Welcome to the Library~

If there was one thing Lisa could take away from this little venture and bring back home with her, it was the fact that dehydration was more of a formidable foe than she'd first considered it to be.

Though, to be fair to her admittedly privileged position as an 'indoor librarian', beverages had never been in short supply. Even in the hotter climates of Sumeru, a container of cool water would always be within arms reach of the scholar. The last thing her professors would have needed was for a mind like hers to go drying up due to neglect. Again.

...She was having a bad enough time without the reminiscing.

Point being, she couldn't remember a time where she'd had such frequent hallucinations. She wasn't even anything like a seer, shouldn't something like this be too much–

The sudden spray of sea water sprinkling over the boat snaps her from her stupor, blinking rapidly to look towards where Mira had thrown himself to the ocean waves.

At...least it was nice to have the option to be a little cooler, after the group's time in that desolate hell-scape of sand. A suspiciously empty beach was better than a plethora of dried-up corpses calling for her girlfriend's head.

Speaking of which...

She turns to the other two women still aboard the boat with her, shrugging her shoulders a bit. "...What would you ladies say are the chances we could find someone, if we go looking for those drinks, hm~?"

@grannyitztli @fermatafour @revelation-beach

She smiles, her face full of understanding, "It asked the same of me at first, before it asked for me to be the one to die. But you," her voice carries a slightly scolding tone, "No more talking about dying passing or whatever. If I am not allowed to go, I am making sure that we all get home, okay?"

She gives Castorice one more knowing smile before shifting her gaze over to Kafka.

If she was tasked to kill Blade at first, but Blade perished, that must mean who ever was destined to die would be the next target.

Her eyes turn suspicious as fleeting image of Kafka tugging at the sun hat crosses her mind. Doubtful eyes soften as she dons a sly smirk. The image of dog ears on Kafka once again infiltrate her mind.

This loyal pup would never. It would make her lover too sad to know that she killed an innocent old hag.

"Once we get out of this mess, let me treat you all to some drinks-" she hesitates for a moment, inspecting the crowd. "Wait you are all of age right...?"

Lisa nods along with Citlali’s little lecture to Castorice, beyond delighted that the tone of the group was shifting into something more…hopeful. Lighter, even. That information being shared wasn’t leading to any infighting and plans were being made for when they got out instead of being if they got out…

The sun wasn’t looking like it was going to ease up on their group any time soon, but the weight of despair wasn’t nearly as intolerable.

“Goodness, the mere MENTION of a drink has me feening for one right now…~” She sighs, taking advantage of Kafka’s closer proximity to press into her side and rest her head on the other woman’s shoulder. “Hellish environment not withstanding, but I’d planned to enjoy a few glasses once we’d docked on the beach… Perhaps once we get back~”

She had to wonder if any of the organizers had noticed anything was wrong with their tour at this point. Aside from the people any of the others might have come on this vacation with, she couldn’t imagine someone not growing worried over the lack of correspondence with the one in charge of their own tour.

And speaking of the young man…

The witch tilts her head enough to look over to where Mira still sat in the sand. Poor boy looked like he’d lose his head having a mental crisis over there, he’d even been more or less forgotten in their conversations.

“…Mira Dear, will you be staying over there all by your lonesome?” She calls to the young man, waving a hand in a lazy ‘come hither’ motion. “Dehydration is more fun with company, join us~ Do tell about your life outside of this whole tourism deal…?”

[Lisa rolls a 4, no HP loss! (9/10 HP)]

@revelation-beach

It truly set in, they were being watched. Had always been watched.

The voice watched Blade die via engine blade, watched them suffer on rough waters, watched Citlali brush death in more ways than one. And it did nothing. They were not puppets in some game. This voice could have helped.

She took a deep breathe to calm herself.

"I have to agree with Lady Kafka. This voice has been watching us since the beginning. It wants a show. We are here to entertain. Let us not end it's show so soon. After all," the butterfly on her arm went over to its master's new friend to comfort Citlali, "our grand finale hasn't been reached."

As the short burst of laughter calms down, she looks at each member head on. Her body still seems weakened and sun beat, but her eyes hold a steady gaze, no longer wavering. Her voice speaks with a refreshingly familiar cadence. One of confidence. One of a granny. "I really am no match for you guys, huh? I'm sorry about my demeanor earlier. It seems I was much too deep in my own thoughts."

Citlali's cheeks start to turn even more red as she turns her head from the group, half hiding her face, "Though I would much appreciate you forget everything you just saw. It was just... It was a momentary weakness! Yes, thats it. I knew we were being watched this whole time and I wanted to put on a show."

She gazes at the surrounding horizon with clear eyes, turning her body from the group. The butterfly gently lands on her head, reminiscent of a lose leaf of paper falling from a desk. A satisfied smile dons her face as Citlalin shrinks to a hold able size and briskly floats over to Castorice, planting itself in her arms.

"Here. For you. But don't get any ideas," her voice quickens. "I'm just trying to thank you is all! I'll find a way to pay you all back. But just take this for now."

"After facing a certainly perilous time together, I hardly think any of us would be expecting compensation from you, Cutie Citlali~" Lisa's grateful to have enough energy to get the little tease out, she'd be remiss to not speak up after such an adorable display.

It was a relief to see that, despite their less that ideal situation, they were managing to keep each other's spirits up. Though, she couldn't yet agree with the current consensus that they would 'put on a show' for the pesky, little voice that had apparently been tormenting them this entire time.

...Speaking of the voice-

"If we're all on the same page, to some extent," She starts, pulling a band from her wrist to tie her hair back. "Would it be too much for me to inquire on...what this little voice has been telling the rest of you lovely ladies~? I find myself especially curious of whether any of you had been given...instructions."

[Lisa rolls a 3! No HP lost! (9/10 HP)]

The heat must be getting to her. The chants echo in her mind as she tries to cover her ears and closes her eyes. A fruit is offered to her and she eat it without second thought. But as soon as the juice runs down her throat, she feels herself vitalized and perks up to see Castorice.

"I... I shouldn't get anymore resources," her voice wavers, unsure of how to feel. "I was meant to die... that's what the voice said. That's what fate said. If anyone should go, it should be me. I'm not meant to be here after all and I want all of you to get home."

She turns to Kafka and Lisa, "I wouldn't live with myself if I asked you two to part and I don't think I could let the world part with such a kind soul such as yourself, Castorice."

Shifting off her pillow, she staggers to her feet, planting her feet firmly in the sand, letting the hot grains wash over her sandals. She gently takes off the sun hat she was given, and gingerly hands it back to Kafka, "I appreciate the sentiment, but please, I don't think I could bear anyone else to be sacrificed."

...Well, that had been different. Different and wholeheartedly unwelcome.

First she gets hounded by that foreboding voice once again, and now there wasn't just one voice taking up space but an entire cacophony of them... She hadn't even given the first voice permission to take up real estate in her delicate, little brain, why was there now a chorus-

...Oh. The others had appeared to hear something there too. Even little Mira, if his reaction was anything to go by.

As she found herself watching the older pair of their entourage interact with one another, certain details stuck to the tracks of her train of thought. Details that, in retrospect, they should've been mulling over MUCH sooner. Perhaps their circumstances wouldn't have gotten so dire, if they had...

She'd have to apologize to Kafka properly, when she could.

Swiping at some of the sweat beading on her forehead, she regards Citlali with a weary attempt at a placating smile. "Miss Citlali, please..." She begins, already shaking her head in protest. "While I can't claim to be privy to what this voice has told you, I can at the very least be certain that regardless of who or what this voice claims to be...no one here deserves to be condemned. No matter what 'fate' says we're meant to do or what our ending is meant to be..."

She sighs as she lowers herself to settle in the sand. Her legs weren't especially tired, but...any distance from the sun is enough. Surely that was it...

[Lisa rolled a 1: -1HP (9/10 HP)]

"We all simply came here...for a relaxing vacation," She huffs, waving her hand in a motion for the others to sit down as well. "Do any of you think...you deserve to die for something so...innocuous...~?"

@fermatafour

She glanced at her new friend. Her eyes were sunken, her face paler than Castorice had ever seen it. It was obvious her time was running out.

She looked up at the few decaying trees she could see. One or two held obvious bearings, the rest she would have to go closer.

"Everyone please be careful with the bodies. Please don't disturb them unless we have to." Castorice paused with a sigh "But seeing our current situation, we probably will have to."

A hallucination? A nightmare?

Surely one of these explanations had to be the reasoning for the sudden shift in scenery. Something like 'sea madness', that had been a concept in sea-faring tales before, hadn't it?

Whatever the case may be, their respite had disappeared in the literal blink of an eye, and Lisa could feel the toll this so-called vacation had begun to take on her body. If this was how the otherworldly getaway was going to turn out, she would've been better off roping Kafka into a 'stay-cation' back home. Lord Barbatos knows she'd love nothing more than to laze about in her beloved Mondstadt now...

But no time to wallow in despair. Not when one of the older members of their 'tour' was looking worse for wear since finding land.

As the other spoke of moving on to find anything of sustenance for them, she's quick to step forward to offer her own assistance. "Allow me to tag along? I can't exactly offer much, but I can carry whatever we happen to find..."

The next wave crashes into them like a slap, lurching the vessel and tearing another slat of wood free from the hull. Kafka's free hand braces against the bench, head tilting as water sloshes over the side. The diviner is already shouting orders, her pillow flying to respond, and a faint curve tugs at Kafka's mouth.

"Well done," she murmurs, a note of wry appreciation aimed at Citlali's quick thinking with the ice. Her gaze turns to Castorice briefly, expression softening minutely when she saw the woman seemed to have grasped her point and dropped the line of questioning. For now, probably.

Another wave rocks the boat, shearing off part of the hull. The docks were coming into view--perhaps they'd make it before resorting to swimming the remaining distance.

Land.

Blessed be, land was approaching! At long last!

Lisa almost felt faint, some morbid part of her brain having convinced herself at some point during their voyage that the group’s trip would end in yet another tragedy. But no, they had survived. Against all odds, they’d beaten the ocean’s efforts to drag them down to an early, watery grave.

And while the boat hadn’t made it back in one piece, they had. Citlali’s measures to keep what remained of their boat intact during the rocky commute couldn’t go understated.

[Lisa rolls a 3 for movement!] [Major Inconvenience Incoming!]

As though it had been waiting for the chance to completely give up on the party, the little engine gives one final death rattle of a breath before it more or less crumbles and falls into the ocean.

“...Goodness, it certainly got us far,” She murmurs, tone deceivingly light, though her head dropping to rest against Kafka’s shoulder exposes just how relieved she truly is. “Truly the little engine that could, and did…”

“Well then! Ladies, and gentleman, shall we finally disembark?”

[FIN. Or is it?]

Kafka felt it in the way she held her tongue more often than she used to. She'd spent years living without the burden of someone else's regard--untethered, free to burn, break, and cut what needed cutting. That had always been her role. Precision. Execution. She'd always moved with purpose, never once slowed by conscience.

But Lisa… she'd teased Kafka's sharper edges with a smile and soothed her in ways the Stellaron Hunter hadn't thought she needed until they were already in motion. A quiet hand in hers. A reprimand spoken gently.

Kafka had to consider her words more carefully now, weighing the other person's feelings on top of whatever benefit she could glean from them.

…How troublesome.

…And the stormy cloud of suspicion had returned to rain on their already dour parade. Though, once again, Lisa couldn't fault the somber woman for her concerns. She knew well enough how her lover could come off to others with her usual demeanor, and the situation had lent the other ample opportunity to show off just how much she could 'go with the flow'. Even in a dangerous situation as this…

[Lisa rolls a 2 for movement! Nothing happens!]

Luckily, the earlier round of abuse the sea had subjected their little vessel to had ended with a few moments of calm, just enough for Castorice to get some more answers from Kafka. She couldn't help but feel a guilty sense of pride that the hunter had been as cooperative as she could've been, since she'd poked at her earlier. Though she was different from most people, being interrogated in such a way never felt nice…

She reaches for the hand on her knee to intertwine their fingers, a silent show of appreciation for her choosing to remain subdued for the moment. A fight breaking out while the boat was in such a state would be…less than ideal for their continued survival.

Castorice admired that.

[Castorice rolled a 3! Oh no! Minor inconvience.]

She put her arm on the side of the boats hull, turning to Citlali. Yet when her mouth opened to speak, the driftwood used fell out beneath her arm. "Shit-" She quickly moved away from the new hole and turned to Citlali once more.

[Castorice rolled a 3! -3 ship hp, 65/100 remain)

"Sorry, sorry. I did not mean to curse. I do not do it often anyways. I suppose you could say the stress is getting to me?" Castorice laughed it off with a small chuckle, yet she found nothing funny in their situation.

[Lisa rolls a 4 for movement! Nothing happens!]

Another instance of splintering wood sounding off behind her causes Lisa’s shoulders to raise a bit in a wince. At the rate their boat was falling apart, they’d be lucky to make it to shore with anything at all underneath their feet. It was a literal miracle they were staying afloat at all, though she feared speaking the minor blessing into existence in case it jinxes their chances further.

And the last thing they needed to do was invite any more bad luck their way. She'd been doing well for herself thus far, but even the normally lax woman could only keep a relative calm for so long…

As though summoned by thought alone, the librarian’s stomach drops as they appear to be heading straight for some rougher waters.

Awful timing. And quite frankly, she could feel irritation beginning to rise at the sea being so combative.

“Unfortunate for me to be saying so, but brace yourselves…!”

Fine. She would behave. Her head tilted in concession, and moments later the hat came next--lowered onto her head with the same maddening care that had captured the Hunter's heart in the first place. Kafka hums quietly, accepting the consolation.

She's just beginning to relax into her seat when the engine hiccuped. She leans forward at the stern, elbow on the railing, posture languid as her eyes tracked the motor's sluggish churn. It didn't sound right--not catastrophically wrong, but certainly not--

A violent crack rang out behind her, and Kafka turned her head just enough to register motion in her peripheral vision. Citlali was embedded into the bench, as if she'd been flung there--and Kafka's brows had just started to draw together when something whistled past her cheek.

A piece of a propeller blade, she realized after noting their speed drop. She didn't see it strike water, but she heard the far splash it made after narrowly missing her face.

"Oh dear," she mused nonchalantly, as if the machine hadn't just tried to maim her. Kafka stayed poised for a moment longer, listening--there was no other groan of metal, no scent of smoke. The engine still ran.

"…It's still doing its job, at least."

Lisa finds herself very unseriously considering if the ocean and their little boat had been in a tumultuous relationship before today. With the severity of the beating the poor thing was taking right now, she felt it to be worthy of consideration.

[Lisa rolls a 1 for movement! -2 to movement roll...nothing happens?]

Where they’d been making a fair amount of progress before, their voyage comes to a, hopefully, temporary stop as the ship buckles and cracks under the pressure. The sound of wood cracking accompanies the sputtering of the engine behind her, and an almost painful sigh leaves through her nose. They couldn’t stop now, not in the middle of the ruthless ocean…

Her attention turns to Mira, tone urgent but not yet panicked. “You know the ship better than us, how much longer can we keep this little thing going?”

“Long enough. But we’ll need it for as long as it’ll go.”

With pieces joining the murky depths of the sea with each passing moment, she nods and goes to take stock of just how much damage the little engine had taken.

If any of it could be mitigated, she could only hope it was something manageable for their weary crew to handle...

@grannyitztli

Kafka watched the shift with a calculating eye. Castorice apologized, nodded at her, and then apologized again, retreating with a bow. The Stellaron Hunter inclined her head in return, but only once Castorice had turned away and taken her seat did Kafka relax enough to finally check on the movement in her peripheral vision.

Citlali was hunched near the edge of the boat, her body curled slightly over the railing. Kafka observed the line of her back for a moment. Sick, perhaps? Had Blade's death and this recent stand-off turned her stomach?

Still, she didn't move to help. The impulse to comfort wasn't one that came easily, and certainly not for someone she hadn't decided was worth the effort. Instead, she slipped back into her own seat, smoothing her skirt as she went, and reached for Lisa's hand.

"Recent events have placed a lot of stress on the group. Anybody would want answers," Kafka says softly, crossing one leg over the other with a smile. "And neither of you answered, by the way. When did you hear your voice?"

Kafka rolls 2 movement. Nothing happens!

The confrontation between the two women is over almost as soon as it had started, Castorice's retreat prompting Kafka's own return to the side of an appropriately stunned Lisa. She looks between the two women, as if either of them would be providing any further explanation for their actions to the librarian. While it looked as though things had been settled for the time being, there was no denying the apprehension left behind in the wake of their brief clash. The repairs to the ship they'd all contributed beginning to deteriorate certainly weren't helping matters at all either…

[Lisa rolls a 2 for movement! Nothing Happens!]

She focuses in on Kafka first. "Darling. Considering our current circumstances, could I convince you to save this line of questioning for later?" She implores her, pointedly gripping the hand that had found its way into her own. "Like you said, we're all under quite a bit of stress right now. Instead of what could be interpreted as an interrogation in the midst of treacherous waters, we should be focusing on keeping our heads about us and ensuring our mode of transportation remains in one piece for the moment. We can hash out details together, once we're all safe, okay?"

Next to receive the weight of her attention is the now subdued Castorice. "We're all surely wondering the same things as you, Cassie Dear, it's okay. I'd be a biased party, obviously, but I doubt Kaffie would go to such grotesque extremes to grant Blade's wishes…" A beat passes. An alternative to her last statement is offered instead. "…At least, not so...spontaneously? Regardless, we shouldn't try to figure this out with violence as our first method. We don't need more casualties, when we're still missing answers…"

And finally Citlali, who appears to be dripping with water, upon closer inspection. She'd been standing this entire time, hadn't she…?

It would be an impromptu time to switch positions. Archons knew they needed to claim rest whenever they could…

She goes to stand up, releasing Kafka's hand and giving her partner the sunhat as a form of consolation. "Miss Citlali, allow me? I'll take the helm, while you take a break," She offers to the woman, assuming her previous position for steering. "We are meant to be taking shifts, after all…~"

@deaths-butterfly @grannyitztli @fermatafour

She didn't mind. Not exactly. If anything, it saved time. Still, she took the moment to adjust--drawing Lisa closer, her arm wrapping more fully around her waist. She could offer little in the way of answers, but she could offer comfort.

Castorice spoke first. A sister, a memory, a voice mistaken for someone else. Kafka barely reacted when the boat jerked under them, the demi-god making short work of the seaweed that had snarled in the motor. Then came Citlali, confirming she too had heard a voice, and she speaks of fates and bones and binding intangible forces into tangible objects.

Kafka's gaze flicks to Lisa, but then her eyes are sliding past her girlfriend to land on Mira.

"When did you hear it?" she asks lightly, lifting her gaze to the group. "The voice. What were you doing?" And then, because it would hardly be fair to keep digging for answers without reciprocating, she offers her own answer, eyes settling on their sole remaining male: "I heard it just before we departed for the island--when the tour guide helped me onto the boat. Strange timing, don't you think?"

She let the thought hang in the air, the implication gentle.

"Hey, you've lived here a while," Kafka muses aloud, her voice dipping just slightly. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Kafka watches as his gaze sweeps the group, cataloguing his expression. "Uh, no," he says, "I've never heard any voice myself, or heard of anyone hearing any voices either."

Now, wasn't that interesting? Who admits to being the outlier that easily?

Kafka rolls 3 movement. Nothing happens!

While the blanket of dread from that morning's discovery still hung heavy over her shoulders, Lisa couldn't deny the relief that filled her chest at the revelation that the others had also heard a voice at some point during their trip. That they all shared yet another thing that linked them together, that it wasn't just her having to contend with some unseen force all alone…

…Well, aside from their clueless tour guide. Always the 'other', when it came to their little, rag-tag group of outsiders. Suspicions upon suspicions stacking like a tower, posed to topple over with every coincidence putting him at odds with the women…

It brought his omission from the ominous voice's calling into question. Why them, a group of tourists among the plethora of others, and not one of Empyrean's natives, someone who would potentially have more resources at their disposal to combat the 'certain doom' that was coming for them? If he had nothing to do with the events that had transpired thus far, then it didn't make sense for him to be so in the dark…

[Lisa rolls a 3 for movement! Nothing happens!]

Whatever was going on, the uncertainty of their circumstances had her mirroring Citlali's own worries. She says as much out loud, when the other woman appeared to withdraw into herself.

"With everything that's happened since we boarded, I couldn't agree more," She sighs, a subconscious bid for comfort bringing her hand up to hold onto the wrist of the arm Kafka had wrapped around her. "We may as well be hiking up Dragonspine in the middle of a snowstorm with no map. So if you have any rituals that could provide us with answers of any kind, I'd welcome anything you could suggest, Miss Citlali…~ I, myself, it was when I first boarded the boat, before we'd even left the mainland…"

@deaths-butterfly

Now she's near the engine, one arm draped casually around Lisa's waist. The low, constant hum of the motor vibrated beneath them, watching the others.

There's something quietly amusing about the way their tour guide—previously so determined to embody uselessness—had finally taken initiative. Mira, who'd barely lifted a finger without prompting back on the island, now stands at the helm like he was born to it. Kafka eyes him for a moment, one brow lifted in vague disbelief.

He's been suspiciously evasive, but for now, she lets him play captain. It's not like he had very much room to run.

Castorice eventually relieves him, the change seamless. Then the wheel changes hands again, and the moment Citlali steps in to steer, the hull's scraping against something unseen in the water.

Kafka chuckles, but her eyes wander back to the engine her gaze had been lingering on. For a moment, her mouth parts—perhaps to speak of Blade, to let the thought unspool in the quiet between heartbeats. But instead—

"At the risk of sounding delusional," Kafka starts conversationally, "have you had a voice in your head since we boarded the boat?"

Kafka rolled a 3! Nothing happens!

They'd only just set sail, and they were already making a fair amount of progress. Mira's instructions were clear and decisive, his heel-turn from his more lax demeanor to something more grave spurring the women into action to take their necessary stations. If the situation weren't so dire, Lisa would be going into doting teacher mode.

Unfortunately, the group's situation WAS dire, it wasn't exactly the most ideal time to be throwing praises around. Gratitude could be shared, once they were all safely back home…

[Lisa rolled a 3! Nothing happens!]

With two of their number already manning the wheel with their guide's…well, guidance, she's since settled herself to monitor the engine for the time being. Sentimentality had her hesitating at first to allow Kafka to sit by the thing that had torn her companion apart only a few hours ago, but…

In the end, she relented. She'd never denied her before, of course she wouldn't start now. Especially not now.

She sits nestled in the woman's side, eyes trained on that tiny, little engine that had the capacity to take a life like it was nothing how could something like that have even happened without any of them knowing what had they missed what had she--

Kafka's voice yanks her from the dour spiral her thoughts had begun to go down, words the saving grace the librarian's brain needed to latch onto a new line of thinking. Any line of thinking that wasn't failure.

Her head turns, giving the other her undivided attention. "…A voice?"

@deaths-butterfly

Her eyes locked onto the body.

That poor poor man. He begged her to kill him. She couldn't help but think if he had granted his wish if he had gone in such a way.

Approaching the body, she extended her hand. She felt no life. To be expected.

“He is dead.” She declared. “The body may regenerate but he himself is dead. I did not know him much but if anyone has any words to say I ask you to do so now.”

She may not have known him for long, yet she hoped Polyxia could welcome him in her place. If only Pollux was here. Then she could ensure he arrived safely.

She thought back to her earlier comparison to the Chrysos Heirs. One had already passed.

The ship rocks a bit with the boarding of the group’s remaining members, though they don’t immediately go to join the women taking the moment to discuss what to do regarding their companion’s demise.

Lisa, in fact, moves to occupy herself with the last of the vessel’s damage, visibly tense and withdrawn into her thoughts.

[Lisa works on the boat! +2 Ship Health, +1 Exhaustion; 94/100]

First the ship breaks down during what was meant to be a routine voyage to a designated location, said ship being fragile enough to be utterly wrecked by the impact with the shoreline, and now the tour had lost one of their number to what was starting to look like a deliberate, violent act of sabotage…

The earlier thought of being unsure whether the island was having an actual effect on her psyche returns. But could it exacerbate desires in such a way that would lead to one going to such extremes? Was it even the island causing these strange things to happen?

Or was it the voice?

Lips pursed, she shakes the thoughts away for another time, not now, to take a step back and look over what was left for them to do. To somehow get back to the mainland in-

...In one piece, as unfortunately literal the sentiment is.

“...Can we set sail with it like this?” She asks of their tour guide, eyes turning to the young man with a squint.

@revelation-beach

Well that sounded obvious. Water made stuff wet but it itself was not. Right?

“I do not think water is wet. Not really anyways. It makes stuff wet but it's not really wet itself. Unless you count water making itself wet. But then that raises more questions than answers no?” This lady was weird.

Their ship needed repairs and she was asking this? Very weird.

“I mean you could probably call water wet. In a round about way. If it makes stuff wet then it must be wet. But I personally think it is not. But that is the beauty of opinions. They change from person to person.”

Castorice found that beautiful. No two Chrysos Heirs held the same opinion on any matter and she supposed this group would yield a similar harveast.

While her brow pinches at the man's refusal to rest, despite the prompting of Citali and herself, Lisa chooses to relent in the end. He appeared to have a better knowledge of what he was doing with the mechanical part of the repairs, so any help was acceptable at this point. She could only hope he wouldn't risk getting himself hurt with that level of stubbornness…

Instead of bombarding the engine with an unnecessary amount of attentive hands, she moves to welcome the re-arrival, and subsequent arrival, of Castorice and Citali with a dainty, little wave and moves to assist with more of the patching up of the main body. There was plenty of wood for the task at hand, there should be no issues with all of them working together without getting in one another's way. Or making any accidental contact with their demigod companion.

Keeping at this pace would get them back in the water faster, though an impending sense of doom seemed to have lit a fire under their unfortunate party of seafarers…

The silly nature of the older woman's odd question manages to dissipate some of that tension for the librarian, a genuine laugh being pulled from her lips.

"I must agree with dear Cassie, I'd say water makes things wet more so than being wet itself! I'd have to disagree with your standpoint, Miss Citali~"

Lisa makes her way back over to the beached ship soon enough, already thinking up her plan of attack for this round of ‘boat maintenance’.

No reason to linger by the fire and use up valuable resources, when she wasn’t exactly tired. Nor while there were others who needed the rest much more than her at that current moment. She’d lead the charge this time around with some repairs of her own.

She climbs back through the opening to where the engine sat, awaiting rescue from the rising sea water. And here she was, ready to be its savior.

She makes quick work to seal off the hole, first and foremost. They could drain the remaining water, once there wasn’t more flowing in to add to their problems…

[Lisa works on the boat! +1 Exhaustion, +2 Ship Health]

Actually repairing the engine itself was another matter. While she didn't exactly have any proper tools for working with machinery, maybe she could get away with improvising a little? Surely Mira wouldn't mind.

The arrival of one of the ship's other passengers puts her at ease for a moment, until she spots who exactly it is.

"…Aren't you meant to be resting?"

@revelation-beach | @deaths-butterfly | @grannyitztli | @neverendingdeath | @fermatafour

The breeze picks up as they crest the slight rise above the shore. Blade is the first to come into view, his silhouette unmistakable beneath the stretch of shade. Kafka notes his offering to the diviner being pushed aside, the small woman turning away from her companion. Kafka can't make out what they're saying at this distance, but she eyes their interaction with interest.

Closer to the surf, Lisa is fanning herself with her hat, sun catching in the copper shine of her hair as she converses with the demigod of death, who seems to be inspecting something she'd picked up from the beach.

Kafka's eyes sweep the scene once, then land on the rough frame of the beached boat. A faint smile curls at her lips. Repairs seemed to be coming along smoothly, and it was heartening to see nobody had drowned in the meantime.

She moves toward the campfire someone had built and sets Lisa's tote down beside it with care, crouching low to draw a shallow hole in the sand with her fingers. The creased pamphlet slots easily into the hollow, properly holding its shape as she'd intended.

Kafka rises, brushing the last of the sand from her fingers.

"I imagine we're all running a little low by now," she says mildly, voice lifting just enough to cut through the lull of waves and wind. "If you want to stay upright for the next few hours, you may as well eat something."

Once the librarian and the demigod make their way over to the group's makeshift bonfire, Lisa settles by the fire with a pleasant sigh. It was much too warm still to be needed at this time of day, but something about sitting by a rudimentary source of heat on the beach that was...cozy.

Cozy enough for a nap, even...

[Lisa rests! -2 Exhaustion, 0/20]

But alas, her body had too much energy to stay idle, despite 'idle' being her preferred state of being. The island seemed to be doing some interesting things to her body...

She's standing once again after a few minutes to go for her tote bag Kafka had sat down, reaching inside to pull out another of her 'vacation boons': a half-empty bag of marshmallows. Popping one of the fluffy, sugar-treats into her mouth, she walks over to where the search party's finds had been gathered to set the amongst the supply.

"In case anyone else finds themselves needing a little bit of sugar as well," She offers with a smile. "I'm relatively alright myself, so I'll be returning to my work with the ship's engine. I'll meet you all back over there, once you've sufficiently given yourselves a proper amount of T-L-C. No skimping out, understood~?"

Sparing a quick forehead peck to her partner, she moves to return to the ship.