<div class="floatright">(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/a/img4/598/breedaniels04.jpg)</div><br/>Ran and Kailae were both as good of friends as Miranda could ever hope to ask for.<br/><br/>Ran had proven herself patient, kind and supportive, even if she didn't really understand Those Who Live Above In Shadow.  Perhaps it was for the best that she didn't, and part of Miranda didn't really want to go into it.<br/><br/>The idea that those tiny pinpricks of light were each beings of great power, many even greater than that of Pelor, wasn't something that many could accept, let alone truly understand.  Understanding could be difficult, because the more you had, the more power they had over you.<br/><br/>Kailae understood, Miranda thought, at least to a degree.  She treated Miranda with a degree of...tolerant comfort, which may not have seemed like much to others - maybe not even to Kailae herself - but meant so much to Miranda.<br/><br/>Compared to the average person - who didn't even balk at using the word "star" and drawing their attention, and simply trusted that keeping their eyes shut while they slept would be enough to protect them against the worst - Miranda almost felt at home among such company.<br/><br/>They mentioned the notice, and a slow smile worked its way over Miranda's face.  "Yeah..." she said gently.  "I was...thinking about trying to numb myself a little first, try to..."<br/><br/>She didn't really finish, her eyes drifting away.  Maybe she had been drinking a little too much lately, but she liked not scaring people.  Besides, they never seemed to do anything when she was drunk; maybe it dulled their ability to see her when she couldn't focus.<br/><br/>"...Let's all go together."  She got up slowly from the table, her legs just a little unsteady - from anxiety, not alcohol - and she let them lead the way.