At the landing, night sounded larger than the chamber. 🌌
THE BOOK OF TAD
PAGE 140
NOT HIS WATCH 🌌
Glint woke while the others were asleep.
The ceiling was a dark fold of roots, not the chamber’s close stone. A pale patch of water moved beyond the landing. He could hear the broad route carrying things past, none of them close enough to name.
He reached for his lantern with his sound flipper.
Brink was on watch at the bend. Glint could see his outline whenever a faint thread of light crossed the roots.
“Is it morning?” Glint asked.
“Not yet.”
Glint almost offered to take over. The words came as readily as reaching for the lantern. Then he put it down and let Brink turn back towards the passage.
Near the cradle, Finley slept with his rolled copy safely beneath one flipper. TurboTAD had tucked his tail round the food bundle. Even in sleep, he appeared determined not to lose another one.
Glint smiled into the dark.
Pip stirred when he shifted, then settled after a quiet question and answer.
The water continued moving beyond the roots. Someone else was watching it.
When Glint next opened his eyes, there was breakfast beside the cradle. He had missed the changing of the watch entirely.
Zale informed him that Brink had snored while awake.
From the bend, Brink said, “I heard that.”