Chres put the pieces to The Senses away as daylight shone through the window. It had been a long and uneventful night. Chres's eyelids felt heavy. His brain somewhat foggy. And yet despite the soul draining feeling of not having slept the whole night, Chres felt more rested than ever!
For the first time in a year, Chres avoided the nightmares that awaited him every night as he faded into dreams. It was a refreshing feeling, oddly enough. So much so, that Chres was feeling more awake than any night's sleep had ever made him feel since the incident. Perhaps he would even be able convince the others to let him pull a second shift tonight, he thought.
He felt a stray itch at the thought. The bodyguard in him, told him it was a bad idea. It was a weak voice though. Suppressed by Chres's own emotional baggage, slowly building since his wife's death. A part of him was worried that sooner or later, he would reach a breaking point. It was yet another concern Chres silently pushed aside.
"Breakfast is ready." Said a voice in the next room. Chres recognized the voice as belonging to the Innkeeper's wife. Chres would have to thank DB for having rescued the woman. He wasn't sure if he would have been up for making breakfast this morning.
"Now that's a welcome sentence to hear first thing after a long night with no sleep." Chres said to Octavio with a calm smile. Chres got out of his seat and made his way to leave the room.
"Come friend. Let's see what kind of food she's cooked up for us.""Food!" Sil said, her head perking up excitedly.
"I love food!" "More like you enjoy throwing food." Chres said under his breath.
"Oh silly." Sil said, perching herself comfortably on Chres's shoulder.
"What else would you do with food? Wear it as a hat?" Knowing Sil, Chres recognized this as a serious question.
Chres placed his hand on his forehead, sighing. He wasn't sure if he could deal with her this morning. Thank goodness she had spent all of last night trying to pluck out Lynx's whiskers.
Every time the familiar fell asleep, Sil would sneak on over and pester the poor thing. The first few times the familiar awoke, Sil managed to zip away unharmed. Nearly every time after, however, she received a well deserved smack across the room.
Chres moseyed on into the dining room and was greeted by a plate of bread. Ah, right.... They were practically out of food.
"Thank you." Chres said, smiling graciously.
"Looks delicious."The innkeeper's wife snorted at the comment. "Best plate of bread you'll ever have." She said sarcastically.
"I bet." He replied taking a bite.
"Though I suppose you'll be wanting better ingredients for future meals.""Only if you want
better food for future meals." She said with the barest hint of a smirk. "Consider this our way of thanking all of you for saving us." She said to the room, her stare lingering on DB longer than the rest. "And..." she frowned, beginning again after a moment's pause. "My way of apologizing for my rash behavior yesterday. I... I was in the wrong..."
Chres frowned and nodded. He took another bite of his bread. No further words were needed.