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“Oh, what’s up, Pearl?” She startled out of her thoughts, turning back to where Sausage was halfway through explaining a create contraption to her. “Are you even listening to me?” he teased, flaring his wings open to hop with all his usual theatrics closer to her.
“Sorry! I just got a little bit distracted..." She turned back to sweep her eyes over the endless blue laid out at her feet. Softly rolling waves licked at the sand just out of reach of her metallic parts, far enough not to hurt her. "Lovely view, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I guess it is," he answered with a curious tilt of his head. She could feel his eyes boring into her even though she kept her gaze out on the water. "What are you thinking about, sweet little Pearl?"
"Oh... You know, I love being a copper golem very much. I do, truly! But... I never got the chance to explore the ocean, in my short time as a star. Didn't have much time to do anything water-related, really. It's a shame." She threw up her arms, gesturing around her, "Look at it! Beautiful! Unexplored! I want to see everything hidden in the depths! I want to go so far out that I can't see any more land around me. Just myself and the water. Wouldn't that be so, so peaceful, Sausage?" He let out a thoughtful hum as he snaked an arm around her shoulder, pulling her a few steps farther from the shore as a wave came frighteningly close to reaching her copper-plated feet. She muttered a soft thank-you, patting his helping hand. "But even just watching from the safety of dry land is... Well. It's not quite safe. I can't risk getting in and out of boats, you know how unstable those are. And building a bridge just ruins it, you know? All I have left is to wait for myself to die." She chuckled drily at the end, turning away from the mesmerizing blue to walk back toward the mechanism that Sausage had been meaning to talk to her about. Some kind of mining tool, for deep underground, for the dark, enclosed caves. She'd been enthusiastic to learn, in the beginning. But with the promise of the free, open sea behind her, the whole thing just made her... sad. Hopeless.
Sausage glided to a halt beside her, flapping his blazing wings behind her to alert her of his approach without startling her again. "Oh, but Pearl!" he started, encouraging her to turn toward him with a friendly nudge to the shoulder, "All you had to do was ask for help! On your own, I get it, it would be next to impossible to get out there safely, but I can help you! We can do it together!"
She raised an eyebrow, not daring to be too hopeful just yet. "What do you mean?"
"Well, for one, I can get you into a boat accident-proof with big, strong wings like mine,” he said with a grin. He watched Pearl’s lips part slightly as she thought it through, weighing the dangers against the glowing hope that was rising in her chest.
“Alright…” her expression split into a grin, “Alright, let’s do it!”
* * *
Pearl held onto Sausage’s forearms with a bruising grip as he lowered her slowly toward the boat. She squealed as her feet touched the wood, the boat already starting to sway slightly under her. Her grip turned white around the edge of the seat as Sausage let go of her completely.
He floated around in slow circles above her head. “So? How’s it feel?”
“Unsteady,” the boat lurched forward as she adjusted her seat, “Oh! Very unsteady…”
“Oh, don’t worry, you won’t fall out. It can’t really tip over, especially not with you being as careful as you are.” He watched for a few more circles as she settled in, then looked up at him with a sigh, “Good?”
“Yeah… Yeah, let’s go!”
She carefully pulled the rope pooling in the front of the boat closer with the heel of her foot, then raised it for Sausage to swoop down and take into his hands.
Pearl gasped in fright, cowering down as the boat first lurched forward, Sausage starting to pull it across the water’s surface. She could feel the wind of his powerful flaps, hear it too, against the splashing of the waves against the wood. He was speeding up, letting out whoops of joy as he did.
She hazarded a peek over the edge of the boat, pulling back quickly when the boat started to sway from the motion.
“Do it, Pearl, you’re not gonna fall out!” Sausage’s voice barely reached her, whipped away by the wind. But he sounded so joyful, so eager, and he’d already done so much for her… She leaned over the edge. It was everything she’d ever imagined and more.
The sun reflected off of the rippling waves like thousands of tiny diamonds submerged in the sea. Behind her, she could just barely see the land that they’d left behind, the shore a hazy line in the distance, and getting further and further with every passing second. The sky was clear above them, so when she looked slightly to the side, all she could see was blue upon endless blue. Beautiful. Gorgeous. Unlike any drawing or picture that she’d seen before. Nothing could capture the lively essence of the sea for ehat it truly was.
She let out a small laugh, the noise getting lost in the wind, in the splashing of water against the boat. Nobody could hear her out here, save for Sausage, of course, but he didn’t count, because she’d trust him with her life. There was nobody out here who she would need to hide her voice from. She stood up on shaking legs.
The waters swallowed up her hollers and joyful yells. She could hear Sausage replying to her mindless calls, his words lost, but their meaning all the more clear, that same merriment that they carried mirrored in her heart.
She knew Sausage had her, would keep her safe, so she threw her arms open, tilting her head to the sky, welcoming the freedom, the wildness of the endless waves into her very being. She was happier than she’d ever been before.