be the wind in my sails

Nova

I'm not lost,

The agreement shoots through her faster than a lightning strike, her controlled resistance shattering like ice in a sharp gasp. "Perfect! I was thinking red! Is red okay?!" If not, she's already imagining an ethereal blue that would ripple like shimmering water or a pearlescent white that would look like a subtle rainbow she's guaranteed to love. But red. Nova just knows nothing would compare. 

She's also starting to understand the Ark a little more, realizing when she looks around that it's the pieces she doesn't like. It makes her wonder if that's why other people don't like glitter either...

It's certainly something for her to consider later, but for now, her shoulders fall with relief, sparkles manifesting around her in a breath of starlight. "Good," she sighs, followed by a twinkling giggle and a small skip that sends her eyeballs swinging again. She makes her way after the Ark, excitement and anticipation making her steps light, blue eyes nearly glowing by the time they arrive on the deck. 

Nova looks at the ship with a new appreciation, her gaze darting between the railings and the woman and the boards and the redhead and the sails and the Ark. She notices the slight shifts now, can feel the way the ship nearly breathes beneath her feet, moving with more thought and intention than a vehicle should. It's kind of... weird, and Nova immediately decides not to think too hard about it all. 

Throwing a wave to Jack and Caly on the upper deck, she follows the Ark to a more secluded spot away from the crew. She skids to a stop, tucking her hair behind ad ear when the wind snags at the blonde threads. A sphere of water appears in the air, swirling and twisting in a tight orb of concentrated currents that catch in the sunlight. It's an impressive sight, but Nova barely glances at the feat before giving a small hop. "Yep!" Grinning, she raises a hand, letting her own ball of water conjure into existence. Her other magics spill in naturally, bits of air and illusion rippling in a beautifully bright display of glimmering liquid. Her isn't as green tinged as the Ark's, missing the distinct smell of salt and seafoam, but the currents are just as strong. 

Bouncing, Nova's eyes widen. "Can you make yours' ice too?" In a blink of a thought, the surface hardens into a shimmering layer of solid ice. Water still moves within, sparkling like a fancy floating snow globe that reflects the beaming smile on her face.

just embracing chaos.

aim high, swing hard, leave it out there, no regrets

The Ark’s smile returns at once, easy and assured, the answer coming without hesitation as Nova’s excitement spills forward. "I do quite like red," she says, the words warm with quiet approval.

Out on the deck, the wind moves differently, freer, and the Ark seems to move with it rather than against it, her attention settling fully now that they stand in open air. At Nova's question, she inclines her head slightly, considering only for a breath before answering with a nod. Her own sphere shifts gradually, the movement within it slowing, thickening as though resisting something deeper than simple temperature. The surface clouds faintly, then stills, a thin shell of ice forming with deliberate resistance before settling into solidity, the faint green tinge caught beneath it like something preserved rather than stilled. A crooked smile touches her mouth. "Salt water’s different," she says, tone easy, almost conversational. "It needs to be colder to freeze it."

The Ark lifts her hand a fraction higher, then gestures faintly for Nova to do the same, her eyes flicking toward the other sphere in silent instruction. When both were suspended, untouched, she steps back to make room.  There’s a shift—not in the air, not exactly, but in the tension of it—before a bolt of electricity snaps outward, splitting once, then twice, catching both spheres in the same instant. If Nova watches, she'll see that in her water, it holds, threads of light lingering, dancing within the structure like something briefly contained, visible in its path before it begins to fade. In the Ark’s, it vanishes almost immediately. The energy disperses the moment it touches, spreading through the salt with no resistance, no lingering shape, but humming through the water just the same.

The Ark tilts her head, that same knowing smile settling back into place as she glances towards Nova. "Did you see?"

my blood is in the water and the sharks are takin' bets

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Nova

I'm not lost,

She lets out something that's not quite a squeal and not quite a giggle but is all excitement. Her eyes practically glow with the force of it, creativity flowing off her in sparkling waves as she thinks of what cuts and shades would look best for the Ark's dress. Regardless, it will be dazzling, a striking image to accentuate the woman's (ship's) beauty in a way that no one else can do. 

The design prospect nearly overshadows her excitement for playing with magic - almost. She's still humming and beaming when the Ark copies her. A shell of ice appears, slow and creeping across the orb's surface as if the water itself is fighting the change. When the Ark explains, Nova leans closer, inspecting the darker hue of water with open curiosity, but as the woman raises her sphere, she dutifully follows suit, wondering what she might show her next. 

Her gasp cuts through the air with just as much force as the lightning that splits through the overcast sky. "You do have lightning!" Nova claps her hands, watching it break into the two spheres simultaneously in a brilliant display of light that ricochets within the icy currents. In the Ark's it appears to be swallowed up by the blue-green depths of the water, vanishing within moments while hers cracks and splinters through the crystal blue currents a few moments longer before dissipating once more. 

Tilting her head, Nova blinks at the orbs, trying to understand how they can be so different when they look so similar. "Why did the lightning stay longer in mine?"

just embracing chaos.

aim high, swing hard, leave it out there, no regrets

Nova’s reaction earns her something sharper this time, the Ark’s smile curving with a wolfish satisfaction that doesn’t bother to hide itself, pleased in a way that feels almost indulgent as the girl meets her at the edge of understanding without quite stepping over it.

Rather than answering Nova's question, instead the Ark lifts her hand again, the air tightening subtly as another bolt gathers, cleaner this time, more deliberate in its aim as it splits and strikes both spheres once more, the contrast repeating itself with quiet clarity: Nova’s holding the shape of it, light threading through and lingering, while the Ark’s swallows it whole, the energy dispersing through the salt without hesitation, fracturing outward and vanishing almost at once. "The lightning stays in yours," she says, her voice low and even, nodding once toward Nova’s sphere, "because your water is pure." 

Her gaze shifts, flicking toward her own, where the remnants of that strike have already dissolved, leaving only the faintest suggestion of movement beneath the frozen surface. "Saltwater on the other hand, conducts it." There’s no need to point out what’s already visible, the way the energy had spread instead of holding, the way it had moved through rather than remaining within. She gives a small, almost casual lift of her shoulder. "But it’s harder to freeze," she adds, unsure if Nova would have noticed how her sphere resited the shell of ice in a way the hybrid's hadn't. "And harder to heat.".

my blood is in the water and the sharks are takin' bets

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Nova

I'm not lost,

Lightning cracks through the air again, the charge in the air humming over her skin as it connects with the two spheres. Nova leans closer, watching as it scatters and bounces through hers while dissolving in the Ark's just like before. She doesn't quite understand why, but she doesn't really need to know the science behind it as much as the purpose. 

Her curious gaze slides back the woman, the eyes on her pineapple sweater following suit. "Why would you want that?" Never one for defense, the thought doesn't even occur to her when she asks, "Isn't it better to be able to freeze it? You can do all sorts of fun things with ice!" Nova's orb cracks, spikes of ice jutting out from the surface with jagged edges that would cut anyone who comes in contact with it. Her grin is just as sharp before twisting to something brighter as the shards burst into snowflakes that drift down towards the deck. "And it's so pretty!" Although the small flecks of water glitter and reflect the bit of sunlight, when they touch the wood, they melt and vanish without a trace, keeping with her promise to the Ark.

just embracing chaos.

aim high, swing hard, leave it out there, no regrets

The Ark raises a brow, her head tilting with a patience that feels less like correction and more like the slow turn of a tide deciding which way it would rather pull. "I never said I couldn’t freeze it," she murmurs, amusement threading low through the words as her gaze slides from Nova to the sphere between them. "You just saw me do it." As if to prove the point again, her fingers curl slightly, and the thin shell of ice surrounding her own orb thickens with a muted, resistant sound, the blue-green water inside slowing until jagged fractures spear outward across the surface. The ice splinters into sharp, deliberate ridges, answering Nova’s earlier display with something less playful and more predatory, crystalline teeth catching the light before the structure settles, perfectly suspended, cold and dangerous and entirely under her hand.

Still, when Nova’s snowflakes drift down and vanish against the deck without clinging, without leaving bright little insults tucked into the grain, the Ark’s attention follows them all the way to their harmless end. A small hum of appreciation slips from her throat, warm and approving, and the ship beneath them seems to exhale with the same quiet satisfaction.

Her eyes turn then toward the ocean, and something in her expression shifts, not softening exactly, but deepening. The salt air moves through her hair, red strands lifting and settling against the white linen at her shoulders, and when she sighs it’s with the fondness of something old recognising itself. "Fresh water like yours has its merits," she says, watching the sea beyond them, "but I’d take the salt water of the ocean over it any day." Her shoulder lifts in a small, easy shrug, the danger of the ice still held neatly between them, waiting on her whim. "I don’t mind working a little harder to freeze or boil it."

my blood is in the water and the sharks are takin' bets

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Nova

I'm not lost,

Rolling her eyes playfully at the correction, Nova grins at the Ark and rocks back onto her heels. "I know! But it's harder." At least, that's the sense she gets from the way the ice seems to creep and fracture across the water's surface rather than snap into place like hers. She admires the display, nonetheless, appreciating the brutal and jagged edges that crack and consume the orb of water. 

She doesn't argue further about why she thinks hers is better or stronger, not when she sees how her magic reflects her. They both have a depth to them, a dark undertone to how they move, a presence that's larger than just water or woman or ship. Even as the Ark stands, looking out at the ocean beyond, Nova isn't blind or stupid enough to miss the quiet shift, how both she and the ship beneath settle as if sinking into the ocean. There's a saltiness in the air, a cool breeze and the hint of sea spray on her cheeks that makes Nova smile. 

Bouncing on her toes, she brightens. "I like it! It suits you!" Just as her crystal waters suit her. 

Her attention is already darting away from the explored variations between their magics, wanting to help the Ark figure out just how far her magic can go - literally. She spins, her orb of icy water following her as she rushes to the railing. "Come on! Let's see how far we can shoot it off the side!"

just embracing chaos.

aim high, swing hard, leave it out there, no regrets

The Ark’s mouth curves at that, wolfish and slow, the expression catching the light in a way that makes it unclear whether she’s offering encouragement or warning, though perhaps for her there’s never been much difference between the two. "The harder things are," she says, her voice low with a certainty that seems to settle through the deck as much as the air, "the stronger you become."

Her gaze remains on the ocean for a moment longer, where the horizon stretches wide and salt-thick beyond them, before Nova’s bright approval draws her attention back. This time the smile she gives her is genuine, less edged at the corners, though still unmistakably hers. "I think so too."

Nova’s sudden spin and rush toward the railing pulls a low chuckle from her, the sound tucked beneath her breath as the Ark follows, unhurried where the girl is all sparkle and velocity. The deck accepts both of them differently, yielding to Nova’s eager steps with the faintest creak while seeming to rise to meet the Ark’s bare command, every board aware of where she places herself as she comes to stand beside the railing, red hair tugged loose by the wind and white linen shifting against her curves. "All right, then," she murmurs, lifting her hand once more as the fractured sphere of ice and saltwater drifts after her, suspended with lazy obedience near her shoulder. "Let’s see how far."

~FIN

my blood is in the water and the sharks are takin' bets

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3