The following days were once again swallowed by constant practice. Maya sparred Patty in the morning. She ate a quick lunch and then spent several hours communicating with the lake. She quickly realized that the large pool had some very…unique mannerisms.

“Could you grab the coconut?” Maya asked the appendage of water protruding from her shoulder.

The water – or at least this lake – clearly enjoyed forming itself into an arm. It reached down and grabbed the coconut. Maya extended her hand, but the water lifted the coconut away.

“Really?” Maya asked, grabbing for her meal. The coconut once again evaded her grasp, and the pirate gave the arm a glare.

The arm reared back and launched the coconut into the air. Maya sighed as it disappeared into the horizon.

“That’s the fourth one,” Patty observed, munching on a handful of fruit.

“I know,” Maya grumbled.

“The fourth one today,” Patty added.

“I know!”

Patty offered Maya some of the fruit she’d collected. The captain took them, thanking her crewmate and shoveling the food into her mouth immediately after.

“How long do you think it’s going to take Cyll and Akrun to finish the boat?” Maya asked. “We’ve already been here for nearly three weeks.”

“I don’t know how long it normally takes to make a boat, but I feel like a god would probably do it quicker than average,” Patty said. “But, why? Are you in a rush to leave?”

“Not really,” Maya said, a frown crossing her face. “But there’s something I need to tell both of you, and I’d like to do it when you’re both here.”

“Is it about your past?” The puppet inquired.

Maya started, looking up from her food in surprise. The puppet let out a slight chuckle at her captain’s expression.

“Cyll looked shocked when Akrun mentioned something about a World Tree,” Patty explained. “I’m assuming you want to tell us about that.”

“Damn, you’re perceptive,” Maya said. “It’s not a World Tree, it’s the World Tree, Yggdrasill. It has to do with why I want to be a pirate in the first place, and will directly affect both of you as members of my crew.”

“Sounds interesting,” Patty said. “I don’t mind waiting to hear it, if that’s what you’re trying to find out.”

Maya opened her mouth. Then she closed it again.

“Thanks, Patty.”

The puppet just smiled at her and stuffed some more berries into her mouth.

The next week passed by quickly. They continued their routine, although Maya still didn’t make much progress with her abilities. As the month drew to a close, in the middle of the night, the ground rumbled.

It started with a slight vibration. Within seconds, the earth itself was violently heaving and throwing. Maya and Patty sat bolt upright.

“What’s going on?” Patty yelled over the din.

“No clue, but we need to get away from the tall trees!” Maya called back. A coconut thudded into the ground beside the captain, punctuating her point.

The two of them dashed for the beach as the island threatened to shake itself apart behind them. A violent crunch tore through the night. The island cracked down the middle like an egg. There was a sound reminiscent of a thunderstorm from deep within the bowels of the earth.

A small form launched into the air from within the crack. Before the figure could even reach the ground, the island snapped shut. Maya squinted up at the small dot that was rapidly descending through the air towards them.

“Is that Cyll?” Maya asked.

Patty didn’t get a chance to respond. The figure slammed into the ground with a loud thud. Both of them grimaced and looked away as a slew of curses filled the night air.

“Yep,” Patty said unhelpfully as their missing crewmate stormed over to them.

Cyll’s clothes had been absolutely torn to shreds. Mercifully, his pants were somehow mostly in one piece, but everything else might as well not have existed.

“Cyll! You survived!” Maya said, throwing her arms around the gruff man and hugging him tightly. Patty joined in, her arms extending to wrap around both of them.

“Don’t squeeze me to death right after I got away from the god,” the immortal pirate wheezed. Despite his indignant words, his tone was pleased.

They let Cyll go and he glanced around the island. The earthquake had done a lot of damage, but much of its original splendor still remained. The palm trees had lost most of their coconuts, and many of the bushes had been crushed in the earthquake.

Cyll’s eyes locked onto the lake – or at least what remained of it. Over half the water had drained away, but there was still a sizable amount of it.

“Have you two been living it up while I was slaving away underground?” He complained.

“Patty tried to kill me,” Maya said.

“It was really fun,” Patty agreed, nodding.

Cyll dove into the water. He started violently scrubbing the dirt out of his hair and clothes, grumbling the entire time.

“And why was that? Training, I suppose?” He asked.

“You too! Why are both of you so perceptive? It makes me feel like a dunce,” Maya said.

Cyll pulled himself out of the lake, shaking himself out like a wet dog before ruffling Maya’s hair.

“You are a dunce,” he laughed. “And I was training before the city you grew up in even existed. It isn’t the hardest thing to guess.”

Cyll spotted a stray coconut on the ground and grabbed it, cracking it open on a rock and drinking the milk with a loud slurp.

“Speaking of that, before we start talking about the boat and getting off this island, there’s something I need to tell both of you,” Maya said.

“Oh? Did you decide to tell us about your past?” Cyll asked through a mouthful of coconut flesh.

Maya sighed, pouting for a moment before she realized how childish she was being.

“Goddamn it, yes. I swear I can’t surprise either of you with anything.”

“Alive for ten thousand years,” Cyll reminded her. “And get on with it! I’ve been waiting for this.”

“Just how long have you…oh, nevermind,” Maya sighed. “We should sit down. This might take a while.”