I became aware of my surroundings gradually, the way you do when sleep has been deep and genuine. The car slowing and eventually stopping was what pulled me back fully, the change in motion working through the warmth I had been wrapped in until I surfaced into the quiet of the early morning.
I had been dreaming about running in wolf form. A small pup had been beside me, keeping pace, the two of us in the middle of some game of chase across open ground. It had felt free and light and made very little logical sense, the way the best dreams do.
I shifted in my position and caught Phoenix somewhere in the ribs with my elbow. I muttered an apology and pushed myself upright, rubbing at my eyes. The exhaustion was still deep in my bones, the kind that a few hours of car sleep does not touch.
Phoenix chuckled quietly beside me. "How are you feeling?"
