Young Writers Society

Evaline paused in thought again, thinking back on the answer. It had been a while.

"I started the program about four years ago," she said. She figured if James had questions, she'd answer it one at a time.

“You were the one who started it?” James asked. “Melakae mentioned she was... one of the founders.”

Evaline let out a small amused puff of air. "Yeah. She likes to say that."

They rounded the path and she looked up, noticing the sun high in the sky. It must have been around noon. The towering trees were providing shade and blocked most of the sun, but it was still nice to have some of the rays peeking through. This time of the year was often her favorite time. Not too cold, not too hot.

"Do you... remember me mentioning her in Nye?" she asked, changing the subject.

“Yes,” he answered. “You also showed me some sketches you did of her at the time.”

Evaline hummed in thought. She vaguely remembered mentioning people she knew to him, but she couldn't remember what she said or who she mentioned. She wondered what the sketches could have looked like back then.

"Did I tell you about anyone else?" she asked.

James nodded slowly as he struggled to remember. The faces were blurry, but they were somewhere deep down in his memory with names.

"Of the drawings, you showed me," he said. "There was also an Alistair and a Tula. But you'd also mentioned Oliver, and your friend... who passed. I think those were the only I can remember you mentioning by name."

He wasn't sure if he should say the name, since it was a sensitive topic.

Evaline was surprised she had talked to James about them. Part of her wanted to know what exactly she mentioned, but another part of her was a bit wary to find out.

She also assumed he was talking about Alan. It had been so long since she even thought about him.

"Well, some of them are in the committee, so I'm sure you'll meet them all," Evaline said instead. "You've already met Mel and Oliver, and Alistair comes whenever he can make it. We all have different roles, but we make it work."

It wasn't like James was going to go to the meetings every month, but she was sure at some point he will meet everyone again, whether it be all at once or one-by-one for check-ins.

"You and Oliver seem to be in leadership positions, at least, from what I saw," James observed idly. "If I'm understanding correctly."

Evaline glanced back at James before focusing back to the path ahead of them. They weren't too far from the previous berry bushes now.

"That's correct," she said.

It was strange explaining this to someone, but she knew James didn't understand what was common knowledge around here.

"People with time powers hold leadership positions in the government. I guess it still holds true here too, even though it's not governed or required."

"Is there anyone in power who doesn't have a time power?" James asked, mostly out of curiosity. He didn't know that it mattered much.

Evaline thought back to her time in the sectors many years ago when she had sit-ins with her parents.

"Yes," she said. "But they'd be like..."

She tried to compare her version of government to what he was familiar with. They weren't anything alike, but maybe a comparison would help.

"Someone like me would hold an equivalent power level as a king for that sector. Someone like Mel could theoretically hold power too, but she wouldn't hold more power than a princess."

The details on James's kings and princesses in Nye was a bit fuzzy, but she did know he was intricately connected with it and had worked for them.

"Does that make sense?" she asked for affirmation.

“I think I understand what you’re trying to communicate,” James said. “It sounds like in order to rise to positions of authority, there are certain power qualifications that must be met first.”

"Basically," Evaline replied. It was a simplification, but it sufficed.

A small bout of silence passed as she thought about elaborating further, but she didn't know what much else to add. It certainly didn't help that they were discussing things she technically fought against. It wasn't like she wanted to be in power, and it was quite ironic anyways that she naturally fell into that role now, even when she often gave low effort.

The berry bushes were ahead of them now, she instead she instructed James to continue foraging while she walked down the path to put some space between them and gather as many as possible. They didn't particularly need the food since she assumed the next camps will be stocked, but it certainly didn't hurt.

Eventually, they gathered enough and they made their way back to camp and the Elliots, winding back around the path. Conversation was kept mostly light, and Evaline pointed out more nature topics that James seemed to find interesting.

When they got closer, so could see Ellie's ears perking when they walked towards them, and she stretched her back, waiting for Evaline to walk up to her. When she did, she put away the food they foraged and gave her some pets. After knocking a few hours with their walk, it looked like she was well-rested.

"Ready to keep going?" she asked James as she started to clean up the camp and put items away. "We can keep riding until sundown again."

James started to help her clean up, rolling up their sleeping bags.

"Sounds like a plan," he said. "I'm ready when you are."

And with that, they were off.

They had a late start, but it didn't mean they couldn't move fast. Evaline rode on Ellie while James was riding Elliot by her side, and the continued the pattern of riding fast and then gradually slowing down.

They did have to slow down more when she pulled off into the narrower path, but they still made good distance. The trees around them drastically began to thin out until they were short and wiry. Evaline recognized them to mostly be eucalyptus trees, which she knew was invasive to the woods they were in. She wondered how long it would take before it would harm the redwood trees.

The trees were becoming sparser and sparser, and the grass around them became taller. They were entering a prairie, but she and others have gone down this route enough times that there was a clear path.

Evaline looked up and noticed that they had about an hour until the sun set. She instructed James to hold on a bit longer, because there was a certain camp she'd want to make before sundown, but they'd have to ride faster. Ellie was well-rested now, but she wasn't sure about Elliot. He seemed fine, though. It appeared that Elliot's strength and endurance must have increased ten-fold during the past five years.

They rode until dusk, and she could see the small yurt in the background. She hopped off Ellie as she approached it, deciding to light the organized campfire nearby so they could see before it got too dark.

Evaline usually avoided this camp and route since it was more common to use, but thankfully it was unoccupied. Next to the campfire was a small well for water that they could fill up on, and she knew that the yurt had two thick bedrolls, food storage, supplies, and a small furnace. She figured James was used to living in the wilderness by now, but perhaps nicer stays like this would make him more comfortable.

"You can tie Elliot over there," she said, pointing at the corner of the yurt that jutted up from the ground. She worked on getting the fire started.

"Are you tired?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer.