Stone Circle I could lie awake

cyron is tired. his exhaustion can be felt in the dull ache of his muscles. it's an ache he feels more keenly now that he is sandwiched between his parents and some of the numb has ebbed and he’s not necessarily sure if that’s a good thing but tells himself it is. it is good that they found him, it is a good that he’s heading home but without the numb of the cold he is acutely aware of his own body in a way that he hadn't been in some time. it begs the question in his mind if it will ever go away. can he be fixed? physically, more than likely. it’s his psyche, the psychological damage that cyron thinks cannot be undone. as they approach easthollow’s borders he hesitates, unsure if he’s welcome, especially with the stench of the blackfeather wolves still strong on his filthy pelage; but both of his parents seem assured that he is and he feels a rise of shame that he's doubted the easthollow wolves. he's family ...isn't he?

“ok.” he rasps in surrender to his mother’s words and accepts them if only because he does not have the energy to fight them, to insist that mawk not waste his energy on hunting. cyron is hungry but cannot guarantee he will remain hungry when food is placed before him, or even if he does eat that he will keep it down. It was always a gamble these days. cyron does not want to see his parents suffer and hurt over him but he isn’t sure how he can hide the extent of psychological and physical state that he’s in. of course they can see he’s rawboned and unkept but there are things they cannot see, things that cyron inherently wants to shield them from. he leaves it to ponder at a later time when he is more coherent and feels ...better. the sterling boy begins to move mechanically in the direction that illecebra nudges him in, wanting nothing more than to surrender to slumber once more.

sleep is peaceful when nightmares do not plague him and as exhausted as he is he thinks that he will sleep free of both dreams and nightmares.