Campfire

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The night sky had a faint, hazy blue glow against the nearly pitch black of space, illuminating the Mojave at night. Not as light as daytime, but still in a way one could see where they were walking.

No one knows what this is, where it came from, and what it does. But it's completely harmless. Probably.

Elizabeth had been staring at it for the past few hours, rubbing her fingers against a soft piece of fabric absentmindedly in hopes for it to calm her down. It doesn't work.

The night was cold and the campfire in front of her is dwindling down to embers and she doesn't know how to restart it. Her companion, girlfriend, whatever, Cass, was sound asleep next to her, huddled in her sleeping bad with her hat covering the top part of her face. Elizabeth stared, admiring Cass' strong jawline and freckled face...

Even with these distractions, her body was still on high alert; she's exhausted, but anxiety can never sleep.

She shivered when a cold wind blew against her face, her hair brushing behind her and leaving her ears exposed to the chill. She pulled her blanket tighter around her.

Cass snorted in her sleep, the noise jolting her awake. Her green eyes looked around their small camping area, confused at first, then relaxing when her eyes met Elizabeth's.

"What time is it?" She yawned, sitting up in her sleeping bag and stretching her arms above her head. Elizabeth had to forcefully look away from the sliver of stomach that peeked out of her companion's night shirt. She cleared her throat and glanced at her Pip-Boy, the harsh orange glow hurting her eyes a bit, "3 AM. Go back to sleep."

Cass hummed, scratching the back of her head, "You should get back to sleep too," and Elizabeth tensed up. Glancing between Cass and her hands, she shook her head, "I can't."

"Why not?"

Elizabeth rubbed her fingers harder against the fabric, pinching it harder between her thumb and pointer fingers. If she wasn't careful, she might rip it. "Anxiety. It's fine though, happens all the time."

Cass scooted closer to the other, dragging her sleeping bag along with her, "Then I'll stay up too. No point in letting you suffer alone."

She almost declined, but was shushed when Cass waved her hand, dismissing her protests. She motioned for the courier to sit next to her, wrapping the larger woman in her warm sleeping bag, and in turn, Elizabeth wrapped a part of her blanket around Cass.

The warmth from both the campfire and Cass' body broke through Elizabeth's insomnia and cold. She rested her head against Cass' shoulder, repositioning herself to lay diagonally. The crackling of wood and warmth lulled Elizabeth to sleep, finally closing her eyes for the first time in a long while.