Astra sighed contentedly, trailing slightly behind May and Brendan as they all strolled through the last few miles of Petalburg Woods. Two days of normality, surrounded by bird-song and thick canopy, had done a lot to soothe her nerves. Exciting and exotic as city life had been, it had also been a slow-boil to her soul. Noise and emotions and enough light to blot out the stars for a week! And that wasn’t even counting the constant barrage of incidents. Seeing the vast, infinite array of light in the sky slowly reappear during their first night after leaving had almost brought her to tears.

Spending so long without the heavens just wasn’t right. A vast, empty, pitch-black sky, sometimes without even the moon...what a lonely and bleak weight to live under. How would a human even know where they wanted their embers to go?

Thankfully, the return journey through the forest had been relatively relaxing compared to their first time through. No big arguments, no inexplicably running into world-renowned trainers, and no signs of pursuit by Team Aqua. Astra had even been able to finally drop her height illusion after ‘catching up’, which was good because she’d spotted May giving her a few peculiar looks tinged with bewildered curiosity and self-doubt the last few mornings, and even Brendan had given her a glance or two on the day she finished. Astra felt bad about making them doubt their memory so much, but she hadn’t had much choice. At least they didn’t stare at her neck when they talked to her anymore.

All in all, she was happy to finally be making progress again. Hopefully they’d all be in Dewford by the end of the day, ready to take on the Gym. Astra looked at the forest thoughtfully. How much further was it, anyway? Shrugging, she grabbed Swablu’s pokeball.

“Hey guys,” Astra said, breaking the silence. “I’m gonna send Swablu up to check how much farther we have left.”

Brendan looked back at Astra and quirked an eyebrow. “Didn’t you just get a cutting-edge map?” he asked, looking amused.

Astra flushed, slowly putting Swablu’s pokeball back as May chuckled.

“You were playing around with that thing all day yesterday!” May teased. “What, are you bored of it already?”

“All right, all right, I get it,” Astra said, rolling her eyes. “I’ve practiced with Swablu more than I’ve used anything like this thing, I’m not used to it. Let me just...”

She pulled out the Pokenav, clicking the little button on its side. The device unfurled with a chorus of small clicks, the top half raising up and flipping around to reveal a tiny screen, while the bottom split apart and produced a small keyboard. Astra smiled at the Pokenav, admiring the smooth movements of the tiny machine. She wasn’t sure why, but watching the little mechanisms shifting around in time with the clicking was oddly satisfying.

Refocusing, she pulled up the map. After a brief delay, what looked to be a bird’s-eye view of the whole forest appeared on the screen. A white line representing the main path squiggled through the woods, occasionally splitting off into smaller lines leading to minor side-trails, campsites, and other points of interest. At the top she could spot the outer fringe of Rustboro, while at the bottom—

“Oh!” Astra exclaimed, seeing the blinking dot at the southern edge of the forest. “We’re pretty much there! It can't be more than a few minutes.”

“Hell yeah,” May shouted, pumping a fist. “Finally! Alright, let’s get a move on; the last one to the beach gets thrown in the ocean!”

May took off, sprinting down the road with a wild cackle. Astra and Brendan stared at her, surprised.

“Wh—really!?” Brendan said, exasperated. “You can’t just—”

Astra burst forward down the path, each step almost a leaping bound across the packed earth. “Sorry Brendan!” she called, turning to give the boy a cheeky wink. “But I’m not getting dunked today!”

“Oh come on!” Brendan shouted, his voice already fading into the distance.

Astra just laughed, increasing her pace to catch up with May. The other girl hadn’t gotten too far ahead, and they were neck-and-neck within moments.

“Trying to get back at me for beating you to the gym, are you!?” Astra accused, grinning.

“That was a fluke and you know it!” May shot back. “This time there’ll be a nice tall glass of seawater waiting for you after you choke on my dust!”

Astra barked out a laugh. “Tough words! Too bad they won’t do you any good once you’re talking to the Magikarp!”

May smirked and started to retort, but paused as a rapid clicking filled the air. They looked at each other, then turned their gazes backwards.

Ding ding!

Brendan calmly rode up on his bike, smiling gently as he breezed past them both. He looked at the girls and quirked an eyebrow.

“Ladies,” he greeted, giving them a two-fingered salute. He turned back and sped off down the road.

Silence, but for the sound of pounding feet and labored breathing. Astra looked at May, blank-faced.

“You forgot he had a bike, didn’t you.”

“Shut the fuck you!” May roared, redoubling her efforts. “Brendan! Get your ass back here!”

“Wh—hey! Wait for me!” Astra cried as May sped ahead. Her new shoes made running easier, but she still wasn’t good at it!

Sea salt and lapping water filled the air as the trees began to thin out, and it only took another minute before the Petalburg Woods finally gave out and revealed the long stretch of beach curving towards Petalburg City. A modest house sat on the grassy field just before the sandline. Nearby, a long wooden pier stretched out into the water, a large boat tethered halfway down its length. The boat was pure white and looked to have two floors, and a big room with more window than wall situated in the middle of the deck.

Astra spotted Brendan near the boat, folding his bike back up. He looked to be animatedly talking to—oh, there was Mr. Briney! Had he been waiting for them?

“Brendan!” May roared, thundering across the wooden dock as Astra stopped to catch her breath at the house. Mr Briney stepped away as Brendan turned to face May. Brendan backpedaled, eyes widening.

“Wait, wait,” he protested, raising his hands. “You said the last person—”

“Don’t care!” May yelled. She slammed into him, bodily lifting Brendan off his feet—and off the edge of the pier. “INTO THE SALTY DRINK WITH YE!” she crowed.

Brendan dropped off the dock, and Astra had just enough time to see May’s victorious grin turn to horror as she realized Brendan had grabbed her wrist. Astra heard a brief shriek, which was cut off abruptly by a loud sploosh. She snorted, shaking her head.

“Those idiots,” she said, smiling. A caw sounded overhead, and Astra perked up as Peeko the Wingull circled in. She raised an arm and he landed, warbling at her in simple cheer. “Hi Peeko!” she said, stroking his feathers. “How have you been?”

“Wing!” Peeko chirped.

“He’s been doing quite well, thanks to you three.”

Astra looked up. “Oh! Hi Mr. Briney,” she greeted, smiling at the older man. He looked a lot better than when she’d last seen him, now dressed in a blue and white striped shirt, rugged looking pants, and face crinkling in cheer. “That’s good to hear. I hope you’ve been well too.”

“I am, though if I have a few more days like in Rusturf I might be in trouble. As for Peeko, he was feeling rather down after that day, so I’ve been spoiling him rotten all week. I say,” Mr. Briney said, turning to look at the churning and cursing waters where Brendan and May had fallen. “They’re quite rambunctious, aren't they?”

“Yeah,” Astra agreed, stifling a chuckle as Brendan hurled an armful of water at May halfway to shore, which May returned with a great and terrible enthusiasm. “This kind of thing happens a lot. Usually because May does something dumb.”

“Ohoho,” Mr. Briney chortled, “that reminds me of my days with the boys out at sea! Ah, the trouble we got up to; I remember getting dragged up to the admiral once...”

He trailed off. Astra looked up at him and saw him staring out at the warring teens, a smile tinged with bittersweet melancholy filling his face. She frowned, glancing between him and the shore. How odd, it sort of looked like he wasn’t really focusing on them at all. His words had sounded fond, but this feeling...

“Mr. Briney?” she tried.

Mr. Briney blinked, eyes refocusing. He looked at the commotion a moment longer before shaking his head and turning to Astra.

“Apologies, I got lost in thought. It’s always wonderful to see the younger generation in such high spirits.” He smiled, nodding at her. “Cherish moments like these well. Life is fickle and tempestuous, but your memories will help you weather even the fiercest storms.”

“Huh?” Astra tilted her head, confused. Where was all this coming from?

“Ohoho,” Mr. Briney laughed. “There I go again. Right, let’s get back on track. Brendan informed me that you lot are looking to take me up on that trip to Dewford, aye? It’s not a short trip, and the salty skies wait for no man.” He grinned at her, eyes sparkling. “My vessel’s just about ready to set sail. Want to help me weigh anchor while your friends shake off the brine?”

Astra perked up. “Sure!” she said, grinning back. An opportunity to see how to operate a human vessel? Declining was out of the question! “What do we do first?”

What followed was a great deal of untying and inspecting the ropes and mooring and a sad lack of lessons about how to actually make the boat move. Was there a big pokemon in the water to tug it or did the ocean have something like river currents to float down? Neither, apparently; when she had asked, Mr. Briney explained there was some sort of spinning thing underwater on the rear of the vessel that pushed the boat along. The whole process only took a few minutes, and then they had a brief pause while waiting for May and Brendan to climb aboard. Astra waved at them as they trudged down the pier, clothes soaked through and moods thoroughly salted.

“Have fun?” she asked, giving her friends a cheeky grin as she offered them some towels.

“A boatload,” Brendan responded, tone as dry as the rest of him wasn’t.

May just grumbled, wringing out her bangs. “Are we going already?” she asked, wiping her face with a towel. “Old guy works fast.”

“Mr. Briney,” Brendan stressed, frowning at May over his own towel, “sails around Hoenn near-constantly. Frankly I’d be worried if he wasn’t able to set off at a moment's notice.”

“That I do, lad!” Mr. Briney spoke up, ambling up from the lower deck. “Someone’s gotta keep an eye out at sea; you never know what strange things might pop up that need poking out here. Everything’s looking well below deck, so I’m ready to ship off if you lot are.”

“Did anyone get my bike?” Brendan asked. Astra pointed toward the cockpit where she’d leaned the bike against the wall. “Oh, thank you. I think we’re good to go, then.”

“This is a lot bigger than I was expecting.” May commented, looking around. “That lower deck is massive.”

Mr. Briney laughed. “Ah, yes, my lady here is a big one. Since I travel so very often, it just didn’t make sense to spend every night in a hotel room, so I got a vessel that could double as a home.” He patted the rail, grinning. “She’s got a bed, a bathroom, and even a kitchen with an icebox! All this space helped me out more times than I can count.”

“I’ve seen it so many times on the news; to think I’m actually riding it...” Brendan grinned, his eyes sparkling with glee. “I can’t wait to see it in action!”

“Ohoho, let’s not dally about, then!” Mr. Briney cheered. He pulled in one last rope holding his ship to the pier, then started heading toward the cockpit. “Best view is from the prow, go take a gander while I pull us away.”

“Aye aye!” Brendan said, saluting. Astra blinked at him, amused. He sure was enthusiastic, wasn’t he?

“You absolute dork,” May sniggered. She shook her head and headed toward the prow. “C’mon, Let’s go check out the view.”

The prow of the ship was an elevated portion at the very front where the deck narrowed to a point. Cushioned seats lined the sides with a table in the middle, and on the tip of the brow was a metal figure of a cawing Wingull, its wings spread wide and looking up at the sky. Astra leaned over the bars up front, taking in the bright, sparkling waves with a giant grin.

“I’ve never been on a ship before,” she said, turning to her friends. “It feels weird! Kinda wobbly?”

“That’s just you getting your sea legs,” Brendan said, sliding onto a cushioned bench and leaning back against the rail. “The ship bobs up and down on the water, so your body has to learn how to balance around that instead of the usually motionless ground.”

“Oh wow, that’s a thing?” Astra asked, looking down at the deck. Was the rocking she felt because of the waves? “Neat! Doesn’t seem too hard.”

“Say that again when the water isn’t practically motionless, green girl,” May waved her hand, falling back into her own seat opposite Brendan. She stretched her arms above her head, sighing as something let out a loud pop. Rolling her shoulders, she hummed, then turned her attention to Brendan, leaning forward eagerly. “So Brendan, what’s the low-down with Briney? You keep talking him up, and even Stone sounded impressed that we hitched a ride. Is he that big a deal?”

“Oh, the guy’s basically a regional hero,” Brendan explained, smiling. “He sails all around Hoenn and helps anyone he comes across. He’s been involved in nearly a quarter of all of Hoenn’s oceanic distress responses in the last few decades. He’s famous for being the first one on the scene when Sea Mauville self-destructed; if he hadn’t been there, a lot more people wouldn’t have been able to escape the wreck. Not to mention his past as an accomplished naval veteran and his ties to Mr. Stone and to Drake of the Elite Four.”

Astra perked up. Elite Four? Professor Birch had mentioned them in the same breath as the Gym Leaders and the Champion, but she hadn’t heard anything else about them. Mr. Briney knew one of them? Maybe she could ask—

She was knocked from her thoughts as a reverberating tremor thrummed through the entire vessel, and a low hum from the rear of the ship filled the air. Astra turned to see Mr. Briney manning the helm, and as he pulled a cord, a booming horn sounded through the air along with some clanking metal from deep below.

“Anchors away!” Mr Briney bellowed, sounding the horn again. “Peeko, we’re setting sail, darling!”

“Wingull!” Peeko cawed, alighting atop the helm. “Gull, gull!”

Astra yelped as the boat suddenly jerked under her feet. “Whoa!” she said, wobbling a bit before regaining her balance. Hah, this was easy! She laughed and sat down. “That was a surprise, I almost fell over!”

May chuckled. “Haven’t even left the dock and you’re already staggering like a drunk. Careful you don’t trip over the railing or we’ll have to break out the fishing rods. Though, considering you’re the only one who’s still dry...” May trailed off, picking at the still-damp hems of her shirt and eyeing Astra speculatively.

Astra pouted. “Don’t you dare!” she said, scooting closer to Brendan.

“No tossing people overboard, May,” Brendan chided.

May crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at Brendan’s warning. “Tch, no fun,” she whined.

Astra shook her head, smiling. Turning to the ocean, she was awed by the vast expanse of water separating them from the shore. “Wow, we’re moving fast,” she said. “The beach is already so far away.”

“It’s a speedy ship, that’s for sure,” Brendan agreed. “Though we won’t be moving this fast for the entire trip; route hazards and Winter’s Eye and all that,” he shrugged. “I think we’ll be traveling for a few hours before we reach Dewford.”

Astra hummed, her smile fading a bit as Brendan spoke. She stared at the receding shoreline and couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious. There really wasn’t anywhere to go if something went wrong out here. Reflexively, she double-checked that her illusions were still up to par, and peeked into her bag to check if Mr. Stone’s package and letter were still there—which they were. She set her backpack aside with a sigh and shook her head, dispelling the gloomy thoughts. Mr. Briney wouldn’t let anything happen, and her friends were here too! Best to just enjoy the trip.

“So!” she said, turning to May and Brendan. “What should we do until then?”

Wind blew sharply across the sunlit sea, accompanied by the ever-present crash of waves against steel and stone. Caws filled the air from a quartet of birds—a pair of Wingull, a Taillow, and a golden Swablu—as they wheeled merrily through the skies above. Cacophonic splashing erupted as the waters churned far below, revealing Marill spinning straight out of the ocean, narrowly missing a smug Tentacool as she returned to the depths.

Twin shouts chorused in panic as Marshtomp gleefully swam through the waves, tugging an oversized surfboard in his wake. Brendan and May—having changed into some rather bare clothing ostensibly meant for swimming—teetered on the board as it was jerked along, Brendan wildly flailing his arms in a futile attempt to regain their balance while May had him in a death-grip from behind.

“Left! Left! No, right! Stop tipping us over, jackass!”

“I can’t if you keep pulling me like that! Let go of me, I—oh that’s a big wave; Marshtomp, slow down, we’re going too fast—!”

Screaming, and then a great splash. Laughter chorused from the deck as the rest of the pokemon aboard Briney’s ship watched the two trainers crash into the waves. Astra giggled from where she was seated next to the helm. She would have thought those two would have learned after the first three times, but while their skills were questionable, their determination was not.

Smiling, Astra looked down at the sheet of paper in front of her, humming along to the song written there as she read. It seemed like it fit the atmosphere well enough—jaunty, with a quick pace and an uplifting, sunny tone. Plus, it looked fun! Breathing deeply, she brought her violin to her chin and rested the bow upon its strings. She blew out, and began to play. It sounded, somewhat, like this:

Wind, salt, waves, and sand. Light and soft, endless sunny skies across a boundless azure horizon. Laughter and adventure at every turn, and, deep inside, a soft wistfulness for a day long passed by, perhaps soon to come again.

“Oh, that’s a lovely tune,” Mr. Briney said, looking down at Astra from the helms window. “A classic if I do say so myself; some of the boys used to play this one back in my heyday. Very well played, Miss Astra.”

“Oh, thank you!” Astra said, grinning up at Mr. Briney as she played. “I’m glad you like it. I’ve been meaning to practice these, but things keep getting in the way. Swaying around with the boat is making it a bit harder, but I got used to it pretty quickly.”

“Well, you’ve certainly got the knack for it,” Mr. Briney said. He nodded towards the flailing duo out in the water. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather fool about with your friends out there? Don’t have long before we reach the Eye, and after that it’s all open waters again.”

“I’m fine,” Astra assured, pausing a beat to flip the sheet music over. “I’d rather not get dunked, and watching them screw up is hilarious.”

“Fair enough,” Mr. Briney conceded.

“Speaking of open waters, why are there so many pillars around here anyway?” Astra asked, looking out to the ocean. A fair distance away was a bizarre wall of stone spires and barren, rocky plateaus that stretched across the horizon, and if Astra went around and looked off the port side she knew she’d see another wall that way, too. They looked similar to the ones that had encircled North Rustboro Cove, which made Astra wonder if they surrounded all of Hoenn.

Mr Briney soured, and Astra looked up to find him staring out at the spires with a frown.

“Don’t rightly know myself,” he finally grumbled, turning back towards the wheel, “but there’s been a few tales about it. Supposedly it was the work of some foolish man in ancient times when people were going around conquering bits of land left and right, though it’s anyone's guess whether he was trying to keep outsiders out or stop people from leavin’. Didn’t give any thought on how it’d affect us small fry; why, half the people I’ve hauled to safety were regular folk who bumped up against a crag too hard and sunk their craft. Fools they be for not paying enough attention, but more fools the idiot who made Hoenn’s seas a madhouse of gabbro reefs.”

“Wait, someone made all of that?” Astra asked, awed. “But there’s so much of it! All around Hoenn? How could they do that?”

“Don’t know,” Mr. Briney shrugged. “This all happened in ancient history, and it’s been ages since I’ve seen a textbook. I think there was some legend about a monster made of rock?” He scratched his head, humming. “Bah, all I know is that these things are a real nuisance.”

“A rock monster...?” That...why did that sound familiar? All that came to mind were those pokemon made of living stone she had seen while fighting Roxanne. Maybe it was some other Rock-type pokemon? Assuming it was true at all, of course. Well, whatever it was,

It deserved everything that happened to it.​

Astra blinked, then realized she’d stopped playing and had missed a few bars. She frowned, disappointed in herself. Idle conversation shouldn’t have distracted her so much! If she wasn’t able to play while talking in such a peaceful situation like this, then she’d start to mess up during battles too! Shaking her head, she picked up where she left off.

“If the pillars are such a bother, why haven’t they been destroyed?” she asked as music refilled the air.

“Those rocks have been there for a long time,” Mr. Briney replied. “Lotta pokemon and plant life have grown and lived in the reefs down there for generations, and if their homes all got knocked down the ocean would suffer for it—not that wild pokemon bother my ship too often, they tend to steer clear of anything with a motor.” He snorted. “The pillars are also ‘valuable naval dissuasion assets’, according to one stuck-up strategist I knew, and even if it weren’t for all that, who's gonna go around and blow up a thousand rock pillars just to make my life a bit easier? Sure, every now and then some trainers blast holes in them by accident, but not a soul is going to demolish these things on purpose.”

Astra hummed, nodding. She supposed that made sense. At the very least, having to slow down for the pillars gave everyone else a chance to play in the water for a bit.

A gargled scream split the air. The two looked out just in time to see a harnessed Lotad skimming across the water in reverse, a pressurized water gun accelerating him to gratuitous speeds. Not far behind him was May, flat on the surfboard with one arm wrapped around a rope and the other clutching onto the surfboard for dear life, all while getting an unending faceful of Lotad’s backwash. The board skipped across the water and the warble had just enough time to rise in pitch before the board flipped and sent May tumbling into the shallows.

She popped up a moment later, hacking and paddling toward the boat. She collapsed on the deck a moment later, glaring at a wheezing Astra between gasps.

“Not...funny...” May rasped, shakily wringing a sizable deluge of seawater from her hair.

Astra just laughed harder. “You should have seen the look on your face!” she crowed. “You went like, aaah!” She scrunched her face into a rictus of mortified terror, before cracking into a giggling mess and falling onto her side.

“T’was a most impressive wipeout, miss,” Mr. Briney added, giving May a kind smile, marred only by the corners of his mouth twitching. “Are you alright?”

“‘M fine,” she mumbled, before twitching violently and bursting into a fit of hacking. Spitting into the sea, she groaned, falling onto her back. “Ugh...” she moaned. “Fucking...fuck.”

“Take it easy, now,” Mr. Briney said, briefly leaning out of the cabin to lob a towel at the half-drowned girl. “Come sit with us and recover for a moment. I could put on some tea, if you want? Something warm would do you good.”

May perked up. “What kind?” she asked, rubbing her face with the towel as she sat up. Mr. Briney opened a small cupboard under the window.

“Roselia and Cacnea.”

“I’d kill for a heavy rose.”

Mr. Briney laughed. “Oh, a connoisseur, are we? Sad to say, but my vessel does not double as a tea shop. Is plain acceptable?”

May lowered the towel and squinted. “Is it red or blue?” He blinked, then looked in the cupboard again.

“Green.”

May groaned again. “A Sitrus berry, at least?”

“I’ve never been a fan,” Mr. Briney admitted.

“I have some Oran,” Astra offered.

May made a face. “Ugh, in Roselia? Plain is fine.”

“Coming right up!” Mr. Briney said, the faint sound of clinking metal and water emanating from the cabin.

“Bet my soggy ass that he burns it,” May muttered, letting out a sigh as she plopped down next to Astra.

“If you want to,” Astra agreed, picking up her bow again. Might as well practice a few notes while they talked. "Does tea burn easily? I've lost more than one Magikarp to a fire myself."

May rolled her eyes. “Not literally burnt, dummy; Roselia’s just got a finicky seeping temperature. If he makes it too hot it’ll lose the flavor. Of course, too low and—well, if it was the good stuff it’d flat out poison you, but green’ll just turn out really bitter aaand you don’t know what tea is.”

May turned a flat stare on Astra. Astra shrugged helplessly.

“Surprise!” Astra cheered, pulling her bow in a dramatic swing as she did. “Don’t know what a ‘heavy rose’ is either.”

“Ugh,” May muttered, pulling her knees in and wrapping the towel around herself. “Well, uh, to keep it short, tea is when you put certain plants in nearly-boiling water so the water can suck out the tasty parts. You can add things afterward, like berries or sugar. A heavy rose has like, honey, and some other stuff.”

Astra tilted her head, the music stuttering a bit as she frowned in thought. Wait, it was just boiling plants? “Hold on, I know that. Are you talking about steamneedle?”

May looked at her, blinking slowly. “...What?” she managed.

“Steamneedle,” Astra repeated, blinking right back. “Some of the trees at home have needles instead of leaves—”

“Pine trees?” May asked.

“Sure,” Astra agreed. “We have some pine trees around, and there are some who like to pick off the needles and boil them. I had some once when I had a bad cough; it was super bitter, but I got a lot better right after.”

“So you do know what tea is.” May concluded, faintly stunned. Astra frowned at her.

“Hey, just because I don’t know a lot of things doesn’t mean I don’t know anything, May.” she huffed, roughly stroking the violin strings. “It’s just boiled plants; it’s not that hard.”

May shrugged. “Can you blame me? I have no idea what you do or don’t know, and a lot of the time it’s ‘don’t’. You didn’t even know it’s called tea!”

“It’s not like there’s a lot of plants around home like steamneedle,” Astra defended. “And all of them are awful-tasting medicine! I stuck with berry juice and water.”

May made a face like Astra had just claimed to prefer her fish thoroughly charred.

“Well I guess I’ll just have to show you how real tea is made!” May proclaimed. “With real leaves, not this weak-ass ‘Green Roselia’, even if the old man could make it right.”

“Hey, I’m sure Mr. Briney can make his own tea perfectly fine.” Astra assured. “I don’t think he’d keep it around if he couldn’t prepare it.”

“Even if he does it’s still not going to be amazing,” May sighed, settling back against the wall again. “Disregarding the flavor difference, green is just boring without the poison. No thrill at all. It’s like you have a surprise spicy food roulette but it’s just a banana pepper.”

"That’s the second time you’ve mentioned poison," Astra said, looking at May with no small amount of worry.

"Meh," May grunted, waving off Astra's concern. “It's just stomach aches and a bit of hurling—unless you’re an idiot and straight up eat the raw leaves. Roselia’s fine if you do it right, and we're not even having that kind anyway."

Astra wasn't sure about 'fine', but, after a moment of hesitance, let it go. Maybe it was a Human thing. "If you say so," she said, turning the page of the music sheet she’d been glancing at. "But I think I'll pass on the toxic tea—if we find any." She paused. "And honey is...?"

"Hm? Oh, honey is...uh, this viscous yellow stuff, really sticky and sweet. Combee make it."

"Combee?"

May thunked her head back against the wall, sighing. She was saved by the timely arrival of Brendan.

"Hey girls, what's up?" He greeted, towling himself off as he came close. "I heard your song earlier; it was really good" he praised, nodding at Astra before looking at May. "That wipeout looked rough; are you okay?"

"'m fine" May mumbled, eyes closed.

"She was telling me about honey," Astra explained. "What's a Combee?"

Brendan blinked, then shrugged and situated himself opposite the duo, leaning back against the railing. “They're a species of Pokemon, though they don't live in Hoenn. They're about yea big—," he said, drawing a circle in the air about a foot in diameter, "—and look like a flying trio of yellow hexagons with faces. They're pretty cute."

"They have three faces?" Astra asked, surprised. That...well, Nosepass didn't have a mouth, so were three faces really so strange? "Wow. I hope I get to see one someday! And they make honey?"

"Yep! Pretty famous for it." He paused, lips quirking upward for a moment, before he looked at Astra with a carefully neutral expression.

"Do you know how they make it?"

Astra squinted at him, her bow coming to a halt. Brendan was feeling suspiciously, anticipatorily gleeful. Was he trying to mess with her? She felt May stir, the other girl cracking an eye open. Apparently she was curious too.

"No..." Astra said cautiously, drawing the word out. "How?"

"It's fascinating, really," he started, visibly fighting to keep a smile off his face. "First they gather nectar from a bunch of flowers into a sort of second stomach, then they go back to the hive—they live in compact, communal structures hanging off tree branches—find a couple other Combee, and then they turn that nectar into honey by taking that nectar and feeding it to each other via a lengthy session of chain-vomiting—”

Astra stared at Brendan in horror. May’s eyes shot open as the girl bolted upright.

“They fucking what!?”

“Tea’s ready!” Mr. Briney called, poking his head out. He looked at May half-retching off the railing while a cackling Brendan fended off an enraged Astra brandishing a violin case. He blinked.

“Teenagers,” he muttered, turning back to get the cups.

A short while later, Astra found herself holding a very warm cup of steaming tea. She eyed it warily, before taking a hesitant sip.

“It’s sweet!” she exclaimed, wide-eyed. “And it tastes like berries!” she took another sip, consideringly. “It’s not bitter at all. I thought you said it would be?”

“Well damn,” May said, taking a swig of her own. She nodded in grudging respect. “Old man isn’t half bad at this. Guess I lost that bet. ”

“Oh, nice!” Astra drank the rest of her tea, humming happily. She paused. “Wait, so does that mean I win ‘your soggy ass’?”

Brendan choked on his tea.

Twenty minutes later, Mr. Briney sounded the horn.

“Temperature’s droppin’, folks!” he shouted. “Get inside a’fore you grow icicles from your nostrils!”

“Did we reach Winter’s Eye?” Astra asked, stepping inside the helm.

“Aye,” Mr. Briney said, nodding as May and Brendan followed close behind. “I can feel it in my knees. Did you three get all of your friends?”

“We recalled all of our Pokemon,” Brendan confirmed.

“Good, wouldn’t want anyone left out during this stretch. Recommend you two change into heavier clothing; it’s going to get chilly, and Dewford won’t be much further afterwards. Use the hatch in the corner there to get below deck for some privacy.”

Astra looked around the helm as May and Brendan descended into the hatch. Mr. Briney stood at the wheel with an array of levers spread out on a few panels to his sides. Cupboards ran alongside the bottom of the windows, and she watched as Briney opened one and pulled out an odd fan-shaped machine that had metal mesh instead of blades. A squawk caught her attention, and she snickered when she saw Peeko wrapped up in a blanket inside a little bird-house hanging from the ceiling.

Mr. Briney plugged in the machine and set it on a shelf. He twisted a knob and the device lit up, bathing the room in a bright, warm glow. Very warm, actually. Astra blinked and held a hand up to the machine. Oh wow, it felt like Briney had just lit a fire!

”How cold is it going to get?” Astra asked, looking away from the heater. The fact that Briney had brought it out without delay didn’t give her a lot of hope.

“Hopefully not very,” Mr. Briney said, returning to the wheel. He peered out into the distance and flicked a switch. Bright beams of light suddenly shone from above the helm and the front of the ship, and Astra suddenly realized they’d run into a steadily thickening wall of fog. “We shouldn’t be buried in snow, but this route weaves too close to the Eye to be sure of anything. Fog isn’t great, but it beats hail.”

“Wing!” Peeko cawed unhappily, burrowing further into his nest.

“I know, Peeko, I know,” Mr. Briney soothed, stroking the bird's feathers. “I’ll get you to clear skies soon.”

“Oh hell, it got dark out quick,” May remarked, pulling herself up the ladder, Brendan following close behind. May had eschewed her usual outfit for some olive-colored pants and a long, puffy red jacket, and Brendan had done much the same, though his pants were black and his jacket a deep blue.

May peered out into the thickening fog bank, frowning. “Man, that’s eerie. All those rock spikes are just shadows now.”

“They kinda look like teeth,” Brendan said, looking a bit uneasy. Astra saw the jagged rocks trail off into the distance on both sides of the boat, fading in and out like specters of legend. If she tried, she could almost see the spires as the gargantuan teeth of an unfathomably enormous maw.

Darkness crept in as they traveled, icy condensation beading on the windows. A damp chill snuck its way into the cabin despite the heater and Astra shivered, watching her own breath come out as a faint mist. Quiet fell over the cabin, broken only by the creak of the boat and the faint hum of the engine. Briney stood at the wheel, occasionally turning the wheel minutely while the rest of them huddled near the radiator.

“What kind of fucking island makes shit this cold?” May muttered, having withdrawn her legs and arms into her jacket like what Brendan would have called a Squirtle. “It’s fucking summer, I should not be this cold.”

“Aye, Winter’s Eye is a strange place,” Mr. Briney agreed. “Can’t say anyone’s too fond of the frigid waste.”

“Have you ever seen it?” Brendan asked. “I know nobody’s ever set foot on it, but...”

“I’ve only laid eyes on it once,” Mr. Briney admitted, “and only for a moment, through a brief break in a dense blizzard. ‘Twas the strangest sight; the island looked like a great pyramid of stones surrounded by a ring of rocky spires. Almost man-made, like those temples in Mesos.”

Astra tilted her head. Temples in Mesos? That...she didn’t know what that was, but it sounded wrong, somehow.

“Weird,” May commented. She frowned. “If it’s some sort of temple I wonder what the hell's in it, then.”

“Might not be a temple,” Brendan said. “Maybe it’s just a monument, or a marker. That doesn’t explain the ice, though.”

“Could be some secret government project,” May suggested. “Or, hell, some secret criminal project.”

“Nah, this thing has been like this for centuries,” Brendan denied, shaking his head. He hesitated. “Though, the ancient civilizations were capable of some pretty odd stuff we still don’t know much about; maybe they made it to...deter invaders, somehow?” He frowned. “Or maybe it’s some sort of out-of-control ice maker. People went through a lot of effort to get ice for food preservation.”

“It’s a prison.”

“What?” May asked, turning to Astra.

Astra blinked back at her. “What?”

May raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, ‘prison’?”

Astra stared at her friends, who were both looking at her in confusion. Even Mr. Briney was looking at her strangely. Prison? What even was a prison? She hadn’t said anything!

“Uh,” Astra started, hesitantly. “I don’t—”

Hhhhhhhhhhrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu—

A piercing wail cut her off. Astra yelped, clamping her hands over her ears. “What is that!?” she yelled, looking around wildly.

“Calm down,” Mr. Briney shouted, gaze locked on the thick mist ahead. “It’s just the wind! It means we’re nearly midway there; the rocks make the gale howl oddly, it’s fine!”

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzz—

How could this possibly be fine!? Astra could almost feel the wind even here, pressing down on her like a deep snowbank.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy—

She could feel it thrumming through the boat, shaking the floor and creeping into her bones. She could even feel it...she could...

Astra looked up, eyes wide.

What was that?

Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii—

It was in the air. In the water. In the fog.

It was in the wind.

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu—

But what was it!?

It was everywhere, but it was so thin. So weak, but it was still there.

It felt like...it sounded like...

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuusssssssssssssssssssssssssssssscccccccccccccceeeeeee...

The gale faded away.

Everyone uncovered their ears, expressions full of relieved grimaces.

“Holy fuck,” May said, rubbing her head. “That was loud.”

“Very,” Brendan agreed, wincing. “I knew that the wind makes odd sounds near here, but nobody mentioned how deafening it was. I felt like I was back in Rusturf Tunnel, facing down Exploud. Captain Briney, does that happen a lot?”

“Nay,” Briney said, softly shaking his head as he gently stroked Peeko. “That was a strong one. The wind howls often, but I’ve only heard gales that fierce during the heaviest of snowstorms, the ones that last for weeks upon weeks. In fact, that may have been the loudest I’ve ever heard, which is...ominous. Mayhap we’re due for a pale summer.”

He looked at them, then frowned. “Lass,” he asked, gently. “Are you okay?”

“Huh?” May asked. She turned and paused, brow furrowing. “Astra?”

Astra didn’t respond, and just stared out the window, unblinkingly. She was shaking, arms wrapped around herself tightly.

“Astra?” Brendan asked, hesitantly squeezing her shoulder. “What’s going on?”

“Gah!” Astra jumped, jerking away from the touch. She blinked, looking at everyones concerned faces.

“Uh,” she hesitated, glancing outside again. “Sorry, I was...the wind just freaked me out a bit.”

“The wind?” May asked, raising an eyebrow. “I mean, it was loud, yeah, but after Rusturf that wasn’t anything special.”

Astra looked at May, brow furrowed. “You didn’t hear that?”

“Hear what?” Brendan asked, slowly.

“The wind. It...”

Astra trailed off, eyes drawn toward the thick fog outside. She could still feel...whatever it was. If she really tried, she could almost pick up...

“...it sounded like screaming.”

“Ah, that,” Mr. Briney said, distantly. “I wasn’t expecting...the howl affects some a bit worse,” he explained. “They hear things in it that aren’t there, which is unsettling in the best of times; least of all in this dreary mist.” He looked around. “Miss May, would you kindly put on another pot of tea? Something warm to drink should help soothe the nerves.”

“Oh, uh. Sure.”

May got up, shooting one last glance at Astra before shuffling off to the kettle. Brendan shifted next to Astra, squeezing her arm reassuringly.

“I hope we get out of this stretch of sea soon,” Brendan said, sighing. “Freezing mists, screaming wind, haunted islands...an hour ago I was surfing, where did that weather go?”

He chuckled weakly. Astra afforded him a small, wry smile, but her attention was still drawn back outside. She just couldn’t seem to shake it. The thing in the mist just...pulled her along, like a flooding river. It wanted her attention. Demanded it. Pleaded for it, for ever and ever and—

Silence fell in the cabin. Brendan shivering on the bench while Astra and Mr. Briney stared into the fog, searching for...something. The only sound was the dim chugging of the engine as it pushed the creaking hull through choppy waves. Astra could even hear the faint buzz of the heat lamp as it struggled to push back the encroaching chill. All else was still, save for their own misty breath and the intermittent clink of May fiddling with the tea set.

“...hm hm-hm-hm; hm, hm-hm hm...”

Astra blinked, startled by the sudden noise. What was...?

“Hm hm-hm-hm; hm, hm-hm hm~”

Humming? Who was—?

Fingers drummed on wood, and Astra looked up to see May leaning on the countertop, hands tapping out a rhythmic pattern as she stared at the teapot. Astra tilted her head as May continued mumbling the tune to herself, and even Brendan and Mr. Briney were looking at her oddly. Peculiar; Astra hadn’t heard May sing before. Though her mood felt similar to that moment atop the lighthouse; raw and unfocused—or perhaps, hyper-focused? Did May even know she was humming?

Heedless of her audience, May continued to hum, as if she had forgotten where she was. Astra met eyes with Brendan and Mr. Briney, each of them coming to an unspoken agreement. Leaning back, Astra closed her eyes and just...listened. Not to the strange presence, so very faint; but to her friend’s oblivious ode of contentment and the feel of the melody.

Light, bouncy, free; a tune worthy of the sea. Yet, melancholic, in a way; a dedication to times that would never last yet would come again, and shine all the brighter for the absence.

What a lovely tune. The others seemed to agree, small smiles flitting across their faces as May’s humming filled the cabin. It wasn’t very long; two or three minutes or so, but even those short moments seemed to lift a weight off Astra’s mind. Fortuitously, the song's end also heralded another welcome announcement.

“Tea’s ready!” May said, turning around with an oddly bright smile. She saw the look on everybody’s faces and paused, the smile fading into an uncertain line. “Uh, why are you looking at me like that?”

“Oh, don’t mind us,” Mr. Briney chortled, grinning ear-to-ear. “We were just enjoying that little tune you were humming.”

“I thought it was really nice!” Astra added, Brendan chiming in with a “Definitely!” a moment later.

It was incredible, Astra thought, how quickly May’s face could cycle through confusion, realization, dawning horror, and deep, crimson embarrassment. Her eyes had widened at least three times in a row! Astra doubted that all the red on May’s face was due to the cold, either.

May opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She gaped at them for a moment, seemingly frozen, before a piercing whistle jolted her out of it.

“Tea!” she blurted, whirling around and hurriedly fiddling with the cups.

Everyone burst into chuckles, and Brendan went over to give May a pat on the shoulder.

“Don’t feel too bad,” he consoled, “Nobody told me they could hear me singing in the shower until last year.”

May snorted, then growled in outrage. “Ugh, whatever, shut up. We’re never talking about this again,” she demanded, handing him a steaming, flowery cup. “Fuck off and drink your stupid tea. Assholes...” she mumbled, pouring out more drinks.

“It’s naught to be ashamed of,” Mr. Briney asserted, nodding gratefully as May handed him a cup. “Song is a hearty tradition of the seas. Without a good shanty, you’d go mad from boredom!”

“A shanty?” Astra asked as May handed her some tea. She took a sip and her eyes widened. Wow, this was super tasty!

“A work song,” Briney answered, setting his cup down. “If you find yourself swabbing a deck for a day you gotta find ways to entertain yourself and keep the rhythm.”

Oh, that sounded familiar! The gardeners and grassweavers sang all the time. Humans had those too?

“If I'm not mistaken,” Mr. Briney continued, “that tune was something of a shanty itself, wasn’t it?”

“Oh yeah, what song was that?” Astra asked, giving May an eager grin. “Does it have lyrics?”

May stared at them and drew back, wincing into her own drink. “...Uh. It’s...just a song from a show. I’m...well, it starts off with a bunch of, like, ‘yohohoho’, and...ugh, it’s not like I have the thing memorized!” she bit out, face red.

“Ohoho, that’s just fine!” Mr. Briney laughed. “I’m sure we could manage one of our own easily enough! Maybe we could even sing it to that tune. What say we make the last leg of this trip a bit more interesting, eh?”

“I’m down,” Brendan agreed. “Though, I’m not sure what to say...”

“Figure it out as you go!” Mr. Briney cheered.

“I could play along,” Astra offered, reaching for her violin case. “I don’t know the song, but I could probably follow what I heard pretty well.”

“A splendid idea!”

May looked around in bewilderment, her expression a rictus of shock and embarrassment. “Really?” she asked, exasperated. “We’re going to have a sing-along because I was humming?”

“Might as well; it’s dreary as sin out here,” Mr. Briney said, gesturing toward the impenetrable wall of fog surrounding his ship. He looked at her, a spark of mischief twinking in his eyes. “Besides, you sounded like you were having fun; why not start us off?”

“Wh—!” May started, rearing back. “Me!? I—it was your idea!”

“C’mon May, you’re the one who knows the song!” Brendan cajoled, elbowing her. The venom in the glare he received could have burned a hole in the hull.

“Oho, fair enough; I suppose I’ll give it a go, then!” Mr. Briney announced. “Miss Astra, feel free to lead me in!”

“Sure thing!” Astra said. She raised her bow, pausing for a moment to recall what May had hummed first. Leading into that...something smooth, she supposed. Jolly, yet melancholy. Her violin sang, filling the misty air with an uplifting, yet haunting refrain.

May twitched. “There was—it didn’t sound like that!” she complained. “It was...slower, and there was a piano!”

“Too bad!” Astra teased. “If you wanna show us what it really is, then go ahead!”

May growled, her teeth gritting together as Astra’s song proceeded towards the first chorus.

Mr Briney laughed. “Let’s see, it started with a ‘Yohohoho’, you said? All right, mates, let’s give it a go!”

The sailor’s voice rang out, loud and clear through the cabin and the seas beyond. Through the chilled waves and gloomy mist, followed by clear string-song, resonating with any who could hear. Joyful and energetic and just a bit sad, it went something like this:

“Yohohoho! Yo-hoho-ho! Yohohohoho! Yo-hoho-ho!”

Astra and Brendan grinned at each other and raised their voices as well.

“Yohohoho! Yo-hoho-ho! Yohohohoho! Yo-hoho-ho!”

May stared at them all, a pained, incredulous laugh escaping her throat. Mr. Briney turned to her and winked.

And began to sing.

“Far away from Hoenn’s tide, naught but sea to be our guide;

Homeward-bound, yet ‘pon the ground,

Our heart still turns to thee!

“Though we all shall rest our heads, the salty sky is still our bed;

Wingull sing, in squawking wing;

A sailor's lullaby!”

“Gull!” Peeko cawed. Mr. Briney laughed, then nodded at Brendan. Brendan’s eyes widened in panic, before he steeled himself and took a deep breath.

“Swab the decks and speak your last, we sail to waters dark and vast;

Here and now, no matter how, our name in legends be!

He paused. Astra awkwardly stuttered the rhythm as Brendan’s enthusiastic—if creaky—singing fumbled the next verse. He mouthed out some words to himself, visibly counting out the syllables with his hand before shaking his head and valiantly forging on.

“So say farewell and climb aboard, our tale shall be its own reward;

Sleet or snow, rain or cold, we ride unto our end!”

It could have been the song, or the cheer, or the simple movement of the ship, but the chill of the mist seemed to fade away as they sang. Warmth filled into Astra, her heart flooding with exuberance as the music swelled inside the cabin.

“A bit bleak, but I like it!” Briney cheered. “Are you sure you don’t want a turn, Miss May?”

May twitched, her face locked between warring expressions of amusement and embarrassment flickering across her face.

“C’mon,” Astra pleaded, pouting at the other girl. “Please?”

“For fuck’s sake, fine!” May snapped, folding her arms and glaring away.

“That’s the spirit!” Mr. Briney said, smile as wide as could be.

May gave them all one last scowl as she swigged the last of her tea. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes as her part finally arrived.

“Far away from Hoenn’s tide, naught but sea to be our guide;

Rain will pour, from shore to shore, into the storm we roar;

May, in contrast to Brendan, barely hesitated at all; her voice singing out clear as a bell. Despite her protests she seemed to really get into it, thrusting her hands up and outward in dramatic gestures as she went; though her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment.

Skies will flash with angry wrath, herald our eternal bath

Through the hail, upon the mast, our flag still holding fast!”

“That was really good!” Brendan said, grinning at May. “You have a nice singing voice.”

“Uh.” May blinked at him, caught off-guard. “Y-yeah!” she stammered, puffing up. “Of course I do!”

“Although, I don’t think the last line needs to rhyme, lass.” Mr. Briney observed. May turned a new, third shade of red.

“Fuck you!?” she sputtered.

“My turn!” Astra interjected, playing just a bit louder. What to sing, though...she didn’t have too much experience with the ocean, so she was working in the dark. At least she’d gone last, so she had a general idea from listening to everyone else’s lyrics, but...well, she’d just have to do her best.

“Though our end is dashing near, our spirits hard will never fear;

Hearts aflame, our will in steel, to our end we’ll never kneel!

Pre-planning had come in handy after all; once she got the feel of it down, the lyrics came fast and smooth. Then again, so had reading. Was it really her own skill...? As for her singing, Astra wasn’t quite able to tell if she was modulating her voice right, due to now focusing on her words, her violin, and the myriad other things she had running at all times, but she could hazard by the amused winces that it wasn’t perfect. Hey, if they wanted to multitask a half-dozen psychic constructs and try to sing well, they could be her guest! It wasn’t her fault she used the same mental muscle to speak as she did to hold down the strings!

Hopes alive in break of day, clear blue skies are on their way;

So hold on tight, we'll make it through, to finally see what's there!

“All together now!” Brendan exclaimed, so lost in the mood that he wrapped an arm around May's shoulder and pulled her close. He raised his cup and cheered.

“Yohohoho! Yo-hoho-ho! Yohohohoho! Yo-hoho-ho!”

The song resounded through the ship as everyone joined in. May swayed from tide to side with Brendan, looking dumbfounded but not unhappy, and even Peeko chimed in with some well-timed squawks of his own. Astra drew her bow across the strings, her violin piercing the gloomy weather like the finest of needles. Mr. Briney, still manning the wheel, looked out into the sea, smiling at some distant point on the horizon as he took up the song once more.

“Far away from Hoenn’s tide, naught but sea to be our guide;

Our end has come, but don’t be glum, our memories remain;

“Our dream was lost along the way, but eternal ou’r stories stay;

Fair winds blow, but ‘ware your foe, a warning I convey!

Astra looked up at Mr. Briney. Was he going to finish the song by himself? Heh, of course; who better to send off a song about the ocean than a sailor? Her grin grew as she heard Peeko join in, his cry following Astra’s violin as they all rushed toward the finale.

Should the Ogre of the sea, come to bring calamity;

Raise a glass, and say ‘alas!’, the drinks your fate to be!”

But shed no tears, allay your fear, your homes upon the waves;

Darkest depths or fairest shore, I’ll gladly put my grave!”

Briney’s voice rose again, and with massive grins, everyone joined him once more, roaring defiantly into the dismal fog.

“Yohohoho! Yo-hoho-ho! Yohohohoho! Yo-hoho-ho!”

“You rhymed too, you bastard!” May crowed, pointing at Mr. Briney accusingly. He laughed, shaking his head in amusement.

“Pretty sure I messed up the rhythm too! But it was fun, wasn’t it? I wove in some tall tales from my youth and time at sea near the end. Why, I feel twenty years younger, hohoho~!”

“Yeah, you really got into it at the end there,” Brendan said, grinning at May. May scowled at him, childishly sticking her tongue out. Brendan paused, apparently only now noticing that he’d pulled May right next to him. He flinched back, laughing awkwardly as he shied away.

“Sorry for, uh, pulling you like that,” he said, scratching the back of his head and looking away. “I guess I got caught up in the mood too.”

May raised an eyebrow, half-smiling, then rolled her eyes. “Well, next time make sure to warn me, prick,” she muttered, emanating some mixture of fondness and exasperation as she sat back down.

Brendan sighed in relief—then furrowed his brow as he mouthed ‘Next time?’ to himself.

The violin hummed softly beneath her hands as she brought the song to a close, sighing happily. A sea shanty, huh? What a thrill; harmonizing with others, working together to build an epic song of the sea...it was like the whole world had lit up.

Wait, no. The room had gotten lighter. Astra’s eyes widened, and she rushed toward the window, staring at the bright expanse ahead.

“The fog is gone!”

As far as the eye could see, the horizon had opened up into a vast expanse of clear blue water. All that was left of the cold mists was a fading haze far behind them.

“Oh sweet!” May exclaimed, taking off her coat. “I was starting to get hot in that thing.”

“How much further is Dewford?” Brendan asked, slipping out of his coat as well. Mr. Briney pointed into the distance.

“It’s right there.”

Astra looked again, squinting through the renewed sunshine.

Off in the distance, a blurry shape coalesced out from the waves. A great hill of pure stone overshadowing dozens of buildings and odd, wide leafed trees, all leading up toward a dock filled with ships and boats of all sizes.

Astra’s eyes narrowed. Somewhere on that island was the next step on her path to becoming champion. Another gym leader like Roxanne, waiting for her to challenge them for their badge.

...

Also Steven Stone was there, somewhere.

And she would have to talk to him again.

Fuck.