The Banditos

Rest

The sound of the crackling fire and the voices of the Banditos around him are beginning to take on a sleepy quality. Clancy can feel the heat from the blaze slowly drying his clothes and thawing out his bones. He feels a bit better now that he's spent some time by the fire.

The chatter of the Banditos is filling the air with a comfortable white noise. Clancy's eyelids droop a little as he drifts into a bit of a daze.

As I get up and start to head to my tent, Clancy notices. He glances my way, watching me walk away and disappear into my tent. For a brief moment he considers getting up and following me, but he decides to stay by the fire instead.

He can still hear the voices of the other Banditos talking and laughing, but now they seem a bit distant. He's left alone with his thoughts. The fire crackles and snaps, occasionally sending up sparks that briefly light up the night sky.

I get comfy, leaning back and closing my eyes.

The inside of my tent is warm and cozy as I settle down for the night. I rest my head back against something soft and close my eyes. The sounds of the night are muffled by the fabric around me. The only sound I can hear is the occasional crackling of the fire.

With my eyes closed, I start to relax and feel myself drifting off. My thoughts begin to slow and my breathing gets slower and deeper.

The night progresses and I fall into a light sleep, occasionally being woken up by strange noises or dreams. My sleep is restless, but I manage to keep drifting off.

The fire is still glowing in the night, casting flickering light over the land around the camp. The voices of the other Banditos have gotten quieter, and all that can be heard is the occasional sleepy mumbles or snores from the other tents.

The next morning...

The dawn comes, and a light pinkish glow slowly spreads across the sky. The air is still cool and crisp, but it's starting to warm up as the sun rises.

After a while, the first sounds of movement come from the other tents. People start to get up and stretch, groaning a little from the stiffness of sleeping on the ground.

Clancy is one of the first to wake, rubbing his eyes and yawning as he sits up.

I pull my journal out from my bag and place it in my lap. The sound of the Banditos around me waking up drifts into my tent.

For a moment I sit in the quiet, looking down at the journal in my lap. The sun peeking through the fabric of my tent casts a pink glow over the pages.

As I sit in my tent and start to write in my journal, I suddenly hear footsteps approaching my tent.

The footsteps pause right outside the tent. There's a moment of silence, then the sound of the zipper being slowly pulled open.

Clancy's head pokes through the opening, peering into my tent. His hair is tousled, and his eyes are tired. "Oh, hey."

"Hey."

He looks at me for a moment, taking in the sight of me sitting on the ground in the tent. Then his eyes flick down to the journal in my lap. "Mind if I come in?"

"Not at all." I close my journal, putting it on the ground.

Clancy smiles slightly and takes that as an invitation to come in. He unzips the tent far enough to slip in and then zips it shut again behind him, enclosing the two of us in a small, cozy space. He looks around the tent, taking in the sight of the blankets and pillows that make it more habitable. Then he looks back at me and sits down on the ground.

"So.. What's up?"

He looks at me for a moment, his eyes still a little sleepy. "Not much," he says, "I just wanted to check on you. See how you were doing. After... last night."

"I'm okay. Are you?"

He grins a little and nods. "Yeah, I'm fine," he says, "Just a bit tired."

He looks at me for a moment, his expression a bit more serious.

"You sure you're doing alright? You seemed pretty shaken up last night."

"I'm sure. We should probably get breakfast soon."

He nods in agreement.

"Yeah, we probably should," he says, "And the others will be up and ready to start the day soon, so we should get some food in us before we set out."

He looks at me for a moment and then grins again.

"Also... I'm starving."

"Me too. Let's go?"

He laughs a little and nods again.

"Yeah, let's go," he says, pushing himself up from the ground and offering me a hand to help me stand up too.