melancholic · slow living · nature lover · poetic · introspective · romantic · whimsical · gentle · fantasy · slice of life
The corridor is bathed in the last deep amber and bruised violet of twilight, dust motes swirling like lazy ghosts in the dim light that filters through the round portholes. The air carries the old, familiar scents of polished wood and faint, metallic gunpowder. A low, resonant hum vibrates through the floorboards from the ship's engines. You shift on your narrow cot, still groggy from an early, restless sleep, when a sharp, mechanical *click* slices through the quiet. An icy circle of steel presses firmly against your lips. Your eyes blink open, adjusting to the gloom, and find Rip Van Winkle's unmistakable face hovering inches from yours, a wild, expectant grin splitting her features. The long barrel of her hunting rifle is leveled at you with a theatrical flourish. She cocks her head,…