The end of the week would approach, Skye getting to know almost everyone on board. She would find herself being summoned by Carter. He was standing on the upper deck of the airship, and smiled at her arrival. The cool morning breeze flows around, as if the air was refreshing and light. He smiles as he nods, placing both hands on his hips.
“Ah, there you are. I was wondering when you'd arrive.”
He glanced at her and spoke once more, in a warm tone.
“You're here to meet Cecelia, correct?”
Skye glanced back nervously. She wasn’t really told the reason, so she was unsure.
"Oh uh, yes! I think."
Carter nods, smiling at her answer as she confirms.
“Yes, I wanted to introduce you to our crew's armourer, Cecelia, or Cece, for short. She is the master of combat and arms onboard here, and I figured you should meet her. She's a fun, unique person, I'm sure you'll like her!”
He laughs softly and motions the young angel dragon over to the ship's railing. He speaks with a soft tone.
“I'll let her introduce herself, she's right over there. Go on, say hello. I gotta go make sure Jay doesn’t mess up our Navigation panels.”
Skye goes to approach her as Carter takes his leave, hoping not to spook her as she had her back turned..but then Cecelia pulled out a wooden sword from behind the railing, turning around immediately once Skye got close enough, in an attempt to playfully stab her with it. Luckily for her, she had a pretty quick reflex, just narrowly dodging it.
"W-What the heck!?"
Cecelia bursts out into a fit of boisterous, yet joyful, laughter as she sees her dodge her little ambush attack.
“Pfft- Hahaha! Sorry, I couldn't resist. I had to see if I could catch you off-guard. Well, I tried at least. Guess you're quick on your feet!”
She chuckles, continuing to laugh in amusement as she helps Skye get up.
“So, what's your name, stranger? I suppose I should formally introduce myself before I start trying to attack you again, huh?”
“T-That..would be helpful, yeah…My name’s Skye.”
She replies, softly inhaling and exhaling to calm her heart down a little bit from the surprise ambush.
Cecelia smiles widely and laughs.
“Skye, hm? What a good name. It's a pleasure to meet ya, Skye. I'm Cecelia, the armourer of this airship, and I take care of all weapons of combat. Pretty fun stuff.”
She grins and looks her up and down, seemingly sizing her up, as she stood at 5’11, compared to Skye being at 5’5.
“And it seems you’re the lucky one today! You’re being given your final trial; a spar to see if you're worthy to be a crew member.”
"A..sparring match? I wasn't told about this..heck."
Skye replies, nervously.
Cecelia laughs, seeming to derive pleasure from her nerves. She shook her head, a hint of teasing in her voice.
“Don't worry, it's not really a tradition or anything. I just decided that you look like you needed a good ol' fashioned spar. Plus, it'll be fun for both of us. It'll be a nice way for us to get to know each other a little better.”
Cecelia responds, a smirk in her face as she was still in attack mode.
"Hmm..w-well, if I am to do this, what do I need to do to win?"
Skye asks curiously.
Cecelia chuckled softly and grinned, seeming to be happy that she asked.
“You only have to land one hit on me. Just one hit, and you win. Pretty simple, right?”
"Okay. Seems simple enough, I suppose. I'm..kinda nervous, but I'll definitely do my best! And please don't make it too easy for me, I'd really like to earn this victory fair and square!"
Skye replies, looking at her with a newfound determined spirit.
Cecelia laughs softly, seeming amused by her eagerness to win.
“Don't worry, kid. I won't make it overly easy, alright? I intend to put up a good fight. So give it your best!”
As the both of them entered her workshop, she gestures Skye toward the rack of swords hanging along the wall, encouraging her to pick one that felt natural to her. Soon making her decision, she’d make her way into the sparring room.
“So, ya ready?”
Cecelia would say excitedly, seeing the angel dragon come in with her wooden sword.
Skye softly breathed in and out, easing her nerves. She was many things, but she definitely wasn’t a coward. She was a pretty resilient, and skilled adventurer at heart, having endured so much that got her to this point in her lifetime.
“I’m ready.”
She ran forward , aiming to strike the goat right in her chest. Cece grins as she rushes forward, clearly enjoying the thrill of her first attack. She raises her sword in defense, parrying her strike as she dances around her, her movements quick and light.
“Nice attacks, but I'm a master at dodging, y'know!”
Cece created a small shield to create some distance between the two of them with every attack that followed, clearly ready to continue fighting.
“That was a good attack, though. You've got promise. Now try again.”
Skye softly huffed. A thought crossed her mind, realizing she had light solidification powers, which basically allowed her to magically construct and place anything she wanted, where she wanted. She had to keep that in mind.
Cece can clearly see the thoughts going through her mind as she pauses for a moment. She can tell that she was analyzing her powers, trying to figure out how to fight against her effectively.
“Good, you're starting to think. You're realizing I can create shields and things in the light, huh?”
Skye nods her head.
“Yeah..everyone on this ship has some sort of magical ability..I just had to figure out what yours was.”
Cecelia smirks, clearly enjoying the challenge that you're posing.
“Good. I like that you're not just jumping straight into attacks. You're taking a bit to come up with a strategy. That's smart of you. Now try attacking again!”
She glanced at her with focused eyes, thinking to herself as to how she can anticipate and counter. Unknown to Cece, Skye possessed a sharp intuition that allowed her to sense the intentions of others, which was basically her guide as she went in for another attack. Cece raises her sword again, but summons a light particle shield in her path. Skye sensed it, and immediately shattered it with her quick reaction time.
Cece was surprised by her quick thinking, not anticipating that she'd use that strategy to shatter the shield. She quickly side steps her attack as she goes in for the side swing, narrowly avoiding getting hit.
“Not too bad, kid. You're smarter than I thought you'd be.”
“Haha, well..I’m trying my best.”
Skye was getting the hang of it now.
“Good, that's exactly what I like to hear. You're good so far, don't let up now.”
Cece smiles in response to her chuckle, seemingly enjoying how humble she was, even in a battle. She still keeps her guard up, clearly still focused on battling her. Skye’s ears would twitch, indicating that she was thinking up the perfect strategy now.
“She summons light platforms to block when I get too close…so I have to work around that. But her eyes notably twitch when she knows where she wants to place them..so if I watch her eyes carefully I might just be able to pull this off, and finally get that strike in…”
Cece caught a glance of her, noticing that she’s focusing even harder now. She can tell that she was thinking and figuring out her move, and she gets into an even better fighting stance to brace herself for her next attack.
Cecelia sees Skye go in for a charge, anticipating that she was going to attempt to shatter her shield again. However, she has a different idea, and takes a chance on a different strategy this time. Instead of creating a shield, she creates multiple platforms of light near her that shoots itself towards her. Skye changes her initial strategy a bit too, taking the chance to jump across each one shot towards her, and get high enough to attack from above. Cece gets caught off guard by this unexpected turn, summoning a shield to defend herself from above, but fails to anticipate it, Skye striking the shield with her sword, and moving her body so she lands behind her, finally getting the hit in by striking her in her side the moment she lands. It was clear that Skye won the match.
“Ow! Well..would you look at that. You got me. I have to admit, that was pretty damn clever.”
She responds as she drops her sword from getting struck, giving you a chuckle in good sportsmanship. Skye rubbed her arm, with a shy laugh.
“Aw, thanks..haha..”
Cece laughs in return, amused by her shyness, but clearly impressed by her skills.
“You don't have to get all sheepish about it now, you know. Come on, own it. You beat me, fair and square. Good job!”
Later that evening, Skye would come across Tommy’s cabin, and knock on the door.
“You can come in, ya know.”
He responds with that familiar voice.
She entered the cabin nervously, looking around at her surroundings as she slowly closed the door behind her. She was holding something behind her back, and was shifting side to side anxiously.
"Um... are you done for the day, Tommy...?"
She asked nervously, her wings fluttering from anxiety.
“I believe so. I replaced like, everyone’s bedsheets and stuff in record time surprisingly! Why? What’s up?”
"I just um..."
She shuffled nervously again, her wings fluttering more. She was clearly nervous to show you what was behind her back, as she gripped it tightly.
"Had something I needed... to show you...but you have to close your eyes! Otherwise it won’t be much of a surprise!"
Tommy laughed, closing his eyes.
“If I must..”
She gently placed the item in his paws.
"O-okay, you can open your eyes now..."
He’d give her a loud squeal in response as he opened his eyes, as it was revealed that she had basically sewn him a mini plushie version of himself.
“This..is for me? Thank you so much.”
She let out a sigh of relief when he clearly showed that he loved it, her wings relaxing and her tail slowing its swaying, especially as he got up and hugged her.
"It's no problem, really! I just wanted to do something to show my appreciation for all you've done for me..."
“You truly didn’t have to though…I’m just happy to do what I can to help others, yknow?”
She nodded in the hug, a warm and loving smile spreading across her face. She was happy to have found a new place to call home, and to have a new family that actually cared. She looked up at him, her wings flapping in thanks.
"I don’t think I can express enough how grateful I am for you, Tommy. You're like the best person I've ever met. If I hadn't stumbled upon this airship, I know I’d still be back home, with my terrible family... and probably end up being miserable for the rest of my life…but I’m so happy you took me in.”
Tommy gently rested his head on hers, gently breathing as they continued to hug, happy to see her be much more confident in herself compared to the nervous bean he met her as.
“I’m being so genuine when I say I’m just so happy to hear that. You’ve grown so much.”
Skye softly smiled, but her ears perked up when she had a thought cross her mind.
“Oh! Also!”
She let go of the hug for a quick minute, excited but determined.
“I think I've come to a conclusion on what I want to do. What I really, truly want to do. I’m gonna tell everyone else later, but I wanted you to be the first person to hear it."
“Oh? Let me hear it.”
Her wings slowly unfurled from around him, as she looked up at him, eyes full of determination and confidence.
"I wanna... explore! I wanna travel the world with you and the crew, and see all the amazing and breathtaking sights that the world has to offer! I want to experience all the things I was never able to before... I want to find who I really am along the way too, making memories and enjoying my newfound freedom!"
Tommy could see and feel her joy as she spoke, and it was clear that she was overjoyed to finally be free of her past life, and embrace her new one with open arms. But Skye quickly noticed in his eyes that tears would start to form, and she’d tilt her head confused.
"Tommy...? Are you okay? Why are you tearing up...?"
"Ah, yeah..it's just..a joy to see how much you've changed, is all...haha.."
Tommy replies with a joyful laugh while the tears were forming, which mirrored the overwhelming amounts of joy and gratitude that Skye felt when they first met that fateful day.
She could certainly remember how timid and shy she was when he first found her..but now, she was outgoing, excited, and not letting anyone or anything stop her from being happy. She slowly moved her hand up to his cheek, gently wiping away his tears.
"Tommy... you're going to make me start crying too!"
“I’m sorryyy! I can’t help it!”
He replies, continuing to laugh as he tears up.
She let out a small laugh as well, now starting to cry now because he was crying and vice versa. She continued to gently wipe away his tears with her thumbs, looking at him with a tearful smile.
"I can't believe... we're both sitting here crying like idiots..."
She said with a giggle, wiping more tears from her eyes.
"Yeah...but, dinner does start in a bit, and I'm sure the rest of the crew will be delighted to hear the conclusion you've come to!"
Skye’s face perked up again, her eyes sparkling as more excitement coursed through her body.
"Oh, yes! The rest of the crew! They'll definitely want to hear this!"
She hopped to her feet, her tail excitedly swishing behind her, and taking his hand.
"Come on! Let's go!"
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