Getting Hoplite to try anything resembling fun had been mostly fruitless. All he’d wanted to do yesterday was talk about Yulon and not much else. It made sense that a Shardwalker would be the curious type, but the ceaseless questions made her nearly consider tossing him overboard. She’d never do such a thing of course, not unless he gave her a real reason. He was bigger than she was, both in height and width, but if Miyu decided that Hoplite had to go, there would be no way for him to stop her. No man in all Yulon could ever hope to match her brute strength, that was just reality.

  He was manning the wheel right now above deck, while she lazed about in the captain's quarters- now her quarters. She had only woken up about half-an-hour ago, her armor stored away at the foot of the bed. Her clothes weren’t optimal pajamas, she’d need to stop by an island to have some proper ones tailored. She finally rose from the mattress, scratching her back groggily before swinging her legs over the edge, standing up before stretching her arms up high, her hands brushing the ceiling. A dry yawn escaped her mouth as she shrugged on her armor, leaving Zila by her bedside as she emerged into the dawn.

  The all-surrounding sunlight forced her to squint, but despite the temporary blindness she found herself feeling her way up the stairs. Hoplite stood there, his terrifying helmet staring straight ahead into the infinite sky. It didn’t look like there was anything of note yet, no islands or even pieces of Floatwood to see. Surely they would have to come across something eventually. Thankfully they were well stocked on food and drink, they wouldn’t need to worry about starvation for a long while yet.

  “How goes it, Hoplite?” Miyu asked, approaching the wheel to stand beside him.

  She straightened her back in an attempt to reach eye level with him, but to no avail. It was not a matter of posture, he really was just larger than she was.

  “There has been nothing so far.” He replied, throat scratchy.

  “You need a drink?” She asked him, “You sound parched.”

  “Water?” He asked, head turning in her direction.

  “Alcohol doesn’t quench thirst, of course I mean water.” She frowned, “It’s way too early in the day to be drinking anyhow, we’d need to wait until at least the afternoon.”

  “You can intoxicate yourself if you wish. I will continue to man the controls until we find a suitable landmark.” He replied.

  She scoffed, “Don’t you mean airmark?”

  He didn’t reply, but Miyu could have sworn she saw his hand twitch ever so slightly at the jab. Apparently he wasn’t completely made of stone after all. He seemed less willing to throw questions at her today, at least for now.

  “You can go get some water, I’ll keep a lookout.” She told him with a smile and a nod.

  Hoplite didn’t say anything as he immediately began walking away, his footsteps almost completely inaudible on the deck. How a man his size could move so quietly, she had no idea. She leaned against the railing by the wheel, staring out across the cloudy sky as she pondered Hoplite’s origins.

  To Hoplite’s people he was essentially just a tool, not worthy of being treated as a person, only as something to be used for warfare. What Shard did he hail from where that sort of thing was accepted? Did they feel no compassion for the man? To break someone like that they must have been training him since he was but a child…

  The thought infuriated her to no end. Too bad she couldn’t give these humans a piece of her mind or the edge of her blade, as their Shard was practically unreachable. That was unless she wanted to spend the rest of her life passing through the Fog-Gates anyhow. Miyu would essentially live forever until she was cut down or died of an illness, so theoretically she could do that… but the thought of traversing all reality forever made her queasy. Hoplite was free of them now, there’d be no return for him, it was impossible.

  She’d explained that to him already, that each Shard were pieces connected by the Fog-Gates, that those very gates deposited those who traveled through them randomly to another Shard. She’d felt frustrated explaining that to someone who already knew all this, but his certainty that he’d return to his Shard somehow had been frustrating her. Hoplite should have already known that the odds were a billion to one, but he had a strange optimism about him.

  No matter, eventually he’d wear himself out and realize that his best bet of living a good life was serving in her crew. Miyu wouldn’t think of him as a mere tool, as his own people apparently did. And if he decided that he’d continue his mad quest and pass through the Fog-Gates, that would be the end of their partnership. Miyu had no intention of becoming a Shardwalker herself, at least not yet. There was still so much left to do here in Yulon, and passing through the gate would mean never seeing her family ever again.

  She’d give it a few years then return to Onica to visit, after that… perhaps Shardwalking could be on the table. Hoplite would likely be long gone by then, one way or the other. Miyu didn’t want to lose him, he was clearly a capable warrior, maybe she could convince him to work under her permanently? She had no idea how she’d go about that, it wasn’t as if she could offer him money, his heart and soul were owned by his kingdom, no amount of gold would sway him to her service.

  She sighed, fingers locking together as she continued to mull on her future. Eventually, Hoplite returned from below deck, marching up the steps on silent feet before approaching the wheel.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Nothing to report, I assume.” He told her, his monotone voice a tad less scratchy now.

  “Just clouds, but with so many who knows what could be hidden behind them?” She asked, gesturing to their surroundings.

  The Endless Sky was occluded heavily today, dozens of puffy white clouds surrounding the ship on all sides. It would be a long while until there’d be clear skies again, but hopefully they could find an ‘airmark’ sometime today. Hoplite simply stood there, still as a statue as he stared across the expanse.

  “Nice weather today.” She said after a moment.

  “Affirmative.” He replied.

  “Hopefully it’ll stay this nice for a long time.” She continued, Hoplite responding with a dragging silence. She sighed, “Listen, you might be able to stand around bored all day, but not me. There has to be something we can do to pass the time, or I will go insane.”

  His helmet snapped toward her, “Insane?” He asked, slight concern peeking through his monotone, “We’ve only just set off, your mind can’t be that weak can it?”

  Miyu felt her eye twitch, “No, I merely meant that I will be bored.”

  “So you were exaggerating?” He asked, shaking his head, “Ludicrous.”

  “What is ludicrous?” She asked, putting her hands on her hips, “Have you never heard anyone say that before? It is a common exaggeration.”

  “I don’t get many opportunities to speak with others.” He told her simply, “I don’t know the ins and outs of meaningless smalltalk.”

  She shook her head, “Not all smalltalk is meaningless, you can learn a lot about a person simply by enjoying their company.”

  “Or by eavesdropping on it.” He pointed out, “That way you do not have to participate.”

  “Well there won’t be any eavesdropping here, Hoplite.” She wagged a finger, “You can’t listen to your own conversation.”

  “I’m listening to it right now. Are you dumb?” He asked, tone frustratingly genuine.

  Indignation welled up in her, and she could not hold back from retorting.

  “Are you!?” She spat, “Are you even listening to me?”

  “Affirmative, because it is a conversation, so I can listen to it.” He told her, his attention returning to the expanse.

  “You know, for a man with the personality of a chipped brick, you sure do have sass.” She frowned, glaring up at him.

  “Negative.” He replied simply.

  “Positive.” She shot back, lips drawn to a line.

  “Negative.” He told her again.

  “You’re sassing me right now.” She pointed out, crossing her arms.

  “How?” He asked, apparently confused.

  “Because you’re being annoying.” She huffed.

  “That doesn’t even make sense.” He shook his head.

  “Neither does your face.” She said.

  “You are acting immature. Take a deep breath and calm down, you are overreacting.” He said, turning his helmet toward her again, “Count to ten, it will help you gather yourself.”

  Miyu’s head was going to explode at this rate, she needed to change the subject before she wrang his stupid thick neck.

  “Tell you what, I’ll make you a deal.” She said, “I have no idea what you look like, and I’d like to see the face of the man I’m working with, if you show me that, I’ll stop ‘overreacting.’”

  Hoplite hesitated for a long while, simply staring at her as if considering his options. Eventually, he decided to take a few steps back from her, keeping her in sight as he went. Once he was well out of arm's reach, he raised his hands, grasping both sides of his helmet before pulling it free.

  Miyu blinked, shocked at just how pale his skin was. It was as if Hoplite had never seen the sun in his life. His short hair was pure white, his thick eyebrows matching their hue. His brow seemed to be stuck in a state of perpetually glaring it seemed. His face was all hard plains and sharp angles, with a strong jaw and prominent chin. Two strangely metallic dark lines rose from his jaw to his cheeks, underlining his eyes. They weren’t tattoos, they seemed to be set into the flesh itself, it even reflected the light, as if they were truly made from metal. The most noticeable thing about his face were his brilliant golden eyes. She found herself drawn into them, they were intense, more so than any she’d ever seen in her life.

  “Is this satisfactory?” He asked.

  Her mouth worked, but the words failed her initially. Hoplite was very good looking, far more than she’d have ever expected. He looked like a knight straight out of a fairy tale, it almost made her weak in the knees.

  She gathered herself, quickly nodding, “It’s good to see that you’re not some monster beneath all that armor.”

  “Of course not. I’m a Hoplite.” He replied before immediately sliding the helmet back on.

  She frowned as that gorgeous face vanished, it just wasn’t fair. If he wasn’t going to talk, he could at least be good eye-candy. She’d not be forgetting that any time soon.

  “So you say that you like to make artwork, yes?” She asked, unconsciously drawing closer to him.

  “Affirmative, but my standard materials are thankfully not present.” He nodded.

  “Thankfully?” She asked, taking another step closer.

  “Affirmative.” He replied curtly, clearly not wanting to continue the subject.

  She froze in place, shifting nervously from foot to foot. Damn her, why was she acting like this? One look at a pretty face and now she was acting like some foolish skirt-clutching girl! She took a deep breath, standing up straight as she gathered herself. He was attractive, but that was just physically, his personality was still that of a big ugly brick.

  “Well there’s other art that can be made, you know?” She told him, “I’m sure that might be a good way to make the time fly, maybe you could take some parchment and draw?”

  He paused a long while before saying, “That is not what my artform was optimized for.”

  She frowned, “Why not just give it a go?” She asked, “Look, I’ll go fetch a quill and some parchment, and you can just try drawing one of those clouds, it could be fun!”

  “Neg-”

  “Be right back!” She cut him off, immediately running down the steps.

  She took a book for a surface he could draw on, grabbing the quill, inkwell, and a blank piece of parchment from the desk before running back up to Hoplite. She was curious to see what he could do with his alleged artistic talent. Though, she wasn’t expecting much, he said himself that drawing wasn’t what he specialized in. There were many forms of art, after all, rare could one be a master of all. She thrust the collection at him, but he simply stared.

  “Come on.” She urged, pressing the supplies at him.

  “Negative. I see no reason to do this.” He told her, “We’ve built a good rapport already.”

  She frowned, “What the hell are you talking about? We barely know each other at all.”

  He paused, “...Was all that earlier not enough?”

  “All of what?”

  “All that talking we just did.” He told her.

  “You mean you being insufferable? I don’t think that qualifies.” She told him, “Tell you what, I know you like your silence, so if you can draw one of those clouds over there, I’ll be quiet for an hour.”

  He immediately took the proffered supplies from her hands, stepping toward the railing as he stared out across the expanse. Miyu drew her lips to a line, he couldn’t have at least considered for a single second? Was she so insufferable?