Young Writers Society

James tied Elliot up, and after he pulled the knot tight, he stood up straight and looked back at Evaline, over his shoulder. He gestured to his face with one hand and fanned fingers.

"Take a wild guess."

Evaline looked back at James, studying his face for a moment and knowing full well the sarcastic comment was a way to avoid the question.

"I know," she said as the fire started to kick its way up the wood. She then got up to go to the well and bring up water so she could refill their bottles. "I just want to let you know the option is available. A full night's rest does wonders for your health."

James sighed.

"I appreciate the concern. It's just that I haven't gotten a full night's rest in a very long time, regardless of how long I try to. So I don't think lying down for another hour would change things."

Evaline listened to James as she pulled on the rope attached to the pulley so that she could pull up the bucket from the well.

"That's okay," she said. "I don't expect you to change in any way overnight, even with small things like sleeping more. I just wanted to let you know that the option is available, should you want it. And it always will be."

James nodded slowly, but he wasn't sure what Evaline was getting at. Was she trying to get him to sleep more because she was concerned? Was it for any other reason? He couldn't think of a logical explanation that would make the most sense.

"Alright," he said after too long of a pause. "I'll... keep that in mind."

By the time James had responded, Evaline had already refilled her canteen and sat by the fire next to Ellie who was already curled up beside it. Evaline thought about getting food out, but she knew the yurt would be replenished with food, and she figured it would be better to eat during her sleep shift instead. Still, she took out two apples from Ellie's saddlebag, and then offered one to James.

"Here," she said, lifting the apple for him to take and also slid her canteen over in case he wanted to drink out of it. "Sit. I'm not tired yet, either. So..."

Evaline trailed off, suddenly finding herself at a loss of words, which was becoming more rare for her nowadays. It wasn't like she traveled with many people to begin with, nevertheless people who were hard to read, didn't know what they wanted, and came from another world that she intimately knew all about.

She cleared her throat and started again. "I'd be interested in hearing any stories you don't mind sharing from Nye. From the past five years, or anything, really."

Evaline paused, deciding to open up and be more approachable, just a little to make him feel more comfortable.

"It's... nice to talk and hear about Nye out loud. Even if it's about mundane topics. It makes the world sound less of a fairy tale and more real, because it is real."

James knew where he wanted to take this conversation. Evaline gave him a way out by telling him he could share what he was comfortable with and adding on extra caveats to avoid making it sound like she was asking what she thought she was. Because, at least, at first, it did sound like she was bluntly asking him to tell her what had happened in the last five years.

But no. She just wanted to hear about Nye in general. She wanted further evidence that it was real, and she wanted someone to talk to her about it who could further support that reality with contextual evidence.

So he just had to tell stories about Nye. Nothing personal. Nothing about the things that had happened to him - because gods knew those would kill the mood.

"That makes sense," he agreed because he knew he would never understand in the same way, with the same nuance that she meant that.

He paused, and hummed in thought, looking up at the tall trees hedging them in.

"Did I ever tell you about the spitting baboons?"

"Spitting baboons?" Evaline repeated with a slight smile in amusement. "Are they exactly what they sound to be: baboons who spit?"

James glanced at her, catching her small smile.

"They are aptly named," he said. "See, these baboons are quite large. I'd say about four feet tall on average." He held his hand out in front of him so that it came up to his belly. "But that's when they're on all fours. If they're standing on their hind legs, then they could almost look you in the eye."

He moved his hand higher for reference before he dropped it and set his hands in his pockets.

"They're native to the jungles of Nye, where they live in large groups, often nesting under low trees and in thick foliage. Their fur is a deep black, but it seems to reflect the colors and light around it so that they blend in with their environment when still. But their most notable feature was the one they were named after, which is their spit."

"See, when the spitting baboon is hungry, or perhaps, simply worked up with emotion, they begin to foam at the mouth. Their foaming spit is highly acidic, and it burns anything it touches. So, a bite from one of those does not only result in teeth marks, but their saliva burns and eats away at your skin. The saliva also acts like a poison. So, the baboons are also venomous."

He paused for just a second, nodding slightly to himself.

"All in all, they're best to be avoided. They're highly aggressive."

Evaline listened intently, but the longer James talked, the more she realized that he was being very detailed with his answer. He was a nervous wreck the first day, but the days after that, he was vague or deflecting with his answers. At least, most of the time. She... did shut him down when he tried to initiate a conversation regarding their last day in Nye, but that was different than this.

It was nice to listen to details about a creature in Nye, and it was even nicer to hear him talk about it. She could vaguely remember him telling her many facts about animals and plants in Nye their first month together to fill the silence. She wondered if he still liked talking about those topics, five years later.

"Tall, aggressive monkeys with poisonous spit," Evaline mused. "It sounds like you've studied these formidable creatures for quite some time. Did you have the unfortunate experience of coming across one?"

“Several,” James said with a flippant shrug. “There are many dangerous creatures in the jungle, and the baboons are only one among many. They might be some of my least favorite... but there are some cute frogs, I suppose. They’re poisonous to eat, but they won’t hurt you.”

Evaline nodded slowly as she made the internal comparison between Nye and Earth. But she still greatly preferred hearing stories about Nye coming from James.

"Are the cute but poisonous frogs your favorite, then?" she asked.

James glanced over at her with the hint of a smile in his eyes.

"I'm more partial to the purple glowing mushrooms that light up the jungle in the night."

Evaline squinted at the fire in front of them and then looked up at the sky, gauging the time. Nightfall was just falling, and only a sliver of the moon was out. The sky was littered with stars of the galaxy, but it was still fairly dark outside. That didn't stop the next thought from coming through, though.

"Up for a night stroll?" she said as she suddenly got up on her feet. "I'd like to show you something. It's not that far away. Maybe a twenty minute walk."

James glanced over at Ellie, Elliot, the fire, and finally Evaline.

"Will we be okay to leave them alone?"