Waters of Aqnis, Second Story of Nypre

Chapter 6

A crimson red bird stood as it slept. Its home made in a branch upon one of the taller trees of the forest. The bird and its kin knew never to venture below the treetops, for only horrors awaited. Instead, the bird's family made its living atop the trees eating whatever insects ventured high enough. It was a good life, and the elves held the bird in high regard as it was a rare sight.

The elves called it a heart's flight. Seeing one alive and well meant good fortune in relationships. The heart's flight, of course, was ignorant to these beliefs and cared more about protecting her eggs than anything the elves came up with.

This bird was a clever one. Knowing the competition for food above the forest treetops was fierce she made her nest near at forest's edge. Come first daylight, the bird was able to fly away from the forest to the large human city, picking up whatever scraps the humans left behind. After noticing a particularly good find, the bird let out a victorious chirp and dove towards its one and only meal for the day.

Nypre slowly opened his eyes to the sound of a bird chirping loudly. He closed them at first, not remembering where he was. Then, all at once it hit him and his eyes shot open. He was in Maryine's room. He found himself bathed in sunlight from the rising sun as it peered through the open window that hung over Maryine's bed. In the bed, Maryine slept with her back towards him, snoozing quietly. He had never intended to fall asleep, but exhaustion from the previous day's battle hit him hard.

As he stood, his neck reminded him exactly why you should never sleep sitting up against a hard wall. Normally he would have lay there a little longer, waking up more before moving, but he wanted to get out of there before Maryine woke up. She hadn't been the nicest to him, for whatever reason, and Nypre could only imagine what she would say if she saw him there. She originally wanted Nypre to leave immediately after bringing her back, but Nypre refused fearing that more soldiers may attack.

Before he left the room, he took one more look at it. It reminded him of his own room, only bigger and much better kept. Maryine's trident lay on the floor next to her bed despite its stand being only inches away. Maryine's desk which was cluttered with books. The cleanliness of the rest of the room didn't seem to apply there. A half empty bookcase was the books' home, but the dust signified that they had not been put away in quite some time. The entire room was painted a light happy blue color. Wavy ridges in the paint gave it a very oceanic feel.

Another loud chirp from outside, this time Maryine was the one who stirred. She moved slightly and Nypre took it as his cue to leave. He took a step as quietly as possible, still watching Maryine in her bed. The moment his foot made contact with the floor, she shot up, grabbing her trident along the way, and pointing it straight at Nypre.

"Son of Wonik?" She murmured still half asleep and processing the previous night.

"Good morning." Nypre responded with a nervous smile unsure of what else to say.

"You stood guard the entire night?" Maryine seemed genuinely impressed.

"Sort of. I may have fallen asleep." Nypre admitted. Maryine frowned at him. She took her trident, using it to prop herself out of bed. She winced in pain, her leg still hurting her, but was able to stand.

"I'll be fine." She said before Nypre could say anything. She too seemed nervous.

"I'm glad. I'll just take my leave from you. I apologize for staying the night." Nypre smiled once more.

"No!" Maryine blurted out followed by a moment of awkward silence. "You can stay for breakfast I mean. I owe you one for getting me out of that battle when you did."