Chapter Text
Salt greeted his sense of smell as consciousness slowly crawled back in. Shadow milk peeked open an eye to scout out what’s happening, his body feels numb in a way, but feeling is slowly returning now that he’s getting more awake. Water as far as his eye can see, and when he lowers his gaze he can see a decently small boat, probably just enough to safely travel. There are voices conversing somewhere around him, he recognizes them easily. Sighing he takes a moment to watch the scenery, he knows the chaos that will unravel, be it by themself or by its intervention. Shadow milk is almost too tired for his normal shenanigans, some light teasing will suffice.
The four of them were discussing how they were going to get back to the kingdom with Shadow milk, they couldn’t really show up to even a small populated area with a beast in tow, they didn’t want to cause any unnecessary chaos or stress to anyone. They decided to rent a small boat for private use to cross the ocean to earth-bread. Gingerbrave and Wizard would set out to find a suitable boat while Strawberry and Pure vanilla waited at the side out of sight from the inhabitants of the town they were to search for. They had to search for said town but they were hopeful there would be something along some shore. They had to leave when everyone was done so they wouldn’t spend more time out in the wilderness than needed, it was too dangerous so far into the wilderness in this sort of place.
Pure vanilla wraps up the beast into a burrito, preventing sudden movements, keeping warmth, and comfort along if someone saw them no one would be able to tell it was the beast of deceit at first glance. Wizard puts out the fire completely and with that they’re ready to set off. Wizard and Gingerbrave take the lead, after them Pure vanilla strolls with beast in arms and Strawberry walks close to Pure vanilla, glancing over then and again at Pure vanilla and Shadow milk. The beast is still sleeping soundly with no signs of waking up anytime soon.
They walk for several hours before they can even catch glimpses of the ocean. They walk in comfortable silence that’s broken then and again by chatter, pointing something interesting out or what they will do when they find some town, or what they will do when they get back home. The group has not run into any trouble on their travels, now that they leave the dense dark forest most of the danger is over, it's a relief for them all. They still linger near the forest in case they need to flee back in.
They don’t have to walk that much longer after leaving the forest before they find a small town. Pure vanilla hands Wizard some money they will use to rent a boat “The boat doesn’t need to be anything fancy but solid, not too big not too small.” Pure vanilla tells Wizard before the two leave. Gingerbrave is practically skipping away, Wizard quickly following after. Strawberry giggle at her two friends, finding them silly looking. The two left by the tree line settle down to wait for one of them to come get them. Pure vanilla starts humming softly, and soon enough he has two people sleeping against him, Shadow milk still hasn’t even twitched.
It doesn’t take long before Gingerbrave sprints into Pure vanilla's view, waving to him before signaling for them to come and follow him. He wakes up Strawberry who is snuggling close, he stands before helping her to her feet. Strawberry grabs Pure vanilla’s hand as they begin to walk, still half asleep. They have been walking for hours now so it’s no wonder she’s so sleepy, they all will get the chance to rest on the boat ride back. But right now he simply holds her hand and leads her to where Gingerbrave is waiting. The kid is practically buzzing with energy, completely opposite of Strawberry, and Pure vanilla is starting to feel the tiredness creeping in. Gingerbrave greets them with joy, explaining how they managed to get ahold of a boat they can use and where it is located. It’s a dock nearby, quite isolated so it’s perfect for them. Noticing the girl still half asleep at Pure vanilla's side Gingerbrave quickly offers to let her piggyback on his back, his voice a tone softer and not as loud. Strawberry barely has time to react before Gingerbrave is before her crouching so she can climb on, Pure vanilla simply marvels at their friendship. The trio is so close, if you find one you will most likely find the other two close by, and the care they hold for each other, he truly hopes they can keep their friendship intact. Now with Strawberry on Gingerbraves back yet again dozing off and Pure vanilla with the beast in his arms they set off, Gingerbrave leading the way with enthusiasm.
Wizard can hear Gingerbrave before he can see them. Soon enough though the group is back together. They quickly inspect the boat to confirm it’s good enough for such a long trip, getting the boat to move would be no problem but if there were holes then there wasn’t much they could do if they’re already out in the water. When done they simply stand for a little while taking in the view of the ocean as the sun is starting to set, casting beautiful colours across clouds and water. Red, oranges, and pinks dance in the sky and water, it is simply breathtaking.
Pure vanilla feels shifting in his arms. Glancing down he’s met with open eyes, he can easily tell the beast is tired and probably won’t be awake for that long. Taking advantage of the other finally being awake Pure vanilla asks questions about how Shadow milk feels, how the pain is and where it is, is there any new pains, any dizziness and other questions. Shadow milk quickly tires from this though, “I’m fine.” he snaps to get Pure vanilla to shut up. Seeing that the beast is alert enough and responding fine with its usual way he decides he’s good enough til they get to the kingdom where he can treat them properly. They put on safety vests and looked over other equipment. Wizard had bought some food and drinks for them to share. Shadow milk is unraveled from the burrito to also get strapped into a vest before being wrapped up again as best as Pure vanilla can manage. Ready to set off, Pure vanilla and Wizard work together to get the boat moving. They got comfortable as the boat ride was gonna be long, Strawberry and Shadow milk were quick to snooze off again when everything was going smoothly. They should probably have brought more blankets, they would have to huddle up to stave off the cold if it got cold enough for that.
