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Rest
It was a mistake: A moment of weakness. That was all.
Eric was comfortable. That warm, grey and quiet place between wakefulness and sleep, was where he could dream in peace and where he could be alone, for once, with his thoughts. He could be alone, properly alone in a way that he never could when he was wake.
He liked it there. He lingered there tonight.
Someone was... It could...
No, it was just a dream.
There was nothing outside worth waking up for. Not tonight, anyway.
The past week had been hard on them all. It was a week of close shaves and lucky escapes. There had barely been the chance to stop: until now.
Under the relentless pressure, he had become more unsociable and contrary than usual. They had all had times when it became too much to handle, or too much to take in at once. This was a new land, a whole new Realm, and though he had grown used to expecting the unexpected, he still wasnt very good at it.
So, maybe this time Eric just had more to handle. So maybe this time he wasnt as strong as everyone else.
Maybe this time, he just needed a good nights sleep.
Someone was calling It could have been screaming
It didnt matter at the moment.
It wasnt that he couldnt wake, but he just didnt want to. He knew he wasnt on watch that night, and since they only got one full night each week, he was going to make the absolute most of it. He didnt want to wake up, and he didnt want to move either. He couldnt remember the last time he had been this comfortable.
Perhaps it had been the single night theyd stayed with Rhamouds Caravan in the desert, after they had defeated the Nightwalker. Hed never have thought the simple sheets and blankets could have been so
comfortable, but that was one of the best nights sleep hed ever had. Maybe it had more to do with the fact no one was on watch, and they were safe. That night, there had been no need to worry. Evil was defeated and they were safe.
It would be nice to be safe again.
Someone was calling his name
It could have been screaming his name
His eyes remained tightly closed, and he could feel himself sinking deeper into warm sleep. Images of the past few days blinked in and out of his consciousness.
For a while, they had seen nothing but Orcs. It was almost as if it had been a trap, except the Orcs had seemed as surprised as the kids.
Then they had run every day and most nights, but they had finally lost the Orcs in the Forest of Seven Tears early this morning. He wasnt sure why they were so difficult to get rid of this time. Perhaps it was because they had tasted blood, and wanted more. The Orcs had never drawn blood before (they had never had the chance before, Hank had made sure of that), and the sight of it, so deep and red and warm as if flowed across Dianas arms and hands and down their cold steel swords, had seemed to send a thrill of urgent desire through them.
In the grey land of dreaming sleep, Eric shivered.
Someone was calling his name. It could have been screaming his name. For Gods sake Eric
Who cares!
They were always making such a drama out of things, and acting like the sky was falling. They were always telling him what to do!
He didnt need to be told anymore. He knew what he had to do. It wasnt like he didnt pull his weight. So maybe there had been occasions when he hadnt, but hed saved the group from certain death a depressingly huge number of times over the years. He was entitled to a little rest, for Gods sake!
Someone was calling his name. It could have been screaming his name. For Gods sake Eric, you have to help her
He wasnt good at that.
He tried his best, but he didnt find it easy being with the others as part of the group, and being there in case he was needed. He didnt find it easy relying on others, or being relied on. Though he might brag about saving the day, that sort of responsibility terrified him.
He didnt want to be the one who always had to run out, Shield held high against arrows and rock-falls and spears and swords and certain death. He didnt want to have to help.
Someone was calling his name. It could have been screaming his name. For Gods sake Eric, you have to help her, you have to help yourself
He was good at looking out for himself.
Hed had plenty of practice in the past. And that was the problem, though, wasnt it? His finely honed sense of self-preservation tended to get in the way.
They all still thought it, even though none of them had ever said it: That he was a coward. It was in looks from Diana and Hank; it was in Bobbys tone and Prestos resigned sighs. Even Sheila occasionally looked at him, obviously thinking what a disappointment he was.
Someone was calling his name. It could have been screaming his name. For Gods sake Eric, you have to help her, you have to help yourself! Before its too late
It was never too late.
Somehow they always seemed to muddle through in the end; and Dungeonmaster was always there to help them out of any serious jam they might get themselves into to. He always had help of some sort. He was never alone.
For Gods sake Eric, you have to help her, you have to help yourself! Before its too late!
Suddenly there was a cold pressure on his neck and his eyes flicked open as the far-away words that hed pretended not to hear roared though his head.
For Gods sake Eric, you have to help her, you have to help yourself! Before its too la
It was a mistake.
But it was his last.