The man's absence had been noted, but also understood, at least by Howard. The man himself had a wife and children at home, and he'd do anything for them, including stretching himself across two regions of vastly different climates if it meant spending as much time as he could with her. As it was, guard duty shifts often meant days and nights missing them, but he worked to protect the very city they lived in, and so he worked to protect them, even as he came home to find them already sleep many cold nights.
Still, he judged the other man for his absences. But he also judged him for his presence. He was here now, and at other important times, usually. Time would tell if this Chief of Agriculture was all he was talked up to me.
A snort rolled through his nose, the sound harsh, the bark of laughter that followed it harsher still, containing little humour. "Oh, they come, they look, they spend a day out on the Tundra thinking themselves quite the survivor, before they toddle on back through the portal to their farms and beaches." It clearly wasn't the first time such an observation had been made. "To answer you, no, not many stay to help."
Still, he judged the other man for his absences. But he also judged him for his presence. He was here now, and at other important times, usually. Time would tell if this Chief of Agriculture was all he was talked up to me.
A snort rolled through his nose, the sound harsh, the bark of laughter that followed it harsher still, containing little humour. "Oh, they come, they look, they spend a day out on the Tundra thinking themselves quite the survivor, before they toddle on back through the portal to their farms and beaches." It clearly wasn't the first time such an observation had been made. "To answer you, no, not many stay to help."
helpful citizen
