Note: This may seem like a time jump, but it's not. The day after Thats and Kitchel went to Luwa, they got their boat and set sail. If you want, you can check it. :grins: I know the book by heart. In other words... The I.B.S.(Infamous Boat Scene... You know... The one with the storm, and the breaking and the falling and the jumping and the catching... :eyes starting to glaze over:) takes place after this chapter by a couple days.

This scene is one I have long wanted to write. I'm so glad I remembered it. Originally, this was going to be combined with the end chapter, but then I thought of a better way. Go me.

This chapter should be longer, sweeter. More like SSY. Hope that's not a problem. I didn't mean to do it like that; it just came out that way.

Dedication: This is dedicated to Elfin Kagome for that really funny fic about the hospital! n-n Too bad she cut out the dancing scene, though...

Disclaimer: Me no ownie. Me sowwie.

Warnings: Um. Not too sure, actually...

Chapter Four:

The night was warm.

Apparently, along with heading east, the treasure hunters were also traveling south, or at least into a more tropical climate zone.

The heat wasn't unbearable yet; on the contrary, it was rather pleasant. The sun had set a few minutes ago, but the sky was still lined with crimson streaks, as though an artist had overturned their tray of watercolors, scattering the dyes across the paper. This red glow added to the mirage of heat, helped by the near-cloudless sky, and dully rocking waves.

There was not a breath of wind in the air.

The crisp breeze Thats and Kitchel had exploited earlier that day had died away as quickly as the setting sun, now leaving them to drift aimlessly in the vast ocean desert.

The world was gorgeous.

Not one of the three voices on board the boat broke the spell.

Then, one of them shattered the silence, uttering a single word to roughly describe the feelings of the others.

"Wow."

Thats nodded vaguely, eyes still lingering over the western horizon.

"Yeah."

He took in the sound of fathoms deep water, lapping roughly on the tightly bound beams of their craft. The now lavender sky continued dimming, exposing the distant light of the first evening star.

The peridot stone around his neck reflected the last shimmering rays of golden sunlight.

"Wow," he echoed.

There was no land crowding them in any direction, as far as any one of them could see. Their only barrier now was a vast expanse of salt water and an almost too-clear sky.

All three travelers were sitting, facing the far western displays, their backs against the low wall of the boat. The exception to this was Ringleys. Although he was indeed looking in the same direction as the other two, instead of leaning against the wall, he was sitting on it.

The red glow began to fade into a deeper violet, bringing a touch of cool to the air. The last trails of the day disappeared beneath the sea.

Ringleys yawned.

Thats and Kitchel both looked at the Faerie sitting between them, and both had the same mental image of his small form nodding off and toppling backwards into the ocean.

"You tired?" the human girl asked with a grin.

"Come on. I don't want to have to fish you out if you fall in."

She picked up the protesting water light by the scruff of his jacket, setting him down on the floor of the boat.

"It's dark. 'Night, Ringleys."

Aquamarine irises blinked upwards at the deepening heavens once more before sliding closed.

"Good night."

As the smallest member of the trio drifted off to sleep, the other two lapsed back into silence.

The waves rocked the otherwise still boat, and both thieves felt themselves relaxing, letting go of any tension left over from the previous day. Neither looked at the other. Neither took their eyes off the appearing stars and vanishing streaks of vibrant red.

Then the odd larger wave struck the drifting craft. It was not strong enough to do the smallest of damage, but only to slightly jolt it's passengers.

Nevertheless, it struck a note with fate.

Kitchel's arm, propping her up on the wooden side of the ship, slipped, and she slid to the side. Instead of falling onto the hard wooden boards beneath her, however, she was stopped by the warm body of her companion. Her bare skin pressed against his, and they both froze.

To the outside observer, it seemed like nothing out of the ordinary.

A young man and woman, sitting side by side. Both lightly dressed, he in a loose pair of pants and a tank, and she in a cutoff white shirt and a pair of shorts. Their clothing was justified: the day had been hot. She had slid to the side, falling against his naked arm.

Nothing unusual.

Except for the total lack of movement.

Both were still perfectly still, barely daring to breathe. Then, as the ocean lapped around them, Kitchel exhaled. She slowly forced herself to relax, to slide back into the state of mind she had previously been enjoying.

Another wave rocked the boat, and she slid further against him.

A shiver ran down her back.

Thats felt it, and carefully glanced down at her.

"Hey. Um...?"

The female thief didn't blush or stammer as many another girl might have done, being caught in that situation, but evenly met his gaze.

"What?" Quickly, before he could answer, she spoke again. "Look. The stars are coming out."

"Oh, yeah," he said, turning his face away from her, up to the darkened sky, now speckled with the beginnings of a glorious heavenly display.

Kitchel shifted her weight further into him. This time, it was without the added push of the sea.

His muscles tensed slightly, and his heartbeat began to quicken before being forced back down to it's regular tempo. Moderno in Mezzo-Forte.

She glanced at him, but the knight was still facing away, eyes picking out familiar faces among the starry sky. The young woman felt her own vision being tugged upwards as well, and she gave in, drifting among two intertwined velvetine oceans.

They remained like that for an unknown period of time. Neither knew just how long it had been that they were lost in silver-rimmed constellations and thoughts. When they awoke in the morning, however, they were both lying on the bottom of the boat, facing away from each other, and with nothing to suggest that the previous night had been any different from ones earlier on.

Neither the thief nor the knight mentioned that red-tinged dusk or the star gazing that followed it. If, indeed, it was remembered at all, there was no evidence.

Except for a tiny starlit flicker held in suspended animation, hidden away behind their teasing acts.

:n:

:shrugs: Water lights just seem to me like daytime people... I guess that's why Ringleys passed out so early on... Plus, he really had no part to play in what I wanted to happen... :shifty eyes:

:n:

Hououza: :shakes head, grinning: Nah, s'ok. For I... HAVE FOUND BOOK SEVENTEEN!! :huggles book: I had to convince my mom to buy it for me, because I had just been to a game store and thought, "Oh, what the hell. Book 17 won't be in until the end of the month. I can get another ten bucks by then." and had blown $20 on a Miroku figure and pokémon cards. But I have it!!

ShadowDown: Zoma kicks ass. Not literally. No one right now. I WAS going to kill Capella, though.

Ojosnegro: Yes. Boat. Boat gooood.

Capella: Yes... "Relatively"... Nah. You're safe. I found book seventeen(See response to Hououza... Too lazy to type it all out again...), and no longer wish for blood! I pity your friend. I was like that. Mind... I also lent out book fifteen... And Bonkers bent it down Nadil's face and ripped a bunch of pages... And I lent out book twelve... And it got lost... And I lent out book two... And Scott's actually been good, so I let him keep it over Christmas break so he can reread it and figure everything out. n-n Good boy, Scott. BOAT!!

Yokai no Miko: Oh, sorry about that. I hate it when people spell my name wrong. The office has yet to get it correct... Aww... 15 was good. Buy it with your Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa/Winter Solstice money!! ...I didn't review that? Strange...

Oy, review, please!!