{"id":4519,"date":"2021-01-20T21:48:01","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T02:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=4519"},"modified":"2021-01-20T21:48:01","modified_gmt":"2021-01-21T02:48:01","slug":"sixteen-02-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=4519","title":{"rendered":"Sixteen – 02"},"content":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Bryant Tapping’s point of view.]<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou have the look of someone that\u2019s carrying the weight of a few worlds on your shoulders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bryant smothered his surprise, barely managing to keep himself from startling at the sound of the voice.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t even heard any approaching footsteps.\u00a0 Had he dozed off for a moment?\u00a0 Anything was possible\u2014and the sleep, brief as it was, would have been more than welcome.<\/p>\n

He opened his eyes, tilting his head enough to see the woman that stood a few feet away, a shawl wrapped around her shoulders against nonexistent breeze and chill.\u00a0 He recognized her from their meeting with what he\u2019d assumed was the village council, though he didn\u2019t remember her name.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess,\u201d he murmured, glancing up and back again, checking to see if there was any light beyond the windows\u2014there wasn\u2019t\u2014before he looked to her again.\u00a0 Her hair was pulled back into a braid down her back, though there were whisps flying free, framing her face in the dim light.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe just a little.\u00a0 Sorry…was I supposed to stay inside?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, no,\u201d she said, shaking her head.\u00a0 \u201cI just was on my way to go check on something and I saw you out here.\u00a0 Are you all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a relative term,\u201d Bryant said, watching her.\u00a0 There was something familiar about her\u2014beyond having seen her earlier that day\u2014and it tugged at him, though he tried to put that out of his mind.\u00a0 \u201cJust getting some time to myself, I guess, and trying not to disturb the others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re asleep?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShould be.\u201d\u00a0 He scrubbed a hand over his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cProbably are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re worried.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it that obvious?\u201d<\/p>\n

One corner of her mouth quirked upward in a smile.\u00a0 \u201cJust a little.\u201d<\/p>\n

He sighed and looked away, stared off into the darkness.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s just the way of it, I guess.\u00a0 David might be the one with insights, but I\u2019m the one that keeps us going in useful directions.\u00a0 Or something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA noble enough task.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think so.\u201d\u00a0 She shifted her shawl around her shoulders, shaking her head slightly.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know anymore,\u201d he murmured.\u00a0 \u201cSometimes, I just want to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all want that, sometimes,\u201d she said softly, gently.\u00a0 \u201cBut sometimes it\u2019s not where we actually need to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith age comes wisdom,\u201d she said with a faint smile.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll understand eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think so?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cYou should try to get some sleep, too.\u00a0 Dawn will be coming soon enough, and with it I\u2019m sure there will be more questions and more talking and who knows what else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe,\u201d he murmured, closing his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo maybe about it.\u201d\u00a0 She shook her head again.\u00a0 \u201cGo on.\u00a0 At least try.\u00a0 Trust me, you\u2019ll be better for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t sure why he listened, but the next he knew, he was back inside, taking off his boots.\u00a0 His eyelids were heavy.<\/p>\n

Maybe she was right.\u00a0 Maybe he would<\/em> be able to sleep tonight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Bryant Tapping’s point of view.] \u201cYou have the look of someone that\u2019s carrying the weight of a few worlds on your shoulders.\u201d Bryant smothered his surprise, barely managing to keep himself from startling at the sound … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[336,337,365,14],"tags":[340,150,358,171,170,194,350,149,148,168,147,165,146],"class_list":["post-4519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ambrose-cycle","category-book-8","category-chapter-16-book-8","category-story","tag-ambrose-cycle","tag-awakenings","tag-bryant-tapping","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-hecate","tag-knights-errant","tag-original-fiction","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-story","tag-web-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-1aT","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4519"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4520,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4519\/revisions\/4520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}