And All Things Will End
Your eyes flutter open. You are staring upward at a pale cloudless sky. Trees that would rival the height of giants lay huddled outside the edge of your vision. The faint smell of a pine fire gently worms its way into your nostrils. You are lying on a thin bedroll that does little to differentiate itself from the ground. You are covered by a rough blanket that rustles lightly as you push it off and sit up , blinking. You feel numb, as though you have lost something as important as a sense, but cannot place what has been taken from you.
Your two companions look at you briefly as they clean up the camp and note that you are awake. The shorter of the two smiles slightly, and sit beside you.
"Ah, good, you are awake. We were just about to continue our journey. I managed to convince Grumpy over there to let you remain sleeping for a short while longer, since you were on watch duty for a majority of the previous night. No thanks necessary." She says, and smiles in such a way that you are certain that thanks is indeed necessary.
You ignore her, that profound feeling of loss and numbness pervading your emotions as well. You extend an arm toward the deep forest, and idly wave it. Nothing happens. The girl follows your gesture, then quickly and quietly excuses herself, claiming that she must finish preparations for the next leg of the journey. You do not watch her leave.
Your other companion, a man, clears his throat and motions toward a nearby fire whose last vestiges of flame are beginning to die. Atop the fire, skewered by a spindly piece of wood is some unidentifiable charred meat.
"I made breakfast". The man says curtly, and offers you a piece.
You accept, and in what is perhaps a defense mechanism in order to prevent you from throwing the food with all of your might and cursing it upon your worst enemy, your mind wanders.
Gradually, your numbness subsides and you are yourself once more.
Your two companions look at you briefly as they clean up the camp and note that you are awake. The shorter of the two smiles slightly, and sit beside you.
"Ah, good, you are awake. We were just about to continue our journey. I managed to convince Grumpy over there to let you remain sleeping for a short while longer, since you were on watch duty for a majority of the previous night. No thanks necessary." She says, and smiles in such a way that you are certain that thanks is indeed necessary.
You ignore her, that profound feeling of loss and numbness pervading your emotions as well. You extend an arm toward the deep forest, and idly wave it. Nothing happens. The girl follows your gesture, then quickly and quietly excuses herself, claiming that she must finish preparations for the next leg of the journey. You do not watch her leave.
Your other companion, a man, clears his throat and motions toward a nearby fire whose last vestiges of flame are beginning to die. Atop the fire, skewered by a spindly piece of wood is some unidentifiable charred meat.
"I made breakfast". The man says curtly, and offers you a piece.
You accept, and in what is perhaps a defense mechanism in order to prevent you from throwing the food with all of your might and cursing it upon your worst enemy, your mind wanders.
Gradually, your numbness subsides and you are yourself once more.