Granblue Fantasy: A Skyfaring Were-shark in Auguste

Mari runs to the docks as fast as her legs will allow her. The bakery was much busier than she expected and she’s now running late for her rendezvous with Meg.

 

Oh man, I was really looking forward to getting there early and greeting Meg the moment she stepped off the ship... She thinks as she gets closer to the edge of the island. I just hope I get there before she starts wondering where I am.

 

She approaches the docks, and a Draph who works there waves at her. 

 

“Hey Meg!” She calls out before pointing to the far side of the docks. “They’re down that way!”

 

“Thanks!” She yells back as she hurries in that direction, and catches sight of the biggest ship currently docked, sporting a unique blue paint job that makes it impossible to mistake.

 

It’s the Grandcypher, the airship that Meg works on as a skyfarer. Mari picks up the pace with renewed vigour, and once she rounds the corner to start running down the dock proper she lays eyes on the woman she’s looking for, having just disembarked from the airship with luggage in hand.

 

“Meeeeeeeeeg!” Mari calls out, and Meg looks in her direction, breaking out into a huge smile when she sees her coming.

 

“Mari!” Meg has just enough time to put the luggage down before the heavy Erune leaps right at her with more than enough force to send a regular skydweller flying off their feet. Meg stands strong, however, and Mari wraps herself around the powerful woman as they embrace each other.

 

“I’m so happy to see you, Meg.” Mari finds herself immediately calming down, all the stress from rushing over here simply melting away. This embrace, this smell, everything is just as she remembers it. Meg, her Meg, is here with her again.

 

“Me too, Mari. It’s been a while!” Meg responds. “How have you been?”

 

“I’m doing great now that you’re here!” They let each other go, and Mari plants her feet on the ground once more, only for something to start prodding her side.

 

“Sharrrrrrrk!” Ursula spins around a few times before slowing down so Mari can pet her.

 

Mari chuckles. “Hey Ursula, I missed you too! Been a while since you were last home, huh?”

 

“Sharrrk Sharrrk!” The shark excitedly does a couple of loops in the air before flying off in the direction of the nearest beach. She’ll meet up with them again later once she’s had her fill.

 

“Okay Meg, I’ve got a ton of fun stuff planned for us this week! Once we get your luggage back to my place we can…” Mari looks around, and notices that there’s more luggage waiting here beyond the suitcases Meg just brought off the ship.

 

“Hey, that’s a lot of luggage for only one person, isn’t it?” She asks.

 

“Well, yeah. It’s not just my luggage, after all.”

 

Mari’s eyes narrow in confusion. “What do you-”

 

“Hey!”

“Hiya!”

“Hello!”

 

Djeeta, Vyrn, and Lyria all wave as they walk over to join the couple.

 

Mari’s look of confusion quickly changes to one of annoyance. “What are those three doing here?”

 

“They were invited too weren’t they?” Meg asks, suddenly sounding a little unsure of herself.

 

Mari leans in, lowering her voice “Meg, I was really hoping it would just be the two of us this week…”

 

A pang of guilt suddenly washes over Meg as the realisation sets in. “Oh no! I’m sorry, Mari. I’ve screwed things up again, haven’t I…”

 

One look at Meg’s sad face is all it takes to melt her heart. Oh Meg, I can’t stay mad at you. But still, so much for our romantic holiday…

 

“Um, is something wrong?” Lyria asks.

 

Mari sighs, unable to fully stop herself from pouting. “No… it’s fine… The owner of the inn near my place owes me a few favours after I helped him out the other week, so I’ll be able to organise a room for you three. I’m guessing none of you know what a nightlife district is though, do you?” 

 

“Nope!” Vyrn confidently answers.

 

“I thought it sounded like somewhere you’d go for a party.” Djeeta adds.

 

“Ooooh, like a pyjama party!” Lyria starts bouncing up and down

 

“Well, it's a different kind of party to what you’ve got in mind. Think dancing at night, drinking at bars, that sort of thing. A bunch of kids won’t be allowed into most of the stuff we’ve got going on there.” Mari explains.

 

“So… no pyjama party?” The disappointment in Lyria’s expression is palpable.

 

Mari's mood suddenly lifts as she comes up with an idea. “You know… there’s no reason you three can’t have your own pyjama party in your hotel room. Besides, this is still Auguste we’re talking about here! It may be too cold to swim at this time of year, but you can still find plenty of other things to do during the day. There’s that sauna you visited with Meg last year, which recently revamped its lunch menu with new items for the season. There are a bunch of hiking trails all around the isles, allowing you to take in the natural scenery on display. Not to mention the…”

 

Mari lives up to her name as the chairperson of the Auguste Tourism Association as she goes on to list more than enough activities to fill the itinerary of a week-long vacation, all of which just happen to be a good distance from both the nightlife district and her apartment.

 

“And I’ll tell you what, Meg being here has put me in a good mood, so I’ll even take you all on a tour of the district today as a welcoming gift, that way you can still see all the work we’ve all been putting into it!” She finishes with a wink.

 

“Woooooow!” Lyria yells. “That all sounds great!”

 

“Yeah, I knew there were things to do here besides swimming at the beach, but who’da thought there’d be that much?” Vyrn sounds very eager, and Djeeta nods in agreement.

 

“And of course,” Mari leans in close to her lover, grabbing her hand. “I’ll be sure to show you around the place properly tonight, Meg.”

 

“T-Thanks Mari, you’re the best.” Meg grins sheepishly.

 

That’s right, I won’t give up on this vacation without a fight! I’ll make sure those three are so busy visiting the tourist attractions that I’ll have Meg all to myself! Mari holds on to Meg's hand just a bit tighter. For once I’m glad that captain and her buddies are so young, if Meg and I stick to the new district we won’t have to worry about any of them spoiling our fun.

 

“Apologies for butting in, but would there be room on that tour for one more?”

 

Mari looks over at where the voice was coming from to see one more person disembarking from the Grandcypher.

 

But not just any person, a woman.

 

An adult woman, no less. Wearing a fancy red dress that’s clearly designed to show off her chest. She’s even blonde, just like Mari.

 

Mari doesn’t like this one bit, and steps in front of Meg as if to protect her from the unfamiliar woman. “And who exactly are you?”

 

The lady in the red dress smiles politely. “My apologies, I don’t believe I’ve had the chance to become acquainted with you or Meg before. Vira Lillie, former lord commander of the Albion Citadel, at your service.” She says with a curtsey.

 

Mari’s eyes narrow. ‘At your service?’ yeah right, I can see right through you. You’re just trying to get your hands on my Meg!

 

“Oh, you do look familiar.” Meg says. “I’m not sure where I remember you from though…”

 

“Well we are both members of the same crew, no doubt we would have passed each other in the halls of the Grandcyper at one point or another.” Vira explains.

 

Meg puts her hand to her chin. “Yeah, but I’m pretty sure there was something else. What could it be…?” She trails off as she looks downwards, deep in thought.

 

“Either way, who invited you? It was one of you three wasn’t it?” Mari points at Djeeta and company.

 

“No way!” Lyria shakes her head. “We told the rest of the crew we were coming, but we’d never invite anyone else without asking Meg first.”

 

“There’s no need to accuse the three of them. I am here entirely of my own volition.” Vira explains. “I happened to overhear Meg telling the captain about Auguste’s new attractions for the colder seasons, and I felt it was in my interest to see them for myself. I’m always on the lookout for holiday destinations to bring Lady Katalina, you see, particularly ones that are open at all times of the year. It’s hard to predict when you’ll have time for a holiday when you’re working on a skyfarer’s schedule, so we never quite know when we’ll get a chance to take a holiday together, and a place we could visit no matter the season would indeed be advantageous.”

 

Mari doesn’t look amused. Oh you’re real good, lady. Coming up with a fake story like that to try and throw me off the trail, but I know your type! It won’t work on me!

 

“Sorry, but the tour was a special offer just for the three of them. Meg didn’t invite you, so you can just get back on that airship of yours.”

 

“You should probably just let her come with, Vira’s not the type to take no for an answer.” Vyrn says nonchalantly. “I’m willing to bet she’s got some kinda trick up her sleeve.”

 

Vira scoffs. “Just who do you take me for? Do you really see me as the kind of person who’d do something as underhanded as, oh I don’t know, tell Rackam he would be clear to leave as soon as I had disembarked?”

 

As soon as the words leave her mouth, Mari notices Eugen retrieving the gangplank as the Grandcypher starts pulling out of the port. Ferry, Sara, and several more of the younger crew members are up on the deck to wave goodbye to those who had been dropped off.

 

“See ya!” Djeeta says with a smile as she waves back.

 

“Oh my!” Vira says, watching the airship depart before turning back to Mari with the same polite smile as before. “It seems the Grandcypher has left without me. I guess I’m stuck here until it comes to pick everyone up in a week’s time. I must admit, spending this much time apart from Katalina will be quite the trial, oh but just think of how happy she’ll be to see me upon my return...”

 

Mari is fuming. “Look, I’ll set you up in a hotel room, but that’s it. You’ll have to keep yourself entertained all week.”

 

“While I understand that my sudden appearance may be quite inconvenient for you, I must emphasise that I came here with a purpose. I can assure you that if you were to include me on that tour of yours I can make it worth your while.” Vira says.

 

Mari raises an eyebrow. “You’d better have something real good lined up, there’s not much you could offer me to make this worth it.”

 

Vira nods. “Well, an official endorsement from the most recent serving lord commander would no doubt result in considerable word of mouth among the people of Albion. I’m certain it would go a long way towards making it a popular holiday destination for them throughout the whole year.”

 

“Wow! That would be a huge help in getting Auguste back on its feet, wouldn’t it Mari?” Lyria points out.

 

Mari sighs, and puts a hand over her face. “Yeah… We really do need a boost in tourism after that sumo guy evaporated the ocean…” I can’t say no to an offer like that, but still, my romantic holiday…

 

She points at Vira. “Fine! You can come with us to see the district, but you’re on your own after the tour, okay?”

 

“Of course, I’ll require time to properly investigate the facilities myself anyway. Mari, was it? I thank you for your generosity, although I must warn you, my standards for dear Katalina’s care are quite high.”

 

“Yeah, whatever...” Mari says grumpily. “Now come on, I need a proper meal first if I’m going to be putting up with this. There’s a place not far from here, it’s a little cheesy but the chef knows how to grill a good fish.”

 

She starts leading everyone towards the first stop on this impromptu tour when Meg finally looks up again, slamming her fist into her palm.

 

“I know where I remember you from! You were the scary lady working at the beach house that one time!”

 

Vira takes a moment to respond. “...Yes, I did help out at a beach house here once. That was quite a number of years ago, though, and I’d like to think I’m not quite as intimidating these days, in no small part thanks to Katalina’s help. Regardless, I’m impressed you’d remember something like that.”

 

“Me too actually, I’m surprised I can remember anything at all from back then.” Meg says with a chuckle.

 

“Whatever could you-”

 

“Come oooooooon!” Mari calls out as she grabs Meg’s hand, pulling her along.

 

Vira ponders to herself as she watches Meg allow herself to be dragged along by the significantly weaker woman. “How odd, I think I’d recall seeing someome that looked like her back then. I thought she was a relatively new addition to the crew…”

 

“It’s a long story.” Djeeta explains as she walks past to follow Mari to their first destination.

 

---

 

It doesn’t take long to get to the eatery Mari recommended, and the group has been seated at a booth by the window. Meg insisted on ordering on behalf of everyone to make up for the earlier confusion, leaving Mari to stare out the window, moping about her current situation.

 

This is the worst! Not only am I missing out on valuable Meg time to take everyone on this tour, but I’m going to have to stay on my guard all week to make sure this Vira lady doesn’t take her from me! I was sooooo looking forward to this holiday…

 

She looks back to the others to see Vira seated next to her, smiling peacefully as she watches the captain and her buddies on the other side of the table, very intently looking over the special placemat one of the staff handed to Vyrn alongside a pack of crayons after he sat down.

 

“Do ye think ye can solve my riddles? Solve ‘em all, and my treasure could be yours!” Lyria says out loud, reading the speech bubble of the cartoon pirate standing next to a map of Auguste. “Wow! What do you think the treasure is?”

 

“I dunno.” Vyrn says. “But it’s gotta be something cool if it’s pirate treasure, right?” 

 

Djeeta excitedly nods in agreement as the dragon calls a staff member over.

 

“Hey, what’s the deal with this treasure?” He asks.

 

“Yarr, Matey.” The teenage Erune wearing a bandana on his hat says, doing an excellent impression of a very disinterested pirate. “Any buccaneer who solves all of Captain Jimmy’s puzzles shall receive a coupon for one free ice cream with their next meal.”

 

“Oooh, ice cream!” Lyria starts salivating at the thought.

 

“Yarr, best of luck to ye.” The waiter says before looking at the other side of the table and immediately dropping the accent. “Oh hey Mari. Here for your usual?”

 

“Yeah, Meg’s ordering everything now.” She says, head in her hands.

 

“Hey! Glad to hear she’s back in town, I know how much you’ve been looking forward to it. Didn’t know she’d be bringing friends, either.” He remarks before moving along to another table that needs his attention.

 

“Neither did I…” Mari sulks.

 

Vira raises an eyebrow, she’s starting to suspect there’s more to Mari’s sour mood than she originally thought.

 

“Ice cream is cool and all, but I really thought the pirate treasure would be something more spectacular, you know?” Vyrn says to the others.

 

“Maybe there’s more to it than we think...” Djeeta thinks out loud.

 

“You got an idea, buddy?”

 

She nods. “We need to think like a pirate.”

 

Vyrn has a moment of realisation. “Oh, I get it. You’re saying a great pirate like Captain Jimmy would be smart enough to hide his booty better than that, right? The ice cream is a decoy to distract us from the real treasure! Maybe the answers to the riddles are secretly the coordinates for where it’s hidden!”

 

“Oh! How much ice cream do you think we could get with the real treasure?” Lyria asks.

 

“I dunno, but probably a whole lot! We’d better get started on these riddles if we wanna find out.” All three of them direct their attention back to the placemat.

 

“Let’s see…” Lyria starts reading it out again. “The first one is ‘what colour be the sea?’”

 

“That’s an easy one.” Vyrn says confidently. “The answer is blue, right?”

 

Djeeta shakes her head. “No. It can’t be that simple.”

 

“Right, we’re looking for the extra hidden treasure after all. We need to make sure we consider every possibility. How about…” The three of them continue discussing all the possible answers to the riddle while Vira quietly laughs to herself.

 

“They sure are getting worked up over a marketing gimmick.” Mari grumbles under her breath. “Don’t know why they’re so excited about treasure when they’ve been skyfarers for as long as they have…”

 

“I’m back!” Meg rejoins the group, taking the empty spot next to Vira, and Mari immediately perks up.

 

“Hi, Meg!” She says with a smile, the first that Vira has seen from her so far.

 

“What are you three so excited about?” Meg asks the other side of the table.

 

“We found a treasure map! We’re going to find it and buy lots of ice cream!” Lyria holds the placemat up for a few seconds before returning it to the table so they can scour it for further hints.

 

“Wow! That’s pretty cool isn’t it Mari?” Meg leans forward a bit so she can see her past Vira. “Maybe we could try to find it ourselves later in the week!”

 

“Uh-huh, it’s super cool!” Mari nods vigorously. “I’ll do whatever you want to do, Meg!”

 

Vira looks between the girls on both sides of her before she suddenly starts chuckling.

 

“Hey, what’s so funny?” Mari asks accusingly.

 

“My apologies, I think I’ve just realised what’s going on here.” She turns to Meg. “Would you like to swap seats?”

 

“I’m fine with that, but why?”

 

“Oh, I just get the feeling you and Mari would prefer to sit next to each other.” Vira looks back to Mari with a smile, and the Erune isn’t sure how to respond.

 

“Oh! Sure, I-I’d be happy to!” Meg says back, and just a few moments later, she’s found herself seated next to Mari.

 

Mari doesn’t know what to make of Vira’s gesture, but she’s not going to waste an opportunity like this, and she starts leaning into Meg, resting her head on her broad shoulder and smiling softly.

 

Maybe Vira isn’t the kind of person I thought she was. Unless she’s just lulling me into a false sense of security so she can swoop in and steal Meg from right under my nose, of course. I can’t let my guard down just yet!

 

Meg can’t help but blush a little as the group waits for their food, and Mari, while still on high alert, starts to feel like this week might turn out okay in the end after all.