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Aurora rests her forearms on the railing of the ship and looks up to the stars. This, here in Horsea, is the farthest she's ever been from the Primrose Archipelago. They'd reunited with the Riptide Pirates and their allies earlier today, and Aurora had lingered uncomfortably on the edges.
The crew obviously cares about their captains. It makes sense, she supposes. Any crew should care about their captain. They'd even accepted her with open arms. Queen had complimented the scarf she keeps around her waist, and Ensa had nodded approvingly when she learned about how Aurora had…rescued…the three captains. Even Gryffon, tall and stoic, had thanked her for saving their lives.
Even still, hours later, she doesn't know how to feel. Aurora hadn't meant to save them. She wanted them to save her. She'd slipped away from the group as soon as she could, hiding in what's now her room. The room was supposed to be Jay's. Jay had barely even glanced at it before saying she'd just stay in the captain's quarters behind the wheel.
"We shared on the Albatross. I'd…prefer that to stay the same. And it's bigger than our old cabin!" Jay had smiled, but Aurora had silently noticed the slight strain on her face at the thought of being apart. Like being alone was the worst thing to happen to the captain. Behind Jay's back, Chip and Gillion had exchanged a look with each other and then with her, as if Aurora was in on their thoughts.
"Aurora, why don't you take it? There's no reason for it to just stay empty."
"Are you sure? Someone else can have it!"
Chip had shaken his head and gently nudged her closer to the door. "You can have it. Unless you really don't want it."
As much as she froze up making decisions, that had been an easy one to make. So she'd accepted the room and then promptly hid inside.
There's no Aurora Borealis here. Back home, it's not nightly, but it's close. She misses her home. The astrolabe is a heavy weight at her side, a firm reminder that her mothers are gone. That she's well and truly alone for the first time in her life. Even Ursus hadn't stuck around after getting them to Horsea. He'd rested for a handful of hours and then said goodbye, leaving her.
Ursus had gently pressed his cheek to her face, whiskers tickling her skin before diving back into the ocean. He'd changed almost immediately into a whale and flicked his tail up, sending water arcing high into the air.
Now, she stares up at the deep indigo-blue sky, tracing the lines of constellations. Her eyes linger on the North Star. If they followed it, they'd go back to her home. Back to where her Circle is frozen in ice, leaving her the sole survivor.
Sometimes Aurora wishes she had the power to turn back time, so she could ask her mothers every question she's thought of in the weeks that have passed. That she could beg for more training on how to be the Arch Druid and learn the certainty they carried themselves with.
"Aurora? What are you doing up?"
She looks over her shoulder to see Jay limping over, golden eye glowing slightly in the dark.
"I was just…looking." She gestures loosely at the sky. "It's so different from the archipelago."
Jay's face softens. "Yeah. The oceans are pretty different from each other." She leans against the railing next to Aurora, turned to face her. "How are you doing? I know it's been a lot. We kinda, uh, threw you in the deep end."
Aurora sighs. "You could say that again. I'm…I'm okay. I…miss my moms. They always knew what to do. I feel like I'm…floundering…without them."
"I get it. Um…" Jay trails off, glancing away. "The first few months after my sister died were really hard. She was the one person I knew I could always rely on, no matter what. And she was…if I had her at my back, then I knew I could do anything. When they died, I had no idea what to do, or where to go."
"That's how it feels right now," Aurora says softly, holding her hands close to her chest. "Does…does it get easier?"
Jay is silent for a long moment, and when she speaks, it's quiet. "Yeah. It does. It's still hard sometimes, but it won't feel like this forever. I promise." Warm hands cover hers, and Aurora looks up to meet her gaze. She feels at once both pinned in place yet completely at ease. It's almost unnerving how quickly she's come to trust the Riptide Captains.
"Okay," she breathes, turning her hands so she can grip onto Jay's. Her fingers are calloused, but she's gentle as she holds onto Aurora. "I'm scared we won't be able to save them. Or that we'll fix the problem, and they won't come back."
"They will."
"How can you know that?"
"I just have faith in us to fix it. We fixed something similar before. Well, I don't think that cure would work again, but I promise we'll figure it out." Jay smiles at her as she says it, and as much as she tries, Aurora can't help but trust her.
She may have only thought of Chip at first, when she was begging for help, but…it's clear that she couldn't have made a better choice by thinking of all three of them. "Okay. I…I suppose if you say it with that much conviction, it has to be true."
"Exactly. Now you're getting it." Jay grins at her and squeezes her hands.
Aurora smiles back up at her, basking in the gentle reassurance. And the heat of Jay's hands—she knew, logically, that humans gave off a lot of heat, but Jay and Chip exude so much it feels almost unnatural. It is, however, strikingly pleasant so she doesn't mind.
Jay's mismatched eyes flick down to their joined hands and back up, before she glances away shyly. "I can leave you alone, if you want." Jay loosens her grip, but Aurora holds on tighter.
"No I, uhm, appreciate the company. It's nice."
"Well…good. I'm glad. How do you like being a pirate?"
"I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoy it. I always wanted to be an explorer."
"We do a lot of exploring."
"I gathered that."
Jay lets go and teasingly nudges her with her shoulder. "You are pretty observant."
"…Thank you. What's the wildest thing you've seen so far?"
The two of them stay up on the deck talking for a long while, far past when they should try and sleep. Eventually they sit, Jay still not used to putting as much weight on her prosthetic. And Aurora finds herself oddly at ease.