past the horizon

@Staves-Rest

moon has a talk with skipper. :]
(WHYYYY HAS MY CODING BROKEN SOBS)

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  “Hey, Moon! What are you still doing here?”
  Moon lowered his pop-pipe away from his face, blinking in the direction he heard his voice in. He’d been lingering on the deck for a while at this point, long after the others had all trickled off in little groups, settling in a bit after an afternoon of good work. Lost in a daydream that derailed his focus, it made him feel like he was adrift at sea already, making it difficult to focus on his ever-fuzzy surroundings. He managed a small smile and straightened from where he’d been leaning against the portside railing in an attempt to shake himself from his numbing reverie.
  “Hey, Kip.”
  As Skipper caught up to him, she realized somewhere in her head that Moon had gained a couple of inches on her, and she pulled a rather icky face at him. He cackled at her expression.
  “I didn’t want to miss a good view of golden hour.” He waved his pop-pipe a smidge. “Wanna watch the sunset?”

  Soon enough they were settled in beside one another, basking in the calm silence that stretched between them. The sea glittered like glass below them, flickering like cold fire that ebbed and flowed with the tide. A soft, serene melody drifted up from Moon’s pop-pipe, twirling around practiced fingers. It was a song he’d always loved achingly, but it was the only one that he couldn’t for the life of him remember how he’d learned. It was just… comfortable. Nostalgic. It was his favorite thing to play as he said goodbye to the sun, as it began its descent on the horizon.
  Skipper tipped her head a little bit when Moon’s song trailed off.

   “Is it okay if I tell you something heavy, Kip?” he murmured, his features thrown into sharp relief by the soft evening glow. It was easy to see just how tired he was. When she nodded, he took a deep breath, and let the words roll off his tongue before he could swallow them back again.
  “I don’t…remember who my parents were. When I woke up on Sleepy Shore after that bad storm, I only remembered them calling my name, over and over again.”
  This much he’d already told Skipper before when they were younger, but he felt the need to repeat himself as he slowly went through it again, and she waited for him with patience as he carefully picked through his words.
 “I think we always lived on the sea, though. Far from the reach of the Heavens, but right on the doorstep of the Depths. Isn’t that funny?”
  They lapsed back into silence for several long heartbeats, but Moon took it upon himself to lift a paw slightly, watching his rib glands as they filled and prickled with a gentle glow that was golden like the sun itself. Might as well take this opportunity to practice his cloud sense, wanting to try to get ahead of tomorrow’s weather if he could. Skipper took the cue and joined him, mimicking the way he leaned against the unweathered wood of the rail.
  “Can you remember anything else?”

   Moon’s turn to make a face unable to quite make out what the clouds were telling him. He sighed.
  “Not really. It’s coming back to me slowly, but I wonder if going on this expedition will give me any answers.”

   Turning to look at Skipper, he was surprised to see that she was already looking at him, and she held his gaze effortlessly. He bit his lip to keep it from trembling as he spoke next.

   “Kip… do you think they might be out there, somewhere? Do you think… that I could maybe even find them, if I go with you?”

   Skipper didn’t have any answers for him right away, but she simply shrugged and scooted to lean up against him a little bit, giving him a friendly nudge.

   “The ocean is really big,” she noted, looking out across the water. She flicked the tip of her tail against his playfully. “But it can’t be that big. I dunno what we’ll find but no matter what it is, we can all look together, right? I’m sure something will turn up one way or another.”
  A brief pause, for effect.
  “Also you have, like, built in wings, Moony. You’d be able to cover more ground with us.”

   This thought had never struck Moon, but he just cackled anyway and relaxed a bit as he gently exhaled the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. It was easy to be around Skipper, and he was thankful for that.

   “Oh. Yeah.”

   This time when the silence returned, Moon could swear he heard the background noise fading back in as if a switch was suddenly flipped; the lapping of the waves against the side of the boat, the gentle, distant creaking of the wood settling, the quiet ‘popping’ noises of congregating skrimp further down the shoreline. A little more present… a little more alive.
  “...Thanks, Kip.”

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basic air

speedy movement: 0/1

enhanced hearing: 0/1

wind gusts: 0/1

cloud sense: 1/1

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11 / 1724 beans
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