For a long time, Irthos remains still, standing in the darkness. The sjach begin their whispering, but after an oddly urgent rebuttal, they cease.
He stands, contemplating.
An hour passes.
Irthos awakes from his thoughts, calling the sjach back to him, apologizing through the link. He slowly walks back toward the room he shares with Iejir, listening to the sjach intently, discussing small things with them- a calming act for both him and them.
His hand grasps the knob of his door, but he recalls Mem's presence, and pauses. He listens for a moment, and, recognizing that she has left, opens the door. Iejir lies passed out on one of the beds, an unfinished bottle still in his hand, dangerously close to spilling. Irthos walks over to him, and carefully removes the bottle, and sets it down on a table cluttered with the remains of the dice game. He grabs a leftover roll from the wreckage, eating it slowly as he gives a few standard sentry orders to the sjach.
He prepares himself for sleep, knowing the day ahead.
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A dream.
The shadows are hungry.
A flash of lightning. A scream. Es. Mem. Burning.
Joy. The Shadows are feeding. Joy. Pure, uncontained joy.
Endeca's face. A Shadow.
Gone.
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Irthos's eyes open. He stares at the cieling for a moment, unmoving, listening to Iejir's quiet snores. His eyelids close, and he drifts back to sleep.