NIGHTLIGHT

(*)

Ava's eyes snapped open, blinking a few times as her vision cleared. For a long while, she didn't understand what she was seeing in the shadows stretching across the ceiling. When she finally did, the light suddenly came on, blinding her and banishing the shadows. Turning, Ava found Odin sitting up, his hand still raised from hitting the light switch.

"S-Sorry," he said. "I waited t-til you f-fell asleep, then t-turned off the l-light. Th-thought it might work better…"

Ava's nightmares persisted. Every other night had her waking up in tears, occasionally screaming. She was ashamed to admit that she actually slept easier with the light left on. But she knew that Odin didn't sleep well without mostly darkness. Whenever he turned it off to get some real sleep, Ava had another fit.

"No, it-it's okay! You can leave it off!" Ava hastily hit the switch on her side of the bed, turning the light back off and plunging the room into darkness. All her movement had left the blanket behind her, but she ignored the slight chill to her shoulders as she rolled over. "I'll be fine. Sorry to… I'll-I'll go back to sleep!"

She had no sooner settled on her side, her back to her roommate, then Odin turned to light back on. He reached over to tuck the blanket over her shoulder before rolling over, putting his back to her. All without another word.

In the face of his kindness and her own fear, Ava couldn't find it in her to shut the light off again. Taking comfort in the artificial light and the residual warmth she felt through the shared blanket, she closed her eyes, feeling the light dampness of tears rising, and went back to sleep.

()

The next day, Odin was already gone by the time Ava woke up. The redhead felt shame slow her morning routine, because she knew Odin couldn't have slept well with the light on all night. If she had known he has to get up early, she would have mustered the courage to give him a night without the light.

"Olai took a few guys to go replace one the long-range security sensors," Crow told her when she asked after their brother at breakfast. As she cut a slice from her apple, she considered what else she knew. "They had to go all the way to the outskirts, so they'll probably be gone all day."

Raven finished cutting up Ava's apple for her, smiling brightly and a little coyly. "No worries though, Ava! They should be back around dinnertime. You won't have to spend the night alone."

Ava felt her face burn, from embarrassment as well as irritation, and hoped she wasn't glowing.

Taking into consideration the lack of space, as well as Ava's night terrors, she and Odin had agreed to continue sharing a room. Needless to say, the twins and plenty of others took this to mean more than it did. Not that Ava could really fault them, it was h0w things were done here.

She just hated some of the looks and comments she was occasionally given. Being seen as the basket-case at school had been one thing. Being pitied for being Odin Arrow's 'Other' was incredibly infuriating. Primarily because she wasn't viewed as the problem—Odin was. Which had yet to be explained beyond the obvious fact that Odin was not held nearly as highly as the rest of his family.

All the same, the rest of the day saw Ava helping around the Holt. Keeping busy and honestly enjoying what work she had, she proved to actually be useful company. She still needed to learn several necessities, and how to work certain things, but otherwise, she wasn't treated like a waste of space.

Back at school, the only work anyone had involved endless lessons and data that never mattered to anyone. Here, every activity was meant for something. Hunting and growing food. Cleaning and mending clothes. Repairing utilities. Fetching or making supplies for everyday living. Everything was a part of something real.

Ava loved it.

But if she was really to commit to this life, Ava knew she had to learn to endure a little fear. She could remember leaving her lights off at school, whenever Wrathia wasn't tormenting her, she slept easier in the dark. She could do that again.

She didn't want to make it harder for Odin.

()

Odin, Olai and the others didn't get back until much later than dinner.

Ava stayed up waiting for him, the lights on and her pillow hugged tight to her front. Odin came in, looking as tired as ever, with a fair layer of dirt, and what looked like a big ivy plant in a pot in his arms. He set the plant down by the door before struggling out of his jacket.

"Hi," he sighed, visibly relaxing now that he was home.

Ava nodded. "…hi. Did everything go okay?"

"As well as c-could be ex-expected," Odin shrugged, moving to his mini-fridge and procuring a couple bottles of water. One, he opened and drank in no time at all, sighing gratefully at the relief it offered. The other, he poured into a bowl that sat on the table. "H-How were th-things here?"

"Good. I…I like it here," she told him.

Odin smiled, happy to hear it.

"Did you eat yet?"

"We br-brought something to eat on the way. Sl-Sleep sounds bet—"

"You can…!" Ava hiccupped and shrank at her sudden outburst. "You can turn the lights off tonight…"

"Ava…"

"I'll be okay! Really!" The petite redhead insisted before he could stop her. "I know you need to sleep, you have bigger things to do here, it's your home. I'm just—" Ava hugged her pillow tighter and hoped her hands weren't shaking.

"We c-can try to l-leave a small l-light on," Odin offered.

They had considered using candles or a lantern, but Ava's fits had the strange tendency to affect any flame in proximity and make it grow beyond what safety allowed. It had quickly been dismissed as a bad idea. She didn't want to risk something happening beyond her just being a pain to live with.

"I…I want you to be able to sleep," she said. "I don't want to be a bother. I'll be quiet."

Odin sighed, carding his fingers through his dark hair roughly. "Ok-kay," he told her before grabbing a change of clothes and going to take a quick shower.

Ava settled under the covers, fighting to relax as she did every night. Not just from the likelihood of another nightmare, but sharing a room—a bed!—with Odin. Sharing a room with anyone, much less a boy, was still so strange for her. She knew Odin wasn't the sort to try anything with her—really, she was hardly tempting—but she still had to prepare to share the small space the mattress provided.

When Odin returned, steam and relaxed delight exuding from his pale skin, he moved back to the plant he had brought. Plucking a single leaf, he went and dropped it into the bowl of water he had left on the table. Ava was further confused when he walked over and set the bowl down on his desk on her side of the bed.

"F-For you," he told her, moving around to his own side of the bed. Getting under the covers, lying down, Odin left the light on.

Ava stared at her roommate's back, but it was obvious he had settled in. He would leave the light on for her. She would have to turn the light off for him. So she did.

But as she moved to lie down, shivering a little as the darkness settled in, she was startled when a pale light slowly came to life. The shadows receded somewhat under the soft green glow coming from the bowl on the desk. Ava sat up to peer over the edge, and was surprised further to find the leaf settled in the water was glowing.

And Ava suddenly remembered something Crow had mentioned once. A certain plant that grew in random places along the outskirts. When it rained, the leaves would glow, offering a sort of guiding light during rainstorms. She didn't know why contact with water made the leaves react with this way—she didn't think Crow did either—and while interested, she had not th0ught about it since the more serious of the Arrow Twins had first mentioned it.

She did know, however, that the glow was bright enough and soft enough for Odin and Ava to both sleep peacefully.

Ava looked to the older boy's back, but he hadn't turned once to see what had come of his gift. Unable to even try to keep from smiling, she lay down, careful to press her back against Odin's.

The comforting glow of the leaf in front of her, and her roommate's warmth behind her, Ava Ire slept peacefully for the first time in a long time.