Snippet #1152954

'Geez, you don't have to be so mean about it. I can't help that I'm not too good with survival stuff.' She was wise enough not to let her thoughts show. Angering the person that will keep her from starving would not be a good idea. 'I'm pretty sure the grass will be easy to cut.' Her annoyance increased as he talked about wasting energy, but faded when he offered the bow.

"Of course not! I wouldn't dream of any such thing! Thank you for lending me this." She took the offered bow and placed it on her makeshift bed to use later. 'Thank goodness they taught us how to start a fire in that mandatory survival class. I guess school was good for something other than being bullied.' She quickly made her way to where she saw the dried grass. In the end, she didn't have to cut it as it was very easy to pull out. Picking her way carefully through the darkness, she made it back to the clearing without getting lost.

"Um, if I'm not doing this right, please tell me what I should change." After gathering the driest vegetation from the pile he had cut, she started piling them up and arranged the grass. She took a deep breath. 'Okay, if I remembered this right, I should be able to get a fire going in a few minutes.'

"Argh!" If you had been able to see through the darkness, you would have seen a very frustrated Danielle. The lack of light coupled with the fact that her survival class had been two years ago meant that it was very hard for her to start a fire. She took a moment to rest for the fifth time. 'Okay, maybe I should try to be more consistent with pressure and speed. I'm pretty sure that was what made that spark on my second try.' It seemed that this was the right method, as sparks appeared after a minute or so. "Yes! Finally!" She was careful not to blow too hard this time, feeding the sparks slowly with dried grass and eventually larger pieces of vegetation. 'Well, I guess I'm not too useless after all,' she thought, smugly. 'Take that, Mr.Be Prepared!' After the fire was in no danger of being put out, she retrieved the fruit she had picked that morning, spearing one with a stick to roast over the fire.