They'd been tailing Solitaire for well over a half hour before there was any sign of their intended destination.

That sign, of course, was a knee-jerk reaction from Lyric when they began to approach a part of the city that transitioned into more of a cape-town setting.

"Wait, wait, don't tell me you're taking us to..."

She began to frantically look about, and once the girl had finally noticed their guide struggling to hold in laughter, she may as well have burst from joy alone. "ACE! HOW'D YOU KNOW!?"

Solitaire offered no more than a shrug, though her expression suggested there was more to it.

"I try to pay attention to my acquaintances'-..." She shook her head. "...erm, friends', habits. It's certainly an acquired taste, but, still one I'll need to develop if my studies as an Heir are of any importance to me."

Kyoya tried as best he could to think of how such a hardened individual could have been swayed in such a way that flustered her at so little as admitting friendship, but something in him considered that it may have also simply been no more than a hidden fault of hers.

"Hey, it's definitely something worth having, either way."

Both the Seraph and the Princess seemed content with his addition, the trio continuing on the loading docks of a bustling port.

Lyric leaned into him, covering one hand over the outside of her face and beginning to whisper.

"It probably doesn't take much to tell, but she's a little new to the whole 'socializing' bit. Ace's been tryin' to work on it ever since she got in the spotlight after some politician-y stuff... so, try to cut her some slack when you can."

"I don't have any right to talk, either. No sweat."

Sensations previously unknown soon moved weightlessly through them: the caress of a cool, friendly sea breeze flowing about the group before moving on to greet the incoming waves of visitors. Smells similar to those of Teleo's seafood markets gave rise to memories, ones of strolling through the aisles and picking out the perfect catch for his father to set and serve the following evening, ending the day in a feast like no other.

He couldn't even try to stop himself from standing straighter, breathing deeper, smiling wider, just to accommodate such a revitalizing feeling.

Kyoya could see what seemed to be the ocean just past several lines of buildings and bridges, nestled up against the horizon. But, upon further inspection, he caught sight of more land just barely within the scope of his vision. The mass curved back around from the opposite end of this water body, ultimately resulting in this leg of the kingdom being shaped like a crescent around the lagoon, which then fed out into the open sea.

But, it was the monstrous speartip snout hailing from some kind of massive swordfish that seemed to steal the show from everything around it.

To their immediate front-left, which Solitaire was ever-so-gleefully leading them, stood a building that may as well have walked up and said, "Ahoy."

It was an establishment of similar overall size to the colosseum, built almost exclusively of wood, silver, and gold, capturing a pirate theme with several decorative flags flying banners of fish skeletons alongside skull-and-crossbones designs. It was square at the bottom, which connected to a part of the port that was entirely wooden. On what appeared to be the second level, it was more cylindrical, and eventually thinned at the top to reach that swordfish steeple. Resting just below the tip of that snout, were two massive golden letters, reading "G. G."

Soon enough, the main entrance was right before their eyes, with Lyric's in particular absolutely gleaming.

She leaned in to whisper once again.

"See, there's plenty of good eats in Altaire, obviously... but nobody does it quite like Goldbeard's Galleon. Seafood fanatics from all over Takera make it a divine dining duty to stop by here whenever the chance crops up -- myself included. Just a guilty pleasure."

"I think I've actually heard of this place before! My sister used to-" Kyoya's excitement dulled quicker than he could keep up with, having to pretend that the thought slipped his mind so to keep Lyric from getting antsy.

"Your sister used to...?" She echoed.

"I... I think I forgot?" Kyoya lied. "But, whatever I was gonna say, it was probably gonna end up at me being a fan of fish."

Apparently convinced by his ploy, Lyric continued on.

"Right? And swimming, and boat rides, and-"

"...Well, not so much on those parts, actually."

"Whaddya' mean, 'not so much?' If you like fish, you've gotta love-"

"No, no, I love both just fine!" Kyoya shook his hands to clear up that end of things, sighing as a bit of humility began to peek through his usual top-of-the-line front. "I just-... I'm not much for water."

Lyric raised an exceptionally suspicious brow.

"...Not much for water."

"Yep."

"...Not much for water?"

"I just said yes-!" Kyoya was beginning to feel that insecurity flaring again, but Lyric beginning to giggle like a maniac stole his attention.

"So you mean to tell me, mister 'OVERKILL OUTBURST', evaporates Seventh Sea, and loves seafood, is actually just afraid of getting his feet wet?"

"Is that so wrong!? Everybody's got their fears, and mine just happens to be water!"

Lyric scoffed, crossing her arms.

"No, no, this isn't gonna cut it. No partner of mine is gonna be a poor little thalassophobe, Blue. We'll see to it that we stomp that out before we even find the next member of the Defiant." She flashed a thumbs up and accompanying smirk, only giving more reason for him to grimace at the thought of even having to stand at the edge of the dock. "For starters, we'll take baby steps. So, how about I give you a nickname that'll make you think of water whenever I say it, like exposure therapy?"

"Listen, I don't think that's exactly how exposure therapy works. And, two, isn't Blue good enough? Water's blue, that should be fine-"

He was cut short in an instant.

"Wrong answer! Water can be green, blue, brown, hell, I can even make it look like a rainbow tossed its lunch! Just Blue's too basic! So, how about..." She paused and thought.

And thought.

And thought...

Then, that devilish grin crept its way onto her face.

"Fine, lay it on me, already." Kyoya sighed.

"...Muskrat."

He gagged.

"THAT'S A LOW BLOW, EVEN FOR YOU!"

"HA! And think of what else I could do! Miskrit just has so many perfect line-ups! Let's see... We've got Muskrat, maybe... Miskito! And Mozzie incase I'm feeling generous! Gosh, there's just so much!"

In spite of it all, by now, everything she'd said had lost the negative afterthought. The idea he'd considered before, of this teasing being almost endearing, began to fill the blanks left by her remarks. It was clear that, behind all of it, she was having fun. If nothing else, seeing her like that made it seem like the doom and gloom of the real world was just a little bit less of a problem.

"Y'know, I'm half-surprised you didn't say Miscreant." The boy added.

Lyric thought that over.

"Not a bad point, but I guess I missed it for a reason. I'm sure somebody else might think long and hard to give you a nickname like that..."

Kyoya hadn't expected her to feel so strongly about so little as the suggestion of a nickname. Though, in that same vain, he figured that with the value she found in such a gesture as a secret-handshake, there were surely things he'd yet to iron out with her. "...I dunno. Just wouldn't sit right with me, no biggie."

The clearing of a throat prompted them to both look forward.

Solitaire stood with a humored stare their way.

"I wouldn't suppose you two still have plans to come in? If not, I'd be happy to acquaint the both of you at one of the Red-Light district's inns-"

The duo matched each other in a combined recoil.

"THE WHAT!?"

"Nothing, nothing, I must just be getting ahead of myself. Why don't we eat?"

Both Legends fell in line behind the Adventurer-Princess, who in turn led them into the restaurant's doors.

Lyric let one last whisper slip.

"...And, I'd be willing to bet that she's got more than one personality floatin' around in there."

Kyoya couldn't have said it better.

"No matter how much I might disagree with you, I'll believe that."