[piosenniel]

The evening passed uneventfully into night. The fishing boat and its crew were long gone from the waters, their nets hauled on board, the boat safely docked until the morrow. Most of the Star’s crew had gone below to catch what rest they could. Even Angara lay lost in dreamings, perched on her mast lookout.

Pio sat on the deck, her feet dangling over the side of the ship. Her arms were draped on the lower railing, and cradled her head as she looked out over the waves, backlit by silvered moonlight. The water slapped against the hull of the Star in an irregular rhythm. The ebb and flow of its intensity rocked the ship in a lulling manner.

Far across the waters, to the northwest, the elf’s piercing eyes caught the movement of some small shadow moving through the waves at a steady pace toward the Star. It drew nearer, and she could see the outline of a single, small sail, billowed out, though the night was still and no breeze stirred.

Now the skiff came into clearer view, as it passed through a ribbon of moonlight. A single figure stood at the tiller, intent on making for the ship. Pio stood and moved into the shadows, pulling the darkness about her as a cloak, her eyes never leaving the approaching craft .It pulled silently alongside the Star, its sail now gone flat, and the figure within made to secure it to the ship.

The elf leapt silently down to the skiff , sword drawn, as the pilot pulled the last hitch tight. ‘Make no moves!’ she hissed quietly at the caped and hooded figure. She flipped back the hood with the tip of her sword to reveal the intruder’s face.

‘Ancalimon!’ she cried out in surprise. ‘I did not expect you to come so quickly!’

He looked at her closely as she resheathed her weapon, and stood now smiling before him.

‘Piosenniel? I thought not to see you here. What has happened?’