Fortuitous Fates of Fire and Earth {Private}

[nocturnal]

Spark blinked drowsily at the first hint of light. The moon was still visible in the sky, but the faintest rays of sunlight were peeking out from beyond the horizon. Stretching out his arms and bracing himself with his legs, the golden-haired boy quietly yawned. Another morning; another day. He watched the beginning of the sunrise for a moment before dropping out of the tree and walking around the camp rather than through it. Walking up to a dark-barked tree, he laid a hand on its base, then heaved himself upwards, scanning its branches for his friend.

The swordsboy smiled as he watched Shadow crack an eye open at him. "Morning," Spark huffed quietly. He glanced down at camp, seeing the girls wake each other.

His companion made a monosyllabic noise that could be interpreted as a greeting, then shifted himself into a more comfortable position. Despite being Fire Nation, Kadrael preferred night to day. He wasn't a morning person, either. If he was expected to keep watch during the night, then it was Spark who should take responsibility in the day.

"Let's go," Spark suggested. Both of the boys clambered unobtrusively out of the tree, and Spark took the lead as they entered camp. The girls seemed to be having fun. He and Shadow had fun, too. Just... not as obviously.

"Morning," Spark greeted the girls casually. "Did you two have a nice rest?" The fire was all burning out, leaving only a pile of the remnants of charred wood and ash.

@.:Virgo:.

[.:Virgo:.]

Heath glared at Ardin, who was still chuckling. "I used to be!"

"I did!" Ardin grinned and handed over the blanket still grinning. Heath snatched it back and huffed before stuffing it in her bag. Ardin grabbed the dried fruits, and picked through them to get to the dried wild cherries. Those were always delicious. A bit tart, but Ardin had handled worse.

She grinned after popping a few in her mouth and offered the bag to the boys. "Hungry?"
@bmkmb

[nocturnal]

Spark chuckled at the girls' mostly positive reactions. They reminded him of the first time he had tried to wake Shadow, unaware that the darker haired boy had a great dislike of being woken up and that he was definitely not a morning person. He was very different from Spark, who was perky as ever, even at the crack of dawn.

The swordsboy's stomach grumbled, effectively answering Ardin's question for him. "I guess I am," he realized sheepishly, accepting the bag from her. Spark positioned the bag in a way that allowed all four of them to reach it and scoured through its contents. "Thanks," he said as he picked up a scrap of dried peach and popped it into his mouth. It was sweet, just the way he liked it.

Following Spark's lead, Kadrael peered through the bag's contents before giving up, picking a random fruit out of the bag. Dried apple... interesting. It was tarter than he had expected, and only slightly sweetened. All in all, it wasn't bad. Unlike his traveling companion, Kadrael was against sweets. He finished up the small slice then asked, "Would you like to travel with us for a while? If you wish, Spark and I are able to escort you to the Fire Nation border." It was about time he visited his sister, anyway. The three weeks mark had passed since he'd last saw her.

@.:Virgo:.