night of September 19th
A starless sky smothered the earth with thick folds of darkness; the night was unlit by the winking heavenly bodies, their bright flames instead snuffed out by the distant wisps of purple clouds. The moist chill in the air seemed to seep slowly into the woman's bones, trying to coat and sap her muscles strength with a fatigue as thick as molasses - the cold ground itself seemed to be lapping at the energy of her squatted form. Yes, she would need warmth. Already a neat stack of sticks lay before her, dry moss and other greenery springing from every available crevice within. No larger than the size of her head, she knew that it would be a pitiful fire - but her focus was more on getting warm for the moment, rather than being warm for long.
Aoves' arms lashed violently in a rapid clashing succession, the flint and stone clenched in each hand cracking out angrily in protest, but never once would emitting a spark. Her motions grew increasingly violent, the clashing louder, until a tiny spark finally shot like a tiny comet onto the woodpile. The woman practically threw her front to the ground, her breast and arms protectively encircling the little pile, lips pursing to spill out the gentle coaxings of her breath. A bright ember heart began to blossom in the shadowed center, only to be snapped away by a gust of wind.
A frustrated snarl rumbled in the chambers of her throat, her eyes flicking angrily from her task to stare into the east, as though by glaring she could quiet the callous billows. Her glare turned to observation, the sky looked far nastier than she recalled. The air was growing restless; she had lived by the sea, and recognized the aroma of a storm on the wind all too well. None of the clouds where tinged with the malevolent color of something deadly, or at least they weren't under the veil of night, so she decided to trust her decision and forgo a shelter for the night. She went back to work, rock and flint again clattering stubbornly against in her hands.
Finally, finally a spark flew again and ignited, and again she lowered her head down as near to the spark as she dared, breaths alternating between gentle huffs that grew into full breathy gusts as the flame sprang to life. As the growing tongues of flame lashed upward, she swiftly recoiled and returned to squatting on her knees, her fist clenching and shaking in triumph.
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