Chapter 95: Moment of Respite
The light was still shining strong when Kim started to open her eyes. At first she felt dazed, unsure what had happened. Although, she did remember being carried after being dragged for a ways. She couldn't remember much detail, given her mind was working on fumes at the moment and she wasn't even sure how she'd gotten in that state, even though she knew full well what had happened. It was like her mind was having trouble connecting the two points, even though she could connect them herself with logic.
As Kim moved a little, she suddenly realized there was something pressing against her. Something warm and soft, but heavy enough that she couldn't just brush it away. At first she wasn't sure what to make of it. She didn't look at it, mostly because part of her was telling her to just go back asleep while another just didn't want to move at all.
She used her hands to explore what it was and quickly realized that it was Elin. That realization allowed her to pull together enough energy to move her head to look at Elin. What she saw made her smile.
Elin was clearly struggling to stay awake. To the point is was clear she hadn't realized that Kim had woken up. Kim pulled the girl closer to her, eliciting a strangled cry of surprise from Elin, making Kim chuckle.
"Don't scare me like that,' Elin complained softly, fatigue clear in her voice.
"Your fault for letting your guard down around me," Kim remarked, kissing the top of Elin's head. "But I'm awake now, so just go to sleep. I'm sure you'll feel better when you get some sleep."
Elin nodded against Kim and it didn't take long before Elin's breathing became deep and regular. Kim smiled at the sleeping younger woman. She couldn't be sure, but she had a feeling that Elin had been keeping watch for them since they got to... wherever this was.
Kim started to look around. Noticing that Jonas and Elmo were on the other side of the room, both apparently asleep. Elmo was leaning against Jonas with his head on Jonas' shoulder, looking rather comfortable in that position. Though, it was too far away for her to make out any more detail, and she doubted that it mattered anyway.
Right now she felt very well rested, but knew it was up to her to stand watch. After all, Elin had done that when she was clearly at the end of her stamina herself. Not only that, but while Kim felt she should still be hurting all over, with how many blades she'd felt biting into her body before she started to get dragged, she could tell that Elin had healed her body while she was on watch.