As Elise drifted off into the distance, Aralynn stared at her wake, a clear path through the sky, free of storm clouds.
As much of a first impression that the goddess had made, beauty and all, now Aralynn could only think of a single thing.
Rhys is alive. Her little sister, whom she'd been searching for all her time ever since their village had been raided, was alive. Even though she'd held onto desperate straws of hope that Rhys was alive, hearing a goddess confirm it made Aralynn feel like all the weight had been lifted off of her chest.
Rhys is alive. Rhys is alive. Rhys is alive. Aralynn repeated the words in her head, clinging to them as if to anchor herself. She had spent her free moments in the imperial army searching for her sister, and hid the fact that she was looking for her sister until recently from her Brass Hand companions out of fear. Now, at last, she knew for certain: Rhys was alive.
She breathed out, the weight in her chest easing—until a voice behind her snapped her back to the present.
"Spacing out? I don't blame you. She was pretty hot." Aralynn whipped around to see Perona, holding her boots. Seeing Aralynn's expression, the half-elf smirked, chuckling. "What. Don't tell me that didn't go through your mind. You're practically red right now."
"Lady Elise? No, I—" Aralynn stuttered before realizing that Perona was joking.
Perona thrust Aralynn's boots into her birdfolk friend's arms. "Sure~" Perona smiled.
Aralynn shut up and tugged on her boots.
"You two sure don't have a single ounce of respect, do you?" Cozith sighed.
Perona shrugged. "Goddess or not, she was pretty. You can't deny that."
Cozith buried her face in her hands. "You really should have more reverence for deities. We were lucky that The Messenger was in a good mood," she said. "Otherwise, she could have easily vaporized the airship without lifting a finger."
"The first mate is correct," Celran added, stepping up. "I would hold deities in a higher view if I were you. Going about that way is sure to land you in trouble." He sighed as well with a troubled countenance. "We would all do well to keep her words in mind. What the message meant, we don't know. However, if the Grandmaster of the Sky himself sent his own daughter to inform us, it must be important."
On the last bit the party and the crew were in full agreement. Aralynn saw Hadarai murmur a couple phrases of the message under his breath, repeating it as if he were trying to memorize the words. I guess that makes sense, Aralynn thought. Hadarai's a religious man, after all.
Celran continued. "Either way, we never got to those sail repairs because of the Tempest Wyrms. Ms. Aralynn, since you're perfectly capable of being smitten now, I assume that you're fine? Cozith will find you a repair kit. Get that sail fixed before it tears itself open."
Aralynn's eyes flicked to Perona, who smiled and shrugged, as if she were saying 'what can you do?'
Aralynn shook her head and tried to clear the burning sensation from her face. Cozith had already headed off belowdecks to grab a repair kit. Aralynn decided that she should probably be on her way to to the sails now and started in the direction of the rope ladder that led up to the sails, masts, and envelope.
Celran didn't let anyone else slack off either. "You lot get to work too—Mr. Amon, you'd better fix up the hole in the deck that you made with that shadow jump of yours. Get that patched before we reach our destination or we'll get more prying eyes than necessary."
Amon begrudgingly made his way to the hole he'd made.
"Speaking of our destination," Grango asked, "where are we going? You never told us, in the rush to leave and all."
"I'll let you know when we get there," Celran said, brushing the question aside. "No use dilly-dallying when there's work to be done."
With no room for debate, the Blue Locust 2 sailed on toward their next destination, cutting through the gap in the storm clouds that Elise The Messenger had left behind.
- - -
The Blue Locust 2 slowed to a snail's pace to allow for repairs so that the crew and party wouldn't be at constant risk of being thrown off board while at work.
Aralynn gripped the rope line that ran across the ship, her Might skill keeping her steady. The thick line she sidestepped along connected the masts and sails to the great envelope overhead.
Triangular footholds in a rope lattice similar to the one covering the envelope jutted out, offering extra stability. As always, a safety tether secured Aralynn to the ship. Even so, she felt uneasy as she reached the torn sail, let go of the rope, and rested the sail repair kit against the mast.
Opening the repair kit, she unfolded patches of fabric meant to cover holes along with a hefty needle and thick cord. The heavy squares of canvas in hand, Aralynn threaded the thick needle from the kit and began stitching the patch into place, the coarse line biting into her fingers with each pull. Once she'd checked the work and confirmed it would hold, she packed the kit away and started her descent back down to the ship.
That's when her foot slipped.
Her body pitched sideways, and she tumbled into open air over the Blue Locust 2's deck. The tether snapped taut, yanking her short before disaster. Heart pounding, Aralynn scrambled, flying back to the rope before safely climbing down.
It was definitely a jumpscare, and more than enough to convince Aralynn to be a lot more careful next time.
As Aralynn reached the deck and handed off the repair kit to Cozith, Aralynn saw that Amon had been at work as well, repairing the hole he'd made in tandem with Hadarai. The two had started peeling off the damaged planks. They made an efficient duo: Hadarai carried new wooden planks from belowdecks while Amon held and nailed them into place.
Derrick ran back and forth, carrying smaller materials such as hammers, pliers, and nails. Derrick kept a lookout along with Perona. Soon, the holes in the deck had been patched, and Amon and Hadarai took a well-deserved break. Perona pulled out her magical barrel so that the entire crew could have drinks of cool water after their hard work.
Then it was back to pacing the deck like normal and keeping an eye out for threats. They didn't have to pace for long, however, as Celran soon called a meeting.
"We'll be arriving at our destination shortly—the city of Galrahn. Once we land, it'll be the same drill, assuming that the Brass Hand doesn't have something in mind for you and contact me before you land." Celran paused and nodded. "You'll be off to your own vices. Please get ready for docking, everyone. Let's hope things don't get as out of hand as Port Escus. Remember to stay vigilant."
With that, the crew took up docking positions under the watchful protection of the party as they soared through the clear path between stormheads in front of them, arriving at their next destination, the city of Galrahn.