justice

Chapter Fifteen

"Hello, hello, good sirs-" the druid froze when he realized he was transporting two girls. "My apologies, ladies. Welcome aboard the Kepantasan, my gorgeous vessel. I can take you wherever you need to go! Where is it that you would like to go?"

"The lava fields, please," said Nellie. "And are meals served aboard this ship?" The druid turned and said, "Well, uh, yes...? But, I don't have any ingredients right now..." Nellie and Just exchanged a look and said, "What's your name?"

Soon, after trading in the markets for Semangat, they were sailing down the river towards the Geyser Api. Just, below, was cooking up food, and Nellie and Semangat were talking.

"Where did you learn to sail, Semanagt?" asked Nellie. Semangat looked up the river and said, "No one. I was taught to sail by my instincts. Well, and Api..." Nellie looked confused. "Who's Api?" Semangat startled as if he had been woken from a dream. "Oh! Well..." he took a look into Nellies' trusting face. 

Taking a deep breath, he said, "When I was little, I had started hanging out around the druid docks. I fiddled around with the rigging and engine, that sort of thing. But one day I came across the central mainframe, the safety system of the ship. I could not figure out how it worked. But I overheard other sailors talking worriedly about how they weren't able to fix the central system of that ship, and how it was so big, that it might destroy all of the Druid Docks if someone couldn't fix it.

So I went to bed worried about it. In my dream that night, I was on the boat, trying to fix the mainframe, when a glowing warrior appeared to me. He said, 'Fire can only lead to more fire. What would water do to fire?' and then he walked back down the hallway and disappeared, making the whole ship catch on fire. I screamed, and my sweat fell on the floor and extinguished the flames. I woke up and ran to the ship with a bucket of water. I poured it down a little hole that led to the central system, and the light turned green."

Nellie nodded and stared out at the river as well as Semangat. "It sounds like you were taught by a spirit. Is that why you're named Semangat?" asked Nellie.

Semangat turned and said, "Yeah. But the other sailors were creeped out at first. I told people how I had been given the advice by a spirit in a dream, and they shunned me; telling me I was some sort of ghost, come to life. My name wasn't meant to be a compliment-it was a jenama."

Nellie gasped. "Really? They would do that to you? Brand you as a spirit-host?" Semanagt nodded sadly.

Nellie frowned, and said, "Wow. That's really bad, Semanagt. What a terrible thing to have happened." Semangat nodded sadly.

"Dinner!" called Just from belowdecks. Semangat and Nellie trotted down through the wheelhouse to the galley, where Just had laid out a steaming feast.

"Everything might taste a bit weird. The cooking system is controlled by lava. There is a flap at the back of the galley that allows hot gas and sloshes of lava into a tiny basin by pulling up. There is a grate over it, and when you place raw ingredients on the grate, the hot gas cooks them."

Nellie took a bite of her food and exclaimed, "This is delicious!" While she whomped down more food, Semangat held up one of his roasted veggies and murmured, "I've never been able to understand how that worked..." Just grinned, and sat down to tuck in. When they were almost done with the dishes, Just stood up and said, "So should I clean up, or...?" At this, Nellie stopped and looked at Semangat. He stopped too, and said, "What? What is it?"

"Well, sometimes ships have a crew..." tried Nellie. Semanagt put down his fork and said, "Yeah, wealthy ships have crews. Not mine. Don't worry though, I'll clean up. You guys go to your cabin for the night. You're going to have to make up one of the beds, though." Nellie and Just nodded and made their way back to the cabin. Nellie used her wind powers to make her bed super fast, and both girls were soon fast asleep.

Just picked herself up off the ground. The pine needles were everywhere, and the resin was making her hair sticky. She was just starting to brush them off when she heard him.

"Well, well well well well well well. Justice no-name Renée, my old pal. Whatcha doing back here? On a break from saving the world?"

Just snarled at the man and said, "Gimme a break, Cloak. I wouldn't be here if I had a choice."

"But that's the thing," said Cloak, standing up. "You don't have a choice. I make the choices around here, Just." Cloak held up his hand, and a mist swirled above it.

"Why don't you ask your little angin what I'm doing when you wake up?" Just tried to yell at him for calling Nellie weak, but found she had lost the energy. She fell to her knees and abandoned all thoughts once she found herself watching what was happening in the mist pictures.

It was her and Nellie, with Tee and another unfamiliar figure that looked to be made out of...gravel? Nellie said something, and she and Tee walked away from Just and the other figure. Another new figure walked on screen. She was dressed in a very becoming orange dress and seemed to be complaining about something. Just tried to calm her down, but she was having none of it. Tee and Nellie came back, and the five of them looked towards a peak in the distance. Nodding, they all began walking towards it.

Just gasped once Cloak dissipated the mist vision. What was that? Just tried to get up from the ground where she had fallen but could not.

"What did you do to me!?" she yelled at Cloak. She hung her head as he pointed at himself. Once again, yelling had drained her.

"Me? Oh, I didn't do ANYTHING, Just."

Just woke up in cold sweat, looking around the room for Cloak. Panting, she realized he was gone. Just a dream, she reminded herself. She got up and pulled her robe on in the dark, and went above decks. Surprisingly, Semangat was already up, staring at the fields of ash they were passing. Just opened her mouth to say something, but Semangat shushed her and pointed. Just watched the spot on the field, and gasped when she saw a stream of lava and steam burst from it.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed, leaping back from the edge.

"We are at the Geyser Api, Maiden. Might wanna wake your friend, we will be docking soon." 

Just recovered, and giggled. "How'd you know I was the Maiden?"

Semangat nodded and gestured vaguely.

Just nodded, going downstairs to get Nellie.

"Nellie? Nellie, time to go!" she got to the bottom of the stairs to find Nellie sitting between their packed satchels, caressing a tiny box in her hands.

"Hey, Nellie! What's that?" said Just, clearing the bags and sitting next to her.

"Oh, it's nothing, really," said Nellie.

"Nellie, that's not nothing. What is it? You seem ready to cry." said Just.

After taking a deep breath, Nellie said, "This is the last thing my mother gave me before she started her long journey to visit my Uncle Bapa. I haven't seen her since." Nellie rubbed the box with her thumb, then moved it to the side to show a picture of a middle-aged wind spirit. She had flowing black hair with white roots and kind eyes. She sported a gorgeous blue dress that complimented her blue lipstick. She was in the middle of laughing. Just felt raw. But surely not as raw as Nellie felt.

Nellie began to cry. "That was six years ago." Just gave Nelie a hug, and said, "She would be so proud of you, Nellie. I know she would be. I know she is."

Nellie stopped crying and looked at Just. "You really think so?" she asked, wiping her eyes.

"I know so." said Just assuredly.

Nellie allowed herself one more tear before stuffing the box in her satchel and standing up. Together, the two walked out onto the deck.