Wednesday, April 18, 2012
She smiled.
Wren sat back against a half-fallen acacia whose exposed
roots maintained a tenuous grip on the mountain rock. The
Ruhk Staff rested on her lap, momentarily forgotten. Faun bur-
rowed into her shoulder for a time as the tremors continued,
then disappeared down inside her blanket to hide. She watched
the small, solid figure of Dal slip past to take the first watch.
Her eyes were heavy as she stared out at the dark, but she found
she was not yet ready to sleep. She needed to think awhile first.
She had been sitting there for only a few moments when
Gavilan appeared. He came out of the darkness rather suddenly,
and she started in spite of herself.
"Sorry," he apologized hurriedly. "Can I sit with you awhile?"
She nodded wordlessly, and he settled himself next to her,
his own blanket wrapped loosely about his shoulders, his hair
tangled and damp. His handsome face was etched with fatigue,
but a hint of the familiar smile appeared.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm all right," she answered.
"You look very tired."
She smiled.
"Would that we had known," he murmured.
She glanced over. "Known what?"
"Everything. Anything! Something that would have prepared
us better for what we're going through." His voice sounded odd
to her, almost frenetic. "It is almost like being cast adrift in an
ocean without a map and being told to navigate to safety and at
the same time to refrain from using the little bit of drinking
water we are fortunate enough to carry with us."
"What do you mean?"
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