[CENTER][h1][color=B3ADAB][b]CATHERINE CORIANDER[/b][/color][/h1][/center][hr]Coriander cowered as Horace and Haku scuffled. She’d seen blood before, but it had never been quite like this. With every push and pull of the battle she watched with wide eyes, wincing and flinching as it wore on, until Haku dealt the final blows and disabled the pirate. Binding him before tending to his own wound, Coriander looked between the two, a mixture of relief and dread filling her as she heard footsteps on the ship deck above.

As she was unbound, Haku asked if she was alright, cutting off her name. She gave a nod, words struggling to come to through her lips intact. At first she wondered why he changed the way he addressed her, then she began to wonder why she’d assumed it was Haku. There weren’t many other Marines that she knew of with a similar size and build, and no one in the village was close to her age. Even putting that aside, she knew the answer. It was hope. She wanted to be rescued, and Haku, as distant as he could seem with his innocent misunderstandings and occasionally dodgy answers, was the only one she could think of who could come for her, not that she’d known why. Her hands trembled as they started to leave. She was dry, and the coat was enough for the bowels of the ship. Even though she was as safe as she’d been in the last while, she as still afraid. Holding her hands to try and stop their shaking, she tried to keep her emotions at bay too. She was blessed to have been saved, no matter who or how it happened.

But they weren’t out of the storm yet. As they got close to the exit, the last of the pirates jumped them. Haku dove into the fray while Coriander ducked away, finding cover. She dared not even watch, hoping to be overlooked lest she become a nuisance. A gunshot rang out, matched with the splintering of wood. Coriander let out a shriek. It had already left her mouth when she realized it was a sound she made. Her vision faded, but as the sounds of battle quelled, she came to realize she’d only curled up and shut her eyes tight. It took Haku(?)’s hand on her shoulder to even realize that much. Standing, she nodded as she joined him in their continued escape, rushing down the gangplank and going into the forest. It was some time after they left that Burnet and the Marines would move in, arresting every last one of the Crumble Pirates. Burnet may not have understood what took them out, but they seemed to have a pretty good idea.

The next few minutes were a blur of rain soaked branches and glints of light in the drops. The rushing winds exhausted Coriander by the time the two of them made it back to Tune Town, the town hall building in sight as the storm started to reach its crescendo, light and motion visible through the windows. Turning to her savior, Coriander opened her mouth to offer thanks, but as relief seeped through her, that which she’d been holding back rushed forth. Tears starting to flow, she began to sob, struggling to control herself. Wailing, the first words to come out were not the thanks she knew was necessary, but a cry of, [color=B3ADAB]“I was s-so scared! I thought I'd never see anyone ever again!”[/color] Horace’s words rang out again. Though they had not come to fruition, they still made her heart ache.