Nox knelt by the fire, outstretching his hands to feel the warmth near them. Never before had he taken the time to really look at a fire during the night, but he found that it was helping him relax. He felt his eyelids droop slightly, but he forced himself to push them back open and stay awake. Mio sat nearby, half her face illuminated by the light, the other half in the dark. She had a blank gaze as she stared at the flames, her lip quivering slightly. Her face was paler than usual, an almost ghostly color. Nox looked up from his spot next to the bonfire, and noticed that she seemed like she was thinking hard about something.
"Hey." Nox said lightly, trying to get her attention.
She didn't react. Maybe the crackling of the fire had covered his voice? Or maybe she really was that distracted. He wondered for a moment if she was thinking about her mother. He'd felt that same way when he'd been forced to leave his home to do this, and he was still working through being so disconnected. For now he pulled himself from his own thoughts, and focused back in on getting Mio's attention.
Nox snapped his fingers a few times, finally getting her to look up and give him a curious glance. Mio blinked rapidly a few times, as if Nox had just woke her up from a dream.
"Hey. You doing OK?" Nox asked. She had been very quiet since Nox had agreed to let her go, her earlier excitement fading almost immediately. By midday their journey had been in silence. He was worried that bringing her had been a bad choice on his part. They'd only been traveling for a day, and she was already upset over something.
"Yeah." Mio mumbled, but she still seemed like she was somewhere else.
Nox circled around the fire and sat next to her, hugging his knees close to his chest. "What's up?" Mio didn't turn to face him this time, she just staring into the fire like he had been moments before.
"It's nothing. I just wonder...you know, what if the bandits come back?"
"They won't."
"You don't know that!" Mio's voice rose a bit, but she soon relaxed and added softly "I'm just worried."
"Don't. Worrying doesn't change anything. They're strong people, they can handle themselves." Seeing Mio hadn't lightened up after his encouragement, he switched tactics. "Wanna see some shadowbending?"
Her eyes got a bright glint in them, and she turned to acknowledge him now, releasing her gaze from the flames. Nox had seen that glint before when she first found out he was a shadowbender, and he was sure he had her attention.
"What is shadowbending anyways?" she asked as Nox stood up to bend.
"Well, it's a few things. Firstly, we can move darkness from on area to another to cover something or someone. Helps us move in the shadows and stay unseen. It's what I did when I knocked the thief off." He thrust his arms out and brought them back, while also closing his hands as if he was pulling something. From Mio's view, Nox disappeared into the black, before coming back into view after a few silent moments.
"What else?" Mio had forgotten her worries already.
"Well, even in the light we can make shadows and form them into something more solid. I believe it's similar to waterbenders taking water and freezing it."
Nox demonstrated. He moved his hands around in a sort of circular movement, watching as darkness seemed to bellow out from his hands. He made a few more quick movements with his hand, and the shadows constructed into a blade of sorts, a sloppy recreation but still usable.
"I still need to work on it a bit." he muttered, bringing the sword to his waiting hand, before turning to swing at a tree with it. The blade struck one of the large branches and kept going, easily passing through the wood. The tree groaned as it let go of the branch, which slammed the ground with a hefty thump.
Nox sat back down next to Mio, a bit of sweat on his forehead.
"Thanks for showing me that, Nox."
"Well, if I'm going to get caught for telling you I'm a shadow bender, I might as well get something out of it.'
"Do you think they'll find out?"
"Who knows. But like I said, no reason to worry about things you aren't able to change."
Mio eyes drooped a bit, and Nox found himself similarly tired. The fire was beginning to peter out.
"Goodnight Nox." Mio said, and leaned her head on his shoulder. Her eyes had already started to shut.
"'Night" Nox whispered, and drifted off to sleep watching the dying embers.
