Her voice rang out low from her lips as she sung soft words while moving across the open shore. The sun had already given its celestial position to the approaching half-moon, and the only clouds in sight hung far in the distance. An ocean storm raged almost too far to see, but the rolling, white waves that licked the shoreline told stories of its power. She only half-knew of the chaos that was shaking the world deep in the waters; she was preoccupied.

The singing stopped as she reached a small circle of stones surrounding a smoldering pile of driftwood. She was not a vocalist, at least not as a specialty, but rather preferred the soothing and sometimes haunting sounds that would come from her flute. She knelt down, arms full of thick and dry logs from the treeline at the back of the shore. With care, each log was stacked almost vertically against one another, the bases propped at the edges of the stone circle. A handful of dried leaves were placed within the wooden structure and soon the fire began to soar. The orange glow hit her face with its warmth and she smiled as the night's chill was lifted from her.

Satisfied that the fire would burn for at least a good amount of the night, she shifted her red dress and sat atop the soft, white sand. The wood crackled and she continued to smile, small embers lifting away from the fire to dance in the night air like fireflies before blinking out of existence.

Having got used to Imythess' planes by now, Aaron was no longer truly lost - he just hadn't seen much of the land in the 'real' plane occupied by those without his knowledge of other planes. If there was one thing Aaron would never have long enough to forget, it was that time healed all wounds, and he'd had a lot of time for all wounds to heal - in spite of being used to thinking on a human timescale he was at the same time reconciled with being around for eternity. When he appeared somewhere on the beach he immediately heard someone softly singing, though he couldn't make out the words. He'd heard better singing, but usually from the mouth of a professional bard on the job; the tune wasn't bad by any standards, but he didn't exactly miss it when it stopped. He only really got concerned when a tall fire started burning in the same direction as the voice; for all he knew some idiots could be burning a heretic alive.

It was not really a great disappointment to see that there was nobody dying on that tower of flame, and any that was there was overriden by Aaron's relief. Still, he could only guess at the motive for lighting such a tower. The fire distracted him briefly, and it actually took him a few seconds to realise there was a woman sitting by the fire.
"I see you spared no expense getting the campfire."

"There is no expense too great to fan such beautiful flames," came a cool response from the woman as she continued to watch the fire. A loud pop followed by a crackle was heard from deep within the stack of wood, the heat rising just high enough to cause a small pocket of wet wood to explode outward and let loose its steam. A small burst of embers poured from the center of the fire and were carried across Solara's figure. She sat unflinching, entirely at home with the burning specks that rested across her dress. They hugged her and remained still until burning themselves out to not but ash.

Her head swivelled atop her shoulders with grace as she turned to face the stranger who had just spoken to her. Without a smile, without expression, she watched his figure standing within the shadows between fire and moonlight night. She could not make him out in any detail, but she was not worried. She could not find fear left in her to worry when she was so close to a roaring fire. Curious, she wished to see more.

Illumani faer

Her hands made a quick set of motions and she swung her hand through the licking edges of the fire, as if intending to splash it like water toward the strange man. Within moments, a faint glow began to appear around her unknown companion, the beginnings of her faerie fire spell beginning to take effect.

Aaron recognised the faerie fire spell as soon as he saw it; not knowing how to use an ability was very different from knowing it for what it was. He almost instinctively waved his hand and watched as his cloak glowed with light, clearer than the fire's light but not able to penetrate as far. Basically, all it did was make both him and the woman completely visible to eachother as far as the fire hadn't.
"Maybe I should have made a light to start with."
He sat down by the pillar of fire, since planewalking was harder work than most people believed and it had tired him. It wasn't often that Aaron took a rest while outside an inn, and he realised he needed it. Anyway, the sand was actually more comfortable than a bed in some of the cheaper inns he'd slept in, but his cloak's light would probably keep him awake as long as he sustained the spell.
"Has anyone ever referred to you as a pyromaniac?"

Solara nodded inwardly as her spell brought forth the identity of the man who had stood in shadow. He seemed unphased by the glow and was soon visible, at least as far as she was in the evening dim. She was still not worried about his presence or intentions, especially now that she was able to see his face, and allowed him to do as he pleased as he stepped forward to meet the warmth of the fire. She made no reply as he mentioned the spell she had cast, her only spell, and instead watched the orange glow before her. She was captivated once again, but she knew there was another nearby. Another who would address her and expect her to return the conversation in kind. For moments they sat in silence, her mind busy with thoughts of dancing upon the licking tendrils of the bonfire, but also waiting for speech from the stranger.

He did speak, and when he did, she was glad to have paid attention. With dark eyes, she peered to the side to glare at the strange man. Her lips formed a straight line across her face as she squinted and held back the brunt of her annoyance.

"Those who know me refer to me by name, while those who wish to know me refer to either my talents or my appearance. Whomever wishes to win my heart will refer to the flames that I love so dearly, but only those who wish to earn my anger are foolish enough to insult what I love without hesitation. If you propose to call me a pyromaniac, then I shall return the favor and call you the man I abandoned on a lonely beach."

"Sorry, didn't know you'd take it so badly."
Aaron could understand how he would have caused offense. He felt like a fool for even considering that question, but hey - even if he had never forgotten anything, there was much he could not hope to know about anyone on first sight. That didn't excuse his blunder at the obvious, though, and he was unsure of how to gain forgiveness for it. Considering this fire, he could understand why she'd put so much effort into it - even he was entranced by the flame when he wasn't trying not to be. With a little effort, he turned his head to the woman again, forcing his eyes away from the burning pillar.
"I've been around a long time, but I've not seen many women as beautiful as you."
Technically, that was a lie. Aaron had seen thousands of women as beautiful as this one, but he'd seen millions who weren't up to that standard and he'd been around for a very long time.

There was little reason for her to continue to watch the man after she had made her thoughts clear to him. Returning to the fire, she all but ignored him again. His response was not impressive in the least, so even the faintest of embers at the bottom of the large flames were still more interesting than his conversation. Solara watched with firelight dancing in her eyes as she was bathed in warmth, her back only now partly chilled by the night air. She was content even with bad company thanks to the burning wood that roared and soared into the heavens. It had always made her smile.

Breaking her from her drifting thoughts of the flames, the man spoke up again. She turned to him once more at the compliment with an emotionless face, evaluating him as though he were still in the shadows. Then, with the roll of her eyes, she breathed out audibly and regained her sight of the bonfire. The man was practically intolerable. He insulted her and then thought that such a trite and insincere comment would make up for his rude behavior. She did not know whether to pity his attempt or become more angry to have her intelligence insulted in such a manner.

Her reply was given as she watched the fire, not bothering this time to turn to him while speaking. Her voice had regained its cool and was not obviously annoyed in tone.

"Perhaps it is your fondness of judging others before knowing anything about them that makes it difficult for you to see them."

Aaron had heard enough. He wasn't truly insincere with his comments, and he hadn't really prejudged this girl, but she was right on one thing - he was a fool. All sign of feeling gone from his face, he got up and turned away; he still had some more goods to shift anyway, and being so old without the bad effects he'd grown used to pushing himself beyond where he wanted to stop.
"I was a fool to act like this to anyone. Forget you ran into me."
There was no feeling in his voice, barely even a natural change of tone; he was forcibly and with little difficulty hiding his mild regret. In short, it sounded very different to how he normally spoke, different enough that someone who didn't know much about him might think him possessed. The woman could have been a good friend if he wasn't such an idiot. His robe stopped glowing as he pulled the plug on his light spell, and with a little effort he slipped into another plane as he had so many times before. Back to Balefire again, left turn at the demonic stature...

Solara nodded to herself as the man requested that he be forgotten. It was much easier to forget than to hold distaste for as long as her memory would serve her. Besides, the encounter would have been just as short should she have encountered a crab upon the beach. His tone was different as he spoke, but she did not pay attention. As far as she was concerned, he finally had felt the regret she thought deserving for how he had been acting. Should events been rewritten and the chance meeting changed to be at least partially pleasant, she might have felt a little bad for chasing him off so quickly. She did not even know his name. At the same token, he had never asked for her own. Unfortunately, no second chance could be given and this was the harsh reality that had to be.

He dissapeared and she took no note. She had decided to let him leave on his own accord, walking into the forest without being watched if that was his direction. She would never know from this moment that he had simply vanished. The only knowledge she kept was that the fire did not vanish. So, for the night, she sat and watched the flames with drooping eyes until falling asleep atop the white sand. She dreamed wonderful dreams and smiled from her unconcious, her body blanketed by her beloved faerie fire to keep her warm when the bonfire spent all of its fuel just before sunrise.

(OOC: Thanks for RPing with me, Aaron, it was fun :))