piratejournal | 008 ♦ Text/Action | Backdated: March 31st

I feel like I've been exhausted for so long now... this is our first real break in a long time. I don't necessarily mind it, but I've been enjoying taking a breather. It's something I've missed. Nothing trying to kill me, nobody having a desire to sink us, nothing messing with my mind. Just me and the ocean breeze.

Am I the only person that feels this way? It feels like we've been so busy, these last few months. I've changed in more than a few ways since I first got here, and I'm still trying to figure out what those changes are. And if I'm comfortable with them.

Sorry, I'm being a little dramatic. I just... this is new to me. The things I've experienced here, I would have never done at home. And it's hard to reconcile that, especially with all the fighting we've had to do.

Anyway, in the interest of trying not to be too gloomy on such a nice day, how is everyone else?

Setting down her pen and snapping the journal shut with a sigh, Rikka curls her toes into the sand. It's... hard to think about the last time she was on a beach other than Isla Empieza's, but... no. Gotta push past that. She can't be haunted by her past forever, right?

So she'll be sitting back in the sand, looking out at the sea and at their new ship, debating a run into town to explore, and generally just... trying not to think too much.

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At some point or another, she'll find Alice making her way from their shiny new ship with that very intent to run into town. As ship's treasurer, she had to account for what supplies they could get on the now more limited budget after having to secure a new ship. And... well, just getting off a ship for awhile is starting to feel like a necessity. She never though she'd be the type to start going stir crazy, but after weeks of travel on the open seas and once more nearly getting killed, here she is.

Noticing Rikka off the ship too is at least one bright note, and she makes her way over the sand as she spies her, lightly twirling her open parasol in hand.

"Rikka!" she calls out, stopping short with a slight smile. "Enjoying the beach today?"

The voice calls her our of her reverie, and she glances across, a smile coming to her lips even before she sees the person coming toward her. "Alice... yes. I just needed to think about some things. Is everything all right?"

"As well as one could anticipate, all things considered," she says, looking down with her smile widening just a bit upon sight of Rikka's own. "It seemed prudent to take stock of any necessary supplies once more before heading out."

A brief pause then; Rikka and thinking were things that went hand in hand, though also was something that recent events had taught her shouldn't be left unchecked sometimes. Still, she had no reason to really worry now, but asks the next question anyway. "And what of yourself, today?"

"Mm, good idea... I don't know what we lost from the old ship before we made it to land. I blacked out trying to keep everything together, if the big hole in my memory is any indication." She remembered turning into Cure Diamond and doing her best to keep the ship in one piece by freezing the hull together, and then... nothing until she came to in her bed a day later, sunlight streaming into her eyes through a hole in her wall.

Sighing, she casts her gaze back out over the water. "Just... I'm marveling at how much things have changed since we got here. How much I've changed. That, and it's the first time I've been on a new beach since... that day."

There is a very melancholy look on her face for a long moment, before she shakes her head, rising to her feet, picking up her shoes in one hand. "I'll be okay, though. Do you want company?"

Worry flashes for a few, noticeable moments over Alice's face. Their defeat at the hands of the Navy was troubling enough without the reminder of Rikka blacking out, but... she was fine, right? She has to learn not to dwell upon those things.

Or things like the beach. She knows exactly what Rikka means there, and it starts to bring forth images she had been trying to lock away before she forces herself mentally to do just that. Then, her smile returns, and she leans over a bit, tilting the parasol so that its shadow covers the both of them at least partly.

"We have changed quite a bit, yes. But... perhaps we can start to focus a bit on the good parts of that, hm?" she asks, and then adds. "But I would love the company. You should know you almost needn't have to ask."

The shifting sunlight catches her attention, and she steps a little closer to Alice. "I know... I'm trying to let it go, Alice. It's just still harder than I expected. So... be patient with me, I guess. It'll be all right in time."

She looks back out to the city, the shipyard a flurry of activity even at this distance. "And I know I don't have to ask. But everyone needs time alone sometimes, I think. These days, it's better for me to ask."

Alice's smile thins just a little bit, but she gives Rikka an understanding appraisal. "I cannot claim to be much better," she muses. "But... I believe we both know that. It it is quite all right."

Indeed, without even talking about it, she was fairly certain Rikka knew all of that. They had certainly been over it enough times. Thus, Rikka had all the patience Alice could muster when it came to that, and it's an awful lot to be honest.

She follows Rikka's gaze. "Perhaps so, but I believe I have had my fill of time alone to last me quite awhile." Still mildly dwelling back on the previous point, Alice is well aware that's actually the very last thing she wants. To say she is still somewhat using Rikka or Mana's presence as a security blanket of sorts could be fairly accurate.

Still, she holds out a hand, smile widening again. "It is appreciated, however. So... shall we?"

Rikka sighs again, grinning a little bit. Really, of all people, she should realize that Alice knew how her mind worked by now. Even if there had been a few... involuntary remodels... everything still looks pretty much the same there. So really, she needs to just stop worrying so much, and take a step forward. The way she always had before. She just needed confidence. And she certainly had enough of that to spare, with everyone around her.

"Sure. Let's go." Reaching, she takes that hand, and she tries to put everything else out of her mind for a little while. None of that was important. Not while there was someone else she owed her full attention to.

As their hands link, Alice laces her fingers together with Rikka's and steps up close enough that she need not tilt her parasol at a weird angle to cover them both while they walk.

"This is not something we really get to do much," she murmurs as they head into town. "Or... at all, really. Is it?"

Being stuck on the same boat in proximity to the people she cared about was one thing. Yet that was a constant thing, being on that ship. But to just be able to take a walk around some place with one of them, hand-in-hand... It's almost strange that something so normal would seem so unique and welcome.

The contact and the closeness are... nice. Not that she'd ever complain, but it's reassuring to have someone that is willing to just simply be with her, and after it was so rudely interrupted previously... she's excited for a chance to get used to the feeling.

"No, it isn't," she agrees, keeping herself in step carefully, bare feet collecting sand as she walks. "I keep myself so busy lately that I don't really think of simple things like this. It's a nice change of pace, I think." Laughing lightly, she adds, "And I can't complain about the company."

A long moment passes while she just enjoys herself. She's... comfortable, like this, and she'd be okay doing this all day. But alas, there is a kind of work to be done before they set out for their next destination. Which she couldn't be bothered to remember just now. "Is there anywhere in particular you want to go? Anything specific we need?" It's more so she can know what to expect, rather than an attempt to expedite their trip.

At this point, Alice is very well past showing much in the way of shyness or embarrassment with their relationship. At least when it came to the most basic things. But the ship certainly didn't provide much in the way of privacy, especially of late. So the mundane actually becomes quite appealing, and she swings their linked hands a bit as they walk.

"Well, I should certainly hope not," she notes, adding a giggle after Rikka's own laugh. "But I figure the opportunity should be taken when presented, yes?"

She looks ahead then. "We spent most of what we had in order to obtain a new ship, and we lost a lot of basic supplies in the battle... So we have to consider certain things, such as water, food, medical supplies... Whatever we do, we have to focus on obtaining something that can be exchanged for funds later on in this next trip..."

Thinking that sounds a little bit too sullen, she goes on: "However, I do believe we can cover what is necessary! An... extra hand would probably be of use, really. Perhaps we shall end up with a little extra if we are smart enough, even."

008 ♦ Text/Action | Backdated: March 31st

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