blowing smoke {tsiuri, day 2 leisure}

There’s solidarity in the fact that when it comes to the first sign of danger, we’re all as bad as each other at defending ourselves against the enemy. Unfortunately, it doesn’t bring us any closer together. As soon as the stone giant had started to retreat and we’d surveyed our wounds and stitched each other back up in silence, August had split off from us. The nervous comradery of the morning forgotten in the face of reality starting to sink in. Soon enough they’ll both realise what I’ve been trying to ignore all along. You’re better off alone.

Maybe that’s for the best.

But the truth is, I liked the feeling of being important. Protecting August and Thompson and being the one to finally turn the beast away instilled a new kind of pride in me, managing to even override the rampant annoyance of miss after miss after miss. I’ve missed playing the starring role of the protective older sister; I just hope I can keep up the act. And truthfully, I’m not sure how good I’d be at it if the stone knight did decide to come back and finish what it started. I can only hope its disappearing act meant it was off to find new, more interesting tributes to torment.

It’s not lost on me that there’s still been no cannons, even as the second day crawls to an end. I should be exhausted after being so rudely awoken this morning and then having to fight for my life whilst pretending to know how to wield a weapon – there shouldn’t be any nervous energy left in me to burn. But even the cool air of the night doesn’t settle my racing mind and quickstepping heart. And August crawling back to our shelter after his secret rendezvous irritates me for reasons I don’t know.

I’ll sleep it off. Tomorrow’s a new day after all.