What I'd truly been avoiding was love, the strongest binding there is, and the pain that scrapes at your insides when the bond is forcefully broken.

“I pushed myself forward and rose cautiously to my feet. A draft from the aft si…”

“-“Say no more,” Leif interrupted. “I understand. I will simply have to kill the…”

“I just starred at him like he was trying to sell me the Sham-wow and the Slapch…”

“He will spit you and roast you with rosemary, and we will all sample your flesh…”