Her Light

XIV

"So are you always the one who usually sails?" Camila asks Ally, taking note of the motions she does when steering.

She's been watching her steer for a while now, talking back and forth about boat things—Camila isn't sure how else to carry a conversation. And since today is the day they're turning to head back up north to search for the boat, what better time to test the waters before she'll be out here ship searching.

"Yeah, Normani is really good at it, though." Ally tells her, glancing up quickly to smile. "Dinah always scares me so we tend to have her do it the least amount of the time."

Camila nods, adverting her eyes to not seem creepy. It's really nice out today for a winter afternoon—even though spring is encroaching faster than Camila thinks it should be. It was only just winter-start! And now winter is almost over.

The air is still crisp, however. Camila enjoys that part of it, being able to curl up under the blankets and wear pants. Spring was always a better time at the lighthouse, she'll admit. Once winter faded and everything thawed, Camila could stop eating fish and start up her garden again. She really enjoying gardening; taking care of something and growing it into something delicious and healthy.

She'd go out and speak to every little plant, wearing either her favorite flowing skirt or her favorite pair of long shorts. Spring always held more life than winter did for Camila, but she can always appreciate a lonely snowfall, burying everything underneath, leaving the exterior beautiful and shiny without much thought of the interior.

"So you're, like, the captain of the ship?" Camila asks, bringing her attention back to Ally. She supposes that's how conversations work. She's still working on it.

Eyes flicking from the ocean line to Camila, Ally shrugs, "eh, not really. There's not a real captain aboard here, we're just a big mush of captain all together. We work together and go from there."

Camila understands that. Ever obvious from how different their crew is, she never picked up on that. She likes it.

Ally adds quickly, "but Dinah will tell you she's the captain." Scoffing, Ally rolls her eyes. "She could've been maybe in a past life or something, but definitely not on this boat."

Laughing, Camila hums into the ending of her laughter. Then she crinkles her noses, realizing she hasn't seen Dinah this morning or this afternoon. It's not the smallest boat, but usually she can find her loud friend.

It makes Camila sad because she knows why she hasn't seen Dinah today. Normani told her Dinah feels really bad about being the cause of her attack yesterday. Camila tried to explain it wasn't Dinah's fault, but Normani told her she won't listen to her.

Camila is frowning now. Dinah is becoming one of her new friends; someone she actually really enjoys being around, so she needs to talk to her. It's better when a conflict can be resolved without the drama of will-they, won't-they.

"Do you know where Dinah is?" Camila turns her face back to Ally.

"No, but Mani might. She's in the cabin with Lauren last time I saw them."

Waving once, Camila begins to walk away. "Okay, thank you!" Ally doesn't respond, as she's busy sailing, but she's sure she understands the sentiment. Camila hopes she wasn't bothering her by interrupting her sailing.

The boat sways gently under her feet, rocking with the waves. It's a calm day at sea, and Camila is thankful for that. She hasn't been feeling very well lately. Especially since she didn't sleep well last night, due to wanting to avoid any nightmares she's bound to have. Lauren offered to stay up with her, but ended up falling asleep.