The dark sky scattered with glittering stars and white streaks, red and blue tainted balls of light peppered amongst the white stars.
Yossarian stared into the night, his eyes lost on the pure beauty of the stars. It was a spectacle he often missed whilst living in the cities, a sight only the outdoors could provide.
The warm tinges of flames from the flickering fire, melting his worries of tomorrow away, allowing him to just stare in wonderless fascination. It reminded him of his childhood, the times he spent in his orphanage. Him and his brothers sneaking out at night to one of the nearby hills, just to lie down and chat about the weird symbols they could make, the constellations they knew.
He felt different memories eneter his mind again. The burning room, the depreciated infirmary, a crumbling city lined with the dead. The memories always come when he thought of the past. After the memories came, the feelings of regret, failure, and loneliness started swelling in his body, consuming him.
He ripped his gaze from the sky, not wishing to dwell in misery, not tonight. He stared at his odd assortment of companions, Ruby curled up in a blanket, and Georgia staring deeply into the flames.
"Hey, you okay?" Yossarian muttered to Georgia, keeping his voice low. He was concerned for the girl, she didn't seem older than fifteen yet, she was still so young.
Georgia looked at him in silence, her eye's reflecting a small orange from the fire. "Yeah, I suppose," She uttered back, looking back towards the fire.
"Are you really fine? Today ... today admittedly was a bit chaotic and on top of that very dangerous. It's perfectly fine if you're not feeling well." Yossarian commented, trying to get Georgia to open up. Yet she didn't respond, her eyes fixated in the dwindling flame.
How on earth do I get her to open up, he thought. He recalled their conversation early in the day, it seemed so easy looking back, yet maybe it was just a fluke. He shifted through his memories, trying to recall how he got information from his old city buddies. His mind wrote off extortion and torture, before landing on the most simple method, a transaction.
"Do you want to know how I took on that man, back there?" Yossarian asked, eyeing Georgia for a hint of a reaction. Not sensing any movement from her, he still continued. "I'll tell you anyway. It's from the mark you asked about before, the one my master gave me." He told her, lifting his right-hand palm to her.
Georgia shifted her gaze to the palm, her eyes raised upon inspecting it. "It's hollower!"
"Yep, every time I activate the mark, it changes shape, then when I deactivate it, the circle always comes back but losses a bit of its shape," Yossarian informed, looking at the half-filled mark on his hand.
"So its use is limited?" Georgia inquired, facing Yossarian.
"I assume, I've never been completely empty before, and my master never explained how the mark works to me so I've always used it sparingly. I can't use it very long either," Yossarian explained, looking towards Georgia, a thin smile on his face.
"It brings a sort of surge of power into my internal stream. It's like plant roots seeping further and further into me, but instead of sapping my strength, it continues to fill me with more and more power, until my body can't handle it. That's why I fainted today, the mark seeped too deep into me, combined with the blows from that demon, and that'll do me in."
An awkward silence fell on them, hushing the two, both unsure what to say next. Georgia closed her eyes, letting out a deep sigh before speaking.
"I'm not okay, far from it actually. Today really was frightening. At first in the morning I was actually excited, especially after you started teaching me, and later on, in the forest, it felt nice to be able to show off my skills. When that old man turned up and that thing, after him, I was so terrified, terrified that I might actually die. My worst fears started entering my mind, my thoughts shouted at me, screaming that this was how I was going to die, never achieving my dream. But I also felt so incredibly useless, unable to assist you too, only becoming a hindrance, especially when you needed help the most." Georgia explained, her voice shaking at times.
Yossarian stared at her, only nodding his head in response, cursing his stupidity for bringing a child into this mess. He knew however that's not what she needed to hear right now.
"You're not useless, not completely anyway," Yossarian joked, before putting on a more serious voice. "You are correct that you hindered us with being a hostage and then a target of that man. However, you were useful to us in other ways. You found that hole in the cliff that gave us vital clues. You helped me learn important information from the village. And if that's not enough, then I don't know what to tell you, besides the fact we're all useless sometimes. Especially me." Yossarian stated, locking eyes with Georgia, softening his eyes and smiling towards her.
"If anyone is completely useless then look no further than me. I can't even follow my beliefs when push comes to shove. Whenever I'm pressed in a situation I fold on my beliefs. I don't want to use guns, yet today I had no hesitation in shooting that man. I forbid myself from ever practising witchcraft, and yet here I am, once again faulting on a decision to choose the easy way out." Yossarian told her, sadness seeping into his voice, disgust from his failures. "So you're not a failure, you're trying to achieve your dream, even in this rather dangerous situation."
Silence fell on the two again, both looking towards the dwindling embers of the fire, the shadows of the night, falling on their bodies.
"What is your plan tomorrow?" Georgia muttered, letting out a yawn.
"You'll find out in the morning, just go to sleep now. I'll wake up Ruby in a couple of hours and get some sleep myself before we head out." Yossarian informed her, slowly standing up, pushing through the aches in his muscles and exhaustion.
The two uttered goodnights, Georgia crawling onto the dirt floor, Yossarian monitoring the surroundings.