[ The stone's throw: ungainly, but efficient, despite the boy's hesitations. It stumbles and ricochets, upsetting the balance of a minor agglomeration of a handful of pebbles more —
But tellingly, startles no other creatures from death or waiting's sleep. No further rats, scuttled. No darker predators, in their wake. There is a dearth of wetness, captured by salt, that leaves his lips aching, his mouth raw. He licks, slow and in convenient, rakes his teeth.
Finally, accepts uncertainty only as feverish discomfort, not the stirrings of caution, triggered by an unseen more. To waver now is to miss dear opportunity. He knows better than to waste time. ]
Agreed. [ A nod, gentle, ahead. ] The path is clear. We go.
[ And he starts them — arm stretched to the side, half to catch purchase on the nearest wall in the gut of the corridor, half to offer the child some shielding behind the stretch of his sleeve. ]
no subject
But tellingly, startles no other creatures from death or waiting's sleep. No further rats, scuttled. No darker predators, in their wake. There is a dearth of wetness, captured by salt, that leaves his lips aching, his mouth raw. He licks, slow and in convenient, rakes his teeth.
Finally, accepts uncertainty only as feverish discomfort, not the stirrings of caution, triggered by an unseen more. To waver now is to miss dear opportunity. He knows better than to waste time. ]
Agreed. [ A nod, gentle, ahead. ] The path is clear. We go.
[ And he starts them — arm stretched to the side, half to catch purchase on the nearest wall in the gut of the corridor, half to offer the child some shielding behind the stretch of his sleeve. ]