T |
he floor that rumbled underneath my body made my eyes snap open. For a moment, I was sure that I had been kidnapped and was waking up somewhere horrible. Only upon rolling onto my back and staring at the ceiling for a moment was I able to place myself on the airship. For the moment, I was alone. That, however, did not explain the dull sound of the ship dragging against something.
Clutching my coat around me, I stumbled out the door just in time for the ship to give another rough lurch and send me into the wall.
“Careful! We're not trying to strand ourselves here!” Kewyn shouted out the open hatch, her hands clutching the controls as they threatened to wiggle away. I heard Rio shout something back, but it was incoherent over the noise.
The blonde sighed loudly before she yelled, “Try not to drag the bottom on the-”
Her instructions were interrupted as the cabin shuddered again. Kewyn glared out the door. I heard Rio say something that sounded like, “It's not my fault.”
“We here?” I asked, moving to look out the hatch. Rio was standing on a rather precarious ledge, pulling on one of the ship's tethers with a lot of effort.
“Oh! Good morning, there,” the blonde said, all wrath dissipated for the moment. “We've arrived in the lovely ex-city-state of Zephilon. At the moment,” she paused, wrestling with the steering until it locked in place, “we are trying to back into the tower here.”
“Why's that? Couldn't we just hitch it up like before?” I asked, waving to Rio. When he realized I was standing there, he shouted a greeting.
I shivered as the chill air began to penetrate the ship's warmth. It seemed like morning, but a dense fog floated around us so I could not see anything. It could have been afternoon, and I would have never known.
“This is the best way to be docked,” Kewyn said, peering out the door to check on the half-blood's progress. “Just in case we need to get out quickly again. Pull harder, please!” She shouted suddenly.
“I'm pullin' I'm pullin'!” Rio complained.
“Where's Levent?” I asked once the blonde had returned to her seat.
“The kin? He's on the other side. He's lucky I can't shout at him properly through the wall...”