Headed by a Snake

With a reluctant heart, Lone turned and trudged back to Coraline's stairs...

There was no arguing with Boss when he started threatening violence...

Coraline was where he'd left her... She had crouched down and... was crying into her knees.

...It made Lone feel a little guilty.

Maybe he had overreacted? Coraline obviously wasn't in the best state of mind. It would have made more sense to... be nice to her?

Even though she was never really nice to him? It really wasn't fair...

"Hey..."

"G... go away..." Coraline muttered through her sniffling, "I don't want your pity..."

Ignoring her, he approached and... sat beside her.

He made sure not to sit so close that he couldn't defend himself.

Coraline was stronger than she looked-- or at least her smaller hands and elbows hurt more? The Elven girl had... a small surface area? So the force was concentrated?

Egh. It made sense in his head, but not so much when he thought about it more.

What could he say to... fix the situation? The situation that... might have been mostly his fault...

He took a deep breath through his nostrils...

All he could do... was try his best.

"You're not useless..."

...

Coraline could scarcely believe that the cheek-scarred boy had the nerve to walk away from her... and when he came back, the only thing he had to offer was another meaningless lie.

She took a deep, calm breath... and lunged forward with a palm-heel strike... just like before... right at Lone's dumb face.

It didn't connect.

Lone-- he caught her by the wrist...

Of course, he would.

He was an adventurer with a martial class... That meant... all the times she hit him before... he was only PRETENDING to be hurt!

"What would YOU know about being USELESS?!" She shouted, her eyes brimming with hot tears.

"I've been there," The half-hearted smile that the boy wore gave Coraline pause...

That look of hurtfulness wasn't something anyone could fake.

"When I first met Tycon... my boss..." Lone sighed as he released his grip... "He almost killed me."

"He... what?" Coraline rubbed her wrist, trying to think of a response... "That's... not really surprising, I guess. He is... a little scary."

Those golden eyes in the darkness were something out of her nightmares... If there was anything she liked less than rats, it was snakes.

"I know, right?" Lone chuckled softly, "We've... been through a lot. I started training as an adventurer... and I've almost died... maybe a dozen times.

"But... one of Boss Tycon's rules always stuck with me.

"In the beginning... he refused to let me give up on myself. The combat drills... the weapons training... even dodging halberd swings and crossbow bolts... It took me a while to understand it-- and I guess I still don't get some of it. The entire guild used to throw hard fruits at me and the other trainee."

"That's called hazing," Coraline narrowed her eyes. "That's illegal."

"...Oh. Yeahhhh... it seemed kinda illegal, at the time." Lone bit his upper lip... "Anyroad... there was one unbreakable rule we had during training. We aren't allowed to die."

"That's ridiculous..." Coraline shook her head, her chest tight with emotion... "People die all the time..."

"Not me," Lone turned to face her with a gentle smile. "I'm immortal."

"Wh-what?" Coraline couldn't help but lean back, giggling into her palms.

It was... just how serious the awkward boy looked. It was weird. But... it made her want to forget about all her logic and... just believe in him.

Lone grinned, "We can't give up, Coraline. And if it comes down to it, I won't let you give up on yourself."

Coraline gulped hard, averting her gaze... stubbornly holding onto her sadness... "You... never told me you were an adventurer."

"Oh, I didn't?" He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head, "Sorry?"

"It's fine..." She stared at her feet... at the wall... anywhere but him.

She... wanted to thank him. Lone's words, as clumsy as they were, gave her that tiny boost of confidence she needed.

She was still a little mad, though. She'd thank him later... if he deserved it.

"Hey, Coraline," Lone bared his teeth. "I've been thinkin'."

"Oh, CoNgrAtuLatioNs!" Coraline rolled her eyes, but she found herself smiling.

"Ha. You're so funny," The boy groaned sarcastically. "How does this ship fly without a Captain?"

Coraline scoffed, "WoOoOowW!!! You don't even know that!? It's because of the ship's Elemental Spirit."

"Huh..." Lone tilted his head, "What kind of elemental is it? Can it be... any? Or does it have to be a uh... sky elemental?"

Coraline laughed so hard she snorted-- forcing her to cover her mouth and nose in embarrassment, "Y-you mean a wind elemental. It's usually a fire or wind Elemental Spirit, due to their abundance. And if it wasn't obvious, an earth elemental wouldn't work well at keeping us... *off* the ground."

"Oh... makes sense," Lone nodded. "But I haven't seen any elementals on the ship?"

"Whaaat?" Coraline shoved Lone playfully, "You saw her! We both did. I think the Captain said her name was Beatrice?"

Lone nudged her back with his elbow, baring his teeth in a grimace, "We did?"

"You have a martial class-- so you probably didn't see her clearly," Coraline teasingly stuck her tongue out. "The ship formations keep us in the air, but Beatrice powers those formations from the Engine Room."

Lone shifted his legs to sit more comfortably... he was a little close, but Coraline didn't think he was doing it on purpose. She decided to allow it.

The boy placed a hand on his chin, "Would... Beatrice know more about the ship, then? Maybe we could ask her to find the swords for us? Assuming it's here, somewhere?"

"Stars and stones, if only it were that easy." Coraline rolled her eyes, puffing out a breath, "There's obviously restrictions in place to prevent people other than the Captain from communicating directly to the Elemental Spirit-- normal people, anyroad."

"So it's impossible, then?"

"Bleigh," Coraline groaned... "Not necessarily..."

",