Marilyn
Is it sunset or am i being a fake newser
Catherine
Winter's distant sun sat her throne atop Eona's calm oceans; her golden supertunica flowing across the ceiling of the sea. The hazy gray of a far-away storm smudged the horizon line, and heralded that the sunlight would soon be deposed by the terror of rolling thunderclouds and a never-ending deluge from the sky. Where shimmering ichor coasted abreast the distant waves, an odd ripple in its midst disunified Lucidien's cyclical harmony. Partially obscured by shades of colliding blue and the glare of the ocean, the head of a foreign silhouette silently emerged from the sea. For several breaths, the figure only stared at the sun, as if the sight of the red giant hypnotized it. Then, it turned, and two silhouettes rose behind its shoulders. Step by step, they drew nearer to Lazaroth's rocky shores. The warmer water of the shallows stirred and coalesced in the wake left by their measured strides, dropping from their necks, to their chests, to their thighs. 

 The primary entity stopped one meter from the slipway, the Bay simmering around its ankles. The shoreline rocks shifted and rolled around its feet, as if they were as unsettled as the light was—that clung to its humanoid periphery and cast its features into shadow—by the presence of a creature that did not belong on land. The waves rolled against the crude beach, and lapped against the great hulls of ships moored in the Syvathere docks. Once. Twice. Thrice, and the trifecta did not move.
Marilyn
I realized Jones/Ashby hadn't gotten out of the carriage yet so I had to change some things LOL
Karen
Hearing Ashby speak up, the Doctor looked back at him, giving a slight tilt of the head. Despite everything, despite how much they assumed he'd wanted to return home, he seemed... Apprehensive. They could understand that, they supposed. It always was scary to start a new chapter of one's life, no matter how good of an idea it was. They themself had been more than a little apprehensive before coming to this country, part of them wanting to reject the change and stay where they were - but now, they were feeling glad that they hadn't done that, that they'd given this miserably cold land a chance, because it already had led to some positive change. The change in question now being reluctant to leave the vehicle.

"I'll be alright, I've been alive for much longer than you have, and I don't plan on dying anytime soon," They said, offering the faintest hint of a smile. It was endearing, the way Ashby was worried about them instead of the other way around, the way it should be. They were the doctor, were they not? "You might find it difficult to believe, but that was fairly normal behavior for me. Believe it or not, but compared to how I usually am, I've been doing a lot better lately." It was true, actually. Sure, they still struggled with fulfilling their basic needs sometimes - most of the time - but focusing on researching instead of only on healing patients was doing wonders for their energy levels, even if it was difficult to see from an outside perspective.

The Doctor hesitated for a moment, then extended their hand to the Triton, pushing down that feeling screaming at them to tell the carriage to turn around and not let him leave. "Come. It's time for you to go home, is it not?" He was welcome to take their hand for support, cold as it may be, and he was equally welcome to just walk past them, or stay inside - it was his choice now, and that was what mattered, wasn't it?
_ _

Glancing behind them, in the direction of the shore, they were just in time to spot the figures emerging from the ocean. Was that the group they were meant to be meeting with? They seemed sufficiently ominous, that was for sure. "I think your welcome party has arrived," The Doctor told Ashby, lips parting to let out the slightest of sighs. Already? How truly unfortunate. There went their odds of having at least one more conversation. Their free hand went into their pocket, slender fingers curling around the small box held within. Was now the time? Or later? Later, they decided after a moment, though their hand remained where it was, as if to prevent forgetting about it.
Cynthia
*To say Ashby was getting more nervous was an understatement. He didn't know if he could do this. He almost wanted to just stay with the doctors. Maybe the one part screaming at him to do so was because he'd been a slave for so long. To not be around someone that felt like a master. It just felt almost hard to let go of the last few weeks. Sure he wasn't perfectly healthy yet, but he was better and it was thanks to them. Ashby would frown a bit as he thought about all this. Was he really ready?*

*At hearing the doctors works he was sure they would be fine, but it still didn't stop his worry. He wanted to still make sure both of the doctors would be okay. Again he almost wanted to just invite them to come to Tritetheas. They could learn there and he could make sure they were doing okay. It would be a win yes? But to convince them of that would be a whole different conversation and he didn't know if he had the right to ask that of them or not.* "You're right, I do find it hard to believe. But if you are I'm glad... I don't know if I can do this doctor. Going back into the sea. I haven't even touched the sea in a long time. I also don't know if I can leave you both yet. I know I haven't talked about any of it before but now that I feels like it's all ending. I feel as if I can't do it." *Ashby felt as if he was connected to the two doctors now and it felt too much like a goodbye.*

"Can we least have a little more time?" *Ashby would look out to the waters and see the group coming in. Who were they he didn't know. He wished for more time, but would they be patient enough to wait. It make some dread sink in as this was feeling all too real now. He should be happy about it all, but yet he just felt as if he was losing something. Ashby would let out a bit of a sigh as he would look at the doctor, it wasn't right to be making them be out in this cold while he felt not ready. No, this isn't how he should be acting.*

*He wasn't a child anymore. Funny though how that worked, he'd left the sea as a boy and yet was returning to it as an adult. Taking a deep breath he would take the doctors hand, he couldn't do it alone. He wasn't that strong at the moment and the doctors cold hand felt reassuring to him at least.* "I want to extend an invitation... To come to Tritetheas, to both you doctor Jones and Doctor Henryk. I can't say you can go all the way in but you are still invited. We have plants up here doesn't have and you already know our anatomy is different... Uh I don't really know how to... Say goodbye and I suppose I don't want to." *Ashby would rub the back of their neck as they were a bit embarrassed. He didn't know why he kept acting like this.*
Karen
Indeed, the Doctor had guessed correctly. They couldn't help but avert their gaze when Ashby spoke, nodding along slightly. Part of them wanted to admit that they were feeling similarly, that they didn't want him to leave, but they also didn't want to risk holding him back. The man sure as hell didn't deserve to be held back by anything or anyone anymore, no matter how good their intentions may be. He had to forge his own path in life, didn't he?

It was strange. They weren't usually the type to get so sentimental. With any other patient, the Doctor would just have healed them, then moved on to the next patient, still remembering the last one but not being so attached to them. This case, though... It was different, and they weren't sure why. Was Ashby different from the others, somehow? They had treated people with similar conditions before, and even people that were enslaved, and none of those made them feel so melancholy when they had to part ways. Maybe he just... Reminded them of someone they used to know, a long, long time ago, likely before Ashby's grandparents were even born.

"If you truly don't want to go, you don't have to. I don't want to force you to do anything, and I feel I can say with certainty that Henryk feels the same way. Although I don't think you can't do it. Sure, new beginnings are scary, but look at all the things you've survived before this." The Doctor gestured vaguely to emphasize their point. "If you can live through that, I truly believe that you can live through this, and even thrive." Though their smile remained faint, it was most definitely encouraging.

But... That didn't mean they were going to deny that request. "Of course we can. I wouldn't mind staying here for a little while longer, and I'm sure they can wait." The Doctor glanced back at the small group for a moment or two. Were they screwing this up by not making Ashby go immediately? Maybe, but they didn't have the heart to force him to go.
_ _

However, soon, he took their hand, and they gave it their best attempt at a reassuring squeeze. "I'll have to take you up on that some day," The Doctor replied softly, gazing out into the still ocean. "I have always been curious as to what life is like down there... I certainly won't deny that offer. And you are always welcome up here as well." Did they have the authority to extend that invitation? Maybe not, but they were going to anyway.

"I've never been good at saying goodbye myself," They admitted, and hesitated. Oh, what the hell. The Doctor removed their left hand from their pocket, holding within it a small wooden box, which they held out to Ashby. The box itself was nothing special, but if he were to pry it open, which wasn't too difficult, he'd find a delicate silver bracelet, tiny little segments linked together to form a sturdy chain, with a tiny pendant of the moon hanging on it.

Though it looked simple enough, there was no doubt that the craftsmanship involved required some incredible skill, and it either must have cost a lot of time to make, or a lot of money to buy. "I don't know if you'll like it," The Doctor muttered, bashfully keeping their gaze averted, "But you can sell it if you don't. It's silver, so it shouldn't corrode underwater, and..." They trailed off, giving an awkward shrug. "I don't know, I just wanted you to have something, I suppose." Well, this was infinitely more uncomfortable than they'd wanted it to be.
Cynthia
*Though he had felt as if he couldn't do this since arriving here and wanting to just go back. His feeling of that would vanish at the doctors words. He knew the doctor was right and he could live through this. He would see them again and who knows what all will happen next. He just needed to take it a moment at a time.

Yes, he didn't want to go or so he thought but it was time. He needed to go home and find himself again no matter what that meant. And both the doctors did want what was best for him. That was why they had done all of this the last few weeks.

He would look out past to the shore, they were waiting for him.* "Doctor Jones, you really have done a lot for me. But I think we should let them wait for too long. How about next time we meet we have a long conversation? Unless there is more you wish to say." *Though at first Ashby had been scared to even leave the carriage, with Jones help he now was feeling he could do this and make a new start.* "You best, I want to show you my world someday, and doctor Henryk too. You might not be able to go down as far as my home but you can still see a lot in the reef kingdom. I will be back to see you. I doubt I can just live in the sea again after so many years here on land. I'm not really used to sea legs anymore."

*Ashby would look at the small wooden box, he was a bit surprised that Jones was even giving him anything. Though he would take it slowly and hold it for a moment. He really hadn't had a present in a long time, it felt special to him. Holding it out a bit he would pry it open to see the delicate silver bracelet, to say he was shocked was an understatement. It was beautiful craftsmanship to it. Did the doctor make this? He didn't know if they had or not. Did he dare ask? Either way it had taken a long time to make for whoever had made it. Ashby would take it out of the box and put the bracelet on, looking at it as he smiled.*

*A real happy smile from receiving something he would now cherish for a long time. He could see that the doctor really didn't know what to say and was a bit bashful with it, it was very kind of the them to do this. Ashby would grab the Jones and pull them into a hug.* "Thank you, Jones. I will charrish this forever. It's the best thing I ever gotten from someone. I'm not going to sell it ever."