The Mistwalker

Chapter 8

Milly had an uninterrupted, dreamless sleep, which was easily the best sleep she had gotten in a long time. It was still dark, but she could hear the whispers of small chit chat from others in the barracks. Milly decided to wrap herself deeper in her blanket. Preserving her heat and closing her eyes, waiting for the lights to blare to life. It didn't take long for that to happen, and Gorge gave his signature mumbled curse from above. He jumped down from his bunk immediately. His boots slamming onto the pavement in front of Milly.

Gorge gave a pained stretch. "How'd you sleep Pinky?" He asked.

"Fine." Milly replied as she peered out of the slit of her blanket. She didn't move and Gorge could only see her eyes when he turned to face her. The rest of her body wrapped tightly in the blanket.

Gorge chuckled. "You seem comfortable."

She didn't know if he was poking fun. "It's cold." She replied moody, and then something crossed her mind. "Where were you? I didn't see you all night?"

"Miss me?" Gorge asked innocently. Milly just glared at him from inside her cocoon. He shrugged. "Went out. Talked with people."

Milly came out of her cocoon, frowning. "People outside the barracks?"

Gorge nodded. "Sly's little tussle yesterday got me curious. It wasn't an isolated incident. There were quite a few fights that broke out yesterday. Seems like there are more people who are coming to blows then just Sly and his girlfriend."

"Watch it tough guy." Sly said with a bit of steel in his voice. Gorge twirled around, clearly being taken by surprise, and looked slightly up. Sly was sitting on the top buck right next to them. The coldness drained from Sly's face, replaced with a warm smile. "Even I can get the jump on you, ay Gorge." Sly laughed.

Gorge scowled at him, clearly not amused. He turned to Milly accusingly. "And you couldn't have given me a heads up?"

"You had my utmost attention." Milly replied defensively. "Not my fault."

"Seems like Hammerburst's death has had an interesting reaction." Sly said, adding to the previous conversation. "Any others pass away that you heard of?"

Gorge shook his head. "Most of the fights were like anything you'd see at a tavern brawl."

Sly rubbed the scare on his cheek. "Some tavern brawls you've witnessed." He replied sarcastically.

"That wound could have easily come from a broken bottle buddy." Gorge shot back.

"A broken bottle buddy?" Milly questioned.

Sly smiled and Gorge sighed. "A broken bottle, buddy." He clarified. "Better?"

"A better broken bottle bubby." Milly replied, putting some thought into it. "It's like the start of an alliteration."

Gorge just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."

Sly yawned. "My point is that people are starting to lose their fear of falling out of line with the guards."

Gorge nodded, but Milly frowned and asked, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means the guards aren't doing jack when it comes to these fights. They didn't do anything to Illis." Gorge explained. "Fuck, they even gave her a god damn promotion for what she did."