With more time on her hands than she knows what to do with, Sanaki decides to brave a venture onto the deck, only to be greeted by a gust of wind that nearly bowls her over, and a familiar head of silver hair billowing with it. Laughing despite herself, the empress makes her wobbly way over, the breeze tugging on her hair, her cape, her coat every step of the way, as if in play.
"It's been quite some time since I last travelled by ship," she greets breathlessly, one hand white-knuckled on the railing and the other futilely trying to brush her bangs out of her face. "What about you, Queen Micaiah? How often is it that your travels take you so far from home?"
She gathers her cape tighter around herself, eyes bright with happiness. In some sense, if Sanaki were so inclined, this trip could be considered their first joint diplomatic venture! Surely it's that novelty---and not the fact that spending time with Micaiah is still so rare, so guarded these days---that brings a smile to her face.
Micaiah's widening smile upon seeing her beloved windswept sister bursts into a soft, hearty chuckle at hearing the royal title attached to her name. A few strands of her silver hair tickle her lips thanks to the movement and the breeze, and the sun's rays feel even more like a warm embrace with the red-cloaked girl beside her. The hum of the waves, the creak of the wood, the snap of the sails. An arbitrary thought enters her head: if all her memories are to vanish except one, she would choose this moment to remember.
"Ah, Empress Sanaki, there is no need to use that formal title with me, especially now as I attend the Academy. Here, I am merely a fellow student—nothing more, nothing less."
She crosses her arms atop the railing and rests her chin on them, admiring the blanket of dark blue shot through with a row of glistening reflected sunlight. Through her limbs, she intimately feels the thud of every wave against the hull and every strain of oak planking under its weight—a foreign yet comforting sensation. She supposes she can say the same for Sanaki's presence: rare and unfamiliar, yet soothing and freeing.
"I'm afraid you're far more well-traveled than I. I have never left Daein's borders until the war. In fact, as much as I have heard of and learned about them. this is my first time aboard a ship of any kind. So, I'm all ears for any advice you may have for making the best of such journeys and avoiding seasickness, sister."
