December 28th
The waiting is always the worst part. Staring out over the walls, eat a little something, steal a few minutes sleep, and then stare out over the walls again, waiting for the inevitable.
The plans are set… And though they may be simple, they are good plans. For something like this, it doesn’t do to get too complicated… anything too complicated wouldn’t last longer than the first rush of the Reavers upon the walls.
I am not afraid… though some part of me knows that that is a lie, and there is autumn’s touch in the wary watching and the careful checking and rechecking of the infantry positions. But it does not rule me, instead I feel a sort of fierce readiness, and I wish that he Reavers would get here already so that I can show them the true wrath of summer stirring within my breast.
In the meantime though, I watch… I watch and I comfort, strangely enough. I had been surprised when my niece mentioned that it might be time to raise me within the order, But Brighid’s will in this seems to be clear. I find myself in quiet conversations with others, keeping spirits high and calm when the interminable waiting would drag them low… even those of my niece. A traditional priestess I may not be, but the warrior priestess role seems to be second nature to me.
It is strange, how clear I feel… how alive. I fit into this war like a hand into a tailored glove. Even the waiting feels comfortable, because it is part of the whole. I see the same in Gaius, a lightness and energy in his step that has been lacking these past few years, clarity of purpose that we share. It has been a very long time since I have felt this close to him, our thought and action one… The general and his second, the right and left hands, the focus and drive tempered by heart and passion… Shieldmates.
And any hesitation I may have felt, and sorrow or pain that this would be the last time we fight as one… gone. Melted away in the growing light of dawn on the day of battle as we sat our vigil on the walls, neither of us able to sleep. I forget what was said exactly… Very few words were said, but they are more than enough, I only need to know one thing… he still wishes to be my shieldmate. We just may need to re-word the oath some.
So despite the waiting… the interminable, endless waiting… I am happier than I have been in a very long time… clearer and more content. Sitting on the walls with my family and comrades… Singing and telling stories to keep our spirits up… I feel nothing but love for those here… my neice’s husband, my shieldmate’s wife, my child by blood and the cubs I’ve adopted, my bondsman who already has become my brother, my brother who I love as much as I am able…even if it’s not exactly what he wishes from me… and all the others here on the walls and out in the hedge… the entire alliance.
The Reavers will come... and when they do we will stand strong, together… and Bright Fiery Bloody Brighid will smile.
The plans are set… And though they may be simple, they are good plans. For something like this, it doesn’t do to get too complicated… anything too complicated wouldn’t last longer than the first rush of the Reavers upon the walls.
I am not afraid… though some part of me knows that that is a lie, and there is autumn’s touch in the wary watching and the careful checking and rechecking of the infantry positions. But it does not rule me, instead I feel a sort of fierce readiness, and I wish that he Reavers would get here already so that I can show them the true wrath of summer stirring within my breast.
In the meantime though, I watch… I watch and I comfort, strangely enough. I had been surprised when my niece mentioned that it might be time to raise me within the order, But Brighid’s will in this seems to be clear. I find myself in quiet conversations with others, keeping spirits high and calm when the interminable waiting would drag them low… even those of my niece. A traditional priestess I may not be, but the warrior priestess role seems to be second nature to me.
It is strange, how clear I feel… how alive. I fit into this war like a hand into a tailored glove. Even the waiting feels comfortable, because it is part of the whole. I see the same in Gaius, a lightness and energy in his step that has been lacking these past few years, clarity of purpose that we share. It has been a very long time since I have felt this close to him, our thought and action one… The general and his second, the right and left hands, the focus and drive tempered by heart and passion… Shieldmates.
And any hesitation I may have felt, and sorrow or pain that this would be the last time we fight as one… gone. Melted away in the growing light of dawn on the day of battle as we sat our vigil on the walls, neither of us able to sleep. I forget what was said exactly… Very few words were said, but they are more than enough, I only need to know one thing… he still wishes to be my shieldmate. We just may need to re-word the oath some.
So despite the waiting… the interminable, endless waiting… I am happier than I have been in a very long time… clearer and more content. Sitting on the walls with my family and comrades… Singing and telling stories to keep our spirits up… I feel nothing but love for those here… my neice’s husband, my shieldmate’s wife, my child by blood and the cubs I’ve adopted, my bondsman who already has become my brother, my brother who I love as much as I am able…even if it’s not exactly what he wishes from me… and all the others here on the walls and out in the hedge… the entire alliance.
The Reavers will come... and when they do we will stand strong, together… and Bright Fiery Bloody Brighid will smile.