Blue
-x-
If you're going to spend days upon days staring at the same view, Isaac thinks, it might as well be this view. The ocean, after all, is as beautiful as he and Garet had always hoped it would be. Never-ending blue water, dolphins playing in the ship's wake, the occasional glimmer of treasure hiding just beneath the waves... Yes, the special brand of monotony that is life on Piers' ship is nothing if not well decorated.
And that's just the problem. Yes, it's lovely, but it all looks the same. Sure, it's beautiful, just stunning in its magnificence. But it's been ten and a half days, and though no one has the nerve to say it out loud, they're all thinking it: They're in the middle of the ocean, and to be frank, they're lost.
Mia, the eternal optimist, denies it completely. As she tells a brooding Garet, it's probably just a matter of time before Piers and Felix get their bearings back, and they'll be on land and purchasing a new map before they know it. She manages to tune out Jenna's frequent mutterings along the lines of "don't count on it," and Felix's less frequent mutterings along the lines of "no, really, she's right – I don't have a clue where we're going..."
Strangely enough, despite the overwhelming evidence pointing to the fact that he is going to spend the better part of forever bobbing up and down in a salty, beautifully decorated, incredibly tedious nightmare, Isaac still prefers this to walking everywhere. He exhales slowly, and turns away from the horizon. He's had enough of the view. He's had enough of that view to last him the rest of his life, and then some. He feels stupid a moment later, when he remembers that the view extends all around him.
"Ugh," he grumbles under his breath, dropping heavily onto the short staircase that connects the deck's levels. He stares at his boots – he can't stand to see any more blue. Heck, blue doesn't even seem like a real colour anymore; shades of blue are almost gray at this point.
"...with my little eye... something... yellow."
"I don't know. Sheba's hair?"
"Of course not! Try again, dear boy."
"...Is it my hair?"
"No, no, no. You're rather bad at this, aren't you, Ivan?"
The sound of Kraden's voice drifts past Isaac, and he lifts his head, his eyebrows raised. Kraden and Ivan are playing I-Spy. He doesn't know whether to laugh or shake his head in disbelief, so he does both.
Ivan turns towards him at the noise, and his eyes light up. "Oh! It's Isaac, isn't it? It's his scarf! I'm right, aren't I?"
Kraden chuckles. "Oh, there you go. You've got it. Isaac, care to join us? It might help to lift the boredom."
It's strange – traveling with Kraden, that is. It took some getting used to, but here they are, playing I-Spy. Isaac smiles ruefully and gets to his feet. His mood lifts slightly, though the sight of the blue, blue ocean mocks him still. "I'm not very good at this game, Kraden," he says when he reaches them.
Kraden pats his shoulder fondly. "That's quite alright, Isaac. Neither is Ivan." His voice is solemn, but his eyes are laughing, and Ivan lets out an indignant huff.
"That isn't fair. I've never played I-Spy before," he says, pouting. "I'll bet neither of you are very good at it, either."
"Ho ho ho! Is that a challenge, Ivan?" Kraden asks with a chuckle. "I'll have you know that I am excellent at I-Spy. Ask Felix!"
"Do not ask Felix. I'm busy," Felix returns sharply from his place at the helm.
"Grouch," Kraden shoots back. "Well, go on, Ivan!"
Ivan is silent as his eyes scan the deck of the ship. A long moment later, he says hesitantly, "I spy... with my little eye... something... uh... blue."
There is a soft thump as Isaac's forehead meets the palm of his hand. They're back to blue. Blue, blue, blue. Heck, even his clothes are blue! Wasn't I-Spy supposed to distract him from the smothering presence of blue?
Kraden and Ivan are still talking, still playing, but Isaac isn't listening. It's too frustrating. He misses land. Okay, so he doesn't miss camping between towns, or walking until his feet blister, but he does miss being surrounded by a colour that isn't blue.
If he has to spend one more day in this blue-soaked prison, Isaac decides, he's going to lock himself in his cabin and never come out again. Melodramatic? Perhaps. But no amount of I-Spy is going to make the all-encompassing blueblueblue any more tolerable.
Felix's voice pierces his furious internal monologue. "Hey, Isaac." He motions towards the sea, a strange smile on his face. "How's this for I-Spy? I spy something green."
Isaac's head whips up, and he dares to hope. His wide eyes fall upon the horizon, and there, amid the drifting shades of blues that might as well be grey, is a splash of green and brown. After ten and a half days of monotony, they've finally spotted land! His body is weightless, his grin threatens to split his face in two, and Isaac wants to dance. The days of painful monotony are over! He won't have to spend another hour in this miserable ocean!
"And it'll only take us two days to get there!"
Isaac falls to the ground in despair.
-x-
A/N: I don't know. I really don't. Well, no. I kind of do - ever been on a really long car trip? A few hours, and you're ready to throttle the person sitting next to you, and eventually someone starts to play I-Spy or Twenty Questions. Maybe that's just what my family used to do, but yeah. Imagine that, times ten days, plus constant blue. Maybe it's hard to imagine Isaac being this melodramatic, but if it helps, you could assume he got heatstroke or something. ;)
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