light_mischief | [come sail away] ic inbox (season 1)

[ The call comes in during the day. Not about nightmares today, thankfully! But she's been thinking about the poster board in guest services when she makes this call- wow, Friday wrote a really bad word on it! Besides that... the beach sounds nice. ]

...Duggy?

[ And she just politely waits for a response first before saying anything else. ]

[Of course, Skulduggery's so used to texting that calls, to him, mean something's wrong. Fio doesn't sound upset when she says his name, but...]

Fio, is everything alright?

Yeah... [ A beat. ] Um... is it okay for me to go to the beach?

[ Like a child asking her parent to sign her field trip permission slip. She really wants to go to the beach... but you know, what if something scary happens like what happened at the diner. ]

[Oh! ...Oh. Hmm. His gut instinct is to warn her against it, to tell her that it'll likely be as dangerous as every other excursion -- but that isn't true, is it? The camp had been a normal enough time, and it had come after the Battle Royale. Maybe the beach will be the same? But then again, there's no telling what effect the Captain's request will have on the reality they'll be visiting...]

Hmm. I... think that it should be okay. If anything happens, and you can't find Ava, Jade, or myself, I want you to find someone you trust and stay with them. [And now that he's thinking about it, most of the people he'd trust with Fio are coming with him into the jungle...] And there will be animals, so no wandering off on your own.

[ ...!!!

Yay, she gets to go to the beach! She's smiling big on the other end of the line and she's holding back from shouting with joy into the phone. There's some quiet on the other end of the line before she says anything else, except for some faint shifting around.

But what if the animals are cute... ]

What kind of animals do you think there'll be? And what if they're nice animals? ...Can I pet them if they're nice?

Hmmm... [A tropical island in an unknown reality could have a countless number of strange and unusual animals...] Wild animals should probably be left alone, but maybe if there are some curious parrots? And fish, so long as they don't have any teeth. Monkeys and tigers and guinea pigs too.

[Unlike the other realities, however, he knows this one won't be the Captain's creation. That means that it won't necessarily be populated by Earth creatures.]

They may be completely strange and alien to us, too. Odd little creatures that you might have to name yourself...

[ Oh, that all sounds great. She's swinging her legs excitedly just thinking about it! She's only seen those animals in encyclopedias back home. And the possibility of the animals being something entirely different from Earth creatures sounds just as exciting.

Near immediately after he finishes speaking, she exclaims eagerly: ]

I wanna name 'em!

[ So much for not shouting with joy into the phone... ]

[He has to pull the phone a little way from his ear, but her delighted shout only makes him laugh.]

I'm sure you'll have plenty of new species to discover. And there are some interesting passengers aboard... maybe one of them will know how to handle wild animals, and you'll get a safer, closer look.

[Maybe whoever the dinosaur turned out to be? Skulduggery admittedly doesn't know, but maybe if he asks around...]

[ Now that she thinks about it, she hasn't met anyone on board that's knowledgeable about wild animals. Only because it hasn't really come up in conversation. Keeping an eye out while they're on the beach may be one way to figure out who might fit that description. For now, she keeps in mind to perceive any wild animals from a safe distance... ]

Yeah! There's gotta be a wild animal expert around!

[ Back to speaking normal volumes now. Then a beat as something else crosses her mind. ]

Oh! And... um... Duggy?

[ She has another question. She could just ask it. But there's another pause, without saying anything else, as if she's sheepishly waiting for his permission to ask something. ]

Yes, Fio? [Said with a playful drawl, as he tries to anticipate what she might ask.]

...

If there's seashells at the beach, can we... [ Another pause! ] collect seashells together?

[ Please? Making her voice very small and timid over the phone. She's asking this very politely as if he would ever say no to any innocent request that she makes... ]

[He almost immediately responds, to say yes, of course, but -- he does have other obligations during the excursion. He has no idea if he'll even see the beach that the rest of the passengers will visit. He hadn't even thought about it.

Stupid. He could kick himself over how many things he hasn't thought about lately.]

I'd like that. [Not able to make a promise, he goes for honesty instead.] I may have some things to deal with when the excursion arrives, but once that's sorted, it would be nice to comb the beach with you.

[ Admittedly, she's a little disappointed, having her hopes up, confident that he would respond with a definite yes. But she understands. There's still plenty of other chances for them to spend time together.

If he doesn't get to see the beach in the end, then well, she'll just have to tell him all about all the animals she counted and named... and collect as many seashells as she can to shower on him as little gifts later. ]

...I understand. I'll just get a head start collecting all the seashells until you finish whatever you need to do!

[Better mild disappointment now, than real hurt from a broken promise later. But still...]

I hope you won't clear the entire beach before I can catch up to you. I'll make sure there's time for me to come with you. [Somehow. He'll figure it out.]

You're busy investigating a bunch of things, right? [ "A bunch of things." She's not too sure what his focus is these days and she doesn't ask for too many details. She's been content knowing the people she cares about are still here... ] Like the Captain, the ship, and... and how we can all stay together?

[ Maybe? And maybe a solution to her sporadic nightmares. Though lately, Fio doesn't know if she wants to get rid of them anymore... ]

Most of all, how we can stay together.

[More and more, all of his goals seem to connect back to that one desire. Starting with making the ship habitible, leading to the hope that they might be able to find a reality safe enough to stay in -- and behind all of it is the Captain, with an entirely different sort of mystery than Skulduggery had originally anticipated.]

Right now, I'm... hoping to find something that will make living on the ship less frightening. [Which is as much as he can say without risking her asking too many pressing questions.] I don't know what it is, exactly, but I hope it will help.

[ And of course she continues to share that same desire to stay with everyone. There's nowhere else for her. Even living on the ship with how things currently are is far better than where she came from... ]

You're the smartest and the bravest, Duggy. [ In this little girl's eyes! ] I'm sure you'll find something.

[ Spoken with certainty, despite not having a clue either. She's trying to be optimistic. ]

And I'm sure there's lots of people that'd help you!

[It's high praise no matter who it comes from, but doubly so coming from Fio. It adds to the already overwhelming pressure to succeed, but it also encourages him to push forward, come what may.

And she's right, after all. He does have help. Lots of it, if they'll be willing to hear him out...]

You're not wrong, there. Ava, Jade, Darcy... There are more helpful people aboard than I could list. All of them are at least as smart and brave as I am. And you've helped me, too. Thinking about you keeps me focused.

I have?

[ Good thing he can only hear her voice and not see how flustered she looks. Ah, but Fio's never been very good at hiding her feelings. It might be easy enough to picture her surprise and delight. After a short pause, there's a giggle over the phone. ]

I'm glad I've been helpful. [ Yet, she still wishes there was more that she can do. Someday, she wants to be able to protect others and him. ] Thinking about you keeps me doing my best!

Edited 2022-09-20 03:16 (UTC)

[come sail away] ic inbox (season 1)

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