"You should be resting if you are going with the others," the young guard suggested.
It was, perhaps, true. There would be little time for extra sleep in what days were left to them at Vigil's Keep. But for as little solace as a lonely night watch would be, it was more than the stifling closeness of his quarters where only sleeplessness awaited him. Anxiety should have been abandoned the moment the Joining had ended and the living (if bloodstained and haggard) faces of the surviving recruits emerged from the hall. While what disquiet remained was nothing compared to the apprehension of that night, it hounded him relentlessly through the day and into the night. The guards at the outpost had not seemed surprised when Ordhan appeared at their outpost that evening, already dressed in full armor, to offer his aid in the night's watch.
The knight had paced about the walls, restlessly wandering from post to post like a ship refused by every harbor. The bracing night air was cool on his face and chilled his lungs, a welcome change, but did nothing to still his mind. As ever, there was little to see or do, allowing it to be free to mull over every pang of worry or discontent: the argument with Conlan, his parting with Hilda, the mission that had been given, his role in what lay ahead...all upon the ceaseless, decades-old worries of mages and demons and templars recently brought again to the surface. The hours dragged by and he knew he was wearing himself out needlessly, both in body and mind, so he turned his steps back to the first outpost.
The guard just inside the doorway greeted him with a respectful salute as he entered. Ordhan returned it as he passed, adding a noncommittal nod when the other expressed his concern. Even now sleep did not sound welcoming. "Thank you, but it is not necessary," he replied. But the guard was not looking at him, now, eyes turned instead towards the doorway. All of a sudden a short figure was hurrying towards him, all smiles and mussed dark hair.
"Falina," he said, cheer warming his voice, "I did not expect to see you here so late." She was shivering, only a rumpled white nightshirt to keep out the night's deep cold, and he found himself unclasping his cloak and drawing it from his shoulders. Though concern knit his brows, the broadness of his smile was clear proof of how glad he was to see her. She did not look upset, but she must have come in a hurry to not have dressed first.