CRASH!
 Everyone winced as the tavern door smashed open. They looked up to see what
was happening.. then looked down, as the diminutive Sheila of the Edge Guard
entered with a cross look on her face. A couple of people standing in her path
stepped out of the way as she stalked through the main part of the tavern and
into the hallway that led to the rooms, banging that door loudly against the
wall as well.
 There was a second meeting hall in the back of the building, and that was
where Sheila was heading. She booted that door open too, and startled the hell
out of everyone else in the room, namely, Onoli, Gar, Thropan, and.. Tirga.
 She said not a word as she stomped across the room, everyone staring at her.
She vaulted the table with ease and landed on the bench, one foot on each side
of the seated Tirga, who responded by leaning backwards in order to not get
struck. He fell over, and she lunged on top of him.
 The look of fire in her eyes and the anger emitting from her evaporated as the
two made contact. Instead of pummeling him, she grabbed him in a forceful
embrace, and he unsurprisingly returned it, giving as much passion as he was
getting.
 Despite the fact that her world only included Tirga at the moment, Sheila was
keenly aware of the sharp sounds of applause from the others in the room. She
tried not to be distracted by it, but it was no use..

 ..and she woke up with a start, the campfire crackling and popping beside her
as it roared up to full force. She put a hand to her head and tried to get her
bearings.
 "Morning," her brother said from his position, sitting atop his own makeshift
bedding. "After breakfast we'll move on, shall we?"
 "Yeah," she said sleepily, sitting up and berating her mind for allowing its
dreams to seem so damned real.

Project HEARD
presents
a Gold Digger Fanfic Short

SPARK

 Several hours later, the group was walking along a well-worn path heading
towards the next town.
 The group walked for a good portion of the morning, sometimes silent,
sometimes talking of the rest they were going to enjoy when they reached the
next town. They'd been 'on the road' for weeks, patrolling Jade, and now it was
time for a break.
 "It could be short-lived," Thropan mused. "Look over there."
 They all looked in the direction he was pointing, seeing a column of smoke
ahead of them and off to one side slightly.
 "A fire," Onoli nodded. "I have been watching it. It appears to be in check."
 "If it's near town, are we going to pitch in?" Gar asked.
 "More than likely," Onoli said.
 "There goes our rest," Tirga complained.
 "Like you'd rest any anyway," Sheila muttered.
 "An' what's that supposed to mean?"
 "I think she means you might spend all your time visiting 'old friends',"
Onoli said with a faint smile.
 "Oh, my ladies?" Tirga said, stretching and interlocking his hands behind his
head. "Yeah, I may have to take a bit of time to see everyone down here..
Haven't been this way in ages.."
 Sheila growled under her breath, and Gar put a hand on her shoulder
inconspicuously. She looked at him and shrugged it away with a brief look of
thanks.
 They all looked at the horizon and realized they were nearly on the town's
doorstep. Everyone got their second wind, and their speed picked up
considerably as they hurried for the town limits and the luxuries that would
await them.
 All the while, Onoli kept looking at the column of smoke and frowning.
Finally, just as the town seemed close enough to touch, he spoke. "I'm afraid
we're going to have to deal with that. It looks like it's out of control after
all."
 A collective sigh rose from the group, even as they turned towards the
wildfire in the valleys to the northeast. Rest and relaxation would have to
wait for later.
 Still, it was their job to keep Jade safe from all kinds of foes. They waded
into the fire area and grabbed large branches lopped off trees by others.
Soaked in water, the boughs served as beaters to try to swat the fire out of
existence. They worked for a while, until they dried out and burst into flame
themselves. Then the defenders would fall back, take up other boughs, and begin
all over again.
 The Edge Guard fought like this for the better part of an hour, alone on one
front of the fire, while other fingers of flame were attacked by townsfolk and
other people, all who hurried to the scene upon seeing the first trails of
smoke reaching for the sky.
 The front of the fire was miles long in the area the Edge Guard was fighting
it, which meant the group was spread out over a fair distance. In fact, they
were lucky to still be in sight of one another for most of the afternoon.
 'Lucky' was the proper word, some of them would reflect later, as the fire got
into a ravine and boiled and churned ferociously for a while. They fought it in
and out of the crevices and ridges, but fire moves no faster than when it
climbs hills, and in a few moments, one of them was overrun.
 "TIRGA!" Sheila hollered when she saw the events unfold. She dropped her bough
and headed his direction at a dead run, intending to draw her weapon and sheet
the entire area in ice. It was overkill, and wasted energy she might need in
battle later, but she needed to get the fire in that area out, and fast.
 Tirga was flailing away with his flame-beater, to no avail; the flames were
all around him, consuming the fuels--the trees, grass, and of course the
oxygen--at an alarming rate. There hadn't been a fire in the area in decades,
and everything being bone-dry, the fire ripped through the ravine.
 Tirga started to run in what he thought was the best direction, but
unbeknownst to him, Sheila had been about to hurl an ice spell that way as
well. She abruptly halted her spell, but her momentum keeping her running right
up to his position.
 He looked up as a CRACK sounded, and saw a burned-through tree give way and
come tumbling towards them. It collected several other fire-weakened trunks and
threw them all towards the pair.
 "Hurry!" he shouted, reaching out for her as she ran up to him. He grabbed for
her wrist as soon as she was within reach. The two of them began to race up the
side of the ravine, only to be stopped seconds later by more trees falling and
blocking their path.
 Sheila did an about-face and became the leader, tugging Tirga along behind
her. They both stopped short once more as the original deadfall crashed down
directly in front of them, neatly boxing them in.
 Sheila turned to look at Tirga, as if to ask if he could see another way out,
but he was staring right past her, almost as if he was zoned out. She sighed
and was about to 'kapowie' him to wake him up, when he reached out for her hand
again and blurted out, "GET DOWN!"
 He yanked her roughly towards him, making her collide with him and sending
them both to the ravine floor. He got the wind knocked out of him, but was
still able to see the other tree that had been tumbling their way. He was
satisfied as he watched it miss both of them by a foot or so and crash down.
 The original trees that had fallen formed walls, and the final batch still
falling became a roof, effectively sheltering them from the fire yet completely
cutting off any means of escape.
 "Are you okay?" he asked her, looking into her face. She stared back at him
with an unreadable expression.
 "Sheila! Talk to me! Give me a sign!" Tirga said, shaking her lightly. In a
minute, to his surprise, she clamped her arms around him and pressed her lips
firmly against his.
 After the surprised sensation left him, he found himself returning the favor
in kind.

 Several minutes later, their passion spent (or at least satisfied for the
moment), they sat in the ravine, looking at their predicament--the fallen and
burning trees surrounding them on all sides, the fire raging overtop of their
shelter, anything, to avoid looking at one another and seeing the other person
who'd been party to what had just transpired.
 "That was unexpected," Tirga said quietly, at last.
 "Figures," Sheila murmured to herself.
 Tirga's hearing, however, didn't let it slip past unnoticed. "What?"
 "I said it figures," she bit out. "Do you really think this was spontaneous?"
 Tirga looked at her and erk'ed. He reached out and patted the top of her head
briefly to put out a bit of flame that was there, then said, "What are you
trying to say?"
 "What am I trying to say?!" she blurted out. "You, the big ladies' man, who's
supposed to be able to smell a crush ten miles away.. and you can't.. can't
even.."
 Tirga stared.
 "You mean..?" he finally said.
 "Of course!" she shot back. "Do I have to spell it out for you?"
 Tirga looked stunned at first, then it melted into a look of relief. This, of
course, confused Sheila to no end.
 "Why the heck are you sighing?!" she bit out, fists balling up.
 "Because.. if only I'd known," he told her.
 All of Sheila's anger dissipated in a second; she felt her fur stand on end
briefly as a shiver ran up and down her. "W.. what?"
 "I wish you had told me this sooner," he admitted. "It would've made things a
lot easier."
 "How do you mean?"
 "You don't think you're the only one who has had to hide feelings like that,
do you?" he asked, averting his eyes when she began to stare at him.
 She was struck speechless.
 "I always figured you were out of reach, the way you kept showing your disdain
for my advances. That's why I kept looking at other women.. because I figured I
wasn't ever going to succeed with you.. because you never seemed interested in
starting anything. Besides.. I thought.. we're not just friends.. we're
partners.. and your brother.."
 "Leave my brother out of this," Sheila said quietly, almost feeling ashamed.
"He doesn't run my life. I do."
 Tirga paused as a branch thudded against the lattice of fallen trees above. He
looked up, then, satisfied the world wasn't going to cave in on them, spoke.
"How come you never said anything?"
 "Because you always seemed like you were more interested in chasing the women
in every town we visited rather than me," she said tinily.
 "..."
 The two sat there uncomfortably for a while.
 "So we both thought the other didn't want us, and so we did things that made
the other think we were out of reach?" Tirga asked.
 "That's about the size of it," Sheila nodded sadly.
 Tirga shuffled a little closer on the log upon which they sat. "You know,
making a mistake like that can be very tragic."
 "Uh-huh," Sheila said, head hung low.
 "If you promise never to make it again, I will too."
 She looked at him. "What?"
 "The mistake," he clarified. "Never do such a silly thing again, and you have
my word, neither will I."
 "What're you saying.."
 "I'm saying, now that we know how each other feel.." He shrugged.
 She leaned close and gave him a kiss. "Thank you," she said quietly.
 "Anytime, Sheila," he said just as quietly. "Any time."

 "This is where I last saw them," Thropan pointed, leading the others to the
site. "Tirga was working here and Sheila a few hundred yards to the north."
 Gar winced. "The entire forest has collapsed in on itself."
 "We'll find them," Onoli promised. "They probably found shelter somewhere."
 Thropan smiled. "Yeah, they're probably sitting back, taking it easy and
boring each other to death. Either that or they're at each other's throats."

 "The fire appears to be dying down," Tirga observed. "Maybe we can get out of
here soon."
 "Yeah.. the others are probably worried sick," Sheila nodded.
 "You know, we have to give some thought to this," Tirga said.
 "I know," Sheila said after a moment.
 "Even though everyone probably knows already.. it won't do to suddenly change
our habits and start 'seeing' each other.."
 "Tirga, we see each other every day," she said tiredly.
 "You know what I meant."
 "Yeah.. I do.. I guess. What do you think we should do, then?"
 "Keep on as normal? Like nothing's different?"
 "You mean you keep chasing girls and I keep pining for you secretly?"
 Tirga laughed. "Perhaps not exactly that. But maybe we shouldn't overtly admit
our relationship quite yet."
 Sheila blinked and stared for a moment. Then she blinked again and shook her
head. "Sorry," she said. "I just never thought we'd be having this
conversation."
 Tirga smiled. "Odd things happen at the oddest times."
 Sheila was about to say more, but the sound of wood against wood from above
made her and Tirga look up sharply. A log shifted and then was pulled away.
 Gar's face appeared in the gap. "I see them! They're in here!" he shouted.
 "Gar!" Sheila exclaimed.
 "Are you two okay?"
 "We're fine!" Sheila said.
 "The fire's under control," Gar said. "We're going to move these trees and get
you out of there. Hang tight."
 "About time," Tirga grinned.

 That evening, the group was seated in a tavern, enjoying the rest they'd
promised themselves. All were rather tired from the firefighting effort, so
sitting and enjoying a drink and a meal was about the limit of the activities.
 For most of them, anyway.
 "Ack! Would you look at the time," Tirga exclaimed, moving his feet from the
table to the floor and jumping up. "Gonna be late."
 "Huh?" Gar asked. "What, I suppose you have a hot date or something?"
 "Hope to," Tirga grinned. "Only time will tell. Don't wait up!"
 Tirga disappeared through the doorway, and everyone resumed sitting quietly
and enjoying their meal. The quiet chatter died away again a few minutes later
when Sheila said, "Well, I think I'm gonna go for a walk."
 She stood up and felt all the eyes boring into her, then turned around with a
sweet smile. "Problem?"
 "Aren't you tired, Sheil?" Gar said.
 "Yeah, but I need some fresh air," she explained.
 "Want some company?"
 "No thanks. I'd prefer to be on my own," she said. "Thanks for the offer."
 "All right," Gar said.
 "If you need anything, you know where we are," Onolin said.
 She smiled. "Thanks, Onoli." She turned and left the tavern.

 Tirga, leaning against a wall on the backside of the tavern/inn, stood up as
she appeared. "Took you long enough," he said.
 "Well, what did you expect, me to just walk out right after you?" Sheila
countered. "Then they'd know for sure."
 "Sorry," he apologized immediately. "I'm kinda new at this."
 "Me too," she admitted.
 "So.."
 "Yes?" she asked, stopping in front of him.
 "Would the lady care to see the nightlife of Kala?"
 "Are we going to run into any of your 'past' here?" she asked with a lopsided
smile.
 "It's possible," he said, "but if we do I'll tell them the truth, that I'm
with you now."
 She held out her hand and he took it, and they walked off down the street
together.

END