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As the sun's burning bright rays beat down on the concrete, the port town of Lavanitir seemed eerily calm today. There was an absence of the sound of wind, chatter of people in the markets nearby, and most businesses were closed for the day, overall contributing to the dead silence of the usually rowdy city. Overall, it made the entire town feel deserted, lost, even forgotten. It was this sense of unease that was burying itself within the Black Rose mage as she approached the dock. Each step she took in her high heels felt emphasized in her ears. The clacking sound slowly growing quieter the closer she got to the water. She felt her heart pounding trying to get out of her chest as with each step, she feels one step closer to walking away; to running away again. It was horrible. She wasn't even in site of the boat and she already felt like keeling over somewhere.
To recap, the Black Rose Guild Leader, a tanuki who is named Izayuki, sent her a letter, which seemed odd since it was only directed to her. Hikari did not know the guild master personally, so getting a request in this manner was somewhat surprising. Her hand traced over the sealed envelope as she opened it. Inside was a photo of a young girl and a captain by the looks of it. On the other side of the photo was a note that was attached. It briefly described what happened to the people in the photo. They were on a ship when it went missing, with the captain in the picture vanishing along with it. The guild had received notice that the girl, who was the captain's assistant has been spotted at Shadow Island. That was good and all, but why was Hikari being informed? Wouldn't it have been better for Master to send a more competent person. After all, the only way to get to Shadow Island...
was by boat. The reason Hikari, at this moment in time, is quaking within her boots. Her face has become pale as she feels fear consuming her as she glances at the ship with the Black Rose insignia engraved upon the hull of the vessel. Her hand went out to touch the symbol, as if wanting strength before recoiling backwards slightly. Just being close to the ship can send her spiraling down the road to home; a road that she hoped she would never have to see again. As she took her tiny steps onto the ship, she saw the clear, blue water underneath and calmed down. It may seem bleak right now. For gods sake, I may want to crawl and never come out of whatever hole I find myself in. But, I need to try, at the bare minimum: try. Master asked one thing of you, which was to get the assistant back and to rescue her. You do have to go on a ship, but you can do this. There is a reason she asked you. She believes in you. And you can't let this control you forever. So, baby steps. Carefully, the pink haired wizard walked onto the ship, as slowly as she could, as if she was worried she would accidentally startle the boat. Hikari stepped onto the boat, listening to the clacking sound of her heels against the wooden floors of the ship in order to distract herself from the distinct sound of her heartbeat ringing in her ears. She sighed in relief. She may have been far from fine but she still knows that she will be able to have an easier time at the moment. Now, to find the navigation system...
After an awkward amount of time, Hikari made her way around the ship and is found the navigation system within the ship. She doesn't know how to control a ship so it's really handy for something like this to help guide the ship to its destination. After all, the ship is controlled by magic. After entering the coordinates for Shadow Island, the girl opened the bag on her back, revealing a multitude of books. Old habits certainly die hard, and that's especially true with Hikari. She can't even get herself to drop one of her key characteristics that can be used to identify her. After deciding for a second, she decided on a book: a crime drama that was part of a trilogy. It had recently been released and was supposedly the finale to the book series. Knowing authors, this one might use the popularity to milk another one but that was a rant for another day. Hikari managed to get sucked into her book and about halfway through, she felt exhausted. She couldn't really sleep the night before because she was so paranoid about what was going to happen when she got on the boat. The thoughts and doubts seemingly erased from her mind as her eyes drifted shut, and she placed her head on the table, falling into a slumber as the waves slowly rocked the boat.
Words:845/2500
MADE BY VEL OF GS