Resting, Noah had been dozing in and out of sleep as the daylight broke and streamed out over the valley they were in. The further it came into the valley, piercing through the wagon’s closed flap, the sharper the birds seemed to become in Noah’s ears. He awoke at the slightest rustling of inside, be is Elann’s deep sighs or his sister’s shuffling on the bench, Noah opened his eyes to the room. Lying, he observed Elann as she slept. It was dark underneath the blanket, but the smell of her hair was close and the strands could be felt sparingly on his cheek and nose.

Elann was radiating heat and it could be felt whenever he smoothed his hand to a new position over her bare body. The heat was conforming to his though, and seemingly dispelled to replace the warmth on her skin where his arm had once been. He played a curious game with it in his wakefulness, waiting a moment before gingerly moving his arm over her body again, feeling the heat lessen before moving his arm once more. It was hardly a stimulating game but he was captivated by it enough to pass the time, time enough for a sound to happen that caused him to peek out of the blankets, halting his game.

A voice came, the voice of the driver, telling them to hurry and wake if they wanted breakfast; they would be leaving soon. Noah hadn’t kept track of the time, the residents of the wagon relatively deaf to the world around them, save for Noah who wasn’t paying attention. Peeking out of the blanket, Noah looked to Aimee on the bench, switching his attention to Elann as the cover shifted on her side. Then, the blanket pulled down from her head and her eyes found Noah’s peeping out from the blanket, which covered his face from the bridge of his nose down. 

He blinked at her a few times, searching her sleepy eyes with his curious ones. “Hello,” he sounded quietly from under the blanket, his voice muffled slightly. “It’s almost time to go.” He continued to look at her, his eyes large and alert in their faintly olive color. In a way, they could’ve been seen as adorable in that moment.