Challenge #04761-M012: Rest and Restrategise

It's late, I'm tired, but I can't sleep. Can I stay in your room tonight, please? -- Anon Guest

Was there a worse condition for an Adventurer than to be a chronic overthinker? Ironically, Humility couldn't think of one. His mind was racing in circles regarding their most recent fuckup and how close they'd come to becoming some other Adventuring party's grim discovery.

At least they holed up in a nice inn to recover.

Humility was used to the gang-wide cuddle pile. Something he had grown up doing with fellow Hellkin on the run from prejudice. What they ended up calling a tangle-trail family. He had never slept in a bed before, and trying was awkward with his horns and all. He was terrified of ripping the pillow. Combined with the terrors they had just survived, Humility could not sleep.

He wanted to sleep, but nothing was working. As the hours dragged through the night, Humility surrendered on sleeping in a bed and went seeking company. Specifically, their Elven Wizard, Ari'aleth. His crush.

Elves didn't sleep, and only needed to meditate for four hours. If anyone was also awake, then it was Ari'aleth. So Humility tapped on their door.

At Ari'aleth's world-weary, "Enter," he did as he was bade.

"I'm too tired to sleep," he complained. "And I can't sleep in a bed. And... I've never been alone to sleep before. And..."

Ari'aleth put down their studies, and began turning the room's bed into a nest of cushions and blankets. "You need haptic companionship." They made themself comfortable, half propped up in the corner of the room. "Come along and snuggle up. Tell me what's weighing on your mind."

Humility curled up against them, keeping his hands to himself of course. Angling himself so that his horns wouldn't be a problem. "We really messed up with that trap gauntlet. I missed the clues, you missed the wards, Twitch missed all the triggers, Herga got overwhelmed... We barely made it out alive."

"And we should thank you for that. You recognised when we were about to lose and pulled us back. In Herga's case, literally. We can rest, fortify, and prepare now. When we return to the dungeon, we will make sure we're ready to defeat it."

Wise Ari'aleth. Clever Ari'aleth. Comfortable Ari'aleth...

Humility soon began to snore.

[Photo by Intricate Explorer on Unsplash]

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