Glad to join. wc:302
Just having some company was nice, even in silence. He could relax, pretend that the last few months had been but a bad dream. He hoped that as time put more distance between them and the end of the war, he could really start to believe that. But in his current wounded state, he couldn’t hold on to the illusion for long. His aches and pains were a constant reminder of what had just occurred. Even simply walking through the manor was a sobering reminder of the reality they had all faced. Everyone was still tending to their own wounds, both physical and psychological.
So the silence was a nice change of pace. The lake could not remember the strife, nor remind him of it. The Italian man watched the reflection of the clouds passing by on the water’s surface for a short while, letting his mind drift with the simplicity of the moment. After a while he closed his eyes, trying to breathe deeply and let his thoughts clear. Suddenly, his sleeping packmate awoke with a yelp, glancing around frantically. The sudden noise startled Ehno out of his thoughtless dozing.
The girl seemed frozen with caution as she stared up at him, clearly on edge. With apparent effort she finally managed to speak, a quick greeting and an anxious question. “Hello,” he said, turning to face the awakened girl. He winced from the strain the motion put on his wound and took a moment to take a slow, deep breath. When the pain seemed to pass he turned his gaze to her bi-colored eyes. “I am sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb your rest,” he said, offering an apology with accented words. He summoned one of his kind smiles to his features. “I’m Ehno. You must be rather new here, yes?”