For a second, they thought for sure they were busted. That Miss Valair would lecture them on their disobedience and they'd have to defend themselves and...
But no, instead she just pulled out a map - Oooh, maps, I love a good map! - and drifted down to the sand to spread it out. Quanil came and basically fell to their knees next to her (careful not to kneel on her skirts), eyes taking in the hand-drawn cartographic delight being spread out before them. They were so caught up in it that they almost missed the rocks and seashells coming over to weigh the corners down. Almost.
They were about to ask about her magic when she started showing off the map's contents. I'll get back to that, they thought as they studied each place she pointed to. "Wow, you know this place really well!" They wondered if this was where she'd disappeared to. Was it rude to ask? Probably. Probably rude to ask that but they wanted to knoooooooow. They kept that to themselves for now, too. There was a MAP to look at.
They glanced at the ocean waves as she mentioned swimming. "Yeah, the Oasis is never this... active. Or big. But if I stay just near the water and don't go into it, I should be okay, yes?" Their finger traced the Ahi Coastline carefully; they didn't want to smudge or dirty up the map. "Maybe go to the port first, since it's close, then follow the Coastline? Would that be okay?"
They'd gotten a little too used to asking questions, a little too used to seeking approval. Of course, they finally had it for the first time in their life, so it was a hard addiction to break. I'm not disobeying, I'm not disobeying, I'm not disobeying...
But no, instead she just pulled out a map - Oooh, maps, I love a good map! - and drifted down to the sand to spread it out. Quanil came and basically fell to their knees next to her (careful not to kneel on her skirts), eyes taking in the hand-drawn cartographic delight being spread out before them. They were so caught up in it that they almost missed the rocks and seashells coming over to weigh the corners down. Almost.
They were about to ask about her magic when she started showing off the map's contents. I'll get back to that, they thought as they studied each place she pointed to. "Wow, you know this place really well!" They wondered if this was where she'd disappeared to. Was it rude to ask? Probably. Probably rude to ask that but they wanted to knoooooooow. They kept that to themselves for now, too. There was a MAP to look at.
They glanced at the ocean waves as she mentioned swimming. "Yeah, the Oasis is never this... active. Or big. But if I stay just near the water and don't go into it, I should be okay, yes?" Their finger traced the Ahi Coastline carefully; they didn't want to smudge or dirty up the map. "Maybe go to the port first, since it's close, then follow the Coastline? Would that be okay?"
They'd gotten a little too used to asking questions, a little too used to seeking approval. Of course, they finally had it for the first time in their life, so it was a hard addiction to break. I'm not disobeying, I'm not disobeying, I'm not disobeying...
