Warmth - Teagan

The day was winding down. It had been like every other school day, full of learning, laughing, and just enjoying life. Everyone was in the common room now, almost full to bursting with students dressed in blues and greys. Animals called softly, respectful of the studious nature of their charges. The fire was burning bright in the room, while all other lights were just bright enough to keep eyes from going bad.

She sat near the fire, a smile on her face as her two favorites and a few others reigned over the seats nearest the blaze. Her head was on the knee of a sleepy boy who was munching on his chili nuts. The other boy on the couch was frost colored, his short hair blending in with the colors of their house perfectly. She stared into the fire from between them.

She had her blue and white cloud blanket wrapped around herself as she sat at their feet, a tuffet under her for a cushion. She was content, almost happy after the pain of her first year. Perhaps it was the wish Liam gifted her with. Perhaps it was just the fact that she still had him and Geraint. Perhaps it was just that it was almost Christmas.

They would be leaving for break soon. Terry and Geraint talked about various things while Liam chimed in now and then. He seemed to be under the same spell she was from the fire, the soft sleepy feeling of almost contentment. She wrapped her hand around his ankle, just enjoying the contact.

Her tin of chocolates sat near her knee, unopened, but there if anyone wanted one. Pitchers of water and juice sat on a table close. The night was almost liberating. A time when souls could rest, recharge. Reorder themselves for the next day without worry.

Snow blanketed the ground outside, but even in the lofty tower they inhabited it was warm. Cozy and restful. It was like someone had taken her perfect moment and gift wrapped it for her, letting her live it for all eternity. She knew the moment would break, but for now...For now it was precious and shining.

She never wanted it to stop. Never wanted the moment to shatter into a million pieces when someone decided they needed to leave for bed, or do something other than just sit there and enjoy the time they had. But it would.

She took a breath, recentering herself so she didn’t think of the inevitableness of the moment ending. So she stared into the fire, smiling. Her other hand found the foot of her other best friend, though she didn’t want to interrupt his conversation. So she just sat there, connected to Liam and Geraint in the only way she knew how other than to give them parts of her, though she thought they might think that a bit odd.

She would sacrifice everything for them. Give them all of her if they ever needed or required it. They were her world, and she would protect it as fiercely as any dragon. Because that’s what you did when you were given a treasure. You protected it. You guarded it, but let it have its room too. Didn’t want to suffocate it. Them. They were living people, not something she could hoard away. But she wanted to.

They were leaving in a few short months. She didn’t know what she would do after that. She didn’t want to be left alone here, away from those she cared for and needed.

Another breath. She had to calm herself. As much as she wanted to keep this moment, she was the one who was in danger of shattering it with her thoughts.

So she stared at the fire. It was a perfect being. It gave life, but also could take it if one wasn’t careful. One had to always be careful with fire. But her timid nature made it hard to embrace the fact that fire was the spark that created everything. Cleansed and sacrificed for the gods’ own capricious nature. She had been part of that process, and now there was nothing left to show for that fight to live.

She was still mostly in awe of the fact that she was healed. That she had nothing left to show for that horrible night. That her sins had been washed clean.

Her gaze flickered from the fire to the body next to it, a book upon his knee as he sat, reading as if he had no cares in the world. A boy as blonde as she, with the same small smile, but fire in the depths of his ice colored eyes.

Yes...Fire took life...but it cleansed pain. Cleansed disease and hatred. Made equals of all peoples. And it gave those seeking it warmth to continue through their lives when the cold of night tried to knock at the door and windows, trying to join them to find its own warmth.

With those around her that she loved, even if one of them only she could see, her smile bloomed in the light of the fire from a small one to a true expression of her happiness at this one point in time. Because in the gaze of the fire, they would forever be remembered at this moment, basking in the warmth of its glow.