Orio threw a ball at the cabin's wall repeatedly. The purple ball bounced back at them and whacked them in the face only 20% of the time. [Are you not gonna sleep?]

The ball struck the wall again and bounced back to Orio's hand. And again and again. They paid no attention to my question and continued to idle away. [Ahem. Orio?]

"Ah." They rolled the ball away and stood up. They strolled towards me and sat at the spot next to me. Currently, I was sitting right in front of the cabin's door.

Orio pulled a nightcap out from their sleeve and placed it on top of their helmet. "I don't know. Maybe I will." They then rested their head on my legs.

Orio was somehow still a little bit dusty. Maybe they just gain dust easily or this room was filled with hidden dust storms.

[Hey quick question, are you fine now?]

"Well, my throat still hurts but the spinning stopped."

[That shaking must have been rough but you do have to agree that our dance was great.]

"Was it? I wasn't able to see any of it clearly."

[Of course, it was! I was guiding you the whole time.]

"Yes... You were." Orio raised a thumbs-up right at my face.

[Hmm.] I started to pet Orio's helmet slowly. [Are you scared?]

"What? No." They flexed their right arm which had no muscle. "I'm as brave as ever."

[I see.]

I don't want to sound too soft here but Orio was like a young cheerful innocent child to me. Well not necessarily cheerful, they had no emotions whatsoever normally. But they do scream for their life when given the opportunity, like earlier's little dance.

And by seeing them as a child, I, kind of and want to, be a parental role for them. However I know nothing about them, I don't how old they are all and I don't even know what they look like. Not even their name, I just started calling them Orio because it was written in the contract.

Actually, what am I thinking? I'm not here to play parent, I'm here to pay back the debt. Wait no, I'm here to move on from my old band. That's it! How could I even entertain the idea of being a parent to somebody who I know damn nothing about? If anything I should be an older sister and not a mom.

"Scarlet."

[Huh?] I withdrew my hand and looked down at Orio. [What is it?]

"Thank you. Even if our first day of traveling was a little rough, it was still quite fun because of you."

[Oh. Is that so? Hey, am I your favorite member now?!]

"Let me think about it." Orio twiddle their thumbs and gazed off into the dusty ceiling. "I guess since you are the only one who hasn't retired, you're my favorite active band member."

[Number 1 by process of elimination is fine by me!]

"But if I were to include retired then it would be Grim."

[I mean good choice but come on. Why isn't it me? I'm quite clearly the star.]

"Scarlet I see each one of you as bright unobtainable stars high in the sky. Well except for you since I did obtain you."

[Even Bass? And before I forget, shut it.]

"The weirdo? I guess. I mean he's the closest to being an actual star. A true star star. But if I were to put him in ranking he would be 4th."

[And then me third and of course Jean second right?]

"No, Jean's voice isn't really to my liking."

[Wait so that means I'm number 2? That's fine by me, I don't mind playing second fiddle to Grim. Hahaha... Actually, I do mind. ]

"Grim is still my favorite."

[Shhh. Hush now... Hey Orio.] I raised my left hand and scratched the back of my head. [How's your family? I mean like, parental figures, do you have any?]

"Why? This is an odd question."

[I don't know, maybe you're just the typical dead parents orphan... You know a dime a dozen those sad drifters.]

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Orio got up and dusted their clothes. "I'm gonna go to bed miss." They walked towards the tiny bed in the corner and jumped onto it.

[Good night I guess.] I'm gonna take that answer as a slight maybe. I flopped on the floor and faced the cabin wall. It was dusty and old. But it wasn't old enough to have that eerie dark wooden feel to it. It had more of an antique expensive scholarly feel to it. I didn't like it.

I turned around and was directly facing the decapitated head of the land herton. Hello there buddy. How's the view? Is it to your liking? Now that you're dead you can stare at this sexy rockstar all you want.

[Hahaha...] I flipped the head around and got up. I grabbed the door handle, twisted it softly, and left the room. It was dark and the sea was silent. I walked past the multiple scattered fish on the ground and toward one of the fishing rods.

I don't know how to use this but I might as well try. It's quite boring after all and I'm not a fan of sleeping when the night is so beautiful. I lifted the rod and pulled on the hook. The fishing rod's black line elongated and something turned on the bottom.

I threw the hook into the water and clenched the handle of the rod. Now time to wait.

[...]

[...]

I looked down at the dark abyss below. It would have been pure darkness if it wasn't for the particular shiny moon tonight. I gazed up at the moon and examined it greatly. It was still the same old moon.

Huh. I need a new guitar. The only one I have left is my plain-signed guitar. I'm not using that guitar and never will. No matter the situation. I'm so thirsty.

I let go of the fishing rod and watched it sink. My hand moved down to my pocket and took out a cloth-covered bottle. I twisted the cap off and moved it toward my mouth. I emptied its content inside my mouth and let out a nasty burp.

I covered the bottle with the cap and shoved it down my pocket. I then stopped everything, all the current actions halted, it was nothingness. I fell to the ground from my weak legs and I closed my eyes.

[I wish upon a star, let my wish be true. Give me a pleasant night and guide me towards my rainbow path.]

My mind turned hazy and I soon fell deep into slumber. The taste of alcohol and heresy was strong in my mouth. It was sweet and bitter but mostly sour.

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"Scarlet!" A three-eyed wooden totem yelled at me. "Let's talk bingo." The totem had five layers, the bottom was a hawk, the top was a cat, and the three in the middle each had a massive blinking human eye. "So a five-in-a-row is a win, right? But let me tell you something."

I ignored my sibling's stupid rambling and spun the noodles around my fork. I was eating some bland noodles with no sauce. "Sure thing Rex. I'm totally listening." I examined the cafe, looking for any funny paintings to look at while ignoring Rex.

The cafe had a cat theme doing on. There were pictures of multiple people with cat ears wearing housekeeping clothes. There were multiple hearts plastered on the walls and the rest of the tables were empty.

"But apparently a five in a row that is not in a row is also a win." The totem's eyes blinked at different intervals and the blind cat's mouth barely kept up with the conversation. "So ant created like a sure way guaranteed way to win. We won like 20% of our games after using it."

"Rex," I interrupted the noise and left the cafe. I don't want to talk about this anymore." I sat comfortably in something flashy and soft. The totem was next to me floating on top of the same exotic material.

The bottom hawk cackled with laughter while the eyes all dilated and watched front ahead. In front of the totem was a spinning circle. "So like the big bingo fanatic got mad at us and banned ant." I could barely follow the fast words leaving the totem's mouth. All I could focus on was the constant stream of air that struck my face and the buildings and ships we were passing.

I looked down and saw a white road that differed from the bumpy dirt ground that surrounded the road. "So I got really angry and I wanted to like smack the bingo fanatic but ant said not to. I couldn't care how much time is wasted but I would have gone it if ant wanted to."

I peered at the bottom of our chairs and saw four black wheels that spun slowly. "So after some time, I started annoying the bingo fanatic as a type of revenge and the bingo fanatic like started seething with rage."

The totem's middle layer turned towards me and the eyes pupil opened up. A small yet long talon extended in a straight line before turning a sharp 90 degrees to the left. the talon tapped and twisted something on a box.

Music started coming out of the box. Music filled with the ferocious beats of a drum, the talented cries of a keyboard and vocals, and the burning passion of a bass. Something was missing from this song. "So like, after some like couple of years. I devoured the weakling and went to super deep slumber. It was definitely like as long as yours. Maybe even longer."

"I see."

Our mode of transportation suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. The music turned into an irritating grating sound and the water surrounding us began rising.

"Scarlet. Leave. Your fan is waiting. Put on that show and stop stinking up my car. Remember. I'm here"

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I woke up and was immediately greeted by the sight of a humongous humanoid creature in the sea with inky black skin and a pair of large, glowing white eyes.

The creature had no mouth but it still produced speech. "Yaa yaa! Give me a barrel." The once-calm weather soon turned into a nightmare as the rain pummeled our ship.

[Huh?] I wobbled up, still a little dazed, and quickly slapped myself. [Grah!] The pain confirmed this was not a dream and it awoke me to my not-so-fullest senses.

"Give me a barrel, sailor." The creature gazed at me with anticipation. I responded with a scowl. [Or what?! You ink-covered rain-summoning mouthless sea-dwelling freak!]

"..." The creature raised its massive hand and wiggled its fingers. "I will crush your puny boat."

[Oh.]

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Greetings there my good friends. Sorry I wasn't to come and hang out with you last time. I heard you got attacked by a tentacle, hopefully, that foul beast didn't leave any marks. Anyway moving on, isn't the calm sea just so pleasing to the eyes? You're out here in the night, just sipping some piña colada. How wonderful.

When suddenly, your whole star gazing is interrupted by something massive rising from the waters. A Umibōzu has appeared. Its sudden rise sent tidal waves of water at you and its overwhelming presence soon turned the peaceful weather into a fierce storm.

But worry not, my important attractive friend, for it might spare you life if you obey its commands. But I hardly doubt that. Oh, the humanity.

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I entered the cabin in a rush, my body was dripping wet and my mind was finally fully sober. Inside was Orio, deeply visiting the kingdom of dreams on the bed. I tidied their blanket and tucked them in.

I looked around the room and spotted multiple barrels. [Why is it always so hard when you have no instruments?!] I carried the empty barrels out and rolled them.

[Here are your damn barrels!]

The creature blinked and glanced at the barrels. Its hand formed a thumbs down and its eyes stared at me.

"Drown."