Friendship And Hardship

[Chapter 18] - Caught In The Crossed Bows

Okay, maybe Barnacles wasn't happy with Parker after that.

He really wasn't.

He didn't talk to her for the rest of the day, and the next morning was even worse. There was word that something happened between them that didn't end well on the island, so they just ended everything.

"Good morning, still got a stick up your ass?" Parker asked. She wasn't looking to make any good small talk. He shot her a distasteful look, obviously not amused by her jokes.

"You are not funny," Barnacles replied.
"Lighten up a bit, we've got to keep a good face on for what we're about to do," Parker stated.
"Are we leaving early for this?"
"Yeah, probably." She looked down at her hand, wondering when the bandage that she had on when they discovered the gravestones went.

Ah, wait, she threw it away when she and Kwazii came back from the river.

Strange. She didn't remember that, but the wound was healed. Peso must work some magic.

That didn't matter now. She grabbed a hard bread roll and ripped it in half.

"Come on. We have wars to win." She shoved one half of the bread roll into her mouth before walking out of the kitchen.

...

"What are we supposed to do? Just walk up to them and tell them to get off the island?" Barnacles asked as they neared the coastline of the island.
"Yes, and if they don't listen, then we'll do things my way," Parker said, shifting her bow and arrows on her back.
"And if they don't comply after that?"

Parker glared at him before turning away.

"Then I force them off," she snapped, nose scrunched up.

Barnacles wasn't so sure about this. He really thought that just talking things over would work, but it didn't last time.

There was no other choice now.

"It'll be fine, we got this," he said, facing the island with a newfound feeling of fear boiling in his gut.
"Not we." Parker held up a hand to his face as she turned around to face him.
"What?"
"Not we. Me."

Barnacles could feel his blood run cold as soon as he heard those words. "No," he said blankly, no questions asked.
"If you want to get yourself killed, then you can come with me. I'm doing this for your own good," Parker said.

For his own good?

He knew what was good for him. He knew that better than she did.

"Fine. Leave me here," he said, shrugging dramatically.

Parker smiled, thinking that she had won this argument.

"Easy enough," she muttered, turning around and continuing forward to the inner part of the island.
"Leave me here like you did all those years ago!" he shouted, flailing his arms around.

...

"You're still not over that, are you?" she asked, "Barnacles, jeez, I expected better from someone like you, but I guess you really haven't changed much. You're like some little boy, hiding and cowering away in a grown-up body."

He was still angry. Still had that angry look on his face, but he had softened up. He looked less threatened and more distressed now.

She smiled wider now, which shouldn't be possible. "You haven't changed!" she exclaimed, harshly shoving her hands onto his shoulders. "Really a shame, honestly," she added, her smile instantly dropping and her tone going dead.

...

Okay, what he said was definitely a bit harsh and stupid. It was really stupid and definitely exaggerated, but the response that came with it was not expected. He almost stayed back and left Parker to do all the talking and dying, but he couldn't take that risk.