Headed by a Snake

Teasing the awkward boy was fun...

Coraline put her fingers on her eyelids to force them open.

It didn't help.

It was getting more and more difficult to keep awake...

"Hey, Coraline?" Lone tilted his head up, staring at the ceiling. "Question."

Coraline yawned... then rubbed her eyes with the back of her wrists, "Mhmmm?"

"You said you left your last guild..."

"Pff..." Coraline puffed her cheeks out, "Yeah. I'm better off without 'em~"

Lone looked to her with a strangely serious expression, "So why didn't you accept Mister Ramon's invitation to join his?"

"It... it was really nice of him to do that..." Coraline pulled in her knees and rested her chin atop her forearms... "and I do want to join another adventuring guild, eventually."

She sighed, rocking her head left and right... "I just... it's all been so sudden... Getting kicked out of Brockdale Bridge was less like a setback and more like... an opportunity? Maybe it's wanderlust-- like there's something in my blood that makes the prospect of starting anew... exciting. Scary, but exciting-- does that make sense?"

Lone looked away, sighing wistfully, "So there's no chance you'd join mine?"

Coraline snickered, shaking her head, "You don't even know me, Mister Lone... not my qualifications-- not my class or my rank. I could be the worst adventurer this side of the Realm."

Some suns, she even felt that that was true...

The boy looked back and... he smiled...

It was actually kinda cute.

He was smiling like none of that mattered.

Hah.

She'd fallen for that kind of smile before.

She wouldn't let it happen again.

"That's a 'no, thank you,' Mister Lone," Coraline smirked.

"Awwww," Lone grinned. "Come onnnn?"

"Nnnnnope," Coraline yawned, snuggling deeper into her blanket... "Even if legendary guild Sol Invictus were to invite me to join, my answer would stay the same..."

...

⟬ Morning, second sun. Twenty-eight bells until Cersei's Rest. ⟭

Coraline clenched her eyes tight. She just wanted... five... more minutes... maybe ten...

She felt her ears twitch as sound began to return to her waking senses.

The ship's magical formations emitted a low steady hum, the monotony nudging her back to sleep... but also annoying her juuuuust enough to pop an eye open.

Bleigh.

The way she'd slept made her neck hurt terribly.

She blinked her eyes, lifting her head and massaging her stiff neck.

After breakfast, she figured she'd ask Miss Maisie if she could mix her a tincture for pain relief.

...Hopefully she wasn't too upset about the other evening.

Depending on what medicinal herbs the ship had, Coraline could even mash up a poultice, herself. Failing that, Felicity and Elladan were adventurers from Alizeau-- they might know or have a natural remedy for sore muscles.

"Good morning."

"Mm..." Coraline nodded, "Good mo--"

Too close!

Coraline found herself face-to-face with Mister Lone.

Tossing off her blanket, Coraline immediately powered a palm-heel strike into the boy's chin-- just like she was taught.

The back of the boy's skull bounced off the wood paneling and he fell onto his back. He landed with his head in an awkward position, slightly upright against the wall.

How DARE he?!!!

The absolute NERVE!!!

What was he doing in her-- room?

...She wasn't in her room.

She was sitting on the wooden floorboards of the hallway outside of it.

And she had... fallen asleep on Lone's shoulder?

Coraline narrowed her eyes, commanding her brain to work at hyper-speed to review the events of the previous night.

She was keeping guard... watching for the other passengers' leaving their rooms.

And then... Mister Lone came out of his...

And he offered to take the rest of her nightwatch?

Why would he do that? Mister Lone was human! He needed to sleep more than she did.

...Maybe he wasn't... thinking straight? Coraline was pretty clumsy when she was sleepy...

It was common practice to assign a watch roster when out adventuring-- and... if Lone was an adventurer, then maybe he'd... fallen into old habits?

After all, the other evening, she accepted it without a thought.

That was really nice...

...a nice way... to PERV on her while she SLEPT!

Her hands trembled with face-punching fury. Her cheeks were as hot as a kettle.

Mister Lone had definitely SEEN her sleeping face. That was UNFORGIVABLE!

So she hit him! With that strike, they were even...

He got to look at her super-cute face while she slept, thinking whatever perverted thoughts perverts think... And in exchange, Coraline got... a few bells of sleep?

No. Ugh. Creepy pervy-ness was NOT fine.

She should hit him again.

Wait-- was it possible... Did he... did he *touch* her while she was sleeping?!

She should MURDER HIM!

No... Mister Lone didn't seem like the type to put his hands where they don't belong... He was... too sweet... too cowardly.

She needed to apologize. No... first, she needed to check whether or not he was alive.

Coraline wrapped her blanket around her neck like a cape and crawled over on her palms and knees.

"Get up, Mister Lone," She shook him. "I didn't hit you *that* hard..."

...She placed her ear to his chest, listening for breathing.

Then... her opposite ear twitched. One of the hallway doors had opened.

It was Sir Tychon... with his robes on, this time.

The noble's gaze drifted from the pocket watch he had in his hand... and over to her and her coward.

"...Good morning, Miss Coraline."

"G-good morning," Coraline stammered.

Slowly... calmly... she lifted her head off of Lone's chest... and sat upright.

"...You are aware... that the hallway is considered a public area, yes?"

"Yyyyyesss?" Coraline tilted her head up to meet Sir Tychon's gaze. It hurt her neck a little.

Then... as un-suspiciously as possible, she forced herself to smile, "Wh... what a-BOUT it?"

"I advise that..." Tychon paused, taking a breath... "For the sake of decency, you should restrict such--"

WHAT? NO! NOPE!!

"Wasn't doing anything indecent, SIR!!!!" She shrieked.

In order to prove it, she leapt up with her elbow pointed downward... and she drove her full body weight down into Lone's crotch.

"AUUUGGGGGH!!" The pervert shot awake, crying out in well-deserved agony, "W-w-WW--WWHYYYYyyYyy!??!?"

A deep grimace set into Tychon's face, "I... see. I won't ask questions, then."

Coraline quickly got to her feet, "Mama raised me right and proper! I'm a LADY!"

"...Very well," Tychon snapped his watch closed, returning it to a pocket within the lining of his robe. "Would you two... like to accompany me to breakfast?"

"Yessir!" Coraline nodded frantically.

"Excellent... and, ah... Mister Lone, do get up," Tychon chided. "You look ridiculous."