The moon had shifted higher in the sky, a glowing crescent casting silver light across the clearing. The air was still, cool and crisp, the night alive with the distant rustle of leaves and the soft hoot of an owl somewhere in the darkness.
Opal and Ash sat side by side on the fallen log, their shoulders brushing, their breaths mingling in the cool night air. For the first time in days, the tension between them was gone, replaced by a soft, hesitant warmth.
Ash let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders slumping. "I've been a real jerk, haven't I?" His voice was low, rough. "I let my pride get in the way... I let my anger control me." He looked down, his silver eyes shimmering with regret. "I hurt you. I hurt all of you. I was so caught up in what I thought I deserved... that I couldn't see what I was doing to us."
