Chapter Text
She smiled brightly, holding onto the flagpole, staring off into the distance, leaning over the edge of the ship's crows nest. Her long, curly hair flowed behind her, the colour of dry soil- soil she hasn't seen in months, living on the ship. The ship they loved so dearly. The Poisoned Rose, they called it.
The waves splashed against the ship, the sun beaming down onto them. She loved the smell of the ocean, the breeze through her hair, everything.
Her name was Willow. Well- it wasn't actually Willow. But like everyone else, nobody knew her real name. So, her name was Willow. Her birth name was only known by her and her parents. Just like everyone else.
And this is what Willow loved. Being on the ship. The breeze, the sun, the air, the water- everything. The Poisoned Rose has been her home for years now, and she still hasn't gotten sick of it.
"Willow!" A woman shouted from the ship's deck, looking up at her. "You're gonna fall off if you keep doing that!" She rolled her eyes, shouting fondly. The woman was Willow's older sister, Star. They were both quite kind to each other- but also hated each other. In a loving way, of course. They both cared about each other, even though Star's three ranks above her, and far more powerful.
Willow stuck her tongue out, teasingly pretending to fall.
"Well. Die I guess." Star shrugged and walked off.
Willow quickly slid down the ladder, stumbling after her. "Hey! Wait for me!" She shouted, giggling.
Star chuckled softly, jumping forward. As she did, the bottom of her feet glowed a faint blue, making her land there, just floating in the air. She used these small, temporary platforms to push herself forward, moving far faster than Willow. That was her power. Levitation. Medium strength, being a Purple. The fourth rank out of seven. Eight if Pinks count as a rank, they're not fully in the list.
"H-Hey! Star! That's cheating!" Willow ran towards her, narrowly dodging the other crew members of the ship, the two of them headed towards the captains room.
Though, even with Star's cheating, Willow beat her- by barely a second, but keep in mind she's at a huge disadvantage here. The girl knew how to run.
"HA! I won!" Willow smiled as Star crossed her arms, leaning against the doorframe.
In the captains room stood a woman both of them recognized, quite fond of. She was far more pale than them, but was basically their mother, even if she didn't quite look like it. Her light brown hair was in a neat bun on her head, her orange eyes looking up at the two of them, food prepared on her table. Her name was Box, and she was the captain of this ship.
Star and Willow sat down on the wooden chairs, Star swinging her legs over the arm rest and Willow sitting cross legged on the chair. Y' know, how everyone sits on chairs.
"Can you two sit normally for once?" Box complained, smiling.
Willow shrugged and started to eat.
"Hell no." Star laughed as she grabbed some food.
Box rolled her eyes and they fell back into silence like they do every lunch. Some comment or short conversation, then either comfortable silence or constant conversation. Today was a quieter day. A different quiet. Awkward silence, clearly a want for conversation as Box fidgeted with her bag awkwardly.
"Something up?" Willow asked softly.
Box sighed. "I just have a question." She looked to both of them. "Do... Do either of you know someone with the initials... Q. A.?" she asked.
"Why do you ask?" Star spoke far too quickly to not be suspicious.
Box pulled a pile of letters out of her bag, fidgeting with the edges. They were still in the envelopes, unopened and untouched. "The rest of the crew has no clue and we kept receiving these letters..."
Star stood up. "Just get rid of them. Throw the letters off the fucking ship for all I care." She muttered before walking out, going to her room and slamming the door behind her.
Willow stared at the door she walked out of so suddenly, tears starting to form in her eyes just from how strange it was. The lack of explanation. The anger. The confusion. They were having such a good day- such a great day. But the day was just like any other, wasn't it? Why would today be any better? Well, it's clear it's worse. She felt like shit, even if she did nothing wrong.
Willow sighed and stood up, slowly wandering back up to the crows nest and sitting down. A warm breeze returned to her like a comforting friend, the wind flowing through her hair like its own version of a hug. She leant against the pole, closing her eyes and letting the rock of the boat sway her comfortably, the wind keep her hair out of her face, and the sun warm her as she fell asleep.
Hours passed.
The sun faded early, and clearly wasn't returning for a while, darkness spreading around them. The crack of thunder snapped Willow awake, and she looked around. Waves crashed against the sides of the ship with far more anger than earlier, shaking everything. Panic spread across the crew, pouring rain smacking against the ship. But then she saw it. Creeping up the sides. Wrapping around. Neon blue octopus-like tentacles. The whole ship shook, almost making Willow tumble out of the crows nest. People dodged out of the way as the tentacles wrapped around the entire ship. Willow held onto the pole, making sure she doesn't fall onto the deck below.
There was no sun anymore. No moon. The only source of light was the brightly glowing tentacles of whatever creature was doing this.
Willow's eyes darted around frantically, before landing on something. The vague outline of a person in the distance, hand extended towards the ship, legs blending into the tentacles. The person wasn't glowing, but the closer to the person the tentacles were, the dimmer they got.
Then the creature's voice boomed out, being heard by everyone on the ship. "Where is it, Rose?" they asked, the tentacles growing tighter around the ship. There was loud cracking as it got slightly crushed and deformed. "Where is it, Rose?" Each time the person repeated that question the tentacles pulled tighter, breaking the ship more. Willow didn't know anyone named Rose. She knows everyone on the boat, but still no Rose. Rose could be someone's real name, but how would this random creature know someone's real name? Or maybe- whatever. Doesn't matter. The boats breaking. Water rushing into the sides. She needs to go. Fast.
Willow quickly slid down the ladder, looking for Box and Star.
"I'm not going to wait forever, Rose." The creature snapped. It felt like the ship was near snapping completely in half.
"Box!" Willow shouted, about to enter the captains room. "Box where are y-"
The cracking got louder.
And louder.
And louder.
Before everything went dark.