Need to Want

Chapter 4: Agoraphobia

Blaze had got a good night's sleep, but again, she awoke early. The sound of the ship lurching through the water made silent creeks through the body of the S.S. Marine. Sounds she could not ignore now that she was awake. However, as she got out of bed and fixed herself up for the day, she knew it wasn't only the sounds of the ship that made her awake from sleep. Stress…. about where her life was headed… stress about her feelings…

She cleaned herself in the small bathrooms in their cabins, getting out of her night's clothes and into her regular attire. When she finished, she saw Marine was still asleep on the top bunk, turned on her side. With her usual stoic expression, Blaze quietly opened the shuttered door to their room and stepped out, closing it as quiet as she could. It was still dark, and from the looks of it, Sonic was still asleep as well. His door was still closed. Blaze moved to their desk and looked at the navigational computer. It was around five forty a.m and the radar was picking up a large land mass as well.

Curious, she left the desk and walked out of the cabins and up to the main deck. Opening the door, Blaze breathed in a deep inhale, taking in the cool morning air walking to the bow. She placed her hands on the bow's rails and stared into the distance, catching the faint sight of the mainland. Her home… Arch City... named appropriately for being the hub city...

From where they were now, they would reach it in an hour or two. Her face remained blank, not looking forward to the interaction that she knew she would encounter. Instant distrust for no reason other than that she was who she was...

It would be nice to see her parents, because even if they saw her the same… they still treated her as their daughter. She began listening to the sounds of the ocean… remembering her talks with Sonic… then she started to notice...

This morning darkness… it was different...

She never really paid attention to such an insignificant detail, but unlike nighttime darkness… there was a hint of light...

Just then, the sun rose over the horizon. The brightness caused her to blink, still thinking of Sonic's odd idea of sunrises. She always thought sunsets and sunrises looked identical, but she began to see why he enjoyed them more. The colors weren't necessarily that much different, but there was a different type of brightness. In this case, at least it was more vibrant than the darker colors of a sunset. It was very pretty. Blaze tried to control herself, but she let a smile loose. Sonic was crazy…

Blaze stepped away from the bow, still smiling, letting more thoughts of Sonic enter and stay in her mind. She moved to the tool cabinet and was rummaging through it just as Marine and Sonic came up from the cabin. Yawning and stretching, their eyes drooped lazily as Blaze closed the tool cabinet's doors and shoved a bucket and mop into Sonic's hands.

"… Huh?" Sonic said, mumbling and looking confused.

Blaze quickly donned her usual stoical expression. "You lost our card game. I decide when you swab the decks, and that time is now."

Sonic looked between the items she handed him, but he still looked drowsy. "… Huh?"

Blaze lifted an eyebrow, raising her hand and conjuring fire in her hand. This woke Sonic up and he stood upright. "Aye aye captain!"

He grinned, playing along and dipping the mop into the bucket and splashing it onto the deck, mopping away from her. Marine continued to yawn as she and Blaze watched Sonic swab the deck. Blaze then smirked ever so slightly, but also feeling a bit of relief. He'd played along… she was a bit hesitant to do that...

For her to open up and be more friendly... it was just outside her normal demeanor or behavior...

Just being a little more open made her feel uncomfortable and nervous. Her fears made her expect an awkward moment or some other embarrassing, horrible social interaction. However, since it had gone so well, it made her feel much more confident about being more social with Sonic next time. As it was sure they would be, since they would interact in the next few days or so. She was sure she would do more after this.