[valefor]

Valefor lay patiently by the sea, his tongue lolled out as he panted to cool himself. The waters lapped against the shore in soft waves, tinting the soft sand dark with its touch. Behind him the sun had begun to set, casting it's last rays through the palm trees that swayed in the ocean breeze. His guard sat nearby, hardly watching the skinny prisoner, as if he was confident Valefor wouldn't try to escape.

That might as well have been true. He'd been sick since he arrived, although his wounds had been healing fine, clear of infection. Still, the white male was having a hard time keeping down his food and water. Drinking alone made his stomach roll and he'd thrown up water several times since he had decided to come out of hiding in the tunnels of the island where he had been kept. Food hardly appealed to him either and had it not been necessary, he wouldn't have eaten at all. The only thing he could think to cause it was stress.

Outwardly he didn't show it. To a passerby he might seem just another underweight prisoner who'd run too hard chasing rabbits or something. But he was a whirlwind of crippling fears on the inside. He closed his golden eyes tight and suppressed the urge to whine as he thoughht hard to convince himself that he wasn't going to be here forever. His gods knew there was doubt in his heart, even justa  shred, and he was being tested for his faith. Internally he prayed to the Rosas and begged their forgiveness. Begged to allow him to return home as Ezekiel had.  The difference was, Valefor wasn't important to his people. No one but his mother would miss him, if she even did that. Or maybe Tuesday, the little mute slave he'd lured into the Valley. With a heavy sigh Valefor lay his head on the sand, allowing his thoughts to drift with the rolling waves of the sea.