Hello everyone!
Yes, I'm still alive and I'm sorry for my...well...quite long absence. I will be honest with you: I haven't continued writing the original story for two years now and I won't continue anytime soon. It's not that I don't want to, had no ideas, or whatever. I adopted a dog two years ago and since then, I just didn't feel like writing, since I have (and want) to spend so much time with her. By now I have completely lost touch with the story and the characters and don't feel like "diving into it" again. I think I will some day, but I won't promise anything. But since there are so many chapters left, which I haven't translated yet, I figured it would be just fair, if I at least translated all of them for you. There is still so much in store. The original story is currently 115 chapters long, to be precise...
I hope, that you are not too disappointed and that you will still enjoy this story, no matter for how long or when exactly it will continue. :)

Trust

This eventful night eventually reached the point where I didn't know which day it was. How many hours had passed since the fight in the tavern. I was sure that it couldn't take long until sunrise but still I felt as if it had just set. I was exhausted. After the excitement about the escape, the battle with the other ship and Benjamin Franklin had subsided, my body reminded me that my relaxed afternoon slumber in the comfortable bed had been hours ago. My lids were heavy as well as my limbs and I had to suppress a yawn while sitting motionlessly on my beloved barrel, staring at the wall, my back turned to the rest of the deck. There the gentlemen were preparing their beds for the night. Hammocks were unrolled, allocated and those who didn't get one received sleeping mats and blankets. Why I had turned my back to all of this? For reasons of decency, since the men who had reached the Aquila swimming, were getting rid of their wet and ice cold clothes so that they at least could dry until morning and didn't catch their death. Because there was no place where they could do so without having me notice it, it was on me to turn away and count the cracks in the wall in front of me, while a whole bunch of naked men were wiping themselves dry behind my back. They hadn't needed to ask me to do so. I really wasn't interested in verifying my knowledge about the male anatomy based on other examples. Having seen a single man without pants was enough for my taste.

So I waited. Sitting on my barrel, my arms on my knees, my chin propped on my hands and staring at the wall until the men had either retired into their hammocks or underneath their blankets, or had at least wrapped something around their hips. Not until then, Ratonhnhaké:ton put a hand on my shoulder and gave me the signal that it was safe for me to turn around. He had also slipped out of his wet clothes, had put them over a board to dry them and had wrapped a blanket around his hips. He was still freezing, I could tell it by the goosebumps on his upper body, but he didn't show as he led me over the canon deck to a hammock which he unrolled and finally pointed at it. "This one is for you."

I raised an eyebrow. Since the enemy's cannon balls had caused chaos on the main deck and had partly destroyed the captain's cabin, Faulkner couldn't relinquish it to me, much to his regret. He had ensured me, that I would get another comfortable place to sleep instead and I had secretly hoped it to be one of the sleeping mats on the ground. I didn't trust these big, white sheets that were dangling from the ceiling. I couldn't imagine that you could sleep well inside of them and this opinion didn't change while I watched the hammock swinging back and forth in the rhythm of the waves.

"Is something wrong?" I turned my eyes away from my future bed and looked into Ratonhnhaké:ton's questioning face.

Forget your scepticism and be grateful, I thought and nodded slowly. "I'm just wondering how I am supposed to get up there." I stepped to the hammock, which was on level with my hips, turned my back to it and tried to keep it steady somehow while standing on the tip of my toes and slowly and carefully sinking back into the fabric. I had hardly taken my weight off my feet, as I tipped backwards with an appalled squeal and sank deeper into the hammock which immediately started to swing faster. If Ratonhnhaké:ton hadn't grabbed my legs that flew upwards, I would have performed a back flip.

"You have to find your balance", he explained to me, holding my right leg in one and the hammock in his other hand while I tried to sit up somehow. It was difficult and I rolled onto my side until I finally lay straight in the hammock. The white fabric created a wall around me like the cocoon of a butterfly. But I rather felt like I had been stuffed into a sack. A swinging sack. I pursed my lips.

"Ratonhnhaké:ton...?"

His hands appeared over me, pushing the fabric aside and finally he looked down at me. If I hadn't known it better, I would have believed to see a traitorous glint in his eyes. "Hm?"

"Just pretending I would want to get out...how could I do it?" Probably a stupid question which seemed pretty reasonable to me. Lying in this hammock felt like floating over the ground and after the difficulties of lying down, I had no idea how I was supposed to get up again without causing an accident.

Ratonhnhaké:ton's lips curled into a smirk and he put his other hand onto the fabric to push it down a bit. I felt how the hammock tipped to the side in the process and cling to the fabric beside my body.

"You push it down and swing your legs out. It is very easy", he explained and cocked his head, still smirking. "But slowly and carefully or you will fall out." A warning I took really serious. It was me we were talking about after all.

The amused smirk on Ratonhnhaké:ton's face disappeared and his gaze grew soft as he loosened a hand from the hammock and reached out to me to shortly caress my cheek. "Are you fine?"

"I think so", I replied and smiled faintly. "I really have to get used to it."

He smirked again and vaguely pointed into the room behind his back. "I will sleep over there on the ground with some others. So I am not far if you need me."

I chuckled. I somehow felt reminded of the many nights Emily had been brought to bed. She used to get kissed goodnight, was laid down, covered in her blanket, received some gently spoken words and if she was getting anxious of being left alone, she was assured that we were nearby and would hear her. But although I was sure that his presence wouldn't be needed, knowing that he was nearby gave me a calm and safe feeling.

"Alright", I said, now with a warm smile on my lips which he returned.

"Sleep well, Lillian."

"You, too."

His fingertips brushed my cheek again before he carefully took his hands from the hammock so that the fabric slipped back and the hammock started swinging again. I turned my head to the side and could only see Ratonhnhaké:ton's shadowy figure walking away. Then there was only the white of the fabric, towering over me on both sides. I really had to get used to it, especially because I got the feeling of not having enough space to move, if I didn't want to end up on the ground. Because when I moved to get rid of my bodice, bonnet and boots, I believed to fall into the void as the hammock moved as well. I sighed quietly. Did some people really find it relaxing to sleep in such a thing? I couldn't imagine it but at least I felt that the fabric was keeping me warm like a blanket and even the light swinging was somehow relaxing. Basically the hammock was nothing else but a cradle and after I had tugged my bodice and bonnet under my legs and had thrown my boots out, I carefully moved into a more comfortable position, closed my eyes and was actually sound asleep shortly afterwards.

I relived tonight's events in my dreams. The fight in the tavern, the escape to the harbour, the enemy's attack on the Aquila and especially the fear I had felt. So my sleep was troubled but when I woke up, I felt strangely rested and even the hammock didn't seem so suspect to me anymore. I even enjoyed the soft swinging, steadily caused by the light movement of the Aquila, before I thought of leaving my place to sleep. Somehow I delayed it because I feared to make unwanted contact with the floor. I even thought about waiting for Ratonhnhaké:ton to check on and help me, but on the other hand, my pride was against it. If I wasn't able to leave a simple hammock on my own, what was I able to do at all?

My eyes roamed over the spots of light, dancing over the white fabric and coming from the sunlight that shone through the openings for the cannons. I tried to guess how late it must be. I heard the snoring of several men coming from different directions and steps above me. Probably only the crew of the ship was awake at this early hour. So there was no reason for me to get up but I didn't want to stay here either. Thanks to the lack of solid ground, I clumsily sat up until I could reach out for the edge of the rough fabric and carefully push it down, Ratonhnhaké:ton's warning still in mind. I wouldn't embarrass myself now if someone down here was already awake. But when I was finally able to peek outside, everything seemed silent. Strictly speaking: Everyone would wake up from the noise when I fell. And the floor seemed to be so terribly far away. Carefully I swung a leg out of the hammock and stretched my foot to feel for the floor with the tips of my toes. Therefore I tried to shift my weight to the other side so that I didn't get a sudden momentum towards the ground. The way I slowly moved my hip forward probably looked totally absurd. Especially when the tip of my tongue eventually touched the corner of my mouth, unnoticed by me because I was so concentrated. I just grinned triumphantly as my toes finally touched the floor. As if had defeated Ratonhnhaké:ton in archery. Blind and without any previous training.

Absurdly careful and slow, I tried to put my weight onto this leg so that I could heave myself out of the hammock which got more and more imbalanced in the process. I stretched my other leg out, lying crossways and on my back, until my other foot found a hold, too and I tried to sit up. Only successful when I clung to the hammock and pulled myself up. As I finally stood straight and on solid ground, I grinned and breathed a sigh of relief, looking around the deck. It seemed like no one had noticed my exercise and I hoped that it didn't just look like it.

I slipped back into my boots, fished the bodice out of the hammock and put it on. My braid disappeared under the bonnet before I made my way towards the main deck. Therefore I had to avoid the other hammocks and step over the men who had made themselves comfortable on the floor. I found Ratonhnhaké:ton by the staircase to the second canon deck, sharing the probably biggest free space with Logan and Kanen'tó:kon. Each one of them wrapped in a blanket and soundly asleep. The sight of Ratonhnhaké:ton lying on his side, one arm under his head and the other one resting beside him, made me wish to slip under his blanket and into his arms, just to sleep a bit a longer. But I thought that it had been right to sleep separated. Here, where the room was not big enough for all these resting men, it would have felt strange to sleep in Ratonhnhaké:ton's arms as if we were home and in our bed.

So I carefully moved on and climbed the first steps of the staircase, as my eyes fell to the back of the cannon deck and to Benjamin Franklin. He was sitting on the floor, his arms tied behind his back, his head low but awake. His glasses sat crooked onto his nose and seeing the way he was sitting there, I felt sorry for him. How must it feel to be at the mercy of men, who wanted to see you dead? Although I didn't know what to think of him, I hoped that the rebels were going to judge him just and without prejudice. Regarding the violence, Washington was inflicting every day, it would be wrong to act in the same way. The people needed to realize what was wrong with their king and learn to trust the rebels and support them. They wouldn't, if they would learn that the rebels weren't shying away from violence either.

Hopefully they will do the right thing, I thought and turned my eyes away from Franklin to finally go up deck. I took me some effort to push the heavy hatch up, but when I did, I was instantly hit by the ice cold wind. It blew over the deck and carried the salty scent of the sea and the acid stench of gun powder. I was shivering, as I finally stepped onto deck, but it wasn't simply the cold causing it. It was the sight of the deck itself. Wooden splinters, big and small, spread everywhere and only partly removed by some crew members. Bloodstains showing the spots where men had lost their lives last night. Now they were wrapped in rags and lying in front of the captain's cabin. I counted seven. Seven lives, ended in one short exchange of fire. What for? Because they had been seeking peace and freedom? Would this story never stop repeating itself?

I swallowed down the uprising tears and abruptly turned away from the cabin, to walk across the decks with my arms tightly wrapped around my body. I didn't want to stand in the way of the working men and certainly didn't want to interrupt Faulkner's conversation with some members of his crew at one of the rails. Passing by, I just heard them talking about the damages on the Aquila. I nodded at them and walked towards the bow, where I certainly wouldn't disturb anyone. Putting my hands onto the rail, I stared at the open sea in front of us. The Aquila was amid dense morning fog, which made the rising sun appear like a bright, white disc in the grey. You could hardly look a mile ahead and even the coast, which was supposed to be somewhere at our right, wasn't to be seen anywhere. Only water that lathered up the ship and ice could drops hit my face, as I leaned forward, to look down and watch the Aquila breaking through the waves. The wind was pushing her forward in strong blows that made me shiver every time. The coat Ratonhnhaké:ton's mother had given me, had been among the things we had left behind to escape. I regretted it now and just wanted to turn around to go back below deck, as an arm was wrapped around my hip. I was startled at first but as I glanced to the side and saw, who was joining me, I smiled.

"So you're up already?", I asked teasingly and got a glance underneath raised eyebrows.

"I actually wonder that you are up already", Ratonhnhake:ton replied and put his other arm around me, too, to fold his hands on my hip. I immediately snuggled up to him, to get rid of the cold. "Did you not sleep well?"

"I did. Surprisingly well, actually." I smirked about his question and shrugged my shoulders. "I just didn't want to stay and I wanted to wake you up neither."

"But you could have."

I shook my head and put a hand onto his chest, to caress the fabric of his shirt, which still felt numb and cold. "You needed rest after everything that happened last night. We don't know what's ahead of us, after all."

Ratonhnhaké:ton studied my face while frowning. I didn't know what this face was supposed to mean, as he turned to the rail and turned his eyes to the sea. He grabbed my hand and laced his fingers with mine, after we had rested our arms onto the rail. I decided not to ask him and watched the waves hitting the Aquila. Until Ratonhnhaké:ton moved again and grabbed into his ammunition bag, to take out something, closing his fist tightly around it. I still recognized his mother's necklace.

"It is the only thing left of my mother, beside memories", he said. "Looking at it, always hurt and it will be like this for ever. But I am not alone anymore. Now I have a family I can share my memories with, passing them on. And I know now, that my mother would have given this her blessing." He opened his hand and ran his thumb over the necklace, while having a conflicting expression in his eyes. Pain, but also love. Emotions I could perfectly understand, because I didn't feel any different thinking about my parents. But still I wasn't sure if and how I should react on his words, because it felt like there was nothing I could say. Except of never leaving him alone with his pain. I always wanted to be there for him and support him, if he needed me. But even though I knew, that he wasn't like me. That he preferred being on his own with his emotions and not talking about them, as long as they had nothing to do with anyone but himself. But before these words could leave my lips, he had continued speaking.

"I almost lost the necklace yesterday and I could never forgive myself. I do not want it to happen again and so I wanted to ask you to have it." He had turned to me now, leaning against the rail and offering me the necklace on his flat hand. Disbelieving, I stared at it. Did I just hear correctly?

"You want…me to have your mother's necklace?"

He nodded. "There is no person I would rather entrust it with. I wanted to be in safe hands and it will be in yours."

His words and the look he was giving me, went right through me. The deep trust he had in me and which I had in him as well, but still I didn't know how to react. I couldn't believe what he had just said. His mother's necklace had always been his unspoken sanctuary which I had never dared to touch. Too great was its worth. And now he wanted to give it to me, so that it didn't get lost? I was torn between the feeling of being overwhelmed and happy about his trust and the thought of not being able to live up to it. Moveless and speechless I was standing in front of him, staring at the necklace which obviously got eerie to him. Cocking his head, he gave be a questioning and worried look.

"What is it? Why are you not saying anything?"

"Because I have no words", I answered honestly and put a forced smile onto my lips. "I know how much this necklace means to you and I am afraid of not taking enough care and disappointing you, by loosing it."

"Why are you saying that?" Ratonhnhaké:ton stepped closer and put a hand under my chin, to lift it up and look into my eyes. My heart started to beat faster in an instant and my eyelids fell shut for a moment, as his thumb followed my jawline. "You will not. There will be no safer place for it, than with you. I am certain of it."

As I looked at him again and saw the confirmation of his words in his eyes, it was hard to have any doubts. How could I reject his request and with it his trust without probably offending him? His trust was his first gift he had made me and it meant a lot to me. It was an honour, as his request was and his unspoken gratefulness when I simply nodded and accepted to take his mother's necklace. But I thought I would just have it in my keeping. In the pockets of my skirt where no one would notice it, until he couldn't loose it in battle anymore. But I held my breath and froze, as Ratonhnhaké:ton lifted the necklace between his hands and put it around my neck. It felt heavy. Even heavier in my imagination. Loaded with the presence of its actual owner and the respect I had for Ziio. Compared to the woman she had been, I just felt puny and weak.

"I don't know, if I should wear it", I said quietly and laid my fingertips onto the necklace.

"You should." Ratonhnhaké:ton had put his hands onto my shoulders and now used one of it, to touch mine. "This is the safest place and you will not loose it." He had lowered his voice, too so that only I could hear it. But he didn't speak forcefully, not with the hidden intention to give me an order through his last words. He spoke gently and convinced and once again showed me his unconditional trust I would always give to him as well. So I shook my head. No, I wouldn't loose the necklace and didn't intend to anyway.

"I will cherish and take care of it. I promise."

"I have no doubt." Ratonhnhaké:ton's lips curled into a hardly visible, but still honest smile, which I loved so much and could only return. It warmed my heart, every time I saw it, especially when he gave it to me and I enjoyed this feeling, as I hugged him and he wrapped his arms around me, without hesitation. Just to pull me close and rest his chin on my head. In this moment, I felt closer to him than ever and I wanted to enjoy it as long as possible. I closed my eyes, forgot about the busyness on deck, the many voices and the coldness of the wind and only concentrated on the man in my arms, who stood there as calmly as he would do the same. Until a shout sounded from above our heads.

"Land ho!"

I pulled away from Ratonhnhaké:ton's chest and looked into the direction, where New York was supposed to be. But there was nothing but fog. The man in the crow's nest could probably look above it, but down here, the white wall was impenetrable for our gazes. At least until the wind took his ice cold pity on us and parted the fog with one blow, revealing something that took my breath away. Right there, on the spit of land, rose the probably most bizarre building I had ever seen. A giant, stone pyramid.

"What the hell…?" I finally pulled away from Ratonhnhaké:ton's embrace and stared at the building, which was shrouded in fog. It was a most strange sight. A monstrosity, made of bright sandstone, in the middle of houses that looked like toys beside it. I had only heard about buildings like it in the storys of old Egypt where the pyramids were build to be eternal monuments for old kings. Had Washington, in all his madness, adapted this idea? Apparently yes, because our dumbfounded gazes were an unspoken question to Logan and some other men, who had joined us at the rail.

"Washington's palace", Logan growled and spit into the sea. "A visible scar of his mad reign. No matter where you go in this city, you're always walking in this monstrosity's shadow.

"What kind of man builds something like that?", I heard Kanen'tó:kon ask and there was only one answer. A madman. A man who wanted to show of his power by all means.

"So this is where he lives?" Ratonhnhaké:ton's eyes narrowed while staring at the pyramid. "It will probably not be easy to get to him, if he uses to stay there."

Logan shook his head. "These walls are safer than any fort. If you try to intrude, you'll die with your first step. Until now, no one tried and survived."

"Before talking about the pyramid, you should worry about how to get on land at all." Faulkner had joined us as well, grimly holding his telescope and just using it to point towards the horizon. I followed the hint with my eyes to see the sails of three ships, creating a blockade in front of New York harbour.

"We're not sailing under the king's flag. They will shoot at us as soon as we come closer."

"And if we return fire?"

Faulkner looked at Kanentó:kon, who had asked this question and shook his head. "I don't like to say it, but the Aquila won't stand another battle, especially not against three ships. Furthermore, we are almost out of ammunition. We already were, when we left Boston."

It became deadly silent while all eyes were directed at the three ships on the horizon before the men started mumbling. Much to my own anger, I felt the same fear rising in my stomach that had befallen me last night. The thought of the Aquila being under fire, with us stuck on board, unprotected like game on the open field, made my heart race and my chest contract.

"We need to get past them somehow", Ratonhnhaké:ton murmured and by the looks of it, he was already making a plan. This faint furrowing of his brows and the likewise faint pursing of his lips. The way he folded his in front of his chest, to knead his right fist with the left. He was sunken deep in his thoughts and everyone on deck was silent. Even though Ratonhnhaké:ton wasn't the one giving orders here, every one was awaiting his word. They felt his determination, radiating from him despite being in thoughts. He wanted to find a way on land as much as they did. Then he came to a decision.

Ratonhnhaké:ton turned to Mr. Faulkner. "How close do you think can we get to them?"

"Without being under fire?" The old sailor put his hands on the rail and looked at the barricade. "I believe, they don't have received message from Boston. If we're lucky, they'll send a ship to ask for our business. If we're unlucky…well…"

The Aquila would get under a lead hail. He didn't have to say it out loud.

"No matter what, they will attack us anyway", Ratonhnhaké:ton said and caused a grim nod. "So we will use their readiness for attack to our advantage."

He said it with such a naturalness in his voice that every one else was confused. When exactly was it supposed to be to our advantage that these ships were going to tear the Aquila into shreds?

"I'll say it again", Faulkner stated slowly, as if he feared that the Mohawk in front of him was slow witted. "We do not have enough fire power."

"We do not need it. We will ram them."

Now everybody stared at Ratonhnhaké:ton as if he was out of his mind. Even I couldn't believe what he just proposed. I was no expert in anything nautical but I didn't have to be to know, that it would hardly safe us to sail straight into a barricade. We would rather increase our chances to find certain death and this was what we actually wanted to avoid. But probably I, of all people, should have known that Ratonhnhaké:ton's idea wasn't farfetched. The common scepticism around him didn't escape his notice and so he turned towards the deck and calmly started explaining his plan.

"If we change our course into the west for just a few degrees, we should be less than half a mile away from land. We will set full sail and leave the ship. While the Aquila is heading towards the barricade, they will concentrate on her and we can swim to land."

Now the reactions were not only sceptical. Blatant outrage, coming mainly from the crew. I could hear that they considered abandoning ship without a fight was against a sailors honour. These were the words of the crew, but their captain – in this case Faulkner – was entirely calm and kept looking at Ratonhnhaké:ton, who returned his gaze. He was struggling. Giving up on the Aquila must be unthinkable but still he raised his hands to bring his men to silence and shouted: "We'll do it. Change of course and prepare the sails. Quickly!"

They followed his order not immediately but after some rude remarks, they hurried over the deck and did what they were told.

"I'll make everyone prepare themselves", Logan murmured and with that, the rebels were busy escaping to New York as well. I, for my part, wasn't ready yet. I had serious doubts in Ratonhnhaké:ton's plan especially because I was horrified by the thought of getting on shore swimming. No matter if it was just half a mile or not, I was no skilled swimmer, the water was ice-cold and a woman had never won a swimming contest in skirts before. Not thinking of swimming at all. Yes, I was scared again and yes, we certainly had other problems to deal with and I could also sink with the Aquila. Actually I had no choice because I really loved my life. So why not choose the lesser evil and use the chance of survival?

"Everything will be fine."

I winced and stared at Ratonhnhaké:ton, who had stepped to me and shortly touched my hand with his fingertips. Had he read my mind…or rather my face, because I realized that I had just stared into the void and he knew me well, after all. Unfortunately, as I thought sometimes. From time to time, I wished he didn't have to be the one, to always comfort me. I blinked and turned my eyes at New York. We came closer and we came closer to the barricade as well. They had changed course and the Aquila took a gentle turn towards the coast, to shorten the distance we had to cross.

"I don't know if I can make it", I said quietly because I didn't want to be heard by Kanen'tó:kon or the other men close by. I didn't want anyone to think my hesitation was a sign of squeamishness and oversensitiveness. "I don't know if I have the strength and stamina."

This time, Ratonhnhaké:ton grabbed my hand and led me to the side of the ship, where he stopped at the rail and pointed towards the shore.

"Do you see the beach over there?", he asked and I followed his hint. The beach he was talking about, was a small strip of dark sand, flowing into a meadow which finally led to some buildings. I nodded and his finger moved to the right. "And do you see these rocks?"

A small formation in the water, close to the beach. Looking as if they were left behind by a bored giant. I nodded again. "When you are in the water, you will keep your eyes on them. Do not look anywhere else and swim towards them, so you will not be driven away. Concentrate on them. Just think that you want to reach them, nothing else. The water will be cold and you will struggle, but if you concentrate, you will do it. If you have one strength, it is your iron will."

I looked at him and when our gazes met, I could see this deep trust and faith in them. He didn't think I was hyper sensitive. He understood my fear and knew how to take it from me or at least make it bearable. I felt courage and the actual will to make his words become true. I would do it. I smiled gratefully and squeezed his hand gently, which made him nod, as we already heard Faulkner's call.

"Full sail! Abandon ship!"

It was way sooner than expected.

The whole ship was buzzing with excitement. The men stormed towards the rail and still it seemed almost orderly as they leaped into the water. Silent and again helpless, I followed everything, until Ratonhnhaké:ton grabbed my shoulder. "Lillian, hurry!"

He helped me climbing over the rail, but stayed on deck, while I clung to the rail with both of my hands. "What about you?", I asked because knowing that Ratonhnhaké:ton was close by, rescuing himself, would give me the last bit of safety I needed. But he had other plans.

"I will come after you", Ratonhnhaké:ton said and pushed the handle of the small knife, that he had kept for me all the time, into my hand. I had forgotten about it since our arrival in Boston. Now I fastened it to the belt of my skirt and raised my eyes, as Ratonhnhaké:ton put his hand to my cheek.

"Remember what I told you. We will see each other on shore."

My first impulse was to protest, but I did not. With his words, his look had turned to Faulkner for a moment, who was holding the wheel to keep the Aquila on course.

The Captain is the last one to abandon ship.

Of course. Changed reality or not, Ratonhnhaké:ton felt connected to the Aquila.

"If not…I dare you. I will find a way to fish you out of the sea, revive you and kill you."

Although the rail was my life saving anchor, I loosened a hand to grab Ratonhnhaké:ton's collar and pull him in for a short kiss. "I love you, you pig-head", I whispered against his lips and saw the corners of his mouth twitching upwards, before replying: "Konnorónhkhwa."

Before I could make it harder to myself and change my mind, I finally bid farewell to the rail and jumped.