D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad Chapter 2277 A Long Tale

--- Long ---

So this was it then. Maybe, possibly. Long and Shoal had finished their business up on those floating islands. It was a good fight but... well it was more of a retreating action. Still exceptionally interesting, and a fight Long would remember for a long time... especially if he didn’t think too hard about how they’d managed to end it.

Of course, it WAS pretty funny. One of those stupid statues had turned out to be a little too heavy and collapsed the ground underneath themselves, sending them falling... and Long may or may not have been caught up in the crumbling ground. Any reports that he’d only survived because his foot got caught in some debris, leaving him pinned to the wall upside down dangling over quite the fall... well that was just nonsense. Never happened.

Still, even though that certainly didn’t happen, Shoal had saved him when she really didn’t need to. Pulled him up from the brink... so to speak. So they’d looted the place the statues came from, cleaned up some other tasks... and then the centre had opened up. Which meant they had to go... right?

Well now Long was sitting on the desert sands and wondering about that fact. It felt like the heating wasn’t properly reaching him here in the shade. He was sitting down against the pillar with long drooling on his armour, head in his lap. "So... what’s the plan now?" asked Long.

"Wasn’t the plan to go our separate ways?" asked Shoal.

Long sighed. "Sure it was... originally. But you really did save my ass. Sure I’d have survived the fall," Long slapped his armour. "Only the best for our team. A bit of a drop ain’t going to get me out... though dropping onto both of those statues by myself probably would’ve done it. So... yeah that was a real solid."

Shoal glanced away. "We had an agreement. I’m not so honourless as to turn my back on you just because it was a bit hard."

Long shrugged. "Ah sure, we DID and for the moment still do have an agreement... but before all of that... we both know this is a tournament. It’s a fight and only one of us is going to win in the end. So... yeah, you helped as you technically should have... but don’t just pull the ’I’m not so honourless’ card. I wouldn’t have held it against you. I would not consider it a stain on your honour if you’d kicked me off, or even just loosened the bricks a bit. So... where does that leave us."

"I’d have considered my personal honour stained," tried Shoal. Of course, the fact that Surge took that as her queue to knock Shoal over, laying down across her, keeping her pinned to the ground. Long just let the resulting ’silence’ hang for a bit as Shoal struggled to get out from under Surge.

"Whose a good boy, you are Boney..." whispered Long as he ran his fingers through his hellhound’s fur, careful to scratch both heads so that neither felt left out. Even if that wasn’t really how hellhounds worked. It still felt like good practice.

"Are you seriously just petting your dog instead of helping me?" asked Shoal.

"Well... I don’t exactly see you in trouble now do I? Plus, I feel like that’s a pretty good indication of what Surge things of your recent statements," Long offered.

"Damn traitor..." grumbled Shoal. "Fine whatever. I guess I can recognise that I didn’t NEED to save you... but what does that have to do with our current plans?"

"Alright, so, two things. Do you really think we should split up... and do you really think we should head for the centre?" asked Long.

"If we’re splitting up, what does it matter if we do or do not individually decide to go for the centre?" asked Shoal.

"Well, I’m arguing that we perhaps SHOULDN’T split up... but regardless of if we do or not I think there’s more orbs in the city up above, and perhaps a tablet piece. I don’t think that going to the centre is the best idea... alone. If we are staying together, then I’m really not sure what the best of course of action is.

"I feel as though heading into the centre will be dangerous, and potentially lead to fights. Plus, I know... certain members of my team will go for the chance and if we meet up with them... well... let’s just say I don’t think they’d respect our little alliance here. Which, I mean, I’m not saying I’d just help them but frankly I am not the best fighter among us... and I don’t have the best... toys. Only managed to get two of them working you see, and I have neither," sighed Long.

"What are you saying?" asked Shoal.

"I’m saying that, if it came down to a fight I wouldn’t want to take sides... but you’d probably lose if who I’m thinking of found us first. Not sure we could even win as a team considering what I know she has on her," grumbled Long.

"Can we not play this ’he said, she said’ game and use some fucking names?" asked Shoal.

Long shook his head. "No, I’m already pushing things. Paranoid bitch was pretty clear in her orders that we were not to speak of it... and while obviously I’m breaking the spirit of that order a whole lot I haven’t technically single anyone out, nor given you proper specifics. So... yeah. If they found out? Well, I wouldn’t be in for a fun time."

Shoal clicked her tongue. "Is that the reason you don’t want to go to the centre?"

Long shrugged, "It’s not the ONLY reason but yeah it is a big one,"

"Fuck," grumbled Shoal from underneath her ball of fluff. Seconds ticked by as the pair let the soft breathing of their familiars permeate the air. "What are the chances she finds us?"

"Pretty high," shrugged Long. "I mean, we have a bunch of things to help track each other. They don’t SEEM to work between areas, so it hasn’t been an issue so far. It clearly wasn’t worth going out of our way to meet up and chat... but... if we’re all in the centre and it’s time for the endgame?"

"Suddenly the time limits the bracelets impose are a smaller issue?" sighed Shoal. "Best to team up and roll over as many others as possible at that point? Right?"

"That’s what I was assuming, yes. Now don’t get me wrong. I have no idea how large the centre is or how easy it would be to meet up. If it looks even somewhat unfeasible I can just tell her I don’t see it happening. She’s not going to bite my head off for that... but well... if she’s right next to us when we enter the area or it’s particularly small?" Long shrugged, then realised Shoal wouldn’t be able to see that. "Then we’re in trouble."

"You mean I’m in trouble," grumbled Shoal.

"No, I meant what I said. We’d be in trouble," Long retorted.

"God are you flirting with me?" asked Shoal.

"Maybe," Long answered.

"Maybe?! What sort of a response is that! At least own your flirting if that’s what it is!" hissed Shoal.

"Well it wasn’t really meant to be. I was treating you like a proper teammate... but if I flirted with any of the girls in my adventuring party I’m pretty sure I’d wake up with sharp metal bits inside me during the night. So, normally, no it wouldn’t be flirting but well... you’re a pretty girl and you saved my life, or well, with Thyme there... no, no, let’s just say you saved my life. That makes a lonely dwarf like me feel things you know?" Long explained. As best he could anyway.

"This is really not where I saw this conversation ending up," sighed Shoal.

Long winced, but decided not to push. He wasn’t even sure of his own feelings, let alone sure of Shoal’s. Best to just... let things settle. Perhaps once this whole tournament was over then they could have a more serious conversation about things. Well, that or a suitably dramatic moment later on. You couldn’t expect him to pass up on a great moment if the chance really did present itself. Maybe he’d have the chance to save her!

After a while, though, he did have to at least ask. "Alright so with that... said and done. What are our plans meant to be going forward? Centre? Floating island? Separate ways?"

Shoal laughed. "You really did complicate those questions didn’t you? Shit. I mean, I don’t really want to climb all the way back up this fucking pillar. Why did you wait until we were down here to have this conversation?"

"That is a good question and I wish I had a good answer for you," offered Long.

"Urgh, I can’t believe I-" Shoal slammed her mouth shut before she could properly voice her thoughts. Yes, far safer that way.