Karin had forgotten about clothes until Jay went to return to his own, leaving her averting her eyes until he was done. She thought about the language he'd used, what she assumed to be Fratava. But she didn't comment on it, instead listening to the lilt and rhythm of the brief snatch of words, trying to memorise them, remember them even. She didn't know what they meant. One day she would, though.
At Jay's suggestion of finding wood, the girl nodded. The surrounding landscape was littered with a multitude of twigs, driftwood, seaweed, even a half-hidden and eroded brick. Karin gathered the smaller branches in her arms, acknowledging the need for lighter fuel rather than heavy logs. Plus, she would have difficultly finding a log that wasn't at least a little damp still.
She looked over at Jay. He was building the fire up in an already formed pit, so she continued for a few chimes more before coming over with a bundle of dry sticks in each hand. The man seemed silent, and she hoped she hadn't offended him with asking about his Kelvic side. The fire making process seemed simple as she watched his method, and she started to build the smaller twigs into the pile forming.
By the time they'd finished, although unlit, the fire looked like it would last a good long while. Karin smiled and sat back on her heels, satisfied and glad. The silence didn't bother her, already used to solitude. She stood up suddenly, displacing sand as she reached over to grab her rucksack. Deep within the bowels she knew there was her flint and tinder, hardly used. Locating it, she drew it forth with a gesture and proceeded to strike it, holding it near the fire hoping that a spark would land.
She was unsuccessful and passed it over to Jay breaking the silence, "Would you mind?" Sitting back on her haunches again, she drew an abstract pattern in the sand, picking up a handful and feeling the individual grains in the palm of her hand. Food! The fish lay nearby, but the bread was closer and she tore off a piece before handing it to her companion.
The fire was crackling by now, freshly lit and bright even in the day's light. She gazed into the depths of it, and relaxed down onto the sand, lying down facing away from the fire. Unaware of embers, uncaring of the sand and debris tangling in her hair, the girl simply lay and gazed at the endless blue above, the sea of sky, so unattainable yet ever-present.
"What would you like, Jay?" It was an open-ended question, and she meant it to be so. Despite the camaraderie she felt with the man, in reality she had only known him for a short time. She had enjoyed that short time, but underneath it all, though she would never ask outright, she knew there was something he refused to speak about. Maybe a sense of wistfulness, or confusion.
She listened to the breeze and the surf, and to Jay if he spoke. A short branch lay nearby and she poked the fire cautiously. She busied herself with another branch, and looked at the fish. The fish looked back, with dead eyes and glistening scales. It was a task she didn't fully care about, but she knew how to do it, at least vaguely. Whatever wistfulness Jay held, Karin wanted to help him forget it, with a meal and whatever smile she could give. After all, that's what friends did, wasn't it?
