War of Elysium

Chapter Fourteen: The Longest Night.

        She seemed to stir a little, but the sleep still had her. Lara looked down at her lovely little face, not a bit less perfect beneath the fresh scar. She was in the middle of changing out her bandage and applying fresh gause when Ade began to rouse. It seemed no great effort to pull herself into the waking world, instead she seemed reluctant to join them beneath the crimson starlight. 

Lara traced a balm covered finger across the freshly burnt flesh and it seemed to calm the child somewhat. 
"How's the progress?" Lara whispered as to not disturb Ade's sleep.
"Slow." Iris moaned. She walked to the roaring fire and placed a pot of some concocted rations over it before pouring half a canteen of water in.
"She doesn't have a fever, does she?" Iris asked. Lara placed a hand on Ade's head.
"No. She's just fidgety." She answered.
"Where's he?" She asked, meaning Reese. She didn't bother hiding her displeasure with him when she spoke, but then again - she never did.
"On watch." Lara shortly answered.
Iris paced around the camp, skirting a hand over Garrison's bandages and making sure he hadn't caught an infection. "Still?" She asked.
He had been on watch all night, knowing him; he intended on keeping absent on watch till the mission was complete. Lara didn't feel like dwelling on the tension between the three. "How much longer do you think till' we're ready?" She asked. Iris caught her attempt to skirt the conversation but didn't push the issue. She smiled and handed Lara a plate before dragging over the pot and loading a mound of greyish gruel onto it. 
"Enjoy." She winked as a cruel grin found her lips. Lara ran a fork through the chunky paste and half sighed, half laughed. "It's gonna be until morning, at least." Iris said as she mounded a second plate and lay it beside Ade.
"Damn, It's not bad enough she'll wake up without an eye? You've gotta have that within smelling distance?" Lara teased. 
"You could've cooked for yourself." Iris laughed. "You know full well that of my many, many talents... Cooking is the least practiced."
Lara laughed quietly and placed her plate on the floor.
"Eat." Iris sternly ordered.
"I'll eat later, don't worry." Lara responded. Iris didn't argue, instead choosing to stand there and stare daggers into Lara. She didn't budge nor blink for what must have been three full minutes before Lara broke.
"I'm not that little kid anymore, Sash. You don't need to make sure i'm eating." Lara mumbled as she begrudgingly grabbed the plate. 
"I don't care how big or dangerous you get." Iris said, walking over to Lara and teasingly patting her on the head. "I'll kick your arse if you ever tell me you aren't my kid again." She kissed the top of Lara's head before walking off. "Eat." She finally ordered as she walked away.

        Ade was still sleeping, good. It meant Lara could take off her mask. She reached behind her neck and clicked in the first button, exposing a zipper which she pulled away. The mask split into two pieces, the front half she caught but she allowed the rigid back plate to fall away to the floor. She took a deep breath and stretched out her neck, massaging the muscle in the back. She hated wearing her combat mask, the armour plates and respirator within always weighed her down after a few hours. The worst nights were always when she tried to sleep in it; the back plate would hold her neck at a strange angle and allowed for too little flexibility to be comfortable. Her scarfs, on the other hand, she couldn't live without. Most of all, her mother's silk red scarf. She felt bare without it, naked. People often found it strange how confident she could be in any clothing, no matter the coverage and yet a mask that covered any less than her entire lower face made her feel so exposed.

She shuffled the first scoop of grey mush into her mouth and fought against the urge to gag. It was painfully obvious that Iris had simply grabbed up any rations she could find before they had set off, regardless of flavour. It was only after her first bite that her stomach began to rumble with an audible fury. Even eating what could be generously described as sludge, she found herself ravenously hungered. The plate was bare and shining within a single breath then she pulled a mint from her pack and lazily re-attached her mask.