The Valley Campfire: Monday Afternoon

[iknowstuff]

Layla yawned and stretched as she exited her alcove after five days of being a leather bound set of encyclopedias. She still felt a bit fuzzy and stiff for some strange reason. It wasn't as if she had actually spent the week in bed but she still felt like she had

Comments

[life_inshadow]

After her class, Tara roamed back toward her cabin and settled on a rock, near the flames, mostly just to think.

And then she realized she was being weird and hadn't seen her cabinmate for a couple days. "Layla. Hey. Did you go home or something?"

[trigons_child]

"Hello," Raven said shyly, beginning perhaps what would be the ultimate shyness showdown. "You are Tara, correct? You were at the Magical Reserves meeting last week."

[life_inshadow]

The ultimate shyness showdown of ultimate destiny!

Tara nodded. "And ... uh, Raven, right? The meeting was kind of overwhelming."

[trigons_child]

"Yes -- no! It is Rachel," Raven said, staring at Tara. She was a witch, had she read her mind to see her true name? She strengthened her shields, not wanting Tara to read anything else about her.

[life_inshadow]

Tara flushed, and her stammer was especially pronounced when she next spoke. "Rachel. I -- I must have been more overwhelmed than I thought. I'm sorry."

She added, "At least they kind of sound alike?"

[trigons_child]

"It was an honest mistake," Raven said, relaxing a little. Perhaps it was just a lucky coincidence. Then again, after Layla claiming to know things about her, she was understandably nervous that someone might stumble across her true nature, the fact she was half-demon. Despite Joan and Professor Skywalker's assurances, she was still afraid of letting people know that about her.

[life_inshadow]

Tara bobbed her head eagerly. (And she had her own part-demon issues: a family myth, really, but she didn't know that yet.) "You can call me Tammy to make up for it," she suggested, then, before she stopped talking and couldn't start again: "Have you been on the island long?"

[trigons_child]

Raven shook her head. "Only since the beginning of summer," she said. "It has taken some getting used to. Have you only recently arrived?"

[life_inshadow]

"About a week and a half ago," Tara nodded. "It's definitely an adjustment."

And then she'd stare at her shoes until she thought of something interesting to say.

[trigons_child]

Fortunately, rather than being just as shy, Raven actually had a question for Tara. "You are a witch?" she asked.

[life_inshadow]

"Um, uh-huh," Tara said cautiously. "A -- my mom calls it a Wiccan but n-no one here does so far. I've been working on it for a while."

She eyed Rachel. "Are you?"

[trigons_child]

"I have some little knowledge of sorcery," Raven said. "My skills are primarily empathy and healing. But I have learned of Wicca in my studies."

[life_inshadow]

Tara looked at her sideways. "You can heal? That -- that's not little knowledge."

As far as she knew, it was a big, dark thing to do.

[trigons_child]

Raven shook her head. "It is not sorcery, it is...just what I am. My empathy allows me to draw another's pain inside myself and heal his or her injuries."

[life_inshadow]

"Does it hurt you?" Tara wondered.

[trigons_child]

"There is sometimes some discomfort," Raven admitted. "But it is a small price to pay for helping others."