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“Why didn’t you wake me?” Porter hissed at Tik as she scrambled out of her bedroll.
The half-orc warrior shook her head in confusion as the warlock hastily stuffed her items into her backpack. Those touched by magic were a strange lot. Powerful. The arching lighting between the immovable warlock and the closing bugbear was etched into her eyeballs from the afternoon battle. Who knew their little oxen driver had that up her sleeves?
Tik angled her body away from the banked campfire to continue watch on the raccoon family trundling through the thicket where the small caravan was hiding. The small snaps and rustling from the raccoons and Porter interfered with her ability to hear further afield. While her party managed to clear out the nearby goblin lair, other creatures with ill intent may be nearby.
Porter stepped over the halfling and sideslipped past the half-elf before joining Tik at her post. “I can’t believe no one else is up yet. The dwarven chants usually get me up long before now.”
“I just started my shift.” Tik injected to cut the verbose teenager off. They may be the same age, but the human had a very different life experience.
“What?” Porter stage-whispered. “But you don’t usually start until mid…”
Tik watched as the dark-skinned girl looked up, her curls flowing down her back as her face turned skyward.
“That isn’t the sun.”
“Nope.” Tik responded to the bizarre statement.
“The moon.”
“Yep.”
“And stars.”
“Yep.”
“Really?” Porter threw out her arms, whispering loudly to the heavens. “Now you give me this?!”
Tik watched as she stomped softly through the group of sleeping bodies to get her pack. Words muttered under-breath carried strangely around the heat currents of the fire. “Of all the … omnipotent asshole … roulette of the mind … is everything …”
When the only full human in the party had returned, Porter stood in front of Tik on the side away from the fire and took a cleansing breath in and out before smiling the fakest smile Tik had ever seen outside of a merchant. “I will be going into the woods a little ways. Don’t worry if you see any lightning or hear any maniacal laughter. There may even be a little screaming.”
Tik shrugged. “I am not to worry if you die. Got it.”
A genuine smile split Porter’s beautiful face. “Exactly! Oh, I do like you.”
Later the half-elf joined Tik watching the minor dancing lights beyond the thicket. “What is up?”
“Porter.”
“That girl has issues.”
Tik grunted, wiping the dew from her weapon.
“Did she get enough sleep?”
“Not after what she has been doing for the last three hours.”
“Hmmm.” The half-elf tilted her head sideways. “Maybe I should help her.”
“I wouldn’t interrupt.” Tik sheathed her blades before standing. She was looking forward to a final catnap before dawn. In the predawn light, she noticed the dwarf rolling his bedroll for his morning prayers. “Besides the shrieks stopped a little while ago; she is nearly done.”
Shift change completed, Tik was asleep before her elbows made contact with the dirt. She only woke when the slight breeze blowing on her back was blocked. Porter liked sleeping near the two women fighters; her unique scent of roses, sand, and soot traveled on what was left of the breeze. Tik’s mind noted the change as nonthreatening and fell back to dreamless sleep. Come dawn, they were going to storm a castle and everyone needed to be sharp.
(Words 586; first published 12/8/2019)
Yes, it is from a D&D campaign. My Warlock character got infravision between battles after needing it as the only non-infrared vision character of the party. This is what I pictured her reaction to be. This is an attempt to align game mechanics with storytelling.