Frostbound

Tiredness, fatigue, and exhaustion were feelings that rarely showed themselves nowadays. Endurance was a wonderful thing, pushing the waking hours further with every point, but there were still times it felt like my mind had been wrung dry of all its energy.

Our Council Meetings had a way of doing that.

Tedium, the very definition of the word, was the only way to describe it. I wished they were easier, and I wasn't responsible for so many people and so many different projects, but I was the one to build the City, I couldn't leave now.

No matter how much I wanted to.

"Hey, buddy!" Austin jogged up next to me. "Howya doin'?"

A deep, cathartic groan was only half my response. "What is it, Austin? I'm tired and a warm cozy bed is calling my name."

"Oh, come on," he said slapping me on the back, "You know there's no rest for the wicked." His laughs at his own joke weren't mirrored and I only stared at him to get to the point.

"I just got out of a four-hour meeting, I'm not really in the mood for your... you." Failing to find an adequate word, I just waved at him vaguely from head to toe.

"I know, I've been waiting for you to finish." He said.

"So you knew I was in a meeting and waited to ambush me after I was out?" I asked rather... discourteously before thinking of something else, "Why weren't you in there with me if you knew?"

He scoffed, "And be this energetic and lively," he motioned at my disheveled appearance, "No thank you. I wouldn't be caught dead in there."

I stopped walking and turned to face him square, "What is it, Austin? I want to go to bed."