Ashya was perched next to the fire in the most uncomfortable position she could find, refusing to let sleep take her. She looked around wide eyed, at every unusual sound, startled, almost imagining darkspawn slithering on the periphery of their little campsite. She told herself over and over again that she would be able to smell the dirty creatures long before they got that close, but still she eyed every flickering shadow warily.
But it was getting late now, so late, and weariness was taking its toll. It had been a long day, after all, even before the darkspawn encounter. But the brunette didn’t want to sleep, partly because of the fear of the darkspawn returning, and partly because she knew what awaited her in her dreams was not much pleasanter than this. As soon as her eyes started sliding shut, she would start relaxing until she almost overbalanced, jerking her back to wakefulness, helping her keep the self imposed vigil she seemed intent on holding.
Ashya jerked completely awake again when Quintus placed his pack down, startled, brown eyes blinking nervously in the firelight. How much time had passed? She wasn’t certain, hours had blurred into stretches of time broken only by periods of extreme drowsiness and overly alert anxiety. She rubbed at her eyes, feeling the fingers of exhaustion reaching for her again. “No, I’m not…tired,” the girl said, covering a yawn with one hand, her face belying her words. “I’m…keeping watch.” That sounded important, and not cowardly at all.