---

Coming soon...

The rocking rose the young Zoey Gray awake as she immediately opened her eyes. The first thing that came to mind was the fucking killer headache that she had and nausea from her hangover...

... Oh yeah, this also wasn't the place where she fell asleep. The girl looked around as she found herself in what was obviously a cruise ship cabin. Despite the fact that she never was on a cruise ship before, Zoey looked out into the balcony and saw the endless ocean. Okay, for fucking real? This place was weird as hell but now she was on a cruise ship. A bloody cruise ship! That meant that she was out in the middle of the sea and that would make it hard as hell to get out.

"Alright, Zoey, think..." Zoey thought to herself as the first thing she did was light a cigarette and took a deep breath as she let the smoke out through her nose. "Ahhhhh, nicotine..." She moaned as she closed her eye.

Now, she had to get the fuck out of here. Zoey was here probably a day? It was still a cold night sky outside the window and it was snowing. Yet... it felt like she had a full night's rest. Was it Penny or one of those other fuckers fucking with her again? Good grief. Zoey merely pushed the door open as she looked around and saw a row of door after door, after door....

Were all fucking cruise ships like this?

"Yoooooooooo!" Zoey shouted, "Anybody here?"

Felt like deja vu.

---

She was flying.

All around her hung soft, white clouds and a deep blue expanse. The wind whipped through her loose hair as she felt herself swoop down. This was what it was like to feel free with nothing but the silent sky around her. She smiled, elated, as she reached forward towards a cloud.

Only to have it slip from her grasp as it all began to fade…

Caelea groaned into the soft, white pillow her face was pressed against as she tried to chase the remnants of a dream even as she was pulled out of sleep. Fuck, this bed was so comfortable that she could just stay there all day and nap. She didn’t think she’d ever felt so cosy and warm in her life. Just a few more minutes…

She sat bolt upright as it hit her just how comfortable the bed was. She’d fallen asleep on her brothers couch, since it was all he’d had in his apartment for her and her visit had been unexpected. Not a bed and certainly not one as nice as this. The light attacked her suddenly opened, pale eyes as she squinted to look around the room. No, this certainly wasn’t where she’d fallen asleep. She tilted her head as she looked out the window only to see the ocean spreading out for miles on end.

Okay, what the hell? Was she on a… cruise ship? How had that happened. She knew for a fact it wasn’t some kind of prank by her brother because, for a start, he was far too serious for that and they couldn’t afford cruises. So this must be something weird. Caelea groaned and ran a hand through near white hair as she forced herself out of the bed. At least she’d gone to sleep wearing a tank top and some shorts.

Something she regretted as soon as took off the covers and found that air around her frigid cold. She shivered and went over to the wardrobe in the room, thankful to find one of those dressing gowns that hotels normally provided. It didn’t exactly look good but it would help against the cold until she found her way out, or a jacket.

“Yooooooo! Anybody here?”

A strangely familiar voice shouted from outside and Caelea frowned, approaching the door and pushing it open. She cautiously stepped out to find rows of doors… seemingly endless. This just kept getting fucking weirder. Then she turned around to see Zoey. Her mouth fell open as she felt like she’d been transported back to when all that shit had happened. Maybe she was still dreaming.

“Zoey?” Caelea’s eyes narrowed in confusion before she folded her arms and forced a smile. “Is this some kinda reunion I didn’t know about and got kidnapped for? Can’t say a cruise ship is ideal…” She shook her head as she trailed off. “But seriously, do you have any idea what the fuck is going on?”

Honestly the other girl didn’t look like she knew what was going on as well. Caelea was just glad she wasn’t alone on this weird ship.

“I hope there’s an easy way out of this place.”

Stacey startled awake, cold and wet, he flailed, chlorine got in his mouth when he yelled out. He got his feet under him and coughed up water. What the hell? He looked around. There was a deck with white lounge chairs, tables, a bar under an awning. He turned around and looked out at the ocean. Where the hell were they this time? He looked around the pool. There was a bobbing pool mattress floating away from him. How? He swam to the end of the pool and pulled himself out. His guitar case wasn't on his back. Shit. He looked in the water, but it wasn't at the bottom of the pool either. Good, so where is it? He did another sweep of the deck and found it leaning against a table.

"Ha-fucking-ha." He shivered under his breath and grabbed it by the handle.

Okay, so he was on a cruise ship. Hasn't seen one of those, since he was ten. Stacey quickly moved to the exit. He had to find everyone else, because according to Odessa that thing's going to find him wherever they go, and maybe find some clothes too. He walked down a long hallway full of shop windows. All the lights were on and would looking inviting if it wasn't empty. Like the bar...that got totaled by the monster. Yeah, no, not sticking around. He paused when he found a clothing shop and regretted it as soon as he walked in, because it was a Hugo Boss specialty store.

"Fucking."

He backed out and looked at all his other options. The other windows weren't clothing. More so purses and other bags, technology, and other useless knickknacks. He quickly walked down the hall to the end that let out to the center of the ship with shops, restaurants, and bars. He saw other expensive brand specialty shops he was too Cinderella to wear and colorful cruise merchandise without logos on them. He new those stores only had short sleeved shirts and shorts. He wouldn't be caught dead with his skin exposed. He didn't want anyone asking questions. As much as he liked Zoey and Penny, maybe Elron if he acted as a buffer between him and Odessa (at least his taste in music is likable), he didn't want to explain the marks and scars, so he walked back to the Hugo Boss store. He seriously contemplated leaving his wet clothes on, but maybe they had options that didn't make him look like Elron's little brother or his brothers' little brother.

He walked inside, eyes searching for anything white, beige, or black. He knows they have skinny jeans, so his pants were taken care of. He needed a shirt. He passed anything with short sleeves and went towards long sleeves. Wrong color, right color but ugly, no logo please, no, no, more no. How's it this hard to find-he found a simple black long sleeved shirt. Unfortunately he couldn't find it a three sizes too big, they only had his size. Better than wet. He made sure no one was around, then stripped out of his wet shirt, eyes averted from the mirror next to him, he didn't want to look at his failures. The shirt fit tight in the arms, but a little loose in the chest. He'll take it. Then he went for the shoes next. All the options were terrible. They didn't have black lace ups, so he had to settle for slip on boots instead. Looked like shoes Elron would wear if he attempted to go casual. He found black skinny jeans, at least they had something he likes. He almost forgot the underwear, until he unzipped his pants. Right. Soggy boxer briefs won't cut it. He found a pack of three in black and orange. He didn't care. He changed out of the rest of his wet clothes, feeling better now that he wasn't wet. Even though he looked like a pretentious hipster. All he was missing was the hat and glasses. He stuck the extra underwear in his guitar case's outside pocket, then slung his bag on his back and adjusted the straps. Now back to finding everyone else.

Stacey got lost or more so turned around. Not that it mattered when he didn't know where everyone else was to begin with. All he knew was that he was on some floor with cabins. He went down a flight and opened the door when he heard Zoey calling out. It was familiar to when they met in the city. He smiled, happy he wasn't alone anymore. He speed walked to her down the hall. She was with a blonde girl in a hospital like gown he didn't recognize, but apparently they knew each other.

"Zoey, you wouldn't happen to know why we're on a cruise ship, would you?" He stayed several feet from the new person and hoped she wasn't like Odessa.

---

Everything was pitch black, but Penny knew she was back inside of that godforsaken mountain. Slowly she turned, and a fraying rope bridge lit by an impossible source was hanging in the void around her. Penny tried closing her eyes. She knew what was next and she didn’t want to see it again, but the black was behind her eyelids and the bridge came with it. She knew it wasn’t real but had to be certain. Penny took a quarter from her pocket, flipped it, and never looked at the result. She saw a shimmer of blue light on the other side of the bridge and ran towards it. She’d be too late. She always was.The blue light solidified into a dagger, and Penny let out a silent scream as the conjured blade disappeared and reappeared dyed red with blood. She stepped wrong and dropped through a hole in the bridge. As she fell, the black began to glow a brilliant orange light.

“Shit!” screamed Penny as she hit the carpet and her eyes shot open, the overhead chandelier glowing with its dim light above her. Penny laid there for a moment in a daze before propping herself up with her hands and looked around. There wasn’t much she could see from down there on the velvet carpet beside a handful of large, sturdy tables lining with stools surrounding her and lights flashing around overhead, but she heard a cacophony of bells, whistles, and jingles. There was a lingering odor of stale cigarettes. A casino? Penny stood up. A casino. She was in a lake of poker tables surrounded by an ocean of slot machines, each one playing attract noises, dotted by a few islands of roulette and craps. Penny tilted her head. She had always wanted to go to a casino, but by the time she was old enough everything had fallen to shit.

Plus the last thing she remembered was that they had been in a replica of her hometown kissing pond, and now she was very much alone. She whipped around and called out for Zoey, but her voice didn’t carry far past the Ding Ding Ding of the slots. She took in a deep breath to center herself, and pulled out a quarter. She flipped it several times, checking each time to make sure the details on the back were the same. It passed. She checked her phone. It failed—still no service and no wifi, but at some point while she was out it had updated to say Weather In followed by a glitching interface. Penny exhaled deeply. Was this going to keep happening?

And would there be another Apparition?

With that thought in mind, Penny stocked up. She pushed a stack of clay poker chips into her satchel and hit up the Keno parlor for a stash of pens and paper. Her next stop was the bar, although she wasn't there for a drink. She took a heavy cloth napkin and rolled up whatever paring knives she could find and—oh, fuck it, she grabbed a fresh bottle of pineapple flavored vodka. Penny saw a massive fountain surrounded by a small garden, and she correctly assumed it was the entrance. She walked up to the velvet-padded double doors. There were no windows showing the outside, an old casino trick to make people not realize how long they’d been gambling for, but she assumed she was going to be walking out into a snowing city street at night.

She was right about snowing and night. The other variables blew her mind. A cruise ship? She was on a cruise ship? Penny ran across the deck to the nearest railing. Below her was a deck of pools and slides, and around her was the dark waters of an ocean. In the distance, highlighted by a moon peeking through the snow clouds, was the dark towers and bright lights of the city. She pulled her orange cardigan tightly around her. She had to find the others, but it’d be insane to search all over the massive ship for them. She headed to the front of her deck, walking past a wall printed with giant impact font that read P A R A D I S E C R U I S E S and she shook her head and muttered. She was looking for the bridge which, unlike the restaurants, casinos, pools, and shops, wasn’t advertised with hanging signs and arrows.

At the front of the deck was a room for authorized personnel only, which meant Penny. She grabbed the handle and naturally it was locked. There was a card reader next to the door. Yeah, she was about to go hunting for a rogue keycard. She pulled out a permanent marker and drew a large earth glyph on the door and then stepped to the side as she activated it. There was an awful sound of screeching and twisting metal as the glyph pushed the inner part of the door out to the edge, leaving Penny with a large enough hole that she could easily step through and into the bridge room. The large windows gave a beautiful view of the snowy horizon and, naturally, there was nobody piloting the massive ship. Penny crossed her fingers for no icebergs. The water was probably freezing.

She searched the room until she found what she had come for: the intercom. Penny picked up the corded mic and plopped down in what she was going to call the captain’s chair. She kicked her feet up on the dash, careful not to press any buttons or flip and switches, and twirled the cord with a finger. She pressed the button on the side of the mic and said, “Test, test?” It was soon followed by a “Hell yeah!” as she heard the sound of her own voice from outside the bridge room as it played through the ship’s entire speaker system. Ideally, everyone would hear her message.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh-ttention all passengers!” Penny found it impossible not to ham up an announcer voice on the radio. “This is Captain Penny speaking of the USS Shitshow, coming to you live from Paradise Radio. Could all human-bodied passengers please make their way up to the bridge on Deck B? I repeat, all human-bodied passengers to the bridge on Deck B.”

She paused and spied a captain’s hat hanging on the wall. She was already playing the part, might as well look it. Penny jumped out of the chair, yanked the cap from the hook, and crowned itself upon her head. Perfect, she looked like an asshole. She sunk back into the captain’s chair and pushed the talk button on the mic.

“Thiiiiiiiiis is your Captain speaking! To any of you who just tried responding to me, that isn’t how it works and you’re a moron,” said Penny. “Now get your asses to the bridge, or I’ll find a way to broadcast Jimmy Buffett. I repeat, you will be forced to hear Boat Drinks.”

Penny spun in her chair and watched the door. Hopefully she wasn't alone.

"Holy shit."

Caelea's here, too? Who else from Farmer Hell's gonna show up? She hoped not someone like Scott Reese or anything. Because that'd suck. But a familiar face was here! Zoey never got to ask Caelea what was paler: her face or her ass.

“Zoey? Is this some kinda reunion I didn’t know about and got kidnapped for? Can’t say a cruise ship is ideal… But seriously, do you have any idea what the fuck is going on?”

"Well," Zoey tried to find a way to explain the absolute clusterfuck that went on yesterday (?). She ran a hand through her hair as she looked around. She heard some rustling somewhere but wasn't worried about it. If the monsters were as subtle as before (and that was, not at all) they probably would have long noticed them. But, back to the point, "I woke up on the street too long ago - have no idea if it was a day or an hour or a few minutes - fought a monster, went to sleep now I'm a fuckin' cruise ship."

Zoey shrugged, "So no, I don't know what's going on, but do you like want to get some actual clothes, heh?"

That rustling turned out to be Stacey Gray... a fellow Gray! Except not really. She remembered saving his ass from last night and how eternally grateful he was for that. "Stacey!" She cheekily called. However, he seemed a bit apprehensive for some reason... which didn't add up if this was her Stacey. She scratched the back of her neck as she replied, "Honestly, not one fuckin' clue - but are you okay, brah? You look a little worried."

Though there was feedback on the speakers before blaring,

“Test, test?” It was soon followed by a “Hell yeah!”

"... Is that?" Zoey asked as she looked at the speaker.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh-ttention all passengers! This is Captain Penny speaking of the USS Shitshow, coming to you live from Paradise Radio. Could all human-bodied passengers please make their way up to the bridge on Deck B? I repeat all human-bodied passengers to the bridge on Deck B.”

"... Heh, still ain't change a bit," Zoey muttered to herself.

“Thiiiiiiiiis is your Captain speaking! To any of you who just tried responding to me, that isn’t how it works and you’re a moron, mow get your asses to the bridge, or I’ll find a way to broadcast Jimmy Buffett. I repeat you will be forced to hear Boat Drinks.”

"... Shit, knowing her, she already figured out to do it," Zoey said to the group, she gestured for them to come along, "Let's go."



However, it wasn't long before the door to the bridge opened.

And it revealed a familiar sight... Odessa Maxwell casually stepping in, except she was wearing a different outfit from before. Somehow, somewhere, she managed to find herself a bright orange robe-like clothing with the hood up and it went down her knees. And her legs were covered with jeans... except she wasn't wearing shoes of any kind. She just casually stepped in and gave Penny a warm smile.

"Hello again, stranger," Odessa closed the door behind her as she held her hands together. "I'm starting to think this won't be the last time we wake up in a weird place... but I'm glad to see you are enjoying yourself."

---

"I woke up on the street too long ago - have no idea if it was a day or an hour or a few minutes - fought a monster, went to sleep now I'm a fuckin' cruise ship. So no, I don't know what's going on, but do you like want to get some actual clothes, heh?"

“I’m working on it,” Caelea rubbed their head as they tried to digest Zoey’s explanation, glancing down at themselves and what was essentially pyjamas. Yeah, she should definitely get some actual clothes. “Can’t say I was expected to wake up in a cold as fuck ship rather than a warm apartment. But I guess we all feel that way... ”

She turned to the newcomer, who Zoey greeted as Stacey, and gave him a nod. She didn’t bother to properly introduce herself - not because she didn’t want to but because she had a feeling he wouldn’t be the only stranger she’d meet today. Best to keep the amount of introductions to a minimum.

“Test, test?” It was soon followed by a “Hell yeah!”

“Penny?” Caelea raised an eyebrow as she looked up towards the speaker. She snorted slightly as Penny continued and a smile played on the corners of her lips. Some things sure didn’t change. It was nice to hear another familiar voice being just as snarky as always. She could almost forget she’d been basically teleported onto a ship in the middle of nowhere. “I agree, let’s get going before she actually does put on the trash.”

Caelea followed Zoey in the direction of deck B, looking around as they reached what she assumed was more of a “communal” area of the ship. She narrowed her eyes as she spotted signs pointing towards all sorts of things; including shops.

“Keep going, I’ll catch up, I’m gonna get some new clothes,” she gave a nod to Zoey and Stacey before jogging off in the direction of the shop sign. She went into the first clothes shop she found and started rummaging through the clothes racks. Of course they didn’t have anything quite her size. Typical. She grabbed a pair of too long jeans and swapped out of her shorts into them, rolling up the ends so that she wouldn’t trip over them. She could pretend it was a fashion statement. Then she grabbed a grey sweater and denim jacket, both oversized and baggy, to help against the cold. A pair of trainers over her sock covered feet finished it off.

She looked at herself in one of the full length shop mirror’s with a sigh. Honestly she looked like someone who’d borrowed her boyfriend’s clothes after sleeping over - what with the way it all was oversized. But it was much warmer than before so she didn’t really care. With clothes sorted she set off back in the direction of the bridge.

Caelea smirked as she reached the door of the bridge, noting the way the door had been completely destroyed. It did take away her plan to make a dramatic entrance by kicking the door in with a little bit of help from some powerful air. Alas, she’d just have to step in.

“Hey Penny, it’s been a while!” She stepped through the hole in the door like it was nothing, grinning as if this was some kind of reunion instead of a very shitty situation she’d rather not been in. “Fancy meeting you here, how’ve you been? Can't believe we're-”

Caelea cut herself off as she noticed another person she’d never seen before. She turned to the other girl, who was shockingly the same height as her, with a faltering smile. For all that she could deal with the people she already knew (part of one of the only group of people she trusted), strangers were a lot harder. And that was just two in one day. Was this her punishment for all the time she spent travelling alone and avoiding others?

“Uh, hey there, I didn’t see you,” she almost made a comment on the girl’s height but realised that could massively backfire because she was just as short. “Guess there’s quite a few of us stuck in this situation, huh?”

Stacey didn't get the chance to answer Zoey, because Penny called over the intercom. He smiled. Thank God she's okay. It was dumb luck he found Zoey, he's happy he didn't have to find her too. He followed her and the new girl through the ship. It was still eerie and creepy, but not as much with company. One of them being the person that saved his ass yesterday or two days ago? He doesn't know how long they'd been out before ending up here. He's safe with Zoey he knows that. Eventually they went their separate ways when the girl split to finds clothes. Now that they're alone he answered her question.

"I'm kind of okay now that I'm with you, but I'm afraid that thing is going to back for me. Odessa said it could find us again and I don't know if I can cope with a target on my back. Also, your friend." He hiked his thumb back to where they split up. "Is she cool? I'm nervous about whether she's like Odessa or Elron. I can't deal with three people that make me uncomfortable." He hoped he didn't offend her in anyway by insinuating her friend is like the others and he didn't get any negative vibes from her, but better safe that sorry. Odessa was off and turns out she's a plant. No telling if her friend is good at hiding weird shit too.

They were right outside the bridge when music played over the intercom. Elron. Not the Killers, but not a bad song. Stacey walked inside the room. He spotted Odessa and a dancing? Elron. A) He was bad at it. B) Stacey wanted to scrub his eyes with bleach. That's not something he needed to see. Ever. He stood next to Penny, tried to find his happy place, only for Elron to ruin his already not too bad day.

We're not alone he said. Maybe he should've drowned himself after all. He squeezed the straps of his bag, knuckled white, face losing color. He's gonna be sick.

"So what's on the ship?"

---

“Oh I know…” Penny quietly sang an off-key ditty to herself as she prepped up a few glyphs on the back of Keno cards. “I should be leaving this climate.” Plenty of metal on the boat; earth glyphs were it. “I got a verse...” she admired the three cards and stuck them into a pocket. “But can’t rhyme it.” She spun around in the captain’s chair again, rolling a quarter between her knuckles. “I gotta go where it’s—shit!”

Penny grabbed her chest as Odessa slinked through the doorway without even so much as a courtesy knock. She’d thrown the quarter when she had seen the figure walk through the door but had stopped herself from repulsing it. The quarter bounced off the floor and rolled harmlessly under a desk as Penny let out a big huff of air. Odessa was a weird one, but not weird enough that she justified having a hole punched through her by George Washington. Although, judging by the way she took that hit from the Apparition earlier, that probably would’ve only tickled the robed woman.

“Odessa,” said Penny with a nod now that she was no longer at risk of a heart attack. “Good to see that you somehow managed to get even a little stranger. Did you rob a Hare Krishna for that getup?” Penny was one to talk with her captain’s hat. “Actually, I’m glad you’re here, I—”

Penny was going to say that she had wanted to talk to Odessa in private, but then the pale ghost from Farmer Hill past walked in. Penny’s felt her mouth hang open. “Oh my god, Caelea? I’d say what are the odds, but I’m starting to feel like they’re being stacked. Welcome to Paradise, glad to have you.” Penny stood from the chair and followed her friend’s eyes to Odessa. “That’s Odessa. She’s a fern or something like—shit!”

A gun entered the hole, followed by an arm, followed by an Elron. Penny let out a groan that was somewhere between the territory of relief and annoyance as she relaxed her stance. “Dude, who’d give you a gun?” said Penny as Elron jacked the radio again and started shimmying to the groove. Penny didn’t feel the vibe and crossed her arms. She was on island time now. Steel drums were a requirement to get her moving.

Stacey found his way to the bridge. Good. Seemed like her announcement had worked wonders. Only a few of them were still missing, but from the scent of cigarettes in the air she could tell that Zoey likely wasn’t far behind the scared dude. Actually, he looked sick more than scared. Penny couldn’t blame him. She gave him a sympathetic smile as Elron warned the crew that they weren’t alone.

"So what's on the ship?" asked Stacey.

“Nothing that we can’t handle,” said Penny, patting him on the shoulder before walking back to her captain’s chair and dropping in. “We’re going to give the others a few more minutes to get here and then we’ll come up with a plan. In the meantime, Footloose,” she motioned to Elron. “How do you know we’re not alone?”

“Good to see that you somehow managed to get even a little stranger. Did you rob a Hare Krishna for that getup? Actually, I’m glad you’re here, I—”

Grabbing both ends of her robe, Odessa bent her knee and bowed her knee in some sort of regal gesture. She had a smile on her face as she didn't break eye contact with Penny. "Glad to see you're not any stranger than I remember." She left those words hang in the air as she stood straight up and looked around the bridge. Now, she was about to admonish Penny for making this huge announcement, because they had no clue what was around here. Especially with how weird this place is.

“Uh, hey there, I didn’t see you, guess there’s quite a few of us stuck in this situation, huh?”

However, a girl walked up that made Odessa's jaw drop for a second before she closed it and shook her head and resumed that usual smile. She was about to introduce herself similarly as before but Penny decided to go ahead and do that for her. Instead, Odessa smiled at Penny that was almost passive-aggressive.

“That’s Odessa. She’s a fern or something like—shit!”

Odessa visibly flinched when Elron came in weapon first, probably because she wasn't expecting him but figured that he was still around. Then he came back in, being Elron. Playing some music and dancing and acting a fool. For a second, Odessa merely shook her head and ignored his antics as she was more interested in... the girl with the white hair.

"No disrespect but allow me to speak for myself, Penny," Odessa softly said to Penny before she focused on Caelea. "But, yes, my name is Odessa and it is a pleasure to meet you..." She trailed off as if she was about to say something else but changed her mind.

However, Zoey quickly ran up and saw the stereo and that sigil of a snowflake on her hand began glowing as she pointed both hands at it. A stream of snow came out of her hand and launched itself at the stereo and, in mid-air, it turned into an ice spike. It hit the stereo and the music came to a slow stop. Zoey fist-bumped as she looked around at everyone all confused at her.

"Now we're safe," Zoey proudly said, "Penny can't make us listen to elevator music."

Odessa rolled her eyes, "Glad to see you haven't changed much, Zoey."

"Bad news! "We're not alone."

"... Talking about me?"

A deep voice said as they stepped through the hole in the door... revealing himself to be the massive Hagan Rosefey. He had a blank expression on his face as he was wearing jeans, black combat boots, and a tank top... which was usual Hagan wear. He looked around, "Oh shit! Penny, Caelea, Zoey?! The fuck are you all doing here?" He asked.

"... Now, this is getting weird," Odessa mumbled underneath her breath.

"Hagan?" Zoey said, "Oh my God."

"Well, ain't you a sight for sore eyes,"

"... I hate to interrupt the touching reunion," Odessa said as she held her hands together as she walked off to the side towards the window that was facing the city of "Paradise" as they called it. It was not safe, not at all, but Odessa knew it'd be better there than here. "But, we have to get out of here, you heard Elron; we aren't alone."

Odessa couldn't sense any apparitions but... that could change.

"I suggest we get to the lifeboats and navigate our way back to shore."

---

---

“Oh my god, Caelea? I’d say what are the odds, but I’m starting to feel like they’re being stacked. Welcome to Paradise, glad to have you. That’s Odessa. She’s a fern or something like—shit!”

“Heh, yeah maybe some bullshit fate just wants us all to be together again... can’t say I’m glad to be here, but-” Caelea started, before flinching back and raising her hands in a defensive pose as someone stuck a gun through the hole in the door before eventually following through. She slowly forced herself to relax as Penny seemed to recognise him. She tugged at the long sleeves of the hoodie she was wearing and turned from her friend to look at the other rather strange looking girl (and completely ignoring the dancing guy).

"But, yes, my name is Odessa and it is a pleasure to meet you..."

“Caelea,” the albino tilted her head as Odessa seemed to hold back on saying something else. Then she just shrugged. “Nice to meet you too… I gotta ask, what does Penny mean by you being like a fern or something?”

Sounded like something right out of the Triffid movie her brother had made her watch. She’d seen weird back in Farmer Hill but this was a new kind of strange. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes when Zoey overdramatically destroyed the stereo even as a smile tugged at her lips.

"Agent Prescott, Bureau of Occult & Paranormal Activity. Pleasure is all mine."

When will these introductions end? Caelea turned to face the dancing douchebag who’d introduced himself in a way that just made her want to punch him in his smug face. The wink especially had her blood boiling but she pushed that down. She wasn’t fucking it up right now. So instead she put on an overly friendly smile and responded, “I’m Caelea. Do you have a normal, first name that you go by?”

She then turned to flash a hopefully more genuine, warm smile at Stacey - who looked like he was gonna throw up any minute. Of the three strangers to her he was top of the list to be nice to, only because he looked so terrified. “Nice to meet you too, Stacey, right?”

She glanced back at Agent Douchebag as he went on to dramatically proclaim they weren’t alone. Only for a familiar, deep voice to dramatically respond.

“Hagan?! Fuck, this just keeps getting stranger…” Caelea put her hands on her hips as she craned her head to look up at him. “I swear you’ve gotten even taller. How is that possible?”

But Odessa was right - there were more important things right now than this unexpected reunion. Like getting off the ship as soon as possible. Caelea didn’t know what the fuck was meant by them not being alone but she was pretty sure there was a chance of it being some kind of monster like Zoey had mentioned fighting. Better to get away from that and to solid land.

“I agree with Odessa, I don’t know what’s on shore,” she shrugged, assuming the others did, “but it’s better than a ship, right? I don’t like the idea of staying here…”

“Though doesn’t anyone know how to actually launch one of those things?”

“Caelea, nice to meet you too… I gotta ask, what does Penny mean by you being like a fern or something?”

"Caelea... I'll be sure to remember that..." Odessa trailed off with that signature smile on her face. "... But, I am more than just a... fern."

When Odessa said fern, she almost sounded insulted by it. Only because that was not a proper description of Odessa. That only elicited a chuckle out of Odessa as she grabbed a handful of her robe and pulled it up. Revealing soft brown skin that was heavily tattooed, or was it tatted? Nobody could tell with Odessa Maxwell. She unintentionally revealed the lower portion of her breasts. One half of the skin peeled away but instead of revealing her internal organs, there was hollowness... only the bones in her skeleton that were conspicuously similar to wood. In an instant, a mass of flowers bloomed and covered the gaping space. It was roses, orchids, daisies... it was almost a beautiful mixture of flowers.

"You see, I'm not human anymore... I lost it, unfortunately," Odessa started, "So, I'm more like a plant organism in the shape of a person."

She shrugged as the skin went back to normal and she dropped the robe.

"So," She held her hands together, "More than just a fern."

---

Penny shrugged at Odessa insisting she speak for herself and got up from the captain’s chair. If Elron had found some tunes then so could she. She picked through the stack of cds that she was certain hadn’t been there when she had entered the room and found the vile record that would satisfy her dark desires. The awful, solid piss yellow background with the name of the devil himself written in blood red. She turned and walked to the stereo, which thankfully allowed her to miss witnessing Odessa’s freaky demonstration of what was really underneath those robes. She was about to reach for the stereo when Zoey came in and iced the tool of destruction. A mercy killing.

"Now we're safe," Zoey proudly said, "Penny can't make us listen to elevator music."

“If it had been anyone else…” Penny shook her head and tucked the cd into her bag to protect the others from it as Hagan walked through the hole. It was turning into a reunion cruise. The summer camp survivors now had the others outnumbered to the point where it could no longer be a coincidence.

“The fuck are you all doing here?" asked Hagan.

“Mostly trying to figure that out, actually,” said Penny, adjusting her hat. “Welcome aboard. Is this your first time wak—”

Odessa interrupted Penny, rightfully suggesting that now wasn’t the time to be catching up. Caelea agreed with the not-a-fern’s idea that they should get off of the boat and head back to the city, and considering how they had already encountered an Apparition that had collapsed a building by bulldozing through it maybe getting off of the cruise ship was the best idea. Penny had gotten this far in her life without seeing Titanic, and she certainly didn’t want to live it.

Still, there was a slight apprehension in leaving immediately since Lilith and Mao were still missing. Perhaps Paradise had a limit and Hagan and Caelea had taken their places, but Penny doubted it worked like that. What if they were still out in a cabin somewhere? She couldn’t just abandon ship without them, but she didn’t feel right making everyone stay behind if there was danger. She looked at the group. Zoey, Hagan, and Caelea could handle themselves and protect the others. As much as she always hated the idea, they could split up.

“I’m sure we can figure out how to launch a lifeboat, but I don’t feel right leaving without the others,” said Penny as she picked up the mic. Her voice echoed throughout the ship. “Thiiiiis is your captain speaking. Double time it to the bridge. We’re gearing up to go.”

Penny killed the transmission and sighed. Her gaze shifted between Caelea and Zoey as she started giving out orders. Hagan hadn’t been around when she had stepped up, but it felt natural directing the other two. “I’m not asking any of you to stay here. Just the opposite, actually. Take everyone and get those boats ready. If nobody else shows in a few minutes I’ll make another announcement and head over to you. If something weird shows up, fire the gun. I'll be there.”

---

---

Caelea’s pale eyes widened as Odessa pulled up her robe - was this some kinda weird ass strip show that she’d accidentally agreed to. Nope, she definitely wasn’t blushing, her face normally had that pink tone to it… Her jaw then dropped when the other woman’s skin actually peeled away and revealed what very much was not a human skeleton. She forced the shock from her face as she watched the flowers blooming to cover the space and it was strangely beautiful. But also very weird. At least she wasn’t some orange orb of tentacles, though.

“That’s both incredibly freaky and kind of cool at the same time,” Caelea blinked. “But yeah, definitely more than just a fern.”

She then turned to Penny as she began to naturally take the lead. It made perfect sense for Caelea - just like old times, where Penny had led their group through some rough shit. Caelea would gladly follow her again any day. Really there were few other people she would trust with that (none that weren’t from the support group or whatever they counted as now). So she met Penny’s gaze towards her with a nod of support.

“Ay, ay, Captain,” Caelea gave a mock solute even as her expression was mostly serious and her tone was playful more than it was sarcastic. “We’ll go get the boats ready.”

She then turned to the others in the room and made a shooing motion at them all towards the door. “Let’s get going and ready to get off this boat before something comes after us. Penny can handle it here waiting for the others.”

Then the tiny woman started moving towards the (destroyed) door with more more motions towards it, as if she was trying to block people and force them out. Which was rather amusing considering that fact most of them were way taller and bigger (one especially) and could probably just easily step around her. But the message was still there in her expression - get out, we got shit to do.

She trusted Penny’s orders even when it involved leaving her behind - because she knew Penny could watch out for herself and would easily catch up.

---

---

Sweat trickled down Isla’s brow as she shifted in her sleep, kicking off her duvets to feel the sweet coldness of the Scottish winter. A sharp pain as her foot hit something hard jerked her awake. Her dark eyes flew open to a dimly lit, metal ceiling that was very much not her bedroom. She blinked as she looked around in confusion. Was she in… an engine room? What the actual fuck. Isla forced herself onto her feet, ignoring the slight tinge of pain in her right foot from where she’d kicked a metal pole. She surveyed her surroundings and let out a sigh of relief that there was a fairly obvious exit.

Well, there was only one door.

She stuffed a hand in the pocket of her hoodie and was glad to find her beanie in there just like it had been before she took a nap. She had no clue what was going on but she could figure that out later - for now she had to get out of this room. She pulled her beanie back on her head and it glowed a dark purple as she blinked onto the platform in front of the door. She ignored the slight spinning of her head as she pulled open the door. A set of stairs led up towards yet another door and she sighed, opting to walk up these instead. This second door yanked open to reveal what seemed to be… the lower deck of a cruise ship?

Really she shouldn’t be surprised since she’d woking up in a fucking engine room. She let out a sigh as a cold breeze hit her, feeling much more like home, before frowning. Now what was she supposed to do? This situation had to be the weirdest she’d ever been in - she’d take her weird teenage vision and power discovery any day over this.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh-ttention all passengers! This is Captain Penny speaking of the USS Shitshow, coming to you live from Paradise Radio. Could all human-bodied passengers please make their way up to the bridge on Deck B? I repeat, all human-bodied passengers to the bridge on Deck B.”

As if answering her silent plea a voice sounded from the speaker right next to her. Isla frowned at the thought of meeting strangers in such an odd situation, but also was relieved to find that she wasn’t alone. Company was always better!

So she put all other thoughts aside and went to find the bridge. She quickly realised that she was annoyingly far away, finding herself walking through a kitchen then dining room in her aim to find signs to Deck B at the very least. She couldn’t help herself from popping behind the dining room bar and grabbing a bottle of way too fancy beer. She cracked open the bottle and took a swig before continuing on her way. The shops she eventually passed were way too tempting to visit as well… until she realised that they were completely empty. That took away the fun of stealing when there was no risk to think about.

In fact, everything was empty. She tried not to dwell on that.

Instead she continued her hunt for the bridge as she got more creeped out by the sheer emptiness of the place. Nope, this wasn’t her idea of fun. Isla took another long drink of the beer she’d snatched.

“Thiiiiis is your captain speaking. Double time it to the bridge. We’re gearing up to go.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m on it,” Isla muttered to the speaker, halting for a moment to run a hand through her long hair. At this moment she really wished she had some kinda spell that would let her teleport anywhere. Why did it have to be a cruise ship of all places? How was she meant to know how to navigate something she’d never been on.

She kept going, expression perking up as she heard voices drifting towards her. She must be close! Finally. The voices got louder as she neared what she assumed was the bridge and then there it was - a hole in the fucking door. Well, that sure was something. As she properly approached said hole she noticed that there were a fair few people inside with some of them right in the door and heading out? She couldn’t tell. She frowned as she peered around and caught a glimpse of the inside. Perfect.

Isla blinked past the people blocking her way and right into the bridge room. She gave a slight wave as she let her clear out before glancing around. The first person she noticed was the woman wearing the captain’s hat. At least she’d made herself obvious. Isla instantly honed in on her and started talking.

“You must be Captain Penny, yeah?” she cracked a lazy smile and stuffed one hand into the pocket of her hoodie. “Somethin’ tells me you ain’t a real captain.” She tilted her head as her smile widened into something more friendly. “I’m Isla.”

“Can’t say this was how I was expecting to spend my time... Though it ain’t the first time something like this has happened. Admittedly the last time I was the one that accidentally teleported myself into some rich ladies mansion. But let me tell you this time…” she paused for dramatic effect, glancing momentarily outside.

“Well, this time I woke up in the bar and I thought I was in Heaven,” Isla held up the beer bottle in her hand. She then made a sweeping gesture with it to the cold, ocean filled outdoors. “But turns out this ain’t it.”

Penny reassured him that they could handle whatever is going on. That helped some of his anxiety, but it didn't get rid of the feeling that something was going to happen. He hoped he wouldn't be keyed up the entire time he's here. Home was stressful enough, he didn't have his razor bla-no, stop, don't think about it. He was supposed to be better - Sandy fucked that up a year ago - but at least he can pretend to be better. Oh boy, he hates this. He tried to focus on the music. If he can figure out the notes in the song to play it later it'd shift his focus to something less destructive. Zoey dashed his hopes and dreams when she destroyed the radio. Fantastic. He glared at her the slightest bit, then averted his eyes. He likes her and doesn't want to do anything to make her hate him.

"... Talking about me?"
- Hagan

Stacey flinched and moved as far from the door as he could get. The new comer was huge in height and muscle. He looked like a member of his brothers' football team. The type that...nope don't think about it. Three panic attacks in two days. This is too much. Too much. Too MUCH. He pulled his guitar case off his back, clenched it to his chest, and sank to the floor, face smothered in the fabric. His stomach hurt, his hands shook, and he tuned out everything around him. What if he was just as bad as those guys and beat the shit out of him? His body ached from residual pains. Tears came to his eyes. He wanted to cry, but he didn't want attention on him. The smaller he made himself the less likely he'd be a target. He knew that was bullshit. If anything he'd be targeted more.

“Thiiiiis is your captain speaking. Double time it to the bridge. We’re gearing up to go.”
- Penny

Penny's voice over intercom broke the train wreck in his mind. They're leaving? He looked up, but didn't get off the floor. Zoey and Caelea he thinks her name is, were instructed to take everyone else and go, but he doesn't want to leave Penny nor does he want to be anywhere near the big guy with just Zoey. Two people to project him is better than one. If he stays he'll be a liability to Penny, he knows that. Maybe he would be better off with the group. He doesn't know what he wants to do.

Caelea motioned for people to move out, but he didn't get up. He decided he was going to stay with Penny. A new woman came through the door while everyone else moved out. She had an accent, Scottish he thinks, and she was long winded that's for sure. He listened to her drawl on about teleporting. She didn't seem too bad. Good. Not someone that's going to make him more of a nervous wreck.

"No, squirt, you just got... shorter."

Hagan tried to sound bombastic... but he couldn't force a smile. Or any of that usual large ham attitude. It just sounded like a forced attempt as Hagan looked off to the side. Fortunately, Caelea was distracted by the weirdo chick and her plant skeleton. However, Hagan noticed somebody all curled up and raised an eyebrow. This guy? Or girl? Hagan didn't know but he was going with the guy. The guy was seemingly about to have a heart attack, and Hagan turned his nose upwards at him with his eyebrows furrowed. Hagan wondered what his problem was as he was trying to curl up into a ball. Hagan just jabbed a thumb in his direction and asked,

"... Is he okay?"

However, Penny demanded that they go out and pull the lifeboats but Hagan wasn't super sold on that. They seemed a good trek away from the shore but Hagan would rather get the boat to land... but that wasn't an option because Captain Penn Penn... wasn't an actual captain. Despite the hat. So lifeboats it was. However, Hagan was set on going with Caelea's group - he was a bit hurt that Penny obviously didn't trust him enough with leading a group but that was fine. Hagan sighed as he decided to go with Caelea.

“Let’s get going and ready to get off this boat before something comes after us. Penny can handle it here waiting for the others.”

"Got it, squirt," Hagan said as he followed after Caelea. They went to the third deck where the lifeboats were advertised being and while Zoey's bunch went to one side, Caelea's went to the other. Now when Hagan threw the door open he was assaulted by the chilly night breeze... this place was cold as all hell. He regretted wearing a tank top as he shivered but he was a man. Not some little bitch boy. Hagan looked down and saw the lifeboats and man they were bigger than he thought.

Probably big enough so that they only needed to launch one. Hagan walked up to it as he placed a fist to his jaw... He gave it a good look and saw all sorts of locks and other mechanisms. And he didn't know what they did half the time. Good grief... but he saw a lever that said Lifeboat Release. And then he walked over to it.

"Wow, squirt, that wasn't that hard," Hagan softly said as he placed his hand on it. "We'll probably want to be in this... hey, want to hop in there and see if there's a way to drop this from the inside?" He asked Caelea.



Caelea was trying so hard not to blush... and Odessa thought it was cute. She was almost tempted to tell her not to be shy... but yet she remained quiet as she was forced to admit she was more than a fern. Penny took the leader seat yet again as she commanded the group to find some way to bring the lifeboats down. It was a valid plan but Odessa decided against leaving with one of the two when the call came. She merely stood there with that smile on her face,

"I thought you could use a little company, Penny," Odessa near smugly said, "Strength in numbers, after all."

Though she wasn't the only person who stayed behind, Stacey seemed like he was about to die. Odessa would have comforted him but she didn't think her attempts would be appreciated. However, Penny's many calls for people to come to the bridge attracted somebody. A nice little mousy girl in a beanie... and she was a talker. She rambled about... stuff? Honestly, Odessa wasn't listening, she just stood there staring at the girl (and if she was paying attention she would have noticed that Odessa didn't blink).

When she was finished, Odessa slowly walked up to the girl and poked her on the nose.

"Boop."

---

Penny returned Caelea’s salute and suppressed a chuckle as the tiny girl took on the role of a bouncer and began moving people towards the door. In all of the commotion made as the group began to mosh around the door, Penny didn’t immediately notice Stacey as he crumpled to the ground and hugged his guitar case like a security blanket. As her eyes started to drift downwards to him she caught something suddenly appear behind the group. The world shifted as her eyes began to track all of the motions around her and she pulled a Keno card out of her sleeve, but she stopped when she realized it was another person. A new person. As in, not another one of the survivors from Farmer Hill. Penny relaxed slightly, but she kept the card in hand.

“You must be Captain Penny, yeah? Somethin’ tells me you ain’t a real captain...”

“It’s because I don’t have the jacket with those tassely shoulder pads, isn’t it?” Penny smiled at Isla. The Scotswoman had managed to find herself a beer as if they were actually on some kind of pleasure cruise. Would she be drinking if she knew how dangerous things actually were? “No, it ain’t heaven, that’s for damn sure, but uh...”

Penny trailed off as Odessa walked over to the new girl and booped her on the nose.

“Odessa, see this is why I don’t allow you to speak for yourself,” said Penny with a shake of her head and a roll of her eyes. “Don’t mind her.” She threw Isla a smirk and lifted her hand, holding her finger and her thumb about maybe an inch apart. “She’s like just more than a fern or something.”

It was then that Penny noticed that while the others had already gone and left, Stacey had stayed behind. Her eyes momentarily narrowed in irritation before Penny reminded herself that just because she was used to experiencing the Extra Normal didn’t mean that everyone would consider the strange to be mundane. She still planned on sticking around the bridge for a few more minutes, and between Odessa and Isla one of them had to have enough self-preservation to shout if an Apparition appeared. She excused herself from the girls and slowly made her way over to Stacey. She sat cross legged on the floor a few feet away from the distressed looking dude. Penny never considered herself the calming type, but she’d try and figure it out.

“Hey dude, I’ve been meaning to ask this for sometime,” she said, her voice as soft as she could attempt to make it. She waited for Stacey to look up and then nodded towards his guitar. “You any good with that thing? I tried learning to play back in junior high. Figured I could learn a few notes and start a group, but I couldn’t get down the three chords I needed to even start a punk band.” She smiled. “Now the recorder? That’s a different story.”

“Anyway, tell me about your guitar. It’s a...Led Paulson, right?” asked Penny, accidentally revealing her complete lack of guitar knowledge.

---

---

It's raining.

Rain was an interesting thing.

They liked rain very much. They liked the sound it made plinking off a tin roof. Like a lullaby. But rain was also frightening. Rain made the roads jet black and slick.

But in a way...it's the same rain.

There was something else in the rain...a voice? Broken up and faded.

"...way to...Buffett...you ...forced to... Drinks.”

Finley opens their eyes, slowly. Blinking to adjust to the bright light overhead. They were in...a bathroom? There was a loud clicking noise, causing Finley to wince and flinch, the sound of someone hanging up a receiver of a loudspeaker. Their eyes slowly traced up the walls, and sure enough there was a small speaker box.

Huh...most bathrooms don't have those.

The rest of the room looked like a standard, if not simple, bathroom. There is toilet pressed up against the corner of the room, art of a sandy beach with some sort of inspirational quote hanging over it. The tiles on the floor were bright white and clean, with little bits of glitter in them. A large, wooden, door dominated the eastern wall, and on the wall adjacent to the door was a small window.

They sat up slowly, now aware of the dull pain in their lower back from sitting on the cold tile, only to bonk their head on something hard. Recoiling in pain Finley looks up. Oh. A sink. They were sitting tucked under a sink. Listening a moment Finley could hear a steady dripping of water. That explained the rain. They were sitting under a sink with a leaky tap.

As they stood the panic of this strange situation began to sink in...no pun intended.

There was no way they were still in the trailer, this bathroom was nearly half the size of it. So where were they? And where was Trent? Hopefully somewhere safe. Taking a glance out the window did little to ease Finley's anxieties. It was just...ocean. Were they on a boat? How did they get there?

Before they could continue to worry, there was a high pitched squeak over the intercom, prompting Finley to cover their ears. Eventually a voice came through.

“Thiiiiis is your captain speaking. Double time it to the bridge. We’re gearing up to go.”

That confirmed several things. They we on a boat and they weren't alone on the boat. Well...at least the vessel had a captain.

They turned towards the door. Time to get moving.

Finley pushed the wooden door open, swinging into a hallway that seemed to sprawl on forever to the left and right. Now...Finley didn't know much about boat terminology or boat layouts. But the bridge...that had to be like...the top of the boat right? Or was that the deck? Finley frowned. Well...someplace open felt like a good bet...somewhere they might be able to spot a member of the ships crew.

Eventually, and after quite a bit of wandering, Finley found themself on a deck of the ship. The cold wind greeted them, causing Finley to wince and wrap their arms around themself as they closed the door. This...wasn't the bridge... but someone had to be working up here, a janitor, anyone.

Finley looked around the deck, squinting against the wind and darkness.

It didn't take long for Finley to spot movement, over at the edge of the ship, a tall figure and a far shorter one. They seemed to be milling about near the lifeboats. Finley felt a momentary sense of relief as they approached, but still kept a cautionary distance. They spoke up, teeth chattering slightly.

"Ex...excuse me? Do you two w-work here?"

---

---

Caelea rolled her eyes as Hagan slipped right back into calling her by an old nickname, even as she smiled. It felt just like old times… Fearing for their lives and worrying that something might attack at any time! Just perfect.

She shivered as the two of them stepped outside and was very glad for the extra layers she’d grabbed from one of the shops. She definitely did not envy Hagan in nothing more than a tank top. She folded her arms as she surveyed the lifeboats. They certainly weren’t what she’d expected, big orange things that looked far more durable than the kind she’d seen in movies. Hopefully they were easy to drive or whatever you did with boats. She followed Hagan over to it and started looking at the other side - you never knew where a release mechanism may be.

"Wow, squirt, that wasn't that hard. We'll probably want to be in this... hey, want to hop in there and see if there's a way to drop this from the inside?"

“Huh, that was easier than I expected,” Caelea turned to look at Hagan, gaze flickering down to the lever he had his hand on. She then nodded at his suggestion that she go inside. “Will do, I’ll get right in there. Hopefully it’s as obviously signed as that lever.”

She frowned slightly as she took a moment to figure out how to actually open the lifeboat door, before stepping inside. The thing was big enough inside that she was fairly certain each of them could take a row of seats to themselves if they really wanted to… but that wasn’t important right now, so she walked past the seats to the wheel at the front. There were a shit ton of levers and while they were all labelled she didn’t see a single one to do with release. Fuck.

Caelea made her way back to the entrance and stuck her head out of the lifeboat. “There isn’t anything for dropping it from the inside. We’re gonna have to… I don’t know. Figure something out. Maybe some can drop it and then jump in.” That didn’t sound dangerous at all.

“We should wait for the other’s to see what they think… if they have any ideas,” Caelea shoved her hands in her pockets, coming to stand beside Hagan (totally not to use him as a wind buffer). She looked up at him with a slightly narrowed gaze. She could tell something was off, cause for a start he was quieter than normal. She guessed the situation was pretty shit and it wasn’t like she could ask, since it had been so long since she’d last seen him. Now wasn’t exactly the time anyway.

So instead, she said, “I sure do hope there’s an easy way out when we get to that city.” Assuming they all got to the city. “I am not into getting stuck in some shit place again. This is not my idea of a good time...” She shook her head. “Not that it isn’t good to see you, and the others again, but I was expecting the eventual reunion to be a lot better.”

She went to say something else only to notice someone new approaching. They were short (though not as short as her) and skinny and didn’t look dressed for the cold weather.

"Ex...excuse me? Do you two w-work here?"

Caelea held back a laugh, shaking their head. “Do we look like we work here?” She indicated between the two of them. Yeah, they were really dressed for the part. “No we don't. I'm guessing you woke up on this ship with no idea how you got here? Same here.”

She let out a slight sigh. Damn, talking to new people was not her strong point and it had happened far too often for one day. Especially to someone who was clearly nervous. Maybe if she introduced them they’d seem less intimidating (as if that could ever happen with Hagan).

“I’m Caelea and he’s Hagan,” she said, nodding towards her much taller friend. “We were sent by Penny- the, uh, captain to sort out this lifeboat so we can all get off this ship. She’ll be joining us from the bridge with other’s soon so I’d stick around with us.”

---

---

"Boop."

“Huh?” Isla blinking down in confusion, staring down at the shorter girl who had just poked her nose. What the fuck? That wasn’t weird at all. Still being the person she was, she pasted a wide smile on her face. “I know my nose is pretty nice but there’s no need to touch, you know?”

She then turned to Penny with a nod. “Aye, it’s the lack of shoulder pads.” She then glanced between Penny and Odessa, smile turning slightly more genuine as Penny told her not to mind the strange girl. “It’s alright I don’t mind at all.”

Yeah, she totally found it weird and kinda minded but she wasn’t about to say that. She completely brushed off the talk about ferns because like? Why would she ask about something that sounded weirder. She’d rather not know… maybe it was some kinda weird teasing they had going on between them. She shrugged to herself and watched as Penny went over to talk to the guy who was curled up on the floor. She’d leave that to her - no use sticking her nose into somewhere she couldn’t help (unless he wanted to hear a whole bunch of lies).

Instead she turned to Odessa, twirling her hair around her finger.

“Soooo,” she drawled. “Did everyone here wake up on this weird cruise ship? Any idea why?”