These characters have already appeared in this one shot and in this short story.

This was when things started to go wrong. 

Usil turned her blue eyes towards the boat’s ridge, where the thick wood gave way to slippering tentacles of mist.

The ocean had disappeared days ago, and only her fine-tuned perceptors could still keep trace of time.

Just the pale echo of the sun remained, a dull lamp from above, reminding her of one of her very first memories, looking up towards the mouth of the hearthwomb and seeing light for the first time. 

She bit her lips as she tried once again to push her gaze past the wall of clouds that hindered their navigation, listening to the endless cackling of lazy waves splashing off the hull.

They were laughing at the three of them.

Nothing. The thin glowing blue lines that criss-crossed her dark skin flashed a tad brighter in frustration.

“You keep leering like that, one of your eyes gonna to pop off,” said Thiur, sitting next to her, her weight making the beams groan. The dim light of the overcast sky highlighted her own glowing lines, a bright magenta that contacted to her own blue tones.

“Maybe if we tie a string around it and throw it forward,” she replied with a grin, “then I can be a proper leader and guide you towards something worthwhile.”

“Heh, don’t say that out loud,” Thiur chastised her. “Pulum hears you, she will have to try it.”

Usil laughed, leaning with her head against Thiur’s chest, the softness of her sable skin as reassuring as always. 

“Where is she anyway?”

She could extend her perceptors, but asking Thiur felt better.

“Downstairs,” she shrugged. “Lost in her diagrams. Maybe this way we can get a little more time for ourselves,” she said passing her long, strong fingers through Usil’s jet-black hair. 

She let out a sigh of contentment. A part of her would have loved nothing more than to lose track of their mission, getting lost in Thiur’s caresses and Pulum’s stories.

Good thing the King had appointed her as the head of their little trifecta. Gods knew the disaster that would be unleashed otherwise!

“Don’t speak like that,” she said placing one finger over her lips and putting a quick kiss upon it. “Your greed will hurt her poor heart.”

“More like eagerness,” Thiur said putting her fingers back against her scalp. “Not much to do here except looking dumb. And being lost. At least if nobody can see us…” She blinked. “Hey, do you think the Gods can see us?”

“Pulum would know better than me. Maybe you should ask-“

The door giving way to the lower deck opened with a clash. A girl not unlike them, with sable skin, shot black hair and piercing blue eyes puffed her thin chest and slammed her small foot on the threshold. Her own lines glowed a sharp emerald.

“Good news, everybody! I have managed to repair the compass!” She held out a small disk of glass and iron. “We can trace a route and… huh? Were the two of you getting all intimate without my person?”

“Nnnnooo,” Thiur denied flapping her hands. “Usil just slipped and I was just there to catch her!”

“Likely story,” she scoffed, putting the repaired compass on a nearby stool and jumping right in the middle of them. “It was my turn to sit next to her, my schedule say so! Make way, you big dumb brat!”

“I concede to violence.” She scooted over and Pulum sat between the two, waving her finger at the repaired compass. “That will begin to make things right,” she commented. “Now, as I was saying. I did manage to recharge the compass and… we will be able to resume our navigation, Gods’ willing.”

“Admitted there is something to look for here in this nothing…”

“Thiur, have faith.” Usil slapped her on the wrist. She could get downright depressive at times. Like a cat denied her favorite treat. “We have not have been sent on this mission for naught. We will set foot on the farthest shore, no matter how much time it takes. Besides, think of it as a chance to enjoy each other’s company for much longer!”

“Heh. You know how to convince a girl, don’t ya.”

“And what about me? Don’t I get any praise for setting the mission back on its course?”

“Of course you do!” Usil’s fingers played with Pulum’s sensitive sides. The smaller girl cackled and snorted and tilted her head back, revealing her unprotected neck. She blew a raspberry right on her skin and she squealed in laughter and delight. 

“S-stop iiit! Usil!”

She once again and Pulum fell against the two of them, panting heavily. Her cheeks darkened and she gave a smile, dawning on her skin like a sickle of the Crumblemoon. 

“One of these d-days I will have my r-revenge on both of you!”

“I’ll be waiting,” Thiur commented looking down at her nails. 

“But all mirth aside, this is great news indeed. Finally we can set a course and cut through this endless fog.”

“As soon as we pick up the signal once again we will know where to go,” exclaimed Pulum, pointing her dark finger against the dull expanse of the sky. “Stars or no stars! Wit will outlast even them!”

“I love it when you get all worked up over these things,” Thiur said ruffling her hair. “But for now I’ll just keep teasing you a little…”

Usil let her muscles relax. Pulum was not exactly light, no matter of little her cerarmid weighted. But the soft hum of her body comforted her, in tune with their two. She closed her eyes, leaving all feeling to her ears and her inner perceptors. The soft warm pressure of their bodies, the relief from knowing they were back on track to completing their mission, warm and cozy like when back in the hearthwomb, the soft echoes of the swallowing sea that did not remind her of laughter anymore, but the rustling of leaves back on the shore, the day before they departed.

A moment much like this, with the three of them hugging with their backs against a tree, lulled by the whispering wind.

It was a good omen that she could now add one more memory like that. 

Surely the rest of this journey would be blessed by the Gods.

“How about we all rest like this for a little more,” she hushed the other two and their bickering ceased. “Just the three of us? We earned it and Pulum more than anyone.”

“Ya know, sometimes I get reminded why you’re the head of this here expedition.”

“I believe it would be greatly enjoyable!”

Usil nodded and held the two together, softly humming against each other, sharing in one yet perfect moment. 

The sea whispered all about them, and they paid no mind to its warnings. 

Author’s Notes: not at all satisfied with how certain things turned out here, but I hope you liked it anyway. I think I will have to find another way to introduce these three, this feels a tad too sudden to be fair. At any rate, thanks for reading.