An arrogant boy with a sword

Maris and Rafferty spent most of their day in the Island Town with their newfound friend Zenna.

It's getting late, so the three of them go back to the sword fighter island.

By the time they reach their goal after a while, it's already dark, and as expected most of the sword fighters are gone.
Only a few of them are standing around, talking.
Zenna then leads them to a quiet training ground behind one of the buildings, enlightened by a lantern, where they find a single young swordsman in an elegant black robe, still training at such a late hour.

This is Kael. One of the best sword fighters in town.
He's a good friend of mine.

He doesn't even seem that special.
Zenna probably overestimates him because he's her friend.
At least that's what Maris thinks.
Rafferty is already amazed by his skill.

He's incredible, isn't he?

Maris isn't really convinced yet.
His movement actually doesn't look much different to the fighters she saw earlier that day.
But maybe that's a good thing?
At least his technique doesn't look worse than what Maris has seen before.

Her primary concern is his age...
He must be a few years younger than her.
He looks more like a boy than a man.

That legendary fighter Kairos also was pretty young, and was still very powerful.
But he also didn't look as young as Kael.

When they approach Kael, he stops moving and turns toward them.
Zenna introduces Maris and Rafferty, explaining their interest in meeting a powerful sword fighter.

Kael nods, his gaze shifting from Maris to Rafferty.

Welcome to the Island Town.
So what brings you here?
It would be a honor to me to train you.
But I'd recommend if you looked for other people for this.

No, uhm...
I...

Maris isn't sure what to say.
She wants a new crew member. But she is really disappointed about him so far.
He doesn't seem to fit into her crew.
At least not for what she had in mind...
So he doesn't want to tell him.

But she also doesn't want to write him off completely after spending hours with Zenna just to get to know him.
She might be disappointed or feel hurt after that.
Maybe Maris could offer him to join her. He probably is too young anyway, and will likely deny.
But what if he doesn't?

Could you show us your best moves?
I'm looking for a really skilled sword fighter.

Why would I show my secrets to random people?
What can you offer me in exchange?

Maris will just tell what she had in mind for him.
If he is interested, she can still tell him, she doesn't like his style.

I need a sword fighter for my crew.
So we would take you to different places with my ship.
That's all I can offer you.

Interesting.
I'm sure you're looking for a companion, skilled enough to protect you probperly.
At least this guy next to you doesn't seem capable of that.

Hey!

You're not wrong.
Actually he's my only crew member right now.
I'm trying to build a crew.
So far there's just me, Maris, the captain, and Rafferty, the thief.

That sounds really exciting. So my role as a fighter and protector doesn't exist yet!

Kael immediately starts to move again, but differently.
It looks way more elegant.
But Maris has no idea if that's a good thing.
He probably just tries to show off.
Just because it looks good doesn't mean it's also useful for actual fights.

Wow, amazing!

Maris isn't surprised when Rafferty falls for it.
When Maris still doesn't react in a similar way after a while, Kael gets a little annoyed.
He would have preferred to be admired by a beautiful girl like her instead of this guy...

I'm not sure.
But I don't think you're what we're looking for.
I need a really strong man, who is loyal and able to protect me.

Just like me!

Maris definitely doesn't want a second Rafferty, but she just ignores him.

Kael is a strong fighter.
You won't find a better one.

Even if Zenna doesn't want Kael to leave, she wants to help him where she can.

No need to fight for me, Zenna.
I can prove them myself what a good fighter I am!
If you want, you can watch tomorrow.

His attitude suddenly changed.
Despite looking like a boy, he comes across pretty masculine now.

I'll think about it...

Maris really wants to leave already.
She still has to go back to her ship or find some inn...

What even is the goal of your journey?

We want to leave the known world.

What? You must be crazy.
Nobody ever came back alive from there.

Never heard of Ellis?

There are no books about her.

Maris immediately thinks a little better of Kael.
At least Kael must be interested in books.

I'm pretty confident we'll get out there.
And because of what whe know about Ellis, it's clear that something is out there.
I'm not sure if we'll be able to come back.

I don't mind.
Everything is better than this place.
But what do you expect to get there?

My brother told me about the Dark Heart.
Maybe he already got it. But if he didn't, I might find it instead.
Or if I meet him, we might look for it together.

Sounds like you only want to see your loved brother again.

Maris just ignores his annoying comment.
He might have a point, but it sounds like he's just making fun of her.

So, the Dark Heart?
Maybe I heard about that before.

It's the treasure of the outside world.
Ellis left it out there for us to find it.

Kael stares at Maris.
He really admires her for her strong will.
His heart suddenly beats like crazy.
And he gets a weird feeling.
Did he just fall in love with her?

I have to come with you!
I will follow you everywhere!

Maris still doesn't want him in her crew.
But this doesn't change that he's too young.
Especially as a sword fighter, who is meant to protect her.

But how can she tell him now?
It's getting more and more difficult as they keep talking.
She will just have to hurt him eventually if she doesn't want him in her crew.

Okay, show us your fighting skills tomorrow, and if you are good enough, I allow you to join my crew. I promise!

Oh, that's great!
But you have to tell me something.
What would you qualify as good enough?
Is it enough to defeat one person?
Does he have to be older than me?
Or do I have to defeat more than one guy?

He isn't stupid.
If Maris tells him exact rules now, she can't just back off if he fulfills his requirements.
She'll just make the requirements high, but not unreasonable high, so he won't be suspicious, that she just doesn't want him.

I don't just want any fighter. For the goal I have, I really need an especially strong fighter.
If you can win against five guys older than you, I'll let you join.

The other swordsmen looked just as strong as him.
It might already be difficult for him to fight a single guy.
So even fighting two older guys almost seems impossible.

Maybe it's already a little unfair. Maybe two enemies would have been strong enough, or rather three, just to be safe.
But he didn't seem shocked, so it's probably still not too suspicious.

So will you really believe me when I say, somebody is older than me?

Sure. As long as they are taller than you.

After giving him such a difficult task, being pedantic about them being older would be suspicious again.

Kael gets closer to Maris and reaches out a hand to her.
Maris grabs it.

Deal!

But it's already dark. I really have to go now.
So let's meet tomorrow.

If you want you can sleep in my place. It's just over there.

Kael points to the building directly behind Maris.

Oh, that's great!
I didn't expect to find a good place to sleep here, especially at such a late hour.
So we would have to go all the way back to our ship.
Is it enough for both of us? Me and Rafferty?

Sure.
It's a very simple room, but I have a second blanket.
So either the two of you and your friend share a blanket or you join me in my bed.

Kael smirks at Maris.
But Maris doesn't even look.

She would prefer if the men just slept together, and she'd have her own sleeping place.

What about me?

You can go home.
You live just on the other side of that bridge over there.

It's still some minutes to go.
And I'm scared to walk alone at this time.

Fine. I already have guests. So one guest more shouldn't make a huge difference.
Or what do you think, Maris?

She's our friend, too, so it should be fine.

Zenna is happy. She really likes Kael.
But she isn't able to spend too much time with him.
He usually wants to be alone at night, so he can focus on more important things.

So the three of them follow Kael to his home.
It's in the building next to his training ground.

It's just a single room.
There almost isn't any furniture inside.
And one blanket is already lying around on the floor.

Kael faces Maris.

So, my beautiful lady.
Would you like to share a blanket with me now.

Maris doesn't know how to feel about this.
To be honest, that's a nice gesture. He just isn't her type.

Of course I will!

I wasn't talking...
I mean, sure.
But...

Kael wouldn't mind if another girl slept with him, even if it's just Zenna.
Saying anything else might just lead to problems.
And when being on her ship, he will have enough time to sleep with Maris. He will have to protect her properly after all.

Could I just sleep with Zenna. I think, you're cute.
One blanket for the girls and one for the boys.
Sounds fair, right?

Whatever...

Kael goes to his wardrobe, takes out another blanket and gives it to Maris.

Thanks.

Rafferty just lied down under the other blanket, and is already about to fall asleep.

Maris and Zenna get under their blanket, and Maris starts to cuddle her.
Zenna isn't actually opposed to that.

Then Kael turns off the lights and gets into his bed as well.
He's slightly annoyed, but being able to finally leave this place sounds too promising enough to let this opportunity slide.

Good night everyone!

Good night!

Yeah, good night!

After walking around all day they fall asleep easily.
Only Kael is a little annoyed by having such an annoying guy sleeping next to him...