Daughter of science and art. Daughter of hubris and folly.

- Unknown

A scream tears from Astrid's lungs as gravity takes hold, pulling her down through empty space. Too far away to grab hold of anything, she plummets past—

Astrid's breath leaves her lungs and skates across my neck as my arm catches her in the stomach, bringing her fall to an abrupt and painful halt. She is far lighter than I expected someone of her height to be, and my arm is the only thing preventing her from falling. A delicate thing.

I allow my grip on her shirt to loosen slightly.

No one would know if I let her fall.

Her bare arm brushes against mine, and the spell of the moment is broken. A tingling thrill of disgust shoots through me at the feeling of her skin on my own, and the thought of what I was considering. I toss her onto the far end of the girder and scuttle backward, getting as far as I possibly can from her. She is dangerous.

—Astrid groans, and her arms shake with the effort of raising herself to her feet. It feels like someone just punched her in the stomach. How is she alive? Wendy had caught her, that much she is sure of. She could have sworn that she had already fallen out of her reach, though. She strains to recall, but is only able to conjure a wall of violent, sickening red light. What exactly had happened?

The sound of Wendy's voice tears her out of her reverie. “What were you thinking?”

Wendy stands on the opposite end of the girder, arms crossed and looking absolutely livid. “What in the Creator's name was that? You're insane! Utterly insane!”

Astrid winces, and gives her a weak grin. “Well, you were right. I don't like to lose.”

“You don't like to lose?” Wendy's mouth works wordlessly for several seconds, her face aghast as she struggles to articulate herself. “You're insane,” she eventually repeats, with a shake of her head.

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The wind picks up, and Astrid shivers. They are very, very high up, and the girder is scarcely wide enough to stand on. It occasionally groans underneath them, and she can swear that she feels it shifting under her feet. If either of them were to move, then the whole thing might come down.

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Astrid brushes the loose strands of hair out of her face, moving slowly so as to not upset the delicate balance of the girder. “Thanks for catching me.”

“Don't mention it,” Wendy mutters, determinedly not looking at her. Her neck is marred by a dark, angry mark, visible for only a fraction of a second before she hikes up her shirt, covering it. She and Astrid stand in silence for a long while, broken only by the groaning of the girder beneath their feet.

“Why don't you like me?” Astrid eventually asks.

“I don't like strangers,” Wendy says. Her eyes flash at Astrid's reponse. “What?”

“Nothing!” Astrid says, struggling to control her laughter. “Just... neither do I. In a very different way, I think, but I'm not good with new people either.” She sobers, her laughter subsiding. “It's not just that, though, is it?” she says softly, taking a small step forward. The surface beneath her feet shudders. “There's something elses. The day we met.”

Wendy sighs deeply. “You're pretty perceptive, huh?” She chews on her lip, staring out over the surface of the junkyard. The morning sun has begun to heat up the metal all around them, causing the air to shimmer with heat. “I hurt Tove and her friends pretty badly when I rescued you. I have a... let's say a tendency to do things like that. I'm not much good at socializing, but I'm really good at fighting. It's not a side of myself I like very much.” She stuffs her hands deep in her pockets. “I lost control and people got hurt, but I thought it would be fine because I wouldn't see you again. Then you showed up on my doorstep, and things got complicated.” She takes a deep breath, in which Astrid can detect the smallest of shudders. “I don't want Sylva and Drew to know that I'm like this.”

“Hey,” Astrid whispers. She starts to take another step forward, but stops at the sounds that issue from beneath her feet. “I'm not going to tell Sylva and Drew, okay? You saved me; I owe you at least that much. Besides, it's not like I don't have my own secrets.” She wraps her arms about her torso, thinking of the promise she made to herself. “I'm not exactly great at socializing either. I've been pretty isolated for most of my life, and even just talking to people is hard for me. I'm trying not to let any see that, but it's hard.” Astrid leans forward, trying to catch Wendy's eye. “So your secret is safe with me, okay? Just like mine is safe with you.”

Wendy snorts, but the barest of smiles crosses her face. “You nerd.”

“I'm a nerd? Oh, I'm sorry, which one of us is the pilot in an incredibly stupid blood sport?”

“Hey, you're as much a part of this as we are now.”

“I'm just doing this for the money.”

“Funny, that's what I said in the beginning too.”

They stare at each other, both grinning, and for the first time in a while, Astrid's chest feels lighter. “So, friends?”

“Not enemies?”

“Eh, I'll take it.”

Together, the two of them stare out over the junkyard, and watch the sun creep higher in the sky.

“So how do we get down from here?”