Nyx left little paw prints in the mud as she ran along the beach. The setting sun painted the shallow water in streaks of gold and orange. Droplets splashed, catching the light like sparks as Cassie chased Alistair through the water, playfully nipping at him whenever she got close enough.

Eventually, Alistair stopped, turning on Cassie and pounced, knocking her sideways into the ocean. They tussled until they were both soaking wet, appearing more like drowned river rats than foxes. Unable to resist, Nyx scurried in after them. The frigid water cut through her fur. After the shock, it was refreshing after such a hot day. She jumped on Alistair who had only just regained his bearings, her fangs barring down lightly through his silver coat.

Cassie and Alistair teamed up against Nyx, nipping and pouncing until she was down. Nyx wrestled away from them. She puffed her fur and crouched in a challenge. They tip-tapped in place, eyeing her up and yipping, trying to suss out the best plan of attack. She stood her ground, every muscle tensed and coiled to defend herself. Her eyes flicked from one to the other.

Movement caught her attention from further up the beach. Angel and Kismet waved from the rocks, several tote bags piled by their feet. The distraction was only for a second, but it was enough.

Cassie and Alistair attacked at once, knocking her into the water. Once she was down, her siblings bolted out of the ocean and dashed up the shore toward Angel. By the time she got up again, she was well behind and raced to catch up.

Angel was busy piling some of the scraggly driftwood pieces and kindling in the fire pit. It was a crudely dug hole in the sand with rocks circled around the edge. The crisped remnants of burnt logs were crumbled at the bottom.

Kismet combed the pebbles for anything else to burn, while Alistair trotted ahead. He pointed out sticks for her to pick up.

Nyx investigated the tote bags, already able to smell the hotdogs and marshmallows before she peeked inside. Cassie had already popped her head into the other snack bag, knocking it over.

"Get outta there you two," Angel scolded. "You're getting everything all wet and covered with sand." He gently grabbed Nyx to move her away. She growled, wiggling and squirming against his grip, flashing her teeth. "Hey, don't try and bite me!"

Angel plopped her on four paws again and she nipped at the cuffs of his jeans for revenge.

"You guys get all crazy, every time," he muttered, returning to putting the fire together.

Nyx sprinted off to find the rock where she had hidden her clothes. Making sure to be completely concealed by the jagged semi-circle of rocks, Nyx shifted into her human form and got dressed, tugging on a t-shirt and jeans. She combed her hair with her hands, feeling the grit of sand under her fingertips.

The cool wind against her damp skin raised goosebumps along her exposed arms. The sand was warm against her bare feet from a day of sun as she walked toward the fire. Smoke curled and the wood snapped as it burned.

Alistair and Cassie had also changed. They sandwiched Angel between them, passing a joint along. With the sun nearly gone, they were little more than silhouettes seated on the logs around the pit. The sky turned a plumb ombre in the background revealing a dense blanket of stars.

Kismet perched on the log across from the others, but she was not alone. Nyx recognized Blossom sitting off to the side. Beaded braids decorated her long brown hair. A thin crown of thin branches and baby's breath flowers adorned her head. Firelight illuminated the gold accents in her paisley maxi dress.

Nyx squeezed in on the end, squashing poor Kismet.

"Do you wanna tell them?" Blossom asked Cassie. She fidgeted with a bead on her hemp bracelet.

"Tell us what?" Nyx asked through the cigarette clenched in her teeth. She scrounged in her pocket for a lighter.

"Um," Cassie said, flushing. "Blossom and I have decided to move to the mainland."

"There's this huge casino," Blossom explained, waving her hands enthusiastically. "The Enigma has all sorts of performances. You should see it! We figure we'd try to do shows there one day, but we could travel around in the meantime."

Nyx's heart clenched and was torn somewhere between Please don't go and take me with you. She clenched her jaw against the rising lump in her throat. "You'll do well. You're both quite talented."

"Thank you," said Blossom with a smile. "We've planned it all out, don't worry."

Nyx was going to worry regardless, but she bit her tongue. They'd never been more than a few streets apart. It would be strange not to see Cassie on a near daily basis, but there were always Aiden's portals, the ferry and thank goodness for telephones.

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"Come see us," Cassie exclaimed.

"Let's take Kizzy to the casino," said Angel with a mischievous grin. "That could be fun."

Kismet shook her head, but said nothing.

"When are you going?" Alistair asked. He tried to keep his voice light, but Nyx heard the heaviness hidden in it.

"The end of the week," said Cassie.

"So soon?" Alistair gasped.

"I'm sorry it feels sudden," said Blossom. "We agreed not to say anything until things were all set."

He frowned, but nodded in understanding.

Angel put his arm around Cassie, giving her a squeeze. "I'm gonna miss you Casserole."

"I wish I could say the same," she teased.

The night carried on, but Nyx's mood had soured. A sinking feeling settled into the pit of her stomach. There might be other bonfires to come, but not like this. So she wanted to make the most of it, and tried her best to ignore the sadness attempting to wriggle into her bones. That could be for tomorrow. Tonight, she would enjoy herself.

Angel had brought a bottle of whiskey to share and even Kismet dipped into it. While Nyx drank with her on the log, the others had strolled further down the beach.

"Are you nervous about the meeting?" Nyx asked her.

"I don't know what I'll do if I can't stay here," she said. "I can't go home."

"We'll figure something out."

"What if we can't?"

"I'll hide you," Nyx teased. "Or we'll riot."

"What if Daisy says something?" Kismet stared into the fire. The flames danced in her hazel eyes.

"She wouldn't."

"Not on purpose, but she doesn't know my true powers are supposed to be a secret," Kismet said.

"Rejecting someone based on their abilities is a dangerous precedence to set. Any of our abilities could pose a problem if used poorly, so where would they draw the line?"

Kismet twirled a ringlette around her finger. "I - I don't think it's really about that. There's something going on here." Her face was flushed, either from anxiety or drink, Nyx couldn't tell. "I don't have any intention to dig or pick at anything, but I can't always control it."

"I know," Nyx said, her voice thick. "I'm so sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have lied, but I didn't know what else to do."

"It's not your fault," said Kismet. "You did what you thought was best."

Canned music from the tiny stereo was barely audible above the waves. Angel bounded up to them, extending his hand to Nyx.

"Care to dance?" he asked.

Nyx looked at Kismet.

"Go ahead, I'll be alright here," she said.

Nyx took Angel's hand and he whisked her away. Kismet stayed behind, staring into the fire, nursing her drink.

The smooth pebbles made their movements clumsy as Angel twirled her around, exaggerated and silly. The liquor wasn't helping. Nyx nearly slipped, but he caught her, laughing. His hand pressed to the small of her back, holding her close.

"You gotta hold your liquor," he said. "You're outta practice."

"I'm ok. I don't think I'm gonna go pro," she said and nuzzled into the crook of his neck and shoulder. The scent of sea salt lingered on his skin. She wound her fingers through his hair and kissed him, tasting whiskey on his lips.

A chunk of seaweed slapped Angel across the back of the head. They broke apart. He put his hand up where the seaweed hit him, looking around. Nyx squinted in the dim light, but Angel's vision was unaffected by the dark and he spied Alistair getting another wad of seaweed ready to throw.

"What the hell man?"

Nyx hopped out of the way as Angel ducked to grab his own seaweed clump to throw back at Alice. She sighed. So much for the tender moment. They chased each other around the shore, flinging seaweed and chunks of mud at each other.

"I'm really happy Angel seems to have healed up so well," said Blossom, walking toward Nyx. She minded her steps, wobbling across the stones. Her hair always seemed to flow so gracefully, not a strand drifted out of place, but her crown had slipped a little to the side. "How are you? Cassie was quite shaken, and so was I. Even from the stage it looked -"

"I know," said Nyx, sighing. "I'm alright. It looked much worse than it actually was fortunately."

"I'm sorry Timmy told and got everyone all worked up. He can't keep quiet sometimes."

Cassie bounced up to them, laughing as she struggled to balance. Her green braid had come slightly undone, wisps blowing in the breeze. She put her arm around Nyx's shoulders, partially to hug her, but mostly to keep balance.

"I'm gonna miss you," she said, planting a peck on Nyx's cheek. "Wanna come too? You totally can if you want, right Blossom?"

Blossom nodded. "Of course."

"What would I even do?" Nyx asked with a laugh. "Clearly I can't dance."

"Play the drums!" Cassie poked her in the side.

"Oh, nobody wants to see me play," she said with a dismissive wave.

"That's not true," said Blossom. "I've heard you play loads of times and you're really good."

"Angel is the one with any talent."

Cassie laughed, jerking her thumb to where Alistair now had Angel in a headlock. "Yeah, he's a creative genius."

"Sure, he's goofy as hell, but he's good," said Nyx. "You've never heard him sing."

"Only because he absolutely refuses to do it in front of anyone," said Cassie.

"He doesn't have anything to prove."

Angelus had broken free of Alistair's grip and the two were now squaring up, throwing fake punches and exchanging exaggerated threats, bickering over who was going to toss who into the sea first.

Blossom excused herself to join Kismet by the fire and get another drink.

"Are you going to be ok here with everything going on?" Cassie asked, still managing to whisper despite her inebriated slurring.

"Yeah, of course."

"How is it going anyways? You haven't spoken much about it since -"

"It's ok. I got it," Nyx said, trying to smile. "Don't worry about what we're up to over here, you go and have a great time."

Cassie smiled, but it was sad and grateful. She kissed her again, then dashed off to the fire.

For the rest of the evening, Nyx carried on drinking until her vision blurred. She tried to drown the growing heaviness in her chest, but that didn't seem to work. It only made it grow instead.

Alistair stopped wrestling Angel, and dug out his bag of weed. They all shared another joint around the fire, including Kismet. After the others dissipated, Nyx gave Kismet a hug, gripping her tight.

Maybe it was the liquor, but Nyx found herself resisting tears. Grief snuck up on her, a biting sting to the center of her chest. There was no need to say a word. Kismet's arms wrapped around her, squeezing in return.