Dahlia gave Quinn a quizzical look, and Safie burst into another fit of giggles. 

“[color=green]You’re funny, Quinn, no wonder Besca likes you.[/color]”

“[color=skyblue]Have as much as you like! We brought plenty,[/color]” Dahlia said. She glanced over her shoulder to Daz, and something substantial but unspoken passed between them. She took a seat opposite Quinn and Safie, punching her straw through the pouch of juice. 

“[color=green]Yeah, but if you take some juice, don’t touch the melonberry—Deelie’s like a fiend for that stuff.[/color]”

Dahlia’s face flushed up to her ears, and she hunched into her pouch. “[color=skyblue]It’s local! Theydontsellitanywhereelse…[/color]”

Hovvi’s lake expanded around them, wide enough that it nearly touched the horizon. The water, while not as clear as the bottle in Quinn’s hands, was still sapphiric all the way to the bottom. Gloam painted the surface, cut the waves with sharp light. Far away, the larger ferries carved great wakes that leveled out long before they reached their boat, or the handful of smaller boats scattered around them. 

Daz pulled them to a stop near the center. Hovvi’s shore was a thin, distant crust of lights and the faint humming of music. The cliffs were a rim to one side, and on the other, the elevator superstructure rose into the growing dark. The softlight cage around the platform traveled up until it was a pinpoint cherry dot, and then it blinked out of view. 

From a panel in the flooring, he retrieved a set of fishing poles and set them upright in metal hoops bolted to the railing. As he fixed their lines with hooks and bait, Safie sprung up to her feet and pranced to the back end of the boat. 

“[color=green]Ah, gosh![/color]” She said, peeling off her shoes and dipping her feet into the water. “[color=green]Deelieeeeeee! I’m so jealous—Queenshand is great but the water there is so [i]murky[/i]. If I’d have grown up here I’d never have become a pilot. Quinn! Deelie and I can’t give this lake the attention it deserves, so you [i]gotta[/i]![/color]”

Dahlia perched up on the railing while Daz cast his line out quietly onto the water, where it sank with a little [i]plunk[/i]. 

“[color=skyblue]Have you lived here awhile?[/color]” she asked. “[color=skyblue]I used to think I knew most of the kids my age, but my memory is, ah, iffy nowadays. I’m really sorry if we met and I’m not remembering, I promise I’m not meaning to be rude.[/color]”