Shia

Whether it's surfing, windsurfing, canoeing, snorkeling or fishing, Shia excels at it all, as if she was born to be a daughter of the sea.

Once, after mistakenly taking a delivery from Post Haste, she thought Donna's ale tonic was a new drink Karin had bought. Two sips and she was out like a light for a whole day.

There aren't many commissions available for seafaring Trekkers. To make ends meet, she works at the salt fields of Sailstead whenever there's no commission work.

Despite spending so much time at sea and along the shore, she never tans. Her secret? A special ointment she had wished from the Monolith. Before that, she relied on a homemade "mud salve," a recipe passed down from her grandmother.

She's picked up all kinds of unique tricks when it comes to cooking seafood, especially the art of turning one fish into several different dishes. On long voyages, that means she never gets tired of eating the same catch, so she never goes hungry.

I don't know her that well, but I've heard she can even turn the normally inedible Stinkyfish into a meal. If I ever get the chance, I'd love to learn a thing or two from her. —Laru

Woven entirely by hand, sturdy and durable, decorated with Sailstead's lucky seashells so every voyage ends with plentiful catch~

After her friends left for dinner, the moon rose high, and Shia still lingered by the shore, savoring the empty beach. She filled a bucket with tiny crabs, built a sandcastle, and lined up every seashell she had found... Yet even after all this, she still didn't want to go home. She knew it was late, but what was the point of going home? The house was small, but it was always so empty. All week her grandmother had been leaving at dawn and returning late. Right after preparing Shia's meals for the day, she would rush out the door. Everyone said her grandmother was the greatest seafaring Trekker in town, but Shia sometimes could find little comfort in that. All the other kids had family doting on them; she only had the sea for a companion. "Anyway, even if I go home late, Grandma won't notice. No matter how late I am, she won't get in until even later." A defiant Shia decided she wouldn't return until her grandmother came to find her by the shore. She was both eager and uneasy, excited but afraid—would Grandma scold her? Would she be grounded for days? Whatever it was, it had to be better than the silence.

The night wind stung her eyelids and drowsiness washed over her like the tide. She wandered for a while, then plopped down beneath a giant coconut tree. When she woke again, dawn was breaking. She rubbed her eyes—she had slept there all night. But Grandma hadn't come home? Before she could get properly angry, she detected the delicious smell of grilled fish. Not far away, someone had set up a small fire and grill; following the scent, Shia saw that familiar figure. "You're up? Go back and wash up. We'll be having breakfast here, by the sea." Shia ate with a knot in her chest. Grandma never asked why she had stayed out, and Shia had no idea when she had found her. But in the week that followed, Grandma didn't set out to sea again. She stayed home every day and did handcraft. Shia's wish had come true, but it left her rattled.

"But my mom said that your grandma was fixing ships last week. There were some stuff only she could do." "You mean the ships that are sailing tomorrow? Our inn's packed with out-of-town Trekkers." "My sister's going, too. I don't want her to leave... We're all going to see her off." "Take me with you..." So it was because of the ship repairs? Shia's resentment suddenly evaporated. Come think of it, around this time of the year, the harbor was always at its busiest, of course Grandma would be overwhelmed with work. She regretted it. She shouldn't have picked a fight. But now, what could she do?

The next morning, Grandma left at dawn again. She was leading the send-off prayers before the ships set sail—the biggest event of the year in town. Shia followed her in secret. The docks were packed, ships lined in rows, sailors holding their families tight, tears glittering as they said goodbye. Shia's chest tightened. She suddenly realized she had never once really hugged her grandmother. If she couldn't say it out loud, then she would show it.

When Grandma finally returned home that night, Shia heard the door creak open. She bolted forward and threw her arms around her grandmother. "I'm sorry, Grandma... I shouldn't have sulked." She spilled everything in one breath. And just as she braced for silence, a drop fell onto her hand. She recognized the smell—it was the scent of tears. "Grandma..." The reply came in an embrace, fierce and wordless, stronger than anything words could hold.

At least the ocean still felt familiar to her. In the dim light beneath the waves, she groped around and searched. The Artifacts granted by wishing at the Monolith came in all shapes and forms, and Shia couldn't even be sure which ones were actually Artifacts, and which were just garbage. She simply kept hauling up whatever she could find, piling it onto her boat until it was filled to the brim. When she returned to port, the client showered her with praises and handed over a generous payment. To cap it all off, she was told that she could keep one Artifact from the dripping wet heap. Shia looked them over and picked a smooth white metal ball.

Would seawater ruin an Artifact? She wasn't sure. She brought it to the Trekker Association headquarters and handed it to Nuz, a tiny girl known for tinkering with strange Artifacts. Nuz's eyes lit up—she'd never seen anything like it—and vanished into her workshop. When Shia finally saw her again, a week had passed. The ball had been polished clean. The moment Shia placed her hand on it, the ball unfolded, like a small rabbit stretching its limbs, floating in the air beside her. Then it began to vibrate. "Eh? Don't tell me I fixed it wrong—" Nuz was cut off when something crashed through the glass window. A black rabbit-shaped Artifact shot across the room and landed at Shia's side. "This Artifact... It comes as a pair?" Shia murmured, staring at the two rabbits. "This is perfect. This way, they won't get lonely." "... Hmm?" "How much do you charge for repairing this Artifact? I'll also pay for you to replace the window class." "Uh—r-right, I'll get you the invoice..." Nuz thought the girl in front of her was strange. She'd just been hit with an extra expense, so why did she look so happy? "One white, one black... I'll call you Snow Rabbit and Night Rabbit."