Yet another Thursday prompt, this one's topic is "by the fire". What struck me is something I could use for a story that I'm doing for a completely different project, and... provided I get off my ass and finish it, will be published in a book as part of a compilation of other awesome furry authors, including  Renee Carter Hall,  whyteyote, and  Kyell It's EXTREMELY flattering to even be mentioned alongside such an illustrious group, so... I need to get my ass in gear. Regardless, I suppose this is a preview of sorts. Enjoy.

Campfire
by pyrostinger
a Thursday Prompt response.

“Sasha! Sasha, what's going on?” Looking frantically from side to side, the badger femme saw fire all around her, the house burning... the house she'd lived in for all her life, her family lived there, all of their worldly possessions... all going up in flame. But what she feared more then burning was the prospect of her brother burning... and so she ran up the stairs, avoiding the dancing flames and the collapsing wood all around her. “Sasha, where are you? Answer me!”

“Kriss, get outta there!” She whirled around, seeing her brother on the ground floor with her halfway up the stairs. “I'm right here! Get down!”

With a crash, part of the stairs collapsed, forcing the badger girl to stumble, climbing further up. Now the fear for her own safety consumed her... and all around her was suffocating heat. “Sasha, I'm scared!” she called out to her brother. “Sasha, what do I do?”

“You have to jump! You gotta get up and jump down the stairs!” Now her brother was at the foot of the stairs, calling to her above the roar of the flames. “C'mon, Kriss! I'm right here; I'll catch you!”

“Where's momma?” she wailed, curling into herself more. It was so hot... “I want momma!”

“Momma isn't here! She left! She got me here to take you out! Now come ON!” When he used hos voice like that, he sounded so much like Papa... she stirred herself, stood, gripping what was left of the banister. She put one foot down... and felt the wood give beneath her. She had just enough time to stumble backwards, tears streaming down her face as the rest of the stairs broke over a gap too far for her to reach.

She heard her brother dimly over the burning, and then he called to her again. “Kick out the wood! Kick out the wood and jump from there!” Looking to her left, she saw the extension of the banister, the little wooden supports that had always kept them from falling... Something else seemed to explode to her right, and a fresh wave of heat greeted her cheek, singing her fur. With the strength born of desperation, she used both feet to kick repeatedly at the wooden bars, knocking them loose and gone until a hole big enough for her to crawl through was created.

“JUMP! HURRY!” called Sasha, his eyes wide and fearful himself... and despite herself, Kriss froze for a moment, before the hungry fire consumed another oil stock, and she was flung outward into space.

“Sashaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” she screamed out, flailing in the air, watching the ground become so much more of a reality, and then

Kriss screamed as she woke, sitting up suddenly. All around her, she could see foreboding dark and trees, next to her a fire that was much, much smaller than the one her dreams took her back to. This fire was comforting... but she was still alone. Alone, with all the sounds of the woodland night sounding more and more evil... then, to the side, a crashing, thrashing sound. Something was coming... something was coming to get her. She curled herself tighter, whimpering brokenly as tears started to stream down well worn paths in her face, praying for the end to come swiftly.

“Kriss? Kriss!” The thrashing became footsteps, and into the clearing burst her brother, teeth bared in anger as he looked around, a big stick in one hand. He stood over his sister, tense, ready to defend her from whatever the night may bring. After a moment of silence aside from more ambient sounds, he looked back to her. “Are you alright, Kriss?” Dumbly, she nodded, and he visibly relaxed, dropping the stick. He turned and gave her a big hug, one she returned with equal fervor.

“What happened? I was all alone...”

“I went to go get some firewood, Kriss, while you slept.” Gingerly, he pulled back and smiled sadly to her. “I'm sorry, sis... I didn't mean to scare you.”

She buried herself back into his chest, arms clutching tightly to her. She didn't cry, not again, but let the tears already shed press themselves into his vest, nuzzling into the worn fabric. “I had a nightmare,” she began, but choked up, unable to finish saying what her brother had already guessed. It'd been the only nightmare she had for the past week. The small badger girl felt her brother's arms fold around her again, and within that safe embrace, she let go the tears she had been holding back.

--x--

It was a while before Kriss finally fell asleep again, and a little bit longer before her whimpers had ceased. Sasha hoped her sleep was dreamless; she had enough of a reminder with the fire they needed to keep the cold at bay, as well as the more ferocious of the animals. With a sigh, he stirred the fire with a smaller stick, poking at the logs until they fell inward. Finally, he went to the rucksack of all he had managed to salvage, digging through it until he pulled out a slightly charred book. He spent a little while flipping through the pages, before finding the passage he most wanted to read.

“To my wonderful children, Sasha and Kriss

“You're probably going to be the only people who read this. For that, I am deeply sorry. I wish for so many things, one of the top being that you would never have been put through this heartache. But this way it must be, for this pain that I have been carrying is a burden I can carry no longer. Sasha, you're the one who has noticed this change already, how fragile I've become, and how easily I am angered or made upset. Thank you, Sasha, for hiding my deficiencies from Kriss, and tell her that I love her deeply. Remember always, that your father and I love you both very deeply. I'm just sorry I'm not a stronger person.

Goodbye, and with love,
Catherine”

Closing the book, Sasha put it away, and lay down. Eventually, he would come to their destination: Fairwind. It was a city they could make a living in, should they be lucky. After seeing their mother burn herself alive, the house going down with it, Sasha hoped their luck would change. So, he settled down, looking up at the star-filled night sky, and resting for now. Tomorrow, they would continue their trek. Tonight... a nice, warm fire.