Babylon returned, reappearing in a flash in the living room of the tiny apartment he and Arkady were sharing in Puerto Ayora. It was nice being on such an isolated island, because he didn’t feel any need to power up away from home - so far, he’d sensed neither Youma nor corrupt presence. Which was, like, nice? It made him feel all the more certain about his decision to come to the galapagos, because it seemed like a good place for Arkady to continue her recovery.
From the sounds of it, he guessed she was in their bedroom, probably uploading pictures from a day of birdwatching onto her instagram. “Hey,” Finn called, powering down. “I’m back.”
He sat down at the little kitchen table and pulled a notebook towards him, intent on figuring out what he was going to make. Simpler would probably be best - no fussing with LCD screens or circuitry. So what could he do? He tapped his pencil on the paper. This inventing thing was kind of tricky.
Shibrogane
Arkady had, in fact, spent the day snapping pictures of birds, including some very curious seagulls. Usually she went with Babylon to his Wonder, and spent her time exploring empty houses; today she hadn't been in the mood for night and cold, and besides that she had a project. She was glad he was home though. The beach was at its peak fun levels when Finn was there.
She wrapped up her upload spree and shut her laptop, tucking it away before rolling off the bed and going out into the living room. "What're you doing," she asked, draping her arms around his shoulders and peering down at the blank sketchbook page. "Let's go to the beach!"
She wrapped up her upload spree and shut her laptop, tucking it away before rolling off the bed and going out into the living room. "What're you doing," she asked, draping her arms around his shoulders and peering down at the blank sketchbook page. "Let's go to the beach!"
It was only a matter of time from when she knew he was home before Arkady would come stick her nose in his business, and the clock had just run out. “Hiya,” said Finn, glancing up at her. He put a hand momentarily on her arm, and then focused on the page in front of him again. “What if we wait like half an hour?” It wasn’t terribly late in the day - the beach would keep, any he wanted to get an idea for this out before it totally fled from him.
“I’m trying to design a device that would be able to tell me what kind of knight a Negaverser would be, if they were a knight,” he said, and thought, what if it were a compass? Finn sketched a circle. “And then I’ll ask Mistral to help me build it, and then… I will go use it on people, and it will be fun.” He drew planetary symbols around the dial, and nodded - he was totally on a roll.
“So I think what I’m gonna do, is have it rotate to show me what planet they would match,” he said, smiling lopsidedly at her. “Seems simplest.”
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“What if we don’t wait half an hour, and you take your silly book with you to the beach,” she countered. She kissed a line from his jaw to his shoulder, and dutifully turned her attention to his drawing. Finn was terrible at art. That was alright. She loved him anyway; besides, she had enough artistic talent for both of them, because she was great. Arkady was so great.
It looked like a compass, kind of. But without the standard compass rose. Instead, a bunch of the astronomical symbols she’d memorized weeks and weeks ago surrounded it. “What if they don’t want you to use it on them,” she asked. Not like it mattered. People-shaped Chaos were no more redeemable than the garden variety monster Chaos, as far as she was concerned. If Finn wanted to distract himself with this… then she would help him and support him, even though she thought it was very nearly irredeemable levels of silly. “I’ll help you with it,” she sighed, “but I wanted to watch the sunset with you. Are you sure you can’t draw down at the beach?”
It looked like a compass, kind of. But without the standard compass rose. Instead, a bunch of the astronomical symbols she’d memorized weeks and weeks ago surrounded it. “What if they don’t want you to use it on them,” she asked. Not like it mattered. People-shaped Chaos were no more redeemable than the garden variety monster Chaos, as far as she was concerned. If Finn wanted to distract himself with this… then she would help him and support him, even though she thought it was very nearly irredeemable levels of silly. “I’ll help you with it,” she sighed, “but I wanted to watch the sunset with you. Are you sure you can’t draw down at the beach?”
Finn smiled smugly at her, and allowed himself to be kissed, because he liked it, but he knew her feelings on purification - that it was a waste of time, despite her own experiences with it - and he knew that she didn’t have any patience for this kind of endeavor. “Uh,” he said. She did make a good point about the sunset - that would not wait for him to finish his drawing.
Maybe he should just wait for Mistral to help him with this, he thought, pushing the book toward the center of the table. “I’ll just ask Anabel,” he said, pushing his chair back from the table. “Come on, since you asked so nicely.”
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It was Arkady’s turn to smile smugly, and so she did. “I asked very nicely,” she said, pleased with herself. “C’mon, I already put all the things together. Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.” She gathered up his notebook and pencil, and picked up the backpack full of their beach things, and then she grabbed his hand and pulled him down the stairs after her.
The walk to the beach was short, but any time spent with Finn was good time in her opinion; the sun was just starting to sink by the time she kicked off her sandals and stepped onto the beach. “I scouted out a really good place, come on.” She chivvied him across the sand and to a little shady space with a fallen log. Very thoughtfully, she handed him his notebook and the pencil, and then spread out a beach towel. “Now you can draw your detector compass,” she said. “Have you thought about how it’s going to work? Because form needs to follow function and all. That’s science, not me being a butt.”
The walk to the beach was short, but any time spent with Finn was good time in her opinion; the sun was just starting to sink by the time she kicked off her sandals and stepped onto the beach. “I scouted out a really good place, come on.” She chivvied him across the sand and to a little shady space with a fallen log. Very thoughtfully, she handed him his notebook and the pencil, and then spread out a beach towel. “Now you can draw your detector compass,” she said. “Have you thought about how it’s going to work? Because form needs to follow function and all. That’s science, not me being a butt.”
Finn followed Arkady, trusting her not to lead him astray - he was busy with his field school most days, so she had a lot more time than he did for sightseeing and touristy things. “Thank you,” he said, taking his notebook and pencil back and settling down beside her, his back against the log. “I was actually thinking of maybe calling it an alethiometer,” he said. It had occurred to him on the walk to the beach. “It’s from a book, but it means a device for reading the truth, and this would be a device for detecting their true selves.”
But she did have a very good point - one that he wasn’t sure he knew how to correctly articulate. “Uh,” said Finn, “I don’t actually know anything about what needs to be in the guts of it. That’s what I was going to ask Mistral for.” Anabel, at least, had some basic experience with magitech, and her past self’s memories to run off. “The dial is just a basic free wheel,” he shrugged. “The actual works are going to spellwork of some kind.”
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Their true selves? It sounded like something out of a video game. Arkady made a face and nudged the blanket further up, so his feet were on the sand, and started to pile sand on top of them. Her intent was clear: if he wasn’t going to entertain her, she was going to bury his feet. For giggles.
After a moment, she changed tactics, digging away at the sand around and beneath his feet instead. “Anabel made the little ring-wires,” she said, looking at her own signet. It was gold, with a little blued-steel wire around it. “She’s probably a good choice.”
She sat back once his feet were completely buried, holding out both hands in a ta-daaa gesture. “Now you’re stuck.” The sky had just begun to turn a deep bloody-orange color near the place where the sea met it. Arkady joined Finn up by the log, slouching enough to rest her head against his shoulder. “You haven’t got anything to do but watch the sun set with me.”
After a moment, she changed tactics, digging away at the sand around and beneath his feet instead. “Anabel made the little ring-wires,” she said, looking at her own signet. It was gold, with a little blued-steel wire around it. “She’s probably a good choice.”
She sat back once his feet were completely buried, holding out both hands in a ta-daaa gesture. “Now you’re stuck.” The sky had just begun to turn a deep bloody-orange color near the place where the sea met it. Arkady joined Finn up by the log, slouching enough to rest her head against his shoulder. “You haven’t got anything to do but watch the sun set with me.”
Finn looked at his feet: she had been very industrious while he was explaining his project, and while he certainly could have moved them at any time, that would be against the spirit of the game. “Oh noooooo,” he moaned. “I’m stuuuuuuuck. What will I do when the tide comes in? How will I keep my head above water?”
He turned to Arkady, planting a kiss on her cheek. “You’ll have to give me mouth-to-mouth,” said Finn. “But yes, okay, before the tide comes in, I will watch the sunset with you.” He closed his sketchbook and set it aside, and put his now-free arm around her shoulders. “Okay. Here. No notebook. We’re watching the sunset. How was your day? Where did you go? Did you see anything neat? Or do I have to check your instagram to find out.”
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“We’re above the tide line, doofus,” said Arkady, “but I’d give you mouth-to-mouth anyway.” Couldn’t have her dumb fluffy boyfriend drown on air, she had put considerable effort into getting him to the ‘boyfriend’ stage of friendship and to let him die here in the Galapagos would completely ruin the point. “I went to the coffee shop,” she said, “and after I had lunch, I went on a hike. I saw a lava gull, and a large-billed flycatcher.”
She puffed out her cheeks at him, and snuggled up under his arm. “It’s estimated that there’s only about four hundred mating pairs of lava gulls in the world,” she informed him, glancing away from the sunset for a moment. “They’re one of the rarest birds of the Galapagos.”
She puffed out her cheeks at him, and snuggled up under his arm. “It’s estimated that there’s only about four hundred mating pairs of lava gulls in the world,” she informed him, glancing away from the sunset for a moment. “They’re one of the rarest birds of the Galapagos.”
Finn laughed. He’d walked right into that one, but it was worth it to have her laugh at his expense just to have her laugh. Even months after she’d walked into his life, Arkady was still a joy to be around - and seeing more and more of her personality (her personality which was distinctly hers and not like any of the people who had come before her) develop day by day was a privilege. “Which coffee shop?” he asked. “Was it a good one?” Though he knew - the real point of the story was the birds.
“That’s awesome,” he said, squeezing her shoulder. “So that’s what you were telling the internet about when I got home?” He’d figured that blogging about birds would be a good way to reintroduce Arkady to the world wide web - and he’d been right. “Anyway,” continued Finn, “I was thinking we could take the ferry over to Floreana this weekend. How does that sound to you?”
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“Just the one on the corner,” she said. “You’ve been there.” She didn’t repeat any teasing perjoratives, but they were implied by her tone. Arkady reached up to run a hand through Finn’s hair, gentler than the sea-breeze.
The Galapagos Islands were a fulfilling place to be. There was something about the seashore that was calming, sweet in the ways that little about Destiny City could be said to be. It was dreamily familiar, like something she’d seen from Before, but subtly different. Maybe it ought to have a light fog. The water ought to be greener, and colder. There was something to be said for white sand and summery, turquoise waters, though. Something nice. “Yes, okay,” she said. “Can we go to Angermeyer Point sometime?”
That was part of a plan. A secret plan. “I’ve heard really good things about it, Finn, please?”
The Galapagos Islands were a fulfilling place to be. There was something about the seashore that was calming, sweet in the ways that little about Destiny City could be said to be. It was dreamily familiar, like something she’d seen from Before, but subtly different. Maybe it ought to have a light fog. The water ought to be greener, and colder. There was something to be said for white sand and summery, turquoise waters, though. Something nice. “Yes, okay,” she said. “Can we go to Angermeyer Point sometime?”
That was part of a plan. A secret plan. “I’ve heard really good things about it, Finn, please?”
Finn had heard things about Angermeyer Point, too - chiefly, that it was scenic, so he couldn’t really think of a reason why they couldn’t? Arkady had probably heard from someone in town that it was nice. And it was close enough that it didn’t even count as a day trip - just a drive around the bay. There was a resort there, he thought, that was well outside his field student budget, but the restaurant might not be, and there was always just… the beach? And he thought there was a cave.
“Yeah, sure,” said Finn, inclining his head for optimum hair fluffing. “What do you want for dinner?”
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“I made dirty rice,” she said. “It’s in the fridge. All I have to do is reheat it.” Finn spent all day hiking around and doing the things that made him happy, and sometimes Arkady was bored with hiking. So she would just, you know, not. For a while. And usually when she was not-ing, she cooked! Because, well, he was hers, and she had to look after him. That was her job while they were here… and she kind of liked it.
She kissed his cheek. “Look at the clouds,” she said, pointing. “They’re such a nice purple. And on top, they’re gold. That’s so lovely.”
She kissed his cheek. “Look at the clouds,” she said, pointing. “They’re such a nice purple. And on top, they’re gold. That’s so lovely.”
Finn nodded, looking up. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s beautiful.” They sure didn’t have sunsets like this in Destiny City, for starters. He let his head rest against her shoulder, where it fit rather nicely. He’d always been the perfect size for cuddling with Tate, but their relationship hadn’t really been this sort of physical… It had been more about lying all over each other while watching Netflix.
This was better, though. Way better. “I love you, Kady,” sighed Finn. “I’m glad we came to the Galapagos.” It was just… nice, in every sense of the word.
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“Love you too, meganerd,” she said, and as the tide began to roll in, she very charitably unearthed Finn’s feet from beneath the sand.
