Episode 9: The Spirit of Adventure
Pushing their conflicts in the Pirate's Cove behind them, Locke and Lilanei now continue down the large mountain trail which will bring them to Ibius. After traversing the very steep and slippery top of the trail, they finally make it to a winding path which leads further down the mountain and is much more manageable. It is quite chilly on the top of the trail due to the blowing winds; however, the sun is bright in the sky which is cloudless at this time of the day.
"You're not feeling cold, are you?" Locke asks, taking note of the chilly wind that blows through the mountain.
Lilanei shakes her head, despite the fact she has the cape that her mother gave her wrapped tightly around her body, as she says, "I think I'll be okay. Why? Are you cold?"
"No, I just wanted to make sure you weren't," Locke replies with a smile. "I know how sensitive you are."
Lilanei purses her lips and mutters, "I'm not that sensitive. . . I think I can handle a little bit of cold."
"If you say so," Locke announces in a sing song voice.
Lil slightly rolls her eyes before the two continue to make their way down the winding trail. As they continue, Lilanei looks around at the sparse trees which grow on the mountain, which are slightly frosted due to the cold. She then looks beyond the trail they now walk and to the large expanse of grasslands that stretch beyond the mountain.
Turning to Locke, Lilanei states, "I still can't wrap my head around it. I thought those pirates may have been keeping us some place else – a big ship, an island, something! But we've been Ibius all along from what I can see. . . I wonder where the Mighty Blue would've taken us."
"A big city, I'd imagine," Locke proposes. "A big ship like that must've from a big city that has lots of money and lots of resources to make it. As for those pirates, I suppose they weren't too bright – leaving us somewhere that, if we broke free, we could escape out of easily. I never saw Captain 'Belandry' or much of his crew while we were at the Cove, and since I don't see their ship or the Mighty Blue either, I can only think they've gone to plunder something else."
Looking to Locke with cocked eyebrows, she corrects, "Belamros. And I suppose it makes sense for them to be stationed on Ibius. . . After all, they did call themselves the Ibius Scoundrels."
"Yeah," Locke replies. "But, I want to find them. I was pretty disappointed that I didn't get a chance to fight that Captain."
"You'd better watch what you wish for. . . Who knows what kind of dangerous man he is."
"Not much of one!" Locke exclaims. "After all, I challenged him and he just blew it off. If he was so mighty, he'd have accepted."
Lil grins, "Well, even if you did beat him – you would have then had to face the whole crew on your own! Despite how strong you are, 'Cap'n Crunch,' I don't think you'd have fared very well."
"I took care of that bunch of idiots in the Cove, didn't I?" Locke asks. "Along with their stupid birdie pets."
"Birdie pets?" Lil asks curiously.
Before Locke can answer, our Heroes stop suddenly in their tracks. In front of them, the trail has now ended and they face a large cliff which leads down to a very long and deadly drop. A rope bridge is stretched across the large ravine, but nevertheless, the rope on its right side is slightly torn and looks very weak. Our Heroes peer over the edge of the cliff to see that many rocks jut out from the mountain side.
"Well, I know you haven't got the head for heights," Locke begins, "so I hope you haven't packed on the pounds since we were captured – since it looks like we're going to have to cross that bridge."
Lilanei's eyes narrow at Locke angrily before she cries, "Are you trying to say I look fat?"
"No," Locke replies hastily, "but that bridge looks quite weak, so both of us crossing it might be hazardous."
Lil frowns before glancing at the bridge and asking, "What do you suggest then?"
"I don't really have any other ideas," Locke replies. "I mean, we could always climb down the ravine, but that's going to take a long time to do. Not only that, it's going to be very arduous."
Gazing down the ravine, Lil gulps slightly and says, "I guess this is why those pirates had those. . . 'birdies' that you were talking about."
"Maybe," Locke agrees. "Who knows? They might be bred up here. If they are, we'll be on our guard."
Lil backs away from the cliff slightly before grabbing Locke frightfully by the upper arm and uttering, "Well. . . Whichever way you go. . . I'll be right behind you. . ."
Locke runs his fingers softly through her green hair before saying, "You're not scared, are you?"
Lilanei stutters, "Erm. . . No!"
Locke grins, "Okay. Well, if you're feeling brave enough, let's go across the bridge. It'll save time that way."
Lilanei nods hesitantly and says, "If you say so."
"Then let's do it," Locke replies with a smile and a fist in the air as he comically marches towards the rope bridge.
He holds on to a wooden beam that acts as the foundation for the bridge, before placing his right foot out and onto the first wooden plank which creaks slightly as the rope of the bridge tightens from his weight and swings slightly. Locke then places his left foot forward onto the next plank and breathes a sigh of relief as the bridge nor the wooden boards under his feet break.
He looks back to Lil and calls, "It's okay. Just take it slow."
With that, Locke continues across the bridge slowly, each footstep causing the wooden boards of the bridge to creak and moan under his body weight. Lilanei begins to follow, more hesitantly and shakily than Locke, her nerves causing the rope bridge to sway slightly back and forth as both of them grip the rope on the sides of the bridge. As they carry on, the bridge begins to creak louder and louder as it sways slightly. This swaying is worsened when the wind begins to pick up, causing them to rock to and fro in the air. The pair again grip the bridge tightly as they withstand the gusts of wind; however, as the wind begins to die down, they hear a peculiar sound. The sound grows louder and louder with each moment until they realize it is the sound of something flapping, as well as the strange crackle of fire.
"What's that noise?" Locke calls back to Lil as he looks around the air surrounding the bridge as well as the drop beneath them.
Wailing from behind him fearfully, Lilanei cries, "I don't know – but make it go away!"
Before the rogue can respond, the flapping grows even louder until he sees the bright flames of a fire bat as it emerges to his left. He hears Lil emit a scream as another bat emerges on her right. The baby fire bat, which hovers to Locke's left, is the first to notice the duo as they attempt to cross the bridge. With a piercing cry, it flaps its wings wildly at Locke as flames reach out and lick at his shoulder, slightly burning him.
"Argh!" Locke cries in pain. "Whatever this is, it's hot!"
Lil shrieks, "Eek! Flying rats!"
Lilanei then immediately thrusts her hand to the right, taking aim at the adult fire bat which now shrieks angrily at her. Without pause, a bolt of silver energy launches from her palm and strikes the bat, just grazing one of its flaming wings. Now very enraged, the bat slightly swoops by in front of Lil, attempting to strike her with one its flaming wings; however Lilanei quickly ducks and the attack misses the top of her head by mere inches. Hooking his left arm under the rope of the bridge, Locke then reaches for his crossbow which is slung on his back. He withdraws the crossbow and pulls it out before taking aim at the baby bat; quickly, he shoots off a bolt which collides with the baby's chest, which was most prominent, as it flaps in front of Locke.
Stinging from the pain of the bolt, the baby bat flies slightly higher in the air as it emits another cry. Swiftly, it then sweeps down and swoops over Locke's head – the flames which lick off its body burning him once more as they lick at his forehead. The bat then continues its swoop as it glides over Lil in an attempt to attack her as well. Just as its flames begin to lick at her, the bridge sways wildly in the wind and Lil is rocked out of the way of its attack. Crying once more as she notices the bat swoop past her, Lil once again thrusts her palms forwards as an orb of white light quickly begins to form within them. In mere seconds, the orb launches at the adult bat hovering near her and clashes into its belly as it erupts into many sharp pieces. These pieces immediately collide with the baby bat which now flaps beside its parent.
As blood begins to pour from its flaming body, the adult bat emits a cry of pain as it slightly droops in mid air and is too dazed to fight back. Rubbing his burnt forehead, which only makes his burn surge even more, Locke hisses as he sees the adult bat and tries to hit out at it bluntly with his crossbow; however the bat simply screeches, almost mockingly, while it avoids the blow. The baby bat then, just as its parent did, swoops over Lil's head and towards Locke. As it sweeps above Lil, its flames lick at her head, setting fire to some of the strands of her hair which sweep up in the wind. As the Bat passes Locke, however, the rogue ducks down from the bat's swoop, avoiding any fire damage to his hair.
Crying out in pain and desperation, Lilanei swats wildly at her hair which caught fire until it slowly burns out – leaving her with a very sore and burnt scalp, which only worsens in pain. Turning to the nearest creature, the adult bat, Lilanei launches another quick silver bolt at its frame. The bolt hits the bat square in the chest before the silver energy explodes in a flash of light. Once the flash dissipates, the bat, now in full view once more, drops its head and its wings as the flames on its body extinguish and it falls out of the sky – down the deep ravine as sparkles twinkle in its midst. Meanwhile, Locke attempts to continue to use his crossbow as a swatter at the baby bat, but the infant simply flies out of the way of each attempted swing.
"Stay still, damn you!" Locke roars in anger.
As Locke makes his final thrust, his burns pulsate in pain as he steps back slightly on the bridge, clutching his burnt forehead. As he does so, the wind picks up, and the bridge they stand on begins to wildly rock in the air. Suddenly, the baby bat appears to back off in fright before it swiftly turns in the air and swoops away down the mountain trail on the other side of the bridge.
". . . What was that about?" Locke asks.
"Ow," Lil mutters as she holds her burnt head, before then saying, "I don't know. . . Maybe the flying rat was scare—"
Before Lil can complete her sentence, the wind grows stronger and stronger as the bridge begins to creak and moan under their weight. These moans grow more drawn out as the bridge gives one more final rock – before the rope to their right snaps! As it does so, the weight of the bridge now tilts to the left, causing the bridge to droop to the right as the bridge is now vertical – causing Locke and Lil to drop off from the floor boards of the bridge with nothing more than air under their feet. Both let out a scream of surprise and fright as Locke tries to grab the remaining rope on the bridge but fails, as Lilanei is too surprised to even react. With their hair violently flowing through the wind, both begin to drop back-first, their limbs kicking as they scream horrifically due to the realization that they are falling hundreds of feet through the air – to almost certain doom.
As the wind swooshes and whistles thunderously in their ears, our Heroes kick and flail in the air as they fall further and further down the ravine. Nonetheless, as they fall, Locke notices a bright magical sheen suddenly flash before them. In mere seconds, the fall begins to slow, with the clouds above Locke's eyesight seeming to gain distance slower, and slower, and slower until Locke realizes that the speed of their fall has dramatically decreased. Locke also notices that now instead of a straight drop, the fall seems to sway from side to side in a rocking motion; he then realizes that Lil is now chanting quietly under her breath as she falls beside him before, after a few more feet, the pair land softly on the stone ground of the ravine feet-first.
"What was that?" Locke asks, struggling to catch his breath from the panic.
"That," Lil gasps as she now rests her hands on her knees as she attempts to regain her composure. "That was. . . a special spell. . . that I didn't realize I had learned fully – that is until now!"
"You pick some great times to realize your potential," Locke says with a laugh.
Lil emits a loud and exasperated sigh before saying, "Well hopefully, I'll never have to use that again!"
"Just make a note that we don't cross anymore rope bridges that hang over dangerous chasms," Locke announces.
"Will do," Lil agrees tiredly.
Regaining their wits, our Heroes simply brush themselves before glancing about them. They see a large gathering of trees and bushes, which they immediately make their way through. As they emerge, they find they are once again on the trail which the bridge above them would have eventually taken them to. Locke and Lilanei continue to walk down the long trail before they come across a small cave entrance which acts as an obstacle on their path.
"Another cave," Locke notes with a grunt. "Both times we've been inside a cave, we've come across many giant beasties."
Looking to the cave with wide and tired eyes, Lil states, "Well, I hope none of these 'beasties' have come all the way up here!"
"I suppose there's only one way to find out," Locke replies. "Let's go."
On that final note, the two enter the cave and prepare for what may lie within. As they step into the cave, they are relieved to see that many holes in its ceiling cause much light to stream inside the cave to illuminate their surroundings. After a few steps into the large cavern, the pair suddenly stop as they realize they face a large pit which leads down to many sharp and jagged stalagmites. Within this pit, a couple of vipers slither amongst the stalagmites – the rattles at the end of their tails shaking ominously. Jagged rocks protrude from the inside walls of the pit, and they also notice ledges – very slim ledges – rest above the pit to the left and right.
"Today's just one big obstacle course," Locke notes.
"You're not kidding," a shaken Lilanei mutters as she stands behind Locke.
Locke turns to Lil and puts his arms around her, giving her a reassuring hug, as he asks, "Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine,” Lilanei says as her eyes glance now and then to the pit of snakes. "Let's just find a way to cross that pit."
"Well, there are two ledges either side of the pit," Locke explains. "We'll just have to cross them – carefully."
Lilanei gulps and nods, "Okay then."
"Let's do it!" Locke says with a reassuring smile. "It's not long. You'll be fine."
Locke walks over to the left, choosing the left side's ledge as his trail. He presses his back up against the wall of the cave and begins to shuffle his feet to the left, walking very slowly sideways off the ground and onto the stone ledge that hangs above the pit. As his feet tread on the ledge, small rocks drop off the ledge and down into the pit, aggravating the vipers slightly which begin to snap up at Locke – who grits his teeth and continues on, knowing that as long as he stays on the ledge the snakes won't reach him. Lilanei then mimics Locke's movements as she too crosses the left ledge. As they reach the center of the ledge, they stop suddenly as the ledge underneath their feet crumbles slightly, shaking them in their tracks. However, the crumbling ceases once more and they continue across the pit, before successfully making it to the other side.
"That wasn't so hard," Locke states.
More confidently than before, Lil exclaims, "You're right! But I'm glad that's over."
"Same here," Locke replies. "I didn't fancy having to fight overgrown slow worms!"
Grinning, Lilanei says, "Yeah. . . You're enough of a slow worm yourself."
"Sure thing, piglet," Locke replies, tapping her hips lightly.
Flushing in embarrassment, Lilanei purses her lips and growls slightly as she exclaims, "Come on, you buffoon! Let's keep going!"
"It's okay," Locke grins from behind her. "I think a bit of meat on your bones suits you! You'll look all the more cute when you slip into that dress for me."
Lilanei, who had begun to walk away, turns around and glares daggers at Locke as she says, "Are you going to stand there and spout hot air all day, or are we going to get off this mountain?"
"Well, it is private up here," Locke says with a grin. "Perhaps we can celebrate our newfound affections for each other in the privacy of this lovely cave."
Flushing even more, Lil steps back a foot before pausing and finally saying, "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Locke asks.
"That! I hear something down the cave – let's go!"
As she finishes, Lil suddenly turns and darts around the bend in the cave, leaving Locke to shake his head as he walks quickly after her. As the pair complete their dash around the bend of the cave, they stop once again as they notice a very steep slope now blocks their way. This slope faces downwards and appears very wet and shiny to the eye. Down the deep slope, they can see a very dark hole to the left as well as what appears to be the cave exit further back and to the right.
"This looks like it could've been a waterfall," Locke says. "Well, judging by the light, there's the cave exit, but I wonder what that hole is."
Locke then points to the hole in the wall to the right, which is cloaked in darkness, as Lilanei mutters, "Well, if this was a waterfall, perhaps that hole. . . Perhaps it led the water somewhere."
"Maybe," Locke replies. "But surely it all would've flown through both holes anyway. What do you wanna do, Lil?"
"I suppose," Lil utters, "I'd rather be on the safe side and try to climb our way down to the cave exit."
"I'd rather live on the wild side!" Locke cries. "But, since I also want a glass of ale and a nice hot pie, let's try and find a town and get out of this crazy cave. We'll head for the exit."
Pressing his right foot down the slope first, Locke turns his foot out to the side so that he doesn't fall as he begins to step down the slope with his left foot. He holds his hand for Lilanei to assist her down the steep, slippery slope. Lilanei takes his hand and slowly begins to walk down the slope with Locke leading in front with a steady footing. However, the tip of Locke's boot catches a piece of wet moss and Locke's boot immediately slides off the moss – throwing Locke's leg and ultimately his body up in the air before he lands back first on the slope, which he begins to fall down.
"Locke!" Lil cries as she reaches out with her hand to grab his.
She catches Locke by the wrist and tries to pull him backwards, but his weight is too much for the little Half-Elf to hold. Instead she falls on her front and both our Heroes begin to slide down the slope, crying out in surprise as they do. As their slide quickens down the very steep slope, they realize that they had failed to notice that the bottom of the slope slightly curves and angles towards the dark hole in the wall. Locke falls through the hole first as he is shortly followed by Lilanei, the two feeling their bodies sweep to and fro in a long and winding tunnel. They slip and slide wildly until they notice a small dim light at the end of the long tunnel. In mere moments, they burst through the exit of the tunnel and find themselves falling in the air once again.
"ARGH!" Locke cries as his limbs flail wildly in the air. "LIL!"
Lilanei merely shrieks in fear as the two continue to fall – that is, until they feel their bodies suddenly strike the surface of a large body of water, which they promptly fall into with a loud splash. Their vision is impaired after their heads fall under the surface of the water, due to how dirty the murky water is. Locke floats back to the surface and, with a gurgle, coughs out the water that had gathered in his mouth after he went under the water. He kicks his feet and allows his arms to sway lightly to and fro away from his body to keep himself afloat in the same position as his head turns and looks for Lilanei. It is not long before her head also emerges from the water with a slight splash as she coughs and gasps for air.
"Lil, dear!" Locke cries before he leans his body forwards, kicks his legs, and reaches his arms out across the water – swimming to her before repositioning himself upright and squeezing her tightly in his arms. "Are you alright?"
Kicking her feet in the water to stay afloat, Lil spits some of the murky liquid from her mouth as she mutters, "Yeah. . ."
"Let's get to dry land," Locke announces, looking over at the shore just some ten feet away from them.
With a nod, Lilanei follows Locke as the pair swim swiftly to the shore before their hands clutch for the dirt covered ground. They drag themselves out of the water and Locke stands, soaking wet, before offering Lilanei his hand to help her up. She takes his hand before Locke pulls her to her feet, on which she stumbles slightly as she regains her bearings.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Locke asks.
"Yeah," Lil mumbles as she now squeezes her cape tightly as she strains it free of the murky, dirty water which pours to the ground underneath her. "Luckily, it's a bit warmer, so hopefully we won't catch anything deadly!"
"Here's hoping," Locke states with a grin.
With their clothes dripping wet, our Heroes glance about at their surroundings and find that the trail continues just a few feet from their position. Without hesitation, the two rejoin the path leading down the mountain and begin to slowly walk down it as they notice it has become less steep. As they continue, they stop as they notice a small alcove to their left. Signs of an extinguished campfire remain at its center as trees and bushes, full of berries, surround it and provide it with shade.
"Well, there's an ideal place to pitch camp and rest a while as we dry off," Locke says.
Lilanei sighs and agrees as she says, "I'd love a nice rest. . . I haven't slept since the Mighty Blue – if you can call that sleep."
"There's an old campfire," Locke notes. "I'll relight it, and we can dry our clothes over it. . . Pitch up the tent, and we can keep each other warm while our clothes dry."
"But if our clothes are drying, then—" Lil stops mid-sentence as her cheeks flush red and she cries, "Is that all you ever think about?"
"No, not everything," Locke says with a grin. "But I thought we loved each other. I can't help thinking that about the beautiful girl I'm so passionate about."
Lilanei narrows her eyes at Locke before saying, "Well. . . If the man I loved, loved me back as much as he says, then he'd respect my boundaries. Besides, we can dry just as well with our clothes on."
"Aw, darn," Locke says. "Well, if that's how you want it, okay."
Lil now smiles cheerfully as she says, "Good! Now let's dry off, shall we?"
"Yes," Locke replies as he sets to reigniting the extinguished campfire.
As he does so, Lil looks around the small alcove at the many small berries which hang precariously from the bushes; after a slight pause, she finally asks, "Hm. . . Do you remember which berries are good, and which are bad? Red or blue?"
"I don't know," Locke replies. "I wouldn't eat either colour! If it isn't meaty and served on a plate, I don't really fancy eating it. They could be poisonous, Lil."
Lilanei frowns slightly as she glances at the berries before sighing and saying, "Okay. . . But don't we have any food?"
"Ah-ha-ha-ha," Locke says with a smile. "We do have Journeybread!"
Lilanei's stomach grumbles as she rubs it and mumbles, "But it's probably soggy by now!"
"Darn," Locke grunts, not having considered that. "Well, if you have to eat berries, try and think about what Akorrin said about things like that. I remember he used to say, 'If the berries are red, then you won't become dead. But if the berries are blue, going to heaven are you.'"
Lil narrows her eyes at Locke and says, "I think you just made that up. . . But if you think red berries are okay, then we'll eat red."
"Akorrin made that up to help me remember," Locke explains, thinking about Akorrin's teachings from when he was ten years old. "Pick some berries, and I'll put up the tent."
As Lil shrugs and begins to pick a cape full of red berries from the bushes, they both notice the sun has risen to its highest point in the sky. Lil returns shortly to the bright and warm camp fire before laying her cape down on the ground, with the berries on it.
Cheerfully, Lil quips, "Eat up!"
Locke looks around with a forlorn gaze as he says, "I can't believe this is all we can find to eat. . ."
Now both sitting down, Locke places his arm around Lil's shoulders and pulls her closer as he begins to eat his share of the berries.
"Juicy!" Locke exclaims.
Lil murmurs in agreement as she begins to eat her own share of the fruit; eventually, with a loud gulp as she swallows, she looks up to Locke and says, "What do you think Akorrin's doing right now?"
"If I knew if he was dead or alive, I could probably have a better idea," Locke replies. "But, if he's alive, then I think maybe he's somewhere else, harassing some other youngsters and trying to make fighters and adventurers out of them."
Lil nods her head before saying, "Well, I at least hope we'll find him one day, so I can thank him for what he did for us."
"Yeah," Locke says with a sigh, before squeezing her shoulder slightly in his hand and continuing, "I wonder what our parents would think of us, seeing us like this right now."
Lilanei slightly smirks as she says, "Well, if my mother ever knew, she'd probably start buying clothes for her new grandchildren."
"Ha, no chance of that yet," Locke says with a laugh. "You need to make babies before you can have them. Besides, life's too exciting and full of adventure right now to settle down and have children. We're both so young."
"Try telling her that," Lil mutters as she rolls her eyes; after a slight pause, she then continues, "I know what your dad would think of this. . . but what about Rivka and Zelsa? They didn't hate me too, did they?"
"My mother always hated hearing about how I'd pick on you," Locke answers. "She'd hear about it from her friends who saw us in the town together when I used to give you a hard time, and she'd tell me that you were such a pretty little girl and that you didn't deserve to be hit and called names. You never really met her, but she wouldn't hate a child just because of their race. And she especially never hated you because of how cute she thought you were. Zelsa, well, she's too young to really hate anybody. She'd probably like it since she'd think she'd have a big sister."
Lil smiles and says softly, "Well. . . That's good to hear. I was always so afraid to go past your house – I thought your whole family wanted to kill me."
"Just Longrin," Locke says, almost in shame. "My mother probably would've smiled and waved at you."
Still smiling, Lil says, "Well, if we ever go back to Illias, I'll have to say hello to her."
"She'd probably like that," Locke answers. "I remember she got into a fight with Longrin once, because she was telling me how pretty you were and how much of a good friend you could be. He heard it and he told her to shut up before telling me not to listen to her misguidance since Half-Breeds were the lowest of the low. . . But she, after he left, told me to never listen to him because he was ignorant – not that I knew what that meant at the time."
Lilanei chuckles slightly as she jokingly utters, "Well, you haven't changed too much since you were a boy."
"My vocabulary has extended a lot, thanks," Locke mutters. "I can't imagine a real family gathering between our two families, at least not while Longrin is still around. I wish my mother would have the courage to leave him, but I don't understand why – if she hates his narrow mindedness so much – she married him, bore his children, or even fell in love with him."
"I suppose," she softly begins, "that maybe he had a few good qualities about him. . . I suppose he just doesn't show them very much. Do you think that he'll ever change?"
"I doubt it," Locke scoffs. "His father was like that, and so was his great grandfather. All the males in my family, at least to my great-grandfather, seemed to have been very strict, traditional, and narrow minded to the point of bigotry and being fascist."
"Well, what's important," Lil says with a smile, “is that you didn't turn out that way!"
"Yeah," Locke replies, pulling Lil closer to him. "But we've Akorrin to thank for that. If he didn't come along, I probably just would've listened to Longrin all my life."
"Hm," Lil murmurs, and after a moment, says, "I don't know. . . You were just a little boy trying really hard to impress his dad. I'm sure eventually you would have grown and developed the same sort of taste for adventure you have now – and Longrin and yourself would have still fallen apart."
"That's true," answers Locke. "His side of the family and his ways are just too. . . not me. I think I get everything from my mother, apart from some of the features she says are from Longrin. Like how we look alike, even though I have her hair."
Lil looks up at Locke sternly as she observes his face, before finally saying, "Well, at least you got all of the good features, and none of the bad! You don't make that same scary face when you're angry like your dad does."
"Haha, I suppose you're right," Locke sighs. "But don't call him my dad. He isn't my father anymore. You don't even have to call him Longrin. Refer to him by any bad word you choose!"
With a grin, Lil responds, "Since I reserve buffoon especially for you, I'll call him half-wit!"
"Good name," Locke laughs.
Lil smiles and as she leans against Locke, she sighs, "Anyway. . . I'm getting pretty tired."
"Then sleep," Locke replies, brushing her hair with his hand. "I won't leave you this time."
With narrowed eyes and pursed lips, Lil mutters, "Promise?"
"I promise. . . Well, unless Alexandra happens to walk by – joking!"
Lil glares at Locke for a moment before sighing, "Well. . . If she's who you really want, then go ahead! I won't stop you – buffoon."
"I don't," Locke answers, stroking Lil's Half-Elf ear affectionately. "I want to stay right here with you."
Lil grins, "Good. . . Because I wasn't going to let you go anyway."
Locke stops petting her ear and places his hand in his pocket, rummaging around as he exclaims, "Oh great! I'm glad I didn't lose these."
Intrigued, Lil watches him and says, "Don't tell me you cut some other poor creature's feet."
"No," Locke replies. "But I did find something else while we were at the Pirate's Cove."
Lil cocks her eyebrow, "What's that then?"
"These!" Locke exclaims as he holds out in front of her two rings. "These rings looked nice, so I decided to take them."
Lil observes the rings, before finally exclaiming, "I know these! My mother used to sell them in her shop! They're called. . . Rings of Brotherhood, I think. They used to be really popular with the school children, who used to give them to their best friends."
"Are they?" Locke asks, looking down at them. "Well, I was going to sell them for a good price. But, if that's what they are, then," Locke then takes Lil's left hand and slides the ring onto one of her fingers, "I want you to have this to remind you how much I love you, and that I'll never leave your side for anybody else, ever."
Lilanei blushes as she looks down at the ring on her finger, before she smiles softly up to Locke and says, "I won't leave you for anyone else either!"
"Good," Locke replies with a smile as he puts the other ring on his finger. "Because if you did, that would've been a lot of money blown!"
Lil chuckles and responds, "Don't worry. I always keep my promises."
"Then we've got no worries," Locke announces before brushing her hair once again as he says, "Now, since you're tired, go to sleep.”
Lilanei glances over at the tent for a moment before deciding she's more comfortable in front of the fire with Locke. Nuzzling against him, Lil rests her weight on Locke before closing her eyes and attempting to fall asleep.
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