And if I’m on fire, you’ll be made of ashes too.

The thing Shane needed most in the world was alone time, and it was so close.

After six long hours of hiking narrated by KP’s constant chatter and the world’s most strained dinner, the sea witch had finally gone to bed. Every time Shane had called Lydia Ann ‘sea witch’ her brow furrowed and her shoulders hunched and it gave Shane a little hit of joy. It really is the small things in life. With an angry sigh and no words she had rolled over on her sleeping pad, facing away from Shane and KP, and pushed the blanket over her head.

Without a goodnight to her own daughter, what a sea witch.

KP pretended not to notice and began to whisper nonsensically about the beauty of the stars in the Dreamworld. Calming her anxiety with questions. Would they see a shooting star? Could they see other planets from here? Were the constellations the same? Slowly the girl quieted and dozed off to sleep facing the stars and hopefully dreaming of them as well. Shane could remember a time when she dreamed of the stars. When she could feel their light in her soul, hear their song. A time long since passed.

The silence washed over her like a cool shower on a hot summer’s day. The shower that rinsed off the layer of chlorine and cooled sun burnt skin. Relief spread slowly down her shoulders, releasing the tension from her back as well. Slouching for the first time since the start of their journey, Shane gazed up at the stars. She knew she should sleep, many arduous days of hiking in front of them, but she couldn’t make herself lay down and leave the feeling of being alone. Being alone had always felt like home for her. Being around Lydia Ann had always felt like being lost in a system of caves. Would it be another dead end around the dark corner or a snarling beast?

The cracking of the fire drew her eyes from the stars. Shane had always loved a fire. It was magic without actually being magic. It was alive-even more so then the stars. It spoke, consumed, and danced. It lived and died. Shane let her eyes go blurry as she lost herself in it’s dance. Allowed it to burn away her thoughts and stress from the day.

Creak.

The spell of the fire broken. The shadow of Lydia Ann dimming it’s light. The fire reaching toward Shane in it’s attempt to escape the sea witch. The tension burrowing it’s way back into her shoulders as she sat up straighter.

Lydia Ann, still wrapped in her blanket, wiggled herself against the log Shane had drug over to help block the wind. She eyes cast downward on the fire as she held her hands out towards the flames.

Shane readied herself for battle, waiting for Lydia Ann to raise her eyes. She had been on guard all day, fighting the constant urge to snap. The brief moment of peace she had been granted made raising her shield all the more difficult, as if the relief of setting it down had made it heavier. Lydia Ann continued to gaze down at the fire, occasionally pulling her hands away and then placing them back. Shane didn’t take her eyes off her, refusing to miss the attack, refusing the let the dance of the fire lure her into safety.

Shane felt her eyes pinch in frustration, why was this sea witch awake? Wasn’t driving Shane crazy in the daytime enough? She couldn’t let her have the night in peace?

The crackling of the fire continued.

Slowly, green rimmed eyes lifted their gaze and met Shane’s in a questioning smirk. Shane pinched her eyes and pursed her lips in response. Refusing to back down, refusing to break the silence first she just stared. And Lydia Ann stared right back.

Lydia Ann sneered and opened her mouth to speak. (Ha, victory.) Shane raised her hand and pointed at the sleeping form of KP. She grazed her finger over her mouth, and shrugged her shoulders with a smile. As if only the sleeping girl was stopping her from talking. From sharing a riveting fireside chat.

Lydia Ann rolled her eyes and continued to bore them into Shane’s defenses. Shane stared right back. Attempting to bore the sea witch back to bed with the power of her mind. It didn’t work.

A large log disintegrated in the fire, causing a loud crackle, breaking the showdown.

Shane slid down the log on which she had been sitting and used the quick distraction to rest her back against the cold wood and close her eyes for just a moment. Maybe if she ignored the sea witch she would fall back asleep with no enemy to provoke. Shane kept her ears on alert for the sound of shuffling blankets. No sound but the fire, the wind whispering in the trees and the crickets singing filled her ears.

After what felt like hours Shane knew she was at risk for falling asleep while she tried to outwit Lydia Ann, so keeping her eyes to the skies she slowly opened them. They were so bright it almost hurt. Shane wondered if there was a trick to seeing a shooting star? If she wished for Lydia Ann to poof from existence would it work? Were those stars as alive as the fire and she just couldn’t feel it from so far away? She tried to widen her vision, take in as many as she possibly could. The vastness of space easing that trapped feeling. They were really magnificent tonight.

A shuffling blanket drew Shane from the sky, hope filling her soul. Finally, the sea witch had gone to bed. Shane dropped her gaze to disappointment. Nope. Lydia Ann was wide awake, eyes wide open, staring at Shane.

This gaze was a little different, a little softer. The green rim from the eyes was barely visible and her mouth had softened.

Shane felt her shield snap back into place. She didn’t know this face. What did it mean?

Lydia opened her mouth as if to speak, but closed it with a soft sigh.

Words eaten up by the fire.

With another deep sigh, Lydia Ann turned and curled herself back on the ground, blanket over her head once again.

Shane let herself get lost in the dance of the fire once more, let it burn up the thoughts of tears she thought she had seen forming at the edge of green rimmed eyes.