The last embers of the campfire pulsed against the backdrop of pre-dawn darkness. Ashley sat motionless on a fallen log, her back straight, eyes fixed on the dying light. Her golden fractures cast faint illumination across her features, highlighting the sharp angles of her face. The forest around them remained still, as if holding its breath before sunrise.
She sensed him before she heard him—a slight change in the atmosphere, a disturbance in the air. Not Xavier's footsteps, which were nearly silent, but his presence. The subtle shift in energy that followed him everywhere.
"You're up early," Ashley said without turning.
Xavier emerged from between the trees, his dark hair disheveled from sleep. "Couldn't rest. Mind if I join you?"
Ashley gestured to the space beside her, neither welcoming nor refusing. Xavier settled on the log, maintaining a careful distance between them.
