I am so exhausted

I wish I didn't feel the need to start half of my letters apologising, but... Well, I dropped off the surface of the earth there for a bit, huh? I hope you weren't too worried, but... I was.

After what happened with... the Man, I wasn't able to sleep well for days. (Granted, the cold, damp catacombs aren't the best place to sleep on a good day, but you understand what I mean, right?) I was so worried he'd come back, that he'd figured out i was here and he'd bring others and they'd catch me and take me somewhere and I'd be killed or worse... I was paranoid, jumping at every sound, almost assaulting C on three seperate occasions.

I switched hiding places several times. I was convinced They knew I was there, that They'd found me and I would have to keep moving. C finally managed to convince me to stay put just yestertday. I'm still itching to move somewhere else, but C was adamant. He said going around moving all the time would draw more attention to myself than just staying still and quiet. But at least he helped me set up traps (both magical and mundane) so I'd know if someone was approaching.

My only consolation has been the family of soot dragons, who helped drive off the Man back then. They've apparently taken a liking to me, and were moving around with me when I was trying to find a place to settle. The hatchlings have been growing like crazy in the past days and the Mama is already taking them out hunting with her, one at a time. I get to watch over the other while she's gone, which is truly amazing, that she'd trust a human that much. She even tries to feed me a part of the rat or whatever they manage to catch everytime. It's such a sweet gesture, even though sewer rats are super gross, especially half eaten ones haha. I like to share my rations with them too, whenever I can, since I have C to bring me more when I need it.

I've been wondering though... soot dragons roost in pairs, don't they? But the Mama is all alone with the hatching, and though she takes wonderful care of them, it does raise the question... what happened to their father?

~Mal