Heavenfall

"I didn't what caused the wound, only the wound itself- you were pierced from crown to root, and in terrible pain."

"i dinnae ken anythin' that cuid cause sic a wound. Ye?" Disbelief still percolated.

"It might not be literal. It might be symbolic. Visions are pains in the ass that way."

"I hae na pumpin' idea whit this cuid represent symbolically!" Some cold anger seeped in, but it soon dissipated. "Ah'm nae aff tae let fear beset me."

"You wouldn't be here if you were. All I know, is that you were in.... more pain than I've ever seen a living human in."

"Ah think ah cuid bear it fur th' richt reason?" Koyama was at a loss how he could prepare for such a contingency. Wear a helmet? "Is it maybee aye that something is messing wi' yer heid tae sow doubt in us?"

"My telling you to be on guard hardly seems like something beyond the pale..."

""Sae ah strike ye as reckless 'n' ignorant, mate?" Koyama gripped the ki-rin figurine made of jade he always carried on him. To his grim realisation, it had started to soften, darken and flake at the edges.

"Let us say that your confidence is like a knife with two edges."

"A'richt, wiseman. Whit wid ye hae me dae then?" Koyama crossed his arms.

Sora smirked in spite of himself.

"Use that thing between your ears, my friend. Be on your guard... and.... if the pain comes, whatever form it takes? Don't try and face it alone."

"I dinnae ken hauf o' whit ye said in practical terms. If th' pain comes wi'oot warning, whit ca' ah hae ower bein' 'n' nae bein' alone at that time?" The furrow below the mohawk deepened in an apparent attempt to use the thing between his ears.

"Don't be afraid to rely on other people. And no, ye gurt barstid, I don't mean me!"

""Sae gimme some short list o' th' reliable ones?" Koyama eyed him.

"Phi. Jin. Saruko. Wu. Kyosei. Ayumu."

He paused.

"And maybe Anjing Xia, although she can be a bit... much at times."

Sae, beyond th' ah-kent-that-awreedy, some four names o' fowk wha dinnae come aroond fur a dram as mukkers. Ah suppose wha ah keep company wi' is bonnie limited." He shrugged. "'n' Xia, ye say. Ah wull keep th' names in mynd."

"Xia's... enthusiasm can get the better of her, but her heart seems to be in the right place."

""I ken it goes doon in family. Why they ither fowk though?"

"I'm sorry?"

Sora actually understood the words, more or less, but the question puzzled him a bit.

"Ah mean Saruko 'n' ithers. Whit aboot them?"