A Maiden's Voyage!

[Seperallis]

A Maiden's Voyage!






All through the morning, an irridescent eggplant-purple yacht with white accents cruised through the gentle waves of the open sea, its tall prow slicing and turning the ultramarine waters aside in its final glide towards the slowly rising land in the distance. As morning moved into afternoon, a single dark spike pierced the grey haze between the endless blues of sea and sky, prying the horizon apart as it spread wide its verdant arms in welcome. Vision was clear and perfect, not a cloud in the sky and only the faint haze of sea spray giving the incoming coast a dustier hue.

Captain Wright had been the designated pilot of The Good Ship Lollipop for the last two years now, and though this tall, lanky old woman in square glasses was only the captain of a personal ship she still dressed fully in the pants, suit and hat of any old cruise ship captain. With land in sight and their destination... approaching, she grabbed the radio mic from above her, flicked the switch to the ship's intercom and spoke in her smooth captainy voice, "Happy noontime, everyone, and I hope you had a pleasant cruise! We will be arriving at our destination in about ten minutes. If you look across the front of our ship, you will now see the southern coast of Arius as we approach the peaceful little port of Cyprus Town, on the island of South Arius. Enjoy the rest of your trip, and we will see you on land soon!"

Clicking off the mic, she switched the radio to broadcast once again, and called ahead to the shore.

[Sal]

Skitty stretched and yawned wide in protest at being awakened by the broadcast. Although she had initially been opposed to being at sea, she'd found the warm sun too powerful to resist and, in the end, had formed herself into a tight little knot and had fallen fast asleep on her owner's lap.

Said owner, Aimee, also stretched as the announcement pulled her away from her daydreaming. As Skitty hopped down onto the deck with a mewl and another deep stretch, the young woman smoothed little bits of pink fur from her skirt, swung her legs off the deck chair, and stood. The seabreeze tousled and playfully tugged at her midnight black hair and beckoned her toward the railing. Leaning against it, Aimee took in a deep breath. The perfume of island flowers and the smell of salt greeted her and she smiled to herself.

"Come have a look, everyone!" she said, apparently to no one in particular at first. But then Skitty joined her, its little stub legs propelling it in one smooth leap up onto the girl's shoulder. From the shade of the boat's cabin materialized something nebulous, something dark, like a bit of shadow had snapped off and come to life: a Gastly. The poor ghost-type didn't appear to be enjoying the bright, unimpeded sun as much as her owner, but she perked up at the sight of land. Finally, the girls were joined by a Sneasel who had quite obviously been in the middle of preening his impressive ear feather, a little compact mirror decorated in a black enamel rose-and-skull motif still between his claws. Aimee took the mirror from him as her offered it to her and stuck his head through the railing to peer out.

The quartet had gone on many trips before. They had become quite the musical sensation at home and abroad, and their tours had taken them to strange new lands. But this adventure was different: this time, there weren't plush hotels and backstage rider buffets. Now, they would be truly adventuring.

"C'mon everyone," Aimee softly beckoned, slipping a pair of oversized shades over her face and reaching for her trusty parasol. "Let's go see if Carl and Clint are ready to disembark."

With that, the foursome set off across the boat.

[Seperallis]

Aimee's search for her bodyguard duo lasted practically as long as this paragraph. The two-decked purple yacht wasn't a small boat by any measure, but it took only some seconds to follow the railing around the cabin to the rear observation deck.

The sea breeze grew stronger here, the salted air swirling more in the turbulence, enough to distress Gastly into finally squeezing beneath the parasol for shelter. The boat passed through consecutive waves, again, again, turning the waters in a steadily swishing harmony to match the polyrhythmic melodies from the growing group of wingull circling and swooping in chase.

Aimee easily spotted the duo on the lower afterdeck from her vantage. Clint lay reclined in the sun, the machoke sporting his familiar shades as he soaked up the rays, his arms crossed behind his head. A shirtless Carl reclined in much the same position some feet away, a flowery sun hat protecting his bald head while an Arius travel guide lay across his face, one hand resting lightly over it. Between the relaxing massage delivered by the simultaneous warm presses of sunlight and cool relief of the sea, the sway of the boat, and the lack of any response to her presence, the situation was obvious: the two had fallen asleep.

[Sal]

Aimee grinned a cattish grin.

"Say, Gastly," she cooed, idly scratching Skitty's chin, "don't you think it's about time those two woke up?"

The Gastly, understanding the plan, cackled delightedly at the opportunity for a little mischief. Her form rippled and swirled as she zipped over to Clint and Carl. She began emanating an ominous, ghostly wail and buzzing around the pair's heads in a quick figure-8.

OOOoooOOOooo...!

[Seperallis]

It took a second, but Carl groaned as the travel 'zine slowly slid from his face, before a passing swoop from Gastly had him rolling with a shout and a maelstrom of limbs off the side of the deck chair, with Clint following in his lead soon after. Carl soon came up swinging, fists pounding the air without effect and sun hat crunched low over his face.

"Oi ya bastard, put the lights back on and fight me without yer tricks! Clint, we're assaulted! Put on the torch, my boy, and give 'em what-for!"

An errant arm dislodged the hat, sending it rolling across the deck and revealing the situation quite clearly. Clint rose and yawned, the machoke stretching from his rest, while Carl let off a big belly laugh and the absurdity of his outbusrts. "Ahoy, Miss Aimee! You got us pretty good! To what do I owe the pleasure this fine...er, day? It is time for supper already?"