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The searing fire crackled before Haven, her eyes stuck on the flickering light. She shifted the hold on her stick in an attempt to get every side of her bird meat toasted, every turn mindless as her thoughts drifted to the past. She occasionally went camping as a young elf, multiple times being joined by Jinx. Haven wistfully recalled watching the human girl, Jinx, collecting worms for fishing by digging in the mud with her bare hands. Jinx would also scare the other kids whenever she got her hands on a millipede, only to eventually give it to Haven for studying and writing notes in her journal. Then she would stay up with Haven whenever the elf struggled to sleep, talking late into the night. Haven pressed her lips together, pushing her stick deeper into the flame. She had grown a lot since then and yet the homesickness still lingered. She had grown, yet she’s still the same child who sobbed as Jinx rubbed her shoulders before the fire. Her hand started to heat up uneasily as it pushed closer.
“Oi! I already told you to put that campfire out! Go to sleep already, it’s late!” a voice piped up from behind Haven, startling her. Her grip on the stick loosened, and before she had a chance to process what happened, it had fallen into the blaze. Haven reached for it without much thought, but shifted back as the flame flared up and singed the tip of her nose. Her balance was soon lost and she was sent tumbling off of the rock she was sitting on. She was quick to shoot up her head, rubbing the back of her neck as she sat in the dirt. Haven turned to face Jinx, whose upper body was propped up with her arms as she rested in her sleeping bag. She wore a cheeky grin with raised eyebrows, eyes watching Haven carefully. “Well, that was quite amusing.”
“Gods, Jinx, what are you doing up right now? And— and why would you frighten me like that!” Haven’s voice slowly grew in exasperation as her brain caught up with her situation. She drags her fingers through her long, brown hair, trying to free it of any grime.
“I’m clearly trying to sleep, something you should be doing as well. It’s not my fault you jump at any sudden noise.” Jinx tilts her head, pushing a fist into her cheek. She then yawns as her eyes drop. “I’m serious, okay? You know I need my beauty rest. If you can’t sleep that bad, just lay in your sleeping bag in the dark.”
Haven stared down the human, eyebrows furrowed as she bit her lower lip. She sighed before looking away, steadily getting up and onto her feet. She stepped toward the towel that laid next to the fire, bending over and grabbing it in one swift motion. She flicked the fabric, muttering something to herself as she laid the material over the fire: “Actual Jinx wouldn’t have treated me so poorly.”
The light is now smothered, leaving the scowl on Jinx’s face hidden under the night’s shadow. “Hey, will you ever shut up about that shit? How is rubbing it in supposed to make me feel, huh!? I give you a place to stay most nights, money to spend, someone to talk to, and all you ever yap about is this past me that you completely made up!”
The elf jumped at the last words, whirling back to face Jinx and stepping forward under the moonlight. “And all you ever do is call me a liar! What reason would I have to make falsehoods about your past, Jinx! Sometimes I wonder if you ever once believed me, and— and just why you are letting me tag along? Do you pity me, Jinx? Do you see me as a lost little puppy to play with? I want my Jinx back, okay? I want the Jinx that cared about others— the Jinx that cared about me.”
“You cannot be doing this right now.” Jinx pushed her body up, crawling onto her knees and then her feet. She gazed up to Haven with an irritated look, crossing her arms. “I care about you, Haven. You know the type of person I am. I don’t feel bad for people.” She then pushes her pointer finger into the elf’s chest. “I let you join me because that desperate look you gave me was full of truthfulness. I— listen, I promise I believe you, okay? I was just exaggerating. I’m an exaggerator, it’s in my blood. I’m sure… I’m sure past me was like that too, right?”
The grip of Haven’s fist lightened and she let out a deep exhale. “... She was. You were.”
“I’m…” Jinx started, but paused for a moment. She pulled her hand away from Haven. “I know I’m not the same as I was back then, but it sucks hearing you treat younger me like a completely different person from myself. I still don’t know what happened, but I’m trying. I’m trying even if it hurts, because I want you to feel content with the past. So you can move on and all that crap.” The human now hummed to herself, an unsure grin eating up her face. “And maybe I won’t be as scared of the past as I am now.”
Haven squinted, feeling tears poke at the inners of her eyes. “I apologize, Jinx, I really do. I suppose all I ever do is focus on my own feelings, not yours.”
“No— hey, hey, look at me, Haven,” Jinx raised both her hands, caressing the sides of the other’s face hesitantly. “I get it, I really do— don’t start crying on me now, you damned elf —we all are allowed to be selfish, it’s just the world we live in. And I’m not any better, that’s clear as day. Sorry I’m not the best at helping you through this kind of stuff, you really deserve better.”
“I don’t—” Tears started dipping down Haven’s face as she sniffled “I don’t deserve better, Jinx, I deserve you.”
The human’s eyes widened. Jinx’s hands fell from the other’s face before shooting behind Haven, enclosing her in a warm embrace. She squeezed the elf as tight as she could, hoping she could hug all the bad feelings out if she was strong enough. “Gods, you are such a crybaby, Haven.”
Haven swore when she rubbed her eyes she was back at home, cuddling with a young Jinx before bed. Despite the fresh tears stinging her cheeks, she wore a smile.
“I always have been.”