Back to the Ocean

Opal grimaced, the hot sun bearing down on her.

"I'm going to actually go crazy, if I can't find my way back to the ship. I'm either going to die out here, or- or-...no, I think that's the only option. I either die here or get back to the boat. Good fucking gods I hate this shit." She pushed through branch after branch, looking for anything familiar. Her once neatly put together hair war disheveled from running into so many branches, or getting caught on different bits of nature.

"Do I dictate my will? No, that's stupid. No one's here to listen. Except you, Egbert, but no offense, I don't trust you to write it down." Her small winged frog fluttered his wings in defiance. He hopped out from her coat collar and flew in front of her like a large gnat. "Yes, I'd love to fly and be out of here, but I unfortunately wasn't born a winged frog." She spat. Egbert imitated hopping in the air, and she only shook her head. Speaking was getting tiring. With no food or water for hours, her energy levels were low. Her throat ached, and her muscles hurt from fighting the foliage around her.

Unfortunately for Opal, her focus was also going.

She tripped on a branch, resulting in her body slamming itself into the ground, knocking the wind out of her.

I’m cursed, she thought, too tired to rise from the mud she’d fallen into. That’s the only explanation. I’m cursed and I’m going to die. She felt the tiny toes of Egbert as he landed upon her head, doing his best to check if she was alive. She forced her hand into a thumbs up motion, and he hopped to the ground.

Opal, now caked in dirt and the occasional bug, forced her limbs to move.

Come on now, she thought, pushing herself up off the ground. When she rose, she found that she’d discovered a specifically cut path. The tree branches were all cut at an angle, and there was a clear hole in the foliage.

“Civiliation! Or, at the very least, someone who can make their way around the woods.” She shot up, her legs finding new hope in their movements. She and Egbert plowed through the foliage, sweat pouring from her warm body, the humid temperature finding a way to still harm her. Opal raced, until she found her way to a cliff’s edge. Looking around, she saw on the far side of the cliff was the town she’d docked at, but it seemed even farther than when she left the boat.

“But- oh come on, there was a path!” She held her head in exhaustion, and she felt tears fill her eyes. “I just… really want to get home. They can’t leave without me, can they?” Egbert stuck himself to the side of her face, attempting comfort. She sat on the cliff side and sobbed: she knew this would just waste more energy, but exhaustion and stress overtook her, and her body gave out.

“Leap of faith,” a voice whispered. Opal jumped, startled at the other voice.

“Excuse me?” She turned around, looking for the source of the voice. “Hello, is anyone there?”

“Leap of faith. I’m here to guide you home.” The same voice called again. It was quiet, like the wind itself was speaking. But she heard it clear.

“Listen no disrespect, whoever you are, but are you crazy? That’s a thousand foot cliff, and I’m just supposed to-”

“Leap. I am with you. Take my hand.” Opal felt a strong wind push her towards the cliff, and she had no energy left to catch herself. So, she fell. A yelp escaped her as her body fell from the cliff, her life flashing before her eyes. But soon, she realized she was still stationary. She looked below her, waves crashing, sharp rocks, the occasional fish jumping out from the water, but none of it was getting closer. She was still. She was also, most definitely, no longer on the cliffside.

“Alright wind, I’ll bite.” Her legs were wobbly as she tried to find ground to stand on. Whatever it was she stood on was invisible. Her stomach churned, and she suppressed throwing up whatever food she did have in her. Shakily, she rose to her feet, and slid her feet around to find more of the invisible ground.

“I will guide you. You have no reason to fear.”

“Respectfully, you aren’t a thousand feet above a cliff, being guided by an invisible wind presence. I feel like my fear is extremely plausible right now.”

“But I am not the wind.”

“Well, what are you then?” She snapped. She soon wished she hadn’t asked that. The entire sky went black, no light, no nothing. She could see Egbert’s glowing eyes, but nothing else. “Shit, my bad, my bad-” and before she could finish, she screamed in terror at what formed before her. A large, glowing woman stood before her. She was made of starlight, and galaxies. Her hair flowed freely, on a breeze that did not exist. Her eyes were pure white, and bore into Opal’s. She was ethereal.

“I, am Nova. I will take you home. You, will take me with you.” She extended a hand. It glistened, stars moving through the shape of her body. “You know me, as I know you.”

Opal’s jaw was tight: she remembered this. Once before, drowning in the ocean, she saw a bright light, in the shape of a woman. A hand reached out to pull her to shore, but she never knew what, or who it was. This pulled her back to that place.

“What do you want with me?” She whispered, afraid to speak louder.

“You want your home, do you not?”

“Yes, but-”

“Then, give me your hand. I will take you home, and give you power like you’ve never imagined. In return, you will live life as normal, and I call in the occasional favor.” Nova’s voice was smooth, confident.

“What kind of favor?” Opal asked. Both were silent for a moment, no noise entering the area of darkness.

“There is a cult, a cult of the sun, directly where you will be sailing next. They promote unnecessary sacrifice, and horrific practices. The nearby town lives in fear of having their loved ones take them. Snuff them out.” Opal grinned at this. This is what she did. She was a pirate, and with that came the territory of taking down the occasional shit bag. Plus, she knew her crewmates would be more than happy to cause some chaos on the shores.

“Now that’s some shit I can get behind. You got yourself a deal girl.” Opal stuck out her hand, and shook Nova’s. Like magic, she blinked, and the sphere was gone, Nova with it. She stood above the ocean once more, the ground nowhere beneath her.

Now, go. Walk, and I will keep you safe. Return home, Opal. She heard Nova now speak in her mind, which felt a lot more convenient than creating a sphere of darkness.

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Recklessly, Opal ran towards the town, gliding on air. Her steps were light, and airy, making no sound as she ran. Eventually, she found herself back in the town, her boat waiting exactly where she left it. She hit the ground with a thud, and grinned at the vessel in front of her. Behind her, she heard,

“Good god love, where did you get off too? We’ve been looking for you for hours.”

“Oh, shit. Captain,” she turned to face them, “I was taking a stroll through the forest. That’s all. I… definitely got a little lost.”

“What’s happened to your eye?” Captain Lux asked, strolling towards her, holding her face to examine it.

“...What do you mean?”

“Your left iris is yellow now. Did you get an infection? Your face is covered in dirt, it might be from that.”

“No, no,” she laughed, batting their hands away, “I promise I’m fine. I’ll explain later. I gotta go get cleaned up, I feel like I smell like shit.”

“Well, you’d be right.” Lux chuckled, patting Opal on the shoulder. “Remember we disembark within the hour. Be quick about it.”

“Yes captain.” Opal sprinted up to the ship, across the deck, down the stairs, and into her room. Looking in the mirror, her once blue eye was now a bright colored yellow. Egbert peeked out, climbing on her face again.

This is your signifier, she heard Nova in her mind once more. For as long as we work together, I will find you new windows of opportunity, and you will find me justice.

Opal grinned. “It looks cool as hell.”

Thought you’d like it. Use the power within you.

“So, next stop is Sunburst City, right? I’m excited to see what it does.” She laughed, studying her new eye. “Time to kick some ass.”