{"id":4722,"date":"2021-11-01T00:00:54","date_gmt":"2021-11-01T04:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=4722"},"modified":"2021-10-31T10:28:15","modified_gmt":"2021-10-31T14:28:15","slug":"twenty-six-01-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=4722","title":{"rendered":"Twenty-six – 01"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Kailey\u2019s hands tightened around the mug in her hands as the door behind her opened, carrying with it the sound of soaking rain and moaning wind\u2014the latter sound far more suited to a different season than the end of summer.\u00a0 Of course, the chill to that wind was also<\/em> unseasonable and she found it worrying her without a conscious reason why.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t look back to see who\u2019d entered the dining hall.\u00a0 Part of her didn\u2019t want to talk to anyone right now\u2014she wouldn\u2019t have even come indoors if not for the impending storm.\u00a0 At the same time, she hadn\u2019t wanted to cloister herself away in her cottage, either, nor had she wanted to go to her parents.<\/p>\n

And so here she was, clutching a mug of tea between her palms from the pot she\u2019d made, again somehow knowing that the arrival of someone else\u2014anyone<\/em> else\u2014was all but inevitable either in spite of or because of the weather coming in.<\/p>\n

At least I saw it coming.\u00a0 Would\u2019ve been nice if Astrid warned me, but who knows where she hared off to today.<\/em><\/p>\n

A shiver crept down her spine, one she couldn\u2019t quite suppress.\u00a0 I wish something didn\u2019t tell me that it was connected to our visitors and all of\u2014all of the mess that seems like it\u2019s coming.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou get caught in the rain, too?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head in response to the question and for a second, she wished her friend would just go away.\u00a0 The rising storm outside made that an utter impossibility, though.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 I saw it coming and got inside before it started.\u00a0 What were you out doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe talking to Peril would help.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t his real name, but it was all they\u2019d called him since she and Lin were barely ten and he was seven.\u00a0 She couldn\u2019t even remember why anymore.\u00a0 It somehow seemed fitting for the son of Phelan O\u2019Credne and Jacqueline Bell to be named something like that, though\u2014somehow more fitting than the far more formal Br\u00e9anainn C\u00e1el O\u2019Credne, which was his given name.<\/p>\n

He shrugged as he crossed the room, dripping water from his clothes with every step.\u00a0 She watched him over his shoulder and suppressed the urge to shake her head.\u00a0 Wherever he\u2019d been and whatever he was doing, he was soaked to the skin on his way here, that much was clear.\u00a0 \u201cDoes it matter?\u00a0 Is the tea fresh?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d she said softly, stepping away from the counter so he could get himself some.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t seem to notice how wet he was and for a second, she envied his ability to ignore his physical circumstances.\u00a0 If her clothes had been that wet, the first thing she\u2019d have wanted was to be dry<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re looking at me funny,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re soaking wet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d\u00a0 He shrugged again as he got down a mug and poured.\u00a0 \u201cAnd if I went back out into the rain to find something dry to wear, I\u2019d just end up wetter on the way and then get wet again on the way back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou wouldn\u2019t have to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMmm, yeah I would,\u201d he said, turning toward her.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t feel like chilling out in my room right now.\u00a0 Seems like a better idea to not be alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAny particular reason?\u201d she asked, ignoring the fresh chill that ran down her spine.<\/p>\n

His blue-eyed gaze seemed to see straight down into her soul.\u00a0 \u201cDo I need one?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d she said softly.\u00a0 \u201cI guess not.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Kailey Astoris’s point of view.] Kailey\u2019s hands tightened around the mug in her hands as the door behind her opened, carrying with it the sound of soaking rain and moaning wind\u2014the latter sound far more suited … 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":[336,337,376,14],"tags":[340,150,377,171,170,345,149,148,168,147,165,146],"class_list":["post-4722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ambrose-cycle","category-book-8","category-chapter-26-book-8","category-story","tag-ambrose-cycle","tag-awakenings","tag-breanainn-cael-ocredne","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-kailey-astoris","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-1ea","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4722","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=4722"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4723,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4722\/revisions\/4723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}