Lavia is back! And my song helped make her happy while her curse kept her captive in her lyre - which makes me extra delighted. I think she was pleased to come back in the middle of festivities, including music and dancing. Maybe should have gone easy on the drinking, though. Meanwhile, Ellywick flirted with Vax by drinking themselves to oblivion, and Dworik enjoyed being the centre of attention. I can understand if Lavia likes him for that, but her flirting with both of us is... confusing. More about that later.
The following day has been filled with the ordinary, the exciting, and the fantastic. We started with both Ellywick and Lavia buying some gorgeous dresses. Thanks to my new trick, I can alter my clothes to match, including the choral greens and pinks in Lavia's presentation. Dworik was happy mostly having his boots seen to, but he's usually well dressed as it is. Blood and claw marks notwithstanding. As a whole, I'd say we look pretty while still ready for battle - a combination that may be best exemplified by Lavia who takes both to their extremes at once.
The flying ship, though. Seeing it almost swim through the air is an astonishing sight. I think we're all taken with it and Lavia, Dworik, and Phennyr stayed all afternoon to watch it., but I haad an errand before I could move on. I got my scythe when I first left the temple and was nervous about finding my way. The best description of my Queen's principles I've heard is the analogy of grain. Harvest too early, and you won't get the full potential of what could be. Harvest too late, and the result is spoiled and might even spread sickness. I was so scared that I wouldn't be able to remember that lesson, so I got a tool to remind me. But now, I trust the Raven Queen to be with me in what I do. I have faith in her to guide me if I go astray, and I trust myself to do my best until then. And so, I gave my reminder to the local temple. It's scary, but I have to leave it behind to grow. Of course, explaining this to the others is difficult.
Ellywick had a lovely afternoon too, judging by her expression before we left. She might have dismissed everything between her and Vax as nonsense, but I have a feeling there could be more. I'm not sure if she wants it to be more, especially since we might not see him again, but I hope she'll at least realise what she has. I'd be happy to send messages on her behalf, but we'll see. I have things on my mind too.
And that brings us to the highlight of my day. Possibly the highlight of... I don't know. Lavia. She's been flirting with me more and more since we first met, and I haven't been anything but unresponsive to that. But she's also flirted with Dworik, Vax, and to a small degree, Ellywick. I'm not jealous - I've never been good at that - I don't feel like it has anything to do with her flirting with me. But it makes me confused. Does she want something emotionally from all of us? Just sex? Just some fun chatting that doesn't mean anything? Does she want different things from all of us? And, I really need to know what she means when it comes to me before I read too much into it. After my previous crush went, well, nowhere, I try to be more careful.
I used the word crush, didn't I? We'll see. I needed to confront Lavia as soon as possible, and this fantastic evening seemed like a good time. Butterflies in my stomach and hoping she wouldn't be yanked back into the lyre in the middle of the conversation, I found her on the foredeck. Her attitude towards Dwork has to do with them having some history which I don't feel is my position to dig deeper into. But... she means what she says to me. And she thinks I'm cute. I'm not going to pretend what I'm feeling is nothing anymore. But she needs to take it slow, and I get the feeling that she doesn't trust herself to take things seriously if we don't. I can sympathise completely - I've used many people's desires for my benefit. Trusting myself not to abuse relationships is something I'm still working on. If she needs time, I will give her time. But I also won't let her forget about me. It is so easy to avoid anything real by pushing it away and pretending that it was all a ruse.
She held me. I held her.
Then we passed the manta ray. The giant manta ray was causing thunder and lightning in the clouds it passed. Lavia might be eager to fight something, but I'm happy this one passed us by instead. Fighting aboard a ship very high up in the sky seems like a bad idea. All of us falling to our death because the creature damaged something essential part of the vessel sounds like an odd plan for us. Fortunately, all seems well, and we can get some sleep in our cabin. Lavia was even kind enough to make her magical cover to bring the temperature up. I know she wants to use it to help her feel safe, but I'd like to think she also cares about how much I hate the cold. I wish I could curl up next to her, but we're not there yet. And I don't think either one of us wants the teasing from the others in the group. This is about us - not them.