After having walked a few more hours, Mars stopped and plopped herself down on the ground against a tree. “Hey RK! Let’s rest for a bit. It’s getting dark, we should probably try to make some sort of camp.”
RK looked back at her friend, then up through the trees at the darkening sky. “Yah, okay,” she said. “I’ll get some stuff to make a fire.”
“You have something to light it with?”
“’Course! Always carry a lighter.”
“Why? You don’t smoke. Not that I’m complaining or anything.”
“Dad taught me to always be prepared.”
“Ah. Yes. Silly me.”
RK smiled, then stepped a few feet off the path to find some tinder and wood. Fifteen minutes later RK and Mars had a nice fire going and were sitting, warming their hands against the night chill.
“Wish we had some food,” Mars said wistfully.
“No kidding. But with this being a different world and all, I don’t trust myself to pick out nonpoisonous things to eat.”
“Yah, it’s ok. I was just saying. Water wouldn’t hurt, either.”
“Mm-hm.” RK was poking idly at the fire with a stick. “But seeing as how we don’t have either of those, we should probably try to get some sleep and forget about it.”
Mars sighed. “Yah, may as well. I’ll take first watch,” she volunteered. “I’d rather stay up than wake up.”
“Watch? Oh, yeh, s’pose so, if wotever was watching us earlier’s still around. Just wake me if you get tired.”
“Yes, Mother,” Mars teased sarcastically.
“Shut-up, you,” RK said as she tried to make herself comfortable against a tree. She pulled her jacket up around her shoulders and closed her eyes, soon drifting off to sleep.
Mars sighed and doodled in the dirt with a stick to try to entertain herself. After about half an hour, she found that she was simply staring at the fire, her eyelids involuntarily drooping. A few short minutes later, and she, too, was sleeping.
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