Young Writers Society

Evaline glanced at the animals. "They will be here. But we can walk with the Elliots if you prefer."

She stepped in the yurt and reached for the oil lantern on the side table to bring over to the fire and light it.

"I would prefer that," James said as he walked to Elliot and untied him, taking his reins to lead him.

Using a long thin stick, Evaline lit the oil lantern using the fire she made earlier. She looked down at Ellie curled up at the fire next to her, already sound asleep. Evaline poked her head a few times, but she seemed to be more interested in sleep than a walk.

"Sure. I'll leave her here, though," she said as she stood up with the light. "Ready?" She gestured down the thin path and started to walk towards it.

After glancing at the sleeping Ellie, James simply nodded his head in reply and followed after Evaline, leading Elliot behind him.

Evaline led James and Elliot down the path. The lantern provided enough light to see twenty or so feet in front of her, but she knew where she was going. The prairie grass brushed along her legs as bugs chirped and sang their songs around them, and for a few long moments, she let the the critters fill the silence between them.

It was strangely nostalgic to be walking down a path with James and Elliot. It felt familiar, yet so very foreign.

"So, you said you didn't make it to Lettera," she finally said, breaking the peaceful silence. "But you said you made it to the ocean, then? What's the coast like?"

James scanned the grass at their feet, half expecting something to jump out. Evaline seemed confident enough walking through that he was more at peace.

"Well... the coastlines of the Western Isles are sandy down south, and they get rockier the further north you go. In the same way, the waters are warmer in the southern isles than in the north. As for the isles themselves... they're beautiful, really. The plants are big and colorful, the reefs are full of life, the sun is warm, and the air is humid."

The Western Isles. It had been a long time, and she didn't remember the name of that region until now. She also vaguely remembered meeting some mages who said they were from there, although she couldn't remember their names or exact story.

"Sounds like paradise," Evaline commented. "I can understand why you'd go there instead of Lettera."

James was leaving out a lot of details, but he hadn't meant to make it sounds like paradise. He shrugged.

"It wasn't exactly a strategic choice," he said. "But it was a beautiful area, I suppose."

Evaline paused for a moment, wondering the implications of that sentence. She decided to not outright ask.

"How long have you been there?" she asked instead.

“Well... it’s hard to say. Maybe a year,” James answered. He wasn’t sure how much he wanted to say. “I haven’t spent the entirety of it strictly within the borders of the isles, but I’ve been near them I suppose.”

Only a year. Evaline thought he'd be there longer, so she was a little surprised. She wondered if, maybe, James was caught by the Moonlight Kingdom, and that was why it took so long to gain distance.

"Have you mostly been in the Outlands?" she asked.

If five years hadn't passed, and James was still the person Evaline knew from back then, he might've faltered. He might've hesitated because there were potential layers that might come up depending on how he answered the question. But without even a thought, he was able to piece something together naturally.

"Mostly. I found myself weaving in and out of it, but somehow, I always ended up back there again."

It wasn't like Evaline had any way of knowing, but she had always assumed that the Outlands was a temporary setting. She always figured James was merely passing through, and he wasn't going to stay there long. It was strange hearing that that wasn't the case, and instead he kept returning to it. Probably not by choice, though.

She decided to prod, just a little.

"Not by choice, I assume?" she asked, turning her head back slightly to glance at him.

"No," he said. "By chance. And sometimes necessity."

That response didn't really tell her much, but it did tell her that he didn't choose to stay in the Outlands for that long. Although, she doubted he really chose to live anywhere for too long.

"It must have been tiring," Evaline said. "Always moving, always going somewhere new. I'm sorry you didn't get to reach the area you tried to go to."

Wherever that was.