Chapter 15: Spinning Fabrications

Not too shortly after dinner, most pokémon on the ship had gone to sleep. With only a single candle to provide light, which was located on a lampstand near the far wall, and Lucy in a different room, all traces of illumination were nearly devoid. Tori sat awake watching the ceiling, frustrated.

She was by no means tired, despite the long day. Was she dealing with insomnia? She didn’t know.

The boat was completely quiet, outside of the rocking of waves, which could be heard if you pressed yourself against the easternmost wall, opposite to the lampstand.

The ship was moving, Tori could feel.

She watched the others in the room with boredom, slouched in her nest. The bed was a little uncomfortable- she hadn’t slept in non-personalized beds in so long, so seeing one that was meant for more than just her species, with the generic sticks and wool cushioning, was a strange feeling.

Tori almost wished the boat crashed so she didn’t have to sleep like this much longer.

Aside from the troubling thoughts, she was mostly relaxed. Ruby lay propped against the wall next to her, in this weird flower-like pose that she had once told Tori was a natural sleeping position for her species, much to her confusion. The Cherrim was snoozing on her feet so nonchalantly, petals wrapped tight and stem drooping, that you couldn’t tell if she was asleep or not.

Tori sighed and turned her gaze to the rest. In the southeastern corner was Proteus, who was sprawled out over his own nest, much too large for the bed’s size. Near the far wall, right next to the lampstand, Gabi slept. Like Proteus, her bed was too small for her. The psychic took up a large amount of room on the floor but didn’t make too much of a disturbance. Meanwhile, to the right of Tori’s viewpoint, was Alice, nestled cozily in her own nest and snoozing softly.

Watching the others, Tori started to feel a little irritated. She wasn’t quite sure why; everything had gone smoothly until this point.

Well, except for the conflict with Ruby.

Guilt crept in, and she felt a pang of anger. Recalling the events from the morning, and the night before, it itched. The memories gave a bit of a sting, one that Tori couldn’t seem to shake away. The pain was mesmerizing, and yet she was eager to distract away from it.

She glanced towards the door, still clasped shut into its frame without a creak. Her eyes wandered from the steel hinges to the doorknob, a single thought slipping into her mind.

She wasn’t stuck in here.

If she wanted, she could sneak out, and no one would notice.

No one would notice.

Tori quickly stood up, dusting herself off and any dirt or loose twigs that might have stuck to her cotton. Slowly, she crept towards the door, bouncing her eyes back and forth to see if anyone had woken up. By the time she reached it, she let out a sigh of relief.

Tori grasped the knob and jerked it open, jolting back in surprise as the door made a small hiss.

She took a glance back.

No movement.

She relaxed.

Anxiously, she moved out of the room and quickly shut the door behind her. The hall was empty as darkness lit up the night, held by utter silence. At the end of the corridor, Tori could see wooden stairs leading up to the surface deck of the ship.

She took another quick glance towards the other dorms to see if she was being watched and paced up the stairs. The air was cold and reeking of bitterness, but it simply passed Tori by as she made her way across the deck. She stopped at the railing, peeking over the water.

At last, she felt calm.

Distracted, relaxed, and most importantly… away from her troubles.

The emptiness of the night was oddly soothing, listening to the sound of waves and wind. She watched below as feral water types splashed below the surface, noticing a tiny Finneon rising up to the top alongside a much larger Lumineon, who Tori presumed to be the mother. The two pokémon chittered to each other in a language that was beyond anything she recognized, before noticing the hunk of a boat beside them and quickly diving below.

Tori sighed, resting her arms on the railing.

What was she even doing out here?

“This is all pointless” she muttered to herself. She glanced around the boat, trying to find something interesting, before hearing footsteps from behind.

She winced, darting her eyes back and forth, pressed against the railing. Had someone found her…?

Tori wanted to curl up and shut out the world, fearful that Ruby was trying to find her, but refrained. She slowly saw a shadow come out of the stairwell, moving at a skittery but gentle pace. Confrontation would be inevitable if she didn’t hide- she had to, she needed to. She glanced around the boat anxiously, trying to find a suitable spot.

However, she barely got a chance to even move the moment a voice called out her name.

“Mornin’ Tori. Up so early, eh?”

She looked back to the stairs.

A short, yellow figure crawled out. It was Proteus.

Her body slumped, and she let out a big breath of relief. As the Galvantula crawled towards her, Tori felt her racing mind finally slow down, giving herself to process everything.

“Hi” she blurted.

Proteus moved past her towards the railing, too short to raise his head over it. He moved his eyes over the deck, taking it in. “So what’cha doing out here?”

“Nothing” Tori mumbled, following his eyes back to the view of the sea. She leaned on the rail cooly. “Just needed fresh air.”

“The air really is fresh out here, huh.”

Tori rolled her eyes. “Sure is.”

“Would be a nice night for a walk, too.”

“Yup.”

The two of them stood there uncomfortably. Proteus’s breathing was cold and unnerving, reverberating a chilly feeling around Tori. The Galvantula was watching her, she could sense, despite not directly looking at him, rather focused on the tiny groups of pokémon in the distance, swimming along and under the surface of the ocean. Time seemed to be frozen in their spot, mocking Tori as she silently wished Proteus would leave.

“So how have you been lately?”

Tori jerked her head to the left. “What?”

“How have you been?” Proteus repeated. He looked her in the eyes, brimming with curiosity and pure interest. “Anything on your mind lately?”

“No?”

“Hm, alright then. Mind if I ask another question?”

Tori groaned. “I’d mind if you left me alone.”

Proteus hummed out an “Okay.” A few seconds of silence passed by, before he eventually spoke again. “I wonder how Ruby’s doing. She seemed pretty down this morning; didn’t even come to talk to me when I saw her.”

“She’s probably fine.”

“Yeah… and you’re close with her, right?”

“I dunno” Tori muttered. “I guess.”

“How long have you known her?”

“Few years.”

Proteus nodded. “It’s kinda impressive how good of friends you two are. Even with Todd, I’ve only known him since I moved here, but you and Ruby… wow. Your bond is something so strong… I don’t think I’ve seen anything as great as it before.”

“Yup.”

“Do you think you might be able to help her?”

Tori flinched, her eyes wide and bulging in utter disbelief, trying to make sense of his words. “W-what!?”

“You said you were great friends” Proteus replied. “Am I wrong?”

“No I-“ Tori rested a stub on her chest, feeling her heartbeat. It slowed with the help of a few deep breaths, reversing its culmination into eventual serenity that dampened her thoughts. “Sorry, I just- I wasn’t thinking right.”

“Is that why you’re out here?”

Tori looked around, before sighing. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Oh, kek. Are you doing fine now?”

“Kinda? Just… can’t sleep. Got a lot on my mind lately.”

Proteus twitched. “I heard the sound of a door closing and was wondering if it was daytime yet. But having a nice chat with you isn’t bad either. I like the peace of the night.”

“Thanks, I guess. It… feels good to be out here.”

“Yeah.”

They looked at each other awkwardly for a few seconds, before soon returning to silence. Tori found herself somewhat lost in thought, watching the night sky with both of her arms resting on top of each other, leaning on the railing. She tried to connect the stars as if they meant something- spinning fabrications with a trace of a stub, visualizing anything that she could convince herself were deliberate.

As if they weren’t just illusions.

As if they weren’t just desperate attempts at trying to predetermine fate.

…As if they weren’t just herself slowly going insane.

“You okay there?”

Tori snapped awake of her stupor, blinking. “Uh… yeah. I’m fine.”

“Fine?”

“That’s… what I said.”

Proteus squinted in response, all six eyes in unison. “You sure ‘bout that? You seem a bit upse-”

“I said I’m fine” she bit back in gritted teeth.

“You’re really sure you’re okay?”

Tori scoffed, spreading out her arms. “Do I look okay!? Seriously, after all the shit I’ve had to deal with in the last who knows what!? After Ruby decides to fucking betray me for other friends!? After this weirdo of a dark decides he can boss us around just because he can!? Seriously Proteus. Read the fucking room. We’ve only been out travelling for two days and I’m already about to snap. Do I look okay!?”

“I-“

“Don’t apologize. Just… stop fucking doing things without reading the room first, like with earlier and the nests. That really pissed me off.”

Proteus stood quietly for a few seconds, waiting for Tori to cool down, before speaking. “Yeah… that was my bad. Sorry, kek. I didn’t know you were angry at the time.”

“It’s fine” Tori groaned. “But please. Next time.”

“You got it.”

Silence returned to the air once again, but only lasted for half a minute as Tori shattered it.

“This is just getting dull. I’m going off to bed. Good night.”

“G’night” Proteus chirped.

Tori slipped back towards the dorms, passing the captain, who gave her a suspicious glare, and down the main deck of the ship, until she reached the stairs.

She knew tomorrow would probably be worse.

But at this point…

She couldn’t care less.

Tori opened the door to her dorm, shutting it just as hastily.

She was about to dive straight into bed, eager to be done with this horrible night, when she noticed something. Ruby, snoozing in the same spot as before, to the right of her nest. Tori stood, watching for a moment. She blinked twice- something was different this time.

Without thinking, she sat close to Ruby, completely ignoring the comfort of the bed that she could have slept in. Tori wrapped an arm over the Cherrim, pulling her close and pressing her own face against Ruby’s petals. The feeling was cozy and homey, emanating a warm emotion that Tori wasn’t quite sure she’d felt before- something else… something different, something fresh.

She felt safe.

And… at last, despite everything, she slept.