Land, ho!

[lieutenantsteward]

Welcome to Unnamed Island #1, everyone! Lt. Jopson has successfully steered the ship towards land! (Or maybe the ship was going there the whole time? Who knows, burst his bubble if you want to be a monster!) The island is large and uninhabited by humans, but has lots of wildlife. This isn’t a specific island on a map because, like all things in the dream, it is an amalgamation of the characters in it. So, if it looks like it might be on a tropical island, it will be! Pineapples, coconuts, mangos- sure! Seals and feral pigs- you bet! Beautiful reefs- Of course! Secret Caribbean rum stores- why the hell not? Two species of crabs that shouldn’t be in the same hemisphere- hell yeah! (After all, Goodsir’s the only one who will know the difference). Enjoy the island, folks! The Terror will dock there starting today and they will leave on Tuesday the 7th.

Piña coladas, anyone?

((This is an open post for island shenanigans though, of course, you are always welcome to start your own!))

Comments

[goingtobeunwell]

He stares back at her, then begins to laugh loudly. "Mutiny!" he declares playfully.

[nextrightthing]

She giggles and shrugs. "Is it mutiny when it's a queen? I'm not sure it is."

[goingtobeunwell]

"My ship, my rules, Your Majesty."

He stretches until his back pops, then sighs.

"How are you, Anna?"

Yes, he's dropped the formalities a long time ago.

[nextrightthing]

It makes her happy to hear her call her by her name and to be more informal with her, not just because he is one of her favorite people on the ship. She crosses her legs under her skirts and buries her hands in the sand, which is cool now, where it was hot in the sun earlier in the day.

"I'm good," she tells him honestly, smiling out at the waves. "I always wanted to travel, to see places like this, but I've only seen them in books or paintings." She looks over at him. "How are you?"

[goingtobeunwell]

"One of the unexpected benefits to existing like this," Crozier replies. "Being able to see things you'd only would in a dream."

He finds his telescope and extends it, looking up towards the sky to see if the constellations have changed. He makes a few observations before placing the instrument into his lap. "I feel young."

[nextrightthing]

Anna looks over at him and thinks to herself that he looks young, or at least more relaxed and less worried than she's seen him before. "Good," she says, and she means it.

She follows his gaze to the sky, and asks, "What do you see up there?"

[goingtobeunwell]

"Beauty," he tells her honestly. "And of course, a chance to track the changes in the constellations. They shift from hour-to-hour."

[nextrightthing]

"I recognize some, but I don't recognize all of the stars," she says. "Do they move like they should? Is that how Jopson got us to the island?"

[goingtobeunwell]

"The stars we recognize are moving like they should, yes. The magnetic poles seem to be in their usual locations as well, so navigation wasn't too troublesome for him." He hopes. "He did well, didn't he?"

[nextrightthing]

Anna hears the fond tone in Crozier's voice and she smiles to hear it. "He did beautifully," she agrees sincerely. "It's so nice to have a break from ice and cold." Even if it feels a bit like betraying Elsa to admit it.

[goingtobeunwell]

"It is," he agrees. "Not that I mind the ice and cold, but being chilled to the bone for years takes its toll."

[nextrightthing]

"It would." Anna glances over at him, her heart aching at what he and his men have lived through. She digs her fingers into the sand and looks up to the sky again. "My sister, Elsa, always says the cold never bothers her, but her magic is all snow and ice. She was even born on the winter solstice--and I was born on the summer solstice," she says, smiling a bit to herself. "Papa called me his summer child. But I used to love winter anyway, probably because it reminded me of Elsa."

[goingtobeunwell]

Crozier quiets, thinking over what Anna's childhood must have been like, remembering what he saw in his dreams.

He reaches for her hand. Anna isn't the kind of person who would balk at that sort of familiarity.

"You love your sister dearly. That much is clear. Love makes us do and act in sometimes odd way -- I still love the arctic, and exploration, for all that it has done to my men."