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Dusk was setting upon the forest and a young boy quickly made his way along a well trodden path. He had spent most the day napping in the shade and eating whatever fruit he could get ahold of. It was by no means a successful day, he couldn't find any treasure and he hadn't managed to torment any Lost Children, but it was good enough for Percy.

The high point of the day came when he came across a trail he remembered seeing Sparry go down on more than one ocasion. Now he was wondering if it was worth the thrill. Either way, he was happy he did something so outrageous without being overcome with fear - even though he was scared as hell right now.

The thing about Percy is that he's never truly courageous. Sure, there are times when he is able to keep his inner coward in check, but it's mostly due to a lapse in judgement. Or a lack of judgement altogther.

If he was really brave he would've just burnt her clothes. Hanging them up a tree was just to make sure that if she did hurt him, he wouldn't be in too much pain. Hopefully she would just laugh it off as a prank, they were 'friends' after all weren't they?

Ha! Who was he kidding, he was never very likeable, be it to Lost Children or Pirate.

As time went on he starting thinking it over, and the more he thought, the more he panicked. He started dashing along the path as sweat trickled down his brow, disregarding any fallen branches or tree roots - a bad thing to do under stress.

The voice from behind startled him. Had she caught up? He turned around to see the only person he didn't want to see at that particular moment.

"Guilty? Haha, why would you think that?" He laughed, uneasy, as he kept his pace, "It's not like I did anything, right? Running's just good exerCIIIZE!!"

Percy wailed as he foot caught something and tripped, skidding a good distance in the dirt. He didn't know what he tripped on and he didn't care. He knew whatever was coming was going to hurt far more than this.

Percy tried to squirm his way from under Sparry but soon realised it was futile.

"Well," he panted, "I could probably think of a few but it really depends on whether you find them good enough or not, hahaha."

Having his face still pressed against the ground made it hard to gauge whether his attempt a lightening the mood worked. Although from the corner of his eye, he thought he could still see her waiting impatiently for an answer.

He cleared his throat, blowing bits of dirt and leaves into his face, and continued. "You know, I'm already pretty beaten up, for one, and it's not like we're strangers or anything, we're like pirate buddies or something, right?"

Even he didn't find that convincing. He grumbled something to himself, why did he always have to say the first thing that comes to mind without thinking it over?!

Sparry's first kick hit him bad. He yelped at the pain. Percy's initial attempt at an excuse was more or less incoherent and he barely managed to dodge the second kick, flipping himself back onto his feet with surprising agility.

"Ouch! No, I didn't want to see you naked. Eeew, why would I want to do that?" He backed away from her, hands raised in self defence. "Not-not, not that you being naked is a bad thing, that's just not the reason, alright?!"

Something told Percy that whatever reason he gave wasn't going to stop the inevitable onslaught, and this is probably one of those situations where honesty isn't the best policy.

"You know, come to think of it, I may have mistaken you for someone else, like a Lost Child, maybe? Never pass up a chance to make them miserable, right?"

Percy's mind would've snapped it's fingers in fustration if it could. Dang loophole, he thought, he was grasping at straws but there was no way he was going to spit out the truth just yet. To him, it was more embarassing than any lie he could think up.

"Ha!" He tried at a defiant laugh, "what if it was just a spur of a moment thing? What if I did want to see you naked?"

He wondered if that would only make Sparry angrier, but whatever, this time he would be ready for an incoming strike.

"Oh, the tree...right, about that," Percy grinned sheepishly, sweat running down his face, "it's kind of a long story."

He jumped a bit at the sight of Sparry's fist still held aloft, "Okay, okay!" He yelled as he cowered back, still retreating one step at a time.

"Well, you see, at first I was going to take your clothes back to the Rodger and hide it," Sparry's supposed loss of interest in his true motives, and her promise of processing him into pulp, had prompted him to let slip some incriminating information before he'd realised it.

"I didn't really want you to climb that tree all by your bare...naked...self."

Percy gulped.

"Well I just thought climbing a tree would be better than walking back to the Rodger n-nay nay naked, ri-?" He could see the veins on Sparry's temple bulging and couldn't finish the sentence.

"Alright, alright! So I thought I heard the adults coming, you know, those big guys, and I was scared okay? Scared!" He was blabbering ridiculously fast, flailing his arms wildly, re-enacting the scene.

"So I climbed up that tree to hide and when the left I must've forgotten about your clothes!"

He ended the sequence by jumping down the tree and landed back in front of Sparry, hands together in a sort of a begging-for-forgiveness manner.