Lily's numb fingers took the sheath automatically, staring at the man who had been their guide for not even days—yet the idea of continuing on without him felt impossible. She hadn't thought about it until now, but even when the forest came alive against them, even when a demon beast was clawing its way out of their nightmares, there had been one last, illogical thought that Spook would know what to do.

Maybe he did know what he was doing now, but Lily sure as hell didn't.

He'd handed her a sword and pointed her towards her sister, who may or may not be in danger. People didn't [i]do[/i] things like that; not for people like her. And she was going to repay him by leaving him to die alone on a barren field with disease eating him from the inside out. For a long moment, she considered drawing the weapon in her hands and staying with him, because [i]fuck[/i] if she ever did what people told her to—but, as it did so often, reality set in. 

People died. Trying to stop it would just make you one of them; she'd learned that lesson time and time again.

[color=DDA0DD]"You'd best come back for this soon,"[/color] Lily said, unable to keep all the strain from her voice. She squeezed Spook's hand for a moment before securing her grip on the sword, holding it tightly to her chest—it would take more than a jumped-up twig sprite to take it from her now. [color=DDA0DD]"I could get a pretty penny for this at a smith's shop, and then where will you be? Out a good sword, that's where."[/color]

She hesitated for another long moment, her hands white at the knuckles, before she lifted her chin and turned on her heel without another word. Lily didn't look back as she broke into a jog towards the city in the wake of the trundling mech. 

[color=f0c0f0][i]Gods, he deserves better.[/i][/color]