Upright and Locked Position

[paradoxpanda]

Artemis tugged on the rigging line, her back straining as she did, the effort clear on her knotted brow as she pulled on the rope, the sails slowly sliding into position. The sun was still below the horizon, the distant orange light only beginning to break the inky night sky. Though the weather had been warm the past few days, a cool breeze had rolled In over the ocean, the early hour doing little to aid the temperature. But, it was a needed unpleasantness, if she was going to take advantage of the wind patterns. That, and she didn’t want to have to face any goodbyes. This place, for years, had been her home. But that was a long time ago. Home is where the heart is after all, and her heart wasn’t anywhere near here.

Looking over her ship, the young woman was struck with the weight of it all. The time she’d spent, long hours under the sun, fixing the vessel, rebuilding its damaged components, learning how all the pieces we’re put together. She was no shipwright, she didn’t understand how to build a boat. But she knew this ship. Knew every pin and bolt and plank of wood. It was a ship she’d poured herself into for so long, that now, with the finish line upon her, it seemed unreal that the moment was here. That, in just a few more minutes, she could cut the tether lines and rise up to the top of the world. She’d flown before, her power let her take to the skies as often as she wanted. Yet, all the same, this first flight filled her stomach with butterflies.

Looking over the railing, down at the ground, Artemis wondered if the one person she was waiting on would show. Part of her wished she didn’t. The journey that was about to begin was a long one, and there was no guarantee of safety. Yet at the same time, Artemis wasn’t sure she was prepared to make the journey alone.

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"Don't fret Mother, we won't be gone long," Rhapsody lied as she held back tears and watched her mother let them flow.

"Promise?" Her mother pleaded. She couldn't lie again to her mother and all Rhapsody could do was force a smile and walked out the door. She would be back; this was home.

She would come home someday.

However, today she was late. Rhapsody reached down and picked a small pack and began a swift jog down a familiar path. It had been hard work, Artemis and Rhapsody had spent years gathering materials and repairing the flying ship, months packing supplies and plotting their journey, and days breaking the news to friends and family. All of that time was all spent working up to this very moment, the moment two young woman took sail. Sail into the sky. Rhapsody was scared, but her excitement was greater and it put a smile upon her face and buried her fear.

Rhapsody then rounded one last corner of trees and saw them, Artemis and her beautiful ship the Zypher Anima. Of course Artemis wasn't late, she was always on top of things. Rhapsody's old friend was peering over the railing down the road and right Rhapsody. "Hey!" Rhapsody waved up at Artemis before beginning her usual mount onto the ship by kicking off a nearby boulder, performing a neat flip and landing deftly on the ship's refurbished deck.

Her face shone as she looked first at her friend and then the rest of the ship. The ship was not only repaired but someone had already prepped for take off. Artemis had been here a while and she had been getting ready to leave. Rhapsody chuckled, "Haha, it almost looks like you were going to leave without me." She ran over to stand beside Artemis, her backside against the rail and smiled at her old friend, "We ready to go Cap'n Arty?"

[paradoxpanda]

Over the crest of the hill came the familiar sight of Rhapsody, the childhood friend hustling up the path, a big ol’ grin on her face. The doubts which had been mulling about, circling through Artemis’s thoughts, faded away. Yes, it was dangerous. Yes, they we’re setting off in a ship which had been assembled by two untrained girls. And yes, they we’re aiming for the grand line. But all this did little to change the fact that if something did go wrong, something which she couldn’t handle on her own, there we’re few people that Artemis would rather have at her side than Rhapsody.

“Leave without you? Not likely.” She said, smiling, the first rays of light starting to break over the sea “If I wanted to fly off alone, I wouldn’t have bothered putting this beauty back together”. Standing straight, stretching her arms above her head, raising up on her tippy toes, letting her back muscles tense and relax, before returning to a more natural posture, having shaken off the stiffness in her limbs. “Heh, Captain Arty. Guess I’ll be introducing myself as that from now on”. There it was again, that feeling of unreality. For all the time she’d spent planning over logistics, supplies, course, ammo…she’d never once thought about what it’d be like to become a captain.

“Yup, she’s all set to cast off.” Artemis responded. “just gotta cut the anchoring lines, and we’ll cast off.”

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Rhapsody nodded and opened the small pack she brought with her. As the top flap fell away a cloud of steam rose from the satchel and with it the aroma of sweet honey. And when one would think her smile could get any bigger, Rhapsody grinned wider as she produced a large linen napkin in a neat bundle. She then unwrapped the napkin to reveal a very large square of golden cornbread and handed both napkin and bread to Artemis, "Hey, figured you be hungry so I baked this for you this morning. Don't know the next time I'll get to use an oven." Rhapsody then delicately licked her fingers, " Careful it's sticky. I glazed it with Miss Berta's honey I 'borrowed.'"

And with that Rhapsody quickly looked around the ship to make sure everything was ready and then took a running vault back off the ship an onto the ground. She moved over to the first of two knotted ropes tied to trees and with precise dexterity untied it. The ship lurched and Rhapsody dashed over to the remaining rope while drawing her dagger, grabbed ahold of the rope with one hand and slashed it with the other. Free from it's restraints the Zypher Anima was vulnerable to the wind which quickly picked up the flying vessel. The ship lurched toward and quickly began to gather both speed and altitude. Holding tight to her rope Rhapsody was swung forward alongside the ship arcinng upward at a high velocity. She then released into the air to land safely besides Artemis on the deck into a raised salute, "We're away Captain!"

Rhapsody then closed her eyes as the wind blew through her well kept hair and began to sing,

Fly little bird fly
It is time to leave the nest
And fly with the rest
The wind is calling you
Into the sky blue
Your tiny wings shall carry you to and fro
And may they one day bring you home
Fly little bird fly

Just as the last notes left Rhapsody's lips the ship jerked violently knocking the young woman onto her butt.

Rhapsody laughed merrily.

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[paradoxpanda]

With a normal ship, you really only have two directions to worry about. Port/starboard and bow/stern. That simplicity is not carried over into movement in the air, which now adds an up and down onto the other directions. Given this, the ship controls was a tad more complex than just a helm. In addition to the large wooden wheel, there was a abundance of levers and cranks, which we’re connected to a variety of fins and airfoils, all of which worked to help keep the ship level as it moved. As Rhaps sliced the mooring lines, Artemis felt the ship lurch suddenly, the wind taking it, the ship rising up to the heavens. “We’re off!” she cried, smiling from ear to ear.

The wooden planks creaked and groaned as the ship flew, the whole thing rocking back and forth in the breeze. Despite the thrill of the moment, it was tense for Artemis. Being capable of flight herself, she had a vauge idea of how to steer the ship, of air currents to be wary of and such turbulences. That said, this was her first time flying an entire ship, and she was playing a lot of it by ear. She only half registered Rhaps singing, focusing more on trying to find a calm patch of air and keeping the ship level. When the ship suddenly jerked to one side, Artemis would have been tossed to the side. “Hang on to som-“ was all she had time to say before the lift suddenly cut out and the whole ship dropped a good ten feet straight down, then suddenly stopped and hung motionless in the air. This time, Artemis wasn’t as lucky, slamming face first into the deck, her head ringing from the blow.

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She was weightless. For less than a fraction of a second Rhapsody soared through the air. Her laughter was cut off by a shriek as she fell back onto the ships deck. Air rushed out of her lungs as her back struck the wooden planks. Rhapsody's eyes filled with tears as she tried to reorient herself and regain her breath.

Fear has now won out over her excitement. Rhapsody's smile was replaced with a pained grimace.

They didn't repair the ship properly, and she was going to die just seconds after take off. Adrenaline pumped through the girl's body as she forced herself to get up on her feet. Through watery vision she could see Artemis laying prone near the ship's wheel. Rhapsody clambered across the now still deck over to her friend who seemed to be nursing a head blow.

"Arty! Are you okay?" Rhapsody looked up from her friend to the ship's control. The wheel began to turn and she instinctively grabbed it and held it still. She unfortunately didn't remember how to work the petals and levers despite Artemis' explanations. However, at the moment they stood still. For how long though? "Arty, now would be a good time to sprout those wings of yours!"

The ship made another yet much smaller hiccup, but Rhapsody held tightly to the wheel. She had to hold back tears of terror.

[paradoxpanda]

Artemis could tell that Rhaps was talking to her, the voice was easily recognizable, even If the actual words we’re a bit muffled due to the recent head shock. Her vision was swimming and blurred, one which she had to take a moment to shake off, breathing in a few gulps of air before she recovered enough to make the world stop spinning. Rhap was at the helm, doing her best to hold the ship steady, and seeming to succeed at that goal. They weren’t falling at the moment, just hovering in place. Despite the dire straits, Artemis’s thoughts we’re clear and focused. At this height, a total failure of the ships lifting systems would mean that they had about thirty seconds before impact. Meaning that if the airfoils didn’t hold up, there’d be a very small window to fix them. Blotting out other sounds, Artemis listened to her ship. The hull wasn’t creaking, so there wasn’t any strain there, there wasn’t any banging or clanking, which would indicate some of the gears had slid out of alignment. The ship gave another jolt, a smaller one, and this time the Captain managed to keep her sea legs, and avoided another tumble.

Rhapsody suggested sprouting wings, and that was exactly what Artemis did. Her form morphed, feathers appearing across her skin, a blur of emerald along her back as her wing strokes hummed to life. Taking flight, she darted to the underside of the ship, checking the mechanisms. The problem was clear, one of the lift wings had come loose and was dangling. Zipping over to it, and giving a heave with her back, she tried to push the loose joint back into place. It was at that moment the ship dropped again, the full weight of the airship striking Artemis as it came down on her. Thankfully, the sudden punch did work with her own efforts and slid the piece into position. Immediately, the ship stabilized, which was more than could be said for Artemis, who flew back up to the deck with a rather lopsided movements. Still, she was doing well for someone who had almost been smacked out of the air by her own ship. “There” She half spoke, half coughed, trying to get her wind back. “That should help for a bit.” She walked slowly over to the controls, shifting back to her human form, and pulled a few of the levers, setting the ship to a slow glide down to lower altitudes, where the air would be more stable and less taxing on the ship.

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Fear gave way to relief in Rhapsody as she watched Artemis get to her feet and begin a miraculous transformation. She gasped at the abrupt take off and clean swoop in which Artemis departed the ship and zoomed out of sight. Rhapsody knew that Artemis hadn't abandoned her, their relationship was so far beyond such betrayal that it didn't even enter Rhapsody's mind. For several years Rhapsody had watched her friend fly, and every time she saw such a feat it always amazed her. However, such amazement was short lived this time as the ship's wheel suddenly felt the need to fight violently against Rhapsody's grip. Rhapsody had to bend her legs and contort her back to keep a tight hold on the wheel's present orientation. But as quickly as the chaos came it soon left leaving the wheel limp in the girl's hands.

Where was Artemis? Maybe any needed repairs were beyond her. Maybe she needed Rhapsody's help. However, before Rhapsody could do anything the ship drop several feet again. She held tightly to the wheel and was eventually slammed against it as the ship regained stability. This time she suffered little injury and quickly returned to her feet.

That's when Artemis returned to the deck and claimed that the ship was in a better condition. Rhapsody watched as Artemis took a hold of the ship's controls. She stood in silence for a few seconds and then broke out in tears and a nervous laughter, "Ha ha ha, wuh-ha wow... ha... ha... whew." She exhaled looking down and then concentrated on taking several extended breath to calm herself. After this she stepped over to her friend and threw her arms around her, "Thank you Arty."

Rhapsody then released her friend, wiped away her tears and began walking down the deck to where she left her package which miraculously stayed on board. After picking that up she saw the linen napkin which also managed to stay on the ship and within it still was the slice of cornbread, still steaming. Rhapsody's famous smile returned as she bounded over to the napkin, scooped it up and ran back to Artemis. "Here, your probably need to refuel."

[paradoxpanda]

“No sweat” Artemis responded, dismissing Rhapsody’s thanks. “It was nothing”. Laying low, catching her breath, Artemis was almost surprised when her friend seemed to reed her thoughts and arrives with something to munch on, a bit of the cornbread. Taking the offering, the Captain took a few bites of the bread, the spongy texture warming her inside. Feeling her strength restored, she took the helm proper. Their altitude had dropped down to around 50 ft above the water’s surface, the calmer air putting much less strain on the ship. “We should be alright for now, so long as we don’t push her to hard.” She explained, partially to calm Rhapsody’s nerves, partially for calming her own. “That said, I’m not sure she’s ready to head for the Grand Line.”

Leaving the helm, Artemis moved to the rigging, adjusting the sails a bit to try and better catch the wind flow as it whipped over the surf. For a moment, she paused and looked back. Their flight, as short as it had been so far, had already carried them well away from their home, the island of Raito was beginning to fade over the horizon. Surprisingly, Artemis was happy to see it go. For the longest time, the island had been a prison, not a home.

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It made Rhapsody happy to see Artemis eat the cornbread. She remembered both of them being light eaters until the day Artemis ate the Hummingbird fruit. She had become a ravenous eater especially whenever she flew, and Rhapsody had quickly learned this. Thus Rhapsody took up cooking. And thanks to her history of chemistry work, baking and cooking to her came naturally.

Rhapsody again opened the satchel she brought and took out small wrapped candy the size of a large marble. On the wrapped was a crudely drawn strawberry with a cartoonish "angry" face and lightning bolts around it. She tossed the wrapped candy to Artemis"Hey I brought a couple batches of those 'sugar batteries' you love to suck on." The "sugar batteries" were Rhapsody's unique invention specially made for Artemis. They were large hard candies made mostly of sugar and extracts from various fruits. Artemis could suck on them over a long period of time or if she crushed them with her teeth, the candy easily dissolved into a fine powder for quick energy. Problem was, they took a full kitchen to make. Not the dinky stove the Zypher Animus currently held. There use to be a fully stocked and furnished kitchen on board, but the appliances had been beyond the girls' ability to repair. Rhapsody walked up to Artemis and said, "Hey remind me, when we go 'borrowing' things, that we need a new kitchen. As long as the ship can handle one..."

Then Rhapsody saw that Artemis was looking over the stern of the ship and couldn't help but follow her gaze, "Wow, we're so far away..." Rhapsody couldn't help but feel a tug on her heart. Unlike Artemis, Rhapsody was leaving family and a life behind on the island she called home. She dismissed the thought however, they were on an adventure just like her father use to go on.

"Look how fast we go! We must go much faster than normal ships." Rhapsody looked at her friend, "That'll give us quite the edge huh?"

[paradoxpanda]

Catching the tossed candy, Artemis noticed the familiar brand logo on the wrapper. Rhapsody had whipped these up as a sort of compact meal. It contained a bunch of calories, and was great for giving an extra surge of energy when the chips were down. Her brief flight hadn’t taken that much out of her, so she pocked the candy. “I’ll hold on to this one for later” She commented “And like you said, till we get a proper kitchen, there’s not to many to go around. Best save what we got for the time being.” The idea of putting a kitchen on had some merit, though everything would have to be modified. Last thing they needed would be the stove or oven to start a fire when the ship suddenly gave a lurch or hit a patch of turbulent air.

“All right, we’ll look at getting a kitchen." She nodded, having reached a conclusion "Probably should buy one rather than steal it, just to be on the safe side. I don’t know enough about machinery to know how you’re supposed to install an oven or fridge.”

As the two looked back, Artemis nodding her head in agreement, she patted the rail of the ship, feeling sort of like a proud parent. “Ya, she’s fast alright. I know, if I we're on a normal ship, I wouldn’t want to see this girl come flying over the horizon, guns ablaze.”

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"Yes, guns a'blazing, Rhapsody replied while rubbing a now coloring bruise on her back, "Just so long as we are actually flying across the horizon and not skipping across it." The repairs on the flying vessel had been minimal, just enough to get the beauty off the ground and semi-safely to point A to point B. Just so long as point B was very close to point A. "Well we should probably first spend what little money we have on some decent repairs."

Rhapsody patted Artemis comfortingly on the back before returning to the ships wheel. She had faith in her friend. Artemis has always been there for Rhapsody and gotten her out of trouble more times than Rhapsody could remember. Rhapsody began to whistle a cheerful sailor's song to match her mood. She opened a foot locker that was fastened near the wheel and dropped her pack inside which contained the remainder of the candies. Closing it she looked up and grabbed the wheel. She paused her whistling to speak, "So how about you remind me how to take care the ship so you can actually sleep while we fly"

Then her whistling continued.

[paradoxpanda]

Artemis chuckled at the ‘skipping’ comment that her companion made. Despite it being a very real and dangerous possibility, given the less than ideal performance thus far, it was just such an amusing image that she couldn’t help but laugh at it. “Agreed, first step is to find a decent repair man” She nodded. As if in response to the words, the ship gave a shudder, but settled without plummeting again. Rhapsody commented about wanting to learn more about the operation of the ship so that she could take over for the night shift. “Heh, I don’t think there’s much chance of getting a good night sleep yet, the klabautermann isn’t exactly friendly with us yet.”

Regardless of this, it was a good idea to ensure that all of both of the crew could tend to the ship and manipulate the controls. “Almighty, let’s get started” Putting the ship to a stop, Artemis went about giving her friend a crash course, in the hopes of avoiding a literal crash course. Two friends, held in the sky by an ancient ship which fell down from somewhere even further above, Artemis and Rhapsody prepared themselves to head on into the big wide world.

THE END