Finley rolls out of bed and slams into the floor. The room on the boat is spinning but the boat should be stationary. Well, as stationary as it could be. He's not sure if it's a windy day and Ophelia's Violet is rocking back and forth on the waves. He peels his eyes open to check his watch and then rubs his face. The light from the porthole is too bright. It's already the afternoon, and he's got plans with August to get haircuts.
The rest of the yacht has roused before him. There is brunch still leftover in the crew's quarters, at the table where the deck crew eats while the stewards serve the guests upstairs. Finn grabs a piece of toasts and bites it. It's butter, salty, but also soggy. He manages to swallow it down his dry mouth.
"Look who's finally up," Vic pats his shoulder as she moves past him, toward her quarters. Her sunglasses hide the light in her eyes, but that is typically of Vic after any night on the town.
"Is August still here?" he shouts after her.
"Yessir!"
She dips up a few steps toward the quarters she shares with Captain Shelly. Though today was a day off, Vic has decided she'd rather do upkeep today in the bowels of this beast than wander the sunny streets of Dhermi. She darts through the hallway and stops when she hears something.
There's a hum. High-pitched, and unmistakably there. It's coming from inside her room. For a second, she thinks Captain Shelly must have returned, and now she hums a song. It's three tones repeating, rhythmic but regular and steady. Shelly isn't on the boat anyway.
Vic knocks on the door and the sound stops. She opens it and peers up onto Shelly's bunk, and then around into the bathroom. Though she goes around the room, checks to see if her phone was on vibrate, and even steps back into the hallway, she doesn't hear find the source.
~~~
As Joy skips down the beach, she hums. Her headphones cover her ears, already sweaty, but earbuds just don't have the same quality. She'd rather be on the streets exploring, but she wanted to wait for August. Besides, skipping on cobblestone is impossible. She's tried.
The waves lick the shore, gentle and soft. She pulls off her headphones and stares out at the water. The sky is high overhead, and it's difficult to tell which way is north. Of course, the sea is to their west. Joy is used to acting as compass for Finn, since he has a bad habit of looking up at the sun directly.
Down, probably a mile away, Ophelia's Violet sits in the harbour. Sometimes, Joy misses the small boats her father took on the lake where she used to live. She's used to sticky Georgia heat, and has grown accustomed to bigger yachts, but she approaches the edge of the shore. This isn't the same water.
It's harder to make herself smile after the thought crosses her head, but she does anyway.
~~~
August isn't supposed to be working today, but his bitten his nails down to stubs He's checked over the inflatable slide for any extra holes and made sure all of the jetskis are refilled. He even double checked the tender to make sure all of the life jackets are there. Then, when that was done, he started on the laundry. Now, he paces the aft deck, holding a tray aloft. The sun glints through the glass. His hands are shaking.
"Auggie, hey," Finn snatches the tray and puts it down.
August folds. He falls in on himself, curling his head down to his knees and then barely keeps himself upright. Finn sits down opposite him. August tries not to breathe.
