When the gateway snapped closed behind him, Alric felt himself visibly sag. That would be the last gateway he would be making tonight. He could barely stand from exhaustion. His ankle was splinted in place with a piece of wood blasted free in the earlier battle. It still barely wanted to support his weight. Some cuts he couldn’t quite remember getting were also wrapped in makeshift bandages. Beyond that, he was covered in bruises from head to toe. He knew he should have gone to the infirmary, but instead, the battered Dedicated crept into the Novice quarters.
Is there somebody waiting for you back home? It was a question he’d been asked often back in the army. Soldiers would ask each other campfire before curfew, to break the boredom of a long watch, or on some endless march or other. His answer had always been “No.” Alric guessed, he could have spun some tale about Lorenza, but she hadn’t shown all that much interest when they were youths together. There hadn’t been any reason to assume she had been waiting for him to come home to Mayene.
This time, things were different. He wasn’t coming home from war per say, but for once in his life, he knew who he was fighting for. Those happy tales of a soldier returning from war to embrace his smiling family. He’d never known that feeling. Instead he’d been set adrift, not daring to return to his family in shame. They deserved better than a murderer for a son. This time, however, Alric had an anchor. She also deserved better than a murderer, but he was tired of drifting. He did his best to hold himself straight and to not limp as he made his way down the halls of the Novice quarters. Stopping before one of the doors, he gave a soft knock. Maybe it was a small thing with little fanfare, but it was his homecoming. He rarely went knocking on her door, but he’d had a long night, and he really didn’t care if how much that Aiel Novice glared at him. He wouldn’t be turned away. Alric was determined to see his Affie tonight.
Is there somebody waiting for you back home? It was a question he’d been asked often back in the army. Soldiers would ask each other campfire before curfew, to break the boredom of a long watch, or on some endless march or other. His answer had always been “No.” Alric guessed, he could have spun some tale about Lorenza, but she hadn’t shown all that much interest when they were youths together. There hadn’t been any reason to assume she had been waiting for him to come home to Mayene.
This time, things were different. He wasn’t coming home from war per say, but for once in his life, he knew who he was fighting for. Those happy tales of a soldier returning from war to embrace his smiling family. He’d never known that feeling. Instead he’d been set adrift, not daring to return to his family in shame. They deserved better than a murderer for a son. This time, however, Alric had an anchor. She also deserved better than a murderer, but he was tired of drifting. He did his best to hold himself straight and to not limp as he made his way down the halls of the Novice quarters. Stopping before one of the doors, he gave a soft knock. Maybe it was a small thing with little fanfare, but it was his homecoming. He rarely went knocking on her door, but he’d had a long night, and he really didn’t care if how much that Aiel Novice glared at him. He wouldn’t be turned away. Alric was determined to see his Affie tonight.