DOOM SAGA I - I'll be home tomorrow

Owl's nest

Argent d'Nur

"There you are!", a warm voice called as the door heaved open. She immediately felt the mood so different from what she'd expected. A fire was burning calmly in the fireplace next to a big table, already set with dishes, cups, and bottles of unknown contents.
Lorz walked over to a group sitting patiently waiting for their arrival as another man came from a room to the side with a hot steaming pot. It seemed heavy as he quickly pushed the others aside to set it down and its delicious smell hurriedly lured the rest to the table as well.
"Come, sit down!", Tobin said as he held the chair out for her, right next to Lorz. She hadn't recognized him without any armour on and the chaos of two dozen strangers. Yet she had not the slightest feeling of fear. The dim candlelight and the hearty laughter of these watchers seemed so well-behaved and gentle, even when they were not on duty.
"Perrin don't you want to join...?!", Tobin barked at the couch in front of the fire where a huddled body threw a shadow. Only a groan answered them.
"Oh leave him, he's been out again with these soldiers...", someone said.
"The hangover will be enough karma for him tomorrow morning...!", another man laughed.
"He needs to learn this lesson by himself."
They weren't normal soldiers, no special force, she learned while listening to them. They were carefully picked men, and even more carefully trained by Lorz and his high Owls. A deeply set morale code and hard work were their everyday life, and with their commands coming directly from only the highest of Argenta they somewhat lived above the law, as they needed to do things, sometimes bad things, to ensure that everyone else was safe and abiding the same. Still, being separated from most people, their families, friends and comrades, seemed lonely. That was probably why every one of them seemed so close to one another. They needed to keep their minds free from any prejudice or emotion that could cloud their opinion, which seemed to be why they were so different from the Sentinels she was meeting day to day.
As everyone was fed and the drinks were poured the noise settled a bit more and tales were told by the older ones. She felt like a child listening to her grandparents talk about times long gone and a little sting at remembering. Dragons, magic, and knights fighting. It sounded unreal, yet in this world, it wasn't impossible at all. She nipped on her water, the alcoholic beverage wasn't to her taste at all, she laid her head on the stone table and with time, her eyes began sinking as her ears stayed sharp to keep listening.
These were the man that looked after her, every day at every moment. She had wondered where they were all the time, now she knew, and it made her chest feel warmer.
"I think it's time to get you back before somebody notices.", Lorz said hushed and as she raised her head she could see most of them close to drifting away as well. She got up and noticed Perring still on the couch as if he hadn't moved once. She stepped closer and her chest got heavy, just for a second. She sneaked around and grabbed a blanket lying to his feet to pull over him as he suddenly jerked and grabbed her wrist. He had his hood tugged low and gave her a startled look before letting go again, his gentle eyes filled with sorrow and stress. He held his gaze, tried to read it as much as possible, and in the back of her mind, it felt familiar.
He moved to find a comfortable position again, suppressing a groan, before he pulled the blanket over himself in the end.
"Sleep well, Io.", he breathed and forced a smile onto his lips. It hurt to look at it, and she leaned forward to give him a long and soft kiss on the forehead, and while he held onto her hand that cupped his cheek she could feel his shaking breath.
"You too.", she whispered and left him quietly. The others hadn't noticed her much as they were still cleaning the leftovers and Lorz was giving commands for the night shift.
"Okay, let's get you home.", he said as she stood beside him.

A shiver of the bed under her woke her, and she peeked confused from the sheets. Had they demolished another ruin? But it was the middle of the night. It was weird, but her aching body refused to care enough to get up and look outside. Maybe they had made a mistake, or it was just a landslide on one of the cliffs nearby. The snow began melting more than new one fell, and she had heard about avalanches in the mountains. Whatever, she thought. She turned around and snuggled tightly once more to soothe her sore muscles that barely ever got a chance to heal from the sessions. She sleepily stared at the empty spot next to her and quietly sighed. Just a minute later she was asleep again.

He knew how easy it was to wake her, but he was getting pretty good at sneaking in. The doors were his main enemy as the heavy material was old and used. After turning on the little lamp on the table in the middle of the room as the fire had died down nearly wholly and the shadows were deep black, he slipped into the bathroom and stood in the rainshower to wash off the dust and dirt of the day. His blood was cooling down finally and with a couple of slow breaths, his mind was eased as well. He washed himself neatly since he did not want to bring any of that to her, into the bed, and watched the red flow down and vanish in the drain. He grabbed the towel and rubbed his hair dry while stepping out of the open shower and his heart skipped a beat as he heard the hush slide of the door. The towel sunk to his shoulders as he stared at her, watching him. Her absent eyes scanned him up and down and without any reaction she swayed closer. She was clearly still drunk from sleep when she stopped at the tip of his toes. Her eyes looked straight ahead at his chest and her hand rose to his ribs. Her gentle touch on the right sight made him flinch even though there was no apparent wound to see. He puffed angered about himself; flinching at something so minor. Pathetic. Her look changed and he saw the glistening in her worried eyes as she looked up at him. She grimaced even more as her fingertips found the slight discolouration on his cheekbone, and he quickly took her hand and snuggled his nose into her palm. Her lips quivered as she wanted to speak.
"Don't worry. They look worse.", he said softly, but his words didn't seem to have the effect he had hoped for. Her shocked gaze made him remember that this wasn't usual to her, nor that she liked fighting after all.
"They are alive...", he added and, after a couple of seconds, she embraced him tightly around his stomach. She took a shaky breath and sighed. Her body heated from the bed felt nice on his refreshed skin, but he did not want to hold onto her too tightly. She let go, and her eyes got stuck on something else. She cocked her head, but as she noticed she froze, glimpsing at his gaze hesitantly. The corners of her mouth twitched before she began snickering tiredly.
"You're naked!"
To his wonder, he didn't see any blush on her face besides the faint one she had already had. He smirked amused, though the dread was still present in his body. He threw the towel over her head and turned her around to let her stumble away in a semi-circle like a headless chicken before he followed, scooped her up in a bear hug, and laid them down on the bed together. Her little body had no weight on top of him and after some uncertain looks, since he had only put on some underpants, she settled on his naked chest. Only now did he remember those first minutes when they had met. Back then it had been a necessity, but a lot had changed since then. As he drifted in his calming thoughts he felt her stillness already and stretched his neck to watch them heave in rhythm with each of their breaths.
She had barely been able to fall asleep without him at night, though he knew he couldn't be there every time as it would just become an unhealthy habit if she did never learn to stay alone. But tonight it seemed like something had changed. He smelled the scent of smoke from the fires on her, along with food and sweat. But there was something new, something more masculine and dark. He laid her down at his side and got up and walked over to the table filled with books and notes, taking a certain paper folded in half. On it was a list of words.
Scared
Lost
Confused
Weak
Alien
Lonely
But there was a new word now: watching.