I know that this also might be somewhat cliche. And I guess I kinda got off topic in the middle… Meh, heat and light often go hand in hand anyway
~O~
Sinead enjoyed light. She didn't enjoy the heat that oh so often came with it. She was an Ekaterina, she was a Starling, and she was scared of heat.
How could she be frightened of something so petty? They asked her, leering down at her; you should be ashamed of yourself.
And she was embarrassed. Not because of the other Ekats were teasing her, but because she hadn't listened to the Cahill siblings, they, for some reason, tried to warn them. And what did she do? She ignored them. And when the Institute exploded, she and her brothers were out of the running.
So when she wakes up screaming, flailing her arms about trying helplessly to ward off phantom flames, she developed a small sense of self-loathing.
To make it worse, only she was the one to make it out with only scars. Ned kept getting the worst headaches and Ted was blind.
It's her punishment, Sinead convinces herself, for leading the three of them into a trap, her brothers are the ones that suffer for her. And she hates the small flicker of relief deep inside her that it wasn't her who was helpless.
Consequently when the doctors declare them stable enough to leave the hospital, she goes off back into the Clue hunt, her brothers tagging along against her wishes, because what if she lead them into another trap? Except this time, she isn't trying to win for the eternal glory; it's for the small chance that it might heal her brothers.
And when she hears the explosions going on beneath them, and she knows it's an explosion because she's survived one; Sinead feels the flames again and briefly hallucinates the ghostly light of the flames flickering off the wall.
Sinead wonders if she's crazy. Crazy for ever wanting to take part in this deadly obstacle course where the other people, the other living, breathing people are merely seen as obstacles, she'd read Alistair's report of Irina's death; crazy for putting Ned and Ted in danger, all three of them could've died.; crazy for thinking that she could ever, possibly win, but she has to, to see if they can be healed.
When Dan offers to remake the serum for Ned and Ted, how could she refuse? But she sees the diagrams the Holt girl drew, and she thinks, if I can't help my brothers, then I must be able to help someone else's. And she says no.
She said no to being afraid of heat. She said no to be able to start fully enjoying a walk on a bright day again. She says no to hating the sun.
And Sinead welcomes the light again.
But in the form of florescent light bulbs at the hospital.