42nd Winter Fall 511AV
There were many reasons for being restless at night. Sometimes it was due to a change in environment, diet, or maybe even something as simple as a change in routine. Serrif had all of these. He was in unfamiliar territory, his entire routine turned almost upside down as he never knew what to expect next. It seemed here at The Sanctuary there was an almost controlled sense of chaos that could erupt at almost any given moment. It took a very collected mentality to be able to adapt to this; but it wasn’t so different from the clinic on Mura; so he was adjusting just fine. And having an actual room helped a great amount; he didn’t have to live in a tent any longer; he couldn’t remember what it was like not to live in that canvas house.
In fact he couldn’t remember if he even had a house before the camp…before his memories were stripped from him. Every now and then he would hear his past come back to him like a faint ghostly whisper. Just to remind him that there still people out there who had done this to him. These ghastly visions and echoes were never easily silenced. He swore he could still hear sounds in the night of his past. The sound of a whip cracking, maybe even the muffled cries of help as a woman was tortured. These memories played again and again introducing themselves randomly into his mind.
He was awake.
He couldn’t sleep, maybe this would fade with time. Maybe eventually he would grow comfortable with this place. Comfortable enough to sleep well without waking at night for seemingly no reason at all. He swallowed a hard lump of saliva as he stared at the ceiling. He wasn’t going back to sleep now… He ran a hand over his face stimulating his senses some to take his mind off of everything. It helped but it still wasn’t enough. The blankets were cast aside and he sat on the bed composing himself some before trying to decide what to do. Without a good bearing on the time he couldn’t make a decent decision on what he wanted to do.
On Mura he would run along the beach. That always helped him clear his mind. Perhaps a run would do that for him now as well. Yes it would be different than a run on the warm sandy beaches of Mura that he was used to. But it would be a run along a somewhat familiar scenery. He could deal with that. So it was decided he would go for a run. Without much of a thought he got himself ready for the run. He had no idea what time it was right now. But he did know that he would likely have to be quiet, he didn’t want to wake anyone. He slipped on his white bodysuit, it still fit like a glove thanks to the handiwork of the Konti who had made it.
The familiar feeling of the silken surface gripping his skin was somewhat comforting to him. He got used to things, and certain things brought him a level of comfort he didn’t realize until just now. He fit on his boots and drew them tight on his feet, he didn’t need them slipping around. He would likely only need the bodysuit and the cloak, he knew his body would warm up an extensive amount about ten minutes or so in. All he needed to do was give it time to do so. He had never tried to run in these circumstances before, so it would be a good test. His mind gently reminded him he was in unfamiliar territory, so he would bring his weapon harness and daggers.
A familiar shape met his eyes, it was his weapon harness…but where had he placed his daggers? He looked around and found one of them under the pillows of the bed, the other was beside the bed on a chair…Such strange placement. The harness was strapped to his body and the daggers were added to the front across his chest, the hilts pointing down. Val’mera had taught him that having the daggers like this made them easy to draw in a pinch and also kept them out of the way. He adjusted the harness so it sat tight atop the pale white second silken skin he was wearing. He didn’t want the daggers shaking out of the hilts or slapping against his body with every step he took.
Now all he had to do was make it to the beach. He remembered the spiraling ramp down to the cavern where the horses were being kept. That was the fastest entrance to the beach. Now if only he could navigate there effectively in the night. He threw his cloak over his form and figured he would have a go for it. Every one of his steps were muffled as he stepped gently on the ground. He didn’t want to cause a commotion. He eventually found his way to the ramp and then to the sea cave. Some of the torches were still lit casting an almost eerie light about the holding areas. Yes, this was where he needed to be. Now the beach was on the other side of those double doors.
A lone white figure walked through the cave to the double entry doors. Some of the horses woke enough to eye him, but most stayed quiet as they didn’t really want to be disturbed by a simple man’s passing. He found the doors and gently opened them enough to let himself through. He then closed them gently behind himself. He hadn’t given much thought to how he was going to enter back though them. But that hit him after the fact. He figured he would get that cleared up once he finished his run. He needed right now to clear his active mind so he could be productive instead of preoccupied.
The beach stretched out in two directions before him. But this beach was different than Mura…but familiar. There was sand and rolling crashing waves; but the cool wind whipped across his body. There was snow on the ground and the water gave off a faint mist as the heat was sapped from it. Familiar, but alien all at the same time. He would have to get used to this, but this simple pleasure of a beach run would help his mind gently relax. With a few quick stretches Serrif set his mind to the task at hand. He was going for a run, and he would stop once his mind shut up.
The morning break wasn’t here yet, but it wasn’t too far behind him. Seemed the sun was just beginning to have hints of rising over the horizon. He was just in time then. With an internal nod he set off at a steady pace down the beach leaving behind footprints in the beach. At first the jog was unpleasant. He was cold, and his body couldn’t seem to overcome the whipping cold of the wind. But after a few minutes his body was radiating heat and he had begun to ignore the cold altogether. He was beginning to enjoy this jog down the beach. The crashing waves soothed him, and the cool weather pushed his body. His lungs burned from the cool air he had to inhale to keep going. But in all this was going to be a pleasant run.
