Day 10, Week 1 - The Step One before the Step One

[Corporal Light]

So he killed him... the gunner thought to himself, nodding towards his acquaintance. He decided not to give thanks to Lynch for pointing out his more extensive vocabulary, mostly because he didn't believe the kid even understood half of the things he said. Perks of having a logic spirit stuck inside your head.

Ballad kept his mouth closed as Koal continued rambling, his body language doing little to mask his uneasiness. He didn't exactly find a reason to pay attention to the pleasantries the kid gave him, but his posture straightened upon the mention of the Ashen Plains. He looked at the gangster, his eyebrows lowering. He had never heard of such things, and evidently neither had SPB, as he still hesitated to interrupt his former acquaintance. He still did not speak up even as Lynch stopped talking, instead just blankly staring at him.

Is there a reason for this, SPB?

Nothing to fret about, Ballad. Just probing my memory reserves.

For what?

Dragons.

If the shade had been in possession of some other physical being and had said that to him at that moment, the gunsmith would've had no qualms punching him in the face. Instead, he was practically frozen, forced to stand in the harsh cold, waiting for his other self to remember what the creature was. It wouldn't have been so bad if he was still able to move around, but according to the spirit, remembering something that was evidently unfamiliar to him sucked up every ounce of concentration he could muster.

A fault that stuck out like a sore thumb once Koal asked his question.

His first reaction was to open his mouth, but no words came out of it. The gunsmith swiftly looked to the ground, a loud debate going on his head.

I'm almost done! Just give me another moment!

WE DON'T HAVE ANOTHER MOMENT, YOU DUMBASS!

I can feel it! I just need-

We can do it later! Just... fucking say something related to his question!

One of the excuses?

SAY SOMETHING!

"What's a dragon?" He said, seemingly completely ignoring the question followed by a sigh. Thankfully, Lynch did not press the issue any further thanks to a gust of wind that nearly blew both of them off their feet. It was probably one of the first times the gunsmith could say that the weather had served him right for a change. He noticed that his scythe had gone missing as well, but that was something to catch up on later.

For now, he needed to focus on the present. And presently, both he and his estranged "friend" were in the midst of a blizzard.

He slowly turned around, walking forward as the kid stopped to look at him. He hoped he did not notice his lack of an answer to his question. In the case that he did, he gave SPB very strict instructions to give him an excuse as soon as the question was spoken again. The spirit had responded politely though the gunner was put off a bit by his haughtier tone of voice.

"By the contrary, I don't know where we are going." The inventor replied, sounding much more annoyed than before, "However, I do know one thing. Wherever we are going is bound to lead us to a shelter. It is simply natural that way."