Kaylee Jones smiled as she breathed in the crisp, salty ocean air. She glanced behind her, flashing an adventurous smile at the boy traveling with her. Aaron Stowe blinked at her. He flashed a nervous smile back, his stomach already twisting with nerves.
The two had chosen to embark on a journey together with the scientists- Ishibashi, Ito, and Sato- in an attempt to find the land that Kaylee claimed to come from. She had said it was a huge island, much bigger than the island of Quill and Artime, and with much more people as well. The three old scientists had vouched for her, saying that this "America" was most certainly a real place. However, the scientists had said they hoped to be able to return to another island, smaller, referred to as "Japan".
Though Kaylee seemed excited for the chance to find her home, part of her seemed discouraged. As though she wasn't really sure they would ever be able to find the place she came from. Kaylee hadn't talked much about where she came from, who her family was, or what her world was like. Aaron figured she just didn't trust him enough. He completely understood if that was the case.
They had only been on the boat for a day, but already Artimé was becoming nothing more than a pinprick on the distant horizon. The sun was slowing beginning to rise on a new day, and Aaron hadn't slept a wink. He didn't feel tired at all. If anything, he was constantly anxious, and just a bit scared.
Part of him wished he had stayed behind. He didn't know what to expect, didn't know what they might encounter, and he was afraid that he wasn't quite ready to be distracted from Ishibashi's teachings. Even in Artimé, Aaron had felt himself cracking under the pressure. He had felt that he wasn't quite ready to be given responsibility, as he could feel himself wanting not just a bit of power, but control.
However, under it all, Aaron was excited to be traveling. Excited to see the different islands he had been told about along the way. Excited, he must admit, to be traveling with the girl from America. She was friendly enough, and she didn't know how he was when he tried to take over Artimé. She didn't hate him for killing Mr. Today, though Aaron thought she would have every right too. Even so, the scientists were very confident that Aaron could handle this, and that gave him some comfort.
"Don't you just love the sea?" Kaylee said with a light laugh, startling Aaron from his thoughts. He watched as the wind whipped through her light brown bob. She braced herself against the side of the boat and leaned over, smiling wide.
"I suppose the sea is nice," Aaron said somewhat quietly. He didn't want to talk out of place or anger her, and he felt like disagreeing might do just that. She seemed to have a fierceness to her that he couldn't describe, and he feared to upset her. Kaylee towered almost half a foot over him; scars covered her muscular body.
Kaylee looked back at him with a quizzical grin in response to his mellow tone of voice. She lightly punched him in the arm, receiving a quiet, startled "Oof" from Aaron.
"Lighten up. I swear, if you're going to be such a Debbie Downer, we could just take you back to Artimé."
Aaron didn't know what a "Debbie Downer" was, but the way Kaylee said it, it didn't sound desirable.
"Sorry," he said. Kaylee laughed at this, shaking her head.
"Don't apologize!" She turned back to face the sea. "Aaron Stowe, you've got a lot to learn about relaxing."
Aaron furrowed his brow. How could she be relaxed at a time like this? They were on an important journey to find her homeland, and she was acting like she didn't have a care in the world. However, the words of the scientists entered his head, and he took a slow breath. He couldn't let a tiny difference in personality tear apart what could be friendship.
Slowly, Aaron walked toward the side of the boat, peering over into the green and blue waves. The waves lapped against the side of the boat gently, swishing the vessel to and fro in a slow and calm motion. The ocean was at ease, the sky was clear, it was a perfect day for sailing. Aaron stole a glance at Kaylee, her soft, short hair blowing this way and that in the wind. He felt a chill run down his spine, an unfamiliar fuzziness beginning to cloud his brain.
Suddenly, Kaylee turned towards him, her gray eyes sparkling. She took Aaron by the arm, and Aaron shivered as her hand sent tingles up his spine.
"Come on, I want to show you something," she said with a smile. Kaylee began to drag Aaron along with ease, much stronger than he was. Her footsteps made the floorboards creak softly underneath them.
"What are you showing me?" Aaron asked in anticipation.
"You'll see," she sang, laughing a bit.
"I don't understand," Aaron said, pulling against her slightly. "Why are you laughing? Did I miss something?"
"It's fine! It's also a surprise, so no need to worry, silly."
Aaron was frowning now. He wanted to know what was so important. He didn't like surprises, and he certainly didn't like not knowing what was going on.
"I'm serious, Kaylee. What are you showing me?"
"Will you relax?" Kaylee said, her smile dropping. "You're so uptight." She dropped her hold of his arm and frowned a bit. She continued walking, and Aaron trailed after her, still very much confused.
Aaron almost wanted to snap. Why on Earth was she being so rude? He was just asking a question. But he bit his tongue.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly.
Kaylee sighed. "You're really something different, Aaron. I just hope I can get you to chill even a little bit. I told your brother I was unsure of how all this would go before we left. I was hoping maybe once we were away from Artimé you'd loosen up a bit. But you're still, I don't know, really bringing down my mood."
Aaron blinked at her. He stopped in his tracks, tilting his head. He had no idea what she meant by getting him to "chill" or "loosen up", but he figured these were just more strange phrases that were popular in America. Kaylee heard his footsteps come to a stop, and she too stopped, turning to look at him.
"Are you coming or not?" She seemed slightly less upset with Aaron's behavior, and just a bit more inviting. She motioned with her hand for him to follow, raising an eyebrow at him. Aaron frowned.
"I want to know what it is you're showing me," he said, perhaps a bit too stern. He shook his head, cleared his throat, and tried again. "I don't like surprises. I just want to know what's going on. I apologize for being rude."
Kaylee sighed. She walked over to him, her expression softening.
"I'm sorry for being so insistent on surprising you. I should've just told you what was going on," she said. Kaylee gave Aaron a reassuring smile at the look of unease on Aaron's face.
"I want to show you the map," she explained. "I want to tell you a little bit more about what we're looking for."
Aaron nodded slowly. He didn't quite understand why he needed to see the map, or why Kaylee seemed so insistent upon showing it to him. However, he followed her quickly when she began moving again. Kaylee led him swiftly to the old cabin below deck. Aaron watched as the sunlight dimmed, streaming into the darker area of the ship in small beams. The wooden stairs creaked under their feet, and the sound of the waves was louder as they crashed against the side of the boat.
On their walk, Kaylee began humming a light tune that Aaron couldn't recognize. It was moderately paced, and the notes flowed together in a cheerful way. Kaylee seemed to know the song by heart, but Aaron had never heard the song in Quill or Artimé before.
"What are you humming?" Aaron asked quietly, hoping not to be intruding.
Startled, Kaylee stopped. A bittersweet smile crossed her face.
"It's called 'Home'," She answered. "It's a song from America. I really like it, and it's pretty catchy." At this, Kaylee began humming again, and Aaron listened intently.
Soon, they reached the cabin door, and Kaylee stopped humming as she opened the old creaky door. Inside was a small, old wooden table, upon which laid the map. Lani Haluki had found it on the pirate island, risking her life to retrieve it. The map showed the seven known islands, and two larger masses of land that Kaylee had claimed were of the world she came from.
Kaylee smiled as she approached the map, running a finger lightly over it, tracing the shapes of the different places that Kaylee called "countries". Then her finger traced lightly over a place she called "Massachusetts", and she brought up her other arm to wipe her eyes. She shook her head slightly, her bob bouncing to and fro. Kaylee cleared her throat.
"Alright Aaron, get your slow-poke butt over here."