[Envinyatar]

Her impish wink had been followed by a decidedly inelegant yawn. Derufin retrieved the spoon she had placed back on the rim of the bowl just as it teetered and tipped toward the floor. Another yawn followed and her eyelids, heavy with fatigue fell shut slowly, the lashes brushing her cheek and then rising for a brief moment before she surrendered. Her head lolled back against the end of the bed, and he watched as her breathing slowed.

‘Busy day, eh?!’ He set the half finished bowl of crisp on the ground by his chair and brushed a lank strand of hair from her mouth. He pulled on his boots grunting softly at the tenderness of his ankle, then bent down and gathered the sleeper in his arms. He could see dreams just beginning to run beneath her lids. Standing up cautiously, his weight shifting gingerly on his feet as he approached the side of his bed, he laid her down gently. His hand reached down to pull the spare quilt over her slight frame, and he tucked the pillow beneath her head.

He stood and watched her for a moment, her face, free from worry, smoothed out, her hand tucked beneath her chin. ‘Pleasant dreamings, Vanwe,’ he murmured, as he bent and blew out the lamp, ‘and thank you.’

Derufin went to the other room, the one where Eodwine had slept, and lay down on the cot. Lighting the small reading lamp, he fished in his pocket and drew out his letter. Slipping his fingers beneath the seal, he broke it and unfolded the letter, his eyes savoring the long blocks of script written within. Words danced in familiar phrasings and he smiled as he heard her voice pulling him into the ordinary details of her life . . .

He fell asleep, having read the letter a second time - lying on his back, sprawled out on the narrow cot, left arm flung up above his head, his right hand resting on his stomach. The vellum slid from the bed, as he shifted in his sleep, and fell fluttering to the floor . . .