A/N: A Keefe POV of the aurenflare scene from Exile.
Keefe supposed he shouldn't have been surprised when Foster found some crazy new way to win at base quest.
Like...when did she learn to blink? And how did she jump that far and that high?
Another facet of how puzzling this girl was.
He sensed a feeling of panic coming off her—her emotions were getting easier and easier to understand as they wafted through the air toward him—and he figured she wasn't sure how to get down.
She tried to swing her legs, probably hoping she could get the momentum to heave herself up on to the branch, but there was a loud CRACK! and the branch snapped.
Before Keefe could react, Fitz was on top of it.
"I got her!" Fitz shouted and leapt up, grabbing her and holding her against himself as they crashed down, managing to break her fall before they tumbled together in the mud and grass.
"Are you guys okay?" Keefe asked, rushing to where they'd landed.
"I think so," Foster answered, trying and failing to wipe some of the mud off her face.
She didn't seem to be downplaying anything, and Fitz was already starting to look more amused than stunned.
"Dude--Fitz--you should've seen how high you jumped to catch her--and the way you guys curved through the air and flipped across the ground? Awesome."
Fitz laughed and rubbed his shoulder as he sat up.
"Are you really okay?" Foster asked him.
"Yep. I'm just glad I caught you."
He smiled as he said it, and Foster--unfortunately--got very fluttery as she replied, "me too."
Great.
Keefe had hoped this crush of hers would go away, but...apparently not.
Oh well. Not on Keefe's watch.
"And you," he said, conveniently shoving between them. "What was up with the whole Amazing Flying Foster routine?"
She tried to blame it on learning how to channel, but he wasn't letting her off that easy. This was obviously much more than channeling extra energy to her legs.
But just as he thought he'd sufficiently distracted the two of them from their flirting, Fitz and Foster began reminiscing about the day they'd met.
When he called them out on it, Biana stepped in and tagged both Keefe and Fitz out, claiming a win for her and Foster.
But he was calling foul play.
Then, somehow, Fitz managed to make it all about him and Foster again when he noticed her bleeding hands.
Oops. Keefe probably should've noticed that too.
It was just that most girls wouldn't be so tough about it. Most girls he knew would have immediately pointed out that they were bleeding and state that they wanted to get cleaned up.
But not Foster.
Of course, most girls weren't afraid of seeing a physician, either.
Keefe and Fitz had both experienced Foster's aversion to medical care--and Fitz had told him that she apparently had good reason. Apparently human medicine was very different.
But still, after everything she'd been through recently, she had to know by now that Elwin wasn't like human doctors, and elvin medicine wasn't like human medicine.
But she definitely seemed relieved that Della could help her out with a simple salve, and tried to put on a brave face while Della applied it.
Oh, sure, injure both your hands to the point of bleeding just to try to win a game of Base Quest, no problem, no complaints. But getting help healing said wounds? That's what freaks her out?
This girl was such a mystery, and he was desperate to riddle her out.
If only she'd let him in.
When they invited her to stay for the aurenflare, he could tell she was trying to hide her confusion as she simply replied, "um, great."
She didn't seem to know, yet, that it was almost impossible to lie to an Empath.
He smirked at her. "You have no idea what that is, do you?"
"Its..." her voice trailed off for a moment, but then she stubbornly crossed her arms and looked directly at him. "It's a bonfire."
Keefe glanced at Fitz, then back at her. "Telepaths," he grumbled.
He wouldn't mind that much if they weren't obviously flirting during those conversations.
Once Della had tended to Foster and Fitz, she sent them upstairs to get cleaned up. Keefe was mildly curious to see how Foster would handle having to wear Biana's clothes.
Keefe didn't pay much attention to girls' fashion choices, but he did pay attention to Foster. And the stark contrast she made compared to other girls.
She always seemed to wear loose-fitting clothing and neutral colors. He didn't understand why, but she did. She was clearly not as into sparkles and makeup and fancy hair as Biana was.
It was one of the many things that made her so mysterious. She wasn't caught up in her looks, but also didn't assume that 'I don't care' attitude that he would have expected from someone who was actively choosing to go against the grain.
Or maybe he was the only one that did that.
Foster seemed more like...she was trying to hide.
Maybe because she was the new girl and didn't want to be the center of attention.
That was another thing Keefe didn't understand. He loved being the center of attention.
So he'd honestly expected her to pull her hair back in a messy, still-muddy ponytail, raid Biana's closet for some simple clothes, and beat Fitz outside for the bonfire.
But she didn't.
Fitz came out looking as immaculate as ever, and they went back to discussing the phenomenon that had occurred during their game.
And waited. And then waited some more.
Alden hadn't come out either, but everyone else was ready.
"Yo, Foster!" he finally shouted impatiently. "What's taking so long? You have another medical emergency?"
"Ignore him, Sophie," Della called, smacking Keefe on the arm. "Beauty should never be rushed!"
Yes, but Foster didn't focus on her beauty.
It couldn't be denied, she was without a doubt beautiful, but she didn't seem to even be aware of that fact.
Which was incredibly endearing.
But that meant she shouldn't be taking this long.
She was probably just chatting with Alden, both of them forgetting that everyone was waiting for them.
Keefe couldn't help his impatience. This was something he loved.
Feeling like part of a normal, loving family having a fun evening together.
He loved everything except the part where he had to go home.
They eventually went to wait outside.
Then Foster and Alden finally appeared.
And Keefe momentarily forgot all about the aurenflare.
All he could do was gape at the beautiful girl in the fitted red tunic.
He'd already known she was pretty, but something about the color red made her warm brown eyes look even better, and the tunic clung to her, accentuating her figure in a very flattering way.
Why on earth did she hide when she was this gorgeous?!
He barely heard as Della gasped and complimented how beautiful she looked in red, or as Biana groaned that Della was embarrassing Foster and dragged her over to sit next to her on the bench.
He just...kept staring, watching the way she moved--somehow lovely and awkward at the same time, which was just adorable--as she sat down and looked over at where he and Fitz were sitting.
He caught a hint of confusion coming off her as she asked, "what?"
"Nothing," He and Fitz both mumbled. Keefe tore his eyes away from her, begging his cheeks not to blush.
Play it cool. Don't stare at her.
But his eyes kept darting to her anyway.
Unfortunately, he could tell that Fitz's did too.
But his proximity to Fitz--and ability to casually bump into him as they roasted their brattails--indicated that Fitz was still unaware of just how much he admired Foster.
He hoped Fitz would remain ignorant of his own feelings. And hoped that Keefe's feelings would also remain unnoticed by Fitz.
And that Foster's crush on Fitz would fade.
And that eventually this beauty in red would take more notice of him.
He did his best to turn his focus back to the aurenflare, which was fairly easily done since he enjoyed these bonfires so much.
It was so easy to just pretend he was a Vacker.
To pretend he didn't have to go back to the cold indifference--or worse, cruel disdain--that always awaited him at Candleshade.
Not even the draw of a pretty girl could help him escape that reality.
When he finished off his ripplenuts, he took his skewer and began poking the fire, enjoying the colorful sparks that it sent showering down on the girls.
Biana giggled, but Foster didn't, and he thought he understood why. When he realized that, he stopped.
Oops.
The sparks from an aurenflare were harmless, but...she was traumatized.
He was going to have to start paying better attention to things like that. The best he could do for now was to stop poking the fire.
Eventually, the opportunity to get to know her a little better would present itself, and he was going to take it when it did.
That vision in red had a lot of secrets to reveal, and Keefe was going to figure them out.