Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 313

Chapter 313: Too Much
Mia woke in the morning more refreshed than she’d felt in a while. Yawning, she stretched.

Utterly exhausted yesterday, she’d fallen asleep before dinner and gone to bed immediately afterward.

It had been building for a long time. She was overusing her magic, and she knew it. Constantly changing what she was searching for was taking its toll on her.

The best path, the right path, the safest path, the quickest path, the safest place to camp for the night… she flicked through these options more and more.

Up to the canyons, she hadn’t fretted in the least. Even the grasslands, the path had been constant and safe, where they mainly traced the path of the river for a ready supply of water.

The anxiety of first the chimera and then the flowers that cut flesh was weighing. That wasn’t even mentioning the unseen dangers of the distant thump they had fled to get to the clearing. Of course, for most of that time, Ford’s secondary pull had been largely absent as well.

So why did she sleep so much better last night?

Rising, she began to prepare breakfast. Apparently Daniel had asked to take a turn at the watch, for he was slumped over, asleep against a tree trunk instead of staying vigilant.

Mia frowned. She should have helped keep watch.

Her eyes surveyed the group, and she noted with alarm that Ford’s bedroll was empty.

Searching the surrounding trees, she breathed a sigh of relief when he strolled leisurely into the camp.

“Where have you been?” Mia blurted in a whisper that she hoped wouldn’t wake anyone else.

“Do I have to answer that?” He quirked a playful eyebrow at her, and she swallowed. Of course he probably had to relieve himself or something. She shouldn’t have asked.

He sat down by the fire she was stoking, and added a few dry sticks to help bring it back to life.

“Sleep well? You looked rough yesterday,” Ford kept his eyes on the task, leaving Mia the chance to observe him.

He had dark circles under his eyes, and his lids were heavy. His movements were slightly sluggish and stiff as he turned to get more wood, but when he lifted his eyes to question her staring, they cleared and he gave her a small smile.

“I’m going to guess yes, since you didn’t snap my head off this time,” He joked.

“Sorry about that,” Mia turned back to her task. “I was very tired. I’m much better now.”

“Are you really?”

The question wasn’t sarcastic, but earnest. Had she been that awful looking last night?

“Really. I’m much better,” She smiled at Ford, remembering again how much he used to dislike her. It was becoming more and more difficult not to think about the possibility of their friendship becoming more when he was kind to her like this.

Perhaps it was nothing to him… nothing more meaningful than the first friendship he’d really had.

“I’m glad,” He sighed and leaned back a little. He blinked and ran a hand down his face.

“You don’t look like you slept well,” She observed.

“The man tends not to wake others when it’s their turn for watch,” Grandpa yawned, rising from his bedroll. “No wonder he’s tired.”

Mia turned back to Ford with mild censure.

“You need to take care of yourself. What will we do if we need your magic and you’re too exhausted to use it?”

“I could ask you the same question,” He challenged with a smirk that turned into a yawn. “You can’t do that, Grandpa, don’t you know it’s contagious?”

The old man shrugged, and turned to Daniel.

“I see the boy was overly optimistic about his ability to keep his own watch,” He shook his head and nudged the boy’s boot with his own. “Wake up, sleepyhead.”

“Gah!” The child bolted awake. “I’m up! I’m watching!”

“It’s fine.” Ford defended Daniel, “His snoring woke me, so I took over making sure everything was safe.”

Mia’s concern about Ford’s sleep schedule intensified, but Grandpa just clicked his tongue.

“Gonna have to learn to sleep in the saddle at this rate. Now there’s a skill a man needs.”

“Just tie me to it so I don’t fall,” Ford grinned. “It’ll be fine.”

“You’ll have to be at the front. If you fell off near the back we might not notice for a while,” Grandpa shook his head. “It’d be a shame if we had to turn back to find you napping on the forest floor.”

Mia rolled her eyes at the old man’s joke, but he became serious for a moment.

“Now, I got something to say to you young’uns, and you better listen.” Grandpa included Daniel in his announcement, which perplexed Mia for a moment.

“Yes, Grandpa?” The child’s eyes widened.

“All three of you are trying to prove something. Stop it. Do what you can do and not more. Daniel, you’re lucky Ford was there to pick up the slack after you failed at the duty you claimed you could handle,” The old man looked pointedly at Daniel, who ducked his head.

“I’m sorry I fell asleep—”

“Don’t apologize for that. You’re a growing boy and need your rest. You should be apologizing for taking on more than you could do. That goes for you two, as well,” Grandpa turned his sharp eyes on Mia and Ford. “Mia, you’re going to collapse under the pressure you put on yourself. You scared us all yesterday, looking the way you did–”

“I’m much better now!” She cut in, not appreciating being lectured in front of others.

“And I don’t know why exactly that is,” Grandpa pursed his lips in thought as his eyes flickered curiously to Ford, “but I hope you won’t push yourself so hard that we have to find out what happens if you’re unable to lead us to Trace. Steady and safely beats a mad rush that burns you up.”

“Yes, Grandpa,” Mia lowered her eyes.

“And you,” The man finally turned to Ford. “Don’t think I don’t notice things.”

Ford looked gobsmacked. “Pardon?”

“You heard me. I won’t do you the disservice of saying it all out loud, but you might rethink how sustainable it is to keep on like you are right now.”