The night had fallen into a tranquil stillness, the kind that could lull even the most stubborn insomniac into a dreamless sleep.
For most of the recruits, this was exactly the case. Snores rippling through the tranquil camp.
Taelia, however, was not so fortunate. Sleep had decided to wage war against her, bombarding her with relentless nightmares that jolted her awake every time she dared to drift off.
Frustrated and thoroughly done with trying, she sat up in her cot, running a hand through her disheveled hair.
"Maybe a cold bath will help".
The spring nearby seemed like the perfect solution, except for one tiny problem. It was dark. And scary. And Taelia wasn't exactly brimming with courage.
The idea of going alone, absolutely not. After a moment of deliberation, she made up her mind.
Elijah. If anyone could handle the creepy unknown, her reasoning was quite simple, it was Elijah afterall.
She tiptoed through the camp, reaching his tent with as much stealth as her clumsy feet could manage. Pulling the flap open, she was greeted by a sight that nearly made her question her reality.
Elijah, in the dim glow of a lantern, was doing sit ups like his life depended on it. Sweat glistened on his brow, and his expression was one of pure determination.
"Are you… seriously working out in the middle of the night?" she blurted, her voice a mix of disbelief and reluctant admiration.
Elijah paused mid motion, glancing at her with a calmness that made her feel like she was the odd one here.
"Couldn't sleep," he said simply, as if midnight fitness routines is as normal as breathing.
Taelia crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Most people count sheep. You're out here counting crunches."
Elijah smirked faintly, grabbing a towel to wipe his face. "Not much of a sheep guy."
Unable to suppress her curiosity, Taelia leaned against the tent pole.
"But seriously, why? You worked harder than anyone today, you even killed a Duskmaw bear... What exactly are you trying to prove?"
For a moment, he didn't answer, his gaze distant. When he finally spoke, his voice was low but firm.
"Well in my previous life, the world was incredibly demanding of me, so I had to find a way to distinguish myself from the privileged once."
"By doing crunches all night".
Elijah almost couldn't hold back his chuckle. "No, by making the most of my time… By working while they slept, that way, I will be able to keep up with the Gods favourite".
The weight of his words lingered, and Taelia decided not to press further. She'd gotten all the answers she needed.
Clearing her throat, she changed the subject. "Anyway, I was wondering… could you, um, come with me to the spring? I need a bath, but, you know… I don't want to get eaten by a bear or something."
Elijah tilted his head slightly, feeling the place the bear struck him earlier heat up.
"Sure, I need to clear my head a bit anyway".
Before heading out, they agreed to stop by the weapons storage, just in case something actually decided to attack them.
The camp has doubled in size in a single day, naturally there would be some places that wouldn't receive the benefit of the fire torches, hence Elijah and Taelia had to move in the dark.
Elijah and Taelia opened up a tent that seemed big enough to be the weapons storage, but surprisingly, the inside was brightly lit with hundreds of candles, the place was even starting to look like a shrine of some sort.
...
Inside, bathed in flickering light, was Sergeant Vren. And he was what Elijah would describe as a buck naked middle aged man.
But Sergeant Vren wasn't just naked, he was naked and kneeling, hands clasped in devout worship before a small wooden statue of First Lieutenant Verayth. His whispered chants carried the fervor of a true believer.
Taelia finally questioned her reality.
...
The duo stared, frozen in place. Neither could look away nor process what they were seeing, Sergeant Vren raised his head and stared back at the duo.
The space between them was eerily quiet, Sergeant Vren's dark circled eyes simply stared back in silence, too stunned to say a word.
Elijah finally came to and raised his hand to cover Taelia's eyes, before using his other hand to slowly cover up the tent, all the while, everybody maintaining their perfect silence.
Outside, the two stood in stunned silence, trying to recover from what they'd just witnessed.
"Did… did we just catch the sergeant having some kind of religious moment?" Taelia whispered, her face a frozen mask of astonishment, confusion and pure terror.
"I don't know," Elijah muttered, rubbing his temples. "And I don't want to know. Let's just pretend this never happened."
"Agreed. What happens in Tent Vren stays in Tent Vren."
This time, they triple checked the tent before stepping inside, grabbing their rifles without further incident.
As they finally headed toward the spring, the crisp night air cooled their lingering embarrassment, though the image of Sergeant Vren would likely haunt Taelia for the rest of her adolescent life.
The duo made it to a small spring, Elijah was surprised by how clean the water was, the surface was crystal blue while the moonlight somehow found a way to pierced through the miasma layered sky.
Taelia screamed cheerfully, and ran over to the spring, removing her boots and feeling the cool water with her feets.
"Hey Elijah, wanna join me?". She asked mischievously.
Elijah smiled, but he knew his boundaries, and besides, he wasn't exactly a simp.
"Very funny Taelia, hurry it up before the patrol passes by".
Elijah turned around without another word, seeing how somber and serious he was acting, Taelia decided not to tease him anymore, but in her mind.
She took the opportunity to edge the real Elijah into her mind, not the smiling fool pretending to be comfortable about everything in existence.
The sound of Taelia taking her clothes off was distracting but Elijah maintained his calm, even after she jumped into the water, Elijah didn't turn around.
But after several minutes passed, Elijah realised something vital, he hadn't heard the sound of splashing water nor human movement in a while.
Elijah's brows crossed as he turned around in a flash, the water was tranquil, there wasn't even a ripple on the surface.
Taelia's clothes were still on the ground, and Eliajh knew there was no way she would leave without her clothes, she can be mischievous, but not to that extent.
"Taelia!". Eliajh called out, his blood running cold after he didn't receive an answer.