May Your Days Be Merry and Bright
Dannyl was tired, bone-weary in fact, but he could not sleep. He supposed that was one consequence of all the travelling he had done recently. His internal clock was nowhere near accurate; even though the sun had set over an hour before, he knew it would be many more hours before he would be able to sleep. He felt someone approach behind him and glanced over his shoulder to see Tayend, a glass of wine in his hand. "You look serious," the scholar observed.
"Mmm," Dannyl remarked non-committally as Tayend ran a gentle hand down his back. Tayend seemed to realize Dannyl was not going to say more and quickly filled the silence.
"I was realizing that as nice as it was to let Kendrix off for the holiday, we have no meal to eat now."
"There's always the Foodhall," Dannyl remarked without much enthusiasm. Tayend raised an eyebrow but after a moment, he simply shrugged.
"Lead on then." He gestured for the door, and Dannyl considered for a moment before deciding that a good meal might help him finally achieve the sleep he desperately needed. Quickly, he adjusted his robes and left the room, checking to ensure that no one else was in the hallway before beckoning Tayend out as well. Though they had a variety of excuses for being in one another's rooms, both had agreed that it would be best if they were seen coming out of one another's rooms as infrequently as possible to allay suspicion. They walked together toward the Foodhall, so far apart that they could not touch. On the way, Dannyl saw a group of novices walking together. Three tall, dark-haired boys on the outskirts of the group looked familiar, and as they came closer, Dannyl recognized Lorlen, Orson, and Rhydian. They all bowed to him before most of them continued on their way. Lorlen, however, hung back until he stood right next to Dannyl.
"Where are you two going?" he questioned.
"The Foodhall," Dannyl informed him. "Are you going there as well?"
"No, we're going home. There's nothing like Takan's Midwinter's Feast. Why don't you both join us?"
"Oh, we couldn't," Dannyl objected, ignoring Tayend who had turned to him with pleading eyes.
"Come on, Takan always makes too much food anyway."
"Too much?" Dannyl questioned skeptically, eyeing the large group of novices headed toward the Residence. He counted five teenagers in addition to the eight people who lived at the Residence full-time. Lorlen obviously noted his reluctance, for he grinned.
"Trust me."
"I think it's a wonderful idea," Tayend agreed, watching Dannyl expectantly. After a moment, Dannyl sighed. Eating with Akkarin was not exactly his idea of a fun Midwinter's evening though he had to admit the man had become much more open and easy to converse with since his return to the Guild. Still, he had an aura about him that Dannyl could not help but find frightening despite the number of years he had known the other man. Dannyl sometimes wondered how Akkarin and Sonea got along so well, for they seemed like very different people, but he supposed they balanced each other.
They followed Lorlen to the house where Sonea greeted them, seeming unconcerned with the two extra people joining them for dinner. When they reached the sitting room, Dannyl saw it had already filled with people. In addition to Sonea and Akkarin's children and the novices he had seen earlier, Rothen was also present along with, much to Dannyl's surprise, Regin and his young daughters. Sonea, who had been following behind Dannyl, caught his gaze and smirked slightly. "He showed up four years ago, completely in over his head since his wife's family apparently does not like young children at their Midwinter's Celebration. Since then, he's come back every Midwinter once he starts to get overwhelmed by the children—though I have to give him credit, he didn't get here until around an hour ago this year. I like to think of it as my good deed for the day."
Dannyl and Tayend both laughed. "You are far more generous than I would be, my lady," Tayend told her. Sonea shook her head.
"Sonea, please, Tayend. After all, we're all friends here." Dannyl could not help it—his gaze returned to Regin who, much to his surprise, seemed to be playing some sort of wrestling game with his two young daughters as well as Sonea's youngest daughter. "Yes, even him. At least today." Dannyl laughed again before glancing once more around the room, noting the wide smiles on every face—even Akkarin's normally impassive one. For the first time in a long time, he felt at home.