So be it

Sleep

I sat by the fire watching the others talking, even as the shadows danced around the small clearing. In the almost darkness just inside the trees I could see the one standing guard. It was one of the Germans, her name was Petra as I had been told a few hours ago.

I should have paid more attention to the discussions around me as the others slowly got to know each other. A flurry of names had been thrown at me in the past few hours. I could remember very few of them and wanted to remember none.

Finding the clearing had thankfully been easy, especially after hours of walking to reach the forest edge. We were lucky enough that one of the redheads, not the panicked one I had met first in this strange world but the other one, the silent one, had found fishing hooks and line in her pack.

I had spent most of the afternoon fishing, as others gathered wood and built a fire. A smile spread on my lips as I remembered hunting for worms for bait. It was funny how the others let me do the worm-hunting on my own. A couple of them had even brought me their hooks to bait, gingerly admitting that they had no desire to touch the slimy worms.

For all our hours in the river, we had not managed to catch enough fish to feed everyone to repletion. Still they had been enough for a soup that had me feeling warm inside. I felt content knowing that we had managed to conserve our five hooks.

I made a mental note to find a piece of wood to carve. I would probably be a useless carver, artistry of that sort never having been in my blood in spite of my father's genes. Still I was certain I could make some primitive hooks, sturdy enough to catch fish and thus save the metal ones.

The hand on my shoulder brought me out of my thoughts. I turned my head to look at Jinx, who was looking at me mischievously.

"I see you finally stopped studying," Jinx commented.

Belatedly I remembered the slim volume in my lap. I looked down at it, squinting a bit. I was never particularly good reading in poor light. Still it had not been a conscious decision to stop my reading. More like I had gotten distracted.

I shrugged at Jinx and she wiggled her eyebrows at me.

"What?" I asked tersely.

"Tall, dark and responsible asked me to remind you that you wanted to know what tools the others had in their packs."

I was sure a blush covered my cheeks just then. I had completely forgotten about that pearl of wisdom I had blurted out at Gloria earlier in the evening. I almost shook my head but I stopped the movement before it would truly register in anyone's eyes.

"Sure. She wants to do this now?"

Jinx looked at me oddly. "Actually she was wondering if tomorrow morning would be better."

I nodded wordlessly at Jinx. I was tired and going through equipment was not something I wanted to do just then. Some of my tiredness must have showed. Nothing I could do about it now. So be it.

"You look tired."

"I'm fine."

"You lie well, Teach, but your face tells the story," Jinx admonished me gently.

I shrugged. She leaned until her mouth was next to my cheek.

"Too many people?" Jinx whispered.

I nodded silently. People watching was less tiring than having to participate but tiring nonetheless. It had been a long day and I had never been much of a walker, not even in my student days.

"You should sleep."

I nodded again and slowly stood up. I patted Jinx's shoulder as I turned away, absently snagging my rucksack and moving towards the few prone bodies that had already found refuge in sleep.

I made my makeshift bed a few feet away from them, still unwilling to share in their common warmth. I was asleep as soon as I closed my eyes, my body unable to protest the hard ground.

Not much later proximity of another pulled me from my slumber. It was only for a moment as Jinx's smoky tones greeted my almost-wakefulness. "It's just us. Sleep, Teach, sleep."

I slept. 

Chapter end 

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