“Of course you do, Featherhead,” Elayra snorted. “You could always refuse and let us have to sit in the dark all night. With the moans of the ghosts to keep us company.”
	As if a spirit had heard her words, a quiet, muffled moan floated through the clearing. A ghostly form blurred from the clearing’s magic flitted in and out of existence at the edge of the area, its pale body appearing to reflect the dimming blue light and set it aglow. 
	Elayra tensed, her empty hand clenching around the hilt of her sword. 
	“Sure. Control the magic,” she answered his second question. Exhaling heavily, she stiffly forced her hand from her sword and reached into the center of the wood pile. She quickly created a small pocket amidst the kindling.
	“This,” she held up the small cotton ball between two fingers, “is a CottonTail fire starter. Can't find anything easier to light.” She placed the fire starter in the kindling pocket. “But fire’s the worst thing to start a beginner off on,” she continued darkly, drawing once more on the few lessons in magic Drust had given her. “[i]Igniculus[/i] is supposed to summon a small flame, but a spark’s all Drust and I can ever manage even with stronger spells. And that’s when we’re lucky. For just a spark…”
	She trailed off, her mouth twisting upward for a moment in thought. She tried to remember the spell for a simple focus word, one beneath even [i]igniculus.[/i] She had known it once, but ill-use had faded the memory. Her scowl returned.
	“I… can’t remember,” she admitted grudgingly. “You’ll just have to try [i]igniculus.[/i]” She sighed, hating the idea of Ghent using fire magic at all with his track record. “Focus on the fire starter, and only the fire starter, and command just a [i]tiny[/i] flame from the magic. Hold your hands over the wood if you think it’ll help.”
	Drust groaned and shifted. Elayra’s hand went again to her sword. 
	“Don’t even think about Drust,” she began without taking her eyes from her guardian. “If he wakes up Curse driven, I’ll deal with him while you focus on [i]not[/i] burning us all alive.”
	Without waiting for Ghent’s response, she stood and took the couple strides to place herself between Ghent and Drust. She did her best to not show the fatigue that made her muscles complain against her movements.
	Jaw tight, she drew her sword, the metallic hiss of the blade sliding free a reassuring sound to her. She stuck its tip in the ground and crouched behind it. Her left hand gripped the hilt, ready to pull it free. 
	“[i]Extinguo[/i] puts fires out.” She angled herself to keep Ghent in her peripherals, ready to either spring away from flames or to pacify Drust if he woke up with the Crimson Curse in charge. “Especially magic fires. Practice saying both before you try.”