~meanwhile back in the middle of nowhere~

Starbright had fallen asleep, and woke with a startled cry as the beast she was leaning on moved.

Her dream world had been burning down, and she had been stranded in the water as she watched the sky above fall in blazing, broken pieces all around her. Those pieces set fire to the grass, and within seconds, Starbright was sitting in the water, unable to move.

Her friend, her silver-hair, had not appeared, even though she frantically sent for him. A cold gush of wind pushed her head first into the water, and as she lay there, the world has started to spin! The water started to spill out of the puddle, leaving her dangerously dry…And as she also began to slip into the waves of red fire, she had screamed!

Only to wake up in the quickly chilling air of the afternoon.

Starbright was beginning to regret that she hadn't kept any of her salve for herself. Although her bandages made it excruciatingly difficult to apply it, her skin felt like it was on fire as she weighed Cutter's water skin; hardly any left. And the sun was just beginning to set! She couldn't see how she could survive tomorrow. Starbright just hoped that Skywise and the others…Skywise! Oh, how she missed his calming presence. Her beast had gone quiet after the sun rose, and the slight movement of his body against hers was the only thing that told her that he was still alive.

The quiet was almost too much. She needed someone, something. But somewhere in her heart, she already felt fulfilled, like she had downed mouthfuls of water and had found shade. Like she was safe, far away from the treacherous sun and it's vicious rays.

Starbright recalls all the times she spent in the forest, the green leaves reflecting on the cool surface of the lakes that she would swim in during the summer, and how the leaves shined gold in the afternoon light. Her mother, healthy and happy, guiding and teaching her the means to survive. How could she forget the cold, snowy mountains of the north? With the kind old man that was so old that he could remember the high ones?

Oh, how the days and years flew by…Starbright found herself feeling the heat again, as the air began to chill once again, and she let the last drop of water spill onto her dusty face. She relished the last moment that she may ever feel water upon her face.

Dry tears did not fall, as she slowly peeled the bandages from her back, sweaty and old, and let them fall to the ground. She smiled at the pleasant evening breeze as it swept across her heated body, and leaned back against the rock as she let the waves of deep sleep claim her.