Skyrun

Chapter 42; Revelations.

"Ouch! You bloody numbskull--  could you at least make an attempt at being more careful?"

"Would you rather I let you bleed out instead?"

"From the way you're handling things it might be preferable."

Rolling his eyes, Liam pressed a bit harder on Coin's wound with a clean cloth, making the thief yelp in pain once more.

It was almost satisfying.

The wound, though deep and bleeding profusely, was a few inches away from Coin's heart-- whether that was a fortunate thing in the long run was yet to be determined-- and, Liam noted, there was an exit wound where the bullet had passed through the body.

Bloody wonderful.

In any case, judging by the vigor with which Coin was spewing swear words, it did not look as if the thief would be dying any point soon. A same, really, Liam thought and he finished staunching the wound; perhaps the rest of the journey might have finished more peaceful otherwise.

Eventually, however, he quieted and the air between them grew horribly silent, with Liam frantically wondering if he ought to say something witty or if such an act might make the thief punch him in the face regardless of the fact that he'd bleed out soon after. Still, perhaps he should something neutral to lead into a conversation. Something casual and friendly.

Instead his lips blurted, "So, you and the captain then?"

Blimey, that certainly wasn't what he had meant to ask-- and though frankly the question had rested upon his mind ever since the dreadful incident at the inn, he was not certain that he wished to speak to Coin about it.

He supposed he'd rather jump ship.

Yet Coin only regarded him with a haughty sneer, his eyes glittering in what could only be called triumph. "Oh ay," he said, his tone so smug that Liam nearly wanted to put a bolt from a crossbow through him all over again, "The captain and I have always been on and off again. She can't keep her hands off me, I suppose. Still, I expect it's half because I bring her gifts-- things from raids, that sort of thing."

"Are you sure it's not your excellent charm and manners that seduces her?" Liam replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well, there's plenty of that to go about. But a broach here or there helps in the matter of things."

Snapping his head up, Liam regarded the thief with narrowed eyes, "Broach? You gave her broaches?"

"What's it to you?" Coin spat, flicking his black hair out of his face, "Ay, I gave her a broach-- twas from the same bloody continent you came from. Had to kill the girl who was wearing it, mind you, but the captain seemed to like it well enough, though she screamed at me after she saw me kill the girl."

Icy fear washed over Liam in a torrent then, and his hands paused his work, beginning to shake ever so slightly as memories flashed through his head of the wolf broach he had given his sister a lifetime ago. The joy in her eyes as she had left for the autumn festival, the snarling face of the beast sparkling in the sunlight, pinned to her coat for all to see.

No... No it couldn't be. The pirates did not kill innocents on their raids-- they were peaceful unless bad men attacked them. Blimey, they only hurt the bad men, right?

Coin's voice broke him from his thoughts then, his tone sharp as a blade. "Oi! The bloody heck is wrong with you? In case you haven't noticed I'm still bleeding--"

"The broach," Liam interrupted, hating the how husky his voice became. How desperate he sounded. "You said you killed for it-- you're lying. You have to be."

"And why would I do that?"

"Valentine doesn't kill on raids."

The thief barked a laugh then, making him jump. "Blimey, you're even stupider than I thought Hawk. If you think we never kill on raids well... you're either a bloody idiot or you've been lied to. And ay, it's true that the captain doesn't like to kill, but this town," Coin's eyes grew almost dreamy then, "This town put up a fight. We crossed blades with a good amount of people there, we did and never once did the captain stop us."

A bolt of rage shot through Liam's heart and he grit his teeth, his fists clenching till the knuckles turned white. "You're a liar."

Yet Coin's smirk never faded and he simply leaned his head back against the wall, his eyes flashing. "Am I? Well, you'd best ask the captain yourself then. You'll see Hawk, she's a criminal like the rest of us. She--"

Liam did not wait to hear the rest.

Flinging the blood stained rag aside he rushed to the ladder leading to the decks above and whipped his head about, searching for Valentine, for answers, for her to tell him that Coin spoke nothing but falsehood. That she wasn't a monster who had let her crew kill his sister, his family.

And that he wasn't responsible for it.

Flicking his gaze around the deck, he found Valentine near the ship's helm, her eyes turned toward the azure sky, Sinclair beside her at the wheel.

'Please,' Liam thought desperately, his throat tight, his skin prickling with uncomfortable uncertainty, 'Please let him be wrong. Let him be a liar.'

"Valentine!" he called aloud, jogging slightly to come to a halt beside her, watching as she tucked her spyglass away and turned to him, her face split in a smile.

She looked to innocent, so wonderful. So unlike the cruel captain Coin had described that Liam almost turned back, almost entirely wished to forget the incident that he did not wish to know the answer to.

And yet... he couldn't. 

He had to know; for his family whom he had left, abandoned. For his past mistakes that had led him into this trouble. For his sister that he might had given the grounds to be killed.

And thus, with his lips trembling ever so slightly, he spoke, voice wavering. "Valentine, at the continent that you found me-- do you remember the raid there?"

"Oh ay," the captain waved her hand dismissively, "Wasn't one of our best, save for you. You know we needed a new cabin boy anyhow-- just our luck Sin didn't kill you then, eh?"

Liam barely heard her, his lips instead forming the words he dreaded the reply to, the ones that made his chest ache. "Coin gave you a broach that day-- it was in the shape of a wolf's head and he had said he had gotten it from a girl. A girl he killed." he raised his eyes to the captain's own then, watching as the colour drained from her face, "He's lying, isn't he? Tell me he's lying!"

Her silence was all the answer he needed.

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