Once more, Astrid glanced up at the sky and back down at the little old lady, her patience with her slowly beginning to wane. She didn't want to put out her magic fire! It had taken a lot of energy to make it, and now the woman wanted her to snuff it out just to make another one in some silly non-magic way. Astrid sat still, thinking. She wanted to tell her no, and keep her magic fire, but she felt sorry for the old woman, so she sighed heavily and got to her feet. Looking longingly at her little magic fire, she slowly waved her hand over it, absorbing the magic and putting the flame out. The cold and damp almost immediately began to permeate her tired body, especially since she had given her shawl to the woman and only had her thin, slightly wet dress to keep her warm. She got to her knees and aligned the sticks as the old woman had, and began rubbing her palms together. She knelt in front of the pile of sticks and rubbed and rubbed and rubbed. Nothing.<br/><br/>Astrid sat back on her heels, panting slightly with the effort, and looked up at the woman with a distraught look on her face. "I...I can't do it. Perhaps I could just use a spark from my fire, just to get it started? It would give you a nice fire much faster, and it would still be the fire you want..." She desperately hoped the woman would accept that offer. She was rapidly running out of energy and daylight and it was beginning to worry her. She didn't want to be caught out in the open at nightfall again. Once had been enough! And she didn't think the old woman would be able to outrun those creatures. "We really need to find somewhere to spend the night, July. We can build a fire there..."<br/><br/>She gazed hopefully up at the little woman, crossing her fingers and praying to the Gods that she would accept that suggestion. Astrid  was getting more and more tired by the minute, and all she wanted was a warm, safe place to rest. She was beginning to think that Calden had been right about helping this crazy old lady. Perhaps it was a mistake. She didn't think the woman was going to cook her or anything, but she was tired enough that she didn't want to deal with much more.