well you don't have to Darvi. You can always refuse or if you couldn't make it just make sure you get back to me the next morning and tell me why you couldn't make it. And the reason you couldn't make it could very well just be that you changed your mind about wanting to come."

"That would be insulting and horrifically unprofessional." Darvi shook faer head. "I couldn't dream of doing something like that."

"Well I'm telling you Darvi that would be perfectly fine, I'm being quite honest. This was not an official summons by any means, I was just inviting you over for an informal chat." She gestured to her current appearance. "As you can probably tell. I'm terribly sorry if I forgot to specify earlier."

"Oh. An informal chat." They cleared their throat. "Sure."

"Yeahh! Well shall we take this to that little spot I talked about. I had Gray prepare us some tea and its much cooler and far more relaxing."

"Relaxing." The word felt like lead in his mouth. "I'll follow you."

"Wonderful! After me then!" Sefarina led them out of the cabins and into the corridor. The scent of the sea stuck xer as they made their way out through the carpeted staircase and out onto the deck. Sefarina led her to the front, ducking around the wheelhouse and to a little tucked off corner. There was a small picnic table there, a little overhang covering it. A pot of tea stood in the center, the scene lit by two small candles. Two comfortable airmchairs lay on either side of it.

Sefarina gestured to the closest one. "Have a seat Darvi!"

Darvi swallowed and sat down. "Not quite what I was expecting."

Sefarina giggled. "Well I did say relaxing."

Darvi nodded. "Perhaps. But this more... indulgent. Was my captain on a date?"

Sefarina shook her head. "Hmm? Oh no. This is all just for us of course. I wanted you to feel nice and comfortable. Does this make you uncomfortable?"

Darvi quickly shook her head, "You could never make me uncomfortable, my captain."

"Well that's adorable. But don't be afraid to call me out if I make a mistake. I do make mistakes. I'm only human." Sefarina's look turned a little more serious.

"But if you were to ever make a mistake, you would immediately correct it before someone like me could even notice, my captain." Darvi bowed again.

"Oh hardly."

Clearly this was a losing battle. "Agree to disagree, my captain?"

"Hmm why do you say that?," Sefarina stepped a little closer.

"Because I disagree with you." Was her captain really that stubborn? Even a simple olive branch like that wouldn't convince her?

"But I can make mistakes?"

"You can. But you are the most likely to notice them." What was she not getting? Was she mad?

"Fair enough for now. Shall we sit?," She pointed at the big steaming pot of tea. "We have tea."

Darvi nodded and hesitantly sat down in the armchair that Sefarina had pointed out earlier. There was no escaping this. Sefarina sat down in the other armchair opposite Darvi, picking up the pot as she sat.

"So Darvi, milk?"

"Oh. Um. I don’t need any. All yours." Darvi smiled politefully.

"There's some for you as well." Sefarina offered the little pitcher of milk which definitely had more than was enough for two people. It could probably serve five people comfortably.

"Oh. Um. I’m sure it would be too sweet." Darvi gently pushed it bac towards her.

"Do you not like sweet things?" Sefarina has a small pout on her face.

"Oh. Um. Probably not." Darvi shurgged. When was the last time he had sweets? Or anything beyond strictly necessary nutrition? Too many years to remember, it seemed.

Sefarina clutched her heart. "And I thought you liked mee."

Darvi’s eyes widened . Their heart sounded more like a war drum than an organ. "I… oh… I…"

Sefarina giggled. "Just teasing honey."

Darvi just stared at her. "I… I would never dislike you, my captain"

"I knowww. I mean you are allowed to of coursee. But I know you don'ttt."

"No! That’s just absurd. Anyone who dislikes you is wrong!" Darvi's breath was much faster than it needed to be know. But it didn't slow down.

"Awww that's sweet Darvi but there's a few that do unfortunately." Sefarina had a slightly faraway look at that moment.

"Well they’re wrong!" Darvi slammed their hands on the table and immediately flinched, Sefarina snaping right back to reality. "Oh. I’m sorry. My captain. I don’t know…" He adjusted his collar. "It’s quite hot in here."

"Aww that's all right. Soo.. milk? Still too sweet for you? Or did someone else tell you that?" Sefarina looked a litle concerned now.

"I um. I’ve never had sweet things before. It’s a delicacy. Delicacies don’t enter soldiers’ kitchens." Zodiac Gemini had offered them a few times, but they had denied each time. The others hated them enough.

"Well try it with me thenn."

"But I—-"

"Nuh uh no buts. Never know if you like it if you don't try it." Sefarina put on a pair of what could only be called puppy eyes.

Darvi nodded. Apparently this was yet anoher hill her Captain was going to drag her actoss. "Alright then, my captain. Just a little."

"Wonderfulll. Sugar?"

"Oh. Probably not my captain. Definitely too sweet." He licked his teeth and cringed at the thought.

"Your teeth will survive a little sugar."

"But, it’s very unprofessional." Imagine. The guard of the greatest Captain drinking sugar. He would have been jumped in the corridors.

"It's very normal."

Darvi flushed. "It’s unbecoming"

"Hardly," Sefarina looked genuinely shocked at the very thought.

Darvi huffed. "Alright, my captain. I suppose you won’t tell anyone."

"Your secret is safe with meee." Sefarina proceeded to wink.

"I’ll take sugar then." Darvi reached out to grab it

"I'll pourr." She was quick to gently boop Darvi's hands away, pulling it closer to herself.

"I can do it, my captain." Darvi crossed their arms.

"I invited youu. I can do itt."

"But you’re the captain." Darvi waved their hand, trying to illustrate the obvius.

"Yes? And?" Sefarina raised her eyebrows challenging, leaning a little closer to Darvi.

Darvi fish mouthed. She was doomed. Geniunely doomed. "Continue then, my captain."

Serafina prepared two cups for the two of them Darvi watched her, unsure of what to do. Serafina finished up and offered a cup to Darvi.

"There you goo." She had a beaming smile on her face like she was proud to have gotten Darvi to accept this cup.

Darvi gently took it. "Thank you, my captain." She set it down, a little too unsure to drink it yet.

"You're very welcome Darvi."

They waited for her to take a sip before trying their own.

Sefarina took a sip. They joined her, trying to make it not seem forced.

"Taste good?"

Darvi simmered in it for a moment before nodding. "Less bitter."

"Taste better?." She asked, a pointed look at the sugar.

She nodded. "I’m ashamed to admit. Maybe I am more of a house cat than I realized." She froze Oh, sorry. Training inside joke, my captain."

"Awww that's an adorable joke." Sefarina practically cooed exactly like one would at an actual house cat.

Darvi tried xer best not to squirm. Adorable felt demeaning in some way. Any half decent guard wasn't adorable. "So why did you invite me to this, my captain?"

"Oh I just wanted to talk." She settled back in her seat, like she was happy enough with the situation to actually relax.

"Informally, as you said. Regarding what?"

"Just a talk." She shrugged as if that were meant to reveal the secrets of the universe to dd

"Okay…?" He gestured for them to continue.

"About things, such as you being comfortable on this ship. And with your current position on this ship."

Darvi nodded. "Doesn't seem very informal. But, alright. I greatly appreciate my placement on this ship and I'm prepared to do whatever it takes,"

"I'm glad to hear that Darvi, but that's not necessarily the aspect I want to talk about. Its your personal comfort."

"How could I be more comfortable? I have everything I could want. Being invited on this expedition is a great honor." They took another sip.

"Is that so?." Sefarina seemed to have a slight edge to that question.

Darvi nodded. "Of course."

"But I want you to know that you're not a soldier here." Sefarina set her cup down, leaning closer to Darvi once more.

"That’s why I was hired, my captain." They leaned away. "To be a solider. It's my job, my purpose."

"To be our guardian, yes." Sefarina nodded cautiously.

"And the best guardians are soliders. I am a solider."

"Do you know? I'm a soldier too."

"But you’re not, my captain. You’re a captain. You have power." Darvi sighed. They were quite tired of inspirational speeches.

"Well now I am. But I didn't always have this. I was just a deckhand once honestly, before I was even a solider. I started out scrubbing barnacles and salt."

"I had my humble beginning too. Cleaning toilets and stables. But you got your golden rank. The ranks were a ladder for you." Darvi sighed. "And a ceiling for me."

"You will Darvi. Its not a ceiling. Its a ladder. Some people climb on a shiny polished ladder that someone holds up for them. Others climb a slippery ladder lathered in oil that three different teams are shooting rocks while in a strong wind. They all reach the top."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, my captain. But my ladder is then splinters on the ground, trampled by everyone before me. All I can do is tape the small sections I have left and pretend I'm not on the ground." They shook their head, rubbing their temples. No one understood that. They had explained their situation so many times, and no one seemed to understand how hopeless it was.

"Oh we'll see about that." Sefarina didn't seemed even the slightest bit deterred.

"You speak like you have plans." Darvi tried their best not to scoff. Captain couldn't do anything.

"Oh I do. I always do." Sefarina was once again in that slightly far off place, like she was thinking through a vast array of plans.

Darvi shrugged. "Very well then, my captain." No use trying to decipher her.

"But for now. I want you to understand we're equal. Before we get to any of that."

"But, we’re not, my captain. I'm your subordinate."

"We are." She acted like it wasn't simple logic.

"You are ranked above me." Darvi's hand gestures were now cartoonish. "We are not equal."

"Yes we are. Can't you see it? Just two humans. Two soldiers. Two people who worked hard. On the same mission together."

"One is a decorated Sea Captain and the other is a domesticated Zodiac Guard."

"No Darvi, not on this ship you are not. You are in charge of everyone's safety. Did you not listen at the meeting? You are the end all and be all in matters of security. Everyone reports first to you and you have the final say. I can't go above your head when it comes to an issue of security. If you were to order we march onto an island naked for our safety, that's what we all must do. An exaggerated example of course."

Darvi blinked. "Pardon me, Captain. But are you insane?"

"I am not. Those are the rules we are playing by. Well on my ship anyway. Its what I've worked with for almost seven years now and it has worked flawlessly. Its a good system. If there's only one point of absolute authority, I found its just not as smooth as having people take full charge of their expertise."

"Is this a test, my captain?" Darvi stood up, narrowing their eyes. No one would be crazy enough to have someone other than the Captain in charge of anything, right?

"No?." Sefarina looked genuinely confused.

"What do you hope to gain from telling me this?"

"To make you realize the position you hold. So that you can feel more comfortable here. And understand that while yes, your life might have been unkind so far, but here you do have that power you want."

"I already am comfortable. I have carved out what I can from what the stars have given me. And the stars are very opinionated about what I deserve. To run your security department is not in my job title."

"Your job title is Chief of Security. I mean there's no officaly one per see. The Zodiacs were asked to present the most qualified person to conduct security on this voyage. Every zodiac deliberated and presente you as the answer. Including Aries and his duel happy crew, Sagittarius and he entire ship of military and secruity personnel."

"No other Zodiac wanted to give up any of their guard! Zodiac Gemini is the only one apathetic enough to do that. Zodiac Sagittarus already gave up you and Rune. Another guard would affect her immensely."

"I mean you point is not without merit, but I genuinely don't think so."

"My Zodiac told me what happened. He was the only one who offered up a fighter."

"I see." Sefarina looked a little conflicted, like she didn't know what to do with that information.

Darvi nodded, pressing their lips. At least Captain seemed to accept this.

"So. Alright. I think. I think we went too far in one direction here. Let's get back to the important thing at hand. On this ship you have power."

"Which is still a bad idea."

"Why?" The Captain continued to look confused at that thought.

"Because you're the captain. You're the one with all of the power. Decisions come through you. People come to you for instructions." Darvi took another sip of her tea. "Diffusing that power is only going to make people panicked in an emergency."

"Why do you think that? How would it make people panicked to have a clear idea of who to go to in what situation?" Sefarina's tea was long forgotten now.

"Because common sense says it should be you."

"I explained to everyone exactly who it should be. And is that not common sense? If you feel unsafe, go to the security person, if you're hurt, go to the medical person?"

Darvi sighed. "I don't want to argue about this with you."

"No I'm curious. I've been doing this strategy since I was first made a captain. This is the first time someone has suggested it was bad. So I'd like to get to the bottom of why."

"Because you're giving power to someone who has no experience with it." Darvi leaned back. "You have no way of knowing I'll be any good with it."

"I do." Sefarina shrugged like that was supposed to explain everything.

Darvi grasped at the air. "How?"

"I'm a fairly good judge of character I like to think.I only put people in charge that I think are able to handle being in charge of that thing."

"Have you ever been wrong before?"

"Of course, my first couple of years were a little rough around the edges. I haven't in the years since though."

Darvi groaned. "Fine. Fine!"

"What?"

"I'm the security head and I have power."

"You are the security head and you have power."

"Uh huh."

"So. We're considered equals? You can call me Rina?" Sefarina perked up, like this was coming to the core point of what she'd been trying to get at this entire conversation.

"I wouldn't go as far as to call us equals. I still report to you."

Sefarina groaned. "What is it that makes you think you're so unworthy?"

"What?" Darvi reared back.

"I mean you're so resistant to calling me Rina and understanding that as humans we are equal. I want to get to the bottom of this. That is I suppose you could say the full reason I called this meeting."

"That's easy. One, it's unprofessional. Two, it's not true."

"Huh?"

"Calling you anything other than Captain and is unprofessional. And on this ship, we're not equal."

"Why are we not equal?"

"I report to you."

"But that doesn't make you any less than me?"

"Yes it does. If I do something you don't like, you punish me."

"I don't?"

"What?"

"I don't punish people just because they did something I didn't like."

"Then you're a very special leader." Darvi sighed.

"Is that not normal?"

"No."

"Hmm, I don't want to make blanket statements without knowing but I learnt from the leaders in my life on how to lead and this is what they all adhered to. You've had some harsh leaders in your time."

Darvi shrugged. "Maybe."

"Does that change your opinion on us being equals?"

"I... don't know."

"Alright, that's something at least." Sefarina leaned back.

Darvi looked at the floor. "Why do you care so much?"

"I care about all of my crew. I don't ever want them to feel less important than they are."

"So this is a crew morale thing?" Darvi felt the side of their teacup. Their tea was lukewarm at best now.

"What do you mean by a crew morale thing?"

"I mean this meeting is to ensure the crew's morale is high."

"Not really? I just want to ensure that you specifically know how your place is on this ship. You just seem to think of little of yourself and pardon me for saying this but your sister is incredibly rude to you and only makes it worse."

Darvi scoffed. "Belinda isn't... rude. We just have very different priorities."

"So. Calling you a terrible person just for being who you are isn't rude?"

"I don't think that was her exact wording..."

"I seem to recall her saying you were constipated or something and that I should be vary of using you in any position cause you're too...well I don't exactly remember but it was hardly complimentary."

"You've never heard banter between siblings like that?"

"Yes. Between siblings. Then when it comes to important matters like that, said sibling is the one singing the other's praises the loudest. The only time banter happens between siblings like that and they also say the same to others in an important setting like that is when the siblings would be happy to see the other dead."

"Belinda would never want me dead!"

"Given her cavalier attitude towards dead, I'm not sure I can even believe that."

Darvi shrugged. "Because she can bring them back. Death isn't important to her."

"I suppose you'd think that. She has the power, so she can be a jerk about it."

"I don't think she... rude. A bit out of touch, maybe." Darvi sighed. "But that's just Belinda. That's how she is about anything."

"She's 26. There's a certain age at which out of touch is no longer a valid excuse."

Darvi shrugged. "It's just how she is."

"Yes I'm not saying she's not how she is. I'm saying how she is, is rather disrespectful and in need of a reality check. She has the same level of seriousness as Aquarius. Who is ten years younger. I've seen Sidney display more concern for situations."

Darvi cleared their throat. "Everything is easy for Belinda. So, why should she be concerned? There isn't a problem she can't fix."

"Hmm. So by that logic, why are the rest of us even here? Belinda could sail the seas and solve Pisces' problem all by herself."

"N-Not like that!" Darvi groaned. "I don't really want to talk about my sister like this. She's a good person."

"Precisely. Now do you think Belinda would stand up for you if I talked to her about you in a negative manner?"

"I'm sure she would. She's not malicious. If you talked about how stupid I am, she would protest."

"Well she did protest actually. When I talked about how not stupid you are."

Darvi felt a deep pain in their gut. "I'm... I'm sure it was a misunderstanding..."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

"So you're going to just let her walk over you?" Sefarina looked surprised.

"She's not walking all over me."

"You're letting her criticize everything about you."

"We just keep butting heads. Normal sibling stuff. I keep making her mad. She tells me off. We're awkward for a bit. We make up. Cycle repeats."

"Does it ever happen the other way?"

"What do you mean?" Darvi leaned against her elbows.

"Do you get mad at her?"

"Yes. A lot." He paused. "Well, I get frustrated."

"Mmm Hmm. And what do you do?"

"Stupid things. Rash things. Like..." They sighed. "Inviting her on this expedition."

"Anything else?"

"Several things over the years."

"I've got time."

"Mostly the same stuff. Pushing her to... be more."

"Do you ever insult her?"

"I hurt her feelings."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I... I don't mean to? But I keep hurting her and upsetting her." Darvi groaned. "So I must be doing something wrong."

"What kind of things upset her?"

"I keep... pushing her to do more. To step aside of her comfort zone. And she keeps telling me that she's very happy where she is but I..." Darvi shook his head. "I just think she could do more. She's so smart and learns so quickly but she's not using it for anything. She wants everything to be easy. But... she's upset that I keep fighting against her happiness."

"Hmm some people are like that. Content to waste away. That's their own curse."

"Belinda isn't happy that I keep interfering with that curse."

"Maybe you should stop at some point. Some people just can't be helped."

Darvi sighed. "She's my sister. I don't want her to be old and think she wasted her life. But... I can't tell if I'm making her life worse at this point."

"Let her waste her life. If she's 26 and still refusing to listen, she's quite close to being beyond help."

"But she's not there yet."

"Do you think that?" Sefarina leaned in a little closer.

"I hope so."

"Alright." She sighed and leaned back, finally picking up her forgotten tea that was definitely cold now.

"Anything else, Captain?"

"I don't know honestly." She looked a little tired.

Darvi squirmed. "I feel like I've disappointed you."

"No. No you haven't." She shook her head.

"You look exhausted. What did I do wrong?"

"You did nothing wrong Darvi."

Darvi sighed. "I... I like you, Captain. You're one of the best people I've worked with, even though it hasn't been long. I really don't want to cause problems."

"Oh Darvi honey, I don't think you'd cause a problem if you tried."

Darvi nodded. "Why do you call me so many pet names?"

"I call everyone pet names."

"Not Rune. Or Belinda. Or Gray."

"Gray doesn't exactly seem receptive to talking in general. Rune is Rune."

Darvi sighed. "Okay then."

"As for Belinda, I'm sorry I don't think I find myself particularly enamored by her. Maybe its cause in all our interactions she's been disparaging you and I've been trying to defend you."

Darvi sighed. "Give her a chance. Please."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Give Belinda a chance."

"To what?"

"Prove herself? To show how nice she is?"

"I mean she's on here, so she's proved herself, everyone else including our medical officer especially seems to think she is amazing."

"But... give yourself a chance to agree."

"I mean I have. She's proven herself to be rather immature, very set in her beliefs and also quite difficult in terms of actually doing anything productive. I honestly think she'd far best sitting in her cabin whenever we make land. She doesn't seem ready to face any actual danger, not that she even cares about the possibility of danger. I genuinely believe Aquarius who joined us recently has a better idea about being responsible. Even Sidney, who I believed to be our biggest liability as it were has proven herself more open to change."

"I think you're blowing everything way out of proportion." Darvi sighed. "Why are you so upset about Belinda? She's been doing her job non-stop since arriving despite not wanting it."

Sefarina took a long sip of her tea. "Yeah. Maybe I'm the one who's wrong. Rune doesn't seem happy with me at the moment either." She let out a soft sigh. "Maybe I should take a step back. A few steps back."

"I'm sorry about Rune. You both seem very close."

"Why are you apologizing Darvi?" Sefarina sat up a little again.

"I just... feel bad. But you're both kind, reasonable people. I'm sure you'll sort everything out."

"Oh its alright! Its my fault. I need to find a way to fix it and then I'm sure it'll be better."

"You're amazing, Captain. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Thank you for your confidence Darvi." Sefarina smiled softly. "At this point I am wondering if I am indeed qualified to remain captain."

Darvi stood up. "You are! You care about your people. You work hard to make the best decisions. Maybe Rune doesn't like this latest one. But I'm sure it will work out. I'm sure Rune will see you made a good decision. We have a zodiac on board because of you. That's a powerful ally."

"Do you think so?"

Darvi kneeled by her side. "I do, my captain. I trust you."

"Thank you Darvi. You're very kind." She sighed and leaned back again. "I'm just finding myself a little lost. It feels like most of the decisions I've made on this voyage have been bad."

"Like what, my captain?"

"Allowing Aquarius on board. Agreeing to Cancer's request about Sidney. Thinking I could make you feel better."

"Zodiac Cancer wouldn't have accepted a no. Disagreeing would put the whole expedition at risk. I doubt Zodiac Aquarius would take too kindly to that either. And..." He frowned. "What do you mean about the last one? How could I possibly feel better?"

Sefarina sighed. "I just...I. I don't want you to feel like you can't call me by my name."

"Can I ask why...?"

"I just." Sefarina shook her head. "Its just not done. I don't want to be this big bad authority figure everyone must bow to. I'm just Rina. Your friend that you can come to whenever you want to."

"I'm... sorry."

"Why are you sorry?"

"I didn't realize I was upsetting you."

"You aren't upsetting me."

"I..." Darvi stood up and finally went to their seat. "I don't know."

Sefarna got up and walked over to Darvi now. "I"m sorry."

"What? Why?"

"For not understanding you properly."

"What do you mean?"

"I think I made the mistake of pushing you to be someone you're not." Sefarina sat down on the floor.

"I..." Darvi sighed. "I'm sorry that I continue to disappoint. I want to understand your rules, but you keep saying you don't have any. I want to understand your demands, but you never say them. I just... want to know what I'm supposed to do around you but you... confuse me and it's... unsettling. To be so off balance in the face of someone I... think I will grow to deeply admire."

"You're not disappointing me." Sefarina shook her head rapidly. "Not at all. Not in the slightest."

"Can you just tell me plainly what you want from me?"

"For you to understand you're not a failiure, and that you're valuable to this ship. And to see me as an equal so that you feel comfortable referring to me by name."

"Okay." Darvi nodded. "Okay. I understand."

"And I'm sorry if that's too much to ask," Sefarina was fully on the floor now, leaning against the wall at the back. "I'm sorry if things have gone so badly for you that you can no longer see your value. I thought I could convince you but apparently that was foolish of me."

Darvi sighed and sat next to her, leaning against the wall. "You're not foolish... Sefarina."

Her eyes went wide for a moment. "H..huh?"

Darvi's face burned as they looked away. "At first I thought it was a... test of sorts. That you were seeing how unprofessional the crew could be before yelling at all of us. But... you're genuine. And kind. So... yeah."

"Y..ou think I'm genuine?"

Darvi nodded. "I do."

"T..thank you," said Sefarina. "That means a lot."

Darvi nodded. "Of course."

"I'm..sorry if this isn't how things are done," Sefarina sighed softly. "I'm no traditional leader I guess. I'm not like Sag. I don't exactly like the idea of being on this pedestal. I'm just part of the crew. I have to make a few decisions now and again, but I'm just another crewmember doing my thing and we're working together to make this a sucess. I don't know if that's a bad quality but I'm sorry its what I'm used to."

"No I... I think I'll find to like it very much. It's just... not what I'm used to."

"What are you used to Darvi?"

"Total submission."

"Or what would happen." Sefarina leaned closer, almost touching Darvi now, looking a little concerned.

"Depends. Zodiac Gemini never did anything. But a couple of her old head guards took her... distance to power as an opportunity to grab their own. Each one had their own methods."

"I'm almost afraid to ask but I must if you don't mind sharing."

"Nothing unheard of. Being sent to your cot without dinner. The worst chores imaginable. A good smack with a baton. The usual."

"That's..." Sefarina put a hand around Darvi. "That's absolutely horrible."

Darvi flinched. "Is it? I mean, Zodiac Sagittarus' people were no better. You have to remember that."

"I've heard stories. But...I don't know, I wasn't personally that badly off."

"Maybe because you were a local."

"Yeah I definitely got a bit of special treatment because of my parents too."

"I'm happy for you."

"I'm sorry you had to suffer."

"Don't be."

"Why not?"

"It has nothing to do with you."

"Well I'm still sorry because that should not be happening. I've been working to improve it." Sefarina pulled Darvi closer.

Darvi tensed, but let it happen. Maybe it was the tea making them soft. Or maybe Sefarina was just warm.

"So let me repeat that. I am sorry you had to go through that."

"O-Okay."

"So. Tell me a little more about your past "

"What about it?"

"A little bit about how you ended up here."

"I mean I became a soldier for Zodiac Gemini and worked for her for all of my adult life. I rised through the ranks as old guards retired, stepped down, or made my Zodiac frustrated enough to be let go."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"What's confusin you?"

"Well for one, the little order of you rising through the ranks. And maybe could you tell me a little more about your past before Gem." Sefarina scooted even closer for some reason.

"I mean. My mother was a constellation scholar and my father was a professor. So academia always played a large role at home.:

"Okay, good to know. What were your aspirations growing up, and I mean yours. Not what anyone else suggested was good for you."

"I... always wanted to be Zodiac Gemini."

"I see. From a young age?"

Darvi nodded. "As long as I could remember."

"Can you tell me why?" Sefarina pulled Darvi just a little closer, looking rather curious.

"I've... always wanted to help people, I guess. I wanted the power to do something good." Darvi sighed. "And I was a twin so I thought I had a good chance."

"So that's the root fo what you want to do? To have the power to do something good?"

Darvi nodded. "Yeah. But life has done nothing but show me that's a dream best left to rest."

"And why do you say that?"

"Clearly I'm not a Zodiac. My zodiac came from the same graduating class. She was a year younger than me."

"Anything else?"

Darvi siged. "Well there's the fact that I got my contellation years after Belinda, only to get part two of the one she got."

"Hmm. How does Belinda factor into this?"

"Belinda was always... good at everything. Better than me. She got her constellation at five years olf. Revived Jasper from the dead at nine."

"What were her aspirations exactly, if you happen to know them and don't mind sharing them with me?"

"She... wanted a simple life. She always wanted to be a librarian. Just sit all day with a book and helping people find books they like. She wanted to be an author too, but she's never finished anything."

"Mmm Hmm and did she reach this goal?"

"Well, the first one. She's Head Librarian for Gemini Ship's biggest library."

"I see," Sefarina nodded. "That much we know. So that was her only goal in life and she's reached it now you say? Is that why she's so resistant to wanting something more? She's never cared enough to want anything more?

"The only other thing she wants is to publish a novel. But she hasn't settled down on a story. But who knows?" Darvi shrugged. "Maybe this expedition will finally give her what she's been wanting."

"Hmm maybe that'll be the one useful thing she takes away from this voyage then. She definitely has no other interest in being of use."

"She's doing her job. What else do you want her to do?"

"Right there we go again. Sefarina overstepping her boundaries and being an idiot. Sorry about that."

Darvi groaned. "Why did you shut down? If you have a problem with Belinda and think she could be doing more, just say that. Say what your problem is."

"No. That would be overstepping my bounds. Its not my place to be saying that."

"But you keep bringing up. SoI'm asking you to just say it."

"I.. You don't seem to think I should." Sefarina shrugged.

"I am literally asking you to. How much more wanting can I get?"

"I know. It just feels accusatory." Sefarina giggled a little awkwardly. "Like you're daring me to give Belinda more to do."

"I'm just curious because I've never seen anyone disliker her so much. So I want to understand why you do."

"I don't dislike her. exactly. I just heavily disagree with her work ethic and how she acts...superior as if she is somehow above it all."

"I see." Darvi nodded.

"Am I wrong in that assessment?"

"I've always been worried about her work ethic. But I'm not sure if she thinks she's superior to other people."

"You don't think she does?"

"I want to think she doesn't. She just doesn't understand how hard people work."

"For 26 years, she's never once made an effort to understand someone else and how they need to work forthings?

"I mean. I'm sure she's tried--"

"So that's the one thing she's bad at?"

Darvi shrugged. "I guess."

Sefarina shook her head. "I'm not buying it."

Darvi shrugged. "That's that then."

"Okay. I sense its not a topic you're comfortable talking about."

"I mean. I don'r know. I want to have faith in he."

"And that's a great thing," Sefarina nodded quietly. "I"m sorry I don't have the same faith."

"She's not your sister. You don't have to."

"I'm the captain of the ship. I should have faith in everyone."

"Not really. Your job is to know who you can rely on."

"Mmm Hmm."

"Do you disagree?"

"I don't disagree."

"Then don't beat yourself up about it."

"Alright."

Darvi patted her shoulder]

Sefarina let out a long sigh.

"I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"I... I didn't mean to push you further away."

Sefarina frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"I... I... never mind."

"No you can tell me."

"I don't know. Clearly you called this meeting as a way to get closer to you."

"I just wanted you to be happy on this ship."

"Oh. I misunderstood then. Ignore what I said." Embarassment flooded through Darvi. "Is there... anything else? Sefarina?"

"Are you alright?"

:Yes. Of course."

"You look..a little...embarassed somehow? That's a new emotion from you." Sefarina pulled Darvi close enough they were just touching side by side now.

"I'm just sorry for misunderstanding you."

"How did you misunderstand me?"

"For thinking you wanted to be... closer."

"Well I wouldn't be averse to that idea."

"But it wasn't your intention...?"

"I mean I didn't call this meeting specifically with the agenda of getting closer to you, but I'd be lying if I said that wasn't something I was not hoping for at all.

Darvi didn't realize it was possible to feel warmer until that moment. "O-Oh."

Sefarina giggled slightly. "You're cute when you get all flustered."

Darvi definetly didn't squeak. "H-Huh?"

"What?" Sefarina grinned. "A simple observation."

"That's not something you just say to other people!" Darvi felt like they were dying.

"Well. I do." She shrugged. "Better get used to it Esther."

Darvi groaned. "D-Don't you dare make a habit of saying that!"

"Wow, the infamous rule following Zodiac Guard Esther, threatening me not to do something. Oh my. Is that an order regarding the safety of this ship?"

"Yes! If you do that, it will kill me. And then you'll have to take over safety." Darvi hid their face.

"Why would it kill youu?"

"Because of... the sheer indeceny!"

"Indeceny?"

"Yes!"

"How so?" Sefarina looked a littled confused.

"You're... calling me cute!"

"Cause...you are?"

"Why do you keep saying it?"

Sefarina leaned in and gently booped Darvi's nose. "Why do you keep acting cute?"

Darvi groaned louder. "W-What do you hope to gain by repeating this?"

"Is it something you don't like hearing?"

Darvi groaned louder. "It's not aproppaite!"

"Why not?"

"Because we're teammates? Not... l-lovers?"

"Do you want to be?"

"H-Huh?" Darvi practically flung himself backward and on to the floor.

Sefarina leaned over them, looking worried. "Are you okay Darvi? Did you slip?"

"F-Fine."

Sefarina offered them a hand. "Up you get then."

Darvi shakily took it and sat up.

"There you go. Back on your feet."

Darvi nodded. Maybe she misheard Sefarina. And they could safely crawl under the bed until they decayed.

"So you didn't answer my question?"

"W=What question?"

"Whether yoou want to be lovers?"

Darvi did, unfortunately, squeak that time.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that." Sefarina leaned right back into Darvi.

Darvi was quacking.

"You good Darvi?"

Darvi nodded weakly.

She leaned in closer. "So, about that answer?"

"W-hat... l-lover... think you...?"

"The romantic kind Darvi. At least I believe that's what you were referring to."

"D-Do... do.... you want...?"

"Do I want to?"

Darvi nodded and squeaked again.

"Do I want to be your lover? Sefarina scooted right up to Darvi. "Is that your question?"

Darvi was going to faint. "Y-Yeah."

She leaned in and gently kissed Darvi's nose. "Is that an adequate answer perhaps?"

Darvi squealed.

"Wonderful."

"U-Um. What.. what just happened?"

"I kissed your nose honey."

"I-I know,,, but... did we just..." He squealed louder. "G-Get... together?"

:Aww if that's what you want sweetie."

"W-What about y-you?"

"Oh I would love to."

Darvi's knees wobbled. "O-Oh. N-Neat."

"What about you?" Sefarina put an arm around Darvi gently.

He nodded quickly.

She opened her arms. "Well let's give you a proper kiss then."

"H-Huh?"

"Come on. Come into my arms, honey."

Darvi inched forward and stood just in front of Sefarina.

Sefarina opened her arms wider. "You can come closer. I don't bite."

Darvi went all the way into her arms. She pulled Darvi in and gently pressed her lips to Darvi's. Xe melted into her, feeling completely boneless. She gently leaned back smiling softly at Darvi.

"How about that?"

Darvi's knees gave out. "P-Perfect."

Sefarina gently held Darvi in the hug, wrapping around them. "I'm glad."

Darvi latched on to her.

Breton Lipizzan was not the kind of person to stowaway on a ship, let alone steal. But here they were, laying under a lifeboat nibbling on bread he had "borrowed" out of need. Right. Now, of course this didn't sit right with him, but there was an aura he couldn't shake off. There was something wrong on this ship, and they were there to find out what it was.

They knew the ship had set sail, and the smell of food wafted through the air. How calming. He thought. At least, that was until he heard a woman passing by the spot he had so cleverly picked out to stowaway in. She was talking with at least one or two people. Something about a man called Gray complaining about stolen food, and a routine check. No problem. Wait. Would that mean the woman would look in the lifeboat? Surely not. Right...?

The cover of the lifeboat opened. A tall woman with red hair looked down at him. She didn't look terribly amused.

"Uh... I'm not here." Breton said meekly, looking up at the woman.

In response she reached down and poked his nose.

"Hey! I'm not a child!" They huffed, sitting up.

There was another person with her, one that looked like a dirty child. She stepped away from Breton, her eyes wide.

"Oh! It's the sickly child that boarded with me!" Breton quipped, hopping out of the lifeboat. "Is she a stowaway too?"

"Idris, do you remember seeing this man?"

Idris nodded, shaking.

The woman for some reason scooped the child into her arms and offered her a pen and paper. "Can you tell me more honey? You seem terrified."

She shakily wrote out something, showing the woman.

The woman pulled her closer and hugged this Idris child to her chest. "I'm so sorry honey. Its not a ghost okay." She turned to Breton and promptly slapped him across the face. "Nope, definitely not a ghost. Sorry, had to confirm. We had a haunting problem."

"Ow! Hey!" Breton rubbed the spot he got slapped. "Well, anyway. I'm Breton Lipizzan. You're...?"

The woman held out her hand. "I'm the person asking what you're doing on this ship Mr. Lipizzan."

"Well, I'm an ethereal artisan on Gemini, and my constellation allows me to astral project. By consequence I can see auras? And during my nightly projection and gem cleanse,I saw a malevolent one near it, and-" They gasped, out of air. They were clearly struggling not to speak in one big sentence. "Well, yeah."

"And that led you to this ship?"

"Yes."

"Aand I'm supposed to believe this?" The woman raised an eyebrow.

"...Yes?"

"Is there any proof you can provide? What even was this malevolent aura you speak of?"

"Well, If you give me a second, I could hypothetically project myself into another room."

"Hmm, I'd be willing to entertain that."

Breton laid down in the boat once more, closing their eyes. As he relaxed, he felt himself drifting away. Slowly, they could see their body, meaning they had succesfully projected. Drifting over to what seemed to be the freezer, he saw a big tub of ice cream.

Snapping back into conciousness, he sat up. "In the freezer, there's a big tub of ice cream!"

"Hmmmm. There is one. Can you tell me where exactly it is?"

"In the corner. There was also a label on it, something like Aquarius? I wasn't really paying attention to know what it said.

"Hmm well you can astral project it would seem. Would you like to share with us what this malevolance you saw was? Especially if it was so bad you though you needed to stowaway."

"On Cancer there's an abundance of caves, and I have a friend and they supply me crystals... But that's not important!" Breton fished around in their bag and pulled out a necklace with a beautiful teal crystal in it. "This is Chandrallite, which lets me see auras. I saw a big bad aura on the ship so I obviously had to stow away on it as to warn you guys!" He smiled.

"Hmmm? I see. Well I'll need you to talk to a couple of people before I decide if you get to stay or we sacrifice you to the sharks in the name of our lord and savior King Ping Pong IX."

"T-The sharks?!" Breton had a look of geniuine terror on their face. "I'm to young to die!" He put a hand on his forehead and mimed fainting.

"Yes. The sharks. Umm just need you to say hello to our healer on board so we know you're not carrying any diseases. And to confirm if you know what ship it is you have actually boarded here, because we're not going back to the Zodiac isles for a long long time."

"This is the one that's doing the exploration, right?" Breton said, rummaging through their bag for a small book.

"That would be correct, we're going out in search of new lands."

"Well, I don't think i can leave. So, I'm happy to be here!" Breton smiled a smile brighter than the sun. He clearly was at least a bit too happy to be stuck on the ship.

"Hmm. You can leave at any time of course. This life." Sefarina smiled sweetly. "But wonderful. I'll show you to the medbay then."

"I'm not jumping off the ship anytime soon!" They snickered. "I still never got your name, though."

"That is considered a smart move." She finally held out her hand. "Sefarina. I'm the captain of the ship."

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Captain Sefarina!" Bretoon shook her hand with an almost childlike energy.

Sefarina returned it with maybe the first genuine smile of this conversation. "If you are as you say you are, then welcome aboard. If Gray throws a pan of hot oil at your for stealing food, you will have to claim responsibility though. He's our cook and he's a little grumpy about the missing food."

"He couldn't be that mad, riight?"

Sefarina's voice dropped to a whisper. "When he picks up a large cleaver and starts telling you to get out of his kitchen, even I get scared. You're on your own to figure that out buddy."

Breton's face went from one of uncertainty to fear in an instant. "So you can't protect me if this man were to throw a cleaver at me?"

"Well Gray is a former prison warden. He might threaten you with the cleaver, but he probably won't actually murder you. Probably. He has a strong sense of justice."

"I hope so. I don't want to be the next meal on thr chopping block." He made a dry laugh.

Sefarina giggled. "Well he takes pride on his cooking so if you own up to be the one stealing and compliment him, you can probably get away with your life. Which is a good deal honestly. Besides two people on the ship, Gray threatens everyone else on the daily."

"Any exceptions? Because I really really don't want to die." Breton said, emphasizing "don't want to die."

Sefarina patted him on the shoulder. "I have 86% confidence that you will live through this experience."

"...What about the other 14%?"

"Umm..how does Sag put it." She cleared her throat. "I can neither confirm nor deny your survivability in this scenario without further testing."

"I'll just assume that 14% is that he forgives me!

"That's a wonderfully positive outlook!"

"Right? Let's just hope I don't die! Now where's the healer's office?"

"Follow me!" Sefarina took off deeper into the ship with a gesture to follow her, the Idris still in her arms securely.

(pt.1/2)

"Breton! Get the fuck down here!" Sean called, as Breton ran to the stairs, shutting the door to their room behind them. As they hurried down the stairs, they almost tripped, but kept going, afraid of what would happen if he were to be late.

"Y-Yeah, D-Dad?" They said, wearily. His dad was fuming. He looked as if he were going to kill Breton. Sean was wearing his work clothes, so clearly Breton couldn't be in too much trouble.

"What did I tell you about this nasty girly shit?" He shouted, almost a bark, as he held up two bottles of purple and green nail polish. "You think I wouldn't find this in your drawer? Think again. You know I can't tolerate this. Shirt off, kneel down, back towards me."

"But, Dad, I-" Breton said, desperate.

"I SAID, BACK TOWARDS ME, YOU DIMWIT." He barked, unbuckling his belt. "You better not cry, or I'll hit you again."

CRACK!

"That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"N-No, Dad. I-It wasn't." Breton stifiled a sob. "I-Is that it?" He said, on the edge of crying. The stinging wouldn't stop. Normally, it would've stopped right about now. But it didn't. Why did it feel so wet?

"Finally, drew some blood from ya. That oughta remind you not to be such a sissy." Sean buckled his belt once more. "If I catch you with this shit again, you're dead meat. Got it?"

"Y-Yes, Dad." Their head lowered.

"Good. Real men don't cry. You don't cry."

Breton gasped for air, hyperventilating, as they began sitting up in their bed. The scar hurt now. More than they remembered it hurting when it was fresh, almost as if it had been re-opened.

He laid back down, feeling the pain as if a frying pan had been thrown at him. They felt themselves drifting away to sleep once more, a single tear rolling down their face.

But before they could slip back into dreams, they felt someone's gaze on them. "You. Stowaway. In pain?" a soft voice asked. Shadows moved across his ceiling.

"Who's there?" Breton looked up, squinting.

Fabric rustled and the voice grew closer. "Someone. You're interesting."

Breton sniffled. "T-Thanks?" They stammered, holding back tears.

"Almost as good as me at going unnoticed," the voice said thoughtfully. "I'm Naim. I watch and listen." A grimy handkerchief was thrust at Breton from the shadows to the right of his bed.

Breton wiped away their tears with the handkerchief, making a soft smile. "N-Nice to meet you, Naim."

Will enjoyed sleeping in the engine room. The humming of the Selenite engines, the gentle rocking of the ship, and the familiar smell of engine oil created a soft, peaceful atmosphere.

Tonight, he lay with his hands behind his head, sprawled under a fireproof blanket. The meeting that day had certainly been... interesting. He'd surely be able to tell that story sometime. Will could imagine how it'd go: "Yes, so I was on the great expedition out from the Zodiac Isles, and we were having our first whole-crew meeting. But apparently someone had a vision that another crew member would die, and then there was a whole kerfuffle about another crew member supposedly already being dead, and then the Zodiac Aquarius burst in saying it was time for ice cream. It was more chaotic than a flock of seagulls in a mess hall."

He grinned as he turned over to another position. He suspected this voyage would provide many new stories indeed. Now, to slip into the tales of dreams...

Will, tell me a story. The ship's voice sounded like waves lapping against a stony beach, bringing driftwood to shore.

He groaned softly. "Right now? I'm about to sleep."

Tell me a story about you, the ship insisted.

"That's... unexpected. So far you've asked me for ship stories."

Yes, well, I'm trying to learn more about humans, the ship said airily. Sometimes you can be rather entertaining.

Will laughed softly. "Fair enough. Alright. I suppose I can tell you about the first time I talked to a ship..."

He'd been eleven and a devourer of stories. Fantasy, adventure, science fiction... he consumed them all, imagining himself as the protagonist or the spunky sidekick or the villain. Will and his friends had acted out the stories they read in their youth, waving metal rods at each other and weaving through the wind turbines of Capricornus.

He'd had a friend. Jay. They weren't exactly best friends, but they understood each other better than mere friends. When Will played the villain, Jay would play the hero. When one was a sidekick, the other was a lackey.

It had been after a particularly fierce reenactment of "The Sailors Against the Sun." Will had been the hero, standing triumphant against the defeated sun, which slunk beyond the horizon, forever reduced to shining only half of each cycle and making way for the softer moon and stars. Will kept his pose for a few seconds, then flopped onto the deck, laughing with his friends. But when his friends drifted away to chores and dinner, he didn't follow immediately. He lay there for a while, looking upwards pensively, until the real sun cast rose petals across the sky and clouds like fish scales slithered across the dusky sky. It was a beautiful death.

"You realize we'll never be like them." Jay's voice was like the dirt on Aries-- warm and soft yet slightly coarse.

Will turned towards him. "Who?" A breeze lifted their hair and brought sounds of workers chattering as they headed home.

"The characters in our stories."

Will pondered this for a moment. "Yeah. But we can imagine, right?"

"Imagination's not reality. At the end of the day, we're just you and me and we have to clean the deck and take out the trash and work and take care of the family and... and fulfill responsibilities." Jay stared up at the sky. There was something different about him today; something more melancholy.

"Hey, normal things aren't that bad. Come on, Jay. Is it because you're turning thirteen soon? Are you having a..." Will counted on his fingers. "Sixth of a life crisis?"

Jay laughed, but it sounded hollow. "Maybe. I just think..." He drifted off into silence. "Never mind. Don't grow up too fast, okay?"

Will stared at him. Yep, something was off. But he didn't know what he could do to fix it, or if he even wanted to know and ruin this moment, so he only nodded. Years later, he would think himself a coward.

Hey, the ship complained. Why are there no ships yet?

"Patience, Swordspear. You need context."

"Swordspear? You just... you just chopped off half of my name!"

"Would you prefer something arbitrary like Macaroni instead?" Will asked sweetly. "Well, we'll experiment. For now, let me continue."

Will had been sixteen and a teller of stories. Fantasy, adventure, science fiction... He told them all to anyone who would listen. He listened to stories as well. Now, he never passed up a chance to ask someone their story.

But behind the elaborately woven lies--for what are stories but untruths wrapped in a sparkling package of details?--he had doubts. Maybe Jay was right. Did playing the hero or the villain matter when he'd return to the wind turbines each day, doing the mundane tasks that kept their world running?

He lay on the deck, watching the clouds coalesce into clumps of mashed potatoes. The sun had been reborn as it was each morning and its light scattered off the choppy waves. He traced patterns in the clouds.

"Once upon the starry seas, there was a timid breeze," Will sang to himself. "It whisked through trees and carried melodies of far-off ships of peace." He watched the clouds form and reform and invented a story of a shy wind and a blustering gale and their dance across the ocean.

He listened to the people walking around him in a rare break from his duties. Sure, he might never become a character from his stories, venturing off into the unknown, but his imagination brought happiness to both himself and others. Humor and storytelling-- those were the moons that pulled the tides of his life. He could enjoy each moment and tell stories and write his own story and maybe that was enough.

And that was when Vela spoke to him. And that was when Will spoke to the ship of Capricornus.

The ship had a deep, rumbling voice that hinted at the stirrings of undersea life, at strange creatures of prodigious depths. Will shivered, but the voice strengthened him at the same time.

What did the ship say? The Mint Tea Potato Swordspear buzzed eagerly.

"That... is something I'll have to keep to myself for now." Will smiled. "Maybe someday. But that is one story I haven't told before. For now, suffice it to say that it changed my life."

From then on, Will heard the voices of ships in his mind. From small fishing boats to scouting ships, the voices filled his mind with chatter and creaks of laughter. Once he got used to it, it was comforting. He'd never be alone in silence, for everywhere in the world there were ships.

And then Will was invited on a voyage to seek signs of other human life, and he met another particular ship. One he hoped he and the crew would become friends with.

It's me! Finally!

Will grinned in the darkness. "Yes, it's you. The story beyond that point is unwritten, but let's try to make it a happy tale, yes?"

Of course. Now, about those barnacles...