The Wandering Moon

Timothy entered the lobby, where the others awaited him. Aurora followed him. His friends were keen about the room, and Ralphie had the day of his life. Beautiful women surrounded him. They chattered and got to meet Tarot.

"Guys! Here she is." Timothy walked to the side, letting his companions see Aurora for themselves. She was timid, witnessing all of Timothy's friends in front of her. "Oh, hi. My name's Aurora! I always wanted to meet and greet Timothy's friends in person. It's *so* good to finally have that opportunity."

She set her palm on her chest and welcomed Yumiko's stare, "Howdy!" she said and waved, "I'm Yumiko! The swordswoman of the crew." She laughed and then answered, "Heard you were on an adventure while I was gone. How was it? Apart from the horrific things you crossed."

Aurora disregarded the pain, "It was 'eventful,' but I didn't have the best of time." "Yeah, I'm aware. I hope you're better now," said Yumiko, "or at least free."

Aurora smiled and bobbed her head, agreeing with her statement. "Anyway, that's Kou. He's a bit of a pushover but an amazing friend." Timothy said and tilted Kou, "Hey! What?!" Kou screamed and complained, "I'm no pushover! I'm great. In fact, I think I'm awesome," he finished and crossed his arms.

"That's Kyora. She's the best! Without her, we could never navigate through the sea so efficiently." Timothy claimed. "Heya! You look good today, Aurora." Kyora waved her hand, greeting her warmly. "And... uh, where's Ralphie?"

Blonde hair gradually rose next to Aurora's shoulder. She felt a sudden chilliness speed through her body as if the room got colder. "Hello, Aurora-puffin." Ralphie's voice whispered. It propelled Aurora to act on instinct. "Eek!" she shrieked abruptly, ramming her instep between his legs.

Ralphie's voice sang like a bird. It echoed, "Cruuushed!" he collapsed on the ground, holding himself in despair. "Oh my god! I-I'm so sorry!" Aurora said, covering her mouth in shock. "Aaaand... that's Ralphie." Timothy said, "Now with fractured spheres."

Ayuka folded her arms, "That should shut him down for a little longer. Nice shot! Great ambition!" she raised her thumb and beamed entertained. "Wh-What? I-I didn't mean to. My body acted before I could think," Aurora said as others laughed, "Why's everyone laughing?"

Kheer stepped in front of everyone, holding a tissue. "Since you're all here now. How about I bring you to your new ship? We worked hard on it with Tarot. Your sisters even helped." Timothy excitedly nodded, "Duh! Obviously! I can't wait to see what you've done with it!"

-

Kheer brought them to a private dock. It was a shore. It had rocks and sand piles. But what received everyone's attention was the newly crafted ship — "The Wandering Moon."

Kou, Yumiko, and Timothy sprung together and shouted simultaneously, "Awesome! So big!" Everyone else was amazed at their sight.

Kheer introduced the Wandering Moon, "It's much bigger than Sanguine Rose and sturdier than obsidian... maybe. I read about your crew online and decided to provide everyone with a unique chamber. For example, Yumiko is a swordswoman, so we constructed a gym and dojo to sharpen her skills." Kheer said, "Kyora is a professional navigator and a map artist, so we assembled an office for her and secured it to keep her eyes as astute as possible by creating a unique tower and a more soaring crows' nest."

Kyora and Yumiko were thrilled about having "special" chambers crafted just for them.

"We made a more 'trendy' kitchen and a dining room for Ralphie to cook and for everyone to eat. There are two bedrooms, one for boys and one for girls. You can decide among the crew whose bedroom will be whose. All you need to know is that one is on the upper deck and the other below it." Kheer explained, smiling.

"We equipped the ship with high-tech and added a phone. You also have your own phones packed in the bedroom. It'll come in handy while traversing through the east." He continued, "If you ever feel like you want to freshen up or relax, you can use the pool on the main deck. It's clear water, so even Tim can use it. You also have a few sunloungers to sunbathe with and clothes to try on bought with our finances."

Everyone had their jaws touching the floor. "We richened the ship with supplies to fix any damage. You can find them in the hold. The vessel has cannons on each side you can use. It's equipped with an accelerating appliance. It should give you an advantage in battle or harsh times. It runs on seawater, so be careful." Kheer continued pointing at the rooms as others tracked him with their eyes.

"There are two restrooms. It has a sauna, ladies' powder room, and combined onsen room." Everyone's eyes paused and locked onto Kheer. "Whoa, hold on!" Kyora shouted, "What do you mean? You managed to separate bedrooms and sauna between women and men, but you couldn't do it with the onsen?! Tim, explain yourself! You gave him the details!"

He looked into her eyes, pondering. "I didn't do a thing. I said to separate everything." "Um... I might have read the letter wrong. I unintentionally read 'a bathing room *should* be combined' instead of shouldn't. It was too late before I realized what you *actually* meant." Tarot said, perplexing Timoty. He slapped his forehead, "So it wasn't my fault after all. Tarot, I clearly gave the letter to Kate. So, why did *you* read it instead?"

Tarot scratched the back of his ears and looked at Aurora. She folded her arms and looked at him unimpressed. "I said to wait and let me read, but he was impatient and couldn't understand a simple order. And I had an exam that day, so I was busy."

"Calm down. It shouldn't be too much trouble. In case the letter was detailed improperly, I added a curtain between the sides. Besides, I don't expect you to use the onsen so much. It's only to heal your injuries and is rather small. The bathing rooms are separate, though. You'll be fine." He finally arrived at the final statement, "And we didn't forget about Aurora's room. It's on the upper deck."

Aurora became confused. She needed a few seconds to piece together the words. "Hold on. My room?" Aurora said.

Timothy smirked and nodded. "You wanted to go out to the sea, so I asked Kheer and Tarot to create a passenger room where you can spend your time. You may not be a pirate, but I consider you part of the crew. The room's there in case you ever want to come along."

Timothy said and chuckled, "This one-time journey to our next destination should be good enough for you to experience it for yourself. When finished, we'll bring you back to Acropolis. You'll have more than enough time to spend your days with my friends and get to meet them more."

He paused for a moment but ended his sentence, "So, come on and grab what you need. We'll be waiting."

To be continued...