Waking up from a gory nightmare, Hadrian's eyes fluttered open.
Alia, lying next to him, did a gentle motion with her left hand, and the rock tent around them "melted" wrapping itself around the bark of the branch.
Warm sunlight graced their faces.
Birds chirped all around them, and the wind made the leaves sing in chorus.
Hadrian took in a deep breath then flicked his wrist, and a small amount of brima appeared in his hand.
He gave a piece to Alia and the other he chewed.
Hadrian observed the sprawling wilderness and the wide open space that led up to the black line in the distance that was the outer city wall.
The beauty didn't escape him. The heaviness he felt in his heart from the nightmare crawled away, replaced by the warmness of the scenery.
Fully awake, he and the Alia vessels turned to each other, altering their sights and making sure the fog layer wrapping around them was still potent enough.
