There was a quiet curse from beside me, then, “Are you okay?”
I blinked, looking over at the kin again. His face was toward the water, features obscured by his messy fringe.
The dragon-kin cleared his throat. “Does your neck hurt?” he said.
“No,” I answered. It still stung a little, but I could not tell him that. I hoped for both our sakes it did not bruise. We sat there for a moment, but it bothered me that I could not see his face.
“I’m fine. Are you alright?” I asked.
Levent swung his head around, eyebrows cocked. “What?”
“I mean, I just…” I mumbled.
Then I mimicked the look he was giving me. This individual that sat before me was confusing.
I was staring at him quite blatantly.
He narrowed his eyes. “What is it?”
“What are you after in the temple, anyway?” I said.
He looked away, instantly avoiding eye contact again. I leaned in, peering at his face.
“I mean, what am I supposed to look for when I’m in there by myself?” I said, frowning.
I picked up another drawing from under my legs and looked at it. Levent quickly swept it from my hands.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You won’t say, will you?”
“No,” he answered.
“So how am I supposed to help you?” I asked.
“...’Help me’?” he said after a moment. I almost laughed. He looked so confused.
“What else am I supposed to do when I go into that temple tomorrow? I mean, I don’t know what I’m doing and you are the only reason I’m here, I hope you know.”
The dragon-kin seemed to think this over for a moment, looking down at the water while he rested his chin on his hand. Then, he looked back at me.
“It should not be that different from what we encountered before,” he said.
“Ah! So it is another one of those things,” I said, pointing at him.