CHAPTER 2-5
Heinrich

Phoenix had let Heinrich choose which shelter to sleep in that night. He'd even offered the option of sleeping on the beach again. Though increasing cloud cover obscuring the bright moons had made the night far darker than the previous one had been, transforming the ragged huts and shelters into eerie voids of blackness visible only because they were marginally darker than their surroundings, Heinrich had insisted that they stay in one instead of on the beach. Yes, it made for a terribly spooky night, and yes, he felt a bit frightened, but having his smart and very capable brother with him made him feel a little braver. Besides, he knew that, as Phoenix had mentioned when floating the idea of the trip in the first place all those weeks ago now, vacations were of very finite duration, and Heinrich wanted to get as much out of this experience as he could. Truthfully, he hadn't thought it possible that he could go to a place he'd never been before and mingle with people he'd never met before and still have this much fun, yet here he was: having fun.

He'd selected one of the larger and more intact dwellings, though everyone in the group had wordlessly understood to leave the very largest one for Emyr and the triplets; even so, the four of them barely fit. Phoenix arranged his sleeping bag on the dirt floor beside Heinrich's and chuckled, for the sounds of the triplets' squabbling about who was in the other's space and who was getting dirt on the other's sleeping bag could be heard from quite some distance away. "Those kids are something else."

"Yeah." Heinrich was already settled cozily into his sleeping bag and looking at the black sky above, visible through the ruined roof. There wasn't much to see, but sometimes the clouds cleared just long enough for the moons to shine through for a moment.

Phoenix lay down beside him with a contented sigh, gazing up through what remained of the roof also. "Just like old times."

"Old times?"

"Solas Base," he replied without further explanation, evidently too tired to clarify what he meant.

Heinrich knew of the desert ruin that Phoenix had stayed in for a time, where he'd repaired Fuzzy before heading north in search of him, but he wasn't sure what his brother was talking about now, nor why this little ruined shack reminded him of that place. Should he ask him about it someday, or was that rude? There were just so many things Heinrich didn't understand about other people! Suddenly anxious for no particular reason he could discern, he asked into the darkness, "Are you having fun here?"

"Yeah, I am. Are you?"

"Yeah." He paused, still feeling unsettled. "Why do you think Áthas wouldn't let us choose our overnight shelter while it was still light out?"

A wide yawn. "I don't know." Phoenix's words were already slurring slightly, and Heinrich was again reminded of how fast his brother could drop off, a talent he desperately wished he could claim, too. "But the sooner you fall asleep, the faster the morning will come with an answer." Another yawn. "Good night. Wake me up if you need anything."

"Okay." Heinrich hadn't even gotten the two syllables out before Phoenix's breath was deep and even. He continued gazing up into the sky for a long time afterwards, until sleep finally, finally came.